their colors and arms, stacking them outside of including fifteen general officers. their works. Thus, after a campaign really of six months duration, and of nearly two months vigorous siege, the rebel batteries of Vicksburg, which had insolently attempted to rob a nation of the most majestic river on the globe, fell, and the Mississippi was again thrown open for the unrestricted commerce of the United States from Cairo to the Gulf. During the progress of the campaign the rebels were defeated in five battles outside of Vicksburg. Jackson, the capital of the State, as well as Vicksburg, was captured. The enemy lost thirty-seven thousand prisoners, At least ten thousand were killed and wounded, including Generals Tracy, Tilghman, and Green. Arms and munitions of war for an army of sixty thousand men, besides an immense amount of public property, consisting of railroads, locomotives, cars, steamboats, cotton, etc., fell into the hands of the victors. The total loss of General Grant's army during the campaign, in killed, wounded, and missing, is estimated at eight thousand five hundred and seventy-five. When we contemplate this achievement in all its aspects, it must be admitted that it stands prominent among the most heroic deeds of heroic men. THE INTERVIEW BETWEEN GRANT AND PEMBERTON. ALONG the shore, along the shore, While hush'd is now the tempest's din, Except the sullen muffled roar A woman tow'rd the sea-line dark Still heaving though the storm has gone. Last night the gale that fiercely blew Loud sough'd against the window-pane; She could not weep-ah! well she knew What bark was on the angry main. Along the shore, along the shore, Alas! where far the dark sea-line Along the shore, along the shore, THE SEA SHALL RENDER UP THE DEAD!" Along the shore, along the shore, XII.-DEFENSE OF NEW ORLEANS.* a previous number of these sketches we ish premier. A powerful land and naval force had been sent to the Gulf of Mexico for the purpose of seizing New Orleans, and penetrating I have noticed the fact that the British Gov- the country northward by way of the Missis ernment made ample preparations, as they believed, for the subjugation of the Americans and the ending of the war, in 1814. The release of a large number of Wellington's veteran troops from service on the Continent had given that Government control of military strength that seemed to be quite sufficient to accomplish the desired result. The successful ravages on the American coasts during that year, and the capture of the National Capital, gave such assurance of full and final victory to British arms that, at the middle of December, Lord Castlereagh, the English Prime Minister, then in Paris, said, exultingly: "I expect, at this moment, that most of the large sea-port towns of America are by this time laid in ashes; that we are in possession of New Orleans, and have command of all the rivers of the Mississippi Valley and the Lakes, and that the Americans are now little better than prisoners in their own country." Events already accomplished and preparations made justified the expectations of the Brit This is the concluding paper of the series of sketches of events in the War of 1812. The pictures that have embellished them are from Lossing's "Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812," now in the press of Harper and Brothers, and illustrated by over eight hundred engravings. sippi with such vigor as to co-operate powerfully with invading British forces from the Canadas. The Government calculated largely on the passive acquiescence, if not actual assistance, of the French and Spanish inhabitants of Louisiana, who had been opposed to the rule of the United States Government, and also upon the aid of the slaves, whose freedom was to be proclaimed when the British troops should obtain a sure foot-hold on the borders of the Mississippi River or the Gulf of Mexico. At that time there was a community of outlaws engaged in privateering and smuggling, whose head-quarters were on a low island called Grand Terre, six miles in length and one and a half in breadth, which lies at the entrance to Barataria Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, little less than sixty miles southwest from New Orleans in a direct line. From that island there is a water communication for small vessels through lakes and bayous to within a mile of the Mississippi River, just above New Orleans. Toward the Gulf is a fine beach, and to it inhabitants of the "Crescent City" resort during the heats of the summer months. The Bay forms a sheltered harbor, in which the privateers of the Baratarians (as the smugglers were called and those associated with them lay securely of their forefathers, or observe a strict neutrality." They offered every inducement which a desire for wealth and honor might crave for Lafitte to join them in the contemplated invasion of Louisiana; and the chief bearer of the dispatches (Captain Lockyer, of the British navy) assured him that his vessels and men would be Navy. from the besom of the "Norther" that