Daniel Kemp wrote this letter 50 years after he was discharged from the Navy. As a manufacturer's agent he traveled extensively, and I assume he was in St. Louis on business. Both his son and daughter lived with Daniel and his wife after they married, so at this time there were a number of grandchildren living in his household. Apparently he wrote to the grandchildren regularly when he was on the road. He created a character, Frank Daniels, obviously a play on his first and middle names, who figured in his stories and letters.

One summer, when my father was telling World War II stories to his grandson, Daniel, he reflected on an the interesting symetry; both his grandfather and grandson were named Daniel, with mothers named Catherine (Kathryn). He heard war stories from one Daniel and shared his own with the other Daniel. He remembered his grandfather fondly as a wonderful story teller.

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St. Louis, March 10, 1912

Frank Daniels at “Arkansas Post”

After the fight at Haines Bluff [sic] the gunboat fleet remained at anchor off Yazoo River for awhile and were then ordered to go up the Mississippi to White River and then to the Arkansas River to attack the Rebel Batteries at Arkansas Post. I remember the White River was very deep and swift and narrow, and our boats would run from bank to bank as the river was so narrow and swift and our boats so unwieldy and ther were so many crooks and turns that we were hitting the banks every time we came to a bend in the river. I am a little hazy about how we got into the Arkansas River, but I think White River enters the Arkansas a little below the Post. But anyway when we got to the Arkansas River we found it a wide shallow stream and it was hard for our heavy gunboats to find water deep enough to ride in.

By and by we got within range of the Batteries at the Post which was situated on a high bluff away above the river. As our fleet came steaming towards them it was “boom” “boom” from their guns followed by the whistling of shells. While we were at long range they hit us plenty, but gradually as we drew near they could not depress their guns enough to do us much damage, while we could elevate ours and hit them often. As at Haines Bluff, the Army was attacking from the land side; we were helping from the river side.

The gunboat on which Frank Daniels was, was the Flagship, i.e. the Cincinnati, and we were hit many times. One shot struck us just below the water’s edge at the bow, and made us leak badly. Another shot came plunging down just behind our boilers, tearing thro the decks and finally lodged in the Captain’s cabin at the back of the ship. In the midst of the fight, our boat and another, I think it was the Carondolet, came along side by side when one of the men on the Carondolet, crazed by fear, jumped from that boat thro one of our port holes on to our boat and ran back and hid himself.

This was a terrible fight and we whipped the Rebels unmercifully. One shot from our forward gun entered one of the casemates of the Rebel fort where they were working their gun, and it is said every man in that narrow place was killed: literally blown to pieces. I am glad I did not see this. The men of the Starboard Watch were allowed to go on shore, but the Port Watch had to stay on duty. We were to go ashore next day but when the next day came we were ordered back to the Mississippi and our watch got no shore leave. The Starboard Watch men in describing the awful havoc that one shot made was almost sickening because it was so horrible. I won’t attempt to go into detail for it was too harrowing, but we captured the fort and cleared that section of Rebels. After this fight when the officers came to take stock of the damage done to the Cincinnati , they found she had been so used up that she would have to go North for repairs. We were the leading boat in this fight and, of course, had to do the most of the fighting and we were hit so often that we were almost sinking when the fight was over. Of course the holes were plugged up and we kept afloat.

Instead, therefore, of going south, we went north and came up to Carondolet, Mo. Carondolet is now a part of St. Louis and it is only over yonder where the gunboat Cincinnati came to anchor. I remember Frank Daniels was given shore leave and the first thing he did was to go up to a farm house and get a drink of well water. Of course until Frank enlisted had had always drank well water and after drinking river water so long it was delicious to get a good cold drink of clear well water. After Frank got the water, he walked for five miles over the dusty main street of Carondolet which led him into Fifth St. St. Louis. Fifth St. St. Louis is now called Broadway and right where I am sitting writing you is the street thro which Frank walked when he came to St. Louis. Then there were no pavements in St. Louis and the roads were dusty in summer and muddy in spring, fall and winter, and it isn’t very long ago since they began to have good pavements in this town. All their streets were macadamized roads.

Well, we were put on the “weighs” at Carondolet which means we were taken out of the river and our boat was drawn up on to the weighs or into the dry dock so workmen could get at the boat’s bottom to repair all the damage that had been done at Arkansas Post. We remained here, as I remember it, two or three weeks, and were then ordered to Vicksburg.

You probably want to know if Frank Daniels was not scared when these awful fights were going on. He say he never had that feeling of fear which some have because he never allowed himself to think of what might happen to him. He simply did as he was told regardless of the consequences. Of course, you or I would not from choice run right into danger, but this was something had to be done, so Frank did what he could and let everything else take care of itself. In my next letter I will tell you of the sinking of “The Cincinnati” before Vicksburg.

 

Your loving Grandpa