The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-02-11
THE BATTLES OF 1851.
OFFICIAL REPORTS.

] l. 141 o<1 l. l. AlGkO NE A0Vx'
/ OFFICIAL REPORTS.
FORTS WALKER AND BEXUREG4aRD
| ONTHE 7rH NOVEMBER, 1851, THOMAS
DRAY ION. BROADER GEN RAJ
COMMANDING.
| HsApa'R rs PRovIsToIAL FoRcss,
3D MILITARY DISTRICT, DEPT 8. o., I
UAxP LEE sHAEpssvILLE, Nov. 24th, 1851
To Captain l.. u. WaIker, Asst AdJt 0en'i,
Char1sston, s. e.:
e nf tho ssn95 st a
inst, setween tn. Federal fleet, mum.
bering fifteen war stcari1ers and gun
boats, and Forts Walker and BeaureGard,
upon Hilton Head and Bay Point. at the en-
trance Of Port Royal Sound. The fleet was
comman ded by Captain: 5. f. Dupont, nag
oncer of the South Atlantic Blockading
s9aadSon, and the troops on board the trans
The distenhe between the forts Ii ~ coast
survey 5emiles.
| The snsmv's aset had been collecting
| Ath instant, and had increased in the af.
ternoon to thirty-two war steamers and
transports.
| On receiving dispatch to this eneo. from
Colonsl William q. Hayward, commanding
/ the troops a. Camp Walker, l left my head
quarters In bsau fort and repaired ny steamer
20 Bay Point. which I reached At p. M /,
| passing on the way the evsr. r.watchful little
1sst Of Flas-Oficsr Ta4nall. Confedsrat.
| States Navy.
| After rem aiming in consultation Until 1:3o
A. H., with Colonel X. q. NJ. Dunovant,
| commandant OF tho port, 1 took my depar.
| ture. leaving him such general Instruction %
| the uncertain mode md direction from which
| an attack might be expected would permit. I
! then vieitsd Commodore Tatnail. and after
| an Interchange Of views, took leave. crossed
over to Hilton Head island, landsd there at
daylight On the 9TH, and Immediately dis
patched courier to BraddCck's Point, south
end OF the Island, ordering captain Stuarts
| company, 9TH regiment, TO march on Fort
Walker; and embark thence to strengthen
Captain Elliotts guonsrs In Fort Beaurs-
! gard. This company did not leave on the
| 9Th as proposed, rs Captain Sassard, of the
steamer Edisto, failed to comply with his or
/ ders TO carry it across carly in the morning.
They were dispatcbe4s however. by the nrsl
| steamer at my disposal on the 7th, and b fore
| they had reached half way across the bay,
| they were cut off from Bay Point by the ad
vanciDg fleet OF the enemy. and obliged TO
| seek shelter In Skull creek, where Captain
! Stuart disembarked his whole command In
l safety.
On inspecting Fort Walker shortly after
my arrival, found twenty guns Of various
caiibre mounted upon the II AN par Is, thirteen
OF which were OH the Channel battery, viz:
One 1e'inch colum biad in the entire, flank.
ed to the right by five 2-pounders aud on.
| a-inch Dahlgrsn rifle cannon, and to the left
Il
| One 32.pounder. ono s-inch columbiad,
| three A. pounders, and ope rifled II .pounder.
SHn,h SoItn oastlon. n.'.'..'''-.l Ss;.pounder. 81
/ SOuLN .....-.-..l 3Z-p0under.
.........l S-iHeh h howttzer.
! .........l long l2 pounder.
South flank OF bastion. L navy 52-poupder.
Demilune.. @-pounders,
| Redan. ..............l Il navy s-lnch howit.ar.
/ Of these eight guns, one in the North bas-
1 tion and TWO In the rOuth flank could occa-
sionaiiy be used against the ships OF war !;
| the rest were for the land Cefence.
To man the guns within the fort, and for
! an infantry reserve outside, we had, until re-
Inducements came from Ssvannah ON the
| afternoon Of the 9th, two companies Of Col
wager WaEoeneIs lst regiment Artillery, S. q.
