Naval Battles

Opening the Mississippi

Of the three great objects sought to be accomplished by the United States government from the beginning of hostilities— blockading the southern ports, the capture of Richmond, and the control of the Mississippi river—not the least important was the last named. A mere glance at the map of the Mississippi Valley discloses the vital interest of the two sections in the Page 160 great liquid highway which pulsates through the very heart of the nation. The great and growing commonwealths of the northwest could hardly view with anything but alarm the control of the lower reaches of the Mississippi by a foreign power, while the economic and military importance of the stream to the Confederacy is at once manifest. For a distance of 1,097 miles from Cairo to the mouths of the Mississippi, the river flows through what was practically Confederate territory. In control of the main river, and its great tributaries such as the Tennessee, Cumberland and the Red, the South possessed a cheap and convenient highway for the transportation of its troops and their supplies throughout a region of vast extent. With the United States in control of the Mississippi the Confederacy would be cut in twain and the abundant products of , the states on the west would be shut off from those on the east. The creation of an inland navy was an imperative necessity in the work of opening up these waters.

For most of the long distance from Cairo to the Gulf the Mississippi river flows between low alluvial banks, protected from overflow in time of freshets by means of levees; at only a few points are high banks encountered, such as Helena, Arkansas, on the western side; Columbus and Hickman, Ky., the Chickasaw bluffs in Tennessee, on the southernmost of which is located Memphis; Vicksburg, Grand Gulf, Natchez and Fort Adams in Mississippi and Port Hudson and Baton Rouge in Louisiana on the eastern side. All these points were promptly seized and fortified by the Confederacy, and Vicksburg, Grand Gulf and Port Hudson were the scenes of stirring events. To seize this strong chain of defenses, together with Fort Henry on the Tennessee and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, forces were sent from the Gulf on the south and from Cairo on the north, which finally met at Vicksburg, around whose powerful defenses the great decisive struggle took place. Page 161 Strangely enough, it was at first believed by many of the army officers that the river gunboats would be useless, as they would be promptly knocked to pieces by the heavy forts of the enemy along the river. This hopeless view, however, did not long prevail and the first boats put in commission soon demonstrated their capacity for usefulness.

The work of providing a flotilla on the western waters was at first entrusted to the war department, and in May, 1861, Commander John Rodgers reported for duty to General John C. Fremont, then in command in the Mississippi Valley. Speaking of the arrangement whereby the western flotilla remained for a long time under the war department, Captain Mahan says it "really constituted a division of the army, and its commanding officer was liable to interference, not only at the hands of the commander-in-chief, but of subordinate officers of higher rank than himself." And again he says: "It is creditable to the good feeling and sense of duty of both the army and navy that no serious difficulty arose from this anomalous condition of affairs, which came to an end in July, 1862, when the fleet was transferred to the navy department." The first vessels secured by Rodgers were three river steamers which were purchased at Cincinnati, and converted into wooden gunboats, by dropping the boilers and engines into the hold and building about their decks 5-inch oak bulwarks, which were proof against musket-fire. The bulwarks were pierced for ports, but were devoid of any iron plating. The three vessels were named the Tyler, Lexington and Conestoga; the Tyler mounted six 64-pounders in broadside, and one 32-pounder stern gun; the Lexington, four 64s and two 32s; the Conestoga, two broadside 32s and a light stern gun. As soon as the alterations were completed the boats were taken down to Cairo, where they arrived in August; all three became well known for their valuable services rendered throughout the war. In Page 162 August, 1861, the war department signed a contract with James B. Eads, who was then engaged in building river boats at Carondelet, Mo., for seven ironclad gunboats, to be delivered at Cairo in 65 days. These boats were "to draw 6 feet of water, carry 13 heavy guns each, be plated with 2}4-inch iron, and have a speed of 9 miles an hour," says Eads. "The De Kalb (at first called the St. Louis) was the type of the other six, named the Carondelet, Cincinnati, Louisville, Mound City, Cairo and Pittsburg. They were 175 feet long, 51 ½  feet beam, the flat sides sloped at an angle of about 35 degrees, and the front and rear casemates corresponded with the sides, the stern-wheel being entirely covered by the rear casemate. Each gunboat was pierced for 3 bow-guns, 8 broadside-guns (four on a side), and 2 stern-guns. Before these seven gunboats were completed, I engaged to convert the snag-boat Benton into an armored vessel of even larger dimensions." As these vessels distinguished themselves all through the war and formed as it were the backbone of the river fleet, the following additional description of the vessels as given by Mahan is added: "As the expectation was to fight generally bows on, the forward end of the casemate carried iron armor 2^ inches thick, backed by 24 inches of oak. The rest of the casemate was not protected by armor, except abreast of the boilers and engines, where there were 2^/2 inches of iron, but without backing. The stern was, therefore, perfectly vulnerable, as were the sides forward and abaft the engines. * * * Over the casemate forward was a pilot-house of conical shape, built of heavy oak, and plated on the forward side with 2^2-inch iron, on the after with ij^-inch. With guns, coal and stores on board, the casemate deck came nearly down to the water, and the vessels drew from 6 to 7 feet, the peculiar outline giving them no small resemblance to gigantic turtles wallowing slowly along in their native element. Below the water the form was that of  Page 163 a scow, the bottom being flat. Their burden was 512 tons. The armament was determined by the exigencies of the time. * * * The army supplied 35 old 42-pounders, which were rifled, and so threw a 70-pound shell. These having lost the metal cut away for grooves, and not being banded, were called upon to endure the increased strain of firing rifled projectiles with actually less strength than had been allowed for the discharge of a round ball of about half the weight. Such makeshifts are characteristic of nations that do not prepare for war, and will doubtless occur again in the experience of our navy. Fortunately, in this conflict, the enemy was as ill-provided as ourselves. Several of these guns burst, their crews could be seen eyeing them distrustfully at every fire, and when at last they were replaced by sounder weapons, many were not turned into store, but thrown with a sigh of relief into the waters of the Mississippi. The remainder of the armament was made up by the navy with old-fashioned 32-pounder and 8-inch smooth-bore guns, fairly serviceable and reliable weapons. Each of these seven gunboats, when thus ready for service, carried 4 of the above described rifles, six 32-pounders of 43 cwt., and three 8-inch shell-guns; total 13." The old snag-boat Benton. was of the same general type as the others, but was purchased and not especially built. She was of 1,000 tons burden, 202 feet long and 72 feet beam. She was plated forward with 3 inches of iron, with a 30-inch oak backing and at the stern and abreast the engines she was protected with 2%-inch armor with an oak backing a foot in thickness. The rest of the casemates were lightly armored with ^-inch iron. She drew 9 feet of water when loaded and was armed with two 9-inch shell-guns, seven rifled 42s, and seven 32pounders. Her speed was only 5 knots, but she was at that time the most powerful warship afloat and well deserved her designation—"the old war-horse." She was built with two Page 164 hulls, but one between the hulls was substituted for both, and when built over bore the "semblance of an angular turtle." Still another ironclad was the Essex, similar in size to the Benton, commanded by Captain William Porter, son of the Commodore Porter of 1812 fame. "After bearing a creditable part in the battle of Fort Henry, she became separated by the batteries of Vicksburg from the upper squadron and is less identified with its history." Her armament consisted of three 9-inch, one 10-inch, and one 32-pounder. Though other vessels were occasionally added to the fleet, the above vessels did most of the fighting, and constituted the important part of the western flotilla.

When Commander Rodgers was relieved by Captain A. H. Foote, September 6, 1861, he reported three wooden gunboats in commission, and nine ironclads and 38 mortar-boats building. He brought a number of young naval officers, who were to command the new fleet as soon as the vessels were completed, but the naval officers were subject at any time to orders from officers of the army, who happened to outrank them. The first of the seven ironclads was launched October 12, 1861, and early in December the others were ready. Some delay had been occasioned by the lack of money and the general confusion incident to the vast preparations being undertaken by the government. The crews of the vessels were a heterogeneous lot, consisting of men-of-war's men, coast and merchant seamen, landsmen, western rivermen, sailors from the Great Lakes, and a limited few were even drafted from regiments in the army. As a rule the only trained naval officer on board the vessels was the commander, nevertheless good trained tars were soon made by the application of naval discipline.

When on September 4 the Confederate General Polk violated the attempted neutrality of Kentucky and seized on the heights at Columbus and Hickman, General Grant who then commanded the Page 165 Cairo district, at once occupied Paducah and Smithland at the mouths of the Tennessee and Cumberland. The gunboats were under fire for the first time September 10 when the Lexington, Captain Stembel, and the Conestoga, Captain Phelps, covered a movement of troops down the west side of the Mississippi to the vicinity of Norfolk, Mo., where a force of the enemy with 16 pieces of field-artillery was encountered and the guns of the battery were finally silenced by the brisk fire of the gunboats. The vessels also exchanged shots with a Confederate gunboat, which was forced to retire to Columbus. The gunboats were then actively employed in making reconnoissances on the Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi rivers and on October 28 the Conestoga, with three regiments of Illinois troops on board, moved up the Cumberland 62 miles to Eddyville, where it broke up a Confederate camp, captured a number of prisoners and some stores. Two of the gunboats, the Tyler and Lexington, were actively engaged November 7, at the battle of Belmont, opposite Columbus. They convoyed transports with several thousand men under Grant to Belmont, and while the troops were engaged on the Belmont side, repeatedly engaged the batteries on the iron banks above Columbus with great gallantry. They also covered Grant's embarkation when the enemy, having been reinforced, compelled him to retreat. The Tyler lost 1 killed and 2 wounded; the Lexington sustained no loss.

Early in February, 1862, the first advance into Confederate territory by way of the western rivers took place. This was the movement for the capture of Fort Henry on the Tennessee, just south of the Tennessee line. The mortar boats were not yet completed and there were not yet men enough to man ail the gunboats. February 2, 1862, Flag-Officer Foote assembled at Paducah, the ironclads Essex, Captain William D. Porter; Carondelet, Captain Walke; St. Louis, Captain Paulding; and Cincinnati, Page 166 Captain Stembel; with the three wooden gunboats Conestoga, Tyler and Lexington, which were to serve as a reserve. Here they were joined by a fleet of transports with the land forces under General Grant. In the fight which ensued on the 6th, and was participated in by the gunboats exclusively on the Union side, as the army was detained by the muddy roads and did not come up until the fort had been silenced, the gunboats showed themselves well fitted to withstand the fire of most of the guns then to be met with on the western rivers, provided the vessels could fight bows on. In the short, decisive action, lasting from 12:30 to 1:45 p. m., 7 of the enemy's guns were disabled, 5 by the fire of the gunboats, 1 burst, and 1 was spiked with its own priming wire. The Confederate commander, Tilghman, then went on board the Cincinnati and surrendered the fort and garrison to Foote, though most of the Confederate forces had previously withdrawn to Fort Donelson, 12 miles away on the Cumberland. The fleet sustained one serious casualty, as the Essex was disabled by a well-directed shot which "pierced the casemate over the port bow gun, ranged aft, and killing a master's mate in its flight, passed through the middle boiler. The rush of high-pressure steam scalded almost all in the forward part of the casemate, including her commander and her two pilots in the pilot-house. Many of the victims threw themselves into the water and the vessel, disabled, drifted down with the current out of the action." The loss of the fleet was 2 killed and 9 wounded, exclusive of 29 scalded, several of whom afterwards died. With this single exception, the armor of the gunboats, though repeatedly struck, was not penetrated by the shots of the enemy. (For additional details of the capture of Fort Henry, see Cyclopedia of Battles.)

The possession of Fort Henry by the Federal forces opened the way to the interior of Tennessee and rendered untenable Page 167 the enemy's positions at Columbus and Bowling Green. Foote returned to Cairo with three of the ironclads, leaving the Carondelet at Fort Henry, and sending the wooden gunboats under charge of Lieutenant Phelps up the river to destroy the railroad bridge of the main line connecting Memphis and the East. The Tyler was left to destroy the bridge and the other two boats ascended as far as Florence, Alabama, at the foot of the Muscle shoals. During this daring raid, the Confederates were forced to burn six of their steamers; Phelps captured the Eastport, a half-completed gunboat, and two other steamers, besides considerable lumber, several hundred stands of arms, a quantity of clothes and stores, and destroyed a Confederate camp at Savannah, Tenn. The Eastport was a large vessel with excellent lines and was taken into the Union service, being commanded by Lieutenant Phelps, her captor, until she was sunk by a torpedo in the Red river two years later.

