Decks Covered With Blood - May ‘97 America’s Civil War Feature

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As Dewey and Batcheller departed, Batcheller grabbed a uniform frock coat he thought was his and said, “I’ll save that, anyway.” Then the two joined the other officers to await their removal according to proper procedure–men first, followed by officers in inverse order of rank, then Dewey and Smith. Through the evacuation the starboard batteries continued to fire, and those men became the last to leave before the officers. The final boat from Mississippi contained Smith, Dewey, Batcheller, one engineer and four men.

As the boat swirled forlornly downstream, Smith tossed overboard his sword and pistols, thinking he would soon be a prisoner. Victorious shouts from shore, as Confederates viewed the burning Mississippi, deepened that feeling. “It was not pleasant to the ear,” Dewey later wrote. The boat managed to safely reach Richmond, however, where a pleased Batcheller proudly held up the coat he had saved. Quickly, Ensign E.M. Shepard reached for it saying, “Thanks, very much, Batcheller, but that’s my coat.”

Mississippi burned throughout the night until, near dawn, she had lightened sufficiently to free herself and began floating downstream. As the burning hulk passed by, a sailor on board Richmond stated: “It was a most magnificent spectacle. From the midships to the stern the noble vessel was enveloped in a sheet of flame, while firewreathes ran up the shrouds, played around the mainmast, twisted and writhed like fiery serpents.” When she grounded on Profit’s Island, Mississippi’s overheated port guns blew in a final frenzy of blazing glory. “She goes out magnificently, anyway, sir,” Dewey said to Smith, but the saddened captain could only shake his head in anguish.

With Mississippi’s demise, the first battle at Port Hudson ended. Farragut lost 35 dead and 77 wounded, compared to Confederate casualties of one killed and eight wounded. Only one ship had succeeded in getting past Port Hudson.

Outwardly, the Union had suffered a loss, but one that Farragut was willing to absorb. For in spite of the damage, he had placed a powerful ship, Hartford, as well as the accompanying gunboat lashed to her side, above the Confederate stronghold. He now stood in position to cut off western supplies to the east and challenge the Rebels for supremacy on the river.

Dividends quickly followed. Within days, a steamer bearing 300,000 pounds of precious bacon was cut off from Port Hudson. Other Southern supply ships encountered similar difficulties. Soon shortages would gravely sour conditions at both Vicksburg and Port Hudson, a pattern that would be repeated in other riverine locations as the war wound its way inexorably through the Confederacy.

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