he
movement of the fleet. Instead of making the attempt "in the gray
of the morning," as had been the admiral's first plan, he now meant
to get under way at eight o'clock in the evening. When darkness
fell, therefore, it found the troops substantially in the positions
already described, yet with their outposts well thrown forward.

About ten o'clock the fleet weighed anchor and moved up the river.
The flagship _Hartford_ took the lead, with the _Albatross_ lashed
to her port side, next the _Richmond_ with the _Genesee_, the
_Monongahela_ with the _Kineo_, and last the side-wheeler _Mississippi_
alone. The _Essex_ and _Sachem_ remained at anchor below, with
the mortar boats, to cover the advance. An hour later a rocket
shot up from the bluff and instantly the Confederate batteries
opened fire. They were soon joined by long lines of sharpshooters.
To avoid the shoal that makes out widely from the western bank, as
well as to escape the worst of the enemy's fire, both of musketry
and artillery, the ships hugged closely the eastern bluff; so
closely, indeed, that the yards brushed the leaves from the
overhanging trees and the voices of men on shore could be distinctly
heard by those on board. Watch-fires were lighted by the Confederates
to show as well the ships as the range; yet this did more harm than
good, since the smoke united with that of the guns ashore and afloat
to render the fleet invisible. On the other hand, the pilots were
soon unable to see.

The _Hartford_, meeting the swift eddy at the bend, where the
current describes nearly a right angle, narrowly escaped being
driven ashore. The _Richmond_, following, was disabled by a shot
through her engine-room when abreast of the upper battery at the
turn. The _Monongahela's_ consort, the _Kineo_, lost the use of
her rudder, and the _Monongahela_ herself ran aground on the spit;
presently the _Kineo_, drifting clear, also grounded, but was soon
afloat again, and, with her assistance, the _Monongahela_ too swung
free, after nearly a half hour of imminent peril. Then the _Kineo_,
cast loose by her consort, drifted helplessly down the stream,
while the _Monongahela_ passed up until a heated bearing brought
her engines to a stop and she too drifted with the current.

Last of the fleet, the _Mississippi_, unseen in the smoke, and
therefore safe enough from the Confederate guns, yet equally unable
to see either friend, foe, or landmark, was carried by the curre