Scarcely had the gunboats returned to Cairo, when they were called upon to join in the attack on Fort Donelson on the Cumberland river. This fort was only 12 miles from Fort Henry, but was a much stronger position. Foote wanted time to prepare the mortar-boats for the operations against Donelson, whereby he believed that the garrison, however strong, could be shelled out with little loss of life to the attacking force. General Halleck, however, regarded an immediate attack as a military necessity, and at the urgent request of Halleck and Grant, he decided to join the expedition with the St. Louis, Louisville and Pittsburg, and the wooden gunboats. The Carondelet had already been sent around to Donelson by Grant and arrived within range of the fort on the morning of February 12, an hour in advance of Grant. The rest of the gunboats arrived on the night of the 13th. That day the Carondelet took up a position behind a point a mile and a quarter from the batteries, and at Grant's request threw shells into the fort for 6 Page 168 hours from her bow guns. Little damage was done on either side, though the boat fired 184 shells and the batteries replied throughout the period. In the action on the 14th the armored gunboats advanced in line abreast, with the Conestoga and Tyler in the rear, firing their shells over the other vessels. The fleet advanced within short range, firing steadily, and it appeared as though the batteries would be silenced, when at 4:30 p. m. an unlucky shot passed through the pilot-house of the St. Louis, wounded Foote and the pilot and smashed the wheel, and another shot cut the tiller ropes of the Louisville. Both boats became unmanageable and drifted helplessly down the river where the others soon followed them, all considerably damaged "between wind and water." Mahan says: "Notwithstanding its failure, the tenacity and fighting qualities of the fleet were more markedly proved in this action than in the victory at Henry. The vessels were struck more frequently (the flag-ship 59 times, and none less than 20), and though the power of the enemy's guns was about the same in each case, the height and character of the soil at Donelson placed the fleet at a great disadvantage. The fire from above reaching their sloping armor at nearly right angles, searched every weak point. Upon the Carondelet a rifled gun burst. The pilot-houses were beaten in and three of the four pilots received mortal wounds. Despite these injuries and the loss of 54 killed and wounded the fleet was only shaken from its hold by accidents to the steering apparatus, after which their batteries could not be brought to bear." Com. Foote now retired to Cairo with his crippled fleet, "until damages could be repaired and a competent force brought up from that place to attack the fort." After the failure of the fleet, the fort was thoroughly invested by the army under Grant, and finally surrendered on the 16th. The capture of Donelson was followed by the fall of Nashville on the 25th and the abandonment of Columbus March 1. Nor was Page 169 any attempt made to hold Hickman, the next town down the river, but the enemy proceeded to fortify Island No. 10, which was situated in the Mississippi opposite the dividing line between Kentucky and Tennessee. Island No. 10 (so-called because it is the tenth in a series of islands below Cairo) was situated in the bend of the Mississippi which touches the border of Tennessee a few miles farther up the river than New Madrid, although nearly southwest of that point. The average depth of water at this point was from 90 to 120 feet and the width of the river was about 900 yards. The current ran by the island at a moderately fast rate, and with the combined power of three rivers—Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio. The island was near the southern or what may be termed the eastern bank of the river, but at this point the stream varies from its southern course and turns abruptly to the northwest, leaving the island in the southern angle of the bend. It had four batteries "mounting 23 guns, and on the Tennessee shore opposite were 6 batteries mounting 32 guns. There was also a floating battery, which, at the beginning of operations, was moored abreast the middle of the island, and is variously reported as carrying nine or ten 9-inch guns," according to Mahan. New Madrid, Mo., was captured by General Pope March 13, which severed communications between the enemy at Island No. 10 and their forces further down stream. On the 15th Foote's flotilla, consisting of 6 ironclads, with the Benton as flag-ship, and 10 mortar-boats, arrived near the island. The mortar-boats were mere floating platforms, each armed with a 13-inch mortar. The bombardment commenced on the 16th at long range, and continued with more or less vigor until April 7, when a different plan of operations was planned for the capture of the island. In order to cut off entirely the retreat of the enemy from the island, it was necessary that a portion of Pope's army be taken across the Mississippi to the Page 170 Tennessee shore and a canal was cut across a portion of the narrow and low peninsula, by which the transports could pass below the island and convey the troops across the river. This work was successfully accomplished, and by April 4 light transports were able to pass from above the island to New Madrid without running the Confederate batteries. On the night of April 1, under cover of the darkness and storm, a boat expedition from the fleet, with a small force under the command of Colonel Roberts of the 42nd 111., landed at the upper or No. 1 fort, on the Kentucky shore, spiked the 6 guns of the battery, and retired without injury. On April 4, as the result of a heavy bombardment, the floating battery cut loose from her moorings, floated down the river, and was probably unable to participate in the events of the succeeding night. It was apparent to Pope that the assistance of the gunboats would be needed to protect his transports in crossing the river and making a landing, and as the canal was nearing completion he sent to Foote, requesting that two of the gunboats run the island batteries. Foote at first refused on the ground that he could not afford to lose a single man or vessel, but added, that when "the object of running the blockade becomes adequate to the risk," he would consent. When the canal was finished and the transports passed through, it was then believed that the proper time had come, and that the transports could cross the river if protected by gunboats. Thereupon Foote gave Captain Walke of the Carondelet permission to try running the batteries. Walke received his orders for the daring move March 30 and at once prepared his vessel for the ordeal by covering her decks with extra thicknesses of planking. "The chain cables were brought up from below and ranged as an additional protection. Lumber and cord-wood were piled thickly around the boilers, and arrangements made for letting the steam escape through the wheel-houses, to avoid the puffing noise ordinarily Page 171 issuing from the pipes. The pilot-house, for additional security, was wrapped to a thickness of 18 inches in the coils of a large hawser. A barge, loaded with bales of hay, was made fast on the* port quarter of the vessel, to protect the magazine." Walke showed admirable resourcefulness in this work of preparation. The boat must pass 6 forts, under the fire of 50 guns, and once below the island it would be cut off from all support. It was further known that the enemy possessed a number of well armed gunboats down the river. Walke's exploit in running the batteries was one of the most daring and dramatic events of the whole war. The Carondelet started at 10 o'clock on the night of the 4th, amid the darkness of an impending storm, with no lights burning on her decks and with all the crew standing at quarters ready to repel any attempt at boarding. On deck, exposed to the fire and storm, stood two men —one, Charles Wilson, a seaman, heaving the lead, and the other, Theodore Gilmore, an officer, on the upper deck forward, passing to the pilot the whispered call of the leadsman. Twice as the Carondelet approached the batteries of the enemy the soot in the chimneys caught fire, and a flame 5 feet high leaped out from their tops, lighting brightly the upper decks of the vessel, and everything around. It was seen by the enemy, and the anxious listeners in the fleet above for the signal of her safety now heard the long roll beat in the camps on the island. At the same time 5 rockets were sent up from the mainland and the island, followed by a cannon shot from Fort No. 2. A full head of steam was now put on, to make the greatest possible speed, and while the vivid flashes of lightning lit up the hurried preparations of the enemy, while peal after peal of thunder reverberated along the river and the rain fell in torrents, the moment for coolness and heroism came. For 30 minutes the discharge of cannon and musketry at the "phantom ship," revealed on the waters only by the lightning Page 172 flash, was furious, but no injury was done. Then stopping her engines, her officers fired the signal guns to inform their companions in the fleet that she was safe. On the night of the 6th, the Pittsburg, Lieutenant Thompson, also ran the batteries. On the morning of the 7th, the transports were brought into the river from the bayou where they had been kept concealed, and while the troops were embarking, the gunboats ran down the river and silenced the enemy's batteries, beginning with the lowest. The army of Pope then crossed over to Tiptonville under cover of Walke's guns. The enemy caught between the swamps and the river had no means of escape and several thousand men, including 3 general officers surrendered. At 10 p. m. the island and garrison surrendered to the navy, just three days after the Carondelet started on her perilous trip.

While the two gunboats were thus rendering invaluable assistance at Island No. 10, the Tyler and Lexington were also busily engaged in aiding Grant's forces at the battle of Shiloh on the Tennessee. Two young naval officers, Lieuts. Gwin and Shirk, were in command of the two vessels, Gwin being the senior officer present. Late on the afternoon of the 6th, after the center of Grant's army had been driven within half a mile of the river, and the victorious enemy were preparing to turn the left of the Union forces so as to gain possession of the landing and the transports, the two boats at 4 p. m., approached the mouth of Lick creek, three-quarters of a mile above the landing, where they vigorously shelled the Confederates near the river and silenced their batteries. At 5:30 p. m. the enemy again advanced in force and gained a position on the Union left only one-eighth of a mile above the landing. Again the two vessels were able to deliver a sharp enfilading fire, which, in conjunction with the massed field batteries of the army, drove the enemy back in confusion and Page 173 held him at bay until Buell's army could reach the field from Nashville. Said Grant, "In this repulse much is due to the presence of the gunboats." Said General Beauregard, commanding the Confederate forces, speaking of the result of the attack on Grant's left: "The enemy broke and sought refuge behind a commanding eminence covering the landing, not more than half a mile distant, under the guns of the gunboats, which opened a fierce and annoying fire with shot and shell of the heaviest description." The vessels further annoyed the enemy during the whole of the ensuing night by dropping shells into the Confederate bivouac at measured intervals, which broke their rest and proved demoralizing to a degree.

After the surrender of Island No. 10, Foote moved down the Mississippi with his flotilla to the vicinity of Fort Pillow, located on the first of the Chickasaw bluffs, about 70 miles above Memphis. The army under Pope also moved down the river and landed on the Tennessee side above the fort. Soon after Halleck withdrew all but 1,500 of the troops and thenceforth the fort was only subjected to long range firing from the mortars and gunboats. Foote's wound, received at Donelson, finally forced his retirement May 9, and he was succeeded by Captain Charles H. Davis, second in command, who had arrived April 23. When Foote left, the flotilla consisted of the following ironclads, four of which were moored to the banks on the Arkansas side, and three on the Tennessee side: The Mound City, Captain A. H. Kilty; Cincinnati, Captain R. N. Stembel; St. Louis, Captain Henry Erben; Cairo, Captain North Carolina Bryant; Benton (flag-ship),, Captain S. L. Phelps; Carondelet, Captain Henry Walke; and Pittsburg, Captain Edward Thompson. Three miles below Plum Point, where the vessels on the Tennessee side were stationed, but on the opposite side of the river is another point, called Craighead's. A little below, but almost directly opposite was Fort Pillow. It was the daily Page 174 custom to moor a mortar-boat just above Craighead's point, where it could annoy with its shells the fort and enemy's fleet, three-quarters of a mile away across the point. Alarming reports were constantly received concerning the number and strength of the enemy's gunboats and rams down the river. This alarm was only dispelled by the receipt of news that Farragut had successfully run the New Orleans batteries near the end of the month. At Columbus and Island No. 10 the Confederate flotilla had consisted of 7 or 8 gunboats, under Flag-Officer George N. Hollins, formerly of the U. S. navy, and the floating battery previously mentioned. Some of these vessels had at this time been sent to New Orleans, then threatened by Farragut, and a peculiar fleet of converted river steamers was sent up to Pillow to take their place, and cope with Foote's flotilla. Says Spears: "The Confederate gunboats were the ordinary river boats converted into warships by putting cotton bales and pine timber about the boilers, by casing the bows with iron, and in other ways adding to their strength forward so that they became, after a fashion, rams. Each carried at least one gun. This work was done by the pilots themselves at New Orleans and the old line navy officers were not allowed to interfere. When ready, 8 of these boats had been sent up to Fort Pillow, nominally under Captain J. E. Montgomery, one of the pilots, but as a matter of fact each captain did as he pleased, and the wonder is that anything worth mention should have been accomplished." The enemy knew how sluggish and unwieldy and how vulnerable at the stern were the Union gunboats. They therefore hoped to disable them with their swift rams and also to capture the mortar-boats. On May 10, an engagement took place between the Confederate gunboats and the Union fleet, in which two of the latter were sunk. How much of the damage sustained by the Union vessels might have been avoided had Page 175 the remainder of the government fleet promptly come to the support of the Cincinnati, which sustained alone the brunt of the first attack, is an open question. Foote had departed the day before, and Davis was in command. At 5 a. m. the Cincinnati had towed a mortar-boat into the usual position above Craighead's and made herself fast to a drift pile near by, with her head up stream. An hour later dense columns of smoke below Pillow gave warning that the river defense fleet was preparing for action. The 8 rams steamed rapidly up the river, with the evident purpose of making a dash at the mortar-boat and the Cincinnati. They were in plain sight of the Union flotilla at 6:30 and the Benton signalled to get under way, but too late to protect the Cincinnati, now engaging the enemy single-handed. When she first saw the enemy the Cincinnati slipped her moorings, moved out into the river and opened the fight with her bow guns. Her fire scattered the Confederate boats, but they came on in irregular formation, with the General Bragg well in advance. This vessel passed the Cincinnati and when above her turned around and rammed the Union vessel at full speed, striking her with full force on the unprotected starboard quarter. A moment after, as the vessels came alongside, the Bragg received the full broadside fire of the Cincinnati, which disabled her and sent her off down stream out of the fight. Shortly after, two other Confederates, the Price and Sumter, approached the Cincinnati and poured in a rapid fire of musketry at the ports of the Union vessel, dangerously wounding Captain Stembel and mortally wounding Master Reynolds. One of the Confederates rammed the Cincinnati in the same place as the Bragg, and her consort was disabled by the fire of the Carondelet and the Benton, which were now in the action. The Carondelet was the first of the other vessels to open fire and succeeded in raking the Bragg before that vessel was out of range. The Mound Page 176 City and the Pittsburg also joined in the fight and the former had proceeded to the Arkansas side, where she was firing on the Sumter and Price, when the Confederate Van Dorn passed the Cincinnati and her own consorts and turned to ram the Mound City. The latter avoided the full force of the blow by sheering quickly, but was struck on the starboard bow with just sufficient force to disable her, and she was run into shoal water with the assistance of the Cairo. The Pittsburg assisted the Cincinnati over to the Tennessee shore, where she sank in n feet of water. Only the Benton, Carondelet and St. Louis were now left to battle with the six remaining Confederates, which fell back down the river, asserting that they could not follow the Union vessels into the shoal water where they had taken position, and therefore could not hope to cope with the more numerous and heavier guns of the Union fleet. Says Spears: "The fact is, Montgomery's force was a lot of militia afloat. They made a most brilliant dash at the government forces, sank two gunboats, and then, militia fashion, got out of it when they were really just ready to begin the fight. Not one of their boats was seriously hurt. The Bragg had lost her tiller ropes, and the Price was a leak, but both might have continued the fight after a few moments devoted to repairs. The whole force was, so far as hurts were concerned, ready for action at Memphis a month later. As to the government force, it may be said that Stembel on the Cincinnati made a brilliant defense, and Walke and Kilty of the Carondelet and Mound City seemed to fully appreciate what was required under the circumstances. The unprotected mortar-boat, Acting Master Gregory, kept up a steady fire on the Confederates throughout the conflict, and Gregory was promoted for his bravery."

