NAVY, U. S., OPERATIONS OF. 



675 



were counted in a single minute, and officers 

 described the projectiles as striking their ves- 

 sels sometimes as rapidly as the ticking of a 

 watch. It is estimated that from first to last 

 the enemy fired not less than 3,500 rounds of 

 ammunition. 



Placed in the focus of this tremendous fire, the 

 onclads fought at a disadvantage which ren- 

 ered their offensive power of little effect. The 

 nfined space in which they were obliged to 

 noeuvre called for unusual vigilance on the 

 rt of their commanders in avoiding collisions, 

 also in keeping clear of the floating obstruc- 

 ions and submerged batteries against which 

 the tide was constantly bearing them. The 

 dense clouds of smoke which hung over the 

 water proved an additional source of embarrass- 

 ent. They, nevertheless, entered resolutely 

 on the work before them, and directed their 

 incipal attack against Fort Sumter. Upon 

 ceiving the order to disregard the movements 

 if the flag-ship, Lieut. Commander Ehind gal- 

 lantly ran his vessel, the Keokuk, up through 

 the others to within 550 feet of the fort, where 

 e became a special target for the enemy, 

 uring the short period that she was able to 

 itain this position, she was struck 90 times 

 the hull and turrets, 19 shots piercing her 

 ,t and below the water line, and others enter- 

 ing her turret. The vessel was in fact so com- 

 pletely riddled, that her commander, fearing 

 she could not much longer be kept afloat, with- 

 drew from action at the end of half an hour, 

 d succeeded in getting her to anchor out 

 f range of fire. She was kept afloat during 

 the night by means of her pumps, but sank 

 the next morning. The Keokuk was only able 

 to fire three times during the engagement, one 

 of her guns having been almost immediately 

 disabled, and the other rendered unavailable 

 by casualties to the crew. She differed in con- 

 struction and strength from the other iron- 

 clads of the squadron, and her side and turret 

 armor of an average thickness of 54- inches, 

 proved entirely insufficient to withstand the 

 terrible fire to which she had been subjected. 



The remaining vessels, though suffering no 

 calamity comparable in extent with that of the 

 ~eokuk, were more or less damaged by the 

 re from the forts. The Nahant had her tur- 

 i so jammed as effectually to prevent its turn- 

 , and the pilot house became nearly unten- 

 le in consequence of flying bolts and nuts, 

 e Passaic was unable to use her 11 -inch 

 :n after the fourth fire, and had her turret 

 mporarily jammed. The Patapsco lost the 

 of her rifle gun after the fifth fire, owing to 

 e carrying away of her forward cap square 

 Its ; and the Nantucket had her 15-inch gu-n 

 rmanently disabled after the third fire. The 

 eehawken, Montauk, and Catskill were ob- 

 structed in the use of their guns only by the 

 obstacles to navigation above mentioned. The 

 ew Ironsides never got nearer than within 

 000 yards of the enemy's fire, and directed 

 chief attention to Fort Moultrie, against 



which, however, she was unable to discharge 

 but a single broadside. 



At 4.30 P. M. Admiral Dupont observing signs 

 of distress on the part of several of his ships, 

 made signal to withdraw from action, intend- 

 ing to resume the attack the next morning. 

 The reports, however, which the different com- 

 manders made on that evening respecting the 

 injuries to their vessels, the character of the 

 obstructions in the inner harbor, and the num- 

 ber and weight of the enemy's guns, convinced 

 him of the " utter impracticability of taking 

 the city of Charleston with the force under his 

 command." During the forty -five minutes that 

 the fleet had been under the hottest concentra- 

 ted fire of the enemy, one vessel had been 

 wholly, and four partially disabled, and in the 

 opinion of the admiral another half hour would 

 have sufficed to put the remainder hors de com- 

 bat. To compensate for these damages, noth- 

 ing had been effected by the ironclads beyond 

 some injuries to the east wall of Fort Sumter 

 a result which confirmed the admiral in hia 

 opinion that the opposing forces were too un- 

 equal to justify him in renewing the contest. 

 The nine ships of the squadron had been able 

 to fire but one hundred and thirty-nine shots 

 against Fort Sumter in reply to the thousands 

 of shells, solid shot, and steel pointed bolts 

 hurled against them from six or seven different 

 forts; and there was good reason to suppose 

 that even had Sumter been silenced, the ob- 

 structions beyond would have been impassable, 

 and the fire from the forts have sunk every 

 vessel attempting to go up the harbor. This 

 opinion, however, was not shared by all. Un- 

 der these circumstances Admiral Dupont not 

 only determined not to renew the fight, but to 

 recross the bar and return with the ironclads 

 to Port Royal ; being prompted to the latter 

 course partly by the necessity of making re- 

 pairs, and partly by his belief that the anchor- 

 age inside or outside the bar was unsafe for 

 vessels of the Monitor class. On the 12th the 

 whole fleet, with the exception of the New 

 Ironsides, which anchored outside Charleston 

 bar, returned to Port Royal. 



The casualties of the fleet were remarkably 

 few, considering the fierceness of the enemy's 

 fire, and resulted in almost every case from 

 flying bolts and concussions within the turrets. 

 But one man died of injuries received, and 

 about twenty-five were wounded, principally 

 on the Keokuk and Nahant. In some of the 

 vessels no casualities whatever were reported. 

 The Passaic was struck 35 times, the Nahant, 

 36 times, the Patapsco, 47 times, the Nantuck- 

 et, 51 times, the Montauk, 14 times, and the 

 Catskill, 20 times. Many of the shots made 

 but slight indentations in the turrets and side 

 armor, but in every ship repairs of greater or 

 less extent were considered necessary. The 

 Ironsides escaped with comparatively little in- 

 jury, having during the whole engagement 

 been out of range of the severest fire. The 

 capabilities of the ironclads in contests of this 



