The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-11-19

. Vi MS men lay III diAouou az w. r,
and while the officer talked with TN
negro the concealed men fired upon Tn
boat, killing Lutf borough and two. Q
his men. One man got away by SWIM
ming, and was picked up by the fleet
: two others were taken prisoners, and
as was afterward learned, Garcon coat
ed them with tar and burned them t
r death.
1t would not do to send more boat
ashore, and so the little squadron la
together awaiting orders from Colone
Clinch. That officer, as he approaches
the fort, captured negro, who wore
white mans scalp at his belt, and from
him he learned of the massacre of Lufl
borough's party. There was no furthe
occasion or doubt as to what was to b
done. Colonel Clinch determined t.
reduce the fort at any cost, although
the operation promised to be a very diff
ticult one.
Placing his men in line of battle HI
sent courier to the fleet, ordering the
gun-boats to come up and help in thu
attack. The Seminoles made many
demonstrations against the works, anC
the negroes replied with their cannon
Garcon had raised his tlags-a red ont
and British Union jack-and whenev
er he caught sight of the Indians or the
Americans he shelled them vigorously
with his thirty-two FOUNDER
Three or four days were passed in thi'
way, while the gun-boats were slowly
making their way up the river. 1t was
Colonel Clinch's purpose to have the
gun-boats she'll the fort while he should
storm it on the land side. The worE
promised to be bloody, and it was nee
essary to bring all the available force
to bear at once. There were no siege
guns at hand, or anywhere within reach
and the only way to reduce the fort wa;
for the small force of soldie :s-number.
ing only one hundred and sixteen men.
to rush upon it, receiving the fire of its
heavy artillery and climb over its para.
pets in the face of a murderous fire OF
small-arms. Garcon had with him three
hundred and thirty-four men, so thai
besides having strong defensive work:
and an abundant supply of large can.
non, his force outnumbered Colone'
Clinch's nearly three to one. 1t is true
that Colonel Clinch had the band of
Seminoles with him, but they were en-
tirely worthless for determined work OF
the kind that Colonel Clinch had to do
Even while lying in the woods at
distance, waiting for the gun-boats to
come up the Indians became utterly
demoralized under the fire of Garcon's
thirty-two FOUNDER There was moth
ing to be done, however, by way of i'm
proving the prospect, which was GER
tainly hopeless enough. One Hundred
and sixteen white men had the Negro
Fort to storm, Notwithstanding its
strength and the overwhelming force
that defended it. But those one hun.
dred and sixteen men were American
soldiers, under command of a brave
and resolute officer, who had made up
his mind that the fort could be taken,
and they were prepared to follow their
leader up to the muzzle of the guns and
over the ramparts, there to fight the
question out in hand-to- hand struggle
with the desperadoes inside.
Finally the gunboats arrived, and
were made for the attack.
Sailing Master Jairus LOOMS, the com,
mandant of the little fleet, cast his
anchors under the guns of the Negro
Fort at five o'clock in the morning on
the 9th of July, 1916. The fort at once
opened fire, and it seemed impossible
for the little vessels to endure the storm
OF shot and she'll that rained upon them
from the ramparts above. They re-
piled vigorously, however, but with no
effect. Their guns were too small to
make any impression upon the heavy
earthen walls of the fortress.
Sailing Master Loomis had reused
his ships cook early that morning, and
had given him strange breakfast to
cook. He had ordered him to make all
the fire he could in his galley, and to fill
the fire with cannon balls. Not lone
after the bombardment began the cook
that breakfast was ready: that
is to say, that the cannon balls were red
hot. Loomis trained one of his guns
with his own hands so that its Shot
should fall within the fort instead of
burying itself in the ramparts, and this
gun was at once loaded with red-hot
shot. The word was given, the match
applied and the glowing missile sped
on its way. A few seconds later the
earth shook and quivered, deafening
roar stunned the sailors, and vast
cloud of smoke filled the air, shutting
out the sun.
The hot shot had fallen into the great
where there were hundreds
OF barrels of gunpowder, and the Negro
Fort was no more. 1t had been liter
ally blown to atoms in second.
The slaughter was frightful. There
were, as we know already, three hun
dred and thirty-four men in the fort,
and two hundred and seventy of them
were killed outright by the explosion.
All the rest, except three men who mi
raeulously escaped injury, were wound
ed, most OF them so badly that they
died soon afterward.
One OF the three men who escaped
unhurt was Garcon himself. Bad as the
bandit chief was, Colonel Clinch would
have spared his life, but it happened
that he fell into the hands of the sailors
from the gun-boat, and when thew
learned that Garcon had tarred and
burned their comrades, whom he had
captured in the attack on Luffborough's
boat, they turned him over to the in.
turiated Seminoles, who put him to
death.
This is the history of strange affair
which at ono tiD,a vHroo,;eoJ - -