The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1860-1863, 1861-12-26
THE LATE FIGHT, AT FORT PICK
EMS.
The Official Report of Col. Harvey Brow
HEADQuARrERsD DEPARTMENT OF FLORIDA,
FoRf PIcKENs, Nov. 25 1861.e

Inc Oluctdi nopoIt VI NOi' AotsoJ Dio"n
HEADoUARrERsD EpARrMENT OF Florida,
FoRf PIcKENs, Nov. 25 1851
GENERAL: That Fort Pickens has been.
beleagured by the rebels for the last nine
months, and that it was daily threatened
with the fate of Sumter, is fact motor
fous to the whole world. Since its occu-
pancy by Lieut.. Slemmer the rebels have
bsen surrounding it with batteries, and
daily arming them with the heaviest and
most efficient guns known in our service,
guns stolen from the United States, until
they considered this fort as virtually their
bwn. its occupancy being only matter
Of time.
1 have been in command since the 18th
Of April, aud during the whole of that
time their force haS averaged, so far as l
can learn. from eight to ten times the
number ofmine. The position in which
I havs thus been placed has been suffic'
isntly trying. and have at three sepa'
rate times intended to free myself from i.
by opening my batteries on them, but, the
imperious circumstances, over which l
had no control, has unexpectedly in each
instance prevented,
I. Affairs were in this state on the morn
ing of the 9th of October, when the enc
my, fifteen hundred strong, attacked by
surprise a portion tf my command on an
intensely dark night. They were defeat
ed and driven from the island with great
loss by less than two hundred regulars
and fifty yolunteers-all the efficient force
I had disposabls for the purpose. An
insult so gross to the flag Of my county
could not by me be passed uDnoIiced, land
! designed Immediately to sake appropri
ate notice OF ii; but. as said before,
circumstances over which | had no con.
troll prevented. I make these PREDATORY
remarks to explain why + have now open
Cd my batteries on the eremy, when from
the smallDess Of my forces, about one
sixth Of his, thirteen hundred to eight
thousand, L have not rthe means Of pro-
ducing any decisive results, and as evi
dehos of my having accomplished what
I Idesignsd-the punishment OF the per
petrators Of an insult on my country's
flag. ,o
Having invited Flag Officer McKeah tc
to.operals with ME in attacking the reb.
els, and to which he gave ready and
cordiaf assent, /, on the morning oI
the 22d, opened my batteries on the enc
my! 10 which. in the couroe of half an
hour, responded from his numerous forts
and batteries extending from the Navy
Yard to Fort Nc Ctea, distance Of ahou
iott miles, the whole nearly eqdi distant
fIom this fort, and on which line he has
two for,s=aMc Ctea and Barrancas--and
fourtsefi sepatate batteries, containing
from ons To iUdr guns, many Of them be-
Ing ten-iuGh columbiads au1 some twelve
ahd thirteen inch sescoSst mottars; the
distance varying from TWO thousand one
hundred 10 two thousand nine hundred
yards from this fort At the same time
Of my opening, Flag Officer McKeaui ii
the Niagara, and Captsih Ellison, in the
Richmond, took position as near For
McRea as the depth Of water would per
init. but which unfortunately was no
sufficiently deep to give full effect to thei
powerful batteries. They, however, KEEP
up q spirited Ere on the fort aud adjacen
batteries during the whole day. My 6rC
was incessant from the time of opening
until Il was too dark to see, a. the rate o
. shot for each gun every fifteen or TWEEN
~ minutes, the FIRE of the enemy being
somewhat slower. By noon the guns o
Fort MoCrea we're all silenced but one
and three hours before sunset this for
and the adjoining battery ceased fire.
directed the guns Of batteries Lincoln
Cameron. aud Totten principally on th
batteries adjacent TO the Navy Yard, thos
Of battery SCOTT to Fert McCrea and tn
light house batteries, and those of th
fort to ell. We reduced very perceptibl..
the FIRE Of BsrraDcas, entirely silsnoe