The railroad depot, and the city, in several places, were on fire. The fight, between the rebel sharpshooters and the gunboats was still spiritedly sustained. So fatal was the Confederate fire, that the upper guns of the boats could not be worked, and even those behind the casemates were loaded in peril. The ill-starred city was exposed to destruction from friend and foe. The rebels allowed the buildings they occupied to begin to crumble and fall before they slackened their fire. Forrest’s aid, under a flag of truce, now presented a note from the rebel leader to Colonel Hicks, demanding the immediate and unconditional surrender of the fort and garrison, and threatening, in case of refusal, to take it by storm, and grant no quarter. The war-worn Colonel Hicks promptly replied that he would not fail to do his duty in defending the post to the last. This refusal to surrender was quickly followed by another impetuous assault upon the fort. The daring Brigadier-General A. P. Thompson, formerly a citizen of Paducah, led the Kentucky rebels against the Union fort. A fire, more galling than ever, was opened by the rebel sharpshooters upon the garrison as the main column rushed upon the fort. Murderous discharges from the small arms and cannon of the fort, and the raining shell of the gunboats, made fearful havoc in the rebel ranks as they advanced. Still the rebel general persevered, setting his men an example which would have insured the capture of the position, had he not, when but forty feet from the fort, been instantly killed by the explosion of a shell from the Piosta. His fall struck dismay into the hearts of his followers, and they consequently suffered a disastrous repulse. A shout of victory now rose from the fort, which was echoed back from the gunboats and the opposite shore. The city was thoroughly sacked by the rebels, who carried away more than half a million dollars worth of plunder. The gunboats and the fort continued to fire upon the town till nearly every building in it was riddled by schrapnel and solid shot. All the government buildings, the gas works, and the elegant residences about the fort were destroyed, and the sun rose the next morning upon the smouldering ruins of the once beautiful city of Paducah. To the great relief of the garrison, who were out of ammunition, and who had been told that they must now rely on their bayonets, the rebels left the town about midnight, but hung about it for several days. The rebel killed numbered three hundred, and his wounded at least a thousand. The Unionists had fourteen killed and forty-four wounded. THE CAPTURE OF FORT PILLOW, TENN. APRIL 12, 1864. Fort Pillow was an earthwork, crescent-shaped, eight feet in height, surrounded by a ditch six feet deep and twelve feet in width. It was situated on a high bluff which descended precipitately to the river’s edge and on the other sides sloped to a deep ravine.