[
464]
tearful and silent throng on the
Star of the South, who quietly returned the cheerless salute, I could not but feel that the way of the rebel is hard.--
N. Y. Times.
Rebel account.
Corporal Law arrived in the
Fort, in company with the signal man, whom he went to pilot, at five o'clock Friday morning, the day of the surrender.
He remained inside the works during the whole of the bombardment on that day, and left as the flag was lowered, making his way to the
South Wharf as the enemy's steamer was approaching the north landing.
When the bombardment commenced on Thursday, none of the enemy's batteries on
Tybee were visible, except from the smoke which pointed out the different localities to our garrison.
The shot and shell from the
Fort soon removed all obstacles of trees and sand, when all were discernible.
They were four in number--two mortar, one rifle, and one
Parrott gun — the last mentioned being a short distance above the burnt chimneys opposite to
King's Landing.
They all bore chiefly on the south-east angle of the
Fort.
The firing of the enemy on Thursday was not so effective as to create an apprehension that the work would fall.
The enemy were obtaining the range of their guns for the operations of night and the day following.
Most of their shells fell outside the
Fort, tearing up the earth in every direction.
The yard of the V, or demiloon, on the west side, was ploughed up as if dug into pits, by the shell which went over the
Fort.
Still a large breach was made in the wall, and the rifled guns poured shot and shell through it, utterly demolishing the bomb-proof timbers and damaging the officers' quarters.
The north-east casemates were all in which the garrison could bunk with any security whatever, through Thursday night, though but little sleep was enjoyed, as the enemy threw twelve shells per hour into the
Fort until daylight.
These facts were obtained from the officers of the garrison.
Corporal Law witnessed the whole of Friday's fight for himself, mingling freely with the garrison throughout the terrible scene.
It is impossible to give his account on paper.
The firing from both sides was equally rapid and destructive, so far as could be ascertained.
On the part of the enemy, one mortar-battery was completely silenced, a portion of the rifle-battery, and seven out of the ten guns of the
Parrott battery dismounted.
One mortar had been planted on the north — west corner of Cockspur, on the night of Wednesday, but this was silenced early in the fight, and seven kegs of their powder captured.
At the close of the fight all the parapet-guns were dismounted except three--two ten-inch columbiads, known as “
Beauregard” and “
Jeff Davis,” but one of which bore on the
Island, and a rifle-cannon.
Every casemate-gun in the south-east section of the
Fort, from No.
Seven to No.
Thirteen, including all that could be brought to bear upon the enemy's batteries except one, were dismounted, and the casemate walls breached, in almost every instance, to the top of the arch — say between five and six feet in width.
The moat outside was so filled with brick and mortar that one could have passed over dry-shod.
The officers' quarters were torn to pieces, the bomb-proof timbers scattered in every direction over the yard, and the gates to the entrance knocked off. The parapet walls on the
Tybee side were all gone, in many places down to the level of the earth, on the casemates.
The protection to the magazine in the north-west angle of the
Fort had all been shot away, the entire corner of the magazine, next to the passage-way, was shot off, and the powder exposed, while three shot had actually penetrated the chamber; of this Corporal Law is positive, for he examined it for himself before leaving.
Such was the condition of affairs when
Col. Olmstead called a council of officers in a case-mate, and, without a dissenting voice, they all acquiesced in the necessity of a capitulation, in order to save the garrison from utter destruction by an explosion, which was momentarily threatened.
Accordingly, at two o'clock P. M., the men were called from the guns and the flag lowered.
Early in the day
Col. Olmstead had no doubt of his ability to silence every battery on the
Island, and to this end he determined, when night came and the enemy's fire was slackened, to change the position of all his heavy guns, so as to bring them to bear on the enemy.
As the day progressed, however, his situation became desperate, and he was forced to yield under the circumstances stated.
Corporal Law witnessed the whole fight of Friday, and says a braver and more determined garrison are not to be found in the annals of history.
Every man did his duty with alacrity, and there being few guns that bore on the enemy, there was a continued contest as to who should man them.
When volunteers were called for to perform any laborious duty, there was a rush of the men from every company in the
Fort.
All did their duty, and did it fearlessly, throughout the engagement, and to the very moment of the capitulation.
Among the last guns fired were those on the parapet, and the men stood there exposed to a storm of iron hail to the last.
All this, our informant says,
Col. Olmstead and his officers will verify when they have an opportunity of being heard.
Corporal Law saw the wounded.
A member of the
Wise Guards, had one leg shot off and the other badly crushed.
One
Oglethorpe lost an arm and had the other shattered, and shoulder badly damaged; thinks he could not survive.
Another
Oglethorpe lost a hand.
A member of another company, not recollected, lost a foot.
He intended getting a list of names and particulars to bring up at night, not anticipating so early a surrender.
Sergeant-Major Lewis told him none of the
Savannah boys were seriously hurt.
Col. Olmstead also told him he would send up a report at the close of the day's operations, but the enemy's movements toward the
Fort were so rapid, after the flag was lowered, he
