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FIGHT AT PORT HUDSON.
ON the night of 14-15th March
Admiral Farragut passed the rebel batteries at
Port Hudson with his flag-ship,
the Hartford, and the Albatross. He attacked
the forts with his entire fleet, but all but the two vessels above named were
repulsed, and the Mississippi, having grounded, was set on fire and abandoned.
We illustrate the combat on
pages 248 and 249, and subjoin the following
condensed account of the affair from the Herald correspondence:
The rebel batteries extend about
four miles in length, with a gap here and there between. Below, just before the
high bluff begins, a very large number of field batteries were placed in
position. These batteries are by no means to be despised; for in such a narrow
part of the river they are just as effective as siege guns, especially as they
can be handled with far greater facility than ordnance of larger size.
Proceeding upward, the regular fortifications commence. They seem to consist of
three distinct ranges of batteries, numbering several in each range. It does not
seem, however, that either of them mounts guns of very large calibre. The river
now begins to trend to the west, forming a faint representation of a horseshoe,
in the hollow of which the town of Port Hudson is situated. It is right in that
hollow, and just below the town, that the most formidable battery—the central
one—is situated, on the highest bluff. Four heavy guns appear to be mounted
there in casemates. I say appear, because the flashes from these guns revealed
nothing; but the flame from the muzzles showed that all beyond was in obscurity
—precisely as would be the case with guns in casemate. The other guns, en
barbette, or peering through open embrasures, revealed, when fired, something of
the lay of the land behind and around, though but for a moment. Above the town
are other batteries, only less formidable than those just below. Beyond these
the high bluffs gradually subside into the general level of the surrounding
country. Right opposite the principal batteries, on the right bank of the river,
is the point of land on which the Mississippi grounded, in consequence of which
she had to be set on fire and destroyed.
After describing the first shots
from the Hartford, which were promptly returned from the rebel batteries, the
correspondent thus describes the
MORTARS OPENING FIRE.
And now was heard a thundering
roar, equal in volume to a whole park of artillery. This was followed by a
rushing sound, accompanied by a howling noise that beggars description. Again
and again was the sound repeated, till the vast expanse of heaven rang with the
awful minstrelsy. It was apparent that the mortar-boats had opened fire. Of this
I was soon convinced on casting my eyes aloft. Never shall I forget the sight
that then met my astonished vision. Shooting upward at an angle of forty-five
degrees, with the rapidity of lightning, small globes of golden flame were seen
sailing through the pure ether—not a steady, unfading flame, but corruscating,
like the fitful gleam of a fire-fly—now visible, and anon invisible. Like a
flying star of the sixth magnitude, the terrible missile—a 13-inch shell—nears
its zenith, up and still up—higher and higher. Its flight now becomes much
slower, till, on reaching its utmost altitude, its centrifugal force becomes
counteracted by the earth's attraction; it describes a parabolic curve, and
down, down, it comes, bursting, it may be, ere it reaches terra firma, but
probably alighting in the rebel works ere it explodes, where it scatters death
and destruction around.
"RICHMOND" AT WORK.
The Richmond had by this time got
within range of the rebel field batteries, which opened fire on her. I had all
along thought that we would open fire from our bow guns, on she topgallant
forecastle, and that, after discharging a few broadsides from the starboard
side, the action would be wound up by a parting compliment from our stern
chasers. To my surprise, however, we opened at once from our broadside guns. The
effect was startling, as the sound was unexpected; but beyond this I really
experienced no inconvenience from the concussion. There was nothing unpleasant
to the ear, and the jar to the ship was really quite unappreciable. It may
interest the uninitiated to be informed how a broadside is fired from a
vessel-of-war. I was told on board the Richmond that all the guns were sometimes
fired off simultaneously, though it is not a very usual course, as it strains
the ship. Last night the broadsides were fired by commencing at the forward gun,
and firing all the rest off in rapid succession, as fast almost as the ticking
of a watch. The effect was grand and terrific; and, if the guns were rightly
pointed—a difficult thing in the dark, by-the-way—they could not fail in
carrying death and destruction among the enemy.
Of course we did not have every
thing our own way; for the enemy poured in his shot and shell as thick as hail.
Over, ahead, astern, all around us, flew the death-dealing missiles, the
hissing, screaming, whistling, shrieking, and howling of which rivaled
Pandemonium. It must not be supposed, however, that because our broadside guns
were the tools we principally worked with, our bow and stern chasers were idle.