Only one more battle remains to be told between the two flotillas on the Mississippi—the battle of Memphis—which is Page 177 noteworthy because it was largely a battle between rams. Soon after the fight at Fort Pillow, the Union fleet was joined by seven river steamers, converted into rams on the Ohio river by Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr., under authority of the war department. Three were stern-wheelers and four were sidewheelers. These boats were hastily adapted by Colonel Ellet, according to a plan of his own, within a period of six weeks. Owing to the haste of preparation, they had many faults of construction, but served the purpose of immediate availability. Each was strengthened by three heavy, solid timber bulkheads "running fore and aft from stem to stern," and braced the one against the others, while iron rods and screw-bolts stayed the hull from side to side. The boilers were left in place, but were protected with two feet of oak, and the pilot-houses were rendered bullet proof against musketry. Ellet was given independent command of the rams, with orders to cooperate with Davis' fleet. Fort Pillow was no longer tenable when Beauregard evacuated Corinth, and was evacuated by the enemy June 4. The next day the fleet and transports anchored just above Memphis, where, the following morning, the river defense fleet could be seen lying at the levee. The latter soon after cast off and took a position in front of Memphis, where the city would be in the line of the Union fire. The Confederate fleet consisted of the Van Dorn, flag-steamer, General Price, General Lovell, General Beauregard, General Thompson, General Bragg, Sumter and the Little Rebel. The government gunboats were the Benton, Louisville, Carondelet, St. Louis, now commanded by Lieutenant McGunnegle, and Cairo. Two of the rams also took a prominent part in the ensuing action, the Queen of the West, commanded by Colonel Ellet, and the Monarch, under his brother, Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Ellet. The Union flotilla weighed anchor at 4:2o a. m. of the 6th, dropped slowly down toward the city, stern first, until the Page 178 engagement was opened by a shot from the Little Rebel at the distance of three-quarters of a mile and soon after the engagement became general. Each of the Confederate rams mounted from 2 to 4 guns and was consequently at a disadvantage in the matter of armament, though the enemy excelled in the number of his gunboats. The scene of the battle was immediately in front of the city of Memphis and the bluffs were thronged with citizens eager to witness what was to be the last battle between the flotillas. The Union rams had remained in the rear of the line of battle at the opening of the engagement, but now two of them— the Queen of the West and the Monarch, the former about half a mile in advance— boldly dashed through the line of Union boats and headed directly for the enemy. The unexpected ram attack disconcerted the Confederates and a period of confusion ensued, during which the Queen of the West crashed into the Lovell amidships, causing her to fill immediately and sink in deep water. By a skilful movement the pilot of the Beauregard a moment later rammed the Queen, disabling her, and causing her to hurry to the Arkansas shore to prevent sinking. The Monarch now came up, and both the Beauregard and Price sought to ram her at the same time but she cleverly eluded the two rams and the Beauregard, instead of striking the Monarch, crashed into the Price cutting her down to the water line which forced her to follow the Queen of the West to the Arkansas shore. The Monarch now turned on the Beauregard and successfully rammed her as she was engaging the Benton. At the same time a shot from the Benton pierced the Beauregard's boiler, causing a fatal explosion of scalding steam which killed many of the crew. She began to sink at once and the Monarch towed her toward the Arkansas shore, where she went down carrying with her many of the injured and dying. A large number leaped into the river, some of whom Page 179 were rescued by the Monarch, but most were swept down by the current and drowned. Disaster continued to overwhelm the Confederates, for in the thickest of the battle the Little Rebel received a shot which penetrated her vitals and she in turn made for the haven of cripples on the Arkansas shore. The Thompson, Sumter, Van Dorn and Bragg were now the only vessels remaining. They turned and fled from the unequal contest and a running fight ensued for 10 miles down the stream. The Thompson was sunk by shells, the Bragg and Sumter were captured and only the Van Dorn escaped. Four of the enemy's vessels, the Bragg, Price, Sumter and Little Rebel later became a part of the Union fleet. The river defense fleet was no more, as those below were destroyed when New Orleans was captured. Memphis surrendered to the fleet before noon of the same day. The Confederates had fought their boats with great gallantry until half their fleet was destroyed. The daring onset of Ellet's rams and the superior guns of the Union fleet were the decisive factors in the battle.

The river was now practically open as far as Vicksburg. Davis, with the flag-ship and most of the flotilla, remained at Memphis until June 29. At Halleck's request he sent an expedition up the White river in Arkansas, to get into touch with General Curtis marching down to Helena. The force consisted of the Mound City, under commander Kilty, senior officer present, the St. Louis, Lexington and Conestoga, with the 46th Ind. infantry under Colonel Fitch. The vessels and troops attacked the enemy's works at St. Charles, Arkansas, 88 miles up the river (see Cyclopedia of Battles). During the brisk engagement, the Mound City, which led the gunboats in the attack, was struck by a 42-pound shell, which entered her casemate, killed 3 men and exploded her boiler. Of 175 officers and men composing her crew, only 3 officers and 22 men Page 180 escaped unscathed; 82 perished from wounds and scalding and 43 were drowned or shot in the river, as the inhuman enemy fired on those who had jumped overboard to escape the steam. Undeterred by the disaster, the other boats continued the attack until Colonel Fitch signaled to cease firing, when the troops carried the works by storm. The post was commanded by Captain Joseph Fry, formerly a lieutenant in the U. S. navy, the same officer whom the Spaniards executed in 1874 in connection with the Virginius expedition. The vessels continued up the White river to a point 63 miles above St. Charles, when they were compelled to turn back by the low stage of water. A year later the presence of the "tinclads" enabled the river fleet to more effectually patrol the shallow waters of the tributary streams.

Davis descended the river from Memphis June 29, and on the morning of July 1, came in sight of Farragut's fleet, anchored above Vicksburg.

The name of David Glasgow Farragut is inseparably associated in the minds of the American people with the capture of New Orleans. Though of southern birth and blood, he promptly cast his lot with the Union when the war broke out. His first assignment to a position on the naval retiring board bespoke the confidence of the government in his loyalty and there he was serving when he was selected from all the captains in the navy to lead the expedition against New Orleans. On January 9, 1862, he was appointed to the command of the western Gulf blockading squadron and sailed from Hampton Roads in his flag-ship, the Hartford, 24 guns, February 2, 1862, arriving at Ship island on the 20th of the same month. In addition to the ordinary duties of the blockade he was specially charged with the task of opening the Mississippi river from its mouth. "There will be attached to your squadron," said the secretary of the navy in his instructions, "a fleet of bomb Page 181 vessels, and armed steamers enough to manage them, all under the command of Commander David D. Porter, who will be directed to report to you. * * * When these formidable mortars arrive and you are completely ready you will collect such vessels as can be spared from the blockade and proceed up the Mississippi river, and reduce the defenses which guard the approaches to New Orleans, when you will appear off that city and take possession of it under the guns of your squadron, and hoist the American flag therein, keeping possession until troops can be sent to you. If the Mississippi expedition from Cairo-shall not have descended the river, you will take advantage of the panic to push a strong force up the river to take all their defenses in the rear."

Immediately after his arrival at Ship island Farragut began to assemble there his squadron for the important duty which had been assigned to him. Of this squadron the flag-ship was the first to arrive. The Confederates had learned of the object of the expedition almost as soon as it was planned and were making every effort to strengthen the defenses in the river below New Orleans as well as to prepare a suitable naval force to meet the emergency. The chief obstacles to the upward progress of the fleet were Forts Jackson and Philip, situated in a commanding position at the Plaquemine bend, 20 miles above the head of the passes, and 90 miles below New Orleans. "At this point," says Spears, "the river suddenly turns to the northeast for nearly 2 miles, when it makes a sharp bend to the south once more. It was right on this sharp, knee-like bend that the forts were built. Fort St. Philip stood on top of the knee-bend so to speak, and from its walls a fair view was had for a long way down the river. On the other side of the knee lay Fort Jackson. By the compass it was about due south of Fort St. Philip and but 800 yards away. Its guns pointed all over the bend of the river and away to the Page 182 south, the timber on the west side of the river having been cut away to allow an unobstructed view of the stream almost to the uttermost range of the guns, but when the guns of these forts are considered, one must say they were very poor. The Confederates made a mistake there. In all there were 109 guns that might be used on passing ships at one point or another, but of these, 56 were 24-pounders—excellent guns in 1812, but very small 50 years later. More than half of the others were 32s and 42s—in fact, but 15 of them were really guns of the day, and but two—the 7-inch rifles—could be called first class." Both the works were constructed of masonry, Fort Jackson being a pentagonal work, with bastions, situated about 100 yards from the levee on its river front, with its casemates appearing just above the top. This fort was on the right bank of the river, and covering the approach to the main work from below was a powerful water battery armed with one 10-inch and two 8-inch Columbiads, and two rifled 32-pounders. Fort St. Philip was built of brick and earth, with its 53 guns all mounted in barbette, and was flanked on either side by two water batteries. Within each fort was a garrison of about 700 men. General Duncan was in general command of the exterior line of defenses about New Orleans and displayed conspicuous gallantry at the time of the attack at Plaquemine bend. Col Higgins commanded the two forts and was in immediate command at Fort Jackson, while Captain Squires commanded at Fort St. Philip. This exterior line of~ defenses, included Forts St. Philip and Jackson and stretched from the Pearl river on the east to the Atchafalaya bayou on the west, taking in all the sea approaches to the city. In addition to it the enemy had prepared a second or interior line of works, reaching from the river some 4 miles below New Orleans to the swamps on both sides of the river, and on the east as far as Lake Ponchartrain. Forming a part of Page 183 this second line were the McGehee batteries on the right bank of the river and the Chalmette batteries on the left.

Shortly after his arrival at Ship island, Farragut sent his chief of staff, Captain Henry H. Bell, with two gunboats to reconnoiter the river. Bell approached close to the forts and reported that the "obstructions seemed formidable. Eight hulks were moored in line across the river, with heavy chains extending from one to the other. Rafts of logs were also used, and the passage between the forts was thus entirely closed." The Confederates evidently hoped that this barrier would prove an insuperable obstacle to the passage of the Union fleet, but the enterprise and daring of Lieutenant Caldwell of the gunboat Itasca cleared away the barrier and opened the way to New Orleans. His work was effectually done under a heavy fire from the enemy's guns.

In addition to their land defenses, the Confederates had the support of a fleet of war vessels, improvised from such materials as could be quickly procured, and possessed of considerable strength. Important units in this fleet were the ram Manassas, which had been docked and repaired, since her panic-breeding appearance at the head of the passes in October of the previous year, and the powerful, ironclad steamer Louisiana, which might have proved a most dangerous opponent if Farragut had delayed his attack a week or two longer and given the enemy time to complete her machinery. The Confederate fleet was organized in two divisions, under Commander John K. Mitchell. In one division were the Manassas, Louisiana, McRea and Jackson of the regular navy, two ocean-going steamers belonging to the State of Louisiana —the General Quitman and Governor Moore—two launches, each armed with one howitzer, the unarmed steamers Phoenix, W. Burton and Landis, and the small Army tugs Mosher, Belle Algerine, Star and Music. The ironclad Louisiana carried a powerful battery of two 7-inch rifles, three 9-inch and four 8-inch shell-guns, and seven 6-inch rifles. Her armor proved strong enough to resist the fire of the heaviest guns in the Union fleet, but unfortunately for the enemy Farragut pushed his preparations with such rapidity that she was only floated four days before the fight and was towed into a berth just above Fort St. Philip, with the workmen still busy on board. In her unfinished state her engines could not be used and she was forced to remain stationary during the battle, under command of Com. Charles F. Mcintosh. The Manassas, still commanded by Lieutenant Warley, mounted a 32-pounder carronade in bow, but her engines and speed were as poor as ever. The McRae, Lieutenant Thomas B. Huger, was an oceangoing steamer, mounting six 32-pounders and a 9-inch shell-gun; the Jackson, Lieutenant F. B. Renshaw, carried two 32-pounders. Neither of the state gunboats was formidable, as they were only protected with pine and cotton barricades around the engines and boilers, with iron-shod bows like the river defense fleet. The General Quitman, Captain Grant, and the Governor Moore, Com. Beverly Kennon, each carried two 32-pounders, those of the latter being rifled guns. Kennon was a trained naval officer and handled his inferior craft with marked ability.

The second division was composed of six steamers (converted tow-boats) belonging to the river defense fleet, viz: The Warrior, Stonewall Jackson, Resolute, General Lovell, Defiance and R. I. Breckenridge. Each mounted one or two 32-pounder pivots, and their bows were cased with iron for ramming. They were under the immediate command of Captain Stephenson, but proved of little assistance, as their commander was insubordinate and refused to obey the orders of Mitchell, the senior naval officer. All told, the Confederate fleet mounted 39 guns, most of which were 32-pounders, about Page 185 9 of which were rifled. As the enemy also had two other powerful ironclads under construction at New Orleans, and the ironclad ram Arkansas at Yazoo City, was almost ready for service, it was indeed well that Farragut did not delay a few weeks longer.

To reduce the formidable defenses below New Orleans and overcome the Confederate fleet Farragut was able to gather the screw sloops Hartford, 24 guns, Flag-Officer, David G. Farragut, Fleet Captain Henry H. Bell, Commander Richard Wainright; Pensacola, 23 guns, Captain Henry W. Morris; Brooklyn, 22 guns, Captain Thomas T. Craven; Richmond, 24 guns, Commander James Alden; one side-wheel steamer, the Mississippi, 17 guns, Commander Melancthon Smith; three screw corvettes, Oneida, 9 guns, Commander S. Phillips Lee; Varuna, 10 guns, Commander Charles S. Boggs; Iroquois, 7 guns, Commander John De Camp; and 9 gunboats, the Cayuga, 2 guns, Lieutenant Napoleon B. Harrison; Itasca, 6 guns, Lieutenant C. H. B. Caldwell; Katahdin, 2 guns, Lieutenant George H. Preble; Kennebec, 2 guns John H. Russell; Kineo, 2 guns, Lieutenant George M. Ransom; Pinola, 2 guns, Lieutenant Pierce Crosby; Sciota, 2 guns, Lieutenant Edward Donaldson; Winona, 2 guns, Lieutenant Edward T. Nichols; Wissahickon, 2 guns, Lieutenant Albert N. Smith. The frigate Colorado, 48 guns, Captain Theodorus Bailey, was unable to get over the bar, though many of her crew supplied vacancies in the other vessels and Captain Bailey himself led the fleet into action, as divisional officer on board the gunboat Cayuga. Two of the other large vessels, the Pensacola and the Mississippi, were only able to cross the bar by the expenditure of much time and effort.

Of the 154 guns carried by the 17 vessels of the squadron, only 93 could be fired in broadside at any one time, and none of the vessels could fire right ahead. All of the gunboats Page 186 and a few of the other vessels mounted pivot guns, which could be fought from either side and were practically bow guns, as they could be brought to within a few points of the line of the keel.

