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THIRTEEN Seventeen Mighty Warships, ALLReady to Go On Barter Sunday, April20, scattered howercarried by a chillnortherly windttpit from low clouds into the faces of Porter's bummers.Forty-eight hours had passed since the mortar schooners had opened fire on Fort Jackson, and still the Confederate flag fluttered defiantly over the bastion. Porter was in a foul mood: the forts had not fallen as he had promised, and worse, he had no reliable information as to their damage. But when Norfolk Packet picked up the red-capped deserter from Fort Jackson and delivered him to Harriet Lane, Porter cheered up. From the deserter, who claimed to be an impressed Pennsylvanian, he learned for the first time of "hundreds of bombshells falling into the fort, casemates broken in, citadel and outbuildings burned, men demoralized and dispirited, [the] magazine endangered , and the levee cut." In addition, the deserter mentioned that another six or seven hundred men like himself had been forced to serve in the forts and would escape if they could. Porter's observers could have seen none ofthis from their posts downriver.The newswas sogood that Porter rushed the deserter over to Farragut. In the meantime, the bummers kept lofting bombshells into the forts.1 Although Farragut seldom attached much credibility to statements made by deserters, this was the kind of news he wanted to hear. He still doubted that Porters mortars could bring down Fort Jackson's casemates, but Porter remained hopeful. If the deserter's information was accurate, Farragut saw no reason for further delay. Besides, if the mortars continued to consume ammunitionat the present rate, there would be none left for running the gauntlet. Farragut wanted to make his move, but not with stiff northerlies blowing into the face of his fleet. 1. ORN, XVIII, 67, Porter to Welles, April 30, 1862. 198 The Captureof New Orleans,1862 At 10 A.M. he signaled his captains to come on board Hartford. Porter and three other skippers were upriver with the mortar boats and missed the meeting. It is likely that Farragut explained his plan to Porter beforehand , because Lieutenant Jonathan M. Wainwright of HarrietLane, Porters second in command, attended the meeting. But Porter, using his backdoor access to the Naval Office, later grumbled to Fox, "Tho Farragut has been pleased to consider me an 'outsider,' and has not deigned to invite me to his public councils, I don't want to do anything that may look likepique."! When everybody was seated in Farragut s cabin, he unfolded his charts of the river and the forts, and for the first time explained in detail the proposed plan ofattack. Midway through the discussion, Commander James Alden of USS Richmond interrupted and asked permission to read a rather lengthy memorandumthat he said Porter had asked him to present. This memorandum had been prepared prior to the time Farragut's ships had crossed over the bar, but Porter still believed his tactics were sound, or he would not have asked Aldento propose them. "In my opinion," Porter wrote, "there are two methods of attack —one is for the vessel to run the gantlet of the batteries by night, or in a fog, the other to attack the forts by laying the big ships close alongside of them . . . firing shells, grape and canister into the barbette, [and] clearing the ramparts ." The smaller, more agilegunboats would move about and throw in shrapnel, clearing the parapets and dismounting the guns, while the mortar schooners would continue to stand off and hurl shells into the forts. Porter disliked the idea of Farragut's ships runningpast the forts, emphasizing that it would "leave an enemy in our rear, and the mortar vessels would have to be left behind," presumably unprotected. If the forts were to be passed, he wanted his mortars "towed along," admitting, however , that it would slow the fleet. Porter clearly did not want to be left out of the action, and if Farragut reached New Orleans, he wanted a share of the glory. Alden completed the reading of Porter's proposal, folded it, and placed it in his pocket. Captain Bell asked if it would be proper to leave the document with the flag officer. Alden agreed and handed it to Farragut.3 The memorandumevidently stimulated conversation among the commanders . Earlier in the morning Porter had recommendedthat the bar2 . Ibid., 136, Farragut's unfinished report, April 20, 1862; Thompson and Wainwright (eds.), fox Corrcjponiencc, II, 100. There were two Wainwrights in Farragut's...

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