THE WESTERN FLOTILLA.



  On the 5th of March, while we were descending the Mississippi in a dense
fog, the flag-steamer leading, the Confederate gun-boat Grampus, or Dare-deril
Jack, the sauciest little vessel on the river, suddenly appeared across our track
and "close aboard." She stopped her engines and struck her colors, and we
all thought she was ours at last. But when the captain of the Graoqpus saw
how slowly we moved, and as no gun was fired to bring him to, he started off
with astonishing speed and was out of danger before the flag-steamer could
fire a gun. She ran before us yawing and flirting about, and blowing her
alarm-whistle so as to announce our approach to the enemy who had now re-
tired to Island Number Ten, a strong position sixty miles below Columbus
(and of the latitude of Forts Henry and Donelson), where General Beauregard,
who was now in general command of our opponents, had determined to con-
test the possession of the river.
  On March 15th the flotilla and transports continued on their way to Island
Number Ten, arriving in its vicinity about nine in the morning. The strong
and muddy current of the river had overflowed its banks and carried away
every movable thing. Houses, trees, fences, and wrecks of all kinds were
being swept rapidly down-stream. The twists and turns of the river near
Island Number Ten are certainly remarkable. Within a radius of eight
miles from the island it crosses the boundary line of Kentucky and Tennessee
three times, running on almost every point of the compass. We were greatly
surprised when we arrived above Island Number Ten and saw on the bluffs
a chain of forts extending for four miles along the crescent-formed shore, with
the white tents of the enemy in the rear. And there lay the island in the
lower corner of the crescent, with the side fronting the Missouri shore lined
with heavy ordnance, so trained that with the artillery on the opposite shore
almost every point on the river between the island and the Missouri bank
could be reached at once by all the enemy's batteries.
  On the 17th an attack was made on the upper battery by all the iron-lads
and mortar-boats. The Benton (flag-steamer), lashed between the Cincinnati
and St. Louis, was on the east side of the river; the Mound City, Carandelet,
and Pittsburgh were on the west side; the last, however, changed her position
to the east side of the river before the firing began. We opened fire on the
upper fort at 1:20, and by order of the flag-officer fired one gun a minute.
The enemy replied promptly, and some of his shot struck the Benton, but,
owing to the distance from which they were fired, did but little damage. We
silenced all the guns in the upper fort except one. During the action one of
the rifled guns of the St. Louis exploded, killing and wounding several of the
gunners,-another proof of the truth of the saying that the guns furnished
the Western flotilla were less destructive to the enemy than to ourselves.
  From March 17th to April 4th but little progress was made in the reduc-
tion of the Confederate works -the gun-boats firing a few shot now and
then at long range, but doing little damage. The mortar-boats, however,
were daily throwing 13-inch bombs, and so effectively at times that the
Confederates were driven from their batteries and compelled to seek refuge
Ii caves and other places of safety.  But it was very evident that the



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