The battered walls of Fort Morgan, in 1864, tell of a terrific smashing by
the Federal navy. But the gallant Confederates returned the blows with
amazing courage and skill; the rapidity and accuracy of their fire was
rarely equalled in the war. In the terrible conflict the "Hartford" was
struck twenty times, the "Brooklyn" thirty, the "Octorora" seventeen, the
"Metacomet" eleven, the "Lackawanna" five, the "Ossipee" four, the
"Monongahela" five, the "Kennebec" two, and the "Galena" seven. Of the
monitors the "Chickasaw" was struck three times, the "Manhattan" nine, and
the "Winnebago" nineteen. The total loss in the Federal fleet was 52
killed and 170 wounded, while on the Confederate gunboats 12 were killed
and 20 wounded. The night after the battle the "Metacomet" was turned into
a hospital ship and the wounded of both sides were taken to Pensacola. The
pilot of the captured "Tennessee" guided the Federal ship through the
torpedoes, and as she was leaving Pensacola on her return trip Midshipman
Carter of the "Tennessee," who also was on the "Metacomet," called out
from the wharf: "Don't attempt to fire No. 2 gun (of the "Tennessee"), as
there is a shell jammed in the bore, and the gun will burst and kill some
one." All felt there had been enough bloodshed.
[Illustration: COPYRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.]
[Illustration: THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE--THE CONFEDERATE IRONCLAD RAM
"TENNESSEE"