shores, and as the _Pensacola_ came opposite the forts they opened
their furious fire upon her.

A good deal of uneasiness prevailed in the Union fleet regarding the
rebel rams. It was known they were formidable monsters, which the
Confederates believed could smash and sink the whole Union squadron.
While it was known that much was to be feared from the forts, it was the
ironclads that formed the uncertain factor and magnified the real danger
in many men's minds.

The _Mississippi_ was hardly abreast of Fort St. Philip when the dreaded
_Manassas_ came plunging down the river out of the gloom at full speed,
and headed directly for the _Mississippi._ She was not seen until so
close that it was impossible to dodge her, and the ironclad struck the
steamer on the port side, close to the mizzenmast, firing a gun at the
same time. Fortunately the blow was a glancing one, though it opened a
rent seven feet long and four inches deep in the steamer, which, being
caught by the swift current on her starboard bow, was swept across to
the Fort Jackson side of the river, so close indeed that her gunners and
those in the fort exchanged curses and imprecations.

[Illustration: SHELLING FORTS PHILIP AND JACKSON.]

The passage of the forts by the Union vessels forms one of the most
thrilling pictures in the history of the Civil War. The _Hartford_, like
all the vessels, was subjected to a terrible fire, was assailed by the
Confederate ironclads, and more than once was in imminent danger of
being sent to the bottom. Following with the second division, Captain
Farragut did not reply to the fire of the forts for a quarter of an
hour. He hurled a broadside into St. Philip and was pushing through the
dense smoke when a fire-raft, with a tug pushing her along, plunged out
of the gloom toward the _Hartford's_ port quarter. She swerved to elude
this peril and ran aground close to St. Philip, which, recognizing her
three ensigns and flag officer's flag, opened a savage fire, but luckily
most of the shot passed too high.

There was no getting out of the way of the fire-raft, which, being
jammed against the flagship, sent the flames through the portholes and
up the oiled masts. The perfect discipline of the crew enabled them to
extinguish the fire before it could do much damage, and the _Hartford_
succeeded in backing into deep water and kept pounding Fort St. Philip
so long as she was in range.

Without attempting to describe the battle in d