The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1862-02-21

Ihad been taken, and the STARS and Stflpe!
were. floating over it. The forces Were
breast to breast, and the fight was TO bc
4 renewed.
CAIRO, February l6-The steamer Min
Inehaha, arrived here from Fort Donelson
having left the fort at 5 O'Clock last eve.
ming, bringing military mail and dis.
patches, and $50 of the wounded to the
hospital at Paducah. l. lasssass t-...
The fight commenced on Thursday, and
on Friday and Saturday the contest wa,
. desperate. The illinois. 9th suffered Sc.
verely, and tho Iowa 9TH sustained con
siderable loss
-Swarlz's battery. which was taken-by
the enemy, was recaptured by our men
| Two Colonels were wounded and two
killed. The loss is heavy on both sides.
The upper fort was taken at O'Clock,
and the Union flag is now floating over it.
Our troops behaved with great gallantry
The gunboats ST Louis, Louisville and
Pittsburgh were disabled.
The Minnehaha met with the mortar
boats at Paducah, going up.
ST.. LOUIS, Feb. l6.--Dispatches re-
ceived at headquarters, say that all the
gunboats were pretty effectually disabled.
Commodore Foote was wounded twice,
but not fatally.
The upper redoubt was taken by our
troops it commands Fort Donelson, and
General Grant telegraphs that he would
| be able to capture the Fort to-day, (Sun-
day.
General Halleck also received dispatch
es from General Curtis, stating that Price S
rear had been overtaken in the pursuit
from Springfield, and after brief resistance
the rebels fled, leaving the road strewn
| with wagons and baggage.
General Curtis states having taken more
prisoners than he knows what to do with.
1t never rains but it pours.
ST.. LOUIS, Feb. l6.-A Cairo special to
| the Democrat, says that Captain Wise, of
| the steamer Minnehaha, reports that the
enemy made sortie from the fort at 10
O'Clock yesterday morning, and drove our
forces back three-quarters of mile, and
captured Swartz's battery.
At o'clock our troops rallied, re cap
tured the battery, and drove the rebels
before them, and planted our flag on their
outer Notifications.
The steamer from Evansville brings a
report that four of our Colonels were
killed yesterday afternoon. among them
Colonel john A. Logan. of Illinois. The
names of the rest are not ascertained.
ST. Louis, Feb. l6.-A special to the
Democrat, dated ''in the rear Of Fort
Donelson, Friday, P. NJ" says:
/ Last niobt was. vQry Saypra on OJII
troops, rain having set in, which turned
to snow. It is freezing to-day, and old
citizens say they rarely have such cold
weather in this latitude.
The more I see of the fort the more
convinced am that it cannot be reduced
without terrible battle. Its rear. seems
almost impregnable. The outer works
and bastions are located on ridges SO TO
200 feet high, covered with dense timber
and underground. Upon a similar range
of hills outside, of these, our. army is
drawn up in line of battle, completely en-
envy from the Cumberland south of the
fort, to the backwater of stream which
fianks the fort on the North.
General Oglesby, who has the xtreme
right, pushed forward his brigade last
night to the Cumberland, and has planted
a battery commanding the river, which
will effectually prevent the arrival of any
more reinforcements. In fact we have
them completely surrounded, and can
complete the job at our leisure. az sa74s
A formidable attempt was made last
night to take Taylor's battery, by the en-
emy, who approached under cover of the
darkness, but were gallantly repulsed by
the Goth Illinois. There was considera-
BILE skirmishing during the night; each
force endeavoring in the darkness to
crawl in upon the other.
This morning it was discovered that
the enemy had placed logs upon their
bleastworks, leaving little space for them
to shoot through, and much diminishing
their risks from the unerring aim of our
sharpshooters.
The casualties among our artilleay thus
far are very small. The loss of the ene-
my is considerable. So l--i
Yesterday afternoon, after the storming
party had retired, and when the rebels
had been thickly crowded together to re-
pei the assault, Captain Taylor opened
upon them with terrible effect His prac-
tice was superb. creating the greatest con-
sternation in their ranks, and causing
them to take refuge in their intrenchments.
The gunboat assault was terrific, ex-
ceeding even the Fort Henry lombard
ment. 1t lasted about an hour and a
half
The enemy has facing the river two
batteries, the lower one of nine guns, and
the upper one of four guns, besides a
ten-inch Columbiad
The wooden gunbeats, Taylor and Con-
estoga were engaged in the fight
Commodore Foote pronounces the en-
gagement the hottest he ever witnessed
Seven of the nine guns in the lower
tier of the enemy's battery were sileneed,
and everything was apparently progress
sing very favorably when the rudder chain
of the Carondolet was severed.
The Pittsburgh was injured in the
wheel, so as to be unable to stem the
current, and the pilothouse of the ST.
Louis was knocked away, killing the pilot
and slightly wounded others, among them
Com. Foote. The fleet then was obliged
to retire. One of our shells. struck I'M
mediately under one of the enemys Guns,