The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1862-08-15
Abandonment Of the Siege of Vicks-
burg The Intellectual Attempt to
$, Capture the Arkansas.

Memphis. Tenn, july %.

The ram Queen Of the West briugs de-.
tails of the second unsuccessful attempt 10
capture the Arkansas, and confirmation OF
the raiaar- thai the siege Of Yicksburg has
been abaudened. r-- -....-...- ass.
After several weeks exertIon, with an
armament of over two hundred guns, and
naval force unequaled in strength on
our inland waters the Federals have fai..ed
to destroy tortification mounting from
thirty to forty guns, and have been fairly
bullied and batfled, by ono little iron gum
boat, into running away and leaving tho
Job The rebels are entitled to raise tie
shout of exultation which at this moment
rings from one end to the other of the
Confederacys
Another plan was laid by which it was
hoped that the Arkansas might be taken,,
and on the 10Th, at about sunrise, il was
put into execution. The new iron clad
gunboat Essex and the ram Queen Of the
West were detailed for the duty, anl at a
given signal, the Essex led the way upon
the field Of action.
The Essex made grand dash aroun,f
the bend, and went at her enemy in fine
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
the assailing boat out of her course, and,
in avoiding the iron prov, she struck
clnncine blow, which did no particular
harm. Fer gunners had been active in
the meantime, aa1 several shots hal been
fired into the Arkansas, ore of which, an
eleven inch solid shot, went through her
from stem to stern, killing FIVE men. The
Essex afterwards swung off and started
down stream under fire of all the batter
les, and ran a gauntlet which would have
sunk any ordinary gunboat in the fleet
Meantime the Qreen Of the West WAS get
ting under way.
The ram went down in fac style. She
had hundred. and City pounds of steam
on, and was fairly bounding from the water
when she struck the Arkansas Sha made
circle to strike her square, and the con-
cussion was like an earthquake. The Arr
kansas carcened, aud rose out Of the water
rs if lifted bodily off her bed. \ crash of
timber and iron resoundel in the air, and
the two boats parted, as the Queen backed
her engines andprepared for a secondhow~
The Arkansas gave heavy roll and SET
tied back to her position quietly, and
again they came together. There was an
other crash, and another surge, and once
more they parted. The 9 Ieen turned and
ran for the upper fleet, amid perfect
storm Of balls, which ratified about her in
every direction. She was pierced in every
part, and only escaped sinking by mira
Gle. She was in a disabled condition. ror
the only result of her tremendous blows
had been to batter her Prov into a wreck,
and unjoint the iron sheathing with which
it was covered. She got the worst of it
by long odds, for the Arkansas seemed t."
lie as quietly as ever, and as invulnerable
as ever. She was, in realty, unirjured.
1t may be well to add that the man who
took her into this storm Of iron, to encoua-
ter foe Of ten times her strength, and
fight single handed battle in which there
should haye been hundred fold more
force, was Lieut.. Hunter, who is stigma.
tizel by the commander of the Tyler as ~
coward and po,troon for lis course in
the first engagement 1t shows that has
t. words may do great injustice. A bold
er thing never was done.
1t having been demonstrated to the SAT
isftction of the an'iquated council which
prasides over the destines of the river dves
that the Arkansas was too much for them,
the next step was to abandon the field and
| leave her in victorious possession. True,
she was but one, while they were fifteen
or twenty. She carried ten guns and was
backed by thirty-five more on The bluff,
while they mounted something over tw,~
I hundred but all that amounted to moth
ing so long as she was too much for
J them.
he canal remains, monument ofinef-
itency. 1t is full five feet oLoyo the wa
| ter, and. as that fluid does not surnToant
such slight obstacles unaded, there is no
chance of its being baptized. Until tho
Mississippi can be coaxed to run over the
top Of moderate sized hill, it will never
change its bed in that locality. The con
| trabanAs did their best to dig as fast as the
river went down, but failed ignominious,
v. Halt an inch day was too much for
| them.
On the I2,h, FarraguL's fleet went down
the river, and is now at New Olleans
| lie took on board General Williams and
his four thousand men, and left them at
| Baton Rouge. On the same day Davis
( iiplIIa left the position, and came up to
the month Of the Yazoo, where it now
remains, waiting for more !nvuInerables
! 20 come down. The Essex and the Sums
ter, victims Of the grand policy which has
directed movements, are below Vicksburg
and cannot get up. Farragut left three
Of his gunboats 70 protect them with Il
stfong probability that the Arkansas viii
CONG out some fine morning, and gobblo
! them all mp before breakfast.
Lieut.. Tubs. Jefferson county, WiscoH-
! s'n, is among the captured from tue Fede.
Il transport, s}alic Wood also p Mr.
Fowler, of Chicago, an army contractor.
! TIE rebels burned the boat. The mails
! lta'l been thrown overheard before the sur
! render, and Herewith went much yainab!e
( new WsIaper cOrrespOndcnCe TO the bottom