Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-03-27
FARRAGUT'S FLEET.
PASSING THE CONFEDERATE FORTS
BELOW NEW ORLEANS.
The Famous Fight Of April "a. 1862
beginning of the Battle-In the
Midst of the Fray-A Terri
bic Scene.

The Famous Fight Of April 81. 1863
Beginning of the Battle-In the
Midst of the Fray-A Terri
bic Scene.
chicago Herald
AT o'clock on the morning Of April "A a
red light from the Hartforis taffrail warned
the fleet TO get under way Positions in line
| OF battle had been taken the night before
and every ship lay -hOve short TO her an
cher. The fleet was formed IN two divis-
ions That to follow up the west hank and
tackle Fort jackson was the Hartford,
Bro klyn, Richmond, and four smaller ships.
That to follow the east bank and engage
Fort ST. Phillip were the Cayusa, Pensacola.
Mis- -issipsi, Oneida, Iroquois and three small
gunboats- The three sloops Hartford, Rich
( mond. and Brooklyn, carried each fifteen
| guns in hroadside besides brass pieces in the
tops
( IL was dark night, vet stars were shin
ing. The great river doomed, for the water
/ was high, and piles OF drift-wood coming
! down had kept all look-outs Oh the alert.
| The first division. Farragut leading. Rugged
! the west bank close a. the Hartfords
/ pl woGll permit. The pilot wa an old
/ was working for money. He had a little
| cage built " hich let down from the port
| fore-chains-and dropped him just to the
waters eig-. His idea was to get under the
| smoke. Two mid shipmen were stationed to
signal his order. Farrngut AMI his stat
| went forward TO the forecastle. Capt. VAIN
right took the bridge and Lieut. Thornton.
he OF kearsrage fame afterward, took
charge % the batteries The two line,
steamed slowly up. Porter's mortars doubled
their fire The Confederate forts were silent.
There were no sounds save the swish OF
the current, the dull thump of the engines
ami the buzz and rcssleSsneSs of the crew.
Farrsgut stood with his night glass peering
into the darkness ahead. wainwright was
beside him. Watson, his signal officer. near.
Is Bailey well up in liner be asked, without
removing the glass from his ewes Aye, aye,
sir, sa.d the signal man softly. All at once
there was fash ahead that lit up the
heavens and in an instant the whirr-whizz-
zeep, Of a shot came like summer musquito
over the Hartford'S bow. Farragut re-
moved his glass and said quietly Gentle
men, tine time has come. wainwright, have
your men stand by their guns Pilot
TO the man over the side, do you see
tha: water battery right adeadf Put this
that tine the whole Confederate force was
reused. Fort 81 Phillip opened Fort
Jackson turned loose her Classmates: the
water battery had its whole twenty gun IL
play. Away ahead in the gloom could he
seen the preparations of the Confederate
feet-the fire RATS being iyEited, the black
smoke si-Urrying back and forth, and withal
the deadly missiles kissing Ly. Port
yellei the pilot. here We are, sir!' Farra-
gut leaned over the side. Can't y0l get US
any cl ser" THE Hartford seemed then
within l0J feet Of the battery.l Not with
out daEzer OF grounding
~All right. Port it j.. Hari-a-portl Now
boys.' and the old man wave! his glass
The crew waited for the ship to sheer, and
then came the crash. IL was tho first broad !
side that lad been fired in that squadron. |
Ii was deafening; IL was almost paralyzin-, |
but, like the taste OF blood, the striped |
sailors wanted more ot il. From that hour 4
smoke onveloped TIE ship. Oleying his /
oriers the pilot kept his sLip Close to the /
west shore. By this time the guns OF Jack 4
son were all in full play. The smoke was SO |
dense that from the iecl; nothing could be |
seen but sheet OF flames issuing from the |
canopy. The t!erce hail of iron from the
fort was like the hiss of countless steam
valves. Happily the artillerymen had |
poor range, and 50 most of their fire |
was ineffective. The fleet made little
or no reply, but steamed ahead Pretty
soon tie Hartford. Richmond and !
Brooklyn were all in position to bring their
guns to bear at close range. The orders
We're to get rs close as the pilots would allow
AMI sweep the parGpets with grape and can
ester. Ii was hardly five minute, after the
ships batteries had got into this work before
the eneny's fire slackened. They could not
stand II. The ships passed upward by this
time all ahead was black and fire famed
The ConfeGerateS had set afians a d zen fire
RATS and they were coming down with the
current
Here WIS new danger. The forts were
still firing, Tut in the dense smoke nobody
could tell where lie was. A great fire raft
tine flames rising fifty feet, came swooping !
down ON the Hartford. To dodge it the pilot
made an error and the ship went ashore in
the mud. The raft SWING alons iie, and in
an instant the flames had caught the Hart
ford's rigging. Lieut. Thorntons fire
department was perfect, and it re-
sponded even in tie face of such
awful danger The Hartford's engines
backed and then it was discovered that the
ram Manassas was pushing the fire raft and
h'iuitie IL against me sui ; sile- at
loose that starboard battery yelled Farra-
gut Quick, gentlemen, See that rant
For Coils AXE. give it To him" The ram
got it The Manassas fell of from the raft
tue raft s!.d by the Hartford AMI the latter
was free. Capt Warley, the commander OF
the Manassas, seeing he was hurt, tried TO |
make fer shore. The Mississippi caught
him, rammed him, hammered him ard then
pushed him INTO the mud There was no
To sion mr. Narlay xxnuiH how /
prisoner, hut he was helpless. and IT was the
duty cf the wooden ships TO get out Of fire
Once above the range Of fire OF the forts
the enemy fleet had To lie encountered IL
was getting almost daylight The smoke
was drifting away, and looking ahead the
tag officer could see the Confederate gun
boats and cotton-hoatS and ram. The Fed
eIal cunboat Naruna, Capt. BogEs, had al
ready dasEej IN among them. and. g the
result proved, got the worst OF II. for after
half an hours tuS>ic She went down stern
irst and lost thirty # hsr crew The
Oneida was also BENG sore beset wheI the
heavy ships came up. Farragut. through |
his glass could see at a glance where the
trouble las. The little vessels did not carry
guns enough. He si-nalel the ui.- Sims 10 (
orm IN line ahead, that +. single file. ana
take the middle Of the channel TIE Con-
federate feet was formed IN two lines Man 4
both sides lie called to his captain a. the
iarifor.'s bow loomei up through the
,moke. AMI the Richmond, Brooklyn ana
Mississippi followed Man 10th sides was
tie signal 10 the other ships
1t was dreadful As the line stean.l up
lni the heavy batteries poured from both
'ides into tie frail AMI panic stricken craft
I seemed like horror-Iaden destruction The ,
hig river steamers were al top-hamper
They had cotton bales 10 protect them. but
-ne shells from the nine-inch pahlErens cent
hese lying Int1 m,d-air. Two Of the craft,
were together. They seemed filed with
people; the Richmond shesrei within twenty
eet OF them and let 20 a bToads.de The
-oof and cabin and texas ard smoke pipes
III went by the toari On either bank. as [
he feet Ias ed up. were the wrecks Of the
Nretchei feet. The officers ami crews had !
led. Grape and canister from the big
hips had knocked them into match k.n- ,
ling. Sni all were either sinking or burn ,
&. There vas not ons ve,Ssl left
Crescent Ctty contrasts. ,
.,or Naw Yurs Telegram
There axe 81 ,ons warTc as la.ha Is made
a s,,ecla t. ari which are mainly !requentei
by ..i>.I.;he thinkers. who never patrOl-z