Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1861-12-25
The Official Report Of Col Brown.
Col. Harvey Brown has made the following
official report of the late fight:
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF FLoRIpA,
FoRT PICKENs. Nov 25. 1861.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF FLORIDA, !
Fort PIcKENs, Nov 25, 1861.
GENERAL: That Fort Pickens has been be-
leaguered by the rebels for the last nine
months, and that it was daily threatened with
the fate of Sumter, is fact notorious to the
whole world. Since its occupancy by Lieut..
Slemmer, the rebels have been surrounding it
with batteries, and daily arming them with
the heaviest and most efficient guns known to
our service-guns stolen from the United States
Until they considered this fort as virtual
ly their own, its occupancy being only ques-
ton of time.
| have been in command since the 10th of
April, and during the whole of that time
their force has averaged, so far as | can learn,
from eight tn ten times the number of mine
The position in which have thus been placed
has been sufficiently trying, andI have at three
separate times intended to free myself from it
by opening my batteries on them, but imper
ious circumstances, over which had no con,
troll, have unexpectedly in each instance pre-
vented.
Affairs were in this state on the morning
of the 9th Of October, when the enemy fifteen
hundred strong, attacked by surprise por-
ton of my command on an intensely dark
night. They were defeated and driven from
the island with great loss by less than two
hundred regulars and fifty volunteers the
efficient force had disposable for the purpose.
An insult so gross to the flag of my country
could not by me be passed unnoticed, and
designed Immediately to take appropriate no.
tice of it but, as | said before, circumstances
over which l had no control prevented.
make these predatory remarks to explain why
| have now opened my batteries on the enc
my, when, from the smallness of my forces
L IL. l..
eight thousand. have not the means of pro-
ducing any decisive results, and as evidence
of my having accomplished what designed,
the furnishing the perpetrators of an insult on
my country's flag.
Having invited Flag Officer Mexican to CO.
operate with me in attacking the rebels, and
to which he gave a ready and cordial assent,
|, on the morning of the 22d, opened my bat
teries on the enemy, to which, in the course
of half an hour, he responded from his nuuer
Gus forts and batteries extending from the
navy yard to Fort McRae, distance of about
four miles, the whole nearly equi-distant from
this fort, and on which line he has two forts
(McRae and Barrancas) and fourteen separate
batteries, containing from one to four guns,
many of them being ten inch columbiads, and
some twelve and thirteen inch sea coast NOR
tars, the distance varying from two thousand
one hundred to two thousand nine hundred
yards from the fort. At the same time of my
opening, Flag Officer Mexican, in the Niagara,
and Captain Ellison. in the Richmond, took
position as near to Fort McRae as the depth
of water would permit, but which unfortu-
nately was not sufficiently deep to give full
effect to their powerful batteries. They, how
ever, kept up spirited FIRE on the fort and
adjacent batteries during the whole day
My fire was incessant from the time of open
ing until it was too dark to see, at the rate Of
a shot for each gun every Is or 20 minutes,
the tire of the enemy being somewhat slow
er. By noon the guns of Fort McRae were
all silenced but one, and three hours before
sunset this fort and the adjoining battery
ceased ere. directed the guns of Batteries
Lincoln, Cameron, and Tottcn principally on
the batteries adjacent to the navy yard those
| of Battery Scott to Fort McRae and the light
house batteries, and those of the fort to all.
We reduced very perceptibly the fire of Bar
rancas, entirely siIenced that in the navy
| ward, and in one or two of the other batteries
| the efficiency of our fire, at the close of the
day, not being the least impaired.