NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN.

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ately ran up in the Conestoga, with great gallantry, and making fast to theMound City, towed her away from the bank and out of action. Fitch, seeingthe catastrophe, and apprehensive lest another fortunate shot from the enemyshould deprive him of his support afloat, gave the signal to cease firing, andassaulted the works simultaneously in front and in flank. They were quicklycarried; Dunnington and Williams made good their retreat, but Fry, who wasbadly wounded, was taken prisoner with about thirty of his men. GeneralHindman reported the Confederate loss as 6 killed, 1 wounded, and 8 missing.

The scene on board the Mound City, upon the explosion of the steam-drum,was beyond description. The gun-deck was at once filled with scaldingsteam, and many of the crew were instantly killed,— literally cooked alive.Others, in an agony of pain, jumped into the water, where they were shot atby sharp-shooters from the bluff, under orders from Dunnington and Williams.The boats from the other vessels put off at once to the rescue, and wereriddled with shot while picking up their comrades. Out of 175 officers andmen on board the Mound City, only 23 answered to their names at the roll-call that evening, and these were men and boys that were in the shell-roomand magazine when the explosion took place. The only officers unhurt wereDominy, the first master, and McElroy, the gunner. Eighty-two men per-ished in the casemate, 43 were killed in the water or drowned, and 25 wereseverely wounded. The latter, among whom was the gallant Kilty, were sentat once to Memphis in the Conestoga. The Mound City remained at St.Charles, under First Master John H. Duble, of the Conestoga, with a crewof one hundred of Fitch’s men, her injuries being temporarily repaired.

The expedition continued up White River as far as Crooked Point Cut-off,'63 miles above St. Charles, where the gun-boats were compelled to turn backby the falling of the water. Halleck and Grant meantime had decided toincrease Fitch’s command by the addition of two regiments, which sailed forWhite River on the 26th of June, under convoy of the Conestoga. CommanderJohn A. Winslow, of Kearsarge-Alabama fame, who was at this time in com-mand of the forces afloat in White River, was ordered to give additionalconvoy as far up as the state of the water would permit. The bulk of thenaval force was then withdrawn, the Lexington remaining to support Fitch inhis subsequent operations up the river. Curtis reached Helena on the 13thof July without communicating with the gun-boats. [See p. 445.]

During the months of May and June, 1862, Farragut’s fleet had been slowlyWorking up from New Orleans , receiving the surrender of the principalcities on the way, and having an occasional encounter with the Confederatebatteries along the river. None of the latter were at this time of any greatimportance, although those at Grand Gulf inflicted some damage on two ofthe gun-boats which attacked them on June 9th. No serious obstruction,however, to the passage of the river from Cairo to the sea now existed, exceptV Vicksburg .

The advance division of Farragut’s squadron under Commander Lee in theOneida had summoned Vicksburg to surrender on the 18th of May, but hadJQet with a refusal. Farragut, arriving soon after, held a consultation with

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