UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES
A HISTORY OF
THE UNITED STATES NAVY
VOLUME II
8499
A HISTORY OF THE
UNITED STATES NAVY
FROM 1775 TO 1901
BY
EDGAR STANTON MACLAY, A.M.
AUTHOR OF A HISTORY OF AMERICAN PRIVATEERS
REMINISCENCES OF THE OLD NAVY
EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF WILLIAM MACLAY
(U. S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-1791)
WITH TECHNICAL REVISION BY
LIEUTENANT ROY CAMPBELL SMITH, U. S. N.
NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. II
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
1901
COPYRIGHT, 1893, 1898,' 1901,
BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.
ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED
AT THE APPLETON PRESS, U. S. A.
May, 1901.
NOTE TO VOLUME II OF THE EDITION
OF 1898.
IN the present edition of this work the second volume
has undergone important changes. Some new chapters
have been added, among them, Attack on the Wyo-
ming, Cruising against Slavers, and Sea Power in the
Civil War. Many items of minor importance have
been incorporated in the text, and some of the first
accounts of naval occurrences have been elaborated.
The author realizes that the history of our navy is
a subject of vast and rapidly increasing importance in
the estimation of the American people, and he would
be glad to receive any additional suggestions or items
of interest bearing on it, so that they may be used in
future editions. Our navy is pre-eminently a growing
navy, and a comprehensive record of it must neces-
sarily keep pace with its growth.
E. S. M.
OLD FIELD POINT,
SETAUKET, LONG ISLAND, N. Y.,
May 1, 1S98.
v
450386
CONTENTS.
PART FOURTH.
MINOR WARS AND EXPEDITIONS— 1815-1861.
CHAPTER I.
WAR WITH ALGIERS.
PAOE
England's Mediterranean policy— Hostility of Algiers— Two squadrons
sail for the Mediterranean— Defenses of Algiers— Capture of the
Mashouda and the Estido — Decatur brings the Dey to terms —
Off Tripoli and Tunis— Sad loss of the £pervier—0. H. Perry be-
fore Algiers— Our cruisers in the Mediterranean . . . 3-22
CHAPTER II.
SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY.
Growth of piracy — Death of 0. H. Perry — Active operations against the
pirates — Death of Lieutenant Allen — Attack on the Fox — Young
Farragut's account — Capturing piratical craft — The Foxardo
affair— Cutting out the Federal— Tattnall off Matamoras — The
Greek pirates— Our war ships at Naples 23-43
CHAPTER III.
QUALLA BATTOO.
Treacherous attack on the Friendship — Murder of her crew — Her
recapture — The Potomac on the scene — Capture of Qualla
Battoo 44-61
CHAPTER IV.
CRUISING AGAINST SLAVERS.
Audacity of slavers — Experience of the Contest — Important capture
by the Cyane — M. C. Perry's experience with King Crack 0 — The
Louisa Beaton— The Chatsworth 62-71
vii
viii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA.
Captain Thomas ap C. Jones occupies Monterey— Arrival of a British
PAGE
squadron — Capture of Los Angeles — Loss and recapture of that
town— Battle of San Gabriel— Battle of Mesa . . . 72-87
CHAPTER VI.
IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA.
Gallant boat service— Capture of Guaymas and Mazatlan— Heroic de-
fense of the mission house— The relief of Heywood . . 88-98
CHAPTER VII.
WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF.
First failures— Capture of Frontera and Tabasco— At Tampico— Cut-
ting out the Creole— Dangers of the climate — Bombardment and
capture of Vera Cruz— Second attack on Tabasco . . . 99-118
CHAPTER VIII.
THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN.
First attempts to open up Japan — Congress determines on a final at-
tempt— M. C. Perry selected to command the expedition — Arrival
in Japanese waters — Perry's splendid diplomacy — The President's
letter delivered — Second visit of the American squadron — Success
of the expedition 119-132
CHAPTER IX.
SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS.
The Wilkes expedition — In seas of ice— A narrow escape— Cruising
in the Pacific Ocean— On the coast of California— The Dead Sea
expedition— Search for the Sir John Franklin explorers— In the
Frozen North 133-150
CHAPTER X.
MINOR OCCURRENCES.
Tragedy in the Somers— The St. Louis and the Hussar— At the Bar-
rier Forts— "Blood thicker than water "—Attack on Formosa-
Trouble with Paraguay 151-156
'CONTENTS. kt
PART FIFTH.
THE CIVIL WAR— 1861-1865.
CHAPTER I.
BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES.
FAQB
Condition of the navy — Firing on Suinter — Rescue of the Constitution
— Patrolling the Potomac — Capture of the Judah— The Trent
affair — Cutting out the Royal Yacht — The Rhode Island and
Connecticut — Affair of the Jamestown 159-174
CHAPTER II.
HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL.
Defenses of Hatteras Inlet — Bombardment of Forts Hatteras and
Clark— Race on Hatteras Island— Loss of the Fanny— The Port
Royal fleet — Off Port Royal— Dupont's plan of battle— Surrender
of the enemy 175-197
CHAPTER III.
PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS.
Defenses of Roanoke Island — The national fleet — Capture of Roanoke
Island — Fight between the gunboats — Capture of New Berne —
Bombardment of Fort Macon — Lieutenant Cushing's narrow es-
cape 198-217
CHAPTER IV.
THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS.
Burning of Norfolk navy yard— Rebuilding the Merrimae — The Con-
federate squadron enters the Roads — Sinking the Cumberland —
The Congress on fire — Grounding of the Minnesota — Gloom in
the North 218-235
CHAPTER V.
BUILDING THE MONITOR.
First ideas about the Monitor — Grave doubts about her worth — Im-
aginary and real objections to the Monitor system — Origin of the
name " Monitor "—Compared with the Constitution . . 236-243
CHAPTER VI.
IRON VERSUS IRON.
The Monitor nearly founders — Arrival in Hampton Roads — Battle be-
tween the two ironclads — Ramming attempted — Worden disabled
— Victory for the Monitor — Fate of the ironclads— Preparing for
the second attack by the Merrimae— Loss of the Monitor . 244-266
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON.
PAGE
Building a Western navy— Manning the gunboats— Skirmishing at Co-
lumbus—Bombardment of Fort Henry— Gallant fight of the gun-
boats—A lively chase up the Tennessee— Walke attacks Fort Don-
elson— Bombardment of the fort— Its surrender— The Tyler and
the Lexington at Pittsburg Landing— Fitch on the Ohio . 267-290
CHAPTER VIII.
ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS.
Defenses of Island No. 10— A night attack— The Carondelet runs the
batteries— Battle of Fort Pillow— The great fight at Memphis—
The attack on St. Charles 291-305
CHAPTER IX.
BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI.
The affair at the Head of the Passes— The New Orleans expedition-
David Glascoe Farragut— His arrival on the scene of operations —
Defenses of New Orleans — The Confederate fleet — The bombard-
ment by the mortar schooners — Daring night expeditions . 306-324
CHAPTER X.
PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP.
A council of war— Farragut's line of battle — The ships under fire-
Fire rafts— Great peril of the flagship— Between the forts— The
ubiquitous ram Manassas— Above the forts— Fall of New Or-
leans 325-349
CHAPTER XI.
OPERATION ON WESTERN RIVERS.
Farragut's great task— He passes the Vicksburg batteries— Walke's
desperate battle with the ram Arkansas — The Arkansas runs the
gantlet of the national fleet — Farragut fights the ram under
Vicksburg's guns — Destruction of the ram — The new ironclads
— Attack on Arkansas Post and St. Charles— Loss of the Queen
of the West— Loss of the Indianola— Repulse at Fort Pember-
ton '. 350-373
CHAPTER XII.
THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED.
Farragut passes Port Hudson— Sinking of the Lancaster— Porter
passes Vicksburg— Attack on Grand Gulf— River skirmishing—
Donaldsonville— The Red River expedition— Bache's spirited at-
CONTENTS. xi
PAGE
tack — Captain S. P. Lee in command— Minor occurrences on the
Western rivers 374-386
CHAPTER XIII.
ATTACK ON THE WYOMING.
Preparations of the Japanese — Land and naval defenses — Attacks on
the French and Dutch — McDougal's splendid dash — Complete
victory of the Americans 387-396
CHAPTER XIV.
OFF MOBILE BAY.
First action off Mobile — Building the ironclad Tennessee — The Con-
federate squadron — An attempted night attack— Defenses of Mo-
bile—Farragut's instructions — On the eve of the great battle, 397-407
CHAPTER XV.
FAERAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN.
The night before the battle— The great fleet under way — The Hart-
ford opens fire — Lashing Farragut to the rigging— Sinking of the
Tecumseh— Craven's nobility— Ensign Neilds' gallantry— The
monitor Winnebago in action — Commander Thomas Holdup
Stevens in action — Dreadful carnage in the Hartford — " Damn
the torpedoes ! " — Confusion in the line — The Tennessee in the
fight — Ramming the Confederate ironclad — Critical position of
the Oneida — Heroic officers 408-435
CHAPTER XVI.
ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS.
Chase of the Confederate gunboats — Jouett takes the Selma — A lull
in the battle — " Follow them up, Johnston ! " — Preparing for the
final struggle — Buchanan singles out the Hartford — Ramming
the Tennessee — The monitors in close action — National ships in
collision— Surrender of the Tennessee — Losses and injuries-
Caring for the wounded — Gallant officers — Attack on Fort Spanish
—Losses from torpedoes 436-456
CHAPTER XVII.
OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON.
Raid of the Palmetto State and the Chicora — First and second at-
tacks on Fort McAllister— The defenses of Charleston— Ironclads
attack Charleston— The Weehawken- Atlanta fight— Attack on
Fort Wagner — A boat expedition against Fort Sumter — Loss of
the Housatonic — Surrender of Charleston .... 457-474
xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE RAM ALBEMARLE.
Importance of the North Carolina sounds— Building the Albemarle
—The ram's attack on the Southfield and Miami— Battle between
the national gunboats and the ram— Roe's splendid dash— Lieu-
tenant William Barker Gushing— Attempts to blow up the ram
—Cashing'* daring attack— Its complete success— Capture of
Plymouth 475-490
CHAPTER XIX.
ATLANTIC AND GULF COAST.
Difficulties of the blockade— Port Royal Island— Patrolling Southern
waters— A reverse at Galveston and Saline Pass — In Virginia
waters— Fort Fisher— Capture of Wilmington . . . 491-507
CHAPTER XX.
CONFEDERATE CRUISERS.
Careers of the Sumter and Florida — Maffltt's daring — Stevens chases
the Florida — Maffitt arms his prizes — Catching an Amazon —
Collins captures the Florida — English " neutrality "—The Hap-
pahannock — Career of the Georgia — Narrow escape from burn-
ing— Her capture by the Niagara — Great damage inflicted by
the Shetiandoah—The Stonewall Jackson — Other Confederate
cruisers 508-522
CHAPTER XXI.
THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT.
Fitting out the Alabama — Eluding national cruisers — The ffatteras
sunk by the Alabama — The Alabama cruises in the South At-
lantic and in the East Indies — Puts into Cherbourg — Compared
with the Kearsarge — Winslow waits for the Alabama — The
great battle — American gunnery wins — English "international"
law 523-534
CHAPTER XXII.
BLOCKADE RUNNERS.
Southern dependence on European markets— Effectiveness of torpedo
warfare— Confederate privateering promptly checked— Develop-
ment of blockade running — English ports the center — Difficulties
of blockade running—" Tricks of the trade " — The Charlotte and
Stag — Chase of the Kate — Some clever captures — Breck's gallant
exploit — British naval officers as blockade runners— English sym-
pathy (and something more) for the South .... 535-548
CONTENTS. xiii
CHAPTER XXIII.
SEA POWEE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
PAGE
Historical review— Strategetical importance of the Mississippi River
system— Value of these waters to Northern States— If the South
had sea power — Navy indispensable 549-559
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
In the Monitor's turret Frontispiece
Scene of the naval operations in the Mediterranean .... 10
Scene of the naval operations on the Pacific Coast .... 76
Scene of the naval operations in the Mexican Gulf . . . 100
Map of the United States 163
Scene of the naval operations on the Potomac 167
Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds 179
Plan of the battle of Port Royal 191
Dupont's circle of fire Facing 194
Scene of operations on Roanoke Island 199
Diagram of the battle of Hampton Roads 225
Raking the Congress at every shot Facing 230
Monitor and Merrimac 250
Scene of the naval operations on the upper Mississippi . . . 274
Bombardment of Fort Henry Facing 278
Ironclads attack Fort Donelson Facing 284
Island No. 10 292
Commander Walke runs the batteries at Island No. 10 . Facing 298
Battle of Memphis Facing 302
Kennon fires through his own bow Facing 332
Farragut's fleet passing the forts Facing 346
Scene of the naval operations on the Western rivers .... 356
Map of Mobile Bay Facing 398
Diagram of the battle of Mobile Bay Facing 412
Farragut's fleet going into action Facing 418
Battle of Mobile Bay Facing 440
At close quarters Facing 442
Diagram showing where the Tennessee was rammed .... 445
Deck plan of the Tennessee and her appearance after the
battle Facing 452
Map of Charleston Harbor and vicinity .... Facing 458
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAOI
Ironclads attacking Fort Sumter Facing 466
The Confederate ironclad Atlanta Facing 4G8
A typical ferry gunboat ....... Facing 495
Chasing a blockade runner Facing 508
The last of the Alabama Facing 52(5
PART FOURTH.
MINOR WARS AND EXPEDITIONS.
1815-1861.
CHAPTER I.
WAR WITH ALGIERS.
MENTION has been made of England's Mediterra-
nean policy, which was to encourage the Barbary
States in piracy, so that by paying them an annual
tribute and by the aid of her fleets her commerce was
freed from molestation while that of weaker maritime
nations was constantly exposed. In his Observations
on the Commerce of the American States Lord Shef-
field said : "The armed neutrality would be as hurtful
to the great maritime powers as the Barbary States are
useful. The Americans can not protect themselves
from the latter ; they can not pretend to a navy." A
fair interpretation of these diplomatic words is given
by Smollett in his history when he says: "The exist-
ence of Algiers and other predatory states which en-
tirely subsist upon piracy and rapine, petty states of
barbarous ruffians, maintained, as it were, in the midst
of powerful nations, which they insult with impunity,
and of which they exact an annual contribution, is a
flagrant reproach upon Christendom ; a reproach the
greater, as it is founded upon a low, selfish, illiberal
maxim of policy." By means of this policy Great
Britain secured a monopoly of the Mediterranean car-
rying trade, at that time the most important in the
world.
But England was mistaken, as she has been on other
memorable occasions, as to the ability of the United
States to defend itself. After three years of bloody
war (1802-1805) we subdued the Barbary States and
secured privileges that were denied to European pow-
4 WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1812.
ers, and in a short time the Yankee skipper was driv-
ing, "his diplomatic cousin "from the mercantile marts
of the world. It was not to be expected that the Eng-
lish merchant would look upon his American rival with
any degree of complacency, and he only awaited the
opportunity to "knife" the dangerous competitor.
The War of 1812 afforded this opportunity. The
United States needed all its energies in the struggle for
independence on the high seas, and, as the British
merchant rightly conjectured, could not look after its
interests in the Mediterranean. Immediately upon the
declaration of war British emissaries informed the Bar-
bary States that the United States as a maritime na-
tion would be swept from the face of the earth, that
its commerce would be annihilated, and that England
would consent to peace only upon the stipulation that
the United States forever afterward should build no
ship of war heavier than a frigate. Stimulated by this
assurance, and smarting under the punishment the
United States had given them in 1805, the Barbary
States assumed a hostile attitude.
No sooner had the Dey of Algiers learned of the
declaration of war than he hastened to pick a quarrel
with the American consul at Algiers, Tobias Lear. He
suddenly remembered that the Americans measured
time by the sun, while the Moors reckoned it by the
moon, and peremptorily demanded the difference in
tribute, which during the seventeen years the treaty
had existed amounted to about half a year, or twenty-
seven thousand dollars, in the Dey's favor. In view of
the war with England, Mr. Lear acceded to the Dey's
extortion ; and that potentate, relying upon the assur-
ance that the United States navy would be annihilated,
soon found another pretext for dissatisfaction. He
complained that the stores that were sent by the United
States in the sailing ship AllegTiany, in lieu of tribute
money, were of inferior quality, and on the 25th of
July, 1812, he said that "the consul must depart in
1812. ALGIERS MAKES WAR. 5
the AUeghany^ as he would not have a consul in his
regency who did not cause everything to be brought
exactly as he had ordered." l About this time two
large ships laden with powder, shot, cables, anchors
and naval stores, sufficient to equip the entire Algerian
fleet, arrived at Algiers under the escort of an English
man-of-war — a present from the British Government.
The Dey lost no time in sending his corsairs out
in search of American merchant ships. Fortunately,
most of our traders, on learning of the probability of a
war with Great Britain, had sought places of safety, so
that only one vessel, the brig Edwin, of Salem, com-
manded by George Smith, was captured. She was
taken on the 2,5th of August, 1812, while running from
Malta to Gibraltar, and her commander and crew, ten
in all, were sold into slavery. The Dey's buccaneers,
in their eagerness to enslave Americans, even boarded
a vessel sailing under Spanish colors, and took from
her a Mr. Pollard, of Virginia, and held him in bond-
age also. Tripoli and Tunis, on the assurance of British
agents that the United States navy would be swept
from the seas in less than six months, allowed four
prizes of the American privateer Abellino, which had
been sent into their ports, to be recaptured by British
cruisers. Our little navy was so occupied with its fight
against the mistress of the ocean that these outrages
could not be attended to immediately, but the Govern-
ment secretly sent an agent to Spain to act in behalf of
the friends of the captives and offered a ransom of three
thousand dollars for each of them. The Dey rejected
the offer, and defiantly expressed his determination of
increasing the number of captives before entering upon
negotiations.
English predictions relative to the United States,
from the 4th of July, 1776, to the present day, have been •
an almost unbroken list of disappointments. The case
1 Mr. Lear's report to the Secretary of State, July 29, 1812.
Q WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1815.
in hand is one of them. When the British agent in-
formed the Dey of Algiers that "the American flag
would be swept from the seas, the contemptible navy
of the United States annihilated and its maritime arse-
nals reduced to a heap of ruins," he had, apparently,
good grounds for that belief. That a navy of seven-
teen efficient vessels, mounting fewer than four hun-
dred and fifty guns, could exist in the face of a thou-
sand war ships carrying nearly twenty-eight thousand
guns, was indeed one of the marvels of naval history.
But at the close of that struggle the United States navy
had been increased to sixty-four vessels, mounting
more than fifteen hundred guns, while the officers and
crews had been trained in the severe school of war,
and had developed into as fine a naval personnel as
ever sailed the sea, They had humiliated the haugh-
tiest flag on the ocean with overwhelming disasters,
and, flushed with victory and confident in their prow-
ess, they were just in the humor for chastising the
insolent Turks of Algiers.
Five days after the treaty with England had been
proclaimed, or February 23, 1815, the President of
the United States recommended that war be declared
against Algiers. Two squadrons under the orders of
Captain William Bainbridge were detailed on this serv-
ice, the first assembling at Boston, and the second,
commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur, at New
York. It was a striking proof of the confidence the
Government had in Captain Decatur, and how little it
held him accountable for the loss of the President,
that he was placed in this important command while
the court-martial was still investigating the capture of
his ship.
The squadron collected at New York was the first
to get under way, sailing May 20th, and having on
board William Shaler, consul general to the Barbary
States, who, with Captains Bainbridge and Decatur, had
lull power to wage war or negotiate peace. The New
1815. DEFENSES OF ALGIERS. 7
York squadron consisted of the 44-gun frigate Guer-
riere, Captain Stephen Decatur; the 38-gun frigate
Macedonian, Captain Jacob Jones ; the 36-gun frigate
Constellation, Captain Charles Gordon ; the 18-gun
sloop of war fipermer, Master -Commandant John
Downes ; the 18-gun sloop of war Ontario, Master-
Commandant Jesse D. Elliott ; the 12-gun brig Fire-
fly, Lieutenant George W. Rodgers ; the 12-gun brig
Flambeau, Lieutenant John B. Nicholson ; the 12-gun
brig Spark, Lieutnant Gamble; the 10-gun schooner
Spitfire, Lieutenant A. J. Dallas ; and the 10-gun
schooner Torch, Lieutenant Wolcott Chauncey ; total,
ten vessels, mounting two hundred and ten guns. At
the request of Captain Decatur, all the surviving offi-
cers and men who had served under him in the Chesa-
peake, the United States and the President were per-
mitted to sail in the Guerriere, and nearly all availed
themselves of the opportunity.
It was no contemptible foe that the American fleet
was directed against. The Algerian navy alone con-
sisted of five frigates, six sloops of war, and one
schooner ; in all, twelve vessels, carrying three hundred
and sixty guns— more than fifty per cent stronger than
Decatur' s squadron. Their frigates carried 18- and 12-
pounders, while their sloops were armed with 12-, 9-
and 6-pounders. Their vessels were well equipped and
manned, and their crews were thoroughly trained in
modern warfare. The Algerian admiral, Rais Hammida,
was the terror of the Mediterranean. He came from
the fierce race of Kabyle mountaineers, who routed
with great slaughter the French army under General
Trezel, and again defeated the French under General
Valee. Hammida had risen from the lowest to the
highest place in the Algerian navy. It was he who
captured, by boarding in broad daylight, a Portuguese
frigate within sight of Gibraltar, and again, in 1810,
with three frigates, boldly offered battle to a Portu-
guese ship of the line and three frigates off the Rock
WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1815-
o
of Lisbon. Soon afterward he captured a Tunisian
frigate, under the command of an admiral, in single
ship action.
Comparative forces.
American fleet : 10 vessels, mounting 210 guns.
Algerian fleet : 12 vessels, mounting 360 guns.
Besides this formidable naval force, the city of Al-
giers itself was strongly fortified. It was built on the
slope of a hill in the shape of a triangle, the base of
which, a mile long, fronted the sea, while the sides rose
like a pyramid, the apex being crowned by the casbah
—the ancient citadel of the deys-five hundred feet
above sea level. The harbor, formed by an artificial
mole, was defended by double and triple rows of heavy
batteries, mounting two hundred and twenty guns.
The town was protected by walls of immense thickness
and mounted heavy guns, so that over five hundred
pieces of ordnance bore upon the maritime approaches
of the place. So strong were the defenses of this city
that in the following year (1816), when England was
compelled to act against the Barbary States, five ships
of the line, five frigates, four bomb ketches and five
gun brigs were deemed by the Lords of the Admiralty
too small a force to send against it, while Lord Nelson,
in a conversation with Captain Brisbane, mentioned
twenty-five ships of the line as a requisite force.1
When a few days out Decatur's squadron encoun-
tered a violent gale, in which the Firefly sprung her
masts and she was compelled to return to port. After-
ward she joined Captain Bainbridge's squadron and
went with it to the Mediterranean. The other vessels
of Decatur's squadron continued on their course for the
Azores. As the ships approached the coast of Portu-
gal a careful lookout was maintained. Every sail was
spoken to, and every inquiry made that might lead to
the discovery of the Algerian squadron, which, it was
1 Life of Lord Exmouth, p. 309.
1815. SEARCHING FOR THE ENEMY. 9
thought, might be cruising in the Atlantic for American
merchantmen. Finding no traces of the enemy, Cap-
tain Decatur approached Cadiz to ascertain if Rais
Hammida had passed the Straits of Gibraltar. Not
wishing to make known the presence of an American
naval force in these waters, he did not enter the port,
but communicated with our consul by boat. It was
learned that an Algerian squadron, consisting of three
frigates and several smaller vessels, had been cruising
in the Atlantic, but it was believed that it had passed
into the Mediterranean. Still being in doubt as to the
admiral's whereabouts, and wishing to take him by
surprise, Captain Decatur arrived off Tangier June
15th, and from our consul at that port learned that
Rais Hammida but two days before had passed the
straits in the 46-gun frigate Maskouda, mounting 18-
and 12-pounders, and was sailing up the Mediterranean
with the intention of touching at Carthagena. Satisfied
that he was on the right track, Decatur immediately
headed for Gibraltar, where he anchored on the same
day and learned that the Algerian ships had hove to
off Cape Gata, waiting for a tribute of half a million
dollars which Spain was to pay for the continuation
of peace.
Scarcely had the American squadron arrived at
Gibraltar when a dispatch boat was observed getting
under way, and upon inquiry it was found that it was
making for Cape Gata to notify Rais Hammida of the
presence of an American squadron. Soon afterward
other boats were seen making off in the direction of Al-
giers, evidently for the purpose of warning the Dey.
Well knowing how easily the Moorish ships could
elude him by running into some neutral port should
they be warned of their danger, Captain Decatur
promptly made sail again, hoping to come upon the
admiral before the swift dispatch boats could reach
him, and with a fair breeze the American ships stood
up the Mediterranean. On the following night (June
10
WAR WITH ALGIERS.
1815.
16th) the Macedonian and the brigs were sent in chase
of several sails that were descried inshore, so that by
daylight the squadron had become widely scattered.
In the early dawn of the 17th, when the vessels were
nearly abreast of Cape Gata, twenty miles from land,
the Constellation discovered a large ship flying the
flag of the grand admiral, and Captain Gordon sig-
naled " An enemy to the southeast." Every precaution
was taken to conceal the nationality of the American
ships, as the Algerian had several miles the start and
was within thirty hours of Algiers. Accordingly the
Constellation was ordered back to her position on the
beam of the flagship, while the other vessels quietly
hauled up toward the unsuspecting Moor. The stranger
was soon made out to be a frigate headed toward the
African coast, lying to under her three topsails, with
Scene of the naval operations in the Mediterranean in 1815.
the maintopsail to the mast, evidently waiting for some
communication from the shore. Master-Commandant
Lewis asked permission to make sail and chase, but
Decatur rightly conjectured that the news of his arrival
in the Mediterranean had not reached the Algerian, so
he gave the signal, "Do nothing to excite suspicion,"
and continued to bear down on the Moor.
In this manner the ships gradually drew near, care-
fully concealing all signs of hostility, as it was thought
1815. IN FULL CHASE.
11
that they would be taken for a British squadron. While
they were still a mile from the chase, the Constellation,
by some mistake of a quartermaster, hoisted American
colors. To counteract this the Guerriere and all the
other vessels showed English flags. But the mischief
had been done. In an instant the Moor's rigging was
swarming with men, and in an incredibly short time
she was under a cloud of canvas and headed for Algiers.
"Quicker work," remarked a spectator, "was never
done by better seamen." The rigging of the American
cruisers was now also alive with activity. Men were
running up the shrouds and swinging out on the yards
from dizzy heights ; orders were shouted from the quar-
ter-deck to be echoed by the shrill piping of the boat-
swain's whistle ; all was hurry and seeming confusion—
a startling contrast to the quiet that had pervaded the
squadron but a moment before. Soon the great frigates
were bowing under mountains of white canvas, the
noise and confusion had subsided as suddenly as it
arose, and the silence on their decks was disturbed only
by the waves which, hurled back from the bows, dashed
themselves against the sides of the ship. Every sail
that would hold the wind was set, for Decatur feared
that the Moor might elude him in the coming night, or
gain a neutral port. The Constellation, being the south-
ernmost ship in the squadron and nearest to the enemy,
soon opened fire at long range, and several of her shot
were seen to fall aboard the chase. Finding that he
could not escape on this tack, the Moor suddenly came
about and headed northeast, with a view of running
into Carthagena. The pursuing ships promptly fol-
lowed the mano3uvre, and the change brought the On-
tario into such a position that she was obliged to cross
the enemy's course about a quarter of a mile distant.
But the Guerriere, passing between the Constellation
and the Epermer, bore down to close.
As the American flagship came within range the
Turks opened fire, and the musketry soon became ef-
12 WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1815.
fective, wounding a man at the GuerrierJs wheel and
injuring several others. Decatur, however, reserved
his fire until his ship just cleared the enemy's yard-
arms, when he poured in a full broadside. The havoc
among the Algerians was awful. Their admiral, Rais
Hammida, who had been wounded by a shot from the
Constellation and refused to go below, and was resting
on a couch on the quarter-deck, animating his men,
was literally cut in two by a 42-pound shot. The Guer-
riere's men coolly loaded again, and before the smoke
had cleared away they poured in a second broadside.
At this second fire one of her main-deck guns burst,
shattering the spar deck above and killed three men
and wounded seventeen.
No signal of surrender had yet been made by the
Turks, but a few of their men in the tops bravely re-
mained at their posts and continued the action until
shot down by American marines. Not wishing to shed
blood unnecessarily, Decatur passed ahead and took a
position off the enemy's bow, where he was out of range.
Availing themselves of this, the Mussulmans put their
helm up and endeavored to escape. This manoeuvre
placed the little 18-gun brig Epermer directly in the
course of the huge Algerian ; but, instead of getting out
of the way, Master-Commandant Downes boldly opened
his puny broadsides and took a position under the frig-
ate's cabin ports, so that by skillfully backing and fill-
ing away he avoided a collision, and at the same time
poured in nine broadsides, which compelled the enemy,
after a running action of twenty-five minutes, to sur-
render. Decatur afterward remarked that he had
never seen a vessel more skillfully handled, nor so heavy
a fire kept up from one so small. The Guerriere now
took possession, while Master-Commandant Lewis and
Midshipmen Howell and Hoffman wrent aboard with
the prize crew. The Mashouda had been severely cut
up, and her decks presented a dreadful scene. Splashes
of blood, fragments of the human body, pieces of torn
1815. CAPTURE OF THE ESTIDO. 13
clothing and the general debris of battle were seen on
all sides. Thirty out of a crew of four hundred and
thirty-six men were killed or wounded, while four hun-
dred and six prisoners were taken. The Guerriere's loss
from the enemy's fire was" three killed and eleven
wounded.
In the afternoon after the capture Captain Decatur
made a signal for all the officers of the squadron to
come aboard the flagship. On being conducted to his
cabin they found the table covered with Turkish dag-
gers, scimiters, yataghans and pistols. Turning to
Master-Commandant Downes, Captain Decatur said :
"As you were fortunate in obtaining a favorable posi-
tion and maintained it so handsomely, you shall have
the first choice of these weapons." Each of the other
officers selected some memento of the fight, in the order
of their rank. The Mashouda was sent to Carthagena
under the escort of the Macedonian, while the remain-
der of the squadron, after taking prisoners aboard, set
out in search of the other Algerian vessels, which were
thought to be in the vicinity.
On the 19th of June, while they were approaching
Cape Palos, a suspicious brig was sighted, and the
American ships immediately gave chase, while the
stranger made every effort to get away. After a hard
run of three hours the brig suddenly ran into shoal
water, where the frigates could not follow, but the
Htpervier, the Spar ft, the Torch and the Spitfire con-
tinued the pursuit and soon opened fire. Upon this
the brig, still keeping up a running fire, ran ashore be-
tween the towers of Estacio and Albufera (which had
been erected on the coast for the purpose of observing
the approach of Barbary pirates in their kidnaping
expeditions), and the Moors took to their boats, one of
which was sunk by shot from the pursuing vessels.
The Americans took possession and secured eighty-
three prisoners. The prize proved to be the Algerian
22-gun brig Estido, with a crew of one hundred and
WAR WITH ALGIERS. l815-
eighty men, twenty-three of whom were found dead on
Sr decks The prize was floated off and sent with the
gerian vessels would make for Algiers, determined to
sail for that port in the hope of cutting them off A
council of the officers was called, which resolved that
this was the time for securing a treaty with the Dey,
and it was decided to blockade the squadron and bom-
bard the town if he failed to come to terms. On the
28th of June the squadron appeared before Algiers
and on the following morning the Guerriere displayed
a white flag at the fore and Swedish colors at the mam-
a signal for the Swedish consul, Mr. Norderling, to
come aboard. About noon the consul arrived, accom-
panied by the Algerian captain of the port. Decatur
asked the latter what had become of the Algerian
squadron, to which the port captain replied, "By this
time it is safe in some neutral port." " Not the whole
of it," responded Decatur, "for we have captured the
Mashouda and the Estido." The Moor discredited
the information, until a lieutenant of the Mashouda,
emaciated and weak from his wounds, stepped forward
and confirmed the news. Greatly affected, and trem-
bling for the remainder of the squadron, the Moor inti-
mated that peace might be negotiated, and inquired
what terms were demanded. A letter from the Presi-
dent of the United States to the Dey was handed to
him, in which the only conditions of peace were the
absolute relinquishment of all claim to tribute in the
future and a guarantee that American commerce would
not be molested by Algerian corsairs. The captain of
the port suggested that the commissioners should land
according to custom, and then enter upon the negoti-
ations, but as his real object was to gain time this was
promptly rejected, and Decatur insisted that the treaty
be negotiated on board the Guerriere or not at all. The
Moor then went ashore to convey the news to his master.
1815. THE DEY BEGS FOR TIME. 15
On the following day, June 30th, the captain of the
port boarded the Guerriere with full powers to nego-
tiate. Decatur had determined to strike a mortal blow
at their system of piracy, and he gave as the only terms
that all Americans in the possession of Algiers be given
up without ransom, all their effects (which long since
had been distributed) be made good in money, Chris-
tians escaping to American vessels should not be re-
turned, the sum of ten thousand dollars should be paid
to the owners of the Edwin, and from this time the re-
lations between the two nations be precisely the same
as those between all civilized nations. The Moor urged
that it was not the present Dey who had declared war
against the United States, but Hadji Ali, who for his
great cruelty had been surnamed the " Tiger," and
that he had been assassinated March 23d, and his Prime
Minister, who had succeeded him, had been murdered
April 18th ; that Omar Pasha, the present Dey, who
for his great courage had won the title of "Omar the
Terrible," had no agency in the war and was not ac-
countable for the acts of his predecessors. But Decatur
was inexorable. The Algerian captain requested that
a truce might be declared until he could lay the terms
before the Dey, but this also was denied. He then
asked for a truce of three hours, but Decatur replied :
"Not a minute ! If your squadron appears before the
treaty is actually signed by the Dey, and before the
American prisoners are sent aboard, I will capture it."
In great trepidation the Moor hastened ashore, and it
was understood that if his boat was observed returning
to the Guerriere with a white flag in the bow it meant
that the Dey had acceded to the terms.
When he had been absent about an hour an Al-
gerian ship of war was discovered approaching from
the east. It was filled with Turkish soldiers from Tunis.
Decatur promptly ordered his vessels to be cleared for
action, and, laying his Turkish scimiter and pistols on
the capstan of the Guerriere, he called the men aft and
16 WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1815.
addressed them in his usual hearty style. But before
the vessels could fairly get underway the port captain's
boat was observed pulling energetically from the shore
with a white flag in her bow. Somewhat vexed, Decatur
waited for it, and when it was within hailing distance
asked if the treaty had been signed and the prisoners
released. He was answered in the affirmative, and soon
the boat ran alongside and the captives were brought
aboard. It was a pitiful sight to see these men, wasted
and emaciated by their years of bondage, greeting their
fellow-countrymen. Some of them lovingly kissed the
American colors, others wept for joy, and some gave
thanks to the Almighty for the unexpected deliverance.
In less than sixteen days from the time the squadron
arrived on the scene of trouble a more advantageous
treaty than had ever been made with a foreign power
had been signed by the Dey, and all the demands of
the American Government were complied with. After
signing the treaty the Dey's Prime Minister reproach-
fully said to the British consul : " You told us that the
Americans would be swept from the seas in six months
by your navy, and now they make war upon us with
some of your own vessels which they have taken." The
vessels referred to were the Macedonian, the fipervier
and the (new) Guerriere.
The iipermer^ Lieutenant John Templer Shubrick,
was now sent to the United States with a copy of the
treaty and the ten liberated captives. The little brig
passed the Straits of Gibraltar on the 12th of July and
never was heard from again. A vessel answering to her
description was seen by the British West India fleet
during a heavy gale, and as several of the merchantmen
foundered in that storm it was thought possible that
the Bpermer might have been in collision with some of
them. On board the lost man-of-war were Captain
Lewis and Lieutenant Neale, who had married sisters
on the eve of their departure for the Mediterranean and
were now returning after the successful termination of
1815. TUNIS BROUGHT TO TERMS. 17
the war. Lieutenant Yarnell (who had distinguished
himself in the battle of Lake Erie) and Lieutenant
Drury also were aboard. Midshipman Josiah Tattnall,
afterward commander of the celebrated Merrimac, was
in the JSpervier just before she sailed on her fatal voy-
age, but exchanged places with a brother officer in the
Constellation who was desirous of returning home.
Captain Decatur now gave his attention to Tunis
and Tripoli, which regencies had allowed the prizes of
the American privateer AbelUno to be seized by British
cruisers. These towns also were strongly fortified and
had a considerable naval force. The American squad-
ron anchored before Tunis on the 26th of July, and
with his usual promptness Captain Decatur informed
the Bey that only twelve hours would be allowed him
in which to pay forty-six thousand dollars for allow-
ing the seizure of the AbelUno 's prizes by the British
cruiser Lyra. Mordecai M. Noah, United States con-
sul at that place, who conveyed the terms of the treaty
to the Bey, describes the interview: " 'Tell your ad-
miral to come and see me,' said the Bey. ' He declines
coming, your Highness, until these disputes are settled,
which are best done on board the ship.' 'But this is
not treating me writh becoming dignity. Hammuda
Pasha, of blessed memory, commanded them to land
and wait at the palace until he was pleased to receive
them.' 'Very likely, Your Highness, but that was
twenty years ago.' After a pause the Bey exclaimed :
4 1 know this admiral ; he is the same one who, in the
war with Sidi Jusef, of Trablis, burned the frigate ' [the
Philadelphia]. 'The same.' 'Hum! Why do they
send wild young men to treat for peace with old pow-
ers? Then, you Americans do not speak the truth.
You went to war with England, a nation with a great
fleet, and said you took her frigates in equal fight.
Honest people always speak the truth.' ' Well, sir, and
that was true. Do you see that tall ship in the bay fly-
ing a blue flag ? It is the Guerriere, taken from the Brit-
47
lg WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1815.
ish. That one near the small island, the Macedonian,
was also captured by Decatur on equal terms. The
sloop near Cape Carthage, the Peacock, was also taken
in battle.' The Bey laid down the telescope, reposed
on his cushions, and, with a small tortoise-shell comb
set with diamonds, combed his beard. A small vessel
got under way and came near the batteries ; a pinnace
with a few men rowed toward the harbor, and a man
dressed in the garb of a sailor was taking soundings.
It was Decatur."
The Bey decided to accept the terms, and afterward
received Decatur with every mark of respect. A brother
of the Prime Minister brought the money, and, turning
angrily upon the British consul, said: "You see, sir,
what Tunis is obliged to pay for your insolence. You
should feel ashamed of the disgrace you have brought
upon us. I ask you if you think it just, first to violate
our neutrality and then leave us to be destroyed or pay
for your aggressions?"
From this port Decatur proceeded to Tripoli, where
he dropped anchor on the 5th of August, and with his
usual straightforwardness came to the object of his
mission. His terms with the Bashaw were thirty thou-
sand dollars for the two prizes of the Abellino seized by
the British cruiser Paulina, a salute of thirty-one guns
from the Bashaw's castle to the flag at the American
consulate, and that the negotiations take place in the
Guerriere. At first the Bashaw put on a bold front,
and, assembling his twenty thousand Arabs, manned
his batteries and threatened to declare war ; but when
he heard of the treatment Algiers and Tunis had re-
ceived he promptly changed his demeanor, the more
speedily when he observed the American squadron
making preparations to renew the scenes of the bom-
bardment of 1804. The Governor of Tripoli boarded
the Guerriere with full power to negotiate. On the
assurance of the American consul that twenty-five
thousand dollars would cover the loss of the prizes,
1815. A MOMENT OF PERIL. 19
Decatur consented to this redaction, provided that
ten Christians held by the Bashaw as slaves be re-
leased. "Two of these slaves were Danish youths,
countrymen of the worthy Mr. Nissen, who had been
so indefatigable in exercising kind offices toward the
officers of the Philadelphia while they were captives
in Tripoli. The others were Sicilians, being a gentle-
man with his wife and children who had been captured
together and involved in one common misfortune."1
These conditions having been acceded to by the Bashaw
and the money handed over, the Guerriere's band was
landed, and treated the natives to a purely American
rendering of " Hail, Columbia ! "
Having adjusted the difficulties with the Barbary
States in true man-of-war style, Decatur sailed for
Sicily and landed the captives, and the rest of the
squadron made for Gibraltar. While the Guerriere
was beating down the coast from Carthagena alone,
against a moderate breeze, she met the remainder of
the Algerian squadron, which had put into Malta.
Fearing that the treacherous Moors might be tempted
to renew hostilities under such favorable circumstances,
Captain Decatur cleared for action, and, collecting his
crew on the quarter-deck, addressed them as follows :
"My lads, those fellows are approaching us in a threat-
ening manner. We have whipped them into a treaty,
and if the treaty is to be broken let them break it. Be
careful of yourselves. Let any man fire without orders
at the peril of his life. But let them fire first if they
will, and we'll take the whole of them." The crew was
sent back to quarters and all was expectation and
silence, while care was taken not to approach too near
the primed and leveled guns, lest they might be ac-
cidentally discharged. On came the Algerian ships in
line of battle, seven in all — four frigates and three
sloops. They passed close to the Guerriere in ominous
1 Mackenzie's Life of Decatur, p. 278.
20 WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1815.
silence, until their last ship, the admiral's, drew near
and hailed, "Dove andante ? " (Where are you going 2)
To this Decatuf defiantly, replied "Dove mi piace"
(Where it pleases me). Nothing followed this gruff re-
tort, and the ships continued on their courses.
On the 6th of October Captain Decatur's squadron
assembled at Gibraltar, where it found the vessels
under Captain Bainbridge : the 74-gun ship of the line
Independence, the 44-gun frigate United States, the
36-gun frigate Congress, the 18-gun sloop of war Erie,
the 16-gun brig Boxer, the 16-gun brig CTiippewa, the
16-gun brig Saranac, the 12-gun schooner Enterprise,
the 12-gun brig Firefly and the 5-gun sloop Lynx.
The imposing appearance presented by the two squad-
rons united at England's impregnable stronghold so
soon after the cessation of hostilities occasioned no lit-
tle chagrin in the British garrison, and caused some
merriment among the Spanish and foreign residents.
They took delight in pointing out the Guerriere, the
Macedonian, the Epermer and the Boxer — names long
associated with Britishnaval supremacy, but now calmly
flying American colors under the frowning Rock of Gib-
raltar and before the sullen faces of its garrison. The
frequent recurrence of such names as Java, Erie, Cham-
plain, Peacock, Ontario, Penguin, Frolic, Reindeer,
Avon, Cyane and Levant, gave rise to much ill feeling
and brought about several duels. English officials had
circulated a report that the Americans were not allowed
to build ships of the line, but the appearance of the
noble Independence contradicted them.
It was not to be expected that the Dey of Algiers,
on reflection, would calmly submit to the unusual con-
ditions of his American treaty without many regrets.
Some of the consuls of European nations at Algiers also
were mortified at the affair, and encouraged the Dey in
the belief that "it was disgraceful to the Faithful to
humble themselves before Christian dogs" in this man-
ner. The discontent of the Dey was further increased by
1815. A SECOND SQUADRON BEFORE ALGIERS. 21
the treaty that he succeeded in negotiating with Lord
Exmouth, shortly after Decatur's squadron left Algiers.
Notwithstanding the fact that the British squadron
consisted of six line of battle ships, two fiigates, three
sloops of war, a bomb ship and several transports, he
consented to pay nearly four hundred thousand dollars
for twelve thousand Neapolitan and Sardinian captives.
Encouraged by this "diplomatic victory "over Lord
Exmouth, the Dey became bolder, and on the departure
of the English ships, the American consul, William Sha-
ler, had an audience with the Dey and gave him the
copy of Decatur's treaty that had been ratified by the
Senate and was brought out in the/aoa, Captain Oliver
Hazard Perry. The Dey affected not to understand
why it was necessary to "ratify" a treaty, and said he
believed it to be unsatisfactory to the United States
Government. He was indignant because a brig cap-
tured by Captain Decatur on the coast of Spain within
the three-mile limit had been delivered up to the Span-
ish authorities. The Dey abruptly terminated the con-
ference by remarking that the Americans "were un-
worthy of his confidence." The next day he refused
to hold another audience with Mr. Shaler, and referred
him to the vizier, who returned the ratified treaty with
insulting expressions, upon which Mr. Shaler hauled
down his flag and went aboard the Java. In antici-
pation of some trouble of this sort a squadron had
been collected off Algiers : the 44-gun frigate United
States, Captain John Shaw ; the 36-gun frigate Constel-
lation Captain Charles Gordon ; the 44-gun frigate Java ;
the 18-gun sloop of war Erie, Master-Commandant
William Crane ; the 18-gun sloop of war Ontario, Mas-
ter Commandant John Downes. This squadron sailed
from Port Mahon early in April and arrived before Al-
giers on the 8th of April. When the Americans heard
of the action of the Dey they drew up their squadron
in a position to bombard the Algerian war ships at the
mole. Arrangements also were made for a night at-
22 "WAR WITH ALGIERS. 1815.
tack. All the boats in the squadron, with twelve hun-
dred volunteers, were divided into two flotillas, one of
which was to attack the water battery and spike the
guns while the other was to carry the land batteries.
Ladders were prepared for scaling the walls, and cut-
lasses and boarding-pikes were sharpened. Captain
Gordon was to command the expedition, and Captain
Perry to be second in command. But on the night the
attack was to be made the commander of a French
frigate discovered the preparations and informed the
Dey, who became so alarmed that he quickly came to
terms, with renewed expressions of friendship, and the
treaty was formally signed.
From Algiers the squadron visited Tripoli, Syra-
cuse, Messina and Palermo. At the latter port it was
learned that the Bey of Tunis also was dissatisfied
with the conditions of Decatur's treaty, and on the 18th
of June the squadron appeared at that port, upon
which the Bey retracted his warlike utterances. The
United States, the Constellation, the Erie and the
Ontario, under the command of Captain Shaw, were
now detailed for the Mediterranean squadron, while
the remainder of the American fleet sailed for America
in October. Shortly afterward the 74-gun ship of the
line Washington, Captain Isaac Chauncey, arrived at
Gibraltar and became the flagship of the squadron.
CHAPTER II.
SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY.
THE success of the United States in securing its in-
dependence of Great Britain encouraged the Spanish
colonies in America to throw off the yoke of the mother
country, and a long series of bloody wars followed.
The process of revolutionizing governments, at best, is
generally attended by acts of violence, and when un-
dertaken by the ignorant and depraved people of the
Spanish- American colonies it led to rapine and piracy.
When the standard of rebellion was raised in these
provinces adventurers and outlaws from many coun-
tries flocked to it, ostensibly to serve against Spain, but
in reality attracted by the prospects of plunder.
Shortly after the second war between the United
States and Great Britain the republics of Buenos
Ayres and Venezuela commissioned swift-sailing ves-
sels, manned by twenty-five to one hundred men, as
privateers to prey on Spanish merchantmen. It was
not long before these ships began to plunder vessels of
neutral nations, and, as their first acts of violence were
not promptly checked, piracy soon spread to an alarm-
ing extent. Like their confreres of the preceding cen-
tury, who began their depredations with prayer, these
"patriots afloat" at first went to sea with a religious
benediction and were denominated "Brethren of the
Coast." Piracy became so lucrative that the farmers
and salt-makers living near the sea abandoned their
calling and took to buccaneering. Concealing their
boats and schooners in creeks and coves, they attacked
unsuspecting merchantmen, plundered the vessels, and
23
24 SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1819.
after murdering the crews or setting them adrift, as the
exigencies of the occasion required, they returned to
their homes. If a man-of-war visited the scene of out-
rage, or the civil authorities made an investigation, the
buccaneers suddenly resumed their original vocation,
and in this guise gave false information. It was not
long before the pirates had organized themselves into a
secret service, by means of which messages as to the
movements of cruisers and merchantmen were sent
along the coast in an incredibly short time. The local
authorities and some of the high officials connived at
the nefarious practice, while many merchants in the
large cities boldly announced that they dealt exten-
sively in goods " at a peculiarly low figure." Although
not every instance of piracy was attended by murder,
yet there were many cases of wanton cruelty and cold-
blooded butchery that the cheap novels have failed to
exaggerate. A drifting hulk, with strong boxes broken
open, the hold plundered, and here and there splashes
of blood on the cabin furniture or bulwarks, and putre-
fying corpses scattered about the decks covered with
sea birds feeding on the carrion, were the unmistakable
evidences of their work.
The Government of the United States was anxious
to maintain friendly relations with the republics of
Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, which it had been the
first to recognize, but at the same time reports of out-
rages on American merchantmen continued to come in
with alarming frequency, and in 1819 Captain Oliver
Hazard Perry was called upon to perform the delicate
task of putting a stop to piracy while still retaining the
good will of these republics. The John Adams, flag-
ship, the Constellation, Master-Commandant Alexander
Scammell Wadsworth, and the Nonsuch, Lieutenant
Alexander Claxton, were detailed for this duty. The
principal point to be obtained from the Venezuelan
Government was a complete list and description of all
the privateers it had commissioned, so that American
1819. CAPTAIN PERRY IN THE ORINOCO. 25
cruisers would have less difficulty in distinguishing the
miscreants. Captain Perry arrived at the mouth of the
Orinoco River, July 15, 1819, and as there were only
sixteen feet of water on the bar he shifted his flag to
the Nonsuch and began the ascent of the river. He
describes this journey in his private journal as follows :
" The sun, as soon as it shows itself in the morning,
strikes almost through you. Mosquitoes, sand flies and
gnats cover you, and as the sun gets up higher it be-
comes entirely calm, and the rays pour down a heat
that is insufferable. The fever that it creates, together
with the irritation caused by the insects, produces a
thirst which is insatiable, to quench which we drink
water at a temperature of eighty-two degrees. About
four o'clock in the afternoon a rain squall, accompanied
by a little wind, generally takes place. It might be
supposed that this would cool the air, but not so, for
the steam which arises as soon as the sun comes out
makes the heat still more intolerable. At length night
approaches, and we go close inshore and anchor. Myr-
iads of mosquitoes and gnats come off to the vessel and
compel us to sit over strong smoke created by burning
oakum and tar, rather than endure their terrible stings,
until, wearied and exhausted, we go to bed to endure
new torments. Shut up in the berth of a small cabin,
if there is any air stirring not a breath of it can reach
us. The mosquitoes, more persevering, follow us and
annoy us the whole night by their noise and bites, un-
til, almost mad with the heat and pain, we rise to go
through the same troubles the next day."
On reaching Angostura, three hundred miles up the
river, July 26th, Captain Perry asked for the list of
commissioned privateers, and said that the American
schooner Brutus, commanded by Nicholas Joly, had
been illegally condemned and sold in a Venezuelan
port. President Bolivar being away with the army,
Vice-President Don Antonio Francisco Zea gave the
American officer an audience and promised to furnish
26 SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1819.
the desired information in a few days. At that time the
town was afflicted with fever, and two Englishmen, liv-
ing in the house with Captain Perry, died from it. The
crew of the Nonsuch became sickly, while the Creoles
were dying almost every day. The surgeon of the
Nonsuch also was taken down with the fever. But
still Perry remained in the plague-stricken place day
after day, waiting for an answer to his communications.
The natives of the place were opposed to the Americans
and friendly to the English, and paragraphs from Eng-
lish papers hostile to the United States were trans-
lated and printed. On the llth of August Captain
Perry received an official reply to his demand, in which
indemnity was promised. The Vice- President urged
him to remain until August 14th, in order to attend a
dinner to be given in his honor in the name of the Gov-
ernment. In spite of the danger, Captain Perry deemed
it his duty to remain in the fever-stricken place, as he
feared a refusal might give offense.
He sailed from Angostura on the 15th, and on the
night of the 17th reached the bar, where he was detained
by a strong southwest breeze. During the night occa-
sional dashes of spray fell, over the Nonsuch, and, de-
scending the companionway, fell on Captain Perry, who
was sleeping in his berth, but did not arouse him. At
four o'clock in the morning he awoke with a chill, and
it was not long before he showed all the symptoms of the
dreaded fever, and on the 24th of August he died aboard
ship just as the Nonsuch reached Port of Spain, Trini-
dad. It happened that many of the officers and men of
the British regiment stationed at this place had served
in the battle of Lake Erie and entertained the highest
respect for Captain Perry, and remembered his kind-
nesses to them when they were his prisoners. When
it was known that he was about to visit Trinidad, ex-
tensive preparations were made to give him a cordial
reception ; and when the dead body of the American
commander was brought ashore the preparations for
1821. CRUISING FOR PIRATES. 27
festivity were changed into mourning. Captain Perry
was buried with the highest civic and military honors,
Sir Ralph Woodford, the governor, attending the fune-
ral with his entire suite. Perry's body afterward was
removed to Newport, R. I.1
It was not until 1821 that piracy became so general
in the West Indies as to compel the United States Gov-
ernment to take vigorous measures against it. In the
autumn of this year the following vessels were detailed
for service in the West Indies The 18-gun sloop of
war Hornet, Master-Commandant Robert Henley ;
the 12-gun brig Enterprise, Lieutenant Lawrence
Kearny ; the 12-gun brig Spark; the 12-gun schooner
Shark; the 12-gun schooner Porpoise, Lieutenant
James Ramage ; the 12-gun schooner Grampus, Lieu-
tenant Francis Hoyt Gregory ; and three gunboats.
Considering the extent to which piracy had grown, the
innumerable hiding places in which the marauders
could conceal themselves and the facilities offered by
the officials, it could not be expected that this force
would accomplish much. Yet great activity was dis-
played by the commanders of these vessels, and Lieu-
tenant Kearny, while cruising off Cape Antonio, Octo-
ber 16th, came upon four piratical craft in the act of
plundering three American merchantmen. As the ves-
sels were close inshore, where there was not enough
water for the Enterprise to follow, Lieutenant Kearny
promptly manned five boats and sent them to the res-
cue. On the approach of the Americans the bucca-
neers, after setting fire to two of the schooners, made
sail to escape. Two of their schooners and one sloop,
having about forty men aboard, were captured and
taken to Charleston. A month later Lieutenant Kearny
destroyed a resort of the pirates near Cape Antonio,
1 On November 16, 1825, Thomas Macdonough, the hero of the battle
of Lake Champlain, died at sea, ten days out from Gibraltar, homeward
bound. After the War of 1812 he was active in the service, and had just
been relieved of the command of the Mediterranean squadron when he died.
28 SUPPRESSION OP PIRACY. 1821-1822.
and on the 21st of December he captured a piratical
schooner, but its crew of twenty-five men escaped.
While in the vicinity of this place the Enterprise, on
the 6th of March, 1822, captured four barges and
three launches with one hundred and sixty men. In
the meantime, October 29, 1821, Master-Commandant
Eobert Henley, in the Hornet, captured the schooner
Moscow, which he sent into Norfolk ; and on the 17th of
January, 1822, a boat party of forty men under Lieuten-
ant James Freeman Curtis, of the Porpoise, captured
a piratical schooner. Manning the prize, Curtis pro-
ceeded some ten miles down the coast and captured in
handsome style the principal rendezvous of the pirates,
making three prisoners and destroying five vessels, one
of them " a beautiful new 60-ton schooner."
Piracy in the West Indies had become too wide-
spread to be checked by a few captures, and in the
spring of 1822 the American squadron was placed
under the command of Captain James Biddle, and was
re-enforced by the 38-gun frigate Macedonian, flag-
ship ; the 36-gun frigate Congress ; the 28-gun cor-
vette John Adams ; the 18-gun sloop of war Peacock,
Master-Commandant Stephen Cassin ; and the 12-gun
schooner Alligator, Lieutenant William Howard Allen.
One of the first captures made by this squadron was
effected by the Shark, Lieutenant Matthew Calbraith
Perry, and the Grampus, Lieutenant Gregory. In
June these little cruisers overtook and after a sharp
fight captured the notorious pirate Bandar a D'San-
gare, and another piratical craft. Meeting the Con-
gress at sea, July 24th, they put all the prisoners
aboard the frigate, while the Shark and the Grampus
continued their cruise, and before the season was over
Lieutenant Perry captured five buccaneering craft.
Near St. Croix the Grampus captured the famous
pirate brig Pandrita, a vessel of superior force.
While cruising on this station, August 16, 1822, the
Grampus chased a brigantine that was flying Spanish
1822. DEATH OP LIEUTENANT ALLEN. 29
colors, but, believing her to be a pirate, Lieutenant
Gregory insisted on her surrender. In reply to his
summons he received a discharge of cannon and mus-
ketry, which was promptly returned, and in less than
four minutes the stranger hauled down her flag. On
boarding, she was found to be the privateer Palmira,
of Porto Rico, which had recently plundered the
American schooner Coquette. The prize carried one
long 18-pounder and eight short 18-pounders, with a
crew of eighty-eight men, of whom one was killed and
six were wounded. The Grampus was uninjured.
The Palmira was one of the many vessels sailing with
a privateer's commission that had resorted to piracy as
the shortest road to wealth. On the 28th and 30th of
September the Peacock, Master-Commandant Stephen
Cassin, captured five piratical craft.
This success was followed, November 8th, by a
spirited attack on three piratical schooners. While
lying in the harbor of Matanzas, Lieutenant Allen, who
had distinguished himself in the Argus-Pelican fight,
in 1813, heard that three schooners flying the black
flag and manned by about three hundred men were
forty-five miles up the coast, with five merchantmen in
their possession. Promptly getting under way, Lieu-
tenant Allen came upon the buccaneers on the following
day, and as the shoal water prevented the Alligator
from closing on them the boats were ordered out.
The pirates immediately made sail, and at the same
time opened a heavy fire on the pursuing boats. One of
their musket shot struck Lieutenant Allen in the head
while he was standing in his boat (which was in ad-
vance of the others) animating his men by his example,
and soon afterward another ball entered his breast, and
in a few hours he died. The Americans continued the
chase and captured one of the schooners, besides re-
capturing the five merchant vessels. The pirates did
not wait to be boarded, but took to their boats and es-
caped with their two remaining schooners, not, however,
30
SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1822-1823.
without a loss of fourteen killed and a large number of
wounded. The American loss was three killed, two
mortally wounded and three injured. The captured
schooner mounted one long 12-pounder, two long 6-
pounders, and four light guns. Lieutenant Allen was
born in Hudson, N. Y., on the 8th of November, 1790,
and entered the navy as a midshipman January 1, 1808.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant July 24,
1817, and displayed great gallantry in the Argus-Peli-
can fight. Halleck wrote a poem on his death. In
the night of November 19th the Alligator was lost on
Carysford Reef, but her officers and crew were saved.
The service in which the American squadron was
engaged was peculiarly hazardous and exhausting.
Much of the work was done in open boats, so that the
men were not only exposed to the enemy's bullets but
to the fierce rays of the sun, while the cruisers were
continually in danger of hurricanes and wreck on the
treacherous shoals. From the proximity to swamps and
sickly localities, fever and malaria were not the least
dangerous of their foes. The connivance of the local
authorities enabled many pirates to escape when
chased to shore, and it was only with considerable di-
plomacy that Captain Biddle secured permission to
land and pursue them into their haunts. It became
more and more apparent to the Government that a
larger number of small craft was necessary for this
service, because of the shoal waters and narrow creeks
in which the marauders took refuge. Early in 1823
Captain David Porter was appointed commander of the
West India forces, but before sailing from the United
States he secured five barges fitted with twenty oars
each for the service. They were appropriately styled
the mosquito fleet, and were named the Mosquito, the
Gnat, the Midge, the Sandfiy and the Gallinipper—
insects with which their crews were destined to be un-
pleasantly familiar. To this force were added eight
small schooners armed with three guns each, named
1823. THE ATTACK ON THE FOX. 31
the Greyhound, the Jackal, the Fox, the Wildcat, the
Beagle, the Ferret, the TFeaseZ and the Terrier. A
New York steam ferryboat, about one third of the size
of the present vessels, was fitted up for the service and
named the Seagull. The store vessel Decoy, mounting
six guns also was purchased. Captain Porter's flag-
ship was the Peacock, and the other cruisers under his
orders were the John Adams, the Hornet, the Spark,
the Grampus and the Shark. The entire force under
his command was not equal to three first-rate frigates.
Arriving off Porto Rico in March. 1823, Captain
Porter made it his first object to secure the co-operation
of the local authorities, and with that end in view he
dispatched the Greyhound, Master-Commandant John
Porter, March 3d, with a letter to the Governor of Porto
Rico. Not getting a prompt reply, he sent the Fox,
Lieutenant W. H. Cocke, into the harbor to inquire
about the governor's answer. As the Fox was standing
into the port a shot was fired over her from the fort,
and as she did not immediately heave to another shot
was fired, which killed Lieutenant Cocke. The fort
followed this up with four other shot, when the Fox
came to anchor under its guns. On making an in-
quiry, Captain Porter was informed that the governor
was absent and had left orders to the commander of
the fort to allow no suspicious vessels to enter, and it
was in pursuance of this order that the Fox had been
fired upon. It was the general belief of the American
officers that the act was a retaliation for the capture of
the Palmira. The matter was reported to the Govern-
ment, but nothing further was done.
The American naval force was now divided so as to
scour the northern and southern coasts of St. Domingo
and Cuba, after which the vessels were to rendezvous
at Key West, where Captain Porter intended to build
hospitals and storehouses and to make it his headquar-
ters. In carrying out this programme, the Greyhound,
Lieutenant Lawrence Kearny, and the Beagle, Lieuten-
32 SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1823.
ant J. T. Newton, came upon a nest of pirates at Cape
Cruz and destroyed eight of their boats, besides a bat-
tery mounting a 4-pounder and two swivels. This was
not done without a fierce struggle, and the wife of the
pirate chief fought with desperate ferocity before she
was overpowered, while her children kindled fires to
warn other piratical resorts in the neighborhood.
Many human bones and quantities of stolen merchan-
dise were found in a cave near by. Midshipman David
Glasgow Farragut, who commanded the landing party,
gives a graphic description of this attack in his Jour-
nal as follows :
"Cruising all through the Jardines and around the
Isle of Pines we kept a watchful eye on the coast, but
nothing occurred until one day when we were anchored
off Cape Cruz in company with the Beagle. Kearny
and Newton went on shore in one of the boats to see if
there was any game in the neighborhood. The boat's
crew was armed as usual, and had been on shore but
a short time when a man suddenly crossed the path.1
From his suspicious appearance one of the sailors,
named McCabe, leveled his gun at the stranger and
was about to pull the trigger, when his arm was arrested
by Kearny, who asked what he was aiming at. 'A
d d pirate, sir,' was the response. 'How do you
know?' 'By his rig,' said the man promptly. By
this time the fellow had disappeared ; but our men
had scarcely taken their seats in the boat in readiness
to shove oil, when they received a full volley of mus-
ketry from the dense woods or chaparral. The fire
was returned as soon as possible, but with no effect as
far as could be ascertained, the pirates being well con-
cealed behind the bushes. On board the Greyhound
we could hear the firing, but could render no assist-
ance, as Lieutenant Kearny had the only available boat
belonging to the vessel. Kearny reached us at dark, re-
lated his adventure, and ordered me to be in readiness
to land with a party at three o'clock the next morning.
1823. A LAND ATTACK. 33
"The schooner was to warp up inside the rocks to
cover the attacking party. I landed, accompanied by
Mr. Harrison, of the Beagle, the marines of both ves-
sels, numbering twelve men, and the stewards and
boys, making in all a force of seventeen. We had or-
ders to keep back from the beach, that we might not be
mistaken for pirates and receive the fire of the vessels.
We were all ignorant of the topography of the coast,
and when we landed found ourselves on a narrow
strip of land covered with a thick and almost impass-
able chaparral, separated from the mainland by a la-
goon. With great difficulty we made our way through
marsh and bramble, clearing a passage with cutlasses,
till we reached the mouth of the lagoon. We were
compelled to show ourselves on the beach at this point,
and narrowly escaped being fired upon from the Grey-
Ttound, but luckily, covered with mud as I was, Lieu-
tenant Kearny with his glass made out my epaulet and
immediately sent boats to transport us across to the
eastern shore. We found the country there very
rocky, and the rock was honeycombed and had the
appearance of iron, with sharp edges. The men from
the Beagle joined us, which increased my force to
about thirty men. The captain, in the meantime,
wishing to be certain as to the character of the men
who had fired on him the previous evening, pulled
boldly up again in his boat with a flag flying. Scarce-
ly was he within musket range when from under the
bluffs of the cape he received a volley of musketry
and a discharge from a 4-pound swivel. There was no
longer any doubt in the matter, and, considering that
the enemy had too large a force to imperil his whole
command on shore, Kearny decided to re-embark all
but my original detachment, and I was ordered to
attack the pirates in the rear while the schooners at-
tacked them in front. The pirates had no idea that
our schooners could get near enough to reach them,
but in this they were mistaken, for, by pulling along
48
34 SUPPRESSION OP PIRACY. 1823.
among the rocks, our people were soon able to bring
their guns to bear on the bluffs, which caused a scat-
tering among the miscreants. My party all this time
was struggling through the thicket that covered the
rocks, the long, sharp thorns of the cactus giving us a
great deal of trouble. Then there was a scrubby thorn
bush, so thick as almost to shut out the air, rendering
it next to impossible to get along any faster than we
could hew our way with the cutlasses. The heat had
become so intense that Lieutenant Somerville, who had
accompanied us, fainted. Our progress was so slow
that by the time the beach was reached the pirates
were out of sight. Now and then a fellow would be
seen in full run, and apparently fall down and dis-
appear from view. We caught one old man in this
difficult chase.
" Our surprise was very great, on returning to make
an examination of the place lately vacated by the pi-
rates, to find that they had several houses, from fifty
to one hundred feet long, concealed from view, and a
dozen boats and all the necessary apparatus for tur-
tling and fishing as well as for pirating. An immense
cave was discovered, filled with plunder of various
kinds, including many articles marked with English
labels, with saddles and costumes worn by the higher
classes of Spanish peasants. In the vicinity were
found several of these caves, in which a thousand men
might have concealed themselves and held the strong
position against a largely superior force. We con-
tented ourselves with burning their houses and carry-
ing off the plunder, cannon etc., and returned to the
vessel. The only man we captured, who had every ap-
pearance of being a leper, was allowed to go.
"My only prize on this occasion was a large black
monkey, which I took in single combat. He bit me
through the arm, but had to surrender at discretion.
In our first march through the swamp our shoes be-
came much softened, and in the last many were com-
1823. MARCHING IN MUD. 35
pletely cut from the feet of the men. Fortunately for
myself, I had put on a pair of pegged negro brogans
and got along pretty well, while some of my comrades
suffered severely. One of the officers lost his shoe in
the swamp, and one of the men, in endeavoring to re-
cover it, was mired in a most ludicrous manner — one
arm and one leg in the mud and one arm and one leg
in the air. Nothing could exceed the ridiculous appear-
ance we made when we got to the shore. My panta-
loons were glued to my legs, my jacket was torn to
shreds, and I was loaded with mud. The men under
Somerville saluted me as their commander, but the
sight was too much for all hands and there was a gen-
eral burst of laughter. Another ridiculous incident of
the expedition may as well be mentioned. When we
had advanced about half a mile into the thicket I or-
dered a halt, to await the preconcerted signal gun from
the schooner to push forward as rapidly as possible.
At this moment I heard a great noise in our rear, and
it occurred to me that the pirates might be behind us
in force. In forming my men to receive the attack
from that direction, I made a most animated speech,
encouraging them to fight bravely, but had scarcely
concluded my harangue when, to my great relief, it
was discovered that the noise proceeded from about
ten thousand land crabs making their way through the
briers."1
About the 1st of April the Fox, the Jackal, the Gal-
linipper and the Mosquito, under the orders of Master-
Commandant Cassin, kept guard on the northwestern
coast of Cuba and gave convoy to a large fleet of mer-
chantmen. Hearing that a suspicious-looking vessel
was in the neighborhood, Master-Commandant Cassin
dispatched the Gallinipper, Lieutenant Cornelius Kin-
chiloe Stribling, in search of it. In the early dawn of
April 8th Lieutenant Stribling discovered a strange
1 Farragut's Journal.
og SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1823.
craft working close inshore, and opened fire on her with
musketry for the purpose of bringing her to. The
stranger responded with a discharge of round shot,
grape and small arms, at the same time making stren-
uous efforts to escape, but finally she was compelled to
run ashore, and all her men, except two who escaped,
were killed. The prize was the fast-sailing schooner
Pilot, of Norfolk, armed with a long 12-pounder, and
had been captured by the pirates only eight days be-
fore. The leader of the pirates was the notorious
Domingo, who showed a "nice sense of honor" by
forwarding to Captain Porter and his officers letters
that he had found in the Pilot, remarking that he did
not "wish to deprive them of the pleasure of hearing
from their friends."
About the same time that Master-Commandant Cas-
sin captured the Pilot, he destroyed several resorts of
the pirates and three of their schooners. Entering a
bay noted as a rendezvous for pirates, he discovered
a felucca standing out, which, on being chased, ran
ashore and her crew escaped into the woods. It was a
newly coppered boat propelled by sixteen oars, and
evidently was just setting out on its first marauding
expedition.
Lieutenant Newell, while cruising with the Ferret
in the vicinity of Matanzas, discovered a heavily armed
barge in a bay and sent his only boat to reconnoiter.
Scarcely had the boat got within musket shot when a
number of pirates on shore ran down to the water's
edge and opened a brisk fire on the Americans, and
some of their shot took effect at the water line of the
boat, so the party was compelled to return to the Fer-
ret. Lieutenant Newell then stood inshore and opened
fire on the barge and seven boats that were seen on the
beach ; but as it was blowing a heavy gale, and the
Ferret could fire only when staying, she soon desisted
and made sail for Matanzas to secure another boat. On
his way to that port Lieutenant Newell fell in with an
1823. CAPTURE OF THE CATALINA. 37
English brig, and, obtaining a boat from her, he imme-
diately returned to the attack. But the pirates had
retreated to a lagoon some miles inland, taking with
them all but two of their boats.
