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the entire force; and, as if this were | Beaufort to Charleston. No inhabinot enough, several buildings were fired by our departing soldiers-of the 8th Maine, it was said, though that regiment laid it to the 6th Connecticut--while hundreds of inhabitants, who desired to leave with our forces, were put ashore after they had embarked, and left to meet the vengeance of the Rebels as they might. The beautiful old town was substantially destroyed; though our higher officers did their best to save it—a high wind fanning the flames, which swept all within their reach. The deserted inhabitants-many of them hearty Unionists--were left to famish among their ashes and ruins; though the few families who were brought away to Hilton Head were treated with considerate humanity. Pensacola was likewise abandoned" and burned-burned by the Rebels, it was asserted-but that would neither be reported nor believed within the lines of the Confederates -so that it may be fairly concluded that by this time whatever Unionism there had been in Florida--that is, among the Whites--was pretty thoroughly eradicated by those who were sent thither as upholders of the National cause.

tants were left on Edisto but negroes; and the cotton which the departing Whites could not remove they had, for the most part, burned. The fall of Pulaski, soon afterward, gave us extension and security on the other flank; and now Gen. Hunter and Com. Dupont proposed to extend our possession still farther toward the city by the reclamation of Wadmilaw and Johns islands, bringing us within cannon-shot of Charleston. To this end, various and careful reconnoissances were made, and soundings taken; ending with marking by buoys the channel of Stono river, separating Johns from James island; whereupon, our gunboats Unadilla, Pembina, and Ottawa, crossed" the bar at its mouth and proceeded up that river: the Rebel earthworks along its banks being abandoned at their approach. Thus the gunboats made their way slowly, carefully, up to a point within range of the Rebel batteries guarding the junction of Stono with Wappoo creek, barely three miles from Charleston, whose spires and cupolas were plainly visible, over the intervening trees, from the mast-heads of our vessels.

But this bold advance of our gun

On returning from his Florida ex-boats, unsupported by infantry, was pedition to Port Royal," Com. Du- a blunder. These were too weak to pont found that the enemy had, dur- effect any thing but give the enemy ing his absence, abandoned their for- warning of what they must be premidable batteries on Skiddaway and pared to meet. Nearly two weeks Green islands, conceding to us full had thus been spent ere Gens. Hunpossession of Warsaw and Ossibaw ter and Benham, with their soldiers, sounds; while Gen. Sherman had landed" on James island; and three long since " taken quiet possession of more days elapsed ere Gen. Wright Edisto island on our right, carrying came up from Edisto with the our flag more than half way from residue of their forces. Such disMay 20.

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23 March 3, 1862.

24 March 27.

25 Feb. 11.

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27 June 2.

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guarding camps, &c. The direct | landers lost 110 out of 450; and our

attack was made by Brig.-Gen. Isaac I. Stevens," with Col. W. M. Fenton's brigade, composed of the 8th Michigan, 17th Conn., and 28th Mass., and Col. Leisure's, comprising the 79th New York (Highlanders), 46th do., and 100th Pa., with 4 detached companies of artillery, &c.in all, 3,337 men. Stevens had these in position at 31 A. M. at our outer picket line, within rifle-range of the enemy, and advanced at 4-the morning being cloudy and dark-so swiftly and noiselessly that he captured most of the Rebel pickets, and was within 100 yards of the main defenses, not having fired a shot, when Lamar opened on him with grape and canister, plowing bloody lanes through the storming party, and destroying its compactness if not impairing the momentum of its charge.

total loss was at least 574, whereof Stevens's two brigades lost 529– nearly all within half an hour. The Rebel loss was 204; Lamar and Lt.-Col. Gaillard being among the wounded.

Though it was plain that the enemy's works could not be carried by storm, a second but feebler assault was made on them after the failure of the first, aided by a flank advance on the enemy's right by a battalion of the 3d R. I. artillery, Maj. E. Metcalf, with the 3d N. H. and 97th Pa.; but nothing was accomplished; and our entire force fell back, unpursued, but leaving their dead and some of their severely wounded to fall into the hands of the enemy. And this virtually terminated in defeat Gen. Hunter's ill-managed advance upon Charleston.

advance, not aimed at Charleston, but due northward from Beaufort, with intent to break the railroad connection between Charleston and Savannah, by destroying bridges, &c., about Pocotaligo and Coosawhatchie. Gen. Mitchel being prostrated by the disease of which he ultimately died, the execution of this project was confided to Brig.-Gen. J. M. Brannan, with an effective force of 4,448 men.

The 8th Michigan-Col. Fenton's Four months afterward-Gen. own-was in the direct advance, im- Hunter having been succeeded in mediately supported by the High-command of this department by Gen. landers, with the residue of both bri- | O. M. Mitchel-the latter planned an gades ready and eager to do and dare all that men might; and, if well directed valor could have carried the enemy's works by direct assault, they would have done it. But the neck of dry land over which it was possible to advance was barely 200 yards wide, completely swept by grape and canister at close range from six guns in the Rebel works, as well as by their musketry; while insuperable abatis, a ditch seven feet deep, and This force, embarked on gunboats a parapet nine feet high, rendered and transports, moved "0 up Broad such an assault a simple squandering river to the junction of the Coosawof precious lives. The 8th Michigan hatchie and Tullifinny, where it was lost here 185 out of 534 men, includ-landed and pushed inland; first meeting 12 out of 22 officers; the High- ing resistance when 5 or 6 miles on

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29

Killed, a few weeks later, at Chantilly.

