The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-03-27

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stAsisss against hin. t4lss ii's6tsd IN 'ths
papers tkAt ths' q sdnboass did bdt iHds sef.
|xice 4 Doueisoh,H SSiKich u I ansnstrousi mis-
eakss..l They sile6csd hearty siithe Snemy's
guns, S and had not tks Wheel of cns boat ana
th9 tiller ropeg Of smother bsen 'shor away,
Fla iiftesn, T. minutes more. .tbe. batteries would
have Been fl.nked and the entire rebel army
exposed 10 the b9foadside of the deet. He
would have moved them down like grass.'
i o1F4S *s;fdh4 ls~ fti4 y . 4g9Ht
aAs Il was, ne made tie work ofths army
|in the fight Of Saturday much easier than y
would otherwise have been. Several of the
Mississippi officers (prisoncrs) informed me
that the shells Of tho gunboats had I dctnor-
aiizing efFcc. upon their men. The Mem
phis Appeal says It dispirited them.
I have had fair opportunity 70 ob-
serve the operations Of both army and navy
and l can say with emphasis that there ars
no more self denying, patriotic, hard work
ing, faithful men than the fag officer md bib
captains, Stembel. Pennook, Phelps, and
Others" II make these state
mcnta, fion my own sense 81 justice and
honor, and not from any mans prompting
or request"
The next movement Of Commodors Foote
with bis fotilla, Was to take possession 81
ClsrksviIle, where he arrived On the 10th
day.of February. i.nd issued his prosccla-
NATION to the inhabitant, three days before
the arrival 81 the land forces, though that
fact, from some unexplained cause, nowhers
appears IN the ofic:d reports of the military
commander, Of that department. -
! On the 21st of February, 1862. Com,no.
dors Foote telegraphed to Gen. Cpllum, the
nh;cf of Crn y1alleckss staff Than ~ C.;ro
y follows. - - 4 , '.,@ ,, 80
is7'797a bas pi;gccsi, pADuccAn, Feb. ii, lsos. :
General Cullum, Cairo:
General Grant and myself considsf this .
good time to move on Nashville six mortar
boats and two iron-ciad steamers can Pre-.
cede the troops and shell the forts. We
were about moving for this purpose when
General Grant, to my establishment, received
= telegram from GENERAL Halleck, "not tol
the gunbosts 60 higher than Clarksvilla; !"
no telegram sent to me. ~ e'31'e
The Cumberland IS in : good stage Of
water, and General Grant and I believe that
we can take Nashville. Please ask General
'Hslleck II We shall do it. We win talk per
telegraph Captain Phelps representing me
in the office As am still on crutches. @
''' A. H.FOOTE, Flag Officer.
It may be that there was some great mil
'tary reason Why General Grant was directed
''not to let. the gunboats 60 higher than
Clarksville, !" but up to this time it Is wholly
unappreciable by the public. Had they
been permitted to 60, Is Was proposed By
Commodore Foote, Nashville would un-
'doubtedly have capitulated some days
earlier than it did, and an immense amount
of rebel stores been captured, which were
destroyed or removed before the army reach.
ed there, the value Of which has been esti.
mated At ~, ,O0O, 900 and would probably
have intercepted part Of the rebel John.
ston's army. 4.
/ ought not to omit to mention the gallant
attack by part Of the Western dotilla un.
der Lieutenant Gwinn, upon the enemy at
Pittsburg on the Tennessee river, whore
afteen hundred rebel infantry and cavalry
were completely routed. with loss Of twen-
ty killed and one hundred wounded.
The next fact of importance in the cam
|paign at the West, and indeed the most i'm.
portaut Of al, was the evacuation Of Coium.
bus. Why was this stronghold, which cost
30 much labor and expense. abandoned with
out firing = shot! II i not for NE to I'M
dsrra.s the advantages Of position secured
BY the vaior ofoar troops ct Fort DoAelson;
yet undertake to say, from the knowiedg
I have been able to obtain ofths defsnsss Of
Columbus, that there was nothing in the
mere Act Of the capture ef Donelson' and
Nashville, ,.snd exclusive Of our command Of
the river, which need have caused the evacu.
alton, except after long and bloody siege.
From tho letter of i correspondent writing
on the spot. l IobtAin the information that
the forts Il Columbus dsso< 9 !, & stal
awere 80 located and constructed q 70
be almost impregnablo to An assault BY
storm. The capture of one BY no means In
volved the capture of the balance. A ffesh
assault must 81 made ia each instahce. At
the main fort, ana many 81 ths earthworks,
stockades crossed the trenches, exposing the
ass.ulting party toa storm Of bullets ftoan
riaemen firing through loop-holes. Every
ravine and ditch Was thoroughly protected,
- II . A.