About three months after Captain Porter arrived at
Havana several acts of piracy were reported, and he or-
dered the Gall/nipper, Lieutenant William II. Watson,
and the Mosquito, Lieutenant William Inman, having
aboard five officers and twenty-six men in all, to cruise
around the island and keep a careful lookout for the
buccaneers. In carrying out these instructions Lieuten-
ant Watson had reached the bay where Lieutenant Allen
had been killed the year before, when a large topsail
schooner, and a launch filled with men, were discovered
working along the shore toward the anchorage of sev-
eral merchant vessels. The Galli nipper and the Mos-
quito showed their colors and bore down on the stran-
gers, upon which the schooner hoisted the Spanish flag
and opened a rapid fire, and at the same time made sail
to escape. In the long chase that followed the Amer-
ican barges were exposed to the pirates' fire. Having
run close inshore, the schooner and the launch anchored
with springs on their cables, and made preparations for
an obstinate defense. Although there were from sev-
enty to eighty of the pirates, and the entire force of the
Americans was only thirty-one men, Lieutenant Watson
gave the order to attack, and in spite of a hot fire the
Americans, shouting "Hurrah for Allen!" dashed at
the buccaneers and drove them into the sea. Not wait-
ing to take possession of the prizes, the Gallinipper
and the Mosquito sailed past, and were soon in the
midst of the swimmers, and, laying about right and
left, exterminated several dozens of them. With the
aid of the local authorities, nearly all the miscreants
were either killed or captured. None of the Americans
were injured. The schooner proved to be the Catalina,
mounting one long 9-pounder and three 6-pounders,
commanded by Diabolito, or Little Devil, a notorious
38 SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1823-1824.
pirate of the West Indies, who, on refusing to surren-
der, was killed in the water. The Catalina had been
taken recently from the Spaniards, and was on her first
piratical cruise. Lieutenant Watson took five prison-
ers, whom he handed over to the authorities when he
arrived at Havana. Taken altogether, this was one of
the most brilliant aifairs of the year. Lieutenant
Watson died shortly afterward from yellow fever.
Driven from the sea by the activity of the American
naval force, many of the freebooters continued their
depredations on land, and soon became as great a terror
to the inhabitants of the towns and villages as they had
been to merchantmen on the high seas. Several estates
near Matanzas were plundered, and so many atrocities
were committed on the outskirts of the cities that finally
it became necessary to send the cavalry and infantry
after them.
Further operations against the pirates was inter-
rupted by the yellow fever that broke out at Key West
in August, 1823. Several of the men died, and Captain
Porter and some of the officers were taken down. Find-
ing that there was little chance of overcoming the dis-
ease in this malarious place, Captain Porter sailed for
the North with most of his vessels, and after the men
had recovered in the pure air he returned to the scene
of action.
The principal feature of the naval operations of
1824 was the celebrated Foxardo affair. On the 26th
of October Lieutenant Charles T. Platt, of the Beagle,
learned that the storehouse of the American consul at
St. Thomas had been broken into and goods valued at
five thousand dollars taken from it. It was believed
that the stolen property had been carried to Foxardo,
a small port on the eastern end of Porto Rico. Lieu-
tenant Platt anchored off that port, and, waiting upon
the civil authorities, informed them of his mission and
asked their assistance in recovering the plunder and
apprehending the robbers. The town officers treated
1824. THE FOXARDO AFFAIR. 39
him with great incivility, and as the American lieuten-
ant had landed without his uniform they demanded his
commission. On his producing that paper it was pro-
nounced a forgery, and Lieutenant Platt was arrested
on the charge of being a pirate. He and Midshipman
Robert Ritchie, who accompanied him, were placed
under arrest, and were only released and allowed to re-
turn to their vessel after being subjected to great in-
dignities. On hearing of this affair, Captain Porter,
having his flag on the John Adams, anchored off the
port with the Beagle and the Grampus, and the boats
of the John Adams, under the command of Master-
Commandant Alexander James Dallas, ran into the
harbor. In a letter dated November 12th, addressed
to the alcalde, Captain Porter demanded an explana-
tion of the treatment the American officers had re-
ceived, giving that magistrate one hour for an answer.
The letter was sent by a lieutenant under a flag of
truce. While waiting for an answer, Captain Porter
noticed that preparations were being made in a shore
battery to fire on him, whereupon he detailed a detach-
ment of seamen and marines, who captured the bat-
tery and spiked the guns. Captain Porter now landed,
and, after spiking a 2-gun battery that commanded
the road, he reached the town in half an hour. Find-
ing that the people were prepared to defend them-
selves, he halted to await the flag of truce. In a
short time the alcalde and the captain of the port
appeared and offered ample apology to Lieutenant
Platt for the indignities to which they had subjected
him, and expressed regret at the whole occurrence,
upon wrhich the Americans returned to their ships.
This affair incurred the displeasure of the United
States Government, and, in an order dated December
27, 1824, Captain Porter was ordered home, and on
being tried by court-martial he was sentenced to be
suspended from the service for six months. Believing
that he had been wronged, Captain Porter resigned, and
40
SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1824-1825.
entered the Mexican navy, where he remained until
1829, when he was appointed by President Jackson as
United States consul-general at Algiers. Afterward he
became the Minister to Turkey, and he died at Pera,
March 28, 1843. His body was brought home, and is
buried in the grounds of the Naval Asylum at Phila-
delphia.
The only other naval operations in the West Indies
in 1824 were the capture, by the Porpoise, Lieutenant
Skinner, of a schooner which had been deserted by its
crew, and the recapture of a French vessel from the
pirates by the Terrier, Lieutenant Paine, the pirate
crew escaping to the shore. On the 4th of February,
1825, the Ferret was capsized in a squall off Cuba and
five of her men were lost, the rest of her crew being
rescued by the Seagull and the Jackal.
Captain Porter was succeeded by Captain Lewis
Warrington, who followed out much the same plan of
operations that had been adopted by his predecessors.
Such a vigilant watch was maintained that from this
time but few instances of piracy were reported. Hear-
ing that a piratical sloop was in the neighborhood of
St. Thomas, Lieutenant John Drake Sloat, of the
Grampus, who was cruising in that vicinity, March,
1825, secured a trading sloop, and, disguising her as a
merchantman, placed in her two lieutenants and twen-
ty-three men. The ruse proved successful, and the
piratical craft running alongside opened fire, which the
sloop promptly returned, and after an action of forty-
five minutes the pirates ran their vessel ashore and es-
caped in the woods. Ten of them were taken prisoners
by Spanish soldiers, and two were killed. All the pris-
oners were executed by the Government of Porto Rico,
among them being the notorious pirate Colfrecinas. In
the same month the Seagull, Lieutenant McKeever, and
the Gallinipper, fell in with the British frigate Dart-
mouth and two English armed schooners. Believing
that they were in the vicinity of a nest of pirates, Lieu-
1825-1828. CUTTING OUT THE FEDERAL. 41
tenant McKeever entered into an arrangement for the
co-operation of the boats of the frigate, on condition
that he should command the party. While they were
approaching a bay on the afternoon of March 25th, the
masts of a vessel concealed by bushes were discovered,
and on being hailed the stranger showed Spanish colors
and trained her guns on the advancing boats. Leaving
one boat on guard and landing with the rest of his men,
so as to cut off the retreat of the pirates on land, Lieu-
tenant McKeever ordered the commander of the vessel
to come ashore. After much hesitation the leader of
the pirates complied, but immediately attempted to
run away. In the meantime the men in the boat on
guard had boarded the piratical vessel, and after a
stubborn resistance overpowered the pirates, their loss
being eight killed and nineteen taken prisoners. The
prize carried two 6- pounders and four swivels, and was
manned by thirty-live men. Numerous bales of Amer-
ican merchandise were found concealed in the bushes
on shore and also in the hold of the vessel. The
schooner was sailing under a forged Spanish commis-
sion. On the following day Lieutenant McKeever
chased a fore-and-aft rigged boat on shore, the crew
escaping to the woods.
This practically ended the active operations in the
West Indies, but, in order to impress the lesson on the
minds of evil doers, a squadron was maintained in those
waters for several years, and in December, 1828, oc-
curred an incident that showed the necessity for it. In
this year the 18-gun sloop of war Erie, Master-Com-
mandant Daniel Turner, was ordered to convey General
William Henry Harrison, minister to the United States
of Colombia, to that country. Touching at the island
of St. Bartholomew, Master-Commandant Turner met
the privateer Federal, belonging to Buenos Ay res, and
learned that she had recently captured an American
vessel under the plea that she had Spanish property
aboard. The governor of the island was asked to sur-
42
SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 1828-1832.
render the Federal, which had run under the guns of
the fort, and on his refusing to do so a boat party, led
by First-Lieutenant Josiah Tattnall, of the Erie, was
sent against the privateer. Setting out on a dark night,
and favored by occasional rain squalls, the Americans
pulled with muffled oars into the harbor unobserved
and carried the Federal with little opposition. Some
difficulty was experienced in tripping the anchor, and
during the delay the fort opened a heavy but ill-directed
fire. The privateer was finally got under way, and in
a few minutes was brought safely out of the harbor.
No loss was sustained on either side. The Federal was
sent to Pensacola.
Four years after this (August 10, 1832) while cruis-
ing off Matamoros in command of the Grampus, Lieu-
tenant Tattnall learned that the merchant vessel Wil-
liam A. Turner, of New York, had been plundered
the day before by the Mexican war schooner Monte-
zuma. Meeting the Montezuma off the bar of Tam-
pico a few days later, Lieutenant Tattnall captured
her within sight of the Mexican forts and several of
their cruisers, and secured seventy-six prisoners. The
prize carried three guns, one of them mounted on a
pivot. As cholera broke out in the Grampus about
this time, Lieutenant Tattnall landed his prisoners and
made for Pensacola, where his ship was thoroughly
cleaned. Returning to Tampico, he heard that the
Mexicans were detaining in that port an American
vessel laden with two hundred thousand dollars in
specie, and, being anxious to secure the money, the
Mexicans got up a pretext for detaining her, and held
her under the guns of the fort. Availing himself of a
favorable night, the American commander headed a
boat attack and succeeded in bringing the merchant-
man out of the harbor.
Not only was the navy active in suppressing piracy
in the West Indies, but in the Mediterranean also our
cruisers gave material assistance in running down the
1832. THREATENING NAPLES. 43
buccaneers. During the struggle of Greece for inde-
pendence from Turkey several of the Greek war ves-
sels perpetrated outrages on merchantmen of neutral
nations, and on May 29, 1825, an American vessel from
Boston was seized by one of their privateers. In 1827
Lieutenant Louis M. Goldsborough (afterward rear-
admiral), while in command of four boats and thirty-
five men of the United States sloop of war Porpoise,
recaptured after a desperate struggle the English brig
Comet, which was in the possession of Greek pirates.
Lieutenant John A. Carr singled out the pirate chief
and killed him with his own hand. One of the Ameri-
cans was killed in this attack, while many of the
pirates were exterminated. Several of the Mediterra-
nean powers thanked Lieutenant Goldsborough for
this affair.
During the reign of Joseph Bonaparte and Murat
in Naples (1809-'12) a number of American vessels
were confiscated by the Neapolitans, and shortly after
the War of 1812 Captain Daniel Patterson was or-
dered to assist the American consul at Naples, John
Nelson, in collecting two million dollars indemnity
money. The first demand of the consul was haugh-
tily rejected. A few days afterward the 44-gun frig-
ate Brandywine sailed into the beautiful harbor of
Naples. The demand for indemnity was then renewed,
but only to be treated as the first. In a few days the
44-gun frigate United States joined the Brandywine
at Naples, and four days afterward the Concord, also
dropped anchor in that harbor. The Bourbon Govern-
ment now began drilling troops, and made great prep-
arations for resisting the expected bombardment, but
it still refused to pay the claim. Two days after the
Concord's arrival the John Adams appeared in the
harbor and greatly added to the excitement in the
town. Finally, on the appearance of two more Ameri-
can war ships the Neapolitans yielded.
CHAPTER III.
QUALLA BATTOO.
Ox the 7th of February, 1831, the American mer-
chant vessel Friendship, of Salem, Mass., commanded
by Mr. Endicott and manned by fourteen men, was
lying at anchor off the Malay town of Qualla Battoo,
on the northwestern coast of Sumatra, taking in a cargo
of pepper. As the place was about four degrees north
of the equator, the weather was hot and sultry, and
the Americans found that the least physical exertion
was attended with great exhaustion. On the day in
question there was scarcely any breeze, and the sun
beat down on the deck of the Friendship with over-
powering force, seeming to cause the planks to warp
and the oil to ooze from the seams and the rigging.
Even the natives employed in loading the ship per-
formed their tasks with more than ordinary indolence
and listlessness. As there was no harbor at this place,
the Friendship lay about half a mile off the town, ex-
posed to the open sea, and carried on trade with the
natives by means of boats. At this part of the coast
the island rises abruptly out of the water in bold head-
lands and precipitous ridges, which culminate, a few
miles inland, in the lofty Bukit Barisan mountain
range, seven thousand to ten thousand feet high, while
within sight of Qnalla Battoo the peak of Mount Be-
rapi holds its proud crest twelve thousand feet above
the sea. Luxuriant vegetation and dense forests come
down to the water's edge in many-hued verdure, and,
extending along the coast in both directions as far as
44
1831. ATTACK ON THE FRIENDSHIP. 45
the eye can reach, present a scene of enchanting tropical
loveliness.
For many miles along the coast a tremendous surf
beats unceasingly upon the beach. Assuming form a
great distance from the shore, it gradually increases in
volume, and moving rapidly landward until it attains a
height of fifteen to twenty feet, it falls like a cascade,
nearly perpendicularly, on the shore with a tremendous
roar, which on a still night can be heard many miles
up the country. None but the most experienced na-
tive boatmen dared to venture in it, and when trading
vessels stopped at Qnalla Battoo they invariably sent
their boats ashore in charge of Malays. Even then a
landing could be effected only at the entrance of the
swift mountain streams that made their way to the sea,
breaking gaps here and there in the line of foam that
girded the western coast of Sumatra. At Qnalla Bat-
too a turbulent stream tumbled through the town, and
meeting the surf it melted a comparatively smooth pas-
sage through the breakers to the open sea. The pepper,
which was the chief article of commerce at this place,
was grown on the high table-lands some miles from
the coast, and was brought down to the sea on bamboo
rafts, the navigation of which along the tortuous moun-
tain streams and dangerous rapids was a feat requiring
no little skill and hardihood.
On the day the Friendship lay off Qualla Battoo a
light haze rendered the beach somewhat indistinct, but
well knowing the treacherous and warlike disposition
of the natives the Americans in the ship maintained
an unusually sharp lookout. According to custom,
the boats of the Friendship had been placed in charge
of Malays to be navigated through the surf. A large
quantity of pepper had been purchased, and Mr. En-
dicott, with his second mate, John Barry, and four sea-
men, were on shore at the trading depot, a short distance
up the river, superintending the weighing of the pep-
per and seeing that it was properly stowed away in the
46 QUALLA BATTOO. 1831.
boats so that the salt water could not reach it. The
first mate and the remainder of the crew were aboard
the Friendship ready to receive the boats and take
aboard their cargoes. After the first boat had received
its freight at the trading post it was manned by na-
tive seamen and rowed to the mouth of the river, but
instead of putting directly to sea, as it should have
done, Mr. Endicott— who had remained at the trading
post, keeping a careful eye on all that was going on —
noticed that the boat had run ashore and had taken
aboard more men. Supposing that the Malays in
charge of the boat required additional help to get
through the unexpectedly heavy surf, Mr. Endicott
did not feel alarmed, and continued weighing out pep-
per for the second boat load. He was sufficiently on
the alert, however, to detail two of his men to watch
the progress of the boat toward the Friendship and
order them to report anything that was out of the
usual course.
As a matter of fact, the Malays in the first boat, in-
stead of taking aboard additional seamen to help them
through the surf, as the Americans at the trading sta-
tion had supposed, exchanged places with an armed
body of warriors, double the number of the boat's
crew. Then, standing boldly to the surf, the warriors
concealed their weapons while the boat continued on
its way toward the unsuspecting merchantman. The
first mate of the Friendship noticed an unusual num-
ber of men in the boat, but he, like Mr. Endicott, sup-
posed that the surf had increased in violence, and that
an additional number was necessary to pull through it.
Consequently the Malays were allowed to come along-
side, and when they had made fast to the Friendship's
gangway the larger part of them clambered over the
side and gained the deck, concealing their short dag-
gers in their clothing. Ever fearful of treachery, the
first mate of the Friendship endeavored to prevent so
many Malays from coming aboard, but, affecting not
1831. MURDER OP AMERICAN SEAMEN. 47
to understand his words or gestures, they continued to
press over the side until more than twenty of them
were on deck. In keeping with their treacherous in-
stincts, they, instead of beginning an attack on the
Americans, whom they outnumbered three to one, im-
mediately scattered to different parts of the vessel and
pretended to be absorbed with wonderment at her
guns, rigging and equipment. Somewhat relieved by
their apparently harmless curiosity, the mate allowed
them to remain, while he and his men devoted their at-
tention to getting the boat load of pepper aboard and
stowing it in the hold.
While he was thus busily engaged several of the
Malays drew near and affected interest in the process.
Seizing a favorable moment, they, with a swift, catlike
motion for which they were celebrated, drove their
daggers hilt deep into the mate's back. He turned
quickly around and attempted to defend himself, but
he had been mortally wounded, and falling, upon him
with the fierceness of tigers, the Malays soon dis-
patched him. Observing the treacherous deed, five of
the American sailors made a rush to assist the mate,
but they were set upon by the other Malays in the ship
and two were instantly killed, while the other three
were made prisoners and reserved for a horrible fate.
The remaining four sailors in the Friendship, seeing
that it would be useless to contend against such num-
bers, jumped overboard and struck out for the land.
They soon discovered, however, that the attack was a
widespread conspiracy, for whenever they were raised
on the crest of a wave and caught glimpses of the beach
they saw that it was lined with armed warriors, who
were shouting and brandishing their weapons. Seeing
that it was worse than useless to attempt to land, the
four swimmers held a brief consultation and then
changed their course to a promontory, where the na-
tives could not follow them, and after a swim of sev-
eral miles they reached a place of comparative safety.
4g QUALLA BATTOO. 1831.
As soon as the treacherous Malays got complete pos-
session of the ship they clambered up the bulwarks
and rigging, and by gesticulating with their arms and
weapons conveyed the news of the capture to their
confederates on shore, and in a short time several
boat loads of the miscreants had put off through the
surf, and on gaining the decks of the merchant vessel
began to rifle her of every article of value. Having
taken everything out of her, even to the copper bolts
in the timbers, they cut her cables and attempted to
run her ashore, hoping to break her up and secure the
iron in her.
In the meantime the two seamen who had been de-
tailed by Mr. Endicott to watch the boat, observing the
excitement on board the Friendship and the men
plunging into the sea, reported the matter to their
commander, who immediately inferred that a treacher-
ous assault had been made on his ship. Hastily order-
ing his men into the second boat, which was waiting
at the trading depot, he hurriedly pulled down the
river in hopes of getting through the surf and possibly
regaining possession of the ship before his retreat was
cut off. He left the trading post not a minute too
soon, for the natives on shore rushed for the boat and
endeavored to intercept it; but by dint of hard row-
ing, and after running a gantlet of missiles from both
banks, the Americans managed to reach the mouth of
the river. Although Mr. Endicott had escaped the
savage foe on land, he found that he was confronted
with the probability of perishing in the surf. At this
critical moment a friendly Malay named Po Adam,
rajah of the neighboring tribe of Pulu Kio, who had
come to Qualla Battoo in his armed coasting schooner,
deserted his vessel, as he feared the attack might be
extended to him, and swam to the American boat.
When Mr. Endicott saw him he exclaimed, "What,
Adam, you come too?" to which the Malay replied in
broken English. "Yes, captain. If they kill you they
1831. A GALLANT RECAPTURE. 49
must kill me first." By the aid of Po Adam the
American boat managed to get through the breakers,
but just as it had cleared the line of surf it was met by
several Malay war canoes filled with warriors, who en-
deavored to cut off her retreat. So precipitate had
been the flight of the Americans that they forgot to
bring their firearms with them, and were now defense-
less. Po Adam, however, had a saber, and by put-
ting on a bold front and by a valorous flourishing of
the sword he kept the warriors at a distance, and the
boat got to sea unmolested.
Finding that it was impossible to recapture his ves-
sel, Mr. Endicott, after picking up the four seamen
who had jumped overboard, steered for Muckie, a
small town twenty miles to the south, in search of as-
sistance. He reached the place late at night and found
three American merchant vessels— a ship and two brigs-
anchored there, the commanders of which, on hearing
of the treacherous attack on Mr. Endicott's vessel, re-
solved to attempt her recapture. On hundreds of occa-
sions, which the historian has failed to record, the
American merchant tar has proved himself to be a
brave and daring sailor, and the case in hand was no
exception. On hearing of the dastardly murder of
their fellow-countrymen, the commanders of the three
American merchant vessels promptly got under way,
and appeared before Qualla Battoo on the following
day. To the demand for the restoration of the Friend-
ship the rajah of Qualla Battoo insolently replied,
"Take her if you can," upon which the American
vessels ran as close to the land as the shoal would
allow, and opened a brisk fire with what guns they
could bring to bear. In those days of piracy and
outrage on the high seas all well-equipped merchant
vessels carried a considerable armament, and their
crews were as carefully trained in the use of fire-
arms as in the handling of sails. The fire opened by
the three American merchantmen was no child's play,
49
50 QtJALLA BATTOO. 1831-1832.
as the Malays in the Friendship soon found out, and
notwithstanding that they returned it with consider-
able spirit and the forts at Qualla Battoo (which
mounted several heavy guns) opened with effect, they
soon discovered that they were at a disadvantage. Im-
patient at the prospect of a protracted bombardment,
the three American commanders determined on the
more expeditious method of a boat attack, although
none of them had a crew that numbered over fifteen
men, and the Malays had re-enforced their comrades
in the Friendship. Accordingly, three boat loads of
armed men put off from the merchant vessels and
made a dash for the Friendship in gallant style. The
Malays at first opened an ill-directed fire, but they
soon became panic-stricken at the steady advance of
the American boats, and plunged into the sea and
made for the beach, where they were assisted ashore
by their friends. On regaining possession of the ship
Captain Endicott found that she had been rifled of
everything of value, including twelve thousand dollars
in specie, and this compelled him to abandon the voy-
age. The total loss to the owners of the ship was
forty thousand dollars.
When the news of the outrage on the Friendship
reached the United States, the 44-gun frigate Potomac,
Captain John Downes, lay in New York harbor wait-
ing to convey Martin Van Buren, the newly ap-
pointed minister to the court of St. James, to England;
but hearing of the affair on the coast of Sumatra, Pres-
ident Jackson promptly ordered the Potomac to sail
for the scene of violence and visit summary vengeance
on the piratical Malays. Captain Downes got under
way in August, and arrived off the coast of Sumatra
early in February, 1832. f When the Potomac drew
near the scene of the outrage Captain Downes dis-
guised his ship, as he was anxious to attack the Qualla
Battooans before they knew of the arrival of an Ameri-
can war ship in that part of the world. The guns of
1832. THE POTOMAC OFF QUALLA BATTOO. 51
the frigate were run in, the ports closed, the topmasts
housed, the sails rigged in a slovenly manner, and
every precaution taken to give the frigate the appear-
ance of a merchant craft. In this guise the Potomac,
under Danish -colors, appeared off Qualla Battoo, Feb-
ruary 6, 1832, just a year after the treacherous attack
on the Friendship. Scarcely had she dropped anchor
when a sailboat rounded a point of land and made for
her. When it came alongside it was found to be laden
with fish and manned by four Malays from a friendly
tribe, who desired to sell their cargo. Fearing that
these men, if allowed to depart, might announce the
arrival of the frigate to the Qualla Battooans, Captain
Downes detained them on board until after the at-
tack.
At half past two o'clock the whaleboat was sent
toward the shore under the command of Lieutenant
Shubrick to take soundings. The men in the boat
were dressed as the boat crew of an Indiaman, and in
case they came to a parley with the natives Lieuten-
ants Shubrick and Edson were to impersonate the cap-
tain and supercargo of a trading vessel. As the natives
lined the shore in great numbers and assumed a hostile
attitude, no attempt was made to land, and having sat-
isfied himself with the situation of the river, Lieuten-
ant Shubrick returned to the ship at half past four
o'clock. Everything now being in readiness, Captain
Downes announced that the boats would leave the ship
at midnight, and from five o'clock to that time the men
selected for the expedition were at liberty to employ
their time as they pleased. As the attack was likely
to keep them late on the following day, many of the
men improved the opportunity to sleep, using gun
carriages, coils of rope and sails for pillows. Some of
the more restless, however, in the face of the impend-
ing conflict, found it impossible to sleep. They were
scattered about the ship conversing in low tones with
their messmates, placing in trusty hands some token
52 QUALLA BATTOO. 1832.
of affection, such as a watch or a Bible, to be delivered
to relatives or friends in case they fell.
Promptly at midnight all hands were summoned to
quarters, and in an instant the gun deck was swarming
with men, some with weapons in their* hands, others
girding on cutlasses, and all hurrying to their stations,
while the boats were lowered and brought along the
gangway on the off side of the ship, so that the natives
on shore could not discover what was going on, even if
they had been on the watch. The men silently and
rapidly descended the frigate's side and took their
places, and as each boat received its load it dropped
astern or was pulled ahead and made fast to the lee
boom to make room for others. The debarkation was
made with the greatest secrecy, nothing breaking the
silence of the hour except the splashing of the waves
against the dark hull of the frigate, the chafing of the
cables in the hawse holes, the whispered command of
the officers as the boats came to and from the gang-
way, or the muffled rattle of the oars in the oarlocks as
the boats shoved off to take their prescribed positions.
So much care in maintaining silence, however, seemed
unnecessary ; for the roaring surf, which even at the
distance of three miles could be distinctly heard
aboard the ship, would have drowned all noise.
The light of the morning star was just discernible
through a dense mass of dark clouds resting on the
eastern horizon when the order was given to shove off
and make for the land. The boats formed in line, and
with measured stroke stretched out for the beach.
When they had covered about a third of the distance
"a meteor of the most brilliant hue and splendid
rays," wrote an officer of the Potomac, "shot across
the heaven immediately above us, lighting the broad
expanse with its beams from west to east. We hailed
it as an earnest of the victory and the bright augury of
future fame." The bright star in the east had shone
fully two hours before the boats gained the landing
1832. LANDING SAILORS AND MARINES. 53
place, and as the keels of the boats grated on the beach
the men jumped out and hastened to their positions,
each division forming by itself. The boats, with enough
men to man them, were directed to remain together just
outside of the surf until further orders.
No delay was allowed in beginning the march.
Lieutenant Edson and Lieutenant Tenett led the van
with their company of marines. John Barry, second
mate of the Friendship^ who had come out in the Poto-
mac as a master's mate, now acted as a guide. Lieu-
tenant Ingersoll followed the van with the first division
of seamen, Lieutenant Hoff's division of musketeers and
pikemen then came, and after this Lieutenant Pinkham
with the third division, while Acting Sailing- Master
Totten and a few men brought up the rear with the
6-pounder, called "Betsy Baker." After marching
along the beach some distance the column turned
abruptly inland and struck into the dense jungle. The
fusileers, "a company of fine, stout and daring fel-
lows,"1 now distributed themselves in advance and on
each flank of the little army, to guard against ambus-
cades.
Lieutenant Hoff and three midshipmen, with the
second division of musketeers and pikemen, then
wheeled off to the left with his division and were soon
lost to view in the thick foliage. He had been ordered
to attack the fort on the northern edge of the town.
As soon as he came in sight of this stronghold the
Malays opened a sharp fusillade with cannon, muskets,
spears, javelins, and arrows. The Americans returned
the fire and then made a rush for the gate of the stock-
ade, and, bursting it open, engaged the enemy in a
short but fierce hand-to-hand encounter, in which the
pikes and cutlasses of the seamen were employed to
advantage. The open space within the palisade was
soon cleared, but the Malays retreated to their citadel
1 Journal of one of the Potomac's officers.
54 QUALLA BATTOO. 1832.
on the high platform, hauling up the ladder leading to
it, and for two hours fought with great bravery. Im-
patient at the delay, Lieutenant Hoff directed his men
to tear up some of the poles forming the stockade and
improvise ladders with them. Having done this, the
men made a rush for the citadel from opposite direc-
tions, and, placing their ladders against the high plat-
form, clambered up and made short work of the des-
perate defenders.
Eajah Maley Mohammed, one of the most influen-
tial chiefs on the western coast of Sumatra, com-
manded this fort, and fought with the ferocity of a
tiger. After receiving numerous bayonet thrusts and
musket balls he fell, but even in his death throes he
continued to brandish his saber and to inflict injuries
on the Americans around him, until a marine finally
dispatched him. But as soon as the rajah fell, a
woman, who from the richness of her dress was sup-
posed to be his wife, seized his saber and wielded it
with such energy that the Americans fell back, loath
to make war against a female. She rushed at them
and severely wounded a sailor on the head with a
blow of her saber, and with catlike dexterity she
aimed another blow at him which nearly severed the
thumb from his left hand. Before she could repeat
the stroke she fainted from loss of blood from a
wound previously received, and, falling upon the
hard pavement, soon died. At this fort twelve of the
Malays were killed and many times that number were
wounded.
While this fight had been going on at the northern
fort, Lieutenants Edson and Tenett, with the marines
and the first division of musketeers and pikemen under
Lieutenant Ingersoll, had discovered the fort in the
middle of the town, and after a short and bloody con-
flict carried it by storm and put the enemy to the
sword. In this attack one of the marines was killed,
one dangerously wounded, and several slightly wound-
1832. DESPERATE DEFENSE OF THE MALAYS. 55
ed. The Malays sustained greater loss here than at
the first fort. It was now daylight.
The first division, under Lieutenant Pinkham, had
been ordered to attack the fort in the rear of the town,
but it had been so skillfully concealed in the jungle
that Mr. Barry was unable to find it, and the division
retraced its steps and joined the fusileers under Lieu-
tenant Shubrick and the 6-pounder commanded by
Acting Sailing-Master Totten, in an attack upon the
most formidable fort of the town, which was on the
bank of the river near the beach. Here the principal
rajah of Qualla Bat too had collected his bravest war-
riors, who announced their determination to die rather
than surrender ; and they kept their word. The entire
force of the division advancing to attack this strong-
hold was eighty-five men. As soon as the Americans
came in sight the Malays opened a hot fire of musketry,
and followed it up with a rapid discharge of their swiv-
els, which, as usual, were mounted in a commanding
position on the high platform. "The natives were
brave, and fought with a fierceness bordering on desper-
ation," wrote one of the Potomac's officers who was in
the division. "They would not yield while a drop of
their savage blood warmed their bosoms or while they
had strength to wield a weapon, fighting with that
undaunted firmness which is the characteristic of bold
and determined spirits, and displaying such an utter
carelessness of life as would have been honored in a
better cause. Instances of the bravery of these people
were numerous, so much so that were I to give you a
detail of each event my description would probably
become tiresome."
The Americans returned the enemy's fire with a
brisk discharge of their muskets, and a sharp fusillade
was maintained for some time, but with little effect
upon the stout barricades. Anxious to complete the
work of destruction as soon as possible, Lieutenant
Shubrick left a body of men in front of the fort to en-
5g QUALLA BATTOO. 1832.
gage the attention of the Malays, while he, with the fu-
slleers and the "Betsy Baker," made a detour through
the woods to gain the rear of the fort unobserved. The
manoeuvre was successful, and in a few minutes the
flanking party reached the river bank behind the cita-
del. Here three large, heavily armed schooners (the
largest being the boat they had captured from Po
Adam the year before), employed by the Malays in
their piratical excursions, were discovered anchored
in the river and filled with warriors awaiting a favor-
able opportunity to take a hand in the fray, and acting
as a cover to the rear of the fort. Before the pirates
realized it Lieutenant Shubrick had opened on them
with his 6-pounder and raked the schooners fore and
aft. This was followed up with a well-directed fire of
musketry from the fusileers, which killed or wounded
a great number and caused the surviving Malays to
jump overboard and escape to the woods. The natives,
however, succeeded in getting sail on the largest of the
schooners, and in a short time they ran her up the
river, where she was out of gunshot.
Unknown to the Americans, Po Adam had sighted
the Potomac some days before, and believing her to be
an American frigate, he had collected a band of his
warriors, and, stealing along the coast, concealed him-
self in the woods on the outskirts of Qualla Battoo.
When he saw the marines and seamen land and attack
the town he drew nearer and lay in ambush with his
men on the south bank of the river, awaiting an oppor-
tunity to attack. Po Adam noticed the Malays in the
schooner, and when they moored her to the south bank
so as to be safe from further attack by the Americans,
he rushed from his place of concealment with his men,
boarded the schooner, killed five of the Qualla Bat-
tooans, and put the remainder to flight. By this time
it was broad daylight.
Having completed the circumvallation of the rajah's
citadel, Lieutenant Shubrick gave the signal for a
1832. A FIGHT TO THE DEATH. 57
simultaneous assault on front and rear, when the
Americans attacked the outer stockade, and by hack-
ing with axes succeeded in wrenching the massive gate
from its place. The Malays were prepared for the at-
tack, and the first American who exposed himself was
shot through the brain, and three others fell, wounded.
Unmindful of this, the hardy sailors rushed into the
large open space within the palisades and drove the
Malays to the high platform, where they made their
final stand. To add to the confusion, the stockade
that had been captured by the division under Lieuten-
ants Hoff and Edson had been set on fire in pursuance
of orders, and by this time the flames had spread and
now threatened to ingulf both the Americans and the
Malays. Great columns of smoke rolled up while the
fire and blazing sun rendered the heat almost unen-
durable. Scores of Malays were fleeing through the
secret passages in the jungle, carrying such articles as
they esteemed valuable, while beasts and reptiles, dis-
turbed by the heat, were making their way through
the forest in all directions. Finding that they were
firing at a disadvantage, the men in charge of the
"Betsy Baker" seized the little gun, carried it to an
elevation on the upper side of the fort, and reopened
with a steady and well-directed fire of grape and can-
ister. Many Malays were laid low ; but so rapid was
the fire that the ammunition was soon exhausted,
and it was necessary to send to the boats for another
supply.
In the meantime Lieutenants Hoff and Edson, hav-
ing performed the task allotted to them, came up with
their divisions and joined in the attack on the principal
fort. They were ordered to take a position between
the fort and the water, where they poured in an effect-
ive cross fire upon the doomed pirates. But the Ma-
lays kept up a brave and spirited defense, and were
still shouting to the Americans in broken English " to
come and take them." The men who had been sent to
58 QUALLA BATTOO. 1832.
the boats for more ammunition for the "Betsy Baker"
now returned with ten bags containing forty musket
balls each. So eager were the crew of this gun that it
was now overloaded, and at the third discharge it was
dismounted and the carriage rendered useless for the
remainder of the action. At this moment the flames
in the central fort, which had been captured by Lieu-
tenant Edson, reached the magazine, and it blew up
with tremendous force. Seeing that further service
could not be derived from the 6-pounder, Lieutenant
Shubrick ordered a general assault on the citadel, and
at the word the men sprang from cover, made a rush
for the stockade, and, clambering up the platform in
any way they could, overpowered the few remaining
Malays and put them to the sword, and soon the
American flag waved from the platform in triumph.
The victorious Americans now turned their atten-
tion to the fort on the opposite side of the river, which
had kept up an annoying fire from its 12-pounder, but
it was found to be impracticable to ford the deep and
rapid stream, and as the surf was growing heavier
every minute, Lieutenant Shubrick caused the bugle
to sound the retreat. While they were returning to
the beach a sharp and well-sustained fire was unex-
pectedly opened on the Americans from a jungle. It
proved to be the fort for which the division under
Lieutenant Pinkham had searched in vain. The
Americans promptly returned the fire and then ad-
vanced to carry the fort by storm, and one of the hot-
test fights of the day ensued. The Malays fought
with the energy of despair, but in a short time were
overpowered, and were either put to the sword or es-
caped in the jungle, leaving many a bloody trail on the
grass as evidence of their punishment.
The Americans then reassembled on the beach and
began the roll-call, to ascertain their casualties and to
discover if any had been left in the jungle. It was
found that two men had been killed and eleven were
BOMBARDING QUALLA BATTOO. 59
wounded. The bodies of the dead and wounded were
carefully lifted into the boats, and the entire expedi-
re-embarked, and pushing off through the surf pulled
for the frigate. Of the Malays, over one hundred were
killed and two hundred wounded.
Learning that a number of Malays had gathered in
the rear of the town, Captain Downes, at noon on the
following day (February 7th), weighed anchor and
stood in about a mile from the shore and opened a
heavy fire on the fort on the south bank of the river.
Another object of this second day's attack was to con-
vince the Qualla Battooans that the United States did
possess "ships with big guns" and knew how to use
them. The rapid discharge of the Potomac's long 32-
pounders appalled the natives, for they had never be-
fore heard such a terrible noise. For more than an
hour the heavy shot from the frigate plowed their way
into the wooden stockades, carrying death and destruc-
tion in their path.
At a quarter past one o'clock white flags began to
appear at different points along the beach, and the
Potomac ceased firing, and about six o'clock in the
evening a native boat was seen making its way through
the surf, with a white flag at the bow, pulling for the
frigate. By seven o'clock it came alongside, and it was
learned that it contained messengers from the surviv-
ing rajahs with overtures for peace. On being taken
aboard they were conducted to Captain Downes, and,
bowing themselves to the deck in humble submission,
they pleaded for peace on any terms "if only the big
guns might cease their lightning and thunder." Cap-
tain Downes impressed upon the envoys the enormity
of the offense of the Qualla Battooans in attacking
American seamen, and assured them that the full
power of the United States Government was behind the
humblest of its citizens in any part of the globe, and
that any future misconduct on the part of the Malays
toward an American citizen would be met with even
gO QUALLA BATTOO. 1833-1838.
greater punishment than has just been meted out to
them.1
Although this summary vengeance on the Qualla
Battooans had a salutary effect on the natives of this
coast, yet it required another bombardment before the
lesson was fully impressed upon their minds. On the
night of August 26, 1838, while the American trading
ship Eclipse, Captain Wilkins, was loading with pep-
per at a village called Trabagan, twelve miles from
Muckie, two canoes came alongside with the commod-
ity. The Malays asked for permission to come aboard,
and as their spokesman, named Ousso, was recognized
by the second mate as being an old trader, the request
was granted. In pursuance with the customary cau-
tion exercised by Americans doing business with these
natives, their arms were taken from them as they came
over the side of the ship and locked up. The work of
weighing the pepper then went on, when Ousso re-
proached the Americans for locking up their arms as
being a breach of good faith among old acquaintances,
and the mate very foolishly returned the weapons.
Scarcely had this been done when one of the natives
approached Captain Wilkins and mortally wounded
him in the back. About the same time the too good-
natured mate was dangerously injured in the loins,
while some of the crew scrambled up the rigging and
others jumped overboard. The cook, who had been
placed in irons for insubordination, begged for his life,
promising to reveal where the specie and a quantity of
opium were kept. Having secured this plunder— the
1 In the following year (July 28, 1833) Captain William Bainbridge,
the hero of the Constitution- Java action, died at Philadelphia. After the
War of 1812 he was twice sent to the Mediterranean as the commanding
officer of that squadron, having for his flagship the 74-gun ship of the
line Independence the first time, and the 74-gun ship of the line Columbus
when he assumed command in 1819. On his deathbed his mind dwelt on
the sea. and shortly before he died he called for his sword and pistols. As
they were not given to him, he raised himself up by a great effort and
shouted for all hands to " board the enemy ! "
1838. SECOND BOMBARDMENT OF QUALLA BATTOO. 61
specie amounting to eighteen thousand dollars— the
natives fled with the cook.
At this time the American 44-gun frigate Columbia
and the corvette John Adams, under the orders of
Commodore George C. Reid, were making a cruise
around the world. Hearing of the outrage on the
Eclipse, Reid appeared off Qualla Battoo December 20,
1838, and through our old friend, Po Adam, learned that
the chief of the Qualla Battooans, Po Chute Abdullah,
had received two thousand dollars of the stolen money,
and that one of the murderers was harbored there. On
the failure of the natives to deliver the money or the
man, Reid bombarded the place. He then proceeded to
Muckie, where more of the money and the murderers
were. As the natives here also failed to give satisfaction,
that place was bombarded, a detachment of men was
landed and the place destroyed. Satisfied with meting
out this punishment, Reid sailed away without attack-
ing Trabagan, the scene of the outrage. Returning to
Qualla Battoo, the Americans again demanded the
money. Po Chute Abdullah, terrified by the fate of
Muckie, confessed that he had received the specie, but
declared that it had been distributed among his peo-
ple and he could not get it back. To avoid having his
settlement destroyed, he promised to return the money
at a specified time. Treaties were then made with a
number of chiefs along this coast, whereby they bound
themselves to protect traders sailing under the Amer-
ican flag.
CHAPTER IV.
CRUISING AGAINST SLAVERS.
EARLY in the century the United States entered into
an arrangement with Great Britain for the suppression
of the slave trade on the west coast of Africa. It
would be difficult to overestimate the hardships and
dangers to which our officers were exposed while en-
gaged in this service. The fever-laden coast made it
hazardous for white men to approach. To be assigned
to this station meant death to many a gallant tar, the
sick lists sometimes including half the ship's company.
Many of the slave ships also were heavily armed, and
being manned by unusually large crews they were
prepared to make a good defense, as was demonstrated
on more than one occasion. In fact, some of these
slavers became out-and-out pirates, and were quite as
dangerous to merchantmen as to negroes.
After the War of 1812 some of the swift-sailing
privateers which had done good service in that struggle
were turned into slavers, as their great speed and heavy
armaments gave them every advantage. It was cus-
tomary for these vessels to sail from home ports, hav-
ing on board alleged Brazilian, Spanish, French or
Italian passengers, and when on the slave coast the
crew went ashore and the "passengers" took posses-
sion of the ship under a foreign flag, a double set of
ship's papers being made out in some instances to ac-
commodate this "lightning change." In this way
American cruisers were foiled by the display of foreign
colors and papers, while English war vessels found
1820. AUDACITY OF SLAVERS. 53
themselves barred by the Stars and Stripes. As the
vigilance of American and English war ships increased,
the slavers diminished the size of their vessels so as
more readily to elude detection.
A good illustration of the audacity of these sea-
pests is given in Commodore Edward Trenchard's
journal. A trading vessel on this coast, showing
American colors, had aroused the suspicions of the
commander of the British gunboat Contest. The Eng-
lish refrained from making a search of the trader, con-
tenting themselves with keeping close to her so she
could do no mischief. Day after day the vessels sailed
in company, until the Yankee skipper, finding that he
could not ship his cargo of slaves— for in truth he was
a slave trader — challenged the British commander to a
friendly sailing match to last twenty-four hours. The
challenge was accepted, for the Englishmen could not
restrain their desire to " win a race." This they easily
did, as the crafty Yankee purposely retarded the prog-
ress of his boat so as to allow the gunboat to get as far
ahead as possible, and under cover of night, when the ,
cruiser was out of sight, the Americans ran inshore —
where the slaves had been following the boat for days
—took on the human freight and before daylight were
fairly homeward bound, and not the faintest suggestion
of the Contest anywhere to be seen.
One of the first American cruisers to be sent to the
slave coast was the 20-gun sloop of war Cyane, Com-
mander Edward Trenchard. Her officers were Lieuten-
ants Matthew Calbraith Perry, Silas H. Stringham,
William Mervine, Voorhees and Hosack, Midshipmen
Montgomery, H. C. Newton, Sanderson and William
Hudson, and Acting- Master's Mate Jacob Morris. The
Cyane had not been long on this station when early
in April, 1820, Captain Trenchard received secret
information that there was a group of slavers at
a certain point along the coast whose capture would
prove a heavy blow to the iniquitous traffic. His in-
£4: CBtTKIXG AGAINST SLAVEBS. MM
formant told him that seven slavers were at that mo-
ment at the mouth of the Gallinos River waiting for
a gang of several thousand slaves to arrive from the
interior.
Commander Trenchard resolved to come upon the
slavers unannounced and if possible seize them all —
an exceedingly hazardous and difficult undertaking for
one cruiser to attempt, for, as has been said, the
slavers usually were heavily armed and manned, and
their combined force undoubtedly was several times
greater than that of the little Cyane. As Trenchard
drew near the mouth of the Gallinos he shortened sail,
intending to enter the river under cover of night and
come upon the slavers unawares and before they could
get to sea and escape. The plan was successful.
When day was about to break, the sloop of war was in
the mouth of the river, and in the gray light of dawn
the masts and spars of two brigs and six schooners at
anchor close inshore were made out. That the slavers
were keeping a sharp lookout is attested by the fact
that they discovered the sloop of war almost as soon as
they were made out by the cruiser, and in an incredi-
bly short time they were under sail endeavoring to
escape, excepting one of the brigs and one schooner,
which seemed to be unmoved by the apparition of the
massive spars and heavy rigging of the cruiser, and re-
mained quietly at anchor as if undisturbed by a guilty
conscience.
At the first intimation that the slavers were endeavor-
ing to escape Trenchard gave orders to put about in
chase, and for a few minutes there was the liveliest
kind of bustle and seeming confusion in the cruiser as
the men sprang up the shrouds and scrambled out on
the yards to make sail. The broad entrance to the
river gave the chase a fair opportunity to escape, and
realizing this the Americans crowded on every stitch
of canvas that would hold wind. As there was a fresh
breeze at the time all the vessels were soon bowling
1820. IN FULL CHASE. 65
along at a smart rate, heeling over under clouds of can-
vas on the port tack.
It was here that Trenchard displayed great bravery
in approaching the enemy. He took advantage of the
formation of the coast so that the fleeing craft could
sail in one direction only, thereby preventing them
from scattering and enabling the Cyane to come up
with all. In this the intrepid Trenchard courted a
serious danger, for it kept the six slavers in a bunch
and enabled them to combine their forces on the little
cruiser.
After an exciting chase of an hour the Cyane had
gained sufficiently on the slavers to head off the fore-
most, whereupon Trenchard tacked about and stood
inshore so as to come to close quarters. About this
time, 7 A. M., the wind failed, leaving the vessels be-
calmed and just out of gunshot. Observing that some
of the schooners were getting out their boats with a
view of towing to a place of safety, Trenchard ordered
the Cyane's boats to be manned and prepared for a
boat attack. The order was carried out in gallant
style. The launch, first cutter and starboard quarter
boat were lowered and manned, and at 8 A. M. dashed
toward the nearest schooner, notwithstanding the om-
inous pointing of heavy guns at them and the loud
threats of the slavers to blow the boats out of water
if they persisted in coming nearer. Several shots were
fired. Unmindful of this the Americans nerved them-
selves for a dash, and after a strong pull boarded
the first vessel. She proved to be the American
schooner Endymion, commanded by Alexander Mc-
Kim Andrew. When Mr. Andrew saw that his threats
to blow the boats out of water were unavailing, he
hastily got into one of his boats and pulled toward the
land. Noticing this from the deck of the Cyane,
Trenchard ordered his quarter boat, under Lieuten-
ant Montgomery, in pursuit, and after an exciting
race the fugitive was captured. Midshipman New-
50
QQ CRUISING AGAINST SLAVERS. 1820.
ton and a prize crew were placed aboard the En-
dymion.
At this moment a fresh breeze sprang up, and the
launch and cutter, which were then pulling toward the
second schooner with a view of boarding her also, soon
found that they were losing ground instead of gaining,
for the schooner, having all her sails set, was gradually
drawing away from them. Upon discovering this the
two boats returned to the Cyane, and that vessel set
sail and resumed the chase. At 8.30 A. M. the Endym-
ion picked up the quarter boat which had captured
Mr. Andrew and followed the Cyane. But the breeze,
although quite fresh for a time, began to fail again,
and at noon Trenchard sent Lieutenant Stringham in
the first cutter, Lieutenant Voorhees in the launch,
and Lieutenant Mervine in the second gig to make a
second boat attack on the slavers. This time the boats
succeeded in getting alongside the chase, and took
successively the brig Annita, commanded by Pedro
Pushe ; the schooner Esperanza, Luis Montefort ; the
schooner Dasher, Thomas Munro ; the schooner Eliza,
Constant Hastings ; and the schooner Louise, Francis
Sablon.
An examination of these vessels showed that they
were all "deeply engaged in the traffic of slaves.
There is but one, however, of those under foreign flags
that we can ascertain is acting in contravention to the
above law. This is the schooner Esperanza (formerly
the United States revenue cutter Alert), now under
Spanish colors. She sailed last from Charleston, S. C.,
without a clearance, at which place she enlisted the
major part of her crew of American citizens. Her ap-
parent captain is a Spaniard by the name of Monte-
fort, but her real captain and probable owner is a Mr.
Ratcliffe, an American, and who is now on shore col-
lecting his complement of negroes."
Having captured six of the slavers by one bold
stroke, Trenchard hastened back to the mouth of the
1820. A GALLANT CAPTURE. 67
Gallinos, where a brig and a schooner had remained
apparently indifferent to the fate that awaited them.
These vessels were taken without opposition, and one
was found to be the schooner Science or Dechosa, and
the other was called the Plattsburg or Maria Gat-
tlireust. After a search they were reported upon by
the examining officers as follows: "The DecJiosa or
Science, of New York, is owned in New York ; sailed
from that port in January last and touched at Porto
Rico, where she changed her name and came imme-
diately to this coast, landed her cargo and made
arrangements for receiving her slaves. There is little
doubt of her being American property, and conse-
quently we are of opinion that she is violating the
laws of the United States. We can only learn that
the Maria Gatthreust or Plattsburg, of Baltimore,
sailed from Baltimore in December last, where she
shipped her crew and cargo of goods ; she touched at
Cuba, at which place she changed her character and
proceeded to this coast in quest of slaves. The num-
ber of men and her strong armament induces us to be-
lieve that she is not only a vessel engaged in the traffic
of slaves, but she is fully prepared to commit pirat-
ical aggressions on the flag of any nation." All of
these prisoners were sent to the United States in the
Eliza for trial. By this daring act Trenchard cap-
tured seven slavers and probably one pirate. The
blow was a severe one and did much toward checking
the traffic.
Shortly after this affair the Cyane put into Port
Praya. As she entered the port the Americans fired
the customary salute of seventeen guns. As the shore
batteries replied with only fifteen, Trenchard promptly
sent Lieutenant Voorhees ashore to demand an ex-
planation. The officials apologized for the slight and
caused two more guns to be discharged.1 We get some
1 Private Journal of Captain Trenchard.
68
CRUISING AGAINST SLAVERS. 1820.
idea of the danger of cruising on the African coast by
the fact that while the Cyane was on this station the
English war brig Snapper in eight months lost eleven
officers and twenty men in a crew of about fifty all
told. In April, 1820, Trenchard reported to the Secre-
tary of the Navy that thirty-six of his men were pros-
trated by the malady. In consequence of this alarm-
ing condition the Cyane was ordered home and the
Hornet took her place.
By the provisions of the Webster- Ashburton treaty
the United States agreed to maintain a squadron
mounting not less than eighty guns on the coast of
Africa, for the suppression of the slave trade ; and in
carrying out this section of the treaty Captain Matthew
Calbraith Perry, on the 20th of February, 1843, was
ordered to the African coast in command of the 20-gun
sloop of war Saratoga, flagship, the 38-gun frigate
Macedonian, and the brigs of war Decatur and Por-
poise. Prior to the arrival of this squadron on its
station the American trading vessel Mary Carver had
been seized by the natives, and her commander, Mr.
Carver, was tied to a post, and for three hours the
women and children tortured him by sticking thorns
into his flesh. The Edward Barley also was seized by
the Africans, and her master, Mr. Burke, her mate and
cook were murdered.
When Captain Perry heard of these outrages he
sent the Porpoise, Lieutenant Stellwagen, disguised as
a merchantman, to the Berribee Coast, where the mur-
ders had been committed. As soon as the Porpoise
dropped anchor a number of natives came aboard, and
evidently would have murdered the crew had the vessel
been a merchant craft, as they supposed. This was all
the American commander wanted to know, and, sailing
away without injuring the natives or revealing the
character of his vessel, Lieutenant Stellwagen made
his report to Captain Perry. On the 29th of Novem-
ber, 1843, the squadron anchored off Berribee and de-
1820. DEATH OP KING CRACK 0. 69
raanded the restoration of the Mary Carver's cargo
and the surrender of the murderers. After a number
of "palavers" Captain Perry agreed to land and hold
a conference with King Crack O within the stockades.
This negro was a giant, and Captain Perry had been
warned of treachery, but in spite of the danger the
intrepid American attended the conference with a small
guard. In the middle of the interview King Crack O
suddenly seized Perry with one hand and attempted to
reach his iron spear (the handle of which had twelve
notches in it, indicating the number of men he had
slain) with the other. The sergeant of marines
promptly shot the king and then bayoneted him
twice ; but the gigantic negro, frothing at the mouth,
continued to fight with the ferocity of a demon, and
it took three men to control him. The other blacks
retreated to the camwood and opened a fire on the
Americans, using the copper bolts of the Mary Carver
as bullets. They were soon put to flight, however,
and their town burned, King Crack O dying the
next day.
On the 15th of December, while the squadron was at
a point fifteen miles down the coast, the woods sudden-
ly resounded with war horns, bells, gongs, etc., and a
fire was opened on the American boats pulling toward
the shore. A detachment of men was landed and four
towns were destroyed. The good effects of these se-
vere measures were felt many years afterward. Swift
runners carried the news a thousand miles along the
coast, and on the 16th of December a treaty was con-
cluded at Great Berribee.
When Lieutenant Andrew Hull Foote reached the
slave coast in December, 1849, in the brig of war Perry,
he found that the American brigantine Louisa Beaton
had been overhauled by the British cruiser Dolphin
under suspicion of being engaged in the slave trade.
The people in the brigantine expressed great indig-
nation over this proceeding, and so far asserted their
70 CRUISING AGAINST SLAVERS. 1820.
innocence that the English commander made a dis-
avowal of the act and offered an indemnity. As
showing the extreme delicacy of this service, it will be
added that the Louisa Beaton was in truth a slaver,
and after being released by the authorities got away
with a cargo of human freight.
In the following year (June 7, 1850) Foote over-
hauled a large ship showing American colors off the
coast between Ambriz and Loanda. As the American
boarding officer came aboard to search, he noticed that
her name on the stern was " Martha, of New York,"
yet as soon as her master recognized the uniform of the
American officers he hauled down his colors and claimed
the protection of the Brazilian flag. He then threw
overboard his writing desk, and boldly declared that the
ship was a Brazilian and that the Americans had no
right to search. Unfortunately for this man his writ-
ing desk floated, and, on being recovered and searched,
papers were found showing that he was a citizen of the
United States, and that three fifths of the ship belonged
to an American living at Rio Janeiro.
A further search showed that there were twenty -six
thousand gallons of water aboard and sufficient quan-
tities of farina and rice— the common food of negroes—
to feed two thousand men. Besides this there were
wooden spoons, iron boilers for cooking purposes, man-
acles used for securing slaves, and the ship was fitted
with what was known as a u slave deck." As the
proofs were too strong against him the master con-
fessed that he expected to take on a full cargo of ne-
groes that night. He was seized and sent with his
men to New York and his ship was condemned as a
slaver.
Not long after this the Perry seized the American
brigantine CTiatsworth and held her for adjudication,
but she was released by the court as not having suffi-
cient evidence against her to establish her character as
a slaver. Afterward the Chatsworth was again seized
1820. SEIZURE OF THE CHATSWORTH. 71
and this time two sets of papers were found aboard
her. Again she was sent home and this time was
condemned.
These energetic measures, together with the vigi-
lance exercised by the American and British cruisers
on the slave coast, gradually stamped out the ne-
farious traffic, so that in a few years after the seizure
of the Chatsworth the slave trade virtually was
stopped.
CHAPTER V.
CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA.
ON the night of September 6, 1842, while the Pacific
squadron, under the command of Captain Thomas ap C.
Jones — consisting of the 44-gun frigate United States,
flagship, the 20-gun sloop of war Cyane, Commander
Cornelius Kinchiloe Stribling, the 16-gun brig of war
Dale, Commander Thomas Aloysius Dornin, and the
12-gun schooner Shark — was at anchor in the harbor of
Callao, the British frigate Dublin, bearing the flag of
Rear- Admiral Thomas, suddenly appeared off the port,
took a look at the American cruisers, and put to sea
again without giving information as to her destination.
Under ordinary circumstances the action of the British
admiral would not have excited more than passing
comment for the Dublin had been on the western coast
of South America fifteen years, and was constantly
running from one port to another. But her behavior on
this particular occasion aroused Captain Jones' sus-
picions. For some time it had been rumored that
England and France were in secret negotiation with
Mexico for the cession of enormous tracts of land on
the Pacific slope. These rumors were particularly ap-
plicable to Great Britain, as it was well known that
Mexico was heavily in debt to British merchants, and
there seemed to be no other way of meeting the obliga-
tion.
England had never lost sight of France's first proj-
ect of founding a Western empire. It has been shown
that the French ministry caused a chain of trading
posts— in reality fortresses— to be erected along the
72
1812. ENGLAND'S POLICY. 73
Great Lakes and down the Ohio and Mississippi Eivers
to New Orleans, with the view of uniting the Canadas
and Louisiana into one vast domain, which would cut
off the English colonies on the Atlantic seaboard from
the Great West. When the Canadas passed under
British rule the English endeavored to carry out this
plan for the purpose of confining the United States
east of the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers ; but the naval victories on Lake Champlain
and Lake Erie, and the battle of the Thames, in the
War of 1812, frustrated this, and as a last resort the
British ministers projected the most formidable expe-
dition of the war against New Orleans, at a time when
negotiations for peace were pending, hoping to secure
a footing at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and
thus establish a claim on the vast territory drained by
its confluents. This was in keeping with England's
policy of occupying strategic positions on the coasts
of other nations in all parts of the world. By fortify-
ing the little island of Heligoland, at the mouth of the
Elbe, England for many years exercised a controlling
influence over the German states, and by holding the
Channel Islands she was a constant menace to France.
Her impregnable strongholds at Gibraltar and Malta
gave her a dominating influence over Spain, Portugal,
Italy and other Mediterranean nations, and the occu-
pation of Hong- Kong on the island of Victoria, near
the mouth of several large rivers in China, put her in a
threatening attitude toward that country. This "hold-
ing the clinched fist " close to the aquiline nose of Uncle
Sam, so far as the Mississippi River was concerned,
was prevented by the American naval forces at Lake
Borgne and by General Jackson. But England was
always on the watch to secure more strategic points.
Captain Jones had been put on his guard by the
Government, and had recently read in a Mexican
paper that war was likely to be declared between the
United States and Mexico, if indeed hostilities had not
CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 1842-1846.
already begun. All these circumstances made the
American commander suspect that the Dublin was
bound for California for the purpose of occupying
towns along the coast, and knowing that the policy
of the United States was to extend its territory to the
Pacific Ocean, he promptly got to sea with his entire
squadron on the 7th of September. As soon as the ves-
sels had gained an offing he called a council of his offi-
cers and laid the facts before them, and they came to
the conclusion unanimously that it was their duty, at
all hazards, to prevent the British from obtaining a
foothold in California. The United States and the Cy-
ane hastened northward, while the Shark returned to
Callao and the Dale made for Panama with dispatches
for the Government. Captain Jones reached Monterey
on the afternoon of October 19th, but saw nothing of
the Dublin. He heard enough, however, to convince
him that his suspicions were well founded, and he in-
sisted on the surrender of the place ; but on the follow-
ing day he learned that war did not exist between the
United States and Mexico, and he promptly made
amends for his hasty action. That the Government
was not displeased with the vigilance of this officer is
shown by the fact that he was not censured for the
part he had played ; but, as some action was necessary
to conciliate Mexico, he was removed from the com-
mand of the squadron.
War was not declared between the United States
and Mexico until May, 1846, and, learning of the bat-
tles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Captain
John Drake Sloat, who had succeeded to the command
of the Pacific squadron, sailed from Mazatlan on the
8th of June in the 44-gun frigate Savannah, Captain
William Mervine, and arrived at Monterey July 2d,
where he found the Warren, the Cyane and the Le-
vant. Landing two hundred and fifty seamen and ma-
rines, under Captain Mervine, he took possession of
the place, and a week later the Portsmouth, Com-
1846. THE ENGLISH AT MONTEREY. fo
mander John Berrien Montgomery, took formal pos-
session of the magnificent bay of San Francisco and
the adjoining territory. Sutler's Fort, on Sacramento
River, Bodega and Sonoma also were occupied. On the
16th of July the 80-gun ship of the line Collingwood^
Admiral Sir George F. Seymour, arrived at Monterey,
and on the 19th of July Major John Charles Fremont,
who was exploring California at the head of a company
of topographical engineers, reached the same place with
one hundred and sixty mounted riflemen, and placed
himself under the orders of Captain Sloat. In his
Four Years in the Pacific in H. M. S. Collingwood,
Lieutenant Walpole of the royal navy says : " Fremont
and his party were true trappers. They had passed
years in the wilds, living upon their own resources.
Many of them were blacker than the Indians. Their
dress was principally a long, loose coat of deer skin,
tied with thongs in front ; trousers of the same, of
their own manufacture. They are allowed no liquor —
tea and sugar only." ult was a day of excitement
when we entered Monterey," says Major Fremont in
his Memoirs. "Four of our men-of-war were lying in
the harbor, and also the Collingwood. Looking out
over the bay, the dark hulls of the war vessels and the
slumbering cannon still looked ominous and threaten-
ing. There lay the pieces on the great chess-board
before me with which the game for an empire had been
played." No doubt Admiral Seymour would gladly
have had a pretext for seizing the territory, and inci-
dentally recapturing the Cyane and Levant, which
had been taken from the English in 1815, but he was
checkmated by the superior force that Captain Sloat
had collected at Monterey, and after an exchange of
civilities he sailed on the 23d of July for the Sand-
wich Islands.
Anxious to interrupt communications between Gen-
eral Jose M. Castro, commander of the Mexican forces
in California, and Mexico, Captain Sloat sent Major
CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA.
1846.
Bartara
Los Angeles ,
San Luis Key
San Diego
Fremont with one hundred and fifty riflemen in the
Cyane, Commander Samuel Francis Dupont, to San
Diego. The Cyane arrived off that port on the 25th of
July. Landing on
the afternoon of the
same day, Lieuten-
ant Stephen Clegg
Rowan hoisted the
American colors and
placed a garrison
there under the com-
mand of Lieutenant
George Minor. On
the 30th of July the
Congress took pos-
session of San Pedro,
seaport of Los Ange-
les and the seat of
the Mexican Govern-
ment in California.
Desiring to return
to the United States
on account of his
health,Captain Sloat,
on the 23d of July,
1840, turned over the command of the squadron to Cap-
tain Robert Field Stockton (who had recently arrived
in Monterey) and sailed for Panama in the Levant.
Finding that all the seaports on the Californian
coast were in the possession of the Americans, Captain
Stockton planned an expedition against Los Angeles.
Leaving the Savannah on guard at Monterey, the
Portsmouth at San Francisco, the Warren at Mazatlan
and the Erie at the Sandwich Islands, Captain Stock-
ton, on the 1st of August, sailed from Monterey in the
Congress. Stationing a small force at Santa Barbara,
he appeared off San Pedro August 6th, and, landing
three hundred and fifty sailors and marines, estab-
Scene of the naval operations on the
Pacific coast.
1846. STOCKTON MARCHES UPON LOS ANGELES. ff
lished a camp and began the arduous task of drilling
the sailors in military tactics. "There were only
about ninety muskets in the whole corps. Some of
the men were armed with carbines, others had only
pistols, swords or boarding-pikes. They presented a
motley and peculiar appearance, with great variety of
costume. Owing to their protracted absence from
home the supplies of shoes and clothing had fallen
short, and the ragged and diversified colors of their
garments, as well as the want of uniformity in their
arms and accoutrements, made them altogether a spec-
tacle both singular and amusing."1 Captain Stockton
fully realized the importance of securing the strategic
places in California before the several thousand well-
armed and well- mounted soldiers then scattered in dif-
ferent parts of the State could come together. The
many narrow passes, mountain ranges, and undula-
tions of the land favorable for resisting invaders gave
the Mexicans a great advantage. Their forces at Los
Angeles also outnumbered the Americans three to one,
and it was only by putting on a bold front that Captain
Stockton had hopes of conquering them.
Several days after the camp at San Pedro had been
established a flag of truce appeared on the hills, and
Captain Stockton determined on a stratagem to deceive
the enemy as to his force. "He ordered all his men
under arms and directed them to march three or four
abreast, with intervals of considerable space between
each squad, directly in the line of vision of the ap-
proaching messengers, to the rear of some buildings on
the beach, and thence to return in a circle and con-
tinue their march until the strangers had arrived.
Part of the circle described in the march was con-
cealed from view, so that to the strangers it would ap-
pear that a force ten times greater than the actual
number was defiling before them. When the two
1 Life of Captain Robert F. Stockton, p. 119.
78 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 1846.
L
bearers of the flag of truce had arrived, he ordered
them to be led up to him alongside of the artillery,
which consisted of several 6-pounders and one 32-
pound carronade. The guns were all covered with
skins in such a manner as to conceal their dimensions
excepting the huge mouth of the 32-pounder, at which
the captain was posted to receive his guests. He sup-
posed that in all probability neither of them had ever
before seen such an instrument of war, and that the
large and gaping aperture of the gun, into the very
mouth of which they were compelled to look, would
be likely to disturb their nerves. As his purpose was
that of intimidation, he received them with sternness,
calculated to co-operate with the impression produced
by the artillery. . . . The messengers brought over-
tures for a truce, but, as this was merely a ruse to gain
time, Captain Stockton ordered them to tell General
Castro that he would not negotiate with him on any
other terms than those of absolute submission to the
authority of the United States. Having delivered this
message in the most fierce and offensive manner, and
in a tone significant of the most implacable and hostile
determination, Captain Stockton imperiously waved
them from his presence with the insulting imperative
Vamose ! The Mexicans made haste to escape from
the presence of an enemy apparently so ferocious and
formidable, and their ominous retiring glances at the
terrific gun showed but too plainly that the work of
intimidation was effectual. When they were beyond
hearing Captain Stockton expressed the opinion to his
officers that these messengers would carry to General
Castro's camp such an account of their observations as
would supersede the necessity of any very desperate
battle."1
Forming his little army into a hollow square, with
his baggage and provisions in the center, Captain
1 Life of Captain Robert F. Stockton, p. 120.
1846. LOS ANGELES CAPTURED. 79
Stockton, on the llth of August, began his tedious
march to Los Angeles. Having only a few horses, the
sailors seized the ropes attached to the heavy artillery
and ammunition carts and dragged them over hills and
valleys of sand under the burning rays of a semitrop-
ical sun. On the 12th he met a courier from General
Castro with a pompous message informing Captain
Stockton that uif he marched upon the town he would
find it the grave of his men." The American com-
mander replied : "Then tell your general to have the
bells ready to toll in the morning at eight o'clock. I
shall be there at that time." Stockton was as good as
his word, and on the 13th of August he met Major
Fremont's detachment, which had come up from San
Diego, and entered Los Angeles unopposed. The
Mexican general, having dispersed the bulk of his
army, mounted his best men on his swiftest horses and
made all speed for Sonora. The following day, August
14th, Andres Pico (the former governor) and General
Jose Maria Flores surrendered and were liberated on
parole. The news of the capture was sent overland to
Washington by the celebrated scout Kit Carson. Or-
ganizing a civil government for the entire State, with
Major Fremont as the head of it, Captain Stockton
sailed northward on the 5th of September, leaving a
garrison under the command of Lieutenant Archibald
H. Gillespie, of the marines. Major Fremont also re-
turned north for the purpose of enlisting men at Sacra-
mento to take part in an expedition that Captain
Stockton was planning against Acapulco.
While these operations were taking place along the
coast of California, the Warren, Commander Joseph
Bartine Hull, and the Cyane, Commander Dupont, were
active in cruising along the western coast of Mexico and
capturing hostile vessels. Thirteen or fourteen prizes
were taken by them. Captain Stockton, in his official
report, said Commanders Hull and Dupont "deserve
praise for the manner in which they have blockaded
80 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 1846
and watched the Mexican coasts during the most in-
clement season of the year." A spirited affair was
undertaken by the boats of the Warren under Com-
mander Hull. The celebrated privateer MaleJc Adhel
had run into the harbor of Mazatlan, and Lieutenant
Hull manned his boats and, pulling directly into the
harbor, captured the vessel and brought her out.
Early in October a courier from Los Angeles arrived
at San Francisco with the startling announcement that
both Pico and General Flores, regardless of their parole,
had secretly collected the remnants of their army and
were besieging the American garrison in the Govern-
ment house at Los Angeles. It was also learned that
the Mexicans were attacking the garrison at Santa
Barbara, and were advancing upon the little force under
Lieutenant Minor at San Diego. Captain Stockton
immediately dispatched the Savannah to the scene of
trouble. Arriving at San Pedro, Captain Mervine
found that the American garrison at Los Angeles had
been forced to capitulate, and was awaiting the arrival
of an American cruiser. Captain Mervine landed a
detachment of seamen and marines, and began the
march to the capital ; but he had not advanced more
than twelve miles when he came upon the Mexicans
and a field piece intrenched in a commanding position.
Unfortunately, the Americans were destitute of artil-
lery, but, gallantly charging, they drove the enemy
from cover. The Mexicans, being well mounted, car-
ried off their field piece and, after retreating a short
distance, formed another line. The Americans charged
again, but Captain Mervine, finding that he was losing
valuable men and that the enemy could repeat these
tactics with comparative impunity, retired to San Pe-
dro, closely followed by General Flores with eighteen
hundred soldiers. In this affair the Americans had
several men killed or wounded.
