The Columbus journal., 1886-11-24
ON BOARD MORTAR BOAT
EXPERIENCE WHILE eOM6AR0iHG
FORT JACKSON.

Terrible bin mud Conclusion Of Mortar
Firiag on Shipboari-A Queer Disguise.
Destructive wors-A Most Miraculous
Escape.
One Of the preliminary movements for the
lassage of the forts defending New Orleans
was the bringing up and placing Of forters
mortar fleet where it could shell the forts.
The number Of thess mortar boats was Al
eveu twenty. md they We're divided into
three divisions. each division having a sep
crate commander and being located by itself.
For several days before the mortarS got u
work the coast survey men were busy buoy
ing out position. and calculating distances,
AMI the wonderful; work accomplished by
them was the wonder Of at least the rank
ami file Of the feet. The distance to each
fort WAS 80 accurately estimated by triangu-
lation that the very first shell killed one man
and wounded another Inside the works.
The division tn which l was attached was
anchored close to the bank of the river, with
a strip Of woods haE a mile wide between
III ami the forts. Beyond the woods was .
wide marsh, and gu: proper distance from
the nearest work was 5000 feet. The other
fort iS.. Phillip was about GU yards further
away. 1t is a matter Of history that our
masts were trimmed with bushes where they
showed above the trees. 50 as tO blind the
guu:.cIcs at the forts. ! was one of the detail
Of men who carried ont this movement, and
queer enough oar schOoners looked when the
WORT; was completed. Dur proper masts
seemed to have been replaced by trees taken
from the shore. But few OF us had had any
expcrienco with n~Ortars, and tho com
mander Of each vessel issued instructions,
which we followed with benefit. Few men,
even those belonging To the artillery service,
have any idea If the. terrible din and con-
cusSion of mortar firing OH shipbOard. On
land much OF the din s.,i,:s to he Absorbed
by the solid ground, but Oh board a vessel
you feel it all. Some Of the men on our
schooner VII" neglected the %precaution VI
holding a bit of soft wood in their teeth hit
their tongues in a bad way. We had our
ears stuffed with cotton. and each time the
mortar was fret every man rose on his tip
toes D"Snite thss, precautions many minor
accidents %i,apisned, and nothing could pre-
vent Us from feeling and hearing a good
ri,are Of the terrible din.
After the fleet got To firing regularly the
roar Wa, heard fifty miles at sea, and
crH.kery was ratified about III pantry shelves
in l,ou:xs twenty-five miles distant. We
fired about once in every seven or eight
minutes and this kept eight or nine shells in
the Cir all the time. AT each discharge tho
boat heeled over as il she had struck a heavy
sea, and had scarcely come back to a level
keel when We were ready to repeat the opera
ton. The strain OIL planhS and timbers was
tremendous. After we had fired the fifth
shot we had to set the pumps going. and
some Of the great spikes were started half an
inch. Ha1 We been aground tie bottom of
the schooner would have been driven out at
the first fire. While the entire feet came in
for the din, the crews of the mOrtars of
course suffered most. After the first days
firing. which ceased at sunset. the stiffness
was almost As much of a ST train OIL our nerves
as the noise hal been. AMI it was hours be
fore we coul1 go to sleep.
1t must not he supposed hat all the fun
was Oil our side. After our third shot the
Confederates opened on us from n number
of heavy guns. While they could not see us
Oh account NJ tie forest, the; know our
positions, AMI after a little shot and she'll be-
gan to fall around Us. Inside Of one hour
I counted eight shells which fell within 100
fee: of our schooner, AMI the bursting OF
some OF them threw water on our decks. Dur
ing the first day we had a dozen missiles pass
directly over us, cutting u few ropes. and I
witnessed several accidents aboard of other
,esSelS living ahead a.pi behind us. The lie
s.ructiva work Of the Confederate fire was.
however, more plainly seen when the big
40 pound shells fell into the forest which
protected us. The soil WAS soft and spOngv,
heing subject to periodical OverfiOws, and
when the great shells sunk into this Garth and
exploded they would throw mud and water
over the tree tops aud leave q crater large
enough to take in u house. Scores of great
trees We've uproote1 bv these explosions, and
the shells which exploded in the tops OF
Others created far more havoc than the
angric,t bolts Of lightning ever hurled from
JOve's hand.
We planted over 800 bombs inside the
two forts on hat first day. burning the cita-
del and everything else which would burn in
Fort Jackson. driving most of the men to
shelter and damaging the magazine SO that
it could not I've entered during the night.
Outside of thirty or forty shells which ex-
plOdci in the air. owing to bad fuses, not
more than n dozen out Of the great number
fired fell outside of the works. We fired
entirely ut Fort jackson, which wa a mile
and a half away.
We opened fire again at daylight OH the
second day, and the reply from the forts was
just as vigorous, although We knew the
enemy had suffered a great deal and must
be considerably d.mOralized. About mid
forenoon, Just as we were ready to Gil our
mortar for the fifteenth time since opening.
a great rifle shell, which l plainly SAW before
it fell. and took to be a bird Of some sort.
descended upon our deck with All awful crash.
1t disappeared through the heavy planks as If
they hal Keen paper, passed down through
the magazine with its dangerous contents,
and on down through the bottom Of the
schooner and into the mud Of the river bed.
The fuse was burning brightly when it struck
the deck. and the men saw q trail Of sparks
as it passed through the magazine. In a mo-
mellt it WAS known that We were sinking, but
the craft around US FASTENED alongside and
helped to remove most Of the stores befOrs
she went down. That the shell struck with
ont killing any Of us was considered miracu-
lous. That il passed through the magazine
without exploding it was one Of those unac-
countable things in war which admit OF no
discussion. Darlington Smith in Detroit Free
Press.
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