Diary of Gideon Welles: Tuesday, September 23, 1862

Received a letter from Commodore W. D. Porter stating his arrival in New York after many signal exploits, — capturing the ironclad steamer Arkansas, running Bayou Sara, etc. Charges from Admirals Farragut and Davis, accusing him of misrepresentation and worse, have preceded his arrival. The War Department has sent me an inexcusable letter, abusive of the military, which Porter has written, and which Stanton cannot notice. I have been compelled to reprove him and to send him before the Retiring Board. Like all the Porters, he is a courageous, daring, troublesome, reckless officer.

No news from the army. The Rebels appear to be moving back into Virginia in their own time and way, to select their own resting-place, and to do, in short, pretty much as they please. Am sad, sick, sorrowful over this state of things, but see no remedy without change of officers.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30, 1864, p. 145

Special Dispatch to the Chicago Evening Journal

Special Dispatch to the Chicago Evening Journal

ON BOARD THE STEAMER “B,”

CUMBERLAND RIVER, Feb. 4.

This morning Gen. Grant and his staff, Cols. Webster, McPherson and Rawlins, Captains Hillier, Lagon, [Butick?], and Riggen, and Gen. McClernand and his brigade arrived at [illigible] Landing, some six miles below Fort Henry.

The gunboats Essex and St. Louis, with Gen. Grant and Staff, made a reconnoissance of the rebel works for the purpose of landing the land force.  They went within one and a half miles of Fort Henry.  Throwing several shells within the entrenchments.  The fire was returned.  One shot (a 24 pound rifle shot) struck the Essex, going through the corner of Capt. Porter’s cabin.  The range of the gun was obtained, and a fine place selected for disembarking the land forces.  It will be done this afternoon.

The force of the enemy is supposed to be fifteen thousand.  Our officers are entirely confident of success.  The fight will commence to-morrow.

JACK.

SECOND DISPATCH

FOUR MILES FROM FORT HENRY,

On Board Steamer “B.”  Feb. 5 – 11 a. m.

Gen. Grant and gunboats are within four miles of Fort Henry.  The enemy is 15,000 strong.  Fight expected today.

JACK

– Published in The Dubuque Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, Friday Morning, February 7, 1862, p. 1

The War News

1715 Killed and Wounded at Ft. Donelson.

Rebel Outlaws Murder Union citizens in Missouri.

Pacific News from Great Britain.

Our Government Protests Against a Monarchy in Mexico.

Gen. Fremont Completely Vindicated.

Rumored Resignation of Vice-President Stephens.

Porter’s Expedition arriving at Ship Island.

THE ROCK ISLAND ARMORY BILL BEFORE THE SENATE.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, February 21, 1862, p. 1

Arrival of the Karnack

New York, Feb. 20.

The steamer Karnack has arrived, with Havana dates of the 10th and Nassau of the 8th.  It is stated that several vessels had arrived at Havana, having run the blockade.  The steamer Rate sailed on the 30th, with a part of the Gladiator’s cargo, probably for New Orleans.  The steamer Miramon sailed for Metamora on the 7th.

The war in Venezuela Continues.

A frightful revolution is progressing in Honduras.

Gen. Suardioler had been assassinated at his door.  The troops had joined the insurgents and excesses were being committed in Truxillo.

St. Thomas dates to 2d state that the British commander had attempted to take a seaman from an American vessel by force, but a federal gunboat protected the man.  The governor of St. Thomas notified the Britisher that the guns of the fort would aid the Iroquois.  The British admiral subsequently arrived and reprimanded the commander, and apologized to Consul Edgar.

The bark W. G. Anderson arrived on the 20th.

Ship Island dates of the 1st state that five ships of Porter’s expedition had arrived and two more were spoken off Havana on the 11th.

Vera Cruz dates to the 8th state that no advance had yet been made.  Over 1,000 sick soldiers were there, besides hundreds at Tjera.  Yellow and typhoid fevers had broken out among them.

The Mexicans insist on the re-embarkation of the Spanish troops, but consent to 2,000 allied troops attending the negotiations at Arzaba.  The allies state they shall advance during February to Arzaba, and would give battle at Cerro Gordo if opposed.

Mexican papers express the greatest hatred of the Spaniards.

Four rebel schooners had arrived at Havana from New Orleans with cotton.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, February 21, 1862, p. 1

Theodore Peyre Ferry . . .

third master of the gunboat Essex, has died from injuries received at the bombardment of Fort Henry.  Mr. Ferry is of French descent, his father and uncle both having been officers in the army under Napoleon.  He has been in service, in various capacities, in the united States Navy, for nearly fourteen years.  He planted the first American flag upon the coast of Japan, and has seen much service in California and Washington Territory.  He was a man of undoubted bravery, and Commander W. D. Porter says “That by his death he has lost one of his best officers” a tribute worthy both to the noble man who gave it, and to him who fell defending the country he loved.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, February 20, 1862, p. 2

Capt. Porter

We regret to learn Capt. Porter is seriously ill from the scalding he received in the Essex at the Fort Henry bombardment.  His lungs were dangerously affected by the inhalation of the hot steam. – Mo. Dem. 17th.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, February 20, 1862, p. 2

The Great Union Victory in Kentucky!

