April 20th. Still lying to an anchor off the mouth of Red River. The ram Switzerland, Commander Col. Ellet, and Albatross, Lieut.-Commander Hart, at anchor ahead of us, close in shore. Let me here remark, before going any further (since I think the reader is not aware of the fact), that the crew stand watch and watch every night at their guns. They are allowed to lie down on deck between same, and go to sleep. This is a necessary precaution against a surprise, and to have the men near at hand should the enemy be so foolish as to attack us where we are. We were also expecting daily to hear of Gen. Banks, who had gone around by way of Brashear City, from New Orleans to Alexandria, capturing and taking possession of same, and of seeing some of his transports some night, coming down and out of Red River. Warm and pleasant weather. All quiet on the Rappahannock—(I mean on the Mississippi.)
Cruise of the U.S. Flag-Ship Hartford–Wm. C. Holton
April 19th. This morning the ram Switzerland and gunboat Albatross, got under way and entered the mouth of Red River, with the intention of proceeding a short distance up same, to find the enemy if possible. In the afternoon however, they returned from their reconnoissance, having seen nothing of him. It seems rather singular after all his boasting of what he was going to do—come down from Alexandria some night, with his ram the Queen of the West (a vessel captured from Col. Ellet, some time since), the Dr. Beatty, and some other steamers, and try their butting power upon us, and if not able to punch a hole into the old Hartford and sink her where she lies anchored, then make her skedaddle, and chase here down the river until she came under the guns of Port Hudson, when her destruction would be sure. Secesh is a great blower, and as the story goes, a barking dog never bites, so we must not fear him. He has had many propitious nights to put his threats into execution, and his failure to do so prove him a braggart and a liar of the basest kind.
April 18th. Warm weather; nothing worthy of mention has occurred during these twenty-four hours; at anchor off mouth of Red River. Col. Ackelon’s plantation and residence a little distance ahead of us on the left bank of the river; it is a beautiful place; the Colonel I believe to be a good Union man; the Admiral’s, Captain’s, and ward room and forward officer’s table are supplied with the fruits and vegetables of the season, grown upon his place. I believe he has five inland plantations, making, with the one fronting upon the river, six, and is very wealthy; he owns at least one thousand negroes; he is afflicted with the gout; is a man in the prime of life, and a cripple; he owns a beautiful mansion in Nashville, Tenn., which his wife is living in at present; our officers have often gone ashore and dined with him, and he has been on board and paid his respects to Admiral Farragut and Commodore Palmer several times; be has also been so kind as to allow us to bury some of our men who have been so unfortunate as to get killed by the enemy, or die of fever contracted in this southern clime.
April 17th. Commences with warm and pleasant weather. At five-thirty A. M., called all hands, and hove up anchor; got under way, and were once more stemming the current of the Mississippi, which is none other than a four-knot one, by the way. In many instances the residences of the rich and affluent planters or merchants looked to be deserted by the owners, and the overseer and negroes working in the fields were the only parties to be seen. What an example of the ravages of war! and how many fair ones occupy apartments in some of these dwellings, closed up, as I have said, as if they were haunted and deserted, who have a husband, father, brother, or other relative, in this war, fighting against their country, and, according as they have been made to believe by corrupt politicians and arch traitors, for their rights, their altars, and their firesides; when, if the truth were known, they had taken up arms to overthrow the best government the sun ever shone upon, and substituted a monarchy, placing bad men in power—a government for a few, not for a whole. How men can, in this enlighted age, become so deluded, is a wonder.
April 16th. Mr. Eaton, of U. S. A. Signal Corps, receiving despatches from and transmitting despatches to U. S. S. Richmond, by means of signals from main-masthead. Albatross engaged shelling the woods on the point opposite Port Hudson, where rebel pickets were stationed—our mail matter being on its way overland, in charge of an officer and some of the crew of the Richmond, at this time. At three P. M. our mail arrived, and the Albatross’s boat fetched it on board of us, returning again with the party who brought it over to us, renewing her shelling of the woods while it was returning below again. These carriers of the United State mail (overland), while in the performance of their duty this day, were fired at by rebel bushwhackers, chased, and came near being captured by same, before reaching the river’s edge and coming under the protection of our guns.
