refused to grant, though
complimenting Gen. Wessels on the gallant manner in which he had defended
his works. He said that any further show of resistance would only result
in an unnecessary sacrifice of life, and if Wessels still persisted in
holding the works, and he was obliged to carry them by assault, he (Hoke)
would not be responsible for what followed. This Gen. Wessels construed as
a threat of a repetition of the Fort Pillow massacre, and saying, "You may
go back and open fire," haughtily turned on his heel and returned to the
fort. The men were well protected by heavy bomb-proofs, and only those who
were serving the guns were exposed to the fire of the rebel sharpshooters,
who occupied every available place on all sides, and were making fearful
havoc among them.

Twice was the flag staff shot away and replaced, and so effectual was the
fire of these sharpshooters, that it was almost certain death for any one
to approach a gun; when, after his nephew and aide-de-camp, Lieut. Foot,
had received a very severe wound while trying to rally the men to the
guns, the gallant old General reluctantly hauled down his flag, and
Plymouth was once more in the hands of the enemy.

Hoke had won a victory after four days of hard fighting, but at what a
fearful price. With eight thousand and veteran troops, and the assistance
of the huge iron-clad ram Albemarle, he had made prisoners of nearly two
thousand Union troops, after a loss of nearly or quite two thousand men in
killed and wounded. In fact the Petersburg papers of the 27th acknowledged
a loss of seventeen hundred in this battle.

CHAPTER V.

MARCHED OFF OVER THE BATTLEFIELD A PRISONER--AMONG THE ENEMIES DEAD AND
WOUNDED--EVIDENCES OF OUR DEADLY WORK--THE REBS GO A GUNNING FOR
"NIGGERS"--THE JOHNNIES APPROPRIATING MY WARDROBE--MASSACRE OF THE COLORED
TROOPS--THEY ARE DRAWN UP IN LINE AND SHOT DOWN LIKE DOGS BY ORDER OF
GENERAL HOKE--CARING FOR OUR WOUNDED AND BURYING OUR DEAD.

This attack commenced at half-past four, and at half-past six a. m. of
April 20th, I was a prisoner. As we marched past Comphor redoubt to the
Johnson farm, a mile to the south, we had an opportunity to witness the
terrible slaughter the victory had cost the enemy.

Dead bodies of men and animals were strewn in every direction. Broken
caissons and disabled cannon in front of these two redoubts showed plainly
what a terrific struggle had been gone through with in their front.

The pit