The Indian: On the Battle-Field and in the Wigwam

The Indian scouts whom Bienville had sent in every direction to look for tidings of D’Artaguette, whom he had expected to operate his junction with him on this spot, had come back and brought no information. It was evident, therefore, that he could no longer hope for the co-operation on which he had relied, and that he had to trust only to his own resources. It was impossible to wait; and immediate action was insisted upon by the Choctaws and the French officers, who thought that the three small villages, which have been described, and which were the nearest to them, were not capable of much resistance. Bienville yielded to the solicitations of his allies and of his troops, and at two in the afternoon, ordered his nephew Noyan, to begin the attack, and to put himself at the head of a column composed of a company of grenadiers, of detachments of fifteen men taken from each one of the eight companies of the French regulars, of sixty-five men of the Swiss troops, and forty-five volunteers.

The French had approached within carbine shot of the forts, and at that distance, could plainly distinguish Englishmen, who appeared to be very active in assisting the Chickasaws in preparing their defence, and who had hoisted up their flag on one of the forts. Bienville recommended that they should not be assailed, if they thought proper to retire, and in order to give them time, should they feel so disposed, he ordered to confine the attack to the village, named Ackia, which flag was the most remote from the one under the English flag.

The order of the attack being given, the division commanded by Noyan moved briskly on, and under the protection of mantelets carried by the company of negroes, arrived safely at the foot of the hill on which the villages stood. But there, one of the negroes being killed, and another wounded, the rest flung down the mantelets, and took to their heels. The French pushed on, and penetrated into the village, with the company of grenadiers at their head. But being no longer under cover, and much exposed to the fire of the enemy, their losses were very heavy. The noble and brilliant Chevalier de Contre Coeur, a favorite in the army, was killed, and a number of soldiers shared his fate, or were disabled. However, three of the principal fortified cabins were carried by the impetuosity of the French, with several smaller ones which were burned. But as a pretty considerable intervening space remained to be gone over, to assail the chief fort and the other fortified cabins, when it became necessary to complete the success obtained, Noyan, who had headed the column of attack, turning round, saw that he had with him only the officers belonging to the head of the column, some grenadiers, and a dozen of volunteers. The troops had been dismayed by the death of Captain De Lusser, of one of the sergeants of the grenadiers, and of some of the soldiers of this company who had fallen, when they had attempted to cross the space separating the last cabin taken from the next to be taken; seeking for shelter against the galling fire of the enemy, they had clustered behind the cabins of which they had already taken possession, and it was impossible for the officers who commanded the tail of the column, to drive them away, either by threats, promises, or words of exhortation, from their secure position. Pitting themselves at the head of a few of their best soldiers, in order to encourage the rest, the officers resolved to make a desperate attempt to storm the fortified block-house they had in front of them. But in an instant, their commander, the Chevalier de Noyan, D’Hauterive, the captain of the grenadiers, Grondel, lieutenant of the Swiss, De Yelles, Montbrun, and many other officers were disabled. Still keeping his ground, De Noyan sent his aid-de-camp, De Juzan, to encourage and bring up to him the wavering soldiers, who had slunk behind the cabins. But, in making this effort, this officer was killed, and his death increased the panic of the troops.

Grondel, who had fallen near the walls of the enemy, had been abandoned, and a party of Indians was preparing to sally out to scalp him, when a sergeant of grenadiers, ashamed of the cowardice which had left an officer in this perilous and defenceless position, took with him four of his men, and rushed to the rescue of Grondel, without being intimidated by bullets as thick as hail. These five intrepid men reached in safety the spot where Grondel lay, and they were in the act of lifting him up to carry him away, when a general discharge from the fort prostrated every one of them dead by the side of him they had come to save. But this noble deed was not lost upon the army; the electrical stroke had been given, and was responded to by the flashing out of another bright spark of heroism. A grenadier, named Regnisse, rather inflamed than dastardized by the fate of his companions, dashed out of the ranks of his company, ran headlong to the place where Grondel lay weltering in his blood, from the five wounds he had received, took him on his athletic shoulders, and carried him away in triumph, amid the general acclamations and enthusiastic bravos of those who witnesses the feat. To the astonishment of all, he had the good luck to pass unscathed through the fire which was poured upon him by the enemy, but the inanimate body of Grondel which he was transporting received a sixth wound. So generously saved from the Indian tomahawk, this officer slowly recovered, and when subsequently raised to a high rank in the French army.

Noyan, seeing at last that he was exposing himself and his brave companions in vain and fainting from the effects of his wounds, ordered a retreat from the open field, and taking shelter in one of the cabins, sent word to Bienville, that he had lost about seventy men, and that if prompt relief was not sent the detachment would be annihilated. On hearing this report, Bienville sent Beauchamp with a reserve of eighty men, to support the troops engaged, and to bring off the wounded and dead. Beauchamp reached the spot where the little band of Frenchmen was concentrated, and where the strife had been hottest. Seeing that no headway could be made he covered the retreat of the band, and brought off to the French camp most of the wounded and dead. The Choctaws, who had left the French to shift for themselves, seeing them retreat, wished to show their spirit, and made a movement, as if to storm the village. But a general discharge from the enemy, killing twenty-two of their men caused them to make a retrogade movement, much to the amusement of the French. The battle had lasted during three hours, and when evening came, the scene was as quiet as if the blast of war had never scared the birds from the trees or the cattle from the plain.

After the severe repulse which the French had met, nothing remained but for them to retreat. Bienville saw that he could not depend upon the Choctaws, and the fortifications of the Chickasaws were too strong to be carried without cannon and mortars. On the 22d of May, the day following that of the battle of Ackia, Bienville had litters made to transport the wounded; and at one in the afternoon, the army formed itself into two columns, which had been the order of marching in coming, it began its retrogade movement. The troops were much worn out with the fatigue they had undergone, and the labor of transporting the baggage and wounded was difficult. Slow marching disgusted the Choctaws, and one portion of them, headed by the chief Red Shoe, wished to abandon the French. But the more numerous part, aided by the eloquence of Bienville, succeeded in inducing them to remain.

On the 29th, the French reached the place where they had left their boats. They found the river falling fast, and they hastened to embark the same day. After a laborious passage, they arrived at Tombigbee on the 2d of June, and from, thence returned to New Orleans. The expedition had been well planned, and vigorously executed, but unforseen circumstances defeated it. The Chickasaws had proven much better warriors than they had been thought to be, and had defended themselves with an obstinacy as unexpected as it was successful. The English supported that tribe in their war with the French, and they were thus enabled to main-themselves against all the expeditions sent against them.