THE SERVICES OF LIEUT.-COLONEL FRANCIS DOWNMAN, R.A. 165 
walked to tlie shore within 400 yards of their floating battery, and re¬ 
turned to town in the evening. 
October 13th .—This afternoon at 3 o’clock I marched from town 
with a detachment to relieve Captain Standish on Province Island, 
crossed the ferry and remained till 12 at night, when the Engineer in¬ 
formed me the battery was ready for the howitzer and mortar. I set 
off directly across the causeway, but horses and waggons falling over 
the bridges through the badness of the roads, we did not get to the 
ferry house, only a mile, till 3 in the morning. It was then thought 
that daylight would be coming on before the things could be taken to 
the battery, therefore we remained here all day. 
October 14th .—This evening about 10 o’clock I moved from the farm 
house with an 8 inch mortar and howitzer down to the battery facing 
the fort on Mud Island, and got them into it after a great deal of diffi¬ 
culty from the shockingness of the road, which is nearly all under 
water and has many deep holes in it. Everything here is carried on 
by night, for in the daytime the rebels fire both round and grape shot 
at anybody they see. This night was very favourable, for the island 
was covered with a thick fog, and under this cover another battery 
was begun and finished before daylight, to contain a howitzer and 
8 inch mortar, which were also got down and ready to open as soon as 
the fog cleared up. These two batteries are exactly opposite the fort 
at the distance of about 600 yards. The batteries are 200 yards apart, 
but have a safe communication by means of the embankment which 
serves as a breastwork for the battery guards. The rebel boats were 
rowing about a good deal in the night, and seem to be preparing for 
some fun. 
October 15th .—The fog did not clear up so that we could distin¬ 
guish anything plainly till about 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning, when 
I fired the first howitzer into the fort. The other battery began dir¬ 
ectly after me, and we kept up the ball for some time without their re¬ 
turning a shot. At length they began and fired very briskly at us, but 
did no damage. This morning another battery of ours, of two iron 18 
pounders, opened upon the rebel shipping and fort ; unfortunately one 
of these guns burst and badly wounded two or three men. This bat¬ 
tery was begun and finished in the night; its situation is on the point 
of Province Island near the Schuylkill, and it is called the Pest-house bat¬ 
tery. Immediately after our fire commenced, the whole rebel fleet moved 
out of reach in great hurry and confusion, receiving some damage from 
our shells. Their Commodore and large ships went near Gloucester Point, 
and their floating batteries, galleys, fire ships, and rafts went under 
the Jersey shore at Red Bank, where they are collecting forces and 
raising works. I was relieved this evening by Captain Standish from 
one of the most horrid commands that ever man was upon, the whole 
place under water, and the battery itself knee deep, almost torn to 
pieces by the rebel shot, and made so badly at first that several shot 
have gone through, and we have no safety in it but by lying down on 
the platform. 
