The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1888-04-11
A RAIN OF BOMBSHELLS.
An RX coNFEDERATE's ACCOUNT
OF THE SIEGE OF FORT JACKSON.
Thirty Monster Shells FroIh the
Federal Fleet Falling Into the
Confederate Works Every Minute


1 was drafted to Fort Jackson, below
New Orleans, about three weeks before
the Federals fred their first attacking
gun, writes an ex- Confederate in the De-
troit Free Press To us on the Confeder-
ate side the po ition seemed absolutely
impregnable. Forts Jackson and Phillip
were almost opposite each other, with
the river so obstructed as to prevent any
vessel passing up and to hold a feet
under fire, and the only fear that we had
was that Farragut would not send ves-
sci near enough to try Our cannon. Above
the raft and forts lay Confederate fleet
of sixteen or eighteen vessels, including
ram and floating 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
fred We had, all told, 10 guns, nine
of them of the heaviest caliber, and in
case of fleet coming up we should have
them at almost pistol range.
About the 18th of the month our
scouts reported that large Federal
feet had come up and anchored in the
bend below, which was shut of from our
view by heavy forest The feet 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 a display of fireworks. The
first mortar was fired at us on the morn
ing 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 piece of the she'll 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 scat
tered 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. Out
side 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 filled us with dis.
may. From the time the fourth or fifth
one dropped and the Federals found
they had the range the fire increased un-
til shell was dropping upon us every
two seconds. The air was alive with
their kissing and groaning and sputter-
ing, and the explosions came so fast that
the ear could detect no interval between
them. No man in that fort had ever
been under bomb fire before. There
would have been no flinching from the
fire of batteries or gunboats, but the
rain of bombs had not continued a quar-
ter of an hour when the men were
thoroughly demoralized. In this short
space of time saw twenty or thirty men
killed, and the destru tion to prore erty
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 q monster shell falling
every two seconds, to explode and scat
ter its fire and fragments for twenty yards
around 70 to fling up a wagon.loa of
earth with each explosion-to start fire
wherever there was anything combustible
to deafen the ears and almost deaden
the body by the conclusions, and you
will realize something of our situation.
Such men as were not wanted at the guns
were obliged to act as a fire brigade be-
fore noon, and the buildings in the rear
of the citadel were fired and the flames
eXtinguished dozen times overup to
O'Clock in the afternoon, when every
thing burned to the ground. During
the day had several narrow escapes, as
did all the others. 1t was no use looking
In he in hnYNao 10 i
were falling too thick for that. One
came down within five feet of where /
stood, buried itself five or six feet in the
soft soil, and when the explosion came
three of us were lifted up and flung a
distance of twenty feet. One man had
a leg broken, but the other two of us
were hardly bruised. l saw bomb de-
scend square upon the head of a Corpo-
raj who was crossing the parade ground. |
| was looking full at him, but could !
never realize just what occurred. lie
seemed to disappear in a cloud of smoke,
and the only remnant ever found of him .
was n shattered hand.
From the 10th to the cath, without an
hours intermission, we were subjected /.
to this terrible fire, and during the last /.
two days the men were nearer revolt than |
| ever saw them alterward in the Con- |
lederate 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 pro- |
visions were 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 |
he men shut up in the bomb proofs 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 tire. During the passage of Farra-
CUTS 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
ombs rs well. When the fort surrren-
iered the Federal officers seemed disap.
pointed at finding any of us alive. In.
decd, il was wonder to us that enough
men were left to man a gun. FROM lj,.
)OJ To 20, 600 bombs, each one bent on
lilling at least one man, had alighted in
.he works, and we had received from
,, 600 to 5000 missiles of other sorts,
md yet the garrison had not lost a fourth
)i its number. | saw Porter himself "A!
he came TO arrange for the surrender.
md | heard him express his amazemeni
% Colonel Higgins that so many Of u,
were left alive. The fort was as good as
plotted of the sarth.
Sitting Bull has settled down into