Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1862-05-29
FEDERAL Account OF the battle OF Drury.s Rln4v
Thnr.dav. The Ihth hI..r 1sco - VI

Federal Account OF the Hattie Of Drury's Blur a.
Thursday, the 18th May, Is6a, y"
The Fortress Monroe correspond Mt of the Pblo,.,
pha Inquirer under day OF May l6, seuds the follow
ing
The great anxiety which has prevailed here fer o
past to hear from the expedition up James river has a.
last been gratifsd
This afternoon the little Naugatuck was deso-i.,
coming Down the Roads, and immt datty the anynpa
ones hurried to the beach to ask whether the Moni,
was Smelling Richmond"
Having conversed with one of the officers Of the N
gatuck am enabled to give you the following inters
ing particulars:
Last Sunday morning the Monitor, Gaena ard Nan
gatuck started for the rebel capital uia James river
They were soon followed by the Aristook and Po,
Royal.
hey slenced several of the batteries which lined a..
shore, and passed some with the most conemptuous
lenee. All lie
The Captain OF the Monitor stood upon the tr,,.
and waved bis cap to battery which he considered nv
worthy of the notice of bis pet, although three hail.
struck the Monitors turret with considerable forca
The progress of the feet was continued success o.,
| til they arrived to within about seven miles Of Pib
mODd Here the river takes sharp turn aroprd =
PERCEPTIONS bluff fully hundred and fifty feet IN
| height. Another Munchausenisml
| Upon the top of this bluff the rebels have erected =
most scientific end formidable battery, mounting MAN.
guns OF superior range and cabre. This battery com
mandS the river in the most effective manner and i
soon became evident to our feet that an engagement NJ
| no ordinary character was imminent.
On last Thursday morning, at O'clock our flee,
formed their line of battle and commenced the reduction
| of the rebel stronghold
From the unusual elevation Of the battery and Hs
| dffcuty experienced ia getting the prorpr
range, they for time unable to do any execution
In the meantime the battery poured acc5sant fire Of
she'll and ball down the decks of our vessels and did
fearful arork
The Naugatuck, after several brilliant shots burst
her one-hundred pound rfed Parott gun, killing tie
gunner and wounding several others. Having no Other
armament except two boarding howitzars and being
! thus disabled, she withdrew from the engagement.
The Gaena suffered severely-the rebel shots Kidding
her ok with great ease and several OF the balls enter
! ing h,r side Fourteen Of her crew were killed and
thirteen wounded the majority OF the latter however
Will recover Those who killed are terribly cut
and mangled-some beyond tie hope Of recognition
For hour the Gaena exposed to the entire Ere
OF the rebel battery On account OF the uarrowueSs Of
the channel, she could not spring" turn so as to
! work to advantage.
! The Monitor however, maintained her superior
strength and invunerabllity. The balls glanced harm
less from her tower of strength aud fell into the placid
waters Of the river. For sometime size abored under
thegreatest diff uity in acquiring the requisite elevation
for her guas. But having obtained it she poured
her missiles with fearful effect upon the battery and
thus encouraging her associates the feet beched forth
such an iron hail that the battery sllenced for
three quarters OF an hour At this uncure our vessels
ran short Of ammunition ard retired frCm action while
the rebels remained their guns and again commenced
| the conflict. A portion of the feet came down the
river to Jamt s,oWn Island near Williams burg. The
! Monitor and Gaena remained in order to keep the
rebels awake, the Monitor firing regularly once in two
minutes, It is stated above that tie ammunition gave
guitars should have good memories, fully sustaining
the reputation of the c1e sebOx" 1 be ArstoOk and
Port Royal were not materially injured. The action
lasted four hours and half constituting OF the most
brilliant Of the war.
About quarter Of mile further up the river The
rebels have made strong barrcade to the further pro-
gress of hostile feet. They have sunk the York own
and jamestown In the channel, and driven immense
piles from one side of the river to the Other forming
st0ckade similar to that in the entrance to oriok
| Dor
The guns of tie battery said to be manned by the
remnants OF the crews OF the Merrimac, Yorktown and
Jamestown The firing excellent, showing great
| deal Of skill
The Naugatuck escaped serious Injury by having hr
pilot house ard deck protected by iron rails laid Trans
versely.
The body of Mr. Bcerum, gunner of the Galcna has
| been brought here for nterment.
| Accounts from Fortress F;onroe.
BALTIMORE, May 19.-The Old Point boat arrived
this morning at the usual hour.
II A gentleman who was at Fortress Monroe and Nor
folk yesterday, furnishes the following information
The repulse of the eunboats at Fort Darling, wen
or eight miles below Richmond, was generally regarded
as Gerry ofdar, though no full account Of it
has been made public.
On board the Naugatuck eighteen men were reported
killed by tie explosion of her big gun. The boat o
course made useless in the fight and was withdrawn.
The Galena riddled by the shots from the rcod
batteries, having been perforated the d,s patch
said less than eighteen times. The loss Of lie on
board was not stated but it was thought to be clyy
The Monitor struck repeatedly, but was sid to
be uninjurd She, however, could do nothing of .usve
as the batteries so high bluff that it impo|
sble 10 give her guns sufficient elevation for the proper
range
Several attempts to assassinate Union soldiers have
been made lately, and yesterday affair occurred ahc
caused some uneasines3
II IL Lhr..-