Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-04-21
CAPTURE OF MOBILE |
/. j. smith, Of Penn'a. the Victor
Guns.

n New ORLEANS, April 10, via Cairo,
aApril I6-The Times publishes official des-
4patches, announcing the capture of Spanish
aFort and Blakely, the former at 1890 A NJ
ION the 9th, with 700 prisoners and the latter
5On the same day by assault and over 5000
jprisoners, with a large amount of ordnance
Astores, gunboats, and the troops proceeded
5unresisted toward Mobile, which was captnr-
led last evening by a portion OF Gen Smith I
command, assisted by the light draught
aboats after short resistance by the enemy.
4 CHICAGO, April l6-A special despatch
4from Cairo says -
y Our forces occupied Mobile on the 9th in
Sstant.
j The Spanish Fort was captured, with
athree thousand prisoners.
Il Three hundred guns were captured il
Mobile.
II The garrison fell back upthe river on gun.
aboats, and by way of Chickasaw bayou
General Wilson has captured all of Rod
5dys command
n Situation of Mobile.
a Mobile is situated on the right bank of the
3riyer Of that name, about sixty miles below
5athe junction Of the Alabama and Tcmbirbee
ssand near the confluence of the river and the
ebay. The rivers flowing into and forming
aMohile river come from the rich cotton
agrowing regions of Alabama and Mississip-
api, while the Mobile and Ohio Railroad
(which has been constructed since 1855, taps
9another important agricultural district, the
Aproducts Of which have greatly added to the
commerce of the city
II The Harbor,
Mobile has a safe, though rather shallow
s3harbor, and the usual anchorage for the larg-
Ger shipping is inside of Dauphin Island
saabout twenLy-eight miles from the city
SIhey are laden by means of lighters. The
Adepth OF water, however, is sufficient to ad
sTmit sailing vessels of six or seven hundred
81 tons alongsidethe wharves, while steamships
LOT good size experience little difficulty ID
agetting out and in under the managementof
ssskilful pilots
u The Entrances and Channels.
III There are three entrances to the harbol
DOT Mobile. The western is defended by For
adalnes, casemated fertilization, and the
s3two easterly ones by Fort Morgan. Both oil
sAthese tortsare now occupied by Il. s. troops
HI The inner channel running directly under
1.-THE guns of Fort Morgan, is called ht
sSwash Channel In the bay between the
Sachannels, where the water is shallow, a line
asof piles are driven visible at low tide, but
2entlrely concealed when the tide is in. Some
4distance up the river is Dog River Bar,
4through the centre of which runs the chan.
incl.
iaCommerce--Cotton and Naval stores
Il Mobile now in the possession of General
ACanby, with sufficient force to hold it, an
ssarea of the country, the richest in cotton in
4SSthe world, will be opened up, Mobile en-.
sajoys one advantage over New Orleans in re.
agard to the staple which forms the commercc
Aof each, and that is, that the former nlaca /
much nearer TO the plantations where Il /
4araised than this, and there would coosa. !
%quently be less risk in bringing It to nar.et
5and smaller extent OF country to occpnt, -
ssbring large area of productive acres MI \
jim the Union lines. Not the least ;mnort- rs.t
CANT item Of trade which enters INFO tbe
commerce OF the place is that Of naval va
Sstores. "a naval
lurpeutlne, rosin, tar, and pitch. which
Hnow command very high prices North can
soe f9und IN great abundance In the piny
a,woods growing in the vicinity, and the new
Aly constructed railroad to Pensacola passes
Nthrough nuniberless acres Of rines which
snaye never been disturbed BY tSe hands Of