, 1861-11-20
wuAT THE REBELs SAY.


In Et&Tek1t1E Rebe1 Account OF the
ii Beaufort Victory.
\
Fnm the Charleston Courier, Nor. Ill
,Thu1sday dawned g1orlouslg upon our wea-
rIed bnt p1dapnted guuue1s, and Ill felt that |
The dsY Of trial had at 1aEt arrived SearcelY |
had breakfast been despatched, when the hos
tile feet Ras observed in commotton. The |
lie, and within supporting distance Of each
Other. the frieate Mfnnesota, the hsgship Of
Commodore Dupont, in the van. As the long
ure OF formidable looking vessels, thirtean In
with few failing nen:otwar in toT, swept
rapidly and mslestically Ia, with ports open,
aEd bsiatlirg with guns Of the heaviest esan1e,
the sight II as grand aId imposing. tbs was
at halj- past eight o'clock. Until the Mians-
cur batteries On Hilton Head, all WAS stu.
Suddenly the fifteen heavy gums Of Fort |
Walker, which had been aimed directly at
the huge fIigate, be1ehed forth their slmultA-
neons ire, and the action was begun. Almost
Beauregard, On the other side Of tie entrance,
also opened their fire. The enemy at first did
not reply. Bntas The second steamer came
opposite to Fort Walker the hulls Of the first /
shot and shell Of three Tremendous broad- |
sides, making in all seventy five gum, cane |
crashing against our Works. From this mo |
ment the bumba1dment Was terrific and inees-
upon cur forts and delivered their fire as they
pasf ed, until nine had gained the interior Of
the Earbor, beyond the range Of our guns.
The Mipneeuta, still followed BY the others,
then turned ra1nd and steamed slowly out,
giving bIoadBide to Fort Beautegard as she
fepsssed. Tnns the battle Was continued, the
| enemy's vetsels sailing in an eliptical curve,
| pouring one b1oadside into Bay Point, and
| then sweeping around to deliver the other
| against Hilton Head. This furious fire from
/ hxv1 7f 4hafy. rf
the 11,inch Dah1gren pattern, ard some even
| Of 13-inch bore (for ehot Of that DIAM
eter was found in Fort Beaursgsrd,)
| VAS maintained incessantly, and the
reaE Of the cannon seemed at most continuous.
| Meanwhile OUT garrisons were making gal
Isn't defence. They kept up vigorous and
well directed fire against their assailauts, aaa
notwithstanding that their best gun WAS dis
mounted at the beginning Of the action, they
succeeded in setting fire to several Of the
| enemy would haul of and soon extluguish
the flames. The effect Of our guns Was, in
many instances, plainly Visible from the forts.
Although the SIDES Of the Minnesota are Of
massive strength, several Of her ports were
knocked into one. Nor was she the only ves-
Eel upon which this evidence Of the power Of
our fire could be seen. Many Of the other
ttesmers were likewise badly hllled.
Alter some time spent in sailing round and
manner Ne have described, the enemy's
steamers adopted another and more success
fu1 plan Of stack. One Of them took a po-
tition inside tEe hsrbor, 50 as to eutilade this
! batteries Of Fort Walker, while several
tie outside Besides this terrific GROSS fire,
TWO Of the largest steamers maintained the
:: fire In frtat Of the fort. Thus three furious
cGn7ergirg streams Of shot and shell were
hours. The vessels came up within hall
mile ot the shore, but nearly all cur guns had
+ by this time, bee me dlsmounted, and vi
: were 10 longer abls to reply with serious ef
. }eet.
= Point were sileneed. The fire Of Fort Walker
: as far as the guns that remained were con
d eerned, Was net whit e1ackened until
!. o'clock. By that time the dreadful condition
: Of 1he fo1t became too apparent to be 1ongel
It d'eregbrded. The guns lay in every direction
t dfzmaDtled aud useless; the defsnces Wer'
L terribly shattered, the dead and dying were tt
. he seen on every eide, and still the iron hal
poured pittilessly in.
u In this strait it was determined to abandon
70 the fort. A lorg waste, abont mile IN eS
tent, and commanded BY the enenay's guns
inte1yened between the garrison and tn
% Woods- Across this they were ordered to rul
for their lives, each 1na1 tor himself; the OF
T. ject beipgto scatter them as much as possible
1t so as not to afford target fcr the rhed cannQ
= of the fleet. The preparations for rdnnin
t. this p5silous 9uanilet were soon madt
4 Knspsacks were abandoned. but the msn r
ir 1ained their musketF. Each Of the Wounde
as four men. The satety of the living preclude
the,iGea Of removing :he dead. And shu. II
or gallant little band quilted the scene OF the
glory, and scampered of, each one as best b
og covered BY small detachment, who RENAME
es for an hour after their comrades mad .lef
I'd Among those who remaiued were Captai
ng Harms, with six men; Lieut.: Melchors, Wit
re tour men, ard LIent. Bischo1f, with four Me-
he These worked the guns until about tn
III O'Clock, when they also quilted the field.
The abandonment Of Furt Baauregard II:
equally necessity. The garrison were e
In hausted, snd In momentary danger OF oels
cut of When Colonel Dunovant ordered
ort filed the eyes Of Capt. Elliott At tae saa u
III. | cessitY. The retre8t Fas admirably condu;
. ed, and rendered entirely successful BY t
on prudent energy Of Capt Hancksl, one Of Ge
Is Rp1eys aid' wo 5.o+as bad Eos tefs5oe5 -soE
res troops passed safely over to st. Hslena 1ssr
From there they passed TO Beaufort 1slan
om and reached the train at Poeataligo Witho
the the loss or irjury of man. In this tort no
VA were Killed, and but hve were Wounoso, q
rfs- two Of these we're wounded By negligence
the loading cannon, By which hot shot WAS Idr
en- On the powder, without the vet 1ad
cedirg 1t.
The rest Of the story Is briefly told. 1
hat en- l1uItQaJ night tu6 GARRISON Oh olb VI
ion er had collected at the 1andin1, In the hope
7ol. being able to reach Blufton 81 water. Lu
ion i1y several small Confederate steamers II
ress within hail. But here ludlcrous mists
ex. occurred. The zetgeatirg troops imagi'
the little steamers to be Yankee gunboa
the while the crews Of the steamers II
t in convinced that the troops were b
ned Of disembarked Yankees. Acting ul
gret this double delusion, deal Of mutual
Isel cOnnoitefinE Eas made, and it Was only
Tit. vast variety Of strategic approaches I
they reached tho conclusion tnat it Has
right" A quick trip to Blutfton follow
Thence the troops marched to aaraeev
,ons seventeen miles distant. The road al
gare which they dragged their exhausted fra
g. va. filed with heterogeneous thronl
ar fugitives Of an conditions, carriages, carts
Zen. coLveyancss Of every description that c:
mac by aby possibility be pressed into ser'
heir The spectacle was sad one,
Thus ended the defence Of Port Royal
med modification OF the disaster is lessene:
ines thu consciousness that our troops desc
eEcctEs.