We soon opened with our bow 80-pounder Dahlgren, which was followed up not long
after by the guns astern, giving evidence to the fact that we had passed some of
ACTION BECOMES GENERAL.
Soon after firing was heard
astern of us, and it was soon ascertained that the Monongahela, with her
consort, the Kineo, and the Mississippi, were in action. The Monongahela carries
a couple of two hundred-pounder rifled Parrott guns, besides other ticklers. At
first I credited the roar of her amiable two hundred-pounders to the "bummers,"
till I was undeceived, when I recalled my experience in front of Yorktown last
spring, and the opening of fire from similar guns from Wormley's creek. All I
can say is, the noise was splendid. The action now became general. The roar of
cannon was incessant, and the flashes from the guns, together with the flight of
the shells from the mortar boats, made up a combination of sound and sight
impossible to describe. To add to the horrors of the night, while it contributed
toward the enhancement of a certain terrible beauty, dense clouds of smoke began
to envelop the river, shutting out from view the several vessels and confounding
them with the batteries. It was very difficult to know how to steer to prevent
running ashore, perhaps right under a rebel battery or into a consort. Upward
and upward rolled the smoke, shutting out of view the beautiful stars and
obscuring the vision on every side. Then it was that the order was passed,
"Boys, don't fire till you see the flash from the enemy's guns." That was our
only guide through the "palpable obscurity." Intermingled with the boom of the
cannonade arose the cries of the wounded and the shouts of their friends,
suggesting that they should be taken below for treatment. So thick was the smoke
that we had to cease firing several times, and, to add to the horrors of the
night, it was next to impossible to tell whether we were running into
Hartford or going ashore, and, if the latter, on which bank, or whether some of
the other vessels were about to run into us or into each other. All this time
the fire was kept up on both sides incessantly. It seems, however, that we
succeeded in silencing the lower batteries of field-pieces.
MUZZLE TO MUZZLE.
This phrase is familiar to most
persons who have read accounts of sea-fights that took place about fifty years
ago; but it is difficult for the uninitiated to realize all the horrors conveyed
in these three words. For the first time I had, last night, an opportunity of
knowing what the phrase really meant. The central battery is situated about the
middle of the segment of a circle I have already compared to a horseshoe in
shape, though it may be better understood by the term "crescent." This battery
stands on a bluff so high that a vessel in passing immediately underneath can
not elevate her guns sufficiently to reach those on the battery; neither can the
guns on the battery be sufficiently depressed to bear on the passing ship. In
this position the rebel batteries on the two horns of the crescent can enfilade
the passing vessel, pouring in a terrible crossfire,
which the vessel can return,
though at a great disadvantage, from her bow and stern chasers. We fully
realized this last night; for, as we got within short range, the enemy poured
into us a terrible fire of grape and canister, which we were not slow to
return—our guns being double-shotted, each with a stand of both grape and
canister. Every vessel in its turn was exposed to the same fiery ordeal on
nearing the centre battery, and right promptly did their gallant tars return the
compliment. This was the hottest part of the engagement. We were literally
muzzle to muzzle, the distance between us and the enemy's guns being not more
than twenty yards, though to me it seemed to be only as many feet. In fact, the
battle of Port Hudson has been pronounced by officers and seamen who were
engaged in it, and who were present at the passage of Fort St. Philip and Fort
New Orleans, and had participated in the fights
Fort Donelson, Fort Henry,
Island No. 10,
Vicksburg, etc., as the severest in the naval
history of the present war.
Matters had gone on in this way
for nearly an hour and a half—the first gun having been fired at about half past
eleven o'clock—when, to my astonishment, I heard some shells whistling over our
port side. Did the rebels have batteries on the right bank of the river? was the
query that naturally suggested itself to me. To this the response was given that
we had turned back. I soon discovered that it was too true. Our return was, of
course, more rapid than our passage up. The rebels did not molest us much, and I
do not believe one of their shots took effect while we were running down rapidly
with the current. It was a melancholy affair, for we did not know but what the
whole expedition was a failure; neither could we tell whether any of our vessels
had been destroyed, nor how many. We had the satisfaction of learning soon
afterward, however, that the Hartford and Albatross had succeeded in rounding
the point above the batteries. All the rest were compelled to return. We soon
came to anchor on the west side of Prophet Island, so near to the shore that the
poop-deck was strewn with the blossoms and leaves of the budding trees that we
brushed back. As I passed the machinery of the vessel, on my way forward, I was
shown a large hole that had been made by an eighty-pounder solid conical shell,
which had passed through the hull of the ship, damaging the machinery so as to
compel us to return.
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