DEPARTMENT OF STATE, C. S. A.,
Richmond, Va., December 3, 1862.
Hon. JAMES A. SEDDON,
Secretary of War:
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report of a recent naval action on the Bayou Teche, in Western Louisiana, in which Captain Fuller, with an artillery company on board of a small steamer, successfully repulsed four gunboats carrying twenty-seven guns, and thus secured control of that important stream.
The indorsement of General Taylor recommends the bestowal of some mark of favor on this gallant officer, and I hope it will be in your power to give him promotion as a reward for his service.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. P. BENJAMIN.
[Indorsement.]
DECEMBER 13, 1862.
If we were to give additional rank to our officers for gallant and distinguished services in affairs with the enemy we would interfere with the proper organization of the Army and incur a heavy additional expense. There is no law which provides brevets for gallant and distinguished conduct. All that could be done therefore in the present case is to write a complimentary letter to Captain Fuller, thanking him in the name of the Department for the services he has rendered, and when a vacancy occurs to which he could be appointed agreeably to law to promote him to fill it.
Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War.
S. COOPER,
Adjutant and Inspector General.
[Inclosure.]
GUNBOAT COTTON, November 7, 1862.
SIR: I embrace the first opportunity of making my report of the recent affairs between the Cotton, under my command, and the squadron of Federal gunboats that have occupied Berwick Bay.
On Saturday evening, November 1, the smoke from the enemy's boats warned me of their near approach in such force that resistance at the bay was considered by me to be rashness. Acting upon your order, received but a few minutes previously, I immediately gave the necessary orders for leaving the bay. The steamers Hart and Seger were there at the time, also Launch No. 1, under the command of J. M. Rogers, who I had temporarily appointed to the position of acting master. My orders to the officers of those boats were to get immediately under way-- the Hart, under the command of Lieut. C. Montague, to proceed up to the Teche with a barge loaded with Government sugar in tow. This was safely done according to orders, with one exception-- Lieutenant Montague at one time dropped his barge and returned like a gallant soldier to aid the Cotton in an unequal conflict. As soon as I could communicate to him my wishes he resumed his tow and proceeded safely to destination. Launch No. I also obeyed the order given to her commander, and conveyed the launch up the lake to a place near Indian Bend, from where he has since safely reported, and is now in position to render valuable service. The Seger, under the command of Acting Master I. C. Coons, disobeyed the order I gave of proceeding up the lake and turned up the Atchafalaya, and was ignobly abandoned to the enemy at a time when the Cotton was between the enemy and the Seger. The commanding officer has not since reported. I have been informed that he abandoned his men and proceeded as fast as possible to Saint Martinville. Up to the present time the only reliable fact I have about the Seger is that it is in the hands of the enemy, prowling about Grand Lake and bayous in the vicinity; of the crew, nothing. . . . . .
[substance of report not included]
I cannot close this report without returning thanks to officers and men. Where all did their duty gallantly it may seem invidious to mention particular names, yet I must particularly mention the good conduct of O. S. Buralert, pilot, who for two hours and a half during the fierce combat on the 3d instant maneuvered the boat with the utmost coolness; also the same gallant conduct on the 5th instant. Each of my lieutenants did his duty nobly and ably. Also F. G. Burbank, gunner, and Privates F. D. Wilkinson and Henry Doming deserve particular mention for their gallant conduct. But all did their duty well, and are again ready to meet the enemy should they come up and try us again.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
E. W. FULLER,
Captain, Commanding Gunboat Cotton.
General ALFRED MOUTON,
Commanding Forces South of Red River
OR I, V15, pp. 185-187
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O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XV [S# 21]
APRIL 9-MAY 14, 1863.-- Operations in West Louisiana.
No. 1.--Reports of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, U. S. Army, commanding Department of the Gulf, with Return of Casualties.
[In part]
On the 9th instant, as I learned by letters from Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor, commanding the Confederate forces in this district, to Captain Fuller, commanding the gunboats, he was preparing to attack us heavily in the La Fourche, seeking to regain that region and the waters of Berwick Bay. . . . ..
The gunboats Diana, Hart, and Queen of the West have been destroyed and their armament captured by our forces. We have among our prisoners the most important officers of all arms, Captain Fuller, the commander of their fleet, captured from the Queen of the West, known here as the King of the Swamp, long in the Legislature and at the head of the filibuster or fighting element of the State, whose candidate he was for the office of Governor. We have also Captain Semmes, the first officer of their artillery, and Colonel Vincent, the chief of their cavalry. They can make no stand this side of Alexandria.
OR I,V15m pp. 297 & 303
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HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE GULF, NINETEENTH ARMY CORPS,
Opelousas, La., April 23, 1863.
Admiral FARRAGUT, Flag-Ship Hartford:
We have captured nearly 2,000 prisoners, more than 1,000 stand of small arms, twenty siege guns, including one field gun, considerable ammunition, and the chiefs of the three arms of the rebel service: Captain Fuller, commanding the fleet; Captain Semmes, commanding the artillery; and Colonel Vincent, commanding the cavalry. We compelled them to destroy the Diana and Hart, and the fleet commanded by Lieutenant Cooke sunk the Queen of the West in the contest for the possession of Butte-Ã -la-Rose, on Grand Lake.
N. P. BANKS,
Major-General, Commanding.
OR I, V15, p. 707