This letter was written on the same day that the Cincinnati was sunk. Daniel offers an explanation for the sinking - the weight of the wet hay on the stern - that I have not seen elsewhere in print. In other aspects his description matches closely other eye witness accounts. At 11:15 in the morning of the 27th, Admiral Porter telegraphed General Sherman "Too hot, I think, for the gunboat." and at 12:20 he followed up with the message, "Cincinnati is sunk." At 2:15 Sherman telegraphed Porter that he had sent out men to "relieve and guide" the survivors of the Cincinnati. That 3 hour period must have seemed incredibly long. Daniel probably wrote this letter in the late afternoon or early evening.

The letter itself was written with a blunt pencil and the paper is soiled. Daniel's previous letters were written in a neat hand. His writing is shaky in this letter, not surprising considering the traumatic experience eariler in the day.

Fifty years later, while visiting St. Louis on business, Daniel wrote a letter to his grandchildren describing his experience when the Cincinnati sunk.

Flag Ship Black Hawk,
Mississippi River
May 27/[18]63

Dear Father & Mother,

We attempted to mar the blockade this morning. We did not go by last night as I expected we would for some reason or other. We reached there about 11 o.c.. Some men from the “Chata” [Choctaw] were sent aboard our boat to help man the guns.

[Original difficult to read] …had rounded …the batteries opened ..[next 8 lines unreadable] Our stern was protected by [lange?] and bales of hay.

Sinking CincinnatiThe pilothouse was also protected by hay. But this did us no good, but rather helped to sink us. For when we were struck below the water mark, the water came rushing in and it was impossible to keep her force by working the pumps. We attempted to move the hay, but the steel was flying around us so that we were obliged to desist. We got down the river almost in front of the courthouse when a shock came through the pilothouse killing our pilot and wounding one of the quartermasters. One of our officers took the wheel, but after we had got rounded to and had got some distance within our lines, our rudder was shot away. This left us completely at the mercy of the batteries and as she was settling fast we were obliged to turn ashore. Our boat went down about a mile and a half from the rebel lines. The rebels kept up a continual fire for some time after we were sunk. A great many of our men were swimming ashore when a ball struck the bank throwing the mud many feet in the air and coming down and scattering in all directions. At this time number of our men was sunk. I think our carpenter’s mate was cut in two. Two of the Choctaw’s men had their legs taken off, one by the hip, and the other above the ankle. The one who had his leg shot off by the hip swam ashore as he was, never even uttered a groan. Many of the men were knocked down by the splinters. I escaped unhurt except being struck by a splinter across the shins. John Fox was struck in the shoulder by the splinters, but like me, he is all right. When I last saw Snyder he was safe.Black Hawk Flag Ship

I climbed up in the cutter with the wounded and am now aboard the Flag Ship. Our officers saved nearly all their baggage, but most of the men lost theirs. I found my bag floating in the river. And when I came away with the wounded I left it in charge of another man. I cannot be too thankful that I am safe. I lost my “ditty” bag containing my paper, stamps Bible, letters, etc. I write in a hurry.

 

Your son,

Daniel

Footnotes

Images:

Bacon. [Sinking of USS Cincinnati, 27 May 1863]. Pen and Ink. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h79000/h79917.jpg.

USS Black Hawk. Photograph. NH 56676. U.S. Naval Historical Center. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h56000/h56676.jpg.

All the notes below come from : United States. Naval War Records Office & United States. Office of Naval Records and Library. Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. / Series I - Volume 25: Naval Forces on Western Waters (May 18, 1863 - February 29, 1864). Washington: GPO. 1912

1) P.34 Contains the official correspondence related to the planning of the event.

2) P.37-44 Contains the offical reports to the Secretary of the Navy.