Captain Stockton sailed from San Francisco on the
12th of October in the Congress, having in company
1846. LANDING AT SAN DIEGO. 81
the transport Sterling, with Major Fremont's corps,
consisting "of one hundred and seventy good men"1
aboard. On the way down the coast the vessels be-
came separated in a fog, and as the weather was clear-
ing up the Congress met the merchant vessel Barnsta-
ble and learned that the American garrison at Monterey,
under the command of Lieutenant W. A. T. Maddox,
of the marines, was threatened by an uprising of the
people. Running into the bay, Captain Stockton
landed fifty men and three pieces of artillery, under
Midshipmen Baldwin and Johnston, and then contin-
ued his course southward. Arriving at San Pedro on
the 23d of October, he landed three hundred men and
established a camp. Hearing that the garrison at San
Diego under Lieutenant Minor was besieged, and find-
ing that the harbor at San Pedro was too exposed,
Captain Stockton, after a few skirmishes with the ene-
my, changed his base of operations to the former place.
In attempting to cross the bar at San Diego the Con-
gress grounded. A second attempt to get the ship
over was successful, but she grounded in the bay, and
heeled over so much that it became necessary to shore
her up with spars. While she was in this condition
the Mexicans made a furious attack on the town. As
many men as could be spared were landed under Lieu-
tenant Minor and Captain Gillespie, and they drove
the enemy back.
Being greatly in need of horses and live stock, Cap-
tain Stockton sent Captain Hensley and Captain Gib-
son with a detachment of men into Lower California
for a supply, and these officers soon returned with
ninety horses and two hundred head of cattle. Another
expedition under Captain Gillespie was planned against
the enemy's camp at San Bernardino, but before it got
under way Captain Stockton received word from Brig-
adier-General Stephen W. Kearny that he had crossed
1 Memoirs of John Charles Fremont, p. 577.
61
gg CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 1846.
the mountains from Santa Fe with one hundred dra-
goons, and desired to open communication with the
American naval forces. Captain Gillespie, with Lieu-
tenant Beale, Midshipman James M. Duncan and ten
carbineers, together with a force of twenty-five volun-
teers under Captain Gibson and a field gun, were or-
dered to march immediately and effect a junction with
him, which was done early in December. Early on the
morning of December 6th General Kearny attacked the
Mexican forces at San Pasqual, commanded by Cap-
tain Pio Pico, but was repelled with the loss of one
of his guns and eighteen men killed and fifteen
wounded, among the latter being General Kearny him-
self, Lieutenant Beale and Captain Gillespie. The
general now found himself besieged by a force that
was hourly growing stronger. On the night of Decem-
ber 7th Lieutenant Beale, with Mr. Godey and an
Indian scout, slipped through the enemy's lines, and,
after enduring great hardships, reached the American
camp at San Diego on the night of December 9th.
The position of the American forces in California
was extremely critical. Elated with the recapture of
Los Angeles, the repulse of Captain Mervine on the road
to that town, the abandonment of San Pedro by the
powerful American squadron, and most of all by the de-
feat of General Kearny, the Mexicans were rallying in
great numbers. Realizing the gravity of the situation,
Captain Stockton resolved on prompt and decisive
measures. The first thing to be done was to relieve
General Kearny at San Bernardino. Accordingly, the
attack on Los Angeles was postponed, while Andrew F.
V. Gray, on the 10th of December, with two hundred
and fifteen men, was sent in all haste to the aid of the
general. That young officer carried out his instruc-
tions with spirit, and by making forced marches he
reached the besieged dragoons and escorted them to
San Diego. Captain Stockton began his march upon
Los Angeles December 29th. His entire force now con-
1846. AN EXHAUSTING MARCH. 33
sisted of nearly six hundred sailors and marines, Gen-
eral Kearny's sixty dismounted dragoons, six light
guns and a howitzer. There were only two hundred
muskets in the whole army, the sailors being armed
with carbines and boarding- pikes, while the few horses
were unfit for the march, and soon gave out.
The road to Los Angeies, about one hundred and
forty-five miles long, was intersected with deep ravines,
sand hills and deserts, affording many strong positions
where a handful of determined men could have im-
peded seriously the progress of an army. The first
day of the march was occupied in crossing the dry,
sandy bed of San Diego River and in reaching Solidad,
the guns and ammunition carts being drawn two thirds
of the way by the officers and men. ''After an ad-
vance of a quarter of a mile we found what labor was
in store for us. Almost every ox team became stalled
in the sandy bed of the dry river, and had to be
dragged across by the troops. On a dead level the
half-starved oxen managed to drag the carts, but when
we came to a hill or a sandy bottom the troops had to
pull them along. These extra labors were of hourly
occurrence, and when we reached the place where we
were to camp for the night the men were almost ex-
hausted."1 "Our men were badly clothed, and their
shoes generally were made by themselves out of canvas.
It was very cold, and the roads heavy. Our animals
were all poor and weak, some of them giving out daily,
which gave much hard work to the men in dragging
the heavy carts, loaded with ammunition and provi-
sions, through deep sands and up steep ascents."2 On
the morning of the second day the men came to Cap-
tain Stockton in squads and begged for twenty-four
hours of rest. This, at first, was granted, but realiz-
ing that every day was increasing the enemy's strength,
1 Recollections of the Mexican War, Vice-Admiral Rowan.
2 Official Report of Captain Robert F. Stockton.
84 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 1846-1847.
Captain Stockton after a few hours resumed the march,
in spite of urgent requests for rest. During the day
straggling parties of Mexican horsemen appeared at
different points along the route, showing that the ene-
my was on the alert and not far off. On the second
day several of them appeared in front of a house on a
hill, waving their lances in defiance ; but on the ap-
proach of the advance guard they disappeared as sud-
denly as they came. When the little army had cov-
ered about two thirds of the distance, messengers bear-
ing a letter from General Flores were met, but Captain
Stockton refused to read the missive, saying that the
Mexican commander had broken his parole and would
be shot if he again fell into the hands of the Ameri-
cans.
On the 2d of January Stockton reached San Luis
Rey, and on the 3d a courier was dispatched to com-
municate, if possible, with the corps under Major Fre-
mont. Continuing his march, Captain Stockton on the
evening of January 7th approached San Gabriel River,
and by sending out scouts he discovered that the Mex-
icans were intrenched between him and the river,
apparently determined to give battle. Early on the
following morning all the firearms were discharged and
reloaded, so as to insure their being in good condition.
Incidentally it was a reminder that the 8th of January
was the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans.
Having assigned every man to his position, and giving
careful instructions how to proceed, Captain Stockton
resumed the march at 9 o'clock in the morning, and on
reaching the plains formed his army in a hollow square
with the baggage and provisions in the center. When
he was within two miles of the river the enemy, six
hundred strong, appeared in three divisions on the hills
on the opposite side of the San Gabriel. As the Amer-
icans approached the ford where the river was about
fifty yards wide, a body of one hundred and fifty Mex-
icans crossed the San Gabriel at another point and en-
1847. BATTLE OF SAN GABRIEL. 35
deavored to drive a herd of wild mares into the Amer-
ican ranks, but failing in this they retired across the
river to their position about six hundred yards from
the water. The main body of their army, two hundred
strong, with two pieces of artillery, was stationed op-
posite the ford.
As the Americans approached the crossing place
the Mexicans opened a heavy fire, one of their cannon
balls striking Frederick Strauss, a seaman of the Ports-
mouth, in the neck and killing him instantly. Some
of the other Americans were wounded about the same
time, but in spite of their exposed position they strug-
gled across the stream, while the officers and men as-
sisted the mules in dragging the two 9-pounders
through the deep sand. As soon as the advance guard
had crossed the 9-pounders were unlimbered, and al-
though exposed in the open plain they were loaded
and fired with such precision that one shot knocked a
Mexican gun out of its carriage. It was five minutes
before the Mexicans recovered from the confusion
created by this well-aimed missile, but finally twenty
of them ran from their cover and hastily fastening las-
soes to the gun dragged it to the rear. About this
time the Mexicans made a flank movement and endeav-
ored to capture the two 6-pounders in the rear of the
American army, but they were repelled by the marines
under Lieutenant Jacob Zeilin. The Mexican right
wing then attempted to rout Captain Stockton's left,
but it was repelled by the musketeers under Lieuten-
ants William B. Renshaw and H. B. Watson and Mid-
shipman John Guest.
Everything now being in readiness, Captain Stock-
ton gave the word to charge, and the men rushed for-
ward with great spirit. The Mexican center withstood
the attack for some time, but finally broke and fled.
At this moment their right wing wheeled round and
charged the American rear, which was encumbered
with baggage, horses and cattle, but Captain Gillespie
8G CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 1847.
opened such a well-directed fire that the enemy was
again repelled. The Americans were now in full pos-
session of the enemy's breastworks, and "the band
playing Hail Columbia and Yankee Doodle announced
another glorious victory on the 8th of January."1 In
this affair the Americans lost two killed and had nine
wounded, while that of the enemy was about seventy
killed and one hundred and fifty wounded.
Anxious to follow up his advantage, Captain Stock-
ton ordered the tattoo to be beaten at an early hour that
evening, with the intention of resuming the march on
Los. Angeles at daybreak. At midnight the picket
men were fired upon, and, fearing a general attack,
Captain Stockton in a few minutes had his little army
under arms, but finding that it was nothing more than
a few straggling prowlers the men returned to their
blankets. At 9 o'clock on the following morning the
Americans were again formed into a hollow square,
with the baggage and animals in the center, and re-
sumed the march ; but they had not proceeded more
than six miles when they were again confronted by
the Mexican army intrenched in a strong position on
the plains of Mesa. When within range the enemy
opened fire from a masked battery, which killed an ox
and a mule of the American provision train. The fire
was returned by the 6-pounder, under Acting- Master
William H. Thompson. Observing that the enemy
was dividing his cavalry so as to attack three sides of
the American square simultaneously, Captain Stockton
ordered his men to reserve their fire until they could
distinctly see the faces of their foe. " The appearance
which the Mexicans made on this occasion, mounted
on fine horses, gayly caparisoned, with ribbons and pen-
nons streaming in the breeze, was brilliant and exciting.
On they came at full gallop, the earth quivering be-
neath their hoofs, their bright weapons flashing in the
1 Official report of Captain Stockton.
1847. SEAMEN IN A HOLLOW SQUARE. 37
rays of the sun, apparently with desperate valor bent
on hurling themselves upon the small, compact and
silent mass that awaited their charge. But when they
had approached as near as Captain Stockton thought
proper he gave the signal, and a deadly fire checked
their gallant advance."1 Three times the Mexicans
rallied and charged the hollow square, and three times
they were repelled by the unflinching bravery of the
little army, leaving many a horse galloping over the
plains with an empty saddle. At last they retired in
confusion, and on the following day Captain Stockton
entered Los Angeles in triumph, where he was joined
on the 15th of January by Major Fremont's corps.
In the battle of the 9th the Americans had one
killed and five wounded, including Lieutenant Rowan
and Captain Gillespie. Besides those already men-
tioned, the naval officers in these brilliant affairs were
Lieutenant Richard L. Tilghman ; Acting- Lieutenants
B. F. B. Hunter and Edward Higgins ; Midshipmen
Benjamin F. Wells, P. Haywood, Robert C. Duvall,
William Simmons, George E. Morgan, J. Van Ness
Philip, Theodoric Lee, Albert Almand, Edward C.
Grafton, J. Fenwick Stenson, Joseph Parrioh and Ed-
mund Shepherd ; Surgeons Charles Eversfield, John
S. Griffin and Andrew A. Henderson ; Purser William
Speeden ; Captain Hensley, Captain Turner, of the dra-
goons, Captain Miguel de Pedrovena, Captain William
H. Emory, of the topographical engineers, and Lieu-
tenant Davidson. Soon after his brilliant victories
Captain Stockton joined a party of hunters, and cross-
ing the Rocky Mountains made his way overland to the
United States. Captain William Brandford Shubrick
succeeded him in the command of the Pacific squadron,
re-enforcing it with the 54-gun ship of the line Inde-
pendence and the 16-gun brig of war Preble.
1 Life of Captain Robert F. Stockton, p. 147.
CHAPTER VI.
IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA.
WHILE this vigorous campaign was under way in
the north the vessels stationed on the coasts of Mex-
ico and Lower California had not been idle. After
landing Major Fremont's corps at San Diego, in July,
1846, the Cyane, Commander Dupont, appeared off
San Bias on the 2d of September. A detachment of
men under Lieutenant Rowan landed, spiked all the
guns in the place (twenty-four in number) and then re-
tired without the loss of a man. Running into the
Gulf of California, Commander Dupont learned that a
Mexican gunboat had sailed from Mulije for Guaymas,
and, making all sail, he appeared off that port on the
6th of October. Discovering two gunboats and a brig
in the harbor, he demanded that they be surrendered,
but the Mexicans burned the gunboats and warped the
brig into a cove within pistol shot of the shore, where
two streets leading from the barracks opened on her.
These barracks were in a commanding position and
contained several hundred soldiers, besides artillery.
It was thought that the brig thus defended was safe.
But evidently the Mexicans had not heard of the dar-
ing cutting-out expeditions for which the United States
navy is famous.
Determined to have the brig, Commander Dupont
ordered out his launch and cutter under the command of
Lieutenant G. W. Harrison, who was assisted by Lieu-
tenant Higgins and Midshipman Lewis. The Cyane
then hauled close inshore and opened a heavy fire,
while the boat party, pulling toward the cove, boarded
88
1846. GALLANT BOAT SERVICE. 89
the brig and began towing her out. Not wishing to
injure the town unnecessarily, Commander Dupont
now ceased firing, whereupon the Mexicans ran from
their cover and opened a sharp discharge of musketry
and artillery on the boat. This was returned by Lieu-
tenant Harrison and the Cyane, and again the enemy
ran to cover. In a short time, however, the boat party
was in the line of the Cyane's fire, so that her gunners
were compelled to desist. This was a signal for the
Mexicans to resume their fire on the boats, and a party
of Indians on the other side of the cove opened a cross
fire. Seeing the danger of his men, Commander Du-
pont reopened his broadside, and by skillfully throw-
ing his missiles over the heads of the boat party again
routed the Mexicans and held them in check until his
men were out of danger and the brig burned.
Running down to Mazatlan, the Cyane maintained
such a vigorous blockade of that port that the town
soon began to suffer for want of provisions, and in or-
der to secure them the enemy attempted to run the
blockade in small coasting vessels. As the only means
of intercepting them, the Americans manned their
boats and kept up this hazardous service many weeks.
By keeping close inshore the coasters secured the sup-
port of cavalry with flying artillery. On two occasions
the Americans succeeded in cutting off four of these
blockade runners, and at one time, while three of the
Cyane's smallest boats, under the command of Lieuten-
ant Harrison, were returning from an expedition of
this nature, two launches and two barges, carrying
sixty soldiers, put out of the harbor in pursuit, the
Cyane being some miles seaward. Notwithstanding
the fact that the Mexicans had the support of their
artillery on shore, Lieutenant Harrison turned on his
pursuers and gallantly advanced to give battle. On
coming within range both sides opened a sharp fire,
but the Mexicans soon turned, ran their boats on the
beach and escaped on shore. In her cruise off these
90 IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA. 1846-1847.
coasts the Cyane and her boats captured twenty-three
craft of all kinds.
Some idea of the hardships and dangers to which
the American officers and seamen on this coast were
exposed may be gained from Lieutenant Tunis Augus-
tus Macdonough Craven's journal, under date of De-
cember 21, 1846, when his ship, the Dale, was off Mon-
terey. " In standing out to the northwest, the weather
being quite thick and the rain pouring down in tor-
rents, we came very near running into a low point of
land forming the north point of the bay. We were
obliged to haul by the wind, which had increased to a
gale and suddenly shifted to the northwest, blowing
strong. On neither tack could we clear the shore.
Night came on ; we could not regain the port ; the rain
poured down in violent squalls and the wind at times
raged furiously ; the lee shore was by calculation- not
more than nine miles off. We could not carry much
sail, and were obliged to reduce what little we had. A
tremendous swell set in from the southwest, and we
felt that it was fast driving us toward the fatal shore.
But the Almighty rendered us assistance when the
hand of man was powerless."
Late in October, 1847, the Congress, Captain La
Valette, and the Portsmouth, Commander Montgomery,
hove to off Guaymas, and, landing two heavy guns on
an island commanding the town, opened a heavy fire
at sunrise on the following day, and in three quarters
of an hour the enemy surrendered. All the water-
front batteries were then destroyed, but on the evening
of the same day General Campujano approached the
place with a large force. Landing a detachment of
seamen and marines, Captain La Yalette prepared to
defend the place, but the Mexican general, being de-
serted by many of his soldiers, left the Americans in
quiet possession. Leaving the Portsmouth at Guay-
mas, Captain La Yalette ran over to Loreto, and,
standing down the coast, joined the Independence and
1847. GUAYMAS CAPTURED. 91
the Cyane at Cape San Lucas on the 16th of October.
In November the Dale, Commander Thomas O. Self-
ridge, relieved the Portsmouth at Guaymas.
While on his way to that place Commander Self-
ridge learned that one hundred and fifty Mexican sol-
diers, under the command of a chief called Pineda, had
captured Mulije and were overawing the inhabitants,
the majority of whom were friendly to the United
States. The bold table mountain and broken crags of
Mulije were made out September 30th, and soon after-
ward the Dale brought her broadside to bear on the
town, while Lieutenant Craven with fifty men in four
boats pulled up the creek to cut out a schooner. This
was done in handsome style, and although many Mexi-
can soldiers were in sight they offered no resistance.
On the following day Lieutenant Craven landed on the
right bank of the creek with eighty officers and men,
including Lieutenant William T. Smith, Lieutenant
Tansill, of the marines, Past Midshipman James M.
Duncan, and Midshipmen Thomas T. Houston, J. R.
Hamilton and W. B. Hayes, and drove the Mexicans,
one hundred and forty strong, three miles inland.
Several ambuscades were prepared for the Americans,
but the steadiness of the seamen carried everything
before it. Two of the Americans were wounded.
Lieutenant Craven, with Midshipman Hamilton and
eleven men, was then placed in command of the
schooner Libertad, fitted with a 9-pounder for the
service, and was ordered to cruise in the Gulf and
interrupt the enemy's communications. On the 9th of
November Lieutenant Craven cut out the sloop Alerta
from the harbor of Mulije.
The Dale in the meantime had crossed over to
Guaymas, and on the 17th of November Commander
Selfridge landed with sixty-five men and marched
upon the town. When he reached the plaza the
Mexicans opened an unexpected fire from the houses
that surrounded the place, which inflicted a severe
92
IN THE GULP OP CALIFORNIA. 1847-1848.
wound on the commander's foot and compelled him
to return to his ship. It was discovered that four
hundred soldiers were concealed in the houses. The
Mexicans believed that they had the Americans in a
trap. "Every house breathed fire from its doors and
windows, and the officers thought that the whole party
was doomed to destruction ; but the men were so well
handled by Lieutenant Smith [who succeeded to the
command], and their fire was so effectively poured
upon the Mexicans, who were sallying from the houses
and forming, that the enemy was thrown into the ut-
most confusion. A flight commenced, about four hun-
dred Mexican soldiers being routed by about seventy
seamen. In this affair Lieutenant Tansill commanded
the marines and led that gallant little band into the
thickest and hottest part of the fight." 1 Thirty of the
Mexicans were killed or wounded.
Hearing that a body of Mexican soldiers had taken
a position at Cochori, Lieutenant Yard, commanding
the Dale, on Sunday morning, January 80, 1848, sent
a boat party under Lieutenant Craven to attack them.
Pulling four miles up the coast, the Americans landed
some distance from the enemy's camp, and, cautiously
making their way along the shore at night, suddenly
came upon the Mexicans and routed them. Thirteen
prisoners, including Captain Mendoza and a lieutenant,
were taken, and five Mexicans were killed.
Leaving Lieutenant Charles Hey wood with four mid-
shipmen, twenty marines and a 12-pounder in the old
mission house at San Jose, a small village twenty miles
northeast of San Lucas, Captain Shubrick, on the even-
ing of the same day (November 9th) sailed for Mazatlan
with the Independence, the Congress and the Cyane,
with the intention of capturing that important com-
mercial center, which yielded an annual revenue of
three million dollars to Mexico. As soon as the Ameri-
1 Journal of Lieutenant Craven.
1847. SEIZURE OF MAZATLAN. 93
can vessels came in sight of the town they made for
positions prescribed by Captain Shubrick. The Inde-
pendence anchored in a bend in the peninsula west of
the town, and as her broadside swung round her
lighted ports loomed up in the darkness like a walled
city. The Congress took a dangerous but important
position in the old harbor, where her guns could sweep
the roads leading from that side of the town, while the
Cyane and the Erie (the latter having joined the squad-
ron off the port) boldly stood into the new harbor, and
trained their guns on the town.
Early on the following morning Captain La Valette
went ashore with a formal demand for the surrender of
the place, but Colonel Telles, the Mexican commander,
tore up the paper with insulting expressions and dared
the Americans to attack. As soon as he heard of this
Captain Shubrick ordered out the boats of the squad-
ron and formed them in three lines under the command
of Lieutenant Watson, Lieutenants Kowan and Page
commanding the left and right wings. The boats from
the Congress, commanded by Lieutenant John T. Liv-
ingston, had five pieces of artillery, which had been
captured in Lower California. Notwithstanding the
protection the stone walls and sand hills afforded the
Mexicans, they did not open fire. Pulling directly for
the landing, the Americans, six hundred in all, formed
on the beach and marched to the town, and under
a salute of twenty-one guns from the Independence
hoisted the American flag. Captain Shubrick organ-
ized a municipal government for Mazatlan, with Cap-
tain La Valette at the head of it, while a commission
consisting of Commander Dupont, Lieutenant Chatard,
Purser Price and Thomas Miller arranged the terms of
occupation. Pursers W. H. Greene and Speeden, as
collectors of this port, in five months received nearly
three hundred thousand dollars in duties. A garrison
held the city till the close of the war.
Colonel Telles encamped not far from the town and
94. IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA. 1847-1848.
endeavored to cut off all communication with the inte-
rior. On the 20th of November a land party of ninety-
four sailors, commanded by Lieutenant Seldon, and
sixty-two men in boats, under Lieutenant Rowan, pro-
ceeded up the coast to Urias with a view of dislodging
a detachment of Colonel Telles' troops. At daylight of
the following day the Yankee sailors landed, and
charged the Mexicans and soon dispersed them. Lieu-
tenant Seldon's party, " having fallen into an ambush
of the enemy's advance guard, was severely handled,
losing twenty killed or wounded."1
Having secured this important city, Captain Shu-
brick sent out several expeditions against the smaller
ports on the western coast of Mexico. Early in Jan-
uary, 1848, he sent the storeship Lexington, Lieuten-
ant Theodorus Bailey, against San Bias. Lieutenant
Bailey appeared off that place on the night of January
12th, and, landing a party of men under the command
of Lieutenant Chartard, brought off two pieces of artil-
lery and the customhouse boat. Soon afterward Char-
tard landed at Manzanilla and spiked the guns in that
place. The Mexicans now had not a serviceable gun
on their western coast except at Acapulco.
In the meantime several attempts were made by the
enemy to recapture the posts taken by the Americans,
the most serious being that against the garrison in the
mission house at San Jose. On the 19th of November
a large force of Mexicans unexpectedly appeared before
that place and called upon the Americans to surrender ;
and although Lieutenant Heywood's force consisted of
only twenty marines and four officers and twenty vol-
unteers, he promptly refused to do so, prepared for a
desperate defense, and placed Midshipman McLanahan
and twelve men in a private dwelling adjoining the mis-
sion house. Late in the day the Mexicans began the
attack by the rapid discharge of a 6-pounder, but find-
1 Lieutenant Rowan's Recollections of the Mexican War.
1847-1848. HEYWOOD'S HEROIC DEFENSE. 95
ing that ineffectual they prepared a different plan. At
ten o'clock that night they made a sudden assault in
the front and rear of both houses, at the same time re-
opening the fire from their 6-pounder. The Americans
responded with a 9-pounder, and with such good aim
that the Mexicans sought the cover of buildings, from
which they kept up a desultory fire until daybreak,
when they retired.
On the following night they concentrated their entire
force on the mission house and endeavored to carry it
by assault. On they came writh yells and shouts that
were intended to strike terror into the hearts of the
garrison. Their first object was to break down the
front door and capture the 9-pounder which had caused
them so much annoyance the day before. But Lieu-
tenant Heywood, ever on the alert, was equal to the
emergency, and had stationed some of his best men at
the gun. Waiting until the enemy was within good
range, the Americans discharged the gun, which
brought down the Mexican leader with several of his
men, and put the others to flight. At the same time a
strong party of Mexicans with scaling ladders was ap-
proaching the mission house from behind, but, meeting
with a hot fire and discouraged by the repulse of their
comrades in front, they also fled. On the following
morning a whaling vessel anchored in the bay, and,
supposing her to be a man-of-war, the enemy retired.
In these attacks the Americans had three men
wounded, while the Mexicans left eight men dead on
the field. Soon afterward Lieutenant Heywood re-
ceived a small re-enforcement to his garrison.
On the 22d of January, 1848, the Mexicans renewed
their attacks on this heroic little garrison, and suc-
ceeded in capturing Midshipmen Warley and Duncan,
with six men, who were on the beach in front of the
mission house, these men having no intimation that the
enemy was in the neighborhood until a large body of
cavalry dashed along the shore. This left Lieutenant
96 IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA. 1848.
Heywood with only twenty-seven marines, ten seamen
and twenty volunteers. It was soon discovered that
this sudden dash of the Mexican cavalry was only the
beginning of a determined effort on their part to crush
the feeble garrison in the mission house. Fleeting
glimpses of mounted horsemen hovering in the vicinity
warned Lieutenant Heywood that the enemy was at
hand in force and was about to renew his treacherous
warfare. By the close of January the mission house
was completely surrounded, and all avenues of retreat
or succor were cut off. The inhabitants long since had
fled, with the exception of fifty women and children
who sought the shelter of the fort and were dependent
on the scanty rations of the garrison. By the 4th of
February the enemy had drawn his lines around the
mission house and fired on all who exposed themselves.
Finding that something must be done immediately,
Lieutenant Heywood, on the 6th of February, with twen-
ty-five men, made a dash at a party of Mexicans who
had taken a strong position in a house at the lower end
of the street, and dislodged them ; but as the Ameri-
cans could not spare men to hold the place the enemy
returned to it as soon as the victors had retired to the
mission house. On the following day the Americans
made another successful sortie, but sustained the loss
of one man. Considering the overwhelming force of
the Mexicans, this was a substantial victory for them,
for although they lost fifteen, killed or wounded, their
great numbers enabled them to withstand the loss.
Evidently it was their plan to worry the garrison, pick-
ing off a man here and there until the Americans should
be so reduced that resistance would be hopeless. The
Mexicans soon got complete possession of the town,
and, placing strong bodies of men in a church and
other buildings near the mission house, they kept up
an incessant fire. A few days afterward, while passing
a window, Midshipman McLanahan was mortally
wounded by a bullet in the neck, and during the fol-
1848. A DESPERATE ATTACK. 97
lowing night the enemy erected an earthwork that com-
manded the place where the Americans obtained their
supply of water, so that the garrison was compelled to
dig a well. While they were engaged in this arduous
task, the Cyane, Commander Dupont, on the evening of
February 15th, appeared in the harbor, but, not under-
standing the situation, made no attempt to relieve the
mission house until the following day.
At daylight on February 16th Commander Dupont
got out his boats with ninety-four seamen and marines,
with Lieutenants Rowan and Harrison, Acting-Master
Fairfax, Midshipmen Shepherd, Lewis and Vander-
horst, and Sergeant Maxwell, and, pulling for the beach,
effected a landing. The Mexicans prepared to dispute
the road from the beach to the mission house, and hav-
ing the protection of trees, houses and sand hills, were
in a position to make a serious resistance. Notwith-
standing a galling fire, Commander Dupont moved
steadily on, returning the enemy's fire as well as he
could, and fighting for every inch of ground he passed
over. It was with difficulty that the impetuosity of the
seamen could be restrained, for they were eager to come
into close quarters with the "varmints" and "lay the
enemy aboard," but Commander Dupont wisely con-
cluded that he would lose the advantage of a compact
force if his men became scattered in a charge, and so
with great patience he continued to push his way
steadily toward the mission house. Step by step the
Mexicans were driven back, and one vantage point
after another was wrested from them by the hardy
Yankee tars. The Cyane was unable to bring her guns
into play without danger of injuring her own people,
but the crew watched the contest with great interest,
every success being heralded with cheers.
Finding that they had been driven back almost to
the point where the men in the mission house could fire
on them in the rear, the Mexicans made a final stand at
the junction of two streets, when Commander Dupont
52
98 IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA. 1848.
arranged his men for a charge and at the word they
rushed to the attack. Just at this moment Lieutenant
Heywood made a sally from the mission house, and,
after dislodging a body of Mexicans in a neighboring
house, joined the forces under Commander Dupont, and
being attacked in both front and rear, the Mexicans
broke and fled. In this brilliant affair the Americans
had three killed and eight wounded, while the enemy
had at least thirteen killed and many more injured.
This was the last serious effort of the Mexicans to
regain their ground on the Western coast, although sev-
eral guerrilla bands continued to overrun the surround-
ing country. With a view of checking these maraud-
ing expeditious, the Americans sent out several parties
that succeeded in surprising a number of these bands.
By making a forced march on the night of March 15th
a detachment of the garrison at La Paz, commanded by
Captain Steele, of the New York regiment, surprised
the Mexican camp at San Antonio, put the enemy to
flight and captured Midshipmen Warley and Duncan
and the six men who had been taken on the 22d of Jan-
uary on the beach before the mission house at San Jose.
On the 20th of April Lieutenant Heywood and his men
were relieved at San Jose by a detachment of troops
from a volunteer regiment and returned to their ship.
At the close of the war Captain Shubrick sailed for
home in the Independence, while Captain Thomas ap
C. Jones, in the 74-gun ship of the line Ohio, became
commander of the Pacific squadron.
CHAPTER VII.
WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF.
THE distant booming of artillery at the battle of
Palo Alto, May 8, 1846, announced to the American
squadron at Point Isabel, under the orders of Captain
David Conner, that war between the United States and
Mexico had begun. Ignorant of the result of that bat-
tle, and fearing that the enemy might attack the garri-
son at Point Isabel, where the supplies of the army
were guarded by a small body of troops under Major
Monroe, Captain Conner landed five hundred seamen
and marines in charge of Captain Francis Hoyt Greg-
ory, of the Raritan, for additional protection. But
the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma ren-
dered this precaution unnecessary, and on the 18th of
May Captain John H. Aulick, with about two hundred
seamen and marines, pulled fifteen miles up the Rio
Grande in boats, and, effecting a junction with the
army, established a post at Barita.
.Shortly after the beginning of hostilities Captain
Conner received orders from the Government to main-
tain a vigorous blockade of all the Mexican ports in
the Gulf, and in order that these instructions might be
properly carried out the following vessels were placed
under his command : The 44-gun frigate Potomac, flag-
ship ; the 44-gun frigate Cumberland, Captain Forrest ;
the 44-gun frigate Raritan, Captain Gregory ; the 10-
gun side- wheel steamer Mississippi, Captain Matthew
Calbraith Perry ; the 20-gun sloops of war Falmouth,
Saratoga, St. Mary's, Albany, John Adams ; the 10-
gun brigs Somers, Lawrence, Porpoise, Perry, Trux-
99
100
WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF.
1846.
Isabe/
tun ; and the 9-gun screw steamer Princeton. In ac-
cordance with his instructions Captain Conner scattered
his vessels along the entire Mexican coast from the Eio
Grande to the Tabasco River, making Pensacola his
base of operations.
On the 15th of August he collected a naval force
before Tuspan, but while the Truxtun was endeav-
oring to enter the harbor she
grounded, and, being exposed to
a heavy lire from the batteries,
was compelled to surrender. All
her officers and men, with the
exception of Lieutenant Hunter
and a boat's crew, fell into the
hands of the enemy. This un-
fortunate affair was shortly fol-
lowed by two unsuccessful at-
tacks upon Alvarado, the most
important port on the coast east
of Vera Cruz. In August Cap-
tain Conner dispatched several
light-draught vessels against this
place, but they were unable to
get over the bar. On the 16th
of October a second attempt was
made, but this also was unsuc-
Scene of the naval operations in the Mexican gulf.
cessful. The Mississippi managed to get in range of
the formidable batteries of this port and caused some
damage, while the steamer Vixen, towing the schooners
1846. FIRST FAILURES.
101
Bonita and Reefer close inshore, ably supported her ;
but the steamer McLane, while endeavoring to tow
into action the second division of gunboats, consisting
of the Nonita, the Petrel and the Forward, grounded
on the bar. The attack was abandoned and the ves-
sels returned to a safe anchorage. This inauspicious
opening of naval operations in the Gulf greatly en-
couraged the Mexicans, and threw a shadow of dis-
couragement and distrust over the American squadron.
One of the first points to be gained by the navy was
to secure the neutrality of Yucatan, and to this end it
was deemed advisable to capture Tabasco, through
which town supplies could be forwarded to Mexico.
On the 16th of October Captain Perry sailed from An-
ton Lizardo, and on the 23d he appeared off Frontera, a
small port at the mouth of Tabasco River, with the
following vessels: The steamers Mississippi, Vixen
and McLane, and the schooners Bonita, Reefer, No-
nita and Forward, having on board a detachment of
two hundred marines from the Raritan and the Cum-
berland, under the command of Captain Forrest.
Frontera was the scene of Cortez's first battle on Mex-
ican soil. The Mexican shipping at this place con-
sisted of two steamers plying between Tabasco and
Frontera, one brig, one sloop, five schooners and many
boats and lighters, all admirably adapted for the diffi-
cult navigation of these waters. Having observed the
grounding of the McLane at Alvarado, and supposing
that the American steamers were too heavy to cross
the bar, the Mexican commander at Frontera, General
Bravo, dared the Americans to attack him. But so
rapid were the movements of the squadron that he was
taken by surprise. On arriving off the bar Captain
Perry hastened aboard the Vixen, and, with the Bonita
and Forward in tow and accompanied by a detach-
ment of Captain Forrest's men in barges, dashed
across the bar and made all speed for the Mexican flo-
tilla, which was moored in fancied security under the
102
IN THE MEXICAN GULF. 1846.
guns of the battery. Great volumes of smoke were
observed ascending from the smokestack of the steam-
ers, the largest of which was the Petrita, showing that
every effort was being made to get up steam and escape
up the river ; but before the Mexicans could effect
their object the Americans boarded, and ate a hot sup-
per that the Aztecs had prepared for themselves. The
United States flag was then hoisted over the town.
Leaving Lieutenant Walsh with a few men to hold
Frontera, Captain Perry, early on the following day,
began the difficult ascent of the river, hoping to come
upon the Mexicans before they had time to strengthen
their defenses, and the 24th and 25th of October were
spent in this ascent, the steamers Vixen and Petrita
towing the sailing vessels. At two o'clock in, the after-
noon of the 25th Captain Perry reached a difficult bend
in the rapid stream called the Devil's Turn, a few miles
below Tabasco, at which point there was a breastwork
with four long 24-pounders advantageously mounted.
Expecting some resistance at this place, Captain Perry
landed a detachment and marched upon the breast-
work, but it was found that the enemy had retired.
The flotilla, with the exception of the McLane, which
with her usual luck had grounded some distance below,
arrived at Tabasco, seventy-two miles above Frontera,
at three o'clock in the afternoon. Forming the vessels
in a line so as to sweep the principal streets, Captain
Perry sent Captain Forrest ashore .with a demand for
the surrender of the town ; but the Governor, assuming
a spirit of bravado, replied, "Fire as soon as you
please." Three shots were fired from the Vixen, which
brought down the flagstaff on the fort, and several
Mexican officers then came aboard, begging that hostil-
ities might cease until they could negotiate the terms
of surrender. Not wishing to inflict unnecessary in-
jury, Captain Perry assented, and at five o'clock Cap-
tain Forrest with two hundred men landed, but as they
were awaiting the word to advance they were fired
1846. EXPEDITION TO TABASCO. 103
upon by Mexican troops concealed in a chaparral.
The Americans returned the fire as well as they could
until night came on, when they retired to the flotilla.
At daylight the next morning (October 26th) the Mexi-
cans opened fire on the vessels, but were silenced after
a few discharges of grape and canister. A delegation
of the principal inhabitants and foreign residents now
waited upon Captain Perry, and assured him that the
firing had been done against the wishes of the people
and that they desired to surrender.
Having effected the object of the expedition, Cap-
tain Perry prepared to move down the river. One of
his prizes, in charge of Lieutenant William A. Parker
and eighteen men, ran hard aground, and while in this
condition it was attacked by eighty Mexican soldiers.
Lieutenant Parker defended himself gallantly, and
although one of his men was killed and two were
wounded, he succeeded in holding the enemy at bay.
Observing the difficulty he was in, Captain Perry sent
Lieutenant Charles W. Morris to re-enforce him.
Lieutenant Morris passed the gantlet of musketry from
both sides of the river, but while standing up in his
boat and cheering his men he was mortally wounded
and fell back into the arms of Midshipman Cheever.
He died November 1st in the Cumberland, and was
buried on Salmadina Island. For this treachery Cap-
tain Perry opened a fire on the town, which he kept
up for half an hour. The American flotilla arrived at
Frontera at midnight ; but the prize Alvarado, ground-
ing on the shoals at Devil's Turn, was blown up. One
of the prizes, the Champion, a fast river boat, which
had run between Norfolk and Richmond, was taken
into the service as a dispatch boat and placed under
the command of Lieutenant Lockwood.
Leaving the McLane and the Forward to maintain
the blockade off Frontera, Captain Perry returned to
Anton Lizardo, where he rejoined the squadron under
Captain Conner. On the 20th of September Captain
101 WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF. 1846.
Perry, with the Mississippi, the Vixen, the Bonita
and the Petrel, took possession of Laguna, where he
left Commander Joshua Ratoon Sands with the Vixen
and the Petrel to watch the place, while Lieutenant
Benham, of the Bonita, was made commanding officer
of the vessels collected off Tabasco River.
In order to divert the attention of the enemy from
the main object of the naval operations in the Gulf,
which was the capture of Yera Cruz, several expedi-
tions of minor importance were undertaken. Learning
from the wife of the American consul at Tampico that
no resistance would be made to an attack on that place,
Captain Conner, on the 14th of November, collected
the following vessels before that town: The Raritan,
the Potomac, the Mississippi, the Princeton, the 8t.
Mary's, the Vixen, the Nonita, the Bonita, the Spit-
fire and the Petrel, besides one hundred seamen and
marines from the Cumberland. Santa Anna, the Mex-
ican general, endeavored to raise an army of deserters
from the American forces, and made particular efforts
to induce the Irish Roman Catholics to desert. A dis-
tinct brigade of the Mexican army was formed under
the name of Santo Patrico, and seventy to eighty men
were enlisted in it, but as a rule the Irish were loyal
to their colors. The smaller vessels immediately
crossed the bar, and, landing one hundred and fifty
men, took possession of the town without opposition.
Two merchant vessels and three gunboats were cap-
tured. From this place Commander Josiah Tattnall
proceeded with the Spitfire and the Petrel eighty miles
up Panuca River to a small town of the same name,
and on the 19th of November he destroyed all the mu-
nitions of war collected there.
On the night of November 20th, while the brig
Somers was on blockade duty, off Vera Cruz, a boat
put out from that vessel containing Lieutenant Parker,
Passed-Midshipmen Rogers and Hynson and five sea-
men, boldly entered the harbor and boarded the bark
1846. CUTTING OUT TOE CREOLE.
105
Creole, laden with munitions of war and securely an-
chored under the guns of the castle. Lieutenant
Parker surprised the guard of the brig, and after
burning her escaped without injury, thus adding an-
other to the list of brilliant cutting-out expeditions for
which the American navy is famous. Shortly after
this Passed-Midshipman Rogers and Surgeon Wright,
of the Somers, while on shore for the purpose of ob-
taining a better view of the fortifications around Vera
Cruz, were surprised by a party of Mexican soldiers.
Surgeon Wright escaped, but Mr. Rogers was captured
and taken to the city of Mexico, where he narrowly
escaped being hanged as a spy in spite of the fact that
he wore his uniform. Afterward Mr. Rogers escaped,
and with Lieutenant Raphael Semmes joined General
Scott's army before Maxico, and served with distinc-
tion in the military operations against that city. On
the 8th of December, while chasing a blockade runner,
the Somers capsized, carrying down with her Acting-
Master Clem son, Passed-Midshipman Hynson and
nearly forty men, constituting half of her crew. The
John Adams and the boats of English, French and
Spanish war vessels near by assisted in rescuing the
remainder of her crew. Congress afterward awarded
gold and silver medals to the foreign officers who en-
gaged in this work.
It was not the Mexicans alone that our officers and
sailors were called upon to fight. They were con-
stantly exposed to malaria and fever arising from the
low swampy grounds along the coast near which the
vessels were compelled to anchor. Decayed kelp
along the shores caused a sour, nauseating effluvia to
hang over the ships at night, which soon became more
fatal than the enemy's bullets. Myriads of insects,
coming from the malaria- laden districts, attacked the
men night and day and inoculated them with disease.
Frequent night attacks of roving bands of guerrillas
compelled the men to turn out and stand by their
IQQ WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULP. 1846-1847.
guns until daybreak, exposing them to the drenching
dews and poisonous miasma. The sick list increased
at an alarming rate, and the sick bay was always
crowded. In one week four officers died, and the staff
of surgeons was so reduced that at one time there was
only one physician for seven ships, and only two assist-
ants in the hospitals. In July, 1847, yellow fever
broke out in the Mississippi, and she was sent to
Pensacola. Captain Perry himself was taken down
with sickness, but, changing his flag to the German-
town, July 16, 1847, he returned to the scene of op-
erations. The difficulty of securing fresh provisions
also brought on symptoms of scurvy, and with the
view of giving the men something besides salt meat the
several ports along the coast were occupied through-
out the war.
Having diverted the enemy's attention from the
great object the Americans had in view— the capture
of Yera Cruz — Captain Conner collected a fleet of sev-
enty vessels of war and transports, having on board
General Scott's army of 12,603 men, before Vera Cruz
early in March. This town was the scene of Cortez's
landing, and of the French debarkation in 1830, and
again in 1865. It was strongly defended by massive
walls of masonry and by the famous castle of San Juan
d'Ulloa, which was on an island in the harbor, half a
mile from the shore. The defenses were under the
command of German artillerymen. In order that such
a large number of men might be quickly landed in the
face of an enemy, sixty-five boats, about thirty-five feet
long, were constructed. At sunrise, March 9th, the
steamers Spitfire and Vixen, with the gunboats Petrel,
Bonita, Reefer, Falcon and Tampico, ran close inshore
on the island of Sacrificios to cover the landing, as it
was thought that the enemy might be concealed be-
hind sand hills, but after a few discharges of grape
and canister only a few horsemen were routed. The
troops were landed in beautiful style. At a signal the
1847. BOMBARDMENT OF VERA CRUZ. JQ7
boats put out from the frigates and transports for the
beach, and as fast as the men were landed they occu-
pied the sand hills, each regiment planting its stand-
ard and collecting its men around it. By ten o'clock
that night ten thousand men with arms, ammunition
and provisions had been landed.
At dawn of March 10th the Spitfire ran into the
harbor, and when within a short mile of the castle
opened a spirited fire on the town and batteries, which
was maintained two hours, when she was ordered back.
From a Mexican newspaper that found its way into
the squadron a few days afterward it was learned that
many of her shells had been thrown into the heart of
the city and to the gate of the market place. The
chief purpose of the Spitfire's attack was to discover
the position of the Mexican guns, and as the enemy
promptly returned the cannonading from every gun
that would bear, this was accomplished. From the
10th to the 20th of March the army was occupied in
getting batteries into position, and in the meantime
the enemy kept up a desultory fire, which did consid-
erable injury. On the 20th of March Captain Perry
arrived, and on the 21st he superseded Captain Conner
in command of the Gulf fleet.
The Mexicans had entertained great hopes of yellow
fever breaking out in the American squadron and do-
ing more injury than they could expect to do with
their cannon. Vera Cruz was the breeding place of
the disease, and March was one of the months in which
it assumed its most malignant form. The Americans
were in great danger from this lurking enemy, for mos-
quitoes and flies from the shore visited the ships in
myriads and carried the germs of the disease in their
bites. Another peril to which the Americans were ex-
posed, and on which the enemy counted, was the
strong northerly gales which swept the approaches to
the harbor with great fury. In the gale of March 21st
the Hunter went down, and it was only by the greatest
108 WAR IN TIIE MEXICAN GULP. 1847.
exertions that Captain Perry managed to rescue her
crew of sixty men.
On the 22d of March a formal demand was made
for the surrender of Vera Cruz, which was haughtily
rejected, and two guns were fired in defiance. On the
afternoon of the same day the Americans opened lire
from their batteries, and the Mexicans replied with
spirit. Desiring to come to closer quarters, Commander
Tattnall on the 23d of March got his division, consist-
ing of the steamers Spitfire and Vixen and five schoon-
ers, under way, and leaving one of the schooners at
Point Honorios opened fire on the city. To draw the
enemy's attention from that point, he boldly stood out
to sea as if he intended to rejoin the squadron at Sac-
rificios ; but on clearing the shoal water at Point Ho-
norios he suddenly changed his course, and, leading his
division directly for the castle, hove to within grape-
shot of bastion San lago and opened a tremendous fire.
The Mexicans were either taken completely by surprise
or hoped to lure the boats to certain destruction, as
they thought, for they did not fire a shot until the six
little vessels hove to and began their fire. Then began
a terrific cannonading from all the Mexican guns that
would bear, and it seemed as if the division was
doomed. "All expected to see us sunk, and that we
escaped without loss is a miracle. The shot and shell
rained around us and kept the water in a foam, and yet
but three of the vessels were struck, two of the schoon-
ers and the Spitfire, the last by a shell which exploded
directly under the quarter and knocked a plank out of
the quarter boat. Not a man was hurt."1 For an
hour this terrific cannonading was kept up, when Tatt-
nall slowly retired, cheered by the men of General
Worth's army. Even before this affair Commander
Tattnall had won the reputation of being an intrepid
and fearless officer. While a lieutenant in command
1 Commander Tattnall in a private letter.
1847. TATTNALL'S AUDACIOUS ATTACK. 1Q9
of the Pioneer (1835) he was ordered to convey Santa
Anna, who had recently been captured by the Texans,
to Vera Cruz. At that time the Mexican leader was
exceedingly unpopular in his own country, and it was
freely predicted that he would be shot the moment he
placed his foot on Mexican soil. Arriving at Vera
Cruz, Lieutenant Tattnall landed with his passenger.
Crowds of angry citizens and soldiers awaited them,
but, boldly taking Santa Anna's arm under his own,
the American lieutenant walked up the main street.
The crowds for a time gazed upon the two unprotected
men in silent amazement until they reached a guard
of soldiers who saluted, when the crowds burst into
cheers. Lieutenant Tattnall remained with Santa Anna
several days, until the Mexican could gather his friends
around him. The course taken by the young lieuten-
ant undoubtedly saved Santa Anna's life.
On the 21st of March General Scott asked Captain
Perry for the loan of six heavy shell guns from the
fleet. Captain Perry replied : "Certainly, general, but
I must fight them." Scott was anxious to man the
guns with his own troops, but Captain Perry, ever jeal-
ous of the reputation of the navy, said, " Wherever the
guns go their officers and men must go with them."
General Scott finally consented to the formation of a
naval battery, and within an hour after obtaining this
permission Captain Perry manned his boat, and, pulling
under the stern of each of the war vessels, announced
that guns were to be landed from the fleet and manned
by seamen. The news was received with cheers. A
position known as Battery No. 4, opposite Fort Santa
Barbara, was assigned to the naval battery. Two 32-
pounders from the Potomac^ one 32-pounder from the
Raritan, one 68-pound Paixhan from the Mississippi,
one from the Albany and one from the St. Mary*s
were landed at night, with double crews, the junior
officers casting lots for the service. This battery "was
constructed entirely of sand sewed up in bags. It had
110
WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF. 1847.
two traverses six or more feet thick, the purpose of
which was to resist a flanking fire. The guns were
mounted on their own ship's carriages on platforms,
being run out with side tackles and handspikes and
their recoil checked with sand bags. The balls were
stacked within the sandy walls, but the magazine was
stationed some distance in rear. The cartridges were
served by the powder boys, as on shipboard, a small
trench being dug for their protection while not in
transit." x
Having obtained the exact distance to the eaemy's
batteries by a system of triangulation, the naval bat-
tery was ready for service shortly before ten o'clock on
the morning of March 24th. Just as the last gun was
being cleared of sand and sponged the Mexicans dis-
covered the battery and opened fire with a good aim
that showed they had determined the range some time
before. This fire was the signal for seven forts to con-
centrate their attention on Battery No. 4, and 10- and
13-inch shells were dropping around the seamen with
uncomfortable frequency. Captain Aulick, who com-
manded the battery the first day, responded with spirit,
and began pounding away at the enemy in true man-
of-war style. Such was the precision of his fire that a
shot aimed by Lieutenant Baldwin carried away the
flagstaff of Fort Santa Barbara. This was greeted with
tremendous cheering, but a moment afterward Lieuten-
ant D. Sebastian Holzinger, a German officer in the
employ of the Mexicans, with a young assistant leaped
over the parapet, recovered the flag and nailed it to the
stump of its staff, although at one time he was nearly
covered with the debris thrown up by American shot.
So rapid and well sustained was the fire of the
naval battery that by half past two o'clock in the
afternoon its ammunition was exhausted, and Midship-
man Fauntleroy was sent to Captain Perry with a re-
1 Griffis' Life of Captain Perry, p. 227.
1847. WORK OF THE NAVAL BATTERY. m
quest for more. At four o'clock a relief party under
Captain Isaac Mayo (who had served as a midshipman
in the Hornet- Penguin fight) arrived and continued
the work of hammering the Mexican forts. This was
done so effectually that, although the walls were built
of massive shell rock, the naval battery soon cut
through the curtains of the redoubt to the right and
left and finally made a breach thirty-six feet wide ;
but at night the enemy filled the gap with sand bags.
On this day Lieutenant Baldwin, of the St. Mary's, was
wounded. During the night the sailors were employed
repairing the breastworks, while the mortar schooners
every now and then circled the sky with beautiful
flights of shells. At daylight, March 25th, the naval
battery renewed its fire, and the Mexicans concentrated
four batteries on this earthwork, aiming even more ac-
curately than the day before. Early in the day one of
their shells dropped in the battery but did no damage,
and several of their solid shot entered the embrasures,
which were unusually wide to admit of a larger sweep
of the guns.
Seeing that the castle was paying particular atten-
tion to the naval battery, Captain Perry ordered the
Spitfire, Commander Tattnall, and the Vixen, Com-
mander Sands, each having two gunboats in tow, to
run into the harbor and divert the enemy's attention.
"What point shall I engage, sir?" asked Tattnall.
"Where you can do the most execution, sir," was the
reply ; and taking him at his word, the young com-
mander stood into the harbor in the most audacious
manner, and, forming a line about eighty yards from
the castle, opened a furious cannonade. Not satisfied
with this, he stood in still closer, actually taking a
position within the Punto de Hornos, where for half
an hour he was the center of a terrific fire. His vessels
were almost hidden in the spray raised by the storm
of iron that rained around them, but either the bold-
ness of the attack or the nearness of the vessels pre-
112 WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF. 1847.
vented the Mexicans from inflicting any considerable
injury. Fearing that the little vessels would be blown
to atoms, Perry signaled them to retire ; but Com-
mander Tattnall either could not or would not see the
signal and continued his attack. Captain Perry finally
sent a boat with peremptory orders for the return of
the division. Loath to give up his congenial occupa-
tion, Commander Tattnall retired slowly with his face
to the enemy, keeping up his fire as long as the guns
would bear.
Fort San lago now opened its fire on the naval bat-
tery, but after Captain Mayo had turned several guns
on it it was silenced, and about two o'clock in the
afternoon the enemy abandoned it. Jumping on a
horse, the gallant captain hastened with the news to
the army. "As he rode through the camp Gfeneral
Scott was walking in front of his tent. Captain Mayo
rode up to him and said, ' General, they are done ; they
will never fire another shot.' The general in great
agitation asked, ' Who ? your battery — the naval bat-
tery?' Mayo answered, 'No, general, the enemy is
silenced.' General Scott, in his joy, almost pulled Cap-
tain Mayo off his horse, saying, ' Commodore, I thank
you and our brothers of the navy in the name of the
army for this day's work.' " l
In the two days' fight the naval battery had four
men killed, struck mostly by solid shot on the head or
breast, while five officers and five sailors were wounded.
Many of these men were hurt by splinters from yucca
or cactus bushes in the chaparral. Among the killed
was Midshipman Thomas Brandford Shubrick, a son
of Captain Irvine Shubrick. He had just arrived on
the scene of action in the Mississippi, and went to the
battery full of life and enthusiasm. While in the act
of aiming a gun at the tower he was struck by a solid
shot, which took off his head. Commander Tattnall,
1 Griffis' Life of Captain Perry, p. 235,
1847. LOSSES IN THE NAVAL BATTERY. 113
who visited the naval battery during the engagement,
describes his experiences as follows: "I landed and
walked to our battery on the first day, and on reaching
it saw stretched in a cart and dead a most noble sea-
man, an old boatswain's mate of mine in the Saratoga.
His fine manly face, calm and unchanged, I could not
mistake. Another poor fellow was lying in a cart se-
verely wounded, to whom I offered a few words of con-
dolence. In a few minutes afterward, when they had
removed him to what was deemed a place of safety, he
was again wounded." l
While this attack was in progress Captain Perry
planned a boat attack on the water batteries of Yera
Cruz for the night of March 25th, which he proposed to
lead in person. The boats were formed in a column,
and studding-sail booms of the Mississippi were made
into ladders. But before these plans could be put
into execution the Mexicans sounded a parley from
the city walls, and at 8 A. M. the firing ceased. On the
26th of March a heavy gale set in from the north, which
blew twenty-six transports to shore. In one of the
gales a brig, fouling the Potomac, lost her masts. On
the 28th of March the town was unconditionally sur-
rendered, and on the following day the army and navy
took possession. Captains Aulick and Alexander Sli-
dell Mackenzie represented the navy in the negotia-
tions.
The capture of Vera Cruz opened the way for the
army to march upon the capital by the shortest route.
Being greatly in need of horses, General Scott asked
for the co-operation of the navy in securing a number
of animals that the Mexicans had collected at Alva-
rado. The steamer Scourge, Lieutenant Charles G.
Hunter, was immediately ordered to blockade the port,
while Captain Perry was to follow with a larger naval
force. General Quitman in the meantime was to pro-
1 Commander Tattnall in a private letter.
H4 WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF. 1847.
ceed by land and cut off the enemy's retreat. Lieu-
tenant Hunter reached the bar off Alvarado on the 30th
of March, but he allowed his zeal to exceed his instruc-
tions, and began an immediate attack on the defenses
of the place. On the following day the enemy retired
up the river, leaving Lieutenant Hunter in quiet pos-
session of the town and four schooners. Sixty guns
were captured, thirty-five of which were shipped to
the United States as mementoes of the war. Leaving
a garrison at Alvarado, Lieutenant Hunter hastened
up the river, chasing the enemy to Tlacahalpa, which
he also took without opposition. Thus the apparent
object of the mission was accomplished before Captain
Perry arrived, April 2d ; but the overhaste of Lieuten-
ant Hunter enabled the Mexicans to escape through
the mountain passes with the greatly desired horses
before General Quitman could cut off their retreat.
Lieutenant Hunter was tried by court-martial and dis-
missed from the service. Captain Mayo was placed in
charge of the government of Alvarado, and occupied
his time in securing the submission of towns in the
interior, the majority of which meekly submitted ; but
in one of these expeditions some resistance was offered,
and an American pfficer and five men were wounded.
In carrying out his plan of occupying every port on
the coast through which the Mexicans could obtain
supplies, Captain Perry next turned his attention to
Tuspan, off which port the brig of war Truxtun had
been lost the year before. The American squadron
appeared off the town on the 17th of April, but owing
to shoal water only the light- draught vessels could get
over the bar. The place was defended by a fort on the
right and one on the left bank of the river, many of
the guns of which had been taken from the ill-fated
Truxtun. The batteries were admirably situated for
sweeping all approaches from the sea, and the guns
were manned by six hundred and fifty Mexican sol-
diers under General Cos. On the 18th of April Captain
1847. FALL OF TUSPAN. 115
Perry led the attack in the Spitfire with fifteen hun-
dred officers, seamen and marines, and four pieces of
artillery. Captain Samuel Livingston Breese com-
manded the landing detachment. As soon as the as-
sailants were within range the Mexicans opened a
spirited fire, both from their batteries and with mus-
ketry on shore ; but the Americans steadily advanced,
and they fell back. The loss of the Americans in this
affair was three killed and five officers and six seamen
wounded.
Having secured all the ports on this coast, the Gov-
ernment decided to raise the blockade, in order that
commerce might be resumed and the revenues redound
to the benefit of its treasury. Cruising along the coast,
Captain Perry destroyed a fort mounting twelve guns
at Coazacoalcos. Leaving the bomb vessel Stromboli
on guard at this place, and the Albany and the Reefer
at Tuspan, Captain Perry turned his attention to Ta-
basco, which place, as no garrison had been left to hold
it, had again fallen into the hands of the enemy. On
the 14th of June he collected the following vessels off
Frontera : The Mississippi, the Raritan, the Albany,
the John Adams, the Decatur, the Germantown, the
Strombolf, the Vesuvius, the Washington, the Scor-
pion, the Spitfire, the Scourge, the Vixen, the Etna
and the Bonita. Entering the river with the light-
draught vessels on the same day, Captain Perry shifted
his flag to the Scorpion and began the difficult ascent
of the stream. As the flotilla was approaching Devil's
Bend it was suddenly attacked by one hundred Mexi-
cans concealed in the dense chaparral on the banks.
Captain Perry was standing on the deck of the Scor-
pion under an awning, and miraculously escaped in-
jury, although the canvas and woodwork of the steamer
were riddled with shot. The Scorpion, the Washing-
ton and the surf boats returned the fire, and soon
afterward a 10-inch shell from the Vesuvius dispersed
the Mexicans.
HQ WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF. 1847.
At six o'clock the vessels anchored for the night
near Seven Palm Trees, and, as a precaution against
surprise, barricades of hammocks were so arranged as
to resist a night attack. Shortly after midnight a vol-
ley of musketry from the bushes startled the Amer-
icans, but as it was not followed by a general attack
the men returned to their rest. On the following morn-
ing Lieutenant William May, while pulling ahead in
a boat for the purpose of discovering the channel, was
wounded by a party of Mexicans concealed in a breast-
work called La Comena. Finding that the navigation
of the river at this point had been obstructed by the
Mexicans, Captain Perry landed with a detachment of
his men and ten guns, with a view of attacking the
fort from the rear. The banks of the river at this
point were from thirty to forty feet high and almost
perpendicular, and it was only by the united efforts of
many men that the cannon were hoisted up. The
enemy evidently supposed this movement was impossi-
ble, and was taken completely by surprise.
Rapidly forming the line of march. Captain Perry,
with the pioneers under Lieutenant Maynard, led the
way toward the rear of the fort, closely followed by
the marines under Captain Edson and the- artillery
under Captain Mackenzie, Captain Mayo acting as ad-
jutant general. At a place called Acahapan he came
upon the Mexicans with two pieces of artillery strongly
intrenched, but they fled on the approach of the Amer-
icans. As Captain Perry's little army came in sight of
the fort, the gunboats under Lieutenant David Dixon
Porter, which had gallantly advanced up the river in
spite of their exposed position to co-operate with the
land forces, were greeted with cheers. Captain Perry's
men then rushed to the assault, while the veteranos,
leaving their cooked meal behind, fled. Advancing
about a mile farther up the river, the Americans at-
tacked Fort Iturbide, mounting six guns. One of the
shot from the fort struck the Spitfire's wheel, but did
1847. SECOND ATTACK ON TABASCO. 117
not disable her. Observing that the enemy was flinch-
ing from his guns, Lieutenant Porter landed with sixty-
eight men, and carried the fort by assault. The way
to Tabasco was now clear, and the town was taken pos-
session of on the 16th by a detachment from the Scor-
pion and the Spitfire under Lieutenant Sidney Smith
Lee. During the land attack on the forts several of
the Americans were overcome by the heat and the ex-
ertion of dragging the heavy ordnance through the
mud. The total loss of the Americans in this expedi-
tion was two officers and seven seamen wounded.
After remaining here six days, Captain Perry left
the Scorpion, the Etna, the Spitfire and the Scourge,
with four hundred and twenty men under Commander
Abraham Bigelow, as a garrison, and returned to Fron-
tera. On the 25th of June seventy Mexicans made a
sudden attack on a party of twenty seamen who were
on shore at Tabasco. A short struggle followed before
the enemy was repelled, in which the Americans had
one man wounded and the Mexicans had one killed
and six wounded. That night one hundred and fifty
Mexican soldiers made an attack on the guard in the
plaza, but were repelled. Captain Bigelow improved
his time by sending out small parties to subdue roving
bands of Mexican soldiers that occupied the ranchos
in the outskirts of Tabasco. On the 30th of June he
marched with two hundred and forty men and two
field pieces to attack five hundred Mexicans who had
intrenched themselves in a village called Tamultay,
three miles distant. Approaching within a quarter of
a mile of the place, Commander Bigelow fell into an
ambush, but steadily returned the fire and put the
enemy to flight. In this affair the Americans had two
killed and five wounded.
This was the last action of the war in which the
Gulf squadron was directly engaged. A detachment
of marines under Lieutenant-Colonel Watson accom-
panied the army under General Scott, and in the attack
118 WAR IN THE MEXICAN GULF. 1847-1848.
on Chapultepec, September 13th, they were among the
volunteers who attacked the castle under the leader-
ship of Major Levi Twiggs, of the marines. Captain
Reynolds, of the marines, led the pioneer storming
party. Major Twiggs was killed in the first advance.
In the stubborn hand-to-hand conflict, in which the
Mexicans showed more than usual courage, the marines
were conspicuous for their bravery. They were also
foremost in the charge along the causeway leading to
the Belen gate, and when the Americans entered the
capital, September 14th, Lieutenant Watson and his
marines were assigned to the difficult task of keeping
the criminal classes in order. In these battles the ma-
rine corps had seven men killed and four wounded.
Peace between the United States and Mexico was made
February 2, 1848. In this war the United States had
about one hundred thousand men under arms, fifteen
thousand of whom were in the navy.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN.
FROM the time when Marco Polo brought news, in
1295, of a large island inhabited by a warlike and
highly civilized race east of Corea, Japan had been
the goal toward which many ambitious explorers di-
rected their energies. The vague rumors of Zipangu
or Jipangu haunted Columbus night and day and
touched upon the grand inspiration of his life. To
his thoughtful mind they first awakened passing fan-
cies, then serious reflections, but only to be laid aside
by the seeming absurdity of his conclusions. But still
again the recurring thoughts clung to him with strange
persistency. Jipangu ! To the east of Cathay ! Could
it be reached by sailing west ? Japan was destined to
be brought within the pale of civilized nations not by
Columbus, but by an officer of the United States navy,
a nation whose existence was a result of Columbus'
great discovery. In 1549 the Jesuits, led by Francis
Xavier, gained a footing in Japan, and, rapidly ex-
tending their influence, they aspired to temporal as
well as spiritual power, so that in 1587 a decree of
banishment was directed against them. Other edicts
of expulsion were issued, but it was not until 1637,
and after thousands of lives had been sacrificed, that
they and their doctrines were driven from the empire.
It was the recollection of the dangerous interference of
the priests in government matters, and the resulting
civil wars, that made Japan for so many years a her-
mit nation. Many attempts were made by Europeans
to trade with the country, but they were always met
119
120 THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 1797-1850.
with the same reply : "So long as the sun shall warm
the earth, let no Christian be so bold as to come to
Japan ; and let all know that the King of Spain him-
self, or the Christian's God, or the great God of all, if
he violate this command, shall pay for it with his head."
As early as 1797 Robert Shaw showed the United
States flag at Nagasaki, and in the same year Captain
Charles Stewart, while in the employ of the Dutch
East India Company, stopped at Deshima, where, al-
though he was supplied with water and provisions, he
was not allowed to land. Various other attempts were
made by American merchantmen to trade with the
natives. President Jackson in 1831 appointed Ed-
mund Roberts as agent "to open trade in the Indian
Ocean," but he died at Macao in 1836, before he reached
Japan. In 1845 Congress resolved that it was advis-
able to open Japan and Corea, and in the following
year Captain James Biddle anchored at Uraga with
the 90-gun ship Columbus and the Vincennes ; but the
authorities refused to negotiate with him, and as he
was instructed "not to do anything to excite a hostile
feeling or a distrust of the United States," he sailed
away without accomplishing his purpose. In 1846
Captain David Geisinger, commanding the East India
squadron, sent Commander James Glynn in the Preble
to Nagasaki to obtain the release of eighteen American
seamen from the whaler Lawrence, who were confined
by the Japanese. Arriving at Nagasaki April 17th,
Commander Glynn found that the Japanese were great-
ly elated at what they considered a victory over Cap-
tain Biddle's squadron, and he determined to tolerate
no trifling. Breaking through the cordon of guard-
boats that surrounded the Preble as soon as she dropped
anchor at Nagasaki, he brought his broadside to bear
on the city. He waited two days without getting the
prisoners, and then threatened to open fire, and after
many parleys and excuses the men were brought aboard
the Preble on April 26th. By 1850 the American flag
1851-1853. CAPTAIN AULICK RECALLED. 121
had become familiar to the Japanese, and in a twelve-
month, according to the native records, "eighty-six of
the black ships were counted from the shore."
The increasing commerce with China, the growth
of whale-fishing, and the rapid development of Cali-
fornia made it necessary to open Japan, and in 1851
Congress decided to send an expedition to that coun-
try. Captain John H. Aulick was placed in command
of it, and was ordered to carry the Brazilian min-
ister Macedo to Rio de Janeiro in the SusqueJianna
on his outward passage. Captain Aulick sailed from
Norfolk June 8th, landed his passenger, doubled the
Cape of Good Hope, and, after attending to some dip-
lomatic business with the Sultan of Zanzibar, pro-
ceeded to Hong-Kong and began his preparations for
the Japan expedition ; but while at this place he re-
ceived orders relieving him of the command. In the
mean time Captain Franklin Buchanan assumed charge
of the expedition, and afterward it was learned that
the Government was displeased at some remarks that
Captain Aulick was alleged to have made in reference
to the Brazilian minister, declaring that he was being
carried to Brazil at Aulick's expense. But Macedo
subsequently exonerated Captain Aulick of all blame.
On the 24th of March, 1852, Captain Matthew Cal-
braith Perry was appointed commander of the East
India squadron, and was ordered to carry out the
instructions given to Captain Aulick. Commander
Henry A. Adams, Commander Franklin Buchanan,
Commander Sidney Smith Lee, and Lieutenant Silas
Bent, who was in the Preble at Nagasaki, were to
be associated with him in his negotiations. Captain
Perry left Norfolk in the Mississippi, November 24,
1852, and arrived at Hong-Kong April 6, 1853, where
he found the sailing vessels Plymouth, Saratoga and
Supply and the steamer SusqueTianna. With these
he appeared off Uraga, early in July, 1853.
As the American squadron approached the coast of
122 THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 1853.
Japan, early on the morning of July 8th, the fog
gradually faded before the rays of the rising sun and
revealed the beautiful scenery of the place in all its
glory. Bold headlands clothed in bright verdure
came down to the water's edge, sparkling and smiling
as the sun fell upon the dew. Fishing-boats return-
ing after their night's work, and junks with their huge
square sails passing up the harbor to the metropolis,
laden with the produce of the empire, dotted the bay
in all directions, while towering over all was the per-
fect cone of Fusiyama, or Peerless Mountain, with her
head still in a cap of snow. As the American ships
drew near the town the native boatmen scurried away
in fear and amazement, and when those ahead of the
squadron paused for a moment to gaze at the great
splashing wheels of the steamer, they thought they
were at a safe distance ; but when they observed the
huge steamers bearing down upon them without a
thread of canvas set they were panic-stricken, and sud-
denly taking to their sculls, did not pause again until
they had hauled their boats up high and dry on the
shore.
Captain Perry now cleared his ships for action, for,
although he came with the most pacific intentions, he
was determined to be ready for any emergency. Fur-
thermore, he was convinced that a bold front, backed
by a good showing of force, would impress the natives
with the dignity and power of the nation he repre-
sented. Several large boats bearing official flags soon
put off from the shore for the American ships, evidently
for the purpose of boarding and inquiring their busi-
ness ; but no attention was paid to them. The steam-
ers, with the Plymouth -and the Saratoga in tow,
passed majestically by, leaving the official boats far
behind, vainly struggling to catch up with them, and
no doubt much mystified and perplexed at the inex-
plicable method of propulsion. About five o'clock,
when the squadron anchored off Uraga, the reports of
1853. ARRIVAL IN JAPANESE WATERS. 123
two guns were heard, and an instant later a ball of
smoke exploded in the sky. They were day rockets,
giving notice of the arrival of strangers. A great num-
ber of boats now surrounded the American ships, so
as to cut off communication with the shore. The Jap-
anese had long regarded all foreigners as mercenaries,
who would undergo any indignity for the sake of gain.
The Dutch especially had submitted to the most de-
grading humiliation in order to hold their trade with
that country. To the Japanese, familiarity meant con-
tempt— a cringing deference was met with insolence
and arrogance, while lack of ceremony and pomp was
taken as proof of weakness and fear. Captain Perry
had determined on a different policy, and when the
native boats attempted to make fast to the ships their
lines were promptly cut, and when some endeavored
to climb up the chains they were ordered back at the
point of the bayonet. Being informed through the
interpreter that only their highest officials would be
allowed on board, the natives fell back, but still sur-
rounded the ships and kept a jealous eye on them.
