Thunder on Bayou Meto

Thunder on Bayou Meto. Confederate Artillery in the Battle for Reed's Bridge. As Reed's Bridge burned and Confederate artillery broke up the charge of the First Iowa Cavalry Regiment, Union artillery opened fire on Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke at his position near Lt. Charlie Bell's "little teaser" prairie gun. An exploding shell killed Bell and wounded Major C.C. Rainwater, Marmaduke's aide, among others., As Bell's crippled gun was pulled to the rear, Marmaduke called up Captain Joseph Bledsoe's Battery of two ten-pounder Parrott rifles and a pair of six-pounder smoothbore cannon. Using information Lieutenant Richard Collins had gathered by crossing Bayou Meto to scout out the Union artillery position, Bledsoe's Battery opened a blistering barrage on the Yankee cannon. As the big guns of the opposing forces blasted away at each other, both Union and Confederate riflemen paused to watch the spectacle of an artillery duel. , "The enemy at first put their shots in well but as Dick Collins worked his guns down closer and closer upon them, and made their position warmer and warmer, their firing became less regular and accurate, until, as shot after shot took effect upon them, they entirely lost their coolness and precision, and sent their shells recklessly through the tops of the trees, destroying much foliage and frightening the wild birds terribly." Maj. John Newman Edwards, C.S.A., Photo captions , Bottom left: Though not depicting the battle at Reed's Bridge, this illustration shows a gun crew at work. Bledsoe's Battery would have looked much like this during the fighting on Bayou Meto. Courtesy washingtonartillery.com . , Top right: Capt. Joseph Bledsoe's Battery included two six-pounder smoothbore cannon similar to the one shown in the drawing here. The six-pounder was one of the most common cannon used by both sides during the Civil War. 1864 Instructions for Field Artillery, U.S. War Department. , Bottom right: This image shows a Confederate mountain howitzer in Richmond, Virginia, after its capture by Federal troops. Lt. Charlie Bell's battery had a similar cannon atop a larger carriage, called a "Prairie carriage." Courtesy Library of Congress.