previous next

[682]

The floating battery “Louisiana,” the steam ram Manassas, and the Confederate steamer McRae, together with a number of vessels which had been fitted up by the Confederate and State Governments, were in the river above the forts at the time the enemy made the dash by. I am unable to state what assistance, if any, was rendered by the greater portion of these. At daylight I observed the McRae gallantly fighting, at terrible odds, contending, at close quarters, with two of the enemy's powerful ships. Her gallant commander, Lieutenant Thomas B. Huger, fell during the conflict, severely, but I trust not mortally wounded.

The Manassas I observed under weigh, apparently in pursuit of one of the vessels of the enemy, but I soon lost sight of her.

I would here observe, that I think an investigation should be demanded into the conduct of the authorities afloat, whose neglect of our urgent entreaties to light up the river during this sad night contributed so much to the success of our enemies

My adjutant, Lieutenant C. N. Morse, was indefatigable in the discharge of his important duties, which required his constant presence near my person, and has my sincere thanks.

Surgeon Somerville Burke, C. S. A., and Dr. Bradbury (who kindly volunteered his services when he became aware of the attack on the forts), were unremitting in their attention to the wounded, fearlessly exposing themselves, at all times, in the discharge of their duties.

Lieutenant Charles Warmes, ordnance officer, distinguished himself by the self-sacrificing attention to arduous and important duties. Day night he was at his post, and, by his great exertions, our magazine was saved from being flooded, the water having risen considerably above the floor.

Lieutenants Mann and Royster, of Captain Ryan's company, rendered fearless and efficient service.

Captain Ryan was with a detachment of his company, on board the Louisiana, during a portion of the bombardment, and in the fight of Thursday morning. At all times his services were most promptly rendered.

Mr. James Ward rendered me the most important services during the bombardment. In charge of the firemen, he made almost superhuman exertions during the burning of the citadel. He has my warmest gratitude.

I have the honor to remain,

Very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

Ed. Higgins, Lieutenant-Colonel, C. S. A., commanding Forts Jackson and St. Philip.


Supplemental report of Lieut.-Col. Higgins.

New Orleans, April 30, 1862.
Lieutenant Wm. M. Bridges, Aide-de-Camp and A. A. Adjutant-Gen., Second Brigade:
Sir: I have the honor to report, that on the morning of the twenty-seventh of April, 1862, a formal demand for the surrender of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was made by Commander David D. Porter, commanding United States mortar-fleet.

The terms which were offered were of the most liberal nature; but so strong was I in the belief that we could resist successfully any attack which could be made upon us either by land or water, that the terms were at once refused. Our fort was still strong. Our damage had been, to some extent, repaired. Our men had behaved well, and all was hope and confidence with the officers, when, suddenly, at midnight, I was aroused by the report that the garrison had revolted, had seized the guard, and were spiking the guns. Word was sent us, through the Sergeants of companies, that the men would fight no longer. The company officers were immediately despatched to their commands, but were driven back. Officers were fired upon when they appeared in sight upon the parapet. Signals were exchanged by the mutineers with Fort St. Philip. The mutiny was complete, and a general massacre of the officers, and a disgraceful surrender of the fort, appeared inevitable.

By great exertion we succeeded, with your influence, in preventing this disgraceful blot upon our country, and were fortunate in keeping the passion of the men in check until we could effect an honorable surrender of the forts, which was done by us, jointly, on the morning of the twenty-eighth instant.

As the facts and documents relating to this matter are in your possession, it is unnecessary for me to dwell longer on this humiliating and unhappy affair. I wish to place on record here the noble conduct of Captain Comay's company, the St. Mary's Cannoniers, who alone stood true as steel, when every other company in Fort Jackson basely dishonored their country.

I have the honor to remain, very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

Ed. Higgins, Lieutenant-Colonel, C. S. A., late commander Forts Jackson and St. Philip.


Report of Captain M. T. Squires.

Fort St. Philip, April 27, 1862.
Lieutenant Charles N. Morse, Post-Adjutant Fort Jackson, Louisiana:
Sir: I have the honor respectfully to submit the following report:

Early on the morning of Friday, the eighteenth instant, perceiving by the movements of the enemy that they were about taking up their position, the heavy guns were ordered to open upon them, to annoy them in the execution of their purpose as much as possible; but the distance being great, and the range extreme, with but very little success, the enemy taking little or no notice of our fire, only answering by a few rifle shells, at long intervals. The thirteen-inch mortar after the thirteenth round became useless, the bed giving way under it, breaking in two, and the mortar coming upon the ground. The


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide People (automatically extracted)
hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
April 27th, 1862 AD (2)
April 30th, 1862 AD (1)
28th (1)
18th (1)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: