The Osceola times., 1883-07-14

A Desperate Exploit by Federal band
How Foote Finally Compelled a sur.
render.
NJ Quad in Detroit Free Press
Foote could flank Island No. 10 with
his light draught transports, and Pope
now had ferriage from bank to bank,
but without some of the gunboats below
to protect Pope that general was liable
to disaster. The armed boats must go
by the regular channel, and they must
run the gauntlet of such fire as had
never before been concentrated upon
such space.
A DESPERATE ENTERPRISE.
One night about the first Of April a
band of fifty Federals left the fleet under
cover of darkness bent upon such des-
perate undertaking as is seldom planned
outside the realms of fiction, Every gun
gun which Foote could disable before his
feet was called upon to push down in
creased his chances of iccess, and the
little band of men started out with the
intention Of landing on the island and
spiking as many guns as possible with
out being discovered.
The Confederates had a picket boat
out to discover and check any such at
tempt, but on this night the darkness was
intense, the rain was falling steadily,
and when the lightning came it was so
vivid that men were blinded for the
moment. The Federal launches from
the fleet passed within 100 feet of the
picket boat without discovery, and made
a successful landing upon the island.
The first guns were planted about three
hundred and fifty feet from the head of
the island, and the ground between was
covered with bushes, rank grass and weeds
and considerably broken. Between the
landing spot and the CUES were two or
three low spots full of water, and an
attack from this direction did not seem
probable.
DISCOVERY.
The Confederate sentinels were strung
along the ditch in front of the battery,
covering in the storm and hearing moth
ing but the war of the elements. Had
the party of Federals halted ard sent
three or four men toward, the smaller
number could have passed the sentinels
and perhaps had plenty of time to spike
every gun. But the bolder plan of
marching the whole command straight
up to the ditch and into it was adopted
and flash of lightning betrayed them
to sentinel. His musket had scarcely
sounded the alarm before it was taken up
all around the battery. Then in the
midst of furious storm, the thunder
making the island tremble and the light
ning striking trees along the river
almost every moment, the Federals dash
ed into the battery itself Muskets were
cracking and men shouting, and it was
a situation to try the nerve of the BRAY
est man living.
sPIKING THE GUNS.
Every fifth man in the command was
provided with supply of rat-tail files
TO be driven into the vents of the gu ms
and broken off The Federals had come
for certain purpose-the Confederates
could not determine at once what that
purpose was, and were naturally surprised
and confused by the sudden attack One
writer says that seven guns were spiked;
another says five, third says that only
one large pivot gun was disabled. Con-
federates on duty in the battery at the
time agree that four guns were so thor
oughly spiked that they were rendered
useless for three or four days, or until
the files could be drilled out.
After the first moment of surprise the
Confederates rallied and began an attack
which forced the little band out of the
battery, leaving three or four men dead
and as many prisoners. Three or four
others were wounded in making their
way to the boats, and two who became
separated from the command and did
not reach the boats were made prisoners
the next day. 1t was an exploit full of
nerve and daring, but the results were
without real value to Foote. Had the
entire battery been disabled he was not
ready to send his gunboats down that
night, and the attack served 70 put the
Confederates on the watch for his real
movement
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
If Foote could get two or three gun
boats below the island he could control
the situation. He h ped that favora-
BILE night would enable them to pass
without discovery. If discovered, the
order would be go ahead at full speed,
and run out of fire as fast as possible.
The next day after the dash at the
battery Federal gun-boat made ready
for the adventure. Her preparations
were not completed when the Confeder-
atcs had the news. Ii was a period of
stormy weather and dark nights, and
the only precautions they could take
was to keep picket-boat out to discover
and signal any movement. Bonfres had
been prepared on the shores, but the
rain had given them thorough soaking
and rendered them temporarily useless.
The gun-boat selected for this adven-
ture had her Vulnerable part protected
with baled hay, timbers, cnains and haw-
sers, and was to push through without
answering shot. When all was ready
as a further protection, a barge loaded
with hay was made fast to one side and
a barge loaded with coal to the other.
The hay was piled high and secured