The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1889-12-12
A SAD MISTAKE.
One of the Ottawa's Men Relates an In
cident of the Charleston Blockade.


cident of the Charleston blockade.
Some of you shipmates will remem-
Der the Ottawa gunboat, and the sec
ond attack on the forts In Charleston
harbor in which she took part Lieut..
Com w. D. Whiting commanded
her, as brave and. withal, as gentle
and kind commander as crew could
get &c any OF his crew see this they
will be panied to learn that lie las
lost his eyesight) We made almost
daily some demonstration against forts
Wagner or Gregg, and occasionally
against that pile of bricks upon which
huttered in the breeze that handsome
white rag with red and blue starry
cross daring us to come and retake
what they compelled Maj. Anderson
to surrender. At night we were out
side watching for blockade runners.
One Saturday night gun was fired
from the blockader; next salute of
our station, and a rocket shot up into
the dark sky, showing the direction in
which the fleet was to be on the look
out. The rattle called .'All hands to
quarters" at once, and Cast loose
your guns and prepare for boarders"
was the order given. Amurky night;
little wind; clouds obscuring the set
ting moon; something approaching
us In the haze that We could not make
out, the shape seemed to be similar to
the Confederate style of ironclads.
Considering the fact that but few
months before the Chicora and the
Palmetto State had come out of Char
lesion one night and played the deuce
with the blockading fee especially
with the Mercedita and the keystone
State, it can be imagined that we made
sure we were in for it this time.
will acknowledge that, as I ran to the
arm chest and buckled ON my sword
and revolver, / thought there's as good
a chance now of going to Davy Jones
locker as to Libby prison. Meanwhile
the nondescript had come nearer, and
finally within hail. Our 200 pound
Parrot was trained to the port side,
but the side tackle fall had got jammed
under the carriage, and we could not
get it cleared as quick as usual, because
of the darkness. Capt Whiting hailed
the stranger, and the answer which
was: s'All right; we will be aboard of
you directly" almost the identical an
swer the Chicora had given to the
Mercedita's halt.
This equivocal answer, and the fact
of her not recognizing or answering
any of our night signals, made it GER
tain that she was an enemy's ship.
The command was given to give her
broadside, and Tom Brady fired off
the twelve pound howitzer loaded
with shrapnel. How lucky that the
big pivot or the thirty pound forecastle
gun couldn't be trained in timei An
agonizing shrek was heard and the
officers request 'for Gods sake TO stop
firing" The shrapnel had torn away
the chest of the man at the wheel,
struck the steamers working beam,
disabling it, and then burst. 1t proved
to be blockade runner loaded with
cotton, captured at Mobile Bay, and
sent home for adjudication as prize,
with a lot of men whose time was out,
and the poor fellow that was killed,
the only support of widow in Bos
ton, was, after two years service,
going home to be discharged. She had
lost her anchors and fooled around
the whole blockading feet all night
awaiting daylight Being now entirely
disabled and drifting, she was towed
by our second cutter to the next ship in
line and there secured by hawser.
With sincere pity we buried the vic
tim of the sad mistake. A court of in
quiry was held, but as Capt Whiting
only did his duty he was of course
honorably acquitted. "A. L. Lowe in
National Tribune.