Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 34.djvu/100

 92 Southern Historical Society Papers.

up her shield, ran to my post of observation. Then Lieutenant Wilson again gave the order to "fire" in his most stentorious tones. When the shot struck pretty much where it had been aimed, and glanced off, and the last I saw of it, it was vanish- ing in the distance, towards Chafrm's Bluff, but it left a visible scar on the boat.

Gun No. i had also been "fired," presumably with good re- sults as its gunner was considered an expert, and was a brave man.

Captain Jordan's ten-inch gun had been fired, shortly making a most deafening report, and the gun was disabled with the violence of its recoil, which came very near to dismounting it, as the carriage ran back with such force as to knock off the "rear-hurters" on the turn-table, thus preventing its being run "in battery." And it only resumed its fire near the end of the engagement.

The naval gun, just west of the battery, was also disabled by having its casemate of heavy logs cave in on it. Thus leav- ing Captain Drewry's Company with the two eight-inch guns (64 pounders) to continue the fight alone, and both guns contin- ued to fire as fast as possible to the end of the battle.

As soon as we opened fire every gunboat simultaneously commenced pouring their huge shells into us. All the boats using one hundred-pound (parrott) rifle shells, except the Moni- tor, which used her two eleven-inch (n) smooth-bore (Dahl- gren) gunshells, which weighed about one hundred and sixty (160) pounds. And I have thought that when the first broad- side of four shells from the Galena passed just over the crest of our parapets and exploded in our rear, scattering their frag- ments in every direction, together with the sounds of the shells from the others, which flew wide of the mark, mingled with the roar of our guns, was the most startling, terrifying and diabolical sound which I had ever heard or ever expected to hear again.

With "blanched," but earnest faces, we continued to pelt the flagship, Galena, trying to penetrate her armor, which we finally did at the water-line, when the shot could be seen com- ing out of and tearing up her deck, after glancing up, having been deflected by something inside of her hull.