The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-12-18

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from North Carolina and the thanKsI
of the Confederate congress, | am sure.i
When 1 compare the gunnery Of E1yi
garrison with that OF the great feet
which comprised the flower Of thel
United States navy among its omcersl
and men, many OF whom had partici-I
pated in the capture of Hatteras, Fort
Macon, Port Royal, the forts belowl
New Orleans and Mobile; had battledl
with Fort Sumter and its sister fortsI
defending the cradle of secession. and
who were provided with the best of
guns and ammunition the world couldI
supply, | cannot withhold my admiral
ton of the artillerists whom I had
trained from the 4th of July. 1862, to-
the hour Of our severist trial, for the
reports of the federal commanders
themselves OF the bombardments of
December oath and 25th award to them
the palm of superiority. Their great
commander, Porter's report, shows that
they had to fire some 5000 shot and
she'll before they could strike down our.
garrison flagstaff, so feet high, and
cause our flag to fall and trail upon the
sand. The majority of the fleet,
not 1 IL miles away, the iron vessels
less than a mile. and if they wrote the
truth, their aim undisturbed by a fort
which they continually claim was ST
fenced. What would our splendidly
trained jackies of the present day nave
thought OF such a performance? The
crews of the Maine, Alabama and other
battleships of Admiral Evans formid-
able feet, who can hardly miss a dis
tant target with their ships a. full
speed, would have viewed it with
rather a contempt" to use the admit
rails words in regard TO the feeling Of
his men towards our rebel batteries
After five hours Of such profitless
shooting do not wonder the admiral
said his men were glad to get a little
rest" They ought to have left the line
to report damages and gone to sleep.
(Oncial Records, Vol. H., p 257)
They did knock headquarters lthe
light-keeper's old brick house, into
"smithereens," but it only killed some
rats. The fort could not catch on fire
as reported, for it was built of sand
and turfed. About half of the wooden
quarters ON the parade were destroyed
by fire from bursting shells, with over
coats, blankets, shoes and Christmas
boxes. The Nash county game-cocks,
with chickens and ducks cOoped up in
down home crates, left under hunks in
the haste to man the guns, alone in all
the fort agreed with the admiral that
''the batteries of the Ironsides, CanOni-
Gus and other monitors were terrific.
The boys in the left salient could hear
their cackling and "quacking' above
the din Of battle, and would like tC
have relieved their misery, but there
was no intermission for refreshments
in the entertainment our sailor visitors
were giving us, Or there might have
been tiffin with fried chicken and roast
duck.
Three gun carriages were temper.
arily disabled. and it is surprising how
many vessels thought they had caused
this damage. Large quantities Of the
earthworks were torn UP, but thF
greatest penetration noticeable Was firt
feet, perpendicularly, and the sand aoOl
slid into the big holes made by the Is
inch shot and shell and filled them ZIP
the buried shot making the glacis 1lGT<
invulnerable. Some Of the revetment
were splintered; lis shell a minute
which the admiral said he poured upog
the works. was calculated to do tina
! even with the poor gunnery, but Oh
that oath Of which he was reportin:
no one was hurt behind them. Not
single bomb-proof was injured o
magazine was endangered. One 5raV
man was mortally wounded, ) seriousi..
and 10 slightly, total %, and this wa
all the results of 1911 prOjectiles
5 weighing 655 $50 pounds, fired by tn
naval gunners, while the fort Wou1lde'
2 on the MackinaW, OsCeola, Wabash an
Colorado. the same number eXactl
(23), but most of these were scalde
seriously and not slightly wounded
/ and this with 672 projectiles, welghin
53,760 pounds, fired by the artillecist
= of Fort Fisher. Pretty good shootiG
} for Carolina militia and conscripte
= decrepit senior and demOralized juno
I reserves" characterized in official re
= ports as poor a~rtillerists, constant
= driven into bomb-prOofs by the lire
sistible lis shells a minute" With sue
s a torrent of missiles falling and burst
+ ing over them that it was impossible,
says the admiral on page 256, for an
s thing human to stand it." Except Ia
i Heels, who on that occasion migf
e have repeated Bill Apps post beilu1
observation that "he had killed ;
many Yankees as they had Killed {
I him.
: Hear the following compliment iron
Y the report Of Commodore Joseph i.aT
= man, commanding second division :
8 A. squadron, the frigate Minnesota ii
= flagship, about December Oath: TT
batteries were frequently silenced t
the rapid firing of the fleet general,
h but with the least let UP on our pa
d they would again open, and [ shou'
}. judge, with excellent practice as the
shot flew about us in all direction
Is and l have no doubt they were equal
.e good in practice to the other ships. L
( a kind Providence we received little
l. no damage, only 8 or ten shots touchif
d the ship, but plain enough in sight
e, show their good firing" Thank yo
commodore afterwards admiraD f
y your inst and honorable cOmmendatlt