sweeps occasionally over the Gulf; and also from the cannon of ships of war, for the Bay is inaccessible to such ponderous and bulky craft. The community of marauders there formed a regularly organized association, at the head of which was Jean Lafitte, a shrewd Frenchman and blacksmith from Bordeaux, who had long wield-enlisted in the honorable service of the Royal ed the forging hammer in St. Philip's Street, New Orleans. He had caused a battery of Lafitte had amassed a large fortune by his heavy guns to be pointed seaward for the pro- lawless pursuits, and perceived the danger that tection of his company of Baratarians; and menaced his trade, his possessions, and his libthere might be seen at all times shrewd and erty. Already his brother, who had been his cautious men from New Orleans, having "hon-chief agent in New Orleans, was in prison for orable mention" in that community, purchasing his offenses, and the authorities of the United at cheap rates for profitable sales the rich booty of the sea robbers, and thereby laying broadly the foundations of the fortunes of many a wealthy family living in the Southwest when the great civil war broke out in 1861. Lafitte became known in history, romance, and song as the "Pirate of the Gulf." He was not a corsair in the meaning of the law of nations, and his crimes, such as they were, were not against humanity, but were violations of the revenue and neutrality laws of the United States. "I may have evaded the payment of duties at the custom-house, but I have never ceased to be a good citizen," said Lafitte, on one occasion; and then, with the usual plea of a culprit, he added: "All the offenses I have ever committed have been forced upon me by certain vices in the laws." States were preparing to strike a withering blow at Barataria. Lafitte, willing to save himself and his possessions, and preferring to be called a patriot rather than a pirate, asked the British messengers to allow him a few days for consideration. When they had departed he sent the important papers left with him to the Governor of Louisiana through the hands of a friend in the city, to whom he wrote a letter, saying, "Though proscribed in my adopted country, I will never miss an occasion of serving her, or of proving that she has never ceased to be dear to me." The revelations made by Lafitte were not accepted as true by the Government officials; but the people believed them, and held a large meeting in consequence at the St. Louis Exchange, in New Orleans, on the 16th of September. They were eloquently addressed by the late Edward Livingston, then a leading citizen of Louisiana, who urged the inhabitants to make immediate preparations to repel the contemplated invasion. They appointed a Committee of Safety, composed of the most distinguished cit The British authorities were acquainted with the Baratarians and the fact that the United States Government had, by legal proceedings, made them outlaws, and, as the English supposed, the bitter enemies of the Republic. Acting upon this belief the British sent an agent to engage them as allies in the invasion of Loui-izens of New Orleans, with Livingston as Chairsiana, because their knowledge of the peculiar man, who sent forth a stirring address to the country and their fleet of small craft used as people. Governor Claiborne, who, like Livtransports might enable the invaders to place a ingston, believed the statements of Lafitte, sent heavy land-force in the rear of New Orleans, copies of the British papers to General Jackson, cut it off from its supplies and reinforcements, then at Mobile. The patriotic fire in the bosom and make its capture an easy task. According- of that hero glowed with tenfold intensity when ly, at the close of August, a single British brig, this scheme of invasion was laid before him. detached from a squadron in the West Indies, He issued a stirring appeal to the inhabitants appeared off Barataria Bay, and on the morn- of Louisiana; and on the same day he addressing of the 2d of September a signal-gun upon ed a proclamation to the free people of color in her deck announced her presence. Lafitte im- that State, inviting them to unite under the mediately left Grand Terre in a small boat row-banner of their country for the purpose of coned by four men, and started in the direction of the sound of the signal-gun to ascertain its Jackson now set about the task of making meaning. He was met by a boat from the brig, the practical triple alliance of Britons, Spanbearing four English officers. These were con- iards, and Indians in Florida harmless before ducted to the Baratarian rendezvous and ele- he should march for the defense of New Organtly entertained by the leader, when a pack-leans. He invited volunteers from Tennessee, age addressed to "Mr. Lafitte" was handed to and two thousand soon rallied under his standhim. It contained letters from British officials, and a proclamation to the inhabitants of Louisiana and Kentucky by the British commander in the Floridas, calling upon the former to "assist in liberating from a faithless, imbecile Government" their "paternal soil," and upon the latter to "range themselves under the standard VOL. XXX.