Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-04-16

but Of the heaviest cslibre-the fnes. guns
from the spoils Of the Norfolk Navy Yard,
the splendid and heavy 10 and 14-inch
guns cast at the Tredegar works, and the
most approved English riAed guns, Whit
worth and others, Of the largest cslibre
made.
There was something almost pathetic in
the spectacle of those little floating cireu-
lar towers, exposed to the crushing weight
Of those tons Of metal, hurled against
them with the terrific force ofmodern pro-
jectiles, and with such charges Of powder
as were never before dreamed Of In srtil-
lery firing. During the climax Of the fire
hundred and sixty shots were counted in
q single minute Some Of the command
ers Of the iron-clads afterwards told me
that the shot struck their vessels as fast as
the ticking OF a watch, and not less than
thirty-fve hundred rounds could have
been fred by the rebels during the brief
engagement
It was less of the character Of an ordi-
nary artillery duel, and more of the pro-
portions of war Of the Titans in the eld-
er mythOlogies.
While the feet is receiving the fire from
I
iron-elads doing in return
On the order being given to disregard
the movements Of the flagship, the brill
liantly sudacious Rhind ran his vessel,
the Keokuk, up through the others and
laid it seemingly under the very walls Of
Sumter, and within q very little more than
five hundred yards from it. Close behind
him, within six hundred yards Of the fort,
is the Catskill, commanded by George
Rodgers, a soul of courage all compact; (;
and to both Of them one could not help ap-
plying the exclamation of Trafalgar
" See how Collingwood, that noble fellow,
carries his ship into the fghtl"
Close by is the Mantauk, commanded by
the heroic Worden; while not far remoV-
ed are the Passaic, the Pstapsco the Ma
hant the Nantucket the WeehsWken, and
the Ironsides.
The whole feet is devoting itself main
ly to the face Of Fort Sumter presented
to it, with the exception of the Ironsides,
which, from its position, can do better
work on Fort Moultrie, and is pouring
forth its terrific broadside from its several
10-inch guns on that work.
Could you look through the smoke, and
through the fsme-lit ports, into one Of
those revolving towers, a spectacle would
meet your eye such as Vulcan's stithy
might present. Here are the two huge
guns which form the armament of each
Monitor-the one II and the other l5
inches in diameter of bore. The gunners,
begrimmed with powder and stripped
to the waist, are loading the gun. The
charge of thirty-fVe pounds to
each CHARGES passed up rapidly from
below; the shot weighing 42O pounds, is
hoisted NJ by mechanical appliances to
the muzzls Of the gun, and rammed home !;
the gun is run out to the port, and tightly
com pressed )" the portis open for an in
slant, the Captain of the gun stands be-
hind, lanyard in hand" Ready, fire p
and the enormous projectile rushes through
its huge parabols, with the weight of ten
thousand tons, home to its mark.
That mark is the face Of Sumter, which
already displays palpable proofs Of the
horrid impact. Half dozen ugly pock-
marks show conspicuous, and huge era
ter is formed in the parapet near the east
ern angle. We look with interest at these
effects, and look forward with good hope
to seeing a breach at length effected, if on
under fire to batter away.
II only they could have remained
But what craft, pray, could remain under
such hurricane of fire And what is
this coming down out of the fight? 1t is
the KeOkuk-we know her by her double
turret. She has defed Sumter under its
very walls, and now comes out to report
to the flagship that she has received her
death blow, and is in a sinking condition
The flagship herself has had one of her
port-shutters shot away, thus exposing her
gun deck, and red hot shot has penetrated
her wooden bows. In addition three others
showed signs of dissblement, and there
was little moro than sufficient daylight left
for the feet to gain its old anchorage. At
five o'clock the Admiral makes signal 10
retire. V.