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BOMBARDMENT OF FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 89

of Jackson, distant 23 to three miles; | Fort Jackson not being extinguished all were under orders to concentrate till 2 next morning. But its batteries their fire on Fort Jackson, that being opened as lively as ever at sunrise, the larger and more important work, and at 11:30 one of their rifled bolts whose fall necessarily involved that crashed through one of our schooners, of Fort St. Philip. sinking her in 20 minutes; while the Oneida, in our advance, was twice hit in the afternoon, two of her guncarriages smashed, and 9 of her men wounded. The fort had evidently suffered by the day's work; but the fathomless mud of the Mississippi seemed exactly constituted to absorb our shells, with the least possible harm to all around. Gen. Butler and staff arrived during that afternoon, and went up in a small boat to take a look at the chain; which, it had begun by this time to be understood, was badly in the way, and must be subjected to an operation.

At 9 a. M., before our mortar vessels were ready, Fort Jackson opened fire; but her balls struck the water 100 yards short of our gunboat Owasco, which held the advance, and which was first to reply. Capt. Porter, who commanded the mortar fleet, watched through his glass the effect of our very deliberate fire, constantly giving new directions, founded on his observations, as to the elevation of pieces, length of fuse, and weight of charge. By 10 A. M., both parties had closed their experiments, and were firing steadily and heartily, though as yet with little visible effect, save that the fish in the river, stunned and killed by the tremendous concussions, had begun to float past our anchored vessels. Soon, three more rafts are seen sweeping down from the new barrier of chains and hulks, and, as they approach, are dealt with as their predecessor had been, without interrupting the fire of our guns. At 4 P. M., Gen. Butler's little dispatch steamer Saxon arrived, with news that the army was below, ready and waiting for service, and that the Monitor had disabled the Merrimac in Hampton Roads. At 5, flames were seen bursting from Fort Jackson, whose fire slackened; and it was manifest that its wooden interior had been ignited, like that of Fort Sumter in the initial bombardment of the war. The Rebel forts ceased firing, as our boats did, an hour later, and the night passed silently; the flames in

The bombardment having been continued through a third day without encouraging result, Capt. Farragut called a council of captains in the cabin of his flag-ship Hartford, and, having heard all opinions, decided on an attempt to force a passage by the forts. To this end, it was essential that the cable should first be broken; and to Capt. Bell, with the gunboats Pinola and Itasca, supported by the Iroquois, Kennebec, and Winona, was assigned the conduct of this critical undertaking; which, the night being dark, it was determined to attempt forthwith; and, at 10 P. M., the Pinola and Itasca had set out on their perilous errand; Capt. Porter, so soon as they were out of range of his guns, opening upon Fort Jackson a tremendous fire from all his mortar-schooners, under which the Pinola ran up toward the cable near the western shore, directly under the guns of the

water and down into the kindly darkness; each vessel entirely unharmed: and the opening thus made in the barrier was speedily and constantly enlarged by the current, so that a boat's crew from the Itasca, pulling up in the thick darkness two nights later, found nothing to obstruct the upward passage of our fleet. A new and grander fire-raft was sent down two hours after the chains

fort; and, nearing one of the hulks, Mr. Kroehl, the inventor of a new and powerful petard, threw it on board; but it failed to explode, because the Pinola, having stopped her engine a moment too soon, was whirled away on the rushing current, snapping the wire hitherto connected with the petard. The wind blowing fiercely from the north, it was half an hour before the Pinola was again minding her helm, with her bow to-were broken, only to be caught and ward the chain,

Meanwhile, the Itasca, Captain Caldwell, had steamed up to the chain-supporting hulk next in order eastward, and, making fast to its side, her men, who had boarded the hulk, were studying in the darkness the economy of the cable. A rocket thrown up from Fort Jackson favored them with a fitful, transient light, to which a cannonade, instantly opened on them from both forts, seemed to add very little; but they steadily went on with their business; and in half an hour the great chain, vigorously plied with sledge and chisel, had been cut; the cables by which the hulk was anchored had been slipped; and now the hulk, still chained to the nearer shore, was swept resistlessly round by flood and wind until it grounded in the mud of the bank, pulling the lashed Itasca along with it, and driving her fast aground directly in the range of both forts. By this time, however, the Pinola was ready to come to her rescue; and, after an hour of earnest tugging, and parting two 5-inch hawsers, she finally grappled her with an 11-inch cable, and, by help of steam and current, dragged her again into deep

served as her predecessors had been.

