t you were too much for me."

"How could you fight against the old flag, General?"

"Well, it did come hard at first; but if the North had only let us
alone, there would have been no trouble. They would not abide by the
Constitution."

"You are mistaken, General, and the whole South is mistaken. The North
have always been willing that the South should have all her rights,
under the Constitution. The South began the war, and she will be
responsible for the blood which has been shed to-day."

Thus, in an hour and twelve minutes, the fort which the Rebels
confidently expected would prevent the gunboats from ascending the river
was forced to surrender, and there was unobstructed water communication
to the very heart of the Southern Confederacy. Their line of defence was
broken.

There was but little loss of life in this engagement,--twenty to thirty
killed and wounded on each side. If the Rebel army had not fled almost
at the first fire, there would have been terrible slaughter. When
Commodore Foote was informed that there were several thousand troops in
the fortifications, said he, "I am sorry for it, because if they stand
their ground there will be great destruction of life from the heavy
shells; for I shall take the fort or sink with the ships."

If the troops under General Grant had been in position to have
intercepted the Rebel force, the whole panic-stricken crowd would have
been captured, but being delayed by the mud, the fleet-footed Rebels
were far on their way towards Fort Donelson when General Grant reached
the rear of the intrenchments. In their haste and terror the Rebels
abandoned nine pieces of field artillery on the road, and a large supply
of ammunition.

The battle was fought on Thursday. On Friday Commodore Foote returned to
Cairo, to send his despatches to Washington, also to repair his gunboats
and to see that the poor scalded men on the Essex were well taken care
of.

I was writing, at Cairo, the account of the battle. It was past midnight
when the Commodore came to my room. He sat down, and told me what I have
written of his plan of the battle, and his talk with General Tilghman.
He could not sit still. He was weary and exhausted with his labors. "I
am afraid, Commodore, that you have overworked. You must have rest and
sleep," I remarked.

"Yes, I have been obliged to work pretty hard, and need rest, but I
never slept better in my life than night before last, and I never prayed
more ferven