guns, had just come down and was near the Osage. The
Lexington, gunboat, Lieutenant Bache, was near the northern shore, but
afloat. The vessels being thus situated, a sudden attack was made from
the right bank by 2,000 of the enemy's infantry and four field pieces.
The gunboats, the Rob Roy with her siege guns, and two field pieces on
the other transports all replied, the Hastings, of course, casting off
from her dangerous neighborhood. This curious contest lasted for
nearly two hours, the Confederate sharpshooters sheltering themselves
behind the trees, the soldiers on board the transports behind bales of
hay. There could be but one issue to so ill-considered an attack, and
the enemy, after losing 700 men, were driven off; their commander,
General Thomas Green, a Texan, being among the slain. The large loss
is accounted for by the fact that besides the two thousand actually
engaged there were five thousand more some distance back, who shared
in the punishment.

The following day an attack was made from the north bank, but no more
from the south before reaching Grand Ecore on the 14th and 15th. The
admiral himself, being concerned for the safety of his heavy vessels
in the falling river, hurried there on the 13th, and on his arrival
reported the condition of things above to Banks, who sent out a force
to clear the banks of guerillas as far as where the transports lay.
Lieutenant-Commander Phelps had already moved all the vessels below
the bar at Grand Ecore, but had recalled four to cover the army when
it returned. The admiral now sent them all below to move slowly toward
Alexandria. His position was one of great perplexity. The river ought
to be rising, but was actually falling; there was danger if he delayed
that he might lose some of the boats, but on the other hand he felt it
would be a stain upon the navy to look too closely to its own safety,
and it was still possible that the river might take a favorable turn.
He had decided to keep four of the light-draughts above the bar till
the very last moment, remaining with them himself, when he received
news that the Eastport had been sunk by a torpedo eight miles below.
The accident happened on the 15th, the vessel having been previously
detained on the bar nearly twenty-four hours. The admiral left
Lieutenant-Commander Selfridge in charge at Grand Ecore and at once
went to the scene, where he found the Eastport in shoal water but sunk
to her gun-deck, the water on one s