Within one-half a mile the Bayou City opened fire. Her second shot struck the Lane plumb behind a wheel, close to the magazine, making a hole large enough for a man to crawl through; when fired a fourth time the gun exploded, killing Captain Wier, with others, and wounding Captain Schneider, with other men.
As it was plain that the enemy’s intention was to close with him, Wainwright backed his vessel some distance in order to get a good headway, for it was understood on board, the Lane was to try and ram her bow into the Bayou City, cut her down even if it crippled the Lane, then reach the Neptune and capture her by boarding. This was not to be, because just before reaching the Bayou City her bow ran aground, barely allowing the Confederate pilot time to put his helm hard around in season to prevent his boat going on to the Lane’s bow in a strong ebb tide, which also prevented his running against the Lane so as to strike forward of the port or left wheel-house, which was his purpose to enable the Confederates to board. He did carry away the Lane’s port cathead, whereby an anchor was let go, and ran out fifteen fathom of chain attached. The Harriet Lane was now at an anchor and also aground.
Wainwright, from his position upon the bridge with Third Assistant Engineer Mullen by his side, ordered the crew forward upon the forecastle ready to repel boarders. As the Bayou City struck a glancing blow in passing, about twenty of her men jumped for the forecastle deck. Many fell into the water, and those that reached the deck were met by sailors armed with pistols, cutlasses and boarding pikes, to be hurled overboard. One colored sailor, Nick Wheeler, caught a man upon a pike, which entered his body near the stomach and came out between his shoulders, and had to shake him off into the water. All this occupied very few minutes.
As the Bayou City passed to shoal water off in the harbor beyond the channel, with her outside planking of port wheel-house and sides torn off from contact with the Lane’s strong upper works, her men from behind cotton bales opened a scattering musketry-fire upon the blue-jackets. The blue-jackets trained a gun upon her, and at a favorable moment Acting Master Hamilton pulled the lanyard, which broke; he reached for a hatchet that had lain beside the gun-carriage a few moments before, intending to strike the percussion-cap to fire the gun, but it was gone; some one had seized that hatchet for a weapon when Wainwright called for boarders to be repelled.
It was then thought she would be taken in hand by other naval vessels, and attention was given to the Neptune, that came up immediately afterwards and struck the Harriet Lane upon the starboard (or right) side, intending to board, but did not succeed, and passed by, her men firing from their rifles. At this time Commander Wainwright was killed upon the bridge where he had remained a mark for the enemy, paying no attention to suggestions from his officers not to expose himself. He received one ball in the forehead, that went out back of his head, and four balls in the body. Lieutenant Lea was also mortally wounded in the abdomen and carried below, and Acting Master Hamilton was wounded in the arm. Fire was returned by the Lane’s crew as fast as they could load their small-arms.
The Neptune passed astern, turned, and came back making for the port side, with a brisk musketry-fire maintained by her men, when a shot or shell from one of the Lane’s nine-inch port guns, fired by Engineer Mullen (who broke the lanyard on the first pull, quickly tied it together and tried a second time with success), smashed the Neptune’s bow, causing her to take water fast. She got on to the channel’s edge, and soon sank in about eight feet of water. Many of her men jumped overboard to reach land, and for a time the Confederate riflemen on shore opened a fire upon their own men escaping from one of their own vessels.
When it was seen that the Neptune was out of the fight a round of cheers went up on board the Harriet Lane, and her men threw their caps in the air with joy, supposing all was ended. But the vessels below had not attended to the Bayou City, and she had rounded and again approached the Lane, swung diagonally across the channel, aground, with her anchor out, for sufficient time had not elapsed to remedy either mishap. As she came along evidently intending to board, the pivot gun forward was trained upon her and fired; the shot struck her wheel-house without inflicting any perceptible damage, and before another gun could be brought to bear she struck the Lane abaft the port wheel-house, running her bow so far under the gunwale and wheel that both vessels were stuck fast.
After a short exchange of shots with small-arms the enemy, headed by Major Leon Smith, Colonel Tom Green and Captain Martin, commenced to jump into the boarding nettings that were up in place, cutting them apart with their long knives. They got aboard in three places, on the wheel-house and aft; met with a gallant resistance by the Lane’s crew, who fought upon deck until driven under the gangway, forecastle and hurricane decks by superior numbers, where they still kept it up, and hurled at the enemy their pistols, boarding pikes, and whatever they could find suitable for such a purpose after their small-arm ammunition had been expended.
No formal surrender of the Harriet Lane was made, and no man can tell just when her capture could be considered complete. It is said that her pennant was hauled down by James Dowland, Jr., clerk to Captain Wharton, assistant quartermaster, and it is a settled fact, the claim made by Major Leon Smith that he killed with his own hands Commander Wainwright is not true, and could not be, as Wainwright was dead some time before.
Why the casualties upon the Harriet Lane and Bayou City were so light as they proved to be, is one of those rare circumstances impossible to explain. While it lasted the fighting had been of a desperate character on both sides; shot and dangerous missives of destruction flew in all directions. Upon a comparison of notes afterwards, officers of both sides considered it a miracle so few were seriously injured. Many men suffered from bruises and light wounds, easily healed, who are not mentioned in the official report of killed and wounded.