The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-05-02
Running the Blockade,

v Running the Blockade.
HEAD QUARTERS, BOTH REC. Iow.1
INF. Vols, OK PICKET. BIsos'
PLANTATION, LoUIsrAH.
~ April l7th, 1863.
Mr.. EDIToR:-I have thought thu :.
would please your readers, to give 80, "
brief account of Admiral Porter's rnS, Un d
OF the blockade at Vicksburg, last nicb,
| as seen from our quarters, which arc s5,l''
ated midway between Vicksburg and WI VII
renton. We were prepared for the evs al.
beforehand, by a notice to our Colonel fro,,,
Gen. Sherman, desiring a pilot to he soln
him to pilot his Yawl through the Won a'
(which are now all flooded from the cre,.'
asses in the river levee) to this place. "a bo
desired to witness the scene himself Tbe
fleet designed to run the blockade consis,
ed of the Ironclads ':Benton," THE Flag
ship Lafayette, . "Tuscumbia,', stIon;s-
ville." "Mound City," "Pittsburp" snd
"Carondelet,' one ram, the "Gen. Price y
and three transports, namely the sForest
Queen, ""Henry Clay" and SILVER Wave y
You may judge our anxiety as night An.
preached. "No sleep till morn" for AMI.
ETY. stood on tiptoe. Gen. Sherman, ar
companied by Gen. Ewing, arrived shortly
after nightfall. The fleet was to start down
at eleven O'Clock, and precisely at twelve
the enemy opened on our passing boats
The uproar was tremendous. Peal after
peal of the heaviest cannon the Confedera
cy can afford, responded to by the monster
eleven inch Dahlgreens of the Ironclads
shook the heavens and the earth. Flash
after flash leaped from the mouths of the
guns in such rapid succession, that the
bluffs seemed in blaze.
At the time when the Boats arrived op-
posite the batteries, the Rebels fired two
houses on the City, and one on the Louisi-
lana side. The confiagration made eve
ry object visible from one shore of the
river to the other, as if it We're day. Here
the shells of the enemy ignited the trans
port "Henry Clay making the most vivid
fire I ever beheld. She had on board over
two hundred bales of cotton protecting her
machinery, hull and SO forth. The sight
was awfully sublime. Here too the "FOr-
on sufficient steam, ran past the batteries
as far as the crevassee below us, where she
is now lying, out of danger, undergoing
repairs. Genl. Sherman and Ewing. to-
gether with our gallant Colonel. had plac-
ed themselves in a position, enabling them
to hail the boats as they passed by. Soon
huge ''Turtle" was seen steaming down
close to shore. ''Boat ahoyv' TsWhat
boats that?' cried out our Colonel. "Ben-
TOM was the reply. anybody hurt? zone
killed and two wounded, no other damage
whatever .'Threecheers for the Benton
sung out the Colonel, and clear and loud
across the waters went the jubilant voice
of the Iowa 30th. Soon another boat came
steaming along. "Boat ahoy! what boat is
that? again called the Colonel. Mound
City, anybody hurt?'' ''Three slightly
wounded, no other casualty" Again went
out the cheers of Iowa's sons, and this time
responded to by the crews OF the two gun
boats. Directly the balance of the fleet
came down one close after another and
cheer after cheer went up from the vessels
and the wildly enthusiastic 30th, till the
welkin rang.
In the meantime our brave boys We're on
the lookout for any of the crew of the burn
ing transport, and succeeded in saving the
Pilot, VIM. Taylor, who was clinging to a
plank, breasting the cold waterof the river
He was the last to leave the wreck, the bal.
ance of the crew, with the exception of the
Captain and two or three men, escaped tC
shore in Yawls and on barge they cast
loose from the wreck. 1t is somewhat sin.
gular that the Silver Wave alone of the
three transports escaped unhurt, and she
the least protected of them all, having nc
bulwarks around her Pilot house, the doors
and sash even being taken out, the Pilot
having chosen to run the boat in that trim.
He was volunteer, a private in an Ohio
Regiment.
The feet passed on to Warrenton, en-
gaglng the Batteries there. The loss OF
life so far as ascertained, is one killed, ION
the "Benton'D and ten wounded, five on
the Gunboats, and five on the Forest Queen
by scalding, though none seriously. The
entire time occupied in running the block
ade was one hour and twenty minutes.
The "Forest Queen will shortly be repair
ed and continue her journey down the
river. ..t.ae6
So passed one of the most brilliant ex-
ploits' of the war. 1t is truly success.
The loss of the transport though deplora-
bic, amounts to nothing compared to the
advantage of having such a fleet between
Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The Con-
federacy is cut in two. Henceforth the
vast armies of the Rebels massed against
Hooker" Hunter" "Rosecrans'' and
''Grant," will be compelled to depend for
subsistence entirely on the States east OF
the Mississippi river, and their subjuga-
ton is but question of time.
Yours truly,
EDWARD b. HEATON,
Lit. Co. c., 3Oth Re'gt: Iowa Vols.
GREAT RELIGIOUS REVIVAL AT RocH-
ESTER NEW YoRK.-For the several weeks