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cer, as flag-captain of the Benton, and will then have an easy time myself. He is bold and cautious.*

"You need have no fears about us now, as we will keep off a good distance from the fort at Clarksville, and let the mortar-boats do most of the work. I hope to find two of your letters, which are adrift somewhere, as they were sent to me at Fort Donelson. I have but little idea that the rebels will make a stand at Columbus; they will abandon it now that the Tennessee and Cumberland are about being cleanly swept out.

"I hope in a week or two to throw away my crutches and be well again. My two little wounds at the gun and the pilot-house would give me no trouble if one of them had not been on the foot. I can not write, we are so much shaken up.

"I have hosts of papers sent me, as well as letters; but I will be a ninedays' lion only, as this war brings out men too fast for any one to attract attention long.

"I shall have a good sleep to-night with a wet cloth on my left foot, and I hope to be rid of its bother soon.

"May God watch over and preserve you all is the prayer of

"Ever your affectionate husband,

A. H. FOOTE."

"U. S. FLAG-STEAMER 'CONESTOGA,' FORT DONELSON,

CUMBERLAND RIVER, Feb. 18, 1862.

“MY DEAR WIFE,-- Yours of the 7th reached me to-day. I telegraphed at the close of the fight at Fort Donelson, where we so demoralized the rebels that the fort fell a prey to the army the next day, as they are afraid to see the black boats coming into their teeth and belching forth shot and shells. A rebel colonel told one of our officers to-day that the army never could have taken the fort had it not been for the gun-boats. We came within an ace of getting it, as two hundred yards farther would have placed us so that their guns could not bear upon us, and then we would have mowed them down; but I am satisfied and rather glad that the army did take the fort, as they have fought like tigers and lost almost two thousand men. It was a horrid fight; and Aunty would think so if she saw the mutilated dead. It is an exceedingly strong fort, and the rebels had no idea it could be taken. One of the gun-boats has burned John Bell's iron rolling-mill, with property worth two hundred thousand dollars, and took his partner prisoner. I go up with this vessel and an iron-clad to-morrow on a reconnoissance as far as Clarksville.

* A man evidently after his own heart.

His Opinion concerning Fort Donelson.

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Had I had time to do this before I made the attack on Fort Donelson, I should have taken it. On Friday we hope to try our hand on Clarksville with four boats and eight mortars. They can not stand it long. I consider that our danger is past, and you need not in the future be at all uneasy. Generals Grant and Smith have been to see me to-day. We are all friendly as brothers; and I have strong faith and hope, under God, that we now shall have victory upon victory.

"I will not describe the scene here-the taking off of twelve thousand prisoners-the dead and wounded on the shore-the bands playing all the while the good spirits and life of our people-the number of steamboats-the battered forts and riddled houses in Dover, etc., etc. I have for you a pair of double heavy rebel blankets. I have also for the boys a double-barreled gun. I am tired; still on crutches, but am getting better. Kisses and love to the children. Affectionately, A. H. F."

There can be no doubt, judging from these letters and other evidences, that Foote truly thought he had with his gun-boats nearly accomplished the subdual of the fort, even as he had done in the case of Fort Henry. He said more than once that within ten or fifteen minutes he would have done it. He probably may have erred in this, since the two cases were not entirely parallel, owing to the greatly superior strength of Fort Donelson, and the much larger army force within its walls. But we have his own opinion in the case distinctly averred, and he was certainly no incompetent judge. He went into the fight, as he says, " against his own judgment." He did not consider his boats ready for the conflict, and the event showed he was right; and, moreover, he had not time to get up his mortar-fleet, which he had confidently depended upon in this second more important and difficult service. On the 11th of February he wrote to Secretary Welles:

"I leave again to-night with the Louisville, Pittsburg, and St. Louis, to co-operate with the army in the attack on Fort Donelson. I go reluctantly, as we are very short of men; and transferring men from vessel to vessel, as we have to do, is having a very demoralizing effect upon them. Twenty-eight men ran off to-day, hearing that they were to be sent out of their vessels. I do hope that the six hundred men will be sent imme

diately. I shall do all in my power to render the gun-boats effective in the fight, although they are not properly manned; but I must go, as General Halleck wishes it. If we could wait ten days, and I had the men, I would go with eight mortar-boats and six armored boats."

If, instead of this thoroughly equipped fleet, with mortarboats to support at a distance and to shell the upper works, and gun-boats for the lower batteries, we remember that he had but four armored boats, and these not well-fitted and manned, we can not cease to wonder at the audacity of the attack. It was truly a sacrifice to a dire war necessity; and the valor and skill with which the fight was made were the only reasons why they were not wholly destroyed.

