The Osceola times., 1883-07-14

daylight would have been knocked tc
pieces in no time. A gun-boat rushing
ahead in the darkness was quite another
thing. She displayed no lights, fred nc
guns, and could lie seen only when Q
flash of lightning revealed her situa
ton. Every gun which would beal
was fired as fast as possible, not
so much in the expectation of dis
abling the gun-boat as with the intention
of lettering the remainder of the fleet
srom following after. Most of the shot
as afterward traced were fired too high
Numbers of line-shots screamed directly
over the boat and her barges and flew
into the woods, while others plunged
into the river so close as to throw water
clear over the hay barge. A solid shot
carried away part of a bale at the stern.
Another shell took bale Off the top and
cut heavy chain in two.
On board the gun-boat not a voice
was heard except that of the executive
officer. She had to feel her way along
by the flashes of lightning and of the
Confederate guns and her progress was
touched the bottom to hang for onlya min
ute or two the time would have been long
enough to concentrate such fire as
would have sunk her.
was lately conversing with Confed-
crate officer who was in the torpedo ser.
vice during the war, and he gave it as
his opinion that the channel at Island
No. 10 offered the best chance the Con-
federates ever had of disabling a fleet OF
gnn-boats, but the torpedo was then an
experiment and none were to be had
At one spot, for period of twenty DAYS
the channel was not over eighty feet
wide, and four or five torpedoes planted
in that place would have meant destruc-
ton TO any thing that attempted to pass
There was talk of obstructing the chan
mel with RATS and nets, but nothing
ever came of it.
SECOND BOAT.
A night or two after the first boat pass-
ed down second followed. There was no
storm this time, and the night was star
lit, but she escaped with small injury
although the Confederates were watch
ing for her and worked every gun which
would bear. In the first instance the
guns were elevated too much in the
second, she was expected to follow in
the path of the first, which she did not
and the guns were depressed too much.
THE SURRENDER.
A soon as two of the gun-boats had
reached Pope he began movement
which made the Kentucky shore too
hot for the Confederates, and their camps
were broken up and several regiments
made prisoners.
This left Gen. Mccall on the island
with garrison SO small and so hemmed
in that further resistance was useless.
The mortar fire of the Federals seemed
to be improve all at once, and more dam
age was done by it in twenty-four hours
than had occurred before in any week.
One bomb which exploded in the midst
of field battery nearly destroyed the
whole of il, and several of the great
guns were dismounted or destroyed in
one nights bombardment.
There were about sixty cannon, twelve
or fifteen field pieces, considerable fixed
ammunition and thirty or forty horses
on both island and shore, and no small
arms were captured expect as prisoners
were taken. What tents and provisions
fell into Federal hands were not worth
removal
Finding that he could no longer hold
the position even against the fleet, and
that he was likely to be attacked by in
fantry in boats, Gen. Mccall surrendered
the small remnant of his forces and all
the public property in his charge. This
opened sixty miles more of the Missis-
sippi to Foote. and he steamed down to
find another obstruction at Forts Wright
and Pillow.