Passing the River Batteries.
Our picture represents that moment in the fight when the “Hartford” has reached safety above the forts; the “Monongahela ” is turning to drift down, and the ” Mississippi ” is bursting into flames as the crew desert her under the fire of the Confederate batteries. Beacon-fires on either shore flash fitfully through the gloom, and with the locomotive head-lights on the lower banks enable the gunners to discover the position of the passing vessels. (Catalogue; Prang’s War Pictures.)
Library of Congress image.
