"When the flag-ship ceases firing, it will be a signal for the other vessels also to cease. As the vessels will be all so near one another, verbal communication will be held with the commander-in-chief when it is wanted. The commander-in-chief has every confidence in the spirit and valor of the officers and men under his command, and his only solicitude arises lest the firing should be too rapid for precision, and that coolness and order, so essential to complete success, should not be observed; and hence he has, in this general order, expressed his views, which must be observed by all under his command. A. H. FOOTE, "Flag-Officer Commanding Naval Forces on Western Waters." (Order No. 2.) "U. S. GUN-BOAT 'TAYLOR,' OHIO RIVER, February 2, 1862. "The division of the three gun-boats not armored, and, consequently, not prepared to encounter at so short a range the batteries of the fort as the four armored boats, will take a position astern, and, if practicable, inshore of the right of the main division. Lieutenant-Commanding Phelps, in charge of this division, from his great experience and successful charge of our interest for most of the time on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, will, I trust, be enabled to throw shells into Fort Henry, with no greater exposure of his division, comparatively, than to that of the armored boats, while the main division, more directly in the face of the fort, attempts to dismount its guns in close range. The captains of this division will also see that no gun is fired without accurate aim, as we have no ammunition to throw away. "Great care must be observed lest our troops should be mistaken for the enemy. When the main division ceases firing, it will be an indication that the fort is ready to surrender. A. H. FOOTE.” (Order No. 3.) "U. S. GUN-BOAT TAYLOR,' PADUCAH, February 2, 1862. "Lieutenant-Commanding Phelps will, as soon as the fort shall have surrendered, and upon signal from the flag-ship, proceed with the Conestoga, Taylor, and Lexington up the river to where the railroad bridge crosses, and if the Army shall not already have got possession, he will destroy so much of the track as will entirely prevent its use by the rebels. "He will then proceed as far up the river as the stage of water will admit, and capture the enemy's gun-boats, and other vessels which might prove available to the enemy. A. H. FOOTE." ́ Moving of Combined Forces on Fort Henry. 199 It was necessary to move cautiously up the Tennessee on account of torpedoes. After some delay from this source, under the skillful direction of Lieutenant Phelps, eight of these "floating mines" were successfully fished up in the channel off Panther Island. 66 They were cylinders of sheetiron, five feet and a half long, pointed at each end, each containing in a canvas bag seventy-five pounds of gunpowder, with a simple apparatus for exploding it by means of a percussion-cap, to be operated upon by means of a lever, extending to the outside, and moved by its striking a vessel. These were anchored in the river a little below the surface." 99-% As the vessels moved on, the woods were shelled to discovér concealed batteries. On the night of the 5th there was a severe storm, which put the troops who had been landed to great inconvenience and suffering, and also flooded the neighboring region, causing the river to rise rapidly. But on the morning of the 6th all was in readiness for the attack of the combined forces. McClernand's division moved first, up the eastern side of the Tennessee, to get into position between forts Henry and Donelson, and be in readiness to storm the former from the rear, or to intercept the retreat of the Confederates, while two brigades of Smith's division, that were to make the attack, marched up the west side of the river, to assist and capture half-finished Fort Hieman, situated upon a great hill, and from that commanding point to bring artillery to bear upon Fort Henry.+ The rain of the preceding night had swollen every little stream, so that it was necessary to build bridges to get the artillery over, and the roads were in such a condition that, * Lossing's "Civil War in America," vol. ii., p. 202, note. though the distance was but five miles, and never men worked harder, they were still some considerable distance from their destination when the battle had commenced. General Lewis Wallace, who was with Smith's division, wrote: "The guns of the fleet opened while we were yet quite a mile from our objective. Our line of march was nearly parallel with the line of fire to and from the gun-boats. Not more than seven hundred yards separated us from the great shells, in their roaring, fiery passage. Without suffering from their effect, we had the full benefit of their indescribable and terrible noise. Several times I heard the shots of the fort crash against the iron sides of the boats. You can imagine the excitement and martial furor the circumstances were calculated to inspire our men with." At about ten o'clock on Thursday morning, February 6th, the little flotilla started slowly and steadily up the river, along the west channel, by Panther Island, the four iron-clads leading abreast-the flag-ship in the centre-and as they drew near the fort firing |