Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/343

 Fortification and Siege of Fort Hudson. 337

though our loss was not as heavy as could have been expected, be- cause we kept there no more men than were actually required to hold it, in the event of an assault, until reinforcements could be thrown in. Our parapet there was breached every day, but our men would repair the damage every night, although under constant fire of shells, grape, and cannister.

While superintending these repairs. Lieutenant James Freret, of the engineer corps was badly wounded. The enemy worked their way steadily up until they had effected a lodgment on the end of the same bluff with us, and not more than thirty yards from our work. Their sliarpshooters were crowded around this battery, keeping up a constant fire even when they could see no one to shoot at.

Holding this extreme point at Battery No. ii, under such tremen- dous fire, was extremely exhausting to the men there. Captain J. Watts Kearney had defended the post until the muzzle of his piece had been split and a trunnion shot off. The companies of M'ilfes's Legion, the three of Maxey's brigade, under Captain C. W. Cushman, and a detached company under Lieutenant Wilkins, had all done severe duty here and lost heavily in officers and men. The detached com- pany from Natchez, Mississippi, was left without an ofticer. Lieuten- ants Wilkins and Chase being killed, and their only other officer wounded. Captain Charles R. Purdy, of the Fourth Louisiana, also lost his life here.

On the night of the 28th General Gardner sent Colonel O. R. Lyle to hold the position with one hundred men of the Eighteenth and Twenty- third Arkansas regiments, which they did for several days until they were again relieved by Captain Cushman, who vol- unteered to perform the service with his three companies. Colonel Lyle's men succeeded on the 29th in burning the cotton bales which the enemy were using as sap-rollers to protect their approach. On the same evening they attempted to storm our works here and got up very close, throwing hand-grenades among us by scores, but they were driven back to their ditch.

We had a small detachment of men from Colonel de Gournay's command who were provided with 12-pounderand 24-pounder shells to use as hand-grenades. The fuse had to be lighted while in the hand, and the shell then immediately hurled over the parapet. A wooden gutter was put outside our work during the night, to enable us to roll heavy shells down among the foe. The interchange of these com- pliments was kept up with considerable spirit.

As it was expected that the enemy were undermining the point, no