Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 6.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[438] the Montauk; a volume of steam was seen to issue from her side, and her turret refuse to revolve. She immediately weighed anchor, turned tier bow down-stream, and retired from the fight. The Fort gave her a parting salute as she rounded, to which she replied by two random shots, one of which went up the river, and the other across the marsh — as much as to say to her troublesome customer: “If I can't whip you, go to the devil.” The Fort fired the first and the last shot. In a few minutes the other two rains turned about and followed their file-leader, which on making the bend below was taken in tow by a steamer, as if in a damaged condition. This conclusion is supported by the testimony of our pickets, who report that her pilot-house was taken down, and the men were at work during the whole of that night and the day following. Thus ended the fight, with the exception of a slow but continued fire which was kept up from the mortar-boats, from behind the point of wood, throughout the night, in order to prevent repairs on the Fort. It, however, did little or no damage, nor did it cause a suspension of the work for a moment. The garrison being pretty well worn out by the labors of the day, Major Schaaff's battalion of sharp-shooters volunteered to make the necessary repairs. Though under fire, these brave men continued their work throughout the night, and at daylight the dismounted columbiad was again in position, all the breaches repaired, and the Fort in complete order for another trial of strength with her formidable antagonist. At dawn, the men were again at their guns, but hour after hour passed, and no enemy hove in sight. The Yankees had received their fill, and concluded to let us alone. But to return to Lieut. Elarbee and his adventurous little band, who had taken their position under cover of the marsh, within rifle-shot of the enemy's rams. It was one of extreme peril, being not only exposed to a raking fire from the gunboats, should they be discovered, but also in a direct line with the fire from the Fort. During the fight, an officer made his appearance on the deck of the Montauk, with a glass in hand, and presented the long-wished for target. A Maynard rifle slug soon went whizzing by his ears, which startled him, and caused him to right-about, when a second slug apparently took effect on his person, as, with both hands raised, he caught hold of the turret for support, and immediately clambered or was pulled in at a port-hole. It is believed that the officer was killed. The display of awning on the Montauk the day following, and the funeral on Assabau Friday, give strength to this opinion. As soon as this shot was fired, the Montauk turned her guns upon the marsh, and literally raked it with grape-shot. The riflemen, however, succeeded in changing their base in time, and avoiding the missiles of the enemy. Not one of them was hurt. Too much credit cannot be be-stowed on the daring act of a few brave men. Of the damage done to the garrison, we have already given a full account, and can only repeat that it was confined to the wounding of one man, Thomas W. Rape, Emmet Rifles, in the knee, and another, William S. Owens, of the same company, slightly in the face. James Mims, of company D, First Georgia battalion of sharp-shooters, had his leg broken and his ankle crushed, by the fall of a piece of timber, while remounting the columbiad, after the fight. All, we learn, are doing well. Considerable havoc was made in the sand-banks in the Fort, and the quarters of the men were almost entirely demolished. The officers' quarters received two or three shots, but suffered no material damage. Inside the Fort, and to the rear and left of it, for a half-mile, the earth was dug up into immense pits and furrows by the enemy's shell and shot; a large quantity of which has been gathered up, and will be returned to the Yankees in a different form should the occasion offer.

It is almost incredible that our troops should have remained under such a fire, for so long a time, and not one of them killed or seriously wounded. Indeed their safety would seem to throw suspicion on the whole account of the fight. But it is all true, and why it is so cannot be accounted for on any principle of natural law. The escape was miraculous, and can only be ascribed to that All-seeing Eye that watches over the actions of men, and that Omnipotent Arm which is ever stretched out to uphold the right, and shield from harm the cause of the just and oppressed. We might name a number of extraordinary incidents that occurred during the progress of the bombardment that baffle human reason, and irresistibly turn the eye of the inquirer up to Him with whom all things are possible. A few will suffice: the eleven-inch shell that shivered the carriage of the eight-inch columbiad to atoms, exploded in the gun-chamber in the midst of eight or ten men, and not one of them was injured. A fragment the size of a man's head, passed between Lieutenant Dixon and gunner No. 1, who were within twenty inches of each other, and sank deep into the traverse, without doing a particle of harm. A shell fell and exploded in the pit of the rifle-gun, where a number were serving, and but a single fragment was left on the floor, yet no one was hurt.

Several officers were lying in the door of the hospital, and four or five others standing around outside, and not ten feet distant, when a fifteen-inch shell struck the bank, rolled down to the very door-sill, and exploded. All were burnt with the powder, but not one was touched by a fragment of a shell. Where they went to, who can tell? An officer of the Fort, whose word no one will dispute, informed us, that the shells from the mortar-boats at night, or many of them, after being well-aimed, and coming in an exact curve for the Fort over a distance of two miles, when nearing it, without any natural cause, and as if by some gentle, unseen hand, were turned aside and fell to the right or left. All were amazed at the remarkable phenomenon, and puzzled to explain it. There is but one explanation — the God of battles is on our side. Did the events of this revolution stand alone, we should need no further