the entire force; and, as if this were not enough, several buildings were fired by our departing soldiers-of the 8th Maine, it was said, though that regiment laid it to the 6th Connecticut-while hundreds of inhabitants, who desired to leave with our forces, were put ashore after they had embarked, and left to meet the vengeance of the Rebels as they might. The beautiful old town was substantially destroyed; though our higher officers did their best to save it—a high wind fanning the flames, which swept all within their reach. The deserted inhabitants-many of them hearty Unionists-were left to famish among their ashes and ruins; though the few families who were brought away to Hilton Head were treated with considerate humanity. Pensacola was likewise abandoned " and burned-burned by the Rebels, it was asserted-but that would neither be reported nor believed within the lines of the Confederates -so that it may be fairly concluded that by this time whatever Unionism there had been in Florida--that is, among the Whites-was pretty thoroughly eradicated by those who were sent thither as upholders of the National cause. Beaufort to Charleston. No inhabitants were left on Edisto but negroes; and the cotton which the departing Whites could not remove they had, for the most part, burned. The fall of Pulaski, soon afterward, gave us extension and security on the other flank; and now Gen. Hunter and Com. Dupont proposed to extend our possession still farther toward the city by the reclamation of Wadmilaw and Johns islands, bringing us within cannon-shot of Charleston. To this end, various and careful reconnoissances were made, and soundings taken; ending with marking by buoys the channel of Stono river, separating Johns from James island; whereupon, our gunboats Unadilla, Pembina, and Ottawa, crossed" the bar at its mouth and proceeded up that river: the Rebel earthworks along its banks being abandoned at their approach. Thus the gunboats made their way slowly, carefully, up to a point within range of the Rebel batteries guarding the junction of Stono with Wappoo creek, barely three miles from Charleston, whose spires and cupolas were plainly visible, over the intervening trees, from the mast-heads of our vessels. But this bold advance of our gunboats, unsupported by infantry, was a blunder. These were too weak to effect any thing but give the enemy warning of what they must be prepared to meet. Nearly two weeks had thus been spent ere Gens. Hunter and Benham, with their soldiers, landed" on James island; and three more days elapsed ere Gen. Wright came up from Edisto with the residue of their forces. Such dis guarding camps, &c. The direct | landers lost 110 out of 450; and our total loss was at least 574, whereof Stevens's two brigades lost 529— nearly all within half an hour. The Rebel loss was 204; Lamar and Lt.-Col. Gaillard being among the wounded. Though it was plain that the ene attack was made by Brig.-Gen. Isaac I. Stevens," with Col. W. M. Fenton's brigade, composed of the 8th Michigan, 17th Conn., and 28th Mass., and Col. Leisure's, comprising the 79th New York (Highlanders), 46th do., and 100th Pa., with 4 detached companies of artillery, &c.-'my's works could not be carried by in all, 3,337 men. Stevens had these storm, a second but feebler assault in position at 31 A. M. at our outer was made on them after the failure picket line, within rifle-range of the of the first, aided by a flank advance enemy, and advanced at 4-the on the enemy's right by a battalion morning being cloudy and dark-so of the 3d R. I. artillery, Maj. E. swiftly and noiselessly that he cap- Metcalf, with the 3d N. H. and 977 tured most of the Rebel pickets, and was within 100 yards of the main defenses, not having fired a shot, when Lamar opened on him with grape and canister, plowing bloody lanes through the storming party, and destroying its compactness if not impairing the momentum of its charge. The 8th Michigan-Col. Fenton's own-was in the direct advance, immediately supported by the Highlanders, with the residue of both bri- | gades ready and eager to do and dare all that men might; and, if well directed valor could have carried the enemy's works by direct assault, they would have done it. But the neck of dry land over which it was possible to advance was barely 200 yards wide, completely swept by grape and canister at close range from six guns in the Rebel works, as well as by their musketry; while insuperable abatis, a ditch seven feet deep, and a parapet nine feet high, rendered such an assault a simple squandering of precious lives. The 8th Michigan lost here 185 out of 534 men, including 12 out of 22 officers; the IIigh 29 Killed, a few weeks later, at Chantilly. Pa.; but nothing was accomplished; and our entire force fell back, unpursued, but leaving their dead and some of their severely wounded to fall into the hands of the enemy. And this virtually terminated in defeat Gen. Hunter's ill-managed advance upon Charleston. Four months afterward-Gen. Hunter having been succeeded in command of this department by Gen. O. M. Mitchel—the latter planned an advance, not aimed at Charleston, but due northward from Beaufort, with intent to break the railroad connection between Charleston and Savannah, by destroying bridges, &c., about Pocotaligo and Coosawhatchie. Gen. Mitchel being prostrated by the disease of which he ultimately died, the execution of this project was confided to Brig.