Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1864-04-18
THE FIGHT AT PADUCAn.
interesting Federal Report sf Ike AFFAIR
from The Cairo Gazette, March 81

distressing Federal RePsrt sf The AGaEr
From the Cairo Gazette, March 29J
Information wss received at Psducsh on Friday
morning that Forrest waE approaching the city At the
head Of large force bat such news hsd been eircu.
lated so often before that little heed was paid to the
report About l O'clock ?. n. the plckets were driven
II. when the troops and such Government property as
could be removed were tsksn TO the fort Between 9
and 8 o'clock = flag Of truce entered the city, and In
less than fifteen minutes the main body Of he army
made their appearance, q portion coming BY way Of the
railroad and the remainder by the old Cairo road below
the fort. Men women and children, with one accord
9bsndoned their houses and tsok shelter upon the
wharf.boats which was crowded to r~spletiOn, when the
fsTyIboat made fast to her and towed her seross to the
Illinois shore, where hundreds Of the poor unfOrtunatss
passed the night, suffering greatly from cold and hun
ger, Is none had time to provide themselves with
food, and few had sufficient clothing to protect them
selves against the inelemency Of the weather. The
inhabitants Of the neighborhood afforded every relief in
tteir power, But 30 great was the crowd that compare
lively little could be done. Sons went to the village Of
Brooklyn, ten miles below Paducah, osherS sought
shelter in the neighboring farm houses, but the ma
iority remained on the wharfboat, or on the shors nesr
BY, uhsrs they improvised quite = town of blankets,
brush and roaga timber
After towing the vharfb oat scroas The river, the FER.
Fyboas returned to coal and take on other fugitfves,
when rebel sharpSh9Oters began a warm Are upon her,
preventing her landing and causing her 70 seek safety
on the Illinois shore.
dred picked men, with four pieces Of light artillery,
under Forrest. with Acknowledgement
Harris Burbridge and A. 2. Thompson. When Forrest
arst started out after General Smith his foree amounted
to eight thousand men, bat he lost some fifteen hundred
In killed. wounded and taken prisoners. Five hundred
men wzrs detached TO piuBdsr the town and keep the
gunboats engaged while the main body attacked the
fort. Forrest drew Lis men up Ia line Of battle, his
right resting upon the river and his left forming an arc
Of . circle on the south Of the tort. Having diaposed
Of his forces, . flag Of trEes was sent to the fort, de-
msndiug It's immediate surrender, Forrest deelari1g
that he could easily overpoWsr the handful Of men be-
hind the works, bat being DESTROYS Of saving an efu-
sion Of blood, m-aEnanimousiy offered to respect the
garrison as prisoner Of war II they would lay down
theE Srms-d resistance was offered, ne quarters
Co. 8. q. HIekA the brave cid commander Of the
4Glh Ilizois, had with him less than 500 men, Consisting
Of parts OF three companies Of the E22d Illinois infantry,
some recruits Of = new Kentucky cavalry regiment, a
number Of citizens who had volunteered to defend their
homes under the old nag, and bstween tive hundred
and dty and thres hundred negro sobdierL Bat a
small portion Of this little band had ever been under
hre-many Of them was civilians, and he MAORI y Of
them were Of a class whose fighting qualities were very
doubtful Net 3 momsnt however, did their brave com
mandeT ialtsr; but unheStaiingly refused to comply
with FORESTS demand, replying to the threat In his
eha-setsrisEe humorous manner; Never, air never I
without hard hghtngI Icsn't see surrender ~ While
The negotistious were going On, Forrest In direct viola
ton Of the rules OF warfare, occupied his time In posting
hs shaEp.hooters Ia the houses near the fort, where
they might be able TO pick of the gamers and officers.
When the refusal Of Col Hicks was communicated to
General Forrest, q general charge was ordered, and
away the whole line dashed upon the works. The fort
Is g Szsl, low esthwOrk, surrounded By marrow ditch.
The fierce on aught was smet BY 3 sheet Of flame from
the fort which made many Of the assailAnts bite the
dust : but Il staid them notion they came, yelling Ike
demons. many Of them Wers killed UPON the WRlig Of
the fort before. broken and rspuised, the thinnsd ranks
Of the enemy sElenly retired.
The shsEpsh9oters in the houses which commanded
the fort kept up an tneesssnt IRE upon the garrison,
tiuusI. -Four or five times during the afternoon and
evening was the stack renewed, aud each time sue
cessfaiiy repUlsedr until the who's ground between the
fort and the town was covered with slain and wounded.
