Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

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[251] that the enemy's fire was inaccurate, and that few, if any, of their eleven-inch shell ever touched the forts. At night, the greatest vigilance was maintained, to inform commanders of the enemy's movements. On the 23d of April, the terrific bombardment had continued a whole week; the enemy had thrown over twenty-five thousand shells; and Gen. Duncan reported that two of his guns in Fort Jackson were dismounted; half a dozen killed and wounded was the total loss, and the works were as sound as ever.

The evening of the 23d of April closed without unusual incident. Our defences were thought to be impassable, and strong hopes were entertained that Farragut would soon give up the conflict as fruitless and abortive. Towards three o'clock on the morning of the 24th, the enemy's vessels were descried creeping up the river in full force, and as they steamed abreast of the forts were received with deafening roars from our artillery. The conflict became furious. Through a storm of fire the ships passed on, Farragut leading in the Hartford. They had not proceeded far when they encountered the Confederate fleet, consisting of seventeen vessels in all, only about eight of which were armed. The Confederate gunboats carried, some of them, two guns, and others only one. Nevertheless, they fought with desperation against the enemy's overwhelming force, until they were all driven on shore and scuttled or burned by their commanders. The Louisiana was unmanageable, and could only use two of her nine guns; so when it was perceived that nothing could prevent the enemy from breaking our line, she was run ashore, and blown up, although the enemy's broadsides had not injured her in the least. The Governor Moore, another of our boats, commanded by the brave Capt. Kennon, acted nobly among the enemy's twelve heavy sloops-of-war and gunboats, and fired its last cartridge at point-blank range, but was also run ashore and blown up, to prevent capture.

The scene of confusion that ensued in New Orleans, when the people, on the morning of the 24th of April, awoke to the news that the enemy's fleet had passed the forts, and were actually approaching the city, defies all description. People were amazed, and could scarcely realize the awful fact, and ran hither and thither in speechless astonishment. Very soon the flames seen issuing from shipyards in Algiers and other places, convinced them that the news was authentic, and that Government officers were then busily engaged destroying everything that was likely to be of value to the enemy. The unfinished Mississippi and other vessels were scuttled or fired, ammunition destroyed, and shot sunk in the river. The people, on their part, proceeded to the various cotton-presses, rolled out thousands of bales, and applied the torch; countless cotton ships were also sunk or fired, and steamboats by the dozen similarly destroyed. The roar of cannon sounded in the distance; the heat of the sun, and conflagrations in