The bombardment was continued two days farther; in part, because two of our gunboats had been so much injured as to require assistance for their rapid repair. The morning of the 24th was fixed on for the grand attempt, of which the Rebel officers somehow had an intimation; so that, throughout the preceding day, the forts were silently preparing for the eventful hour at hand, while our bombardment was little more than a formality. Meantime, Duncan reported from Fort Jackson that he had suffered very little, though 25,000 13-inch shells had been fired at him, whereof 1,000 had fallen within the fort. (We had actually fired 5,000 only.) "God is certainly protecting us," was his assurance.

Farragut's arrangements for passing the forts were completed at sunset." The mortar-boats, retaining their stations, were to cover the advance with their utmost possible fire. Six small steamers-the Harriet Lane, Westfield, Owasco, Clinton, Miami, and Jackson, the last towing the Portsmouth-were to engage the water battery below Fort Jackson, but not attempt to pass. Capt. Farragut himself, with his 12 April 23.

OUR FLEET ATTEMPTS TO PASS THE FORTS.

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The silence was broken by our mortars, whose gunners, prepared for the rapidest possible fire, at once filled the air with their shells, and roared out to the Rebels their warning that the hour had come. As our ships in their three lines closely followed each other, Capt. Bailey, in the Cayuga, was first observed and opened upon by both forts as he was passing through the breach in the barrier. He did not choose to give better direction to the enemy's fire by replying; and, though their balls were abundant, they mainly passed over and around him. Approaching Fort St. Philip, he ran close under her guns, giving her broadsides of grape and canister as he passed; the Pensacola, Mississippi, and Varuna, pressing closely in his wake, followed his commendable example. All of his division passed the forts essentially uninjured.

three largest ships-the Hartford, I so swift, the night so heavy, that the Richmond, and Brooklyn-was to fleet advanced but four miles per keep near the western bank, fighting hour. Fort Jackson; while Capt. Bailey, with the Cayuga, Pensacola, Mississippi, Oneida, Varuna, Katahdin, Kineo, and Wissahickon, was to hug the eastern bank, exchanging compliments with Fort St. Philip. Capt. Bell, with the third division-consisting of the Scioto, Iroquois, Pinola, Winona, Itasca, and Kennebec-was to keep the middle of the river, and, disregarding the forts, to attack and vanquish the Rebel fleet in waiting above. Lieut. Weitzel had wisely suggested that, as the guns of the forts had been fired at a high elevation in order to reach their remote assailants, and as the vessels would naturally be expected to keep the middle of the river, the Rebel gunners would be pretty sure to fire over them if they kept close to the respective shores. All being ready, Gen. Butler and his staff went on board the Saxon; every naval officer was at his post; and the silence was only broken by an occasional fire from the mortar-sloops. At 11 P. M., a signal from the Itasca announced that the opening in the cable was still unclosed. The night was dark and heavy; the moon-what there was of it-would rise at 3 a. M.

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Capt. Bell's division was less fortunate. The Pinola, Scioto, and Iroquois, ran the gauntlet of the forts unharmed; but the Itasca, when directly opposite St. Philip, received a volley of balls, one of which pierced her boiler and compelled her to drift down the river. The Winona recoiled from that fire, and failed to pass. The Kennebec was caught in the cable; and, when liberated, lost her way in the dense smoke; finally returning to her former anchorage below the forts.

At 1," all hands were called, steam got up, the last preparations made, and at 2 the signal to weigh anchor was given from the flag-ship. Half an hour later, Farragut's division was ready. Capt. Bailey, a little slower, was farther away; it was 3 before Capt. Farragut, in the fore rigging the latter was fairly abreast of Far- of the Hartford, anxiously watching ragut, when each division moved si- every visible movement through his lently up stream. The current was night-glass, had advanced within a

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mile and a quarter of Fort Jackson, | silenced, and her garrison were seen by our men in the tops of the Brooklyn, by the fitful flashes of their bursting shrapnel, running like sheep to their coverts. Thus passing the upper fort, Capt. Craven engaged several of the Rebel gunboats, at 60 to 100 yards. He was an hour and a half under fire, lost 8 killed and 26 wounded, while his ship was badly cut up by shot and shell; but she bore her full part in the attack on the Rebel batteries below New Or leans next morning.

