The free South. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864, October 24, 1863, Image 4
VOL. 1.
__ ...
Two Abortive Attempts to Destroy the
New Ironsides.
THE HULL OF THE VESSEL UNINJURED.
SHE IS PROVED TORPEDO PROOF.
Jl Large Reward Offered for Her Destruction.
FATE OF THE REBEL RAM.
fFrom the N. Y. Tribune of the 15th.)
At 9U o'clock of the niglit of the 5tli
inst, the Quartermaster on watch aboard
the New Ironsides reported to the officer
of the deck a suspicious craft, with smoke
stack, and setting very low in the water,
making directly toward the vessel. The
night, although clear, and the sky studded
with stars, was nevertheless unusually
dark, and but little could be distinguished
of the stranger except the smoke-pipe
and her low hull, the latter extremely indistinct
; she appeared to be steaming at
a speed of seven knots an hour. How
she could have passed our picket boats
was a question to be considered, for it
was just possible she might belong to us,
and to fire upon her without first determining
her character and intention might
jresult in more serious damage than if she
were an enemy; so she was allowed to
come within hailing distance. More and
more distinct she grew as she approached?a
ciAr-shaped hull* after the pattern
of ?he Win aant gunboat, driving before it
through the water a smaller object, wliich
could hardly be distinguished ; a blacx
smoke-pipe, from which issued a thin
cloud of black smoke, but no other indications
of the motive power within, were J
> i oi-'ii -i.. ii._
Tisioie. Otiu sue yi ueu uu, mu uujtfct
of her approach either the frigate itself or
the Devils which lay moored on the port j
side. Coming near enough to hear, she
was hailed and ordered to stop, but she
neither made reply or obeyed the summons.
All hands were piped to quarters ; j
a gun was fired, but the curious craft sat
too low in the water, and the ball passed
^ over her. A second shot followed the
first, with the same result; then a volley
of musketry, lighting up for a moment,
with its flash, the steamer, the torpedo at
lier bow, and the figure of a man, sitting j
astride of the cigar-shaped hull, engaged
in steering. This man, whose name is
Toombs, and who is now in irons oa board
the Hag-ship, fired a shot in retaliation,
which severely wounded Ensign Howard,
the officer of the c'eck. He pretends to
have been sailing-master of the expedi- (
tion, which he undoubtedly was, and is a
man of moderate height, strong, muscular i
irame, a dark wrinkled skin, dark eyes,
and coarse black lia'.r and beard. There !
were three others with lnm, all under
command of Lieut. Glassell, formerly of
"the United States Navy. He is said to be
a man of superior talents and bravery,
was captured some time since and con-1
fined in Fort Warren, but subsequently
on being i eleased, rejoined the Southern
army ; he is now a prisoner on the Ottawa.
The musketry tiring from the frigate after
the first volley became rapid and continuous,
but seemed in no way to interfere
-with the execution of the plan had in view
~by those aboard the steamer, as she ap- '
proaohed nearer and nearer each moment
to tfce "Ironsides," her bow pointing
^Inwards the latter's side, and run close in
under her guns. At this moment a terrific
explosion took place, jarring the
great iron-plated hull of the frigate, and
sending into the air a huge column of
-crater that fell in torrents all around, and
entering the smoke pipe of the little steamer
immediately extinguished her tires.
hen this had subsided, and the sea was
again cahn, nothing whatever was to be
seen of her ; the supposition is that she
irent down. But struggling for life were
two men, evidently members of her crew,
Trho were picked up by a boat lowered for
the purpose from the "Ironsides." They
are the two I have already mentioned, the
seaman Toombs, and Lieut, (ilassel; but
ueither of them can tell what happened
in tinip IipIwopii tV?A PYnln?inn nf tliA
torpedo and the moment they found themselves
battling with the waves, or say confidently
whether the steamer sunk, or, rekindling
her fires, moved off in the direction
of Charleston.
DA1LAGE SUSTAINED BY THE FRIGATE.
