At two o'clock on the afternoon of November 4, 1864, Confederates opened fire on Johnsonville after Capt. John W. Morton, Forrest's chief of artillery, found that the fort's guns could not be lowered enough to hit cannon placed behind the levee across the river, while the gunboats would fire over them. Union artillery and gunboats returned fire, and the Second U.S. Colored Artillery dismounted one enemy gun while Union sharpshooters disabled some gunners, but the Federal fire was largely ineffective. Within minutes the gunboats were burning, and on the advice of the naval commander, Johnsonville's commander ordered the supply boats burned to prevent their capture. Strong winds then spread the flames to nearby warehouses and piled supplies, turning the Union supply depot into a disaster, and that night the Confederates withdrew by the light of the burning depot.