The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1865-11-20

same in company with her. ''''
% Immediately upon getting abreast oil
Fort Picolet. at the entrance of the har-
Dor, at half-past eight o'clock in the
morning, she opened fire upon the fort,
and poured in two heavy broadsides
without any notice. The men in the
fort were scattered out upon the ram
parts, and little dreamed of what was
| coming; but they soon manned their
pieces and responded with three or four
| guns. The Bull Dog, however, did not
stop, but steamed boldly into the harbor
and commenced firing upon the town
with shell and grape, and, with a full
head of steam on, started to run down
the Hayden war steamer Voldrodue and
the rest of the fleet. But upon getting
about one hundred yards from the Vol
dfOgue she ran ashore, and with such
terrible force that all attempts to back
her off by reversing the engines proved
futile. She, however, was not idle, but
poured broadside after .broadside into the
open town--upon defenceless women
and children, foreigners, aliens and all
alike. .aa}ii aeil ~ aN
Lieutenant Commander Howell, Elk.
ecutive Officer of the United States ship
De Soto, and some other officers. to-
gether with boats crew, were on shore
upon duty, and miraculously escaped
with their lives to their boat, the shells
from the Bull Dog falling thick and
fast. te
Captain Walker, commanding the
United States steamer De Soto, ast0nish-
ed at the barbarity Of the act, sent boat
on board the Bull Dog to know why her
commander Captain Wake, was acting
i'm the manner he was without first noti-
flying him of his intention to lombard
the town, as he had promised to do, and
also without notifying the foreign con-
suls and aliens. GUS
Meanwhile, and at great risk of life,
that Christian gentleman and brave and
good man, Captain Walker, dispatched
his boats, under the command of Lieu
tenant Commander Howell and other
officers of the DE Soto, through the midst
of a heavy fire from both the E.nulisl.
steamer and the Haytian batteries on
! shore, for the purpose of bringing the
| foreigners and all who wished for pro-
lection under the American flag. Five
| foreign consuls, representing respective
Iy the countries of Prussia, Belgium.
France, Hamburg and Oldenburg,
of all nationalities, placed themselves
uhooi eho PioaoSeion VI oho AHieIlcaH
flag. is ai,llss5 ...t...lt
At the first commencement the Bull
Dog, having failed in her attempt to run
down the Haytien feet, poured heavy
| fire into them, and succeeded in sinking
| the Voldroque and the largest of the
schooners, whose crews were mostly all
on shore, and were unable to offer re-
sistanee until too late. hlHf4z4'l IS.
| Commander Wake, of the Bull Dog,
! in reply to Captain Walkers message as
| to why he fired into the town without
previous notice, said that he apr called to
"American generosity" and hoped that
Captain Walker would not take advan-
| tage of his unfortunate position, as he
was then i'm tight place.
The Bull Dog keptup an incessant fire
upon the town all day, and late in the
afternoon sent to Captain Walker and
begged that he would take hawser
from him and tow him off, promising to
cease firing and leave the harbor if he
did so if not, he stated he would be
unable to get off, and would be COM
PEELED to blow his ship up. .lae io y.
Captain Walker declined doing so or
offering him further assistance in the
affair but offered to take his wounded
on board, which Captain Wake gladly
awaited himself of, and sent his wound
ed on board the DE Soto for medical
treatment and safe keeping.
The Bull Dog continued the lombard
ment until shutdown, when both parties
ceased firing. During the engagement
she had one officer and two men killed
and fifteen men wounded.
After dusk, finding that he could not
get his ship off that evening, and could
not hope to be reinforced by the De
Soto, and fearing that the enemy, under
cover of the night, would take adyant-
age of it and erect more batteries, Cap
tain Wake determined to abandon her,
and without further consultation with
the De Soto took to his boats and pulled
quietly out of the harbor, none else
knowing of what was going on save the
British crew. AT exactly half-past ten
o'clock p. M, most terrible explosion
took place, which shook the De Soto
from stem to stern. Her Britannia Ma
jesty's war steamer Bull Dog was no
more. High in the heavens were seen
fallen timbers. s=a..
The De Soto at the time of the explo.
sion was scarcely eight hundred yards
distant, and the danger was indeed
great, although luckily no accident hap
pened, immediately all the boats of the
De Soto were manned and differed, and
despatched to the scene of the wreck, to
pick up or rescue any bodies that might
be seen. But upon arriving there they
found that she had evidently been de-
serted previous to the explosion. Count
less explosions followed all the rest of the
night, caused by the bursting of the few
remaining shells and other combustible
materials. Nothing remains at present
of the naughty Bull Dog but her smoke
stack and a portion of her machinery.
The Bull Dog was a bark-r rugged pad
dle-wheel steamer, of l, liz tons burthen
and five hundred horse power. She
carried battery of six guns, viz: four
heavy thirty twopounders on broadside,
one ten-ineh smooth bore pivot and one
rified Armstrong, throwing solid shot
of one hundred and ten pounds. Her
complement, inclusive of officers, sea-
men and marines, was one hundred and
seventy-five all told.
The action of the Bull Dog was one
of the most barbarous on record. The
foreign consuls have all protested against
the action; and had it not been for the
protection offered under the American
flag and the United States ship De Soto,
it is not known how much more terrible
tn e result would have been.
The Haytien rebel war fleet consisted
of the Voldrogue, British built screw
steamer of four hundred tons burthen.
She was three -masted, schooner rugged
vasse1 and carried a hatferv of for,r o