The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-09-06

| ey clouds Of dust and loud explosions. when
the shells asattsrsd their deadly FRAGMENTS
ee0,a ss ana any tho sharp
nei{h tensd ~ the dense blus smoke that
drfftsd In clouds before ms, made up such a
scene - was never before Witnessed on this
oo .Son, i t ne cannonading had been going
QuSoanna came rom sea, dropped her boats
! astesn, ana joined in the fray She took o
Sos,uon on The left Of the line. end nred her
lana ~sy ~ snns with Ersa, effect. The Climber
nine and eleven inch shell with r.pidity and
precision. The Wabash, occupying q pos
ION between the nag ship Minnesota and tho
s unmSSsrIand. Kept up a ho. nrs, a. did the
mounting serenity six heavy guns In broad
eide, showered upon the battery shell, and
the fort ceased firing, and was abandonsd By
About this time party Of men. consisting
as have since learned, Of Lieu tenant. OoIo
mel Weiss (rwsn tisth New York; and Lieu
tenant Johnson, Of the Naval Brigade, On
tered the fort and raised the Stars and Stripes
but Is NO attsn ton was paid to 1t by the ii se,,
and the shells came in SO uncomfortably not,
they were obliged TO retire from 1t, leaving
tne nag proudly waving A long time after
the enezay had ceased TO give us q gun the
airing on oar part ceased, and the Commodore,
| thinking that the rebels had been driven out
ordered the Monticello to follow up tho adj.
vance OF our troops along the beach, and pro
tsct them II fire shouid be opened upon them
As she advanced towards this inlet, the troops
| entered and occu pied the vacant battery. and
again the Stars and Stripes were hoistsd, and
noated, as 1t would seem, triumphantly in the
breeze.
| larger and much stronger fort, displaying
no nag, perfectly silent, and to oil appearance
perfectly vacant, stood to the rear OF the frs.
Monticello had go: well into the inlet did i,
| give any signs OF being Occur pied by the enemy
| 1t then opened fire with eight guns upon the
ship, within range OF eight hundred yards,
At the same instant The Monte clio struck
heavily on q reef and remained fast The
| Monticello opened fire instantly, which was
continued for the space of fifty minutes, dur
! ing which time she threw seventy dve shells
| into the battery, the enemy returning the fire
sharply. Finally the Monticello GOT off, ana
steamed out, hiring few shells as parting com
piimsn.. She was badly damaged. though,
| In the unequal conflict. Seven eight-in.n
shoils, loaded with sand instead Of powder,
went through and through her hull. Que
lodged in the Monticelios coal buokers one
| entered the bows and stuck fast in knes in !,
forward part Of the shell room; o,ber vt, nc
abaf: and Welt through the berth deck abou
| nvS feet from Mr.. Bar IONS room. dasning tn.
| spnuteTs al ABOUT MIN, smashed up the paint
room AND went in to the firs-rOom, ripping up
tho deck bidiy, and doing other damage. One
| that went through her just above her wa 'er
| lire came near flashing the work. But sh 3
escaped, and no. 8 soul on board was seriously
injured; few slight bruises was all the
| damage done to the men. She came ont disa-
sbled, and for several hours was engaged in
| making repairs. Night came ON, and we lad
body of troops on .hore, without an ade-
| quate supply OF provisions and water Tor the
night. We could not send them assistance
| in conseq uence of the heavy serf. All that we
could do was to anchor close in shore, and
protect them with our guns in case Of n ght
attack.
Or BOARD PAwsxE, Aur. %. 1851
At hftsen minutes past eight O'Clock this
morning, the Minnesota, Wabash snd Sns.
ofangs to within d mile ard a quarter of the
eueiny's large battery, the contest of vas+ar
day was re-Opened. The Susq johanna. bavsno
the left OF the line Of battle, opened IRE from
engaged the battery, throwing al inmans,
manor Of the largest shells, many OF SSioh
| exploded In The battery, on the ramnarts
breschipg i. badly AID knocking the ms.
splinters about in terrible style The shins
kept up this incessant cannonadinr for At Ia 81
| half An hour before the enemy msds snv -
| Spouse. But he was not driven ont 81 VIC
soon saw, rs four or hve reports in quick sue.
| cession came from the battery, snd 1be ronnd
| shot struck the water q short distance Srn,,,
| the ships. After tina: the enemy,s Ara IN
pretty sharp, bat nearly all the shots fell
short Two thirty two pound solid sho,
| struck the Wabash, but did not pass tbroneh
| her side. Damage slight.
