FEBRUARY 8TH, 1862: A Confederate gunner captured at Fort Henry made the following statement attesting to the extreme effectiveness of the USS Carondelet's gunfire during the attack: "The center boat, or the boat with the red stripes around the top of her smokestacks, was the boat which caused the greatest execution.
"It was one of her guns which threw a ball against the muzzle of one of our guns, disabling it for the remainder of the contest. The Carondelet (as I subsequently found her name to be) at each shot committed more damage than any other boat. She was the object of our hatred, and many a gun from the fort was leveled at her alone.
"To her I give more credit than any other boat in capturing one of our strongest places."
Mean Little Boat. --Old B-Runner
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