Transcription
Rec’d (illegible) 14.
U. [page torn] -quehanna
At Anchor off Fort Walker. Hilton Head S.C.
My dear Father
The great fight is over / and a glorious victory it has given us - / more glorious probably than any of the / present war, as not only was the / place taken of great import to us / but also was the battle more fiercely / fought than any [^ one] save an eyewitness / can imagine or appreciate _ I do / not say what I have vaingloriously, / but with the feeling of one who Knows / That men never did stand a l more / terrible fire of shot and shell than / was poured upon our ship and the / Wabash during the six hours of the / engagement _ Yet we have miraculously / escaped, only being hit some thirty five / times and losing but two men and / wounding four or five seriously and / a few others slightly. The enemy / fortunately for us gave their guns / too great an elevation so that much /
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The la- [page torn]-on of their shot + sh -[page torn] / went over o - [page torn] -ds, indeed at times / during the action, the incessant / “Whittle, whittle, Whittle” (noise made by / “ passing shell) overhead made my position / on the hurricane deck nearly resemble / that of man with his ear attached to / the cylinder of a steam engine –
Our masts, yards, and rigging were / very much cut to pieces - A splinter / from our main mast (weighing about / five pounds) struck about three inches / from my nose, and a ball came / crashing by, so close to Lieut. Fen-[dall?] / as to knock him down, without / so much as scarring him _ From all / we can learn the rebels lost some / five hundred men. Our fire upon / the forts was more terrible than / can be imagined. I myself visited / for Walker yesterday afternoon and / saw legs + arms innumerable scattered / about in all directions. Many of the / enemy’s guns were dismounted / by our shell, and as the smoke / was very Thick and dense we / kept up our fire long after the
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[page torn] enemy had h -[page torn]-n thin / [page torn]-[lag?], deserted their [page torn] and retreated / some miles back in the Country - / The rebels evidently left the forts / in the greatest confusion, leaving / behind them their baggage, horses, / arms and ammunition, not even / s[-[??]-ing their guns - Our troops are / already in possession.
Flag Officer / DuPont after the battle complimented / The Susquehanna in the highest terms, / and said that in his official / report he would place her at the / head of the list, as she had remained / under fire longer than any vessel / in the action - The Wabash and Susquehanna were in the fire nearly / all the time, the smaller vessels / were out of range most of the time _ You must excuse this sheet as my head aches so violently from / the cannoning of yesterday that / it is with difficulty I can write at / all _ With an abundance of love to / dear Mother Mary, yourself + Grandfather
I remain Yr affectionate Son WashieTranscriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
