Our navy in time of war (1861-1898) . he South had seven thou-sand men there before the battle ended, help hav-ing arrived from Kentucky, and Grant Avas forcedto retreat. The gunboats shelled the Southern troopsand drove them oif while Grants forces were be-ing taken on some transports. Had it not been forthe two Xorthern vessels, Tyler and Lexington,which supported him. Grant. would probably havebeen beaten badly, and might have been captured. It was not until February, 1862, that what mightbe called the first real fight of the river flotillaoccurred. Up the Tennessee Kiver, just south ofthe
Our navy in time of war (1861-1898) . he South had seven thou-sand men there before the battle ended, help hav-ing arrived from Kentucky, and Grant Avas forcedto retreat. The gunboats shelled the Southern troopsand drove them oif while Grants forces were be-ing taken on some transports. Had it not been forthe two Xorthern vessels, Tyler and Lexington,which supported him. Grant. would probably havebeen beaten badly, and might have been captured. It was not until February, 1862, that what mightbe called the first real fight of the river flotillaoccurred. Up the Tennessee Kiver, just south ofthe Kentucky line, the South had erected FortHenry. Twelve miles across the country, on theCumberland Kiver, it had erected Fort February 2d Foote started up the TennesseeKiver with seven war ships, escorting the transportscarrying Grants troops. Foote had four ironclads—the St. Louis, which was the first ironclad the LTnitedStates had, the Essex, Carondelet, and Cincinnati—and three small gunboats—the Conestoga, Tyler,. DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI—HELPING THE ARMY. 77 and Lexington. The troops were landed at Paducah,below Fort Henry. On the next day a flood camedown the river and swept away some torpedoes thathad been placed there to blow np the Xorthern time for the advance came on February told the captains of his boats that every shot tlieyfired cost the Government eight dollars, and thereforetliey must be careful not to waste Government prop-erty. Fach of the four large boats could fire only threeguns from its bow, twelve guns in all, while the fortcould fire twenty guns. The large boats ranged them-selves in a line across the river, and the Cincinnatifired three shells so as to measure the distance to thefort. • There goes twenty-four dollars wasted, said aman who had heard Foote tell his captains to be care-ful about the use of powder and shot. The little boats laj^ down the river behind theironclads. The fight lasted about fifty minutes. I
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectunitedstatesnavy
