The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-28

front of our regiment she was grounded on the west side of the river perhaps 10t yards from the bank. Seeing the impossibility of saving the vessel he fired her in the after part and abandoned her The flames spread rapidly and she was soon enveloped. Fifteen minutes later she broke loose from the bank and went floating down the river huge and roar ing pyramid of flames, the towering .vor- tex now bending before an occasional breeze, and then when there was q lull darting vertically upward and hurline skyward a continuous stream of angry sparks and fire brands. Her hundreds oi loaded shells were soon reached by the fire and the rapid explosion of these sometimes singly in rapid succession. al other times a dozen or more simultane. ously sounded like a heavy cannonade and equaling if not surpassing in every element of the, sublime the terrific battle through which we had just passed. The fires had all ceased and we had nothing to do but sit upon our batteries and enjoy the thoughts of our triumph and the grand spectacle before us. We thought of and pitied the wounded. if any there be. on the burning ship. The fleet below fled in consternation from their late com panion and disappeared from view. About a. m. this floating volcano in a state of eruption rounded point of land on the opposite bank i've miles below and the flames sank out of view but we gazed with unabated interest on the crimsoned hori- zon beyond. This gradually grew paler and paler until about 5 a. m. when there was a fearful explosion resembling in report that of a heavy peal of thunder in the distance, the flames leaped high above intervening lands and forests. the shock being distinctly felt at our batteries, and what remained of the old historic Mis- sissippi sank to the bottom of the river.
 Had the lightwood knots on the op- posite shore been promptly lighted 1t Is believed that no vessel could have passed our batteries. singular coincidence is that the Confederate gunboat Arkansas ran cooperating with General Breck- inridge in land attack on Baton Rouge about a year previous had gone down at almost the same spot.
 Several of the Mississippi's crew were killed and probably burned with the ves- sel. Some of the wounded leaped into the river and were drowned; about forty men captured. the rest escaped, among them being the executive commander. Lieut.. George Dewey. later the distinguished hero of Manila"
 The Captains gig captured from the Mississippi fell to the lot of our Colonel Steedman and Furnished him and his off, cers much sport when off duty.
 Mote only those errors have been pointed out in my sketch of the regiment as published in The Montgomery tAla.) Advertiser October November. 1902. which the following will correct: Q) Capt. J. D. Meadows was wounded in prison in 1862 instead of 1863 or 1864; CD 1t was probably the Richmond Instead of Mississippi that ran up close to the landing on the night of March 14, 1863, at Point Hudson: t3) the Mississippi was first struck by a hot shot from a Confederate battery and after wards fired by its commander, then Lieu tenant, now Admiral Dewey. Anxious to have the matter settled correctly I ad- dressed letter to Admiral George Dewey propounding the two following questions: CD Was 1t the Mississippi or Richmond that ran up close to landing on the night of March IA. 1863, @ was the gunboat Mississippi fired by hot shot from a Confederate battery or fired by yourself, It's commander, after she had grounded?'
 The following reply from the 1istin- gushed Admiral settles the question that 1t was not the Mississippi that steamed up so close to the landing that night and could he have spoken as definitely as to which one it was that did come so close his statement would save been final. It Is seen that he inclines to the opinion that it was the Hartford instead of Rich mond but of this he is not certain. Not under valueing the weight of even an indefinite impression of so dis tinguished a man who was par ticipant in the battle have aften mature consideration and not without hesitation felt 1t my duty to follow the almost unanimous statement of all authors that it was the Richmond. until further light shall establish it as an error
 Admiral Deweys letter:
 Navy Department.
 "Ofice of the Admiral of the Navy. Mills Building, Washington, June l, 19O3
 My Dear Sir-L have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of May 20, relative to the battle of Port Hudson, and will gladly give you such information as l can in response to your inquiries
 T was the executive officer of the Mississippi" in the battle named, and 1t was not that vessel of which you speak as steaming up nearly to the landing. as we were on the other side of the river, and grounded; nor do I think 1t was the "Richmond" My impression is that 1t was the Hartford" which ran in close to the landing, though I am not positive on the matter.
 "'The Mississippi was first fired, in the forward part, by hot shot from one of the Confederate batteries; afterward, finding that she could not be floated and saved, we fired her in the after part and abandoned her.
 T hope that you and I may sometime come into close range again, but under different circumstances from those Of that memorable 14th of March.
 Very truly yours,
 George Dewey. Professor D. Y. McMorris.
 P1antersville, Ala"
 An Incident of Captain Richard Will
 Hams at Port Hudson.
 During the first and most powerful as- sault on our lines at Port Hudson, May 27, 1888. a body of New York Zouaves, about 100 in number, clad in brilliant red uniforms, and doubtless not having per- ceived that the rest of their line had been repulsed, pressed forward against the left wing of the 1st Alabama regiment So 1t was once the good fortune of the Roman peo14e at a critical moment to have one man, Horatlus Cocles as a guard at the Sublician bridge over the Tiber, so on this decisive day it was the equally good fortune of the Confederate garrison at Port Hudson to have in immediate com mand of that point a man not a whit less courageous than Horatius-Captain Rich- ard Williams of the Clayton Guards. When the Zouaves had about reached this position, and were rushing 'mpetuously forward, Captain William sprsng upon the breastworks, emptied his revolver in their faces and then snatched his sword