St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-02-14
The War on the Mississippi.

of Mississippi and his accompliccs,
that the blood Of citizens Of Ohio who
were peaccably navigating the Mis-
sissipp river, was not shed at the city
of Vicksburg. The circumstances OF
the attempt to fire upon the steamer
A. o. Tyler arc absolutely astounding.
The Governor of Mississippi assumed
to believe that troops were being sent
down the river by the Federal Gov
eminent to garrison the Louisiana
forts. He therefore planted battery
at yicksburg, with orders to search
all boats from Northern cities bound
South. The steamer A. o. Tyler
reached Vicksburg in the night, her
officers knew nothing of the survcil-
lance of the pretended Sovereignty of
Mississippi. Capt. Collier, command
ing, says in his letter:
awe arrived at Vicksburg after
night fall, it being very dark and rain
ing. When we got within 800 yards
of the wharf boat, a cannon was fired
across our bow, and not knowing
what it meant, we went on and landed
at the wharf boat. BY the time we
got landed, there was company Of
armed soldiers ready to board and
take charge of the boat. The Captain
of the company first came on board,
and ascending the hurricane deck, in.
quircd if l was the Captain of the
Taylor, when replied in the afiirma-
tive. lie then asked why i had not
paid respect to the State of Mississippi,
and landed where they fired across
my bow. / replied that had not been
informed that was in a foreign port,
and had not heard that Mississippi
was out of the United States. lie
told me such was the fact ] then re-
marked to him that was ready to
comply with the laws of the country
wherever happen to be. He said ii
was essential that all boats should
land at the fort they had established
above the wharf boat replied that
l was ready to comply with that law,
aud would run the boat up to the fort
| l then invited him to march his
company on board and go up with us,
which he did. The soldiers formed
in line in the cabin, when the Captain
gave his men strict orders to behave
themselves, as he had found one North
ern boat commanded by perfect gen
tlcman, and he and his crew SHOULD
be treated as such. We then ran NJ
to the Fort and landed. The Genera
sent guard to bring the Captain (my
self before him for trial, when was
escorted to his headquarters by about
forty soldiers. was introduced tG
the General by the Captain, the latter
stating that l was all right, only
had not heard that Mississippi had
left the United States. The General
remarked, that having done all that
was required, they did not wish to de-
tain me, and that was at liberty to
so. I was treated very kindly, and
never met more gcntlemanly officers
than they WERE"
1t will be observed that the Captain
was ignorant of the existence of the
battery which was planted three hun
dred yards above the wcarf boat, t.
stop boats going down the river. The
night was every dark, and raining.
A gun was fired "across the bow " of
the boat, in regular imitation of
the way Of commanding a suspic-
ious vessel to hcave to and submit
to search. Such performance was
until then unhcard of, on the Missis-
sippi river. The Captain "not know
ing what it meant, went on and land
cd at the wharf boat" lie did not
know then, nor when lie wrote the
letter alluded to above, that when he
event on" an attempt was made to
fire into his helpless boat, twenty
four FOUNDER loaded with chain shot.
But such was the fact, as coolly de-
clared in many Southern papers, in.
Guiding the Vicksburg Wing. The
twcnty-four FOUNDER, crammed with
chain shot, was directed at the boat
and the match applied ! Fortunately
owing to the awkwardness of the
Mississippi artillerymen the printing
was wet, and the gun missed fire.
BY the time the printing had been
renewed, the boat had passed out of
range, and was pcaceably, all hands
utterly unconscious of offence or dan
ger, landing at the wharf-boat, where
she was valiantly boarded by the Mis-
sissippi troops, taken back to the bat
terry, and the captain escorted by for
ty soldiers to the presence of the au-
gust commander of the detachment,
to be Intercepted, pronounced per-
feet gentleman and dismissed. Sup
pose the twenty-four FOUNDER had
been leveled accurately at the boat,
and had been discharged. The effect
would have been murdcrous. 1t
would have been. wonderful if some of
the misseIs had penetrated the boilers,
when the scalding steam would have
destroyed those spared by the chain
shot. The battery was three hun
dred yards ADORE the wharf-boat, the
object being to supervise do,on boats.
Why was it not at the wllarf-boat or
below? We can see no rcnson why
not, unless there was a design to
make an opportunity of firing into
some boat proceeding in ignorance of
the regulations. The whole transac-
ton would have been disgrace to the
Algerines forty years ago. We don't