ty was to capture this boat's crew, if possible. For a
fourth of a mile we were compelled to ride in water up to our stirrups,
and within eight hundred yards of the ram, which was in full sight. Any
one who has ever seen a troop of cavalry ford a stream, knows what a roar
they make in the water, a noise that can be heard for nearly a mile. We
could not expect to reach this place without attracting the attention of
those on board the ram, and as we could not go faster than a walk, we
would make a fine target for their shell, and we were in momentary
expectation of having them exploding about our heads.

For some reason that I never could explain, we were allowed to reach our
destination without being disturbed. Stewart's Hill, as it was called, was
only a little pine knoll, containing about three acres, and is not over
five feet higher than the river. After placing my men where they would not
be seen, and cautioning a number of North Carolinians who had congregated
there for safety, to keep out of sight, I took my station on the bank to
watch for the boat.

I soon saw a boat crew put off the ram and start down the river, but they
kept the north shore, which was a quarter of a mile away, and passed on
down below me. Having thus failed to accomplish my mission, and knowing
that marching back to Plymouth was equivalent to going into prison, I will
say candidly that the temptation was great to patch up an old leaky boat I
found there, or build a raft, and try to reach our gun boats in the Sound,
only a little over five miles distant. But if I did, I would most likely
be accused of sneaking out of a fight; for although I had no orders to
return, I knew I was expected to do so, and we therefore mounted and
retraced our steps back to Plymouth.

I found on my return, that Capt. Hodges had taken some men and attempted
to get down the creek, but the boat was capsized and the Captain being
unable to swim, was drowned. When I reported to General Wessels, he
ordered me to take my men into battery Worth, which I did, spending the
balance of the day and night in piling up bags of sand to strengthen our
little redoubt; firing an occasional shot with our two hundred pound
Parrot at the ram, which we struck many times during the day, but we could
see by the aid of our field glasses, the immense projectiles glance off
her heavily armored sides, like peas thrown against the round surface of a
stove pipe. The projectiles were of such immens