The orders of General Halleck, which precipitated the gunboat attack, were the two following telegrams:

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February 11, 1862. "FLAG-OFFICER FOOTE,-You have gained great distinction by the capture of Fort Henry. Every body recognizes your services. Make your name famous in history by the immediate capture of Fort Donelson and Clarksville. The taking of these places is a military necessity. Delay adds strength to them more than to us. Act quickly, even though only half ready. Troops will soon be ready to support you.

"(Signed) H. W. HALLECK, Major-General.”

"February 12, 1862.

"FLAG-OFFICER FOOTE,-Push forward the Cumberland expedition with all possible dispatch. In addition to the land forces at Paducah and on their way from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, I shall send one regiment from here on Thursday, one on Friday, and one on Saturday. Push ahead boldly and quickly. I will give you plenty of support in a few days' time. Now every thing for use. Don't delay an instant. “(Signed) H. W. HALLECK, Major-General.”

But other services remained to be done. With a spirit of cheerful alacrity, in spite of disappointments and sufferings, Foote girded himself anew to the work, and we hear of him shortly after farther up the Cumberland, busily issuing proc lamations, and zealous to push on to Nashville and the heart of the Southern Confederacy.

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THE ablest of the rebel generals who commanded at the Southwest, Albert Sidney Johnston, declared that he "fought for Nashville at Fort Donelson." Commodore Foote was also among the first to perceive the truth of this; and he urged Halleck and Grant, at the moment when the panic occasioned by the fall of the forts was at its height, to send a detachment of troops to Nashville, or to let him go at once with his gunboats. For some reason this request was not complied with by Halleck, and Foote was not suffered to proceed farther than Clarksville, a fortified post some sixty miles north of Nashville. The river was open above this point, and his fleet, carrying with it so formidable a prestige, might easily have taken possession of the important city of Nashville, with its immense amount of military stores, which was not actually taken possession of until the 25th or 27th of February, when it was entered without opposition by an army force under General Buell, accompanied by two gun-boats.

After burning the "Tennessee Iron Works," six miles from Dover, on the 19th of February the commodore, with two gun-boats, ascended the Cumberland to Clarksville, to attack • the rebel fort at that place, situated at the mouth of a small stream called Red River; but the report of the commander will best tell the story:

"U. S. FLAG-STEAMER 'CONESTOGA,' CLARKSVILLE,

TENNESSEE, February 20, 1862.

"We have possession of Clarksville. The citizens being alarmed, two thirds of them have fled; and having expressed my views and intentions to the mayor and the Hon. Cave Johnson, at their request I have issued a proclamation, assuring all peaceably disposed persons that they may with safety resume their business avocations, requiring only the military stores and equipments to be given up, and holding the authorities responsible that this shall be done without reservation.

"I left Fort Donelson yesterday, with the Conestoga, Lieutenant-Commanding Phelps, and the Cairo, Lieutenant-Commanding Bryant, on an armed reconnoissance, bringing with me Colonel Webster, of the engineer corps, and chief of General Grant's staff, who, with Lieutenant-Commanding Phelps, took possession of the principal fort, and hoisted the Union flag. A Union sentiment manifested itself as we came up the river. The rebels have retreated to Nashville, having set fire, against the remonstrances of the citizens, to the splendid railroad bridge across the Cumberland River.

"I return to Fort Donelson to-day for another gun-boat and six or eight mortar-boats, with which I propose to proceed up the Cumberland. The rebels all have a terror of the gun-boats. One of them, a short distance above Fort Donelson, had previously fired an iron rolling-mill belonging to the Hon. John Bell, which had been used by the rebels. "A. H. FOOTE,

"Flag-Officer, commanding Naval Forces, Western Waters.

"The Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy."

The proclamation to the citizens of Clarksville was as follows:

"To the Inhabitants of Clarksville, Tennessee.

"At the suggestion of the Hon. Cave Johnson, Judge Wisdom, and the mayor of the city, who called upon me yesterday, after our hoisting of the Union flag and taking possession of the forts, to ascertain my views and intentions toward the citizens and private property, I hereby announce to all peaceably disposed persons that neither in their persons nor in their property shall they suffer molestation by me or the naval force under my command, and that they may in safety resume their business avocations, with the assurance of my protection.

"At the same time, I require that all military stores and army equip

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