Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-12-27
Tko Fall eff Forts jackson, So. Phillip
mud new elrlcamn.

uud New sBrIeaun.
EDITORS APPEAL: So complete and incredible is the
ignorance Of the public the actual facts connected
with the bombardmeut and passage of Forts Jackson
and St Philip La which led to the fall Of New Or
leans that It deemed imperative though tardy ac
OF justice to those who defended bem lay before tn,
p1bc for the first time concise but accurte sketch o
those events
On the lrst of April. 1862 the armament of the two
forts consisted Of us pieces Of heavy artillery nearly
half the guns in each fort were smooth 24's. Subss
queny several heavy guns arrived and were put in pO
! stion
Such the armament with which was to be held on
check Federal feet Of nearly fifty vessels carrying
some $50 guns the larger proportion of which were
nine and eleven guns the balance raed guns of the
latest patterns mortars and G few howtsers This mum
Der included the somewhat famous mortar fleet, com
posed of twenyone sehooners divided utO three dvig
ions Of each and division Of eight steam
gunbOats The balance Of the feet comprised sOops Of
war and heavily armed gunboats.
The two forts under the immediate command Of
| Lieutenant Colonel Edward Higgins 22d regiment
Louisiana volunteers Brigadier-C General < Duncan,
commanding all the forts composing the exterior defen-
Of the city Of New Orleans had present A the
forts since the middle of March The garrison consisted
of companies B, c, D. f, F, and K Of the lst regi-
meRt Louisiana Artillery company OF Confederate
recruits Lieut.. Dixon companies and Of the 22d
louisiana volunteers; l. I'D Louisiana VOun-
| teers, and three unattached compAnisA
Ths only distractions in the river consisted Of bar
/ rier formed by anchOring eight Bchooners
abreast. few hundred yards below Fort Jackson. and
stretching chains them This, however, previous
| to the comm sncement Of the bombArdment no
longer couplee, heavy re-raft bresEing loose and
drifting across the bows Of the largest schooner, had
carried it away and two Of the feet in attempt
ng TO into action, had torn away schooner and
disconnected another thus breaking up connected
Osrcsdei and leaving tue balance to offer such resist
three four schooners laying at anchor in the
ST. cam might present to feet coming up the river.
The vessels never we-e established in position, and
such the state Of the obsrucOnH the morning Of
| the passage Of Commodore FarrEguts feet.
The armed vessels at the forts constituted three distinct
nRvies The COnfedsTate navy consisted Of the
battery Louisiana, sixteen guns captain Mcintosh the
steam Manassas one hOSitzer Lieutenant Waverly
commandiug the gunboat heRae, eight guns under the
command Of Lieutenant Huger aud the steamer Jackson
sn ol1 converted, unprotected tow-bosf, lnng
smooth neutrality-suspicious. commanded by Commander
/ rrancis Renshaw-he whole being under the mmand
| 7f Capt D. Mitchell, acting flag officer
/ The Governor Moore, Capt. Beverly Kennon and the
/ Gen. Quitman, Capt Grant, two merchant steamer,
| Louisiana navy.
The Navy Department had accepted the tender Of
number Of tow-boas, iron clad and cotton shesthsd,
for service as steam rams and these also mounting two
each had been sometime the forts doing guard
duty under the flag Of Commodore Stevenson the de-
4 signer OF the Manassas. They were named the War
-iOr the Defiance the Stone Wall the Jackson Reso-
lutte and Gen. Lowell. The last named feet is under
ood to have been subject to the orders Of Brgader
About the 28h of March two Federal gunboats made
their appearance ar,und the thick point Of woods be
| low Fort Jackson, when fire opened on them bat
| without perceptble eheet. The gluboats kept them
-lves almost, not quite Of range and after re-
~ lining short time withdrew without returning the
| fire.
IN the 5th of April their gunboats again showed
themselves around the point in stronger force
4ud after receiving for short time The fire of our long
| range guns, slowly dropped down the current
/ On the 18th Of April the gunbo1ts again came in
view and tried the range other guns, opening with
he'r res ana pivot guns from the smaller gunboas.
The nrng demonstrated their great range vessel
| concealed behind the woods THROWN, shot clear
! 'ver st Phillip, into the marsh beyond On the I7h
yyo mortar scuo0ners up the river nder a lib took
up position and threw nine shells with tolerable aceu.
