Last Saturday, the 12th day of October 1861, has now a place in history, and a place, too, inferior to none connected with the history of the people of America, the Fourth of July only excepted. Thursday gave to the South also another hero, one who will rank with the Jones’, the Hulls, the Perrys, and the Decaturs, those glorious defenders of the rights of the old Union. Yes, henceforth the name of Hollins will be mentioned with pride throughout the broad extent of the Southern Confederacy. He has fought against odds, we believe, which have never before been encountered, and obtained a victory which, so for as we recollect, has no parallel in history. Five extemporised gun boats, armed with 17 guns all told, attacked a fleet of four men of war, armed with about 40 guns, sunk one of them, put the balance to flight, ran them ashore, and captured a transport schooner from them.
This expedition, which had such a glorious termination, was fitted out here and over in Algiers by Capt. Hollins, amidst the most profound secrecy, not the slightest hint of what was intended getting noised abroad until the vessels were almost ready for departure, and even then nothing definite could be learned, nor did any one know exactly what was going to be done.
The following vessels constituted the force engaged, and the most of them were old towboats, razed and shaved down into gun-boats :
The “Manassas,” the iron clad marine battering ram built by private parties as an experiment, was armed with one sixty-four-pound Dahlgren gun, and was commanded by Lieut. Warley, of the McRae. The Calhoun, Com. Hollins’ flag ship, carrying one 24-pounder and two brass 18-pound Dahlgrens. The Tuscarora, Lieut. Beverly Kennon, commanding, carrying one 8-inch columbiad and one one 32-pound rifled cannon. The Ivy, Capt. Fry, carrying one 8-inch columbiad and one 32 pound rifled cannon. The Jackson, carrying two 8-inch columbiads. The Confederate steamer McRae, Capt. Huger, armed with one 64-pound pivot gun, four 8-inch columbiads and one 24 pound rifled gun. A launch, having on board one 21-pound brass rifled piece and two fire barges, was also along. This was the whole force, and including the crews of all the boats, the number of men engaged in the expedition was about 300, all told.
The boats left the city on Wednesday afternoon and arrived, without accident, at the forts that night, where they lay all Thursday and Friday, getting ready. It was, at first, the intention to have made the attack on Thursday night, but the fog was too thick, and it was deferred.
On Friday night, about 12 o’clock, the little fleet left the forts in the following order The Manassas leading the way, with orders to go right in among the fleet and run down the first vessel she could get at, sending up a rocket at the instant she made an attack. Then came the Tuscarora, and the tow boat Watson with the fire barges in tow; these had orders to set fire to the barges the moment they saw the rocket from the Manassas. After these were the Calhoun, Ivy, McRae and Jackson, and last was the launch, bringing up the rear. The towboat Watson was under the command of Lieut. Aveitte.
The night was intensely dark, and it was almost impossible to see twenty yards ahead. The Manassas put on a heavy head of steam and dashed on in the direction where it was thought the enemy were lying. Suddenly a large ship was discovered only about a length ahead, and before Lieutenant Warley could have time to fire the signal rocket, into her they went, with an awful crash. An appalling shriek was heard on board of the doomed ship, and the iron steamer was borne off by the current, and found herself in the midst of the enemy’s fleet. The signal rocket was fired, the enemy beat to quarters, and a perfect storm of iron hail was falling upon and around the Manassas, the machinery of which, it was soon discovered by her commander, had in some manner become deranged. This was most inopportune and perilous, and the Richmond, soon observing that something was wrong, began playing upon her with all the power of her guns. Lieutenant Warley, found that only one engine would work, and with this he began working his way out of reach, towards shore: but the shot fell thick and fast around and upon the “old turtle,” and her fate seemed hanging on a hair, when the brave little Tuscarora and the Watson came up with the five barges on fire, and soon cut them adrift on the stream.
