112

BATTLE ON SANTA ROSA ISLAND.

one on each side of the island, and about four hundred yards from Fort Pickens. They numbered only one hundred and thirty-three effective men. They were met in their retreat by two companies, under Major Vogdes, sent out of the fort by Colonel Harvey Brown, its commander, to aid them. Two other companies, under Major Arnold, immediately followed, and the combined force returned and charged upon the Confederates. The latter had already plundered and burnt the camp,' and were in a disorganized state. In this condition they were driven in great confusion to their vessels, terribly galled by the weapons of their pursuers. As the vessels moved off with the retreating assailants, several volleys of musketry were poured upon them, and one of the launches, loaded with men, was so riddled by bullets that it sank. In this affair the Nationals lost, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, sixty-four men. Among the latter was Major Vogdes. The Confederates lost about one hundred and fifty, including those who were drowned. Such was the confusion in which they fled to their boats, that, according to the statement of one of their officers, they shot down their own friends in numbers. "Night skirmishing is a dangerous business," he said, "especially in an unknown country, as was the Island of Santa Rosa." So ended THE BATTLE OF SANTA ROSA ISLAND.

Fort Pickens had been silent during the entire summer and autumn of 1861, until late in November, when its thunders were heard for miles along the coast, mingling with those of some vessels of war there, in a combined attack upon the forts and batteries of the Confederates on the main. The garrison at Fort Pickens then numbered about thirteen hundred men, under Colonel Brown. The number of the Confederates, whose works stretched along the shore, from the Navy Yard to Fort McRee, in a curve for about four miles, was about seven thousand, commanded, as in the spring, by General Braxton Bragg. His defenses consisted of Forts McRee and Barrancas, and fourteen separate batteries, mounting from one 'to four guns each, many of which were ten-inch columbiads, and several thirteen-inch sea-coast mortars.

3

Having determined to attack Bragg's works, Colonel Brown invited flagofficer McKean, who was in command of the little blockading squadron there (composed of the Niagara, Richmond, and Montgomery), to join him. McKean prepared to do so, and at a little before ten o'clock, on the morning of the 22d of November, the heavy guns of Fort Pickens opened upon some transports at the Navy Yard. This was the signal for McKean to act. The Niagara was run in as near Fort McRee as the depth of water would allow, accompanied by the Richmond, Captain Ellison. The latter became instantly engaged in a hot contest with the fort and the water

< 1861.

the main after the fight, "They are exhibiting my head and hair in Pensacola-the reward is already claimed; also an old flag which I nailed to a flagstaff on the 4th of July, which has been hanging there ever since: nothing left, however, but the stars. The leaders have cut it up in pieces, and have pinned it on their bosoms as a trophy. Every one in Pensacola has my sword and uniform. I must have a large quantity of hair, and plenty of swords and uniforms. They say if I was to be taken alive, I was to be put in a cage and exhibited."

1 This camp was on the sea-side of the island, a short mile from Fort Pickens. The tents were arranged in parallel lines, forming pleasant avenues, and each was sheltered by a canopy of boughs and shrubs, to protect it from the hot sun. Santa Rosa Island is a long and narrow sand-bank, with an average width of about half a

mile.

2 Report of Colonel Harvey Brown to Adjutant-General E. D. Townsend, October 11th, 1861; also of Colonel Wm. Wilson to General Arthur, October 14th, 1861; Correspondents of the Atlantic Intelligencer and Augusta Constitutionalist. See map of Pensacola Bay and vicinity, on page 368, volume I.

3 See page 371, volume I.

THE BOAST OF HOLLINS.

113

battery, and was soon joined in the fight by the Niagara. The guns of Fort Pickens were also brought to bear upon Fort McRee; and at noon the artillery of the former and of Battery Scott, and also of the two vessels, were playing upon the devoted fortress and the surrounding batteries. The guns of McRee were all speedily silenced but one. Those of Barrancas were soon reduced to feeble efforts; and from those at the Navy Yard, and one or two other batteries, there was no response for some time before the close of the day.

a Nov. 23, 1861.

The bombardment from Fort Pickens was resumed early the next morning, but, owing to the shallowness of the water, the vessels could not get within range of Fort McRee. The fire of Pickens was less rapid, but more effective than the day before. McRee made no response, and the other forts and the batteries answered feebly. At three o'clock in the afternoon, a dense smoke arose from the village of Warrington, on the west of the Navy Yard, and at about the same time buildings in Wolcott, at the north of the yard, were in flames. These villages were fired by the missiles from the fort, and large portions of them, as well as of the Navy Yard, were laid in ashes. The bombardment was kept up until two o'clock the next morning, when it ceased.'

After this bombardment of two days, there was quiet on Pensacola Bay until the first day of the year," when another artillery duel ¿ January 1, occurred, lasting nearly twelve hours, but doing very little dam- 1862. age to either party.

