ning. About daylight a
commotion was caused by the sound of distant cannonading. Every one
crowded to the front of the boat; everybody was asking questions of
everybody. Each one had some idea to offer as to the cause. Some ventured
to say it was a gunboat up the river practising. One old chap, who had
evidently been to the front, facetiously claimed that it was the corks out
of Butler's bottles. The river was very crooked at this point, and you
could not see very far; but presently we rounded a bend in the river,
which revealed to us where the cannonading came from, but for what, we
could not make out. About a mile ahead of us lay a United States gunboat,
and every few minutes a puff of smoke, and then a loud
bang--erang--erang--erang--with its long vibrations on that still morning,
awoke a sense of fear in everyone aboard that boat. No one could account
for the situation. Even the captain of the barge stood with pallid cheek,
seemingly in doubt what to do as he rang the bell to slow down; but on--on
we kept moving--nearer and nearer this most formidable war-ship, and as we
did so the shots became more frequent. Then we noticed a man on the bank
waving a flag back and forth, up and down in a wild, excited sort of a
way. I asked what that meant. An old soldier said the man was signaling
the boat to let them know they had hit the target.

Suddenly we were brought to an understanding of what it all meant, for we
could now hear the musketry very plain, and could even see the rebels on
the banks of the river. At this point a "gig" from the gunboat pulled
alongside and gave orders to the captain "to land those troops at once,"
telling him at the same time that this was Fort Powhatan landing; that
Fitzhugh Lee with his cavalry had swooped down upon the garrison, which
was only composed of two hundred negro troops, and that they must be
re-enforced. The captain protested, as the troops on board were all
unarmed, being returned furloughed men and recruits; but it was no use,
the order was imperative, and the captain headed his barge toward the
shore. There was no wharf. That had been burnt, so he was obliged to run
as far as he could onto the sand, then land us overboard. I tell you as
that boat neared toward the shore, my face felt as if it were marbleized;
sharp twinges ran up and down my whole body, and I'll bet that I was the
picture of a coward. I was not the only one. I looked them all over, every
one looked just as I felt