Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-12-31
Incidonts at the Bombardment OF Fort
Pickens.


The following extract is from letter writ
ten by an officer on board the United States
steamer Richmond after the bombardment of
Fort Pickens;
went by invitation of Lieutenant -, of
the engineers, to visit the fort Took a cir
cult first Of the covered way, then of the par
apet and ramparts. Ali around the fort, in
side and out, were marks Of the enemy's shot
and shell. On the glaois, here and there,
are deep grooves, ending in large hole,
where the shot had pumped into it, and
where there had been shell which had burst.
The hole was great excavation, into which
you could drive an OK cart. Where the pro.
jecties have struck the standing walls they
have Clipped off patches of the brick. work,
lit is brick and not q stone fort) perhaps
eight or ten inches deep; and where they
have struck the corners larger portions have
been removed, but in no case has any part of
the fortifcstions received an injury tending
in the least to weaken it, and this after two
days heavy firing. The only man who was
killed outright, during the two days action,
was an artilleryman, who was passing into
the casemates with some bread from the
bakehouse A she'll exploded at the other
side of the area, and one piece flying a dis.
taDce of some two or three hundred feet,
passed through his body, under his arms
He walked few steps and dropped dead.
There were many almost miraculous escapes.
A she'll was heard coming toward gun on
the parapet, and the men lodged under their
bomb. proofs. The shell hit fairly on top of
the bOmb.proof, went through, and dropped
into pail of water beside the officer, where
il exploded. When the men came out again
to resume their work. all they saw of their
officer was his heels, sticking out OF pile OF
rubbish. After digging him out they stood
amazed to see that he was not even hurt.
He rose up, shook the sand from his hair and
clothes, and coolly said: "Oome, come! what
are you standing there gaping att Load
that gun there" At it they went again, az
If nothing had happened. Another officer,
who had charge of a battery Of mortars, had
no less than seventeen shells strike within
ten yards of him. l saw the ground plo wed
up in every direction, and yet not a man
had been relieved from their guns, were sit
ting smoking and watching the firing in q
corner, protected from shot by the walls
when half of a huge shell struck and buried
itself right in the middle of the group, with
out disturbing them in the least. "What's
thatP asked one. "The devil knows, and
be won't tell" indifferently responded an
other, and went on smoking. A ten-inch
Columbiad came rolling to ward group, the
fuse whzzing and smoking. "Wonder i
thstll hit usPn Guess notl we're too nea
itP Crack went the shell, flying 10 ever,
| direction, but fortunately escaping them ali
| The rebel powder was poor, as was also thei
shot and she'll, except that portion which they
succeeded in stealing before the rebellion
broke out. Their practice, however, wa
said to be good-how could it have beer
otherwise2 Uncle Sam taught them at hi
unparalleled school at West Point, but witt
little thought that the teaching would b
thus employed.