THE WESTERN FLOTILLA.

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deadly conflict. Blinding smoke hov-ered about the scene of all this con-fusion and horror; and, as the battleprogressed and the Confederate fleetwas destroyed, all the cheering voiceson shore were silenced. When the lasthope of the Confederates gave way, thelamentations which went up from thespectators were like cries of anguish.

Boats were put off from our vesselsto save as many lives as possible. Noserious injury was received by anyone on board the United States fleet.Colonel Ellet received a pistol-shot inthe leg; a shot struck the Carondeletin the bow, broke up her anchorand anchor-stock, and fragments werescattered over her deck among herofficers and crew, wounding slightlyActing-Master Gibson and two or threeothers who were standing at the timeon the forward deck with me. Theheavy timber which was suspended atthe water-line, to protect the boats fromthe Confederate rams, greatly impeded our progress, and it was thereforecut adrift from the Carondelet when that vessel was in chase of the Braggand Sumter. The latter had just landed a number of her officers and crew,some of whom were emerging from the bushes along the bank of the river,unaware of the Carondelet’’s proximity, when I hailed them through a trum-pet, and ordered them to stop or be shot. They obeyed immediately, and bymy orders were taken on board a tug and delivered on the Benton.

General Jeff. Thompson, noted in partisan or border warfare, having sig-nally failed with those rams at Fort Pillow, now resigned them to theirfate. It was said that he stood by his horse watching the struggle, and seeingat last his rams all gone, captured, sunk, or burned, he exclaimed, philosoph-ically, “ They are gone, and I am going,” mounted his horse, and disappeared.

An enormous amount of property was captured by our squadron ; and, inaddition to the Confederate fleet, we captured at Memphis six large Missis-sippi steamers, each marked “ C. S. A.” We also seized a large quantity ofcotton in steamers and on shore, and the property at the Confederate NavyYard, and caused the destruction of the Tennessee, a large steam-ram, on thestocks, which was to have been a sister ship to the renowned Arkansas .About one hundred Confederates were killed and wounded and one hundredand fifty captured. Chief of all results of the work of the flotilla was theopening of the Mississippi River once for all from Cairo to Memphis , and thecomplete possession of Western Tennessee by the Union forces.

BRIGADIER-GENERAL M. JEFF. THOMPSONFROM A PHOTOGRAPH.

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