Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1861-10-23
THE WAR NEWS !
The Reported Disaster TO the Federal
Blockading Vessels.

The Northern press, it appears, do not
plucs implicit reliance on Com. Hollins
report of his victory over the Federal
feet at the head of the Passes in the
Mississippi river. The New York Tlmes,
in tie course Of lorg article, says:
There is enough about il to make u
doubt whether it is 50 much disaster to
our feet and so great a victory 10 HoIliny
as he represents. And first, it is evident
that but 9 small part OF ou- squadron was
engaged in the fight. Hollns says we
had forty guns IN the engagement
Probably We had the Nincennes, 22 guns:
Prcble, lG guns, and Water Witch, guns
in all 50 guns. That would leave the
Niagra, the Sav,nnah and the Richmond
-iu all SO guns-out OF the tight alto
gethcr; which we presume was The cusc.
This would agree with the report of Oct.
II, which stated that the Water Witch,
and two other vessels, were above the
bars Of the passes protecting the erection
Of batteries on the sand spit. lfthis work
on batteries shoIla be allowed to 90 on
one week, said the dispatches to Rich
mond, on the ith inst, the five Passes OF
the Mississippi will be commanded by
tho Nationals. 1t seems probable that
HoIlius got all the gunboats together thu
he could, and started down to the mouth
Of the river, to drive away the protecting
sIoops Of war, ii possible, and capture or
dlsperse the mea engaged in erecting bat
terles on the sand SPIT. Il 50, it appears
by his own report that he failed. He
speaks OF sinking the Prebe, and driving
the other vesse!' aground; he talks OF
"peppering" these vessels after they got
fast in the sand. But why didn't he des-
troy them? Was anything more easy
than to riddle with shot and shell such
helpless objects as grounded vessels,
which he was near enough to pepper" 50
well with his little feet that had not sufr
lered IL casualty?
THE REBEL IRON CLAD VESSEL.
For some time the people of New Or.
leans have been threatening that they
would break the blockade aud destroy
our vessels, and to prove that they meant
hat they said, they set about construct.
ing vessel tuat was TO effect this object
though they were somewhat troubled a.
to the shape, size, &c, that this affair va,
TO be. ire name sac Was TO be called al
90 disturbed them much, ard at last it
became known to the people as The
thing" or the "rondescript
The despltch states that Our iron siea
mer sunk the Prebie with her iron prov
and as it was the intention of the rebels
10 cover this vessel with iron armor, il
may have been the same one that was
building but this Is hardly probable, as
it was launched but a short time ago and
could hardly have been got ready in SO
snort a time. The great probat ility is
that their iron clad steamer, with which
they claim to have done SO much damage,
is the propeller Enoch Train, formerly OF
Boston-a vessel that was published by
some New Orleans Merchants Tor the pur-
pose OF towing, on account of her great
strength, she having immense power in a
small compass When We heard from her
last they were encasing her with railroad
iron aud adding TO her DOW a strong iron
prov for pushlng or smashing against a
vessel, The Enoch Train is propeller OF
about 400 tons burIhen, is one hundred
and twenty eight feet lorg, twenty six
feet wide, and twelve feet depth of hold.
This was her measurement before being
altered by the rebels. She was built in
the year 1855, and was strong, though
not very fast boat The other vessels
composing the rebel feet We are, of eourse,