1864.]

FIGHT WITH THE GUNBOATS.

"Torpedoes!" was shouted back in answer.

411

"Damn the torpedoes!" cried Farragut; and then, leaning down through the shrouds, he shouted to the officer at the bellpull on the quarter-deck:

"Four bells!* eight bells! SIXTEEN BELLS! Give her all the steam you've got!"

The Hartford and Metacomet, which was still lashed to her, then steamed rapidly ahead past the Brooklyn and the monitors, and took the lead. The Confederate gunboats turned their fire on the flag-ship, and the ram Tennessee steamed toward her as if to run her down. The channel was narrow, and there was danger that the Hartford might be sunk without being able to get out of the way, for her shot glanced from the ironclad's side without doing any apparent damage. But the Tennessee soon steered around and went back to attack some of the other vessels. As soon as deep water was reached, the Admiral ordered Captain Jouett of the Metacomet, the fastest of the ships, to chase the Confederate gunboats. The cables which fastened the two ships were quickly cut with axes, and the Metacomet steamed ahead amid hearty cheers from the crews.

The gunboats steamed up the bay, but the Metacomet was too fast for them. The Gaines was soon crippled, and was run ashore by her crew and burned, and the Selma was captured and brought back in tow. The Morgan ran away for safety under the guns of Fort Morgan. The Tennessee did not succeed in doing much injury to any of the ships, and followed the Morgan, and soon the rest of the fleet had passed the forts and come to anchor beside the Hartford in the quiet waters of Mobile Bay.

As the men had only eaten some sandwiches and coffee before going into battle, Admiral Farragut having announced his intention of breakfasting within the bay, preparations were now made for getting the morning meal, when a shout arose, "The ram is coming!" All hands were called to quarters. again, and preparations made for another fight. The Tennes

*The engines on a war steamer are directed by means of a bell, the wires of which run from the engine-room to the quarter-deck, so that it can easily be rung by the officer in charge. "go ahead;" two strokes, "stop;" three strokes, "go ahead as fast as possible."

One stroke of the bell means strokes, "back;" and four

see came steaming up the bay, heading directly toward the Hartford. The walls of both the forts, which were out of reach of shot, swarmed with men, anxiously watching the movements of the vessels. There was every reason to believe that the ram would be able to sink the wooden ships, and perhaps show herself to be a match even for the monitors. She was built much like the Merrimac, but was stronger, her sides being eight feet thick, and plated in her most exposed parts with iron six inches thick. She was armed with six large rifled guns of the best English make, and her bow was fitted with a ram to crush in the sides of an enemy's vessel.

The signal "Attack the enemy" was hoisted on the Hartford, and the ships hastened to meet the coming monster. The Monongahela, which had an iron prow, was also signalled to "run down the ram." She steamed ahead at full speed, and struck the Tennessee a fair blow on her side, which, while it did not hurt the ram, broke the Monongahela's prow, and injured her otherwise. After striking her, she swung round and fired into the Tennessee her heavy guns at only a few feet distance from her, but the shot glanced off and fell harmlessly into the water. The Lackawanna then rammed her at full speed, crushing her own bow, but doing little harm to the enemy. As she swung round, the men on board the ram could be seen through the open ports. They called the Union men some hard names, and some of the latter threw a spittoon and a holystone* at them, and drove them away. The Hartford struck the ram next, but the Tennessee turned as she came at her, so that the blow was a glancing one. As the two vessels came side by side the Hartford fired her whole broadside of ten heavy guns at the ram, but the balls only dented her iron plates. At the same time a shell from the Tennessee passed through the Hartford, killing five men and wounding eight. When the vessels struck, Admiral Farragut stood upon the port or left-hand rail of the Hartford, holding on by the rigging, and he could easily have jumped on to the deck of the ram as she passed.

The monitors then began to fire, and all the vessels of the fleet took part in the fight. The Hartford went at the Ten

* A stone used by sailors in scrubbing the deck of a vessel.

1864.J

THE TENNESSEE SURRENDERS.

413

nessee again at full speed, but before she reached her the Lackawanna ran into the Hartford, cutting through her starboard or right side nearly to the water's edge. Everybody thought the end of the Hartford had come, and there was a shout of "Save the Admiral!" Some boats were lowered, but the Admiral rushed to the starboard side, and springing into the rigging leaned over to see what damage had been done. Seeing that the hole was a little above the water,

he hastily ordered the ship to steam for the ram again. The Tennessee was then in a sad plight. The monitor Chickasaw had broken her rudder-chains so that she could not be steered, the monitor Manhattan had smashed her iron armor and nearly forced a hole through her solid wooden sides, her smoke-stack had been shot away, and her commander had been badly wounded by a piece of a shell which burst in one of her port-holes. Several of the ships were coming at her at full speed to sink her, if possible. Although the blows from the ships did not appear to damage her much, the concussion from them was so great that her

crew could not keep their LIGHTHOUSE AT FORT MORGAN AFTER THE BOмfeet.

