dred pounds of powder in the magazine; commencing the action with 220 men inside the fort, afterward increased to 255, by the accession of Read's Battery. These heroic men retired slowly and sadly from their well-fought guns, which, to have defended longer, would have exhibited the energy of despair rather than the manly pluck of the true soldier. "The defence of this post involved a two-fold preparation. First, to repel the attack from the fleet; and, second, an returned. Having mounted our horses, we rejoined the troops near Hospital No. 2. I received information through one of the videttes that a steamer and small boats were sounding close to the beach; I detached Captain Berry, with three companies of his battalion, under the guidance of Captain Ephraim Barnard, volunteer aid, to watch the enemy, beat them back if they attempted to land, and give notice if he wanted support. I then, with some of my staff, rode to collect together the other troops, who, through ig-assault by the beach from the troops norance of our inland roads, had lost upon the transports. By the beach we their way and had not yet come up. On had to provide against an attack from the road leading to a wharf on Skull the north, under cover of the bluff south Creek, about one-fourth of a mile from of Fish Hall Creek, and from the south Fort Walker, I unexpectedly met Gen- by the beach, under cover of the woods eral Ripley and Staff. Saluting him, I between, where a picket of men were inquired if he visited the island to assume posted, under Captain Paul H. Seacommand, and whether he wished to go brook; and, lastly, by the road leading back with me into the fort? He said no, from the beach to the second hospital. but that he would return to Coosawhat- To guard against surprise, either by Fish chie to collect and bring back two or Hall Creek or by the beach, when I was three regiments to my support. We returning to the fort with a portion of then moved from under the fire of the Captain Reade's company, I at the same ships to the shelter of some myrtles, time led up Colonel DeSaussure's regiwhere we could not be seen. I then ment to the hollow west of the wood, stated to him the incidents of the morn- and directed them to lie down. They ing, how the men fought, that the day were perfectly masked from the fire of was going against us, and that I was the fort, but not that of the fleet, for the then collecting my forces for any emer- watchmen at the mastheads gave notice gency that might arise, and if compelled of their position, compelling Colonel Deto defend the island, it should be retained Saussure, after a short time, to fall back to the last extremity. We then parted, under a heavy fire, to a less dangerous he taking the road toward the ferry, locality. Had the intrenched camp, with and I in pursuit of the purposes which storehouses and magazines, been made in brought me out of the fort. On reach-time, several lives and large quantities ing my reserves, at Hospital No. 2, I of public property might have been learned that the enemy had ceased making soundings, and had gone back to sea; whereupon I dispatched Captain Read to order Captain Berry to return from the beach. Two o'clock had now arrived, when I noticed our men coming out of the fort, which they had bravely defended for four and a half hours against fearful odds, and then only retiring when all but three of the guns on the water-front had been disabled, and only five hun saved. But it was impossible to have made this within the short time and with the diminutive forces at my disposal; for on my arrival at headquarters in Beaufort, on the night of the 17th of October, the number of troops at Camp Walker was but 362, afterwards increased, on the 24th, to 622, by the accession of four companies under Major Jones, of the 12th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers. To this may be added the en gineer force of some sixty men, who, men on sick leave, or to those engaged with the soldiers, worked incessantly in heating hot-shot furnaces two days day and night. As for evidence of what they accomplished, the 8-inch columbiad, on the water-front, was only mounted on the 1st of November, one 8-inch howitzer in the salient of the south bastion, mounted on the 4th ; one 32-pounder on the right flank of the bastion, mounted on the 5th; one 8-inch howitzer, mounted on a ship-carriage; embrasure cut through parapet of demilune; on the night of the 5th covered way and hotshot furnace for 42-pounders, constructed of earth and dry masonry-on the morning of the 6th-together with wads of moss and hay for the same, splinterproof, occupying only one-half terreplein behind the principle traverse, which was finished on the morning of the engagement, (7th instant,) the material not baving arrived before the 4th instant. 66 The retreat was commenced about three P. M., toward Ferry Point, about six miles off, Colonel DeSaussure's regiment and Captain Read's company of artillery bringing up the rear. At one and a half A. M., by the aid of Commodore Tatnall's fleet, the steamers St. Louis and Edisto and three large flats, capable of holding one hundred and fifty men each, the troops were all safely embarked, without provisions; no ammunition but what was contained in the cartridge-boxes, (the 100,000 cartridges I had made requisition for, and been anxiously expecting, not having reached us till after the battle.) Fearing that our retreat would be cut off by the enemy's gunboats at Skull Creek, no other alternative was left but to leave the island and concentrate upon the mainland, where we would be enabled to fight the enemy on more equal terms, should he venture beyond the protection of his fleet and attack us there. The muskets captured by the enemy, with the exception of some ten or fifteen, were those left in the fort, shattered by shot and shell-others left in camp, belonging to before the fight-and some boxes of Fort Beauregard, though by no means neglected in the bombardment, was, as we have seen, less an object of attack than its more important associate. The force on Bay Point, as