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when he was opened upon from that Fort and repeatedly struck. Still steaming directly for the fort, and replying only from his two forecastle guns, when within half a mile he sheered and gave them broadsides of grape and canister, which soon drove every man from their barbette guns; but those in the casemates rendered full and quick returns for every volley received. The Richmond, closely following, hurled grape and canister in profusion. The Brooklyn, bringing up the rear, ran over one of the hulks which had upheld the chain, during a hot fire from Fort St. Philip. Hardly had she been freed from the hulk and her head turned up stream, when the ram Manassas came butting into her starboard gangway, first opening her iron trap-door at ten feet distance and firing at the smoke-stack of the Brooklyn a heavy bolt, which was caught and stopped by the sand-bags protecting her steam-drum. A guard of chain armor, which had been woven over her sides, shielded her from destruction by the ram, which soon slid off and disappeared in the darkness. A few minutes later, while still under a raking fire from Fort Jackson, the Brooklyn was attacked by a large Rebel steamer, to which she gave a broadside at 50 yards, setting it in-captives proved to be the Chalmette stantly on fire and putting an end to regiment, Col. Sysmanski. Their flag, its career. Still groping onward in tents, and camp equipage, formed a the thick darkness, Capt. Craven part of the spoils. soon found himself abreast of Fort St. Philip, and so near that his leadsman reported 13 feet of water. Bringing all his guns to bear for a few moments, he poured in grape and canister so that the fort was completely

The Cayuga, having saluted and passed Fort St. Philip at short range, still pushing on, encountered, when just out of fire of the fort, the entire Rebel flotilla, consisting of 18 gunboats, including the Manassas and Louisiana. For a moment, her doom seemed certain, as no supporting ship was to be seen. By skillful steering, however, Capt. Bailey avoided all their attempts to butt and board, and had already forced three of the less formidable to surrender, when the Varuna and Oneida were seen coming to the rescue. At early dawn, perceiving a Rebel camp on the right bank of the river, Capt. Bailey anchored close beside it, and ordered the Rebels to pile their arms on the bank and come on board as prisoners, which was obeyed. The

The Varuna, having safely passed the forts, found herself" amid a nest of Rebel steamers,"" into which she plunged, firing broadsides at each as she passed it, exploding the boiler of the first, which appeared to be 14 Commander Boggs's official report.

THE REBEL FLOTILLA VANQUISHED.

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crowded with troops; when it drifted | sel. The Oneida, seeing her sinking, ashore, a wreck. Three other ves- had rushed to her assistance; but

Boggs waved her on to the Morgan, which, already in flames, surrendered; she had lost over 50 of her crew killed and wounded, and was set on fire by her commander, who left his wounded to the flames. Fifteen minutes after she struck, the Varuna was on the bottom, with only her top-gallant forecastle out of water. Her crew gained the shore, losing every thing but the clothes they stood in.

Our loss in this desperate fight, not including 6 or 7 previously disabled on the mortar-boats, was reported as only 30 killed and 119 wounded; the fleet surgeon adding that several vessels had not yet made their official return. The Brooklyn, Pensacola, and Iroquois, had suffered most severely.

sels, one of them a gunboat, were likewise driven ashore and blown up. At 6 A. M., the Morgan, partially iron-clad, commanded by Beverly Kennon (late of our navy), attacked the Varuna, giving her a raking fire along the port gangway, which killed 4 and wounded 9 of her crew, then butted her on the quarter and again on the starboard side, but without sinking or disabling her. Meanwhile, the Varuna had planted three 8-inch shells in her assailant, abaft her armor, with several shot from one of our rifled guns; when she drifted out of the fight, partially disabled. Ere this time, another Rebel iron-clad, with a beak under water, had struck the Varuna in the port gangway, doing considerable damage, while our shot glanced harmlessly from the armor of the Rebel boat. The enemy then backed off for another blow, and struck again in the same place, crushing in the Varuna's side; but she being under full head-up to the city on horseback, narrowly way, her enemy's beak for a moment stuck fast in her side, and the ram was drawn around nearly beside our steamer, which was thereby enabled to plow her with five 8-inch shells abaft her armor. This finished her performance, and she drifted ashore, a burning wreck; while the Varuna, now in a sinking condition, was run into the bank by her commander, her anchor let go, and her bow made fast to the trees; her guns all the time at work crippling the Morgan, which was making feeble efforts to get up steam. When the water had risen over his gun-trucks, Commander Boggs turned his attention to getting the wounded and crew out of his ves

Gen. Lovell, who had witnessed the combat of our fleet with his forts and flotilla, and its triumph, hastened

escaping capture on the way, and gave orders to Gen. Smith, in command of the land defenses, to make all possible resistance at the earthworks below the town; but the high stage of water, causing the guns of our vessels to command the earthworks, rendered them untenable by infantry. An attempt was made to raise 1,000 desperate volunteers who would undertake to board and carry our vessels by assault; but only 100 could be found. In short, New Orleans was lost when our fleet had passed the forts; and all her intelligent Rebels knew it.

Gen. Lovell, after consultation with the municipal authorities, began

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