ing steam the gunboat drifted out of
fire, but the loss of life on the transport was fearful. One hundred
dead and eighty-seven severely scalded, most of whom subsequently died,
were brought on shore. These unfortunate creatures were negroes, taken
from plantations on the river above. The object of the Federals was to
remove negroes from their owners; but for the lives of these poor people
they cared nothing, or, assuredly, they would not have forced them, on
an unprotected river steamer, to pass riflemen and artillery, against
which gunboats were powerless. On the following day, the 27th, the two
remaining gunboats and transport attempted to pass Caudle's position;
and the former, much cut up, succeeded, but the transport was captured.
Colonel Caudle had one man wounded, and the battery one killed--its
commander, Captain Cornay, who, with Mouton, Armand, and many other
creoles, proved by distinguished gallantry that the fighting qualities
of the old French breed had suffered no deterioration on the soil of
Louisiana.

The following extracts from the report of Admiral Porter well exhibit
the efficiency of Caudle and Cornay in this affair:

"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, OFF ALEXANDRIA, _April 28, 1864_.

"When rounding the point, the vessels in close order and ready for
action, we descried a party of the enemy with artillery on the right
bank, and we immediately opened fire with our bow guns. The enemy
immediately returned it with a _large number of cannon, eighteen in
all_, every shot of which struck this vessel. The captain gave orders to
stop the engines. I corrected this mistake, and got headway on the
vessel again, but not soon enough to avoid the pelting showers of shot
and shell which the enemy poured into us, every shot going through and
through us, clearing all our decks in a moment. I took charge of the
vessel, and, _as the battery was a very heavy one_, I determined to pass
it, which was done under the heaviest fire I ever witnessed. Seeing that
the Hindman did not pass the batteries, the Juliet disabled, and that
one of the pump boats (transport) had her boiler exploded by a shot, I
ran down to a point three or four miles below. Lieutenant-Commander
Phelps had two vessels in charge, the Juliet and Champion (transport),
which he wished to get through safely. He kept them out of range until
he could partially repair the Juliet, and then, starting under a heavy
fire, he make a push by. Unfortunately the pump boat (Champ