stated by General Drayton, was 640 men, commanded by Colonel R. G. M. Dunovant, 12th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers. Of the above, 149 garrisoned Fort Beauregard, under the immediate command of Captain Stephen Elliott, Jr., Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, Company A, 9th Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers. The infantry force of Colonel Dunovant's regiment was intrusted with the protection of the eastern part of the island, and of the defence of the bastion line of the Island Narrows, where an attack was expected from the enemy. Aware of the small force of Captain Elliott to man his batteries, General Drayton made several efforts to reinforce him by sending troops from Hilton Head, but with out success. The last attempt made on the morning of the battle was defeated by the advance of the fleet, which compelled the steamer bearing Captain Stuart's company of South Carolina Volunteers to put back whilst crossing the Sound. "Here again," says General Drayton, "was exhibited another act of heroism on the part of our veteran Commodore, who, to save the Emma, interposed his own frail flag steamer between her and the advancing flag-ship of Commodore Dupont, drawing upon himself her entire broadside, and thus diverting this huge leviathan tempórarily from her course, secured the safety of the Emma at the peril of his own vessel." The safety of Fort Beauregard under 'these circumstances depended upon the ability to hold Fort Walker. When the latter work was abandoned, there was but one course for the defenders on the opposite side of the water to adopt, simply to escape before they were captured. During the night of the 7th they availed themselves of the opportunity, spiking the guns as they departed, and throwing a considerable portion of the ammunition into a pool of water in the rear of the fort. An incident of the ingenuity which has characterized many of the acts of the rebels in this nefarious war, was the parting attempt to turn the taking down of the secession flag and the elevation of its legitimate successor, at the fort at Bay Point, to a means of destruction. The halyards of the flagstaff were left so connected with a percussion cap apparatus that on being handled they would explode a mine of gunpowder prepared in the works beneath. The scheme, indeed, partially succeeded. A quantity of powder was ignited by the act but the mischievous engine failed to perfect its work, the train being partly covered with sand, and no loss of life resulted from the slight explosion.* An act like this scarcely compared with the humane injunction left in writing in the *Correspondence of the Tribune, November 14, 1861. fort, addressed by Captain Stephen Elliott, its commander, to the humanity of his captors. Oddly enough it was conveyed in a scrap of Latin, an adaptation of the line of Virgil, in which Dido, calling to mind her own misfortunes with a woman's heart, pities the errors of Eneas. "Bay Point, November 7, 1861. I am compelled to leave some poor fellows who cannot be removed. Treat them kindly. Let your motto be Haud ignarum (sic) mali miseris succurrere disco. After the other fort had fallen we preferred leaving our untenable position to assist in establishing the Southern Confederacy to better purposes than we can in Fort Lafayette.' 11 A careful examination of the guns and munitions of war at the captured forts was made by order of Commodore Dupont. Fort Walker was found to be a regularly constructed enclosed bastioned work, with two water fronts, and an outwork in the rear commanding the approach by land. These defences mounted altogether twenty-three guns, all left in good condition and serviceable, among which were twelve 32-pounders, two 8 and 10-inch columbiads, two 6-inch rifled guns, several heavy sea-coast howitzers, and an English siege gun. A profusion of ammunition was left when the fort was abandoned. Fort Beauregard proved to be an enclosed work with four faces, each looking on the water, and mounting thirteen guns, including five 32s, and two 8 and 10-inch columbiads. Upon each flank of the main works, at a distance of about a hundred and fifty yards were smaller works, mounting two 24 and three 32-pounders, making in all twenty guns. In both Forts Walker and Beauregard there were furnaces for heating shot. In the fortune of war it happened that a brother of General Drayton, the commander of Fort Walker, Percival Drayton, an officer of the United States Correspondence of the New York Express, Hilton Head, November 16, 1861. CONGRATULATORY ORDERS. 113 Hilton Head and Bay Point, after an action of four hours duration. The flagofficer fully sympathises with the officers and men of the squadron in the satisfaction they must feel at seeing the ensign of the Union flying once more in the State of South Carolina, which has been the chief promoter of the wicked and unprovoked rebellion they have been called upon to suppress." Navy, commanded the gunboat Pochahontas, which bore its resolute part in the death-dealing circuits of the encounter. The spot, too, where the battle was fought was the native region of both. The story is told of the Union officer and a brother South Carolinian, Acting-Master Frank Smith, of the Bienville, facing one another on the decks of their vessels as they both sped onward to the assault. "Three cheers for South Carolina," On the receipt of the first intelligence shouted Smith, swinging his hat over his of the victory at Washington, the Secrehead. "Three cheers for South Caro-tary of the Navy issued a General Orlina and the American flag," was the der, announcing to the Navy and to the prompt response of Drayton, as he wav-country the high gratification of the Deed his hat in reply." Captain Steedman, of the Bienville, was also a native of South Carolina. The victory was thus in a peculiar manner a loyal triumph. The casualties on board the fleet were comparatively very few. A total loss was reported of eight killed, six wounded severely and seventeen slightly. At evening of the day after the action, a solemn