10 was sealed. The hardy spirit of the brave Walke has never been sufficiently appreciated. This was because other batteries were run safely later on. But Walke was not only the pioneer. He alone of all the captains in Foote’s command favored the project from the first. The others “believed that it would result in the almost certain destruction of the boat, passing six forts under the fire of fifty guns.” He was willing to face the danger when all previous experience made even the most daring of his associates believe the task impossible. Nor was the danger from the batteries the only one, for it must not be forgotten that the Confederates had a half dozen well-armed gunboats at New Orleans, besides the ram _Manassas_, that created so great a panic at the mouth of the Mississippi. The _Carondelet_, when below the Confederate batteries, was for the time cut off from all support. The power of the Confederate fleet was exaggerated at the time, as we now know, but the officers of Foote’s flotilla had no means of learning the real facts. Moreover, it would have been rank folly for them to underestimate the power of the enemy. It is worth telling that Island No. 10 has disappeared under the action of the current, and the main channel lies where the Confederate batteries stood. On April 6th Pope crossed over to Tiptonville under cover of Walke’s guns. On that day, also, Grant fought the Confederates at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee. The _Taylor_, under Lieutenant Gwin, and the _Lexington_, Lieutenant Shirk, had part in that battle. During the afternoon the Confederates made a desperate attempt to turn Grant’s left and capture the landing place and transports. Gwin opened fire and silenced their batteries. At 4 o’clock the _Lexington_ arrived, and the two gunboats silenced the Confederate batteries three-quarters of a mile above the landing. Again at 5.30 the Confederates came in such force against Grant’s left that they arrived within an eighth of a mile of the landing, but the boats then drove them back in confusion. It is not unlikely that Grant would have been entirely overwhelmed by the superior force of the Confederates but for the support of the gunboats. They enabled him to hold out until reinforcements came. And that night, to quote a Confederate account, “the enemy broke the men’s rest by a discharge, at measured intervals, of heavy shells thrown from the gunboats.” The Confederates could not sleep because a great shell was dropped somewhere in their camp, bringing death and disaster every fifteen minutes. Imagine those soldiers lying there all night counting the time as they waited for the next shell. [Illustration: The _Carondelet_ Running the Gauntlet at Island No. 10. _From a painting by Admiral Walke._] [Illustration: The _Carondelet_ Attacking the Forts below Island No. 10. _From a painting by Admiral Walke._]