Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-02-13
THE OAPTURR OF eORF HENRY.
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suited in The capture Of Fort Henry, but
the following details. which We, copy from
the special correspondence Of the Chicago
Tribune, will be read with great interest
Il will be remembered that while Com.
FOote commanded the feet which made the
capture, Gen. Grant had command Of the
land forces, which had been landed few
miles below the Fort and which, II was In
tended, should advance rapidly enough to
cooperate with the feet in the attack. The
feet was to open at half pact II o'clock.
Gen. Grant assured the Commodore that he
would be on hand ct the hour. With this
preliminary, we quote from the correspOn-
denoe;
THE sTART-ooH. FoorE's ORDERS.
At ten and half o'clock, Thursday fore
noon, Commodore Foote gave the signal
from his flag ship to get under way. He
had previously given instru,iions both to
the officers and men. he determined to
fight only with his bow guns, and to come
to close quarters. BE believed that the gun
boats would stand quite as long as the
earthWoTks. His intentions were TO keep
slow steam, 10 take deliberate aim, to FIRE
! slow, and to keep coolI He told his men
/ that one shot that Was deliberately simed
was more ef6ectual than two badly aimed.
He did not want them to waste smmuni-
ton, but to drop every shot where it would
tell; for by firing sloW they would not heat
the guns, and by keeping cool they would
have perfect confidence till the rebel flag
should give place 10 the Stars and Stripes.
He told them that he intended to take the
fort or 90 To the bottomI
All Of the boats got under way as soon
as the signal was made. They pushed up
the shallow channel-not shallow now but
deep enough to hoat sfrigste-and reached
the head Of the island soon after twelve.
They came into their several positions
the flagship being about half mile
ahead,
TIE ATTACK AND VICTORY.
At 1884 the Cincinnati opened with an
s0-pound shell, which steamed over the water,
dropped square into the fort, and produced q
| great commotou among the rebels. The
shot had hardly escaped from the muzzls
before the three other boats each sent their
compliments-eaehs shell reaching the fort or
the encsmpmeut.
Then the Cincinnati gave another and the
others followed their OommOdore's example
| The rebels were ready. They had expected
it, and their guns were shotted, the lanyards
fixed, the men in their places, and they re-
piled; gun for gun.
! The boats kept steadily on, slowly, but
constantly in motion, and the firing was
kept up deliberately and with regularity
| There was no excitement, no indiscriminate
banging away at random, but time was TAX
en- for the smoke to clear away to obtain ac-
eurste aim. The shots, some of them, went
beyond the fort into the camp, and smashed
the barracks about making kindling wood
Of the log huts and sending terror and dis.
may to the soldiers. At the fourth round
they became completely bereft of their places,
left their dinner, still cooking in their camp
kettles, their blankets, guns, swords, Arkan-
sas tooih-picks, homemade cleavers, old flint
locks, foWling pieces, rifles, love letters
everything, and took TO their heels in the ut-
most CONSERVATION; an improvement upon
the example set them by their illustrious pre-
decessors, the South Oarolinisns, at Port
Royal The artillerists in the fort however,
still stuck to their guns and fired with great
coolness and accuracy of aim. They evil
IDENTIFY had practiced on ranges all the way
down to the island and many of their shot
struck the boats. They lost the use of their
rifed 24-pounder-it bursting on the fourth
fire.
Still onward moved the bosts-straight on
their bows putting out immense volumes
of white smoke and sending their missiles
into the fort. Soon cne of the rebel guns
was dismantIed, and then the fire from the
fort perceptibly slackened. But shot from
one of their guns struck the Essex just above
one Of the ports, in place where there was
no iron-plate-the only vulnerable place at
the bow of the boat passed through the out
side as ifit was but paper also passed through
the oak stanchions around the boilers, and
through the starboard boiler. Instantly the
boat was filed with hot steam.
The pilot and his assistant probably did
not draw g second breath. They must have
been Immediately suffocated. One Of them
was found with his hand upon the wheel,
the other holding the cord which rings the
engineers bell Three Of the men were
scalded to death. The boat was completely
disabled, and hoated down with the current
till taken in shore by tug.
The rebels took new heart. They sprang
to their guns, and for a few minutes blased |
away with desperate energy, evidently think
ing that as the range was shortening they
were cutting through the iron plates. Bat
the other three boats kept steadily on, pour
ing in their slow, sure, deliberate FIRE. The
shells tore through the embankment knocked
-. ~ ~
smothered the garrison with sand. One
shell burst directly over one of the guns,
and killed or wounded every rebel at the
gun,
Nearer and nearer moved the three boats, |
never swerving for moment-not even to |
blow to atoms little steamer loaded with |
fleeing fugitives that pushed out from the |
creek beyond the fort. Our shell would have |
snnihilated them, but Commodore Foote |
could not afford TO loose his range upon the |
fort BE had but one object in view-the |
reduction of that fortifcation, and till that |
was done he could net be tempted to turn |
aside for anything else.
Flesh and blood could not stand against |
his FIRE. He was about three hundred yards /
distant and still advancing, when the rebel |
flag came down. Instantly all was silence. |
Not a shot was fred alter 1t was struck
The rebel General, Tilghmsn, had flung out
white flag; but Commodore Foote informed |
me that he did not see it If he had, it |
would have made no difference, for be was |
determined that there should be no condi-
tions when the Stars and Stripes went up
again over the soil OF Tennessee.
THE sURRREDER.
Immediately the boarders of the st. Louis
were on hand, and General TiIghman desired
to see Commodore Foote. he was told that
he must go on board the Cincinnati, and
soon the two commanders stood face to face.
Gen. Tilghmsn said that be had displayed a
white flag, and desired conditions. Oommo-
d0re FOOte replied that he did not see it. but