The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-03-28
From the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Of the
ChilllcOthe aud De Kaib.
[Correrpondence Of the Chicago Tribunel

ChlllcOthe aud De Kalb.
Correspondence Of the Chicago Tribune]
! HELENA, Ark, March 10, 1868.
have just returned from q trip to new par,
OF Dixie, which is becoming historic ground, and
hasten to give you brief account of nv trip.
left this land of mud Saturday, March
on board the Wenona, bound with supplies Of
hard bread and pork for the body, and letters
for the mind Of our boys on the Coldwater and
Tallahatchie rivers. All went very well for q
time; after passing Moon Lake we met the Raw
nond, and transferred ourselves to Der. The
following night while anchored to tree on shore
q tree floating down stream knocked hole ir
our doughty craft and soon dire confusion ruled
the hour, for, to be lost on the "raging canal
seemed to be our destined end, but it was to be
otherwise; by dint of perseverance the boat was
saved from watery grave, and we went our way
rejoicing that soon we should leave the rotten
craft and take the nimble craft
While steaming down the Coldwater we pas-
sed large quantities of cotton and many fiag
ments of q steamboat. About 200 miles from
| here and about ten miles above the mouth of the
Tallahatchie, we found our boys, General Ross
division, attended by gunboats, and transports,
at place called Greenwood Bay We found
we had now reached debateable ground We
here learned the cause of there being so much
cotton af1oat
A large cotton boat had been sent up the river
by the rebels and bad gathered large load OF
the Southern sovereign, but while she was etop-
ping to wood up" one of our gunboats hove in
sight, and as the cotton 5oat could not escape,
che was Get on FIRE, and her rich cargo estimated
to be upwards Of three thousand bales, was adams
doned to the flames.
About three miles below our troops, the rebels
had built fort and placed raft in the river,
The fort is in a very strong position in the neck
of bend made by the Tallabatchie and Yazoo
rivers The tort is uuapproachable by the
troops on account of the overflow of the rivers
and the contest thus far has been a duel of
cannon.
On the 18th, the Chllicothe was ordered TO
engage the rebels, and her appearance was the
signal for brisk fire from theE, but without
eiiciting any reply from the gunboat, which
steamed steadily to her position, within eight
hundred yards, when, throwing open the bow
ports of her turrets, she launched forth two tres
mendous shots, which for q moment staggered
the butternuts. One of the eleven.inch shells
passed completely over the neck, and struck
rebel transport, lying in the Yszoo below the
tort. This seemed to be signal for the whole
rebel feet to depart, for Immediately they were
under way
The firing now became continuous on both
sides, several of our shells lodging in the ene-
my's works aDd exploding. The Chillicothe
was struck in an aperture in the port door,
through which the gunners worked their ram
mers, by conical percussion shot. The shell
not only exploded, but caused the explosion of
shell our men had just placed in the muzzle
of the gun. This compound explosion carried
overheard one of the iron port doors, weighing
over 1000 pounds, and killed four and wound.
ed eleven of the crew, and few minutes
afterwards orders were received for the gun
boat to withdraw from the fire. Notwithstand
ing the working force of the gun crew was
much reduced, the men composing it were
promptly at work.
The following night was a busy one. 80
FOUNDER Psrl Of gun was taken from gunboat
and placed in battery ..on land in front of
our line, and to the west of Clayton's Slough,
and temporary fertilization was built of
cotton and earth, and pierced for one gun
The work was done in quietuess and silence
and before daylight the battery was in readi-
ness for work. 1t was scarcely quarter of .
mile from the rebel fort and bore directly on
their most valuable gun. But other matters
we're behind SO the day wore away without
action. But on the 18th there was day of
hard fighting with artillery. Though the
pTeNlUuS udJ Hdu uSSu OHo VI iIaGtlUI Inc
night was busy time. The land battery,
under the superintendent of Lieut. Colonel
Wilson, was enlarged and strengthened, and
second Parrot gun was taken from the gun
boat Forest Rose and placed in position.
On the 18th, fair and beautiful day, at half
past ten o'clock, the gunboat Chillicothe and
the land battery upeped upon the rebel FORTH
cation, the land battery giving special attention
to the rebel 64pounder. This attracted special
attention in return, and for while all their guns
we're trained upon the Wilson battery, and they
poured fearful fire of shell and round shot
upon the little fort, but it withstood it nobly-I
And its guns did yeoman service, making the
cotton fly from Fort Greenwood, as the rebels
call their fertilization. but it fell only to be as
quickly replaced. The De Kalb was detained for
a few minutes by mortar boat that blocked the
river and kept the gunboat from her position,
but finally the way was free for the gunboat to
move down into position, about six hundred yards
from Fort Greenwood. Up to this time the land
battery had received the whole fire OF the fort,
and most nobly withstood it. The appearance
of the gunboats changed the scene. At once
the rebels turned their heavy guns to the river,
and paid their attention to the Dekalb and
Chllicothe The turret guns OF the Dekalb, |
L Il los nf ha