Besides the above fleet there were 20 mortar-schooners, each mounting one 13-inch mortar, with an accompanying flotilla of six gunboats carrying heavy guns assigned for their protection. The mortar flotilla was commanded by Com. David D. Porter. This flotilla entered the river without difficulty by Pass a l'Outre. The other vessels of the squadron, with much greater difficulty by reason of their deeper draught, entered by the Southwest pass, and all were finally assembled at the head of the passes, where the vessels were prepared for the river service in accordance with the special instructions of the flag-officer. Everything that could be spared such as spars, boats, rigging and sails, was sent ashore. All the vessels were trimmed by the head to improve their chances of getting clear in case of grounding, particular care was taken to guard against any increase in the elevation of the guns while being fired, when possible guns were mounted on the poop and forecastle, howitzers placed on platforms at the tops of the lower masts and protected against musketry by bulwarks of boiler iron. In fact everything that occurred to the minds of the officers to enable the ships to pass though unscathed was done. Chain cables were "secured up and down the sides of the vessels, abreast the engines, to resist the impact of projectiles. This was general throughout the squadron, though the Mississippi, on account of her side-wheels, had to place them inside instead of out. Each commander further protected those vital parts from shots coming in forward or aft, with hammocks, bags of coal, or sand, or ashes, or whatever else came to hand. The outside paint was daubed over with the yellow Mississippi mud, as being less Page 187 easily seen at night, while, on the other hand, the gun-carriages and decks were whitewashed, throwing into plainer view the dark color of their equipment lying around. On some ships splinter nettings were rigged inside the bulwarks, and found of advantage in stopping the flight of larger fragments struck out by shot." Some of the gunboats even removed their lower masts altogether. At last, on the 16th, the fleet proceeded slowly up the river, piloted by a coast survey party, which triangulated the river up to the forts themselves, doing their work much of the time under the guns of the forts. The position of each of the mortars was accurately marked by a flag set on the bank and on the morning of the 18th two divisions of mortar boats were anchored in line ahead on the west bank of the river, at an average distance of 3,500 yards from Fort Jackson, 14 schooners composing this part of the fleet. The other 6 schooners, known as the second division, were placed on the east bank, about the same distance below Fort Jackson. The boats on the west side were under cover of the trees on the shore, from which they could scarcely be distinguished on account of the limbs lashed to their masts, which overtopped the trees and enabled the lookout to direct the fire with precision. The boats of the second division had no trees to shield them and the enemy soon found the range, compelling them after the first day's bombardment to take up their station with the other vessels across the river. The bombardment of Fort Jackson began on the morning of April 18, each of the mortars firing a shell every 10 minutes and the whole flotilla 120 an hour. At night shells were thrown at half-hour intervals, an average of 1,900 shells being thrown each day. On the second day one of the vessels was sunk by a shot which pierced her hull. None of the other schooners was destroyed. Though the fire of the mortars alone could not reduce the forts, it seems to have proved very disconcerting Page 188 to the enemy and kept the men of the garrison under cover. All the buildings in Fort Jackson were destroyed and the levee was cut, causing the water to flood the floors of the bomb-proofs. Later on, pending the negotiations for the surrender of the forts, a large proportion of the garrison mutinied under Porter's threat to renew the bombardment. The casualties to the garrison throughout the fighting amounted to 14 killed and 39 wounded.

Before the fleet could safely advance to the attack, the channel obstructions of rafts and schooner hulks must be removed. As before stated, this was successfully accomplished on the night of the 20th, under a heavy fire from Fort Jackson, by Lieutenant Caldwell of the Itasca, assisted by Lieutenant Pierce Crosby of the Pinola. Boarding one of the barrier hulks, Caldwell was able to slip her anchor chain. She drifted away and the barrier chain was left sagging in the river. Caldwell then managed to slip his vessel between the remains of the old raft barrier and the nearest hulk, going up stream far enough to secure good headway. He then came about and with a full head of steam, aided by the current, steered straight for the sagging chain. As the vessel struck it with her curved stem, she rose 3 or 4 feet, but the chain snapped under her weight and the Itasca passed through. The famous barrier was broken and the river was open for the passage of Farragut's fleet.

On the 23d all arrangements were completed for the passage of the forts and orders were issued to be ready to attack that night. Several days had passed since Caldwell had broken the chain which crossed the river and he was sent after nightfall to make an examination to ascertain positively whether the passage was still clear. For the purpose Caldwell used the Hartford's cutter, and signalled all clear at 11 p. m. It was a dark, still night, and at 2 a. m. of the 24th Page 189 the signal (two ordinary red lights, so as not to attract the attention of the enemy) was made from the Hartford to get under way. The original plan of Farragut was to advance in two columns abreast, with the heaviest vessels in the lead, each column to engage the fort on its own side only. It was feared that an advance in parallel columns would increase the danger of fouling the hulks or the vessels of the squadron and the plan was accordingly changed. The starboard column was to advance first, the port column to follow closely. The Cayuga, flying the divisional flag of Captain Theodorus Bailey, had the honor of leading the first division. Great difficulty was found in purchasing the anchors of the heavier ships on account of the three-knot current, and it was after 3 o'clock before they all got under way. Meanwhile, Porter had, by arrangement, moved the steamers of the mortar flotilla, together with the sailing sloop Portsmouth, Captain Swartwout, to a point within 500 yards of Fort Jackson where they could enfilade the water battery covering the approach to the fort, and they continued to fire shrapnel and shell until all the vessels had passed the forts. At the same time, the mortars were fired "as fast as the men could tong the shells into them," and threw "an almost unbroken arch of fiery bombs from the schooners to Fort Jackson." At 3 :30 a. m. the Cayuga passed the barrier, followed by the vessels in the following order: Pensacola, Mississippi, Oneida, Varuna, Katahdin, Kineo and Wissahickon, forming the starboard column; the Hartford, Brooklyn and Richmond, and then the second division of gunboats, Fleet-Captain Bell leading in the Sciota, followed by the Iroquois, Pinola, Kennebec, Itasca and Winona. The storm from the forts broke forth as the second vessel, the huge Pensacola, passed the barrier. Says Spears: "Huge piles of wood were lighted on the shore to illuminate the river, and away upstream the blaze of fire-rafts opened the murk of night to Page 190 reveal the Confederate ships, weird and indistinct of outline, scattered along the shores. The Union gunboats dashed ahead at full speed, but the Pensacola and the Mississippi steamed slowly, their black hulls at regular intervals sheeting the air with lurid fire as they replied to the forts. Abreast of St. Philip, where the Confederate fire was hottest, they drew in so close that the gunners afloat and those ashore heartily cursed each other as they worked. With fierce energy the men ashore drove shot and shell into the wooden ships, while those afloat dusted the rampart with hurtling showers of grape and canister. And these were showers that no man could face, and the garrison fled to cover for a moment, but they returned again as the blasts ceased with the passing of each ship." The Manassas sought to ram both the Pensacola and the Mississippi in turn during their passage of the forts, but the Pensacola skillfully avoided the thrust and the Mississippi received only a glancing blow on the port side forward of the mizzen-mast, sustaining no serious injury. The passage of the starboard column was on the whole an easy one, compared with that of the second column headed by Farragut in the Hartford. Only the gunboats Kineo and Wissahickon were at all delayed. Between the barrier hulks the Kineo collided with the Brooklyn, and the latter fouled the obstructions, but all passed safely through and past the forts.

The journey of the port column reveals a different story. This division followed hard on the heels of Bailey's and even overlapped it with its leading vessels, as otherwise the Brooklyn could not have collided with the Kineo in the midst of the barrier hulks. The dense clouds of smoke from the guns had now settled low on the water, blinding the pilots, and the fire-rafts which came down the river were an added source of danger. As the Hartford came abreast the forts the leading division had reached the turn in the river above. The Page 191 flagship steered a course close to Fort Jackson, but sheered across the river to avoid a fire-raft coming down upon her and grounded close under St. Philip. While trying to back off, the Confederate tug Mosher pushed the flaming raft against her port side and bravely held it there until the ship was on fire half way to the tops. The Mosher, commanded by a man named Sherman, a small vessel of only 35 tons and quite unarmed, performed this heroic service in the bright light of the fire and under the very muzzles of the Hartford's big guns. The ship's crew hesitated momentarily and Farragut shouted: "Don't flinch from that fire, boys; there's a hotter fire than that for those who don't do their duty." Discipline then prevailed and by dint of great exertion the ship's fire brigade, led by Master's Mate Allen, succeeded in subduing the flames which threatened to destroy the ship. During this period of peril the Hartford's guns were actively engaged in returning the fires of both forts, while a half dozen shells were directed at her tiny foe, one of which penetrated the Mosher's boilers, and she drifted away and soon sank with all on board. No more gallant deed than that of the Mosher is recorded in the naval history of the war. The Hartford now worked herself clear and was soon past the fire of the forts. Other ill fortune awaited some of the vessels of the rear column. When the Brooklyn fouled the hulks she lost way and fell off broadside to the river, where she was severely pounded by the fire of St. Philip. No sooner had she gathered way and again headed upstream, than the Manassas, which was lying in wait, rammed her, and only her chain cable saved her from a fatal wound. As it was her "side was stove in about 6 feet below the water line" crushing both the inner and outer planking, and she was not allowed to again go to sea until the injury was repaired. The career of the Manassas soon ended, however, for as she Page 192 turned up stream, seeking another opportunity to attack the Union ships she was discovered. Farragut reported: "I directed Captain Smith in the Mississippi, to turn and run her down. The order was instantly obeyed by the Mississippi's turning and going at her full speed. Just as we expected to see the ram annihilated, when within 50 yards of each other, she put her helm hard a-port, dodged the Mississippi, and ran ashore. The Mississippi poured two broadsides into her, and sent her drifting down the stream a total wreck." Her crew escaped to the shore, while the Manassas, on fire, floated down past Porter's fleet, shortly after "exploded faintly" and sank. Both the Richmond and the gunboat Sciota succeeded in passing the forts with small loss. The Pinola, as she passed into the glare of the fire-rafts near St. Philip, was an easy mark for the gunners and was struck 14 times, losing 3 killed and 8 wounded. The Iroquois, a very fast vessel, also met with a severe loss. After passing the forts her engines were stopped by a misunderstanding of orders and she was carried by the current to a point on the east bank, which brought her up against the ironclad Louisiana, anchored just above St. Philip. Here she received the full broadside of the ironclad's heavy guns, an encounter which cost the Iroquois 8 killed and 24 wounded, the heaviest loss in proportion to her complement of any vessel in the fleet.. Before the Iroquois slowly drew away from her dangerous antagonist, she was able to return the Louisiana's fire with effect. The last three gunboats of the second column failed to pass the forts. The Itasca was disabled by the fire from Fort Jackson and drifted helplessly out of the action. The Winona met with a series of accidents which delayed her until daybreak, when she was forced to turn back, unable to face the fire of both forts alone. The Kennebec fouled the rafts and was likewise delayed until daylight.

In the prevailing darkness, amid the smoke and confusion of the battle and breasting a powerful current with ships moving at varying rates of speed, it was impossible for the flag-officer to direct the movements of each of the vessels of his squadron. The fight was practically won when the heavy ships of the squadron had passed the forts. Some confusion prevails in the accounts of what was done by the other vessels. After the leading gunboats had swiftly run the gauntlet of the two forts they suddenly found themselves among the Confederate fleet. The Cayuga, leading, engaged everything in sight, and in a contest which was not at first unequal, received and returned the fire of both the Moore and the McRae and then passed on. Mahan thus accounts for part of the hostile fleet: "As for the General Quitman and the river defense fleet, there seems to have been but one opinion among the Confederate officers, both army and navy, as to their bad behavior before and during the fight. They did not escape punishment, for their enemies were among them before they could get away. The Oneida came upon one crossing from the right to the left bank and rammed her. But it is not possible to recover the adventures and incidents that befell each. Certainly none of them rammed a Union vessel, and it seems not unfair to say that they gave way in disorder—like any other irregular force before a determined onslaught—made a feeble effort to get off, and then ran their boats ashore and fired them. They had but one chance, and that a desperate one, to bear down with reckless speed on the oncoming ships and ram them. Failing to do this and beginning to falter, the ships came among them like dogs among a flock of sheep, willing enough to spare, had they understood the weakness of their foes, but thinking themselves to be in conflict with formidable ironclad rams, an impression the Confederates had carefully fostered."

The Varuna, the swiftest vessel in the Union fleet, soon dashed past both forts and fleet in advance of everything and continued up the river unsupported. The Governor Moore, which had been actively engaged in the midst of the Union fleet, gave up the unequal contest and turned upstream in the wake of the Varuna. To aid him in his escape Kennon hoisted the same lights as the Varuna. The false lights of the Moore deceived the captain of the Varuna, as well as the Confederate steamer Jackson, on duty up the river near the quarantine station. The Jackson opened fire at long range on both vessels impartially as they approached, then made her escape to New Orleans, where she was fired and abandoned. The Stonewall Jackson, one of the guerilla fleet, also seeking to escape up the river, now hove in sight, and Kennon expecting assistance from this vessel bore down swiftly on the Varuna's quarter. The two rifled 32s of the Moore were a bad match for the 10 guns of the Varuna, and besides, Kennon was forced to depress the muzzle of his gun and shoot a hole through his own bow before he could bring his gun to bear. Then, using this hole for a port, he raked the Varuna with his next shot with deadly effect. Captain Boggs of the Varuna promptly put his helm hard-a-port, in order to bring his starboard battery to bear, thus bringing his vessel squarely across the bow of the Moore. This was a fatal mistake, for Kennon drove straight ahead, and before the Varuna could again get her head off the Moore's sharp bow crashed into her side, cutting her through. The Moore, however, received a broadside which raked her fore and aft, killed or wounded many of her crew, and caused her to haul off and proceed up-stream. The Stonewall Jackson approached at this juncture and rammed the Varuna on the port side, receiving in turn a deadly broadside. The Varuna now headed for the eastern bank, where she sank with her bow out Page 195 of water. Neither of the Confederates escaped, as both were driven ashore by the Oneida and Cayuga, which came up soon after the Varuna ran ashore. Kennon fired his vessel, but continued to fly his colors, and his crew later surrendered to the Pensacola when she came along.

When the Moore turned upstream the McRae started down the river toward Fort St. Philip, but was discovered by the Iroquois after she had grounded near the east bank. The McRae fired a broadside of grape and copper slugs at the Iroquois, which answered with grape and canister. The slaughter was great on the McRae, her commander, Thomas B. Huger, being among the mortally wounded. But a few months before Huger had been executive officer of the Iroquois, and most of her crew were men who had served under him. The McRae subsequently took refuge under the guns of St. Philip, and with the Louisiana, the Defiance, and an army transport, were the only Confederate vessels which escaped destruction. The Louisiana had been practically inactive during the fight, firing only a few broadsides at the squadron as it passed. The McRae and Louisiana had lost their commanders, the Defiance had been abandoned by her own crew and was taken possession of by some of the McRae's men.