Looking farther westward, along the Gulf of Mexico, we observe little sparks of war threatening a conflagration at several points, at about the time when the events we have just considered were occurring on the shores of Pensacola Bay. One of the most notable of these minor hostilities was exhibited at the mouth of the Mississippi River, on the 12th of October, and was first announced by Captain Hollins, an old officer of the National navy, whose merits were much below his pretensions, as the Confederates, to whom he offered his services when he abandoned his flag, in May, 1861, soon learned to their cost. Hollins startled the public with a telegraphic dispatch to his employers at Richmond, boasting of a successful attack on the National blockading fleet at the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi. He claimed to have driven all the vessels aground on the bar there, sinking one of them and "peppering well" the others.' The official account of this affair showed the following facts:

J. S. Hollins was placed in command of a peculiarly shaped iron-clad vessel called a "ram," and named Manassas. At about four o'clock in the mor ning this ram was seen approaching the little blockading squadron, consisting of the war steamer Richmond, sloops-of-war Vin- 1861. cennes and Preble, and steam-tender Water- Witch, all under the

e October 12,

1 Report of Colonel Brown, November 24th, 1861; also of Commodore McKean to Secretary Welles, November 25th, 1861; report of General Bragg to Samuel Cooper, November 27th, 1861.

2 The following is a copy of the dispatch, dated at Fort Jackson, below New Orleans, October 12th, 1861: "Last night I attacked the blockaders with my little fleet. I succeeded, after a very short struggle, in driving them all aground on the Southwest Pass bar, except the Preble, which I sunk.

"I captured a prize from them, and after they were fast in sand I peppered them well. There were no casualties on our side. It was a complete success.-HOLLINS."

VOL. II.-46

114

CONFLICT AT SOUTHWEST PASS.

command of Captain John Pope.' The Manassas was close to the Richmond before she was discovered, and by the time the watch could give the alarm, her iron prow had struck the vessel "abreast the port fore-channels," tearing

J. 8. HOLLINS.

a coal schooner that was alongside from her fastenings, and staving a hole in the ship's side, about five inches in circumference, two feet below the waterline. The ram then drew off, and, passing aft, made an ineffectual attempt to breach the Richmond's stern. The crew of the assailed vessel had promptly hastened to quarters at the first alarm, and, as the monster passed abreast of the ship in the darkness, had given it a volley from the port battery, but with what effect was not known until some time afterward:

A signal of danger had been given to the other vessels. They at once slipped their cables and got under way, with orders to run down to the Pass, while the Richmond should cover their retreat. This was done at five o'clock. In an attempt to pass the bar, the Richmond and Vincennes grounded, at about eight o'clock, in the morning, where they were bombarded for a while by the Manassas, and some fire-rafts were sent down to burn them. A little later, Commander Robert Handy, of the Vincennes, mistaking the meaning of a signal from Pope, abandoned his ship, placed a slow match at the magazine, and with his officers and crew fled, some to the Richmond and some to the WaterWitch. Happily, the fire of the match expired, and Handy and his men returned to the ship and saved her. The fire-rafts sent down by Hollins were harmless, and at ten o'clock the Confederate "Commodore" withdrew and ran up to Fort Jackson, to send news of his great "victory" to Richmond. The only damages inflicted by Hollins were slight bruises on the coal schooner, sinking a large boat, and staving Captain Pope's gig. When his dispatch and the facts were considered together, they produced great merriment throughout the country at the expense of the weak Confederate "Commodore."

The Manassas would have been a formidable enemy to the blockaders at the mouth of the Mississippi, in the hands of a competent officer. It was so considered by the Government; and the apprehension that others of like character might be speedily fitted out at New Orleans, hastened the preparations already commenced for sending an expedition to the Lower Mississippi, for the purpose of controlling it and its connecting waters, and taking possession of the great commercial city on its banks. This expedition and its results will be hereafter considered.

1 This squadron had been placed there by Flag-officer McKean, commander of the squadron off Pensacola, for the purpose of guarding the several entrances to the Mississippi, and erecting a battery at the head of the passes, which would command the entire navigation of the river.

NAVAL EXPEDITIONS.

115

CHAPTER V.

MILITARY AND NAVAL OPERATIONS ON THE COAST OF SOUTH CABOLINA.-MILITARY OPERATIONS ON THE LINE OF THE POTOMAC RIVER.

AMPTON ROADS presented a spectacle, in October, similar to that, late in August, of the Hatteras expedition; but more imposing. It was a land and naval armament, fitted out for a descent upon the borders of lower South Carolina, among the coast islands between Charleston harbor and the Savannah River.

