FORT MACON. The evacuation had evidently been a settled purpose, most of the heavy guns having been previously removed. Fort McRae was entirely consumed in the interior; Fort Barancas was less injured, the enemy having been driven away from their work of destruction by the fire from Pickens. The Naval Hospital, said to be the finest structure of the kind in the United States, was entirely consumed. The storehouses and workshops at the Navy Yard had suffered the same fate. The Custom House and a few other small buildings were left uninjured, but in general the ruin was complete. It was 397 the boast of a writer from Pensacola, to the Mobile Register, the day after the conflagration, that General Jones had most admirably performed his task of destruction, and that he had left to the Federals but an inhospitable sand-beach. The land, however, and the harbor with its refuge for the Gulf squadron, remained; the Government was freed from the necessity of keeping up a large force with perpetual vigilance, as in previous months at Pickens, and it was much that the United States flag once more waved in its old seat of authority in this important station in Florida. CHAPTER LXIV. THE REDUCTION OF FORT MACON, N. C., APRIL 25, 1862. FOLLOWING close upon the capture of Fort Pulaski and the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, came the reduction of Fort Macon, in North Carolina. The position of this work rendered its possession of no slight importance, were it only to secure the valuable seaport and harbor at Beaufort. Great as were the advantages of the previous conquests of the army and navy at Hatteras, Roanoke island and Newbern, there was still wanting for the fleet a naval station in North Carolina of ready access from the ocean. ocean. The capture of Newbern effectually cut off Beaufort from direct communication by land with the interior. General Burnside was in possession of the railway which led to the city, and the enemy had no sufficient force on the spot to resist its capture. Indeed, so obviously appeared the place at his disposal, that within ten days after his occupation of Newbern, it was currently reported that Beaufort was evacuated in advance of the arrival of his troops, Fort Macon, blown up by the rebel garrison, and the troublesome Confederate steamer Nashville, which, since its successful passage from Southampton, had been blockaded in the harbor, burnt to escape capture. The news was premature in some of its particulars, and far from prophetic in others; but the main result was speedily attained. So far from being burnt, the Nashville, improving her opportunity while there were but two sailing vessels blockading the harbor, ran by them uninjured on the night of the 17th of March, and escaped to Georgetown, S. C. Fort Macon, named after the Honorable Nathaniel Macon, was a regularly constructed work, hexagonal in form, mounting two tiers of guns―one in casemated bomb-proof, the other en barbette. Its full armament consisted of about sixty guns. When it was taken possession of by the troops of the State of North Carolina, about the middle of April, 1861, it was ungarrisoned, mounted but four 24-pounders, on weak carriages, and was generally out of repair. It is situated on the eastern extremity of Bogue island, in full command of the channel to Beaufort, distant a mile and three quarters across the bay in a northeasterly direction. Bogue sound separates the island on which the fort is built from the mainland. The preliminary steps for the capture of Fort Macon were taken by General Burnside immediately after the battle of Newbern. That event occurred on the 14th of March; on the 19th General Parke was ordered, with his brigade, to advance towards Beaufort. The railway being broken up by the rebels, the troops were transported by water to Slocum's creek, their former landing place, and marched thence across the country over swampy roads and long stretches of sand, to Carolina city, on Bogue sound, a few miles west of Morehead city, at the termination of the railway opposite Fort Macon. Both these places, with Beaufort on the opposite side of the Newport river, which here enters the bay, were Occupied by the Rhode island troops without opposition. The only rebel force in arms in the neighborhood was the garrison at Fort Macon, commanded by Colonel Moses J. White, a nephew, it was said, of Jefferson Davis. After destroying the railway bridge of Newport and opposing, as far as possible, the advance of the Union army, he awaited, with some five hundred men in the fort, the operations for its reduction. General Parke, from his headquarters at Carolina city, having, on his arrival, offered the garrison liberal terms of surrender, which were refused, lost no time in directing the movement. The siege material, transported with difficulty from Newbern along the route taken by the troops, was brought to Bogue sound, and thence ferried across the shallow water to a point some four or five miles west of Fort Macon, on the island or spit of sand on the eastern termination of which that work was situated. A wide marsh lay between the landing-place and the station for the batteries, which were to be placed in full command of the fort in its rear. PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 399 These various preparations for the bombardment were completed on the 23d of April, when General Burnside arrived from Newbern on board the steamer Alice Price, through the inner waters of Cove sound, bringing with him two barges fitted up as floating batteries-the Shrapnel, in command of Captain Nichols of the navy, and the Grenada, Lieutenant Baxter. Each was armed with two 30-pound Parrott guns; and the former had, in addition, a 12-pound Wiard steel rifled cannon. They were protected by bales of cotton and hay as breastworks. These vessels, with the gunboat Ellis, armed with a 100-pounder, under the command of Captain Franklin, were intended to operate against the fort from the inner waters of the bay, in the direction of Beaufort. In addition there was the blockading fleet off the harbor, under command of Commander Samuel Lockwood, which we shall find taking part in the action. more especial object of the battery was to dismount the guns on the fort. For this object the flat, impinging surface of the shot was peculiarly adapted, as it was less liable to glance, a fault common with sharp-pointed shot. The next and last battery was that of four 8-inch mortars. It was located