Just as the Ossipee

BARDMENT.

was about to strike her, a staff with a white flag was poked up through the iron grating on her deck. The great ram had surrendered. The Ossipee slowed her engines, the firing ceased, and cheers of victory went up from the fleet-such cheers as only sailors can give.

The officer sent on board of the Tennessee to receive her

surrender was Captain Heywood, of the Marine Corps, who was one of those saved from the frigate Cumberland when it was sunk by Admiral Buchanan in the Merrimac. Buchanan lost a leg in the fight with the fleet, but only six of his crew were among the dead and wounded. Farragut lost more men in the fight with the ram than in passing the fort. His total loss, including those drowned in the Tecumseh, was one hundred and sixty-five killed, and about as many wounded.

But the battle was not yet won, for the forts had been only passed, not taken. But the garrison of Fort Powell, discouraged at the result of the Tennessee's attack, left their works and blew them up during the following night. The next day Fort Gaines was shelled by the Chickasaw, and forced to surrender with eight hundred prisoners. The troops that had been besieging it were then taken across to Mobile Point, where works were built behind Fort Morgan. Guns were mounted, and the fort bombarded from land and sea, and forced to surrender (August 23). The fort itself was not very badly injured, but the light-house, which stood in range of the guns from the ships, was nearly demolished, as shown in the picture. By this victory the port of Mobile was closed against blockade-runners. The city itself did not fall until the next spring (April, 1865).

4. Robbie. dec. 201⁄2 1871.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE SOUTH AND WEST.

SHERMAN'S MERIDIAN EXPEDITION.--JEFF DAVIS'S NECKTIES.-SHERMAN'S DANGER.-DE DA OB JUBILEE.-SMITH DEFEATED BY FORREST.-PADUCAH ATTACKED.-MASSACRE AT FOR' PILLOW.-FORREST DEFEATS STURGIS.-A RIDE INTO MEMPHIS.-SHERMAN AND BANKS.THE ANVIL CHORUS.-THE RED RIVER EXPEDITION.-FORT DE RUSSEY.-KIRBY SMITH AND DICK TAYLOR.-NATCHITOCHES.-BATTLE OF MANSFIELD.-A SKEDADDLE.-BATTLE OF PLEASANT HILL.-LOSS OF THE EASTPORT.-THE DAM AT ALEXANDRIA.--SAVING THE FLEET. -COTTON STEALING.-CANBY SUCCEEDS BANKS.-STEELE'S DEFEAT IN ARKANSAS.-THE LAST INVASION OF MISSOURI.-PLEASONTON AND CURTIS.-PRICE'S FLIGHT.-JOHN MORGAN IN KENTUCKY AGAIN.-BURBRIDGE DEFEATS HIM.-MORGAN'S DEATH.

WE in winter quartere

E left General Sherman with his army in winter quarters near Chattanooga, after his return from Knoxville (page 386). Near the end of January he was ordered to Vicksburg, to take command of an expedition about to start from there to destroy the railroads at Meridian, in Mississippi. Meridian

was a small place, but it was the point of meeting of two important railroads, the Mobile and Ohio, running northward from Mobile, and the Southern Mississippi, running eastward from Vicksburg. After the Confederates lost command of the Mississippi River they had to depend largely on these railroads for the movement of troops and supplies.

Sherman set out from Vicksburg (Feb. 3) with about twenty-three thousand men. But little baggage and no tents were carried, and the force pushed on rapidly, skirmishing with bodies of Confederate troops at different places. After passing Jackson everything which might aid the enemy was utterly destroyed. Mills, railway stations, and machine-shops were burned and the railroads torn up with crowbars and clawbars, and so injured that they could not be used again without great labor. The railway ties were piled in heaps and set on fire, and the rails then laid across them. When heated red-hot the iron was twisted so as to be useless. A bent rail can be straightened again, but a twisted rail cannot. Sometimes the men twined the rails around trees, as shown in the picture. These were called by them Jeff Davis's neckties.

Confederate cavalry hovered around the army during nearly the whole march, and once they came very near capturing Gen