The "Pawnee" Raid

Once before that the Federal flagship "Pawnee" had fronted the Confederate batteries at Acquia Creek in a threatening way with open portholes and decks cleared for action as if evidently inviting an attack "on the flag". That was withheld, however, for orders from Richmond, while the boys in the batteries were impatient to fire, and an old retired naval commander, Captain Thorburn, on a visit to his son in the battery, was so impatient for a fight, orders or no orders, we heard he was threatened with arrest by the Confederate commander in order to keep the peace.

Not long after this the Pawnee came in there again for a fight and got it. My father had taken me with him that morning to spend the day with him at "Salvington", our Potomac Creek plantation, about five miles across from Acquia -- a treat we youngsters always coveted and took as a special compliment -- to ride with Father and see all the work going on, the fox hounds and all different kinds of stock kept there, and enjoy a camp dinner of prime home-cured bacon, corn bread, butter, iced milk, etc. set by the cook in one of the large rooms of the old colonial mansion built of brick brought over from England before the American Revolution. Soon after dinner that day we noticed from the front stone porch, looking east down a bend in the Potomac River, between Marlborough and Maryland Points, 10 or 12 miles off, a squadron of gunboats (the Pawnee and one or two others) and a schooner transport or two, coming up the river. They disappeared behind Marlborough and in due time were heard from in a terrific bombardment of heavy caliber guns over at Acquia Creek. This earthquake continued for an hour or so, it seemed, till we saw a tremendous smoke rising over the intervening Selwood hills, like they had set the world on fire, but it proved to be only a large warehouse destroyed by the Federal shells. This warehouse and an old horse and a bull frog found killed over in the swamp back of the batteries were the only casualties on the Confederate side. The Pawnee drew off badly crippled and with a loss of 40 or 50 men killed and wounded, it was said. My brother Jim asked permission to go in a skiff under flag of truce and carry her commander the bull-frog as his "bag" for the day, but of course no such joke was permitted.

A curious thing about that battle was the sound, less than 15 miles away, was not heard on the hill at Pine Grove, they said, but was plainly heard in the field just below the house where a long creek-bottom leading from the direction of Acquia must have served as a sound conveyor.