At five P. M., up anchor, got under way, and stood up the river a little farther; at seven thirty P. M., came to anchor a short distance above the village of Bayou Sara, opposite a large and splendid plantation, upon which, and but a few yards from the river’s bank, with fine shade trees in front and rear, loomed up a fine planter’s residence, and, adjoining same, an overseer’s humble cottage, near which were the quarters for the hands employed on the place.
April 15th. This morning, at six o’clock, hove up anchor, and steamed down the river; at ten o’clock, brought ship to anchor five miles above Port Hudson, for the purpose of communicating from masthead, by army signals, with vessels of lower fleet; signalizing from masthead, during the day, with U. S. sloop-of-war Richmond. At six o’clock, Mr. Gabaudan, Admiral’s Secretary, returned on board, in company with some army officers, across the point of land, from lower fleet, after an absence of seven days, upon business of great importance with Major-General Banks at New Orleans. He brought cheering army news. Gen. Augur, with a large force of Banks’s men, was in the rear of Port Hudson, cutting off their possibility of receiving supplies from that quarter, while we had blockaded the mouth of Red River, keeping them from transporting any provisions or stores from Texas out of this stream, and thence down the Mississippi; so the reader must admit that, unless they have a large quantity of beeves and provisions, this rebel stronghold must soon surrender to our arms. Starvation, when it begins, will do the work, which will be better than our being hasty, fighting, and losing thousands of valuable lives.
April 14th. Nothing has occurred or come under my notice this day worthy of especial mention. After the rain and thunder storm of last evening, the air is quite cool and agreeable—quite a relief from that of yesterday, so close, &c.
April 13th. Commences with pleasant weather, and continued so during the early hours, nothing of importance occurring. At seven thirty P. heavy squalls of rain came on, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The storm raged up to midnight. Since no awnings or boom covers were spread, tarpaulins placed over the hatches, or allowed to be, the berth deck was a trough for the water, and caught it all; the watch below (poor lads) with no hammocks slung to turn into, or permitted to have, got no sleep; neither were their comrades on deck any more fortunate.
April 12th. Lying off mouth of Red River; at ten A. M. inspected ship and crew, and half an hour afterwards, performed Divine service on quarter-deck. Nothing more worthy of note occurred during the remainder of these twenty-four hours, except that at 10 o’clock P. M. a sudden alarm was given, caused by a lookout hearing a bell tolled on shore, and reported it to be that of a steamer coming out of Red River; the rattle was sprung, calling all hands to quarters. The men turned out of their hammocks, got them up on deck and stowed in the hammock nettings, and were at their guns, ready for action, in five minutes after the alarm was given. It proved to be a false alarm, and one watch went below and turned in on the soft side of a plank.
April 11th. Everything quiet to-day. During the afternoon, the Albatross (our chicken, as the boys now call her) returned from a reconnoitering expedition up to Fort Adams, for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the rebels were fortifying that place. I understand she ascertained that they were not, although contrabands coming on board of us from that vicinity, inform us that they were. This is not the first instance that these negroes have told similar lies to us, and made us a good deal of trouble for nothing. Every day we receive reinforcements to the already large number of contrabands we now have to feed, and soon I expect we will be able to form a regiment, composed of these runaways, and send them wherever their services may be required. They are more an encumbrance than an article of use on board a man-of-war, and for my part I wish we were rid of them. In other words, they are a nuisance not to be tolerated (I hope) long in the U. S. Navy. We have some specimens of dark ebony who have been on board the ship a few seconds over a week or ten days, and a white man cannot speak to one of them and receive a civil answer. One cause, and the principal one, of all this is, if my experience teaches me anything, that every officer and man on board any of our vessels, do not all treat them alike. But enough has been said by me about this race of benighted beings. I will leave them here, after remarking that I pity them because they have not good sense, for if they had they would never leave a plantation (a good home during their whole life, and a kind master,) to cast themselves adrift upon strangers and a cold, unfeeling world. I know many will, and I dare say do now, wish themselves back from whence they were foolish enough to run away.