The want of some harbors under the control of the Government in that region, as stations, and as places of refuge of the blockading vessels during the storms of autumn and winter, had caused the Government to take action on the subject even before the meeting of Congress in July. So early as June, a Board of army and navy officers was convened at Washington City.' The Board, after careful investigations, made elaborate reports, and, in accordance with their recommendations, expeditions were planned. The Secretary of the Navy, with the help of his energetic assistant, Mr. Fox, had so far matured an expedition for the Southern coast, that, early in October, rumors of it began to attract public attention. It became tangible when in Hampton Roads a large squadron was seen gathering, and at Annapolis a considerable land force was collecting, which, it was said, was to form a part of the expedition. Whither it was to go was a mystery to the public, and its destination was so uncertain to the popular mind, that it was placed by conjecture at almost every point of interest between Cape Hatteras and Galveston, in Texas. Even in official circles its destination was generally unknown when it sailed, so well had the secret been kept.

The land forces of the expedition, which assembled at Annapolis, in Maryland, about fifteen thousand in number, were placed in charge of Brigadier-General T. W. Sherman, acting as major-general. The naval portion of the expedition was placed under the command of Captain S. F. Dupont, who had served as chairman of the Board of Inquiry just mentioned. The fleet was composed of fifty war vessels and transports, with twenty-five coal vessels under convoy of the Vandalia. These, with the troops, left

a Oct. 29, 1861.

Hampton Roads and proceeded to sea on a most lovely October morning, having been summoned to the movement at dawn by the booming of a gun on the Wabash, the Commodore's flag-ship. The destination of the expedition was not generally known by the partici

I This Board was composed of Major John G. Barnard, of the Engineer Corps of the army, Professor Alexander Bache, the Coast Survey, and Captains Samuel F. Dupont and Charles H. Davis, of the Navy.

116

AN EXPEDITION IN MOTION.

pants in it until it was well out to sea, when, under peculiar circumstances, as we shall observe, it was announced to be Port Royal entrance and harbor, and the coast islands of South

8. F. DUPONT.

Carolina.

The army under Sherman was divided into three brigades, commanded respectively by BrigadierGenerals Egbert S. Viele, Isaac J. Stevens, and Horatio G. Wright; all of them, including the chief, being graduates of the West Point Military Academy. The transports which bore these troops were about thirtyfive in number, and included some powerful steamships.'

The Wabash led the way out to sea, and its followers, moving in three parallel lines, and occupying a space of about twelve miles each way, made a most imposing appearance. The war-vessels and transports were judiciously intermingled, so that the latter might be safely convoyed. During a greater portion of the day of departure, they moved down the coast toward stormy Cape Hatteras, most of the vessels in sight of the shore of North Carolina, and all hearts cheered with promises of fine weather. That night was glorious. The next day was fair. The second night was calm and beautiful. There was no moon visible; but the stars were brilliant. The dreaded Cape Hatteras was passed in the dimness with such calmness of sea, that on the following morning a passenger on the Atlantic counted no less than thirty-eight of the fifty vessels in sight from her deck. But, on that evening, the aspect of the heavens changed, and the terrible storm, already mentioned, which swept over Hatteras so fearfully at the beginning of November, was soon encountered, and the expedition was really "scattered to the winds." So complete was the dispersion, that, on the morning of the 2d of November, only a single vessel might be seen from the deck of the Wabash. Fortunately, there were sealed orders on board of each vessel. These were opened, and the

1 The Atlantic and Baltic, each carrying a full regiment of men and a vast amount of provisions and stores, were of the larger class. Among the other more notable vessels may be named the Vanderbilt, Ocean Queen, Ericsson, Empire City, Daniel Webster, and Great Republic, the latter having been employed in the British service for the same purpose during a part of the Crimean war. Among the lesser vessels were five or six ferry-boats, calculated, on account of their capacity and light draught, for landing troops in shallow and still waters. The entire tonnage of the transports was estimated at about 40,000 tons.

2 The vessels moved in the following order and connection: The Wabash was flanked by the gunboats Pawnee, Ottawa, Curlew, Isaac P. Smith, Seneca, Pembina, Unadilla, Penguin, and R. B. Forbes. The Baltic, towing the Ocean Express, led the column on the left, and was supported by the Pocahontas. The Illinois towed the Golden Eagle, and was followed by the Locust Point, Star of the South, Parkersburg, Belvidere, Alabama, Coatzacoalcas, Marion, Governor, and Mohican.

The Atlantic led the central line, and was followed by the Vanderbilt, towing the Great Republic; the Ocean Queen, towing the Zenas Coffin; and these were followed by the Winfield Scott, Potomac, Caharcba, Oriental Union, R. B. Forbes, Vixen, and 0. M. Petit.

The Empire City led the right, followed by the Ericsson, Philadelphia, Ben De Ford, Florida, Roanoke, Matanzas, Daniel Webster, Augusta, Mayflower, Peerless, Ariel, Mercury, Osceola, and two ferry-boats The twenty-five coal-barges, convoyed by the Vandalia, had been sent out the day before, with instructions to rendezvous off the Savannah River, so as to mislead as to the real destination of the expedition.