The artillery Of the fort was By 40 means Idle during
this tins, but was dividing its attention between the at
lacking party snd the houses which contained the
sha psbooterE whom they finally dislodgsd, and the
buildings destroyed 70 prevent them again being made
hiding places for rebel soldiers The hnal charge was
made At 7 O'Clock, affsr which Forrest retired beyond
gunshOt and took refuge in the city among the build
ings.
tin clsds Pawnes ana PrOsto were made especial marks
Of the snemy's attention, who threw shsrpshootsrs into
the buildings upon the isVee, which enabled them 70
IRE down upon ths VESSELS, piercing the decks, which
were not plated. Shot and shell were thrown pisnd
fully into the buildings occupied By the rebsIs, and
whsrevor q squad OF grsycozts made their appearances
an ugly shell was surs 50 drop in their Vicinity. Many
buildings were set on IRE by the shells from the gun
boats snd fort, and considerable damage done 20 houses
In various parts Of the city from the same esuss. Capt.
OfNeal. q the RuHbost Pzwnse, .wRs Eouudad IN the
CHEEK b. a sharpshoOter-two sssmsn we're also
wounded. Without the gunboats Forrest would proba.
bly, have over Sered the garrison and captured the
plllAge commercial A captain and zine men started
toward the marine ways, the men some distaacs IA ad.
vance and reaching the ways destroyed 8 portion Of
the works and set on IRE the steamer Arizona, which
was being repaired. and was Totally Consumed. Ths
captain noticing a sergeant in Federal uniform, rode
up and oTdsred him to Eurrender-the reply of the Aravs
sergeant wss 3 shot from his qua, which struck the
captain in the taroat, and brought him lfeless 10 the
ground Hastily seiz ag the Te5ef's arms, the sergeant
made bis way to the East and safely Joined bis Comrades
As an armed lol6ier was standing upon q coal boat
above the ~gunboais, and before he could be rescued, 3
ball straek him on the abdomen, and inflicted a mortal
A number Of citizens went iato the fort and Tough,
bravely during the whole engagement. One tosk bis
family to a place Of safety, when he took his place
with the soldiers behind the ramParis. In the early
part Of the action a ball severely wounded him In the
arm but be refused 10 give up so long ss a rebel wss
in sight, and continued 70 tight unsii the ensmy retired,
After the repulse, one OF tbs KeRtueAy cRValrymen
rushed out Of the fort and found the body Of bis
brother, who had been killed in the frst charge.
Many Of the citizens could not eross the river befors
the battle commenced; Of thesa, several ladies sought
refuge under ths'bius out Of range Of shot. A rebel
sbarpshcOser, knowing thst the Federsls would cot
harm the ladies', sought refuge in the crowd, and fron |
behind hs new fashioned bresssworhs opened Are upon
one Of the guuboRtS. This was borne as long as possi- |
bic, until u shot was seBt into the-bSnk = few feet above |
their bead, wbea the women ran shriekf ing for otber
shslGer aad Ar. Reb did the tailsss running On record.
Ia Broadway a erewd Of women collected, behind
lhsD stood 3 rank Of rebels, who kept an an Il, cesar,
as spon the boats. Several shots were sent OF ar thaf- 1
hsAds. bat the women stood their ground, prote sng the
s~couudrels behind them Finally q shot fell ~ ahslr |
midst killing one yeung woman and Weunding several
M. Crimes, who formerly kept tbs hotel ON tina mir,
In this city, was killed by q shot from ons Of tbs rsbeIs /
aud not BY a shell from : gunbosL
A rebel attempted 70 cut down q telegraph pole on |
hlo ErSbe-tA1 SAAooaa aHF paw ufcG several ElrEuuei 1
which OoTstsd around him, finally one struck him, and |
he fell a corpse before he had eompls:ed bis lob
Little respect was paid 10 q man's seRtiments-zrn. 1
pathixefs stores suffered about equally win linton i
mems Immense booty was obtained and carried Of
the amount Of loss can hsraly be estimated. Oae IN.
stance, however, Oeenrrsd Ia which they showed sons
little regard for q friend-nearly evsry horse and minis |
Ia the city was taken except q few belenging TO Gov |
ernment-it was believed that those belonged to 4
strong rebel synpsthizsr3 and On that scs0ant she
horxss were not taken. |
II, ing from thS gun5oats and the fort and the rebel
artillery continued ~ Intervals until near might Of
FridsY, after which al became quiet, s1d scarce & shot
heard dH after the retrssS Of FORREST, which oc-
Cured on Saturday, betWesR Two and three o'clock In /
afternoon. Thetenemy retired toward Mayhsld.
eariDs up ne EtlEVsa tEaSk u Big Essr. Akrge RRRy