The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-04-25
How Gen. Foster was Reinforced,

How Gen. Foster was Reinforced.
9t sNEwBERN, N. c., April 16.
Gen. Foster, Lieut.. Col. Hoffman, Capt.
Gaurard and Lieut.. Edward p. Peters, Aid
de-camp, arrived here at nine O'Clock last
night, on the steamer Escort, in safety from
Washington, having successfully run the
batteries in Rodman's Point, and that at
Hills Point.
On,Saturday night last, some of the Off
GERS Of the gallant 18th Rhode Island regi-
ment this regiment was one OF the fourteen
under Spinola) waited upon Gen. Palmer,
and stated that that body of veterans had,
en- nadsse, requested permission to either
Washington, or land and capture them
bodily. It is unnecessary to state that the
offer was accepted, and the staunch trans
port Escort, Capt. Wall, was brought up to
the dock to receive them. They came on
board at midnight, so noiselessly that not
dozen of people knew of it until late the
next day, when they had arrived in the
vicinity Of operations. So completely ex-
hausted were the men with their four days
hard marching and fighting that when
they found themselves on board the steam
er they sank down to rest and sleep upon
the bare decks only as tired warriors can
rest under the dew sprinkling canopy of
heaven. A run of seventeen hours brought
them to the fleet of gunboats, five miles be-
low lie III I'LL OeH. al
mer was with them, as were also Lieut..
Col. Hoffman, Acting Adjutant General on
Gen. Fosters staff, and Col. McChesney, of
LIST North Carolina Union volunteers. The
brave Rhode Islanders were clamOrous to
be put through the ordeal that night, but
the commandant felt it his duty-as it was
to study we'll the position and weigh
carefully the chances. The commandment
of the naval fleet was to be consulted, and
joint plans arranged, all of which took
time; SO that when all was ready it was so
near morning, and the moon was shining so
brightly, it was wisely concluded to defer
the hazardous enterprise until Monday
night.
About ten O'Clock on Monday night the
gunboats, which had taken position Just
below the Hills Point Battery opened a
brisk fire upon the rebel works, but were
unable to elicit any reply. During the can
nonade the Escort, loaded with supplies
and troops, steamed up past the ginboats,
and, before the rebels could realize the
fact, was abreast of the battery and enter
ing the gap of the blockade, which had
been buoyed out by Captain McDermott, of
the Ceres, through which she passed in
safety. The Hill's Point Battery did not
modest her in passing, owing to the facts
that the gunboats kept up such an incessant
and well directed fire upon the fort as to
make it impossible for the rebels to get
tnelr guns lntO pOslLioH. Dut dIIeT tlle
steamer had passed the blockade her trip
was decidedly exciting one. The rebels
had posted sharpshooters on RATS in the
river and in the bushes on the shore, and
they also had planted light field batteries
along the south bank of the river, near
which the channel runs, from which they
kept up continuous firing of volley after
volley of musketry and roar upon roar of
artillery until the craft was lost in the dis
lance. For six miles she ran the fiery
gauntlet, a part of the time being within
three hundred yards of shore which
swarmed with gray backed rif1emen and
butternut colored artillerists, whose every
word of command and shout of defiance
could be distinctly heard by those on board
When she arrived opposite the battery on
Rodman's farm, the guns which had so
nearly demolished the gunboat Commo-
dore Hull, belched forth their hostile well
come, and for twenty minutes the thunder
from the rebel guns was continued like
one prolonged peal of Joves own artillery.
The night was as calm and still as ever
night was-not breath of air, except the
gushing bursts set in motion by the rebel
guns and the steamers own advance, stirr-
ed the smoke as it fell like pail upon the
water, and rendered the darkness doubly
sombre. ir- 80 s,... .....e ..s...
Guided only by the the firing upon shore,
the brave pilot headed her on until the last
heard far astern and he knew he was close
upon Washington. Then he espied the
low, black hull of one of our gunboats, and
the watch bell upon the deck tolling out
the hour of the night; then he saw the dim
lights in the back windows of the houses
in town, and heard the half-suppressed
voices of our men on shore, and he doubly
realized that the immediate danger was
over. ..... 49, .- ~.
II wish / could write the scene of the
landing of our troops in Washington" says
the Occasional" of the Herald, who went
through on the Escort, and who furnishes
me these items. e.... ..>t-. .--
It would be useless for me to attempt to
describe the appearance of the Escort, as
she lies at her wharf, back of w. c.. Hamil-
ton u Co.'s warehouses, an object of won
der and curiosity to thousands. One of the
shots OF the enemy-a twelve FOUNDER
Whitworth-passed directly through the
berth which had just been vacated by Gen.
Foster, and another struck one of the con-
nection rods above the cylinder crosshead
indenting and bending it SO as to render it
almost useless. a lar vs5..t=..r- 20
No less than eighteen solid shot and shell
struck and passed through the steamer,
completely Kidding her upper works, and
partially disabling her machinery, while
the bullets of the enemy's sharpshooters
perforated her joiner work like a seive.-
SAiS, oily ollC Lie " dso
lost-that of the pilot, Federico, killed by
rifle shot.-Cor. N. Y. Herald. a aea aa
The REBEL VIEW OF THE CoNNECTI-
CUT ELECTIoN.-The Richmond despatch
of the 18th of April has the following arti-
Gle on the Connecticut Election:
The Connecticut election has gone against
the Democrats. Gold has fallen on the
strength of the Republican success, OBJ
tanned no doubt by bribery, and the hopes
which rested on the triumph of Seymour
have fallen to the ground. The impor-
lance of this defeat of the Democracy can
not well be exaggerated; for if the result
had been otherwise the Northwest would
have risen; the peace party would have
been organized on permanent basis; the
next meeting of Congress would have been
followed by summary abrogation of the
imperial powers bestowed upon Lincoln by
the Abolition Congress just ended, and u
cession of hOstilities might have been con-
fidently looked for at or before the close Of
the present year. No wonder Lincoln
throw tho Jyhnla uaipht IF hic