The First Day's two 32-pounders, loaded with grape and can- | attempted. Fort Hatteras nister. The battery had a well protected replied with great vigor, bomb proof and magazine. There was found, but with little avail. Its as its armament, ten guns mounted, four un- gunners evidently were not skilled men in mounted and one large columbiad, ready for target practice. The shot and shell of the mounting. The secresy and rapidity of pre- fleet made great breaches in the battery, and paration by the Federals caught the rebels cut huge holes in the entire section within somewhat unprepared for the attack-other- the enclosure. The failure to effect a landing wise a more obstinate resistance must have of the assaulting force compelled the fleet to followed the attempt for its capture. keep up its fire until darkness closed around. Then the premonitions of a coming storm added anxiety to the impatience of the Federal commanders; while the hope of enlisting the resistless winds and the hidden shoals in their defense sent a thrill of joy through the hearts of the Confederates. Fort Clark. Fort Clark lay about seven hundred yards away to the North. It was a small square structure, mounting five guns, 32-pounders, with two 6-pounders for land protection. In and around these structures the enemy had gathered a force of over seven hundred men, under the chief command of Commodore S. Barron, late of the United States navy. The Seventh North Carolina volunteers, in camp and fort, were commanded by Colonel Wm. F. Martin. The First Day's Of the day's operations General Butler, in his official report, said: "I was on board the Harriet Lane, directing the disembarkation of the troops by means of signals, and was about landing with them at the time the boats were stove. We were induced to desist from further attempts at landing troops by the rising of the wind, and because in the meantime the fleet had opened fire upon the nearest fort, which was finally silenced and its flag struck. No firing had been opened upon our troops from the other fort, and its flag was also struck. Supposing this to be a sigual of surrender, Colonel Weber advanced his troops already landed upon the beach. The Harriet Lane, Captain Faunce, by my direc tion, tried to cross the bar to get in the smooth water of the inlet, when fire was opened upon the Monticello, which had preceded in advance of us, from the other fort. Several shots struck her, but So well convinced were the officers of both navy and without causing any casualties, as I am informed. army that the forts had surrendered at that time, The bombardment opened Wednesday morning, at ten o'clock, preparatory to the landing of the land forces on the beach above Fort Hatteras. The Susquehanna, having arrived, led off in the grand tragedy her tremendous shells cutting the air into hissing arcs, to bury themselves in the sand of the beach for a moment, then to burst and darken the very heavens with their wild havoc. The Wabash followed with a solid shot, which flew shrieking close over the fort. In a short time most of the vessels were pouring their fearful hail into and around the battery, while the Harriet Lane hauled close into shore to cover the landing of troops from the transports at a point about four miles above the small battery. A heavy surf rolled in upon the treacherous sands. After infinite labor, and the beaching of three small boats, the landing was suspended for the day. Those already on shore-three hundred and fifteen in number-were safe under the guns of the fleet. With two picees of artilley a portion of them bivouacked on the beach allening appearance of the weather, that all the ships night of the 28th. A section of the Coast Guard found its way early the next day into Fort Clark-discovered to have been abandoned. The bombardment continued during the entire first day. No land assault was that the Susquehanna had towed the Cumberland to an offing. The fire was then reopened, as there was no signal from either, upon both forts. In the meantime a few men of the Coast Guard had advanced up the beach, with Mr. Wiegel, who was acting as volunteer aid, and whose gallantry and services I wish to commend, and took possession of the smaller fort, which was found to have been abandoned by the enemy, and raised the American flag thereon. "It had become necessary, owing to the threat should make an offing, which was done with reluct ance, from necessity, thus leaving the troops upon shore, a part in possession of the small fort, about seven hundred yards from the large one, and the rest bivouacked upon the beach near the place of landing, about two miles north of the forts." The Second Day's CAPTURE OF FORTS AT HATTERAS INLET. 