the blow, flies across the deck, over into the sea, breaking the leg of one of our men, but that is all.

We are working our guns for all they are worth, and are giving as good as we receive. The engineer is forcing his wheels to back us off of that mud bank, for we shall be destroyed if we don't get off that stationary position, where all the rebel gunners have to do is to load and fire at us.

We have got over our first excitement and are working calmly and coolly, and endeavoring to make every shot tell. Another shot strikes us below water-mark with a heavy thud, and another one pierces our magazine. Plugs are ready and the men at work below decks are quick to set and drive them in the holes thus made. Two more strike us below water-mark and we shall be as full of holes as a sieve if we stay here much longer.

Another one pierces the ship's upper works fore and aft, passing through the armory where lay our wounded comrade, and by its concussion knocking down in one confused heap the pistols, cutlasses, axes, boarding pikes, etc., which were placed in racks around the room; but by a miracle none of the revolvers exploded, though all were loaded, ready for instant use, and our wounded man, though in the midst of them all, suffered no further injury.

At last we succeeded in getting back into deeper water out of the range of that gun, and there worked the remainder of the day.

Considerable interest was excited during the day by the manœuvres of a small sloop mounting one gun and manned by as brave a crew as could be found in the fleet. This little vessel, being light of draft, would run in close under the fort, and at the right moment let fly her shot at the enemy, and gaily swinging her head around, she flaunted her colors in his face, and was off out of range in a moment. In vain did the rebels depress their guns to sink this

little craft. As soon as she was loaded and got the wind abeam, she would glide swiftly in, come about, and let fly another reminder, and then off again as before.

As I was thus busily engaged at my post on the gunboat Perry, it was, of course, impossible for me to note the movement of the regiment with the troops ashore, and as I have no history of the regiment to quote from, I can only give the details as they have been related to me by my comrades who were there. On the 7th, our regiment, leaving their old quarters on the Eastern Queen, were taken aboard the steamer Union and landed on the island at a place called Ashby's Harbor, having in charge one brass howitzer. They marched a short distance from the shore and stacked arms in a sweet potato field, just outside the edge of a swamp, and a detail was sent down to haul up the gun, which they accomplished by dint of much hard labor, through the soft, marshy ground.

A detail was sent out on picket a short distance to the front, and the rest of the boys made their beds in the cold wet potato field, and with the rain pouring in torrents upon them tried to get a little sleep in preparation for the morrow's work.

"The interval between them and the enemy's works was covered by a swampy forest and traveled by a single halfworn cart road. The fortifications consisted of an earthwork with three sides surrounded by a ditch eight feet in width and three deep, filled with water. In front, the woods had been cut down for the distance of three hundred yards to give their guns a clean sweep, while the trees lay piled in every imaginable direction over the marshy ground, through which the advancing force would be compelled to work their difficult way, exposed at every step to a devastating fire."

The next morning as soon as it became light enough to

distinguish objects at a distance, the pickets of the Fourth Regiment opened fire, and immediately the whole camp was astir. Drums beat their " long roll," bugles called to arms, and the day's work of driving the enemies of our government from the island commenced.

"The ranks were soon formed, and the centre column, under General Foster, composed of three Massachusetts regiments, and the Tenth Connecticut, moved off, a battery of six twelve-pound howitzers at the head. The second column under General Reno was to make a flank. movement on the enemy's left, and the third column, under General Parke, a similar one on his right." This column included the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment. Advancing a short distance upon the cart path, before mentioned, the order to "file right" was given, in order to flank the left of the enemy's works, and the boys scrambled through the underbrush briers, sometimes jumping from bog to bog, or wading waist deep through the swamp.

The Fourth was followed by the Ninth New York who, before they had proceeded half the length of their regiment upon the flank, received orders to charge. The companies of this regiment who had reached the flank movement, charged "front forward," while the rest of them, still on the road, being somewhat confused by this order, charged directly up the road. The Twenty-first Massachusetts and Tenth Connecticut on the left of the road. charged home at the same time upon the right flank of the fort, while our regiment came in on the right of the Ninth New York.

The rebels seeing themselves pressed so closely on either flank, where they had not supposed it possible that troops could manœuvre, on account of the thick obstructions of the swamp, fled in dismay, leaving this battery, called

Fort Defiance, in our hands, with three guns and a few prisoners.

Immediate pursuit was made, and the regiment advanced in rear of the Fifty-first and Ninth New York regiments some distance up the road, when the order was given to halt, and filing into the woods, arms were stacked and fires built. The men were soaked to the hide by the night's storm and flanking movement through the swamp, but in a few minutes General Burnside appeared, and told them there was yet one more job to be done before resting, and he wanted the Fourth to do it.

"Fall in," came the order, and was cheerfully obeyed, and they started on the "double quick" for about a mile, to the other side of the island, and soon reached Fort Bartow, at which we of the naval force had been battering away so long. But the rebels had skedaddled, and our regiment immediately took possession. A long pole was procured, our flag attached to it, and planted on the ramparts of the fort amid the cheers of the regiment, which were answered by the crews on board the gunboats, who immediately sent their small boats ashore.

An aide from General Foster now arrived with the report to Burnside that the rebel force at the northern end of the island had been brought to bay, and asked for terms of surrender. These were sent back with the aide, and a short time after, we received news of the surrender of the whole rebel force. General Burnside ordered Colonel Rodman to stack arms. So the boys built their camp fires, and after a good supper turned in for the night.

Some of the boys, unable to sleep, started out about midnight upon a foraging expedition, and returned about daylight, loaded down with pigs, hams, and other food. Pots, pans, and kettles were in demand, and the boys enjoyed a feast of good things that morning.

Sunday morning, February 9th, some of the boys found half a dozen rebels who had been hiding away since the capture of the fort, and from them learned that a large quantity of rebel quartermaster's stores were concealed at a place down on the shore, and a detail was sent from the company to secure them, but found the Ninth New York in possession, who cheerfully divided the spoils with us, and after much labor they were transferred to camp.

Meanwhile our company had taken possession of another earthwork farther down the island (Fort Blanchard?), and the flag was raised by the fifer, Henry S. Brown, of our company. We were now prepared to stay at Fort Bartow, as a permanent camp, and were well provided with forage and subsistence, but were much disappointed when, Sunday afternoon, we received orders to reëmbark on the dirty old Eastern Queen, and were forced to leave the greater part of the provision we had labored so hard to collect, to the benefit of the Sixth New Hampshire Regiment, who took our place in the fort.

We remained in the miserable old hulk about a week, and then landed and camped. Our life while we stayed here was passed in the exercise of usual camp duties, broken only by the sad occasion of the death of two of our comrades, John Ready, a good soldier and kind friend, and Jonathan Card, the drummer of the company, a genial associate and faithful comrade. They were taken sick aboard the Queen, by reason of the accumulation of miseries and privations that continually surrounded us, and were removed to the hospital ship where they died,Ready at Hatteras Inlet, and Card at Roanoke,—and were buried on the island, under military honors, by a squad commanded by Corp. Albert R. Collins, of Company B.

Here the Fourth remained until the movement upon Newbern, and regretting that our story of their experience at