The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1862-02-24
A VOYAGE TO FORT DONELsON

o. p CavanRh, OwensVille, Gibson 90.
A VOYAGE TO FORT DONELsON
A reporter for the EVANSVILLE JOURNAL
accompanied large party of our citizens,
who took passage on the steamer Courier,
on Tuesday, Feb. 18th, for Fort DOnelson,
Tenn. A detailed account of the obserVa-
tions of the party we think will be of more
interest to our readers than anything else
we can publish; hence, we make no apollo
gy for the length of the report.
The steamer left our landing at p. NJ.
with over 300 passengers on board, from
Vanderburgh and the neighboring counties,
interested in the TWenty-fifth Indiana Regi-
ment, which took an active part and suf
fered badly in the siege and capture of Fort
Donelson.
Considerable additions were made to the
passenger list at Henderson, Mount Vernon,
Shawneetown, and other towns down the
river.
The glorious news of the capture of
Fort Donelson fred the people of the river
towns into glow of enthusiasm.
We laid at Paducah about an honr. There
were about FIVE hundred sick and wounded
Indiana aud Illinois soldiers in the hospitals
there, bat the shortness Of our stay,
and the formalities necessary to gain
admittance prevented us from visiting them.
Fresh arrivals of wounded were constantly
coming in from Fort Donelson- Several
got on our boat to go to Cairo and way
points.
The boat arrived at Cairo at half-past one
Pm. The weather was very disagreeable
and the mud fathomless. The place was
alive with military preparation. Several
gunboats and mortar boats were at the
wharf, some of the former showing evil
dences of the battles of Forts Henry and
Donelson. Repairs were under way, how
ever, which would soon conceal these. The
ladies of our party and their attendants
were kindly shown through the Cincinnati,
one of the boats engaged at Fort Henry
All were amazed at her prodigous strength,
and the skill shown in her construction.
The sides being slanting and the bow and
stern hsring, this boat and others of her
class are invulnerable to a horizontal but
not to a plunging fire. The Benton, an.
other gunboat, with no exposed points, and
entirely covered with iron, might be safely
pitted against anything in the shape of ar
tilleTy.
We saw long train cf cars loaded witt
mOrtars for the mortar boats, and there were
several hundreds of shells for them on one
of the wharf-boats. These were thirteen
inches in diameter, and luminous of death and
carnage.
The first move of Capt. Dexter after land
ing, was to see Gen. Paine and try to ge
his permission to go up Cumberland river
ha Q,ifh fha fafr 4
quarters, and after some delay we were ad
mitted to the presence. The General
tall and dark-looking man, with grey hal
and black politely but firmly de
clined to allow the boat to go to Fort Don
elSon, saying he had positive orders from
Gen. Grant not to allow civilians to %
there. He had refused passes to Governor
Yates of Illinois and Morton of Indiana
and large number of physicians and nurse.
they brought with them to look after th,
wounded. Entreaty awaited not, aud wher
the word WIS communicated to the passeu
gers that the object of their expedition wa
likely to be defeated, great was the disap
pointment.
While the boat was discharging and re
ceiving freight, number of the passenger
went to look at a boat load of " Secesh
prisoners just brought from Fort Donelsou
There were fully a thousand Of them. The,
were clotueu IN every variety OF costume
Some Texan Rangers had ON Mexican varie
gated serapes. Other prisoners had Of
quilts, comforts and Competing for blankets
Blankets of every imaginable color wer
worn-hats of all shapes and sizes-breeche
of all hues, with and without stripes !
seemed as if no two prisoners were clothe,
alike. There was no attempt at uniformit,
in dress.
The prisoners were as a whole of ful
average stature. They were weather-beat
en, dirty uncombed and down-hesrted-
The mass of them seemed ignorant and de
PRAYED. They were guarded bv arme,
soldiers, and were of course themselves nm
armed.
The writer went amongst them and tall,e
with half dozen, one by one. On the ones
ton being asked, "Do you really beiiey
you We're fighting in a just cause when 70
took up arms against the best goveramen
that ever existed" only one attempted t
Justify himself The others would not an
swer yes or no. Some confessed that the
did not understand the merits of the cas-,
Some stood and made no ineligible answe
to questions asked them, or maintained
logged silence
Persons on the whaTf-boat and a numbe