Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-03-30
NAVAL ATTACK ON PORT HUDSON.

The Jackson appeal publishes graphic account of
the fight between the Yankee feet and bat
teres at Port Hudson, portion of which We append
The vessels comprising the expedition were the flagship
Hartford, the Monongahela, Richmond gunboat Knnes,
gunboat Genesee. soop Mississippi carrying in all one
hundred guns besides the Essyk aud. boats
chored at convenient distance The writer after sketch
ing the preliminary movements, says:
Although there had been 10 indication of ouch de-
termnef night attack by Farragut, the usual vigIlnt
precautions in force at our batteries. Every gun
was ready for action and around each piece slept de-
tachment of gunners. So dark the night however,
and 10 slightly had the armed craft boSed their way up
that the flagship had passed of guns and all
the fleet within easy range before their approach was
known. Almost at the same time rocket from our
signal corps aud the discharge of muskets by an III
fantry picket aroused line. Quick fash while
the falling ire Of alarm rocket yet unextin-
gushed there shot up into the sky from the lartfords
deck another. Then came grand. long dealening
roar that the o-phere with its mighty thunder,
shaking both land and water and causing the high bat
rycrOWned cliffs to rembe, ~ With fear aud won-
der Every pun on the feet and every mortar at the
point Joined in simultaneous discharge.
One instant and what change in the aspect OF Affairs
Many thousand sold ers sprnglng TO their feet az
bound exchange Chances with cOmrade their eyes gis
leuing wi the light of grim satisfaction. lnstinc.
solderly heart relieved of the weight of long pro-
traced expectation, throbs glad echo 10 the starig
peal OF cannon. The batteries the long line OF bu,
but moment before silent the church yard, now re-
sound TO tue huying tread OF men, while the quick stern
tones of command heard above the awful din, and
the urtiv CHANGING light from the battle ante rs
revealed the huge instruments OF death an detruouC
and show the half covered way 10 mr. gazines
RELYING greatly upon the suddenDess and vigor OF
their attack to dsconcert and confuse The defenders Of
our cliffs the of their first discharge had not died
away upon lie ear before II e, commenced, and then
the quick and Irregular but unceasing voeys and bi DAD
sides sho gedIhat the crew Of each Yankee gun were
yeing with each other CELEBRITY The sheets oil Hume
that poured from the sides of the oOps at each dis
charge lie up nearly the whole Stretch o river placing
each craft in strong relief against the black sky The
noise was stunning the ear but they knew not vet the
po,ton of our batteries and the shot aud shell fired at
random had 10 material effect The shelling from the
mortar boats presented the finest scene OF Inc two-
First the distant fash and puff oil white smoke then the
star OF light rising by spasmodc effort, so its revolutions
make il appear up TO the very armament whlie the
more slowly travelling sound brings the hoarse roar oil
the mortar then the Frightening star descending
by the same spasmodc notion next the oml1ou' whir-
ring growing louder aud still more cear un ii-bahg
right IN Your face it seems, sh like thai OF sheet
Gghning-a sharp terrible explosion and then, thud
t6ud thud the Tent iron strikes in every d eeEioD,
burning its Jagged fragments deep in the solid earth.
Minute aer min ute passed away, each driven to eter
nity distracted by the maddenng of 80 many can
non and the feet kept its unchecked covrse up the
stream Amusement seizes upon the Yankee officers
and men, Where we're the long talked Of batterl.s the
rebels have been constructing With which hold the
| NJ ssissipp9 Had they been abandoned ina panic,
caused by the terrible bombardment Of the 6eeti The
marine officer Of the Mississippi, now prisoner. tells
me the query seriously propounded, whether the
rebels had not evacuated their stroDghOlds, and thus
cheated the "braye Yankeetars" out of the gorythey
were expecting 10 reap. 0nly too did the enemy
discover that but waiting to bring their whole
feet irretrevably under guns before We went 70
work. For fifteen minutes bad they piled at their mon
ster cannon, and now they were commencing 10 reisA
from sheer vexation, when a Hush oil Light IRON we
crest of cliff lights the way for sl.e 70 90 plunging
through the HsrIfords deck This Was the MONITOR and
at once the enemy saws Gordon of vivid light @ long
a. their own.