Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-08-02
PASSED AT NC HIT.
[Copyright, 1895. 1

One dark and rainy April night band of 50 Federal soldiers left camp above ls- land No 10, on the Mississippi river, bent upon such desperate undertaking as IS seldom planned outside the realms of fic- tion. Every gun which Foote could disable before his fleet was called upon to push down increased his chances of success, and this little band of mon started out with the intention of landing on the island and spiking as many guns as possible before being discovered.
 The Confederates had a picket boat out to discover and check any such attempt, but on this night the darkness was in tense, the rain was falling steadily, and when the lightning came it was so Vlvld that men were blinded for the moment. The Federal launches from the fleet passed within 100 fcot of tho picket boat without discovery and made a successful landing upon the island. The first guns were planted about ;55O feet from the head of the island, and the ground between was GOV cred with small bushes, rank grass and weeds and considerably broken. Between the landing spot and the guns were two or three low spots full of water, and an at tack from this direction did not seem prob able.
 Had the party of FcderalS halted and sent three or four men forward, the small | CT number could have passed the scntlncls and perhaps had plenty of time to spike every gun But the bolder plan of march | ing the whole command straight up to the | ditch and into it was adopted, and q flash | of lightning betrayed them to sentinel. | His muskct had scarcely sounded the | alarm before it was taken up all around l the battery. Then in the midst of furi- l ous storm the thunder making the island | tremble and the lightning striking trees l along the river almost every moment, the l Federals dashed into the battery itself. l MusketS were cracking and men shouting, | and it was q ituatiOn to try the nerve ol the braVcSt man living.
 After the first moment of surprise the | Confedcratcs rallied and began an attack l which forced the little band out of the bat | tery leaving three or four dead and as l many prisoners. Three or four others 1 were wounded ill making their way to the l boats, and two who became separated from the command and did not reach the boats l were made prisoners the next day. 1t was l an exploit full of nerve and daring, but l the results were without value to Footc. Had the entire battery been disabled he was not ready to send the gunboats down that night, and the attack served to put l the ConfrdcratcS on tho watch for his real l movement.
 The next day after the dash at tho bat tery a Federal srunbnat was made ready foI the adventure. Her preparations wcro not completed when the ConfcdCratcs had tho news. It was d period of stormy wcath hcl and dark nights, and the only pTccautiol they could take Was to keep picket boat | out to discover and signal any movement l Bonfircs had been prepared on he shores | but tho rain had given them a thorough l soaking and rendered them temporarily useless.
 Tho gunbat eclcrtcd for the advrntur' | had her vulnerable parts protected witt baled hay, timbcrs, chains and hawsor l and was to push through without answrr ing shot When all was ready, as fur ther protection barge loaded with ha, was made fast to one side and barg loaded with coal to the other. The ha, was piled high and secured with ropes an' chains and the pilothousc of the gunboa was the only portion of tho craft exposed,
 It was another wild night when the gun boat cast loose to run the gantlet In ad dition to the darkness thero was again war ill the heavens, and tho wind blew il a way to mako an uproar in the tree tops The Confedcrates had scntries posted alon the island, fearing another landing by tn 1 Federals. It is given us 8 matter of his tory that the boat betrayed herself by tn soot in her chimneys catching fire. Sh l was discovered by thc ConIeucrate plcke boat while still half mile above the is land, and general alarm was given.
 A canoe floating down that channel daylight would have been knocked pieces in no time. A gunboat rushin ! ahead in the darkness was another thing She displayed no lights and could be sec only when a flash of lightning revealed he situation. Every gun which would bcG was fired as fast as possible, not so muc in the expectation of disabling the gu1 boat as with the intention of deterring tf remainder of the fleet from following afte Most of the shots as afterward traced, wei fired too high Numbers of line shC screamed directly over the boat and h. barges and flew into the woods, whi others plunged into the river so clo as to throw water clear over the h. barge. Only three shots from the islaS batteries hit the barge. One shell entert the hay a distance of eight feet withol exploding A solid shot carried away
 part of a bale off the top and cut a heaN
 chain in two.
 On board tho gunboat not voice w
 heard except that of the executive office
 She had to feel her way along by u , flashes of lightning and of the Confedera
 guns and her progress was not moro tht
 half speed Had she touched the botto
 to hang for only two minutes the tin
 would have been long enough to conce
 trate such a fire as would have sunk her.
 Two or three nights later a second gu
 boat passed below to help Pope in |
 movement, and the famous Island No.
 was cut of and obliged to surrender.
 LIEUTENANT TRIGG.