night, keeping the enemy awake and anxious.  The heavy boom of the artillery was followed by the squeak, squeak of Admiral Porter’s little tug, as he moved around making his arrangements for the morrow.  The sounds were ridiculous by comparison.  General Sherman and staff lay on the roots of an old oak-tree, that kept them partly clear of mud.  The cold was sharp, my right boot being frozen solid in a puddle in the morning.  About half-past two or three o’clock, General Sherman, with another and myself, crept in as close as possible and reconnoitred the position.  The general managed to creep in much closer than the rest of us—­in fact, so close as to cause us anxiety.  The enemy worked hard all night on their abatis and intrenchments, and in the morning we found a ditch and parapet running clear across the point on which the post was situated.  This point was cut by a road from the back country, across which was a heavy earthwork and a battery.  This road was at the extremity of our left.  General McClernand kept his head-quarters on his boat, the Tigress.  He came up in the morning to a place in the woods in our rear.  One of his staff, a cavalry-officer, climbed a tree to report movements; but from that point there was very little to be seen.  Between ten and eleven o’clock the fire opened from the fleet, and we opened along the whole line from infantry and field-guns.  Our men soon worked in close enough to keep down the fire of the enemy to a very marked degree.

After reporting to General Sherman, and while explaining the position of the fleet, the smoke-stacks and flags appeared above the fort.  What firing was going on in our immediate front ceased.  A good many rebels were in plain sight, running away from the fort and scattering.  While we were still surprised, the cry was raised that a white flag was hung out.  I did not see it, but in a few minutes saw others along the line, and just as the general started for the fort I saw the flag not far from the white house, near the parapet.  Orders were given to cease firing.  Captain Dayton was sent to the fort where the first flag was raised.  Some shots were fired and some men hurt after this.  The first rebel officer we encountered was Colonel or General Garland, commanding brigade, who was ordered to put his men in line and stack arms, which was done.  I was directed to pass along the line to the right, and cause the prisoners to stack arms and form our men in line, just outside the work.  This I did till I reached Deshler’s brigade, on our extreme right, or nearly so, and who was opposed to the right of Steele’s force.  Steele’s men had rushed up to the very foot of the parapet, and some were on it, though they did not fire.  The commander of the enemy (Deshler) refused to obey my orders to stack arms, and asked a good many questions as to “how it happened;” said he was not whipped, but held us in check, etc.  I told him there were eight or nine thousand men right there,