Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1914-02-27
0916WkAR
fiIfnNISSqHx(55S
AT SPANISH FORT, ALABAMA
Exciting Incidents Attending Capture
of "Towser," a Confederate Gun
That Did Much Damage.

Reading the account of the curious
behavior of a wild SHE'LL" by II. II.
Cole, brought to mind quite yiyidly the
experience hat | and u squad Of my
comrades had before Spanish Fort,
Ala, April s, 1865, during the bonn
bardment toward the close of that
day.
In the beginning of the investment
the confederate unners had a decid-
ed advantage over ours. having heavy
ordnance and an accurate range of
all available places suitable for plant
ing a battery. Consequently when one
of our little "%popgun" batteries went
into position and started to do bust
ness the fort would turn loose and
knock off the top of the hill, together
with hat battery, writes A. E. CLAN
vile of Poe, Kan, in the National Tri-
bune. Finally we got a supply of heavy
siege guns, after which we could do
a little laughing, too.
There was n gun in particular in
the fort we called "Towser," which
threw a p~rojectile some SIX inches in
diameter by 16 long. 1t was located
in front of our brigade (McMillan's)
and bothered US considerably. But
its position we failed to discover un-
til the eve Of the day we took the
fort. 1t was during the height of the
bombardment that my regiment fled
into the last parallel to relieve those
that had preceded them, while under
the fierce concentrated fire of 100 or
more guns of all caliber. Their deaf
ening roar, together with the de-
moniac shrek of the passing shells,
CAV one a shock that expanded ones
internal fiXings n nearly Jerked
ones ribs loose every second. Just
where the sap entered the parallel a
greater width of dirt had been re-
moved for greater convenience and to
avoid congestion. Shortly after the
boys had got down to business in
passing that spot my attention was
called by one of them 10 his discoy-
cry of "Towsers s" embrasure. 1t was
equipped with a shield, or port stop
per, and during the haze of a fusillade
OF small arms the gun was u out
and fired, the recoil closing the en-
brasure. On reporting the matter to
Col. Jennison I was directed to take
a squad and post them in its front
and deliver our fire into that embras-
ure when it would do the most good.
| am not able to state the full effect
of our fire, but the projectiles from
"Towser' went away over our heads
into the back country after thai
During the siege the enemy kept
pelting US with hand grenades, fired
at first from small petards, but later,
when we got close up to their works,
they could be thrown by hand. They
did but little damage, and if one were
on the lookout they could be easily
lodged.
On this occasion they were drop
ping them pretty lively In the trench.
and as our attention was fully occu-
pied with "Towser' one of our squad
was given the job Of watching for
them and giving warning. Shortly
afterward an unusually sharp Look
OUT" and we dropped to the ground
at about the same instant a large
bomb struck the ground and burst in
our midst into hundreds Of diamond
shaped pieces, which filled the sides
of the trench about waist-high, COW
ering US with dirt and filling the
trench with sitting %sulphurous fumes.
We were pretty well stunned, but as
soon as we could pull ourselves to-
gether and shake the dirt off we found
none hurt, and all resumed their at
tention to "Towser."