, 1863-07-04
THE LOSS OF TILE ATLANTA.


The rebels claim that the Atlanta, or Fin
ga1, was surrendered On account of treachery.
The following two accounts gige their views.
The Savannah Nsus publishes the following
communication from naval officer:
6AvASKA11t June II, 1853.
Editor Morning News:
The impression conveyed By your account
of'1e capture of the Atlanta, ID last evenings
edition, is that the loss ef the vessel is owing
to her having run aground, or having been
fatally injured by one Of the eneny's shot.
Now, sir, there certainly is no ground for
either, for where the fight took place there is
shot having struck her with serious effect-it
If simply Impossible to state SO with any Ger
tainty, from distance Of two miles
There IL certainly some mystery about this
s'fght," and It is singular that you were not
Informed OF the white flag having been hoist
ed, then hauled down, and the Confederate
flag run up, to be again lowered
These are facts witnessed By severa1, and
the opinion WIS general that it indicated
something wrong going on aboard the il1~fated
Capt. Webb is not the man to run up tho
white tag at oil, and the facts strongly 70 to
show that there Was foul work being done.
Threc-fouTths of her crow were men from
the army and conscripts, who never saw a
vessel before remainder we're Of all sorts
u II" &A1l0f6,
4 short time before she went ont remarks
we're made by some Of the sailor portion Of
the lncn that '*if the ship went out It would
be worse for her and the officers, as they
would find ont" and other expressious
showing bad spirit amongst them. Unfor.
tunattly, the person who heard this tallz, not
belonging to the vessel, was not aware Of the
porting 1t to the Officers
Now, sir. my opinion is that the Atlanta
las been betrayed to the enemy by base
tlcacheiT.
Any one who is acquainted with the ship
Knows TINT thirty men, By concerted action
officers on deck and take charge before the
remainder Of the crew, unused to shlpboard
aud such scenes, could prevent 1t.
The Atlanta was not the ship to be injured
BY few shots. Her pilots, Hernandez and
Austin, were not the men to run her aground
Esrs ~ there % was sea room, and Capt. Webb
and Ills officers, above all, were not then
taking their first lesson under Yankee fire.
Without any positive knowlcdge Of the
ship, or the effect Of the enemy's shot upon
her II indeed she vas hit) the simple fact
that the white flag was first run up, then
lowered and the Confederate flag hoisted, and
aud again lowered to give place to the United
States flag, is conclusive evidence that it was
not regular surrender, while 1t is very sug-
ecssiye Of conflict among the crew Of the At
lnnta-
TIE ATLANTA {F1soA1).
Up to the time Of going to press, we have
no further developments regarding the sud-
DIN and mysterious surrender Of this vessel
Opinions are still divided on the subject,
| some b. lfeying that she fell victim to rrea.
son on board whilst others, including all
the officers Of the navy, we believe, are Of
opinion TINT her men were all true, and she
struck her colors simply because she got into
position where she could not fight The
secret will probably not be unfolded until We
receive it through the Northern press or the
II turn Of prisoners.
It was stated on the streets yesterday that
tue Confederate and white flag al:ernated from
TIE mast for some time, leading to the con-
clnslon that there was q struggle on board,
1.o1tty for the report
The Atlanta WIS armed with six large rifed
guns, OF Immense power aud heavy calibre.
We would much prefer to sec them in our
own hands, rather than In the hands Of the
enemy We haye some reason t. hope that
the vessel herself is SO badly damaged us to
BIZ useless.
The Atlanta had On boa,d, including Off
Gers, crew, and other attaches, some one
hundred and fifty persons, She was com
handed By Capt: Webb, an officer well
willing to guarantee 1hat be never gave up
the ship SC long as fight was possible. He
made every Preparation for successful dght,
having secured formidable torpedo on the
Prov Of his vessel. expecting to blow up ono
u the Monitors, and then engage the other. 4
rcconoissannce the night previous by skillfol
pilots, well acquainted with the Sound,
showed ample water where the enemy were
lying, md every other circumstance propi-
tious- He expected to come upon the moni~
Tors by daylight, but WIS some#hat helated
IN getting down, and when there be found
the enemy bad changed their position to shall
low water. Why he did not return on making
the discovery is not known. He determined,
On the contrary, to mike the fight, aud We
have the result, 50 far Us it is possible to as
crTt1lu it-Savdnuak HeDa2Ricdn