he morning of the 23d of June, the reveille was sounded for
them by the guns of the Valverde battery. Thus sharply aroused,
without a thought of what might happen in the rear, the garrison
gave its whole attention to returning, with the heavy guns, the
fire of Green's field-pieces across Berwick Bay. Soon the gunboat
_Hollyhock_ backed down the bay and out of the action, and thus it
was that about half-past six Hunter's men, running out of the woods
toward the railway station, and making known their presence with
their rifles, took the garrison completely by surprise, and, after
a short and desultory fight, more than 700 officers and men gave
up their swords and laid down their arms to a little less than one
half of their own number. Of the men, nearly all were well enough
to march to Algiers four days later, after being paroled. Worse
still, they abandoned a fortified position with 11 heavy guns--24-,
30-, and 32-pounders. The Confederate loss was 3 killed and 18
wounded. Hunter says the Union troops lost 46 killed and 40 wounded,
but about this there seems to be some mistake, for the proportion
is unusual, and the whole loss of the 23d Connecticut in killed
and wounded was but 7, of the 176th New York but 12.

Green crossed Berwick Bay as fast as he could, and pushing on found
the post at Bayou Ramos abandoned. The Union troops stationed
there had retired to Bayou Boeuf, and so at daylight on the 24th,
without feeling or firing a single shot, the united guards of the
two stations, numbering 433 officers and men, with four guns,
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Duganne, of the 176th New York,
promptly surrendered to the first bold summons of a handful of
Green's adventurous scouts riding five miles ahead of their column.
Taylor now turned over the immediate command of the force to Mouton
and hastened back to Alexandria to bring down Walker, in order to
secure and extend his conquests. Mouton marched at once on
Donaldsonville.

When the Union forces at La Fourche Crossing found the Confederates
returning in such strength, they made haste to fall back on New
Orleans, and were followed as far as Boutte Station by Waller's
and Pyron's battalions.

On the 27th of June, Green, with his own brigade, Major's brigade,
and Semmes's battery appeared before Donaldsonville, and demanded
the surrender of the garrison of Fort Butler. This was a square
redoubt, placed in the northern angle between the bayou and the
Missis