procession of seventeen boats from the Wabash conducted the remains of the dead to their burial-place, in a beautiful grove of palm, orange and fir trees, in the neighborhood of the fort. The loss of the enemy, according to the official report of General Drayton, was ten killed and twenty wounded in Fort Walker, one killed and fifteen severely wounded in Colonel DeSaussure's 15th regiment South Carolina Volunteers on Hilton Head Island, outside the fort, thirteen wounded in Fort Beauregard, four missing and three taken prisoners, sick in hospital. partment at the brilliant success of the combined army and navy forces, and in commemoration of this signal victory ordering a national salute to be fired from each navy yard, at meridian on the day after the reception of the order. When, this order was communicated to Commodore Dupont, it was accompanied by the following personal letter from Secretary Welles, which, with the General Order, he directed should be read to that officer's command: "Sir: It is with no ordinary emotion that I tender to you and your command, the heartfelt congratulations and thanks of the Government and the country, for the brilliant success achieved at Port Royal. In the war now waging against the Government in this most causeless and unnatural rebellion that ever afflicted a country, high hopes have been indulged in the navy, and great confidence reposed in its efforts. The result of the skill and bravery of yourselves and others, has The day after the engagement, Com- equalled and surpassed our highest exmodore Dupont issued the following gen-pectations. To you and your associates, eral order, complimenting all who had taken part in the action: "It is the grateful duty of the commander-in-chief to make a public acknowledgment of his entire commendation of the coolness, discipline, skill, and gallantry displayed by the officers and men under his command, in the capture of the batteries on *Special Correspondence of the World, Nov. 14, 1861. under the providence of God, we are indebted for this great achievement, by the largest squadron ever fitted out under that flag which you have so gallantly vindicated, and which you will bear onward to continued success."* Immediately after the landing at Hil * Gideon Welles to Flag-Officer Samuel F. Dupont Washington, Nov. 16, 1861. 66 ton Head and occupation of the island, a reconnoissance of the waters beyond was resolved upon. On the day following the engagement, the Seminole ran some miles up the river toward Beaufort, and met with no obstructions, though the reports of concealed batteries justified caution in proceeding further. Accordingly the gunboats Seneca, Curlew and Pembina, under command of Lieutenant Ammen, were sent to clear the way, but had no difficulty in reaching Beaufort. On landing at the village it was found entirely abandoned by the white inhabitants, with the exception of one man, who "appeared overcome with fear or drink." The negroes left in possession had already begun to pillage and destroy. They reported that their masters, before their departure, had sought to drive them back into the woods, had fired upon them and killed numbers of them. The whole country have left, sir," said an intelligent mulatto boy to Lieutenant Sproston, "and all the soldiers gone to Port Royal Ferry. They did not think that you could do it, sir." The reconnoissance having been accomplished, the vessels returned to Port Royal. A day or two after, on the 12th, Commodore Dupont and General Sherman, with Captain Davis and other officers of the expedition, embarking on the Seneca, visited Beaufort for a further examination of the town. Everywhere, on landing, they witnessed the work of destruction which, in the excitement of their suddenly acquired liberty, had been perpetrated by the negroes. The warehouses, shops and stores had been broken open, and rifled of their contents, and the dwellings of the wealthy residents entered and the furniture carried off or broken and destroyed in the most wanton manner. Not a single white person was visible, though the visitors were informed that small parties of the former residents stealthily returned to the place by night. The negroes were warned to desist from the outrages they had committed, and a good example was set them in the scrupulous forbearance of the party in evading any appropriation of the property abandoned in the houses. One of the first official acts of General Sherman, after landing and taking possession of the forts, was to issue a Proclamation, addressed "to the people of South Carolina." Courteously worded, even deferential in its mention of the "great sovereign State," it thus appealed to the intelligence and sense of propriety of the rebels, urging them to desist from their unhallowed course. "In obedience," was its language," to the orders of the President of these United States of America, I have landed on your shores with a small force of National troops. The dictates of a duty which under the Constitution, I owe to a great sovereign State and to a proud and hospitable people, among whom I have passed some of the pleasantest days of my life, prompt me to proclaim that we have come among you with no feelings of personal animosity; no desire to harm your citizens, destroy your property, or interfere with any of your lawful laws, rights, or your social and local institutions, beyond what the causes herein briefly alluded to, may render unavoidable. "Citizens of South Carolina: The civilized world stands appalled at the course you are pursuing!-appalled at the crime you are committing against your own mother; the best, the most enlightened, and heretofore the most prosperous of nations. You are in a state of active rebellion against the laws of your country. You have lawlessly seized upon the forts, arsenals, and other property belonging to our common country, and within your borders, with this property, you are in arms and waging a ruthless war against your constitutional Government, and thus threatening the existence of a Government which you are bound, by the terms of the solemn |