The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-16

Of ga we had no torpedoes that could have
prevented the passage of the feet. It WAS
nothing short Of the moral effect of sup
posed torpedoss that deferred tie federal
commanders from forcing passage. Why,
there was Capt. John Rodgers, command
ing the Weehawken, one of the best all
round officers in the navy, a man of tried
courage, actually turning back in the
| face of a row Of empty beer bar
rels stretched across the Moultrie chan
mel. and serving to support only
net. Night after night blockade runners en-
tered port, their pilots knowing nothing Of
the position of torpedoes. There we're only
one or torpedoes in the early part of the
| war connected by wires from shore, and on
one occasion the new ironsides lay for full
hour over ton of powder. The battery
| connection with the shore, however, failed
| to work. All other torpedoes were self
acting, and except at slack water there was
little or no danger from them. AT flood
and ebb tides the strong current caused
them to sink so far below the surface of the
water as to be beyond a depth OF sixteen
feet; and sixteen feet was about the maxi
mum draught possible TO be carried across
the bar.
1--WE always considered ourselves fort
innate in Fort Sumter that the monitors did
not fire upon us by night Had they done
| 80 the work Of repair would have been
| greatly handicapped. The monitors fire.
| for longer periods than would have been
necessary in forcing passage up the bay
| and strange, too, they always came into
action In broad daylight, just the time for
as. At night it would have been next to
| impossible to hit them, while on the other
hand the dark mass of Fort Sumter loom
! ing up IN the night would have afforded at
| all times good target
1.-The failure of Admiral Dahlgren to
! cooperate with Gen. Gilmore In forming a
! Gordon of boats around Cummings Point
was always matter of surprise to us.
There seemed to be a lack of unison"
Maj johnson served at Fort Sumter dur
ing the various periods when the fort was in
command of Col. Alfred Rhstt, Col. Stephen
| Elliot, Capt. John c. Mitchell and Capt. T.
| A. Huguenin. Rhett was in command dur
| ing the first bonn bardment of the monitors
| in 1858. The command later devolved upon
Elliot and was conducted by him during
the furious bonn bardment by the fleet and
the federal shore batteries throughout the
| falkland winter of 1861 4 and ensuing spring.
Elliot had command of Sumter on the night
when the naval force made its attack in
| small boats.
Mitchell was killed in Sumter, and HUI
guenin was In command when the place
| was finally evacuated. OF all the COM
manders of the famous fort HuguenIn alone
is living. Rhett died few years ago. Elliot
/ died soon after the war. Huguenin lives to-
| day in Charleston. Rhett, IN the opinion
of Mai johnson, WAS magnificent dis
ciplinerian and thorough soldier, but he
lacked those qualities which endear com
extremely harsh in his discipline.
and again VIGOROUSLY lax. A
| noble man in every sense OF the
word, says johnson, and just the kind TO
| make his mark as partisan leader Of the
Marion and Sumter stamp Mitchell APP
! 81 hnx he ah
Sumter possessed, ana in the opinion of
those in q position to know, Mitchell, had
he lived would have risen to prominence
| in the confederate SERVICE ,..
The assault Of the Third Rhoie Island
heavy artillery on Fort johnson was in
Maj. Johnsons opinion, one of the most
| brilliant and heroic affairs happening be-
fore Charleston. In his admirable treatise,
THE Defense of Charleston Maj. John
| son gives unstinted praise to the brave
Rhode Isenders. This same regiment still
| keeps up its organization. aud has beauti-
full club house In Providenoe, 4, 1. ''Itwas
| fortunate for US" said the msjor, that
there was onle ony regiment of Rhode
Island heavy artillery"
II wonder" said Maj. johnson. "if Capt.
Remey, who until recently had command
of the cruiser Charleston, remembers US all
here. Reney paid US a visit one night when
| we were in Sunpter, and we helped him
out of the water. He was a lieutenant then
| and fine fellow. but on that particular oc-
casion he paid bis visit without any invita-
ton. You know we captured him in the
course of that assault made by the naval
forces. We all liked Remey. It is pity
he could not have visited Charleston while
in command of the new cruiser.
"We were able, very soon after the feet
appeared, to read the signals between the
various vessels T. Pinckney Lo wdnes, who
now lives here, was the first to catch the
key to the code, and as a reward for his en-
terprise, was kept continuously on duty for
four days without being relieved 1t was
by thus learning the code that we were
aware of the assault to be made on Battery
Wagner. We were also fully aware of the
assault to be made on Sumter by small
| boats"
Maj. johnson has not, by any means, re-
linquished his interest in engineering pro-
jects, though his clerical duties absorb the
! most Of his time. His popularity in Charles
ton is unbounded. The only regret one
hears concerning him comes from the
engineers who deplore his having deserted
their profession. However" remarked a
prominent United States officer to the
Times correspondent, ''if Jock Johnsons
heavenly works prove as successful as his
earthworks, we can all forgive him.
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