1 racy at Fort Jackson
| On Good Friday the 18th Of April between ard
4. NJ. one division Of the fleet with number OF
attendant gnbOst took position close in TO the ORD
lite bank to Fort JackIOn and the bOmbardmsnt fairly
opened The fcientifc precision Of the enemy's fire
and the excellence Of his ordnance became appar
snt In the cOur Of hour two 0 Of the on "
three frame buildings in the work had been fired
l ana burned. Ihe parade ground had been plOwed uI
by the plunging Of the l3nch shells The citadel hat
been struck number OF times, or two guns were
dismounted and one Of the magazines had been hit
had escaped unujur, in consequences Of sand bag pro
rction The sh7ling was kept up with great regular
tY and precision all day our fire it thought having
/ 81 ceeded in disabling several Of the gun beats
| betWsrh ana > CLOCK, P. NJ. TWO shells gOni
hrough the roof o. the adol had fired its interior anC
| by sundown the whole eitadal in g blaze A
,Wenty NE minutes 10 seven. The shelling ed,
mortar ve'seH tired behind the thick belt Of wood
treaIy referred to- re appear during III,
/ bomb 5rdment. As they drew of distant uusic from
he ships, cam ho 4tiug the water in anticipation
0f an easy triumph IL was afelward sscertaned tha
she cessation of their fire this critical Time wa, no
owing as was imagnAtivty suggested the forbear
nce OF n chivalrO foe bat to the exhaustion Of The
| men, which ind ced Commodore Porter 10 allow tn,
men to rest for the night During the absorbing
patton Of the whole garrison Ia keeping down the flames
| one man deserted and dwent down The fleet
| Al haf-past six next morning the shelng recon
/ mencedr but this time from an invisible enemy Tn,
l concealed d4ta ff he
nents Of the foe, whose huge iron messengers cam,
whiriins msjestiealy into and around the fort time
buryng themselves harnessy the marsh surroundut
he work, or hing through the woods behind it a
other. striking the brickWOrk of the walls sending VI
| cloud OF reddish dust, more frequently passing
over the pATape and pungng through the earth in the
interior, far down into the original mud which the
work had been constructed
1t had become evident that th, reduction of For
Jsck.On the first object of Commodore FsrragutI
attack, and accordingly the entire hre Of four mortar
vessels AMI gunboas was directed to silence itt
foe. Fort ST. Philip however thOugh unassailed stead
lily and and ably seconded the defense Of her sister
| keeping up well directed and sustained fire on tht
| feet whi1h partially visible to them
During the day, In fact during the whole lombard
nent Fort jackson only fired at intervals from her
Inmbiads and rfed cannon at the gunb0Lts which KEEP
moving in view, practicng the fort from their rife
/ and pivot guns. This was owing partially 10 the wan
Of long rang of the other pieces but principally
necessity Of Hgdy economzing in powder, the supply
Of which short in both forts All day long the shell
ING continued steadily from the mortars, and at inter
walls from the gunbosts.
night came Bat brought no cessation Of hFe, and tn
hours slowly wore away marked by the regular booming
| Of the mo tars. The deachments manning the heave
slept aud watched by at their batteries th
woundng death Of unfortunate alone breaking
the monotony OF the long hours Dawn came and th
suns rays liz up the heavens but failed to lume the i'm
penetrsb behind which the ygeaer gunuers er
sIill aborng at the work Of our destruction. And s
( was ushered in the morn Of Easter Sunday. Lit /
worthy Of note varied the regular and
Of the siege As the twgh, deepened the fiery glob
became more visible, tracing their path in bold relic
against the darkening sky. Early ol Monday mornin
: the steam battery Louisiana cane down, and nov
every confidently expected the dispersion of th
Aeet by her terrible batteries working behind in
vulnerable armor But it appeared that the propeller
ToulG not work that she hal IN consequences no me
tive power, and the flag officer required time to pei
[ | feet her machinery. So faded away a l idea
sencing the FIRE by her batterss and the ga
rson left TO Us endurance tain the never
s sackenng fire Of the feet Meanwhile in the word
Of Gen. But ers report POrters feet after six day
= incesssnt fire having failed to the fort" th
navel Ter Fsrrsgut determined to their ba
teries with his feet, destroying the Confederat
naval force above them, TO sweep up the Ii,e err
, | bring the city of New Orleans under his guns
Il Thursday mor'ing, the Path Of April, see ct
FOR the attempt While Porter's fleet its numbers d
| miui.hed by the sinking Of one vessel kept up th
same unvarying re which had already lasted
. hundred and thirty hours twenty-four heavy vesse
. Of war mounting between Two and three hundred gun
slowly and silently steamed up the river under cover
the night and of the fire of the mortar boats.
8 At twenty minutes TO four O'Clock, the fash Of G.
- umbad from the battery below Fort Jackson
" announced to the enemy that their approach di
n covered The slow and regular fire which Porter ha
4 kept up during the apparently unperceved spproac
- of Farraguts feet, at once changed quick an
q furious fire from The whole twenty schooners compo
ing the feet. To this storm Of Shells was now adde
the heavy broadsides Of grape caniIter and spher
a- from the sloops of war and the batteries OF
shoals of gunboats Omranying the heavier vessel
e From the fore and main tops Of the Eloops and II
II heavier gunboats hOwitzers protected by iron bul
heads sent down storm Of canister right into the int
ID Aior of the work.
! Thicker and thicker grew the dark pall of smOk