Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-12-11
cAprAIx rRx.

the White river In Arkansas. in 1867
mercilessly fred upon the seamen
who were swimming in the river af-
ter jumping from the gunboat Mound
City, more or less scalded by the
steam proceeding from the disabling
of her boiler. Many Iowa boys here
about will remember the long mound
OF Union dead buried In one trench
on the bank of the river near the fort
afterwards built by the Union forces
st. at Charles, Ex-United States SEN
ator Graham N. Fitch, was Colonel of
the forty-sixth Indiana regiment of
volunteers, which captured Fort St.
Charles, and took Fry prisoner. Col.
Fitch now resides at Logansport, In
diana, and the Journal Of that place,
where many of the soldiers of the
forty-sixth still live, gives an account
Of what took place At the time Of Fry's
capture. The Journal says:
CRY commanded .he rebel gunboat
sMaurepas' in the attack ON the bat
terry at Ruddle's Point, Ark. in March
1862, when the rty-sixth Indiana
regiment, then on duty, received such
q severe shelling. He had command
Of the same vessel at st. Charles, on
White River, and in the fight there
was guilty Of the cowardly inhuman-
ity of ordering the shooting of the
men of the gnnboat Mound City, as
they were struggling in the water af-
ter tho explosion of that vessel.
can expedition was fitted out at
Memphis 8 few days after its capture
for the relief Of Gen. Curtis, then sup
posed to be approaching from Missou-
Fl. It consisted Of the gunboats
Mound City, st. Louis, Lexington and
Conestaga; the transports White
Cloud, New National, Jacob Muscle
man, and the Forty-sixth Indiana In
fantry.
, sAt St Charles, son White River,
above falmouth, the expedition met .
ifortiAed point with The rebel gunboat
Mautepas. and the tr1nsport Eliza G,
sunk across the channel Of the river.
The heavy guns of the Maurepas were
in battery on the heights.
l37'An attack was made on the rebel
works early In the morning on the
18th Of June, 1861. The gunboats.
with the Mound City IN sdvance,
opened fire at about Q mile from the
work. The Forty-sixth advanced at
the. same dime toward the battery.
Compsuies.A and B, supported BY
company 6, formed the skirmish line
under Col. T.. H. Bringhusst, then ma.
j0r. The regiment under Col Fitch
followed within 200 yards. A sixty
ave pound rife Parrot shot from the
rebel works struck the hull of the
Mound City, penetrsted the steam-
chest Or pipe, and ii1stAntly disabled
her. She was ilnmediately enveloped
with steam, and her crew numbering
come two hundred men, were seen
Iesptng from the port holes into the
river. The boats from the other ves-
sells started to assist the drown.
Ing men, but were driven back by the
rebel riAemen on the east shore. Then
the rebels turned their guns on the
boetmen, and many OF them Weya shot
e.d Arownsd. AZ tho mound City
$500 Z neat. .5iee1,,1A : Gal nth sis;;
Z usasu sn1 gunooass 20 cease nrinR, ana
ne woulG Storm the patterics. the
xn .ncn cnarged UP the niii,
o1a - ~, ans snort nme was n command
- 'nc oas'erles. Fry ana ms infantry
49,, - ~ .ns men charged upon tne
~ snu I1ue toWarus tue wooos
~ ne ,iseI, ms gun1gIs aloue Iemain.
,us :. tne Da'.ery; ne e. was puIsued
py numoer oi tne 4otn ana nnally
orougnt uCwn y memgers or COM
Pany = " OomPsny =. L.eut nroWn' ~,
,1o VI ropUrteu nls cap.ure 70 Coi:
FlIcn. he, Ffy, naa received oao
wounc IN tne sn0uloer. ne was put
into my. nls own yaWl ana roWeu down 70
Inc Conestogs: AZ tne reDei guns,
neutenant oi rLys was iounu mortal-
Y wounoea, anG DeIore NC a,eu ne de-
ciare0 tnat tne slo0,ng OF tne men IN
he wafer was Dy FTYseApress COM
mana. On tae Cones.oga Fry was
cnSrged wltn ms ,nlulnaI ana unsoio-
ieriy conouct, ana aenleo hav.ng CIV
en-. en- .ns s. cSmanu par;a .ts. 20 saooo h & aae men
exposed him ne said nothing. Had
he would have been killed BY the
sn asta;,s .a. asn ~ Inre. hnr
led fifty-eight gunboatmen, and the