No Sleep Till Brooklyn Passes the Forts

Writing to his father while aboard the steam sloop-of-war U.S.S. Brooklyn, Assistant Second Engineer James Atkins desired to correct some of the misinformation that he saw in the newspapers regarding his ship's fight at Forts Jackson and St. Philip in April 1862. 

    "At about 3 o’clock in the morning, as soon as we came round the point in range of their guns, they opened upon us and for an hour and a half the shots were flying around us like hail," he recalled. "In the height of the noise and confusion, the horrible shrieking of shots as they passed over the ship, the groans of the wounded, and the necessary noise attendant upon working and firing the guns, the long-dreaded ram the veritable Manassas struck us just amidships. With a heavy crash, the ship reeled over to port and the ram passed under our stern over towards the shore. Before she could come round again to renew the attack, the old Mississippi, playing the ram, ran into her and with tremendous force pushed her hard and fast on the shore, and then, hauling off a short distance, “peppered her.” Under her fire, she soon filled with water, rolled down from the soft bed where the Mississippi laid her, into the deep water of the river and was seen no more. Poor thing! She died so peacefully!"

    The U.S.S. Brooklyn was a 2,532-ton steam sloop-of-war that was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in January 1859. At 233 feet long and 43 feet abeam, the Brooklyn carried a crew of 335 officers and men and was armed one 10" smoothbore and twenty 9" smoothbores. It joined Commodore David G. Farragut's flotilla outside the mouth of the Mississippi in March 1862 after intercepting blockade runners in the Gulf during the opening months of the war. Engineer Atkins account of running the forts first saw publication in the July 4, 1862, edition of the Kennebec Journal published in Augusta, Maine. 

This period depiction shows the U.S.S. Brooklyn being struck by the ram C.S.S. Manassas early in the engagement at Forts Jackson and St. Philip on April 24, 1862. Quartermaster James Buck of the Brooklyn later received a Medal of Honor for his actions during this engagement. "Although severely wounded by a heavy splinter, Buck continued to perform his duty until positively ordered below. Later stealing back to his post, he steered the ship for 8 hours despite his critical condition," his citation noted. 


U.S. Steam Sloop Brooklyn, off New Orleans, Louisiana

May 30, 1862

Dear father,

          I notice that the papers devote a large space to the capture of New Orleans, which I suppose you have seen. But the accounts which I have seen are full of errors, most stupid, I should say, did I not believe them designedly erroneous.

          At about 3 o’clock in the morning, as soon as we came round the point in range of their guns, they opened upon us and for an hour and a half the shots were flying around us like hail. In the height of the noise and confusion, the horrible shrieking of shots as they passed over the ship, the groans of the wounded, and the necessary noise attendant upon working and firing the guns, the long-dreaded ram the veritable Manassas struck us just amidships. With a heavy crash, the ship reeled over to port and the ram passed under our stern over towards the shore. Before she could come round again to renew the attack, the old Mississippi, playing the ram, ran into her and with tremendous force pushed her hard and fast on the shore, and then, hauling off a short distance, “peppered her.” Under her fire, she soon filled with water, rolled down from the soft bed where the Mississippi laid her, into the deep water of the river and was seen no more. Poor thing! She died so peacefully!

          Cheer after cheer went up from the vessels of the fleet and the men sprang to their guns with renewed energy. But their work was nearly done for we were shortly out of range of the Rebel guns. Along the shore of the river, all within sight, lay nine Rebel gunboats on fire while the Yankee fleet, consisting of the Mississippi, six sloops of war, and four or five gunboats, were above the forts and apparently in as good condition as when they started with one exception, the Varuna. She was sunk by the ram early in the fight. We had 8 killed and 21 wounded; some 22 or 23 shots struck us during the action.

The U.S.S. Brooklyn occupied the second position of the centre division led into action by Admiral David Farragut, sailing right behind Farragut's flagship the U.S.S. Hartford.  

          The Rebels acknowledge but few lost, although we knew it was a horrible affair for them and they had a large number killed. Whole broadsides were sent into their gunboats with terrible effect, sinking them and setting them on fire, although running them ashore in a sinking condition, they set fire to the greater number. Once the Oneida ran alongside one of them and delivered her broadside and anything more heartrending than the unearthly shrieks and groans which followed can scarcely be imagined. They were heard far above the din of battle. But this was merely a commencement of their sufferings, for, crippled so as to be unable to escape from the wreck, they were left by their chivalrous companions to be roasted alive. Nor is this the worst of their barbarity.

          One of our gunboats, there may have been similar instances on other of their vessels (but I know of no others) were a large number of men who were pressed into service and who, when they arrived at the forts, refused to fight and were confined in double irons. When the steamer was fired, they were not released and there is no possibility of a doubt as to their fate. When we know of such instances of heartlessness as this, nothing seems too bad for these unprincipled villains and I am prepared to believe the worst of the stories I have seen in our Northern papers of the horrible outrage committed on Union people along their lines of march.

          We anchored on the night after the fight 20 or 30 miles below New Orleans. The next day we started up the river and when about five miles from the city were attacked by two Rebel batteries, one on each side of the river. We greeted them with a few broadsides of grape and canister and they ran for the woods. Bull Run can’t produce anything equal to the time this Southern chivalry made; 2.40 gives no idea of it.

          I must inform you of one thing concerning the capture of New Orleans as I see that most every Northern paper speaks in glowing terms of the conquest of this Queen of the South by Butler and Porter’s mortar fleet. First, General Butler did nothing at all until after Brooklyn’s Marines hoisted the stars and stripes over New Orleans. Then he went round the fort by way of Lake Borgne and landed his troops above, on the river. Well, if he had not been there, perhaps they would not have surrendered, but if not, they would certainly have evacuated. But when a garrison becomes so dissatisfied with their cause as to tie and gag the guard, burst open the gates, and desert 400 men at a time as they did there it makes little difference to us whether they surrender or evacuate.

          Then, as to Porter’s exaltation, I would like to know what he has done to gain such laurels. Oh, yes, I know what he has done. Why he brought up about 20 bomb schooners, anchored them below the forts out of sight, behind the trees and fired away for some seven days. Yes, and he might have fired seven times seven days and still our enemies would have occupied the forts and that secesh rag would have floated over them. As soon as we passed the forts his bombers dropped down the river.

          Some paper in our last mail says Porter flotilla reduced the forts and secured for Commodore Farragut’s fleet a safe passage up the river. And these are such reports as we read of the war in other sections of the country, many of them just about as true I suppose. The Varieties or Vanity Fair even has Porter in New Orleans in this: “Commodore Porter after giving a series of balls at Forts Jackson and St. Philip is now holding a levee at New Orleans.” Assuredly, the fleet of Farragut “has beaten the bush and others caught the birds.” And among the rest of the fleet, the Brooklyn did her part nobly. It was under her fire alone that the Rebels ran from the main fortification at Chalmette. But I notice her name hardly appears in the account of the fight. “The whys and wherefores” I can tell you and will do so when I get home.

         

Source:

Letter from Assistant Second Engineer James Atkins, U.S.S. Brooklyn, Kennebec Journal (Maine), July 4, 1862, pg. 2

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