"Light on that Sabbath morning showed the new helper lying behind the Minnesota but looking rather insignificant. About eight o'clock the Merrimac came saucily out accompanied by the Jamestown and Yorktown, wooden steamers and evidently expecting to have it all her own way as on the previous afternoon. As she approached the Minnesota the new comer came out from behind, which caused her to hesitate. She soon came on again when the Ericsson engaged her for several hours. At one o'clock the Merrimac hauled away for Norfolk with her guns all disabled while the Ericsson was not damaged at all. You can imagine there was great relief on the part of those who had stood watching and feeling that their own welfare depended on the outcome of that fight."
The night preceding this naval battle one section of the battery under Lieutenant Trull accompanied by a company of 1st Delaware was on picket duty at White Gate, guarding the cross roads as an attack by land was looked for. The men stood at their guns all night, but morning dawned without the appearance of the enemy. At the same time the left section was stationed at Hampton Bridge under Lieutenant Hall. The morning of the same day the battery was ordered to Hampton Creek, where it remained for four hours firing several shots at the Merrimac, which was, however, too far away to be reached.
While in camp at Fort Monroe there was a grand review of all the troops by General Wool and also during their stay General McClellan's army of 125,000 marched by on their way to Yorktown. Speaking of the stay at Fort Monroe, Captain Russell writes: "This was one of the most trying times for the battery. We were all anxious to get to the front somewhere and while encamped here, along came the Army of the Potomac on the way to Yorktown. Day after day a continuous stream of men and batteries passed us calling to us 'Come on, get into the swim with us.'"
While here the battery had an opportunity to compete with one of the regulars in target practise. "Several Confederate steamers, the Merrimac among them, came out of Norfolk and lay in line off Sewall's Point. The battery was ordered to Hampton Creek with a battery of the regular army on the left. About 4 P. M. the Merrimac moved a little nearer and fired at the Union steamer Naugatuck, but burst a gun and fell back disabled. The regular battery fired a few shot at her but fell short two miles. The right section of our battery fired at an elevation of 30° by sinking the trail in the ground, the first shot bursting just on the other side of the Merrimac—a distance of four and one-half miles. We received much praise for our gunnery." Diary, W. G. Hidden.
"The next day we trained a gun on Sewall's Point and fired a shell. It went so close to the far-away beach that Captain Nims said 'Give her a little more elevation.' We dug the hole a little deeper, put her muzzle a little higher and the captain's next shell landed plumb on the point. That was five miles away."
To quote again from Captain Russell: "Our stay in the vicinity of Fort Monroe was about seven weeks. During that time we had seen much and done little so that when the old ship DeWitt Clinton reported as ready to bear us to the Southland for more active service we were all glad. But the loading of all our horses on the ship and placing them in stalls below deck was no small job. Then came the guns and carriages, ammunition, forges, etc. But at last all was ready and as we sailed past the capes and the old ship headed southward we felt that at last we were off for the place awaiting us where we could do something for the integrity of our country and its flag. Our voyage was a pleasant one, no sickness of a serious character, the men cheerful and spending much time in making souvenirs of the voyage out of anything at hand. One thing did occur which made a lasting impression on the minds of those who witnessed it. Our ship was to report at Ship Island for further orders. After we had rounded Cape Florida one night, with our good ship under full sail and a free wind, the cry came from the lookout, 'Rocks ahead.' All of us who were on deck and those who could quickly reach it saw on each side of the bow of the ship and not far distant towers of rocks. No time was left to turn the ship to right or left, and so the man at the wheel could do nothing but let her go straight ahead. We braced ourselves for the expected shock, that would send us all to a watery grave. Seconds seemed hours. As we passed the rocks it seemed that one could throw a stone and hit them on either side. No shock came. Our ship went through into open water, she was rounded up into the wind, sails clewed up and anchor let go and we all breathed again. When morning came we found that our navigator had made a great mistake in his calculations and we had been piloted in safety through Dead Men's Keys. By whom? By God, in whose service we were. With grateful hearts we sailed away and reached Ship Island without further incident."
Ship Island was reached on the 14th after a passage of twenty-two days. A letter from Thomas N. Palmer written the following day:
"We have had a very pleasant voyage, no serious storm since we left Fort Monroe—a good steady old ship. The boys are all in good spirits and ready for anything. This war is fast drawing to a close and we shall soon be traveling north." Of the 134 horses belonging to the battery only four died on the trip, a rather unusual record at that time. As the government valued each horse reaching Ship Island at $700 this was regarded as a decidedly favorable passage from a financial point of view.
At Ship Island news was received of the taking of New Orleans two weeks before and the battery proceeded at once up the Mississippi arriving at New Orleans on the morning of May 24 and camping at the Pelican Cotton Press. It was now assigned to General Williams' Brigade and in less than a week ordered on board the steamers Burton and Diana for Baton Rouge where it arrived on June 1. "Here we found our old Eastern Shore comrades, the 4th Wisconsin and 6th Michigan regiments, who greeted us with hearty cheers and still more to the point furnished us with hot coffee." During this time the men were sent on scouting expeditions capturing some prisoners, seizing everything of value and burning some of the plantations which served as Confederate strongholds. On one of these expeditions the left section together with the 30th Massachusetts and two companies of the 4th Wisconsin captured 40,000 lbs. of sugar, molasses, cattle, sheep, mules, and wagons, and took prisoners one lieutenant and four privates.
The battery now prepared to join in the expedition against Vicksburg and on the 22d of June landed at Ellis Cliff in order to dislodge a hostile force that had fired the day before on the Union transports passing up the river. After a seven miles' march through the woods the enemy's camp was reached where fires were burning and beans boiling but the occupants had left in a hurry. The captain of the band was however captured in his carriage. Two days later a similar movement was made at Grand Gulf where the Confederates were driven from their position, five prisoners taken and the town and railroad destroyed. Under the date June 24, "3 A. M. Steamers with infantry and battery on board sailed up a bayou to get in the rear of Grand Gulf. 10 A. M. Landed at Berry's Plantation. Formed line of march, 4th Wisconsin and right half of battery in advance. Marched two miles and found a small force of the enemy in the woods who fired on our infantry. Colonel Paine ordered the right piece to the front. He did not have to wait long for my horses were ready for a jump. We soon reached the woods, fired a few shots at the enemy who saved themselves by getting on board a train and steaming away. Fired at train and struck the rear car completely shattering it. Marched five miles, found enemy's camp on fire vacated an hour previous. Then into Grand Gulf where we burned every building and destroyed the railroad track." J. S. Knowlton.