[
73]
from
Mississippi and
Tennessee, indicating the quarter from which the troops came.
Many of them are written in rather a desponding strain, evincing a rather uncomfortable state of affairs at home.
Some letters I saw, written by officers in the
Fort, which they had not had an opportunity to send.
Nearly all of them were written in the braggadocio strain so common in the rebel newspapers, expressing the utmost confidence in the strength of their position, and proclaiming their ability to whip any number of Yankees which the despot
Lincoln could send against them.
The clothing found was generally of home manufacture, coarse but warm and durable, and they all appear to have been amply provided for in this respect.
In some of the officers' quarters, however, were left fine and costly suits of
New-York and
Philadelphia manufacture, together with
kid gloves, perfumery and
toilet articles, of the best quality, in readiness, no doubt, against the time when they would make their anticipated triumphal
entree into
Cincinnati,
St. Louis or some other Northern city.
A large quantity of commissary stores were also found, showing that there was no lack of food of good quality.
Coffee and tea appeared to be scarce, but there was plenty of flour,
corn meal, rice, sugar, and molasses, fresh and salt beef, and
bacon sides.
Hams I saw none of.
The arms found were a motley variety: old flint-lock muskets, rifles and shot-guns of almost every known style.
Great quantities of cartridges were found made up; for use in their smooth-bore guns, containing three buck-shot and a bullet each.
In the magazine of the
Fort were stored a large quantity of powder and ammunition of all kinds.
Everything was prepared for a vigorous resistance, and had it been attempted, I have no doubt that it would have proved more difficult of capture than all the fortifications of
Cairo,
Bird's Point, and
Fort Holt combined.
Perhaps the point which struck us most forcibly with surprise, after entering the works, was the enormous extent of the plan which had been proposed and partially carried out in the fortifications.
As I before stated, the exterior line of breastworks, with their ditches and abattis, enclose at least a square mile.
One single line of rifle-pits extends nearly a mile and a half.
And this is only one of three lines of defence which were to be overcome before the
Fort itself could be approached.
There is ample room within the intrenchments for one hundred thousand men, and at least half that number would be required to properly defend it.
It is evident that the confederates regarded this as one of the most important points in their whole line of defences, and a glance at the map will show it to be such.
By obtaining possession of this post, we have reached a point the most southern of any yet attained by our army away from the seacoast.
We have an easy and uninterrupted communication with the entire
North west, and there is now nothing between us and the
Gulf to prevent an army from marching on to
Mobile or
New-Orleans, or by a flank movement reaching
Memphis,
Columbus,
Nashville, or
Bowling Green.
An entrance has been effected into the
Confederacy at a point where they least expected it, and the backbone of the rebellion is broken.
You may be sure that the advantage gained will be immediately followed up. In fact, steps have already been taken to maintain our position, and extend our success.
In a few days you will probably hear of more events of interest.
Boston journal account.
The correspondent of the Boston
Journal gives the following interesting details of the bombardment of
Fort Henry:
When the rebels took possession of
Columbus, and made a stand at
Bowling Green, they saw the necessity of also shutting the two gates midway the two places, the
Cumberland and
Tennessee Rivers, which open into the heart of the seceded States.
Taking now the map, you will observe that the two rivers are very near together at the dividing line between
Kentucky and
Tennessee. Two important points were selected on those rivers, near the
State line, strong natural positions, which military science and engineering had made, it was thought, impregnable to any attack by land or water.
The points selected are below the railroad which connects
Memphis with
Bowling Green, thus guarding against any interruption of communication, matter very important to the rebels, not only in subsisting their armies, but in enabling them to transfer troops from either division, as might be necessary to counteract our movements.
The point selected for fortification on the
Tennessee, is about ninety miles from the
Ohio River, at
Pine Bluff Landing, on the east side, where, in addition to the strong battery commanding the river, there was an entrenched camp, protected on both flanks by creeks and a pond, and on the river by felled trees, for a long distance.
The river at this point runs nearly due north.
A mile and a quarter below the
Fort is
Panther Island, heavily wooded.
The channel on the east side of the island is impassable at low water, the main channel being on the west side.
The rebel engineer, therefore, in constructing the work, arranged the angles and faces to command the main channel, but had taken into account the contingency of high water, and had planted torpedoes in the east passage, which were fished up by
Commodore Foote without difficulty.
Three were first taken up, and all but one were found to be so moist that they would not have exploded.
The front face of the
Fort is about twenty feet above the water.
It contains four or five acres, and the intrenched camp about thirty acres.
You can obtain an idea of the relative positions by standing facing the north, and raising your right arm, half bent, till your hand is on a level with your face.
Your arm represents the river; the
Fort is at your elbow, in position to send a raking fire down toward your wrist.
Midway