The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1884-01-23
FIELD, FORT AND FLEET.
TIE SHOT AND SHELL THAT ARE
FIRED FROM GREAT GUNS.
Some Instances Of Their Destructive Power
ind Some Ofthe Little Dnmnge They DO.

DatlIe lB 1ull OF inconsistencies.
stray bullet seems to deyiate from 4
course to strike down q general Of br
gade, while battery plays upon
regiment for an honr without killing
dozen men. A volley Of musketry ma
strike down scores Of men at one point
while like vollcy delivered at eycl
closer range at another point does no
make single victim. The shell whicl
killed Rosecrans' chief OF staff Mt StOn,
River flew ON and exploded in the mids
ola marching column and did no further
injury. In that same battle Gen
Hazen had half dozen men killed besid,
him, and he escaped without scratch.
One gun may fire for an hour and ac.
complsh nothing; the very first missile
from another may work tremendous in.
jury.
In the great fight in Albemarle
Sound, when the Federal gun-boat
Sassacus attacked the Confederate ram
Albemarle, the latter fired seven or eight
shots which inflicted no damage. She
then fired one, rihed shell, which
crushed through the side Of the gun.
boat, entered her starboard boiler, and
killed two, wounded one and scalded
seventeen or eighteen men, while the
damage to the boat was several hundred
dollars.
In the second bombardment of Fort
Fisher shell from the Federal gun.
boat exploded in the midst Of pronp
One soldier had two buttons cut from
his coat, another had his hat dashed OFF
and third had his cantecn shot away,
and yet the only damage inflicted from
one shell was more than had occurred
from the previous 200 missiles.
During one Of the monitor lombard
ments Of Fort Sumptcr august III.
Commander Rogers took the Catsklll
into the fight. She was hit about twenty
times without having man wounded or
suffering any serious injury, when, IA
she was about to steam away, II shot
struck the top Of the plot-house, and
the flying nuts and iron splintcrs killed
the commander and his paymaster and
wounded the two pilots. Al n later date
the iron-clad Wechawkcn fred n shell
into Fort Moultrie which dismounted
one gun, broke off the muzzle Of an.
other, knocked down several feet of
wall, and killed sixteen and wounded
twelve men. At later hour in this
fight Confederate lieutenant was
bnrled distance Of fifty feet by the OK.
plosion OF n shell, and yet his only injury
was the direct result Of the fall. While
men to the right and left and behind
him were killed and wounded, he flew
through the mir in the company of the
iron splinters and was untouched.
During the bombardment Of Fort
Henry shot from II gun sighted by
Gen. Iilghman himself ut the Federal
gunboat Essex broke through her plates
with an awful crash, killed one man and
wounded two, and entered the middle
boiler. The results were most disas.
trous. or the entire crew not more than
ten escaped scalding, and many were
literally steamed to death. Tie one
thought was to escape from the terrible
steam. and every one who could get ont
OF the trap jumped overheard and left
the vessel to float out Of action. Had
the Essex been two feet nearer TO or
further from the fort the accident could
not have happened. A delay of three or
four seconds in loading and firing the
gun would have prevented it. She could
have been struck fifty times without in
ficting tenth Of the damage done by
the one shot.
In tho gun-boat fight before Memphis
five shot were thrown away for every
one that hit The fight was brought
ON rather sooner than expected by either
side, and the boats had 10 maneuver
with II strong current. The Federal
craft Benton fired five or six shots which
missed, and followed them with another
which crashed into the Bcauregard, en-.
Tered her boiler and placed her helpless.
Hardly any of her crew escaped scald.
nR, and the same shot killed and
wounded several men before striking tho
)Sler. just another such lucky shot
truck the steam chest Of the Little
Rebel and took her out of the fight.
While $50 or 200 shot were fired during
Lho fight, the two missiles mentioned
had much to do with winning the VIC
tory.
AT least one Of the great shells thrown
from tho Federal gun-boats in Turkey
Bend Mt the battle of Malvern Hill was
yet lying within half milo of the Nal.
yern farm house in the spring of 1882.
A few failed to explode, and this was one
IL them. Perhaps there was no other
Instance in war where the navy helped
he army out 80 successfully. From tho
ignnl station at tho Malvern house the
title flags directed the gun boats two
iiles away Just where to throw their II
onderous projectilcs to do the most Il
ood. The lower rond to Richmond was
nder the fire of these guns, and troops Il
'mlng down that way were thrown into d
reat confusion by the bursting shells,
ut 1t was over in the woods on the 1
rews farm that they played the greatest u
avoc. Here Magruder was massng his 1
foops as they came up. They were ,
eriectly safe from the shells flung Mt
hem by the field artillery ON the plateau, Y
mt there was no escape from the scream
ng monsters which came whirling |
Trough the mir from james River and p
ropped into the forest with terrific t.
rash. q
While tho number Of men killed and II
ounded were small, the effects of the ,
70 were felt throughout whole corps a
40 fail of single shell would destroy q
0 alignment of u whole brigade, md il -
been asserted on both sides That the It
rk Of the gun.boats delayed the Con. al
crate attack for more than an hour. 81
that hour was priceless to Mcclellan. no
ef the unexploded shells, after W
g on the battle-ground for over three h
M, was finally loaded into cart by
70 or four colored men to be taken to io
hmond and sold to the junk dealer. al
lie en- route the mule ran away, and ny
he shell tumbled about il exploded. IA
difference between the wreck NJ the
g and the wreck Of the cart could ais
ny be distinguished, but both were "
where the explosion hurled them. hel
n December, 1868, the English mi,
ooner Ringdove attempted to run A
indian River. Florida. The Federal ,lip
x hoebuck was on blockade duty and the
'ded the schooner of and gave chase
nr a lnuu r,,,, ~, -. N Do Sh"ho.