Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1862-09-03


hour every gun which could be brought TO oear
against the enemy was manned, and actively en-
gagged in returning their fire. Company D. oaps
Onion. manned four q Founders on lower parapet,
and 10 in columbad on upper paraPet; 'o"P"y
H. Can't, Pool, had in charge the SIX SNORT guns
used as mortars, and one . IN; ana one I: had
umbiad on lower parapet; the battery "nEH n"
been assigned to company F. Lieut. Cosde1l c .h;r
handing, not bearing upon enemys %oIhs . o
comnanV was detailed to relieve Capt Bioune COIL
nany of Confederate Artillery in charge o. 81 pu
ders on upper parapet; company u, OapS md one
promptly sprang to their two "a pou .."n;ss Il 10
80 ponder, bearing upon enemy honsion seems to
exist on this point that all our guns were haS -.
on6 that one ONLY, bearing ON enemy nau 'ne
SLIGHTEST pro.ection of merton or t'asH'so;
The enemv's fire accurate from the beginning,
ros coon rendered with the utmost precision, signals
wac h.on made to them by their signal corps at
,sg.S and Beaufort whenever they failed in at
.a;n;nn the mark. For four hours the firing
AMI and the roar of artillery and the bursting of
.ha enemy's shells around us, were deafening. Gun
a aU onn upon the Fort had been disabled; man
after man had been conveyed to the surgery, or laid
low in death The of the garrison continued
to work coolly cheery, and with evident effect up
on the rlaed battery of the enemy, the fire from
which had sensibly diminished.
A new adversary now appeared-the steamers
and 5aroue were nearing the Fort and their guns IN
battery spoke plainly of wish to engage in the de-
structiye and death dealing sport Capt Guion's
men sprang to his seaface battery; Capt Pools
coumbads were turned from the land batteries, and
with an additional one, brought to bear upon the
rapidly advancing ships. Capts. Manney, Blount
and Cocdell still continued their fire upon the land
batteries. The scene was now exciting in the eX-
treme. Seven of our heaviest guns were directed
against the ships-these, skilfully maneuvred, at
one moment approached and delivered their broad
sides then receded to reload and escape the heavy
missiles sent from the Fort Thus the fight pro-
crossed till nearly noon-the gunboats in che Sound
adding to the noise but doing damage to anything
except the treasury of Lincoln. The ships, al more
or less damaged now hauled off beyond the range
of our guns Immediately, all our heavy guns,
which could be, were directed upon our enemy on
land. Two of Capt. Manney's guns, and two of
Capt. Blounts had been disabled but coolly and
deliberately their detachments were working those
that remained, regardless of the shell exploding
around Them and of the rifled shot tearing and
crushing everything opposing their course.
About two, P. NJ, the most serious and destruc-
tive disaster of the day occurred. preaching shot
from one of the enemy's Parrot guns, passing under
the muzzle of the in coumbiad of Capt. Pools bat
terv struck the elevating bed and scattering
its fragments IN all directions, passed to eccentric
wheel of the 10i columbaid shattered it. and entire
" disabled both guns The paul" of the in. driven
forward with irresistible fury, MORALLY wounded
the gunner who standing upon the "chasSis"
in the act of giving the necessary elvation to his
gun, passed on MORALLY wounding a cannoneer and
the gunner of the 10 in. columbad. A she'll from
mortar battery exploding in midst at the same
moment, wounded four more men.
At three p. NJ, all the batteries on lower parapet
of Fort were senced but the fire from upper para
pet was continued till five p. NJ, at which hour
white flag was raised, council of officers having
determined that the time had come, when, if good
terms conld be procured for the garrison it should
be done.
Capts. Guion and Pool were sent by Col White
to meet Brig. Gen. Parke, and make propositions
for the surrender of Fort Macon upon these terms:
All the public property, arms munitions owar, pro-
visions, &C., to be surrendered, upon conditions
that officers and men were to be paroed immediate
" and sent to their homes; all private property Of
officers and men, side arms. and all pirate arms of
whatever kind all company books and papers, to be
respected and retained.
Gen. Parke peremptorily declined to accept any
other than an unconditional surrender, but finding
that determined he referred our propositions
with his answer to Gen. Burnside, by whom they
were accepted next day, and after ratification of
the terms, the. Fort was delivered to the Federal
forces and the officers and men composing the gar
rison were paroled and sent to their homes.
The extent of damage done to the Fort, and to its
armament and garrison, was greater than could have
been anticipated from the duration of the light
This was owing, in part, to the character OF the
missiles sent and to the short distance OF the bat
teries from our walls. The enemy fired eleven hum
dred shot and shell from his land batteries five hun
bred and fifty nine of these exploded on parapetS
in moat, or in parade ground, Dr. struck such por-
tons of the walls of the Fort as were exposed
About the same number of shot and shell was fired by
steamers and gunboats, 5nt one of which was known
to strike fertilization Those portions of the walls
of the Fort, which could be reached. were much
damaged-6tteen of the guns were dsmounted, or
dsabed-seven Of the garrison were killed and SIX
| teen wounded We have no means of accurately
! stating the damage done to the enemy. All their
ships were injured; the rihed gun battery seriously
damaged: three o. their Parrot guns partially dis
! abled while many OF their men were killed and
wounded The officers reported one killed and eleven
wounGed-the men stated their loss was between
! four and five hundred
During the seige and on the day of the lombard
ment the officers and men of the garrison, with
few dishonorable exceptions, behaved admirably
There were in all, fourteen assertions. seven from
Co. II, four from Co. &, and three from Co. F,) less
probably than has been anywhere during the war
under circumstances so clearly hopeless, and where
it was so easy to desert. From the first moment o
the fight the men we're cool and Determined, load
ing and firing with as much delberation and pre-
cison, as though they were engaged at target Prac
tice, This is the concurrent testimony OF the Com
mandant, and of every officer in command that day
Few better soldiers be found, than those in For
Macon on the 25th April, 1862.
might in conclusion, Mr.. Editor, state some
the causes which resulted in the fall of Fort Macon
but shall not, my object being simply to vindlcat
the garrison, placing it in position, by statemen
of facts to receive the verdict of approval or con
demnation of an enlightened public opinion. No
is it necessary that l should state those causes
The reader can surely see them, and must know
why they acted so disastrously along the cntlr
coast of North Carolina.
STEPHEN D. POOL, Capt Co. H.,