Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1863-08-21

Tur SE.f or FoFr WAGNrg.-A Su,gr
u,Y'- W oEE -On SUNDAY morning last the
Ottawa. Lieutenant Commanding Whiting,
and one Monitor, took their position of Fort
Wagner. % indulge Ia O little shell practice
and keep the gunucrs in the work in q quics-
cent state. 80 that our men In the advanced
trenches should not be ANNOYED hv their fire.
The practice from tGc Ottawa p onc-huudrcd
p1auIcr Parrott was exceedingly fnr. Near
iy every shot WIS Iluu-"i into the rebel
work, and the garrison were kept iI their
homh-rrroi-. Fort sumter attempted, with
her large rilcI gun 90 drive the mpcrti-
nsnt annoyance away, hut without avail
The rebel shot fen IN the water al about the
OTTAWA. lut did not m p single instance
strike her. The latter Taii no attention To
the wuthiul salutatiJns Of sumter, nor 20
N1ultric, that essayed % put the Iiucky
little Ottawa 70 flight With the utmost
co0lncss and precision holt after holt was
pitched into " Nacner, until it seemed % have
been covered with smoke and dust Fort
Wagner occasionally responded with her ten
inch columhad. hut was able 10 accomplish
nothing Finally a shot from the Ottawa
either dism0uuted a gun or blew up small
service magazine iu Wagner and woke uu
the garrison. In their rage they sprau. to
20 thtiy guns, opened fire upon our works
and upon the Ottawa. and for % couple Of
hours the FIRE Wa, more intense and rapid
than ever before proceeded from that work
Our batteries instantly responded with the
greatest rapiditv The rchel works on .ilmrs
Island clush up the dcafeniug refrain. and
beloved forth their noisy situations. while
Noultrie and johnson ioined IN the Internal
chorus. The FIRE was uncxamplcd IN rapid
ity and generally in accuracy. Wagner was
covered with bursting shell and envelored in
smoke and dust; but the rcbcls stood by
their guns with the greatest stcadincss. Our
trenches were cleaning with the fitful fires
Of exploding shell, and The air Imprcsnated
with sulphurous fumes, was alive with the
whistle Of solid shot, the hum OF she'll. the
shrek Of proiectilcs, anl all that variety Of
strange sounds that proceeds from a hundred
flying missiles. The work in our trenches
was necessarily shckened, rs the men found
it essential To safety to take TO cover very
frequently.
This laundering cann)naic had continued
an hour or more, when the New Irou-ides
hoisted anchor and moved majcsti,ally 10 her
old position off Wagner, where she again
anchored and brought her port broadsides to
bear on the rebel work. In a moment she
fired a shot from her rifle gun forward, and,
getting the range, che let fy broadside at
the fort from her two hundred round rifles
and eleven-inch guns. Her FIRE thus opened.
continued with steadincss and accuracy. The
effect Of her fire was soon manifest. The
rebel guns. one after another. became
silenccd. and finally an occasional shot from
the ten-incn columbiad, at the noble frigate.
indicated the fact that the fort was still
occupied. Sumter fired some spitcful shots
at the lronsidcs, but did not strike her. The
rebel FIRE from Wagner being subdued, the
Ironsides ceased shelling, and at about noon
was stil si,slt. sles Al o:,iaJlL slell
from johnson which did no damage We
suffered no casualties during the dar