orough reconnoissance showed the whole
country, between the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya above the
Plaquemine, to be impracticable at that season for all arms. After
more than a month of this sort of work, Emory was called across
the river to Baton Rouge to take part in the events narrated in
the last chapter.

Banks returned to New Orleans on the 24th of March, and the next
day ordered Grover to embark and move down the river to Donaldsonville,
and thence march down the Bayou La Fourche to Thibodeaux. At the
same time Emory was ordered, as soon as Grover's river transports
should be released, to embark his command for Algiers, and thence
move by the railway to Brashear. Meanwhile, on the 18th of March,
Weitzel learned of the presence of the _Queen of the West_ and
_Webb_ in the Atchafalaya, and as this seemed to indicate an
intention to attack him, and the navy had no more light-draught
gunboats to spare for his further security, to avoid having his
hand forced and the game spoiled, he discreetly fell back on the
21st to the railway bridge over Bayou Boeuf, and took up a position
where he was not exposed, as at Brashear, to the risk of being cut
off by any sudden movement of the enemy.

On the 28th of March the _Diana_ was sent to reconnoitre the
Confederate position and strength on the lower Teche; but continuing
on down the Atchafalaya, instead of returning by Grand Lake as
intended, and thus running into the arms of the enemy, she fell an
easy prey. The _Calhoun_ went to her relief, but ran aground,
and the _Estrella_ had to go to the assistance of the _Calhoun_.
Acting-Master James L. Peterson, commanding the _Diana_, was killed,
and Lieutenant Pickering D. Allen, aide-de-camp to General Weitzel,
was wounded. With the _Diana_ there fell into the enemy's hands
nearly one hundred and fifty prisoners. This gave the Confederates
three rather formidable boats in the Atchafalaya and the Teche.

The movement of the troops was necessarily slow, as well by reason
of the extremely limited facilities for transportation, as because
of the state of the roads, but by the 8th of April every thing was
well advanced, and on that day Banks moved his headquarters to
Brashear. Weitzel, who had been reinforced by the siege-train,
manned by the 1st Indiana heavy artillery, had already re-occupied
his former front on Berwick Bay. Emory was in bivouac at Bayou
Ramos, about five miles in the rear of Weitzel, and Grover at Ba