Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1857-02-27
Operations ofU. S. vessels at Canton.

Operations ofU. s.. Vessels at Canton.
The Hong Kong Register gives the fol-
lowing resume of the Operations of the
United States vessels in3the attack on the
forts at Canton, beginning with asreca-
.pitulation of the forts taken ): 81
Left bank lower fort. SO guns slow
qua's fort, >on north endaof Wampoa
island, 48 guns I; Napier's fort on island,
38 guns left bank upper fort, 4 guns
total l65 guns.
The gentleman who kindly furnished
the above account. mentioned the follow
ing officers with great praise :-Commo>
dore Foot, of the Portsmouth; Comman-
der Bell, of the San Jacinto and Com
mander Smith, ofthe Levant; also Lieuts.
Lewis, Watmaugh, Guthrie, Davenport,
English, Carter and Simpson, in charge
of boats also Lieutenant Belknap, with
Adams and Shepherd, masters, in charge
OF the field pieces, called in the AmeIi>
can service howitzers, and Captain Sims
and Lieutenant Kirkland and Tyler in
command Of the marines. .n- -p,...
The ships suffered very little damage.
The Leyant had her main stay shot away
and one OF her guns damaged by shot
~ Al 6A0 AAuAAL0s
1t appears that some Of these forts had
been previously taken by the English.
who had satisfied themselves, however,
with spiking the guns and leaving them.
The Chinese subsequently re-for.i6ed
them. r ...
A letter in the Boston Post. also men,
tons the gallant conduct of Lieutenant
Macomb, Of the Portsmouth, Lieut.. Co.
locoressis, of the Levant, who led an at
lacking party, and Assistant Surgeons,
Vanzandt, of the Portsmouth. and Dan
iels, of the San Jacinto. A correspon-
dent of the New York Times, writing Of
the attack on the forts by the Portsmouth
and Levant, says:
was surprised to see the terrible ef>
feet from the shot and shell from the two
ships, which a visit to the forts exhibited.
The massive granite walls of the first fort,
which was within range OF 40 yards Of
the Portsmouth on the 18th ultimo, were
shattered, overthrowing, and in some in>
stances, pulverizing 10 powder, and fine
as flour. The accuracy of the firing
was most remarkable. The embra-
sures Of the forts are provided with
doors. lined with iron, which are clos.
ed while the guns are being run in and
loaded. One of these doors, l notic>
ed penetrated by shot in three places.
The she'll burst very perfectly and into
very small pieces. As the forts were
crowded with Chinese. they must have
suffered with fearful loss. All the build
ings, inside the walls were unroofed and
torn to pieces by the explosions. The en-
envy could stand with comparative ease,
the solid shot of the Levant, but the
''r0tten shot" Of the "black devil' as they
have styled the Portsmouth, and also the
she'll and shrapnel from the efficient
howitzers, were altogether intolerable.
Had the Portsmouth been equipped with
less efficient battery than the one which
she now carries she could hardly have
sustained the rapid and accurate fire Of
the four forts. as she did on Sunday,
the 18th. She fred on that day alone,
no less than $50 shells; and the total
weight of the iron and powder which
she threw during the several engage
ments was about 10 tons.
The total number of Chinese in and
about these defenses could not have
amounted to less than $4,000 to $4,000
men. Their guns were we'll fought they
made most effective use of armed rockets,
and during the passage Of the boats from
fort to fort, they were surrounded with
showers Of missiles. Shells, round shot,
grape and canister struck the hulls and
oars. and splashed up the water in every
direction, but without striking man.
The four forts which were Of enormous
thickness, constructed with blocks of
granite aud armed with nearly 200 guns
of the heaviest caliber. stood on the four
sides of the square, the river passing be-
tween them.
The excellent and soldier like behavior
of the companies Of marines from the San
JacInto, Portsmouth and Levant was
such as to call for special commentator
| Their perfect drill and discipline and their
cool bravery did much towards insuring
to the storming parties such complete
success.
The same writer, referring to the ex-
plosion of one of the mines laid by the
Americans, says;
I" Two seamen from the Portsmouth
were blown to pieces, and their arms and
legs and mangled bodies scattered in all
directions. A boatswain's mate from the
San Jacinto was also instantly killed.
Two men from the Portsmouth and seven
from the Leyant were wounded-most Of
them severely, though it is believed they
will all recover, Lieutenant Belknap's
escape was narrow one. He was within
few feet OF the mine when the explosion
took place."
The excitement and exposure of the
men generally subsequently, increased
the sick list to about 40 on the Levant,
Portsmouth and San Jacinto.
Since the above was in type we learn
from the Washington Star that the De-