A boat now came alongside of the Mississippi, and
an official motioned for the gangway to be lowered.
As his request was ignored, he showed an order for the
ships to leave the harbor immediately ; but the Ameri-
cans replied that no orders would be received except
from the officials of the highest rank. One of the na-
tives, who spoke Dutch, now asked several questions,
from which it appeared that the squadron was ex-
pected— they undoubtedly having learned of the in-
tended visit through the Dutch of Nagasaki. It was
then suggested that the Americans appoint some officer
corresponding to the rank of the vice-governor of
Uraga, and meet him for a conference. After some
intentional delay this was agreed to, and Lieutenant
John Contee was delegated to receive the official. The
gangway was lowered, and the vice-governor and one
aid were allowed to come on board. Captain Perry,
124: THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 1853.
in keeping with his policy of exclusiveness, remained
in his cabin, communicating with the vice-governor
through Lieutenant Contee. The natives were now in-
formed of the nature of the visit, and, in response to
the vice-governor's reiterated requests that the squad-
ron go to Nagasaki, the Americans steadily insisted on
having negotiations conducted near the capital of the
empire. The vice-governor furthermore wras informed
that the Americans would not tolerate any indignity,
and that they considered the surrounding of their ves-
sels with boats an insult, and if they were not imme-
diately ordered off they would be fired upon. When
this was interpreted to the vice-governor he left his
seat, and, going to the gangway, motioned the boats
away. This had the effect of dispersing them ; but
several remained at a little distance, keeping a sharp
lookout. This was the first point gained in the mission.
The vice-governor soon afterward left the ship, saying
that he had no authority to promise anything, but that
an official of high rank would visit it the next morning.
In the still watches of the summer night many of
the officers and men kept the deck, curious to observe
the strange land in which they had arrived and to dis-
cuss the doings of the day. The dark waters were
filled with globelike jelly fish. Innumerable native
craft, with their fantastically decorated paper lanterns
at bow and stern, glided to and fro over the peaceful
waters of the bay, centering their long scintillating
rays of light on the ships, as if jealously watching
every movement. Once in a while some coasting-junk,
blanched and ghostly with ocean brine, hurried into
port, as if still fearing the typhoon dragons, and moved
swiftly up the bay ; and when the hardy mariners
passed the American squadron with a wondering stare
they quickly vanished in the direction of the metrop-
olis. Beacon fires lighted the harbor on all sides, while
bodies of troops marching and countermarching gave
token of the excitement on shore. Rockets were sent
1853. SURPRISE OF THE NATIVES. 125
up at frequent intervals, and fire-bells were rung. The
town itself was thoroughly aroused, people hurrying
from house to house, or burning incense before their
gods, supplicating with deep intonation that the "smok-
ing ships," which had so nearly ground some of their
fishing-boats to pieces, might be removed. Other na-
tives were assembling on the beach and gazing at the
great vessels in profound amazement. The busy hum
of wakefulness, together with the beating of drums
and the deep, waving vibrations of the great temple
bells, filling the air with melancholy music, caused the
Americans to feel that they wTere indeed in a strange
land and among strange people.
At sunrise a boat put off from the shore and took a
convenient station near the visiting squadron, and on
leveling glasses at it, the Americans saw that it con-
tained artists sketching the ships. About seven o'clock
two large boats, one of them flying a three-striped flag,
indicating an official of the third rank,1 ran alongside,
and Yezaimen, Governor of Uraga, came aboard with
his suite. Captain Perry refused to show himself, but
appointed Commanders Buchanan and Adams and
Lieutenant Contee to receive any communications.
The governor, arrayed in a "rich silk robe of an em-
broidered pattern resembling the feathers of a peacock,
with borders of gold and silver," emphasized the state-
ment of his subordinate — namely, that the Americans
must go to Nagasaki. But the Americans insisted on
delivering the letter near the capital, and the governor
then said that the answer would be sent to Nagasaki.
It was now observed that the governor used a different
title for the President and the Emperor, upon which
the American officers affected much displeasure, and
requested that the same title be applied to "both. This
was conceded, and perceptibly raised the Americans in
the governor's estimation. The latter then said that he
1 Mito Yashiki : A Tale of Old Japan, p. 180.
126 THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN". 1853.
would send an express to Tokio for further instruction,
and on being asked how long that would take, he re-
plied, "Four days." As a few hours' steaming would
have brought the ships within sight of the capital, the
American officers declared that they would wait only
three days, and if an answer was not received within
that time they would move the squadron nearer to the
city, so as to enable the Japanese to get their reply in
less time. This evidently was what the governor
most feared, and in much trepidation he consented to
have the reply in three days.
While this conference was being held, several well-
armed boats had been sent out from the squadron to
take soundings. Observing them, the governor in-
quired what their business was, and on being told, he
said that it was against the laws and that they must
return. The Americans replied that the American laws
compelled them to take soundings and make hydro-
graphic surveys in all strange waters, and that they
were bound to obey American laws as well as Japanese.
As these boats were approaching some earthworks
mounting a few light guns, native soldiers armed with
spears, lances, swords and matchlocks came down to
the water's edge for the purpose of showing the for-
eigners that they were on the alert and fully prepared
to resist any attempt to land. They made the best
possible showing of their matchlocks, evidently with
the idea of impressing the Americans with the fact that
the Japanese were not so far behind the times in the
matter of firearms as might have been thought. One
of the boats pulled within a hundred yards of the sol-
diers, when a lieutenant, with the promptness becom-
ing a man-of-war's man, whipped out his spyglass with
a resounding crack and leveled it at a dignified warrior
who seemed to be in command. The movement, harm-
less in itself, had a most unexpected effect, for the
Japanese supposed some deadly weapon was being
aimed at them, and the glass revealed to the lieuten-
1853. DIPLOMATIC DELAYS. 127
ant's eye a confused mass of fluttering garments, anti-
quated armor, and flipflapping sandals, for the digni-
fied warriors had dropped the austerity of their bear-
ing, and, gathering up their skirts, got behind the
earthworks with more haste than dignity.
On the following day (Sunday) a boat came along-
side with some high officials ; but permission to come
aboard was refused, as the Americans held the day
sacred. On this day Captain Perry conducted the
services in person, and the familiar tunes of Old
Hundred and "Before Jehovah's awful throne, ye
nations, bow with sacred joy " were probably for the
first time wafted across the waters of the bay. On
Monday surveying parties were sent farther up the bay^
accompanied by the Mississippi, and this so alarmed
the governor that he immediately came aboard the
flagship to inquire the cause of it. He was informed
that the American commander intended to survey the
entire bay, as the squadron expected to return in the
following spring for an answer.
On Tuesday, the day appointed for receiving a re-
ply from Tokio, three large boats ran alongside the
Susquehanna, and the governor and his interpreter
came aboard. After a long discussion it was finally
agreed that the letter from the President would be re-
ceived in a building on the beach near Uraga, by an
official of the highest rank in the empire, especially ap-
pointed by the Emperor. Then again came up the ever-
recurring question of Nagasaki, the governor saying
that, although by special act of courtesy on the part
of the Emperor the letter would be received at Uraga,
yet the answer must be given at Nagasaki. To this
Captain Perry sent the following message : " The com-
mander in chief will not go to Nagasaki, and will receive
no communication through the Dutch or Chinese. He
has a letter from the President of the United States to
deliver to the Emperor of Japan or his Secretary of
Foreign Affairs, and he will deliver the original to none
128 THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 1853.
other. If this friendly letter of the President to the
Emperor is not received and duly replied to, he will
consider his country insulted and will not hold him-
self accountable for the consequences. He expects a
reply of some sort in a few days, and he will receive
such reply nowhere but in this neighborhood."
No one was more aware of the impossibility of com-
pelling by force of arms this spirited people to come
within the community of nations than Captain Perry
himself. Such a measure would not only have resulted
disastrously, but would more than ever confirm the
Japanese in their seclusion. A resort to any other
than pacific measures was furthest from Captain Perry's
intentions, yet he was fully alive to the importance of
a strong presence with which to maintain the dignity
of his country and impress the Japanese with the honor
and value of the treaty he sought. His prompt resent-
ment of the slightest indignity or lack of ceremony was
admirably calculated to arouse the respect of this pe-
culiar people. The governor left the ship, saying that
he would shortly return. This probably was for the
purpose of consulting higher officials, who undoubt-
edly were concealed in Uraga to superintend the pro-
ceedings. In the afternoon the governor again came
aboard, and after a long discussion it was agreed that
Thursday morning, July 14th, should be set aside for
the ceremony of delivering the letter. There was to
be no discussion of the subject, but merely an inter-
change of compliments, after which the Americans were
to sail away and return in the following spring for an
answer.
Early on the morning of the 14th the steamers
weighed anchor and stood around a point of land
where the ceremony was to be held, and anchored so
as to command the landing-place. When this was
done, the governor and his interpreters, richly dressed
in silk and gold, came aboard and were escorted to
their place on the quarter deck, and a signal now called
1853. PERRY'S SPLENDID DIPLOMACY. 129
fifteen cutters and launches from the different ships
around the Susquehanna. Commander Buchanan led
the boats in single file, each of which was escorted on
either side by native craft. As the procession of boats
drew out to its full length toward the land, the bright
flags, gorgeous banners, and lacquered hats, glistening
in the sunlight, presented a beautiful and imposing
spectacle. When the boats were halfway to the land,
Captain Perry, in full-dress uniform, stepped to the
gangway, and, with a salute of thirteen guns, entered
his barge and was rowed to the landing-place. As his
boat reached the shore the American officers and men
drew up in a double line to receive him. The land
procession was then formed — one hundred marines,
whose figures were in striking contrast to the diminu-
tive Japanese, leading the way, followed by one hun-
dred seamen. Captain Perry, guarded on each side
by a gigantic negro and preceded by two boys car-
rying the President's letter, came next. This letter
and accompanying documents "were in folio size, and
were beautifully written on vellum, and not folded,
but bound in blue silk velvet. Each seal, attached by
cords of interwoven gold and silk, with pendant gold
tassels, was incased in a circular box six inches in
diameter and three in depth, wrought of pure gold.
Each of the documents, together with its seal, was
placed in a box of rosewood about a foot long, with
lock, hinges, and mounting all of gold." l
Arriving at the reception-hall, Captain Perry and
his suite entered a tent about forty feet square, where
were seated two princes, who had been delegated to
receive the letter. As the Americans entered, the
princes courteously bowed and motioned their guests
to a seat on the right. Further than this, however,
they showed no curiosity or interest, but preserved a
grave and stolid composure. For some minutes after
1 Official report of Captain Perry.
54
130
THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 1853.
the company had been seated a profound silence pre-
vailed. Finally, the Governor of Uraga, who acted as
master of ceremonies, said that the princes were ready
to receive the letter, upon which the two boys, who
were at the lower end of the hall, marched up with the
rosewood boxes, closely followed by the negroes, de-
posited them in a scarlet box prepared by the Japanese,
and retired in perfect silence. A paper from the princes
acknowledging the receipt of the letter was then given.
It read as follows : "The letter of the President of the
United States of North America and copy are hereby
received and delivered to the Emperor. Many times it
has been said that business relating to foreign countries
can not be transacted here in Uraga, but at Nagasaki.
Now it has been observed that the admiral, in his qual-
ity of ambassador of the President, would be insulted
by it. The justice of this has been acknowledged, con-
sequently the above-mentioned letter is hereby received
in opposition to Japanese law. Because the place is
not designed to treat of anything from foreigners, so
neither can conference or entertainment take place.
The letter being received, you will leave."
Again a deep silence pervaded the hall. Captain
Perry then said that within a few days he would leave
for China, and return in April or May for an answer.
When asked if he would come with all the four ships,
he replied, "With many more." The governor then
informed the Americans that there was nothing more
to be done, and, bowing to the right and left, he passed
out of the hall. Upon this Captain Perry and his suite
rose and retired also, the- two princes standing until
they had left the apartments. The interview had not
lasted thirty minutes, during which the severest for-
mality had been observed. The procession again formed
and the Americans returned to their ships.
Captain Perry determined to explore the bay in the
direction of the capital before he sailed away, for the
purpose of marking out the channel and impressing
1853-1854. MAKING THE TREATY. 131
the natives with their inability to obstruct his move-
ments. Accordingly, when the governor, who had ac-
companied the Americans aboard the Susquehanna,
learned where the squadron was going to sail, he pro-
tested; but, unmindful of this, the American boats
continued their work until the 17th, and, having come
within sight of Shinagawa, a suburb of Tokio, the
squadron sailed for China.
While visiting Macao, in November, waiting for the
time for his return to Tokio, Captain Perry learned
that the French admiral had left port suddenly with
sealed orders, and nearly at the same time the Russian
Admiral Pontiatine returned from Nagasaki with four
vessels. Fearing that the French and Russians were
contemplating a visit to Tokio, Captain Perry decided
on a midwinter voyage to Japan in order to forestall
them, notwithstanding the fact that navigation of the
China Sea at that time was considered exceedingly
hazardous. Accordingly, on the 12th of February,
1854, he appeared in the bay of Tokio with the steam-
ers Susquehanna, Mississippi and Poiohatan, and
the sailing vessels Macedonian, Southampton, Lexing-
ton, Vandalia, Plymouth and Saratoga. Five days
were spent in a courteous altercation with the Jap-
anese officials as to where the squadron should anchor,
the natives insisting that it should remain near Uraga,
while Captain Perry was equally firm in having his
ships go farther up the bay, declaring the anchorage
at Uraga to be unsafe. Finally Yokohama was decided
upon, and a treaty house was built at the present Eng-
lish Hatoba, where the Union Church is situated.
On the 8th of March the Americans landed with
pomp and ceremony and began the negotiations. No
little risk was involved in landing, for, as was afterward
learned, there were several fanatics among the Japanese
guards who had sworn to kill Perry. The negotiations
extended over several days. On the first day Captain
Perry asked why the grounds surrounding the treaty
132 THE EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 1854-1860.
house had been fenced in with large mats ; and being
told that it was to prevent the Americans from seeing
the country, he requested that they be taken down, as
he considered it an indignity ; and his request was
complied with. Finally, on the 31st of March, the
terms of the treaty were agreed upon, and Simoda and
Hakodate were opened to the Americans for commerce,
under certain restrictions. On the 29th of July, 1858,
Townsend Harris, American consul general, in the pres-
ence of Commander Josiah Tattnall, signed the main
treaty between the two countries, and on the 13th of
February, 1860, a Japanese embassy of seventy-one
persons left Yokohama in the Powhatan for Washing-
ton. And thus one of the greatest diplomatic triumphs
of the age was recorded. Washington Irving wrote to
Perry : "You have gained for yourself a lasting name,
and have won it without shedding a drop of blood or
inflicting misery on a human being. What naval com-
mander ever won laurels at such a rate ? " A residence
of seven years in Japan has enabled the author to ap-
preciate the great firmness, the rare diplomacy and
indomitable perseverance that were shown by Captain
Perry in bringing to a successful end his negotiations
with this spirited and highly intelligent people.
On July 11, 1854, Perry concluded a commercial
treaty with the king of the Lew Chew Islands, a small
group south of Japan. By the terms of this compact
the natives were to furnish pilots to American vessels
approaching their harbors, and in case of shipwreck
our people were to be provided for. The most remark-
able clause in this treaty, one which reveals Perry's
splendid tact and diplomacy, was that by which the
natives agreed to set apart and hold sacred a grave-
yard for American citizens.
CHAPTER IX.
SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS.
NOT only has the navy been of incalculable value in
the wars of the United States, but in scientific and ex-
ploring expeditions also it has been of great service.
On the 18th of May, 1836, Congress authorized an ex-
pedition for the purpose of "exploring and survey-
ing the southern ocean, as well to determine the exist-
ence of all doubtful islands and shoals as to discover
and accurately fix the position of those which lie in or
near the track of our vessels in that quarter and may
have escaped the observation of scientific navigators."
Lieutenant Charles Wilkes was placed in command of
the expedition, and on the 19th of August, 1838, he
sailed from Hampton Roads with the 18-gun sloop of
war Vincennes, flagship ; the 18-gun sloop of war Pea-
cock, Lieutenant William L. Hudson ; the 12-gun brig
of war Porpoise, Lieutenant Cadwalader Ringgold ;
the storeship llelief, Lieutenant Andrew K. Long ; the
tender Sea Gull, Passed-Midshipman J. W. E. Reid ;
and the tender Flying Fisli, Passed-Midshipman Sam-
uel R. Knox. Although the great object of this expe-
dition was to enlarge the circle of commerce, it was
also intended to acquire scientific knowledge, and for
this purpose the following men accompanied it : Hora-
tio Hale, philologist ; Charles Pickering and Titian
Ramsey Peale, naturalists ; Mr. Couthouy, concholo-
gist ; James Dwight Dana, mineralogist ; Mr. Rich,
botanist ; Mr. Drayton and Mr. Agate, draughtsmen ;
and J. D. Brackenridge, horticulturist.
In crossing the Atlantic the vessels sailed about four
133.
134 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1838-1839.
miles apart, to take soundings and ascertain the tem-
perature in the various currents. After remaining a
week at Madeira the ships headed southward, touched
at the Cape Verd Islands, and arrived at Rio de Ja-
neiro on the 23d of November. They left that port
on the 6th of January, 1839, and made Orange Harbor,
Tierra del Fuego, their base of operations for explora-
tions in the Antartic Ocean. On the 25th of February,
Lieutenant Wilkes, in the Porpoise, accompanied by
the Sea Gull, made sail for the south pole. At day-
light, March 1st, they fell in with ice islands and flur-
ries of snow, and about noon an island was discov-
ered, but owing to the surf it was impossible to land.
Toward night another volcanic island was sighted, and
at daylight, March 2d, O'Brien and Ashland Islands
were discovered. On the 3d of March the vessels
reached Palmersland. Lieutenant Wilkes wrote : ult
was a day of great excitement to all, for we had ice of
all kinds to encounter, from the iceberg of huge quad-
rangular shape, with its stratified appearance, to the
sunken and deceptive masses that were difficult to per-
ceive before they were under the bow. I have rarely
seen a finer sight. The sea was literally studded with
these beautiful masses, some of pure white, others
showing all the shades of the opal, others emerald
green, and occasionally, here and there, some of a deep
black. Our situation was critical, but the weather
favored us for a few hours. On clearing these dangers
we kept off to the south and west under all sail, and at
9 P. M. we counted eight large ice islands. Afterward
the weather became so thick with mist and fog as to
render it necessary to lay to till daylight, before which
time we had a heavy snowstorm. A strong gale now
set in from the southwest ; the deck of the brig was
covered with ice and snow and the weather became
exceedingly damp and cold. The men were suffering
not only from want of sufficient room but from the
inadequacy of the clothing."
1839. IN ANTARCTIC SEAS.
135
By the 5th of March the gale had greatly increased
and the vessels were in danger of being hurled against
the icebergs. This, together with the appearance of
incipient scurvy, resulting from constant exposure, in-
duced Lieutenant Wilkes to head northward and re-
turn to Orange Harbor.
On the same day the Porpoise and the Sea Gull set
out on their antarctic cruise (February 25th), the Pea-
cock and the Flying Fish also got under way, but on
the 27th they encountered a heavy gale and became
separated. After waiting twelve hours in vain for her
consort, the Peacock continued her cruise to the south
and experienced moderate weather until the 4th of
March, when she encountered another severe gale. The
weather continued boisterous, with frequent squalls of
snow and rain, but on the llth it again cleared off.
The Peacock was now continually beset with icebergs,
fogs, and flurries of snow, so that navigation became
exceedingly difficult. " The ship was completely coat-
ed with ice, even to the gun deck. Every spray thrown
over her froze, and her bows and decks were fairly
packed with ice." On the 25th of March the Peacock
fell in with the Flying Fish, which vessel had not
been heard from since the gale of February 27th. Lieu-
tenant Walker reported that he had penetrated south
as far as 70°. As both vessels were now in danger of
being frozen in, and as they were not provisioned for a
long imprisonment, Lieutenant Hudson called a coun-
cil of his officers, and it was determined to head north-
ward, and accordingly the vessels slowly made their
way out of the antarctic circle. At midnight, March
29th, the people of the PeacocTc were startled by the
smell of smoke, which issued from the main hold. All
hands were instantly called to quarters, and on open-
ing the main hatch dense volumes of smoke rolled out.
With much difficulty the flames were extinguished.
On the 1st of April, Lieutenant Hudson dispatched the
Flying Fish, with his report, to Orange Harbor, while
136 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1839-1840.
he continued his course to Valparaiso, where he ar-
rived on the 21st of April and found the storeship
Relief. About the middle of May the Vincennes, the
Porpoise and the Flying Fish also arrived at that
port. The Sea Gull and the Flying Fish had sailed
from Orange Harbor together, but had become sepa-
rated in a gale, and the former was never heard
from again. Soon afterward the Relief was sent to the
United States, as she was a dull sailer and greatly im-
peded the movements of the other vessels.
The remainder of the squadron crossed the Pacific
Ocean, examining many islands, and arrived at Syd-
ney, New South Wales, on the 29th of November.
Here it was determined to attempt another antarctic
cruise, and the Vincennes, the Peacock, the Porpoise
and the Flying Fish, on the 26th of December, stood
out of the bay and headed for the south. On the 2d
of January, while in a dense fog, the Flying Fish be-
came separated from the squadron and did not again
join it, and on the following day the Peacock also
parted company. In hopes of falling in with these
vessels, Lieutenant Wilkes made for Macquarie Island,
the first rendezvous, and arrived in its vicinity on the
7th. On the 9th he made the second rendezvous, but
still failed to meet the Flying Fish. The early sepa-
ration of this tender had a most unfortunate effect on
the officers and men of the entire squadron ; coming so
soon after the loss of the Sea Gull, it caused a depres-
sion of spirits and gloomy forebodings that rendered
the antarctic cruise doubly hazardous. " Men-o'-war's
men," wrote Lieutenant Wilkes, "are prone to prog-
nosticate evil, and on this occasion they were not want-
ing in various surmises. Woeful accounts were soon
afloat of the distress the schooner was in when last
seen— and this in quite a moderate sea."
On the 10th of January the squadron met an ice-
berg about a mile long and one hundred and eighty
feet high. The weather now became misty, with occa-
1840. SEAS OF ICE. 137
sional flurries of snow, while icebergs were so numer-
ous as to necessitate changing the course several times.
About nine o'clock on January llth a low. point of
ice was discovered, and on rounding it the explorers
found themselves in a large bay. Moving swiftly
ahead for an hour and a half, they reached its limit,
where their course was abruptly checked by a compact
barrier of ice. The vessels were then hove to until,
daylight. It was a perfect night ; no sound broke the
great silence except the ghostly rustling of the ice-
fields. The morning of the 12th dawned with a dense
fog, during which the Porpoise was lost sight of, and
the entire day was spent in beating out of the bay, a
heavy fog frequently rendering it impossible to see
more than a ship's length ahead.
The Peacock, since her separation from the squad-
ron (January 3d), had made for Macquarie Island, and
succeeded in landing two men on it. The place was
found to be uninhabited, except by vast flocks of pen-
guins, which on the approach of the explorers sav-
agely flew at them, snapping at their clothing, heads
and limbs in a most unpleasant manner. The Peacock
resumed her course southward, and on the 15th of
January fell in with the Vincennes and the Porpoise
at the above-mentioned barrier.
The three vessels now cruised westward along the
outskirts of the ice barrier, hoping to find some open-
ing through which they could penetrate farther south.
On the 16th of January land was seen over a long
stretch of ice-fields from the masthead of the Peacock,
and during the following night the Vincennes, by
making short tacks, endeavored to gain as much south-
ing as possible. "Previously to its becoming broad
daylight," wrote Lieutenant Wilkes, "the fog rendered
everything obscure, even at a short distance from the
ship. I knew that we were in close proximity to ice-
bergs and field ice, but from the report of the lookout
at sunset I believed that there was an opening or large
138 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1840.
bay leading to the south. The ship had rapid way on
her and was much tossed about, when in an instant all
was perfectly still and quiet. The transition was so
sudden that many were awakened by it from a sound
sleep, and all well knew, from the short experience we
had had, that the cessation of the sound and motion
usual at sea was a proof that we had run within a line
of ice — an occurrence from which the feeling of great
danger is inseparable. The watch was immediately
called by the officer of the deck. Many of those below
were seen hurrying up the hatches, and those on deck
were straining their eyes to discover the barriers in
time to avoid accident. The ship still moving rapidly
along, some faint hopes remained that the bay might
prove a deep one and enable me to satisfy my sanguine
hopes and belief relative to the land. The feeling is
awful and the uncertainty most trying, thus to enter
within the icy barriers blindfolded, as it were, by an
impenetrable fog, and the thought constantly recurring
that both ship and crew are in imminent danger. On
we kept, until it was reported to me by attentive listen-
ers that they heard the low and distinct rustling of ice.
Suddenly a dozen voices proclaimed the barriers to be
in sight, just ahead. The ship, which a moment before
seemed as if unpeopled, from the stillness of all on
board, was instantly alive with the bustle of performing
the evolution necessary to bring her to the wind, which
was unfavorable to a return on the same tack. After
a quarter of an hour on her new tack ice was again
made ahead, and the full danger of our situation was
realized. The ship was suddenly embayed, and the
extent of sea room to which we were limited was ren-
dered invisible by the dark and murky weather ; yet,
that we were closely circumscribed was evident from
having made ice so soon on either tack, and from the
audible rustling around us." After four hours of great
danger and difficult navigation the Vincennes was ex-
tricated from her perilous position.
1840. SURROUNDED BY ICEBERGS. 139
On the 17th of January Lieutenant Wilkes ordered
the Peacock and the Porpoise to continue their ex-
plorations independently of each other, as he presumed
that the rivalry between the several ships' companies
would stimulate them to greater exertions. But the
three vessels cruised in sight of each other, skirting
along the ice barrier in a westerly direction, and on the
23d of January the Peacock discovered an opening that
seemed to reach the land to the south. Standing into
the bay at five o'clock in the morning, January 24th,
the ship suddenly made stern-board, and while attempt-
ing to box off from some ice under the bow she was
brought with great force against another mass of ice,
which destroyed her rudder. As the ship was found
to be rapidly entering the ice all hands were called,
but every effort to direct her course failed. Scarcely a
moment now passed without a collision with the ice,
every blow threatening to sink the ship. In the hope
of bringing the rudder again into use, a stage was
rigged over the stern, but on examination the rudder
was found to be so much injured that it was impos-
sible to repair it in its place, and preparations were
made for unshipping it. In the mean time the position
of the vessel, surrounded by masses of ice and driving
farther and farther into it toward an immense wall-
sided iceberg, was every instant growing more critical.
In consequence of her being so closely encompassed
all attempts to get her on the other tack failed, and it
was decided to bring her head around by hanging
her to an iceberg with ice-anchors. The anchor was
attached, but scarcely had the hawser been passed
aboard when the ship took a sudden stern-board, and
the rope was literally dragged out of the men's hands
before they could get a turn round the bits. The ship
now drove stern foremost into the huge masses of ice,
striking the rudder a second time, wringing it off the
head and breaking two of the pintles and the upper
and lower brace.
140 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1840.
As the wind began to freshen and the floe ice to
set upon the ship, the sails were furled and the spars
were rigged up and down the ship's side as fenders.
Boats were again lowered and another attempt was
made to plant the ice anchors, but the confined space
and the force with which pieces of ice ground against
each other was so great that the boats proved nearly as
unmanageable as the ship. After much exertion, how-
ever, the ice-anchors were planted and the hawser
hauled taut, and for a time there was comparative
security, as the vessel hung by the anchors. But the
ice continued to close in rapidly, gradually crushing
and carrying away the fenders, and the wind, changing
to seaward, rose with the appearance that foreboded
bad weather. At 11.30 A. M. the anchors, in spite of
the exertions of the officers and men who were near
them, broke loose, and the ship was again at the mercy
of huge floating masses. A rapid stern-board was the
consequence, and a contact with the ice island — vast,
perpendicular, and high as the masthead — appeared
inevitable. Every possible preparation was made to
meet the expected shock. The spars were got out
and preparations were made to cockbill the yards.
" While these preparations were going forward,"
wrote Lieutenant Wilkes, "the imminence of the dan-
ger lessened for a while — the anchors again held, and
there was a hope that they might bring the vessel up
before she struck. This hope, however, lasted but for
a moment only, for the anchors, with the whole body
of ice to which they were attached, came in, and the
ship, going astern, struck, quartering upon a piece of
ice which lay between her and the great ice islands.
This afforded the last hope of preventing her from
coming in contact with the ice island ; but this hope
failed also, for, grinding along the ice, she went nearly
stern foremost and struck with her port quarter upon
the island with a tremendous crash. The first effect of
this blow was to carry away the spanker boom, the
1840. A NARROW ESCAPE. -^
port stern davit, and to crush the stern boat. The star-
board stern davit was the next to receive the shock,
and as this is connected with the spar-deck bulwarks
the whole of them were started ; the knee, a rotten one,
which bound the davit to the taffrail, was broken off,
and with it all the stanchions to the plank sheer as far
as the gangway. Severe as the shock was, it happened
fortunately that it was followed by as great a rebound.
This gave the vessel a cant to starboard, and, by the
timely aid of the jib and other sails, carried her clear
of the island and forced her into a small opening.
While doing this, and before the vessel had moved
half her length, an impending mass of ice and snow
from the towering iceberg, started by the shock, fell in
her wake. Had this fallen only a few seconds earlier
it must have crushed the vessel to atoms. It was also
fortunate that the place where she struck the ice island
was near its southern end, so that there was but a short
distance to be passed before she was entirely clear of
them. This gave more room for the drifting ice, and
permitted the vessel to be worked by her sails. The
relief from this pressing danger, however, gave no as-
surance of ultimate safety. The weather had an un-
usually stormy appearance, and the destruction of the
vessel seemed inevitable, with the loss of every life on
board. After dinner the former manceuvring was re-
sorted to, the yards being kept swinging to and fro in
order to keep the ship's head in the required direction.
She was laboring in the swell, with ice grinding and
thumping against her on all sides ; every moment some-
thing either fore or aft was carried away — chains, bolts,
bobstays, bowsprit, shrouds. Even the anchors were
lifted, coming down with a surge that carried away the
eyebolts and lashings, and left them hanging by the
stoppers. The cutwater also was injured, and every
timber seemed to groan."
Boats were now lowered for the purpose of planting
ice anchors ahead of the ship, and after two hours of
142 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1840.
hard work, during which the frail craft were in con-
stant danger of being crushed by the ice, this was ac-
complished. At four o'clock it began to snow violently.
The rudder was then unshipped and laid on the quarter-
deck for repairs, and all night the ship was tossed help-
lessly about, every moment in imminent danger of
being ground to pieces by the huge masses of ice. She
remained in this position till the afternoon of the 24th
of January, when, favored by a fresh breeze, she at last
cleared the ice and gained the open sea.
During this time the Vincennes was making her
way along the ice barriers, examining every opening
that seemed to lead to the continent, which was dis-
tinctly seen over the fields of ice. Having proceeded
as far as 97° East without being able to reach the land,
Lieutenant Wilkes, on the 21st of January, headed
north for Sydney, where he arrived on the llth of
March, and found the Peacock at anchor there. The
Porpoise, after parting company with the other vessels
on the 22d of January, skirted along the ice-bound
coast in a westerly direction, and on the 30th she fell
in with two French exploring ships under the command
of Captain D'Urville. Having met the usual series of
storms, icebergs and perils of antarctic navigation, the
Porpoise, after reaching a point 100° East, and 64° 65'
South, set out on her return northward, and on the 5th
of March made Auckland Isle. The Flying Fish,
whose separation from the squadron in January had
caused so much anxiety, was compelled, on account
of her unseaworthy condition, to return to port.
During the summer of 1840 the squadron was en-
gaged in exploring the islands of the Southern Archi-
pelago, and while examining one of the islands of the
Fiji group in July, a party of Americans in a launch
and a cutter was compelled by a storm to run into a
bay for shelter. In beating out of the place the cutter
ran on a reef, and while it was in this situation the
natives attacked it, and as the ammunition of the
1840. IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
143
Americans had been spoiled by water they abandoned
the cutter and returned to the Vincennes. A detach-
ment of seamen, in eight boats, under the command of
Lieutenants Wilkes and Hudson, promptly landed and
burned the village. On the 24th of July the explorers
were again attacked by the treacherous islanders. Past-
Midshipman Joseph A. Underwood, with a small party
of sailors, landed for the purpose of trading, but he
was met with hostility. He ordered a retreat to the
boats, upon which the savages, many of whom were
armed with muskets, began a furious assault. Re-en-
forcements were landed, and the Americans succeeded
in putting the islanders to flight ; but Midshipmen
Underwood and Henry Wilkes were mortally wound-
ed, and one seaman was badly hurt. Lieutenant
Ringgold then landed with a detachment of seventy
officers and men, at the southeast end of the island,
and marched upon a village in the vicinity, destroying
the crops and plantations as he advanced. The village
was defended by stockades formed by a circle of cocoa-
nut trees planted a few feet apart, the intervening space
being filled in with strong wickerwork. Behind this
was a trench, in which the defenders could crouch in
safety while firing through loopholes, and outside of
the stockade was a ditch filled with water — by no
means a despicable stronghold even for disciplined
troops to attack. The savages, confident in their se-
curity, greeted their assailants with derisive shouts
and flourished their weapons in defiance. By means
of a rocket the Americans set fire to the huts within
the stockade, and at the same time they opened a sharp
fire of musketry, which killed a chief and six of his
men. Upon this the savages fled by an opposite gate,
leaving their town to be consumed by the flames. In
this attack one American was severely wounded. Lieu-
tenant Ringgold pursued the savages northward toward
the only remaining village on the island, where he was
joined by a boat party under Lieutenant Wilkes, who
144 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1840.
had already destroyed the village. The next day the
entire population sued for peace and promised good
behavior in the future.
In August the squadron sailed for the Hawaiian
Islands, and on the 2d of December Lieutenant Hud-
son, in the Peacock, accompanied by the Flying Fish,
made an extended cruise among the Bowditch, Samoan,
Ellice, and Kingmill Islands, returning to the Hawai-
ian Islands early in 1841, after a cruise of nineteen
thousand miles. On an Island of the Kingmill group
one of the American sailors was captured by the na-
tives, but was not missed until the seamen regained
their boats. Inquiries were then made for him, but
the natives professed ignorance. After waiting two
days in vain for some news of the man, Lieutenant
Hudson ordered the Flying Fish to cover the landing,
and an attacking party of eighty men, under Lieuten-
ant Walker, made for the shore. Efforts to ransom the
man proving unavailing, a rocket was fired into the
crowd of natives that had assembled on the beach, and
this was followed up by a discharge of musketry, which
killed twelve of the warriors and put the rest to flight.
The detachment under Lieutenant Walker then landed,
and as the natives still failed to produce the lost sea-
man their village was destroyed.
Lieutenant Hudson afterward sailed for the coast of
Oregon, but while attempting to cross the bar of Colum-
bia River, July 18th, having no pilots aboard, he ran
the Peacock aground. To make matters worse, the
tide fell, and as the sea was rising, the ship was soon
wrecked. Lieutenant Hudson and his crew managed
to get ashore, and they were rescued some time after-
ward by the Vincennes. As early as 1818 Captain
James Biddle, in the sloop of war Ontario, had ex-
plored the Pacific coast and taken formal possession
of extensive tracts in the name of the United States.
After carefully exploring the harbors and rivers on the
Pacific slope, and sending a land expedition from Ore-
1840-1848. ON THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.
145
gon to Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) under the
command of Lieutenant George Foster Emmons, Lieu-
tenant Wilkes returned to the United States by way
of the Cape of Good Hope, arriving in New York in
June, 1842, after an absence of three years and ten
months.
On the 26th of November, 1847, Lieutenant William
Francis Lynch sailed from New York in the storeship
Supply for an exploring expedition to the Dead Sea.
He arrived in the Mediterranean early in 1848, and
leaving his ship at Smyrna, he proceeded to Constanti-
nople, where he received the necessary permission for
his explorations. Returning to Smyrna, he made sail,
and landed at Haifa on the 21st of March. At this
place the two boats that had been constructed espe-
cially for the difficult navigation of the Dead Sea and
the river Jordan, one made of copper and the other
of galvanized iron, were placed on trucks and drawn
across the country to Tiberias, on the western shore
of the Sea of Galilee. The party consisted of Lieuten-
ants Lynch and John B. Dale, Passed-Midshipman
Richmond Aulick and eleven seamen. Their supplies
were transported by twenty-three camels and twenty
horses. At Tiberias the expedition was divided : one
detachment was to embark in the boats, pull down the
sea to the river Jordan, and descend that tortuous and
rapid stream to the Dead Sea ; while the other division,
mounted on camels and horses, was to make the same
journey by land, keeping as near to the boat party as
possible, so as to defend it from wandering Arabs, or
to assist in the navigation of the stream.
On the 10th of April, 1848, the expedition left Tibe-
rias, and pulling down the Sea of Galilee began the
hazardous navigation of the Jordan. The distance
from this sea to the Dead Sea is not more than sixty
miles, but the course pursued by the Jordan is over
two hundred miles, and in this stretch there is a fall of
thirteen hundred feet. In covering this distance the
55
146 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1848-1850.
Jordan rushes through narrow defiles, hurls itself down
fearful rapids, boils over sunken rocks and twists
around sharp curves at a tremendous speed, rendering
it impossible for any craft, except those specially con-
structed, to pass. Down this rushing torrent the ad-
venturers boldly headed their craft. They repeatedly
struck on rocks, and at times the entire crew was com-
pelled to leap into the torrent and force the boats
over difficult places. After a perilous passage of eight
days they reached the desolate waste of water appro-
priately called the Dead Sea. Here a permanent en-
campment was established, from which numerous sci-
entific and exploring expeditions were made. After
several weeks spent in this manner, Lieutenant Lynch
occupied twenty-three days in measuring the depres-
sion of the Dead Sea below the level of the ocean, which
he found to be thirteen hundred and twelve feet.
On the 24th of May, 1850, an expedition organized
by Henry Grinnell, of New York, and commanded by
Lieutenant Edwin J. De Haven, sailed from New York
in search of Sir John Franklin's arctic explorers. Lieu-
tenant De Haven's vessels consisted of two heavily re-
enforced brigs, the Rescue and the Advance. By
the first of July they were fairly in Baffin's Bay, and
six days later, while making for what appeared to be
an unobstructed sea, they became imbedded in an ice-
pack and were imprisoned twenty-one days, drifting
northerly at the rate of a mile a day. Freeing them-
selves from the pack on the 28th of July, the little
brigs, on the 19th of August, entered Lancaster Sound,
where on the same day they met the steamer Lady
Franklin, of Captain Penny's relief squadron. Two
days later the Advance met the schooner Felix, com-
manded by Sir John Ross, which was also searching
for Franklin's party. While off Radstock Bay, Au-
gust 25th, the Advance discovered the first traces of
the lost Franklin party, in the shape of a flagstaff and
a ball, and, on landing, unmistakable evidences of an
1850-1851. IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN.
147
encampment were found. Two days later the Ameri-
cans began a search for the lost explorers and found
three graves with wooden headboards, the inscriptions
on them showing that they belonged to the lost explor-
ing-party. On the llth of September the Advance
and the Rescue began their return passage, but the
arctic winter set in before they could gain the open
sea. After beating around for several weeks in a vain
endeavor to force a passage, preparations were made
for passing a winter in the Arctic Sea. Unfortunately,
they were caught in the open channel, and during the
winter months they were carried from one place to
another by the ever-drifting ice, and their position was
rendered more dangerous by the cracking of the ice,
which at any time was liable to ingulf the stores that
were deposited on the ice-field.
On the 5th of December a crack in the ice several
yards wide opened along the side of the Advance, so
that she was again in her element ; but two days later
the immense ice-fields began to grind their edges to-
gether, catching the little brig between them. A vessel
less substantially built would have been crushed like
an eggshell. As it was, the little brig strained and
groaned, and so far resisted the pressure that the ice-
floe slipped under her and raised her bodily out of the
water, with her stern eight feet higher than her bow.
" On the llth of January, 1851," wrote Lieutenant De
Haven, "a crack occurred between the Advance and
the Rescue, passing close under our stern. It opened
and formed a lane of water eighty feet wide. In the
afternoon the floes began to move and the lane was
closed up, and the edges of the ice coming in contact
with so much pressure threatened the demolition of
the narrow space which separated us from the line of
fracture. Fortunately, the floes again separated, and
assumed a motion by which the Rescue passed from
our stern to the port bow, and increased her distance
from us seven hundred yards, when she came to a
148 SCIENTIFIC AND EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 1851.
stand. Our stores that were on the ice were on the
same side of the ice as the Rescue's, and, of course,
were carried with her. The following day the ice re-
mained quiet ; but soon after midnight on the 13th a
gale having sprung up from the west, it was once more
got into violent motion. The young ice in the crack
near our stern was soon broken up, the edges of the
thick ice came in contact, and a fearful pressure took
place, forcing up a line of hummock which approached
within ten feet of our stern. The vessel trembled and
complained a great deal. At last the floe broke up
around us into many pieces, and became detached from
the sides of the vessel. The scene of frightful commo-
tion lasted until 4 A. M. Every moment I expected the
vessel would be crushed or overwhelmed by the mass
of ice forced up far above our bulwarks. The Rescue,
being further removed on the other side of the crack
from the line of crushing, and being firmly imbedded
in heavy ice, I was in hopes would remain undisturbed ;
but this was not the case, for, on sending to her as soon
as it was light enough to see, the floe was found to be
broken away entirely from her bow, and there formed
into such high hummocks that her bowsprit was broken
off, together with her head and all the light woodwork
about it. Had the action of the ice been continued
much longer she would have been destroyed. Sad
havoc had been made among the stores and provisions
left on the ice, and a few barrels were recovered ; but a
large portion were crushed and had disappeared."
On the 29th of May, 1851, the sun again appeared,
having been concealed eighty-seven days, and the
dreary night of the arctic winter had passed away.
On the 6th of June a movement in the ice-floe liberated
the brigs, and, shipping their rudders and leaving a
portion of their false keels in the ice, they began their
homeward voyage, the Advance arriving in New York
on the 20th of August and the Rescue on the 7th of
September.
1852-1854 A FISHERY DISPUTE. ^49
The seizure of seven American fishing-vessels by
British cruisers, acting under the orders of Admiral
Seymour, aroused the indignation of the New England
States, and on July 31, 1852, Captain Matthew Calbraith
Perry, in the Mississippi, sailed from New York for
the scene of trouble. He visited Halifax and Cape
Breton, Prince Edward's Island, and found that be-
tween two thousand and three thousand American craft
were engaged in this industry, "furnishing a nursery
for seamen of inestimable advantage to the maintenance
of the interests of the nation."1 The difficulty grew
out of two interpretations of the clause "three miles
from the coast and bays," the Americans differing from
the English in their views as to what size of indenta-
tion constituted a bay. The result of Captain Perry's
visit was the reciprocity treaty with Canada in 1854,
which lasted ten years.
In the summer of 1881 Commander Winfield Scott
Schley, U. S. N., now a captain, was in Boston Navy
Yard, where he heard of the expedition to Lady Frank-
lin Bay, commanded by Lieutenant Adolphus W. Gree-
ly, U. S. A. Commander Schley remarked, "Well, I
suppose some naval officer will have to bring the ex-
plorers back," little thinking at the time that he would
be selected for the perilous undertaking. The explor-
ers embarked in the Proteus, July, 1881, and after a
remarkably favorable passage landed at Fort Conger,
Grinnell Land, in August. The Proteus returned
home, leaving enough provisions to support the ex-
plorers three years. It was arranged that another sup-
ply vessel was to be sent to Fort Conger in the fol-
lowing summer and another in the year after that ; so
Greely's party were left with every assurance that they
wTere perfectly safe. According to this understanding
the relief vessel Neptune was sent northward in the
summer of 1882, but was prevented by the ice from
1 Official report of Captain Perry.
150 GREELY EXPEDITION. It 51.
reaching the explorers. In the following summer the
Proteus endeavored to reach Fort Conger, but the
vessel was sunk and her crew narrowly escaped death.
Such was the alarming condition of the Greely ex-
pedition in 1884, when Commander Schley was called
upon to command the third relief expedition. The ves-
sels Thetis, Bear and Alert were placed under his or-
ders. Commander Schley left New York May 1, 1884,
arriving at St. John's May 9th. From this place the
two vessels made their way north. After many weeks
of battling with the ice, Commander Schley found the
seven survivors of the twenty-five men composing the
Greely expedition under a tent near Cape Sabine.
Commander Schley, in his Rescue of Greely, p. 222,
graphically describes the rescue: "It was a sight of
horror. On one side, close to the opening, with his
head toward the outside, lay what apparently was a
dead man. His jaw had dropped ; his eyes were open,
but fixed and glassy ; his limbs were motionless. On
the opposite side was a poor fellow, alive, to be sure,
but without hands or feet (those members having been
frozen off), and with a spoon tied to the stump of his
right arm. Two others, seated on the ground, in the
middle, had just got down a rubber bottle that hung
on the tent-pole, and were pouring from it into a tin
can. Directly opposite, on his hands and knees, was
a dark man with a long matted beard and tattered
dressing-gown with a little red skull-cap on his head
and brilliant, staring eyes." This was Greely. The
other survivors were Sergeants Elison and Fredericks,
Bierderbick the hospital steward, and Privates Connell,
Brainard and Long. Had the rescue been delayed a
few days longer even this wretched remnant of the
Lady Franklin Bay Expedition would not have re-
mained alive to tell the story of their terrible suffer-
ings. With great difficulty Commander Schley got
the men aboard his ships and made his way back to
the United States.
CHAPTER X.
MINOR OCCURRENCES.
IN December, 1842, the United States brig of war
Somers, Commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, an-
chored in New York harbor after a protracted cruise,
and announced that one of her midshipmen, Philip
Spencer, the boatswain's mate, Samuel Cromwell, and
an ordinary seaman, Elisha Small, had been hanged at
the yardarm during the cruise on suspicion of mutiny.
The announcement caused the greatest excitement
throughout the country, especially when it was learned
that the men had been executed without trial and that
Spencer was the son of the then Secretary of War. The
Somers had sailed from Norfolk, Va., for a cruise in
the West Indies and off the West African coast, hav-
ing on board a number of cadets, or "naval appren-
tices," as they were then called. After cruising off the
African coast the Somers made for St. Thomas.
While nearing the West Indies on the night of
November 25th, Midshipman Spencer, in a mysterious
manner, asked the purser's steward, John W. Wales,
to get on top of the boom, as he had something of the
utmost importance to communicate and was fearful of
being overheard. Having reached a safe place, Spen-
cer— a youth of nineteen years — after having received
Wales's oath to secrecy, said he was the ringleader of
twenty of the seamen who had arranged to instigate a
sham fight in a few nights, during which the officer of
the deck was to be thrown overboard and the other
officers were to be murdered, and then they were to
become pirates. Wales accepted the proposition to
151
152 MINOR OCCURRENCES. 1843.
become one of the gang, but on the following day he
reported the affair to the purser, and in a few minutes
the whole matter was laid before Mackenzie, who only
said: "I regard the story as monstrous and improba-
ble, and am under the impression that Spencer has
been reading piratical tales and was amusing himself
with Wales."
A close watch was kept on Spencer, however, and
he was observed examining the charts and taking
down notes. It also was noticed that he asked the
sailing master the rate of the chronometer, and was
very intimate with the seamen. This induced Mac-
kenzie to examine the young midshipman personally.
The latter admitted his conversation with Wales, but
declared that it was all a joke. Spencer was arrested
and placed in irons. An investigation of his effects
revealed a mysterious-looking paper having the names
of the officers and crew spelled in Greek, and opposite
to each name were the words "sure" or "doubtful,"
and puzzling pen marks.
On the night of Spencer's arrest there was a mys-
terious falling of a topmast and an unnecessary con-
fusion among the seamen in clearing away the wreck-
age, which so far confirmed Mackenzie's suspicion that
he armed all the officers and placed double guards.
These suspicions had been further increased by the
fact that Cromwell and Small had been detected in
holding clandestine meetings with Spencer while he
was in irons on the quarter-deck, and the result was
that Cromwell and Small also were placed in irons.
Mackenzie then assembled the crew and apprentices,
and warned them that he was acquainted with Spen-
cer's plans and would proceed to extreme measures on
the first attempt to carry out their suspected mutiny.
On the following day the officers reported that the
men worked discontentedly and showed a sullen spirit,
and that they frequently collected in groups and con-
versed in a suspicious manner. Mackenzie's suspicions
1842-1853. TRAGEDY IN THE SOMERS. 153
of a mutiny increased during the four days Spencer
was kept in irons, and he summoned his six officers
in council. It was decided that the three men under
arrest were "guilty of a full and determined intention
to commit a mutiny in this vessel of a most atrocious
character," and it was recommended that they be put
to death at once. This was done promptly, no trial or
examination of the men having been- made, save in
Spencer's case already noted. All of them protested
their innocence to the last. The bodies were buried
at sea. Others of the suspected crew were placed in
irons and carried to New York, where they were re-
leased by order of the Secretary of the Navy. A court
to inquire into the conduct of the Somcrs' officers was
at once instituted. The excitement all over the coun-
try was intense, powerful supporters being found for
each side. A court martial quickly followed the court
of inquiry, which resulted in a verdict of "Not guilty."
Cooper, the naval historian, voiced the dominating sen-
timent of the people when he said of Mackenzie's act,
"If not one of basest cowardice, it was of lamentable
deficiency of judgment.
There were a number of highly creditable affairs
in which the navy of the United States was engaged,
which, occurring in times of peace, attracted little at-
tention and were soon forgotten. While in command
of the sloop of war St. Louis at Smyrna, July 2, 1853,
Commander Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham boldly pre-
pared to attack the Austrian war ship Hussar, which
was considerably superior in force. Aboard the Hus-
sar was Martin Koszta, an Austrian who, two years
before, in New York city, had declared his intention
of becoming an American citizen. Having incurred
the displeasure of the Austrian Government, Koszta
was seized while in Smyrna on business and confined
in the Hussar. Ingraham cleared for action, and de-
clared that he would attack the Austrian war ship if
Koszta was not surrendered by 4 p. M. Before that
154
MINOR OCCURRENCES. 1856.
hour, however, satisfactory arrangements were made
and battle was averted.
While endeavoring to protect the property of Amer-
ican residents in Canton, China, November 16, 1856,
just before the beginning of the war between England
and China, Commander Andrew Hull Foote, of the
sloop of war Portsmouth, was fired upon by one of the
forts. His demand for an apology being refused, he
got the permission of Captain James Armstrong, com-
mander of the Asiatic squadron, to avenge the insult.
Landing with two hundred and eighty-seven sailors
and marines and four howitzers, November 20th, after
the Portsmouth, the San Jacinto, Commander Henry
II. Bell, and the Levant, Commander William Smith,
had bombarded the Chinese, Foote attacked the forts.
There were four of them, built of massive granite eight
feet thick, and mounting in all one hundred and sev-
enty-six guns and garrisoned by about five thousand
men. On account of the shoal water, tji£ boats could
not run close in to the bank, whereupoi](ourtnen jumped
into the water waist deep and wadea~fo the shore,
where they formed into three columns, led by Com-
manders Foote, Bell and Smith, while Captain John
D. Simmes led the detachment of marines. Making a
detour so as to gain the rear of the first fort, the men
waded through the soft mud of the rice fields, drag-
ging the howitzers after them. Fording a creek, they
charged the works, which mounted fifty-three guns,
many of them of the heaviest calibers. The Chinese
fled with a loss of about fifty killed. The fort on the
opposite side of the river now opened on the victorious
Americans, but was soon silenced by the guns in the
captured fort. An army from Canton threatened the
rear of the Americans, but our seamen opened such a
galling fire that the enemy retreated.
On the following day our cruisers and boats ad-
vanced iipon the remaining forts. While under a
heavy fire one of the San Jacinto's boats was raked
1859-1867. "BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER." ^55
by a 64-pound shot, which killed three and wounded
seven of the crew. The Portsmouth1 s launch also was
sunk. In spite of this fire, our men eagerly pressed
forward to attack the second fort, which mounted
forty-one guns. This place was carried in handsome
style at 4 p. M., and its guns were turned on the third
fort, which also surrendered. Meantime a detachment
of marines had captured a 6-gun battery on shore.
Early on November 22d the fourth and last fort, mount-
ing thirty-eight guns, was captured, the total loss of
the Americans in these attacks being twelve killed and
twenty-eight wounded. About four hundred of the
Chinese were killed. Having accomplished their pur-
pose, the Americans returned to their ships. Mas-
ter George Eugene Belknap commanded one of the
launches, and assisted in undermining and blowing up
the works.
Three years after this, Captain Josiah Tattnall ren-
dered a conspicuous service to the English and French
gunboats that were attacking the Chinese forts at the
mouth of the Peiho River, China. While attempting
to remove the obstructions in the river, June 25, 1859,
the eleven gunboats under the command of Admiral Sir
James Hope were unexpectedly fired upon by the
Chinese forts, and a desperate battle followed, in which
several hundred of the English were killed and they
were finally routed. Tattnall, as a neutral, had wit-
nessed the affair in the chartered steamer Toey-Wan,
and exclaiming, "Blood is thicker than water," called
for his launch, and, pulling through the thickest of
the fire, visited the British flagship. Just before
reaching the vessel the American boat was sunk by a
Chinese shot, the coxswain was killed and Lieutenant
Stephen Decatur Trenchard was dangerously wounded.
During the half hour or more the Americans were
aboard the boat crew assisted the English in firing the
guns. Afterward the Toey-Wan towed up the English
reserves and brought them into action. Although this
156 MINOR OCCURRENCES. 1859-1867.
was a violation of the neutrality of the United States,
Tattnall was not seriously punished for the affair, and
he won the gratitude of the British for his heroism.
The expression ' ' Blood is thicker than water " was con-
spicuous at the dinner given to Rear- Admiral Erben
and Captain Mahan in London, June, 1894.
Learning that the American bark Rover had been
wrecked on the southeast end of the island of For-
mosa, and that her crew had probably been murdered,
Commander John Carson Febiger, in the AsTiuclot, ap-
peared off that island, April, 1867. The officials dis-
claimed all responsibility for the affair, saying that the
outrage had been perpetrated by a horde of savages
over whom they had no control. Febiger returned to
Rear-Admiral Henry H. Bell, then commanding the
Asiatic squadron, with this report, upon which the
admiral sailed for Formosa with the Hartford and the
Wyoming, and on June 13th landed one hundred and
eighty-one men, under Commander George Eugene
Belknap, who gallantly drove the savages into the in-
terior and burned their huts. While leading a charge
into one of the numerous ambuscades skillfully pre-
pared by the natives, Lieutenant-Commander Alexan-
der Slidell Mackenzie was killed. A few months later,
January 11, 1868, Rear-Admiral Bell was drowned while
endeavoring to enter Osaka River, Japan. Lieutenant-
Commander Francis John Higginson, now rear-admi-
ral, was present on this occasion and assisted in recov-
ering the admiral's body.
On January 25, 1859, Captain William Branford
Shubrick arrived at Asuncion, Paraguay, with a fleet
of nineteen vessels, carrying two hundred guns and
twenty-five hundred men, to take decisive measures
against the people of that country for firing on the
United States steamer Water Witch the preceding year.
Hostilities were averted only by the prompt apology
and payment of indemnity by the Paraguayan Gov-
ernment. Shubrick was highly complimented for his
spirited management of this affair.
PART FIFTH.
THE CIVIL WAR
1861-1865.
CHAPTER I.
BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES.
WHEN President Lincoln came into office, March 4,
1861, the navy of the United States consisted of ninety
vessels, of which twenty-one were unserviceable, twen-
ty-seven were out of commission, and forty-two were
in commission. The forty-two vessels in commission
were the screw frigate Niagara, returning from Japan ;
the first-class screw sloops of war San Jacinto on the
coast of Africa, Lancaster in the Pacific, Brooklyn at
Pensacola, Hartford in the East Indies and Richmond
in the Mediterranean ; the second-class screw sloops of
war Mohican on the coast of Africa, Narragansett in
the Pacific, Iroquois in the Mediterranean, Pawnee in
Washington, Wyoming in the Pacific, Dakota in the
East Indies, Pocahontas returning from Yera Cruz
and Seminole at Brazil ; the third-class screw steamers
Wyandotte at Pensacola, Mohawlc and Crusader at
New York and Sumter and Mystic on the coast of
Africa ; the side-wheel steamers Susquehanna in the
Mediterranean, Powhatan returning from Yera Cruz
and Saranac in the Pacific ; the sailing frigates Con-
gress on the coast of Brazil and Sabine at Pensacola ;
the sailing sloops of war Cumberland returning from
Yera Cruz, Constellation. Portsmouth and Saratoga
on the coast of Africa, Macedonian at Yera Cruz, St.
Mary's, Cyane and Levant in the Pacific ; the John
Adams and the Vandalia in the East Indies ; the St.
Louis at Pensacola ; the side-wheel steamers Michigan
on Lake Erie, Pulaski on the coast of Brazil and Sagi-
naw in the East Indies ; the storeship Relief on the
159
160 BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 1861.
coast of Africa, the Release and the Supply in New
York ; and the steam tender Anacostia in Washington.
From this list of the vessels in commission it will
be seen that only eleven, carrying about one hundred
and thirty-four guns, or less than half of the entire
force, were in American waters, while the other vessels
were scattered all over the globe and the most for-
midable vessels in American waters were in a Southern
port.1 This disposition of the navy had been made
under the preceding Administration in the interests of
the Confederacy that was so soon to be formed. Al-
though orders recalling the vessels stationed on the
African coast had been made out as soon as possible
after March 4th, they did not begin to arrive at home
ports until some months later. A number of the
cruisers were commanded by Southern officers, and it
was confidently asserted that they would run their ves-
sels into some Southern port and deliver them over to
the Confederacy ; but it speaks well for the loyalty of
the navy that no attempt of this kind was made. In
the sailing vessels, 32-pounders and 8-inch shell guns
were the principal armaments, while the new steam
frigates and sloops of war were armed with 9-, 10- and
11-inch Dahlgren smooth-bore shell guns. The 10-inch
guns were usually mounted as pivot guns. The total
1 The vessels that were out of commission but could be readily made
available for service were the screw frigates Roanoke, Wabash, Colorado,
Merrimac and Minnesota ; the first-class screw sloop of war Pensacola ;
the side-wheel steamer Mississippi ; the third-class side- wheel steamer
Water Witch ; the ship of the line Vermont ; the sailing frigates Potomac,
Brandywine, St. Lawrence, Raritan and Santee ; the sailing sloops of war
Savannah, Plymouth, Jamestown, Germantoum, Vincennes, Decatur, Mar-
ion, Dale and Preble ; the brigs of war Bainbridge, Perry and Dolphin ;
and the steam tender John Hancock. The unserviceable vessels were the
screw frigate Franklin on the stocks at Kittery ; the side-wheel vessel Ful-
ton ; the steam floating battery Stevens ; the ships of the line Pennsylvania,
Columbus, Ohio, North Carolina, Delaware, New Orleans, Alabama, Vir-
ginia and New York • the sailing frigates Constitution, United States and
Columbia ; the store and receiving vessels Independence, Fredonia, Fal-
mouth, Warren, Allegheny and Princeton.
1861. INCREASING THE NAVY. 161
number of officers of all grades in the navy on August
1, 1861, was fourteen hundred and fifty- seven, besides
whom a large volunteer force was called for, and seven
thousand five hundred volunteer officers enrolled before
the close of the war. Three hundred and twenty-two
officers resigned from the United States navy and en-
tered the navy of the seceding States, of which number
two hundred and forty-three were officers of the line.
The number of sailors in the navy at the opening of
the war was seven thousand six hundred, which num-
ber was increased to fifty-one thousand five hundred
before the close of hostilities.
A glance at the map will show how inadequate was
this force to blockade the extensive and intricate coast
line of the seceding States. From Chesapeake Bay
with its many tributaries, down the Atlantic seaboard
and along the Gulf to the Rio Grande, were three
thousand miles of coast line broken by many harbors
and inlets, which it was necessary to blockade. See-
ing the impossibility of accomplishing this essential
object with the force in hand, the Government imme-
diately began increasing its naval power. By purchas-
ing every merchant craft that could be adapted to war
purposes, either as a transport or a fighting vessel, the
Government secured a large fleet that proved effective
in the kind of warfare for which it was designed. The
construction of eight additional sloops of war was
begun, and contracts with ship-builders were entered
upon for heavily armed and iron-plated gunboats.
The latter were ready for commission in three months,
and became famous as the "ninety-day gunboats."
Thirty-nine double end side- wheel steamers for river
service were also rapidly pushed to completion, while
several ironclads were' begun. By these energetic
measures the strength of the navy was greatly in-
creased, and at the close of the war the United States
was the most powerful maritime nation in the world.
The Secretary of the Navy during the civil war
56
162 BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 1861.
and for several years after was Gideon Welles. Realiz-
ing the necessity of having a professional man near
him in this great emergency, Mr. Welles secured Lieu-
tenant Gustavus Vasa Fox for assistant secretary.
Mr. Fox entered the navy as a midshipman in 1838,
and rose to the rank of lieutenant, but in 1856 he re-
signed. He always took a deep interest in the navy,
and was one of the first to proffer his services when
they were needed. The chiefs of bureaus at the begin-
ning of Lincoln's administration were : Yards and
Docks, Captain Joseph Smith ; Construction, John
Lenthal ; Provisions and Clothing, Horatio Bridge ;
Ordnance and Hydrography, Captain George W. Ma-
gruder ; Medicine, Surgeon William Whelan. These
were the men (excepting Captain Magruder, who re-
signed and entered the Confederate service) who had
the management of the United States navy at the out-
break of and during the civil war, and to them in a
large measure is due the credit of raising the nation
from one of the least to the greatest maritime power in
the world. The seceding States were not only desti-
tute of war vessels, but did not have a large merchant
marine. Furthermore, they were deficient in skilled
mechanics, shipyards and plant with which to build a
navy, and while they had able officers they were lack-
ing in trained sailors. Such being the case, the navy
of the Confederacy, except in a few notable instances,
remained on the defensive.
Previously to the firing on Fort Sumter the South-
ern forces at Charleston had assumed such a threaten-
ing attitude as to leave no doubt as to their intention
of gaining possession of that stronghold. Repeated
calls were made by Major Anderson, commander of
the fort, for re-enforcements, but the new Administra-
tion was beset with many difficulties and perplexities.
In the mean time the steamer Star of the West, which
had attempted to re-enforce Fort Sumter early in the
year, had been fired upon by the State batteries near
1861.
THE SEAT OF WAR.
163
164: BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 1861.
Charleston and failed to accomplish its mission. Be-
tween the 7th and the 10th of April, the sloops of war
Pawnee and Pocahontas, the steamers Harriet Lane
and Baltic and two tug boats, sailed separately from
New York with provisions and re-enforcements for
Sumter. At three o'clock in the morning of April
12th the Baltic and the Harriet Lane arrived off
Charleston, and three hours later the Pawnee hove in
sight. While the commanders of these vessels were
approaching the harbor they heard the report of
shotted guns; soon afterward smoke was seen in the
direction of Fort Sumter, and by daylight the contin-
uous roar of heavy artillery proclaimed that civil war
had begun. When it was seen that the American flag
was still waving at Sumter, Commander Stephen Clegg
Rowan, of the Pawnee, immediately declared his inten-
tion of running in to the relief of the garrison. But
Lieutenant Gustavus Vasa Fox, commander of the
expedition, would not consent to so perilous an under-
taking, and all day long they lay off the harbor, watch-
ing with agonized interest the pitiless rain of iron that
fell upon the fort. Early on the morning of the 13th
dense volumes of smoke were seen rising from the fort,
showing that the woodwork was burning, and at four
o'clock in the afternoon the heroic defenders surren-
dered. Fort Sumter was evacuated on the 14th of
April, and its garrison was placed in the Baltic and
taken to New York. On the day Sumter was fired
upon the frigate SaMne and the sloop of war Brooklyn
arrived at Fort Pickens, in Pensacola harbor, and land-
ed re-enforcements.
The old frigate Constitution, which at the begin-
ning of hostilities was lying at Annapolis as a training
ship, was in great danger of falling into the hands of
the Confederates, which would give a sentimental sup-
port to their cause. About this time the Eighth Massa-
chusetts Regiment, under Brigadier-General Benjamin
Franklin Butler, was in the vicinity, and with the aid
1861. LIEUT. PHELPS IN THE POTOMAC. 165
of a detachment of these troops the ship was guarded
until towed to New York. This was as narrow an
escape as the Constitution ever had from having any
other than the American flag floating at her gaff.
One of the most important and dangerous services
in the war, and yet one that was least likely to lead to
fame, was that of surveying the Southern rivers, bays
and sounds, and replacing the buoys. On the with-
drawal of Virginia from the Union the Confederates
promptly removed all light-boats and buoys and de-
stroyed the range of guiding marks in the Potomac
River. This, together with the destruction of the Gun-
powder and Nye bridges in Maryland and the hostility
of the people in Baltmore, for the time almost cut off
Washington from communication with the North.
Realizing the necessity of regaining the control of this
water-way, the Government cast about for an officer to
perform the perilous duty of surveying the stream and
replacing the buoys. Lieutenant Thomas Stowell
Phelps was selected, by ballot of a board consisting of
the chiefs of departments, as an officer "skilled in sur-
veying." On his arrival in Washington early in May,
Lieutenant Phelps found at the navy yard six river
steamboats and the armed tender Anacostia. He se-
lected the Anacostia and a large steamer called the
Philadelphia for his work. Four 12-pound army field
guns were placed aboard the PJiiladelphia, two mount-
ed on each end, covered with old canvas, so as to con-
ceal them as much as possible from the enemy. Be-
sides the crew, a company from the Seventy-first New
York Regiment was placed aboard.
The work of surveying the Potomac was imme-
diately begun and was steadily pushed to comple-
tion, although the men engaged in it w^ere constantly
exposed to the enemy's bullets. The Anacostia, an
exceedingly slow boat, was soon lost sight of, so that
most of the work was done by the Philadelphia. The
crew was carefully concealed, and the surveying party
IQQ BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 1861.
was judiciously stationed so that the two leadsmen, the
pilot and helmsmen in the pilot-house, and Lieuten-
ant Phelps directing the work with the draughtsman
Charles Junkin near him to assist in angling, were the
only people in view. Thus organized, the men rapidly
advanced with their work, and on the first night they
anchored near Blackistone Island. The people on both
sides of the river were hostile, and when the boats
anchored at night the greatest care was necessary to
guard against surprises. At Aquia Creek the Con-
federates had erected a battery of eighteen or twenty
guns, and as it was particularly important that this
part of the river should be surveyed, Lieutenant Phelps
boldly ran under the guns, so near that even without
the aid of a field glass the gunners could be seen with
lock strings in hand ready to fire. For two hours the
guns were kept trained upon the little steamer as she
passed to and fro over the water, frequently so near as
to require extreme depression of the cannon to keep
them bearing, and at no time beyond easy reach of the
iron messengers. But not a gun was fired. A few
years afterward it was learned that Colonel William F.
Lynch, the commander of the battery, refrained from
firing because he believed her to be the "property of
some poor devil who had lost his way, and from her
appearance was not worth the powder," although he
said that both the officers and men "were crazy to try
and sink the vessel, and vainly -implored for permis-
sion to do so." 1 If they had suspected her character
and object she would have been promptly riddled with
shot. Lieutenant Phelps accomplished his work in
the most thorough manner, and he was highly compli-
mented by the Navy Department.
For a few months after the firing on Sumter there
was a lull in the excitement. In the mean time a
patrol of Potomac River was maintained night and day.
1 Rear- Admiral Phelps to the author.
1861.
PATROLLING THE POTOMAC.
167
This hazardous service was performed by Commander
James Harman Ward with the improvised gunboats
Freeborn, a side-wheel steamer carrying three guns,
the Anacostia, a propeller carrying two guns, and the
Scene of naval operations on the Potomac.
-Resolute, carrying two guns. With these vessels Com-
mander Ward, on the 31st of May, opened fire on the
batteries at Aquia Creek, and in two hours drove the
Southerners from the lower batteries to the guns they
had mounted on the hill. As the National vessels
168 BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 1861.
could not elevate their guns sufficiently to drive the
enemy from his second position, Commander Ward re-
tired, with little or no damage to his flotilla. On the
following day the sloop of war Pawnee, Commander
Rowan, came down from Washington, and the attack
was renewed. For five hours a spirited fire was main-
tained, which finally drove the Confederates from their
position. In this affair the Pawnee was struck nine
times. On the 27th of June Commander Ward at-
tacked the enemy at Mathias Point. A body of sailors
was landed under the command of Lieutenant James
C. Chaplin, of the Pawnee, and the vessels opened a
heavy fire. While in the act of sighting a gun, Com-
mander Ward was shot in the abdomen, and he soon
died. About this time a large body of Confederate
soldiers approached the sailors under Lieutenant Chap-
lin and compelled them to return to their boats. Lieu-
tenant Chaplin was the last man to retire, and aroused
much admiration by his coolness. The vessels were
unable to withstand the enemy's fire, and retreated,
with a loss of one killed and four wounded.1
Captain Thomas Tingey Craven succeeded Com-
mander Ward in command of the Potomac flotilla. On
the night of October llth, Lieutenant Abram Davis
Harrel, with three boats, entered Quantico Creek, de-
stroyed a schooner that the enemy had anchored there,
and escaped in spite of a heavy fire. Many daring cut-
ting-out exploits like this took place along these waters
1 James Harman Ward was born in 1806 in Hartford, Conn. He en-
tered the navy as a midshipman March 4. 1823, and with several other mid-
shipmen received his education in the military school at Norwich, Vt. He
was in the Constitution in 1824-'28, and became a lieutenant March 3,
1831. From 1845 to 1847 he was an instructor in the Annapolis Naval
Academy, and in 1849-'50 he commanded the Vixen, of the home squad-
ron. On September 9, 1853, he was made a commander, and in May, 1861,
he was ordered to the command of the Potomac flotilla. He was the authcr
of two text-books that were used in the Naval Academy many years-
Manual of Naval Tactics and Elementary Course of Instruction in Naval
Ordnance and Gunnery. He also wrote Steam for the Million.