Very little injury was done the Ironsides
; in truth, I may say, with the exception
of a few dents, no harm whatever
-was sustained by her. She is a noble
ship, and worth ail tlie Monitors together.
The prisoners state that the people of
Charleston have very little faith in the
capacity of the latter to reduce the fortifications
leading to the harbor, but hold
in great fear the terrible batteries of the
3>iew Ironsides. To prove * the endurance
of the ship, I would add that the shock
she received was so severe that a huge
THE FREE SOUTH, SATUE
I
chest was thrown from its place in the
lower hold against one of the stanchions,
completely crushing the leg of a seaman
who was unfortunate enough to be standing
there. Twenty tuns of water entered
her decks.
TH3 ORIGIN OF THE EXPEDITION.
This daring attempt, unprecedented in
its boldness by anything which has happened
during the war, had its origin in
the city of Charleston, where the cost
was raised by public subscription ; some
of the wealthiest citizens subscribing
largely. The steamer was built there ex
pressly lor tne purpose, tue pattern 01 tne
AVinant gunboat being adopted as the one'
best suited for the accomplishment of the
object they had in view ; the material
being of wood. The torpedo, which was
of the largest size, and similar in shape
somewhat to the steamer, was exploded
by means of a percussion cap at the further
end, white lead being used to render
it water proof. Large rewards were to be
paid the men in case they succeeded in
their desperate enterprise and came off
safe, they being sanguine of blow^g up
the frigate but never expected to escape
with their lives. Both steamer and torpedo
were towed as far as Fort Sumter by
another vessel; it was probably owing to
this that they escaped the notice of our
picket boats, these latter being engaged
watching the movements of the convoy,
which steamed here and there on the
water as if bound on a mission of mischief
of her own, before gliding back to
Charleston.
*
another account.
The correspondent of the Baltimore
American writes from Charleston harbor as
follows :
Charleston* Harbor, Oct. 10.
On Monday night last a daring but unsuccessful
attempt was made by the rebels
to destrov the frigate New Ironsides, ly
ing near Fort Moultrie, by a torpedo.
They employed for this purpose a small
[ and very swift steamer, secrar shaped, and
showing but a very small portion above
the water. The was manned by a crew
of four men, consisting of Lieutenant
Gasset who was commander of the party,
an engineer named Toombs, a fireman
named Scott, and a pilot whose name is
unknown at the present writing.
This steamer eluded the picket boats of
our fleet by passing close in to the shore
of Sullivan's Island. She then made directly
across the harbor, and came up to
the Ironsides without attracting any attention.
She struck the vessel fairly
amidships, exploding a torpedo containing
sixty pounds of rifle powder at the
moment of contact. The rebtl steamer
was undoubtedly sunk, either by the force
of the collision or by our shot.
Lieut. Gassett jumped overboard and
swam to a schooner. He and the tireman,
Scott, are now prisoners on board
the guardship.
Lieutenant Gassett was formerly in our
navy. He says that the explosion of the
torpedo drove the steamer under, so that
the water ran into her smoke stack and
put out her lires. The torpedo was suspended
to the bow of the rebel vessel, so
as to strike the Ironsides under the water.
The explosion was severely felt on the
Ironsides ; but no material damage was
+<"? lioi? lmll ??norinp nv armament.
ViV/UV IV 11VA 14 IMA J VM^4MV v.
one man had his leg broken, and one of
the bulkheads of the vessel was knocked
down?an injury which can be repaired
here.
The Ironsides was immediately prepared
for action by Captain Rowan, and is
now as effective for offensive opperations
as ever. She is now regarded here as
torpedo proof. She opened fire with
musketry on the rebel vessel, and in a fewminutes
fired two of her larger guns. A
musket shot, fired from the rebel vessel,
dangerously wounded Ensign Charles
Howard of the Ironsides, who was officer
of the deck at the time. The bottom of
the Ironsides has been examined by divers
and found to be wholly uninjured.
The rebel engineer Toombs, formerly
of our navy, and the pilot of the rebel
steamer, are supposed to have been
drowned.
