306 NortH Caroitina Troops, 1861-65.

dittle squadron of seven vessels would be utterly demolished,
but a merciful Providence preserved us.. Master-Command-
ang Hoole, of the Forrest, received a wound in the head which
was at first pronounced serious, if not mortal, but I trust that
this promising young oflicer, who so bravely fought his ship,
will be spared to the service. Midshipman Camm, acting
as executive officer of the Hillis, had his left arm shot off, and
the right arm of Seaman Ely, of the Curlew, was fractured.
These, with three others slightly wounded, constitute the
sum of our personal casualties. Our physical ones were seri-
ous. About 2:30 p. m., a heavy shell perforated the deck
of the Curlew, passed through the magazine, and, driving out
one of the iron plates, of which her bottom consists, caused
her to fill so rapidly as to make it necessary to run toward
the shore, near which she sank. About the same time the
Forrest was disabled by the displacement of her propeller.
We received other injuries from shot and shell (one of the
latter passing through the flagship, but above the water line),
but none of a serious character.

“With the exception of the vessels named, we could have
been prepared for action the ensuing day, if we only had
ammunition, but I had not one charge of powder nor a loaded
shell remaining, and few of the other vessels were better off.
In common prudence, I should, perhaps, have reserved some
for contingencies, but the battery was so sorely pressed that
I felt bound to annoy its assailants as much as possible.
During the latter part of the engagement, when our ammuni-
tion was nearly exhausted, I sent to the upper battery for a
supply, but ten charges were all that could be spared.

“While recovering the rifled gun, and other articles of
value from the wreck of the Curlew, I sent Lieutenant-Com-
manding Parker with the Beaufort, to the upper battery with
a note for the commanding officer on the island, informing
him of our shortness of ammunition and of my intention to
proceed to Elizabeth City, thirty-five miles distant, for a sup-
ply, and return immediately.

“T felt sure that Pork Point Battery could hold out, and
earnestly hoped that, profiting by the mistake at Hatteras,
the enemy, who had landed on a point of marsh, would be at-

NortH Carorina Navy. 307

tacked and defeated during the night. With this conviction
and in this hope, with the Forrest in tow, I proceeded with
my little squadron to Elizabeth City for ammunition, but

_ finding only a small quantity there, dispatched Commander

Hunter express to Norfolk for it.

“There were reasons for retiring on Norfolk, had I known
that very little ammunition could be procured at Elizabeth
City. But even had I known it, the desertion of that town,
situated near the head of the Dismal Swamp Canal, would
have been unseemly and discouraging, more particularly as
I had urged the inhabitants to defend it to the last extremity.

“In the conflict of the 7th instant Commander Hunter,
Lieutenants-Commanding Cooke, Parker and Alexander,
and Masters-Commanding McCarrick, Tayloe, Hoole and
Harris bravely sustained the credit of the service, and the
other officers and most of the crews of the vessels were scarce
less zealous than their commanders. To Commander Hunter
and Lieutenants-Commanding Cooke and Parker I am par-

ticularly indebted.
“TLieutenant-Cammanding Simms was absent on detached

service, and only returned at the close of the conflict, but ex-
hibited such an eagerness to participate as to give assurance
that if gratified he would have upheld his high reputation.
“Having procured fuel and ammunition sufficient for two
steamers, I left Elizabeth City in the Seabird, with the Ap-
pomattox in company, on the 9th instant for Roanoke Island
with the purpose of rendering what assistance we could. At
the mouth of the river we met a boat, from which we learned
that our forces on the island had capitulated. We then con-
tinued on in the hope of rescuing the men stationed at the
Croatan floating battery, but were forced to retire upon the
appearance of a division of the enemy’s fleet, steering to-
ward the river. :
“Tmmediately upon our return I sent an express to Gen-
eral Henningsen and distributed the ammunition between
the Seabird, Ellis, Appomattox, Beaufort, F anny and the
schooner Black Warrior, the gun-boats forming in line of bat-
tle abreast across the river, a little above the fort, and the
schooner moored parallel with and close to the eastern shore,