Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1862-05-14

been patiently waiting the end, convinced
that succinct narrative of operations, alter
success had been achieved, would be far mere
acceptable TO you than difused statement
of events in the order Of their occurrence.
Tie Forts Passsd-Enemy Refuse to Sur
render.
I viii premise with the statement that to
day-the 23d day of April-will hencefcrth
be remem bered as the date of one of the most
desperate of naval battles At 3 o'clock IN
the morning the greater part of Commodore
Farraguts squadroR-consisting of five sloops
of war and nine gunboats-successfully pas
sed up the river. running through fearful
FIRE, and are now above the forts. The NOR.
tar fotilla and eight armed steamers are still
below the enemy, who are thus placed be-
tween two fires, with his supplies from New
Orleans cut of, and rendering his surrender
merely a question Of time. Of the damage
that has resulted to either side, haze at
present little knowledge. From my position
with the mortar vessels | can see the masts OF
our fleets, apparently three or four miles be-
yond the forts, and the flag of the Union is
flying from the top Of every spar.
The burning huls of three rebel steamers
have passed by as down the river, and that
famous bagbesr, the ram Manassas, is des
troyed. | saw it sinking, burning wreck,
It's two smoke stacks totterlng, Its cylinders
pierced with yawning holes made By rihed
shot; and in the cabin where am now writ
ing is a logslate, taken from her deck just be
fore she sank by Mr.. Geo. w. Sumner. the
executive officer of this vessel. The edges
and frame of the slate are eharred, but not
SO badly as to prevent our reading on the
outside these words: Masters log, c. S.
cta On inaiAa
ten From to evening, kept up fires.-
At 7.3O. steamer Diana passed up, Signed
r. T. W" which are probably the initials Of
the name of the officer who had the watch
Although the loss of the rebels cou not have
been otherwise than severe, they refused to
surrender. Communication had been had
with them by means of flag of truce, when
Capt. Porter demanded that they should yield
uncOnditonaiiy. Their reply was that the
terms were in admissible, and until the last
man fell they should fight.
Fire Opened.
Fire was opened on the morning of Good
Friday, April %. At an early hour the
twenty bomb vessels ere towed by the steam.
ers WestGeld, Clifton, and Mama to the po
sitions which had been selected for them
Fourteen of the schooners were moved to the
where they were hidden by the trees from the
enemy's observation, and the remaining six,
instead Of three only as was at frst intended,
were placed in a more exposed position on the
opposite side of the stream. The first schoon
er in the line on the western side was station
ed little less than a mile and three quarters
from Fort jackson, and the thirteen others
lay astern Of her, with the bowsprit of each
overlapping the taffrail of the one immediate
" in advance The vessels across the river
were In full view of Fort St. Philip, whence
they were distant nearly two miles and
half
Commencement Of the Siege.
The engagement was opened by Fort jack
son q few minutes before o'clock, and the
gonboat Owaseo, which had gone length or
two ahead Of the mortar vessels, was the first
to reply. Presently the bomb hotlla com
menced throwing Its shells. somewhat slowly
at first, bat witt Increasing rapidIty as the
sailors became accG stoned 70 their work, un
I'll bumb VAS sent fram each vessel. on IN
average. once in five minutes. There we're
% shots fired from the forts dGriug the first
h"ur and half the larger number nf which
came from Fort jackson. MIST of them pas
Sed over the nASts Of the schUUuerS on the
left. dropping in range nf those on the other
shore, hut from lj0 to 300 yards short AZ
ter awhile. however, the rebels got the range
Ut these six vessels, accurately, and tie balls
fell aIout them especially from Fort Philip
terribly thick and fast. La retnrn. the bombs
were directed spritedly upun the furt, and
with such effect that the enemy Slackened his
fire. 1t is wonderful that our vessels were
not smashed to pieces. Solid shot struck the
water close beside them, wettiug the men with
the spray, or lodging in the soft mud Of the
river bank, directly between the schOoReFs,
threw thick column Of earth high up above
their masts. These vessels all belonged to
the second division of the fotilla. The dan
ger to which these vessels were exposed far
outweighed the advantages which might re.
suit from retaining the position, and in the
evening, Captain Porter ordered them to re-
treat. The next morning they were towed
into the rear of the line of vessels on the left,
where they remained until the end of the
bombardment. Only three of them were
struck, and not a soul was injured on board
of them. Captain Queens vessel, the T. NJ.
Ward, had a large hole made in her by ten.
inch ball 1t entered her starboard quarter,
smashing the cabin, and passing directly over
the top of the magazine, through the port side
into the water. Another shot entered the
deck of the Adolph Hugel forward, and lodg-
ed in the hold. Still another carried away
the cutwater of the Sidney G. Jones.
A Scene from the Masthead
The Hartford, Pensacola, Richmond, Brook
lyn, and Mississippi had come up close to the
rear line of mortar vessels, just without the
range of the enemy's guns, and were steaming
only enough to keep their relative positions
against the force of the current A dozen
smaller steam-vessels dotted the smooth sur
face of the river, like the chessmen upon
board when the game is nearly finished. Of
these gunboats the Owasco, Kennebec, Wissa
kickon, Csyugs. and Sciota, were at the head
of our lines, belching out shell upon the ene-
my from their eleven-inch pivot guns with fu-
rioua rapidity, and with them the sloop- of
war Iroquois, Capt. De Camp, whose gallant