Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1862-05-23

OF war, ran the gauntlet OF Hfe Oh tIio
forts and were safely above. On the gal
lantry, courage and conduct of this heroic
action, unprecedented in naval warfare
considering the character of the works
and the river, too much cannot be said.
Of its casualties and the details of its
performance the flag officer will give an
account to the proper department. L
witnessed this daring exploit from point
about eight hundred yards from Fort jack
son, and unwittingly under its fire, and
the sublimity of the scene can uever be
exceeded. The feet pressed on up the
river to New Orleans, leaving two gun
boats to protect the Quarantine station,
five miles above In case the forts were
not reduced and portion of the fleet got
by them, it had been arranged between
the flag officer and myself that I should
make landing from the Gulf side, in
the rear of the forts at the Quartine, and
from thence attempt Fort st. Philips by
storm and assault, while the lombard
ment was continued by the feet. / i'm
mediately went to Sable Island with my
transports, twelve miles in the rear of
Fort st. Philips, the nearest point at which
q sufficient depth Of water could be found
for them. Capt. Porter put at my dispo-
sal the Miami drawing z IL feet, being
the ightest draft vessel in the feet, to
take the troops from the ship as far in as
the water would allow. We were delayed
twenty -four hours by her running ashore
at Pass a i Outre. The Goth Regt.
Massachusetts Volunteers, Col. Jones,
were then put on board her and carried
within six miles of the fort, where she
again grounded. Captain Everett, of the
9th Massachusetts Battery, having very
fully reconnoitered the waters and bay
GUS in that vicinity, and foreseeing the
necessity, l had collected and brought
with me some thirty boats, into which
the troops were again transhipped, and
conveyed by a most fatiguing and labori-
Gus row some four and half miles further,
there being within one mile of the steam
er only two and half feet of water. A
large portion of this passage was against
a heavy current through q bayou. At
the entrance of Mamecl's Canal a mile
and half from the point of landing, row.
ing became impossible, as we'll from the
narrowness of the canal as the strength of
the current, which ran like mill race.
Through this the boats could only be i'm
PEELED by dragging them singly, with the
men up to their waists in water. 1t is
due to this fine regiment, and to a portion
of the 4th Wisconsin Volunteers and Dist
Indians, who landed under this hardship
without murmer, that their labors
should be made known to the department,
as well as to account for the slowness of
our operations The enemy evidently
considered this mode of attack impossible,
as they had taken no measures to oppose
it, which might very easily have been
successfully done. We occupied at once
both sides of the river, thus effectually
cutting them off from all supplies, infor-
nation, or succor, while we made dispo-
sltion for assault. Meantime Captain
Porter had sent into the bayou, in the
rear of Fort jackson, two schooncrs of his
mortar fleet, to prevent the escape of the
enemy from the fort in that direction. In
the hurry and darkness of the passage of
the forts the flag officer had overlooked
three of the enemy's gunboats and the
iron clad battery Louisiana, which were
at anchor under the walls of the fort.
Supposing that all the rebel boats had
been destroyed (and dozen or more had
been)he passed on to the city, leaving
these in his rear. The iron steam battery
being very formidable, Capt. Porter deem
ed it prudent to withdraw his mortar feet
some miles below, where he could have
room to maneuver it if attacked by the
iron monster, and the bombardment ceas-
ed. had got Brig. Gen. Phelps in the
river below with two regiments to make
demonstrations in that direction if it be-
came possible. In the night of the
9th, learning that the feet had