-No. 176.-M tributing to its defense. ard. On the 2d of November he turned his It was shipping in the harbor, and was about to take possession of Fort Barrancas, when it was blown up, the torch having been applied by a British hand. Two days afterward he abandoned Pensacola and returned to Mobile, where he found urgent messages in waiting, with pressing invitations to hasten to the defense of New Orleans. He had accomplished three important results, namely: the expulsion of the British from Pensacola; the scattering of the Indians through the forests, alarmed and dejected; and the punishment of the Spaniards for much perfidy. Jackson departed for New Orleans on the 21st of November, and arrived there on the 2d of December, and made his head-quarters at what is now 86 (formerly 104) Royal Street. He found the city utterly defenseless, and the councils of the people distracted by petty factions. The patriotic Governor Claiborne had called the Legislature of Louisiana together as early as the 5th of October. The members were divided into several factions, and there was neither union, nor harmony, nor confidence to be found. The people, alarmed and distrustful, complained of the Legislature; that body, in turn, complained of the Governor; and Claiborne complained of both the Legislature and the people. Money and credit were equally wanting, and arms and ammunition were very scarce. There was no effective naval force in the waters; and only two small militia regiments, and a weak battalion of uniformed volunteers, commanded by Major Plauché, a gallant Creole, constituted the military force of the city. The storehouses were filled with valuable merchandise, and it would be natural for the owners to prefer the surrender of the city at ence to a seemingly invincible foe, to incurring the risk of the destruction of their property by a resistance that should invite a fiery bombardIn every aspect the situation was most ment. gloomy when Jackson arrived, worn down with sickness, fatigue, and anxiety. His advent was hailed with great joy by the citizens, for he was regarded as a host in himself; and the cry of "Jackson's come! Jackson's come!" went like an electric spark in eager words from lip to lip, giving hope to the desponding, courage to the timid, and confidence to the patriotic. He or Jackson did not rest for a moment. ganized the feeble military force in the city, took measures for obstructing the large bayous whose waters formed convenient communications between the Mississippi near New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico, and proceeded to inspect and strengthen the fortifications in the vicinity and to erect new ones. Fort St. Philip, below the city, was the object of his special care; for on that he mainly relied for preventing the passage of the river by the vessels of the invaders. The expected enemy soon appeared. The army that captured Washington and was repulsed at Baltimore had left the Chesapeake toward the middle of October, three thousand strong, and sailed away for the West Indies in the fleets of Admirals Cochrane and Malcolm. These were soon joined by over four thousand troops under General Keane, a gallant young Irish officer, which had sailed from Plymouth in September. The combined forces were assembled in Negril Bay, Jamaica, and in over fifty vessels of all sizes more than seven thousand land troops were borne across the Gulf of Mexico, in the direction of New Orleans. They left Negril Bay on the 26th of November, and first saw the northern shore of the Gulf, off the Chandeleur Islands, between the mouth of the Mississippi and Lake Borgne, in the midst of a furious storm, on the 9th of December. Music, dancing, theatrical performances, and hilarity of every kind had been indulged in during the passage of the Gulf, for every man felt confident that an easy conquest of Louisiana awaited them. The wives of many officers accompanied them, and were filled with the most delightful anticipations of pleasure in the beautiful New World before them. The British supposed the Americans to be profoundly ignorant of their expedition. They anchored the fleet in the deep channel between Ship and Cat Islands, near the entrance to Lake Borgne, and prepared small vessels for the transportation of troops over the shallow waters of that region with great expedition, hoping to surprise and capture New Orleans before their presence should be fairly suspected. They were disappointed. The revelations of Lafitte had made officers and people vigilant; and early in December Commodore Patterson, then commanding the naval station at New Orleans, was warned by a letter from Pensacola of the approach of a powerful British land and naval armament. That vigilant officer immediately sent out five gun-boats, a tender, and a dispatch-boat toward the passes of Mariana and Christiana, as scouts to watch for the enemy. |