1861. GALLANT CAPTURE OP THE JUDAH. 169
which can not here be recorded. The several command-
ers of the patrol of the Potomac who succeeded Captain
Craven were Commanders Robert Harris Wyman, An-
drew Allen Harwood and Foxhall Alexander Parker.
On the 24th of June the Pawnee, Commander Rowan,
in co-operation with Ellsworth's Zouaves, compelled the
Confederates to evacuate Alexandria, and Lieutenant
Reigart B. Lowry, landing with a detachment of sea-
men, took possession of the town in the name of the
United States.
About this time a dashing cutting-out affair occurred
at Pensacola. The Confederates had been fitting out
the schooner JudaJi as a privateer in the navy yard in
that harbor, and as an additional protection a thousand
soldiers were stationed on the wharf near by. At three
o'clock on the morning of September 14th a boat party
from the frigate Colorado, under the command of Lieu-
tenant John Henry Russell — consisting of the launch
with thirty-nine men ; the first cutter, Lieutenant John
G. Sproston, with eighteen men ; the second cutter,
Lieutenant Francis B. Blake, with twenty-six men ;
the third cutter, Midshipman Tecumseh Steece, with
seventeen men— set out to capture the Judah. When
about a hundred yards from the schooner the boats
were discovered by sentinels and fired upon. The men
bent to their oars, and in a few minutes the first and
third cutters were alongside the wharf and the sailors
landed. Only one man was found on guard, and he
was shot, while in the act of discharging a gun, by Gun-
ner Borton. The other boats made directly for the
schooner, where a desperate hand-to-hand encounter
took place, some of the Confederates getting into the
tops and firing with effect. Assistant Engineer White,
with a coal-heaver, rushed into the cabin, where they
kindled a fire and soon had the vessel in flames, upon
which the men returned to their boats. By this time a
large crowd of soldiers and civilians had gathered on
the wharf and opened a straggling fire, which was re-
170 BEGINNING OP HOSTILITIES. 1861.
turned with, six discharges of the boat howitzer. About
twenty of the boat party were killed or wounded,1
Lieutenant Russell being among the latter. That officer
was highly complimented by the Navy Department for
this handsome affair. Lieutenant Sproston was killed
June 8, 1862, in Florida, by an outlaw. From this
time to the close of the war there was little or no
activity around Pensacola, except on November 22,
1861, when the Niagara and the Richmond joined
Fort Pickens in the bombardment of Fort McRae.
Having heard that the British mail steamer Trent
would sail from Havana, November 7th, for England,
with two agents of the Confederate Government, John
Slidell and James Murray Mason, with their secretaries,
Messrs. Eustis and McFarland, on board as passengers,
Captain Charles Wilkes (who had commanded the Vin-
cennes in her celebrated scientific and exploring expedi-
tion around the world in 1838-'42), of the San Jacinto,
stationed his vessel in the passage of the Old Bahama
Channel, where the Trent was likely to pass. About
eleven o'clock in the morning of November 8th the
lookout in the San Jacinto reported the smoke of a
steamer approaching, and soon afterward the Trent
was made out from the deck. Captain Wilkes immedi-
ately sent his crew to quarters, and about 1 P. M.2 he
unfurled his colors and fired a shell across the Eng-
lishman's bow. Mr. Moir, commander of the Trent,
showed English colors and continued on his course,
upon which Captain Wilkes fired another shot. This
brought the Trent to. A boat was sent alongside
under the orders of Lieutenant Donald McNeill Fair-
fax, who reported to Captain Wilkes that the Con-
federate agents insisted on force being used in their
removal from the packet. Lieutenant James Augustin
Greer accordingly was sent with an armed party, and
the Confederate commissioners and their secretaries
1 Bear- Admiral Russell to the author. Midshipman Francis John Iliggin-
son, now rear-admiral, was wounded by a musket shot in this gallant affair.
* Rear-Admiral Greer to the author.
1861. THE SAN JACINTO-TRENT AFFAIR. 171
were transferred to the San Jacinto. The affair was
managed so cleverly by Lieutenant Fairfax that the
commander of the Trent forgot to throw his ship as a
prize on the hands of Captain Wilkes — a neglect for
which the Admiralty and the Southerners expressed
much disappointment, as it undoubtedly would have
involved the United States and Great Britain in war.
The Trent proceeded on her way to England, and Cap-
tain Wilkes made for the United States with his pris-
oners, who after some delay were placed in a fort near
Boston. The news of this proceeding aroused great
excitement both in the United States and in Europe,
and nearly caused a war with England. France de-
nounced the act and assumed a threatening attitude.
After the excitement had subsided the Government
disavowed the act of Captain Wilkes and released the
commissioners, who, on January 1, 1862, sailed for
England.
On the 7th of November, when the sailing frigate
Santee, Captain Henry Eagle, was off Galveston, Tex-
as, Lieutenant James E. Jouett volunteered to run
into the harbor and destroy the steamer General
Rusk, which was being fitted by the Confederates as a
war vessel, and the schooner Royal Yacht, mounting
one 32-pound gun. Leaving the Santee at 11.40 P. M.
that night, with forty men in the first and second
launches, Lieutenant Jouett pulled boldly into the
harbor and made for the General Rusk, then lying at
a wharf about seven miles from the frigate. Pass-
ing the Royal Yacht, Lieutenant Jouett had almost
reached the General Rusk when his boat grounded
and was run into by the second launch, the noise of
the collision discovering the party to the Confederates,
who immediately opened fire, and several steamers
started out in pursuit. Seeing that it was impossi-
ble to carry the General Rusk now that her people
were aroused, Lieutenant Jouett determined to board
the Royal Yacht.
172 BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 1861.
Orders were given for the "first launch to board on
the starboard beam and the second launch to board on
the starboard bow."1 While yet two hundred yards
from the Royal Yacht the launches were hailed twice,
but, paying no attention to them, the boats dashed
forward. Just as the first launch ran alongside, Wil-
liam W. Carter, the gunner, fired the 12-pound howitzer,
the shell crashing through the schooner's side at the
water line. The recoil of the gun, however, gave the
launch stern-board, leaving Carter, who had leaped
upon the schooner's deck, unsupported. By a great
effort the launch was brought alongside again, but just
as Lieutenant Jouett had boarded he was dangerously
wounded in the arm and lung by a sword bayonet
fastened to a pole held by a Confederate. Drawing
the blade from his side, Jouett felled his assailant with
it, and rushed to the aid of Carter. Twice during the
desperate struggle in the schooner the retreat was
sounded and the party began to pull back without
their leader, and twice the first launch was brought
back. The crew of the Royal Yacht, thirteen in all,
was finally got in the launch, and after an exhaust-
ing pull and several narrow escapes they were safely
placed aboard the Santee. In this handsome affair
the Nationalists had one man killed, two officers and
six men wounded — two of them mortally. The Royal
Yacht was destroyed, but the loss of the enemy is not
definitely known.
One of the first difficulties to be overcome by our
naval administration in the civil war was that of sup-
plying the blockading ships with fresh provisions, ice,
medical stores, and the transportation of the sick and
wounded northward. Nothing could exceed the mo-
notony of the blockade service, especially off the fever-
stricken coasts of the Gulf States. Long spells of foggy
weather kept the vessels in a damp and unhealthy con-
dition, which, together with the difficulty of getting
1 Rear-Admiral Jouett to the author.
1861-1865. GREEN CAPTURES THE ALVARADO. 173
fresh meat and vegetables, had a most depressing effect
on the men. Early in the war the Government secured
two small steamers, which were rechristened Rhode
Island and Connecticut, and kept them constantly
employed throughout the war as messengers from the
Northern ports to the several blockading squadrons.
The Rhode Island was commanded (1861-1865) by Com-
mander Stephen Decatur Trenchard, afterward Rear-
Admiral. In the course of the war she steamed fifty-
six thousand two hundred miles.
The value of this service is touchingly illustrated
by Flag-Officer James S. Lardner, when he wrote to
Trenchard at Key West, October 6, 1861 : " Many thanks
for your kind note and handsome present of fruit, most
acceptable in these scorching times. I regret extremely
that the fever prevents me from having the pleasure of
seeing you. . . . With the present weather there is no
danger of new cases. . . . There has been only one
death in the last ten days." ' 4k Only one death " tells
the story of their sufferings.
Besides having rooms fitted for carrying ice, special
luxuries not allowed in general rations, these steamers
were fitted with conveniences for taking North the offi-
cers' wash. The paymaster for the entire fleet also took
up his quarters in these steamers. The Rhode Island
and Connecticut were fitted with heavy guns and per-
formed service as gunboats ; in fact, toward the close
of the war the former was relieved of supply duty and
ordered to cruise in the West Indies.
Early in August, 1861, Commander Charles Green,
of the sailing sloop of war Jamestown, had an exciting
chase after a blockade runner off the mouth of the St.
Mary's. The stranger was discovered in the morning.
Green promptly gave chase, and in a moment both
vessels were under full sail. Finding that he could
not escape, the Confederate commander ran his ship
aground, when a party of soldiers hastened to the shore
1 Private letter from Lardner to Trenchard.
1Y4 BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES. 1861-1862.
to assist. Green sent his boats to take possession, the
Confederates opening tire with musketry and artillery.
They also endeavored to get a cannon from the shore
to the stranded vessel, but the National boats frustrated
this, and in a few minutes gained her deck, her officers
and crew escaping on the other side in boats. The
prize was the sailing ship Alvarado, of and for Boston
from Cape Town, and the Nationalists believed that
she had been captured by the enemy or that her mas-
ter was endeavoring to run her into a Southern port.
The last entry made in the log— evidently written by a
female — was, "We are chased by a man-of-war, but
I think we will escape her and get safely into St.
Mary's." As it was impossible to get her afloat, Green
caused the prize to be burned. "It was a gallant
affair," wrote Lieutenant Trenchard, who arrived at
Fernandina in the Rhode Island at that time, "on the
part of the Jamestown, and the officers and crew de-
serve the greatest credit for the daring exploit. They
were exposed during the greater part of the time to a
heavy fire from the artillery brought to bear on them
from the shore." l
On the morning of July 4, 1862, while the Rhode
Island was about seventeen miles southwest of Gal-
veston, engaged in her duties as a supply vessel, chase
was given a strange vessel close inshore, which promptly
ran aground. A force of cavalry and infantry ap-
peared on the beach to assist in unloading and defend-
ing her, but a well-directed fire from the gunboat put
them to flight. Three boats, commanded by Paymas-
ter Douglass, Ac ting- Pay master Pennell, and Engineer
McCutcheon, of the Rhode Island, boarded the vessel,
which was found to be the English schooner Richard
O'Brien from Jamaica. A few days before she had
been warned off by the De Soto. Securing a part of
the cargo of rum, sugar and drugs, the Nationalists
destroyed the prize and returned to the Rhode Island.
1 Private Journal of Rear- Admiral Trenchard.
CHAPTER II.
HATTEBAS AND PORT ROYAL.
IN keeping with his determination to repossess the
United States of all the forts, arsenals and harbors that
had fallen into the hands of the Confederates, Presi-
dent Lincoln convened a board of officers for the pur-
pose of examining the coast defenses and deciding
upon a comprehensive plan of operation. This board,
consisting of Captain Samuel Francis Dupont and Cap-
tain Charles H. Davis, of the navy, Major John Gr. Bar-
nard, of the army, and Professor Alexander D. Bache,
of the Coast Survey, met in June, 1861, and after a
careful examination into the topographical and hydro-
graphical peculiarities of the Southern ports, their de-
fenses and their importance to the cause, a well-ad-
justed plan of attack was laid before the President.
The primary object of this scheme was the interruption
of all communication between the Southern States and
their foreign sympathizers. From the mouth of the
Rio Grande to Chesapeake Bay the coast is indented
with many safe harbors, the defenses of which were
mostly in the hands of the enemy, while places like
Pamlico Sound and Port Royal had so many and such
intricate approaches that it was almost impossible to
prevent ingress or egress of blockade-runners. From
the 25th of June to the 4th of August Confederate
cruisers brought into Hatteras Inlet sixteen prizes.
The first of the series of attacks proposed by the
board was directed against the forts that commanded
the main entrance to Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.
The rivers Neuse, Roanoke, Pamlico and Chowan, reach-
175
176 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
ing far into the interior, the Dismal Swamp Canal, con-
necting Albemarle Sound with Norfolk, and the sev-
eral inlets from the ocean afforded every convenience
to the light-draught British blockade-runners, which
were constructed expressly to navigate these shoal
waters, bringing in rifles, ammunition, heavy guns,
iron plates and military stores, and taking out cotton
for English manufacturers. Hatteras Inlet, the main
entrance to these waters, was strongly guarded by for-
tifications, so that a squadron would be unable to fol-
low a blockade-runner into the sound, while the lesser
inlets were closed to the heavy vessels by shoals and
bars. The fortifications at Hatteras Inlet, built by the
State of North Carolina and constructed with consider-
able skill, consisted of Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark,
on the southern end of Hatteras Island, a barren strip
of land forty miles long and about half a mile wide.
Fort Hatteras, an earthwork covering about an acre
and a half of ground, with a bombproof chamber,
mounting twenty-five guns,1 commanded the inlet
proper, while Fort Clark, a redoubt with five 32-pound
guns, commanded the approach from the sea.
On the 26th of August a fleet of war vessels and
transports under the command of Flag-Officer Silas
H. Stringham, with nearly eight hundred and sixty
troops under the command of Major- General Ben-
jamin F. Butler, together with some schooners and
surfboats to be used in landing, sailed from Hampton
Roads. The vessels were the steam frigates Minnesota
(flagship), two 10-inch, twenty-eight 9-inch, fourteen
8-inch, two 12-pound guns, Captain Gershom Jaques
Van Brunt ; the steam frigate Wafoash, two 10-inch,
twenty-eight 9-inch, fourteen 8-inch, two 12-pound
guns, Captain Samuel Mercer ; the sloop of war Cum-
berland, twenty 9-inch, four 24-pound guns, Captain
John Marston ; the sloop of war Susquehanna, fifteen
1 Scharf's History of the Confederate Navy, p. 370.
1861. SOUNDS OP NORTH CAROLINA. 177
8-inch, one 24-pound, two 12-pound guns, Captain John
S. Chauncey ; the sloop of war Pawnee, eight 9-inch,
two 12-pound guns, Commander Stephen Clegg Rowan ;
the steamer Monticello, six 8-inch guns, Commander
John P. Gilliss ; the steamer Harriet Lane, five guns,
Captain John Faunce ; the transports Adelaide, Com-
mander Henry S. Stellwagen ; George Peabody, Lieu-
tenant Reigart B. Lowry ; and Fanny, Lieutenant
Pierce Crosby. Late in the afternoon of the next day
these vessels rounded Hatteras Lighthouse and an-
chored. From this point to Hatteras Inlet, thirteen
miles, the surf rolls on the beach with great violence,
making it exceedingly dangerous for boats to land, and
in view of this difficulty the expedition had been pro-
vided with iron surfboats, which were to ply between
the land and two schooners anchored just outside the
breakers. At 6.40 A. M., August 28th, the Pawnee,
the Harriet Lane and the Monticello ran close inshore
at the point selected for landing— about two and a half
miles above the forts — so as to cover the debarkation
of the troops. After three hundred and fifteen men
had been placed ashore the increasing surf made it im-
possible for the remainder to land. Persisting in their
efforts to get more men ashore, the surfboats were
violently hurled on the beach and destroyed, while a
boat from the Pawnee, in endeavoring to make a sec-
ond landing, was swamped and its crew narrowly es-
caped drowning. The men ashore were thus left with-
out provisions or water r.nd with only two howitzers for
their protection, and most of the ammunition had been
made useless by water. To make their position more
critical, the threatening weather compelled the gun-
boats to stand offshore, where they were out of range.
. In the mean time the Minnesota, the Wabasli, the
Cumberland and the Susquehanna approached Fort
Clark, and at 10 A. M. they opened a heavy fire. This
was the first real test in this war of the efficacy of
wooden ships against earthworks, and the result was a
57
178 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
matter of widely differing speculation on the part of
the officers. Captain Stringham, instead of anchoring
his ships so that the enemy could acquire the range,
kept them in constant motion, passing and repassing
the batteries at varying distances, so that each shot
from the fort was only a test of the range, and the Con-
federate gunners were compelled to fire at a moving
target. The great success of this plan caused National
commanders to imitate it in several instances afterward
in the war. The shot from the fort rarely struck, while
shells from the ships speedily drove the gunners to
shelter. By 12.25 P. M. the enemy's flag was carried
away, and the gunners were observed running toward
Fort Hatteras or leaving the shore in boats. Signal
was now made in the vessels to cease firing, and at
2 P. M. Fort Clark was occupied by the troops who had
been landed early in the day.
At four o'clock in the afternoon the Monticello was
ordered to push into the inlet, as it was thought that
the enemy had abandoned both forts. Carefully feeling
her way among the breakers, the little gunboat con-
tinued on her tortuous course, although frequently
grounding, in hopes of getting into deeper water in the
sound beyond, and when she turned the spithead where
there was so little water that she could not proceed,
Fort Hatteras opened on her. Commander Gilliss
promptly responded, but for fifteen minutes the gun-
boat was in a most perilous position, and had not the
larger ships immediately reopened their broadsides and
silenced the enemy she would have been destroyed.
As it was, she was struck five times by 8-inch shells,
once amidship on the port side, the shot lodging in a
knee. Another shell on the same side struck a davit,
and drove fragments of both the shell and the davit
through the armory, pantry and galley. A third shot
carried away part of the fore-topsail yard, another en-
tered the starboard bow and lodged in the knee at the
forward end of the shell locker, and a fifth shot entered
1861. NARROW ESCAPE OF THE MONTICELLO.
179
the starboard side amidships, passed across the berth
deck, went through paint locker and bulkhead, crossed
the fire room and landed in the port coal bunker, rip-
Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.
ping up the deck in the gangway over it. After the
Monticello had escaped from this tight place, the can-
nonading from the National ships was renewed with
180 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 18G1.
great effect until 6.15 p. M., when the signal to haul off
was given, and the squadron was made snug for the
night, the Pawnee, the Monticello and the Harriet
Lane running close inshore so as to protect the troops
that had been landed.
On the abandonment of Fort Clark that morning
the troops who had landed early in the day took pos-
session of the work ; but owing to its proximity to Fort
Hatteras shells from the squadron fell among them, and,
finding their position dangerous, they abandoned the
fort. Returning to the place where they had landed,
they made preparations for passing the night and re-
pelling an attack which they had every reason to ex-
pect would be made upon them. They had been com-
pelled to go through the severe work of the day without
food or water, and, with the exception of a few sheep
and geese which they captured and cooked on swords
and bayonets, they had nothing to eat until the follow-
ing day. To make their lot even more miserable, it
began to rain, and as they were destitute of tents or
shelter of any kind they were compelled to lie out on
the drenched sands. In the night the enemy was re-
enforced by the arrival of a regiment and supplies from
New Berne, but fortunately the Confederates were too
busy repairing the damages of the bombardment, and in
making preparations for a desperate resistance on the
morrow, to give any attention to the stranded troops.
At half past five on the following morning, August
29th, the squadron prepared to renew the bombard-
ment of Fort Hatteras, in which work the Confederates
had now concentrated all their forces. At 8 A. M. the
SnsqueTianna opened fire, shortly followed by the
Minnesota, the Wdbash and the Cumberland. In
this attack fifteen- second fuses were used, and so ac-
curate and rapid was the firing that three shells some-
times exploded within the fort about the same instant.
"The shower of shell in half an hour became literally
tremendous, falling into and immediately around the
1861. BOMBARDMENT OF FORT HATTERAS. 131
works not less, on an average, than ten each minute,
and, the sea being smooth, the firing was remarkably
accurate. One of the officers counted twenty-eight
shells, and several others counted twenty as falling in
a minute."1 No men could long stand such a terrible
downfall of iron as that. The Confederate gunners
were soon driven from their stations, and, in spite of the
remonstrances and commands of their officers, rushed
to the bombproof chamber and filled it to its utmost
capacity, while those who could not get in sought
shelter in other parts of the fort. When three hun-
dred men were thus closely packed together in the
bombproof chamber, a huge shell entered through the
ventilator and landed among them. A fearful panic
ensued. The dark chamber was filled with smoke and
dust, while each man was struggling to get out of the
narrow doorway before the explosion. Fortunately the
fuse wpnt out, but the alarm was given that the place
was on fire, and the magazine, separated only by a thin
partition, wa^ in imminent danger of exploding. The
probability of being blown to atoms in no way tended
to abate the panic, and it was not until most of the
men had gained the open air that they realized that
immediate danger had passed.
Bat the garrison had escaped only to be exposed
again to the merciless shells that fell around them.
Shortly afterward another exploded over the maga-
zine, threatening to ignite it. Seeing that a shot
would surely pierce the powder mine in a short time,
while it was impossible to reply with a single gun,
the commander called a council of the officers at 10.45
A. M., and a few minutes after eleven o'clock the
white flag was raised. The squadron immediately
ceased firing, while troops marched up and took
possession. Several Confederate gunboats, which had
been watching the bombardment from the sound,
1 Scharf's History of the Confederate Navy, p. 373.
182 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 186L
waiting for an opportunity to take part in the fight,
now fled. Six hundred and fifteen prisoners, including
their commander, Captain Samuel Barron, were uncon-
ditionally surrendered. The enemy had four killed
and about twenty-five wounded, while the National
forces escaped without the loss of a man, and sustained
no damage in their ships. The prisoners were taken
to New York in the Minnesota and confined on Gov-
ernor's Island, while a garrison under Colonel Rush
Christopher Hawkins was placed in the fort. All the
vessels of the squadron made for different points, ex-
cepting the Pawnee, the Montlcello and the Fanny.
This was one of the most brilliant, successful and clean-
cut enterprises ever undertaken by the United States
navy. The style in which Captain Stringham received
the troops on board and sailed away on the same day,
the wonderful accuracy of the squadron's fire, and the
capture of over six hundred men without the loss of
a single man or the slightest injury to his squadron,
were most creditable.
Although the possession of the forts at Hatteras In-
let gave the National forces control of the main en-
trance to these inland seas, there were other openings
through which English smuggling craft could enter and
feed the rebellion. One of these inlets, called Ocra-
coke, was twenty miles southwest of Cape Hatteras,
and Beacon Island, commanding the passage, was
about to be fortified with twenty heavy guns. As it
was of great importance to secure or destroy these
guns, Lieutenant James G. Maxwell, in the steamer
Fanny, with sixty-seven men, and a launch from the
Pawnee with twenty-two sailors and six marines, hav-
ing a 12 pound howitzer under the command of Lieu-
tenant Thomas H. Eastman, was sent against this place.
The party set out early in the morning of September
16th, and by eleven o'clock was about two miles from
Beacon Island when the Fanny ran aground. While
the launch was sounding for the channel, a sailboat
1861. LOSS OF THE FANNY.
183
containing two men was captured, and by their aid the
Fanny was floated off and piloted within a hundred
yards of the fort. This proved to be a deserted octag-
onal earthwork containing four shell rooms and a
bombproof chamber one hundred feet square. Lieu-
tenant Maxwell burned the gun-carriages, while the
four 8-inch shell guns and the fourteen 32-pounders
were made useless by firing solid shot at the trunnions.
All the lumber on Beacon Island was then collected in
the bombproof chamber and fired, also a storeship
that had been run ashore ; and while this was being
done Lieutenant Eastman was sent to Portsmouth vil-
lage, a mile distant, with the launch, where four 8-inch
guns were found and destroyed. Having thoroughly
executed his orders, Lieutenant Maxwell returned
to Fort Hatteras on the 18th, without the loss of a
man.
The Confederates next fortified Roanoke Island, so
as to secure Albemarle Sound and an inlet to the north ;
and with a view of frustrating their plans the steamers
Geres and Putnam, with the Twentieth Indiana Regi-
ment, Colonel W. L. Brown, were dispatched Sep-
tember 29th to occupy the northern end of Hatteras
island. In the afternoon of the same day this force
arrived at its destination, but the water was found to
be so shallow that even light-draught steamers could
not get nearer than three miles from the beach, so
that the men were obliged to debark in boats. Two
days later, October 1st, the steamer Fanny started out
with arms, ammunition, clothing and provisions for
the troops. The commander of the Confederate naval
forces in these waters, Captain William F. Lynch, who
led the Dead Sea exploring expedition in 1848, learned
of the approach of the Fanny, and came out of Croa-
tan Sound with the Curlew, armed with a 32-pound
rifled gun and a 12-pound smooth-bore ; the Raleigh,
two 6-pound howitzers ; and the JunalusJca, one
6-pound gun. The Fanny was a transport carrying
184 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
two light rifled guns. Just as the unsuspecting Nation-
alists were anchoring near the troops and preparing
for the tedious process of landing their cargo on the
beach, the enemy's flotilla, headed by the Curlew,
came in sight. As soon as they were within range
they opened fire, which the Union gunboats promptly
returned, at the same time hurrying off a boat-load of
stores to the land ; but before the boat reached the
beach the enemy had come to close quarters. The
Fanny fired nine shot, one striking one of the gun-
boats in the bow, but the superior weight of the Con-
federate guns soon compelled her to surrender, with
her valuable cargo and forty-nine men.
Encouraged by this success, the Confederates deter-
mined to capture the entire Indiana Regiment, consist-
ing of six hundred men, and then march upon Fort
Hatteras. Their plan was to land troops above the In-
dianians, and also a large body of soldiers below, so as
to cut off their retreat. Having captured the regiment,
their entire force was to embark on the flotilla, move
swiftly down the sound and attack Fort Hatteras be-
fore the alarm could be given. On the 4th of October,
just as the Confederate troops under Colonel A. R.
Wright had begun this movement, and when Colonel
Brown was preparing for a desperate defense, orders
were received from Fort Hatteras for the National
troops to retreat. Accordingly the soldiers— who, on
account of the loss of the Fanny, were destitute of
stores— began the difficult march of forty miles over
marshes, through inlets and across sand, with a confi-
dent enemy in hot pursuit. Observing this movement,
the second division of the Confederate troops, under
Colonel Shaw, made all haste down the sound in the
gunboats, hoping to land and cut off the retreat of the
Indianians ; and, realizing their danger, the men has-
tened the march until it became a race between them
and the steamers. During the night the National
forces succeeded in passing the Confederates before
1861. SHELLING THE ENEMY. 185
they could land, and after enduring great hardships
they reached Hatteras Lighthouse, where they met a
relief party from the fort under Colonel Hawkins. In
this aifair the National troops had forty-four men
taken prisoners.
Finding that the Indianians had escaped them, the
Confederates turned toward the northern end of the
island to pick up any stragglers that might have eluded
them during the pursuit. While this was going on,
Lieutenant Daniel L. Braine, in the gunboat Monti-
cello^ which was coasting along the seaward side of
Hatteras Island, noticed several vessels on the sound,
and a regiment of soldiers carrying a Confederate flag
marching in a northerly direction. They were the
Confederate troops retreating after the unsuccessful
pursuit of the Indianians. Lieutenant Braine promptly
stood close inshore, and at 1.30 p. M. opened a heavy
fire, which had the effect of hastening the Southern-
ers' march, for they rolled up their flag, broke ranks
and ran for the place where their flotilla was await-
ing them. The Monticello easily kept up with them,
and as they were confined to a narrow island they
were constantly exposed to her fire. When they ar-
rived at the landing-place they sought refuge in a
clump of trees. About this time two men were ob-
served on the beach signaling the Monticello. A boat
was sent to them, and in attempting to swim through
the breakers one of them was drowned, but the other
succeeded in reaching the boat, and reported himself
as a private of the Indiana regiment who had just ef-
fected his escape. He directed the gunners to a clump
of trees in which a number of Confederates had taken
refuge, and a few shells drove them from shelter. The
enemy had now been followed four miles along the
coast, and, as most of them had gained their flotilla,
the Monticello, at 5.25 P. M , returned to her station.
On New Year's eve Commander Oliver S. Glisson,
of the steamer Mount Vernon, sent a detachment of
186 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
men in two boats to destroy a lightship that was an-
chored in fancied security under the guns of Fort Cas-
well. This vessel formerly had been stationed off Fry-
ing-Pan Shoal, but it was naw armed with eight guns
as an additional defense to the fort. The boat party
boarded the lightship, and after setting her on fire re-
treated without the loss of a man, although exposed to
a heavy fire from the fort.
The first point along the Southern seaboard that had
been suggested for occupation was now in the hands of
the National forces. The second and equally impor-
tant object to be gained was to secure a safe harbor,
where workshops could be erected and vessels put in
repair and supplied, thus avoiding the great waste of
time in frequent voyages to Northern ports. The in-
troduction of steam in ships of war made a convenient
coaling-station almost a necessity. As it was, the
steamers engaged in the blockade on the Atlantic sea-
board were far removed from a base of supplies, and as
only a limited amount of coal could be carried in each
vessel, much time was lost in running from the block-
aded ports to coaling-stations in the North. Another
difficulty under which the blockade was maintained
was the frail construction of many of the blockading
ships. A large proportion of them were river or Sound
steamers chartered for the emergency, and, having
heavy guns mounted on them, were especially liable
to strain and leakage ; consequently they were contin-
ually in need of repairs, which could not be effected
at sea, and when they were obliged to run several
hundred miles to a Northern port the blockade was
weakened. The introduction of iron ships, or ships
plated with that material, being somewhat of an ex-
periment, gave rise to innumerable little alterations
in the hull, armament or machinery, which, owing to
the peculiar difficulties of working this metal, could
be done only by extensive machinery in some friendly
port.
1861. DEPARTURE OF THE GREAT FLEET. 187
These considerations determined the Government
upon securing a safe harbor on the Southern coast,
where the largest vessels could enter. Some of the
ports suggested were Fernandina, Brunswick, Port
Royal, and Bull's Bay. On the 29th of October the
fleet destined for this purpose sailed from Hampton
Roads, under the command of Flag-Officer Samuel
Francis Dupont, with sealed orders, and, after some
delay outside the harbor in forming the vessels in the
shape of an inverted V, it stood down the coast.
Aboard the transports were twelve thousand troops,
under the command of General Thomas W. Sherman.
The fleet consisted of the steam frigate Wabash, flag-
ship, two 10-inch, twenty-eight 9-inch, fourteen 8-inch,
two 12-pound guns, Commander Christopher Raymond
Perry Rodgers ; the steam sloops of war MoJtican, two
11-inch, four 32-pound, one 12-pound guns, Commander
S. W. Godon ; Seminole, one 11-inch, four 32-pound
guns, Commander John P. Gilliss ; Pawnee, eight
9-inch, two 12-pound guns, Lieutenant Robert H. \Vy-
man ; the sailing sloop of war Vandalia, four 8-inch,
sixteen 32- pound, one 12-pound guns, Commander
Francis S. Haggerty ; the gunboats Augusta, Com-
mander Enoch G. Parrott ; Pocahontas, Commander
Percival Dray ton ; Bienmlle, Commander Charles
Steedman ; Vnadilla, Lieutenant Napoleon Collins ; Ot-
tawa, Lieutenant Thomas Holdup Stevens ; Pembina,
Lieutenant John P. Bankhead; Seneca, Lieutenant
Daniel Ammen ; Curlew, Acting-Lieutenant Pendleton
G. Watmongh ; Penguin, Acting- Lieutenant Thomas
A. Budd; the R. B. Forbes, Lieutenant Henry S.
Newcomb ; the Isaac Smith, Lieutenant James W. A
Nicholson.
On the day before this fleet sailed from Hampton
Roads twenty-five storeships and coalers had sailed
under the escort of the Vandalia. With a view of
concealing the destination of the fleet, these vessels
were ordered, in case they became separated, to ren-
188 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
dezvous off Savannah. The fleet, after leaving Hamp-
ton Roads, met with fair weather until about noon
of November 1st. Off Cape Hatteras a dull leaden
sky and a fresh southeast wind gave warning of a
storm. As the afternoon wore on, the wind increased
to a steady gale, and Captain Dupont made signal for
every vessel to take care of itself. When night fell on
the angry sea the vessels scattered far and wide, and
occasionally a few of them could be seen staggering
under storm sails. A peculiar feature of the gale on
this night was the phosphorescent animalcule which
lighted up the frothing waves with strange brilliancy.
Through the long watches of that anxious night the com-
manders of the vessels kept the deck, while huge drops
of rain, driven by the fierce wind, struck their faces
with the sting of pebbles. It was fully expected that
many of the vessels would founder, for, aside from the
regular war vessels and the gunboats, few of the craft
were constructed for an ocean voyage, many of the
transports being New York ferryboats. When day
broke on November 2d, only one gunboat could be
descried from the masthead of the flagship, and the
greatest apprehensions were felt for the safety of the
fleet.
On the morning of the 3d the Seneca was dis-
patched to the blockading fleet off Charleston, with
instructions to Captain James L. Lardner, of the Sus-
quehanna, to detain the vessels of the squadron de-
tailed for the Port Royal expedition off Charleston
until nightfall, so as to deceive the enemy as to the
destination of the fleet. When the Seneca was sighted
off Charleston Fort Sumter fired an alarm gun, which
was repeated on shore, the Confederates evidently
believing her to be the advance guard of the fleet
that was to attack their city. But these efforts to
conceal the destination of the fleet were unnecessary,
for a few hours after it left Hampton Roads the
following telegram was sent to Governor Pickens,
1861. A LIVELY RECONNOISANCE. 189
of South Carolina, and to Generals Dray ton and Rip-
ley:
"RICHMOND, November 1, 1861.
" I have just received information, which I consider entirely reliable,
that the enemy's expedition is intended for Port Royal.
" J. P. BENJAMIN, Acting Secretary of War"
The Waba.sk continued on her way to Port Royal,
where, in the course of a few days, the scattered ves-
sels began to heave in sight, many of them reporting
narrow escapes from foundering. The Governor went
down on the 3d. She had on board six hundred and
fifty marines, under the command of Major John G.
Reynolds, and they were saved only by the greatest
exertion of the officers and crew of the Sabine, Captain
Cadwalader Ringgold, and the Isaac Smith. In spite
of every effort, however, seven men were lost. In
order to assist the Governor, the Isaac Smith was com-
pelled to throw overboard all her guns except one 30-
pounder. The army transport Peerless also went down,
but her crew was rescued by the Mohican, Lieutenant
Henry W. Miller, of the latter, being highly compli-
mented for his efforts in saving the drowning men.
Three other transports also failed to arrive before the
attack was made ; they were the Belmdere, the Union
and the Osceola.
On arriving off Port Royal, Captain Dupont found
that the usual landmarks for determining the channel
had been destroyed, and that the buoys were displaced,
which rendered it exceedingly difficult and dangerous
to get the vessels over the bar. Under Captains Charles
H. Davis, and Boutelle of the Coast Survey, in the Vix-
en, accompanied by the Ottawa, the Seneca, the Paw-
nee, the Pembina and the Curlew, the sounding party,
although at times subjected to a heavy fire, rapidly
discovered the channel and returned the buoys to their
proper places, so that the gunboats and transports were
brought over the bar without accident. The three gun-
boats under Commodore Tattnall were observed coming
190 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
down to engage. As Dupont's flagship was not in sig-
naling distance, Lieutenant Stevens, then the senior
officer of the gunboats, gave the order for chase. The
Confederate vessels were driven under the guns of the
fort, but on the following day the enemy's flagship, the
Savannah, probably in Tattnall's absence, came within
range and fired on the gunboats at twenty-five hundred
yards. A single shell from the Seneca, aimed by Lieu-
tenant Ammen, struck the Savannah abaft the star-
board wheelhouse, and had the fuse not failed to ignite
the Savannah would have been sent to the bottom.
As it was, she promptly retreated. Earlier in the
morning the Ottawa, under Commander John Rodgers,
with Brigadier-General Horatio G. Wright aboard, in
company with the Seneca, the Curlew and the Isaac
Smith, made a reconnoisance in the harbor, exchanged
a few shot with the fort, and sustained some damage
in their rigging. Great difficulty was experienced in
getting the Wabash over the bar, which even at flood
tide allowed only two feet for the vessel's keel, but on
the 5th of November she was taken across and an-
chored with the rest of the fleet.
Port Royal was guarded by two formidable earth-
works, one at Hilton Head, called Fort Walker, after-
ward named Fort Welles, and the other, two and a
half miles across the Roads, at Bay Point, called
Fort Beauregard, afterward called Fort Seward. Fort
Walker had two 6-inch rifled guns, twelve 32-pound-
ers, one 10-inch and one 8-inch columbiad, three 7- inch
seacoast howitzers, one 8-inch howitzer, and two 12-
pounders ; in all, twenty-two guns. Fort Beauregard
proper was armed with five 32-pounders, one 10-inch
and one 8-inch columbiad, one 6-inch rifled gun, and
five 42-pound seacoast guns. In some outworks flank-
ing the main work, commanding the land approaches
as well as the channel near by, were three 32-pounders,
two 24-pounders and two 6-inch Spanish guns ; in all,
twenty guns. At the farther end of Hilton Head and
1861.
DUPONT'S PLAN OF BATTLE.
191
near the wharf were one 10-inch columbiad, two 5^-inch
rifled guns, and two 12-pound howitzers. The com-
mander of these forts was Thomas F. Dray ton, a brother
of Commander Percival Drayton, of the Pocohontas.
The Confederate naval force, which was under the com-
mand of Commodore Josiah Tattnall, who had been one
of the most dashing and successful officers in the old
Plan of battle at Port Royal.
navy, consisted of the steamer Savannah, Lieutenant
John N". Maffit; the Samson, Lieutenant J. S. Ken-
nard ; and the Jtesolute, Lieutenant J. Pembroke Jones,
each mounting two 32-pounders.
Having collected his forces within the bar, Captain
Dupont summoned the commanders aboard the flag-
ship and gave them instructions for the attack. His
192 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
orders were for the WabasTi to lead the line of battle,
to be followed by the Susquehanna, the Mohican, the
Seminole, the Pawnee, the Unadilla, the Ottawa, the
Pembina and the Vandalia, the last being towed by
the steamer Isaac Smith. These vessels were to pass
up the Roads in the order given, on the Bay Point
side, delivering their port broadsides on Fort Walker,
and their starboard guns, if possible, on Fort Beaure-
gard, until they had reached a point two miles above
the fort, where they were to turn and come down the
Roads in the same order on the Fort Walker side, using
their bow guns so as to enfilade that work as they ap-
proached, their starboard guns when they came abreast
and their quarter guns as they drew away. Having
completed the circuit, the line was to repeat this ellipse
manoeuvre, until the forts surrendered. A second line,
consisting of the gunboats Bienmlle, Seneca, Curlew,
Penguin and Augusta, was to flank the movements
of the main line while passing up the Roads, but on
reaching the first turning-point, two miles above Fort
Bean regard, it was to remain there and hold the ene-
my's flotilla in check, and it was particularly enjoined
not to allow them to attack the transports. By this
admirable arrangement the ships were kept in rapid
and constant motion, which prevented the enemy from
obtaining an accurate range.
The 7th of November dawned bright and clear,
with scarcely a ripple disturbing the broad waters of
the bay. Early in the morning the signal was given to
get under way, and the vessels dropped into their pre-
scribed positions. At 9 A. M. the signal for close order
was shown, and the imposing lines of battle advanced
steadily toward the enemy at the rate of six knots an
hour. At 9.26 A. M. Fort Walker opened with her
heavy guns, and was quickly followed by her sister
fort, but the shot fell short. Soon afterward the Wa-
bash opened with her bow guns, which were promptly
seconded by the other vessels in the advancing fleet.
1861. THAT TERRIBLE CIRCUIT OF FIRE. 193
When in full range the WabasTi opened her formidable
broadsides, and as her example was promptly followed
by the other vessels the engagement became general.
The enemy's flotilla had dropped down the Roads
and fired with great skill ; but as the National ships
majestically swept past the forts and came to the
turning-point, where their powerful broadsides came
into play, the Confederate gunboats fled up Skull
Creek. When the flanking line of Dupont's gunboats
wheeled off from the main line to take a position north
of Fort Walker, so as to open an enfilading fire, the
Confederate gunboats came out again, evidently under
the impression that the fleet was retreating, but the
Seneca soon drove them up the creek. While the
bombardment was in progress the PocaTiontas, which
had been detained by the storm, joined in the attack
and opened an enfilading fire.
The WabasTi, still leading the unbroken line, now
turned down the Roads toward Hilton Head. As the
vessels came within long range they opened a most de-
structive enfilading fire with their bow guns ; for the
Confederates, not expecting an attack from that side,
had mounted only one 32-pounder in that part of their
works, and this was soon shattered by round shot. At
10.40 A. M. the WabasTi was abreast of Fort Walker,
distant not more than eight hundred yards, when she
delivered a broadside with great effect, at which time
the vessels astern of her were still enfilading the enemy
with their pivot guns. The Susquehanna next came
abreast of Fort Walker and discharged her heavy
broadside, and by this time the WabasTi had again
loaded and hurled in a second torrent of death- dealing
missiles. All the vessels were now reloading and firing
as rapidly as possible at the disconcerted enemy, and
in order that the column might not pass the forts too
rapidly the engines were slowly reversed. At 11 A. M.
the WabasTi reached the place in which the ellipse
had been started, and now again turned up the Roads.
58
194 HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
Being the flagship, she received the largest share of
the enemy's attention. One shell passed between Cap-
tain Dupont and Captain Rodgers, narrowly missing
each of them. Fort Beauregard was passed in the
same order as before, and received a heavy fire so long
as the ships were in range. By 11.20 A. M. the WabasTi
had again reached the northern turning-point of the
ellipse, and for the second time bore down to engage
Fort Walker at close quarters. The moment the bow
guns came within range the same enfilading fire was
opened by each vessel in turn, so that by the time the
Wabasli and the Susquehanna were delivering their
broadsides the vessels astern were pouring in a destruc-
tive cross fire.
In this circuit Captain Dupont passed three hun-
dred yards nearer to Fort Walker than at the first, so
as to destroy the range which the enemy's gunners
had secured before the ships had passed them on their
first circuit. "At half past eleven o'clock," says an
eyewitness, "the WabasTi and her consorts drew near
to Hilton Head again. Occasionally the pivot guns of
the WabasTi and the SusqueTianna threw a shell into
the battery, but the grand affair was yet to come. At
11.50 A. M. the ships were again enveloped in a dense
cloud of white smoke, and a few seconds later the
shells were bursting in the battery in a splendid man-
ner. The sand was flying in every direction, and it
seemed impossible that any one in the battery could be
saved from death. The Confederates now worked only
two guns, but I will give them the credit of saying that
they worked them beautifully."1 By this time over
two hundred shells had been dropped into the fort.
Dr. Buist, the surgeon in the fort, was killed by a
shell, and his body was buried by the falling of a par-
apet. Ten minutes after twelve, the National ships
were out of gunshot, preparing to repeat their ellipse.
1 Correspondent of the New York Herald.
1861. CAPTURE OF PORT ROYAL. 195
A few minutes before this the flag at Bay Point had
been lowered, but as the ships passed out of range it
was rehoisted. The Wabask now for the third time
headed northward on that terrible circle of fire, and at
12.20 P. M. Bay Point opened on her, but was silenced
when the National broadsides came into play. The
flanking gunboats took a position north of Fort Walker,
and, being within six hundred yards, kept up an en-
filading fire that "annoyed and damaged us excess-
ively," as General Dray ton expressed it. These vessels
drifted so near to Fort Walker that "the enemy's
sharpshooters, concealed in depressions of the shore,
opened a heavy fire on us, to which we replied with
our 24-pound howitzers loaded with canister."1
The transports now got out one hundred surfboats
in readiness to land the troops, and at half past two
o'clock the Wabash again got under way, and running
close to the batteries fired one gun. As the enemy did
not reply, it was believed that the works were aban-
doned. The line of battle accordingly came to anchor,
and Commander John Rodgers put off in a boat with
a flag of truce. With some degree of awe the entire
fleet, now resting on its guns, watched the whale-boat
pull out from the wing of the huge frigate and make
its way like a cockleshell toward the grim and silent
fort. Thousands of eyes centered on the little boat
with increasing interest as she drew nearer the shore.
Her keel soon grated on the beach, and the officers
were seen to jump out, approach the fort and enter,
and for a time they were lost to view. Then Com-
mander Rodgers was seen scrambling up the highest
part of the ramparts, carrying the American colors
with him : and at the first glimpse of the beautiful
ensign the long suspense gave place to tremendous
cheers from every craft in the fleet.
Lieutenant Daniel Ammen, of the Seneca, landed
1 Rear-Admiral Stevens to the author.
196
HATTERAS AND PORT ROYAL. 1861.
soon afterward with thirty armed men and hoisted the
flag over a small frame house that had been used by
the enemy as headquarters. On abandoning the fort
the Confederates had planted torpedoes with wires at-
tached to them in different parts of the works, and one
of the machines was placed under the floor of this
house. Scarcely had Lieutenant Ammen and his men
left the place when "a dull explosion was heard, a
cloud of smoke went up, and when it passed away
there was no vestige of the house."1 One of the sea-
men had caught his foot in a wire, igniting the torpedo.
The man was knocked senseless, but fortunately no
lives were lost. By sunset it was discovered that Fort
Beauregard had been abandoned ; and on the follow-
ing morning the Union flag was waving over that work
also. The National loss in this affair was only eight
killed and twenty-three wounded, which must be at-
tributed to the masterly manner in which the attack
had been planned and carried out by the commander-
in-chief. The enemy's loss was eleven killed, forty-
eight wounded and four missing.2 A chart of the
Southern coast was found in General Dray ton's head-
quarters, on which were indicated in red ink the posi-
tions of Confederate batteries. This was of great as-
sistance in the operations on the Atlantic seaboard.
An eyewitness describes the scene in Fort Walker
immediately after its surrender as follows: "On the
line along the front three guns were dismounted by the
enfilading fire of our ships. One carriage had been
struck by a large shell and shivered to pieces, dis-
mounting the heavy gun mounted upon it and send-
ing the splinters flying in all directions with terrific
force. Between the guns and the foot of the parapet
was a large pool of blood mingled with brains, frag-
ments of skull, and pieces of flesh evidently from the
1 Am men's Atlantic Coast, p. 29.
8 Official report of Brigadier-General Drayton.
1861. A SCENE OP DEVASTATION. 197
face, as portions of whiskers still clung to it. This
shot must have done horrible execution, as other por-
tions of human beings were found all around it. An-
other carriage to the right was broken to pieces, and
the guns on the water front were rendered useless by
the enfilading h're from the gunboats on the left flank.
Their scorching fire of shell, which swept with resist-
less fury and deadly effect across this long water pond,
where the enemy had placed his heaviest metal en bar-
bette without taking the precaution to place traverses
between the guns, did as much as anything to drive
them from their works. The fort was plowed up by
shot and shell so badly as to make an immediate re-
pair necessary. All the houses and many of the tents
about the works were perforated and torn by flying
shell, and hardly a light of glass could be found intact
in any building. The trees in the vicinity showed
marks of heavy visitation. Everything, indeed, was in
ruins."
CHAPTER III.
PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS.
ALTHOUGH the capture of Forts Hatteras and Clark
gave the National forces control of Hatteras Inlet and
Pamlico Sound, yet the enemy was still in possession
of the important towns of New Berne and Washing-
ton, and the large rivers on which they were situ-
ated, besides holding undisputed sway in Albemarle
Sound. From the latter place light-draught steamers
passed into the Atlantic and preyed on the coastwise
commerce. Furthermore, it was rumored that several
ironclads of the Merrimac type were in course of con-
struction, and would prove formidable antagonists to
the frail wooden vessels that composed the National
fleet in these waters.1 The possession of Albemarle
Sound was necessary before Norfolk could be attacked
from the rear, or any attempt made against the Con-
federate inland communications. Realizing the im-
portance of these waters, the enemy, after the loss of
Fort Hatteras, began fortifying Roanoke Island, which
commanded the only entrance to Albemarle Sound from
the south. The island is nine miles long and three
miles wide in its broadest part, and was defended by
several batteries, which, together with the neighbor-
ing marshes and the difficulty of navigating the nar-
row channels or landing troops, rendered the place a
stronghold. The only road running the length of the
island was guarded, at a point where the swamp ex-
tended from it on each side to the water's edge, by a
1 For map of the North Carolina naval operations, see page 179.
198
1862.
DEFENSES OF ROAXOKE ISLAND.
199
masked battery of three guns, which were trained to
sweep the approach for several hundred yards, while
trees and other obstructions were placed across the
causeway to impede an attacking party.
Two miles north of this battery was Fort Bartow,
commanded by Lieutenant B. P. Loyall. This was a
heptagonal earthwork, five sides of which mounted
eight 32-pound smooth-bore guns and one 68-pound
rifled gun, while a battery of three field pieces pro-
tected the rear. A mile and a half above this was Fort
Scene of operations at Roanoke Island.
Blanchard, mounting four 32-pound smooth-bore guns ;
and one mile above this was Fort Huger, mounting
200 PAML1CO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 1861.
twelve 32- pounders, rifled and smooth-bore, commanded
by Major John Taylor, formerly of the United States
navy. On the eastern side of the island was Ellis Bat-
tery, mounting two 32-pounders. Opposite Fort Hu-
ger, on the mainland, was Fort Forrest, mounting
seven 32-pounders. This work, like the others, was
built on the marsh at the edge of the channel, canal
boats and piles being used as foundations, which ren-
dered a land attack almost impossible. Across the
channel, between Fort Forrest and Fort Bartow, was a
double row of piles and sunken vessels, which effectu-
ally obstructed the channel leading into Albernarle
Sound ; and just above this barrier the Confederate
squadron, under Commodore Lynch, was held in readi-
ness to assist the forts. It consisted of the steamers
Seabird, Lieutenant Patrick McCarrick ; the Curlew,
Commander Thomas T. Hunter ; the Ellis, Lieutenant
J. W. Cooke ; the Beaufort, Lieutenant W. H. Parker ;
the Raleigh, Lieutenant J. W. Alexander ; the Fanny,
Midshipman Tayloe ; and the Forrest, Lieutenant
James L. Hoole; each carrying one rifled 32-pound
gun, while the Seabird had an additional 30-pound
rifled gun. The Confederate forces in all did not num-
ber four thousand men.
One of the first steps to be taken in the contem-
plated expedition against Roanoke Island was the
buoying and sounding of the intricate channels leading
to Pamlico Sound. In this perilous work Lieutenant
Thomas Stowell Phelps, in the coast-survey steamer
Corwin, was engaged in November, 1861, and although
frequently fired upon by the Confederates on shore, he
pushed it to a successful termination. On November
15th the heavily armed Confederate steamer Chocura
opened on the Corwin, driving the surveying boats
from their work. Lieutenant Phelps promptly re-
sponded with his two brass chasers, "unequaled in
the service for their extraordinary range, loaded with
pebble powder and Hotchkiss shell, four or five miles
1862. A GREAT FLEET. ^l
was their range,"1 and soon put the enemy to flight.
The storm that scattered Dupont's fleet shifted the
entire channel at Hatteras about fifty feet.
Early in January, 1862, twelve thousand soldiers,
commanded by Brigadier- General Ambrose E. Burn-
side, and a naval force under the orders of Flag-Officer
Louis M. Goldsborough, with Commander Stephen
Clegg Rowan as divisional commander, was detailed
for an expedition against Albemarle Sound. The
naval part of the expedition consisted of a promiscu-
ous assortment of ferry, river and tug boats, armed
with guns. They were in no way adapted for war pur-
poses, and could easily be disabled by a single shot.
Even the firing of their own guns strained them seri-
ously. The troops and vessels were ordered to ren-
dezvous at Annapolis, from which place they pro-
ceeded early in January to Fort Monroe. The vessels,
as they passed each other down the Potomac, "saluted
with their steam whistles," wrote General Burnside,
"while the band played and the troops cheered, the
decks being covered with bluecoats, some chatting,
others sleeping, others writing their last letters to their
loved ones at home. On the night of January 10th
they arrived at Fort Monroe. The harbor probably
never presented a finer appearance than on that night.
All the vessels were illuminated, and tho air was filled
with the strains of initial music and the voices of
brave men. Not a man in the fleet knew his destina-
tion, except a few officers, yet there was no complaint
or inquisitiveness, but all seemed ready for whatever
duty was before them. Much discouragement was ex-
pressed by nautical and military men high in author-
ity as to the success of the expedition. The Presi-
dent was frequently warned that the vessels were unfit
for sea, and that the expedition would be a total fail-
ure. Great anxiety was manifested to know its des-
1 Rear- Admiral Phelps to the author.
202 PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 18G2.
tination. One public man was very importunate, and
in fact almost demanded that the President should tell
him where we were going. Finally the President said,
* Now, I will tell you in great confidence where they
are going, if you will promise not to speak of it to any
one.' The promise was given, and Mr. Lincoln said,
* Well, now, my friend, the expedition is going to
sea.'"1
The motley marine force sailed from Hampton
Roads on the night of January llth, and by the 13th
most of the vessels had arrived off Hatteras Inlet.2
While entering the Sound the little steamer Picket, in
which were General Burnside and several staff officers,
1 Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. i, p. 662.
2 The vessels collected for the expedition were : The Philadelphia, flag-
ship, two 12-pound guns. Lieutenant Silas Reynolds ; the Stars and Stripes,
four 8-inch, one 30-pound Parrott, two 12-pound guns, Lieutenant Reed
Werden ; the Louisiana, one 8-inch, three 32-pound, one 12-pound rifled
gun, Lieutenant Alexander Murray : the Hetzel, one 9-inch, one 80-pound
rifled gun, Lieutenant II. K. Davenport ; the Underwriter, one 8-inch, one
80-pound rifled, two 12-pound guns, Lieutenant William N. Jeffers; the
Delaware, one 9-inch, one 32-pound, one 12-pound gun, Lieutenant Stephen
P. Quackenbush; the Commodore Perry, four 9-inch, one 32-pound, one
12-pound gun, Lieutenant Charles W. Plusser ; the Valley City, four 32-
pound, one 12-pound gun, Lieutenant James C. Chaplin ; the Southfield,
three 9-inch, one 100-pound gun, Lieutenant C. F. W. Behm ; the Commo-
dore Barney, three 9-inch, one 100-pound gun, Acting-Lieutenant Richard
T. Renshaw; the Hunchback, three 9-inch, one 100-pound gun, Acting-
Lieutenant Edmund R. Colhoun; the Morse, two 9-inch guns, Acting-
Master Peter Hayes; the Whitehead, one 9-inch gun, Acting-Master
Charles A. French; the 7. .ZV. Seymour, one 30-pound rifled, one 12-pound
gun, Acting-Master F. S. Wells ; the Shawsheen, two 20-pound rifled guns,
Acting-Master Thomas G. Woodward ; the Lockwood, one 80-pound, two
12-pound guns, Acting- Master George W. Graves ; the Ceres, one 30-pound
rifled gun, one 32-pound gun, Acting-Master John McDiarmid ; the Put-
nam, one 20-pound rifled, one 32-pound gun, Acting- Master William J.
Hotchkiss ; the drinker, one 30-pound rifled gun, Acting- Master John E.
Giddings ; the Granite, one 32-pound gun, Acting-Master's-Mate Ephraim
Boomer. Besides this force there were forty-six army transports, each
armed with one small gun, under Commander Samuel F. Hazard, of t'.ie
navy. As the channels in Albomarle Sound were exceedingly shallow,
vessels drawing more than eight feet of water could not be operated in
them.
1862. CASUALTIES. 203
was almost sunk by two large vessels that dragged
their anchors and came near crushing her between
them. On the way to Hatteras Inlet the old steamer
PocaJiontas was so much injured as to compel her
officers to run her ashore, and of her cargo of one
hundred and thirteen horses ninety were lost. The
large transport City of New York also went ashore
and became a total wreck, and a part of her cargo of
four hundred barrels of gunpowder, fifteen hundred
rifles, eight hundred shells, and other valuable stores,
was lost. Her officers and men clung to the rigging
all night, and were rescued on the following day. The
gunboat Zouave sank after crossing the bar, and while
passing from headquarters to the ships in a surf-
boat Colonel J. W. Allen and Surgeon Frederick A.
Welles were drowned near Cape Hatteras by the
swamping of the boat. Although the expedition had
arrived off Hatteras Inlet by the 13th of January, it
was not until the 4th of February that all the vessels
were brought over the bar. This delay was caused by
many of the transports drawing more than eight feet
of water.
Early on the morning of February 5th the gun-
boats formed in three columns, led by the Stars and
Stripes, the Louisiana and the Hetzel, and, carefully
feeling their way, proceeded up the channel, the sound-
ing boats being kept ahead to ascertain if the buoys
had been displaced. In some places the channel was
so narrow that two vessels could not ride abreast. By
evening the fleet anchored off Stumpy Point, as it was
impossible to follow the channel at night. On the
next morning the vessels got under way, but at 11
A. M., two miles above Stumpy Point, a dense fog com-
pelled them to anchor again. Captain Goldsborough
then shifted his flag to the Southfield, taking with him
staff officers Commander Case, Captain's Clerk Fisher
as signal officer, and Lieutenants T. R. Robeson and
N. S. Barstow. At nine o'clock, February 7th, while
204: PAML1CO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 18G2.
the vessels were drawing near Roanoke Island, the
Ceres, the Putnam and the Underwriter, led by Com-
mander Rowan, were sent a quarter of a mile in ad-
vance of the fleet to feel the way, and to ascertain if
Sandy Point, the place selected for debarkation, was
fortified. The gunboats mounting 9-inch guns now
massed themselves around the flagship in anticipation
of a fight, and by 10.30 A. M. the enemy's gunboats
were observed taking a position behind the line of
piles. The Underwriter shelled Sandy Point, and in
twenty-five minutes signaled that it was not fortified.
The army transports Picket, Acting-Master Thomas
Boynton Ives ; the Huzzar, Acting-Master Frederick
Crocker ; the Pioneer, Acting-Master C. E. Baker ; the
Vidette, Acting-Master I. L. Foster ; the Ranger, Act-
ing-Master S. Emerson ; the Lancer, Acting-Master M.
B. Morley ; and the Chasseur, Acting-Master John
West, formed in close order and opened a heavy fire
on Fort Bartow, Fort Forrest and Fort Blanchard,
which was returned by the enemy.
. At 11.30 A. M. the vessels advanced to cover the
landing of the troops at Sandy Point. A heavy fire of
shrapnel and shell was thrown on shore, and at the
same time an animated cannonade was maintained
with the Confederate gunboats and the land batteries.
By noon the action had become general, the enemy
returning the fire with promptness and skill. At 1.30
p. M. flames were observed in Fort Bartow, and in an
hour it was destroyed. The Confederate gunboats had
taken position at fourteen hundred yards and fired
with considerable accuracy, and suffered somewhat in
return. Early in the fight the Forrest was disabled in
her machinery, and her young commander, Lieutenant
Hoole, was badly wounded in the head by a piece of
shell. She then ran under the guns of Fort Forrest
and anchored. About 3 P. M., when the fire was heavi-
est, the troops embarked in light steamers and boats,
and effected a landing in Ashby Harbor. But while
1862. CHARGE ALONG THE CAUSEWAY. 205
they were approaching the shore, a large body of Con-
federate soldiers with a field piece attempted to dis-
pute the landing, upon which the Delaware. Com-
mander Rowan, took a position south of Fort Bartow,
and with a free use of 9-inch shrapnel put the enemy
to flight. While this was going on, Fort Bartow and
Fort Blanchard, at 4. 30 P.M., were silenced, and the
Confederate steamers retired behind Fort Huger, ap-
parently much injured. At five o'clock, however, they
returned to the attack, and with the forts opened a
heavy fire ; but in forty minutes they again retired,
the Curlew disabled and seeking refuge behind Fort
Forrest. A heavy shell had dropped on her hurricane
deck and gone through her decks and bottom as if
they were so much paper. The batteries slackened
fire, and by 6 P. M. Fort Bartow alone was replying to
the attack, firing only at long intervals. As it was
fast growing dark, the order to cease firing was given,
but the work of landing troops was pushed until mid-
night, when about a thousand men, together with six
navy howitzers, under the orders of Midshipmen Ben-
jamin J. Porter and Hammond, were placed ashore.
At daybreak, February 8th, General Foster's bri-
gade, consisting of the 23d, the 25th and the 27th Mas-
sachusetts, and the 10th Connecticut regiments, with
the navy howitzers, moved forward, and after fording
a creek came upon the Confederate pickets, who dis-
charged their muskets and retreated to their main
body. The National forces soon reached the road
running northward, and after a march of a mile and a
half came in sight of the battery of three guns which
commanded the causeway through the marsh. The
27th Massachusetts was now detailed to the right, with
orders to force its way through the morass, and if pos-
sible rout the enemy's sharpshooters, while General
Reno's brigade, consisting of the 21st Massachusetts,
the 51st New York and the 9th New Jersey, pushed
through the swamp and thick undergrowth on the left,
206 PAML1CO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 1862.
so as to turn the enemy's right wing. At nine o'clock
the 25th Massachusetts, with the navy howitzers, be-
gan the attack along the causeway. The fire at this
point soon became heavy, the enemy firing with de-
liberation and accuracy upon the exposed assailants,
while the National troops, stopping to remove the
large timbers from their path, could not fire as effec-
tively.
Just as the ammunition for the howitzers was giving
out, General Parke, with the 4th Rhode Island, the
10th Connecticut and the 9th New York (Hawkins
Zouaves), came to their support ; but it was impossi-
ble to continue the attack until the howitzers were re-
plenished, unless the enemy's position was carried by
storm. For this hazardous undertaking Colonel Haw-
kins gallantly offered his services. His men formed
with fixed bayonets and started for the Confederate
guns, leaping over fallen trees and other debris at the
top of their speed, yelling, "Zou ! Zou ! Zou ! " The on-
slaught was irresistible, and the Confederates deserted
their guns after the first fire. Leaving the redoubt to
be secured by the troops that were behind them, the
Zouaves followed up the road in hot pursuit of the
fleeing enemy, until they reached the path leading to
Fort Bartow, where they halted, as it was understood
that a large body of troops guarded the land approach
to that fort. While they were thus waiting, General
Foster's command came up, and the Zouaves were or-
dered to secure the battery at Shallowbag Bay, while
the remainder of the brigade, after leaving a regiment
to march against Fort Bartow, resumed the pursuit of
the fleeing Confederates to the north. Abreast of Fort
Blanchard a flag of truce was met, and after a brief
negotiation two thousand Confederates uncondition-
ally surrendered, and about the same time six hundred
men surrendered at Fort Bartow.
At the time General Foster was attacking the three-
gun battery on the causeway the gunboats under Com-
1862. ROWAN'S HANDSOME DASH. 207
mander Rowan moved up the channel and opened a
heavy lire on the forts. But at ten o'clock the order
"Cease firing" was given, as it was thought that the
troops might be attacking the forts from the rear.
At 1 P. M. the Underwriter, the Valley City, the Sey-
mour, the Lockwood, the Geres, the Shawsheen, the
Putnam, the Whitehead and the Bririker were or-
dered to break through the line of piles that crossed
the channel leading into Albemarle Sound. This was
done in gallant style, and by five o'clock the vessels
had gained the other side. About the same time the
United States colors were seen waving from Fort Bar-
tow, and a few minutes later the enemy fired the wood-
work in Fort Forrest, and the steamer Curlew, both
blowing up in the night.
In this affair the navy had six men killed, seventeen
wounded and two missing, while the troops had forty-
one killed and a hundred and eighty-one wounded.
The Confederate loss, owing to the protection afforded
by their earthworks, was much less. Two thousand
six hundred and seventy-five prisoners were taken, to-
gether with three thousand small arms. In his official
report, Captain Goldsborough, while speaking in the
highest terms of all his officers, specially commended
the gallantry of Commanders Rowan and Case.
Driven from Roanoke Island, the Confederates col-
lected the remnants of their forces and made a gallant
stand at Elizabeth City, which guarded the approach
to the Dismal Swamp Canal. The National forces
entered Albemarle Sound on the morning of February
9th, with the following gunboats, under Commander
Rowan : Delaware (flagship), Louslana, Hetzel, Under-
writer, Commodore Perry, Valley City, Morse, Lock-
wood, Ceres, Shawsheen, Br inker and Putnam. Mak-
ing their way among the treacherous shoals, they dis-
covered two steamers at three o'clock in the afternoon,
heading for Pasquotank River, and gave chase, but
without success. By sunset the National gunboats ap-
208 • PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 1862.
preached the river, and at 8 P. M. they dropped anchor
about ten miles below Cobb's Point. At daylight,
February 10th, they advanced toward Elizabeth City,
where the six Confederate gunboats were drawn up in
line of battle three hundred yards behind a battery
mounting four 32-pounders. The Commodore Perry,
the Morse and the Delaware, flanked by the Ceres on
the right, led the advance. As the ammunition of the
National gunboats had been reduced to twenty rounds,
Commander Rowan issued orders that no gun be fired
except within short range, where every shot would tell.
The gunboats steamed rapidly up the river, passed
the battery without slackening speed and made straight
for the enemy's flotilla. The Commodore Perry, steer-
ing for the Confederate flagship, the Seabird, ran her
down and crushed in her sides, so that she began to
sink. The Ceres, selecting the Ellis, ran alongside
and carried her by boarding, but not without a desper-
ate resistance on the part of her men, wTho did not sur-
render until their commander, Lieutenant Cooke, had
been badly wounded. The Delaware chased the Fanny
ashore, where she was blown up by her own men. The
Black Warrior was run ashore and burned, her crew
escaping on shore ; and Captain Lynch's boat, in which
he was endeavoring to get into action, was cut in two
by a shot. The Appomattox, Captain Sims, attempted
to escape by the canal, but drew too much water and
was blown up. The Valley City and the WMtehead
meantime returned to the battery on land, and soon
compelled it to surrender. Thus in fifteen minutes four
of the enemy's steamers were destroyed, one captured,
and two, the Raleigh and the Beaufort, put to flight
up the Pasquotank River, where they escaped to Nor-
folk by the Dismal Swamp Canal. The National loss
in this affair was two killed and two wounded ; that of
the enemy was considerably greater. Two days later
Lieutenant Murray, with the Louisiana, the Under-
writer, the Commodore Perry and the LocTcwood, took
1862. NARROW ESCAPE AT WINTON. 209
possession of Edenton, and on the 13th Lieutenant
Jeffers, with the LocTcwood, the ShawsJieen and the
WTiitehead, went to the mouth of the Chesapeake and
Albemarle Canal, dispersed some Confederate troops
that had collected there, and sank two schooners so as
to obstruct the canal.
On the 19th of February Commander Rowan, with
eight gunboats and a small detachment of troops
under the command of Colonel Hawkins, ascended
Chowan River to Winton, where it was rumored there
were a number of Union men who would enlist if they
had an opportunity. Being a little suspicious of these
reports, Colonel Hawkins, as the vessel approached
Winton, stationed himself in the crosstrees of the
Delaware^ mainmast, so as to get a better view of the
town. As the vessels were about to run alongside the
wharf, at 3.30 P. M., a negro woman stood on the shore
waving a welcome to them ; but from his elevated posi-
tion Colonel Hawkins caught a glimpse of the glistening
barrels of many muskets in the bushes on shore and
two pieces of artillery trained to sweep the wharf. He
gave the warning to the officer of the deck just in
time to prevent a landing, and the vessels passed on
at full speed, clearing the wharf by less than ten feet.
Finding that they were discovered, the Confederates
opened fire, riddling the bulwarks and masts of the
vessels, but fortunately hurt no one. Under cover of
the flotilla's guns, Colonel Hawkins landed with his
men, dispersed the enemy, and destroyed all public
stores in the place. The expedition then returned to
the sound.
Control of Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds being
secured, the next step was to capture the towns ad-
joining these waters, the most important of which was
New Berne, a town of six thousand inhabitants, con-
nected by rail with Beaufort and Richmond, at the
junction of the Neuse and Trent rivers. The naviga-
tion of the Neuse was obstructed a few miles below
59
210 PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 1862.
the town by twenty-four vessels locked together with
cables and spars and sunk across the channel ; their
masts, appearing above the water, were firmly inter-
woven with timbers and chains, so as to make it ex-
ceedingly difficult for an enemy to break through even
when not under fire. A second and perhaps more for-
midable obstruction was placed a short distance down
the stream. It consisted of a row of piles across the
channel, driven firmly into the bed of the river and hav-
ing their heads cut off below the water. A second row,
with heads capped with sharp iron, was driven across
the first row at an angle of forty-five degrees, so that
the iron heads pointed down stream, and, being sub-
merged, would pierce the thin hulls of steamers com-
ing up the river. In front of this barricade were thirty
torpedoes, fitted with trigger lines attached to the piles
so as to explode when a vessel struck, each torpedo
containing two hundred pounds of powder. A large
raft laden with cotton saturated with turpentine was
in readiness to be fired and sent down the narrow
channel on the approach of a hostile squadron. These
formidable obstructions were supplemented with forts
and earthworks, which had been constructed with great
labor and considerable skill. The first fortification,
Fort Dixie, about six miles from New Berne, mounted
four guns. Then came Fort Thompson, mounting thir-
teen guns, which was four miles below New Berne ; and
a mile above this was Fort Ellis, with eight guns. Two
miles from New Berne was Fort Lane, with eight guns,
and within a mile of the town was Union Point, with
two guns. All these works were on the south side of
the river, their land approaches being guarded by rifle
pits, while a movable battery on a railroad track en-
abled the enemy to send speedy re-enforcements to any
threatened point.