After the battle Farragut and his fleet anchored for the day at quarantine, 5 miles above the forts. He sent Captain Boggs around through the quarantine bayou to Porter, apprising him of the triumph of the fleet and telling him to demand the surrender of the forts. Boggs also carried a dispatch to General Butler to inform him that the way was clear for him to land his troops through the quarantine bayou as already arranged. Leaving the gunboats Wissahickon and Kineo to protect the landing of the troops if necessary, the fleet on the morning of the 25th proceeded up to New Orleans, only one obstacle being encountered. This was the Chalmette and McGehee Page 196 batteries, which were quickly silenced by the powerful broadsides of the fleet and at 1 p. m. the squadron anchored immediately in front of New Orleans. The total casualties of the Union forces were 35 killed and 128 wounded, and only one vessel—the Varuna—had been lost. At New Orleans all was confusion. The whole levee was ablaze, steamers, ships, cotton, coal, etc., all being on fire, and much exertion was needed to prevent the conflagration extending to the Union vessels. The destruction extended to the powerful ironclad Mississippi, then nearly completed, and all in flames she went floating by the fleet. Another ram had been sunk in front of the custom house. The Creole population of the city was much excited and Farragut's emissaries, Captain Bailey and Lieutenant Perkins, sent ashore to demand the surrender of the city, that the state flag be hauled down from the public buildings and the United States flag hoisted in its stead, were subjected to much insult and abuse. General Lovell and the troops defending the city retired, thereby restoring the control to the city authorities, and the remaining negotiations were conducted with Mayor Monroe. After grandiloquent allusions to the "sensibilities, passions, honor, etc." of his constituency, and declaring that no man in New Orleans "would dare to profane with his hand the sacred emblem of our aspirations," the mayor was forced to submit to the inevitable and Bailey hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the mint. It was torn down and trampled upon the next day by a party of four enraged citizens, but on the 29th a battalion of marines and a howitzer battery were landed under command of the fleet-captain, when the Confederate flags came down to stay, the Union ensign was re-hoisted on the public buildings and remained under guard until the arrival of General Butler, to whom the city was turned over May 1.

Meanwhile Porter had been demanding the surrender of the Page 197 forts down below, which was at first refused. But with the Union forces above and below the situation of the forts became desperate. On the 27th the garrison, largely composed of foreigners, mutinied and only a company of planters would fight any longer. There could be but one issue to the contest and General Duncan concluded to accept the terms offered by Porter. Says Farragut's report: "On the evening of the 29th Captain Bailey arrived from below with the gratifying intelligence that the forts had surrendered to Commander Porter, delivered up all public property, and the men were being paroled; and that the navy had been made to surrender unconditionally, as they had conducted themselves with bad faith, burning and sinking their vessels while a flag of truce was flying, and the forts negotiating for their surrender, and the Louisiana, their great ironclad battery, blown up almost alongside of the vessel where they were negotiating. Hence their officers were not paroled, but sent home to be treated according to the judgment of the government." Though the Louisiana was perhaps properly enough not included in the surrender of the forts, her commander, John K. Mitchell, was guilty of what looks like an act of perfidy in firing his vessel under the circumstances. He must have known that her hempen fastenings would soon burn off, and he even failed to withdraw the charges from his guns. Fortunately the Union fleet was not damaged, but as the vessel came floating down, she blew up abreast of Fort St. Philip, "killing a Confederate soldier and nearly killing Captain Mcintosh, her former commander, who was lying there mortally wounded."

With the surrender of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the other works composing the exterior line of defenses about New Orleans were at once abandoned and large numbers of their guns were sent to Vicksburg, which place was selected as the strongest point on the river for permanent defense.

The occupation of New Orleans was soon followed by other events of great importance. Farragut sent a fleet of seven vessels, under command of Captain Craven of the Brooklyn, up the river, and Baton Rouge and Natchez surrendered when summoned. Captain Lee, who proceeded farther with some of the smaller vessels, met with a refusal at Vicksburg. The enemy also evacuated Pensacola early in May and the Union forces took possession of the fine harbor there on the loth. Napoleon III, who was about to seize Mexico as a prize, and whose agents had been endeavoring to induce Texas to withdraw from the Confederacy and set up an independent state, was led to modify his views by reason of these Union successes. Farragut then pushed on to Vicksburg. His orders were to clear the Mississippi, and though it was evident that Vicksburg could only be taken and held after a long siege by the aid of land forces, he determined to run the batteries there in order to satisfy the administration. Toward the close of June, he assembled his fleet below Vicksburg. Commander Porter with the steamers, and 17 mortar schooners formed part of his force. On the 28th the attack was made and he succeeded in passing the forts, while the mortars shelled the heights. He reported that he could pass them again as often as necessary, but added, "It will not be easy to do more than silence the batteries for a time." At the time of this first attempt to capture Vicksburg the enemy had already strongly fortified the heights, later destined to be the scene of one of the great decisive struggles of the war. Vicksburg is by nature the strongest point on the river from a defensive standpoint, and there were in position at this time 26 powerful guns, about half of which were rifled. As the Union vessels were required to pass this stronghold time and again, Mahan's excellent description of the position will prove interesting. He says: "Vicksburg is 400 miles above New Orleans, 400 miles Page 199 below Memphis. The river, after pursuing its irregular course for the latter distance through the alluvial bottom lands, turns to the northeast 5 miles before reaching the Vicksburg bluffs. When it encounters them it sweeps abruptly round, continuing its course southwest, parallel to the first reach, leaving between the two a narrow tongue of low land, from threequarters to one mile wide. The bluffs at their greatest elevation, just below the point where the river first touches them, are 260 feet high; not perpendicular, but sloping down close to the water, their nearness to which continues, with diminishing elevation, for two miles, where the town of Vicksburg is reached. They then gradually recede, their height at the same time decreasing by degrees to 150 feet." To reduce a line of forts from 150 to 260 feet above the water, stretched along the bluffs for a distance of fully 3 miles, armed with heavy guns and having the assistance of field batteries which could move from place to place, was certainly an impossible task for the gunboats of that day. Moreover, as the vessels must breast a current running 3 miles an hour and the fleet could only move at the rate of 8 miles at most, it was exposed to the fire of the works for nearly an hour. It cost Farragut 15 killed and 30 wounded to run the Vicksburg batteries on this first occasion. Anchoring his fleet above the town, he was there joined July 1 by Davis's fleet from above. Ten days later Porter sailed for Hampton Roads in the Octorara, accompanied by 12 of the mortar schooners, in accordance with orders from Washington.

In the light of after events it would have been well to have employed the navy in holding the bluffs below the mouth of the Red river, thus blockading the extensive traffic by way of the Red river and Atchafalaya bayou, instead of attempting the impossible at Vicksburg. Unable to reduce the forts of Vicksburg, Farragut's daring journey up the river was Page 200 practically fruitless. A combination of circumstances soon after compelled the withdrawal of both the upper and lower squadrons and gave to the enemy once more the control of the river from above Vicksburg to below Port Hudson. While the combined fleets still lay above Vicksburg news was received that the Confederates were completing a large ram at Yazoo City on the Yazoo river. This vessel was the most powerful ironclad as yet built by the Confederates on the Mississippi.. She was called the Arkansas, was commanded by Commander Isaac N. Brown, formerly of the United States navy, was from 800 to 1,000 tons burden, her armor was of railroad iron, 3 inches thick, dovetailed together and backed with heavy timbers. She was further protected in the casemates between the ports with compressed cotton bales, well braced,. and carried a powerful battery of 10 guns, besides a formidable ram under water. Her chief weakness lay in her light hull and engines, the latter constantly breaking down. Though no serious apprehension was felt concerning the ram it was decided to take a look at her, and on July 15 the Carondelet, Captain Walke, Tyler, Lieutenant-Com. Gwin, and Ellet's ram, Queen of the West, started out for that purpose. When 6 miles up the Yazoo, the Union vessels unexpectedly met the Arkansas coming down to reconnoiter the Union fleet. The accounts of the fight which ensued vary a good deal, but this. much is evident, the three Union vessels turned and fled downstream. When the Arkansas appeared the Tyler and the ram were a mile ahead of the Carondelet, and both turned back for the support of the latter. The Queen of the West was very fast and soon ran out of sight. The unarmored Tyler was probably quite justified in retreating, but the flight of the Carondelet was hardly warranted by the circumstances. Says one account: "The gunboats now had their unarmored sterns toward the Confederate ship, and for an hour she Page 201 spanked them soundly, as they richly deserved. The Carondelet at this time actually threw 150 pounds of metal from rifled guns in her bow ports to the 106 that the Arkansas threw from her bow ports, while her broadside fire was 170 pounds to 165 on the Arkansas. And yet, although supposedly supported by the Tyler, she ran away, hugging the left bank, where the Arkansas of 13 feet draft, could not ram her, and there she eventually grounded, leaving the triumphant Arkansas to chase the Tyler and surprise the government squadrons. Fortunate it was that the Confederates at the Yazoo shipyards were poor mechanics. When the Arkansas reached the Union squadrons her machinery was in such bad order that she was making barely one knot an hour. The captured ram General Bragg had steam up, but her captain waited for orders, and so missed the chance of a lifetime, as Farragut remarked at the time. Boldly steering through the unprepared squadron, the Arkansas fired right and left and took a position under the Vicksburg batteries. Her crew numbered 41. The two Union flag-officers were greatly mortified because they were caught napping, and Farragut, to retrieve himself, took his squadron down past the batteries that night, hoping to destroy the Arkansas as he passed, but he failed because she was safely moored." (Spears, The History of Our Navy). During the running fight with the Arkansas the Carondelet lost 4 killed and 10 wounded, while 2 were drowned after jumping overboard to escape death from scalding steam. The Tyler lost 8 killed and 16 wounded, and the total loss inflicted by the Arkansas and the batteries during the second passage of the forts was 18 killed, 50 wounded and 10 missing. The Confederate ram reported a loss of 10 killed and 15 severely wounded. Shortly after this Farragut, deeming it a loss of time to attempt the reduction of Vicksburg without the cooperation of a large land force, and further Page 202 influenced by the low stage of water and the health of his men, took his squadron to New Orleans. At the same time the small force of Union troops under General Williams, who had occupied the point opposite Vicksburg and whose presence had been perfectly useless, went down the river to Baton Rouge.

Another attempt on July 22 to destroy the Arkansas by the ironclad Essex, Captain W. D. Porter, and the ram Queen of the West, Lieutenant-Colonel Ellet, was unsuccessful, the latter vessel being severely punished by the batteries when she turned back to rejoin the upper fleet. The ram Sumter had accompanied Farragut's fleet when it ran the batteries the second time, and being now joined by the Essex, these two vessels supported by the Katahdin and Kineo at Baton Rouge, guarded the river below Vicksburg. When General Williams retired, the enemy occupied the point opposite Vicksburg, and Flag-Officer Davis retired to the mouth of the Yazoo, which river was at this time too low to permit of operations against the enemy. The Confederates had fortified Haynes' bluff a few miles up the Yazoo, and as they were also erecting batteries and becoming very bold along the banks of the Mississippi, seriously threatening the communications of his fleet, Davis retired to Helena. The fact is Davis' force was too small at this time to maintain such a long line of operations and all his vessels were short-handed and needed repairs. In October, 1862, he was relieved from the command of the Mississippi squadron by Acting Rear-Admiral David D. Porter. At the same time the flotilla was transferred from the army to the navy and officially designated the Mississippi squadron. Above Vicksburg Helena was the nearest point occupied by the Union forces on the west side, and Memphis on the east side. During the summer and autumn months or until the return of a healthier season would permit of more extensive operations, combined land and naval expeditions periodically scoured the Mississippi between Helena and Vicksburg. Page 203 One expedition, under Lieutenant-Com. Phelps and Colonel Woods, was gone n days, and destroyed over $1,000,000 worth of property along the Mississippi, Yazoo and Big Sunflower rivers.

On August 5, the Union troops under General Williams at Baton Rouge, were attacked by a superior force under General Breckenridge. The attack was gallantly repulsed, Williams falling at the head of his men. The naval force then below Vicksburg consisted of the Essex, Sumter, Cayuga, Kineo and Katahdin, and the two latter vessels were able to render excellent support to the troops. The ram Arkansas tried to come to the support of Breckenridge, but her defective machinery failed to work and she ran ashore. While thus stuck in the mud the Essex came along looking for her, whereupon her crew set her on fire and made their escape to shore. The Arkansas blew up a little later, and in this way after a short career of only a few months, the dreaded ram came to grief. With the retirement of the two fleets up and down the river from Vicksburg, the Confederates once more controlled the important stretch of the river from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. The great "Gibraltar of the West" was more strongly fortified than ever, powerful batteries were erected at Port Hudson and Grand Gulf, the Red river was open for the admission of cattle and other much needed supplies, and the enemy were now encouraged to plant batteries everywhere along the banks of the river, which proved a serious annoyance to the Union forces in subsequent operations. Such were some of the results of what Mahan calls "the Recoil from Vicksburg."

The blockading operations of Farragut's squadron along the Gulf of Mexico have been described in another chapter. He did not again find occasion to ascend the Mississippi until March, 1863. When Porter succeeded to the command of the Mississippi squadron, he was busied for two months at Cairo, refitting and adding to his fleet. A small division, under Page 204 commander Henry Walke remained below to patrol the river between Helena and Vicksburg. Davis had already recommended to the department the addition of a number of light-draught vessels to the squadron—vessels which could operate in low water and in the various bayous and rivers tributary to the Mississippi, or used in bushwhacking warfare along the banks, and could also serve as skirmishers for the heavier vessels of the fleet. A large number of these vessels, usually called tinclads, former river stern-wheel steamers, were purchased in the fall of 1862, and were found useful for all kinds of light service. Their light armor of from one-half to three-quarters inch iron was proof against musketry, while their boilers were protected so as to resist the fire of field artillery. "The usual battery of these vessels was six or eight 24-pounder brass howitzers, 3 or 4 on each side, with sometimes 2 light rifled guns in the bows. At the same time, and during the following winter and spring, another type of vessel was added to the squadron. These were heavy vessels, intended to be superior in strength, speed, and fighting power to any of the old vessels of the Upper Mississippi squadron. The first five of these vessels ready were the Tuscumbia, of 565 tons, the Indianola, of 442, the Chillicothe, of 303, and the Lafayette and Choctaw, of 1,000 tons each. The first three were built for the government at Cincinnati. The last two were purchased, fitted as ironclads, and provided with rams. Each carried two or more n-inch Dahlgrens, besides a number of other powerful guns. The smaller boats, when equipped for service, had a draught of from 5 to 7 feet, and the two larger ones about 9 feet. All were side-wheel steamers, having their wheels well aft, and provided with rectangular casemates forward, with sloping sides, plated with from 2 to 3 inches of iron. There were also smaller stern casemates on the Tuscumbia and Indianola, armored with 1 and 2-inch plating, while half-inch iron bulwarks Page 205 built so as to let down on the decks when desired and pierced for musketry, extended all around their sides. The Choctaw had a forward turret with sloping sides and curved top, heavily armored, while the Lafayette "had a sloping casemate carried across the deck forward, and as far aft as the wheels, covered in the lower part with an inch of iron over one inch of india-rubber; the upper part of the bulwarks had three-quarter-inch plating and the deck half-inch." On the Choctaw, "from turret to wheel-houses the sides were inclined like casemates and covered with one-inch iron, as was the upper deck." The vessels specially built had all the faults incident to hasty construction during actual warfare, and were comparatively weak and inefficient, as their machinery was easily disabled. The ships purchased were strong and reliable, save that their armor was lighter than the original specifications provided. Still other noteworthy additions to the fleet were the Black Hawk, an unarmored vessel, but admirably arranged for use as a school-ship and provided with siphon pumps, and the ram Sampson, which was remodeled into a floating smithy and became a useful adjunct of the squadron.

