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although two precious hours were thereby lost. We left here at 2:30 P. M. with about two hun-dred of the 3d Georgia regiment, Colonel W-, who is a man after my own heart in such
matters, accompanying them. A little before 5 p. m. we came in sight and soon after opened fireupon the enemy, which was returned at first with spirit; but in about twenty minutes heattempted to escape, and in the attempt ran aground, and shortly after surrendered.”
The Fanny had 011 hoard, when captured, a captain and 30 men of the 20thIndiana regiment, and the sergeant-major and 11 men of the 9th New York.The Confederate vessels engaged were the Curlew , Raleigh , and the little tugJunaluski. As soon as I heard of the disaster I sent an order for ColonelBrown to retreat. On the 4th of October a large body of Confederates,under Colonel A. R. Wright, assisted by gun-boats, landed at Chieamacomico,and Colonel Brown commenced a successful retreat down the island. Havingreceived early news, by a native messenger, of the landing and Brown’smarch, I moved, with my regiment, toward the north, and met ColonelBrown’s command early the next morning at the light-house. Colonel Wrightwas closely following the retreating troops, but as soon as he saw the reen-forcements he faced about and commenced a retreat which only ended in thelanding of his forces at Roanoke Island . During the march back thesteamer Monticello, from the ocean side, with her heavy guns, maintaineda fire at the Confederates across the low sand-fields, which may haveannoyed them without doing any serious damage. This was the end of anelaborately conceived plan on the part of the enemy to capture our troops,destroy Hatteras Light, and recapture the forts of the inlet. From that timeuntil the arrival of the “Burnside expedition,” the Federal forces at theinlet pursued the even quiet of routine duty.
The news of the loss of the Fanny created some excitement both at FortMonroe and at Washington, and I was severely censured for having dividedso small a force, and was superseded by Brigadier-General J. K. F. Mansfield.I am still of the opinion that my course was right, as no other disposition ofthe small force at my command would have saved the light-house and pre-vented the landing, opposite the light-house, where there was a wharfand deep water, of the whole Confederate force of about two thousand men.That landing would have given them a safe base for a decisive movementagainst the Union troops at the inlet. I afterward heard that Colonel
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RETREAT OF THE CONFEDERATES TO THEIR BOATS AFTER THEIR ATTACK UPON HATTERAS.