Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-03-26


Three United
States warships were lost in that affair.
The most terrible disaster to battle
ship by the enemy fire during the civil
war was that on board the United States
ironclad Mound City at St. Charles,
Ark, in 1S82.sThis incident has an in
direct connection with Cuban affairs and
is well worth recalling. Assuming that a
Spanish shell had been thrown into the
Maine, it was possible that all the havoc
could have come from that. On board
the Mound City there were S3 killed 23
wounded and AZ drowned, leaving but
% survivors out of a crew Of l73. The
awful shot-it was the work of one
was fired by Captain Joseph Fry, an
officer of the old United States navy
who had joined the Confederate army
and commanded battery on the bluffs
of st. Charles He was one of the most
noted of the minor war heroes and was
garroted by the Spaniards at Havana in
1879 suffering death with his crew Of
the i'll starred Cuban filibustering ship
Virginius, which he commanded.
Captain Fry's battle with the Federal
feet at st. Charles was one of the BRAY
est on record, and the shot which wiped
out the crew of the Mound City was
fired in legitimate action. Equal gal
lantry was shown by the commander Of
the Mound City, who alone took the
contract of silencing Captain Fry's bat.
teries on the bluff Colonel Fitch of the
Federal army wished to charge the
bluffs and capture the batteries, but
Captain Kitty of the Mound City steam
ed up in front of the guns and poured
shot into them for an hour and Il half.
Finally the Mound City was between
two hostile guns, one above and one be-
low, having point blank range on the
ironclad. The gun which landed the
shell was naval piece that had been
taken ashore the day before from the
Confederate gunboat Pontchartrain. 1t
was pointed down the river, and at the
Mound City was steaming slowly up
stream to get better position the gun
was carefully sighted to rake her. The
shell struck ON the port side.
After passing through the side of the
Mound City the shell, which was from
80 FOUNDER rife, killed eight men at
the casemate nearest it's pathway, then
went through the steam drum directly
fore and aft. The gun deck was imme-
diately filled with scalding steam, and
there followed a scene more easily inn
agined than described The ship wheel
was turning slowly at the time and kept
ON revolving until the bow of the ship
was close inshore.
Colonel Fitch saw the accident to the
Mound City and at once led his men on
a charge, finally carrying the position.
Captain Fry was wounded in the strug-
gle with Fitch men. Meanwhile the
Federal gunboat st. Louis hooked on to
her unfortunate consort and lowed her
ashore. She had already been deserted
by her ablebodied men, who numbered
but a handful Her complement was
173 men, officers and boys. OF those
who jumped into the river ~ were
drowned, and % wounded were taken
from the ship and out Of the water.
The killed ON the ship numbered SO,
chiefly the victims Of scalding.
The only vessel of note destroyed dur
ing the war by floating torpedo was
the United States ironclad Housatonic,
which went down Feb. II, 1868, in
Charleston harbor, victim of q Confed-
crate David known locally as the
Charleston "cigar boat" This little
continuance was designed to do exactly
what has been done to the Maine by ac-
oident or malice-that is, remove by
stealth an obnoxious warship The
"cigar boat" was designed as diver, to
go under vessel and explode a torpedo.
She was made Of boiler iron, was 30
feet long by broad, with a vertical
depth of about 6 feet. She carried a
crew Of eight men. Access was by two
manholes covered by caps having bulls
eyes for steering purposes. While the
vessel fioated these caps We're foot out
Of water The propell1ng power was hu-
man muscle acting on a shaft by means
of cranks. Upon the exterior there were
vanes or wings, adjustable at any angle
by manipulation from the inside, and
by these the course was regulated either
ON level or diving or ascending. In va
rious experiments this craft carried to
the bottom 80 people who risked their
lives for the cause, But at last she Jus
titled her builders by destroying an enc
my's blockading ship which stood in the
north channel Of Charleston harbor.
Unsuspicious of danger, the Housa-
tonic rode at anchor the night of Feb.
II. About 9 o'clock the officer of the
deck saw 100 yards away what appeared
to be a plank on the water moving
swiftly toward the ship. Waiting a mo-
ment to make sure that its course was
directly for the ship, he gave the alarm
and called all hands to the deck. 1t was
too late to do more than prepare the
crew for what was coming. The 'cigar
boat" was provided with spar torpedo
and struck the ironclad below the water
line near the mainmast, knocking hole
in the sides which caused her to sink in
four minutes Five Of the crew went