The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1884-08-23
"THE SWAMP ANGEL"
The Story of How the Great Gun was Put
in Position Before Charleston.

"Did you boys ever hear the story OF
how the Swamp Angel was put in posi-
veteran of the engineers of group OF
veterans in Brooklyn, says the Eagle.
"I've read about it several times"
said one of the group.
"Well, never read an account of it
yet that wasn't crooked" returned the
engineer. 81 was there myself and
know the whole inside of the business,
and I'll tell you just how it was. Gen
eral Gilmore was in command of the
engineers at the siege of Charleston.
One day in the midsummer of '63 he
sent Captain Michel, now general at
West Point, to see whether there was
any point on the coast where guns
could be placed to attack Charleston.
Michel reported that the coast was all
swamp for three or four miles inland
nothing but mud, water and slush forty
or fifty feet deep. He had gone half q
mile or so in boat, making very poor
progress through the bulrushes, and
the stencil from the carcasses of animals
thrown into the swamp made him sick.
Gilmore was in bush-hut eating sup
per with Col. (now GEM Serrelf when
he got Michel's report. He turned to
Serren and asked him whether he
thought it possible to get guns posted
in the swamp. Serrell said he thought
nothing was impossible he called
Lieut.. Harold and sent
him to reconnoitre. Harold was
gone half the night, and came
back very much bedraggled and tired.
He said it was impossible to get the
guns through, and impossible to mount
them even If they could be otthrough.
Using his utmost efforts he had only
been able to get between two and three
miles into the swamp. Serrell said it
had got to be done. Harold asked
how he was going to do it, and said it
would require men with legs forty feet
long to get through that swamp. Well,
the project of posting guns in the swamps
got abroad in the camp and the soldiers
made great fun about it. They said
that Drs. Dalrymple and Snow, two of
the medical officers on Gen. Gilmore's
staff, were appointed to splice the legs
of our men to get them to the required
length. Next morning Col. Serrell
took Lieut.. Edwards with him and
started to look at the swamp for him
self. They got as long a plank as there
was in the camp and waded into the |
swamp, each holding one end of the
plank. The day was fearfully hot, the
work was terrible getting through the
rushes and water plants, and thick,
Shiny slush, and the smell of the swamp
was sickening, but they persevered,
working slowly out till they came to a
creek. Here they were stopped for
time, as it had considerable current
and was deep, but after while they
got the plank fitted so that one held
it while the other crawled over, and
held it still in bis turn. Then, with
infinite labor, they went on little
farther toward Charleston. Finally they
got to the water's edge, four and one-half
miles from Charleston. Here the ground
was solid. There were oyster shells
and wrinkles and spiral aureoles. They
took bearing to the steeple of St.
Michael's church in Charleston and
another to Fort Jackson, and so located
their own position in the swamp. Then
they worked down the edge or the open
water to Block Island, and so returned,
terribly played out and dirty, but full
If hope. Colonel Serrell told General
Gilmore that he thought il possible to
get the guns into such position in the
swamp that they might lombard
and that night submitted a
plan for establishing the wished for
battery. In this plan he estimated that
t would require 5000 days. work to
out just one gun in position 1--WE reck-
,ned by the days work of one man,
hen 1000 days. work of one man, or
me days work of 5000 menu This
,un was to be of extraordinary power,
md was to rest on platform composed c
4 three thicknesses OF three-inch yell s
ow pine plank; two of the layers of
'lanks crossing while the other tray
rsed them diagoually; all were to be
trongly spiked together and under G
cath them were loads of brush and
and bags. Piling, consisting of heavy
tanks with sharp points, was to be u
riven twenty feet into the mud, so
hat the tops came flush with the plat a
orm. All around this immense guam a
ties of brush were to be thrown into e.
ne swamp, and on top of this brush n
grillage of logs were to be strongly
astened together, but totally distinct 81
ON the inner platform, was to sur
ound that platform. On the top of
lis grillage of logs, sand-bags were fl
, be piled until they sunk it con- fl
derably, in spite of the brush. AS it
Ink, it was to force up the platform in p
lie center. Well, the plan was SUBJ
lifted and approved, and men were de- h
lied right away to put it into execu-
on. Meanwhile everybody was laugh h
g at the engineer, and the Charleston
apers got wind of the project and tt
ade great sport of it. One of the
mic papers had a very funny cartoon pr
,out an old negro carrying the
Swamp Angels" compliments to
en-. Beauregard in Charleston. An al
her would have it that the Yankees tn
ere going to drain the swamp, which, tn
course, was impossible, as it was fed
rect from the Atlantic ocean; another it
per again insisted that we were going sa
dixie the swamp across; another that
} had sent north for people to bring
wn bridge structure; another that we
d discovered something wonderful in
eumatics; and still another that we he