April 3, 1863, The New York Herald
Our New Orleans Correspondence.
NEW ORLEANS, March 25, 1863.
The destruction of the steamship Bio Bio on Sunday morning last, of which you have had a partial account, was in all respects complete. She burned until two P.M., then filled and sank in very deep water, with all her cargo and a great part of the passengers’ baggage. The passengers have great cause to congratulate themselves that she was destroyed alongside the levee instead of at sea; for it is well established that her being on fire was a very usual occurrence. On her passage from New York to New Orleans, in November last, the light wood work around the smokestack and cook galley was on fire constantly, so often that the hose was led along from the forward deck pump and hands stationed by it constantly in order to prevent the fire from extending beyond that locality. It is folly for any one, owners or agents, to deny this assertion. The fact was well known to every one on board, and, as your correspondent formed one of the numerous passengers at that time, he speaks not from hearsay but from having seen for himself all that he asserts.
Since the sailing of the steamers New Brunswick and McClellan on Sunday last, we have had nothing of interest to occur in this department. The rebels have the means, as will be perceived at a glance, of concentrating in a few hours any number of men they need, and it would be folly, when these circumstances are considered, to venture upon an assault of their strong intrenchments without their equal in numbers to attack, and having a strong reserve. You will have heard through rebel channels, long before it would have been in my power to communicate it, their account of the attempted passage of the fleet on the night of the 14th inst. They claim to have sustained but small loss. It is the opinion of many naval officers with whom I have conversed, and who were present on the occasion, that, had the Admiral carried out the instructions he himself gave to the other commanders of the squadron before attempting the passage of the batteries, the majority, if not all the squadron, would have passed up with very little if any injury. The Admiral’s instructions were that the fire of the batteries must not be returned, as it was not the object to engage, but to pass the enemy’s works; but the Hartford, the leading and the flagship, as soon as the first gun was fired replied with her entire starboard broadside, and of course the other ships were compelled to follow the Admiral’s motions. What was the consequence? The Hartford, with the Albatross lashed alongside, went through; but the other ships following were so enveloped in smoke they could see nothing. Two of them grounded, one of which, the Mississippi, was destroyed, and the other, the Monongahela, riddled. The officers of the Mississippi say that up to the time she ran ashore she had been struck but three times, and had sustained no injury whatever: but as soon as she became motionless the enemy got her range, and nearly every shot told with more or less effect. The ship was literally torn to pieces. She was being raked from forward aft and from aft forward. On her starboard bow, beam and quarter a perfect hail of shot and shell was poured into her. All the ports on the starboard side were knocked into one and nearly all the starboard battery was dismounted. Captain Smith and Lieutenant Dewey were the last to leave the ship. She had been fired both forward and aft, and Lieutenant Dewey was in the boat at the port gangway waiting for the Captain, when the latter expressed the wish that the wardroom should be examined once more to see if the fire kindled there was burning properly. At this instant a heavy shot, striking the starboard side of the ship, passed entirely through her, coming out within a foot of the stern of the boat in which Lieut. Dewey was sitting. It was only necessary for him to look through the hole that the shot had made to ascertain that the wardroom was in a blaze, and on reporting such to be the case Captain Smith was satisfied and left the good old ship to her fate. As the upper works burned off, and the after hold filled with water, she slid off the mud bank and commenced to drift down the river. Any one would suppose that she would have continued drifting as she went off, viz: – stern foremost; but she did not. She turned round, head down the river, and as her port battery became heated the guns were discharged one after another into the enemy position. She blew up near where the Arkansas was destroyed, and now a few pieces of wreck are all that can be found of the best steamer ever owned by the government. The Monongahela had her steering gear shot away, and the Kineo, which vessel was lashed alongside of her, had her rudder post and head of the rudder shot away. Both ships, becoming this unmanageable, ran into the river bank, the Monongahela grounding first. The momentum was so great that when the Monongahela stopped the Kineo broke from the fasts alongside, and also went ahead into the river bank, and was hard and fast ashore. Her commander, Lieutenant Commander Waters, nothing daunted, went to work very coolly and got his vessel afloat, under the terrible fire to which he was subjected, and succeeded also in pulling the Monongahela off – the latter vessel having been struck while ashore no less than fifty-two times. It is very evident that our ships returning the fire of the enemy gave them our exact position, and made their fire very effective; whereas, if we had remained silent, as our ships did on the Potomac river, we should have no more loss to record than when the Seminole, Pawnee and Pensacola ran by the batteries at Evansport.
The scene of active operations is transferred to the La Fouche country. We have the ability to drive Kirby Smith from his location in the neighborhood of Brashear City, and I have no doubt it will be done, and that very soon. The falling back of General Weitzel with his main body, was a politic move. He cannot and will not be caught asleep, as I have said in former letters, and my opinion is, and it is not mine alone, that he will turn the tables upon Kirby Smith and company. General Weitzel, as I informed you in my letter of Sunday last, is with his main body at Bayou Boeuf, but a strong force is still at Brashear. Skirmishing is going on constantly across the river, showing but a little distance intervenes between the two armies. Kirby Smith thought that he had Gen. Weitzel in a sure trap; but he was mistaken. All his plans were laid to that end; but when he expected to spring the trap the bird had flown and was more secure than ever. The rebel gunboats Queen of the West (lately captured from us) and the Webb are known to be in the Atchafalaya, not very far above Brashear. They are to co-operate with Kirby Smith, and are waiting for his army to be ready. They have been compelled, beyond doubt, to leave the Mississippi now that the Hartford is above Port Hudson, and take to some safer clime, where they can be possibly of more use. It is not improbable, however, that they have run out of the frying pan into the fire, and may be glad to get back to where they started from. Kirby Smith has been again reinforced. This may be relied upon: for since the fight at Port Hudson steamers have been seen there, embarking troops for the other side of the river, no doubt. These troops were for his army, in order to enable him to throw an overwhelming force upon General Weitzel, and render an attack upon his position a certain thing, but they have failed; for the movement was known here and at Brashear as soon as made, and was, as I have said before, effectually checkmated.
