The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-11-19

. .~-~N~~~->-E1 NhO D1%tEAACcr 4 EGlN u Ill
down the Middle river for the Commo
dore Hull and commenced preparation
for the action.
At about a. N. the Commodore HUI
arrived, and / stationed her at tn,
head of the line, as before, on account
of her ability to FIRE directly ahead
AT about nine a. m. the United States
steamer Whitehead came up the Mid,
die river, having on board stores fol
the vessels in Albermarle Sound, from
the naval depot at Newbern. AS hel
one hundred FOUNDER Parrott had beer
taken out, had her lashed alongside
the Tacony, the tug Bailey being lashed
to the Shamrock and the Belle to the
Otsego (all on the port side) to keep
the vessels in motion, in case their en-
gines should be damaged. We also had
the steam blown off the starbOard boil
ers of all the double enders, the fires
banked very low beneath them, and
the stop valve between the two boilers
of each ship closed so that there was
no steam in the starboard boilers, but
the water in them being warm it could
be got up in short time.
At halfpast nine o'clock, a. m, the
ships being in line, / signalized to the
Commodore Hull to run down and re-
connoitre, and ascertain if the channel
was clear. She reported "all right,
and | got under way, signalling the
other vessels to follow in close order.
The enemy opened on us as soon as we
came in range, and kept up constant
and very heavy fire, directed principal
ly at the Commodore Hull and the
Shamrock AS | neared the batteries
| gave the order, Go ahead fast and
We were soon directly opposite the enc
mys guns, when he was driven from
the rifle pits and field pieces by grape
and canister from the ships, which we
poured in very heavily.
The batteries still held out, though
their fire began to be very mild but as
the Shamrock passed them one of her
shells exploded in their magazine
which blew up with great force, some
of the fragments falling on our decks
This evidently caused panic among
the rebels, for from that time their fire
slackened and at length ceased alto
gethcr.
then made signal to cease firing
and TO land and take possession of the
batteries, which was done without re-
sistance. A party from this ship, un-
der Lieutenant Duer, marched into the
lower works 1--WE having by this time
passed the town and arrived opposite
them) took about a dozen prisoners and
spiked the guns to prevent the enemy
from firing on the vessels, should they
return to their batteries
1t gives me great qualification to have
the honor to bring to the notice of the
Department the gallant and intelligent
conduct of all the commanding officers
engaged, viz Lieutenant Commander
H. f. Arnold, OF the Otsego; Lieuten-
ant Commander Earl English, Of the
Wyalusing; Lieutenant Commander
n. S. Truxton, of the Tacony; Acting
Master Francis Josselyn, of the Cons
modore Hull; Acting Master James G.
Green, of the tug Belle; Acting Master
G. w. Barrett, of the Whitehead, and
Acting Ensign Mark d. Ames, of the
tug Bailey, who worked and fought
their vessels admirably, preserving the
order of battle under a severe FIRE, and
pouring into the rebel batteries and ri
he pits and into the town tremendous
fire of all kinds of projectiles
| think promotion would be but JUS
tice to these gallant officers, who Ger
tainly deserve the honorable notice OF
the government. wish particularly
to bring before the Department the
conduct of Acting Master Francis Jos
selyn, of the Commodore Hull, who
worked his ship and battery to the adj
miration of all who saw him, and also
Acting Master G. w. Barrett Of the
Whitehead, whom sent on board Of
the Commodore Hull to pilot US through
the distractions, on account of his
of the river, and who ac-
quilted himself in his usual fine style
These two deserve particular notice,
from the fact that the Commodore Hull
was the leading ship, and at her the
first and heaviest FIRE of the enemy was
would also respectfully rec
ommend for promotion the pilots of
the ships engaged, especially Mr.. Al
fred Everett. y,
We captured thirty-seven prisoners,
twenty two cannon and large quanti-
ty of ammunition, the exact amOput
am unable to give at present, nearly
two hundred stand of arms (more are
being picked up all the time), the ram
AlbermaFle (sunk at the wharf, with
everything on board, and the colors of
the batteries and iron clad. For the
part which each vessel took in the fight
must refer you to the reports of each
Of the commanding officers, which /
will forward as they are received. As
officer of the Shamrock, it
becomes my duty TO testify to the gal
ant behavior of the officers, crew and
marines of this vessel
The Engineer Department, under
second Assistant Engineer w Ii. Har-
,ison, was very efficient The different
were worked remarkably well,
md in the most spirited and effective |
manner, for which ! am in a great !
Measure indebted TO Lieutenant Duer,
Executive officer, and the officers Of the |
iifferent divisions. Acting Assistant |
paymaster Louis Sands and IL a. Ma /
,omb, Captains Clerk, were with me on
he hurricane deck during the engage
nent, and rendered good service as
ids, the latter acting as signal officer.
am much indebted TO Colonel d. W. |
commanding subdivision Of
who, anticipating our re-
luirements, arrived here with one hun
lred and sixty men from Roanoke Is
and, to assist in garrisoning the works
which we had captured
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient
erysnt,
w. H. MAcOMB, Commander,
Commanding District of the Sounds,
l. A B. s.
To Rear Admiral D. D. Porter, Con1s
handing \. A s.
Nufeh Can canal