Page 3 Advertisements Column 1

Otago Daily Times, Issue 98, 10 March 1862, Page 3

THE NAVAL FIGHT AT NEW ORLEANS Tkoe Version ob the Affair. The following is the only account of the attack upon the blockading squadron off New Orleans, by [Commander Hollins, of Greytown notoriety, from loyal sources, which ,has yet come to hand : —The steamship M'Celland arrived at Pass a FOutre early on the morning of October 12, from Fort Pickens, •with despatches from Colonel Brown and Captain Powell, ihig-ofticer at Port Pickens, the purport of which, as reported to us, was to order one or more of the nieu-of:war to Pickens to assist in the proposed bombardment of the Navy Yard. At half-past seven p.m., the Captain heard guns firing up the Pass, land soon after picked up a boat containing a Dr. i Bradford and two men, who were on their way up to ■i New Orleans, as they said, under a general per- _ : mission from Captain Pope, of the Richmond, for all A J the inhabitants along the Pass to go freely ;to the city. As he had no written vouchers, E 'however, he was detained as a. prisoner. . Arrived at the head of the pass, Captain ; Grey ascertained that the fleet had been attacked by i the ~ battering ram Manassus, the anued steamship ■ Star of the West, with other armed steamers and a ( ! long line of fire ships. As there were 125 barrels of , powder and 50,000' dollars in money on board the , ii'Clellan, the captain thought that if the enemy had ] ; driven off the fleet, it would be folly for him to keep ; on, and accordingly turned about and headed down , the Pass. When "the rehels saw the " M'Clcllan" i approaching, they ceased firing at the stranded ships and made for him—three of their vessels turning into another Pass to cut off his retreat, he escaped, how- ' ever, over the bar, and entering the Southward Pass, ' 3 went alongside the " Richmond" and delivered the I guns and ammuuition which he had brought to Capt., Pope. The "Richmond" was fast ashore, as - p well as the " Vincennes" and "Nightin-|i *>' gale." He then went to the " Vincennes, * il nade fast, and tried for two hours to haul her off, c jerking out the bitts of the M'Clellan, but without " succeeding in the attempt. He then returned to the y Richmond, and by seven o'clock he got her safely out :* and across the bar. He then made fast again to the n Vincemies with the United States' steamer South Carolina, at the other side, and after working three ie hours and a half, the two succeeded in getting her off. Ie An attempt to get off the Nightingale was not sucio cessful, but it was thought when Captain Grey left sf next morning for Fort Pickens that she would be got II off by the steamers of the fleet. The whole amount h of damage done to our vessels was very trifling, and ie not only were no lives lost, but not a man in either ts ship was injured. The attempt of the rebels to burn n- and sink our fleet was an entire failure, and they did c, not even succeed in destroying the stores of lumber 'ie for the fortifications which our troops have commenced at the head of the Passes. — Northern Paper.