Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-05-11
The GREAT NAVAL RATTLE BE-
Low NEW ORLEANS.
.scosanf froHs an Eye TT4snsss.


EDITORS APPEAL Il appears 10 be the dis
position OF the press, as wen as the public, to eagerly
grasp and believe any thing they can hear In regard to
tAe late engagement at Forts jackson and St. Philip
private LISTERS have been grabbed up aud passed around.
as the only authentic information. They are very mea-
ger IN statements, rather speaking TOO much Of number
! aud numberl set. Being a participant In the engage
ment OF having seen It all, We can furnish you with a
few items which may be interesting to your readers.
Our defense consisted Of Forts jackson and St. Philip,
and q water battery, mounting in all over $50 guns,
many Of them being Of best quality. and through the
nndrtng energy Of the commanders, all were well ar
tangsl a9a we men well drilled, aud TO detain vessels in
psshhk' mere was an excellent barrieade made Of old
nuns aAen0fea ABOUT sixty yards apart, and connected
win heavy chains. This work was all broken M BY
the pad management Of some Of our boats and hre-dats
aud was Of no service. Our navy feet consisted Of tbs
iron-clad gunboat Louisiana, which, owing to the grand
s1penmentaltaiure on The part Of the builders, In apply
lus nsI power might properly be called a floating battery,
mounting 10 excellent guns the iron-clad ram Manassas,
several %gunbOatE, aDd six gunboats of the river defenss
"Lsu -sle po"erIuI toWboats' lifted up on the
ran principle. Tbs force Of the enemy consisted Of about
twenty ugstesr sioops and ~gunbosts eight or ten mortar
ooa.s with nnnbeness transports. etc. They came I'D
on Nednegdey thel6th, got their position aud Commenced
aovyiy sn6hiug from their mortar vessels. while their
other vessels would occasionally come in range of us.
wnen brisk hring would be returned, The bombardment
continued eight days and when they got our range il
was Kept W day and night, sometimes throwing over $50
per houl at a distance Of 2Ss miles, which was beyosd
Jul IeaLA buhs we second day all OF the quarters
and inside works in Jackson were consumed by tbs
burning huid from their shell, which diseommoded our
men greatly. The fort was much torn up, but not ma
ter1aly injured more than the dismouating Of several
guns and from the persevering confidence Of our men.
they could never have taken it that way. But while ali
attention wss given TO the condition Of the fort the Yam
KEGS were arranging different plans. To make a long
story short. tue balance can be put In a nut shell. Our
picket guards betrayed us, and about three O'Clock,
Thursday morning here they came Ike the elatter wheels,
past the forts hrQg on our ~gupboats, pouring broad.
side after br0sddde among them. and soon obtsined a
brilliant though dearly bought victory. The Louisiana
had a transport boat on each side, and could use but few
Of Der guns. The other boats were laying, crowded
against each other aud owing to the darkness Of the
night, great confusion was made In getting In motion and
each went II blind on his own hook. Nearly all Of our
men fought brsvely aid did all they could, until the forts
were disabled, when they headsd Tor shore and every
one looked cut for number one Many acts CT heroism
were shown.
Our loss In men is greater than is generally supposed,
and all our boats but three, which stopped nearest the
forts. Tbs loss Of the enemy was much greater, several
vessels going down, carrying nearly all Of their crew
with them and the guns from the fort, which ratified
them while passing the forts. About four Of their yes
sells we're sunk We had q large number Of fre1aats
and rats, full Of comhustibles, to send against them and
light up The Tiver, but, from bad management, proved Of
no service. This was the greatest naval engagement Of
the war, aud q heavy blow TO our cause. WIN our lead
er5 profit by III Many persons look on this as only
another orinciug proof Of their superiority on water
bat here we had strong forts, good guns, good men, iron
clad ~gun6osts and rams, hrsrafts, etc, etc, and how do
they achieve such q complete victoryl Ash In many Other
eases Of defeat evacuation and retreats, through bad
management on the part Of commanders. sud, sometimes,
from very apparent coWardee
a PARTICIPANT.