The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-09-07
AN UNPARALLELED FEAT.

AN UNPARALLELED FEAT
1.-The feats she performed under tbef
daunsless commander. Capt. Isaac N.
Brown, who. upon Gen Beauregard's
demand for an able officer, was judi
esously selected By sbe Hon. Mr.. Mall
lory, Secretary Of the Navy. are de-
serving OF enthusiastic praise !; the
more SO since Commodore Lynch, after
irspecsioo. said Of her, she is 'very
inferior to the Msrrimsc in every par
s!cula the iron With which she is cov-'
cred is worn and iudifferest, taken from
railroad track. and is poorly secured
% the vessel boiler iron on stern and
counter her smokestsek Of sheet
iron
ssNevertheless, on the morning Of
! the 18th Of July, 1862. that eonfede-
rate iroaelad, the Arkansas. mounting
ten guos with crew of swo hundred
men, descended the Yszoo River TO
attack, not one or two Federal euu-
boats but the fleets of Adnirsls' Far
ragut and Davis, then nesr Vicksburg.
. She was met at sunrise in Old
River ten miles from the Federal
anchorage by the Uoited States IRON
ossd Csrondelet, the gunboat Tyler and
she ram Monarch The Csrondelet
alone was superior 10 guns. armor aud
speed to the Arkansas. Capt. Brown
promptly asssiIed this advance squad
ron. add, after an hour OF close combat,
disabled and silenced the ironclad and
drove the other two vessels to the sbel.
ter Of the aeets in the main river
Losing DO time with the disabled Car
ondeles, the Confederate irooclah pre-;
ceeded down stream and attacked the
combined feet Of more thru twenty men
of-war.
..She pushed through their double
iiae OF heavy ships, rams, mortar boats
and six irooclads, each one Of which
last, like berlase antagonist in Old Riv-
es, vas of greater force than herseIF
She received the FIRE of three hunGrd
guns. which at half cables length tine
lone Confederate ship returned with de
ssructive effect from bow, stern aod
both broadside batteries
ssFor more than an hour the com bat
of one to thirty lasted unsil the Arkan-
sas. cutting her way through the eDe-
my's liue of massive ships, destroying
come and disabling others. passed. shat.
tered, bat uOcouquered, 90 Der way to
Ficksbusg. virtually raising the siege
Of that hitherto closely blockaded city
This combat. 10 its odds and result
without parallelio uava! warefare, was
attended With great loss to the Confede-
rates 10 killed and wounded
s.The commander Of the Arkansas,
exposed on toe shield deck, was three
times wounded: osce by mimic ball.
touching him over the lefs temple; then
By eontusios on the bead. aud slight
wouod in the hand and shoulder; then.
s.:uck from the deck inseosible. be was
fo. the moment supposed to be killei.
but he regained consciousness and.
dsantless as ever, resumed his place
end command till the end of the battle
ssAmong the wounded was Lieut..
6. ". Gift, who. with Grimbal!. Of
South Carolina. the Second Lieut., ably
commanded the bow guns. Lieut..
Stevens, the executive officer. dis
charged With honor. beth in preparation
70. and during the action every duty
of bis responsible positions. Batbot,
Charles Reid. Wharton aud Dabeny
Scales, lieuseoauts, woo. like their COM
mander. we're recently from the Uoised
States navy. were alike distinguished
for the bravery and precision with they
served their guns.
''Cspss. Harris aud Mcdonald, of g
Missouri regiment, with sixty of their
meu, volunteered for the naval service,
and though they went on board only
for,y-eighs hours before the battle, and
we're entirely unused to exercise f
great guns. formed an effective portion
of the Arkansas crew. It is but a
inst tribute to the brave men who fig
ured 10 this engagement TO add that
,heg did so knowing the ODDS against
them and with tbe resolution, Inspired
.Dy a short address OF their commander
as the fight was about to begIo. to sue
oeed 10 their work or perish.
The cenaics here so briefly sketcbed
took place in close proximity to the
Federal army encanped on the west
bank of the river, bu: rot 10 view Of
.be city of Vioksburg The solitary
Confederate ship was thus within hear