Scratch shots are always interesting, and some are legendary, but most pass from existence.
When the Union forces in the Civil War wound their way to the Talahatchie River, they came upon a cotton bale and earth fort name Fort Pemberton.
It's cannon were interesting in they were salvaged off the Star of the West, which was sunk in the channel to block traffic. The Star had come up river from New Orleans when Admiral Farragut had taken the city. Th reason the ship is mentioned is she was the first object fired upon at Fort Sumter which began the Civil War.
It was a long journey from the Carolinas and ending up on a tributary of the Mississippi River.
The cannon were one 6 1/2 inch rifled, three 20 pound Parrott rifles, a Whitworth Rifle and some field pieces.
The object of the fortunate shot was the Union gunboat, the Chilicothe. She went into the battle a 10 am, had her turret stuck twice, and withdrew to fill her decks with cotton bales as her bullet proofing.
At 4:25 she engaged the Fort again, with the De Kalb, previously known as the St. Louis, and after four shots, her port 9 inch cannon, had just been loaded, and the cannoneers were stripping the patch from the fuse, when the Confederates drove one of their own charges right down the barrel.
This was an 800 yard or almost a half mile shot, and in it, both shells exploded, killing 2 and wounding 11, besides ruining the cannon.
For a dirt and bale fort, Pemberton showed itself well, as it fought on for weeks, and required another attack from below.
This though was the story of a scratch shot from one cannon barrel to another. Amazing thing which does not happen that often, considering how many hundreds of thousands of rounds have been fired through the centuries.
About all this story requires is a nuff said.
nuff said
agtG
