THE STEAM I’AM. AT NEW ORLEANS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 6, Issue 284, 13 March 1862, Page 4

THE STEAM I’AM. AT NEW ORLEANS.

The following account of the revival of tills old mode Of actuck'Ls from u New Or e : ms paper:— ** " Lieutenant- Wnrlby had orders from Commodore Hollins ahead of the whole expe lition . and try the r.im under any circumstances and at all hazards. . Her 9-inch guir was not to be used at all, and in fact, she only had a dozen cartridges for it in lier magazine. The porthole forward was closed down, and so was the after hatch. The forward hatch alone was opeued four inches, so as to permit the steersman and pilot to have a good view ahead. Mr. Austin who knows every inch of the river, piloted her himself, the pilot having left h r at the fort. It was a peculiar hazard, this, to try a new invention without a precedent on which to form even a conjecture as to the result, and to run Ixddly into the midst of an enemy’s fleet on the literal principle of ‘Victory or death.’ The men aboard of her were not frightened, or they would not have deliberately made the venture, but thoy would not have been human, if they had not felt the oppression of an awful suspense. Shut up in that iron-bound case, they knew that in a short time it might be thair coffin. > It was pitch dark. A better night could not have been selected for the purpose, and the ram glided noiselessly down the current. Never before had she run so well. Ten miles an hear was supposed j to bo her maximum speed, but she was j making at least 13 knots. The water ran j ;ip over her bow, and split olf on each side with beautiful play, making a. gentle'! and even musical rippling sound. She j had left the other boats far behind, but i still she kept on her swift course. j

AH of a sudden Austin discovered the dim outline of a ship right ahead. He sang out to the engineer, ‘Let her out, Hardy, let her out now/ Instantly, the t-ar, tallow, and sulphur that had been prepared, were thrown into her l'urnssoe, and. the hand of her steam guage ran up to. the highest point-. How much press-' ure on the-boilers w s given can never be know it was far beyond her allowance. Now she was discovered by the watch on the enemy’s decks, and they gave the alarm, and sent up a blue light irom tlie Richmond—probably a private signal to the Niagara below. Austin made out the bow of the' vessel she was approaching, and steered her fc*r it so as to strike, between her long [fore ?] chains and main chains. The aim was a true one ; the momentum of the ram was terriffic, and the crash, as she drove her prow twenty feet deep into the ship’s hull, was truly fearful. Every man on board the Manassas wa3 knocked down by the violence of' the shock, and the whole boat vibrated like an aspen. The engines were at once reversed, and she backed right out, bringing off ou her prow whole sheets of tho Preble’s coppering, and big splinters of her solid, live-oak bow. The dismay, the. consternation, the panic of horror that ensued on the deck of the stricken Preble, may be imagined, but it cannot be pictured in words. Most of the crew, aroused from slumber, rushed frantically-about-, crazy with fright. Some of them must have been wounded and mangled by the sharp prow of the Manassas, judging, from their piercing, agonising shrieks. A few of them were seen to leap overboard into the river, and upon deck a perfect saturnalia of frenzied terror reigned. They knew not what was to follow, and could not understand what had occurred. In the Manassas their yeils wore distinctly heard, with micli cries as, ‘We’re sinking i Site’s going to blow up! We’re all lost ! Oh, my God ! ’ The . lciiuumd,Yineennes, Preble, and Water wit ch were at anchor in a Hue of a Y, with spring cables, and steam up on the two steamers. As the Manassas backed oil' from the Preble, her officers saw the Richmond lyiug right before them with her full broadside exposed. Here was a splendid opportunity, and they had no doubt from their success against the Preble, that they would cut her in two. Not a single shot had been fired on them as yet, and such was the confusion on board all of the ships, that they commenced ringing their fog bells, which proved that even yet they were so confused and ignorant of the nature of our attack, that some of them supposed it to be an accidental collision, caused by the extreme darkness, and rung the fog-hells so as to shew the Manassas their position and enable her to avoid them.

Again Mr. Austin sang out to tlie engineer, ‘ Now, let her out, Hardy, and give it to her.’ It was at this moment that Mr. Hardy discovered that one of the condensers had been broken by the shock of the concussion in striking the Preble, which rendered one of her engines useless, and he knew she had not power enough in the other to run her into any thing else. He therefore passed the word up that the machinery was disabled, and all she oould do would be to haul olf as bjCi-st- she could. Hitter was the disappointment to Invent. Warloy, as he saw the full side of the .Richmond right before him, but there was pohelpfqy it, and it might even be a critical matter to escape. Working one engine she nude a circuit to head up stream,, which brought her right under the Richmond and Vincennes. By this time the officers on board these vessels comprehended tl\a s'tuation, and the invulnerability, of the Manassas was fairiy tested. First came the whole broadside of the Richmond, then that of the Vincennes, followed by the Bdnch shells of the Water Witch. The flag-staff apd one of the.chimney stacks 'were cut off as clean as if by a knife, but no other, injurywas received. The only proof of her having been struck was an indentation near the bow, but it is believed that other shots reached her and glanced off without mak- ; ing any perceptible mark.