"Noticing," said Perkins, "that the enemy's guns were all aimed for
midstream, I steered right close under the walls of St. Philip, and
although our masts and rigging were badly shot through, the hull was
hardly damaged. After passing the last battery, I looked back for some
of our vessels, and my heart jumped into my mouth, when I found I could
not see a single one. I thought they must all have been sunk by the
forts. Looking ahead, I saw eleven of the enemy's gunboats coming down,
upon us, and I supposed we were _gone_. Three made a dash to board us,
but a charge from our eleven-inch settled one, the Governor Moore. The
ram Manassas just missed us astern, and we soon disposed of the other.
Just then, some of our gunboats came to the assistance of the Cayuga,
and all sorts of things happened; it was the wildest excitement all
round. The Varuna fired a broadside into us instead of the enemy.
Another attacked one of our prizes; three had struck to us before any of
our ships came up, but when they did come up we all pitched in and sunk
eleven vessels in about twenty minutes."

The brief encounter with the Moore had been very exciting. The vessels
were alongside each other, and both were reloading,--the guns muzzle to
muzzle, and but a few feet apart. The gun that could fire first would
decide the fate of one or the other. Perkins sprang down, and, taking
personal charge of the smoking eleven-inch, put fresh vigor into its
loading, and firing the instant the rammer was withdrawn, swept the
Moore's gun from its carriage, and killed or disabled thirteen of its
crew.

The Cayuga still leading the way up the river came upon a regiment at
daylight encamped close to the bank, and Perkins, as the mouthpiece of
the captain, hailed them and ordered them to come on board and deliver