Special to the Chicago Journal.

CAIRO, Feb. 7.

I arrived from Fort Henry on the gun-boat St. Louis this morning. We left the Fort at 9 o’clock last evening.

Our gun-boats took one 128-pounder, one 24 rifled, two 24-pounders, ten 32 pounders, one 24 siege gun, two 12-pounders, one 6-pounder caisson in the fort.

A rifled shell was fired directly into the muzzle of the 128 pounder. Seven guns were disabled. Thirty-one shots struck the Cincinnati, seven struck the St. Louis and fourteen struck the Essex.

The Cincinnati, Carondelet, and St. Louis were within 300 yards of the rebel batteries when the flag was hauled down on the St. Louis.

No one was injured. The St. Louis is as good as new. She fired 126 shots during the engagement. The Cincinnati fired one-hundred and thirty-six shots. The Essex fifty-five shells.

The Essex was disabled by a round shot that entered a forward post, passing through a heavy bulwark into her boiler. She reports 26 killed, wounded and missing. Her pilots, Marsh Ford, of Pittsburg, and Jas. McBride, of Cincinnati, were scalded and died.

Capt. Porter’s clerk, S B. Britton, was killed, a round shot taking off his head. Two were killed on the Cincinnati. The second master, Hewitt, lost a leg, but will probably recover.

Our prisoners are: Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman; Capt. H. L. Jones, of Ky., acting quartermaster; Captain. J. H. Hayden, chief of engineers; Capt. John McLaughlin, Quartermaster; Maj. W. L. McComico; assistant adjutant-general; Capt. Jesse Taylor, commanding garrison; Lieuts. J. Ormsley, Watts, and Fred. J. Weller; Capt. G. R. G. Jones; and sixty privates.

In the evening, three 6-pounders and five rifled field-pieces, that had been taken into the woods, were recovered.

The Lexington and Conestoga went up the river, it was supposed, to destroy the bridge of the Clarksville and Memphis RR., last night.

Gen. Smith, on the west side of the river, had captured the whole camp equipage of two regiments, and, it was believed, a number of prisoners.

At least six hundred shots were fired during the engagement. It was a most terrific cannonade. The guns were well served.

I saw six dead rebels. Their loss could not be ascertained, the dead having been taken away.

The scene inside the rebel intrenchments was terrible. In three rows of their log barracks not one escaped, shot and shell having torn everything to splinters.

On the Cincinnati one was killed, P. Cassidy, of St. Catherines; [8] wounded, one of whom, Wm. Lakeman, will die. Captain Pratt may save his leg.

Our land force on the east side of the river encamped at Fort Henry last night.

Flag Officer Foote, commander of the fleet of Federal gunboats that captured Fort Henry yesterday, was on the Cincinnati, which led the advance.

Gen. Tilghman, in surrendering, said he was “gratified to surrender, if he must, to so gallant an officer as Flag Officer Foote.”

Commodore Foot replied, “You did right to surrender. I should not have given up until you had sunk my boats. Your surrender must be unconditional.”

Here is the complete list of the Essex dead wounded and missing. This casualty to the Essex has cast a gloom over our fleet and some what dampens the enthusiasm of our victory.

KILLED – M. H. Ford, Jas. McBride, pilots; S. B. Britton, Quartermaster’s mate; David Wilson, captain of gun; J. Coffey, Jasper P. Brease, seaman.

OFFICERS WOUNDED – Commander W. D. Porter, Theo. P. Ferry, 3d master.

SEAMEN WOUNDED (badly.) – John Matthews, N. McCarty, Peter White, G. E. Nichols, Samual [sic] Boyer, B. Harrington, W. O’Brien.

SEAMEN WOUNDED (slightly.) – J. Rodgers, Francis Wilson, Harvey Hogan, Thomas Mullen, W. H. Maxley. T. Sullivan, John O’Hara, John Costello, J. J. Phillips, B. Solin.

MISSING – A. D. Waterman, Jno. Larrise, Henry Gulper, Henry Reynolds, J. Bedard.

A detachment from one of the Indiana regiments, taken on board the Essex just before engaging the enemy, to act as sharp shooters, under command of Danl. Trotter, lost some of their men as follows:

Killed – Chris Stocker; L Gantz.

Scalded – Lieut. Trotter, Chas. E. Erb, J. Lump.

Missing – Wm. O’Neal and Benj. Lubec.

Our gun boats did splendid fighting. We can bake no distinctions. The Cincinnati, however, was in the lead, and flying the flag officer’s pennant, the chief mark. Flagg officer Foote and Capt. Stombel crowded her defiantly into the teeth of the enemy’s guns. She got 31 shots, some of them going through and through her. She expended 110 shots.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, February 10, 1862, p. 1