March 4, 1862: Capture of Columbus, Kentucky-- Part 1

MARCH 4TH, 1862:  Union forces covered by Flag Officer Foote's gunboat flotilla, now driving down the Mississippi River, occupied strongly fortified Columbus, Kentucky, which the Confederates had been compelled to evacuate.

Foote reported that the reconnaissance by the USS Cincinnati and Louisville two days earlier had hastened the evacuation, the "rebels leaving quite a number of guns and carriages, ammunition, and a large quantity of shot and shell, a considerable number of anchors, and the remnant of chain lately stretched across the river, with a large number of torpedoes."

--Old B-Runner