Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-04
&kBAITLES and LEADERS, q The CYL War;
E7eaA 1861 GUNBOAT ATTACK ON FORT DONELSON 1927

last out of the fight. and was more dam
aged than any of the other gunboGts, a.
the boat carpenters who repaired them
subsequently informed me. She was
much longer under fire than any other
vessel of the fiotilla: and. according to
the report OF the Secretary of the Navy,
her loss i'm killed and wounded was near
ly twice as great as that of all the other
gunboats together. She fired more shot
and shell into Fort Donelson than any
other gunboat, and was struck f1fty-four
times. These facts are given because
disposition was shown by correspondents
and naval historians to ignore the serv-
ices Of the Carondelet on this and other
occasions.
IN the action of the 14th all OF the ar
mored vessels were fought with the
greatest energy, skill and courage, until
disabled by the enemy's heavy shot. In
his official report of the battle the flag
officer said: The officers and men In this
hotly contested but unequal fight behaved
with the greatest gallantry and deter
mination.' Although the gunboats were
repulsed, the demoraliZing effect of their
cannonade and OF the heavy and well
sustained fire of the Carondelet on the
day before must have been very great.
and contributed in no small degree to the
successful operations of the army on the
following day.
After the battle / called upon the nag
officer. and found him suffering from his
wounds. He asked me If l could have
run past the fort. something I should not
have ventured upon without permission.
The 18th was employed in the burial Of
our slain comrades. | read the Episcopal
service on board the Carondelet under
a.
their late companions to a lonely field
within the shadows of the hills. When
they were about to lower the first coffin
Roman Catholic priest appeared, and.
his services being accepted, he read the
prayers for the dead. AS the last service
was ended. the sound of the battle being
waged by Gen. Grant. like the rumbling
OF distant thunder. was the only requiem
for our departed shipmates.
Sunday, the 10th, at dawn, Fort DON
elson surrendered and the gunboats
steamed up to Dover. After religious
services the Carondelet proceeded back
to Cairo, and arrived there the morn
ing of the 18th, in such a dense fog
that she passed below the town un-
noticed. and had great difficulty in
finding the landing. There had been a
report that the enemy was coming
from Columbus, KY, on the Mississippi.
to attack Cairo during the absence of
its defenders; and while the Carondelet
was cautiously feeling her way back
and blowing her whistle some people
imagined she was a Confederate gum
boat about to land, and made hasty
preparations to leave the place. Our
announcement of the victory at Fort
Donelson changed their detection into
JOY and exultation. On the following
morning an order congratulating the
officers and men of the Carondelet was
received from Flag Officer Foote.
A few days later the Carondelet was
taken up on the ways at Mound City,
1ll.-six or seven miles above Cairo
on the Ohio river-for repairs; and a
crowd of carpenters worked on her
night and day. After the repairs were
completed she was ordered to make
the experiment of backing upstream.
which proved a laughable failure. She
would sheer from one side Of the river
to the other. and with two anchors
astern she could not be held steady
enough to fight her bow guns down
stream She dragged both anchors al
ternately, until they came together
and the experiment failed completely.
The morning of the 23d the flag officer
made a reconnaissance to Columbus,
KY, with four gunboats and two
mortar boats, accompanied by the
wooden gunboat Conestoga, conveying
five transports. The Notifications look
ed more formidable than ever. The
enemy fired two guns, and sent I'D a
transport with the pretext, 1T was said,
of effecting an exchange of prisoners
But at that time, as we learned after
ward from credible source, the
evacuation of the fort (Which Cen
Grants successes at Forts Henry and
Donelson had made necessary was CO.
ing on, and the last raft and barge
loads of all the movable munitions of
war were descending the river which.
with large quantity previously taken
away, could and would have been cap
tured by our fleet If we had received
this information in time. The 4th of
March another reconnaissance in force
was made with all the gunboats and
four mortar boats, and the fortress had
still a formidable, lifelike appearance
though it had been evacuated two DAYS
before.
Copyright. 1912, by the Century Company