The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1888-05-22
RAIN OF BOMBSHELLS.
A SPOT WHERE PHYSICAL COURAGE
WAS AT A DISCOUNT.


Fire from the Federal Mortar Boats.
Destructiveness of Bursting Shells.
I was drafted to Fort Jackson, below
New Orleans, about three weeks before
the Federals fired their first attacking
gun. To us on the Confederate side the
position seemed absolutely impregnable.
Forts Jackson and Phillip were almost
opposite each other, with the river so OBJ
structed as to prevent any vessel passing
uD and to hold fleet under fire, and the
only fear that we had was that Farragut
would not send vessel near enough to
try our cannon. Above The raft and forts
lay Confederate fleet of sixteen or eight
cen vessels, including ram and float
ing battery, and it was the general talk
among the soldiers that we had Overdone
the business and scared the Yankees
away before a shot was fired. ] heard
good engineers and good military officers
declare that the whole world hadn't feet
enough to make the passage Of the river
at that point. We had, all told, 40 guns,
nine of them of the heaviest caliber, and
in case of a fleet coming up we should
have them at almost pistol range.
About the 18th of April our scouts re-
ported that a large Federal fleet had come
up and anchored in the bend below, which
was shut off from our view by heavy
forest. The fleet had not only come up,
but the Yankees were towing mortar
sChOOners to positions, and it was evident
that they were going to give us display
of fireworks. 1 don't think there was a
man in our fort, officer or private, who
suspected we should even be annoyed by
the bOmbshehs. The distance was great,
and bOmbardment could mean nothing
but bluff. The first mortar was fired at
us on the morning of the 10Th. / was ON
sentry duty at the time, and plainly saw
the bomb as it came. 1t fell upon the
parade ground, went down five or six feet
into the soft soil, and the explosion threw
out dozen wagon loads of wet dirt.
was spattered from head to foot with the
muck, and a piece of the shell struck my
bayonet, bent it double and flung the gun
twenty feet away. 1t was scarcely known
what had happened when the second
bomb came. This fell into the ditch, and
the explosion scattered mud for 300 feet
around
We were now called to the guns to re-
turn the fire, and our heaviest ordnance
was soon directed at the enemy Outside
of his mortars he had some eleven inch
guns, which sent their shells at the fort,
but these we had little care for. The
shells struck the walls of the fort and did
little or no damage. 1t was the monster
bombs which filed us with dismay. From
the time the fourth or fifth one dropped
range, the fire increased until a shell was
dropping upon us every two seconds. The
air was alive with their kissing and
grooming and suffering, and the eXplO-
sions came so fast that the ear could de-
tect no interval between them. No man
in that fort had ever been under a bomb
fire before. There would have been no
f1inching from the fire of batteries or gun
boats, but the rain of bombs had not con-
rte of OF WI hon I'm on
were thoroughly demoralized In this
short space of time l saw twenty or thirty
men killed. and the destruction to property
was great. We were ordered to the bomb
proofs, and all those not working the guns
were soon hidden away from the shells.
just imagine a monster shell falling
every two seconds, to explode and scatter
it's fire and fragments for twenty yards
around-tO fling up a wagon load Of
earth with EACH explOsion-to start fire
wherever there was anything com5ustible
to deafen the ears and almost deaden
the body by the conclusions, and you will
realize sonething'Of our situation. Such
men as were not wanted at the guns were
obliged to act as a fire brigade before
noon, and the buildings in the rear of the
citadel were fired and the flames eXtin- .
guished dozen times over up to O'Clock
in the afternoon, when everything burned
to the ground. During the day I had
several narrow escapes, as did all the
others. It was no use looking for bombs
in hopes to dodge them. They were fall
ing too thick for that. One came down
within five feet of where I stood, buried
itself five or six feet in the soft soil, and
when the explosion came three of us were
lifted up and flung distance of twenty
feet. One man had a leg broken, but the
other two of US were hardly bruised.
saw a bomb descend square upon the
head of a corporal who was crossing the
parade ground. was looking full at
him, but could never realize just what Oc-
Cured. He seemed to disappear in a
cloud of smoke, and the only remnant
ever found of him was a shattered hand.
From the 10Th to the Oath, without an
hours intermission, we were subjected ITO
this terrible fire, and during the last two
days the men were< nearer revolt than,
ever saw them afterward in the Confeder-
ate service. Three or four times our
magazine was in imminent danger, and
was saved only at great risk and by hard
work, and great share of our provisions
was destroyed after the first day. The
shells cut the levee in front of the works.
and the water came in from the river to
add to our discomfOrts, and the men shut
up in the bomb proof soon learned that
they were not out of danger. But for our
heaping on fresh sand bags not one of the
proofs would have stood the fire. During
the passage of Farragut's fleet every man
in the fort was called to the guns, and
then we not only had the fire of the vessels
but the rain of bombs as we'll When the
fort surrendered the Federal officers
seemed disappointed at finding any of us
alive. Indeed, it was wonder to us that
enough men were left to man gun. From
$1,000 to 10000 bombs, each one bent on
killing at least one rebel, had alighted in
the works, and we had received from 2, 900
to 5000 missiles of other sorts, and yet
the garrison had not lost a fourth of it's
number. saw Porter himself as he came
to arrange for the surrender, and I heard
him express his amazement to Col Hig-
gins that so many of us were left alive.
The fort was as good as blotted off the