After seeing the dead and wounded carried below, he returned to his station, and, with what was left of his gun's crew, fought bravely during the remainder of the action.
The fight continued until after dark, when the captain, knowing that it would be impossible to capture the fort without the assistance of the troops, ordered a retreat.
That same night a consultation of the naval and military commanders was held, and it was decided to renew the attack on the following morning.

A battery of two thirty-pounder Parrotts was taken off one of the "tin-clads" and mounted on the bank, about half a mile back in the woods, and a mile from the fort.

Captain Wilson, who commanded one of the mosquito boats, was ordered to take command of it, and Frank, at his own request, was permitted to accompany him as his aid.

He started early the next morning with fifty men, who had been detailed from the gun-boats, and at sunrise was at his station.
The battery was masked, and the rebels knew nothing of its existence.

The captain's orders were, not to fire until they heard the action opened by the iron-clads.