355 The Surrender of the with him Commodore Bar- On the morning of the 29th, the cannonade opened early. A cloudless sky and a clear sea blessed the cause of the assailants. During the night a transport heavily ladened with troops reenforced the fort, running down the Sound which was yet open. Fort Clark was occupied by the Federal forces, and refused its aid to assist its late confederate. The conflict soon raged with extreme vigor on both sides. At eleven o'clock the Confederate flag fluttered uneasily a moment-then ran down the hal-harbor. Butler stated his captures and measyards and a white flag was slowly ran to the peak. Butler put ashore in the tug Fanny to learn the Confederates' wish. He said: "I then went with the Fanny over the bar into the inlet. At the same time the troops under Colonel Wilder marched up the beach, and signal was made from the flagship to cease firing. "Benjamin F. Butler, Major General United States Army commanding, in reply to the communication of Samuel Barron, commanding forces at Fort Hatteras, cannot admit the terms proposed. The terms offered are these: "Full capitulation. "The officers and men to be treated as prisoners of war. "No other terms admissable. ures, in the following congratulatory strain, in his report to General Wool: "I may congratulate you and the country upon a glorious victory in your department, in which we captured more than seven hundred prisoners, twenty five pieces of artillery, a thousand stand of arms, a large quantity of ordnance stores, provisions, three valuable prizes, two lightboats and four stands of colors, one of which had been presented within a week by the ladies of Newbern, N. C., to the North Carolina defenders. "By the goodness of that Providence which watches over our nation, no one, either of the fleet or army, was in the least degree injured. The enemy's loss was not officially reported to us, but was ascertained to be twelve or fifteen killed and died of wounds, and thirty-five wounded." The first design, it would appear, was to destroy the forts, stop up the channel with old hulks and to return, temporarily at least, to Fortress Monroe with the entire force; but, the place proved to be so strong that Butler left Weber and Hawkins' commands in possession. The Pawnee and Monticello drew inside, over the bar, to provide against any attempt by the Confederates to recapture their lost prize. No immediate effort, however, was made by the rebels to regain the place. The loss of the six hundred men, and the fear of further advances up and down the Sounds, threw the Confederates, for some time, on the defensive. For a number of days succeeding the capture, Prizes. vessels running the blockade continued to reach the Inlet with their valuable cargoes. “Commanding officers to meet on board flugship Minne In all cases they fell a prey to the gunboats sola to arrange details. August 29th, 1861.'" It was three quarters of an hour before Lieutenant Crosby returned. He brought snugly moored inside. The losses of English merchants, and of their "Southern friends" whose headquarters were at Nassau and Hali fax, were serious. A fine ship, loaded with | the Sumter again skimmed the water to the cotton, was found in the Inlet and seized on the 29th. Seven vessels slipped into Federal hands in the course of the two weeks following. The blockade continued to be enforced as well as the extensive and intricate coast line would permit; but August and September saw a great number of rebel merchantmen abroad, while the occasional capture of vessels floating the stars and stripes proved that Jefferson Davis' Letters of Marque were rendered available to legalize piracy and murder on the high seas. The Privateer Sumter. On the 1st of July, 1861, the privateer Sumter, Captain Semmes, cleared the blockading squadron, off the Mississippi river passes, to enter upon a career of unexampled boldness and success. She made captures in the waters of the West Indies to the number of twelve or fifteen, in three weeks time; then stood in for the English port of Nassau, New Providence, where she was kindly permitted to take in coals and all necessary supplies, at the same time disgorging her hold of its heavy treasures. She then put to sea to become quite a terror to commerce. Several fast steamers were dispatched in her pursuit —one of which found her at Nassau, but was refused the rights of harbor tarry; and the pirate, after leisurely coaling and refitting, passed out to sea one dark night-an English steamer, similar in appearance, putting out before her to draw away the vigilant Federal cruiser.* The ruse succeeded, and * The English authorities openly served "the cause" on another more remarkable occasion, when the rebel steamer Nashville was permitted to leave Southampton, and the Federal gunboat Tuscarora was detained for the space of twenty-four hours to give the rebel craft an opportunity for escape. An English frigate lay alongside the Tuscarora, with fires up and guns shotted, to prevent the gunboat from pursuit. This act was by decision of the Ministry. It was only one of many instances where neutraluty was practiced to aid the rebel cause. Without having formally recognized the Southern States as a power, the English Government conceded them all the rights of a belligerent. The Nashville having put into Southampton November 21st, 1861, after having burnt the clipper ship Harvey Birch, within great destruction of shipping and goods. After much endeavor to force her into close quarters, the U. S. gunboat Tuscarora succeeded in catching