On Tuesday night it was supposed that
the rebels meditated a second attack on
the Ironsides. A boat of the same kind,
* ** * A <* d^AAtnav
D6116V6U IO nave ueeu a, smnu atutuiti,
approached our picket line, but was discovered,
and driven off after some tiring.
The rebels greatly dread the Ironsides,
and it is said that the people of Charleston
have offered a reward of sixty thousand
dollars in gold for her destruction.
General Gill more and Admiral Dahlgreen
have both paid a brief visit to Port
ItoyaL "While there, General Gillmore
visited the flagship with a band, and serenaded
the Admiral. The incident shows
how little truth there is in the story of ill
feeling between these two distinguished
DAY, OCTOBER 24, 1863.
officers. They are, anil always have been
in hourly intercourse by signals.
There has been the usual firing during
the past week, principally by the rebel
batteries. General Gillmore occasionally
replys to the James Island batteries, or
throws a shell into Fort Sumter.
The signs are encouraging for the renewal
of active operations.
From the Army of the Potomac.
Akmy of the Potomac, Oct. 14,1663.
About dusk last night our cavalry encountered
the enemy near Catlett's Station
and toward Warrenton. A brisk
artillery fire was ogened and continued
up to late in the evening. At daybreak
this morning the firing was resumed, |
lasting tlirougn tlie forenoon.
About 3 o'clock this afternoon very
heavy cannonading opened along an extended
line, in the direction of Manassas, j
which lasted up to 7 o'clock this evening.
The sound receded toward night, and it
seemed evident that our forces had driven
the enemy back a considerable distance.
It is thought by some that Lee has his
entire army in fro: it of Meade's forces.
It is believed that no considerable body
of infantry lias as yet been engaged.
Washington*, Oci. 1863.
The Evening Slur says : The whole ot
Gen. Gregg's division was ordered from
Bolton Station on Saturday toward Cul- j
pepper, and arrived there at 4 o'clock
p. m. Thence the 2d Brigade of the 2d i
Division was ordered to Fox Mountain, I
to support Kilpatrick, but finding that j
Kilpatrick did not need reinforcements,
the brigade left him Sunday morning and |
rejoined the division at Culpepper. On
Sunday night, Gen. Gregg moved to Sulphur
Springs, arriving at about 9 p. m.
On Monday morning, two regiments, the
4th and 13th Pennsylvania, were sent forward
to Jefferson, about 5 miles from j
Sulphur Springs, and the 1st Maine were"'
sent out toward Little Washington to ;
reconnoiter. The last named regiment j
encountered a larger force o the enemy j
just beyond Amosville, and were snr- !
rounded, but gallantly cut their way out, i
and crossed the river at Waterloo Ford, i
about 12 miles above Sulphur Springs.
About 10 o'clock on Monday morning i
the enemy advanced on the 4th and 13th
Pennsylvania, which were at Jefferson,
with cavalry, showing heavy infantry supports
in their rear; when our cavalry,
seeing they were oeiug overpowered, ien ,
back slowly, contesting the ground, to a
large forest this side of Jefferson, where j
Gen. Gregg, who led these regiments in
person, dismounted a portion of his men,
and sent them out as skirmishers, their
horses having been sent back to Sulphur
Springs. After stubbornly contesting the |'
ground for over two hours, they were or- j
dered to fall back slowly, and as they 1
were doing so a heavy infantry force of i i
the enemy was discovered on each flank, |
and at the same time three regiments of i
cavalry, having made a wide detour, attacked
them in the rear. At this time 1
the 10th New York was sent to the sup- ! ,
Sort of Gen. Gregg, and Reed's Battery j
I, 2d United States Artillery, opened on j
the rebel cavalry, but owing to the short j
range of the guns, which were brass Na- j
poleons, no serious damage was inflicted '
on the enemy by them.
