I saw that officers and men were alike anxious for the lark, as they considered it; they were always ready when I called upon them for the severest duty, and so against my better judgment I gave way and consented. But I insisted that the first cutter, well armed, should remain outside the surf to cover the shore operations, and that under no circumstances should she be taken off from guard duty. By this precaution alone I was saved from what would have otherwise been a very serious disaster.
Most of the forenoon was passed by the shore party in breaking out the bales and in warping them out to one of the boats outside the surf, and by noon nearly all the cotton was afloat. Just before twelve o’clock I was about giving the order to make the boat recall signal, for the men to come off to dinner, when I saw a series of puffs of smoke from the sand hills and heard the muffled reports of musketry. In a moment there was a rush of gray-coats toward my men, a rapid return fire from my guard boat, a struggle on the beach, plainly visible through the glass, two or three figures lay prone on the sand, and then the heads of men could be seen swimming from the beach out to the boat. One of the cutters was meanwhile launched and forced out through the surf, the rebels keeping up an active fire at it, and then all was quiet, with two boats pulling out toward us and a group of rebels gathered about my whaleboat on the beach!
All this had not taken much longer in the action than it has in the telling, and we on board ship were so utterly surprised at the sudden attack, that for a moment we looked on in speechless amazement! But only for a moment, for the boatswain’s call was not needed to bring all hands on deck, and the orders that rang out sharp and swift were obeyed with equal promptness.
“Aloft, topmen and lower yard men, and loose topsails and courses! Stand by to sheet home and hoist of all! Stand by to slip the anchor! Forecastle there; clear away the rifle and get a range on those fellows! Be careful, Mr. Allen, and give the gun elevation enough to clear our boats!”
The sails fell from the yards and flew to the mastheads, the courses were sheeted home and the tacks ridden down, the jibs ran up, our anchors were slipped, and filling on the starboard tack we stood in for the land, the forecastle gun, actively served, throwing shells among the rebels, who were taking shelter behind the sand hills.
“Put a leadsman in the fore chains, sir! Give me the soundings sharp, my lad!”
“And a quarter five,” came the quick response.
We were drawing sixteen feet, and that left but fifteen feet of water under my keel. I certainly could not go much farther in.
“Get another cast, and be quick about it!”
“Qu-a-a-r-ter less five!”