-Gen. J. M. Brannan, with an effective force of 4,448 men. This force, embarked on gunboats and transports, moved" up Broad river to the junction of the Coosawhatchie and Tullifinny, where it was landed and pushed inland; first meeting resistance when 5 or 6 miles on 30 Oct. 21-2. FIGHT AT POCOTALIGO-FORT MCALLISTER. 463 its way; but easily driving the ene-, ed, supporting 3 guns, and night commy, who burned bridges, &c., before ing on, he, too, retreated to his boats; it, and soon made another stand in a burning bridges behind him. There wood behind a burned bridge, whence was some pursuit notwithstanding; they were expelled by flanking, and but the gunboats were ugly customstill pursued nearly to Pocotaligo; ers, and were not seriously molested. where the Rebels, under Gen. Walk- When the tide had risen, they floated; er, opened heavily with artillery from and Barton returned with them, una swamp behind a creek. Our cais- molested, to Port Royal. sons being far behind, our guns were soon without a cartridge, and none to be had nearer than ten miles. Night was coming on; and Brannan -aware that his 4,000 men were no match for all that the railroad would bring speedily from Charleston and from Savannah to assail them-wisely took the back track to Mackay's landing; where he at once embarked" and returned to Hilton Head. Our loss in this expedition was not far from 300. Walker reports his at 14 killed, 102 wounded, 9 missing; but this does not include the losses at Coosawhatchie. The river Ogeechee, rising, in the heart of eastern Georgia, after a generally S. E. course of some 200 miles, usually parallel with the lower half of the Savannah, and, for the last 40 miles, very near it, falls into Ossabaw sound, some 10 miles S. W. of Savannah. A few miles up the Ogeechee, the Rebels had constructed a strong earthwork known as Fort McAllister, in a bend of the stream, enabling it to rake any vessel which should attempt to pass it. A row of heavy piles across the channel, with some torpedoes in the river below, rendered ascent at once difficult and perilous. The steamer Nashville lay under the protection of these works; having long watched an opportunity to run out to sea laden with cotton; disappointed in this, by the vigilance of our cruisers, she was unladen, fitted Meantime, Col. Barton, with 400 men, the gunboats Patroon and Marblehead, and the little steamboat Planter, had gone up the Coosawhatchie nearly to the village of that name-the gunboats getting aground two or three miles below, and the Planter about a mile below. Having debarked his men, Barton pushed on, and encountered a train filled with rëenforcements sent to the enemy from Savannah, under Maj. Harrison, 11th Georgia-Gen. W. S. Walker, commanding in Brannan's front, having telegraphed both ways for all the men that could be spared him. This train was fired on while in motion, and considerable loss in-up as a war vessel, and again watched flicted; Maj. Harrison being åmong the killed. The greater number escaped to the woods and joined the defenders of the village and railroad bridge, against whom Barton now advanced; but, finding himself largely outnumbered by men strongly post "1 Oct. 23. her opportunity to run out—not being so easily stopped now as formerly. Com'r Worden, who was watching her, in the iron-clad Montauk, at length discovered" that she had got aground, just above the fort, and, at daylight next morning, went up, "Feb. 27, 1863. backed by the Seneca, Wissahickon, proach nearer than 1,200 yards; the and Dawn, to attempt her destruction. He found her still aground; and, by disregarding torpedoes and the fire of the fort, was able to steam within 1,200 yards of her; and, by experiment, soon had her exact range, and was peppering her with 11 and 15-inch shells; while his consortsforbidden a near approach by the narrowness of the channel-fired at her from positions farther down the stream. Twenty minutes thereafter, she had been set on fire by shells which exploded within her, and flames were seen to burst from every quarter; at 9:20 A. M., her large pivot gun forward was exploded by the heat; at 9:40, her smoke-stack went overboard; and at 9:55, her magazine exploded, shattering her into worthless fragments. Meantime, the fort kept firing away at the Montauk, striking her five times, but doing no damage; and a torpedo which exploded beneath her, as she steamed down the river, accomplished very little. Our other vessels received no harm. We lost no men. Com. Dupont, encouraged by this cheap success, now resolved to give the fort itself a trial: to which end, the iron-clads Passaic, Capt. Drayton, Patapsco, Montauk, Ericsson, and Nahant, with three mortarschooners, steamed" up the Ogeechee, and opened fire: the Passaic leading, the rest following, and all firing at the fort at the shortest range they could severally attain. But the obstructions proved insuperable, and forbade the Passaic to ap 33 March 3. other iron-clads being, of course, far- The National steamboat Isaac the fort, and to the rear of it for half a mile, the 34 The Savannah Republican, March 12, says: banks in the fort; and the quarters of the men were almost entirely demolished. *** Inside 95 Jan. 30, 1863. 1 |