The Manassas had, no doubt, pretty badly scared the Yankees; but they might have recovered from that, and showed Comm. Hollins a hard fight, but for the barges; these caused a regular stampede to take place, and, unfortunately for our side, it was not expected, and consequently they got a long start in the race which was to follow.
Com. Hollins did not know what had been the result of the firing, neither did the rest of the commanding officers. It was too dark to make observatious, and they did not like to risk signals. So daylight was waited for impatiently. It came at last, and presented the following picture: The enemy, some miles down, heeling it for the open sea by way of the Southwest Pass, with one of their ships sunk on the middle ground. The Manassas close in shore, among the willows, concealed as well as possible; the Watson and the Tuscarora aground on the bank, not far off. The Tuscarora was soon pulled off by the rest, and the fleet commenced a pursuit of the retreating enemy. They soon came within range. and a heavy cannonade began. The sunken ship seemed to be in a very bad fix, as she was nearly on her beam ends. The Richmond drew up on the one side and protected her with her full broadside. The other vessels of the enemy soon got aground, but nearby, and in a great measure protected also by the Richmond‘s guns. Our fleet pitched shot and shell into them with a vengeance, and our informant tells us that he saw at least two shots hit the Richmond, which were fired from the Tuscarora, and two or three from the Ivy. Te shots from the Yankees were all badly aimed, and not one touched any of our vessels, though over five hundred passed all around them. After continuing the cannonade until about 8 o’clock, Com. Hollins concluded that the sport did not pay for the powder, and feeling that he had won glory enough for one day, and that the enemy were in a fix that it would take them sometime to get out of, he ordered his fleet back to town. On their way up they came across the Yankee tender schooner Joseph E. Toons, loaded with coal, deserted, and he captured and brought her along. All the vessels arrived at the city yesterday morning.
The Manassas struck the vessel which she ran into (it is not exactly known whether she was the Vincennes or Preble) near the bow, and cut into her upwards of twenty feet, if we may judge from the facts that splinters, copper and nails, were found in the cracks of the iron on her sides to at least that distance. She drew off from the collision without trouble, though she undoubtedly twisted her prow badly when swayed to one side by the current, for it is found broken and bent to one side. The balls which struck her bounded off without effecting any damage, except in one case, when a ball hit fair on the bluff of the bow and made an ugly, though not serious, dent in the iron. It is said that the balls from the Richmond‘s broadside fell upon her like hail on a house top, for a while, but to-day nothing of this can be seen, excepting the dent above-mentioned. The accident which happened to her machinery disabled her propeller, and she was, consequently almost unmanageable, yet it was not of a nature to require more than a day or two to repair. She went into dock yesterday afternoon at Algiers. If that accident bad not occurred she undoubtedly would have sunk the whole of the enemy’s fleet. But what is deferred is not lost. It is supposed that the vessel upon which she ran was saved from sinking immediately by lightening her forward; as it is, she lies on the bar in twelve feet water, on her beam ends, a complete wreck. The Richmond was seen to be taking out her stores and dismantling her.
There were two transport sailing vessels outside when our fleet hove in sight, but they did not wait for the termination of the action, hoisting all sail and leaving at double quick.
There were a great many reports about town yesterday, as to the extent of the injury received by the Manassas in the collision, and many made them out of a fearful nature. We were informed by an experienced steamboat man, who was aboard and examined her critically, that in two days she can be fixed up better than ever, and that this collision has pointed out weak points, so that proper remedies can be applied where experience teaches they are needed.
In relating the above facts we will remark that we got them from an eye witness of the battle, and a gentleman of intelligence and veracity. They can therefore be relied on.
This victory is really so marvelous that we shall attend, with no little curiosity, the Yankee reports of it. It must he expected that there will be tallying about the number of our forces, the damage done to them, and a covering up of all losses on their side. Well, after giving them such a beating we can afford to allow them the chance to lie a little. We must really give them that poor privilege, and in the meantime prepare for another act in the tragedy.
The New Orleans Daily Crescent, New Orleans, LA