The Mississippi caught the blow glancingly on her quarter and got
off with little damage. The Brooklyn was taken fair and square
amidships; but, though her planking was crushed in, she sprang no
serious leak and went on with the fight. The wretched little
Confederate engines had not been able to drive the ram home.

The Brooklyn was the flagship Hartford's next-astern and the
Richmond's next-ahead, these three forming the main body of
Farragut's own port column, which followed hard on the heels of
the starboard one, so hard, indeed, that there were only twenty
minutes between the first shot fired by the forts at the Cayuga
and the first shot fired by the Hartford at the forts. Besides
the forts there was the Louisiana floating battery that helped to
swell the storm of shot and shell; and down the river came a
fire-raft gallantly towed by a tug. The Hartford sheered off,
over towards Fort St. Philip, under whose guns she took ground by
the head while the raft closed in and set her ablaze. Instantly
the hands on fire duty sprang to their work. But the flames
rushed in through the ports; and the men were forced a step back.
Farragut at once called out: "Don't flinch from the fire, boys.
There's a hotter fire than that for those who don't do their
duty!" Whereupon they plied their hoses to such good effect that
the fire was soon got under control. Farragut calmly resumed his
walk up and down the poop, while the gunners blew the gallant
little tug to bits and smashed the raft in pieces. Then he stood
keenly watching the Hartford back clear, gather way, and take the
lead upstream again. Every now and then he looked at the pocket
compass that hung from his watch chain; though, for the most
part, he tried to scan a scene of action lit only by the flashes
of the guns. The air was dense and very still; so the smoke of