478

A FIERCE BOMBARDMENT.

was ready to open with his batteries upon it. The latter immediately ordered the monitors and vessels to move up, and be ready next morning at daylight, to commence the bombardment, in conjunction with the land batteries, and at the same time, landed four nine-inch guns, and placed them in battery under the Commanding-Lieutenant, H. B. Tyson.

Everything being ready at daylight the signal was given, and from land and water, the bombardment commenced. As the sun rose in the East, his beams fell on a scene as terrific as that which they lighted up on the morning of the 8th, when Farragut steamed boldly into Mobile Bay. Gun answered gun, and shell crossed shell in their fiery tracks, mingling their explosions with the roar of cannon, and combining to make that summer morning one long to be remembered.

As Farragut said, "a more magnificent fire has rarely been kept up." All day long it rained a steady, horrible tempest of iron, on that solitary fort. As the beams of the rising sun fell on a tossing, sulphurous cloud-covering land and water-so now his departing rays cast a lurid light on the heaving masses of vapor, that shut out half the terrors of the scene.

Just as twilight began to creep over the deep, the citadel of the fort took fire, and Granger seeing the flames burst forth, ordered all the batteries to re-double their fire to prevent their extinguishment. The enemy finding that the fire had got under uncontrollable headway, flooded the magazine, and threw large quantities of powder into the wells to prevent an explosion.

A fierce bombardment was kept up all night, ribbing the darkness with ghastly seams of light, as shell after shell, with scarcely a moment's intermission, dropped inside the rebel works. At six in the morning, a dull, heavy explo

DISGRACEFUL CONDUCT.

479

sion was heard in the fort, and half an hour afterward, a white flag was seen to emerge from it. General Page, the Commander, offered to surrender the fort, and asked the terms of capitulation. Unconditional surrender at two o'clock that day, was the reply, which the rebel General was forced to accept.

In his indignation and mortification, however, he determined to lessen as much as possible the value of the victory, for after the surrender, Farragut says, "It was discovered, on an examination of the interior, that most of the guns were spiked, and many of the gun-carriages wantonly injured, and arms, ammunition, provisions, &c., destroyed; and that there was every reason to believe that this had been done after the white flag had been raised. It was also discovered that General Page, and several of his officers, had no swords to deliver up, and further, that some of those which were surrendered, had been broken."

He contrasts this conduct with that of Colonel Anderson, of Fort Gaines, who "from the moment he raised the white flag, scrupulously kept every thing intact, and in that condition delivered it over; whilst General Page and his officers, with a childish spitefulness, destroyed the guns which they said they would defend to the last, but which they never defended at all, or threw away, or broke those weapons which they had not the manliness to use against their enemies; for Fort Morgan never fired a gun after the commencement of the bombardment, and the advanced pickets were repeatedly on the glacis."

There never was a more striking illustration of the ease with which a mean and dishonorable Commander may increase his disgrace, by the attempt to lessen it, than this. These few sarcastic words of Farragut, who knew how to admire a brave and honorable foe, will stick to General Page as long as the history of the country endures.

480

CAPTURE OF THE GEORGIA.

Though the outer defenses of Mobile were now all taken, the city was as far as ever from falling into our hands. The water was too shallow to allow the approach of our vessels to within shelling distance, and though Farragut used every device to reach the place, it soon became evident that it could be taken only by a land force.

In the latter part of this month, the Niagara captured off the coast of Europe, the Japan, or Georgia, a noted rebel privateer, though at the time of her seizure, she was sailing under English colors, and chartered to the Portuguese Gov

ernment.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

AUGUST SEPTEMBER, 1864.

AT

GRANT'S CEASELESS ACTIVITY-BLOWING UP OF AN ORDNANCE BOAT-DUTCH GAP CANAL-WARREN'S FIGHT FOR THE WELDON RAILROAD-BATTLE REAM'S STATION-DEFEAT OF HANCOCK'S CORPS-MEADE'S DISPATCHESSHERIDAN'S OPERATIONS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY-PURSUIT OF EARLY— CAPTURE OF OUR TRAINS BY MOSBY-RETREAT OF SHERIDAN-HIS POSITION AT BOLIVAR HEIGHTS-A SECOND ADVANCE-TAKES POSITION AT BERRYSVILLE-UNSATISFACTORY CAMPAIGN-DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE COUNTRYGRANT'S EXPLANATION OF THE WHOLE MATTER THE PERMISSION TO "GO IN " -SHERIDAN MOVES IN EARNEST-BATTLES OF OPEQUAN CREEK AND FISHER'S HILL-TOTAL ROUT OF THE ENEMY-EARLY TAKES A NEW POSITION AT BROWN'S GAP-SHERIDAN FALLS BACK.

THE

HE month of August, which gave such laurels to the navy under Farragut, at Mobile, and saw Sherman's gallant army virtually in possession of Atlanta, witnessed no triumphs of the Army of the Potomac. It brought instead what seemed to be the heritage of this sadly tried, but noble army-terrible fighting, heavy losses, but no success. Grant, though apparently at a dead-lock with the enemy in front of Petersburg, did not sit down in idleness. He kept the heavens, around Lee, constantly muttering thunder-notes of alarm, and almost every day the bolt threatened to fall in one direction or another. Indefatigable, untiring, and exhaustless in resources, no sooner did one thing or measure fail, than he tried another. He was the most unsleeping, merciless antagonist that an enemy ever had to deal with, and Lee soon discovered that he never could calculate on a moment's repose. At the very time when he thought his enemy exhausted, and would naturally seek rest, the greatest energy would be put forth.

482

DUTCH GAP CANAL.

The rebels, taught wisdom by the mine that destroyed one of their forts, began to countermine, and on the 5th, sprung a mine in front of the Eighteenth Corps, where they supposed we were running one of our own, but it produced no effect. One of our own ordnance boats, however, blew up five days after, at City Point, killing and wounding two hundred men.

Butler now commenced the famous Dutch Gap canal, which, like the one he dug around Vicksburg, was expected to work wonders. The James River, just below Fort Darling, makes an immense bend, inclosing a peninsula, called Farrar Island, the neck of which, where it joins the mainland, is only a half a mile across, while it is six miles around it by the stream. It was prosecuted under the constant fire of the enemy, but, like the Vicksburg canal, was useless labor.

At this time, Grant says, "reports from various sources led me to believe that the enemy had detached three divis ions from Petersburg to reinforce Early in the Shenandoah Valley. I therefore sent the Second Corps, and Gregg's division of cavalry, of the Army of the Potomac, and a force of General Butler's army, on the night of the 13th of August, to threaten Richmond from the north side of the James, to prevent him from sending troops away, and, if possible, to draw back those sent. In this move we captured six pieces of artillery and several hundred prisoners, detained troops that were under marching orders, and ascertained that but one disvision, (Kershaw's,) of the three reputed detached, had gone.

"The enemy having withdrawn heavily from Petersburg to resist this movement, the Fifth Corps, General Warren commanding, was moved out on the 18th, and took posses sion of the Weldon railroad."

Here he was attacked furiously, the next day, by Hill,