The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-04-15

south Of Pensacola Bay, early IN The week and
the man@uvres for the frnt nv days oonsisted
Of steam tactics at 90 and occasional torpedo
practice.
The grand event Of the week. viz: the sham
battle. and the target practice with heavy guns,
did not take place until Thursday. ct which
time your correspondent arrived upon the scene.
The day was perfect, and the Bay Of Pensacola
was so beautiful a. 70 command the admiration
of every visitor. while out on the Gulf beyond
Santa Rosa Island, the water was simply ruffled
by q fresh breeze
The commodious side wheel steamer New
Camelia," from New Orleans, and four or five of
the largest tug-boats, conveyed the hundreds of
spectators to the scene of action.
A specially fast boat /" The Echo" carried
ley and personal friends. whom the latter had In
vited down the bay past Fort Pickens and the
Navy Yard, and out to the naval feet.
Colonel Chipley pointed out the places of his
toric interest as we steamed rapidly ONWARD and
described incidents of the civil war which pre-
pared our minds for the fray we were about to
witness.
Fort Pickens Is the only Southern fort held by
the Federal forces throughout the war, and
though bombarded repeatedly, as Sumter was,
by Forts Barrancas McIaea and the Navy Yard
directly opposite, itnever succumbed. At pres
ent, however, 1t + dismantled, excepting one
large gun on thesJfhwest corner, and the inte-
ror of the fort isl tary and deserted.
The sham battle occurred between ten and
eleven o'clock in the morning. Three of the
steamers ranged in line of battle, and bore down
upon the flag. ship Tennessee and another YES
sci which supported her. The ships were all
stripped for action, the top spars were removed
and all the precautions taken which would char
acterize actual warfare. For an hour or more
the canonnade was terrific. as broadside after
broadside was Numbered forth by the contend
ing vessels. Naught could be seen by the spec
tators save two great banks of smoke, from
which issued sheets of fame, and above which
lowered few masts and spars In fact the
smoke of naval engagement, where so many
guns of large calibre are brought into action,
shrouds everything in obscurity, and the marvel
is how the combatants can distinguish betw cen
friend and foe, and how the signals from the
flagship can be seen and understood 1t ex-
plains to the uninitated why it was necessary
for Commodore Farragut to be dashed to the
masthead" in directing the naval engagement at
Mobile during the war, for that was the only po-
sition from which the fight could be distinctly
seen and controlled In the sham battle, of
course, no shots were used, but we were soon 10
be treated to a scene in which the actual prOjec-
tiles of war we're to be employed.
Tho copeiatod IF lorra uooJor
target moored lar out on the open sea- At dis.
tan ce it looked not unlike tall canal boat. For
tunately it was unable to "reply" to the storm of
destructive missiles about to be sent towards it,
otherwise there would have been great slaughter
among the newspaper correspondents, at least,
who were stationed behind the large war ships
ON Tour side" 1t was the chance of a lifetime
to witness all the beauty and sublimity of a
naval engagement, and to be in the midst of
shreking shot and shell, without encounterng
the dangers thereof, and to " smell powder" in
the thickest OF the strife, without necessarily
getting ones head knocked off,
The ships having replaced their spars and
cooled off their guns, responded one by one to
the orders signaled from the flagship, and ranged
in single file, following the Tennessee as she
moved seward. The vessels kept their places
few hundred yards behind each other, and the
fleet presented beautiful sight as it steamed 81
lently onward, describing sem-crcular line,
and then bore down under full pressure of steam
to point about mile north of the target
This place soon promised to be of great in
erest," accordingly the captain of our little craft
pushed some distance ahead of the other tug
boats, and secured "a good seat" right where
each war vessel would pass within few yards
of US, as its turn would come to open fire. Your
correspondent and the Col" took up their point
ofobservation on the roof of the pilot-house, and
held on to the wings of the American spread
eagle which they found there before them to
steady themselves for the heavy conclusions that
were soon to follow.
From this elevated perch we had full view
of the decks of the approaching war ships, and
could watch the gunners work their guns. The
process of loading, sighting and firing these great
guns was very interesting, and as an occasional
feat of fine craftsmanship was witnessed, cheers
would 60 up from the spectators and be re.
echoed from the crews working the batteries.
The flagship tennessee" was the first to
come within range, and her guns opened fire
with terrific roar, while her huge hulk was
soon enveloped in dense cloud of smoke
whence flames Of fire vomited forth In quick
succession, and only the tops of her masts could
be seen as she passed away mile or more 10 the
seward. Her firing was not 80 accurate how
ever, as some of that which followed, and though
she made the ocean fairly boil with shot and
shell, her gunners did not appear to strike the
target. Close behind was the consort, the Swa-
tara, and she too was soon alive with fame and
smoke and shrieking shell. And now came on
the Galena, Yantic ard Brooklyn under full
steam, and 30 close 10 us that we were envelop-
ed in the smoke of their guns and scented their
powder like veterans.
The cannonade at this instant was appalling
10 the uninitiated, and the effect was simply in
describable. We were directly In the midst of
the excitement and grandeur of actual warfare,
without the casualties and bloodshed attending
the same. The roar OF the heavy guns was in
cessant. Half dozen solid shot and shrieking
shells would be In md-air at once, and the ne.
cular whizzing sound made by these horrible
missiles kept mp perpetual vibration in the at
mosphere that resembled the monotonous and
deep-toned mutterngs of distant thunder. One
could not follow the course of q cannon ball with
the eye, but he could easily do 80 with the ear,
until 1t would strike close to the target sending
up a column Of white spray from ten TO thirty
feet in height then pass on half a mile atrike