At ten o'clock the Commodore siynaIized
| tho Harriet Lane to engage The battery on the
right flank, and dce as fast as possible. Our
men nad oeen At quartz since Sc ven o'clock
and they received the order with syery dc.
| monstrAticn Of delight We took our rosi.
ton to the extreme right of the line. Lieut.
| Tompkins let a. f1rst with his esght-inch ri
NED gun forward, tbs she'll entering the inlet
baJond the fort and exploding with i'm Iuenss
| force. A second =hell went into the batter7
| directly through the rampant, traversed one
curtain under which the rebels had endeav
ored to shelter themselves. billing ore and
woundinE others, and exploding half way
acroes. This shot disheartened the rebels, as
| they could then see but little prospects OF
safety for themselves II the fire was contin
uSd. Three out OF sixteen projectiles u ames,
| passed into the fort and did execution -
Lieut.. Portcr's I!n I'd thirty two, in the star
| board battery, also took part in the fray, one
| she'll going in the battery and there ex sloding
| Lieut.. Thatcher's gun In the second div sion
was exoe'lently served, but it's range did not
seem to equal the two other guns.
| Captain Faupca did his whole duty and in
| spired the men by his gallant conduct and b.
| Although not we'll, no remained at his posi-
| from daylight to dark. rendering efficient as
| sistance in bringing tho opera tons OF the day
| 70 successful formulation. Hs was gallant ly
| command. Before we ceased fire the Cumber
| land came in from an ofhng, undsr sail, AND
took part in the engagement. The rebel;
| dreaded her 1re, which seemed to be very de
n
| In the midst of d terrific shower OF shells froT
| the 1sst, and some time after tia last gun haC
been fred from the fort, q white flag was DIST
ed over the ramparts Of the fort, and there held
| by one OF the rebels. It WAS Immediately dis
| covered, and the Commodore sigaalied, -'ceas,
| airing" Immediately thereafter three rous
| ins cheers came from all the ships, when it be
| came apparent that victory was ours. Ches'
| after chser rang from ship TO snip, and tn,
| tired gunners left their pieces with a look o
| intense satisfaction when they knew the flgh
| had terminated.
| LRTfI1 OF coSaRATCLATIoE FROM THE NAVY
| DEPARTMENT TO CON. sTRINaHAh.
| WARRINGTON, September S.-The Navy De
| partmsnt has addressed the following letter t.
Dom. Strirsha
NAVY DEPARTMENT, Sept. 3, 1861.
Sir The Department congratulates yot
aud those of your command, and also tbs Off
| Gers and soldiers Of tina army who CO opera ee
| with you In tho reduction Of Forts Hattsra
and CLARK, and the capture OF the forces en-
| ployed In their defence. The successful re
suit thus far Of Al expedition projected will
| great care and the occupation Of the positions
| commanding the most important inlet on tn,
| coast Of North Carolina will be attended with
consequences that can scarcely be everest
ma'ed.
! This brilliant acbisvment, accomplished
| without the loss Of man on your part, O
| injury to any one In the Federal service, ha
| carried Joy and gladness to the bosom of every
| friend OF the Uaion. It is. l trust, but tn,
| beginning of results that will soon eventua II
| In supDressink the insurrectiOn and confirm
ing moro strongly than ever the integrity O
| the UniOn.
Convey to the officers and men of the re
| spective vessels under your command tn,
thanks of tho Department for their gaIlap
| conduct, and the assurance that is thus af
| forded that in the great emergency now upoI
| us the country may rely, as Of old, upon tn,
| yigor, the courage, and tho enthusiasm of IT.
| brave officers and sailors.
Am, respectfully, your obedient servant,