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wound and the injuries to the Queen of the West
are the sum total of the casualties on the national side.
It is impossible to ascertain with any certainty
the loss of the enemy in killed, wounded and missing, though it
must have been quite heavy. Their guns were nearly all exposed
to the bows and sterns of their boats, and after the opposing
forces came into close quarters our sharpshooters picked off their
gunners as fast as they showed themselves. It is thought that
from twenty-five to fifty perished when the General Lovell went
down.
IMPORTANCE OF OUR VICTORY.
The victory just won not only gives us Memphis, but
the Mississippi river. Our upper and lower fleets will soon join
each other, for if Flag-Officer Farragut cannot teach the braggart
Mississippians how to surrender, I am sure Flag-Officer Davis
can. Commodore Hollins is said to be below us with four boats,
but he cannot escape, except by burning his fleet and taking to
the woods. The old gascon will never tell in another Southern
bar-room how he "peppered" us again. This victory about
finished up the war in the South-west. It cuts what your contemporary,
the Commercial, would probably call the "umbilical cord"
of the bogus Confederacy, and effectually separates the East from
the West. How the rebel leaders are to survive the blow is past
my comprehension. The attempt to establish a slave oligarchy
in this free land has proved a most wretched abortion.
In addition to being one of the most decisive and
important victories of the war, the battle of Memphis is also
the most brilliant. Indeed, it is quite safe to say that it is
the most brilliant engagement on record. It lasted precisely
an hour and three minutes, the rebels having fired the first shot
at 5:40, and the Nationals the last at 6:43. How little the victory
cost us, and how dearly the rebels paid for the defeat! How nobly
does our gallant navy maintain its well earned reputation! What
heavy blows has it dealt the rebellion from Hatteras to Memphis!
All honor to our brave tars!
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