The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1886-03-25
HE LACKED SAND.
A "Reminiscences of Norris Island.

OF the 9th and morning of the 9TH of Septem-
! Der folowing-the forces under Gen. Gilmore
worked increasingly day and night under a
most CALLING and demoralzing fire of the enc
my, digging trenches building saps, aud run
ming parallels toward the doomed fort. There
was not day during the siege but the fatigue
| parties were subject to the concentrated fire of
! Forts Moultrie, Johnson, Sumter, Wagner, and
| Gregg besides that of the numerous batteries
| lining the shores Of Sullivan and James Islands.
Although the effect of this unceasing storm of
! iron hail hurled at us by an exasperated and
| desperate enemy was Gemoraizing in the ex-
! treme, still our forces worked bravcly on with
| no chance at retaliation until Forts Wagner
| and Gregg fell, and the whole of Morris Island
was i'll our possession. With the exception of
| Wagner, Gregg, and Sumter, whose walls were
| leveled nearly to the waters edge, the enemy S
fire still continued, but the demoralizing effect
was not as apparent as before, for we now had
| the qualification of returning the enemys kind
! salutations to our hearts content.
| During the interval of our first advance on
| Morris Island, until long after the island came
! fully into our possession, there were many in
stances of personal bravery aud daring that,
| probably, will never be recorded in the history
of the mighty struggle for the Union. While
the Tooth n. Y, OF which | was Il member, was
stationed on the island | remember several
instances where the General commanding
wishing for some exploit to be performed of an
uncommonly dangerous nature, and requiring
him or them who performed the same to be
qualified with unusual courage, ability, skill,
and cunning, and not feeling justified i'll order
ing a detail made to perform the dangerous
mission, the General would state the object he
wished performed and call for volunteers to
perform it.
made the discovery during my term of serv-
ice in the army, that the truly brave man was
one in whom were combined not only courage
and zpol for tho hut ol nd ind pt
and forethought-one who carefully weighed
all the chances, and before engaging in an enter
prise OF a hazardous nature would lay his plans
with skill and cunning. Such a one would
generally make a Of any enterprise that
he would engage in. | also made the discovery
that there were good many men whose ambi-
ton would lead them to undertake some great
exploit Especially if there was reward offered
for its accomplishments without the least COM
prehension of the difficulties or dangers liable
to occur. Under an enthusiastic impulse of the
moment they would offer their services to per-
form something wholly beyond the reach of
their ability or capacity, and would never
come to realizing sense of the situation until
brought to the test; then, instead of accomplish
ing the object, they would stink back in dis
grace under some absurd pretext, to become
the laughngstOck of their comrades.
An instance of this kind came under my per-
sonal observation. While on detached duty
just after the fall of Forts Wagner and Gregg,
| was performing duty as Orderly-Sergeant in
what was known rs the Boat Infantry" about
160 IN number, and commanded by Captain
named HennesSy. We were camped on point
of land extending out from the Island toward
the city OF Charleston, and where the plank
fOotwalk left the Island and wound its way
through the marsh to the Swamp Angel"
battery. The camp was about one mile i'll rear
of Fort Wagner, and three miles in advance of
hn in of No l,,t,
imposed Oh the boat infantry consisted in pa
trolling the harbor each night between Fort
Sumter and the city, and picketing the mouth
OF the different rivers that wound through the
marshy bottom between the various islands in
our possession. Wagner and Gregg were ours
but Fort Sumter, although in a terribly dilapi-
dated condition, was garrisoned by the enemy
To ascertain the strength of this garrison Gen.
Gilmore conceived the idea of capturing the
rebel guard who paced up and down in front of
the sallyport of the fort.
With this scheme in view he called for VOL
unteers out OF the non commissioned officers in
the boat Infantry to perform the hazardous I'M
dertaking, offering as an inducement commits
sion to the one who would successfully perform
the task. The non commissioned officers of the
boat infantry consisted of three Sergeants and
five Corporals These were summoned into the
august presence Of Capt. Hennessy one morning
and the wishes of Gen. Gilmore made known
to them The Captain made a lengthy and
very eloquent speech, dwelling largely on the
honor, the fame, the glory aud renown that
would accompany the brave man all through
life, aud whose name would be handed down
to posterty, perpetuated and immortaIized
through all the coming ages of time how future
generations would never tire in singing anthems
of praise TO the hero who should succeed in
capturing the rebel guard at the sallyport of
Fort Sumter, and deliver him alive and safe
into the hands of Gen. Gilmore.
This outburst of eloquence although deliv-
cred i'll grand style, for some unaccountable rea-
son failed to create the enthusiasm among his |
non commissioned staff that, perhaps, he ex-
pected. Turning to me, as | was the ranking
Sergeant he asked NE if | was willing to under
take the task, and thereby cover my name with |
imperishable glory. | blushingly informed the |
Captain that, although l professed an unadul- |
terated love for my dear country and an I'M
shaken devotion to our starry banner, STILL TAX |
ing all the surrounding circumstances into |
consideration, | should most respectfully |
decline. Sergeant No 2 asked also TO be ex- |
cused; Sergeant No. 3 ditto The Captain then |
turned to the Corporals and asked them if there |
was one of their number whose thirst for glory |
was strong enough to impel him to undertake |
the task.
"Fll do it," said a Corporal who stood about |
No. a on the list, and whose face had the hue |
of boiled lobster. With a spasmodic Jerking of |
his head and shoulders he replied, "Pl do it
yes, sir, I'll do lit"
After the Corporal had signilied his willing
ness TO undertake the task, the Captain dis
missed the balance of US, and after private in
Structons to the Corporal, he was also dismissed
to prepare himself for the hazardous ad ven
ture.
AS soon as night had fully come and dark
ness had spread her mantle over the waters of
Charleston l1arbor, small boat with our brave
Corporal, accompanied by two or three COM
panions, left the shores of Morris Island and
headed towards the dark, gloomy and crushed
walls OF Fort SUMTER about two miles distant 1t
was warm, beautiful, mOOnless night-in fact
Just about such nj ght as one would wish for
such an undertaking as that which the brave
Corporal had volunteered to perform. About
one fourth OF the distance was r0wcd in silence.
when Ouch how cold it is" calculated the
Corporal, and then silence reigned again for the
next hundred yards.
lieve Pm going to have chill, KELLOGG" said
the Corporal, addressing the boatman. Then
ali was still again except the faint sound made
by the regular dip of the mufiled oars. Half
the distance to the fort was already made
Boo-hoo, ouch ESSAY, Kellogg, l b b'lieve
I'm having a c-c-chill Pm cold as ice. Roo
hoo. what had we better-boo- hoo-do about
lt?" cried the Corporal, by this time trembling
in every limb.
Stlil there was no answer; nothing but the
almost imperceptible swish of the oars as thew
were skillfully piled by the boatman.
The brave Corporal undoubtedly began to
realize that he was in the wrong place further