THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON.

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in fatherly pleasantries with the ranks when he thought circumstances jus-tified them. He never for a moment doubted the courage of volunteers;they were not regulars — that was all. If properly led, he believed they wouldstorm the gates of his Satanic Majesty. Their hour of trial was now come.

From his brief and characteristic conference with McClernand and myself,General Grant rode to General C. F. Smith. What took place between themis not known, further than that he ordered an assault upon the outworks as adiversion in aid of the assault about to be delivered on the right. GeneralSmith personally directed his chiefs of brigade to get their regiments ready.Colonel John Cook by his order increased the number of his skirmishersalready engaged with the enemy.

Taking Lauman’s brigade, General Smith began the advance. They wereunder fire instantly. The guns in the fort joined in with the infantry whowere at the time in the rifle-pits, the great body of the Confederate right wingbeing with General Buckner. The defense was greatly favored by the ground,which subjected the assailants to a double fire from the beginning of theabatis. The men have said that “it looked too thick for a rabbit to getthrough.” General Smith, on his horse, took position in the front and centerof the line. Occasionally he turned in the saddle to see how the alignment waskept. For the most part, however, he held his face steadily toward the enemy.He was, of course, a conspicuous object for the sharp-shooters in the rifle-pits.The air around him twittered with minie-bullets. Erect as if on review, herode on, timing the gait of his horse with the movement of his colors. Asoldier said: “ I was nearly scared to death, but I saw the old man’s whitemustache over his shoulder, and went on.”

On to the abatis the regiments moved without hesitation, leaving a trail ofdead and wounded behind. There the fire seemed to get trebly hot, and theresome of the men halted, whereupon, seeing the hesitation, General Smith puthis cap on the point of his sword, held it aloft, and called out, “No flinchingnow, my lads ? — Here — this is the way ! Come on ! ” He picked a paththrough the jagged limbs of the trees, holding his cap all the time in sight;and the effect was magical. The men swarmed in after him, and got throughin the best order they could — not all of them, alas ! On the other side of theobstruction they took the semblance of re-formation and charged in aftertheir chief, who found himself then between the two fires. Up the ascent herode; up they followed. At the last moment the keepers of the rifle-pitsclambered out and fled. The four regiments engaged in the feat — the 25thIndiana , and the 2d, 7th, and 14th Iowa — planted their colors on the breast-work. Later in the day, Buckner came back with his division; but all hisefforts to dislodge Smith were vain.

We left my division about to attempt the recapture of the hill, which hadbeen the scene of the combat between Pillow and McClernand . If only onaccount of the results which followed that assault, in connection with theheroic performance of General C. F. Smith, it is necessary to return to it.

Riding to my old regiments,— the 8th Missouri and the 11th Indiana, — Iasked them if they were ready. They demanded the word of me. Waiting