Three companies, Dol. HeywArd'sa,h
Regt. $. O. V....................2lo
Four companies of Col. r. g. M.
| Dunovant's l2tn ReRt 3. c. v,
| under MAJ jor Jones ..............26 .26o "
| Total...........i... .622 L"
| There were stationed on the bes sch a Cam .
| Lookout, six miles eff, Capt. j. H Screveu $
mounted guertllas, numbering o. who acted
About O'Clock A M Of the Sth, Commo.
dore Tatnali, who had boldly attacked the
enemy's gun boats on the previous day, again
gallantly steamed out to exchange shots wi til
them, but he was met by too largo force and
| therefore retired slowly behind our fOrts -
The enemy followed and engaged both bat.
teries for about forty. five minutes with NO
| other injury than three men slightly burnt In
Fort Beauregard from the explosion of Gals
| son struck by rifle shell.
| On the 9th instant, the fleet and transports
| which had increased to a bout forty five sail
would probably have attacked us had not tn I
| weather been very boisterous. In the after.
| noon, about p. M, we received our first re-
Inducements from Georgia, four hundred and
Berry. q. S A., and Captain heads battery
| OF two l2-pound howl GERS and fifty men.
have reason for supposing that this assist.
ance would have arrived sooner, for Gen. A.
| p. Lawton, commaD ding Provisional forces
| In Georgia. wrote from Savannah to Col w.
u. Hayward on the 4th inst, $50 r. NJ as
follows: "From dispatch received O-day
from Gen. Ripley, infer that you Colonel
H. T.. Hsyward) have heen sufficiently rein
| forced from his command until the plans OF
the enemy shall be more fully developed
Two honrs after the gallant deorgians
came to the rescue, l received the welcome
| intelligence that Col. DeSaussurs's 18th
regiment South Carolina volunteers, six
hundred and fifty strong, had fnnded at Sea
brooks Wharf, upon Skull creek, and were
! close at hand.
At Last the memorable 7:h dawned upon
| us, bright and serene; not ripple upon the
broad expanse OF water to disturb the ac-
| curacy fire from the broad decks Of that
magnificent armada, about advancing in
battle array, to vomit forth its iron hail
with all the spitetul energy OF long sup
| pressed rage and conscious strength, Al
| 8 Is A. NJ, one 9-inch Dahlgren gun opened
fire upon the sixty-gun steamship Wabash,
| flag ship of Captain 8. Dupont, which led
, the van. closely succeeded by fourteen other
l large steamers and gunbOats.
The shell from the Dahlgrsn exploded near
l the lnuzzle, and was harm iess. Other Shots
| followed from both forts, and soon the fire
| became general on land and water. In spite
Of our fire, directed with deliberation and
l cooinese, the fleet soon passed both ba teries
| apparently unharned, and then returning
! delivered, in their changing rounds ter
rife shower of shot and shell In 1iank ane
| front.
besides this moving battery. the fort wa
| enflla AIDED by two gun. boats, anchored TO tn,
NORTH, off the mouth Of Fish Hall creek, II h
| on sketch, and another at n point (C) on tn,
edge of the shoal to the south. This en- Il lad
ing fire on go still sea, annoyed and dam
| aged US excessively, particularly as we ha1
no gun on either flank Of the bastion to repi, nj,
| with; for the 32.pounder on the rie ht fl AMI
! was shattered very early by q round snot
! and in the north flank, for want of carriax
TO gun had been mounted. After the fsurt
l the hurter, and bscalne useless The "a
| FOUNDER rifieL cannon was choked Will
I ramming down a shell, and lay idle durinI
nearly the whole engagement {.
I The shells for the o-ineh Dahlgren wer
also too large; the fourth she'll attem pted +
/ be rammed homo could n OF be driven hello y
[ the trunnions, and was then at great risl
discharged
Thus far the fire Of the enemy had been en-
dured and replied to with the unrue a cd cou r
/ came so fatigued that Ieft the fort, accom-
/ panied by one Of my volunteer Atde Uaptai
II. Rose, and went back TO Captain Read
battery, Zone and three quarter miles In tn
rear Of the fort,) and brought the create
/ part of his men back, to take the places a
, our exhausted men inside the tort.
II It was while thus engaged With Captai
l Reads com pany that Col. w, H Stilee rod