ss country to strike
into the cut-off road beyond the northern outskirts of Franklin.
Not an instant too soon, for in the confusion Sibley had fired the
bridge over the Choupique and across the blazing timbers lay Mouton's
last hope of escape. Hardly had his men reached the north bank in
safety when Weitzel's advance guard came in sight down the road.
They galloped to the bridge only to find it impassable.

Before retiring the Confederates blew up the _Diana_ and applied
the match to all their transport steamers on the Teche save the
hospital boat, the _Cornie_, which loaded with the sick and wounded
of Bisland fell into the hands of the Union forces. Captain Semmes,
who had but the day before left his battery to command the _Diana_,
was taken prisoner, with all his crew. He and Weitzel had been
friends and classmates at West Point; he now refused the offered
courtesies of his captor, and a few hours later, finding himself
rather loosely guarded, cleverly managed to regain his liberty.

To return to Grover. The situation of the enemy's force in his
front, the vigorous resistance encountered in his advance, and
lastly, the information gathered from the prisoners he had taken,
had convinced him that he had to deal with Taylor's whole force,
save a small rear-guard, and that Taylor had already succeeded in
passing him, so that it was no longer possible to cut the Confederate
line of retreat. Indeed, Grover seems rather to have thought that
Taylor meant to attack him. It was while careful reconnoissances
were being conducted to develop the true facts that Taylor slipped
away, as we have seen, having thus adroitly extricated himself from
the net spread in his sight.

About two o'clock, however, as Taylor did not attack, Grover moved
forward, and as he marched down the bayou road soon met Emory coming
up, as related in the last chapter.

Banks, seeing that the bridge could not be made passable before
morning, and that nothing was to be gained by marching his tired
troops over the long roundabout of the bayou road, went into bivouac
early in the afternoon, covering the northern approaches of Franklin.
Grover occupied his battle-field of the morning, Emory held the
bayou road between Grover and the town, and Weitzel the cut-off
road.

Taylor crossed the Cypremort and having marched fifteen miles since
quitting Franklin, or twenty-five since midnight, rested near
Jeannerette.

Grover reported his loss during the 1