The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-10-14
Communicates
NAVAL ADVENTURE.
BY ONE WHO WAS THERE.

BY ONE WHO WAS THERE.
It was some time in the latter part
of July, 1862, that Com. Foote'S
then investing Vicksburg
with but little hope of success, began
to be in want of ammunition, and as
New Orleans was the nearest naval
depot where a full supply could be
coed thither with al possible dispatch
for that purpose. was only anon
combatant, and the trip was one OF
extreme danger, yet with more fool,
hardness than bravery, set my mind
upon going. if permission could be OBJ
tanned. This however, was no sooner
asked than it was granted, and | went
on board the little ''tin-clad, highly
elated with the prospect of having a
fine time generally. Our commander
was an old tar of quarter of a cen
tury's experience In the regular navy,
who feared gunpowder as little as a
boy does sugar; indeed, l believe he
would have fought his vessel with
legion of devils and expected victory.
At early dawn we weighed anchor,
and steaming down through the feet,
passing the grim ironclads, and Col.
Ellet's feet of rams, We were soon
out of sight. Nothing occurred on
the downward trip worthy of mention,
further than an occasional volley of
musketry from the ever active gueTil
las that infested the river. We usu-
ally replied with shrapnel, and often
with considerable effect. Once in
port the vessel was speedily loaded.
Meanwhile, | had a very pleasant
time with many of my old friends,
whom | met In the city. But, to re-
turn; the freight for the voyage was
one thousand barrels of gunpowder,
twenty tons of fixed ammunition, be-
| side grape, canister, shrapnel,
| Hotchkiss shells and mortar shells of
all calibers and kinds-enough it
would seem to supply any entire feet
for years battle. OF the thousand
barrels of powder, it was found i'm
possible to stow more than nine hun
dred In the hold, and SO the remain
der was placed between decks, where
three inch oak formed the only pro-
lection from the missiles of tho enemy.
We reached the vicinity Of Grand
| Gulf after breakfast, and the Captain
and myself were sitting on the fore
castle enjoying our morning cigars,
when our attention was attracted by
the strange actions of negro woman,
who was under the bank near the
waters edge. She waved her old bon
net vehemently, and pointed toward
the top of the bluff ahead of US, and
then we supposed that il was Only
some guerrillss waiting to FIRE ION
US with musketry as we passed. How
ever we sought shelter behind the
bulwarks and awaited the result. See
ing that her signals were not we'll
understood, the cid woman became
fairly frantic with fear, and contin-
ued her gestures very excitedly, which
we comprehended in a moment, as
we rounded the bend, for there, right
ahead of us, was a battery of field
pieces unlimbered and ready for ac-
ton. my God Cap, we'll all be
dead in three minutes" said the old
veteran to me, as we saw the simulta-
neous fash of the six guns. "All
hands on deckl Man the guns!" he
shouted; but without waiting a mo-
ment for the men, he called me to
help him bring the bow gun, fine
sixty FOUNDER parrot, into position,
saying, as he seized the lanyard,
We'll die game anyhow"
Away went the screeehing she'll,
and as it few towards the
impudent battery of the enemy, we
held our breath in suspense. Though
in great haste, the old gunner had
aimed well, for when the shell ex-
ploded We saw a field piece go end
over end, and fragments of men and
gun carriages seemed to fill the air.
Other shots also told with fearful
effect, and this doubtless caused the
enemy to fire at random for although
the upper works were fairly riddled,
not single shot was low enough to
reach the powder, else we had ali
been sent to eternity IN moment.
The pilot, too, was brave man, and
stood faithfully at his post, while
the engineer put on every ounce
Of steam possible. The boat
shook and quivered from stem
to stern, like an aspen-leaf, and
in a few minutes we were beyond the
range of the enemy's guns. It was a
fearful scene, which / shall never for
get. IF the enemy had fred a single
accurate shot. not man would have
been left to tell the tale. It was my
first and last trip on powder vessel.
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