occasionally from their bow guns. The three wooden boats, according to Foote's orders, ranged themselves abreast, and followed half a mile or so to the rear. At half-past twelve the armored boats steamed up to a position just diagonally across the river, within six hundred yards of the batteries, and opened their bombardment. This was responded to vigorously from the fort. The firing, at so short a distance, was destructively accurate, especially on the side of the gun-boats. It was, in fact, terrific. An officer within the fort relates that it exceeded in terror any thing that the imagination had pictured of the power of shot and shell, plowing complete roads through the earth-works and sandbags, dismounting heavy guns and crippling others, setting on fire and bringing down buildings within the fortification, and cutting in two as with a scythe large trees in the neighborhood. Such a hurtling tempest of shot and shell was rained incessantly upon the enemy's works from those black floating batteries, which, however, in their turn were exposed to a hot fire from heavy guns well worked. Perceiving by her broad pennant that the Cincinnati was the flag-ship, and that her range and firing were better than that of the other boats, the rebels concentrated upon her a storm of solid shot, striking her thirty times. One 68-pound conical shot struck, bounding in the centre of the front part of the pilot-house, in which Commodore Foote, Captain Stembel, a midshipman, and the two pilots were standing; it did not perforate the vessel, but indented its side deeply. The shot that pierced or took effect were chiefly in the front sides of the vessel, which were not sheathed, and in the chimneys and works of the upper deck. The chimneys were perforated by eight or ten cannonballs, but were still serviceable after the fight. A 32-pound ball came through the forward angle of the starboard side, killing one seaman, and passed through the whole length of the lower deck without further damage. Many sailors were seriously wounded, and why no more were killed is extraordinary, as the Cincinnati stood up nearest the batteries—one account says within four hundred yards-and took their full brunt. The other vessels also were frequently hit with serious ef fect; and at about twenty minutes before one o'clock a 32pound shot struck the Essex just above one of her bow guns, killing a young officer, Samuel B. Brittan, master's mate; then going through the bulkhead in front of the boiler, it passed into the flue of the centre boiler, occasioning an escape of the steam and hot water, and dreadfully scalding all on the forward gun-deck, and the two pilots, who were almost immediately over the front of the boilers. Twenty men and officers were instantly killed or scalded by this explosion; and, among them, the brave Captain Porter himself was severely injured. The Essex was completely disabled, and was obliged at once to withdraw from the combat. But the fire from the fleet, both of the armored and wooden vessels, was so tremendous that the gunners of the enemy were driven from their posts, the 10-inch columbiad and other heavy guns silenced, and nothing could withstand its fury; and after a hot conflict, lasting an hour and twenty minutes, in which the forces under General Tilghman made a most determined resistance, the rebel flag was lowered, and, amid the wildest excitement and cheers of the crews, the victory was declared for the gun-boats. It was indeed a brilliant naval victory. By the force of circumstances that could not be foreseen nor prevented, the glory as well as the suffering of this battle belonged entirely to the naval forces. The Army strove earnestly to share in the fight, but the impetuosity of the sailors, combined with the heavy state of the roads, rendered it impossible for them to come up in time; and when they did come up, the thing was accomplished, and the fort, with all that it contained, Scene at the Fort. 203 was quietly handed over by Commodore Foote to General Grant. "A few minutes before the surrender," says the Southern historian, Pollard, "the scene in and around the fort exhibited a spectacle of fierce grandeur. Many of the cabins were in flames. Added to this were the curling and dense wreaths of smoke from the guns; the constant whizzing of fragments of crashing and bursting shells; the deafening roar of artillery; the black sides of five or six gun-boats, belching fire at every port-hole; the volumes of smoke settled in dense masses around the surrounding back-waters; and up and over that fog on the heights, the army of General Grant deploying around our small army, attempting to cut off its retreat. In the midst of the storm of shot and shell, the small force outside of the fort had succeeded in gaining the upper road, the gun-boats having failed to notice their movements until they were out of reach. To give them further time, the gallant Tilghman, exhausted and begrimed with powder and smoke, stood erect at the middle battery, and pointed gun after gun. It was clear, however, that the fort could not hold out much longer. A white flag was raised by the order of General Tilghman, who remarked, 'It is vain to fight longer. Our gunners are disabled—our guns dismounted. We can't hold out five minutes longer.' As soon as the token of submission was hoisted, the gun-boats came alongside the fort and took possession of it, their crews giving three cheers for the Union." It is related that, on meeting Foote, the rebel general remarked, "I am glad to surrender to so gallant an officer." Foote replied, "You do perfectly right, sir, in surrendering; but you should have blown my boat out of the water before I would have surrendered to you." This is the newspaper account; but Foote's own account of the interview, as related to a friend,* is different from this. "The facts are these," he * Mr. E. H. Leffingwell. |