the privateer in the English harbor of Gibraltar, where she had put in for supplies and to communicate with her friends. The Federal gunboat anchored in the harbor of Algesiras, opposite, where she lay for many weeks, holding the pirate craft a close prisoner. The Tuscarora, was after several weeks, relieved of her guard duty by the Kearsage' and betook herself to English harbors to watch the course of the Nashville Blockade of the Po tomac. The Confederates hastened, after their success at Bull Run, to the lines of the Potomac below Washington, erecting powerful batteries at Acquia Creek, Pig Point, and at other positions commanding the approach to the Capital by the river. The navigation of the river, in consequence, soon became dangerous, though the Union gunboats, by their constant vigilance, kept the Confederates, up to the middle of October, from closing the stream to transportation. The vast army around the Capital required supplies which the river was requisite to furnish with economy and dispatch. Its blockade, therefore, became a serious matter to the Commissariat; yet, week after week witnessed the growth of batteries and the gradual sealing of the stream and no special effort was made to check their progress. By October 20th the blockade was quite complete, and so re mained until after the evacuation of Manassight of the English coast, (November 19th,) was allowed to sail February 3d, 1862; the rebel Commissioners, Mason and Slidell, arrived in London January 30th. Their friends pointed to their release by English threats, and to the Federal gunboat ly ing under British guns, as evidence of the spirit of the Ministry. Blockade of the Po tomac. THE ATTACK ON WILSON'S ZOUAVES. sas (February 8th. 1862)— a period of over three months-during which time the navigation of the Potomac was almost entirely suspended. Only an occasional adventurer, favored by wind and tide and covered by darkness, passed up or down. Even the powerful gunboats were driven from their old haunts—so completely were the Confederates entrenched. As the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railway was in Confederate hands, at Harper's Ferry the isolation of Washington became a painful reality-the remaining avenues of approach being by the single railway from Baltimore and by the outof-the-way Annapolis track-both located in a State secure from insurrection by the constant presence of heavy Federal columus at commanding points. Who was responsible for the blockade? Not the Navy Department, since its gunboats and tugs struggled against the batteries, unaided, until powerless before the multitude of guns. The hope of the War Department was to open the Potomac by forcing the rebels back from Manassas; but, the long delay in obtaining Manassas proved disastrous to that hope, and to the General-in-Chief of the Army wholly belongs the credit or discredit of that long continued and mortifying blockade. Operations of the Blockading Squadron. During all the hot season, when it was supposed operations on the Gulf coast were impossible to unacclimated men, the blockade was not intermitted. Off New Orleans, Galveston, Mobile, Pensacola, Apalachicola, as well as up the Atlantic coast to Beaufort, North Carolina, the squadrons hovered, everywhere striving to do their arduous duty. If many fleet steamers, with valuable cargoes of supplies to the Confederate army and people, passed in and out-if an occasional privateer eluded the vigilance of the Federal look-outs-it was owing to the intricate nature of a coast line numbering hundreds of harbors-many of them having several entrances. A fleet, numerous enough to have guarded every inlet, pass, bayou, gulf, and river mouth, would have counted its keels by hundreds. The many captures made all along the coast, attested the alertness of those on the wearisome duty. Affairs at Pensacola. 357 Pensacola harbor, for many months after the fall of Sumter, became a point of unabated interest. Fort Pickens, under command of Colonel Harvey Brown, assumed a position of efficiency which defied the power of General Bragg and his batteries. Lining the low sand beach for several miles with powerful guns, the rebel General made Pickens the centre of a circle into which to pour his hail of iron; but, the storm, though threatened and expected, never occurredwhy, is among the unwritten mysteries of Bragg's Pensacola campaign. The Attack on Wilson's Zouaves. The dreary monotony of that sleepy region was disturbed on the night of October 9th, (1861,) when the Confederates, about fifteen hundred strong, crossed to Santa Rosa island for the purpose of destroying the camp of Wilson's Zouaves (the Sixth New York volunteers) lying about two miles away from Fort Pickens. The enterprise was regarded as an offset to the bold affair of Sept. 13th, when Lieutenant Russel, with his boat's crew, destroyed the privateer Judah, under the guns of the Navy Yard. The rebel design was to rout the Zouaves, and, if successful, to make a bold dash for the Fort, from the east or land side, spiking the outlying batteries and following the Zouaves into the fortification. The night chosen