The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1863-04-13

! p-n' the action.
The Ironsid s got under weigh az in and ap
preached within 1900 wards Of tort Sumter
when once mJ sac oecAme unmanageable aaC
dropped anchor.
The Monitors head OF her reached the con
! verg'ng point Of the tire from Cummings Pom
/ battery, and from Sumter, Moultrle, aud battery
8. sheet Of flame and volumes Of SMOKE
extending from Morris 10 Sullivan s islands
laangurated what has been undoubtedly ths
most terrific CannOaadiAg at the whole war.
a perfect torrent of shot aud sell p1ure
upon the Monitors, wrapping them sometimes
almost entirely IN sp0uts of water. The MQDl-
tors continued their way, replying vigorously
IRON their batteries. They passed the Nlrtheas
lace OF Fort Sumter, but when they came neal
It's angie With the Northwestern face they made
cut snort distance ahead three distinct lines
Oh ofstructIon3. consisting Of floating logs with
'oFpedoes attached, and networks of cables, held
pernend!colarly in the water by wei 4hts.
! The Patapsco got foul Of one and could nj
work her screw for Is minutes, but finally got
clear. torpedo exploded close to the bow OF
tie WeehaW ken without damage. The vessels
all steering through the narrow passages, the
lines OF distractions could not be reached, after
several vain attempts
! The four vessels then turned about and steam
ed down the harbor, all the while sustaining Il
heavy fire and responding vigorously
! The Patapsco had her 200 pounder Parrot
gun disabled by It's own recoil early in the ac-
! ton The turret Of the PAssaic was bent in ano
cramped her | inch gun preventing working
Shortly afterwards her tur5t stopped revolving
and she lOat all her offensive power, The Iron
sides IN the meantime vainly struggled to come
close to Fort Sumter. TIE rebel gunners, see
ing her condition pyed her freely with shot anC
shell
Her position was such that she could no
bring her br0adsdes to bear until about f0u
o clock, when she got an opportunity to delive
her fire at Fort Moulrrie This was the OIL,
offensive demonstration made by her during tn
| action.
When Admiral Dupont found that he coulC
not readily move the Ironsides he signaled tn
tour Monitors behind her to pass ahead. Ii
trying TO pass, the CatskiIl and Nantucke
brushed the lrousdes on the port and starboar
sides, but after awhile managed to get away.
They and the Keokuk and Nahant came uu
der the concentrated fire of the forts and bat
teries at about the time the other four Monitor
were turning back They nevertheless advance
with their guns at work briskly, passed tn
Northeast face of Fort Sumter, till their cours
was impeded by distractions.
the Catskill Nantucket and Nah4nt re
ceived the united fire of Forts Sumter and Moul
| trie. ...u
The KeOkuk had steered little to the lef
and for awhile received the fire of fort Sumter
alone She fired the gun in her forward turret bu
xvfa bno, lie, 4aI Hnr of
ter gun could not be brought to bear effectively
After continuing under the united fire abou
three quarters of an hour all the Monitors ant
the Whitosy battery (Keokuk) came back ii
obedience to the signal from the flag ship. Th,
Ironsid's dropped hack out of the range of For
Sumter. a
A five o'clock, the entire feet was out 0
range, and the action ceased. The Ericsson
raft, known as 3" the Devil" was attached tt
the bow of the Weehswken, but proved a hin
derance instead of help. " -
The monster torpedoes intended to be connect
ed with the raft were not used, as they required
delicate handling and fears were entertained a,
to the success. The Devil was lost the day
after the fight, and washed ashore.
1t was the intention Of the Admiral to renew
the fight the next day, but when the reports o.
the commanders of the iron-clads were received
Admiral Dupont d, ,ermined to deslst from Its
c ntinuance. La this decision he was sustained
by the unanimous opinion Ct the commanders
of al! the iron clads.
No words can convey an idea of the terrible
fire. The Monitors were hit from twenty to
sixty times each, except the Keokuk, which Was
struck by not less than 80 shots. The Ironsidee
was bit from fifty to sixty times without mate
rial damage.
Eleven large holes, apparently running thro'
the walls, some of which are about 3 feet wide,
were made on the east face of fort Sumter. The
Monitors fired altogether about $50 rounds.
Mas, VoDu A,,.;I ~ Ill., n D,oLr fron,