In December, 1862, when the autumnal rains had caused the rivers to rise, occurred the first of the series of moves against Vicksburg by the combined army and fleet. This was a turning movement from the north by way of the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, thereby enabling the navy to easily keep open the river communications. Preliminary to the arrival of the right wing of the Army of the Tennessee, 32,000 strong, under General W. T. Sherman, which landed December 26 on the low ground above the old mouth of the Yazoo, 6 miles above Vicksburg, the gunboats of the fleet entered the Yazoo in order to gain possession of as much of the river as possible. While engaged with several other vessels in the work of removing torpedoes' made of whiskey demijohns, the heavy gunboat Cairo, Page 206 Lieutenant-Com. Selfridge, was blown up and destroyed, though no lives were lost by the accident. The navy suffered another severe loss in the death of William Gwin, the gallant captain of the Benton, while engaging the forts at Drumgould's bluff. Gwin rashly but bravely left the armored pilot-house of the Benton for the quarter-deck, that he might better observe the effect of the fire from the vessels. Sherman's assault on the strong works in his front on the 29th was a complete failure and a dense fog prevented the night assault planned for the 31st against the right of the enemy's line at Haynes' bluff higher up the river. Threatened floods compelled the army to reembark January 2 under protection of the gunboats. General McClernand now arrived and took command of the army. A week later, in conjunction with the navy, he sent an expedition to capture Arkansas Post, 50 miles up the Arkansas river, though only 15 miles from the Mississippi in a straight line. This post seriously interfered with the river communications of the Union forces, and commanded the approach to Little Rock. The naval part of the expedition consisted of the ironclads, DeKalb (formerly St. Louis), Louisville and Cincinnati, all the tin-clads and the steamer Black Hawk. The fort was a square bastioned work with three casemates, standing on elevated ground at the head of a horseshoe bend in the river, and was armed with 17 guns, 2 of which were 9-inch and 1 an 8inch, secured from the Norfolk navy-yard, while 4 more were rifled pieces. On the 9th and 10th the gunboats bombarded the fort at short range, while the army was working its way round to the rear of the works, preparatory to a general assault. The fierce bombardment of the ironclads, aided by the 45 pieces of field artillery with the army, destroyed or dismounted every gun opposed to them and played havoc with the casemates, causing the enemy to raise the white flag before the infantry could deliver its assault. The only casualties Page 207 of the fleet were 6 killed and 25 wounded on the Louisville and DeKalb. A 32-pounder was dismounted and a 10-inch destroyed on the DeKalb, whose hull was also much damaged. Though every vessel of the fleet was repeatedly struck, none of the others was seriously injured. Before returning to Vicksburg, part of the expedition pushed on up the White river to St. Charles, and then 50 miles farther to Devall's Bluff, capturing two 8-inch guns, and destroying a large amount of railroad property.

General Grant arrived before Vicksburg at the end of January. His army disembarked on the neck of land opposite the city and engaged in digging the canal across the neck, begun the previous summer by the forces under General Williams. Most of Porter's squadron was anchored just above Vicksburg at this time, though some of the light-draught vessels were employed in patrolling the river above, and still others were similarly engaged on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. The plan of capturing Vicksburg by turning the enemy's river line on the south, which eventually succeeded, was preceded by further efforts to turn the enemy's right flank by means of futile bayou expeditions on the north. As the Confederates still held possession of the Mississippi between Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Porter determined to blockade this important stretch of the river by sending down some vessels past the batteries of Vicksburg. This step was the more important, because the enemy continued to supply his army by way of the Red river and Atchafalaya routes. Once below it was believed these detached vessels would be comparatively safe, with the army in control of the west bank of the river. The swift ram, Queen of the West, commanded by Colonel Charles R. Ellet, was chosen to lead in the enterprise. He was to run by at night and had orders to ram a Confederate steamer at the Vicksburg wharf in passing, and also to set her on fire with lighted tow balls.

Starting at 4:30 a. m. February 2, he was delayed by some trouble with the wheel of the Queen until daylight, but was not deterred by that fact. He passed the batteries without losing a man, though his vessel was struck 12 times, one of his guns was dismounted, the cotton armor was set on fire by shells, which endangered the vessel to such an extent that Ellet was able to ram the steamer at the wharf but" once, though he succeeded in setting her on fire. Once below, the Queen immediately engaged in a successful raid down the river, capturing and burning some steamers loaded with provisions for the enemy and destroying a large quantity of meal on a wharf. She was supplied with coal for a month by a barge set adrift from the fleet above. On the 10th, in company with the De Soto, a small ferry-boat which the army had captured, she again went down the river, and on the 12th went on a raid up the Red river, destroying Confederate government property wherever found. Meanwhile, Porter sent down one of the new ironclad steamers, the Indianola, Lieutenant-Commmander George Brown, accompanied by two coal barges, which also ran the batteries safely. Porter now thought himself justified in stating, "This gives us complete control of the Mississippi, except at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. We have now below two n-inch guns, two 9-inch, two 30-pounder rifles, six 12-pounders, and three vessels." But almost as he wrote disaster was overwhelming the vessels below. On the 14th, while proceeding to Gordon's landing 75 miles up the Red river, the Queen was run aground as she was backing around a bluff to avoid the fife of a battery of four 32-pounders. In this helpless position she was exposed to the full fire of the batteries and was hastily abandoned. Ellet and what was left of his crew retreated in the De Soto until they reached the Era, a prize captured the same morning, when the De Soto, being disabled by the loss of her rudder, was Page 209 burned, and the retreat was continued in the Era. On the 16th he met the Indianola in the Mississippi, just below Natchez. The Era returned to the neck below Vicksburg, but the Indianola, when her commander learned of the disaster to the Queen, went down to the mouth of the Red river and anchored. While here he learned that the Queen had not been much injured, that the enemy had repaired her and was planning to attack him with a fleet composed of the captured Queen and the ram Webb, which had been lying at Alexandria, together with some cotton-clads, filled with boarders.

About 9:30 p. m., the night being very dark, four vessels were discovered in chase. The Indianola was cleared for action and turned to meet the approaching enemy. The engagement commenced by the Queen of the West striking the Indianola a glancing blow which did no serious damage. The engagement, which lasted 1 hour and 27 minutes then became general. The Indianola was struck seven times, four times by the W. H. Webb and three by the Queen of the West. When the Webb struck the seventh and last blow, the leaks had increased so greatly and the pumps failing to check the increase of the water in the hold, which had filled the ash pits of the boilers, the Indianola was run onshore. Before the first of the enemy's vessels was near the Indianola her main deck was under water, her crew were assembled on the hurricane deck and she was surrendered and her officers and crew were taken prisoners and landed at Grand Gulf.

The spot where the Indianola sank was a few miles below Vicksburg, near the plantation of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Prompt measures were taken by the Confederates to raise and repair the Indianola, which would have made a valuable addition to their river fleet. A detail Page 210 of 100 men, under a lieutenant, was sent by the commander of the district for that purpose, and they were hard at work while the Queen went up to Vicksburg with despatches and to secure pumps. What followed is a curious illustration of the panic that will sometimes seize brave men. Says Spears: "Early on the morning of the 26th, a Federal gunboat was reported coming down the river. There was a most furious cannonading at the Vicksburg batteries, and the four steamers that so gallantly captured the Indianola at once fled militia-fashion. * * * When the lieutenant in command of the wreck saw what a fearsome aspect the coming monster had, he set the Indianola's two big guns muzzle to muzzle, fired them to destroy them, and then fled. The story of these doings made the government forces laugh and the Confederates curse for many a day after that, for the so-called gunboat was a dummy in the form of a monitor, sent adrift for a lark by Porter's men." Not many months later the Queen of the West was destroyed by the Union gunboats in Grand lake, La. Thus the enemy did not long enjoy the fruits of their capture.

On the whole things had not been going very well up the river, and Farragut felt that the situation demanded his personal attention. The disasters which had befallen some vessels of his own fleet in the Gulf, at Galveston and at Sabine pass, and at the hands of the cruiser Alabama, made him anxious to do something to dispel the general gloom pervading the Union cause at this period of the war. Accordingly he ascended the river and on March 14 arrived below Port Hudson with the Hartford (flag-ship), 24 guns; Monongahela, 10 guns; Mississippi, 17 guns; Richmond, 24 guns; and the gunboats Genesee, Albatross and Kineo. That same night he arranged to run the powerful batteries of Port Hudson with these seven vessels. General Banks' army was to make Page 211 a diversion against the forts in the rear while the Essex and Sachem and a half dozen mortar-boats engaged the lower batteries to cover the movement. The batteries at Port Hudson at this time mounted 19 heavy guns, bearing on the water approaches. These were placed along the bluffs, which are nearly 100 feet high and extend along the east side of the river for a mile and a half to a point where the river makes a sharp westerly turn as one ascends the stream. The passage was rendered still more difficult by the existence of a dangerous shoal just below the point, and the currents in the bend were very treacherous. The several vessels of the squadron were prepared for the passage much as they were below at Forts Jackson and St. Philip, each of the larger vessels, except the Mississippi, having a gunboat lashed to her port quarter. The Hartford and the Albatross led the procession, which got under way about 10 p. m. The Hartford, skillfully handled and fought by her commander, Captain James S. Palmer, got by the batteries with her consort without serious trouble. She reported a loss of 1 killed and 2 wounded, though she passed within 100 yards of the batteries. The dense clouds of smoke which soon settled down upon the water interfered but little with the leading vessel and most of the shots from the batteries were aimed too high to hit her. The Richmond, Captain James Alden, with her consort the Genesee, was next in line. Both these vessels were also well handled and despite the blinding clouds of smoke, which now hung low over the water, reached the turn in the river and were about to pass the last battery, when a shot penetrated the engine room of the Richmond and seriously crippled her motive power. Her consort could not drag her up against the swift current, and she was forced to turn back, assisted by the Genesee until she passed out of range of the batteries. The loss of the two vessels Page 212 was 3 killed and 15 wounded. The Monongahela and Kineo, which were next in line, also met with ill fortune, as the smoke completely obscured the view of the pilots and both vessels went aground on the west shore, the Monongahela touching first. The Kineo had broken loose from her fasts and soon backed clear. Her rudder was disabled, but she succeeded in pulling her big consort off and then drifted down out of range of the batteries. The Monongahela, however, went ahead again. She received a shot while aground which carried away the bridge under Captain McKistry, and precipitated him to the deck below. His hurts incapacitated him for further duty and the command of the vessel devolved on Lieutenant-Com. N. W. Thomas. As the Monongahela neared the bend one of her crank-pins became overheated, stopping the engines, and she in turn drifted down below the batteries. She lost 6 killed and 21 wounded during the engagement. The Kineo sustained no loss, though often struck. The Mississippi, following in the wake of the Monongahela, safely passed all the lower batteries and reached the fatal bend in the river, when she ran aground and heeled over three streaks to port. The port batteries were at once run in so as to bring the vessel on an even keel, and during the half hour Captain Melancthon Smith labored to back his vessel off, the men of the starboard battery gallantly fought their guns. The batteries ashore now had the range of the vessel which was repeatedly hulled. Deciding that he could not get his vessel off, Smith prepared to abandon her in order to save his men. All the officers and crew, including the sick and wounded, were safely landed in the three small boats left, but not until Smith had fired his vessel so that her destruction was certain. The Mississippi floated off at 3 a. m., drifted by the Union fleet without injuring any of the vessels, and finally blew up and sank at 5:30, thus bringing to Page 213 an honorable close a long and faithful period of service. After the action 64 of the ship's company were reported missing out of a total of 297. Though only the flag-ship and the Albatross succeeded in passing the batteries, and serious loss was inflicted on the fleet, Farragut's prime object had been attained and the Red river was blockaded to remain so until the end of the war.

After the action at Port Hudson Farragut steamed on up the river to Vicksburg, engaging a battery of 4 rifled pieces at Grand Gulf en route with small loss. He desired to communicate with Porter and, if possible, to secure some more vessels as he was now separated from most of his own fleet. Porter was absent on the Deer Creek expedition, but General Ellet in command of the ram fleet, supported by Captain Walke and General Grant, agreed to let him have two rams—the Switzerland and Lancaster—commanded respectively by Colonel Charles R. Ellet, formerly in command of the Queen of the West, and Lieutenant-Colonel John A. Ellet. The Ellets were always brave to rashness and ran the batteries in open daylight on the morning of the 25th, with the result that the Lancaster was sunk in the attempt and the Switzerland was repeatedly struck. The latter was soon repaired, and barges loaded with coal and provisions were floated down to the little squadron below. Farragut now went down to the mouth of the Red river, once more engaging the batteries at Grand Gulf in passing, and effectually closed the Red river route to the Confederates until early in May, when he was relieved by Porter and returned to New Orleans by one of the bayous.

