[475] had been under our fire for two hours and twenty-five minutes. The Keokuk has sunk, one monitor was towed south on the morning of the 8th April, instant, several were apparently injured, and the fact has been demonstrated that ironclads of the monitor class are not invulnerable. * * * For the effect of the fire of the enemy upon the fort I would respectfully refer to the report of Engineer. One 8-inch columbiad, old pattern, chambered gun, exploded. This gun was being fired at about one degree elevation, and it is my opinion that its bursting was caused by the shot rolling forward when the gun was run into battery. In firing at low degrees of elevation and at depression sabot-shot should be used. One 42-pounder rifled gun was dismounted by recoil and temporarily disabled. One 10-inch columbiad was disabled by having the rear transom of its carriage shot away. Both guns were again ready for action in a few hours. The garrison flag received a shot through the union. The regimental flag was much torn by fragments of shell. The garrison, consisting of seven companies 1st South Carolina Artillery, was disposed of as follows, viz.: 1st. Captain D. G. Fleming, with Company B, seventy-eight men, in command of east parapet battery, assisted by Lieutenants F. D. Bake and Iredell Jones. Lieutenant J. M. Rhett, Company A, although on sick report, was assigned temporarily to Company B. 2d. Captain F. H. Harleston, with Company D, seventy-four men, in command of northeast parapet battery, assisted by Lieutenants McMillan, King, and W. S. Simkins. 3d. Captain J. C. King, with Company F, in command of northwest parapet battery, assisted by Lieutenants A. S. Gilliard, John Middleton, and W. H. Johnson. 4th. Captain J. C. Mitchell, with Company I, seventy-eight men, in command of west parapet battery, assisted by Lieutenant J. S. Bee. 5th. Captain J. R. Macbeth, with Company E, seventy-seven men, in command of mortar battery and east casemate battery, assisted by Lieutenant J. J. Alston. 6th. Captain W. H. Peronneau, with Company G, seventy-seven men, in command of northeast casemate battery, assisted by Lieutenant E. S. Ficklin. 7th. Captain C. W. Parker, with detachment Company C, fifty-five men, and detachment Company E, in command of northwest casemate battery, assisted by Lieutenants G. E. Haymworth and K. Kemper. 8th. Lieutenant H. Grimball, with regimental band, fifteen men, in command of second tier casemate battery. 9th. Lieutenant Clarkson, with detachment of twenty-five men of Company B, Charleston Battalion, posted in second tier of casemate as sharp-shooters. Lieutenant-Colonel Yates, having reported for duty on the morning of the 7th of April, was assigned to the immediate command of the parapet batteries. The casemate batteries were under the immediate command of Major Ormsby Blanding. The following is the number of guns brought into action: Two 7-inch Brooke guns, four 10-inch columbiads, two 9-inch Dahlgrens, four 8-inch columbiads,
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1883. Harper. New York.
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