The vessels then stopped their engines and floated slowly from their positions. They had been within two hundred yards of the fort. The enemy soon saw the condition of the fleet, and redoubled their fire. They ran to the lower batteries and opened them on the retiring vessels with terrific force. One of the guns of the Carondelet had burst in the middle of the action, and the Pittsburg had received two balls below water mark, causing her to leak rapidly. But they replied well to the reinvigorated foe, and fired the last shot. The fleet retired in good order, and anchored two miles below the fort. The injuries to the gunboats were not very great. The principal damage to the St. Louis was that sustained by the shot entering her pilot-house. She was struck 61 times; the Pittsburg 47; the Carondelet 54; and the Louisville about 40. The enemy fired about 500 shots. The fleet fired a little more than 300, about 75 of which were 8-inch shells. The demeanor of Commodore Foote during the engagement was the subject of admiration with every man in the fleet. His countenance was as placid and his voice as mild in the heat of the action as if he had been engaged in social conversation. He stood in the pilot-house for a long time, watching the effect of every shot. When he saw a shell burst inside of the fort, he instantly commended the deliberate aim of the marksman, by a message through his speaking tube. When the balls fell short, he expressed his dissatisfaction in such words as “A little further, man; you are falling too short.” During a part of the action he was on the gun-deck, superintending the care of the wounded. In the end, nothing but the pilot’s assurance that his vessel could not be managed with her broken wheel, induced him to consent to a withdrawal. [Illustration: [Map]] Incidents on board the Louisville were not wanting. Captain Dove had just complimented one of the gunners on a splendid shot, when the shot that played such havoc entered his port, and completely severed the gunner in twain, scattering his blood and brains over Captain Dove’s person. But the Captain never blanched; he only wiped his face, and in an instant was superintending the replacement of another gun as if nothing had happened. Cool, brave and determined, he was throughout the action a support to his men and an honor to his country. THE LAND ATTACK.