was one of inky darkness, during which the Confederates passed over, and, having landed at a point some eight miles away, came down cautiously upon the camp. The transports remained close in upon the beach, in order to be on hand for emergencies. The camp contained but two hundred and fifteen of the Zouaves-the remainder of the regiment being absent at Tortugas and intermediate localities. The attack was made by the enemy in three columns of about five hundred each. The soft sand of the island so deadened the sound of approaching feet that the sentinels were engaged at their posts and the camp assailed at three points before they were aroused. Colonel Wilson and his men instantly turned out, and measures were taken to repel the assault. Detachments were detailed to meet the flanking columns, while another body prepared to meet the centre. The Attack on Wilson's Zouaves. General Anderson led on his men with loud cries of "No quarter to Wilson's men." He penetrated to the Quartermaster's department, in the rear of the Colonel's quarters. The conflict was of the most desperate and stubborn character. It raged from four o'clock in the morning until half-past eight. Colonel Wilson's quarters were totally destroyed, as were those of most of his men. About five o'clock reenforcements of regulars from the Fort came to their assistance, Captain Hildt's and Captain Robertson's companies, and two companies under Major Arnold, in all about one hundred and fifty men. Captain Dobie, with company A, of Colonel Wilson's regiment, also came up at the same time. The total number of the Union troops at this time was about four hundred and fifty men -none of the companies on Santa Rosa Island, either regulars or volunteers, being full. As the day began to break the rebels sadly realized that the chance to carry out their original plan of annihilating Colonel Wilson's regiment was gone, and as the Union forces at this time made several brilliant charges, the enemy sounded a retreat. Then commenced a contest in which both parties showed remarkable valor and tenacity. The regulars fought with a steady will that greatly served to tone down the desperate courage of the Zouaves who were, at all moments, ready for the hand to hand encounter. The line of the retreat was contested, for eight miles, when the Confederates gained the shore and commenced their reembarkation They sought to cover their escape but suffered severely. Charge after charge was made by the Zouaves and regulars-in all instances with success. The steamer and scows used as transports were fairly riddled by the rifle balls of the Federalists. One scow finally swamped under its over load, and the steamer had to receive, under fire, the bulk of the rebel force-or so much of it as had not been killed, wounded, taken prisoners or scattered over the sand wastes. Thirty were secured as prisoners and twentyone were buried by Wilson's men. The entire rebel loss, in killed, wounded, drowned and prisoners, was ascertained to exceed three hundred. The Federal loss was: Zouaves, Attack on the Block This affair served, for the moment, to break the ennui of that lonely island occupation. It greatly inspirited the field forces and the garrison. Their only pastime, for months, had been alligator hunting and snake chases —the islands and adjacent lagunes bearing prolific crops of these loathesome creatures. After the fight, however, matters subsided again, and Bragg's five thousand men did little else than fight the coast fever and mosquitoes during their further stay in that vicinity. The rebel commander, notwithstanding his long line of batteries, enveloping Pickens like a terrible half-moon, never essayed the task of “driving the Federals out like hornets" from their frowning fortress. The blockading squad- Commander Hollins' ron off the Mississippi river mouths was excited by a ading Vessels. rather unique diversion of the redoubtable Commander Hollins, whose bombardment of the adobe huts of San Juan was his latest naval exploit. The Commander planned an expedition of fire rafts, gunboats and a ram, against the blockading vessels then infesting the river above the passes, to the entire exclusion of commerce with the Southern metropolis. He proposed to “raise the blockade" by sinking the squadron. The rebel gunboat Ivy came down the river on the 9th of October (1861) to reconnoitre and challenge the vessels to a long range fight. As she had performed the same service several times, no unusual importance was attached to her visit, although the evidence of a new rifled gun of long range on her decks, was rendered rather unpleasantly evident to the Federal steamer, Richmond, and the ships Preble and Vincennes. The 10th and 11th passed without any further demonstration; but, at three A. M. of the 12th, the Richmond was startled by a shock from an ugly looking monster, which suddenly burst out of the darkness and came steaming down like a messenger of vengeance. She struck the Richmond abreast the port chan nels, raking a coal transport from the steamer's lashings, and making an ugly hole in the ship's side-three planks being stove in two |