The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1905-06-28
unless Lis demand for the surrender
oi Fort Wagner was complied with.

N''''"'""N ~ 'Hc hatlcIy, Win &c
tachment OF Six men, started for the
battery 10 prepare the shells, etc.
tuning their Passage OF the plank
walk between - IL. and o'clock p.
III. Since carly dawn the batteries on
James Island had kept up steady
bombardmcnt Of the Swamp Angel,
! intending to make it "hot' for any
one 10 stay there, and also prevent
any one from going there. As the
firing vas well chosen, and the men
were hardly there aud under cover
when every gun and mortar that bore
upon it opened viciously, keeping it
mp without intcrlnission till sunset.
At :his hour Lieut.. Foster, ll,h
Main" volunteers, had been instruct.
ed to march the remainder Of the men
required --ten-to the battery. This
party, too, succeeded in slipping into
the battery sn!ely, but from that time
till next morning the Swamp Angel
was KEEP. under steady. fire.
Everything being ready in the bat.
terry, the men waited for the stipulat.
ed hour named by Gen. Gilmore to
the Charlcstonians before commencing
operations. For nearly four hours
this little band, far out in the marsh,
sat around the gun, on loaded shells
or on the gun carriage, under fire,
watching the effect of each shot or
shell, particularly that Of the mortar
shells.
From the fire Of the guns the men
were comparatively safe, being fairly
covered by the parapet, but not from
that Of the Inortars. Their shells
would descend high in the air, appar.
emily poise there moment, and then
come down with cver-increasing speed,
the fuse glimmeripg threateniugly in
the moonlight, seemingly coming
straight for each watcher.
Fortunately the fuses burned slow,
or were cut too long. Not a single
mortar shell exploded in the air, but
in the soft mud about the battery.
Most of these shells struck in the
rear Of the battery, where it was per.
fectly open and exposed, where they
penetrated we'll into the mud, no mat.
ter how close to the battery they sank.
A sudden "spit!' with some flying
mud, were the only results. But
when they exploded just at the sur.
face they sent tremendous showers of
mud into the battery. a baptism
gladly accepted by the detachment
in preference to sterner vista
ton.
Ten o'clock approached, aud the
moon sank in the west. The Swamp
Angel was loaded and elevated, the
primer in the vent, the lanyard taut.
Slowly the hands of the watch iudi-
Gated the last second of grace for Char.
lesion, and the low, command, "Firel'
sent the seventeenth shell toward the
devoted city.
The enemy's batteries, as if enrag.
ed at their inability to stop the bonn
bardment, redoubled their IRE. Not
an instant, seemingly, but some fiery
messenger was on it's way, bent on de.
stroying the Swamp Angel, but they
all fell short or went over. The
Swamp Angel was shrouded in com.
plete darkness, lighted up only nom.
entarily by thu discharge of the gun
or the explosion of a she'll in the vi
cinity, while low word Of command,
Kissing shot or exploding shell alone
Interrupted the deep silence in the
battery.
Six of the shells filled with Greek
fire exploded in the gun, scattering
tbe tubles containing the composition
into the marsh. No trace of the terri.
bic effect promised was perceived.
Not one in dozen tubes took fire and
those that did ignite did not burn as
fiercely as had been anticipated.
After the sixth shot from the
Swamp Angel the gunner call out, II
can't get the priming wire down,
sir" ....
Examination revealed that the
gun had moved in its jacket. In
pushing the priming Sire into the
vent through the jacket its course
was obstructed in the direction Of the
muszle. The jacket Had slipped for
ward about one-tentie ef an inch, half
coveAing the vent, still leaving a
space for communicating FIRE to the
charge, but preventing the wire en-.
tering beyond the vent.
The gun was injured beyond re-