care.

Meanwhile Commander Porter remained in command below the forts. The
morning after the passage of the fleet he sent a demand for their
surrender, which was refused. Learning that the Louisiana and some
other boats had escaped the general destruction, and not aware of
their real condition, he began to take measures for the safety of his
mortar-schooners. They were sent down the river to Pilot Town, with
the Portsmouth as convoy, and with orders to fit for sea. Six were
sent off at once to the rear of Fort Jackson, to blockade the bayous
that ramify through that low land; while the Miami and Sachem were
sent in the other direction, behind St. Philip, to assist the troops
to land.

On the 27th, Porter, having received official information of the fall
of the city, notified Colonel Higgins of the fact, and again demanded
the surrender, offering favorable conditions. Meanwhile
insubordination was rife in the garrison, which found itself hemmed in
on all sides. At midnight of the 27th, the troops rose, seized the
guard and posterns, reversed the field pieces commanding the gates,
and began to spike the guns. Many of them left the fort with their
arms; and the rest, except one company of planters, firmly refused to
fight any longer. The men were largely foreigners, and with little
interest in the Secession cause; but they also probably saw that
continued resistance and hardship could not result in ultimate
success. The water-way above and below being in the hands of the
hostile navy, all communication was cut off by the nature of the
country and the state of the river; there could therefore be but one
issue to a prolonged contest. The crime of the men was heinous, but it
only hastened the end. To avoid a humiliating disaster, General Duncan
accepted the offered terms on the 28th. The officers were permitted to
retain their side arms, and the troops composing the garrison to
depart, on parole not to serve till exchanged. At 2.30 P.M. the forts
were formally delivered to the navy, and the United States flag once
more hoisted over them.

The Confederate naval officers were not parties to the capitulation,
which was drawn up and signed on board Porter's flag-ship, the Harriet
Lane. While the representatives were seated in her cabin, flags of
truce flying from her masthead and from the forts, the Louisiana was
fired by her commander and came drifting down the river in flames. Her
guns discharged themselves as the heat reac