point and a little over two miles distant, lay three mortar schooners and an old steamer, which also took part in the fight and kept up a rapid fire throughout. Such was the force and such the disposition of the enemy. Our battery remained as in the former fight, except that it had been reinforced with a ten-inch Columbiad. Another part of our force on the day, which should not be overlooked, was a detachment of the Hardwick Mounted Rifles, Capt. McAllister, under command of Lieut. E. A. Elarbee. It consisted of Sergeant Hayman, and Privates Proctor, Wyatt, Harper and Cobb. These men went up the river and crossed over the marsh by night to a point about two hundred and fifty yards from the Montauk,1 and in full rifle range, where they dug out a rifle pit in the mud and remained the greater part of the fight, it is believed not without important success, as will be seen hereafter. Thus stood matters up to a quarter to nine o'clock Tuesday morning, when our troops, wearied with waiting on the enemy, opened on the Montauk 1 with the rifle gun. The eight-inch Columbiad, forty-two-pounder, and ten-inch Columbiad followed suit in the order in which they are named, all directing their fire on the Montauk.1 At nine o'clock the Montauk 1 fired her first gun, and was followed by her associates in rapid succession. Thus commenced the firing on both sides, and the deadly strife was kept up steadily for seven and a half hours without the slightest intermission. Considering the strength of the combatants respectively, and the immense weight of metal thrown, in terrific grandeur there has been nothing like it since the commencement of the war; indeed, history furnishes no parallel. It is estimated that the enemy threw some two hundred and fifty shot and shell at the fort, amounting to some sixty or seventy tons of the most formidable missiles ever invented for the destruction of human life. Only think of eleven and fifteen-inch round shot, and rifle shells eight inches in diameter and seventeen inches in length, screaming along their 1 Should be Passaic. destructive way like so many fiery demons, plunging into the earth-works of Fort McAllister to the depth of eight or ten feet, or exploding with a voice of thunder and the jar of an earthquake for more than seven mortal hours, over, around, and in the midst of our undaunted little band of patriots! Firm and unterrified they stood to their guns through it all, and at the close, with a defiant shot and a shout of victory saluted the retiring foe. Such a fire was never directed against mortal man before, and they came out not only unscathed, but triumphant from the fiery ordeal. About midday an eleven-inch shell struck the upright post of the eight-inch Columbiad and shivered the entire carriage to atoms; the gun was consequently lost to us for the remainder of the day. The main traverse wheel of the forty two-pounder was carried away by a shot, and replaced within twenty minutes in the midst of a terrific fire. Private Carroll Hanson, of the Emmett Rifles, distinguished himself by passing out into the yard of the fort in the direct line of the enemy's fire, where it appeared impossible for life to exist, and returning by the same route with a wheel for the disabled gun. One of the thirty-two's - which battery was gallantly served throughout the fight by a detachment of sharp-shooters, under command of Lieut. Herman met with a similar accident, but the fire was maintained during the entire engagement. These guns were greatly exposed, and required the sternest kind of nerves to man them. About a quarter-past four o'clock, P. M., a shot from our fortytwo-pounder struck the body of the Montauk. A volume of steam was seen to issue from her side, and her turret refused to revolve. She immediately weighed anchor, turned her bow down stream, and retired from the fight. The fort gave her a parting salute as she rounded, to which she replied by two random shots, one of which went up the river and the other across the marsh as much as to say to her troublesome customer: If I can't whip you, go to the d-1. The fort fired the first and the last shot. In a few minutes the other two rams turned 1 Should be Passaic. about and followed their file leader, which, on making the bend below was taken in tow by a steamer, as if in a damaged condition. Thus ended the fight, with the exception of a slow but continued fire, which was kept up from the mortar boats from behind the point of woods throughout the night, in order to prevent repairs on the fort. It, however, did little or no damage, nor did it cause a suspension of the work for a moment. The garrison being pretty well worn out by the labors of the day, Major Schaaff's battalion of sharp-shooters volunteered to make the necessary repairs. Though under fire, these brave men continued their work throughout the night, and at day-light the dismounted Columbiad was again in position, all the breaches repaired, and the fort in complete order for another trial of strength with her formidable antagonists. At dawn the men were again at their guns, but hour after hour passed and no enemy hove in sight. The Yankees had received their fill and concluded to let us alone. But to revert to Lieut. Elarbee and his adventurous little