and were taken inside. Thus Lieut. Clark
had twice the number of prisoners he had men under his command.

The small garrison of this fort were finally overcome by vastly superior
numbers, but not until the enemy had lost in killed over triple the number
of its brave defenders. The capture of this small redoubt was all they had
gained in two day's persistent fighting, and then only after a fearful
loss in killed and wounded. At 8.30 in the evening Hoke withdrew, having
been defeated at every point with the exception of the capture of this
small redoubt. Our loss was insignificant, as we were behind good works.
During the engagement I was struck on the leg by a bullet out of a
spherical case shot, but as my pants and drawers were inside of a heavy
cavalry boot leg, and owing to the fact that the force of the ball was
nearly spent, it only made a black and blue spot on the side of my leg.
We lay at the breastworks all night, but no further demonstrations were
made in our front that night. Before daylight the next morning, however,
we were aroused by a shot from the two hundred pound Parrot gun in Battery
Worth, and soon the gunboats opened their batteries and a terrific
canonading on the river apprised us of the fact that the long expected ram
Albemarle had come down and encountered our fleet. Within twenty minutes
all was again still, and we anxiously awaited the dawn to learn what had
been the result. When the dawn finally came we were both mortified and
surprised to find that there was no fleet in sight and that the powerful
iron-clad ram Albemarle had full possession of the river, cutting off both
our retreat and re-inforcements.

CHAPTER III.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE ALBEMARLE AND OUR GUN BOATS--DEATH
OF CAPTAIN FLUSSER--CAPTAIN FRENCH CUTS LOOSE FROM THE SINKING SOUTHFIELD
AND RUNS AWAY.

With the reader's permission I will stop here to narrate the struggle
between our gun boats and this ram, as it was detailed to me while a
prisoner, by one of the crew of the Southfield, which, if correct, shows
how the death of one brave officer and the cowardice and incompetency of
another, served to make prisoners of two thousand brave men, and by the
fall of Plymouth supply the Confederacy with an immense amount of
artillery, ammunition and supplies of all kinds, of which they stood
greatly in need.

Lieut. Commander Flusser, as I have said, was one of the most gallant and
efficient Commanders in the