. Campaigns of the civil war . attempt by field-pieces to stop the pas-sage of transport steamboats up and down the river. ColonelPlummer, lea\ing camp at noon, March 5tli, proceeding by acircuitous road to avoid passing along the river-bank, haltedfor the night in bivouac, without fires, \\dthin three or fourmiles of the towTi. A gunboat prevented his cavahy andartillery from occujDying the town next day, but was drivenaway by the fire of the infantry. The infantiy and engi-neers prosecuted the work of digging lifle-pits, and in thenight places were sunk for the field-pieces by excavatingnear
. Campaigns of the civil war . attempt by field-pieces to stop the pas-sage of transport steamboats up and down the river. ColonelPlummer, lea\ing camp at noon, March 5tli, proceeding by acircuitous road to avoid passing along the river-bank, haltedfor the night in bivouac, without fires, \\dthin three or fourmiles of the towTi. A gunboat prevented his cavahy andartillery from occujDying the town next day, but was drivenaway by the fire of the infantry. The infantiy and engi-neers prosecuted the work of digging lifle-pits, and in thenight places were sunk for the field-pieces by excavatingnear the edge of the bank. By morning of March 7th thefour guns were in position, planted apart, with lines of rifle-pits connecting them. When discovered, the gunboats im-mediately began a furious assault. Plummers artilleiywasted no ammunition in useless fire upon the iron-platedboats, and his guns were so shielded by their position insunken batteries, back from the edge of the bank, that the NEW MADRID AND ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 73. LnionConfed MILES New Madrid and Island Number Ten. 74 FROM FORT HENRY TO CORINTH. fire of the gunboats passed harmless overhead. The delib-erate fire of sharpshooters from the rifle-pits, however,searching eveiy opened porthole, pilot-honse, and every ex-posed point, was so annoying that the fleet withdiew. Everyday the gunboats opened upon the position, either in station-ary attack or while passing up and down the river. But, toavoid the harassing fiie from the rifle-pits, they kept, afterthe first few attacks, near the opposite shore of the steamboats used as transports did not venture to jDassup or down the river in face of Plummers batteries, andthe enemy was restricted to the landing at Tiptonville andboats below for all communication. On the 6th, General Pope telegTaphed that Colonel Plum-mer had not yet been able to effect his lodgement at PointPleasant, but that the sharpshooters were trying to drivethe artillerymen of the gunboats fro
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectuniteds, bookyear1881