band, who had taken their position under cover of the marsh within rifle shot of the enemy's rams. It was one of extreme peril, being not only exposed to a raking fire from the gun-boats, should they be discovered; but also in a direct line with the fire from the fort. During the fight, an officer made his appearance on the deck of the Montauk with glass in hand, and presented the long wished for target. A Maynard rifle slug soon went whizzing by his ears, which startled and caused him to right about, when a second slug apparently took effect on his person, as with both hands raised he caught hold of the turret for support, and immediately clambered or was dragged in at a porthole. It is believed that the officer was killed. The display on the Montauk the day following, and the funeral on Ossabaw, Friday, gave strength to the opinion. As soon as this shot was fired, the Montauk 1 turned her guns upon the marsh and literally raked it with grape shot. The 1 Should be Passaic. ! riflemen, however, succeeded in changing their base in time to avoid the missiles of the enemy. Not one of them was hurt. Too much credit cannot be bestowed on this daring act of a few brave men. Of the damage done to the garrison we have already given a full account, and can only repeat that it was confined to the wounding of one man the knee, and another slightly in the face. Thomas W. Rape, Emmett Rifles — in William S. Owens, of the same company James Mims, of Co. D, 1st Georgia Battalion of Sharp-shooters, had his leg broken and his ankle crushed by the fall of a piece of timber while remounting the Columbiad after the fight. All, we learn, are doing well. Considerable havoc was made in the sand banks in the fort, and the quarters of the men were almost entirely demolished. The officers' quarters received two or three shots, but suffered no material damage. Inside the fort, and to the rear and left of it for half a mile, the earth was dug up into immense pits and furrows by the enemy's shell and shot a large quantity of which has been gathered up and will be returned to the Yankees in a different form should the occasion offer. It is almost incredible that our troops should have remained under such a fire for so long a time, and not one of them have been killed or seriously wounded. Indeed, their safety would seem to throw suspicion on the whole account of the fight. But it is all true, and why it is so cannot be accounted for on any principle of natural law. The escape was miraculous, and can only be ascribed to that All Seeing Eye that watches over the actions of men, and that Omnipotent Arm which is ever stretched out to uphold the right and shield from harm the cause of the just and oppressed. We might name a number of extraordinary incidents which occurred during the progress of the bombardment that baffle human reason and irresistibly turn the eye of the inquirer up to Him with whom all things are possible. A few will suffice: The eleven inch shell which shivered the carriage of the eight-inch Columbiad to atoms, exploded in the gun chamber in the midst of eight or ten men, and not one of them was injured. A fragment the size of a man's head passed between Lieut. Dixon and number 1, of the gun detachment, who were within twenty inches of each other, and sank deep into the traverse without doing a particle of harm. A shell fell and exploded in the pit of the rifle gun, where a number were serving, and but a single fragment was left on the floor, yet no one was hurt. Several officers were lying in the door of the hospital, and four or five others standing around outside and not ten feet distant, when a fifteen-inch shell struck the bank, rolled down to the very door-sill and exploded. All were burnt with the powder, but not one was touched by the fragments of iron. Where they went to who can tell? This imperfect narrative has already attained to an unreasonable length, but it would hardly be just to close it without some special notice of the gallant spirits who were engaged in the fight. Where all acted so bravely and so well it would be wrong to discriminate, and we shall simply give the positions of the leading actors, that their names may become a part of the record. Capt. Anderson of the Blues, as on a former trying occasion, was in command of the work, managed everything with good judgment and perfect coolness, and moved about from point to point wherever duty called him, without the first indication of fear. Capt. Nicoll of the Emmett Rifles, was present throughout the fight, and shrank from no post where his services were needed. We should not forget, too, the indefatigable Capt. McAllister of the Mounted Rifles, who has charge of the picket force of the coast, and whose watchful eye is hardly ever off the foe, day or night, and on whose information and advice most. of our movements in that quarter are directed. He is ever on hand in a fight, and never fails to render essential service to the garrison. His men acted as couriers in the late fight, and were compelled to pass down the line of the enemy's fire whenever they entered the fort; but not one was known to flinch from his perilous duty. Of the guns already alluded to, the eight-inch Columbiad-which somehow is a favorite mark of the enemy was |