rly
at right angles, searched every weak point. Upon the Carondelet a
rifled gun burst. The pilot-houses were beaten in, and three of the
four pilots received mortal wounds. Despite these injuries, and the
loss of fifty-four killed and wounded, the fleet was only shaken from
its hold by accidents to the steering apparatus, after which their
batteries could not be brought to bear.

Among the injured on this occasion was the flag-officer, who was
standing by the pilot when the latter was killed. Two splinters struck
him in the arm and foot, inflicting wounds apparently slight; but the
latter, amid the exposure and anxiety of the succeeding operations,
did not heal, and finally compelled him, three months later, to give
up the command.

On the 16th the Confederates, after an unsuccessful attempt to cut
their way through the investing army, hopeless of a successful
resistance, surrendered at discretion to General Grant. The capture of
this post left the way open to Nashville, the capital of Tennessee,
and the flag-officer was anxious to press on with fresh boats brought
up from Cairo; but was prevented by peremptory orders from General
Halleck, commanding the Department. As it was, however, Nashville fell
on the 25th.

After the fall of Fort Donelson and the successful operations in
Missouri, the position at Columbus was no longer tenable. On the 23d
Flag-Officer Foote made a reconnoissance in force in that direction,
but no signs of the intent to abandon were as yet perceived. On March
1st, Lieutenant Phelps, being sent with a flag of truce, reported the
post in process of being evacuated, and on the 4th it was in
possession of the Union forces. The Confederates had removed the
greater part of their artillery to Island No. 10.

About this time, March 1st, Lieutenant Gwin, commanding the Lexington
and Tyler on the Tennessee, hearing that the Confederates were
fortifying Pittsburg Landing, proceeded to that point, carrying with
him two companies of sharpshooters. The enemy was readily dislodged,
and Lieutenant Gwin continued in the neighborhood to watch and
frustrate any similar attempts. This was the point chosen a few weeks
later for the concentration of the Union army, to which Lieutenant
Gwin was again to render invaluable service.

After the fall of Columbus no attempt was made to hold Hickman, but
the Confederates fell back upon Island No. 10 and the adjacent banks
of the Mississippi to make their next stand for