Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1899-02-20

 the gpeat nunbefa of guns constantly in use. Many shots and shells struck the ship, but did very little damage. We were exceedingly fortunate.
 Then a new difficulty arose. The Smoke became so thick and hung so low over the ship that the pilot could not see ahead, even from his post in the miZzentop, where he had gone for q better view, and from where he was communicating with the deck by means of speaking tube. The firing was instantly stopped, and it was found, to our horror, that the current had turned the ships bow toward the east bank until we were almost aground under the batteries. The next ship, the Richmond, was dangerously near us, too. 1 don't know just how near we came to running ashore; some said that we touched bottom once, but 1 know that the oYerhanging banks, with their trees ana vines, loom- ed up fearfuily close in front of us. It was critical moment Then we had reason to be thankful for the gunboat Albatr0ss alongside us. Her engines backed vigorously and finally succeed ed in turning us around with our head up the river again. This happened just where the stream makes a sharp bend and the current is especially strong.
 A few minutes after we were well started again it was reported that there was a ram on the port bowl This announcement, usually without foundation, of rams bearing down up- on us, was q continual bugbear while the fleet was in the river. 1t used to yeX the admiral greatly, because it tended to disturb the men unneees- sarily. Reports of the rams, alleged to be of terrible power, were often brought by the negroes who found their way to the river banks. The ad- miral often said that every one seemed to have the ram fever and he wished he could break it up In this instance, however, no chances could be taken, and the order was given to Call away the boardersp My father intended to have hand in this fight himself, if there was to be any, and he seized his own cutIass and started forward. He was at that time nearly 62 years old, but wonderfully active and energetic. This ram rumor failed to materalize, however, like most of the others, and we went ahead without hindranee We came to anchor above the bend in the river, out range of the batteries It was remarkable, considering that we had been under fire over an hour, per haps nearly two hours, that we had only one man killed and two wounded The spars and parts of the deck were pretty well splintered up from the shell which had struck them.
 As we waited in our safer position, in great anxiety for the other ships, of whose fate we knew nothing, we saw a bright light in the sky. which we could tell must come from q ship burn ing. We did not know then which one it was. but we learned later from mem bers of it's crew, who made their way to land and up to our position, that it was the Mississippi. 1t had run hard aground on the shoal at the western bank of the bend and 1t was found im- possible to get her off By that time the confederates had got the range much better and their well directed shots cut it up badly. It's commander ordered it to be set on fire and man aged to get most of his men ashore in boats. The other vessels had met with various accidents to their machinery or had run aground on the treacher- ous sh0als, and our two, the Hartford and the Albatross, were thus the only ones to pass the batteries. Of course two vessels could not do the same work for which the admiral had des- tined seven, but it is a matter of record that by lowering around the Red river district they kept the enemy pretty short of supplies in that neighborhood.
 As for me, 1 had to go home when we got up to Yicksburg. My father and some of the officers held a sort of council of war over me and the de eision was that l had better go to some safer place So that was my last naval battle l went to West Point later and became a member of the other branch of the service"