When Farragut was away up the river, after running the batteries at Port Hudson, Commodore Morris was left in charge at New Orleans, with instructions to assist in every way possible in the operations of General Banks. Numerous cooperative expeditions resulted, the object being to aid the Page 214 army in its advance on Alexandria through the Bayou Teche and Atchafalaya country of Louisiana. The gunboat Diana was engaged in this work when she was suddenly attacked at Pattersonville on the Atchafalaya, while attempting to return to Berwick bay. Assailed from the shore by field-pieces and sharp-shooters, her captain, Thomas L. Peterson, and all but one of her officers were killed in an action lasting nearly 3 hours. After her tiller ropes had been shot away and her engine disabled, she drifted ashore and was captured. Shortly after this an expedition was organized in Berwick bay, consisting of the light gunboats Calhoun, Clifton, Arizona and Estrella, under Lieutenant-Com. A. P. Cooke of the latter vessel. These vessels engaged and sunk the Queen of the West (captured a few months before from Colonel Ellet) in Grand lake after a fight of 20 minutes, and not long after destroyed the Confederate steamers Diana and Hart. On April 20, 1863, while the land forces were at Opelousas, the gunboats assaulted and took Butte a La Rose on the Atchafalaya, a place which was defended by 2 heavy guns, after which they proceeded to the Red river and May 1 the Arizona and Estrella reported to Farragut at the mouth of that stream. They brought despatches from Banks to Farragut, asking his assistance in the movement against Alexandria. The two gunboats, accompanied by the Albatross, Captain Hart of the latter being senior officer in command of the expedition, were sent up the Red river May 3, and on reaching the bluff in the river where the Queen of the West had been captured some weeks earlier, found a battery with three casemates, now known as Fort De Russy, confronting them. The enemy also had a flatboat mounting a heavy gun, two river steamers, and below the battery was a raft attached to either shore by chains. As in the case of the Queen of the West, the vessels rounding the bluff were subjected to dangerous shoals Page 215 and eddies in the river, and after the Albatross had engaged the batteries for about 40 minutes, during which she was repeatedly struck and lost several men killed and wounded, it was decided to withdraw, as a stronger force was needed to cope with the powerful defenses of the enemy. On the return the expedition met Porter's squadron ascending the river, when the Albatross returned to Farragut and the other vessels went back with Porter to Fort De Russy, reaching there on the evening of the 5th. The enemy had learned of Banks' advance on Alexandria and the arrival of Porter's ironclads at the mouth of the river, hence the works were found abandoned and all but one of the guns removed. The raft was removed by the ram Price and the squadron hastened on to Alexandria to find that here, too, the enemy had hastily removed most of the public property, taking it to Shreveport, 350 miles upstream, where the stage of water would not permit the gunboats to follow. Leaving the Lafayette at Alexandria and the Benton at Fort De Russy to assist Banks, Porter with the other vessels again went down. Four vessels were sent on a raid up the Black, during which they destroyed $300,000 worth of supplies, but were forced to turn back by the heavy batteries posted at Harrisonburg, 70 miles up the river. After sending back the Switzerland, Estrella and Arizona to join the Lafayette at Alexandria, Porter returned to Grand Gulf on the 13th. When Farragut returned to New Orleans on the 7th he left Commodore Palmer to maintain the blockade between Port Hudson and Vicksburg with the vessels Hartford, Albatross, Estrella and Arizona until Porter was prepared to assume entire charge of operations on the Mississippi. After the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson the two admirals met in New Orleans, and, in accordance with the directions of the navy department, the command of the Mississippi river as far down as New Orleans was formally transferred to Porter.

It will now be necessary to return for a little while to the operations of the squadron under Porter. When Grant assumed personal command of the army before Vicksburg at the end of January, 1863, the naval force at or near Vicksburg consisted of the Benton, Cincinnati, DeKalb, Louisville, Mound City, Pittsburg, Carondelet, and Chillicothe, ironclads; Rattler, Glide, Linden, Signal, Romeo, Juliet, Forest Rose, Marmora, light-draughts; the Tyler and Black Hawk, wooden armed steamers; and the rams Queen of the West, Monarch, Switzerland and Lioness. In February the ironclads Lafayette and Indianola joined the fleet. It was evident to Grant that Vicksburg was only to be taken after a long and tiresome siege, as the enemy had been working night and day to strengthen the works. Nature had made Vicksburg the strongest point on the river and the works now mounted 75 heavy guns, in addition to which were a number of heavy field-pieces which could be moved from place to place, seriously interfering with vessels attempting to run the blockade. Sherman's attempt to turn the right flank of the enemy's line by way of Chickasaw bayou had failed, and the Federal army could not cross the river below the town, as there were no transports on that side of the batteries. Hoping to get the transports below Vicksburg, the army was put to work at two or three different points digging canals to open a new waterway from above to below, but these attempts proved failures, as did Porter's attempt to get behind Vicksburg by way of the Yazoo pass and subsequently, by way of Steele's bayou. To secure an entrance by way of the Yazoo pass for the projected expedition, the levee built in 1856 below Helena was cut, and the waters of the Mississippi rushed through, flooding the whole Yazoo valley. It was now hoped to reach the Yazoo river by the old route, leading through the pass, the Coldwater and the Tallahatchie. Page 217 Porter furnished as the naval contingent of the expedition the ironclads Chillicothe and De Kalb; the light-draughts Rattler, Marmora, Signal, Romeo, Petrel and Forest Rose; and the rams Lioness and Fullerton, all under command of Lieutenant-Com. Watson Smith of the Rattler. Grant furnished a force of 6,000 men under command of Brigadier-General Ross, while Lieutenant-Colonel James H. Wilson of the engineers directed the work of cutting the levee and the subsequent work of the pioneers in clearing the rivers of obstructions. It would be impossible to exaggerate the difficulties overcome by the expedition in reaching the lower waters of the Tallahatchie, only to be finally thwarted by the formidable works of Fort Pemberton, where the Yazoo was further barricaded by a raft and the hull of the ocean steamer Star of the West— famous as the vessel which received the first shot of the war as she was seeking to reinforce Fort Sumter in January, 1861. The ironclads, especially the poorly built Chillicothe, suffered severely in the attempts made to silence the batteries of Fort Pemberton. Owing to high waters General Ross was unable to cooperate with the fleet in the reduction of the fort and the expedition was abandoned.

While the Yazoo pass expedition was in progress Porter took personal charge of another expedition of a similar nature. This was an attempt to reach the Yazoo river above the enemy's works at Haynes's bluff, proceeding by way of Steele's bayou, Black bayou, Deer creek, Rolling fork and the Big Sunflower. Engaged in this heart-breaking expedition through the narrow, shallow bayous were the 5 ironclads, Louisville, Cincinnati, Carondelet, Mound City and Pittsburg, accompanied by two mortar boats and four tugs. General Sherman cooperated in the movement with a division of his corps and a body of pioneers. After four days and nights of the most strenuous efforts imaginable the fleet succeeded in workings Page 218 its way through the marshy, willowy creeks to within 800 yards of Rolling fork. Colonel Ferguson, commanding the district, first learned of the movement at his headquarters on Deer creek, 40 miles above Rolling fork, on the night of the 17th, and from that time on every effort was made to oppose the further advance of the fleet, by felling trees across the stream. A force of sharpshooters and some artillery were hastily sent down to Rolling fork, while Porter sent Lieut Murphy with 300 men and 2 howitzers to oppose their landing until the gunboats could get up. But the gunboats never got to Rolling fork, for a heavy bed of lithe willow trees completely blocked the way for a distance of 600 yards. Says Porter in his Naval History of the Civil War: "The flagship Cincinnati ran into it under a full head of steam, and there she stuck; the willow withes caught in the rough iron of her overhang, and held her as if in a vise. All the arts of seamanship could not displace this obstacle, and it would have taken weeks to remove the willows. After working a whole day and night with saws, chisels and cutlasses, the men stopped for a breathing spell, during which a steamer landed at the bank 4 miles off on the Rolling fork. Another soon came higher up and both landed artillery, which, in 2 hours, opened a cross-fire on the fleet with about 20 shells a minute, driving the men on the banks to seek the shelter of the ironclads. The mortars were brought to bear on the enemy and for a time checked the fire. Spy-glasses, used from the top of an Indian mound disclosed the fact that the enemy were landing a large force of infantry, the guns of the ironclads were so far below the banks of the bayou that they were not a particle of use, the vessels themselves were so jammed up against the bank on either side that there was danger of their crews being kept prisoners on board by sharpshooters. Sherman's troops were not in sight and it Page 219 became necessary to send back a messenger to the general urging him to hurry up to the assistance of the gunboats, which were very helpless at one time. The united efforts of the steamers astern of the Cincinnati pulled her out of the willows, but not without great trouble, the people on deck and on the banks being exposed to the artillery, which kept up a sharp fire. There was but one thing to be done under the circumstances, and that was to fall back and meet the army, which the admiral received assurances was moving on as fast as possible. * * * As night came on, the gunboats were ordered to unship their rudders and drop down with the current; and, the water now running rapidly into the bayou, owing to the cut at Delta—which was overflowing the whole country—the vessels bumped along at double the rate they had ascended, bounding from tree to tree, and bringing down the dead branches on the decks to the destruction of everything around—boats were smashed and more or less injury done to everything." As the fleet returned down stream it was severely harassed by the enemy's sharpshooters, though the howitzers and mortars were kept constantly at work to keep the enemy at a distance. Twice the vessels were completely blocked by large trees felled across the stream and the Confederates, who had been largely reinforced from Vicksburg, had strong hopes of capturing all of them. Fortunately Sherman, who had heard the firing, hurried a part of his force ahead to the aid of the entrapped gunboats and followed with the remainder of his force as rapidly as possible, when the Confederates fell back to the north and rear of the squadron, which was thus freed from its critical situation. The impracticability of a campaign in the rear of Vicksburg from above had been demonstrated, for the army, operating in the flooded bottoms, had been beset by as many difficulties as the navy, and the whole Page 220 expedition returned to the Mississippi. In a week the damage to the vessels had been repaired and they were as good as new. The Confederates were greatly alarmed by both these expeditions, not knowing where the next blow would fall, and proceeded to strongly fortify both their flanks. Especially were the batteries at Grand Gulf strengthened, so that the Union forces might be prevented from going up the Big Black river to gain the rear of the city from below, as well as to block the passage of war vessels up and down the Mississippi.

All other steps having proved ineffectual, Grant now proceeded to put into operation the bold movement which ultimately resulted in the reduction of Vicksburg. Briefly, his plan was "to send the gunboats below Vicksburg with a sufficient number of transports, well packed with cotton to protect their boilers and machinery; to march the army over to Carthage and thence transport it to the Vicksburg side as circumstances warranted." When somebody asked Grant how he would get the transports past the batteries, he replied: "That is the Admiral's affair. Where the Queen of the West and Switzerland can go in broad daylight, the transports can pass at night." It was planned to run the batteries with most of the fleet on the night of April 16 and careful preparations were made. The transports to go down at this time were packed with cotton bales and were to pass under the lee of the ironclads. Each of the gunboats had a coal barge lashed to it on the starboard side, the port batteries being left clear to answer the fire of the batteries. Every precaution was taken to prevent being seen or heard. Lights were extinguished; furnaces were well ignited before starting to prevent smoke; ports were covered; only low steam was to be carried, and to lessen the noise this was to exhaust into the wheel; finally, the vessels were to proceed with only enough speed to keep their bows down stream. The sterns of the vessels, which Page 221 were always their weakest part, were protected with wet bales of hay and logs slung near the water line. To prevent collisions an interval of 50 yards was to be kept as the boats drifted by the works and each was ordered to keep a little to one side of the one next ahead, the more readily to pass if necessary, without changing course. Starting at 9:15 p. m. the squadron went down in the following order: Benton (flag-ship) Lieutenant-Com. James A. Greer, with the tug Ivy lashed to it; Lafayette, Captain Henry Walke; Louisville, Lieutenant-Commmander Elias K. Owen; Mound City, Lieut Byron Wilson; Pittsburg, Lieutenant W. R. Hoel; Carondelet, Lieutenant J. McLeod Murphy; Tuscumbia, Lieutenant-Com. James W. Shirk. The Lafayette also had the ram General Price, Lieutenant S. E. Woodworth, lashed to the other side of her coal barge; and between the Carondelet and Tuscumbia were the three transports Silver Wave, Henry Clay and Forest Queen. The transports carried stores, but no troops. All the armed vessels were repeatedly struck while passing the forts, but none was disabled. Of the transports, the Henry Clay caught fire and sank. The total casualties in the fleet amounted to only 16 wounded. On the night of the 22nd five more transports succeeded in running the batteries, a sixth being sunk in the attempt. The transportation was still limited, however, and Grant made some change in his plans, moving the army 25 miles farther down the river to Hard Times landing, 5 miles above Grand Gulf but on the opposite shore. At Grand Gulf, it will be remembered, was the battery which had fired upon Farragut twice after his passage of Port Hudson. Since that time the Confederates had greatly strengthened the battery and there were now strong earthwork fortifications, prepared to offer formidable resistance to the fleet. Some 800 yards below the mouth of the Big Black is the Point of Rocks, rising about 75 feet above the river. On this was the upper battery, Page 222 mounting at the time of the attack, two 7-inch rifles, one 8-inch smooth-bore, and a 30-pound rifled gun on wheels. A line of rifle-pits and a covered way led from there to the lower fort, three-quarters of a mile farther down. The lower fort mounted a 100-pound rifle, an 8-inch smooth-bore and two 32-pounders, while 5 light rifled guns—10 and 20-pounders—were planted in other parts of the works. The Point of Rocks battery was close to the river, but the bluffs receded so as to leave a strip of land, 300 to 400 yards wide along the water in front of the lower fort. It had been arranged to have the fleet engage and silence these forts, after which the army was to cross the river in transports. In accordance with this plan the fleet, on the 29th, moved up and bombarded both the upper and lower batteries. The lower battery was silenced in about 3 hours, but the elevation of the upper battery was too great to completely silence it after a bombardment lasting over 5 hours. The Tuscumbia was struck 81 times by shot and shells and was badly riddled, her port engine being disabled so that she dropped down the river out of the action. All of the other vessels were considerably cut up, particularly the Benton. The Lafayette, though struck 45 times, was not much damaged and well proved her excellence as a fighting vessel. After the fleet withdrew the army marched down below Grand Gulf. That same night the armed vessels again engaged the batteries, while the transports slipped safely by under cover of the attack. When all the transports had passed, the gunboats followed and anchored at a point 4 miles below. The loss of the fleet at Grand Gulf was 18 killed and 56 wounded, practically all of which was sustained by the Tuscumbia, Pittsburg and Benton.

