It was on Saturday, the 13th of February, that our press-gang completed its labors.  On the afternoon of that day, as we were hauling our cotton to the landing, the garrison at Waterproof, two miles distant, suddenly opened with its artillery upon a real or supposed enemy.  A gun-boat joined in the affair, and for half an hour the cannonade was vigorous.  We could see the flashes of the guns and the dense smoke rising through the trees, but could discover nothing more.  When the firing ceased we were somewhat anxious to know the result.  Very soon a white man, an Irishman, who had been a short time in the vicinity to purchase cotton, reached our place in a state of exhaustion.  He told a frightful story of the surprise and massacre of the whole garrison, and was very certain no one but himself had escaped.  He had fortunately concealed himself under a very small bridge while the fight was going on.  He called attention to his clothes, which were covered with mud, to prove the truth of his statement.

For a short time the situation had an unpleasant appearance.  While we were deliberating upon the proper measures for safety, one of our negroes, who was in Waterproof during the firing, came to us with his story.  The fight had been on our side, some guerrillas having chased one of our scouting parties to a point within range of our guns.  Our men shelled them with artillery, and this was the extent of the battle.  The story of the Irishman, in connection with the true account of the affair, forcibly reminded me of the famous battle of Piketon, Kentucky, in the first year of the war.

On the next day (Sunday) I rode to Waterproof, leaving Colburn on the plantation.  Just as I arrived within the lines, I ascertained that an attack was expected.  The most stringent orders had been issued against allowing any person to pass out.  Ten minutes later a scout arrived, saying that a force of Rebels was advancing to attack the post.  The gun-boat commenced shelling the woods in the rear of Waterproof, and the artillery on land joined in the work.  The Rebels did not get near enough to make any serious demonstration upon the town.  The day passed with a steady firing from the gun-boat, relieved by an occasional interval of silence.  Toward night the small garrison was re-enforced by the arrival of a regiment from Natchez.  On the following day a portion of General Ellet’s Marine Brigade reached Waterproof, and removed all possibility of further attack.

In the garrison of Waterproof, at the commencement of this fight, there was a certain officer who could have sat for the portrait of Falstaff with very little stuffing, and without great change of character.  Early in the war he belonged to an Eastern regiment, but on that occasion he had no commission, though this fact was not generally known.  Nearly as large as Hackett’s Falstaff, he was as much a gascon as the hero of the Merry Wives of Windsor.  He differed from Falstaff in possessing a goodly amount of bravery, but this bravery was accompanied with an entire absence of judgment.