The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-08-08
of the Siege of
Vicksburg.
WHERE THE FLEET HAVE GONE.
pecial Correspondence of the Chicago Times.

MEMPHIS, Tenn, July 70.
The ram Queen of the W est arrived yes
terday from Vicksburg, with intelligence of
important events 10 that locality. She
brings details of the second unsuccessful
attempt to capture the Arkansas, and con
firmation of the rumor that the siege of
Vicksburg has been abandoned.
The failure of the attempt to capture the
rebel boat sat heavily upon the consciences
of our naval heroes, as the audacity of her
first appearance disturbed their sleepy equa.
nimity. A plan was accordingly laid by
which it was hoped that she might be taken,
and on the 10Th, at about sunrise, it was
put into execution. The new iron clad gum
boat Essex ard the ram Queen of the West
were detailed for the duty, and at given
signal the Essex led the way upon the field
of action.
The Essex made grand dash around the
bend, and went at her enemy in grand style.
She was discovered Immediately, OF course,
and preparations were made to receive her.
The bow of the Arkansas was swung out
so as to present front to the Essex, and
if possible, receive her On her iron Prov.
This operated to throw the assaiing boat
out of her course, and, in avoiding the iron
PROV, she struck a glancing blow, which
did no particular harm. Her gunner had
been active in the mean time: and several
shots had been fired into the Arkansas, one
of which, an eleven,inch solid shot, went
through her from stem to stern. killing five
men. After striking, the Essex recoiled
from the collision, and swung around below
the Arkansas, with her bow close in shore,
and, while in that position, both boats open.
ed fierce cannonadiDg. The balls took
effect upon the Essex, and cut her up badly,
while the Arkansas, as usual, was invuDer-
able, She seemed to be impervious to the
strength of powder, and turned the heavy
missiles Of her enemy aside like papar pc
let's, or crumbled them to atoms with flash
OF blue light, and threw them over board
piece meal
The Essex was, meantime, in danger of
being sunk, and prudently concluded to
leave. She had lost three men killed and a
number wounded, and was fighting alone a
battle in which the whole feet should have
been engaged. She swung of, and started
down stream under the fire of all the bat
teries, and ran gauntlet which would have
sunk an ordinary gunboat 10 the feet.
Meantime the Queen of the West was get
ting under way. She made her start, and
had got a good Roadway on, when she was
hailed by Com. Davis. In order to receive
his communication, she was obliged to stop
and return, when it was ascertained that the
old gentleman was merely telling them to
60 it as strongly as was feasible under the
oirouroo&opooo This 1sft1o 1;nroco;o, co,k
the Essex into action alone, and, before the
Queen was again under Roadway, she had
fought her battle and passed on.
The ram went down in fine style. She
had hundred and fifty pounds of steam on,
and was fairly bounding from the water
when she struck the Arkansas. She made
q circle to strike her square, and the con.
cussion was like an earthquake. The Ar
kansas careened, and rose out of the water
as if lifted bodily off her bed. A crash of
timber and iron resounded in the air, and the
two boats parted, as the Queen backed her
engines and prepared for second blow.
The Arkansas gave heavy roll and settled
back to her position quietly, and again they
came together. There was another crash,
and another surge, and once more they part.
ed. The Queen turned and ran for the up
per feet. amid perfect storm of balls which
ratified about her in every direction. She
was pierced in every part, and only escaped
sinking by a miracle. She was in disabled
condition, for the only result of her tremen-
dous blows had been to batter her PROV into
wreck, and unjoint the iron sheathDg
with which it was covered. She got the
worst of it by long odds, for the Arkansas
seemed to lie as quietly as ever, and as in
vulnerable as ever. She was, in reality,
unipjured.
Having determined to evacuate, the small
colony of thousand negroes which had
been employed on the canal by whose united
efforts that work of genius had effected
level five feet above the water line, with an
increasing ratio going on as the river fell,
were disposed Of by turning them loose into
the woods. A portion were carried down
the river and deposited on the shore in the
nelghborhood of their homes, and the whole
pack was thus got rid of. This was Bit
ter pill for the blacks, who were sure that
Kingdom Gone had arrived when the Fed
erals got there. They made rush for the
boats, and would have taken them by force
had they dared. They were beaten off and
told to shift for themselves, and they had no
alternative except to take to the woods to
starve, until they chose to 60 home to their
masters. They went with tie Federals so
willingly, IN many cases coming out of the
woods where their masters had hidden them,
and 10 many more insulting them most
gratuitously in the process, that they at
present stand in bodily fear of being killed !