After ascertaining the character of these defenses,
General Burnside determined to land his troops at
Slocum Creek, ten miles below New Berne, and attack
1802. ATTACK ON NEW BERNE. 2H
the forts from the rear, while the flotilla was to open a
bombardment from the river. Accordingly, early on
the morning of March 12th the naval expedition left
Hatteras Inlet, the vessels under the orders of Com-
mander Rowan consisting of the steamers Delaware
(flagship), Stars and Stripes, Valley City, Commodore
Barney, Southfield, Brinker, Louisiana, Hetzel, Com-
modore Perry, Underwriter (now commanded by Lieu-
tenant A. Hopkins), Hunchback, Morse and Lockwood.
About half past two o'clock in the afternoon the ad-
vance division of gunboats reached the mouth of the
Neuse, where it was learned that two steamers had
been discovered in Pamlico River and 'might come out
and cut off some of the transports. The Loekwood was
detailed to watch them, and at five o'clock chase was
given to a small steamer that was reconnoitering the
fleet, and the steamer hastily retired under the guns
of the fort. The flotilla then anchored for the night
off Slocum's Creek.
At eight o'clock on the following morning, March
13th, the troops, with six boat howitzers, under the
command of Lieutenant Roderick S. McCook, assisted
by Captains Drayton and Bennett of the marines,
landed under cover of a heavy fire of grape and shell
from the gunboats. The Commodore Perry then ran
up the river and opened an animated fire on Fort
Dixie, which was maintained until dark, while the
troops got under way and continued their march over
heavy roads till 9 P. M. At daylight on the 14th
the march was resumed, and by seven o'clock they
came in sight of Fort Thompson and began the attack.
For two hours a fierce conflict raged in front of the
earthworks and rifle -pits. The naval howitzers under
Lieutenant McCook being deployed to the right made
a splendid fight under a heavy fire of grape and shell
from six of the enemy's guns. Between 9 and 10 A. M.
the troops ran short of ammunition, when they were
ordered to charge with the bayonet. This was done
212 PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 1862.
with great spirit, and after a momentary repulse they
carried the earthworks and put the enemy to flight.
This left the road clear to New Berne, for after their
defeat at Fort Thompson the Confederates abandoned
their remaining posts.
During this attack a heavy fog settled over the
river, making it difficult for the gunboats to manoeuvre ;
but as soon as the first gun was heard on the morning
of the 14th, the Delaware, the Hunchback and the
Southfield opened fire on Fort Dixie. As no reply was
made by the fort, a boat was sent ashore, and the place
was found to be deserted. The gunboats next ad-
vanced against Fort Ellis and fired a shell into it,
causing the magazine to explode. At this moment the
troops were hotly engaged in the rear of Fort Thomp-
son, and the gunboats approached the barriers and
fired at the earthwork from a distance. Learning that
his shells were falling near the National troops, Com-
mander Rowan ceased firing, and, boldly taking the
lead, drove his vessel against the line of piles and tor-
pedoes. Fortunately the torpedoes failed to ignite,
else the flagship and her gallant commander would
have been blown to atoms. The iron-pointed piles
were more effective. The Commodore Perry, running
against one of them, broke oft5 the head and carried it
for some time sticking in her hull. The Commodore
Barney also had a hole cut in her bottom, while the
Stars and Stripes was severely injured.
Without waiting to repair damages, the gunboats
hastened to get abreast of Fort Thompson, so as to par-
ticipate in the fight at close quarters ; but just as they
cleared the line of obstructions the troops carried the
fort by storm and greeted the approaching steamers
with the National colors. Upon this, Commander
Bo wan passed rapidly ahead, threw a few shells into
Fort Lane, and, getting no reply, ordered the Valley
City to take possession. The remaining gunboats
pushed up the river and took possession of New Berne
1862. FORT MACON. 213
just as the enemy had fired the town in several places.
At this moment some steamboats and a schooner laden
with commissary stores were discovered attempting to
escape up the Neuse, whereupon the Delaware gave
chase and compelled one of the steamers to run ashore,
while the other two with the schooner were captured.
By noon the gunboats had complete possession of the
town. The flames started by the Confederates were
extinguished, and all the arms and public stores were
secured. At two o'clock in the afternoon the victori-
ous National troops appeared on the opposite bank of
the Trent, and before night were transferred to the
New Berne side. In this affair the navy had two men
killed and eleven wounded, all in Lieutenant McCook's
command. The loss of the land forces, on account of
their exposed position, was much greater.
The next point of attack in this quarter was Fort
Macon, a massive work mounting nearly fifty guns, but
manned by only four hundred and fifty men, and two
hundred and fifty of these were reported as being unfit
for service. Late in March General Burnside landed
troops and erected batteries on the narrow peninsula,
at the end of which was Fort Macon, and by April 23d
the fort was cut off from all communications. The Na-
tional batteries consisted of three 30-pounder Parrott
rifled guns, under the command of Captain L. O. Mor-
ris ; four 10-inch mortars, under the command of Lieu-
tenant M. F. Prouty ; and four 8-inch mortars, under
Lieutenant D. W. Flagler. At 5.40 A. M. on the morn-
ing of April 25th the bombardment was begun. The
naval force consisted of the gunboats Daylight (flag-
ship), Commander Samuel Lockwood ; CMppewa, Lieu-
tenant Andrew Bryson ; State of Georgia, Commander
James F. Armstrong, and the Gemsbok, Lieutenant E.
Cavendy. At 9 A. M. these vessels, although not in-
tended for participation in the bombardment, came
into range and opened fire. At first their shot fell
wide of the mark, but soon, in spite of the heavy sea,
214: PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 1862.
they secured the range and enfiladed the fort. After
being in action two hours they were compelled by the
increasing sea to haul off into deeper water. In this
short fight the GemsboJc suffered somewhat in her rig-
ging, and a 32- pounder shot struck the Daylight near
the gangway, passed through the engine room, carried
away a portion of the iron stairway, broke Engineer
Eugene J. Wade's left arm, entered the captain's cabin
and lodged in the port side. The shore batteries, how-
ever, bore the brunt of the conflict. Their fire was ex-
ceedingly effective, driving the enemy from his water
batteries and silencing his remaining guns one by one,
until at four o'clock the fort was surrendered.
Compared with the more important naval operations
in the war, the service on the North Carolina sounds
was of minor importance, but owing to the peculiar
difficulties under which our officers and men labored it
called for great endurance and gallantry. The facili-
ties for constructing ironclads afforded by the several
rivers entering Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds com-
pelled the National forces to make frequent incursions
to such towns as Washington, Plymouth and Hamil-
ton, to assure themselves that such craft were not in
course of construction. If the Confederates could com-
plete an ironclad, it would soon clear these waters of
the frail wooden steamers that constituted the Na-
tional naval force ; and, in spite of great watchfulness,
as will be seen in another chapter, they succeeded in
completing a powerful ironclad, constructed especially
for operations in these shallow waters. On the 9th of
July the Commodore Perry, the Geres and the Shaw-
sheen, under the command of Lieutenant Charles W.
Flusser, with forty soldiers, forced the barricades in
Roanoke River and steamed up to Hamilton. The nar-
row channel compelled the steamers to move cautious-
ly, while the high, thickly wooded banks gave the
Confederate sharpshooters every opportunity to pick
off the officers and men. Notwithstanding a loss of
1862. EXPEDITION AGAINST FRANKLIN. 215
one man killed and ten wounded, Lieutenant Flusser
reached Hamilton, where he captured the steamer Wil-
son and destroyed the battery and earthworks, and
returned unmolested.
On the 3d of October a detachment of troops under
Major-General John A. Dix and a naval force under
Lieutenant Flusser advanced against Franklin. When
about two miles from that town the steamers Commo-
dore Perry (flagship), Hunchback, Lieutenant Edmund
K. Colhoun, and the Whitehead, Acting-Master Charles
A. French, while endeavoring to round a bend in the
river, were tired upon by riflemen in ambush. The
stream at this point was so narrow that even these lit-
tle steamers could not turn round, and they could not
elevate their guns sufficiently to reach the high banks.
Nothing remained but to push ahead, which they did,
only to find themselves cut off from further progress
by barricades across the river. In the mean time the
enemy greatly increased in numbers, and the fire of
musketry made it extremely hazardous for any man
to expose himself on deck or at an open port ; and at
the same time the Confederates began to fell trees
across the stream below the ensnared gunboats so as
to cut off their retreat. The National troops failed to
co-operate with the navy, and "having no support from
the army we had to fight a large force of the enemy
with only three gunboats." * The situation was nearly
hopeless, but after much difficulty the steamers man-
aged to turn their heads downstream, and slowly
pushed their way through the fallen timbers and were
again free. In this affair the navy had four men killed
and eleven wounded.
On the 23d of November the Ellis, Lieutenant Wil-
liam Barker Gushing, steamed up the river Onslow
with a view of surprising the town of that name, seiz-
ing arms and other military stores that had been col-
1 Rear-Admiral Colhoun to the author.
216 PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS. 1862.
lected there, and capturing the Wilmington mail.
When five miles up the river the Ellis met an out-
ward-bound steamer laden with cotton and turpentine,
which the enemy burned to prevent capture. By one
o'clock in the afternoon Lieutenant Gushing arrived at
Onslow, where twenty-five stands of arms, two schoon-
ers and the Wilmington mail were captured, and an
extensive salt-work was destroyed. At daylight the
next day, while returning down the river with the
schooners, the Ellis was fired upon by two pieces of
artillery from the shore ; but after an hour of spirited
cannonading the enemy was silenced, and Lieutenant
Gushing proceeded on his way. About five hundred
yards from a bluff, however, the pilot ran the Ellis
aground, the headway forcing her over a sand bank
and into deeper water on the other side, which was sur-
rounded by shoals. Every effort was made to get her
into the channel again, but in vain.
Several men were now sent to secure the two pieces
of artillery which had just been silenced on shore, so
that they could be used in defense of the Ellis, but on
reaching the place it was found that they had been
carried off. When night came on, one of the captured
schooners was brought alongside, and everything in
the Ellis was transferred to it except the pivot gun,
some ammunition, two tons of coal, and a few small
arms ; but still the steamer could not be moved from
her position. The men were then placed in the schooner
and ordered to make the best of their way down the
river and there await Lieutenant Gushing, who, with
six volunteers, resolved to remain in the Ellis and
fight her to the last plank. Early the next morning,
November 25th, the Confederates opened on the steamer
with four rifled guns from as many points of the com-
pass. Lieutenant Gushing replied to this cross fire as
well as he could, but his boat was soon cut to pieces,
and the only alternative was surrender, or flight in an
open boat which for a mile and a half would be ex-
1862. LIEUT. CUSHING'S NARROW ESCAPE. 217
posed to the enemy' s fire. The plucky lieutenant chose
the latter, and after setting the Ellis on fire and load-
ing her 32-pounder for the last time, he pulled away
with his men, leaving her flag flying, and made down
stream with all speed. After a hard pull the men
escaped the batteries and passed the bar just in time
to elude the Confederate cavalry, which had galloped
around in the hope of cutting them off before they
could gain the open sound. The Ellis shortly after-
ward blew up.
CHAPTER IV.
THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON KOADS.
THE successful introduction of iron in the construc-
tion of merchant vessels had turned the attention of
naval architects to the utility of that material in ships
of war. The great objection that had hitherto been
urged against it was that shot, in passing through, left
an irregular hole, which could not be easily plugged.
In the days of wooden war ships shot holes below the
water line were easily repaired by stoppers made to fit
12, 18, 24 or 32-pound shot, as the case required. But
this objection was soon overcome by plating the ships
so heavily as to render them impervious to shot, while
iron gave the further advantage of water-tight bulk-
heads and greater security against fire. The scarcity
of large timber, both in England and in France, was a
powerful stimulus in the introduction of iron in ship-
building. In 1859 the French launched la Gloire. a
timber- built steam frigate resembling a line of battle
ship cut down and incased with four and three quar-
ters inches of iron. She carried thirty-four 54-pound
guns and two shell guns forward, her draught being
twenty -seven and a half feet and her speed eleven
knots an hour. In that year the French and English
navies stood as follows: Forty line of battle ships,
forty-six frigates and four iron-plated ships on the side
of the French, and fifty line of battle ships and thirty-
four frigates for the English. The ominous "four
iron-plated ships " on the French list turned the scale
heavily in favor of France. The wooden line of battle
ships and frigates were suddenly found to be valueless,
218
1860-1861. NORFOLK NAVY YARD. 219
and many that were on the stocks were not completed.
In great alarm the Admiralty, in 1860, hastened the
construction of the ironclad steam frigate Warrior, the
first of this type in the British navy. The central por-
tions of her sides were plated with four and a half
inches of iron, and her speed was thirteen and a half
knots an hour.
Shortly before the civil war began, Captain Charles
Stewart McCauley, commandant of the Norfolk Navy
Yard, was cautioned by the Government to do nothing
that might lead the people of Virginia to think their
loyalty to the Federal Government was doubted. The
State was then debating the question of secession, and
it was feared that any step to fortify or destroy the
navy yard at Norfolk by the United States officials
might precipitate hostilities. The attitude of the State
authorities became so threatening, however, that on
the 19th of April Captain McCauley determined to de-
stroy the stores and vessels there, the latter consisting
of the old ship of the line Pennsylvania, the sailing
frigate Cumberland, the steam frigate Merrimac, five
large sailing vessels, the sailing sloops of war German-
town and Plymouth and the brig Dolphin.
Before the work of destruction was begun the
Pawnee, Captain Hiram Paulding, having on board
Captain Wright, of the engineers, and a regiment of
Massachusetts volunteers, steamed up Elizabeth River,
on the 20th of April, to assist in saving the vessels and
destroying whatever could not be removed. It was
eight o'clock in the evening when the Pawnee came in
sight of Norfolk, and as the breeze made it impossible
for her answering signal to be distinguished aboard
of the National ships in the yard, preparations were
made to attack her. Seeing that the officer in charge
of the pivot gun aboard the Cumberland was ready to
fire on the Pawnee, and realizing that Captain Pauld-
ing would be likely to return it under the impression
that the yard was actually in the hands of the Confed-
220 TUE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1861.
erates, and that he had been lured into a trap, Lieuten-
ant Allen, of the Pennsylvania, with great presence of
mind, suggested that his people cheer the Pawnee.
By this means the other National vessels knew that the
approaching stranger was a friend, and a possible dis-
astrous fight between the ships was thus averted.
At twenty minutes after four o'clock on the morn-
ing of April 21st a rocket was sent up as a signal for
the ships and the woodwork in the navy yard to be
destroyed, and in a few minutes all the shops, houses,
and war vessels, excepting the Cumberland and
the Pawnee, were set on fire. But the most valuable
part of the stores, with two thousand cannon of the
best make, fell into the hands of the Confederates, and
was distributed over the South. The charge of pow-
der that was to blow up the dry dock failed to ignite.
The Cumberland was in great danger of being cap-
tured, for the enemy had obstructed the channel with
sunken vessels ; but the powerful chartered steamer
Keystone State, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur Trench-
ard, and the tugboat Yankee, after an hour of persist-
ent ramming, succeeded in crushing through the ob-
structions.
The 40-gun frigate Merrimac, of three thousand
five hundred tons, after burning to the water's edge,
sank before the flames had made serious headway on
her lower hull. On the 30th of May she was raised,
and her hull and engines were found to be intact. She
was then placed in the dry dock, and her upper wood-
works were raised to the level of the berth deck, which
was three and a half feet above the light water line.
On this deck, for one hundred and seventy feet amid-
ships, bulwarks consisting of twenty inches of pitch
pine covered with four inches of oak, and sloping at an
angle of thirty-five degrees, were built, meeting the
roof seven feet above the deck. Outside of this
twenty-four inches of solid wood backing were laid
rolled-iron plates two inches thick and eight inches
1862. BUILDING THE MERRIMAC. 221
wide, in horizontal courses, and over this again were
laid similar plates running up and down, the four
inches of iron being bolted through with If -inch iron
rivets, which were secured on the inside. The shot-
proof casemate was covered with a light grating twenty
feet wide and about one hundred and sixty feet long,
forming the promenade deck. Forward of the smoke-
stack was the pilot house, protected by the same thick-
ness of iron as the sides. Forward and aft of this
gunroom the vessel's hull was decked over so as to be
awash when in fighting trim, and attached to the bow
and about two feet under water was a cast-iron ram
projecting some distance beyond the cutwater. This
formidable craft was pierced for ten guns, the ends of
the gunroom being rounded so as to carry 7-inch rifled
guns, which, being mounted on pivots, could be fired
abeam or in the keel line forward and aft. The broad-
side armament consisted of two rifled 6-inch guns and
six 9-inch Dahlgren guns. The four rifled guns were
heavily re-enforced by 3-inch steel bands shrunk around
the breech.
This novel craft, renamed by the Confederates Vir-
ginia, was built after a model made by John L. Porter,
a constructor in the Confederate navy, which was sim-
ilar to some rough drawings prepared by Lieutenant
John M. Brooke, formerly of the United States navy.
The work of rebuilding the Merrimac was carried on
by Constructor Porter, the repairing of the engines was
done by Chief-Engineer William P. Williamson, of the
Confederate navy, and Lieutenant Brooke provided
the rolled-iron plates and the heavy batteries. The
difficulties of rebuilding the Merrimac were greatly
enhanced by the lack of machinery and experienced
laborers. The Confederacy was well supplied with
engineers and officers of the old navy, but the skilled
mechanics were largely in the North, while the work-
shops in the Norfolk Navy Yard had been almost de-
stroyed by the conflagration. The only mills in the
222 THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1862.
South at this time capable of rolling the plates were
the Tredegar works at Richmond.
Such being the extraordinary difficulties under
which the builders of the new Merrimac labored, it is
surprising that their designs were ever realized. Work
on the formidable craft, however, was steadily pushed ;
and when, toward the close of 1861, news came through
the lines that an ironclad vessel was being built at New
York, it stimulated the Confederates to redoubled ef-
forts. But, in spite of their greatest exertions, it was
not until March, 1862, that the new Merrimac ap-
proached completion. She was placed under the com-
mand of Captain Franklin Buchanan, recently of the
United States navy, who had a naval staff of officers,
many of whom had been in the old service. They
were Lieutenants Catesby ap Rogers Jones, Charles
C. Simms, Robert D. Minor, Hunter Davidson, John
Taylor Wood, John R. Eggleston, Walter R. Butt;
Midshipmen R. C. Foute, H. H. Marmaduke, H. B.
Littlepage, W. J. Craig, J. C. Long and Thomas R.
Rootes ; Paymaster James A. Semple, Surgeon Din-
widdie B. Phillips, Assistant-Surgeon Algernon S. Gar-
nett, Captain of Marines Reuben Thome, Engineer
Henry A. Ramsay, Assistant Engineers John W. Tynan,
Loudon Campbell, Benjamin Herring, Jack and Wright ;
Boatswain Charles H. Hasker, Gunner Charles B. Oliver,
Carpenter Hugh Lindsay, Clerk Arthur Sinclair, Jr. ;
Volunteer- Aids Lieutenant Douglas A. Forrest and
Captain Kevil, of the infantry. The Merrimatfs crew
of three hundred and twenty was largely made up of
volunteers from the army around Yorktown, Richmond
and Petersburg.
An hour before noon on the 8th of March, 1862, the
Merrimac cast loose from her moorings in Norfolk and
steamed down Elizabeth River. Up to the last moment
she was crowded with mechanics, coalers and laborers,
many of whom were put ashore after the vessel was
well under way, and so great had been the confusion
1862. THE MERRIMAC'S CONSORTS. 223
and haste in the last few weeks that not a gun had
been fired. The crew had not been exercised even in
the ordinary duties of man-of-war's men, the engines
had not made a single revolution, the officers and men
were strangers to each other, while the ship itself was
a bold experiment, a complete revolution in naval war-
fare, which had not undergone the test of even a trial
trip. In short, the people of the Merrimac were about
to make one of the most hazardous experiments in
naval warfare. Captain Buchanan for some time had
been suffering from nervous prostration, and the doc-
tors had pronounced his case hopeless ; but, undaunted
by the great risks involved, he shipped his cables and
stood down the river, loudly cheered by Confederate
soldiers who lined the shores. From the first it was
seen that the engines were unsatisfactory, making only
five knots at the best, while the great length of the
craft and her twenty-two feet draught made her ma-
noeuvres in the narrow channels exceedingly difficult
and limited.
In the James River lay the Confederate 12-gun
steamer YorJctown, Captain John R. Tucker ; the 2-
gun steamer Jamestown, Lieutenant-Commander Jo-
seph N. Barney, and the 1-gun river tug Teaser, Lieu-
tenant-Commander William A. Webb, ready to join
the Merrimac in the attack on the National ships. The
YorMown (or Patrick Henry) was partially protected
by 1-inch iron plates, which were secured abreast of
her boilers, and, running a few feet forward and aft of
her machinery, extended a foot or two below the water
line. Iron shields in the form of a V were also placed
on the spar deck forward and aft of the engines, to
afford protection from raking shot. The Merrimac
was escorted down Elizabeth River by the steamers
Beaufort, Lieutenant-Commander William H. Parker,
and RaleigJi, Lieutenant-Commander Joseph W. Alex-
ander, mounting one gun each. Leaving the Beaufort
and the RaleigJi at SewelPs Point, Captain Buchanan
224 THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1862.
pushed boldly into the south channel alone, and headed
for Newport News, where lay the United States 50-gun
frigate Congress, Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith, and the
24-gun sloop of war Cumberland, Commander William
Radford, anchored in fancied security under the guns
of the Federal batteries, which commanded all water
communications to Richmond by way of James River.
It was of great importance to the Southern cause that
these interruptions to their communications should be
removed. Farther down Hampton Roads, off Fort Mon-
roe, were the sailing frigate St. Lawrence, Captain Hugh
Young Purviance, and the steam frigates Roanoke and
Minnesota, Captain Gershom Jaques Van Brunt, the
last two being sister ships of the old Merrimac.
It was a beautiful spring morning, and the gentle
sea breeze scarcely rippled the waters of the Roads.
The National ships, with their towering masts, swung
lazily at their anchors, their rigging strung with dry-
ing clothes. Barges and cutters rocked gently at the
booms, while officers and seamen walked quietly about
the decks in the ordinary routine of duty or listlessly
whiled away the time in various occupations. On shore
the same feeling of security and ease prevailed, the
soldiers going through their drills, their polished bay-
onets and musket barrels glistening in the bright sun-
light, while others were busy with preparations for the
midday meal. Everything betokened an entire absence
of fear or suspicion of danger. Early in March Com-
mander William Smith had been detailed from the
Congress, and although he had turned over the com-
mand of the ship to his executive officer, Lieutenant
Joseph B. Smith, he was still aboard waiting for a
steamer to carry him North. Observing the Merrimac,
he volunteered his services while the frigate was in
danger. Commander Radford, of the Cumberland, was
attending a court of inquiry in the Roanoke, some
miles down the Roads, leaving Lieutenant George
Upham Morris in charge of the ship. There had been
18G2.
A PEACEFUL SPRING MORNING.
225
so many rumors about the Merrimac that some of the
National officers had become skeptical of her prowess,
and anticipated little trouble from her.
At nine o'clock on the morning of March 8th the
people in the Union ships noticed the smoke of two
steamers over the woodl.mds that concealed Elizabeth
River from the Cumberland's lookout. Two hours
later a trailing line of smoke lying along the course of
the river indicated the approach of a third steamer, and
at noon the three Confederate vessels were distinctly
seen from the decks of the Cumberland moving down
the river toward Se well's Point. The gunboat Zouave,
lying alongside the Cumberland, was ordered to run
down to Pig Point and ascertain who the strangers
60
226 THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1862.
were. When the Zouave had proceeded about two
miles on her mission her officers saw what looked to
them like the roof of a large barn belching forth smoke
from a chimney, and they were somewhat mystified as
to what it could be. It was decided finally that it was
the Merrimac, and the 32-pounder Parrott gun of the
Zouave was trained on the stranger and six shot were
fired at her ; but the enemy took no notice of this, and
the Zouave was recalled to the Cumberland. A little
before one o'clock the Merrimac emerged from the
river, and came in full view of the National ships.
The peaceful scene in the Roads was speedily trans-
formed into one of hurried preparation for battle. The
soldiers on land paused in their several occupations to
gaze at the novel craft in astonishment and curiosity
until the sharp call to arms sent them to their batteries.
On board the men-of-war, the shrill piping of the boat-
swain's whistle mingling with the rapid orders of offi-
cers indicated a scene of unwonted activity. The rig-
gings were quickly cleared of the "wash," boats were
dropped astern, booms swung alongside, decks cleared
for action, magazines opened, extra sentinels stationed,
ammunition piled in symmetrical rows on deck and
the guns loaded, while down in the cockpit tables were
cleared and bandages arranged in convenient reach, and
the surgeons polished their glittering instruments and
awaited their duties in grim silence.
All this time the Merrimac, with her ports closed,
well in advance of her escorts, had been steadily mov-
ing toward the Congress and the Cumberland, and by
one o'clock she was within long range. About this
time the Cumberland opened with her heavy pivot
guns, which were shortly followed by those of the Con-
gress and the shore batteries, but the huge projectiles
glanced harmlessly from the iron mail of the leviathan,
while on she came in majestic silence. About half past
two o'clock, when within easy range, the Merrimac
opened her bow port and fired her 7-inch rifled gun,
1862. BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER. 227
which was aimed by Lieutenant Simms. The shot
hulled the Cumberland's quarter, and killed or wound-
ed most of the crew of her after pivot gun. Both Na-
tional ships, now only a hundred yards distant from the
Merrimac, delivered full broadsides from their power-
ful batteries, which would have blown any wooden craft
out of the water ; but the storm of iron glanced from
the Merrimatfs plating with no more effect than so
many pebbles. Franklin Buchanan had a brother in
the Congress— Paymaster McKean Buchanan — but this
did not deter him from his purpose of destruction. He
returned the fire of the National ships deliberately and
with deadly effect from his bow gun, and when near
enough the four starboard ports of the Merrimac were
raised, four black muzzles were run out, four long
tongues of flame leapt from her side, and four shells
crashed into the wooden hull of the Congress. Not
waiting to repeat this terrible blow, Buchanan kept
steadily on under full head of steam for the helpless
Cumberland, with a view of testing the power of his
ram. The iron prow of the Merrimac struck the Cum-
berland nearly at right angles under the fore rigging
in the starboard fore channels. The shock was scarcely
felt in the ironclad, but in the Cumberland it was ter-
rific. The ship heeled over to port and trembled as if
she had struck a rock under full sail, while the iron
prow of the Merrimac crushed through her side and
left a yawning chasm. In backing out of the Cumber-
land, the Merrimac left her iron prow inside the
doomed ship. Following up the blow by the discharge
of her bow gun, she backed clear of the wreck. In re-
sponse to a demand for surrender, Lieutenant Morris
defiantly answered, "Never ! I'll sink alongside." For
three quarters of an hour the Merrimac and her con-
sorts concentrated their fire on the doomed Cumber-
land, and the Confederate gunboats YorMown, James-
town and Teaser came down from James River and
joined in the attack.
228 THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1862.
The National commanders now realized the hope-
lessness of the struggle, but, with that indomitable
heroism which has ever characterized the American
seaman, they prepared to fight to the last plank rather
than permit the enemy to secure the ships. Many of
the men stripped to the waist, took off their shoes and
hoisted tank after tank of cartridges on deck so that
the water could not cut them off from their ammuni-
tion. The scene in the Cumberland soon became awful.
One shell, bursting in the sick bay, killed or wounded
four men in their cots. More than a hundred of the
crew very soon were killed or wounded, the cockpit
was crowded, the decks were slippery with blood and
were strewn with the dead and dying, while the inrush-
ing waters and the rapid settling of the ship too plainly
indicated that she would soon go to the bottom. In
order to prevent the helpless wounded on the berth
deck from being drowned, they were lifted up on racks
and mess chests, and as the ship settled more and more
they were removed from this temporary refuge and
carried on deck and placed amidship. This was all
that their shipmates could do for them, and when the
ship finally went down they perished in her. The heroic
commander of the Cumberland maintained the fight
with superb gallantry. It was not long before the ad-
vancing water drove his men from the guns on the
lower deck, but they immediately manned the upper
batteries and renewed the unequal struggle. The red
flag "No quarter" was run up at the fore, as it was re-
solved to sink with the ship rather than let her fall
into the hands of the enemy. As soon as possible
boats were lowered and made fast to a line on the shore
side, but the ship was settling perceptibly. All this
time the guns of the Cumberland were trained and fired
at the enemy as rapidly as possible, and a man in the
Merrimac who ventured outside of the casemate was
cut in two. At half past three o'clock the forward
magazine in the Cumberland was flooded, and the
1862. ATTACK ON THE CONGRESS. 229
water had reached the gun deck and was creeping
around the gun carriages, when five minutes later the
order was given for every one to save himself. The
ship listed heavily to port and went down amid a roar
of escaping air. The colors at the gaff were dragged
beneath the water as the ship settled on the bottom,
but the other ensigns at the mastheads were still visi-
ble, reaching a few feet above the water. "No ship,"
said Lieutenant Wood, of the Herrimac, "was ever
fought more gallantly."
After ramming the Cumberland, the Merrimac
stood up the channel with a view of turning round
and attacking the Congress. During the thirty-five
minutes required for turning she maintained a fire on
both ships. Three times she raked the Congress from
stem to stern with 7-inch shell. Seeing the hopeless-
ness of the struggle, and observing that the ironclad
was preparing to ram his ship, Lieutenant Smith
slipped his cables, set his fore topsail and jib, and
with the aid of the gunboat Zouave ran ashore under
the National batteries, where the shoal water would
not allow the Merrimac to follow.
The Merrimac, at 3.40 P. M., accompanied by her
consorts, approached the Congress. After some ma-
noeuvring she secured a position from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred yards, where she could rake the
Congress with her entire broadside, to which the Con-
gress could not reply except with her two stern chasers.
The murderous shells tore through the frigate with
horrible effect. Lieutenant Smith was soon killed, but
still the heroic crew fought on against tremendous odds,
while the blood running out of her scuppers spattered
the decks of the gunboat Zouave, which was lying
alongside. The gunboats Raleigh and Beaufort, tak-
ing advantageous positions, also poured in a heavy fire.
But in spite of the fearful condition of the ship and
the terrible losses she had sustained, Lieutenant Pen-
dergrast, upon whom the command had devolved, main-
230 THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1862.
tained the unequal contest for more than an hour after
the sinking of the Cumberland, and did not surrender
until one of his two stern guns had been dismounted
and the muzzle of the other was knocked off. By this
time fire had broken out in several places in the ship.
At 4.40 P. M. the Congress lowered her colors and dis-
played a white flag, upon which the gunboats Beaufort
and Raleigh ran alongside to take off her crew and fire
the ship.
Not understanding the situation, the shore batteries
opened a hot fire of cannon and small arms, which com-
pelled the steamers to haul off with only thirty prison-
ers and the colors of the Congress. This flag was rolled
up and taken to Richmond, and three days afterward,
when it was unrolled in the presence of Jefferson Davis
and several of his Cabinet officers, it was found to be
saturated with blood in several places. It was hastily
rolled up and sent to the Navy Department, where it
was probably destroyed when that building was burned
at the close of the war. The Teaser also was driven
off in an attempt to burn the Congress. This fire not
only killed Lieutenant Tayloe and wounded Lieutenant
Hutter of the Raleigh, who were assisting the wound-
ed out of the frigate, but also injured some of the
people in the Congress. The remainder of the Na-
tional crew endeavored to escape to the shore by swim-
ming or in boats. Observing this, the enemy opened
with hot shot, and soon had the ship in flames, and
she burned all that afternoon and far into the night.
About this time a rifle ball from the shore struck Bu-
chanan and Flag-Lieutenant Minor, so that the com-
mand of the Merrimac devolved on Lieutenant Jones.
When the news of the loss of the Cumberland and the
Congress reached Washington, Sunday morning, Cap-
tain Joseph Smith, father of the commander of the
Congress, was attending church. After the service
was over Secretary Welles informed him that the Cum-
berland had been sunk and the Congress had surren-
1862. TREACHERY OF A PILOT. 231
dered. "What!" exclaimed the veteran, "the Con-
gress surrendered? Then Joe is dead." The Secretary
reassured the veteran by saying that the casualties
were as yet unknown, but the heartbroken commodore
replied : " Oh, no ; you don't know Joe as I do. He'd
never surrender his ship." 1
While this spirited fight was going on, the frigates
Minnesota, RoanoTce and St. Lawrence, which had
been lying at Fort Monroe, seven miles below, got un-
der sail, and with the assistance of tugboats set out
for the scene of action. The Minnesota was the first
to get under way, and, running past a brisk fire from
the battery at Sewell's Point, hastened upstream, but
when about a mile and a half from the scene of action
she grounded. Why this ship, with one of Norfolk's
best pilots in charge of her, should have run upon a
well-known shoal at such a critical moment may well
excite suspicion of treachery, and a deeper investiga-
tion reveals it. On the declaration of Mr. Mallory, the
Confederate Secretary of the Navy, it is learned that
" the pilot of the Minnesota, although bound by an
oath of fealty to the United States, was also under
sworn allegiance to the Confederacy and in the service
and pay of its Department of Marine, and the strand-
ing of that ship was in obedience to instructions from
the office in Richmond, where information of the dis-
aster was received in one hour and fifteen minutes after
its occurrence." The pilot was discharged from the
United States service April 19, 1862, and immediately
on his arrival at Norfolk he was appointed second pilot
in the Merrimac. The RoanoJce and the St. Lawrence
also grounded a little above Fort Monroe.
Having completed the destruction of the Cumber-
land and the Congress, the Merrimac, at five o'clock
1 Joseph B. Smith entered the navy as a midshipman October 19. 1841.
Going through the usual routine of a young naval officer, he became passed
midshipman. August 10, 1847; master, August 22, 1855; and lieutenant,
September 14, 1855.
232 THE MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1862.
in the afternoon, turned her attention to the stranded
Minnesota, the St. Lawrence and the Roanolce. For-
tunately, the water in the north channel at that time
was so low that the ram was compelled to take the
south channel and attack the frigates from that quar-
ter. This placed the middle ground between her and
the ships, so that she could not approach nearer than a
mile until high tide. At this long range the ironclad
opened fire, but only one shot struck, and that passed
through the bow. The light-draught consorts of the
Merrimac took a position at easy range, where the
Minnesota could bring but one heavy gun against
them, and before they were driven off they had in-
flicted serious injury. One of their heavy shells
"passed through the chief engineer's stateroom, cross-
ing and tearing up the deck over the cockpit, and
striking the clamp and knee in the carpenter's state-
room, where it exploded, carrying away the beam
clamp and knee, and completely demolishing the bulk-
heads, setting fire to them and ripping up the deck." *
Two shells passed through a port, carried away the
planking and timbers, and splintered several beams
and casings. Another shell passed through the main-
mast about fourteen feet above the deck, cut away one
third of the mast, and parted some of the iron bands.
Another shot passed through the hammock netting
abaft the main rigging, striking the spar deck on the
starboard side, cutting through four planks, then, ric-
ochetting, carried away the truck and axle of a gun
carriage and injured the water-ways.
For about an hour and a half this unequal combat
was kept up, the Minnesota using her 10-inch guns
against the ironclad, while her single stern chaser
played on the mischievous gunboats. It is doubtful
if Captain Van Brunt could have held out long under
the dreadful fire of heavy shells that was steadily and
1 Official report of the carpenter.
18G2. PERIL OF THE ST. LAWRENCE. 233
deliberately rained upon him at this range. At 6.30
p. M. the St. Lawrence was floated off, and in tow of
the tugboat Cambridge was brought into range, but
while still half a mile from the combatants she again
grounded. Her approach, however, relieved the Min-
nesota of the distressing fire of the Confederate gun-
boats. The St. Lawrence then discharged several
broadsides at the Merrimac, but with no effect. In
return she received a heavy shell that penetrated the1
starboard quarter about four inches above the water
line, passed through the pantry of the wardroom and
into the stateroom of the assistant surgeon on the port
side, completely demolished the bulkhead, and then
struck a strong iron bar that secured the bull's-eye of
the port. It then bounded into the wardroom, where
it was spent. Fortunately it did not explode, and no
person was injured. It was now seven o'clock in the
evening, and was so dark that the pilots refused to
keep the Merrimac longer in her present position, as
the fast ebbing tide threatened to leave her aground.
Accordingly, her head was turned toward Sewell's
Point, and shortly afterward she anchored there with
her consorts for the night, intending to renew the work
of destruction on the following morning.
Thus ended the most disastrous day in the career of
the United States navy. Of her crew of four hundred
and thirty-four men, the Congress had one hundred
and thirty killed or drowned, including her commander,
and a large number of wounded, and thirty taken pris-
oners. The Cumberland, with a crew of three hundred
and seventy-six, had one hundred and twenty killed or
drowned, and a large number of those wTho escaped to
the shore were wounded. On the part of the enemy,
two were killed in the Merrimac, and eight, including
Captain Buchanan, were wounded. The total loss of
the Confederates, including the gunboats, was twenty-
one killed or wounded. Although the Merrimac had
been the target for more than one hundred heavy guns,
234 THE MERRIMAO IN HAMPTON ROADS. 1862.
her casemate had not been materially injured. But
everything exposed was swept away. Her flagstaff had
been repeatedly shot away, and her colors were several
times fastened to the smokestack, but only to be car-
ried away again. The flag was finally fastened to a
boarding pike. Stanchions, railings, davits, steam
pipes and boats had been demolished, while two of the
broadside guns had been disabled by having their muz-
zles shot away. Further than this she was as danger-
ous as ever, and only awaited the return of daylight
and tide to complete the destruction of the wooden
vessels in the Roads.
The disastrous results of this day's fight spread the
profoundest gloom over the North, and caused corre-
sponding rejoicing in the South. Extraordinary meas-
ures for protecting Northern ports were suggested, for
the appearance of the " terrible monster" was momen-
tarily expected at all the seaports. Anything strange
or abnormal pertaining to the sea is peculiarly liable to
the wildest exaggeration among the average landsmen.
The Merrimac certainly was a "new fish" in naval
architecture, and she had proved her terrible power.
It is not strange, then, that immediately following the
announcement of the disaster of March 8th the wildest
reports found credence. The scuttling of the noble
frigate St. Lawrence, so as to obstruct the channel of
the Potomac, was seriously considered, while the only
measure proposed possessing the elements of success
was considered a prodigious joke : this was stretching
a huge fish net across the Potomac so as to entangle
the Merrimac's propeller. The President called a
special meeting of the Cabinet, and the fear was freely
expressed that the whole character of the war was
changed. The proposed peninsular campaign was ren-
dered impracticable if the base of operations was at the
mercy of the Merrimac, and the blockade of the most
important Southern port would be raised. Nothing
now, in the opinion of all, could prevent the iron mon-
1862. GLOOM IN THE NORTH. 235
ster from destroying all the ships in Hampton Roads,
making her way up the Potomac, and laying Wash-
ington in ashes. Then, after raising the blockade of
other Southern ports, she would turn northward and
lay the great seaports under enormous contribution.
This done, there could be no doubt that England and
France would acknowledge the independence of the
Confederate States. Such were the hopes of the Mer-
rimad's people as they rested that night off SewelPs
Point and dreamed of easy victory on the morrow.
Such were the fears of the loyal sailors as with dread
and agony they awaited the renewal of the bloody
scene. Nothing but an act of Providence could save
them. And that act of Providence was at hand.
CHAPTER V.
BUILDING THE MONITOR.
ON October 4, 1861, four months after the raising of
the Merrimac at Norfolk, the Government entered
into a contract with John Ericsson, of New York, for
the construction of a war vessel of such type as the
world had never seen and few had ever dreamed of.
An iron-plated raft one hundred and seventy-two feet
over all, forty-one and a half feet beam and eleven and
one-third feet depth of hold, and a revolving iron turret
containing two 11-inch Dahlgren guns, were the strik-
ing features of this novel craft. As less than two feet
of the hull was to appear above water, the target sur-
face was reduced to a minimum ; and as a further se-
curity, this surface was plated with five layers of iron,
each -of which was one inch thick, while the deck was
protected by two layers of half-inch plates. The tur-
ret, twenty feet in diameter, inside measurement, and
nine feet high, was built of eight layers of one-inch
iron plates ; and the roof was protected by railroad
iron, while the propeller and the rudder at the stern
and the anchor at the bow were protected by the over-
hang of the deck. The pilot house on deck forward
was made of massive bars of iron, and a movable iron
plate, an inch and a half thick, covered the top of it.
The idea of such a war ship was suggested to John
Ericsson nearly half a century before, by observing
the motions of the lumber rafts on the lakes in Sweden.
He wrote to Gustavus Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary
of the Navy, under date of October 5, 1875 : " I found
that while the raftsman in his elevated cabin experi-
236
1861. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MONITOR IDEA. 237
enced very little motion, the seas breaking over his
nearly submerged craft, these seas at the same time
worked the sailing vessels nearly on their beam ends."
Ericsson's enmity for Russia, the old-time enemy of
his native land, seems to have been the principal mo-
tive in developing and perfecting this raft idea of naval
warfare, and on the outbreak of the war between the
northern empire and the Franco- Anglican alliance he
sent the plan of a monitor, in 1854, to the Emperor of
the French. Napoleon III was not much impressed
with the scheme, and wrote : "I have found your ideas
very ingenious and worthy of the celebrated name of
their author, but I think the results to be obtained
would not be proportionate to the expenses or to the
small number of guns which could be brought into
use." Napoleon III prided himself upon his knowl-
edge of artillery ; but when he saw how badly his
cruisers fared in the Black Sea, and how the Russian
squadron was able to steam into Sinope and destroy
the Turkish fleet, he was greatly chagrined, and, says
William Conant Church : " If he did not take Ericsson's
plan, he certainly adopted the suggestion of armor de-
fense, and built five armor-clads, England following in
humble imitation with an equal number on the same
general plan."
On the 8th of August, 1861, a naval board, consist-
ing of the veteran Captains Joseph Smith and Hiram
Paulding and Commander Charles Henry Davis, was
appointed by President Lincoln for the purpose of ex-
amining plans for ironclad vessels. Among the hun-
dreds of novel suggestions laid before this board was
the plan, in a modified form, that Napoleon III had
rejected. At the outbreak of the civil war Ericsson
perfected a few details of this craft and forwarded it
to Washington in the care of C. S. Bushnell, of New
Haven, Conn. " I succeeded at length," said Mr. Bush-
nell, "in getting Captains Smith and Paulding to prom-
ise to sign a report advising the building of one trial
238 BUILDING THE MONITOR. 1861.
battery, provided Captain Davis would join with them.
On going to him I was informed that I might ' take the
little thing home and worship it, as it would not be
idolatry, because it was in the image of nothing in the
heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters
under the earth.'"
The idea of a turret had been suggested before
Ericsson's Monitor. Theodore Ruggles Timby, in 1841,
planned a system of coast defense based upon the
idea of a revolving turret, either on land or afloat, and
in 1859 Captain Coles, of the British navy, perfected a
revolving cupola on a vessel in the form of a raft, but
it was never properly tested. Three types of armored
vessels were finally recommended by the naval board
for adoption — the floating battery Ironsides, the
Galena and the Monitor. In recommending the last
type the members of the board exhibited a courage
seldom equaled in naval history. The weight of pro-
fessional experience and prejudice was against them.
The most advanced naval constructors of that day, the
French, had recently rejected the Monitor. Ericsson
himself, although one of the most brilliant engineers
of the age, had been the inventor of some, notable fail-
ures— from a practical point of view, though all were
valuable to science. The naval bureaus for many years
had been strongly prejudiced against him, and had un-
justly associated with him the bursting of the Prince-
torts 12-inch gun, February 28, 1844, by which the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Navy, Captain
Beverly Kennon and Colonel Gardiner, of Gardiner's
Island fame, had been killed. It required bold men to
advocate the Monitor idea in the face of such circum-
stances. If the craft was successful, the glory would
go to the inventor ; if a failure, the full weight of odium
would fall on the men who recommended it. They
were responsible men, who had spent a lifetime in
studying the science of naval warfare. The hundreds
oMnventions brought before them for consideration
1801. DOUBTS ABOUT THE MONITOR. 239
were largely the products of irresponsible men, whose
only object was that of getting contracts out of the Gov-
ernment. Joseph Smith, Hiram Paulding and Charles
H. Davis wagered a lifetime of brilliant service when
they selected Ericsson's plan and gave their signatures
to it. Ericsson wrote, "A more prompt and spirited
action is probably not on record in a similar case than
that of the Navy Department as regards the Monitor " ;
and Ericsson's intimate acquaintance with the English
Admiralty and the French Department of the Marine
eminently qualified him as a judge in this particular.
"Go ahead !" was the order the inventor received, and
while the contract was being drawn up at Washington
the keel-plate of the Monitor was being run through
the rolling-mill in New York.
Some idea of the great responsibility resting on the
naval board in recommending Ericsson's plan can be
gained by the doubts and sneers from men high in the
profession. One of the first objections urged against
the Monitor was that the concussion of such great guns
in the confined space of the turret would be greater
than the gunners could endure ; but Ericsson's ex-
perience in firing heavy guns from little huts while he
was an officer in the Swedish army had demonstrated
that, if the muzzles protruded from the turret, the con-
cussion would be inconsiderable. Naval experts be-
sieged the board with calculations showing that the
Monitor would not float with the amount of iron that
was to be placed on her. Even the builders of the
strange craft took the precaution of constructing
wooden tanks to buoy up her stern when she was
launched, lest she should plunge and stay under water.
"Even if the ridiculous structure does float," said the
experts, "she is top-heavy and will promptly capsize."
Misgivings as to her stability, "on account of the ab-
rupt termination of the iron raft to the wooden vessel,"
were even in the minds of the naval board after it had
sanctioned the building of the craft, and it was sug-
240 BUILDING THE MONITOR. 1861.
gesfced that the angles be filled in with wood. "But,"
added the board, "if the whole thing is a failure this
will be of little consequence." It was even suggested
that some of the essential features of the Monitor be
sacrificed in order to " save her from the possibility of
failure." It was urged that in a heavy sea one side of
the vessel would rise out of the water, or the sea recede
from it, and the wooden hull underneath the iron raft
would strike the water with such force when it came
down as to knock the people on board off their feet.
Others were confident that in heavy weather the over-
hang at the bow and stern would slap down on waves
with such force as to rip it off the hull below ; and
some were confident that the iron plating would settle
the sides of the wooden vessel so that her deck would
become curved and finally break.
The best-grounded objections to the new craft were
to the confined quarters of the officers and crew, many
predicting that in heavy weather they would be smoth-
ered by possible defects in the ventilation or escaping
gas from the engine fires. Sailors, like other people,
object to being buried before they are dead, and the
quarters of the Monitor were unpleasantly suggestive
of Davy Jones' locker. To be stowed away for days
in an iron box under water, with artificial light and
ventilation, with no place for exercise and with little
chance for throwing off the accumulating smells of a
kitchen, engine room, mess room and sleeping quarters,
is too much like death to make life worth living. It
is possible to pack machinery away like this, and in
machinery Ericsson had no equal; but when he en-
deavored to treat human beings in the same way he
met the serious defect in his Monitor system. Cap-
tain Smith saw this, and suggested that a temporary
house be built on the deck for the accommodation of the
officers and crew. This suggestion was followed out in
several instances, the Winnebago at the battle of Mo-
bile Bay having a large wooden structure on her deck ;
1861. ON A TRIAL TRIP. 241
but lack of time and the prospect of an early battle
made it impracticable to carry it out in the case of the
Monitor.
In the light of the present day these many doubts
and misgivings relative to the Monitor may seem child-
ish ; but at that time the experiment had not been
made, and the criticisms were eminently pertinent and
showed the intelligence of the critics. It is common
to . ridicule the doubts and distrusts arising in the
minds of people of past generations when some new
invention, such as a steamboat, a railroad or an elec-
tric machine, first came in vogue : but it is safe to say
that equal distrust would arise in the minds of the
present generation should some equally radical inven-
tion be brought to our notice.
The keel of the Monitor was laid in the shipyard
of Thomas F. Rowland, Continental Iron Works,
Greenpoint, Long Island, on the 25th of October, 1861.
In order to test the confidence of the builders in the
new vessel, a clause in the contract stipulated that
" the money was to be refunded to the Government if
the ironclad proved to be a failure." On the 30th of
January, 1862, or in one hundred days, the ironclad
was launched. This was a most extraordinary feat in
naval construction, the building of a war vessel in six
months at that time being considered almost an im-
possibility. On the 19th of February the new ironclad
went on her trial trip and was handed over to the Gov-
ernment ; but it was not until March 4th that her guns
were mounted and a board of naval officers reported
favorably upon her. At the request of Ericsson the
new craft was called Monitor. In a letter to Mr. Fox,
he said: "The impregnable and aggressive character
of this structure will admonish the leaders of the
Southern rebellion that the batteries on the banks of
their rivers will no longer prevent the entrance of
Union forces. The ironclad intruder will thus prove a
severe monitor to those leaders. But there are other
61
24:2 BUILDING THE MONITOR. 1801.
leaders who will also be startled and admonished by
the booming of the guns from the impregnable iron
turret. 'Downing Street' will hardly view with in-
difference this last 'Yankee notion,' this monitor. To
the Lords of the Admiralty the new craft will be a
monitor, suggesting doubts as to the propriety of com-
pleting those four steel-clad ships at three and a half
millions apiece. On these and many similar grounds I
propose to name the new battery Monitor" It was
at first intended that the Monitor should join the ex-
pedition to New Orleans, and in reference to this As-
sistant-Secretary Fox wrote to Ericsson, February 6,
1862, "Can your monitor sail [steam] for the Gulf of
Mexico by the 12th inst. ? " But the report of the com-
pletion of the Merrimac, at Norfolk, changed the des-
tination of the new ironclad.
It required no ordinary degree of courage for officers
and men to enlist in such a novel ship of war as this.
When Stephen Decatur, at the head of seventy-six
men, entered the harbor of Tripoli in 1804 in a ketch,
and destroyed the PJiiladelphia under the guns of
Turkish batteries, Nelson pronounced it the most dar-
ing act of the age. The officers and men of the Moni-
tor were not only entering a place of equal danger, but
were navigating an entirely new machine, which at any
moment might become more formidable and merciless
to them than even the Confederate guns. The officers,
who volunteered for this service were Lieutenant John
Lorimer Worden, Lieutenant Samuel Dana Greene,
Acting-Master Louis N. Stodder, Acting-Master John
J. N. Webber, Acting-Assistant-Surgeon Daniel C.
Logue, Acting- Assistant-Paymaster William F. Keeler,
First- Assistant-Engineer Isaac Newton, Second-Assist-
ant-Engineer Albert B. Campbell, Third- Assistant-En-
gineer Robinson W. Hands, Fourth- Assistant-Engineer
Mark Trueman Sunstrom, Captain's-Clerk D. Toffey,
Quartermaster P. Williams, Gunner's-Mate J. Crown
and Boatswain's-Mate J. Stocking. Lieutenant Wor-
1861. THE CONSTITUTION AND THE MONITOR. 243
den left a sick bed to take this command. Chief-Engi-
neer Alban C. Stimers volunteered to go on board as a
passenger, and performed valuable service in the ves-
sel. The crew were volunteers selected from the frigate
Sdbine and the receiving- ship North Carolina.
There were many points of similarity in the Moni-
tor and the old 44-gun frigate Constitution. Both
were radical innovations in naval construction in their
day, the mounting of 24-pounders in the broadside of
a frigate in 1797 being almost as startling as the huge
11-inch guns in the Monitor. The Constitution and
the Monitor caused marked changes in the naval archi-
tecture of their days ; both were superior to anything
afloat, Old Ironsides being heavier in armament than
any frigate of her day, while her speed enabled her to
outsail the line-of-battle ships. The deck measure-
ments of the Monitor and the Constitution were within
a few feet of each other ; the latter mounted fifty-five
guns, with a total shot weight of seven hundred and
sixty-five pounds to the broadside, while the former
mounted but two guns, with three hundred and sixty
pounds. The cost of the Monitor was two hundred
and seventy-five thousand dollars, an'd that of the Con-
stitution was three hundred and two thousand dollars.
When the Constitution sailed from Boston, in 1812, to
try a battle with an English frigate, orders arrived a
few hours afterward to have her remain in port. When
the Monitor sailed to meet the enemy, in 1862, orders
arrived, as will be seen in the next chapter, changing
her destination.
CHAPTER VI.
IRON VERSUS IRON.
AT eleven o'clock on the morning of March 6, 1862,
the Monitor, although designed for the smooth waters
of harbors and rivers, in tow of the tugboat Seth Low,
and escorted by the steamers CurritucTc and Sachem,
ventured into the boisterous waters of the Atlantic.
Scarcely had she passed the Narrows when orders were
received to change her destination to Washington, and
a tugboat was immediately sent in chase of the iron-
clad, but in vain. Similar orders were then tele-
graphed to Captain Marston at Hampton Roads.
When the Monitor passed Sandy Hook there was but
little wind, and on the first day out she experienced
pleasant weather. On the second day the breeze fresh-
ened, and drove seas over her exposed decks in alarm-
ing quantity. In spite of every contrivance, the berth-
deck hatches leaked and the water poured in like a
cascade. The waves, rolling completely over the pilot
house, knocked the helmsmen from the wheel, poured
into the sight-holes or sweeping aft broke against the
turret, and ran around the massive tower in swift
eddies. The turret did not revolve on rollers, but slid
on a smooth, bronze ring let into the deck. Before she
left New York hemp rope had been packed into the
crevice between the ring and the base of the turret to
keep out the water ; but in a short time this packing
was washed away, and the sea poured through the
opening. The people in the Monitor also neglected to
stop the hawse holes, and quantities of water entered
by that way, so that before long the vessel was in dan-
244
1862. THE MONITOR NEARLY FOUNDERS. 2tt5
ger of foundering. The seas increased in violence until
the gunboats escorting her rolled so much that it was
possible at times to look down their holds from the
turret of the Monitor. The waves broke over the
smokestack of the ironclad, which was only six feet
high, and poured down into the tires. The steam
pumps were started, but the waves broke over the
blower pipes, which were only four feet high, and, run-
ning down in large streams, drenched the blower ma-
chinery so that the belts slipped. Thus deprived of
their artificial draft, the furnaces could not get air for
combustion, and the engine room was soon filled with
suffocating gas. Engineers Newton and Stimers rushed
into the confined space to check the inflowing water,
but were overcome with the gas, and with great diffi-
culty they were dragged out, more dead than alive, and
carried to the top of the turret — the only place in the
vessel where fresh air could be obtained — and here
they slowly revived. Water continued to pour down
the blower pipes and smokestack and nearly extin-
guished the fires, and filled the engine room with such
quantities of gas that it was impossible for any man
to remain there.
The fires soon got so low that the steam pumps would
not operate. The hand pumps were then manned, but
were found to be useless, as they were not of sufficient
power to force the water to the top of the turret, the
only place through which it would pass. Bailing was
then resorted to, but the buckets had to be passed
from the hold through a series of passages and lad-
ders, so that even if they were not emptied by the
tossing and rolling of the ship when they reached the
top of the turret, the time required rendered this a
vain endeavor. From the forward part of the ship
came the most dismal and unearthly screams and
groans, which were caused by the air in the anchor well.
"They resembled," said Lieutenant Greene, "the death
groans of twenty men, and were the most dismal and
246 IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
awful sounds ever heard." These discordant noises
did not tend to raise the spirits of the seamen. The
water continued to pour through the hawse holes,
hatches, pilot house, smokestack and blower pipes in
alarming quantities. Destruction stared the heroic
crew in the face, and undoubtedly the vessel would
have foundered in a few hours had not the wind to-
ward evening died away and the waves subsided.
When at last, in comparatively smooth waters, the
engines were put in motion and the men took heart.
But toward midnight they again got into a rough sea
and had to fight the inrtishing water. To add to their
complication of the previous day, the wire wheel-ropes
for steering the vessel came off the wheels, and all
hands were occupied most of that night in hauling on
ropes by hand and readjusting the steering gear. Sat-
urday morning, March 8th, they again came into
smooth water. Although exhausted and dispirited by
thirty-six hours of struggle for life, and sadly discour-
aged by the many defects that were developed in the
''trial trip" of their novel craft, the men immediately
set to work pumping out the water and making repairs.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, while they were
passing Cape Henry, the distant booming of shotted
guns was heard. It was the Merrimac completing the
destruction of the Congress, and soon afterward the
pilot came aboard and told the dreadful story of that
day. With quickened pulse the men of the Monitor
keyed up the turret, cleared for action and made every
exertion to reach the scene of hostilities, but it was
nine o'clock in the evening before they arrived off Fort
Monroe. As the night advanced the burning frigate
presented a magnificent spectacle. " The moon in her
second quarter was just rising over the waters, but her
silvery light was soon paled by the conflagration of the
Congress, whose glare was reflected in the river. The
burning frigate, four miles away, seemed much nearer.
As the flames crept up the rigging, every mast, spar
18C2. IN SIGHT OP THE ENEMY. 247
and rope glittered against the dark sky with dazzling
lines of fire. The hull was plainly visible, and upon its
black surface the mouth of each porthole seemed the
mouth of a fiery furnace. For hours the flames raged
with hardly a perceptible change in the wondrous pic-
ture. At irregular intervals loaded guns and shells,
exploding as the fire reachecT them, shook up a shower
of sparks and sent forth their deep reverberations. The
masts and rigging were still standing, apparently al-
most intact, when at one o'clock in the following morn-
ing she blew up." ' Lieutenant Worden immediately
reported to Captain Marston, of the Jtoanofce, and the
latter, in view of the disastrous results of that day, dis-
obeyed his order to send the Monitor to Washington,
and directed her to remain in the Roads. Ac ting- Mas-
ter Samuel Howard volunteering as pilot, the Monitor
again got under way, steamed up the channel, and
about midnight anchored beside the Minnesota, which
ship was still fast aground.
The gloom and depression pervading the National
forces at Hampton Roads on the night of the 8th was
-scarcely disturbed by the arrival of this untried and
diminutive stranger, which had barely escaped a pre-
mature end in her own element, and which now could
hardly be distinguished as she lay in the dark shadow
of the powerful frigate she presumed to protect. Nor
were the men in the Monitor in a condition to go
through the terrible ordeal of the morrow. They were
completely exhausted. Isaac Newton was confined in
his bunk. He had been under a severe strain during
the trip from New York, and he was not expected to
be ready for duty for at least a week. During the last
fifty hours this heroic ship's company had been bat-
tling against the sea night and day for mere existence,
and now, just as they were exhausted to the last de-
gree, they were called upon to face a foe flushed with
1 R. E. Colston, in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. i, p. 714.
2-iS IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
victory, whose vessel had safely passed the test of one
hundred heavy guns, and who were resting in security
and quiet, dreaming of greater victories on the morrow.
All night long the sounds of preparation for the
impending conflict were heard in the little ironclad.
There was no time for rest, and as the dawn of Sunday,
March 9th, broke over the placid waters of Hampton
Roads, they eagerly sought the first glimpse of their
confident antagonist. Gradually her dark outlines be-
gan to assume shape through the mist that shrouded
the shores, and by daylight she was in full view, silent
and majestic in the consciousness of her prowess.
Soon dense volumes of black smoke began to curl
lazily upward, indicating that she was beginning prepa-
rations for the work of destruction. At eight o'clock
Sunday morning the Merrimac slipped her moorings,
and in command of Lieutenant Jones turned her head
toward the Minnesota, evidently with the intention of
beginning on her. The iron monster leisurely steamed
toward the Rip-Raps, and while yet a mile away fired
a gun, the shot striking the Minnesota's counter.
Now was the time for the Monitor to make her
debut. All eyes were turned on the insignificant craft,
some with hope, others wTith contempt, but all feeling
that on her depended what little chance there was for
escape from a renewal of the horrible scenes of the day
before. It was with a sense of relief and astonishment,
therefore, that they beheld the Monitor swing from
her anchorage and boldly head for the iron monster.
From descriptions and plans that the Confederates had
received from the North, they immediately recognized
the novel machine as the Monitor. One of the men in
the Merrimac wrote : " We soon descried a strange-
looking iron tower sliding over the waters toward us.
It had been seen by the light of the burning Con-
gress the night before, and it was reported to us by
one of the pilots." The presence of the Monitor caused
a change in the Confederate programme, which was, to
1862. FIRST FIGHT OF IRONCLADS. 249
destroy the Minnesota first, and then the Roanoke and
the St. Lawrence, after which the way to Washington
and New York would be open to the all-powerful Mer-
rimac. Instead of proceeding directly for her prey,
therefore, the Merrimac turned on the little Monitor,
to settle immediately all questions as to who should be
master of the Roads.
The two strange vessels, so different both from each
other and from everything else afloat, now approached
in silence. The other vessels and the shores of the
Roads were crowded with eager and anxious specta-
tors. On the one side the Unionists awaited the issue
with deepest anxiety and palpitating hearts, while on
the other side the Confederates watched the approach-
ing duel with confidence and expectant delight. But
all felt that the result of the combat before them would
tilt the scales of the civil war heavily one way or the
other. About this time Lieutenant Worden took his
station in the pilot house with the pilot and quarter-
master, while Lieutenant Greene and Chief -Engineer
Stimers, with sixteen men, manned the guns in the
turret and the machinery for revolving it. Acting-
Master Stodder was first stationed at the wheel for re-
volving the turret, and when he was disabled Stimers
took his place. Acting-Master Webber commanded
the powder division on the berth deck, while the pay-
master and the captain's clerk on the berth deck passed
orders from the pilot house. The remainder of the
crew — thirty-six men — were at their stations in the
engine room, cockpit and magazines. Lieutenant Butt,
of the Merrimac, had been a roommate of Lieutenant
Greene in the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
About 8.30 A. M. the Merrimac opened with her
bow gun, but now she did not have the broad side of a
frigate to aim at and her missile went wide of the mark
—one point in favor of the Monitor which the specta-
tors of the duel were quick to note. Lieutenant Wor-
den reserved his fire until within short range, when he
250
IRON VERSUS IRON.
changed his course so as to run alongside of his antag-
onist ; then he stopped his engines and gave the order
"Begin firing!" Immediately the port covers were
triced back, the turret revolved until the guns bore,
and massive 11-inch solid shot were hurled at the
Merrimac. Almost at the same instant the Merrimac
brought her starboard broadside to bear, and, taking
more careful aim, fired. Lieutenant Greene and his
men heard the heavy shot strike viciously on their tur-
ret, and for a moment they looked anxiously about
them to discover the result of this first test of their
citadel. It was seen at a glance that the shot had not
penetrated, and as the turret again revolved obediently
to the order, a look of confidence and hope spread over
every countenance and the men reloaded with a will.
After this first pass of arms the ironclads turned
and again fired, this time even at closer quarters than
before. The Monitor used solid shot, and fired about
once in eight minutes, while the Merrimac fired shells
exclusively. The broadsides were exchanged, with no
effect on the Monitor, while her men, growing more
confident in the protection of her turret, even presumed
to look out of the
ports and see
what effect their
shot had on the
enemy. No dam-
age could be dis-
covered on the
sides of the Mer-
rimac, but the
difference in the
superior weight
of 11-inch shot and the lighter guns of the wooden fri-
gates was realized by the Confederate crew. About
this time Acting-Master Stodder was disabled while
leaning against the side of the turret when it was
struck by a shell from the Merrimac. The guns of
Monitor and Merrimac.
1862. A MOMENT OP ANXIETY. 251
the Merrimac were now fired as fast as they could be
loaded, and the Monitor responded every seven or
eight minutes. In this contest the latter had the ad-
vantage over her huge antagonist, for her light draught
and superior speed enabled her to manoeuvre with
adroitness, while her revolving turret brought her guns
into range whenever they were loaded. The Merrimac,
of course, could not fire until her guns bore, and on ac-
count of her great draught she was confined to the narrow
channel, while the loss of her smokestack on the day
before caused her fires to run so low that Chief-Engi-
neer Ramsay reported that it was exceedingly difficult
to keep up any steam at all. This enabled the little
Monitor to counterbalance the superior number of the
enemy's guns by keeping out of range. At one time
she secured a position from which she poured in her
heavy shot, while the Merrimac for several minutes
could not bring a gun to bear.
After firing broadside after broadside with no ap-
parent effect upon his antagonist, Lieutenant Worden
sought for some vulnerable place where he could ram
the Merrimac, and Lieutenant Jones, of the Merrimac,
says, " This manoeuvring caused us great anxiety." At
length a dash was made at the Merrimac1 s stern, in the
hope of disabling the rudder or the propeller. The
blow was well aimed, but missed its mark by three
feet, so that the Monitor grazed along the Merrimac9 s
quarter, and at this instant Lieutenant Greene dis-
charged both his guns at the same time. The solid 11-
inch shot struck close together halfway up the case-
mate and crushed in the iron plates two or three inches.
The concussion was terrific, knocking over the crew of
the after guns in the Merrimac and causing many of
her men to bleed at the nose and ears. Another shot
planted in the same place would have penetrated ; but
this could not easily be done, owing to the peculiar
difficulties under which the people in the turret labored
and the want of practice in working the machinery
252 IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
that revolved it. Lieutenant Jones says: " We won-
dered how proper aim could be taken in the very short
time the guns were in sight."
The only view the men in the turret had of the out-
side world was over the muzzles of their guns, which
cleared the ports by only a few inches. When the
guns were run in after each discharge the heavy iron
stoppers covered the ports, leaving the gunners to-
tally at loss as to what was going on outside until the
guns were again run out. As the turret began to re-
volve again, they had to watch through their narrow
strip of light until the Merrimac was swung into their
line of vision. It was only with great difficulty that
the enormous mass of iron composing the turret could
be started on its revolution. The machinery and the
turret itself had become rusty on the passage from
New York, so that when once started it was even more
difficult to stop it at the desired point. Consequently
the men in the turret were obliged to fire " on the fly,"
or whOe the turret was revolving, lest they should be
carried past the range before the engine could bring
them to a standstill.
Another great embarrassment under which the gun-
ners labored was that of distinguishing the bow from
the stern and the starboard from the port side when
inclosed in their dark tower. White marks had been
made on the stationary deck inside the turret, which
was next to the revolving deck on which they stood ;
but soon their confined space in the turret was filled
with burnt gunpowder and smoke, which blackened the
faces of the men and their clothing, and everything in
the place was covered with a thick layer of soot, which
completely obliterated all traces of the distinguishing
white marks, leaving the men ignorant as to which di-
rection the bow, stern, starboard or port side was in.
Furthermore, the rotary motion of the turret made
them dizzy and confused their vision. The question
was constantly passed to the pilot house, "How does
1863. IX THE MONITOR'S TURRET. 253
the Merrimac bear?" The answer would be, " On the
starboard beam "or " On the port quarter," as the case
might be ; but the men in the turret were at loss to
know in which direction the starboard or port side
lay. Consequently, when the guns were ready to be
fired the port covers were hauled back and the turret
set in motion, while the gunners, without the least
idea as to the whereabouts of their foe, closely watched
their narrow strip of horizon until the frowning
sides of the Merrimac swept into view, when they
fired.
This complication of difficulties led to the danger of
firing into their own pilot house. Soon after the action
began both vessels were involved in volumes of smoke,
which frequently enveloped them so as to render their
outlines exceedingly indistinct, if not entirely con-
cealed. This, together with the fact that the Monitor's
turret was filled with smoke, might easily induce an
excited gunner, already confused by the whirligig mo-
tion of the turret, and fully convinced that he must fire
on the fly, to pull the lanyard as the beclouded out-
lines of the pilot house came into view. The speaking-
tube that connected the pilot house with the turret was
broken early in the action, so that all orders had to be
transmitted verbally. This led to much delay in exe-
cuting orders, and also caused errors, as the messenger
intrusted to this duty was a landsman and frequently
confused the technical terms he conveyed. Another
great object constantly held in view by the sorely em-
barrassed men in the turret was to prevent the enemy
from landing a shell within it. Such a disaster would
be irreparable, as there were not enough men in the
vessel to form a relief crew, even if the turret and
guns were not disabled by such an explosion. The
effect of heavy shot striking the turret was not serious
unless men happened to be standing near the iron
where the shot struck. Three men were knocked down
in this way, including Chief -Engineer S timers, who was
254 IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
not seriously hurt. The other two men were carried
below and recovered before the battle was over.
Despairing of injuring the Monitor, Lieutenant
Jones made for the Minnesota, but in so doing he ran
his vessel aground. In a short time, however, he got
her afloat again. As the Merrimac approached the
Minnesota the latter delivered full broadsides, but
with no effect, although fifty solid shot were fired. The
enemy responded with shells from his bow gun, one of
which exploded amidships on the berth deck, and tore
four rooms into one and started a fire. The second
shell exploded the boiler of the steamer Dragon that
was lying alongside the frigate. By the time the Mer-
rimac fired her third shell at the Minnesota the Mon-
itor was again in range, and the duel between the iron-
clads was renewed. After hurling broadside after
broadside at the Monitor with no effect, the Merrimac
determined to try her ram, manreuvring some time for
a position, and an opportunity at last presented itself.
On went the ironclad at full speed, but her vigilant
foe eluded the shock, so that only a slanting blow was
given.
One of the men in the Merrimac wrote: "Nearly
two hours passed, and many a shot and shell were ex-
changed at close quarters, with no perceptible damage
to either side. The Merrimac is discouragingly cum-
brous and unwieldy. To wind her for each broadside
fifteen minutes are lost, while during all this time the
Monitor is whirling around and about like a top, and
the easy working of her turret and her precise and
rapid movements elicit the wondering admiration of
all. She is evidently invulnerable to our shell. Our
next movement is to run her down. We ram her with
all our force. But she is so flat and broad that she
merely slides away from under our hull, as a floating
door would slip away from under the cutwater of a
barge. All that we could do was to push her. Lieu-
tenant Jones now determined to board her, to choke
1862. AT CLOSE QUARTERS. 255
her turret in some way, and lash her to the Merrimac.