one hundred yards further on, or twelve hundred yards from the fort, under a sand hill near the beach. It was in charge of Lieutenant Prouty, and manned by a detachment of battery I, 3d New York artillery. In addition to the above, rifle pits had been dug in various parts of the 'spit,' on the flanks and in front of the battery, in which our pickets were posted to repel any sortie which the enemy might make. The batteries, again, were connected with each other by trenches sunk in the sand and skirting the hills. Communication was thus kept open between the various positions by this means, while they also served as a protection to the pickets and reliefs sent from one point to another Immediately after his arrival General during the progress of the bombardment. Burnside sent the Ellis toward the fort The siege train employed for the reduc- bearing a flag of truce. Captain Briggs, tion of the fort, it will be seen, embraced an old classmate of West Point of Coloonly eleven pieces-four 10-inch mor- nel White, proceeded from the steamer tars, four 8-inch mortars, and three siege when it came to anchor in the channel, guns. In view of the work accomplished, in a small boat, and was met midway by the facts themselves will tell how admir- a sailboat from the fort, with a similar ably and effectively the batteries were flag of truce. On board the latter was managed. It entered into the plan orig- Captain Stephen D. Pool, of the Beauinally to have batteries at the westerly fort Grays, accompanied by other officers side of Beaufort, and on Shackleford of the garrison. Captain Briggs submitbanks, on the opposite shore of the inlet, ted to them the demand of General so that the fort would be surrounded in a Burnside for the surrender of the fort. semicircle. With their fire and that of The message was communicated to Colothe gunboats and blockading fleet, the nel White, who, after some hours' delay, fort would have been a target for shot returned an answer declining to surrenand shell from all points of the compass. der. An arrangement was at the same But they were not erected, as the invest-time made that the two commanders ment was deemed sufficiently complete should meet the following day. for the opening of the bombardment. Had the fort made a protracted resistance their construction would have been occasioned as a means to its speedier reduction."* Accordingly, early on the morning of the 24th, General Burnside, accompanied by Captain Briggs, was landed on the beach before the fort, and held a courteous interview with Colonel White, when * Beaufort Correspondence N. Y. Herald, April 27, 1862. permission was asked and readily ob tained for the garrison to send open. letters to their friends at Beaufort. No concessions were made to arrest the impending bombardment. General Burnside returned to his quarters, and order was given by telegraph to General Parke on the island to open fire at once. One of the batteries not being quite ready, the action was postponed till the morrow. withdrew after being engaged about an hour and a quarter, hoping that the wind and sea would subside so as to enable us to renew our firing in the afternoon; and the more readily adopted that course, as we did not contemplate to be continuously engaged, but occasionally open fire on the enemy, whom we expected would hold out for several days. The wind and sea increasing rendered the reAbout six o'clock in the clear morn- newal of the engagement impracticable ing of that day, Friday, the 24th-it was that afternoon by the gunboats. We exnoticed that Friday was General Burn-pended nearly one-half of our fifteenside's lucky day, the victories of Roanoke | second fused shells, and, I am happy to and Newbern having been fought on that say, with good effect; and our time of day-the fire from the batteries was attack was most opportune, as we drew opened by Captain Morris's Parrott guns, the fire of the enemy from an important followed by a discharge from Lieutenant land battery, which enabled our forces Flagler's and Prouty's mortars. The fort to repair damages caused by the concendid not respond immediately, but after trated fire thereon. The fire of the enesome little delay, the guns bearing on the my on the vessels from guns of greater Federal batteries were brought into ac- range was excellent. Their shot and tion, and at eight o'clock, both parties shell fell around us in every direction. improving in the range, the firing was in Many good line shots passed just over general well directed; the works of the and beyond us as we successively passed fort, affording the better target, evident- their line of fire, and we were exceedingly suffering most in the operation. ly fortunate in receiving so little damage. The Daylight was struck by an 8-inch solid shot on the starboard quarter, below the spar deck, passing through several bulkheads and the deck below, to the opposite side of the vessel in the engine-room, about six inches above the machinery, among which it dropped. A splinter fractured the small bone of the right fore-arm of Acting Third Assistant Engineer Eugene J. Wade, and I am happy to state that this was the only casualty that occurred." Commander Lockwood, in the mean time, was getting the blockading vessels under way to take part in the action. "When within range," says he, in his report, "and as near as the shoals allowed us to approach, the Daylight opened fire, followed in succession by the State of Georgia, Commander James F. Armstrong, the gunboat Chippewa, Lieutenant Commanding A. Bryson, and the bark Gemsbok, Acting Lieutenant Edward Cavendish. The three steamers kept under way, steaming around in a circle, delivering their fire as they came within range, at a mile and a quarter distant from the fort. The bark was anchored. After firing a number of rounds of shot and shell, finding that the sea, from a southwest wind which was blowing on shore, caused the vessels to roll so quick and deep as to render our guns almost unmanageable to our range and the accuracy of our aim, I reluctantly After the gunboats had retired, the two armed barges were brought within three miles of the fort, and threw about thirty shots from the Parrott guns. By the afternoon the guns of the Federal batteries-the range being now fully secured-told upon the fort with destructive effect, and shortly after four o'clock, a white flag on the west front announced that the surrender was at hand. It was an odd medley of the association of war |