Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-06-09

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a most dismal sound.
Now she passed our wheel and the
crews of the after guns, watching the
moment, drove the solid shot into her
ports. The elevating screw OF our Par
rott rifle was broken, and the gun could
not be depressed to bear on the enemys
port, but hurled its missile against her
iron armor, leaving rent to mark the
point of its impact. a nine-inch solid
shot, fired with an increased charge,
struck her inclined root, and flew IN RICO
eket, like a pebble bounding from pave
ment, into the air beyond and this at a
distance of not more than fifteen feet.
And this cool gunnery and precise ar
tillery practice transpired while the ship,
from fire room to hurricane deck, was
shrouded in one dense cloud of fiery
steam. The situation was appalling.
The shrieks of the scalded and dying, as
they frantically rushed up from below,
with their shrivelled flesh hanging in
shreds upon their tortured limbs, the en-
CINE beyond control, surging and re-
volving without guide or check, aban-
doned by all save one, who, scalded,
blackened sightless, still stood like "A
hero to his post. Alone, amidst that
mass of Embossed steam and uncontroll-
able machinery, the chief engineer of
the Sassacus remained, calling TO his
men to return with him into the fire
room. to drag the fires from beneath the
uninjured boiler, which was now in i'm
minent danger of explosion. Let his
name be long remembered by the two
hundred beings whose lives were saved
in that fearful moment by his more than
heroic fortitude and exertion
There were no means o. instantly
cutting off communication between the
two boilers, and all the steam contained
in both rushed out like flash, exposing
the ship to more fearful catastrophe,
should our brave engineers be too late in
drawing the heavy fires which threaten
ed our destruction, All this time our
consort looking towards us could only
see thick white cloud, lighted up in
cessantly by the flashes of our rapidly
served guns, as the gallant SasSacus rose
gloriously above the storm of disaster
that surrounded her, and challenged the
admiration of her anxious comrades by
the stubborn laundering of her battery.
The ship still moved, working slowly
ahead, on Il vacuum alone. The cloud
of steam at last lifted and we could see
the grim enemy of the Sassacus gladly
escaping from that embrace of death in
which we had held her for nearly a quar-
ter of an hour, and retreating discom-
flied and demoraliZed towards the port
from which she had sailed with so
much bravado only few hours before.
| The broad ensign which had waved so
proudly over her casemate on our APP
proach, now lay dragged and torn, with
it's shattered flagstaff on her deck and
| turning our vessel around, with hard "a
| port helm, which she answered slowly
but steadily, we again passed down by
our enemy.
Our divisions still stood at their guns,
and our brave commander, firmly enun-
ciating his instructions and orders, and
guiding every movement of his gallant
ship with GOODNESS, precision and re-
lentless audacity that find no parallel
since the days of Decatur and Balm
bridge, those days of splendid gallantry
and magnificent courage, calmly smok-
ing his cigar through the whole event,
full conflict, and displaying a perfect in.
difference to danger, worthy of one OF
Farragut's salamanders, kept his guns
at work on our retiring foe, so long as
they could be brought to bear, till the
Sussacus was carried by her disabled
engine, slowly, gracefully and detiantly
| out of range
Thus ended the single hand encounter
| between the SaSsacus, a delicate river
steamer, and one of the most formidable
iron clads that the enemy have as yet
| put afioat.