The blood is rushing through our veins, the shrill
pipe and the hoarse roar of the boatswain, ' Boarders
away ! ' are heard, but lo, our enemy has hauled off
into shoal water, where she is safe from our ship as if
she was on the topmost peak of Blue Ridge." "Her
bow passed over our deck," wrote Chief -Engineer Al-
bans C. Stimers, who was a volunteer in the Monitor,
to Ericsson, "and our sharp upper edge rail cut
through the light iron shoe upon her stem, and well
into her oak." At the instant of the collision Lieuten-
ant Greene planted an 11 -inch shot on the Merrimac 's
forward casemate, which crushed in the iron and shat-
tered the wooden backing, but did no further damage.
Had the gun been charged with fifty pounds of pow-
der, the shot would have penetrated ; but peremptory
orders had been issued by the department to use only
fifteen pounds in the charge, as the guns were new and
were of extraordinarily large caliber for those days.
On the other hand, had the Merrimac used solid shot,
the effect of her blows on the Monitor would have been
far more serious.
After two hours of incessant action the ammunition
in the Monitor's turret began to fail, upon which Lieu-
tenant Worden hauled off to replenish his stock. This
could be done only when the scuttle in the revolving
deck of the turret was exactly over a corresponding
opening in the stationary deck immediately below it,
which compelled Lieutenant Worden to retire from
the action until ponderous shot were hoisted from the
hold into the turret. This was the movement that led
the Merrimac's people to believe that their antagonist
was retreating. In this short lull Lieutenant Worden
passed through the portholes of the turret to the deck,
so as to get a better view of the situation.
In fifteen minutes the Monitor was again ready for
the struggle and gallantly bore down on her huge an-
tagonist, and the enemy, despairing of making any im-
256 IRON VERSUS IRON. 1863.
pression on the turret, now concentrated their fire on
the pilot house. About 11.30 A. M., while Lieutenant
Worden was watching the enemy through a sight-hole
in the pilot house, a shell struck on the outside not
more than fifteen inches from him and exploded, filling
his face and eyes with powder. For a moment it was
thought that the pilot house was demolished, and Lieu-
tenant Worden gave the order to sheer off, at the same
time sending for Lieutenant Greene. The latter officer
hastened forward and found his commander leaning
against the ladder that led to the pilot house. As the
dim yellow light of the ship's lantern fell upon Lieuten-
ant Worden he presented a ghastly sight. Blood seemed
to be oozing from every pore in his face, while with
closed eyes he helplessly clung to the ladder for sup-
port. Lieutenant Greene assisted him to a sofa in his
cabin, where he was attended by Dr. Logue ; but even
there the heroic man could not forget the great strug-
gle that was going on above him, and constantly in-
quired about the progress of the battle, apparently for-
getful of the intense pain caused by his wound. When
told that the Minnesota had been saved, he said,
" Then I can die happy."
The command of the Monitor now devolved upon
Lieutenant Greene, who hastened to the pilot house
and once more gave his attention to the foe. On ex-
amination, it was found that only the heavy iron plate
had been fractured, while the steering gear remained
intact. In the confusion of the moment, however, the
Monitor had been drifting aimlessly about, but at noon
she was again headed for the enemy. Lieutenant
Jones, of the Merrimac. observing the Monitor run-
ning to shoal water where he could not follow her, de-
termined to return to Norfolk. The Monitor fired two
or three shot at her retiring foe, indicating her will-
ingness to continue the fight, but the Merrimac held
on her course up Elizabeth River, and the Monitor
returned to her station by the side of the Minnesota,
1862. COMPARATIVE INJURIES. 257
which vessel was still hard aground. So little hope of
the successful repulse of the Merrimac had been en-
tertained by the officers of the Minnesota, that when
Lieutenant Greene came aboard he found every prepa-
ration had been made to abandon and fire the ship.
In this fight between the ironclads the Monitor was
struck nine times on her turret, twice on the pilot
house, three times on the deck and eight times on her
side. The deepest indentation was made by a shot that
entered four inches into the iron on her side. One
shell crushed in the turret two inches. The Monitor
fired forty-one shot. Ninety-seven indentations of shot
were found on the Merrimatfs armor, twenty of which
were from the 11-inch guns of the Monitor. None of
her lower layers of iron plates were broken, but six of
the top layers were smashed by the Monitor's shot.
After her action with the Monitor the Merrimac
withdrew to Norfolk and was placed in dry dock for
repairs. She was then supplied with a new steel ram,
wrought-iron shutters were fitted to her ports, the hull
for a distance of four feet below the casemate was cov-
ered with two-inch plates, and her rifled guns were
supplied with steel-pointed solid shot. These changes
increased her draught to twenty-three feet and reduced
her speed to four knots. On the llth of April she
again steamed down Elizabeth river in command of
Commodore Josiah Tattnall, with the expectation of
meeting the Monitor, which at that time was anchored
below Fort Monroe with the other National vessels.
But the Monitor remained strictly on the defensive, as
she was the only effective ironclad ship in the posses-
sion of the Government in any way capable of meeting
the Merrimac. For much the same reason Commo-
dore Tattnall was not permitted to run past Fort Mon-
roe and attack the Monitor, as the loss of the Merrimac
would expose the more important operations of the
Confederate forces on land.
At this time the National naval force in Hampton
62
258 IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
Roads, in anticipation of another attack from the Mer-
rimac, had been increased to about twenty-five war
vessels of all classes. The vital point to be gained by
the Government at this time was to prevent the Mer-
rimac from becoming mistress of these waters, and to
attain this object every minor consideration was sacri-
ficed. In the Union fleet was the swift river boat Bal-
timore, which drew only six inches forward, and it
was proposed to drive her bow upon the submerged
deck of the Merrimac and thus hold the ironclad steady
while the other vessels took turns in ramming her.
The vessels were anchored in two columns, one headed
by the Minnesota and the other by the Vanderbilt,
and all were held in readiness for immediate action.
Of such great importance was the possession of Hamp-
ton Roads to the National cause that the Monitor was
held in reserve, to be called into action only when the
fleet of twenty-five vessels failed to accomplish the
destruction of the Merrimac.
Observing three merchantmen anchored above Fort
Monroe, the Jamestown made a gallant dash at them,
and in spite of the heavy fire from the land batteries
carried them off in triumph, amid cheers from the crew
of the British corvette Rinaldo. Two of the prizes were
brigs laden with supplies for McClellan's army. At
another time the Merrimac again dropped down the
Roads and exchanged a few shot with Fort Monroe,
in hope of inducing the Monitor to give battle. On
this occasion Commodore Tattnall had made prepara-
tions for his four gunboats to surround the Monitor,
board her with overwhelming numbers, cover her gun
ports and pilot house with tarpaulins, wedge the turret
so it could not be used, and throw hand grenades into
the turret and down the smokestack. The people in
the Monitor were prepared for such an emergency, but
they were still compelled by the orders of the Govern-
ment to remain strictly on the defensive.
An effort has been made to show that the action be-
1862. A VICTORY FOR THE MONITOR. 259
tween the Monitor and the Merrimac, if not a victory
for the latter, was at least a drawn battle. It is diffi-
cult to understand how such a conclusion could be ar-
rived at. On the morning of March 9th the Merrimac
came out with the avowed purpose of destroying the
remaining ships in Hampton Roads, knowing at that
time that the Monitor had arrived, for, says a South-
ern account, on the evening of March 8th "one of the
pilots chanced, about 11 p. M., to be looking in the di-
rection of the Congress, when there passed a strange-
looking craft, brought out in bold relief by the brilliant
light of the burning ship, which he at once proclaimed
to be the JUricsson [Monitor]. We were therefore not
surprised in the morning to see the Monitor at anchor
near the Minnesota." This shows that the Merrimac,
on the morning of March 9th, assumed the offensive,
knowing that the Monitor was among the National
ships. It is also shown by Southern records that on
that memorable day the Monitor at no time assumed
any but a defensive position. The Monitor entered
Hampton Roads with the avowed purpose of prevent-
ing the destruction of the National ships. On the even-
ing of March 9th the Merrimac retired from Hampton
Roads without having accomplished her object, but the
Monitor had accomplished hers. On the morning of
March 9th the Merrimac was master of the situation in
Hampton Roads, but in the evening of that day the
Monitor was. If the argument that because the Moni-
tor did not capture her antagonist she did not win a
complete victory is held good, then General Jackson
did not win the battle of New Orleans, because the
British army was not captured; Wellington did not
win at Waterloo, because Napoleon's army was allowed
to escape ; and a long list of celebrated naval victories
were not victories because the bulk of the defeated
squadron escaped. After the battle the Monitor was
ordered to protect the National ships at Hampton
Roads but attempt nothing further. This she did in
2GO IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
the most effectual manner. More than one battle has
been won by masterly inactivity, and the destruction
of the Merrimac a few weeks later was directly due to
the prolonged presence of the Monitor in the Roads
acting strictly on the defensive.
Realizing that shot and shell could not be relied
upon to destroy the Merrimac, the Government col-
lected a large fleet of vessels in Hampton Roads, deter-
mined to crush the " monster " by sheer weight. Ru-
mors of the Merrimac's coming out as soon as her
repairs were finished came to the Nationalists from
time to time, and stimulated them to greater exertions,
and by April 9, 1862, twenty-five unarmored vessels,
besides the Monitor, under the orders of Flag-Officer
Goldsborough, were in the Roads. The most important
of these were the Minnesota, SusqueJianna, Dakota,
Seminole, San Jacinto, Octorara, Wachusetts, Aroos-
tooTc, Maratanza, VanderMlt, Oriole, Aroga, Rhode
Island, Illinois, Stevens, Ericsson and Baltimore.
The last was "a light river boat, side wheeler, of
great speed and curved bow, drawing only six inches
forward and six feet aft, held in front for the purpose
of being forced upon one of the nearly submerged ends
of the Merrimac, if possible, either forward or abaft
the superstructure, according to circumstances, in order
to render the ironclad immovable, and while thus held
she was to be rammed by the vessels of the National
fleet." J This great fleet was anchored in two columns,
headed by the Minnesota and VanderMlt, about a
mile and a half east of Fort Monroe, the right column
consisting of merchant vessels and the left of war craft.
The Monitor and Stevens were held in reserve in case
the wooden ships failed to destroy the Merrimac. Of
these vessels only the Vanderbilt had her bow pro-
tected with iron.
On April llth the Merrimac, accompanied by the
1 Rear- Admiral Thomas Stowell Phelps to the author.
1862. LAST OF THE MERRIMAC. 261
gunboats Jamestown and Raleigh and four other ves-
sels,1 ventured into the Roads, the gunboats promptly
seizing two brigs and a schooner which had grounded
near Beaches Landing, having moved over to that side of
the road in disobedience to orders. After reaching Mid-
dle Ground, however, the Merrimac remained station-
ary, and late in the afternoon retired toward her moor-
ing, above Craney Island. ' ' The boats of an English and
a French man-of-war anchored northward of Newport
News shoal were observed to communicate with the
Merrimac, and about 2 P. M. the French ship weighed,
and running leeward of the fleet her commander
boarded the Minnesota, and in conversation with the
flag officer remarked that during his interview with
Commodore Tattnall that officer had stated " that he
perfectly understood Goldsborough's plans, and did not
propose to subject his ship to certain destruction, thus
explaining why he refrained from attempting to ac-
complish the object of his visit to the Roads." ' Soon
afterward the Merrimac returned to Norfolk for neces-
sary repairs.
The subsequent careers of these celebrated ironclads
were short and tragic. In the following May Norfolk
was abandoned by the Confederates, and on the 10th
of that month the Merrimac was set on fire and on the
following morning she blew up. Five days later the
crews of the Monitor and the Merrimac again met in
battle, the latter being on shore. After the destruction
of the Merrimac her men were ordered to assist in the
defenses of Richmond, and with great efforts they
erected a battery of three 32-pounders and two 64-
pounders at Drewry's Bluff, and on May 15th the iron-
clad Galena (Commander John Rodgers), the Monitor,
the Port Royal and the Naugatuck came up the river
within six hundred yards of this battery and opened
1 Private Journal of Rear-Admiral Trenchard.
2 Rear-Admiral Thomas Stowell Phelps to the author.
262 IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
fire. Owing to the great height of the bluffs on which
the Confederate batteries were placed, the tire from the
gunboats was not so effective, but two guns of the bat-
tery were dismounted, and several Confederates were
killed or wounded. After a battle of four hours the
vessels retired. The Galena in this affair had thir-
teen killed and eleven wounded, the Port Royal one
wounded, and the Naugatuck two wounded ; total,
thirteen killed and fourteen wounded. A sheet-iron
breastwork about four feet high had been placed on the
Monitor's turret as a protection against sharpshooters.
On the 29th of December the Monitor, Commander
John Pine Bankhead, in company with the steamer
Rhode Island, Captain Stephen Decatur Trenchard,
sailed for Beaufort, N. C. Unusual precautions were
taken to insure the safety of the ironclad, as her ex-
periences on her trip from New York to Hampton
Roads in the spring gave well-grounded cause for
anxiety. Commander Trenchard accordingly gave the
following night orders: "The officer of the deck is
directed to have a very bright lookout kept off the
bow and beam. He will sound at ten o'clock and in-
form me of the depth of water ; also at four o'clock in
the morning. The course will be south-southeast as at
present steered until order is changed. Keep a sharp
lookout upon the Monitor astern, and should she sig-
nal attend to it at once ; then report to me. Inform
me of every change of wind and weather. The speed
of the steamer should be regulated by the sea. If it
increases, moderate the speed ; if smooth, increase it.
Inform me when the steamer has made sixty miles
from 10 P. M." '
The following day was pleasant, and when off Hat-
teras Shoals the steamer State of Georgia, with the
monitor Passaic in tow, passed them to the northeast,
and the steamer Gahanta with a troop-ship tow came
1 Private Journal of Rear- Admiral Trenchard.
1863. SINKING OF THE MONITOR. 263
in sight. About 7 P. M. the wind increased in violence,
and at 9 P. M. Bankhead signaled the Rhode Island to
stop. "Finding that the Monitor had fallen off into
the trough of the sea and that the waves were making
a complete breach over her, we started the engines
again. The steamer soon brought her head to the
wind under easy steam, when the Monitor appeared
to make better weather.
"At 11 P.M. Captain Bankhead signaled that he
required assistance, and upon stopping the engines
and on the Monitor ranging up alongside, he hailed,
and said, ' The Monitor is sinking ! ' Our boats were
immediately cleared away, and arrangements were
made to get the officers and crew from the sinking iron-
clad to the Rhode Island with as little delay as possi-
ble. The port hawser with which we were towing the
Monitor had parted in the early part of the evening,
and the stream cable was cut by some one on board
the ironclad. About eleven o'clock, or soon afterward,
our boats succeeded in getting nearly all on board, and
the first cutter had started to get the remainder on
board, when, unhappily, about 1.30 A. M. on the 31st
of December the Monitor suddenly disappeared. Act-
ing-Master's Mate D. Rodney Brown was in charge of
the cutter, having with him Charles H. Smith, cox-
swain, Morris Wagg, coxswain, Hugh Logan, captain
of the afterguard, Lewis A. Horton, seaman, George
Moore, seaman, Luke M. Griswold, ordinary seaman,
and John Jones, landsman, who composed the crew of
the boat. We lost sight of the cutter, and kept as
near the position as possible until daylight, and then
cruised up in the direction of Hatteras Shoals for the
remainder of the day in hopes of picking up our boat."1
Nothing was seen of the boat, however, and the Rhode
Island made for Beaufort.
The fate of this heroic boat's crew was almost as
1 Private Journal of Rear-Admiral Trcnchard.
264 !RON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
tragic as that of the Monitor herself, as the Rhode
Islanders learned several days later. Brown, after
having made two trips to the Monitor, started on the
third, and after leaving the Rhode Island he saw the
red lights burning at the flagstaff of the Monitor and
apparently about one mile distant.1 As the sea and the
wind were "against him he made but little progress,
yet he continued gaining until within a quarter of a
mile of the Monitor, when the light suddenly became
extinguished. It appeared to settle gradually in the
water as he approached her, and then it disappeared
altogether. When he approached to what he supposed
to. be the position of the vessel, he could perceive no
other trace of her except an eddy produced by the
sinking craft. He remained near that position as long
as he deemed prudent, in order to rescue any of the
crew who might be in the water ; but he found none.
He then started for the Rhode Island, which then ap-
peared to be two miles distant, the weather being over-
cast and attended with a slight rain, the wind hauling
off to the north. Soon afterward he lost sight of the
Rhode Island, but in a few minutes saw the first,
second and third lights. This is the last he saw of
the Rhode Island that night. He then made a drag
of the boat's mast by which he kept her head to the
sea, the men being constantly on the lookout for a
signal. As none could be seen, he then made for the
northward and westward, finding the sea too rough to
pull directly to the west, hoping to fall in with some
coasting vessel.
" Mr. Brown kept the boat's crew pulling all night
in order to overcome the great strength of the current.
He thought that if they did not do this they would
drift far away from the track of all vessels before day-
light. At break of day he discovered a schooner some
four or five miles away from them. He also mentioned
1 Brown's official report to Commander Trenchard.
1862. SINKING OF THE MONITOR. 265
seeing a small boat some distance off with two or three
men in her, observing her as she rose two or three
times upon the crest of a wave and then disappearing.
At this time Brown's crew was engrossed with the man-
agement of their own boat, the sea being very irregu-
lar and the waves seeming to come from all quarters.
After losing sight of the schooner referred to, Mr.
Brown saw a large ship close hauled, the wind being
from the northward and eastward. He had approached
her sufficiently near to make out the men upon her
decks, but she passed on without noticing his signals
for assistance. He then pulled directly in for the land,
which he estimated to be about ten miles distant. This
was about half past nine o'clock in the morning of De-
cember 31st, and about an hour afterward he made a
schooner to leeward. He got up the crew's coats in
order to make the sail, and broke some of his oars to
assist in rigging the sail. He then ran down for the
schooner, and about eleven o'clock managed to get
alongside. The schooner proved to be the A. Colby,
commanded by H. D. Harriman, of Buckport, Me.,
bound for Fernandina, with bricks for Government
use. Mr. Brown and his crew were received with every
kindness.
"The cutter was taken aboard the schooner, and
Mr. Harriman was requested to change his course so
far as to land the officers and men at Beaufort, N. C.
This he consented to do, but in running in for the
coast, with a view of ascertaining more correctly his
position, having been without an observation for sev-
eral days, his schooner struck on Diamond Shoals, off
Cape Hatteras. Being laden with brick, which strained
the vessel dangerously every time she struck bottom, it
was feared that the A. Colby would soon go to pieces.
As it was, she began to leak dangerously. Mr. Harri-
man managed to get her afloat, and, continuing on his
course for Beaufort, he anchored that night under the
land near Cape Hatteras inlet. The men were kept
266 IRON VERSUS IRON. 1862.
constantly at work pumping out the water as fast as
it leaked in. On the following day they sighted a
steamer, and made the signal of distress. Harriman
went aboard the vessel, which proved to be the United
States gunboat Miami, Captain Townsend. Mr. Har-
riman reported the situation of his schooner and the
crew, upon which Captain Townsend dispatched a boat
with twelve men to assist in getting the schooner into
port.
"That same afternoon they started for Beaufort,
reaching there on the morning of the 2d of January." '
1 Maclay's Reminiscences of the Old Navy.
CHAPTER VII.
FOETS HENRY AND DOKELSON.
THE Mississippi River has been called the ''Back-
bone of the Rebellion." From the outbreak the Con-
federate leaders realized its importance in extending
their territory westward, and the more ambitious
looked to an ultimate formation, with the West India
Islands and Mexico, of one great slave empire. Pos-
session of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers from Smith-
land to New Orleans gave them the control of the Red,
Arkansas, White, Tennessee and Cumberland, while
the conquest of the enormous basin drained by their
confluents they hoped would follow in the course of
time. It would be difficult to exaggerate the important
part that the Mississippi River played in this great
struggle. In New Orleans, the center of the mightiest
river system in the world, the Confederacy possessed a
considerable plant for building ironclads, casting great
guns and making small arms, and there skilled me-
chanics were in sympathy with the cause. From the
fertile State of Texas— which, being remote from the
seat of war, escaped its ravages — immense supplies of
beef were driven across the Mississippi to the Confed-
erate army, long after the seaboard States had been
exhausted. At New Orleans enormous quantities of
cotton, collected from hundreds of miles around and
placed on swift vessels, eluded the vigilance of the
blockaders, and on returning supplied the secession-
ists with arms and munitions of war.
No one was more alive to the importance of this
stream than the Confederate leaders themselves. From
267
268 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1861.
the beginning their most skillful engineers were en-
gaged in fortifying its banks from Columbus to Forts
Jackson and St. Philip. A large portion of the money
and the strength of the South was massed along this
river, presenting a frowning gantlet through which, it
was confidently asserted, "no craft afloat could pass."
Every strategic point was crowned with bristling bat-
teries, and the most difficult bends were obstructed
until one formidable line of fortifications guarded the
river for a thousand miles. Beginning at the north,
the Confederates erected strong batteries at Columbus,
Island No. 10, Fort Pillow, Vicksburg (which may be
regarded as the citadel of their river system of fortifica-
tions), Grand Gulf, Port Hudson, Baton Rouge and
Forts Jackson and St. Philip ; so that, should they
lose either end of the line, their troops need only to
fall back on the next post, gradually concentrating
their forces with each defeat, until their entire strength
massed at Vicksburg might well defy the armies of the
North. The northernmost line of defense began at Co-
lumbus, and extended eastward by Forts Henry and
Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers,
through Bowling Green to Mill Spring.
The first measure taken by the Government for the
repossession of the Mississippi was the construction of
a squadron of gunboats suitable for river navigation
and operations against heavy land batteries. No naval
station, dockyard or arsenal had been established on
the Mississippi or its tributaries, as an enemy had
not been expected in that quarter, so that the great
undertaking of building a flotilla of war vessels had to
begin with constructing the plant for such work. This
task was at first assumed by the War Department,
as it was thought that the fortifications on the Missis-
sippi would be attacked principally by land forces and
only a few transports would be required. In the spring
of 1861 James Buchanan Eads and Commander John
Rodgers went to Cairo and began the work of creating
1861. BUILDING A RIVER FLEET. 269
an inland navy. In May, Commander Rodgers went to
Cincinnati, where he purchased the side- wheel steamers
Conestoga, A. 0. Tyler and Lexington. Their boilers
and steam pipes were lowered into the hold and were
partially protected by coal bunkers, while oak bul-
warks five inches thick, and pierced for guns, shielded
the crew from musketry. The Conestoga was armed
with four smooth-bore 32-pounders, the Tyler, renamed
Taylor, with six 8-inch shell guns and three rifled 30-
pounders, while the Lexington mounted four 8-inch
smooth-bore guns, one 32-pounder and two rifled 30-
pounders. On the 12th of August these improvised
war vessels were taken to Cairo. In the earlier opera-
tions these gunboats did not carry rifled guns, and at
the battle of Belmont they did not have stern guns.
In the mean time the War Department advertised
for seven flat-bottomed vessels, capable of mounting
thirteen heavy guns each, and drawing not more than
six feet of water. They were to be about six hundred
tons burden, fitted with high-pressure engines, capable
of steaming nine miles an hour, to be one hundred and
seventy-five feet long and fifty-one and a half feet wide.
Their wooden hulls had sides inclined inward from the
water's edge at an angle of thirty-five degrees. As
these vessels were expected to fight bows on, the for-
ward casemate was built with twenty-four inches of
solid oak, covered with two and a half inches of iron.
The same thickness of iron was laid abreast of the
boilers and engines, but without the wood backing,
which left the stern and the sides, forward and abaft
of the machinery, vulnerable. The conical pilot house
was built with heavy oak and plated on the forward
side with two and a half inches of iron, and on the
after side with one and a half inches of iron. The
armaments of these gunboats were made up of such
cannon as could be picked up at the moment. Thirty-
five old-fashioned 42-pounders supplied by the army
were rifled, which weakened them, as they were not re-
270 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1861.
enforced by steel bands. They were always regarded
as dangerous, and several of them burst.
These vessels were to be propelled by a wheel in
the middle, sixty feet forward of the stern, covered by
the casemate. This left a chasm in the stem of the
same width as the paddle wheel, eighteen feet. This
chasm in the hull of the vessel was planked over and
was called the fantail. These vessels mounting thirteen
guns (generally three 8-inch shell guns, six 32-pounders
and four rifled 42-pounders), were named the De Kalb
(St. Louis\ the Carondelet, the Cincinnati, the Louis-
ville, the Mound City, the Cairo and the Pittsburgh.
They were built by Mr. Eads. They were begun in
August, 1861, and by working day and night and seven
days in the week they were launched and ready for
their armaments and crews within one hundred days.
Before the completion of these ironclads Mr. Eads
converted the snag boat Benton, of about one thousand
tons burden, into a formidable gunboat. She was con-
structed on two hulls, twenty feet apart, which were
braced together with heavy timbers, the space between
the two hulls being planked so that there was a contin-
uous flat bottom. The upper side was decked over in
the same manner, and by extending the outer sides of
the two hulls until they joined each other forward
and aft the twin boats became one wide substantial
hull. The false bottom of the Benton was carried
within fifty feet of the stern, where it was brought up
to the deck so as to leave a space open for a wheel,
which was turned by the original engine of the snag
boat. Thus altered, the Benton was two hundred and
two feet long and had seventy-two feet beam. A case-
mate covered with iron plates was built on her deck,
slanting inward at an angle of about thirty-five degrees,
and this casemate was carried up so as to cover the
wheel. On the bow the casemate was plated with three
and a half inches of iron backed by thirty inches of
oak, while the wheelhouse and stern were covered with
1861. COMPLICATED AUTHORITY. 271
two and a half inches of iron and twelve inches of
oak. The rest of the casemate was covered with f-inch
iron. Thus completed, the Benton drew nine feet of
water and made about five miles an hour. She was
armed with two 9-inch shell guns, four rifled 42-pound-
ers, two rifled 50-pounders and eight smooth-bore 32-
pounders. Another vessel, the Essex, named after the
Essex of the War of 1812, and commanded by William
David Porter, a son of Captain David Porter, was
armed with one 10-inch, three 9-inch, one 32-pounder
and two rifled 50-pounders. Besides these vessels
there were thirty-eight mortar boats or rafts, each
mounting one 13-inch mortar. Commander Porter had
two sons in the Confederate service.
The difficulty of manning these vessels was even
greater than that of building them. Their crews, as
finally brought together, consisted of landsmen, steam-
boat hands, soldiers and seamen. Five hundred sail-
ors arrived from the Atlantic States in November, 1861,
and on the 23d of December eleven hundred troops
were ordered for the service from Washington. The
mixed character of these crews gave rise to many diffi-
culties, Major-Greneral Halleck insisting that the offi-
cers of the regiments from which the troops came
should accompany the men and owe no obedience to
naval officers except to a commander of the gunboat.
This necessarily caused confusion and prevented a
large number of troops from serving. On the 30th of
August, 1861, Captain Andrew Hull Foote was ap-
pointed commander of the Western flotilla. Arriving
at Cairo on the 12th of September, he found his move-
ments greatly embarrassed by "want of funds and ma-
terial for naval purposes." At the time of his arrival
he had only the rank corresponding to colonel, and he
very properly complained that " every brigadier could
interfere with him." Even when he received his ap-
pointment as flag officer, November 13, 1862, which
gave him the relative rank of major-general, the naval
272 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1861.
officers under him were constantly liable to be harassed
by conflicting orders from any superior army officer
under whom they might be serving. With this emi-
nently improper complication of authority the early
operations of the Western flotilla were carried on, and
it is greatly to the credit of both the navy and the
army officers that they got along as harmoniously as
they did. It was not until July, 1863, that the fleet
was transferred to the Navy Department. There is
another class of men who served in these gunboats who
should be honorably mentioned — the pilots. These
men, although denied all the professional advantages
of officers, and cut off from all hope of regular promo-
tion, served, as a rule, loyally and with conspicuous
gallantry all through the naval operations on the
Western rivers. It called for unusual bravery to act
as a pilot in this service, as it was well known that
the pilot house would be the first and last target of the
enemy, for, the pilot killed or disabled, the gunboat
was practically thrown out of action. The pilot house
might well be called the slaughter pen, for in the ac-
tion at Fort Henry two pilots were killed — Marshall
H. Ford and James McBride ; in the Fort Donelson
affair two more were killed — Frank Riley and William
Hinton — and others were wounded, two of the gun-
boats dropping out of action largely for this reason.
Another pilot was killed just above Fort Donelson,
while the number of officers who were killed or wound-
ed in their pilot houses shows that it was pre-eminently
a post of danger.
The neutral attitude assumed by Kentucky at the
outbreak of the war at first made both sides reluctant
to invade her territory ; but early in September the
Confederates occupied Columbus and Hickman, upon
which General Grant seized Paducah and Smithland.
In September, Grant, who was in command of the
troops in Cairo, determined to march against Norfolk,
eight or nine miles below, where a considerable body
1861. BATTLE OF NORFOLK. 273
of Confederates had assembled. Accordingly, on the
10th of September the gunboats Lexington, Com-
mander Roger N. Stembel, and Conestoga, Lieutenant
S. Ledyard Phelps, dropped down the river so as to
support the troops. A few miles down the Lexington
was fired upon by a battery of sixteen field pieces,
supported by a body of cavalry that assisted in mov-
ing the artillery from place to place along the river
bank. But the Confederate guns were too light to
effect much damage, and shells from the gunboats,
bursting among the horsemen, scattered them.
The Lexington pursued and drove them under the
guns of their fortifications at Columbus. On the same
afternoon the Confederate gunboat Yankee came up
the river and opened fire at long range on the Con-
estoga and the Lexington. The first shot from the
Conestoga's heavy gun compelled the Yankee to re-
treat, and when she was about two miles distant an
8-inch shell from the Lexington exploded on her star-
board wheelhouse, which so injured her that only one
engine could be used in reaching Columbus. As the
National gunboats were retiring from this skirmish one
man was severely wounded by fire from an ambush.
On the 24th of September the Lexington moved up the
Ohio River, where she was joined a few days later by
the Conestoga^ and visited several points on the Cum-
berland, Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The
appearance of these gunboats did much toward keep-
ing alive the spirit of loyalty to the National cause.
On the 28th of October the Conestoga broke up a Con-
federate camp on the Cumberland, inflicting a loss of
several killed and wounded. Although these opera-
tions were not important, yet they proved to be excel-
lent practice for the green crews, and accustomed them
to the strange craft they were manning.
Early in November Grant advanced upon Belmont
for the purpose of destroying a Confederate camp, and
also to prevent the enemy from sending troops into Mis-
63
274
FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON.
1861.
souri to interfere with an expedition that had been sent
into that State for the purpose of driving General M.
Jeff. Thompson out of it. Accordingly, on the evening
of November 6th, the Tyler, Commander Henry Walke,
MISSOURI
Norfolk"
Belmont «/t Columbus
fiewMadi;
Hickman
Memphis
SCENE OF THE
NAVAL, OPERATION
OTf THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.
and the Lexington, Commander Stembel, dropped down
the river to convoy a half dozen transports, and en-
gaged the batteries at Columbus with a view of divert-
ing the enemy's attention from the real point of attack.
Moving in a circle so as to prevent the enemy estab-
lishing the range, these gunboats, on November 7th,
opened fire ; but as they were not capable of engaging
the formidable batteries at close quarters, they soon
1861. BATTLE OP BELMOXT. 275
drew out of range. They returned, however, several
times during the day and opened a spirited fire. In
the last attack a shot passed obliquely through the
Tyler's side, deck and scantling, killed one man and
wounded two others. Finding that the firing in the
direction of Belmont had ceased, the gunboat dis-
charged a few more broadsides and then returned to
the landing where the transports were anchored. The
troops under General Grant, having accomplished their
purpose, were returning, and soon appeared at the land-
ing, pursued by a superior force of Confederates. As
the Southerners eagerly pressed forward in anticipation
of cutting off the retreat of the National troops before
they could embark in their transports, the gunboats
opened with shell and grape.
An eyewitness says: "The enemy planted their
fresh artillery, supported by infantry, in a cornfield
just above our transports with the intention of sinking
them when we started up the river, and of bagging
the entire army ; but thanks to the gunboats Tyler and
Lexington and their experienced gunners, they saved
us from a terrible doom. They took up a position be-
tween us and the enemy and opened their guns upon
them, letting slip a whole broadside at once. This
movement was performed so quickly that the Con-
federates could not fire on us. Their guns were si-
lenced as soon as they opened, or probably were dis-
mounted. The first shot from the gunboats made a
perfect lane through the enemy's ranks." The Con-
federates endeavored to reply with musketry, but with-
out effect, and the fire from the gunboats soon put
them to flight. As the National vessels were returning
to Cairo Commander Walke learned that some of our
troops had been left behind. He promptly put down
the river and met straggling groups of soldiers who
were directed to go on board the transports. Satisfied
that all had been rescued, Walke rejoined the vessels
up the river.
276 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 18G1-'G2.
On the 11 tli of January, 1862, Commander Porter,
of the Essex, was informed that seven Confederate
steamers, having in tow a floating battery, were mov-
ing up the river from Columbus. Immediately signal-
ing Lieutenant Leonard Paulding, of the De Kalb,
Commander Porter stood down the river. A heavy fog
obstructed the view until about ten o'clock, when the
mist rolled aside and revealed a large vessel at the
head of a bend, in company with two steamers. The
National gunboats immediately bore down to close.
When at longe range the enemy opened with a heavy
shell gun, and the missile struck a sandbar and rico-
chetted within two hundred yards of the Essex, when
it exploded. The Essex did not immediately reply, but
moved steadily downstream until at long range, when
the De Kalb discharged a rifled gun, immediately after
which the Essex opened, and for twenty minutes an
animated tire was maintained on both sides. At the
end of this time the enemy retired, rounding to once
in a while to fire a broadside. The Essex and the De
Kalb kept up a running fight until the chase, in a crip-
pled condition, ran under the cover of the battery
above Columbus.
The first of the three strongholds that constituted
the Confederate northern line of defense in the West
was Fort Henry, on Tennessee River. This was an
earthwork with five bastions on low ground at a bend
in the river, mounting one 10-inch columbiad, one 6-
inch rifled gun, two 42-pounders, eight 32-pounders,
five 18-pounders and four 12-pounders. The garrison
consisted of the Fourth and Seventh Mississippi, the
First Kentucky, one Louisiana regiment, and a cavalry
company under the command of Brigadier-General
Lloyd Tilghman. The plan of attack was to send fif-
teen regiments of infantry, with several batteries of
artillery and a body of horse, to make a reconnoissance
toward Columbus, with a view of deceiving the enemy
as to the real point of attack. At the same time Brig-
1862. RIVER SKIRMISHING. 277
adier-General C. F. Smith, with six thousand men, was
to march overland to Forts Henry and Donelson, but
on reaching Paducah they were to return, so as to lead
the enemy to believe that the expedition on Fort Henry
had been abandoned.
On the morning of February 2, 1862, the naval part
of the expedition, under command of Captain Foote,
left Cairo, and in the evening it reached the mouth of
Tennessee River. This force consisted of the Cincin-
nati (flagship), Commander Stembel ; the Essex, Com-
mander Porter ; the Carondelet, Commander Walke ;
the De Kalb, Lieutenant Paulding ; and the wooden
gunboats Conestoga, Lieutenant Phelps ; Lexington,
Lieutenant James W. Shirk ; and Tyler, Lieutenant
William Gwin. These vessels when approaching the
fort were ordered to keep in constant motion by steam-
ing ahead or dropping back with the current, so as
to destroy the enemy's range, at the same time keep-
ing their heavily protected bows toward the fort.
On the 4th of February the squadron anchored six
miles below Fort Henry, where the troops were landed
and stationed at several points, so as to prevent re-
enforcements from reaching the garrison and cut off
all avenues of escape in case the fort surrendered. On
the 5th of March General Grant and his staff went
aboard the Essex and ran close up to the forts to recon-
noiter. While they were thus engaged the enemy
opened fire and sent a shot through the officers' quar-
ters and into the steerage, upon which the Essex drew
out of range and returned to her anchorage.
Heavy rains had raised the river to an unusual
height, and had so accelerated the current that at times
it required a full head of steam and both anchors to
keep some of the ironclads in place. Immense quan-
tities of logs and trees also came down the river, keep-
ing the officers and men at work day and night to dis-
encumber their vessels. Although this unlooked-for
difficulty exhausted the crews before the attack was
278 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1862.
begun, yet it proved a most fortunate occurrence, inas-
much as the torpedoes that the enemy had thickly
planted in the river were dragged from their moorings
and carried harmlessly away. At 10.20 A. M. on the
6th of February signal was made for the gunboats to
clear for action, and half an hour later they got under
way and steamed up the river, the four ironclads lead-
ing the way, the Carondelet and the De Kalb, lashed
together, on the left wing, as the stream was narrow
at this point, while the Cincinnati and the Essex were
on the right, thus presenting an ironclad battery of
twelve guns toward the enemy. The three wooden
gunboats followed about a mile astern. At 11.30 A. M.
the ironclads, rounding a bend in the stream, suddenly
came in full view of the fort, and an hour later, while
at a distance of seventeen hundred yards, the Cincin-
nati fired the first shot as the signal for the battle to
open. This promptly drew the enemy's fire, and their
rifled shells were soon heard on all sides. The iron-
clads steadily pushed up the stream until about four
hundred and fifty yards from the fort, where they main-
tained a well-contested action. At first the Confeder-
ates fired with greater precision than the gunboats, as
they had long since obtained the exact range of the
position that any vessel must take in approaching ; but
as the National gunboats drew nearer their fire became
effective and the walls of the fort rapidly crumbled
before the blows of solid shot and exploding shell.
The Confederate gunners were much exposed in their
open earthwork, while their opponents were partially
protected by casemates.
A little before one o'clock a shot penetrated the
Essex's armor just above a porthole on the port side,
killing Acting-Master' s-Mate S. B. Brittan, Jr., and
pierced the middle boiler. Instantly the forward gun-
room was filled with scalding steam, which caused fear-
ful havoc. Those who could rushed aft, others leaped
into the river through the ports, while Commander
1
1862. DEATH BY STEAM. 2^9
Porter himself barely escaped with his life through a
port on the starboard side. He was badly wounded,
and was rescued from the river by a seaman named
John Walker. Twenty-eight men were scalded, and
many of them died. The shellman of gun No. 2,
James Coffey, was found on his knees in the act of
taking a shell from the box. While he was in this
position the scalding steam had struck him full in the
face, killing him instantly. The two pilots were found
dead in the pilot house, one of them, Marshall Ford,
with his left hand holding a spoke of the wheel and his
right hand grasping the signal-bell rope. Thus crip-
pled, the Essex drifted out of action, but the remaining
ironclads maintained the battle with unflinching zeal
and made encouraging progress, for two of the enemy's
guns were disabled, one by bursting and the 10-inch co-
lumbiad by having its priming- wire jammed in the vent.
"Precisely forty minutes past one1 the enemy, after
a most determined resistance, surrendered, and shortly
afterward the fort was occupied by a detachment of
seamen under Commander Walke. While the Essex
was drifting helplessly out of action the news of the
surrender reached her, and a seaman named Jasper T.
Breas, who was badly scalded, sprang to his feet ex-
claiming, * Surrender ! I must see that with my own
eyes before I die.' Before any one could interfere he
clambered up two short flights of stairs to the spar
deck, shouted * Glory to Grod ! ' and sank exhausted.
He died that night."
In this sharp action the De Kalb was struck seven
times, but none of her people were hurt. Thirty-one
shot struck the Cincinnati, and one, passing through
a paddle wheel, killed one man and wounded several
others. Two of her guns were disabled, while her
smokestack, after cabin and boats were riddled through
and through. The Carondelet fired one hundred and
1 Correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette.
280 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1862.
seven shot and shell. She was struck thirty times,
eight shot taking effect within two feet of the bow
ports on a direct line with the boiler ; but none of her
men were injured. The Essex fired in all seventy-two
shot from her two 9-inch guns. Her total loss was
thirty-two killed, wounded or missing. The wooden
gunboats, being less formidable to the Confederates, es-
caped with little notice. Aside from the men who were
injured by scalding, the squadron had two men killed
and nine wounded. The enemy's loss is placed at five
killed, eleven wounded and five missing. Seventy-
eight prisoners were taken, while the remainder of the
garrison, numbering two thousand five hundred and
fifty-eight men, escaped to Fort Donelson.
Immediately upon the surrender of the fort the
gunboats Conestoga, Tyler and Lexington hastened up
the river in pursuit of several steamers which were seen
getting under way. Toward evening they reached a
railroad bridge twenty -five miles up the river, and the
enemy, after passing it, had jammed the machinery for
hoisting the draw so that it could not be readily raised.
Observing the escaping vessels on the other side, and
believing them to be laden with troops and valuable
stores, Lieutenant Phelps ordered some men ashore,
and after an hour of hard work they managed to force
the draw. The Tyler was then left to destroy the rail-
road, while the Conestoga and the Lexington resumed
the pursuit, and with such success that toward mid-
night two of the chase were blown up by their own
men. So great was the force of the explosion that,
although the National gunboats were half a mile away,
much of their glass work was broken in, the doors
were started and the light upper deck lifted. On the
evening of the next day (February 7th) the gunboats
reached Cerro Gordo, where they captured the large
steamer Eastport, which was being plated with iron.
The Tyler was left to guard the Eastport and take
aboard large quantities of lumber, while the Lexington
1862. A LIVELY CHASE UP THE TENNESSEE. 2S1
and the Conestoga continued up the river. At Chicka-
saw two steamers were captured, one laden with iron.
Pushing on to Muscle Shoals, the gunboats captured
three steamers that had been set on fire by the enemy,
and a portion of their cargo and military stores was
saved. Returning down the river, a detachment of
men was landed to destroy the baggage and stores of a
Confederate camp that had been hastily abandoned.
The gunboats returned to Cairo with the Eastport and
one steamer on the llth. The Eastport was built on a
beautiful model and had great speed. Her hull was
sheathed with oak, and bulwarks of oak increased her
strength. When she was taken into the National serv-
ice her boilers were lowered into the hold. In the Red
River expedition, two years later, she was partially de-
stroyed by a torpedo, and, finding that it was impossi-
ble to save her, Phelps, then lieutenant commander,
blew her up.
The next attack on the Confederate northerly line
of defense was directed against Fort Donelson. This
work was built on a bold bluff one hundred and twenty
feet above the level of Cumberland River, on the west
side, about twelve miles from Fort Henry. It was
garrisoned by fifteen thousand troops under Brigadier-
Generals Gideon Johnson Pillow and Simon Bolivar
Buckner. The defenses of the place were divided into
three batteries, the first mounting nine 32-pounders
and one 10-inch columbiad, about twenty feet above
the water's edge ; another, armed with one columbiad,
rifled as a 32-pounder, and two 32- pound carronades,
about fifty feet above the river ; while a third battery,
mounting three or four heavy guns, crowned the bluff.
On the 12th of February the Carondelet, Commander
Walke, towed by the transport Alps, arrived a few
miles below this formidable work, and, casting off
boldly, steamed toward the Confederates to engage
them single-handed ; but everything about the fort
was quiet ; not a gunner was to be seen. At 12.50 the
282 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1862.
Carondelet announced her presence by the discharge of
her three bow shell guns ; but even this failed to draw
a response, and after ten shells had been dropped in
and around the silent batteries Commander Walke re-
tired and anchored three miles below, the enemy at
this time being wholly engrossed by a land movement
of the twenty thousand troops under General Grant.
The Confederate sharpshooters on the banks, however,
soon gave evidence of their presence, and were con-
stantly on the watch to pick off any man exposing
himself outside of the casemates or in the open ports.
The next morning, February 13th, the Carondelet, at
the request of Grant, again moved toward the batteries,
and at five minutes after nine o'clock opened tire. This
time the enemy promptly replied with all the guns
that bore, but owing to a heavily wooded point of land
which intervened they caused little damage. The gun-
boat fired one hundred and thirty-nine shells at the bat-
teries, killing one of the engineer officers of the fort and
doing considerable injury. At 11.30 A. M. a 128-pound
solid shot penetrated the Carondelefs casemate on the
port side', and "in its progress toward the center of
our boilers glanced over the temporary barricades in
front of them and then passed over the steam drum,
struck the beams of the upper deck, carried away the
railing around the engine room and burst the steam
heater, and then, glancing back into the engine room,
'seemed to bound after the men,' as one of the engi-
neers said, 'like a wild beast pursuing its prey.' . . .
When it burst through the side of the Carondelet it
knocked down and wounded a dozen men. An im-
mense quantity of splinters were blown through the
vessel ; some of them, as fine as needles, shot through
the clothes of the men like arrows." !
After receiving this shot the Carondelet drew out of
range to repair damages, but at 12.15 P. M. she again
1 Rear- Admiral Walke, Battles and Leaders, Civil War, vol. i, p. 431.
1862. THE CARONDELET AT FORT DONELSON. 283
returned to the attack and maintained a stubborn ac-
tion until nearly dark, when she retired. At half past
eleven o'clock that night Flag-Officer Foote arrived on
the scene of action with his gunboats, making the en-
tire naval force in the river oif Fort Donelson as fol-
lows : The ironclads St. Louis (flagship), Lieutenant
Paulding ; Louisville, Commander Benjamin M. Dove ;
Carondelet, Commander Walke ; and Pittsburgh, Lieu-
tenant Egbert Thompson ; and the wooden gunboats
Tyler, Lieutenant Gwin, and Conestoga, Lieutenant
Phelps. The morning of February 14th was taken up
with preparations for a serious attack from the river.
Owing to the great height of the Confederate batteries,
the upper decks of the ironclads were exposed to
plunging shot, besides which shot from the upper bat-
tery would strike the sloping bulwarks of the gunboats
almost at right angles. To guard as much as possible
against this, chains, lumber, bags of coal and hard ma-
terial of all descriptions were strewn on deck so as to
break the force of heavy shot from the heights.
"At 2 P. M. precisely the signal was given from
the flagship to get under way."1 The four ironclads
formed as nearly in a line abreast as the narrow river
would admit, the Carondelet on the left, then the Pitts-
burgh and the St. Louis, with the Louisville on the
extreme right, the two wooden gunboats being sta-
tioned about half a mile astern. At 3.30 P. M., when
the flotilla had proceeded about a third of a mile, the
upper battery fired two shot by way of testing the
distance. Without replying, Captain Foote steamed
ahead until within a mile of the batteries, when he
fired his starboard rifled gun, which was followed by
those of the Louisville, the Pittsburgh and the Ca-
rondelet in rapid succession. These missiles fell short,
but at the next round a slight elevation of the guns
caused the shot and shell to fall in and around the
1 Correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, who was in the Louisville.
234: FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1862.
fort with great precision. The vessels rapidly dimin-
ished the distance between them and the fort to six
and finally to four hundred yards. From this time
the firing on both sides became rapid and more accu-
rate. The narrowness of the stream somewhat disar-
ranged the National line of battle, so that the St. Louis
was compelled to take the lead, closely followed by
the Louisville, the Pittsburgh and the Carondelet,
thus presenting a formidable battery of twelve guns to
the enemy. A large shell from the Louisville exploded
under a gun in the water battery, dismounted the piece
and killed a dozen or more men.
But the gunboats also suffered severely. They were
repeatedly struck by solid shot, some of which pene-
trated the iron mail and caused fearful havoc on the
crowded decks. One shot struck the Louisville at the
angle of the upper deck and pilot house, penetrated
the iron plating and heavy timber backing, and buried
itself in a pile of hammocks in a direct line with the
boiler. Soon afterward a shell raked her from stem to
stern, passed through the wheel house, and exploded
in the river just astern. This was followed by a solid
10-inch shot, which entered the starboard bow port,
wrecked the gun carriage, killed three men, wounded
four, and passed through the entire length of the gun
deck and into the river beyond. To finish the work of
destruction, a shell passed through the starboard for-
ward port, killed one man, wounded two, and disabled
the steering-gear so as to make the boat unmanageable,
and compelled her to drop out of action.
The flagship St. Louis was struck fifty -nine times,
but only one shot penetrated. This one, however, en-
tered the pilot house and exploded, killing the pilot
and severely wounding Captain Foote. Soon after-
ward her wheel ropes were carried away, so that she
drifted helplessly out of action with the Louisville.
The Carondelet also was handled severely. A 128-
pound shot smashed her anchor into flying bolts, and,
18G2. GALLANT ATTACK OP THE GUNBOATS. 285
bounding over the casemate, carried away a portion
of the smokestack. Another shot penetrated her iron
mail, but was checked by the heavy timber backing,
and a third missile struck her square on the pilot
house, sending a shower of iron fragments and splin-
ters, which killed one of the pilots. Everything out-
side of the ironclad was swept away — boats, smoke-
stack, davits and flagstaff — while the iron plates were
ripped and torn as if struck by lightning. In their
eagerness to fire the gunners in the Carondelet loaded
too hastily, and a rifled gun exploded, knocking down
a dozen men, but fortunately killed no one.
The Pittsburgh was struck by forty shot, two of
which entered below the guards and caused her to leak
so much that it was feared she would sink before morn-
ing. In turning round to draw out of range she fouled
the Carondelefs stern, breaking her starboard rudder.
This compelled Commander Walke to go ahead in or-
der to clear the Pittsburgh, so that he found himself
within three hundred and fifty yards of the batteries
at a moment when his consorts were drifting out of
action in a disabled condition. Taking in the situation
at a glance, and greatly encouraged by the results of
the engagement so far, the Confederates turned their
remaining guns on the Carondelet with renewed vigor.
There was no alternative .for Commander Walke but to
drop out of action also, and this he did, keeping his
bow toward the enemy, slowly retiring and deliberately
firing so long as he was in range. Two 32-pound shot
entered the Carondelet }s bow between wind and water,
which undoubtedly would have sunk her had not the
water-tight compartments kept her afloat until the
shot holes could be plugged. She was struck fifty-
nine times, and everything outside of her casemate
was carried away. The smokestack was riddled; six
shot struck the pilot house, shattering one section
to pieces and cutting through the iron plating; four
struck the casing forward of the rifled gun, and
286 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1862.
three on the starboard side. One of her rifled guns
burst.
Commander Walke said: "Our gunners kept up a
constant firing while we were falling back, and the
warning words * Look out ! ' * Down ! ' were often heard
and heeded by nearly all the gun crews. On one occa-
sion, while the men were at the muzzle of the middle
bow gun loading it, the warning came just in time for
them to jump aside as a 32-pound shot struck the lower
sill and glancing up struck the upper sill, then falling
on the inner edge of the lower sill bounded on deck and
spun around like a top, but hurt no one. It was very
evident that if the men who were loading had not
obeyed the order to drop, several of them would have
been killed. So I repeated the instructions and warned
the men of the guns and the crew generally to bow or
stand off from the ports when a shot was seen coming.
But some of the young men, from a spirit of bravado
or from a belief in the doctrine of fatalism, disre-
garded the instructions, saying it was useless to at-
tempt to dodge a cannon ball, and they would trust
to luck. The warning words ' Look out ! ' ' Down ! '
were again soon heard. Down went the gunner and
his men as the whizzing shot glanced on the gun, tak-
ing off the gunner's cap and the heads of two of the
young men who trusted to luck and in defiance of the
order were standing up or passing behind him. This
shot killed another man also who was at the last gun
of the starboard side, and disabled the gun. It came
in with a hissing sound, and three sharp spats and a
heavy bang told the sad fate of three brave comrades.
Before the decks were well sanded there was so much
blood on them that our men could not work the guns
without slipping." l The following day, February 15th,
Grant followed up the attack of the gunboats by a com-
bined assault of the navy and army, and early on the
1 Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. i, p. 435.
1862. A CONFEDERATE COUP DE MAIN. 287
morning of the 16th the fort surrendered. The loss to
the gunboats on the 14th was one man killed and nine
wounded in the St. Louis, two wounded in the Pitts-
burgh, four killed and six wounded in the Louisville
and six killed and twenty-six wounded in the Caron-
delet; total, eleven killed and forty-three wounded.
The capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson broke
the first line of defense, and compelled the Confederates
to abandon Bowling Green on the east and Columbus
on the west, the latter place being occupied by Captain
Foote on the 2d of March. The Confederates then
formed a second and perhaps more formidable line, hav-
ing Island No. 10 on the west and extending eastward
through Corinth. Here they made a most determined
effort not only to hold their position, but by a coup de
main to overwhelm the National army in Tennessee,
regain the lost ground and assume the offensive. They
expected that the powerful ironclads of the Merrimac
type then being built at New Orleans, Yazoo River
and other points along the Mississippi would make
short work of the comparatively frail gunboats under
Captain Foote. This would give them the all-impor-
tant command of the Mississippi and its many tributary
waters, and enable them to carry the war far into the
Northern States. At the same time, by suddenly mass-
ing their forces on some point of the widely extended
National line they hoped to sweep all before them.
This was not altogether fancy on the part of the Con-
federate leaders. Their plans were perfect, and their
success might have been complete had it not been for
an unexpected check given by the two insignificant
wooden gunboats Tyler and Lexington.
In pursuance of this brilliant scheme, General Albert
Sidney Johnston, after leaving enough troops to hold
Island No. 10, ordered the divisions under Generals
Beauregard, Bragg, Hardee and Breckenridge quietly
to concentrate at Corinth, from which place they were
to overwhelm Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing, and
288 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1862.
then, proceeding rapidly down the Tennessee River, re-
capture Fort Henry and Fort Donelson before they
could be re-enforced. This done, the way would be
clear for an invasion of the North. By the 5th of April
the Confederate troops had been massed around Cor-
inth. The National army was encamped in the form
of a semicircle just above Pittsburg Landing, not more
than fifteen miles distant, both wings resting near the
river, while the center swelled out five miles from its
banks. About daybreak, April 6th, the enemy began
a furious assault on the National center, intending to
crush it and then sweep around so as to attack the
wings in the rear. The division under General Pren-
tiss, which held the center, stubbornly contested the
ground, but was gradually forced back, until by 10
A. M. the enemy was in possession of the camp. The
Confederates then wheeled round to annihilate the wing
under General Hurlburt, which guarded the stores at
Pittsburg Landing, and by 3 p. M. they had nearly ac-
complished their purpose ; for the National troops,
though fighting gallantly, were swept back in confu-
sion, the river cutting oif their retreat. There was now
a pause in the battle while the victorious Confederates
massed their forces for a final charge to capture the
landing with all the army stores.
During the progress of the great battle the Tyler,
Lieutenant Gwin, and the Lexington, Lieutenant
Shirk, moved up and down the river, seeking an op-
portunity to reach the enemy. At 1.25 p. M. Lieuten-
ant Gwin sent a messenger to General Hurlburt asking
permission to open on the enemy, and was directed to
do so, the general expressing himself "grateful for
this offer of support, saying that without re-enforce-
ments he would not be able to maintain the position he
then occupied for an hour." The Tyler at 2.30 P. M.
opened on a battery and in half an hour silenced it,
and at 3.50 p. M. she dropped down to the landing op-
posite Pittsburg, where she was joined by the Lexing-
1862. BATTLE OF PITTSBURG LANDING. 289
ton. The two gunboats took a position where their
guns would sweep a ravine through which the enemy
was compelled to pass in his final charge. At 5.30
p. M. the Confederates started from cover with yells
of confidence, and wave after wave of glistening bayo-
nets rolled from the woods across the ravine. At this
moment the gunboats opened at short range, together
with a battery of 32-pounders hastily prepared by
Colonel Joseph D. Webster, and swept the ravine
.from end to end with a terrific fire of shot, shell and
shrapnel.
The Confederates had not anticipated the fire of
the gunboats, and in their eagerness to seize the prize
so nearly in their grasp they rushed on to destruc-
tion. Hissing shells tore bloody chasms in their
lines, and, exploding, struck down the men in wide
circles, while a pitiless storm of grape and canister
sprinkled death on all sides. No mortal army could
withstand such a terrific fire, and gradually the enemy
fell back, until at 6.30 P. M. they retired beyond the
reach of the gunboats. During the night the Confed-
erates occupied the captured camps, where the gun-
boats kept dropping shells among them until daylight.
The battle was renewed with fresh troops on the fol-
lowing day, when the enemy was compelled to retreat.
Not a man in the gunboats had been injured. The
Tyler alone threw one hundred and eighty-eight shells
at point-blank range.
After the surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson
the presence of National gunboats in these rivers was
necessary, as guerrillas were a constant menace to the
army lines of communication. This hazardous service
was gallantly performed by the gunboats under Cap-
tain Alexander M. Pennock. On the 30th of January,
1863, Captain Pennock sent the Lexington, Lieutenant-
Commander S. Ledyard Phelps, up the Cumberland
River. Twenty miles above Clarksville Phelps landed
and burned a house that had been used as a head-
64
290 FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. 1863.
quarters by the enemy. Returning from this expedi-
tion, the Lexington was fired upon by a battery of
heavy guns, and although struck three times she soon
silenced the enemy.
While moving up Cumberland River with a number
of transports under convoy of the Lexington and five
light-draught gunboats, February 3d, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Le Roy Fitch learned that Colonel Harding,
commanding the garrison of eight hundred men oppo-
site Fort Donelson, was surrounded by an overwhelm-
ing force of Confederates and that his ammunition was
exhausted. Hastening to the scene of battle with his
six gunboats, Fitch stationed his vessels where they
could sweep a graveyard in which the main body of
the enemy was stationed, and opened a terrific fire.
Being thus unexpectedly attacked in the rear, the Con-
federates fled in confusion, leaving one hundred and
forty of their dead on the field. Fitch afterward went
up the Tennessee as far as Florence, dispersing bodies
of Confederate troops wherever found. On the 24th of
April, Fitch, in the Lexington, assisted Ellet's vessels
in silencing a Confederate battery. When General J.
H. Morgan made his raid into Ohio, July, 1863, Fitch
stationed his gunboats at various points along the Ohio
River to cut off the enemy's retreat. On the 19th of
July, in the little gunboat Moose, he overtook the Con-
federates at a ford two hundred and fifty miles east of
Cincinnati, and notwithstanding a battery of two field
pieces the Moose prevented the enemy from crossing.
This compelled the Confederates to abandon their
wounded and dismounted men and to scatter in a head-
long flight. The Moose kept abreast of them and frus-
trated two other efforts to cross, and she did not relin-
quish the chase until the water was too shoal even for
her.
CHAPTER VIII.
ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS.
WHEN General Johnston concentrated his forces at
Corinth with a view of overwhelming Grant at Pitts-
burg Landing, he left enough men, as he thought,
to hold the powerful fortifications at Island No. 10
against any force that could be brought against them.
This place was of great strategic strength. The earth-
works on the island itself were from ten to fifteen
feet thick, and mounted two 10-inch columbiads, four
8-inch guns, five 32-pounders and five 64-pounders.
Opposite the island, on the Kentucky shore, were
mounted thirty heavy guns, while a floating battery of
sixteen guns was anchored just below battery No. 1 on
Island No. 10. A line of hulks obstructed the northern
channel, compelling vessels to pass on the southern side,
where they were exposed at short range to the fire of
about sixty heavy guns. At the northern bend of the
river was New Madrid, held by several thousand Con-
federate soldiers, and fortified so as to guard Island
No. 10 on the Missouri side ; and below New Madrid,
on the eastern shore, were planted batteries which pre-
vented a force from crossing at that point. All land
approaches to the fortifications around Island No. 10,
on the south, were cut off by impassable swamps. On
the 15th of March Captain Foote appeared before Island
No. 10 with twelve hundred troops under Colonel Napo-
leon Bonaparte Buford ; eleven mortar boats under Cap-
tain Henry E. Maynadier ; and the ironclads Benton
(flagship), Lieutenant S. Ledyard Phelps ; Carondelet,
Commander Henry Walke ; St. Louis, Lieutenant Leon-
291
292
ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS.
1862.
ard Paulding ; Mound City, Commander Augustus
Henry Kilty ; and Pittsburgh, Lieutenant Egbert
Thompson.
At this time the river was swollen by rains and had
overflowed its banks, sweeping houses, fences and
lumber down the stream in its rapid current. The
heavy ironclads, whose engines even in ordinary times
made slow progress upstream, were now barely able to
save themselves from being swept under the enemy's
guns. In their action with Fort Henry and Fort Don-
elson they had approached the enemy from below, so
that in case their machinery became disabled — which
happened in both of these attacks — they could drift
out of range ; but in attacking Island No. 10 the situ-
ation was reversed, and should the engines of a gun-
Point
Pleasant
Island No. 10.
boat become impaired it would be swept helplessly
under the enemy's guns. Realizing the difficulty of
1862. OPERATIONS AGAINST ISLAND NO. 10. 293
the situation, and well knowing how dependent the
movements of the land forces were on the gunboats,
Captain Foote acted with great caution. This was the
more necessary as the ironclad Louisiana was nearly
ready for service, and with other ironclads of her type
was expected up the river in a short time to give battle.
Should the National gunboats be worsted in such an
action (and the recent achievements of the Merrimac
gave reason for fearing it), the great cities of the North-
west would be exposed to an attack from the Con-
federates.
On the 16th of March the mortar boats, under the
command of Captain Maynadier, of the army, and Com-
mander Joseph P. Sanford, of the navy, were placed in
position, and opened with some effect ; but, owing to
the great distance, their fire was without important
results. On the 17th the ironclads moved down for a
more serious attack ; the Benton, owing to her deficient
steam power, was lashed between the Cincinnati arid
the St. Louis and moved down the eastern side of the
river, while the Mound City, the Carondelet and the
Pittsburgh took the western side. At 1.20 p. M. they
opened fire on the upper batteries on Island No. 10 at
long range, and the enemy promptly responded ; but
no serious damage was inflicted on either side. The
Benton was struck four times, but the greatest injury
was occasioned by the bursting of a rifled gun aboard the
St. Louis, by which fifteen men were killed or wounded,
among the latter being Lieutenant Faulding.
From the 17th to the 26th of March, during which
time General Johnston was beginning to carry out his
plan of massing his forces at Corinth, little was done
toward reducing the enemy's stronghold at Island No.
10. The National forces maintained a desultory fire,
inflicting some trifling damage which was speedily re-
paired, and the only immediate result of the bombard-
ment was to afford amusement rather than annoyance
to the Confederates. Yet it lulled them into a greater
294 ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS. 1862.
sense of security. On the 23d of March, while the
Carondelet was close under the shore, two large trees
fell without warning on her decks, wounding two men,
one mortally. While this tedious bombardment was
in progress, General Pope, with two thousand troops,
had been working around the Confederate position
with a view of cutting off retreat, and by blockading
the river twelve miles below Point Pleasant he com-
pelled them to evacuate New Madrid. The enemy was
now hemmed in on three sides, being cut off on the north
and the west by the Mississippi, and on the east by an
impassable swamp, so that his only avenue for sup-
plies or retreat was on the south side. It was this
southern opening that General Pope desired to close,
but as the enemy controlled the river below Island No.
10 with heavy batteries on the eastern bank, he could
not attain his object without the aid of the gunboats.
It was finally suggested that one of the ironclads at-
tempt to run the batteries, but in a council of officers
this was declared to be too hazardous.
It was then determined to cut a canal from Island
No. 8 across the swamps to New Madrid, and in that
way get the ironclads below the Confederate strong-
hold. After a vast amount of labor and exposure to
the miasma of the marshes, the canal was cut in nine-
teen days ; but it was found that the gunboats could
not pass through it, and even the smaller transports
could get through only with difficulty. In the mean
time the Confederate ironclads being built at various
points along the Mississippi were rapidly approaching
completion, and they would have no difficulty in re-
lieving the garrison of Island No. 10 and compelling
Captain Foote to act on the defensive. Such being the
serious extremity to which the National flotilla was
placed, another council of officers was held in the
Benton on the 28th and 29th of March, but with one
exception it was unanimously decided that it would be
too hazardous to risk an ironclad in an attempt to run
1862. A DARING NIGHT ATTACK. 295
the Confederate batteries. The one exception was Com-
mander Walke, of the Carondelet, who volunteered to
take his vessel past the batteries, and obtained the re-
luctant permission of Captain Foot to do so.
While these preparations were under way one of
those daring exploits which have ever characterized the
American navy was undertaken. On the night of
April 1st forty picked sailors under the command of
Master John V. Johnston, and fifty soldiers under the
command of Colonel George Washington Roberts, of
the Forty-second Illinois Regiment, embarked in five
barges, and, pushing out from the shadow of the wil-
lows that fringed the Kentucky shore, dropped down
the river with the current toward the Confederate lines.
Strict silence was observed, and even the muffled oars
were used only once in a while to give the barges steer-
age way. Thus for an hour the boats glided down-
stream, stealing along the shores in the shadow of the
overhanging trees and availing themselves of every
means of concealment. They arrived within a few rods
of the first battery above Island No. 10 before they were
discovered. Here they were challenged by a sentinel,
and almost at the same instant the order "Give way ! "
was heard. The oars splashed in the water and the
barges dashed toward the battery at full speed. The
sentinel discharged his musket and fled to give the
alarm. The boats ran ashore, the men landed, stationed
their guards, and in half an hour had spiked the seven
guns of this battery, one of them a formidable 10-inch
columbiad. They then returned to their boats and es-
caped up the river without the loss of a man.
One of the obstacles to the passage of the Caronde-
let being thus removed, Captain Foote directed the
fire of his mortars toward the floating battery, which
was moored near the head of the island. Fortunately,
a shell cut her moorings, and she was carried three
miles below her station before she could be secured
again. Having received his orders to run the batteries
296 ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS. 1862.
on the " first foggy or rainy night," and in case of fail-
ure to "destroy the steam machinery, and, if impossi-
ble to escape, set fire to your gunboat or sink her and
prevent her from falling into the hands of the enemy,"
Commander Walke made preparations for running the
gantlet. An 11-inch hawser was coiled round the pilot
house to a level with the windows, chains and cables
were placed over the more vulnerable parts of the ma-
chinery, planks taken from the wreck of a barge were
strewn over the deck as an additional protection against
plunging shot, while hammocks were stowed in the net-
ting and cord wood was piled round the boilers. A
barge laden with coal and baled hay was then lashed
along the port side so as to protect the magazine, and
a course of bales was laid over the after end of the
casemate, as that part of the ironclad after she had
passed the batteries would be exposed. As a precau-
tion against discovery, the escape steam, which in the
high-pressure engines made a loud puffing noise, was led
into the paddle-wheel house so as to deaden the sound.
By the 4th of April these preparations had been
nearly completed, and Commander Walke announced
his intention of attempting the passage that night if
the weather was favorable. During the day the heav-
ens were watched with the closest scrutiny, the weather-
wise tars scanning each cloud and " tasting " each puff
of air with serious countenances as they discussed the
probabilities of the weather. As the afternoon wore
on and the indications for a clear and starlit night be-
came more pronounced, the seamen grew more gloomy.
But as evening drew near dark clouds were observed
massing on the western horizon, and shortly afterward
the wind, shifting in that direction, brought to their
ears the faint muttering of distant thunder. At the
same time a light haze was noticed creeping up the
river, and as evening approached it gradually diffused
itself over the surrounding landscape and finally en-
shrouded everything in a damp fog. The happy omen
1862. WALKE RUNS THE BATTERIES. 297
put every man on the alert. The final preparations
were completed with alacrity; the guns were run in
and the ports carefully closed, so that no stray beam of
light would discover them to the enemy ; small arms,
cutlasses and boarding- pikes were stacked in conven-
ient reach, while hose was attached to the boilers to
turn streams of scalding steam on the enemy in case
they attempted to board.
By ten o'clock the moon had disappeared, leaving
the river in darkness, while the threatening storm-
clouds that had been massing in the west lowered over
the scene and finally broke in a drenching rain. Com-
mander Walke now gave the order to cast off the lines.
The Carondelet swung heavily into the current and
was soon plunging downstream. By the time she was
fully under way the night was black as pitch, so that
it would have been impossible to keep clear of the
shoals and banks had it not been for the frequent and
vivid flashes of lightning that illuminated the river
with dazzling brilliancy, giving occasional glimpses of
the drenched landscape and the trees bending under
the storm. For half an hour the men on the gun deck
stood at their stations in grim silence, hearing nothing
but whistling of the wind and incessant pattering of
rain on the deck above them. Onward glided the
phantom gunboat under the skillful piloting of Acting-
Volunteer-Lieutenant William K. Hoel, and all went
well until the Carondelet had passed the battery that
had been so daringly spiked on the night of April 1st,
when the soot in both smokestacks took fire and blazed
upward in the black night like two immense torches.
This mishap was caused by the escaped steam being led
into the paddle-wheel house to drown the puffing noise.
Ordinarily this steam passed into the smokestacks and
kept the soot moist, thus preventing its taking fire.
The firemen were immediately called away and the
flames were extinguished, so that the Carondelet was
again wrapped in darkness. But the alarm had been
298 ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS. 1862.
given, and though the cannon in this battery had been
effectually spiked, signal rockets were sent up giving
notice to the lower batteries of an approaching enemy.
There was warm work ahead for the Carondelet.
Commander Walke soon realized that he was in the
midst of an aroused and powerful enemy, and if he
would accomplish his purpose he must act with deter-
mination and promptness. Full speed was ordered,
and the ironclad dashed through the darkness at a
dangerous rate. When she was opposite the second
battery on the shore the smokestacks again took fire
and revealed her exact position. Then began a crash
of heavy artillery and a rattling fire of musketry on all
sides. Without replying, the Carondelet sped on her
way down the river. Realizing the extreme peril of
their position, and knowing that the safety of all de-
pended upon .an uninterrupted and speedy passage of
the batteries, the heroic pilot, Hoel, in order the better
to guide the boat down the river, took his station with
the leadsmen, Charles Wilson and Theodore Gilmore,
forward on the open deck, exposed to the drenching
rain and the enemy's shot. The lead was continuously
kept going, for the course of the gunboat was rendered
doubly uncertain by the broad surface presented to the
current, which among the many abrupt bends and ed-
dies would frequently give her a sheer toward some
bank or shoal before it was discovered. In a few min-
utes of total darkness a brilliant flash of lightning
showed that the Carondelet was rushing directly upon
a dangerous shoal under the guns of the Confederate
battery. Instantly the watchful pilot cried out " Hard
aport ! " and the clumsy craft swung heavily around,
almost grazing the island, and so near that the voice of
a Confederate officer was distinctly heard ordering his
men to elevate the guns, the Confederates having low-
ered the muzzles of their cannon to keep the rain from
destroying the charges of powder in them.