30 Oct. 21-2.

FIGHT AT POCOTALIGO-FORT MCALLISTER.

its way; but easily driving the enemy, who burned bridges, &c., before it, and soon made another stand in a wood behind a burned bridge, whence they were expelled by flanking, and still pursued nearly to Pocotaligo; where the Rebels, under Gen. Walker, opened heavily with artillery from a swamp behind a creek. Our caissons being far behind, our guns were soon without a cartridge, and none to be had nearer than ten miles. Night was coming on; and Brannan —aware that his 4,000 men were no match for all that the railroad would bring speedily from Charleston and from Savannah to assail them-wisely took the back track to Mackay's landing; where he at once embarked" and returned to Hilton Head.

Meantime, Col. Barton, with 400 men, the gunboats Patroon and Marblehead, and the little steamboat Planter, had gone up the Coosawhatchie nearly to the village of that name-the gunboats getting aground two or three miles below, and the Planter about a mile below. Having debarked his men, Barton pushed on, and encountered a train filled with rëenforcements sent to the enemy from Savannah, under Maj. Harrison, 11th Georgia-Gen. W. S. Walker, commanding in Brannan's front, having telegraphed both ways for all the men that could be spared him. This train was fired on while in motion, and considerable loss inflicted; Maj. Harrison being among the killed. The greater number escaped to the woods and joined the defenders of the village and railroad bridge, against whom Barton now advanced; but, finding himself largely outnumbered by men strongly post

$1 Oct. 23.

463

ed, supporting 3 guns, and night coming on, he, too, retreated to his boats; burning bridges behind him. There was some pursuit notwithstanding; but the gunboats were ugly customers, and were not seriously molested. When the tide had risen, they floated; and Barton returned with them, unmolested, to Port Royal.

Our loss in this expedition was not far from 300. Walker reports his at 14 killed, 102 wounded, 9 missing; but this does not include the losses at Coosawhatchie.

The river Ogeechee, rising in the heart of eastern Georgia, after a generally S. E. course of some 200 miles, usually parallel with the lower half of the Savannah, and, for the last 40 miles, very near it, falls into Ossabaw sound, some 10 miles S. W. of Savannah. A few miles up the Ogeechee, the Rebels had constructed a strong earthwork known as Fort McAllister, in a bend of the stream, enabling it to rake any vessel which should attempt to pass it. A row of heavy piles across the channel, with some torpedoes in the river below, rendered ascent at once difficult and perilous. The steamer Nashville lay under the protection of these works; having long watched an opportunity to run out to sea laden with cotton; disappointed in this, by the vigilance of our cruisers, she was unladen, fitted up as a war vessel, and again watched her opportunity to run out-not being so easily stopped now as formerly. Com'r Worden, who was watching her, in the iron-clad Montauk, at length discovered" that she had got aground, just above the fort, and, at daylight next morning, went up, 2 Feb. 27, 1863.

backed by the Seneca, Wissahickon, proach nearer than 1,200 yards; the

and Dawn, to attempt her destruction. He found her still aground; and, by disregarding torpedoes and the fire of the fort, was able to steam within 1,200 yards of her; and, by experiment, soon had her exact range, and was peppering her with 11 and 15-inch shells; while his consortsforbidden a near approach by the narrowness of the channel-fired at her from positions farther down the stream. Twenty minutes thereafter, she had been set on fire by shells which exploded within her, and flames were seen to burst from every quarter; at 9:20 A. M., her large pivot gun forward was exploded by the heat; at 9:40, her smoke-stack went overboard; and at 9:55, her magazine exploded, shattering her into worthless fragments. Meantime, the fort kept firing away at the Montauk, striking her five times, but doing no damage; and a torpedo which exploded beneath her, as she steamed down the river, accomplished very little. Our other vessels received no harm.

We lost no men.

Com. Dupont, encouraged by this cheap success, now resolved to give the fort itself a trial: to which end, the iron-clads Passaic, Capt. Drayton, Patapsco, Montauk, Ericsson, and Nahant, with three mortarschooners, steamed" up the Ogeechee, and opened fire: the Passaic leading, the rest following, and all firing at the fort at the shortest range they could severally attain. But the obstructions proved insuperable, and forbade the Passaic to ap

33 March 3.

34 The Savannah Republican, March 12, says: “Considerable havoc was made in the sandbanks in the fort; and the quarters of the men were almost entirely demolished. *** Inside

other iron-clads being, of course, farther off, and the schooners farther still. Thus placed, the Passaic, Patapsco, and Nahant, opened fire; and it was kept up, with one or two intervals, from 8 A. M. to 4 P. M., and by the mortar-schooners every 15 minutes thenceforth till next morning; when Capt. Drayton-who had dropped down the river out of range at nightfall-went up again and took a look at the enemy's works; finding them so substantial and effective that he concluded to waste no more good cartridges upon them, and came away under a double salute of shells and yells. His 15-inch shells, each weighing 345 pounds, had dismounted one of their 9 great guns, and taken a wheel from another; but no man had been killed, and but one wounded on either side. Captain Drayton, while standing behind the turret of his 'Monitor,' had received a mere scratch from a splinter of shell, and the Rebel loss was swelled to 3 wounded by an accident after the fight; but an enormous expenditure of ammunition on either side had effected nothing of moment. Our shells often tore up the sand to a depth of ten feet, clouding the air with it; but it descended nearly into its former position; " even the embrasures of the Rebel battery were but moderately damaged. Our vessels saved their ammunition by letting Fort McAllister alone thereafter.

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