'BU ?-? ^ il* AfAi-l 1 Oilt ?/\nt %%t)ACOA/1 I
1HC ttu UliU jloiu ?cid uun picootu
severely in front, and our center broken,
and at the same time they were attacked
on each flank and in the rear. Our men
cut their way through, and escaped across
the river with heavy loss.
The 16th Pennsylvania was now dismounted
and thrown out along the river
banks as skirmishers, while the 8th was
also dismounted and ordered to support
the batterj', which had only four short
range guns, and the enemy opened on us
with some twenty pieces of artillery, but
our troops gallantly held their ground for
several hours, repulsing the charges of the
enemy, and gradually fell back on the
Fayetteville road, the enemy following,
but keeping at a respectful distance.
Col. Gregg had but two aids with him, 1
Lieutenants Martin and Cutler, and both
were wounded, the former severely, and ?
the latter slightly. Lieut. Adams of the
4th Pennsylvania, Major Wilson of the
8th Pennsylvania, Lieut.-Col. Kettler of
the 1st New Jersey, ana Major Jttusseii 01
the 1st Maryland were wounded. The
loss of the 2d brigade, it is thought, will
amount to about 450 in killed, wounded
and missing?the 4th and 13th Pennsylvania
regiments suffering the most severely.
Col. Gregg is highly spoken of for the
manner in which he fought liis men, and
it was owing to his skill and bravery that
the 4th and 13th fought their way out of
a precarious situation. He wus at the I
head of his men in the thickest of the I
fight, and in several charges took the lead. I
During the engagement the rebels charged i
the battery, and captured one of the guns, j
but the 1st New Jersey cavalry gallantly J
charged back and recaptured the piece, I
NO. 4?. _
which was immediately turned on them $
with good effect.
Our cavalry- yesterday held the enemy
in check, and there was some little skirmishing,
one man being wounded while
on picket last evening.
We have the following additional from
the front:
Meade is not only secure in his position,
but has resumed the offensive, to
the extent of making a cavalry reconnoisance
to the south of the Bappahannoek
oocfarrlrtv
It is beiieved that the rebels lost more
in the fighting on Sunday than ourselves,
as on one occasion two of our light batteries
firing into a mass of the enemy
mowed them down like grass.
All the indications go to show that Leehoped
by a rapid and secret flank movement
to Meade's right to strike BrandyStation,
between Culpepper and the Rappahannock,
cutting off our line of communication,
and forcing Meade to give
battle under disadvantageous circumstances,
with a river in his rear and Lee
between himself and his supplies.
The skillful manceuver by which Meade
checkmated his astute adversary, and.
without loss of any sort (to any appreciable
extent) placed himself on the "other
side of Jordan," and in a position where
he preferred to accept battle, seems to
have considerably bothered the rebels,
who do inclined to fight unless
with the ^^n-like advantages of a surprise
and \\u itfribttgcado. "
The change of position made by our
army was effected without the slightest
confusion ; and as stated by us yesterday,
the amount of stores destroyed or left behind,
beyond Culpepper, would not makea
car load, all told.
On Sunday night our forces crossed the
Rappahannock, and on Monday morning
two corps recrossed and drove the enemy
to Brandy Station, with a severe loss in
IrOU/J o v> /I rvi?i cnn ova An
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rebel side. They then received an order
to fall back, which they did in good order,
Gen. Buford, with his cavalry, on the
left, Kilpatrick in the center, and Gregg
on the right. Gregg and Buford succeeded
in holding the enemy in check on the
right and left until 9 o'clock, when acting
under orders, they fell back upon our
main body; the purpose of the movement
having been effected.
The loss in Gregg's division of cavalry
is said to be severe, the 4th and loth
Pennsylvania and 10th New York suffering
most. Of the 13th Pennsylvania, 4<Hl
went into the fight, and 200 are reported
disabled.
Majo Robison of the 10th New York is.
reported killed, and Capt. Rhodes and
Lieuts. Prentiss and Vose of the 1st Rhode
Island cavalry, seriously wounded.
Meade succeeded in saving all his transportation,
not even losing a wagon. X
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