The Big blue union. [volume] (Marysville, Kan.) 1862-1866, 1862-04-19

In our last issue We had room Out to
merely announce the fall Of this point,
which had been held and fortified BY the
rebels four weeks, or since their evacua.
ton of Columbus. 1t had become
source Of good deal of speculation on the
the part of our commanders operating
there as to the best method of attack
it was So we'll defended on every side. or,
as flag officer Foote since remarks, IN his
official report announcing its downfall,
"the works were erected with the highest
engineering skill, are Of great strength,
and with their natural advantages would
have been impregnable if defended by
men fighting in better cause" In short.
the river at that point was blockaded, and
our forces thereby separated, the guDboats
being above the Island and the land forces
below, at New Madrid. TWAS, then, a
hazardous undertaking for the gunboats 10
pass the blockade and effect junction with
Pope's land forces. But at last the cir
cumstances warranted trial, and under
advisement or order of Commodore Foote
the Carondelct. Capt. Henry Wake, was
selected to make the trip, as it did success
fully on the night Of the 4th inst.-as we
stated in our last. The Missouri Demo-
crat has full account of the whole trip
by correspondent who was on board the
boat. From it we condense and make ex-
tracts; we wish We had room for it all, it
reads equal to any romance. Al dark
preparations commenced on the Caronde-
let by securing it in every possible way
from the shots of the enemy; chains were
coiled over and around the most vulnerable
parts of. the boat, cord-wood barriers
erected, a barge of hay secured and towed
along for protection, and other minor pro-
visions made. A company of twenty
sharp shooters of the forty-second Illinois.
were mustered on deck to act with the crew
in repeIling boarders. And at last the
starting hour approaches:
At ten o'clock the moon had gone down;
the storm which had been thickening and
gathering for several hours now about 10
burst upon US. and greatly encouraged BY
SO opportune period for starting, the cap
/ tain passed the word, Gall readyv' and
sailors were sent ashore to loosen the lines
! In few minutes we were under way. and
after little az f6culty in rounding with the
cumS ngslnG GairlY stood out for
pc of the steam through
6se. and thus avoid the puff:
|e6 results fyom its passage through
bes. So sileAtly did We proceed thai
kas'scarcely known aboardt that the boat
was under way, and we thought some Of
Il the officers were almost unbeIievers wber
they asked the engineer, through the
\ speaking pipes, if he was ''going ahead or
her."
! For the first half mile everything went
still and smooth beyond even the mos
sanguine anticipation, and the probability
of getting by the batteries unobserved
was being remarked by some, when tie
SCOT in the chimney caught fire, and blaze
five feet high leaped out from their tops
lighting brightly the upper deck ofihe YES
sci and everything around. The word wa.
hastily passed to the engineerio to open the
flue caps, after which the flames subsidcd
but not until the rebels had the fairest op
portunity to discover our approach and
prepare a reception. This was o seriou:
mishap, because no signal even by appoint
ment could SO perfectly reveal our inten.
tions, and what contributed to the misfor
tune. was the time of its happening. (which
was before any batteries had been passed
giving them ample time to communicate
from one poin; to another before we came
within range. Notwithstanding all this
as strange as it may seem, no alarm among
the rebels was discovered to follow. and we
we're consoling ourselves over the remiss.
ness of rebel sentries, when to our grea,
astonishment the chimneys soeye ovain fir.
ed, and our design lighted up, as if a
treacherous deity were presiding over the
fortunes of our boat.
1 This repetition Of what had seemed be.
fore an untoward event, was on deck
e.