The task of transporting the army across the river at Bruinsburg was begun on the 30th, both the gunboats and transports being employed for that purpose. To prevent the Page 223 enemy's sending reinforcements from Vicksburg during the crossing the gunboats left above Vicksburg, under command of Lieutenant-Com. K. R. Breese of the Black Hawk, combined with the 15th corps under General Sherman, to make a strong demonstration against the enemy's works at Haynes' bluff. Although the movement was intended only as a feint, the gunboats did their utmost to make the attack appear a real one. In addition to the Black Hawk, the naval force consisted of the De Kalb, Choctaw, Tyler, Signal, Romeo, Linden and Petrel, with three 13-inch mortars. Says Porter: "The Choctaw, Lieutenant-Corn. Ramsay, had an opportunity of showing her fighting qualities. She was a sister ship to the Lafayette and had lately joined the squadron. She was struck 47 times in her hull and had 13 shots through her smoke-stack. The turret was struck 6 times. A 10-inch shot penetrated the crown and a 6-inch rifle shot buried itself in the iron plating. Two shots struck below the water line on the starboard side forward of the turret. With the exception that the good order of the vessel was rather marred, no great injury was done, and fortunately, no one was killed." As soon as Grant's army crossed the river at Bruinsburg, Grand Gulf became untenable and Porter found the works there evacuated when he advanced on May 3 to attack them from below. The subsequent movements of Porter's squadron in support of Banks' movement on Alexandria, up to the time of the return of the squadron to Grand Gulf May 13, have been previously told.

Grant now made his celebrated campaign from Bruinsburg to the rear of Vicksburg and completed his close investment of the city May 19. Porter returned to the mouth of the Yazoo on the 15th and there awaited news of the army. As soon as firing was heard in the rear of the city, and it was learned that the advance of Sherman's corps had come in at the left of Snyder's bluff, thus cutting off the city from Page 224 Haynes' bluff, the admiral sent a force of gunboats under Lieutenant-Com. Breese to open communication with the army. Letters were now received from Grant, Sherman and Steele, informing him of the success of the campaign and asking for provisions for' the army, which had been living off of the country during the two weeks' campaign. The gunboats ascended the Yazoo to Haynes' bluff, which they found evacuated by the enemy. The powerful works here were destroyed, and the De Kalb, Lieutenant-Commmander Walker, was sent on up the river with a sufficient force to destroy any property of the enemy that might be found. At Yazoo City, in addition to other Confederate property, three powerful rams in process of construction were burned.

At the time of the first general assault on Vicksburg Porter was requested to shell the batteries on the water side from 9:30 to 10:30 a. m. He complied by opening on the hill batteries one after another and silencing them. The Tuscumbia, Carondelet, Mound City and Benton were employed in the attack and among the guns disabled was the heaviest gun of the enemy, the "Whistling Dick" so-called. He then engaged the water batteries in front of the city commanded by Colonel Higgins, who had so ably defended Fort Jackson. The battery was splendidly fought, the duel lasting for two hours at close range. On account of the high stage of water the battery had little elevation and the contest was waged on fairly even terms. Says the admiral: "This was the hottest fire the gunboats had yet been under, as Colonel Higgins clung to his works with the greatest tenacity and placed a number of shots (fortunately they were not shells) below the waterline." The Tuscumbia came up with her n-inch guns, but as before, proved too weak to withstand such close action, was disabled and forced to drop out. The gunboats ran out of ammunition and one by one retired. They had not been Page 225 seriously damaged, and had lost only a few wounded, but they had done all and more than was asked of them, having maintained the action for more than an hour longer than requested.

On May 27th Grant and Sherman asked the admiral to try the batteries on the left of the enemy's line to ascertain if their guns were still in position. Porter complied, and while the gunboats of the lower division engaged the batteries on the right, the Cincinnati, from the upper division, moved down within range to a position where she could enfilade the rifle pits. The lone vessel was subjected to a fearful fire from all the batteries which were thus concentrated on her and wrought heavy damage to her. She was soon in a sinking condition, all her boats were smashed and her colors shot away, whereupon Quartermaster Frank Bois went out and nailed a flag to the stump of the forward staff. The Cincinnati finally sank in three fathoms of water with her colors still flying and within range of the batteries which continued to play upon her. Fifteen of the crew were drowned in attempting to reach the bank, and 20 more were killed or wounded. The gallant conduct of the commander, officers and crew, took some of the sting from the disaster. Her guns were subsequently recovered at night and did good service during the remainder of the siege.

As there was still a number of steamers on the Yazoo that might prove valuable to the enemy, the expedition under Lieutenant-Commander Walker, which had previously wrought such destruction at Yazoo City, was again sent up the river. Armed boats were sent into many of the bayous, where the gunboats could not penetrate, and found four concealed steamers which were burned. The smaller vessels, the Forest Rose, Linden and Petrel, (the Signal had knocked down her chimneys among the trees and been forced to turn back), Page 226 ascended the Yazoo to within 15 miles of Fort Pemberton, where they were stopped by four fine steamers sunk on a bar in the river. These could not be removed and were burned to the water's edge. As a result of this destructive raid transportation on the Yazoo below Pemberton was completely broken up and a loss of more than $2,000,000 was entailed on the enemy.

During the greater part of the siege the navy had its share in the routine operations. The gunboats below were repeatedly under fire; the mortar boats were employed night and day, in shelling the works; 3 heavy guns—a 10-inch, a 9-inch and a 100-pounder rifle—under command of Lieutenant-Com. Ramsay of the Choctaw, were placed on scows a mile from the town where, protected by the bank, they enfiladed for two weeks the batteries and rifle pits on the enemy's left— the same batteries which had overwhelmed the Cincinnati; 13 heavy guns from the fleet were landed at different points to augment the siege batteries, and were placed in charge of such officers and men as could be spared from the fleet. The navy lent substantial aid to the small force at Young's point and Milliken's bend under General Mower, when the Confederate General Dick Taylor sought to relieve Vicksburg by surprising and capturing those places with a superior force on the night of June 6, when only the presence of the Choctaw and Lexington saved the Union troops from disaster. During the general bombardment of June 19 the gunboats, the scow battery and the mortars vigorously shelled the hill batteries and the city from the water front, but the enemy made no response whatever. Above all, throughout Grant's operations at Vicksburg, the navy rendered indispensable aid in keeping open the only communications of the army, which were by way of the Mississippi river. The army transports loaded with troops and stores Page 227 traversed in comparative safety the 450 miles from Cairo to Vicksburg, though the banks of the river swarmed with guerrillas. These irregular bodies of troops, often supplied with field pieces, moved rapidly from place to place, in the effort to capture or destroy the transports, but the long line of communication was efficiently patrolled by the lighter gunboats of the navy, while the marine brigade under Brigadier General Ellet would land here and there and disperse the guerrillas. That the navy efficiently performed this important service is attested by the fact that only one transport was badly disabled during the siege. Says Porter in his Naval History: "Though the navy performed naturally a less conspicuous part than the army, yet it did its duty in a manner which not even the most exacting could find fault with. Less zeal on the part of its officers and men would doubtless have extended the siege to some indefinite time." It was known that the fall of Vicksburg would also entail the surrender of Port Hudson, the only remaining stronghold of the enemy on the Mississippi, thereby irrevocably severing the eastern and western parts of the Confederacy. Down at Port Hudson General Banks had completed his investment by May 23 and throughout that memorable siege the navy contributed materially to the success of the operations. Says Mahan: "A battery of four 9-inch shell guns from the navy was efficiently served throughout the siege by a detachment of seamen from the Richmond and Essex under command of Lieutenant-Commander Edward Terry, executive officer of the former vessel. The Essex, Commander Caldwell, and a half dozen mortar-schooners under his orders maintained a constant bombardment and succession of artillery fights with the river batteries of the enemy, being exposed to the fire of four 8and 9-inch columbiads and 2 heavy rifles. Between the 23d of May and 26th of June Page 228 Caldwell estimated that 1,000 shot and shell had been fired at him from these guns. During these daily engagements the Essex was hulled 23 times, besides being frequently struck above her decks, and had received severe injury. The mortar-schooners also came in for their share of hard knocks, and their captains were all commended both by Caldwell and Farragut."

Further details of the long siege of Vicksburg and the final surrender will be found in volume VI of this work. (See Cyclopedia of Battles.) Port Hudson fell on the 9th and the Mississippi was open from Cairo to the Gulf, the merchant steamer Imperial being the first to pass down the river to New Orleans.

It would doubtless be interesting to recount the many minor exploits of vessels of the Mississippi squadron, particularly those occupied on detached service on inland waters, such as the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, but lack of space forbids more than a passing mention of some of the important services rendered. On the same day that Vicksburg surrendered, July 4, 1863, the enemy attacked Helena, Arkansas, in force, the garrison there being outnumbered more than two to one. Though the garrison under General Prentiss fought with great skill and daring, there is little doubt that the fortunes of the day were saved by the Tyler, Lieutenant-Com. Pritchett, who turned his powerful batteries on the enemy with deadly effect during the assault.

Immediately after the surrender of Vicksburg, in order to further harass the Confederates, raids were made into the interior by way of some of the tributaries of the Mississippi. Lieutenant-Commander Walker of the De Kalb, accompanied by the New National, Kenwood and Signal, and a force of 5,000 troops under General Herron were again sent up the Yazoo to Yazoo City. The enemy had again planted batteries there since Page 229 Walker's previous visit. A combined attack was made on these and the enemy fled precipitately, 6 heavy guns and a vessel being captured, while 4 fine steamers were burned by the Confederates before their retreat. Unfortunately, while moving along slowly, the DeKalb was sunk by torpedoes. The De Kalb was the fourth of the armored gunboats lost in the rivers, the other three being the Cairo, also sunk in the Yazoo, the Cincinnati before Vicksburg, and the Indianola a few miles below that place. The De Kalb struck two torpedoes and was too badly shattered to be raised.

About the same time another expedition consisting of a force of light-draughts, under Lieutenant-Com. Selfridge, was sent up the Red river. It ascended the Black and Tensas rivers, penetrating to the head of navigation on the latter stream, Tensas lake and Bayou Macon, 30 miles above Vicksburg, and within a few miles of the Mississippi river, this being one of the routes by which Grant had hoped to get his army below Vicksburg. Two vessels of the expedition were also sent up the Little Red river, and later the expedition went up the Washita until stopped by the strong batteries at Harrisonburg. As a result of the raid 4 steamers were destroyed and a large quantity of ammunition and provisions captured.

In August Lieutenant Bache, the former brave commander of the ill-fated Cincinnati, was sent on a raid up the White river. The objects of the expedition were to suppress the Confederate raiders in that region of Arkansas, who had grown very bold, and to learn definitely of the movements of General Price. Bache ascended the White for 250 miles and part of his force also went up a second Little Red river, a crooked little tributary of the White, for a distance of 40 miles. The fleet, consisting of the Lexington, Lieutenant Bache, and the Cricket and Marmora, was highly successful in attaining its objects. Page 230 Bache learned that Price was engaged in assembling an army at Brownsville; burned a large warehouse filled with Confederate stores; destroyed some pontoon bridges, and captured 2 of the enemy's transports.

Throughout this period of the war the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers were efficiently patrolled by a fleet of light draught gunboats, which nominally formed part of Admiral Porter's command, but were immediately subject to the orders of Captain Pennock, fleet captain and commandant of the station at Cairo. In active command of the two rivers were Lieutenant-Commanders Phelps and Fitch, assisted part of the time by the marine brigade commanded by Brigadier-General Alfred Ellet. The members of the brigade were both gunboat men and soldiers at the same time, prepared to land at any time 1,500 men with artillery and go in pursuit of the numerous hostile parties on the rivers. Operating amid a population whose sympathies were largely with the South, numerous detached bodies of regular Confederate troops and many guerrilla and other irregular bands, harried the whole region of the Cumberland and the Tennessee. To recount the innumerable fights between the gunboats and the hostile bands along the rivers would require a volume. Suffice it to say the work of patrolling the rivers was admirably done and the gunboats were uniformly successful in their encounters with the enemy. One instance of the notable services rendered by the gunboats was at Fort Donelson, when Fitch's gunboats saved the little garrison of 800 men there. Colonel Harding, commanding the post, got word to Fitch, who was then ascending the river with a fleet of transports, convoyed by the Lexington and 5 light-draughts, that he had been attacked in force and was surrounded. The Confederates, under Wheeler, Forrest and Wharton, had no thought of gunboats and had so posted their men that their Page 231 left wing was subject to a raking fire from the gunboats when they came up, while their main body was also in an exposed position. The enemy decamped in great haste without firing a shot in return, and the garrison, which had fought gallantly against overwhelming odds, was succored. Another remarkable service performed by the gunboats in this region occurred during General John H. Morgan's raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Fitch heard of Morgan's daring movements and determined if possible to cut him off. With 3 or 4 of his lightest tinclads, armed with boat-howitzers, Fitch followed up the Ohio, shelling the enemy whenever they showed themselves too near the river. The gunboats followed so zealously that Morgan was unable to cross the Ohio at any of the lower crossings. On the 19th the gunboats came up with the enemy at a ford just above Buffington island some 250 miles above Cincinnati, and the howitzers drove them off after an hour's brisk engagement. Some of the troops which had been in close pursuit of Morgan for days now came up and the enemy found himself hemmed in on the left, right and rear. Unable to cross the river as he had planned, Morgan led the remnant of his forces in hasty flight up the stream, abandoning his wounded and dismounted men and 2 of his field pieces. In their precipitate flight the raiders strewed the banks of the Ohio with their booty. The gunboats pushed on up the river in pursuit and twice more intercepted Morgan in his efforts to cross the Ohio. Indeed this novel chase by the tin-clads ended only when shoals were encountered over which the vessels could not be "jumped," and after Fitch had been led 500 miles from his usual station. Morgan and most of his remaining forces were soon afterward captured at Salineville, Ohio, and Fitch was warmly commended for his part in the pursuit by the department and by Gens. Burnside and Cox at Cincinnati.

While Banks was before Port Hudson, desperate efforts were made by the enemy on the west bank of the Mississippi to relieve the besieged garrison. A considerable force from Texas was assembled under General Green; demonstrations were made by the enemy against Donaldsonville, Plaquemine, and even New Orleans; and on the night of June 27 Green attacked the fort at Donaldsonville in force. Farragut had stationed here the Princess Royal, Com. M. B. Woolsey, while the Winona, Lieutenant-Com. Weaver, was at Plaquemine above. Throughout the attack, which commenced about 1 a. m., the Princess Royal was closely engaged with the enemy. Woolsey kept his vessel constantly in motion and handled her with great skill and bravery, using his heavy batteries with deadly effect on the fort's assailants. Officers and crew displayed the utmost gallantry, fighting their guns by lying on the deck while passing the line of fire, in order to escape the cool and deadly fire of the Confederate riflemen. When the Confederate fire began to slacken, the Winona arrived from above and joined in the engagement at 4 a. m. The advance of the storming party succeeded in gaining the interior of the fort, but their supports broke under the withering fire from the gunboats and the assault was repulsed, the Confederates leaving 120 of the storming party prisoners within the works.