[137] the 19th. Time is pressing, for on the previous day two vessels1 having passed up the river, the battery has done them much harm and killed their pilots. Two works have been constructed and fortified by the Federals in front of this battery; at six o'clock in the evening they open fire upon it, supported by the whole flotilla, which had been collected together for this purpose, with the exception of the Stepping-Stones, she being loaded with troops hidden from the enemy's view by canvas screens along the sides, and comes down the river as if with the intention of forcing a passage. As soon as she arrives nearly abreast of the battery the Unionists cease firing, and Lamson, suddenly veering his vessel around, runs her aground a few yards above the redoubt. Before its defenders have time to turn their guns against the assailants the latter have landed, and, rushing forward under the lead of General Getty, they find themselves already in their midst. A second battery rises in the rear of the first, from which it is only separated by a deep ravine. A portion of the Confederates are trying to defend themselves in it, but they have scarcely fired a gun when the howitzers landed by Lamson open fire upon them; the Federal soldiers pursue them into their work, notwithstanding the roughness of the ground, and compel them to surrender. One hundred and sixty-one prisoners, together with five pieces of cannon, remain in the hands of the conquerors, who leave a strong garrison in the redoubt. They have only a few wounded on their side.2
This brilliant feat of arms completely paralyzed the Confederates. Instead of seeking to cross the river, they occupied themselves solely with the task of protecting their positions, which they thought to be all menaced at once. Longstreet, feeling convinced that the passage of the Nansemond would be no less difficult than the capture of Peck's lines by assault, determined to reduce the latter through the slower process of a regular siege. The weak works that his soldiers had erected were transformed into parallels, the intricate windings of which were infinitely multiplied. In order to push forward the operations with vigor it required more men and guns of heavier calibre. Hill, who was already marching upon Suffolk after having abandoned the investment
