Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-03-07

for the gunners in the fort were skill
Then the Montauk steamed up to with
N $50 yards Of the Instructions and
threw out her anchors as challenge
for gun duel. Like the original Mon
itor, the Montauk's deck was almost
wholly submerged, and the enemy
found her a very small target. She
lay close under the fort for four hours
works without doing the enemy any
harm so far as could be seen by a
glass.
Coming out of her first scrimmage
wholly uninjured, although the enc
my's. gunners landed many shots
against her iron sides, the Montauk
only waited to refill her magazine and
then boldly started in again. This
time she anchored within 1000 yards
of the enemy's guns, directly opposite
an eight inch columbiad. Taking
the gun chamber Of the columbiad for
his principal target, Worden lombard
ed it fiercely with his eleven inch and
fifteen inch guns, the armament of the
Montauk being one of each. The first
gun Of the monitor was fired at 7:45
o'clock in the morning. At $50 o'clock
a shell aimed at the columbiad struck
a thirty-two FOUNDER gun near the CO.
lumbiad, killing the gun chief, Major
Gallie, who stood by encouraging his
men. Worden's heavy shells RACED the
q In 1f %1,o Al,o
fort, leaving the men in the batteries
very much exposed, but they kept up
hot fire on the Montauk, moving
their pieces from point to point to baf-
tle the Federal marksmen.
Although the Montauk stood farther
off in this attack than during the pre-
v1ous one, she was struck oftener, re-
ceiving forty-one shots in ALL Many
Of the missiles were ten inch, but they
rolled off from the iron plates, leaving
scarcely dent.
When Worden steamed the Montauk
up in front of Fort McAllister early on
the morning of Feb. %, fog still hung
over the scene, and, the tide being ia
vorable, he anchored within 800 yards
Of the enemy's guns. At the same
time three wooden gunboats and a
mortar boat sent by Dupont to sup
port the attack. took station near the
monitor and opened upon the fort.
The Confederate cruiser Nashville lay
stranded 1900 yards from the Mon
tauk beyond marsh of tall canes.
The upper decks of the cruiser were
visible from the turret of the monitor.
The moment his wooden consorts
opened upon the fort Worden trained
his guns upon the Nashville. The
cruiser had often been sighted before
by Federal ships accommodating around
the fort and had always eluded cap
ture and battle by fleeing up the river.
Worden determined to finish her now
that she lay at his mercy. before she
could float and get back up the river.
All the guns of the fort poured their
eight inch and ten inch shots upon the
Montauk, but Worden ignored them
entirely, and in turn the Confederate
gunners ignored the wooden ships.
Only one shot from the fort struck the
gunboats, and that was from a thirty
two FOUNDER and did but little damage.
The fire of the fort upon the monitor
was fast and furious, but the gunners
were evidently excited and desperate,
for out Of the hundreds aimed at the
Montauk only five found the little tar
get. Worden got accurate range on
the Nashville in spite of the fog. He
was as close to the Instructions in the
channel as 1t was safe to go. The first
few shells Of the Montauk set the
cruiser on fire in the wooden upper
works, and about that time the fog
grew denser, completely shutting of
the view from the Federal gunners.
Still they continued firing according to
the direction and elevation already OBJ
tanned.
1t was just twenty minutes after
Worden fired his first shot when the
flames burst out on the Nashville.
Then thirty minutes. OF dense fog In
tervened, and at the end of fifty min
utes, the fog clearing, it was seen that
the fire had increased A. pivot gun
mounted abaft the mainmast of the
burning cruiser exploded from the in.
tense heat, and a few minutes later
her smokestack disappeared under q
good shot from the turret of the Mon.
tauk. The flames soon reached the
magazine Of the ship, which exploded
with tremendous force, leaving the
cruiser a smoking ruin. When the
Nashville's magazine exploded, the
Federal vessels ceased firing and
dropped down the river, followed by
random shots from the fort. -..*.
During his many trips up to the fort
In the Montauk Worden had. passed
the Confederate torpedoes going and
coming without meeting with harm,
but in his last. withdrawal the monitor
ran upon one which stove great hole
in her side below the water line. The
Confederates in the fort had seen the
monitor pass and repass the torpedoes
harmlessly SO often that they gave no
attention to her: as she dropped away
down the channel. Besides, the for
hid her from view Of the fort, and
Worden succeeded Id Bleaching her oui
OF sight Of the enemy. m few ilavs