An expedition, composed of one battalion of Zouaves and a section of a battery, started a few days since to effect the destruction of the railroad bridge as Pass Manchac, and drive off whatever force of rebels might be found there. The expedition was accompanied by several gunboats to cover the operations on shore. Pass Manchac is the opening between Lakes Ponchartrain and Mauripas, and is the nearest point to New Orleans where the rebels in arms can be found. Nothing definite has been heard from the expedition; but rumor has it this morning that the bridge was destroyed as soon as our party arrived, and that a detachment of rebel troops had been surrounded and would in all probability be taken prisoners. This is, as I have said before, mere rumor, although I consider its truth very probable.
Two transports arrived this morning from Pensacola, one of them the Star of the South. By these vessels we learn that Pensacola has been evacuated, our forces having fallen back on the Navy Yard at Warrington and the forts at the entrance of the harbor. This movement is not on account of any menace on the part of the enemy, but merely to vacate that which it was of no use to occupy, and bring the troops stationed there to a point where their services were most needed. Before evacuating Pensacola many of the houses there were set on fire and destroyed; but singular to relate those of Mullory and Chase, the two arch-rebels of Florida, were not molested. All the citizens of Pensacola that remained and who have come forward and taken the oath of allegiance, were offered transportation to New Orleans. Many took advantage of the offer and embarked, arriving here in the transports this morning. Some cases of the most utter destitution can be found among them. The Twenty-eighth regiment Maine Volunteers also came by these vessels, and will form part of the force now in this vicinity.
A letter was received yesterday at Baton Rouge from Captain Fontaine, of the United States marines, recently in command of the marine guard on board the United States steamer Mississippi, and who was captured by the rebels the night the ship was destroyed. He states that he was well and well treated, and hope to be exchanged for Captain Youngblood, of the rebel army, who was captured by our forces a few days since. The rebel accounts state that thirty-six of the Mississippi’s crew had been taken prisoners. If this is so, the number of killed and missing will be reduced from sixty-five – the first account – to twenty-nine. I hope it may prove true, for many a heart will be made glad over the news that is now sorrowing for those supposed to be no more.
Since yesterday morning we have had the most delightful weather, cool and pleasant, and in all respects like spring. Flowers we have in abundance, and strawberries and green peas tempt the eye in many places but it requires one to have a purse as heavy as an army cotton or sugar speculator in order to indulge freely in the latter luxuries. There are more people on the streets now than at any time since my arrival. Many ladies are among the number, and from the manner in which they dress, and from the neat boots they have on, it is no very hard matter to imagine that they are secretly pleased at New Orleans being in possession of the Yankees and open to the commerce of the world, no matter how much they may assert to the contrary. They (the ladies) do sometimes, even now, turn up their noses as they pass an officer in uniform; but I am led to suppose in the majority of cases it is a natural turn up, which they wish the officers to believe put on only for the occasion. “Secesh” have not been so very jubilant during the last forty-eight hours. Why, I know not, except that nor more rumors have reached us of the Hartford being destroyed, and Rosecrans and his army annihilated. However, other absurdities will soon be talked of again which will have the effect to raise their drooping spirits once more, and cause as increased demand for juleps and cocktails. From the latter cause alone I am led to believe that the numerous absurd rumors in almost hourly circulation are set afloat by the proprietors of the thousand and one rum mills to be found in New Orleans; for the fondness of a Southerner for juleps, smashes, punches, and other drinks of a like nature, is always in proportion to the humor he is in. And if he can hear of the Yankees being licked in a manner satisfactory to himself he boils over with excitement and asks, in his usual liberal manner, every friend he meets to accompany him and […..],” which request is seldom if every declined. Consequently the duties of the numerous barkeepers throughout the city become much increased, to the pleasure and profit of their employers.
ELEVEN P.M.
A letter has been received in this city today from Natchez which states that the United States steamer Hartford passed that city on Monday last, in company with the Albatross, bound up the river. This confirms my opinion that she has gone up to Vicksburg, and that communication will be established between the two admirals.
We have information this evening that the Manchac expedition has proved an entire success. Our forces succeeded in getting possession of the pass and securing two hundred bales of cotton. The troops then advanced upon Ponchatoula, which they occupied and now hold possession of. They had a slight skirmish, in which three of our men were slightly wounded. We have taken twenty-one prisoners, among them ex-Sheriff Waldron, of New Orleans, and driven the enemy away from that section. Our force was about fifteen hundred men and consisted, I understand, of the Sixth Michigan, Second battalion of Duryess’ Zouaves, and the Ninth Connecticut battery, the whole under command of Colonel Smith, of the Zouaves. The enemy are reported to have had a regiment of Choctaw Indians at that point, numbering four hundred, and one report says they have been all captured. This, however, need confirmation. Full particulars of this little affair will go by the steamer of Saturday next, the 28th inst.
A person captured within a day or two, or I should say, arrested, at Donaldsonville, reports that the rebels sustained a loss of over one hundred men at the recent attempted passage of the Port Hudson batteries by the fleet, and several have died since of their wounds. The fire of the ships is represented to have been terrific, and exceedingly effective, much more so than we expected it would be.
We have in the river off the city the British steamer Styx and French steamer Lavoisier. The United States steamer Pensacola, Commodore Morris, is of the city, with some smaller vessels, and the sloop-or-war Portsmouth is still off Carrollton.