After this narrow escape the Carondelet passed the
1862. WALKE'S SUCCESS. 299
remaining batteries on the island unscathed. The
enemy, deceived by the flashes of lightning, had ele-
vated their guns too much, so that most of their shot
went over. Only one obstacle now remained in the
course of the Carondelet, and that was the formidable
floating battery three miles below the island moored to
the western bank. As the Carondelet was not in fight-
ing trim, Commander Walke hugged the opposite shore,
to give the enemy as wide a berth as possible. But the
dreaded battery offered little opposition to the flight of
the National gunboat, firing only seven or eight shot
at her. The Carondelet had now safely passed the
Confederate batteries and had added another to the
brilliant achievements of the navy. Not a man in
her had been injured, and only two shot were found
in the barge at her side. The great risk involved
in running these batteries is seen in the Carondelefs
grounding hard and fast on one of the treacherous
shoals while rounding to as she approached New Mad-
rid, immediately after her passage of the batteries,
where it required the utmost exertions of her crew
to get her afloat. Some of the forward guns were
run astern and all the men assembled aft, and by
putting on a full head of steam she was backed off
after an hour of hard work. Had this happened
under the enemy's batteries, she would have been
destroyed.
The passage of the ironclad blighted the enemy's
hope of holding Island No. 10, for now there was noth-
ing to prevent General Pope's army from crossing the
river and taking a position in the rear, thus cutting off
the retreat and supplies. The second night after the
Carondelefs exploit the Pittsburgh, Lieutenant Thomp-
son, also passed the batteries, upon which the National
troops assembled at New Madrid and Point Pleasant
crossed the river to the eastern side, the Carondelet
having on the 6th and 7th of April silenced the enemy's
batteries of eight 64-pounders. On the 8th of April
300 ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS. 1862.
Island No. 10 was surrendered to Captain Foote and
General Pope, together with five thousand men.
On the 13th of April five Confederate steamers came
up the river to reconnoiter, but on the appearance of
the ironclads retired under the guns of Fort Pillow.
From this time until early in May the Western flotilla
was not engaged in any serious operations, as General
Pope's army was ordered to Corinth, leaving only one
thousand five hundred men to hold the ground already
won. On the 9th of May, Captain Foote, to whose skill-
ful and prudent management so much of the success of
the navy in the West was due, was relieved of his com-
mand at his own request, as the wound he had received
at Fort Donelson, together with illness, had so im-
paired his health as to compel him to seek rest in a
change of service. His successor was Captain Charles
Henry Davis.
Early in the war, at the suggestion of two Missis-
sippi River steamboat captains — J. E. Montgomery and
Townsend — the Confederates organized a river defense
fleet consisting of fourteen river boats having their
bows plated with 1-inch iron and their boilers and ma-
chinery protected with cotton bales and pine bulwarks,
and on the 9th of May eight of these vessels were sta-
tioned near Fort Pillow under the command of Mr.
Montgomery. They were the Little Rebel, flagship ;
the General Bragg, William H. H. Leonard ; the Gen-
eral Price, H. E. Henthorne ; the General Sumter, W.
W. Lamb ; the General Van Dorn, Isaac D. Fulker-
son ; the General M. Jeff. Thompson, John H. Burke ;
the General Beauregard, James Henry Hurt ; and the
General Lovell, James C. Delancey. After the capture
of Island No. 10 Captain Foote moved down the river,
and from the 14th of April to the 10th of May he
divided and moored his flotilla at Plumb Point, and on
the opposite side of the river six miles above Fort
Pillow, and every day sent a mortar boat under the
protection of one of the ironclads down the river to a
1862. BATTLE OF FORT PILLOW. 301
point about two miles above Fort Pillow, where 13-inch
shells were fired at the enemy. This fire proved to be
exceedingly annoying to the Confederates, and they
determined to make a dash up the river and give battle
to the flotilla.
Early on the morning of May 10th, while the mist
was hanging over the river, the enemy's vessels, led by
the General Bragg, a brig-rigged side-wheel steamer,
came swiftly up the river, intending first to destroy the
mortar boat and the ironclad defending it before the
other National ironclads could come to their assistance.
The ironclad defending the mortar boat at this time
was the Cincinnati, and Acting-Master Gregory was in
charge of the mortar boat No. 16. When the Confed-
erate steamers were discovered coming up the river,
Mr. Gregory reduced the charge of his mortar, and,
lowering the elevation, deliberately fired eleven shells
at them. Paying no attention to this, the General
Bragg came swiftly up the Arkansas side, far in ad-
vance of her consorts, and, passing some distance above
the Cincinnati, turned down the river at full speed
and rammed the ironclad on her starboard quarter,
which was her most vulnerable point. The blow
crushed in the side and made a hole in her shell-room,
into which the water poured in great quantities. The
warning was given for the remaining National gunboats
to get under way, but owing to the mists and the want
of a breeze the signal flags could not be readily distin-
guished. Word was then passed from boat to boat,
and they stood down the river as rapidly as possible.
After ramming the Cincinnati, the General Bragg
swung alongside and received a broadside, and, backing
clear of the ironclad, stood downstream disabled. In
the mean time the other rams had arrived on the scene,
and the General Price and the General Sumler also
succeeded in ramming the Cincinnati. About this
time Commander Stembel was dangerously wounded
in the neck by a pistol shot, and Master Reynolds fell,
302 ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS. 1862.
mortally wounded. With the assistance of the Pitts-
burgh and a tug, the Cincinnati was taken to the Ten-
nessee shore, where she sank in eleven feet of water.
The Carondelet disabled the General Price with a shot.
The General Van Dorn, the fourth Confederate steamer,
passed the disabled Cincinnati and rammed the Mound
City on her starboard bow and compelled the ironclad
to make for the Arkansas shore in a sinking condition.
The General M. Jeff. Thompson, the General Beaure-
gard and the General Lowell fired into the Carondelet,
to which Commander Walke replied with his stern
guns. One of his shot struck the General Sumter just
forward of her wheelhouse, and, cutting the steam pipe,
filled the vessel with scalding steam. The Confeder-
ates now retreated down the river with all their ves-
sels, which were not so seriously damaged but that
they were repaired and ready for another battle a few
weeks later. The Cincinnati and the Mound City also
were repaired. The loss in the Cincinnati was three
wounded, in the Mound City one wounded. The Con-
federates had two killed and one w.ounded.
On the 27th of March, 1862, Charles Ellet, a civil
engineer, was directed by the Government to purchase
a number of river steamers and fit them up as rams.
Seven steamers were secured for this purpose, four
of them side-wheelers and three stern-wheelers, their
hulls strengthened by solid timber bulwarks twelve
to sixteen inches thick, running fore and aft (the
central one being on the keelson) and firmly braced
together. Iron rods ran through the hull from side to
side, giving additional strength, while oak bulwarks
two feet thick protected the boilers. These vessels,
hastily fitted out in six weeks, joined the squadron un-
der Captain Davis above Fort Pillow on the 25th of
May. On the 4th of June Fort Pillow was abandoned
by the enemy, and on the following day the squadron
moved down the river, two miles above Memphis.
On the 6th of June the following ironclads, under
1862. BATTLE OF MEMPHIS. 303
the command of Captain Davis, moved down the river
to engage the enemy: Benton (flagship), Lieutenant
S. Ledyard Phelps ; Carondelet, Commander Walke ;
Louisville, Commander Dove ; St. Louis, Lieutenant
Wilson McGunnegle ; and Cairo, Lieutenant Nathaniel
C. Bryant ; with two of Ellet's steam rams, the Queen
of the West, Colonel Ellet, and the Monarch, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Alfred W. Ellet (a younger brother).
As they came within sight of Memphis the Confederate
vessels, mounting two to four guns each, under the
command of Montgomery, were found drawn up in a
double line of battle opposite the city. The National
ironclads formed in line of battle, with the two rams a
short distance astern. The bluffs around the city were
crowded with people eager to witness a naval engage-
ment, and the National vessels refrained from firing
lest some of their shots might fall among the citizens.
While they were some distance from the enemy
the Queen of the West and the Monarch dashed past
the ironclads at full speed and made straight for the
Confederate vessels, Colonel Ellet selecting the General
Lovell, which was about the middle of the enemy's line
of battle. The Queen of the West and the General
Lovell approached each other in gallant style, and
every one expected there would be a head-on collision
in which both vessels would probably be sunk; but
just before the steamers came in contact the General
Lovell suddenly turned her head inshore, exposing her
broadside at right angles to the Queen of the West.
On went the National ram at a tremendous speed and
crashed into the Confederate flagship, cutting her near-
ly in two, causing her to disappear under the water in
a few seconds. At the moment of the collision Colonel
Ellet, who was standing in an exposed position on the
hurricane deck, was wounded above the knee by a pis-
tol shot. He died from the effect of this wound June
21, 1862. Before the Queen of the West could disen-
gage herself from the wreck she was rammed by the
304 ISLAND NO. 10 AND MEMPHIS. 1862.
General Beauregard on one side and by the General
Sumter on the other and one of her paddle wheels was
carried away, but by using the remaining wheel she
managed to reach the Arkansas shore, where she was
run aground.
The Monarch, closely following the Queen of the
West, had selected one of the enemy's steamers, when
the General Beauregard and the General Price made
a dash at her from opposite sides ; but the command-
ers of the Confederate vessels had not calculated on
the great speed of the new National vessel, and sup-
posed that they were still dealing with the slow-going
ironclads. The result was that they missed her alto-
gether and crashed into each other, the General Beau-
regard tearing off the General Prices port wheel and
seriously injuring her hull. The latter ran ashore on
the Arkansas side near the Queen of the West. The
Monarch then turned on the General Beauregard,
which was fleeing down the river, but the Benton
disabled the Confederate vessel with a shot in her
boiler, causing her to sink soon afterward. The Little
Rebel received a shot in her steam chest from one of
the ironclads and drifted on the Arkansas shore, where
her men escaped. The remaining Confederate vessels
fled down the river and were pursued about ten miles.
The M, Jeff. Thompson, being on fire, soon blew up,
and the General Bragg and General Sumter were over-
taken and captured. The General Van Dorn alone
escaped, although pursued by the Monarch and the
Switzerland, the latter having joined in the battle at
its close. The loss to the National fleet in this brilliant
affair was only four wounded ; that of the Confederates
is not definitely known. The Little Rebel, the General
Bragg, the General Sumter and the General Price
were repaired and added to the National flotilla.
On the 17th of June, Commander Kilty, in the
Mound City, with the St. Louis, Lieutenant McGun-
negle, the Lexington, Lieutenant James W. Shirk and
1862. ATTACK ON ST. CHARLES. 305
the Conestoga, Lieutenant Blodgett, with an Indiana
regiment under Colonel Fitch, attacked two Confeder-
ate earthworks at St. Charles, on White River. Early
in the action a shell entered the casemate of the
Mound City, killing three men in its flight, and ex-
ploded her steam drum. A fearful scene followed, and
the men, endeavoring to escape from the scalding steam,
jumped into the river, where forty-three were drowned
or killed by the enemy's shot. Eighty-two men died
from scalding or wounds, and only twenty-five out of
the complement of one hundred and seventy-five were
uninjured. Commander Kilty himself was so badly
scalded that it became necessary to amputate his left
arm. The disabled ironclad was towed out of action
by the Conestoga. In spite of this terrible disaster the
remaining gunboats maintained the attack until Colonel
Fitch, who had landed with his regiment to attack the
earthworks in the rear, signaled for them to cease firing,
and the troops carried the battery by storm. The gun-
boats pushed sixty-three miles farther up the river and
then returned. For his brilliant services Captain Davis
received the rank of rear-admiral February 7, 1863.
05
CHAPTER IX.
BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI.
WHILE the National gunboats were opening the
Mississippi River from the north, the Government was
projecting an expedition against New Orleans, with a
view of capturing that most important seaport of the
South by an attack from the mouth of the river. Soon
after the beginning of hostilities Captain "William Mer-
vine, who had served on the coast of California dur-
ing the Mexican War, was placed in command of the
blockading squadron in the Gulf, and he arrived off
the mouth of the Mississippi on the 8th of June, 1861.
For a short time before his arrival the Brooklyn, Com-
mander Charles H. Poor, the Niagara and the Pow-
Jiatan, Lieutenant David Dixon Porter, had been
blockading Southwest Pass and Pass a 1'Outre, and on
the 13th of June the Massachusetts arrived. Captain
Mervine was relieved of his command in the latter part
of September by Captain William W. McKean. The
escape of the Confederate cruiser Sumter showed the
necessity of holding the Head of the Passes, where the
river broadens out into a deep bay two miles wide,
giving ample room for the manoeuvres of a fleet ; and
early in October the steam sloop Richmond, Captain
John Pope ; the sailing sloop Vincennes, Commander
Robert Handy ; the sailing sloop Preble, Command-
er Henry French ; and the side-wheel steamer Water
Witch, Lieutenant Francis Winslow, moved up to the
Head of the Passes, took possession of the telegraph
station and began the erection of a fort.
On the night of October llth, Captain George Nich-
306
1861. AT THE HEAD OF THE PASSES. 307
olas Hollins, of the Confederate navy, with the ironclad
Manassas l and six wooden steamers, left New Orleans,
and, stealing down the river, approached the National
vessels unobserved. In the early dawn of October 12th
the Manassas rammed the Richmond as she lay at
anchor. Fortunately, a schooner from which the Rich-
mond was coaling was lying alongside and prevented
serious results ; but as it was, a small hole was made
in the Richmond's side two feet below the water line,
abreast of the port fore chains. The shock of the col-
lision started the boilers in the Manassas, and before
she could ram again Captain Pope had slipped his
cable and ranged ahead. The ram then crept off in the
night, and although many missiles were aimed at her
she escaped without serious damage. About this time
three lights were discovered coming swiftly down the
river, and as they drew nearer they were seen to be fire
rafts guided by two steamers, the Tuscarora and the
Watson. The flames, sweeping across the river from
bank to bank like a wall of fire, presented an appalling
appearance ; and, fearing that his vessels would be de-
stroyed by this new species of warfare, Captain Pope
hoisted a red light as a danger signal and retreated
down Southwest Pass. Lieutenant Winslow, in the
Water Witch, remained at the Head of the Passes un-
til daylight, when he saw the smoke of four steamers
and the masts of a propeller that had every appearance
of a blockade runner. He hastened down the pass,
overtook Captain Pope at the bar, and begged him to
return, but Pope deemed it unadvisable to do so.
In attempting to cross the bar the Richmond and
the Vincennes grounded, and while they were in this
position the Confederate vessels, at eight o'clock in the
morning, approached, and for two hours kept up a
desultory cannonading. As the Richmond had her
broadsides in a position to rake any craft going up or
1 For a description of the Manassas, see page 315.
308 BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1861.
down the river, Captain Hollins did not care to risk
his vessels before her heavy shell guns. The Water
Witch maintained a spirited fire from her few guns and
kept the enemy at a respectful distance. The Rich-
mond was soon floated off, but, drifting down the cur-
rent, she grounded again below the Vincennes, Cap-
tain Pope then made signal for the vessels below the
bar to get under way, but Commander Handy, of the
Vincennes, mistook the signal for an order to abandon
his ship, and applying a slow match to the magazine at
a time when the enemy was actually withdrawing, he
sent a part of his crew aboard the Water Witch, while
he, at 9.30 A. M., went aboard the Richmond with the
rest of his men. After waiting a reasonable time for
the magazine to explode, Captain Pope ordered Handy
back to the Vi?wennes, and the next day, by the aid
of the South Carolina, which had come up from Bar-
rataria, she was floated off. After this humiliating oc-
currence a vessel was stationed off each of the passes,
as it was deemed too hazardous to hold the Head of the
Passes. On the 16th of September troops were landed
from the Massachusetts and took possession of Ship
Island, with a view of making that a naval headquar-
ters. On the 19th of October the Florida, Captain
Hollins, engaged the Massachusetts in a distant can-
nonading off Ship Island, but with no decisive results.
In the mean time the Government at Washington
had learned, through fishermen in the Gulf and other
sources, that the defenses of New Orleans on the south
had been neglected by the Confederates, as they
deemed an attack from that quarter impracticable. In
November, 1861, President Lincoln considered a plan
for the capture of New Orleans, submitted by Gustavus
Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy. It was
proposed to have wooden ships run past Fort Jackson
and Fort St. Philip and take possession of the city ; the
forts, being cut off from their base of supplies, would
thus be compelled to surrender. Although Washing-
1863. PLANNING THE NEW ORLEANS EXPEDITION. 309
ton, nearly a hundred years before, had urged 'upon
Comte de Grasse the feasibility of running wooden
ships past the land batteries of Lord Cornvvallis on
York River, saying, " I should have the greatest confi-
dence in the success of that important service," yet the
plan was never carried out, and had always been re-
garded by naval authorities as too hazardous even to
be seriously considered. It was proposed to send about
ten thousand soldiers to hold the city after the fleet
had passed the forts, and it was decided to have a mor-
tar flotilla to bombard the forts before the fleet made
its attempt to run past. Six thousand Massachusetts
troops, together with some Western regiments, under
the command of General Benjamin P. Butler, were de-
tailed for the expedition.
The proposition was one of the boldest and seem-
ingly most foolhardy plans that had ever been seri-
ously contemplated. Its success depended entirely
upon the selection of a sagacious, fearless and well-
balanced commander, and it was this part of the enter-
prise that most seriously engaged the attention of the
Government. Of all the officers at the disposal of the
United States, Captain David Glasgow Farragut seemed
to be the one best fitted for this command, and it was
only his Southern birth and affiliations that caused the
Government to hesitate ; but on the 9th of January he
was formally appointed commander of the expedition,
and also commander of the Western Gulf Blockading
Squadron, the new sloop of war Hartford being as-
signed as his flagship.
Farragut's name was first noticed in these pages as
a midshipman in the Essex at the opening of the war
for independence on the high seas. At the close of
that war he was ordered to the Mediterranean in the new
ship of the line Washington. In 1821 he received his
commission as lieutenant and took part in the suppres-
sion of piracy in the West Indies. When off Tortugas,
about 1823, he took passage in a vessel laden with brick
310 BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1861-1862.
for Fort Jackson. In 1832 he was in the Norfolk Navy
Yard. During the nullification troubles, in 1833. he
was in the man-of-war that was sent to South Carolina
by President Jackson with the message, "The Union
must and shall be preserved." In 1837 he was execu-
tive officer in the sloop-of-war Natchez, and in 1840 he
was again at Norfolk, about which time he married the
daughter of Mr. Loyall, of that city. In the following
year he sailed for the coast of Brazil in the ship-of-the-
line Delaware, when he was made commander. In
1844 he commanded the receiving ship Pennsylvania,
at Norfolk, and in 1847 the sloop-of-war Saratoga, of
the home squadron. From 1848 to 1854 he was on
shore duty, after which he was sent out to establish
the navy yard in California, where he remained until
1858, by which time he had been promoted to the rank
of captain and was ordered to the sloop-of-war Brook-
lyn. When the civil war broke out he was in Norfolk
and was strongly urged to serve the Southern cause.
It is difficult for a landsman to understand how at-
tached a thoroughbred seaman becomes to his colors.
It was under the United States flag that the youthful
Farragut received his commission as a midshipman, and
in that proud moment of gratified ambition he took his
boyish oath to die rather than strike that flag. On
more than one occasion he had seen the haughtiest
colors on the ocean bow with respect before Old Glory.
At Valparaiso he stood on the bloody decks of the Es-
sex with that gallant ship's company and saw men give
life and limb in order that the flag might not be hauled
down. He had seen sailors writhing in the agonies of
death expend their last vitality in some feeble defense
of that flag. He had traveled from ocean to ocean, and
had seen the star-spangled banner towering proudly
among the powers of the earth, feared by some, blessed
by others for its manly upholding of the rights of hu-
manity, respected by all. He had seen kings and
princes do it homage. Many a time when in distant
1361-1862. DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT. 3H
lands, surrounded by strange scenes and by strange
people, he had stood under the protecting folds of the
Stars and Stripes and felt that he had a true friend by
him. Often, on the lonely ocean, he had watched the
beautiful flag caressed by gentle zephyrs, brightly re-
turning the smiles of the sun, or, drawing itself out to
its full length, grandly maintain its dignity in the face
of storm.
And this was the flag against which Farragut was
asked to raise his hand. The secessionists little under-
stood how those stripes could entwine themselves about
the heart of a sailor who had once fought for that flag,
who had endured sickness, hardship, insult and igno-
miny in order that it might remain unsullied. They
understood still less the emotion of men who have once
gazed on those stars proudly floating over the enemy's
colors after a bloody struggle. Stung with the insult
contained in the suggestion, and remembering the glori-
ous triumphs achieved under the flag, Farragut re-
plied, "I would see every man of you damned before
I would raise my hand against that flag ! " Being in-
formed that he could no longer remain in the South, he
replied, " I will seek some other place where I can live,
and on two hours' notice." And he was as good as his
word. On that same evening, April 18th, he left Nor-
folk and most of his worldly possessions, and with his
wife and only son went to Baltimore, and thence to
Hastings on the Hudson. His first service was on the
board appointed under the act of Congress, August 3,
1861, to retire superannuated officers from active serv-
ice, from which duty he was called to assume command
of the New Orleans expedition.
.While the preparations for the expedition were
under way in the North, the blockade of the mouths
of the Mississippi had been maintained as well as the
few vessels stationed there could do it. The dreary
monotony of blockade on this coast was enhanced by
fogs so dense that it was impossible at times to see one
312 BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1862.
hundred yards ahead, which afforded every oppor-
tunity for blockade runners to get to sea. At times
the rigging and spars of the vessels were soaked with
moisture, and the continual dripping kept the ships
damp and unhealthf ul. The only relief was the daily
drill of the men at the great guns and other exercises.
As they were cut off from all communication with the
North, and knew little or nothing about the progress
of the war except such exaggerated and discouraging
accounts as were allowed to pass through the enemy's
lines or were picked up from the fishermen, the thank-
less service did not tend to raise the spirits of the offi-
cers or the men. Occasionally the lookout at the top-
mast crosstrees would sing out with a dismal drawl,
4 'Smoke, ho-o-o ! " and it was one of the treats of the
service for the officer of the deck to call back through
his trumpet, ' ' Where away ? " "Up the river, sir. " But
the smoke seldom came out of the river. The Brooklyn,
Commander Thomas Tingey Craven, was engaged in
blockading Pass a 1'Outre from February 2 to March
7, 1862. Some excitement was afforded to her people
on the 24th of February by the smoke of a steamer
coming down the river, for in this instance the vessel
actually came out and attempted to run the blockade,
and in a short time the sloop-of-war was in readiness
for the chase. Owing to the fog, it was impossible to
see the steamer from the deck, and the only way of
following her was by an officer going aloft and keeping
track of the smoke, which could be seen above the fog.
After a run of many miles the stranger was overtaken,
and proved to be the Magnolia, having on board twelve
hundred bales of cotton.
Farragut arrived at Ship Island, near the mouth of
the Mississippi, in the Hartford, on the 20th of Feb-
ruary, and from that time there was plenty of excite-
ment. The preparations for entering the river were
actively begun ; the men were kept busy firing at tar-
gets, getting in coal and provisions and protecting the
1862. FARRAGUT'S ARRIVAL. 3^3
machinery with chains, sand bags etc. "Farragtit was
about the fleet from early dawn until dark, and if any
officer had not spontaneous enthusiasm, he certainly in-
fused it into him. I have been on the morning watch
from four to eight o'clock, when he would row along-
side the ship at six o'clock, either hailing to ask
how we were getting along, or perhaps climbing over
the side to see for himself." ' The first difficulty to be
overcome was that of getting the heavy ships over the
bar.
When Farragut received his orders to command
this expedition it was thought that there were nineteen
feet of water on the bar,4 so that such ships as the
Brooklyn and the Hartford could readily cross, while
heavier frigates like the Wabash and the Colorado^
which drew twenty-two feet of water, could be taken
over after being relieved of their guns, coal and other
heavy stores : but when the squadron assembled before
the passes it was found that the ever-changing sands
had reduced the depth to fifteen feet. All hope of
getting the Wabash and the Colorado over was im-
mediately abandoned, while grave doubts were enter-
tained as to the possibility of getting even the Missis-
sippi and the Pensacola across. The Colorado was
deemed especially valuable in the operation against the
forts, as the commanding height of her masts enabled
her topmen to fire over the parapets and sweep the in-
terior of the forts with grape and canister. The Pen-
sacola was finally got over the bar on the 7th of April,
after a delay of two weeks. In one of the attempts
to tow her over the hawser parted, killing two men
and wounding five. The pilots were found to be
either nervous or treacherous, and the vessels were fre-
quently run aground. The dense fogs off these low
sandy coasts also rendered the navigation unusually
1 Commander John Russell Bartlett, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War.
* Secretary of the Navy to Farragut, February 10th.
314: BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1862.
difficult. After many futile attempts to get the Brook-
lyn over the bar at Pass a 1'Outre, she was taken to
Southwest Pass, where also she grounded. Finally
several steamers took her in tow and hauled her
through the mud by sheer force. The Mississippi
was stripped of everything that could possibly be
taken out of her, and after eight days of tugging and
hauling she was brought over. These unexpected ob-
stacles delayed the expedition at the passes many days,
giving the Confederates ample time to ascertain the
force of the fleet and to make their defenses accord-
ingly.
The defenses of New Orleans were of the most for-
midable kind. The river about ninety miles below
New Orleans was guarded by two forts under the com-
mand of General Johnson K. Duncan. On the right
bank of a bend in the stream was Fort Jackson, having
bomb-proof chambers and all the appliances for mod-
ern warfare. It stood about one hundred yards from
the levee, the casemate rising just above its level,
while a water-battery extended below the fort along
the river's edge. The fort was divided into three sec-
tions ; an outer wall surrounded by the overflow water,
formed a substantial moat, and between this and the
fort proper was a wide ditch of mud and water, form-
ing the second moat, while the fort itself, a massive
structure of stone and brick in the shape of a star,
stood in the center. Between this and the citadel of
solid masonry was a third ditch. The armament of
this formidable work consisted of three 10-inch colum-
biads and five 8-inch guns, one 7-inch rifled gun, six
42-pounders, seventeen 32-pounders and thirty-five 24-
pounders — in all, sixty-seven guns. The commander of
this fort was Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Higgins, for-
merly of the United States navy. On the opposite bank
of the river, a little above, was Fort St. Philip, com-
manded by Captain Squires. It mounted six 8-inch
guns, one rifled 7-inch gun, six 42-pounders, nine 32-
1862. DEFENSES OF NEW ORLEANS. 315
pounders and twenty-one 24-pounders, one 13-inch mor-
tar and five 10-inch mortars — in all, forty- nine pieces.
As an auxiliary battery, a formidable fleet of gun-
boats and ironclads, under the command of Commo-
dore John K. Mitchell, was held in readiness to at-
tack any craft that might attempt to pass up the river.
The most dangerous of these was the Louisiana, Cap-
tain Charles F. Mclntosh, which was rapidly approach-
ing completion. She was built under the direction of
E. C. Murray from timber cut in the forest bordering
on Lake Pontchartrain. Her engines were taken from
the steamer Ingomar. Although the construction of
this vessel was begun on the 15th of October, 1861,
work on her was delayed by strikes and the imperfect
appliances for handling iron. Upon her lower hull,
which was nearly submerged, was erected a casemate
plated with a double row of T-railroad iron sloping at
an angle of forty-five degrees. In this shot-proof gun-
room were two paddle wheels, besides which she had
two propellers. The deck above the casemate was sur-
rounded by sheet-iron bulwarks as a protection against
sharpshooters. Her armament consisted of seven rifled
32-pounders, three 9-inch and four 8-inch smooth-bore
guns and two rifled 7-inch guns — in all, sixteen guns.
A serious defect in her construction was that the gun
ports were too small, so that the arc of fire of the guns
was not more than five degrees.
A second ironclad was the ram Manassas, Lieuten-
ant A. F. Warley. This was formerly the twin-screw
tugboat Enoch Train, built in Boston in 1855 by J.
0. Curtis. She was one hundred and twenty- eight
feet over all, and had twenty-six feet beam and eleven
feet draught. Her frame was of white oak. Under
the personal direction of John H. Stephenson, the Enoch
Train was covered with five-inch timbers and with
about an inch of flat railroad iron ; the beams, meeting
at the bow, formed a solid mass twenty feet thick.
The only entrance to this craft was by a trap door, the
316 BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1862.
port cover of the single gun in the bow springing back
when the gun was withdrawn. She had two "tele-
scoping " smokestacks, which could be drawn into the
vessel when necessary, and steam pipes were so ar-
ranged as to throw boiling water over the deck if an
enemy should attempt to board. She was armed with
one 32-pounder, and had a crew of thirty-five men, all
told. This vessel was built by private subscription at
New Orleans, in order to get the twenty per cent of the
value of any Federal vessel that it might destroy ; but
on the 12th of October, 1861, it was purchased by the
Confederate Government.
Besides these two ironclads there were wooden
steamers that had been converted into gunboats. One
of the most efficient of these was the steamer McRae,
Lieutenant Thomas B. Huger, formerly the steamer
Marquis de la Habana, mounting six 32-pounders and
one 9-inch shell gun. The two steamers Governor
Moore and General Quitman had been fitted out by
the State of Louisiana. The Governor Moore (named
after the war Governor of Alabama), Commander Bev-
erley Kennon, formerly the wooden paddle-wheeled
steamer Charles Morgan, was armed with two rifled 32-
pounders and was manned with ninety-three men, all
told, and pieces of railroad iron were fastened to her
bows to form a sort of ram. The General Quitman,
Captain Grant, a little smaller than the Governor
Moore, was armed with two smooth-bore 32-pounders.
The steamer Jackson, Lieutenant Francis B. Renshaw,
mounted two 32-pounders. Launch No. 6, Acting-Mas-
ter Fairbanks, and launch No. 3, armed with one how-
itzer, Acting-Master Telford, were among the vessels.
All these were protected about their boilers and ma-
chinery with double barricades of pine boards, the
space between them being filled in with compressed
cotton. None of them had rams under water. Each
was manned with about thirty-five men, and they
were fitted out under the direction of Lieutenant-
1862. CONFEDERATE NAVAL FORCE. 317
Colonel William S. Lovell, formerly of the United States
navy.
Besides this, the Confederates had under way the
powerful floating battery New Orleans, mounting
twenty guns ; the Memphis, eighteen guns ; and the
Mississippi, sixteen guns. The last-mentioned vessel
was regarded " as the greatest vessel in the world," so
far as her fighting capacity was concerned. She was
two hundred and seventy feet over all, had fifty -eight
feet beam, was to make eleven knots an hour and cost
two million dollars. The enemy worked day and night
and Sundays, and hoped to have her ready by the first
of May. Distinct from the Confederate naval force
was what was termed a "river defense fleet," consist-
ing of boats mounting one or two guns each. They
were the Warrior, John A. Stephenson ; the Stonewall
Jackson, Mr. Phillips ; the Resolute, Mr. Hooper ; the
Defiance, Mr. McCoy ; and the R. J. Breckenridge.
There were also seven unarmed steamers : the Phoenix,
the W. Burton, Mr. Hammond ; the Landis, Mr.
Davis ; the Mosher, Mr. Sherman ; the Belle Alge-
rienne, the Star, Mr. La Place ; and the Music, Mr.
McClellan.
As a further defense, the Confederates, early in the
winter, had thrown a raft across the river under the
guns of the forts. This raft consisted of cypress logs
several feet in diameter and about forty feet long,
placed three feet apart, so that driftwood would pass
between them. The logs were held together with iron
cables two and a half inches thick, while thirty heavy
anchors held them across the stream. The freshet in
the spring of 1862 caused such an unusually rapid cur-
rent that on the 10th of March about a third of the raft
was carried away. Eight schooners joined together
with chains, and with their masts dragging astern so
as to entangle the screws of passing steamers, were an-
chored in this gap. The Confederates also collected a
great number of long flatboats filled with pine knots,
318 BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1862.
ready to be fired and sent down the swift current into
the midst of the hostile fleet.
On the 16th of April, 1862, Farragnt steamed up to
a point about three miles below Fort Jackson with his
fleet of twenty-four vessels besides twenty schooners,
each armed with one 13-inch mortar and two long 32-
pounders and manned by seven hundred and twenty-
one men, under the command of Commander Porter.
The following steamers were detailed as tenders to the
mortar flotilla : the Harriet Lane, Lieutenant Jonathan
M. Wainwright ; the Owasco, Lieutenant John Guest ;
the Westfield, Commander William B. Renshaw ; the
Clifton, Acting- Lieutenant Charles H. Baldwin; the
Miami, Lieutenant Abram Davis Harrell ; and the
Jackson, Acting-Lieutenant Selim E. Woodworth. The
Harriet Lane had been transferred from the revenue
service, the Owasco was of the same class as the Cayuga,
the Miami was a double-ender built for the Govern-
ment, while the Clifton, the Jackson and the Westfield
were ordinary side-wheel ferry boats mounting heavy
guns.
As yet Captain Farragut had little idea of the
strength and character of the fortifications he was
about to attack or the defenses in the river. He had
received from the Secretary of the Navy sketches of
the works and a memorandum prepared by General
Barnard, who had constructed Fort St. Philip. Since
the outbreak of hostilities, however, it was known that
the enemy had greatly strengthened these fortifica-
tions, besides augmenting the defenses and obstruc-
tions in the river. The first thing to be done, there-
fore, after getting the fleet into the river, was to survey
the situation as well as possible from a distance. The
Kennebec, under Commander Bell, and the Wissa-
hickon, were sent up the river to reconnoiter, and
reported that " the obstructions seemed formidable."
The hazardous duty of getting the mortar schooners
in position was performed under the direction of F. H.
1812. PREPARATIONS FOR THE ATTACK. 319
Gerdes, of the Coast Survey service, who, with the as-
sistance of J. G. Oltmannis and Joseph Harris, made a
careful survey of the river for several miles below Fort
Jackson. The work occupied several days, and as it
was performed in open boats the surveyors were ex-
posed to a fire from sharpshooters concealed in the
bushes along the banks, and sometimes shells from the
forts landed in unpleasant proximity. The river was
finally triangulated for seven miles, and white flags, each
having the name of the boat that was to be anchored
near it, were placed with great accuracy. The position
selected for the mortar boats was on the south bank of
the river, about two miles from Fort Jackson, where
the trees and the dense underbrush effectually con-
cealed them and made it difficult for the enemy to get
the range ; and even if the enemy succeeded in firing
with accuracy, the schooners could easily move a few
rods without being observed and thus again leave the
enemy in doubt as to their whereabouts. To hide
their movements more perfectly, the upper masts and
rigging of the schooners were dressed with branches
and vines, so that the enemy could not distinguish
them from the trees. The mortar schooners were an-
chored in three divisions : the first, of seven vessels,
under the command of Lieutenant Watson Smith, was
stationed on the west bank, about twenty-eight hun-
dred and fifty yards from Fort Jackson and about
thirty-six hundred and eighty yards from Fort St.
Philip.
This division consisted of the Norfolk Packet, Lieu-
tenant Smith ; the Oliver H. Lee, Acting- Master Wash-
ington Godfrey ; the Para, Acting-Master Edward G.
Furber ; the G. P. Williams, Acting-Master Amos R.
Langthorne ; the Arietta, Acting-Master Thomas E.
Smith ; the Bacon, Acting- Master William P. Rogers ;
the Sophronia, Acting-Master Lyman Bartholomew.
The third division, of six schooners, commanded by
Lieutenant Kidder Randolph Breese, was in the rear of
320 BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1862.
the first division. It consisted of the John Griffith,
Acting- Master Henry Brown ; the SarahBruen, Acting-
Master Abraham Christian ; the Racer, Acting-Master
Alvin Phinney ; the Sea Foam, Acting-Master Henry
E. Williams ; the Henry Janes, Acting- Master Lewis
W. Pennington ; the Dan Smith, Acting-Master George
W. Brown. The second division, of seven schooners,
under the command of Lieutenant Walter W. Queen,
was stationed on the east bank, about thirty-six hun-
dred and eighty yards from Fort Jackson. This divi-
sion consisted of the T. A. Ward, Lieutenant Queen ;
Maria J. Carlton, Acting-Master Charles E. Jack ; the
Matthew Vassar, Acting-Master Hugh H. Savage ; the
George Mangham, Acting-Master John Collins ; the
Orvetta, Acting-Master Francis E. Blanchard ; the Sid-
ney C. Jones, Acting-Master J. D. Graham ; the Adolph
Hugel, Acting- Master Van Buskirk. The position of
the second division was greatly exposed to the ene-
my's fire.
At ten o'clock on the morning of April 18th the
signal for the mortar schooners to open fire was given,
and shortly afterward huge 13- inch shells were whis-
tling through the air in their graceful flight and drop-
ping in and around the fort, each schooner firing one
shell every ten minutes. The Confederate forts re-
sponded with spirit, but owing to the concealment
afforded by the trees they fired with little accuracy.
The division under Lieutenant Queen, on the left bank
of the river, fired with great precision, but from its
exposed position it suffered considerably in return.
To divert the enemy's fire from these schooners as
much as possible, two gunboats took turns with one of
the smaller sloops in steaming up on the west side of
the river, suddenly shooting out in full view of the
forts and opening a rapid fire from their 11-inch pivot
guns. As they were constantly in motion, it was diffi-
cult for the Confederate gunners to get their range,
while the fire from the 11-inch guns was always effect-
1862. MORTAR SCHOONERS OPEN FIRE. 321
ive. Lieutenant Guest, in the Owasco, held the posi-
tion at the head of the line an hour and fifty minutes,
and left only when his ammunition gave out.
About midday the T. A. Ward was struck by a 120-
pound shot, which crashed into her cabin and nearly
fired the magazine, while soon afterward a 10-inch shot
struck the water line of the George Mangham. Find-
ing that their position was becoming critical, the
schooners dropped downstream, anchored two hun-
dred yards below, and resumed their fire. The mor-
tars kept up their fire throughout the day, and about
five o'clock in the afternoon dense volumes of smoke
were observed rolling upward from Fort Jackson. As
night came on, the mortars increased their fire to a
shell every five minutes from each, or two hundred and
forty shells an hour. Toward midnight they reduced
their fire to a shell every half hour, so as to allow the
crews of the mortar schooners a little rest. At two
o'clock in the morning the six schooners under Lieu-
tenant Queen were removed from the left to the right
bank under cover of the woodland.
The labor of the men in the mortar schooners was
most exhausting. Little or no sleep could be had,
while the terrific shock caused the little vessels to
shiver from stem to stern and threatened to rack them.
Every time the mortars were fired the men were com-
pelled to run aft, and that the concussion might be as
little as possible they stood with mouths open and on
tiptoe. The explosion of so much powder soon black-
ened them from head to foot. One of the schooners,
the Maria J. Carlton, had been sunk.
That night the enemy sent down an immense flat-
boat, one hundred and fifty by fifty feet, laden with
burning pine knots piled up twenty feet high, while
the flame leaped a hundred feet into the air. As
the huge mass of fire came down the river toward the
thirty-five wooden ships of the National fleet anchored
close together in the narrow channel, it presented a
66
322 BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1862.
fearful spectacle. The roaring and crackling flames,
sometimes caught in a puff of air, swept across the en-
tire breadth of the river, licking the water into steam
or scorching and wilting the trees on the bank. Good
discipline, together with the indomitable pluck of the
American seamen, came to the rescue. The vessels
that stood in the course of the fire quickly slipped
their cables and ran inshore, allowing the raft to pass
harmlessly by ; but immediate preparations were made
to meet other attacks from fire-boats. The steamer
Westfield, fitted with hose, was detailed as a fire patrol,
while a number of boats armed with grapnels, buckets
and axes were held in readiness to tow the rafts in-
shore before they should reach the fleet. From that
time a number of these rafts were sent down, but so
perfect were the arrangements for receiving them that
no further alarm was felt, while the sailors hailed their
approach with delight as affording amusement and
relieving the monotony of the siege.
On the third night of the bombardment, April 20th,
the Pinola, Lieutenant Peirce Crosby, and the Itasca,
Lieutenant Charles Henry Bromedge Caldwell, under
the orders of Commander Bell, were sent up the river
to sever the line of hulks and chains that stretched
across the stream under the guns of the forts. The
gunboats, having first had their lower masts and rig-
ging taken out so as to render them less visible to
the enemy, set out under cover of darkness. As they
approached the raft they were discovered by the
enemy and a heavy fire was opened on them, upon
which the mortars increased their fire, at times keep-
ing nine shells in the air at once. With this diversion
in his favor, Commander Bell kept steadily on his
course until he reached the obstructions, when the
Pinola ran alongside the third hulk from the eastern
shore and her men boarded. Charges of powder with
slow matches and a petard were placed aboard, after
which the crew returned to their ship and the Pinola
1862. DARING NIGHT EXPEDITIONS. 333
dropped astern. But the current carried the gunboat
down so rapidly -that the wires attached to the petard
were severed and the charges failed to explode. The
Itasca then boldly ran alongside the second schooner
from the eastern shore and threw a grapnel aboard,
which caught on the hulk's rail ; but the rail gave
way under the strain, and the gunboat was carried
some distance downstream before she could stem the
current. She then ran alongside the easternmost
hulk, and by keeping her engines going slowly ahead
held her position alongside while Lieutenant Caldwell,
Acting-Masters Amos Johnson and Edmund Jones
jumped aboard with a party of seamen. While
Caldwell was making his preparations for firing the
hulk the chains holding her were slipped without his
knowledge, and as the fiasco's engines were going
ahead and had her helm aport, the sudden releasing
of the schooner caused both vessels to turn inshore and
run aground under the guns of the fort. The Itasca
was compelled to remain in this perilous position until
the Pinola came to her assistance. So far from be-
ing discouraged by this mishap, Lieutenant Caldwell
headed his vessel up the river, passed through the gap
in the obstructions, and after going some distance to
obtain a good headway he came down the stream with
a full head of steam, and, striking the chains holding
the hulks together, he ran the bow of his vessel three
or four feet out of water and her weight parted the
chains, leaving a larger gap in the obstruction. The
two gunboats then returned to the fleet.
On the night of April 23d, Lieutenant Caldwell,
with Acting-Master Edmund Jones, pulled up the river
in one of the Hartford's boats to make a final recon-
noissance, as some doubt had been expressed as to the
opening made in the raft ; and if an opening had been
made at all, it was feared that the enemy had repaired
the injury. The doubt of there being a clear passage
was increased by the rippling of water in the narrow
324: BLOCKADING THE MISSISSIPPI. 1862.
gap, as if a chain were there, which some of the officers
noticed. After an exhausting pull of several miles
against the rapid current the boat reached a place
where a fire kindled by the Confederates lighted the
river like day and would have discovered the adven-
turers to sharpshooters. In order to avoid this light
Lieutenant Caldwell headed his boat to the opposite
bank, and by passing close under the trees and bushes
he came within one hundred yards of the obstruc-
tions. Here the party was directly under the guns of
Fort Jackson, and so near that the voices of the sol-
diers could be heard. From this place it could be
distinctly seen that the water in the gap was unob-
structed ; but, in order to be absolutely certain, Lieu-
tenant Caldwell ordered his men to pull to the gap. In
doing this the boat was compelled to pass directly
across a broad belt of light and was in full view of
the enemy. The Confederates probably believed it to
be one of their own boats, for they did not fire. It
was found that two or three of the schooners had been
torn from their position and were ashore. After pull-
ing above the obstructions, where the lead showed
twelve to fifteen fathoms, the boat party rested on its
oars and floated downstream, with a heavy lead line
at the bow so as to ascertain if there were any barri-
cades or explosives under the water. The lead caught
nothing, and after pulling above the hulks and mak-
ing this test a second time Lieutenant Caldwell was
satisfied that the channel was clear, and he returned
with this report.
CHAPTER X.
PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP.
ABOUT noon of April 20th thirteen boats were
quietly trailing at the stern of the Hartford. The
commanders of the National war ships were in the
flagship's cabin, holding a council of war. Opinions
differed widely as to the best means to be adopted.
Effective as the bombardment by the mortar flotilla
seemed to have been, the forts still held out, and every
moment the enemy was strengthening his defenses.
The ram Louisiana was thought to be completed, and
in a short time the ironclads New Orleans and Mem-
phis would be added to the Confederate naval force,
while the most powerful war vessel ever projected by
the South, or any other country up to that time — the
Mississippi — would be finished in a few days; so
that, instead of taking the offensive, the National fleet
would be driven out of the river and again reduced to
a mere blockading force. Taking the enemy unpre-
pared was the first element of success that had been
counted upon when the great New Orleans expedition
was planned, and Farragut accepted the place of com-
mander-in- chief with the understanding that he was
to run past the forts — not merely to act as an escort
to twenty mortar schooners. His long experience in
active service had taught him to place little reliance on
mortars, and he had accepted them merely as an aux-
iliary battery, because they had been ordered before
he was assigned to the command. Day after day was
passing, and the enemy showed no sign of weakening.
As a matter of fact, fewer than ten guns of the one
325
326 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 18C2.
hundred and twenty-six in the two forts had been dis-
abled by the sixteen thousand eight hundred shells
dropped in and around them, and only four men had
been killed and fourteen wounded.
The proposition of running past the forts did not
meet with the unanimous approval of the Union offi-
cers. The weight of tradition and long-established
rules of war were against it. It was demonstrated with
incontrovertible accuracy that wooden ships could
never pass such batteries and remain afloat. Had not
a French admiral and Captain Freed y, of the English
frigate Mersey, just been up the river as far as the
forts and reported that they were impassable? But
Farragut had known English predictions in regard to
American naval prowess to fail before this. He saw
clearly enough that if New Orleans was to be captured
by the fleet, it was to be done only by the vessels
running past the forts. " Whatever is to be done will
have to be done quickly," he said, and the night of
April 23d was fixed for the attempt.
At first it was intended to have the ships pass the
forts in a double column, as there would be less strag-
gling and this would enable the larger vessels to give
more protection to the lighter ones. But the narrow
gap in the line of obstructions would greatly increase
the chances of collision with the hulks, and, what was
more serious, collision between the vessels themselves ;
and Farragut therefore determined to range his vessels
in single line and to pass the forts in three divisions, one
after the other. The vessels were arranged in the follow-
ing order : First Division, Captain Theodoras Bailey ; *
the Cayuga, Lieutenant Napoleon Bonaparte Harrison ;
the Pensacola, Captain Henry W. Morris ; the Missis-
sippi,* Commander Melancton Smith ; the Oneida, Com-
mander Samuel Phillips Lee ; the Varuna, Command-
1 The present Rear- Admiral Francis John Higginson acted as aide and
signal midshipman to Bailey.
8 Admiral Dewey was serving in the Mississippi as a lieutenant.
1862. FARRAGUT'S LINE OF BATTLE. 327
er Charles Stuart Boggs ; the KataJhdin, Lieutenant
George Henry Preble ; the Kineo, Lieutenant George
Marcellus Ransom ; and the Wissahickon, Lieutenant
Albert N. Smith. The Second or Center Division was
to be led by Captain Farragut himself in the Hartford,
Commander Richard Wainwright ; followed by the
Brooklyn, Captain Thomas Tingey Craven, and Rich-
mond, Commander James Alden. The Third Division,
commanded by Commander Henry H. Bell, was to be
led by the Sciota, Lieutenant Edward Donaldson ; fol-
lowed by the Iroquois, Commander John Decamp ; the
Kennebec, Lieutenant John Henry Russell ; the Pino-
la, Lieutenant Peirce Crosby ; the Itasca, Lieutenant
Charles Henry Bromedge Caldwell ; the Winona, Lieu-
tenant Edward Tattnall Nichols.1
The 23d of April was taken up with final prepara-
tions for the great battle. Bags of sand, ashes and coal,
sails, hammocks, etc., were piled around the machinery
and exposed parts of the ships, some of the hulls were
daubed with yellow river mud to make them less visible
to the Confederate gunners, and many of the decks
and gun carriages were whitewashed, so that objects on
them would be more readily distinguished in the night,
1 These vessels carried the following armaments : Hartford, twenty-two
9-inch, two rifled 20-ponnders ; Brooklyn, twenty 9-inch, one rifled 80-
pounder, one rifled 30-pounder : Richmond, twenty-two 9-inch, one rifled
80-pounder, one rifled 30-pounder; Pensacola, one 11-inch, twenty 9-inch,
one rifled 100-pounder, one rifled 80-pounder; Mississippi, one 10-inch,
fifteen 8-inch, one rifled 20-poumler ; O»eida, two 11-inch, four 32-pound-
ers, three rifled 30-pounders ; Iroquois, two 11 -inch, four 32-pounders,
one rifled 50-pounder ; Varuna. eight 8-inch, two rifled 30-pounders ;
Caynga, Katahdin, Kennebec, A'ineo, Pinola, Sciota, Winona, Wissa-
hickon, each carried one 11-inch, one rifled 30-pounder ; Itasca, one 10-
inch, one rifled 30-pounder. The armaments of the steamers of the mor-
tar flotilla were : Harriet Lane, three 9-inch guns ; Clifton, two 9-inch,
four 32-pounders, one rifled 30-pounder ; Jackson, one 10-inch, one 9-
inch, one 6-inch rifled Sawyer, four 32-pounders ; Westfield, one 9-inch,
four 8-inch, one rifled 100-pounder; Miami, two 9-inch, one rifled 100-
potmder, one rifled 80-pounder, one rifled 30-pounder; Owasco, one 11-
inch, one rifled 30-pounder.
328 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 18C2.
as it was proposed to have as few lanterns lighted as
possible. At the suggestion of Chief-Engineer J. W.
Moore, of the Richmond, the sheet cables were ar-
ranged up and down the hulls of the ships, so as to
protect the machinery. The holds or the cockpits of
the vessels were cleared of the stores piled there, and
made ready — for the first time, perhaps — for the recep-
tion of wounded men. Tables were arranged in con-
venient positions, and the surgeons prepared their in-
struments, while buckets and tubs were placed in
readiness to receive the blood and severed members of
the human body. Aboard the Brooklyn a cot frame
was slung from two davits and so arranged that the
wounded could be lowered down the main hatch and
taken to the surgeon's table in the fore hold. The
ropes, hawsers etc. were packed in the sick bay in a
solid mass, kedge anchors attached to hawsers were
slung to the main-brace bumkins on each quarter in
case it became necessary to turn the ship suddenly,
and, in some, hammocks or netting made of rope were
spread so as to catch splinters. The men in the tops
were protected from musketry fire by iron bulwarks ;
the heavy weights in the ship were stowed in the for-
ward part, so that if they grounded at all the bow
would strike first and the swift current would not
swing them broadside to across the river. All un-
necessary spars, boats, rigging etc. had been sent
ashore at Pilot Town and the vessels stripped for the
fight. Five of the nine gunboats took out their masts
entirely, as the Pinola and the Itasca had done when
severing the raft on the 20th of April.
On the afternoon of April 23d Farragut personally
visited every vessel in the fleet, to see if his orders for
the night were clearly understood. Having done this,
he returned to his own ship and made his personal ar-
rangements for the battle. The evening came on clear
and starlit, while nothing served to break the silence or to
conceal the movements of the vessels. At about five min-
1802. GETTING UNDER WAY. 329
utesof two o'clock in the morning, April 24th, two ordi-
nary red lights (so as not to attract the enemy's notice)
in a vertical line appeared in the rigging of the flagship,
and immediately afterward the click of capstans and the
harsh grating of cables fell upon the midnight air from
all parts of the anchorage, and proclaimed to the Con-
federate lookouts concealed in the woods that the fleet
was about to begin some serious movement. The alarm
was quickly conveyed to the forts, and scarcely were
the ships under way before the enemy was in readiness
to receive the attack. The unusual strength of the cur-
rent delayed the ships, so that it was 3.30 before the
entire fleet wras under way. The five steamers that had
been used for towing the mortar schooners wrere moved
up the river to a position about two hundred yards from
the water-battery opposite Fort Jackson, where, by run-
ning close under the levee, their hulls would be entirely
protected from the enemy's shot, and about the time
the first division of ships was well under way the mor-
tar steamers opened their fire. The sailing sloop of war
Portsmouth, Commander Samuel Swartwout, also was
towed by the steamer Jackson to a position where she
could enfilade the enemy's batteries. Soon after the
fleet got under way large bonfires on the banks and
huge fire rafts on the water illuminated the whole scene,
enabling the Confederate gunners to fire with accuracy.
The mortar schooners now began to thunder out their
huge shells, keeping two constantly in the air, while
the five steamers near the water-battery opened with
grape and shrapnel.
As soon as the head of the National line was in
range the Confederates opened from every gun that
bore. The scene was one of indescribable grandeur.
The huge 13-inch shells left their beds with thunderous
reports ; revolving the light of their fuses rapidly in the
air, they rushed to the apex of their flight, where they
seemed to pause for a moment, and then descended in
a graceful curve, exploding in or over the forts. Some
330 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
of them burst in mid-air, sending a shower of iron frag-
ments and sparks in all directions. The constant flash-
ing of so many guns, together with the flickering light
of the fire-rafts, produced a shimmering illumination
over the river, which, although brilliant, was illusive
and made it difficult to take accurate aim. Soon dark
masses of smoke began to float across the river, ob-
structing the line of vision here and there and adding
greatly to the confusion.
About 3.45 A. M. the Cayuga was well under the
forts. Captain Bailey, whose ship, the Colorado, was
unable to cross the bar, had asked for an opportunity
to take part in the fight and was placed in command
of the first division, while his men were distributed
among the crews. He pressed gallantly toward Fort St.
Philip, leaving the other divisions to attack Fort Jack-
son. The Cayuga was now the center of a terrific storm
of shot, to which she could make no effective answer.
"The air," said Lieutenant Perkins, who was piloting
the Cayuga, "was filled with shells and explosives,
which almost blinded me as I stood on the forecastle
trying to see my way, for I had never been up the river
before. I soon saw that the guns of the forts were well
aimed for the center of the midstream, so I steered close
under the walls of Fort St. Philip, and although our
masts and rigging got badly shot through, our hull was
but little damaged. After passing the last battery and
thinking we were clear, I looked back for some of our
vessels, and my heart jumped into my mouth when I
found I could not see a single one. I thought they all
must have been sunk by the forts. Looking ahead, I
saw eleven of the enemy's gunboats coming down upon
us, and it seemed as if we were gone, sure."
Undaunted by the heavy odds, Captain Bailey boldly
stood on and prepared to attack three large steamers
that made a dash at him with the intention of running
him down. One headed for the Cayuga's starboard
bow, another came on at right angles amidship, and a
1362. THE CAYUGA GALLANTLY LEADS. 331
third came up on the stern. The 11-inch Dahlgren gun
was deliberately trained on the second steamer, and
when at a distance of thirty yards it was fired. The
shot crippled the enemy, and he sheered off, ran in-
shore, and was soon wrapped in flames. The Parrott
rifled gun on the forecastle also lodged a shot in the
steamer off the starboard bow, which compelled her to
haul off. This left only the steamer coming up on the
sfarboard quarter. The boarders were immediately
called aft, but at this moment the Varuna, which had
been fifth in line, came swiftly up the river and crip-
pled the enemy with a shell. The Cayuga had now
been struck by forty-two shot. Her masts were so
shattered as to be unfit for use, the carriage of her 11-
inch Dahlgren gun was broken, and her smokestack
was riddled ; but as her machinery remained intact
she still advanced. The Varuna, however, soon passed
her and sped up the river, delivering her fire right
and left. A steamer filled with soldiers soon ap-
peared off her starboard beam, and Commander Boggs
put a shot into her boiler, which caused her to drift
ashore. Two other steamers and one gunboat also
were crippled and driven ashore in flames by the Va-
runa. But, unknown to Commander Boggs, a more
formidable enemy was swiftly pursuing and gradually
overtaking him.
When the National fleet was getting under way, the
Governor Moore lay near Fort St. Philip, with her
lights carefully concealed and with a double guard of
sentinels. About half past two in the morning her
vigilant commander, Lieutenant Beverley Kennon, de-
tected unusual sounds down the river, and climbing
over the side of the vessel, he placed his ear near the
water and distinctly heard the stroke of a paddle-wheel
steamer apparently coming up stream. He rightly
conjectured that it was the Mississippi coming up
with the fleet, and firing two alarm guns, he got up
steam in three minutes, and proceeded a short distance
332 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
up the river so as to have a better opportunity for ram-
ming. While feeling his way in the gloom, Lieutenant
Kennon saw a large two- masted steamer emerge from
the darkness and pass between him and the light of the
burning steamer, "rushing upstream like an ocean
racer, belching black smoke, firing on each burning
vessel as she passed." It was the Varuna, leading the
line of vessels up the river. As the stranger carried
a white light at the masthead and a red light at the
peak, Lieutenant Kennon knew that she was one of the
National vessels. He also knew that General Lovell,
commander of the Confederate forces at New Orleans,
had come down the river to visit the forts that evening,
and-had just passed up the river in the steamer Doub-
loon, on his return to the city.
Knowing that the*" ocean racer "would soon over-
take the Doubloon, Lieutenant Kennon, after shooting
away his blue distinguishing light at the masthead
with a musket (for hauling it down would have at-
tracted attention), set off in chase of the Varuna. The
trees and thick underbrush on the bank of the river
near which the Governor Moore was steaming formed
a dark background and prevented the people in the
National gunboat from discovering her. By putting
oil on his fires Kennon got up a full head of steam,
and soon had the steamer "shaking all over and fairly
dancing through the water." In order to deceive the
Varuna, Lieutenant Kennon now hoisted the Union
distinguishing lights, and in this way the two steamers
sped up the river, the Governor Moore gradually gain-
ing and the people in the Varuna ignorant of an ap-
proaching foe.
When near the battery at Chalmette, day just
breaking, the two vessels were only one hundred yards
apart, and Lieutenant Kennon hauled down the Union
light and fired at the Varuna. But the shot missed
its mark. The people in the Varuna responded to this
unexpected attack with such guns as bore, but they
1862. THE VARUNA AND THE GOVERNOR MOORE. 333
were afraid to yaw across the river so as to bring their
broadside to bear lest they should be rammed by the
rapidly approaching enemy. In this way a running
fight ensued, with the advantage decidedly in the Va-
runa? s favor, for her shells were raking the Governor
Moore, killing and wounding men at every fire. One
shot from the Confederate gunboat, however, raked the
Varuna along the port gangway, killing four men and
wounding nine. Finding that his bow gun was too
far abaft the knightheads to hull the Varuna, Lieuten-
ant Kennon ran up to close quarters and deliberately
fired through his own bow, hoping to throw a shell
into the Varuna's engine room. The missile struck
the hawse pipe, was deflected, and passed through the
Varuna's smokestack. But a second shot, fired
through the hole made by the first in the Governor
Moore's bow, struck the Varund*s pivot gun and
killed or wounded several men. Soon after this the
Varuna ported her helm, and the Governor Moore fol-
lowed the example, but under cover of smoke the latter
suddenly put her helm hard to starboard, and before
the Varuna could right herself she was rammed near
the starboard quarter, at the same instant delivering
her broadside and receiving a shell from the Confeder-
ate steamer. Backing clear, the Governor Moore again
rammed, striking in nearly the same place as before;
while Commander Boggs managed at the same time to
get in three 8-inch shells, which set fire to his antag-
onist and caused her to drop out of action. Lieuten-
ant Kennon attempted to fight again, but all his boat's
steering gear was destroyed, a large piece of the walk-
ing-beam had been carried away, the slide of the engine
fell and cracked the cylinder, filling the engine room
with steam, and fifty-seven of his men had been killed
and seventeen wounded. After drifting about help-
lessly some time he ran the Governor Moore ashore,
where she was burned to the water's edge.
But scarcely had the Varuna disposed of this ene-
334 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 18G2.
my when another, the Stonewall Jackson, loomed out
of the darkness on the port side and struck the Varuna
on the gangway, doing considerable damage. The Va-
runa delivered her fire, but with little effect. The
enemy then backed off and again rammed the Varuna
in the same place, this time crushing in her side below
the water line. Without diminishing her speed, the
Varuna dragged the ram ahead so as to bring her
broadside guns into play, and fired five 8-inch shells
into the Stonewall Jackson, so that she drifted ashore
in flames. But as the Varuna also was rapidly sink-
ing, Commander Boggs ran her ashore, let go his an-
chor and made fast to the trees on the bank, during
which time, however, his guns were still playing on the
Governor Moore, which was making a feeble effort to
get up steam. The guns of the Varuna were fought
until the water covered the gun-trucks, when attention
was given to getting the men ashore. " In fifteen min-
utes from the time the Varuna was struck [by the
Stonewall Jackson] she was on the bottom, with only
her topgallant forecastle out of water." '
In approaching the forts the vessels of the first
division maintained their prescribed positions until
passing the obstructions, when they became somewhat
confused. The Oneida soon overhauled the Missis-
sippi, and, being caught in a strong eddy, was carried
swiftly past Fort St. Philip, and so close under its guns
that the sparks from the cannon came aboard. The
enemy, miscalculating the distance, fired too high, so
that she passed almost unscathed, while her grape and
shrapnel swept the parapets at short range. One shell
from Fort Jackson entered the coal bunker on the port
side but did not explode. Getting past the forts and
out of their line of fire, the Oneida pushed ahead to
join the Gayuga and the Varuna, then struggling with
the Confederate gunboats. Passinglhe ram Manassas
1 Official report of Commander Boggs.
18G2. BETWEEN THE FORTS. 335
without being able to strike her, Commander Lee dis-
covered a steamer crossing his course only a short dis-
tance ahead, and, putting on a full head of steam, he
struck the enemy amidships, crushing in her starboard
quarter, so that she drifted away in a sinking condi-
tion. Continuing his course, he soon found himself
among the enemy's vessels and began delivering his
broadsides right and left. Just as he fell in with the
Cayuga, the Governor Moore loomed up within a few
feet, and on being hailed "What ship is that? " Lieu-
tenant Kennon answered, "The United States steamer
Mississippi.''1 But the Union commander was not so
easily deceived, and, observing the distinguishing lights
in the stranger, he raked her with his starboard guns.
Learning that the Varuna was ahead and unsupported,
Commander Lee hastened on and discovered his consort
in a sinking condition. As Captain Boggs declined all
assistance, the Oneida passed ahead.
The Mississippi and the Pensacola deliberately
slowed up when passing the forts, frequently stop-
ping so that their powerful batteries could play with
full effect on the fortifications, while the smaller vessels
passed ahead with but little injury. So near were
these vessels to the enemy that at times the jeers of
defiance and the oaths and imprecations exchanged
by the contending men could be heard above the roar
of battle. The Mississippi was struck repeatedly,
eight shot passing entirely through the ship, but for-
tunately inflicting no vital injury, although one of
them caused a slight alteration in a bearing of the
shaft. Her rigging was badly cut up, and the mizzen
mast was struck about twelve feet above the deck.
The ram Manassas, after passing the Varuna, came
rapidly down the river in search of larger game. The
Pensacola was the next vessel she discovered, and,
putting on full steam, she endeavored to ram her ; but
Captain Morris discovered the ram just in time, and
Lieutenant Francis Asbury Roe, who was conning the
336 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
Pensacola, "avoided a collision beautifully,"1 and,
passing close by, fired his starboard broadside. The
shot did not take effect, except cutting away the flag-
staff, and the next instant the Manassas had vanished
in the darkness. After remaining in front of the forts
two hours, the Pensacola steamed up the river, and,
observing the Varuna in a disabled condition, sent her
boats aboard and took off seven officers and about sixty
of the crew.
Having missed the Pensacola, the Manassas made
for the Mississippi, and, favored by the darkness and
dense smoke, managed to strike her on the port quar-
ter, a little forward of the mizzen mast, making a gash
seven feet long and four inches deep, and took off fifty
copper bolts under the water line. Had the blow been
a little deeper, the Mississippi would have sunk
immediately. After this escape Commander Smith
steamed ahead, passed the Confederate line of fire,
and disabled an enemy's steamer with a broadside.
The Katahdln followed close in the Varuna's
wake. The fire of her pivot gun was much embar-
rassed by the shells jamming in the bore, the sabots be-
ing too large. Five shells were passed up before one
could be found to fit. By keeping up a full head of
steam, Lieutenant Preble was enabled to maintain his
position close astern of the Varuna, although the dense
smoke hid everything from view except when lighted by
the fitful flashes of the guns. Overtaking the Missis-
sippi, he ran above the forts and passed within fifty
yards of the ironclad Louisiana, which was moored near
Fort St. Philip. Fortunately, the iron monster did not
fire upon her, or the course of the Katahdin would
have been cut short. But Lieutenant Preble fired an
11 -inch shot at the ram with some effect. The KataTi-
din had passed the fort almost uninjured. "Several
of the men had their clothing torn by shot and fragments
1 Lieutenant A. F. Warley, of the Manassas.
1862. FARRAGUT UNDER FIRE. 337-
of shell, but not a man was even scratched. The vessel
also escaped without serious damage. One shell passed
through the smokestack and the steam-escape pipe and
burst, making a dozen small holes from the inside out-
ward, and another shot cut about four to six inches
into the foremast, while the same or another shot cut
the foresail and some of the running rigging about the
foremast." l The Kineo, in passing the hulks, came
into violent collision with the Brooklyn, but no serious
injury was done. The Wissahickoti also passed the
forts without serious injury.
While the first division of the fleet was getting into
close quarters with Fort St. Philip, Captain Farragut,
leading the second division in the Hartford, passed
the barriers and came into range. For fifteen minutes
after the enemy had opened on him he did not reply,
but kept steadily on his course under a full head of
steam. When in easy range, about 3.55 A. M., he
opened with his bow guns, and as he swept past Fort
St. Philip he discharged his broadside. By this time
the river between the two forts was covered with a
dense mass of smoke, completely enveloping the ships
and shores, so that even the monstrous fire-rafts, which
in the earlier part of the action illuminated the scene
like day, now failed to penetrate the gloom, merely
making a dull red glow in their direction and render-
ing the darkness the more striking by the contrast.
At 4.15 A. M., while the Hartford was carefully
feeling her way along, a huge fire - raft suddenly
loomed up off her port quarter, and, guided by an un-
seen hand, made directly for the flagship. The order
"Hard aport ! " was instantly given, but the current
caught the frigate, and, giving her a broad sheer, ran her
hard and fast on the muddy bank, where the bushes on
shore could be reached from her bowsprit, and at such
a short distance from Fort St. Philip that the gunners
1 Official report of Lieutenant Preble.
67
338 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
in the casemates could be distinctly heard talking.
The enemy quickly recognized the Hartford by her
three ensigns and the flag-officer's flag at the mizzen,
and began firing on her with great rapidity. ' ' It
seemed to be breathing a flame," said Farragut after
the action. "On the deck of the ship it was bright
as noonday, but out over the majestic river, where the
smoke of many guns was intensified by that of the
pine knots of the fire rafts, it was dark as the blackest
midnight." 1 Fortunately the Confederates aimed too
high, so that most of their shot passed over the bul-
warks.
But the terrible fire-raft was at hand. Guided
by the thirty-five-ton tugboat Mosher, it was pushed
against the wooden side of the flagship, and the flames,
pouring into the portholes, drove the men from their
guns, or, rolling up her sides and mounting into the
well-oiled rigging, ran up to the mastheads and seemed
to envelop the ship in a sheet of flame. Two years
afterward Farragut wrote : " It was the anxious night
of my life. I felt as if the fate of my country and my
own life and reputation were all on the wheel of for-
tune." But the men, animated by the example of
their intrepid commander, maintained perfect self-com-
mand, and under the direction of Commander Wain-
wright they attacked the fire. At one time a long
tongue of flame was thrust through a port, and for a
moment the men were driven from their guns. Farra-
gut, who was calmly pacing the poop deck, shouted
out, " Don't flinch from that fire, boys ! There is a hot-
ter fire for those who don't do their duty ! Give that
rascally little tug a shot, and don't let her go off with
a whole coat." A strer.m of water was brought to bear,
and the flames were extinguished before they had made
serious headway ; soon afterward a shot entered the
Mosher's boiler and sank her. The engines were then
1 Lieutenant Albert Kautz, of the Hartford.
1862. CRAVEN IN ACTION. 339
reversed, the ship swung around, and as she once more
got into deep water her fcrew gave three cheers. All
this time the Hartford had maintained a heavy fire
on Fort St. Philip, which was kept up until she was
out of gunshot. About this time a large steamer filled
with troops made a dash at her, with the intention of
getting alongside and boarding, but a single well-aimed
shell crippled the stranger and sent her drifting down
the stream.
Closely following the Hartford was the sloop of war
Brooklyn. Captain Craven had taken every precaution
for the battle. Just before getting under way his decks
had been washed down and sanded so as to make them
less slippery when blood began to flow. For twenty
minutes after the ship was well within range of the ene-
my's fire he refrained from answering, the men stand-
ing silently at their guns while shot and shell seemed
to fill the air over their heads. Captain Craven him-
self, calm and collected, stood on the break of the
poop deck, resting his hands lightly on the ratline,
intently watching the progress of the battle and giving
the few necessary orders in his deep bass voice that
could be heard in all parts of the ship. The clouds of
smoke, shutting in the view to a short distance, ren-
dered it impossible to aim with accuracy, and Captain
Craven determined to bring his broadside guns into full
range before opening fire.
As the Brooklyn approached the obstructions the
water-battery opposite Fort Jackson opened a most de-
structive fire on her, to which Craven responded with
grape and canister. In the darkness and confusion he
lost sight of his leader, the Hartford, and instead of
passing through the opening he ran into the line of
chains. Backing clear of this, the Brooklyn steamed
up the river again to find the opening, but she ran again
into the obstruction. This time, however, the chains
broke, and as she swung alongside one of the hulks,
the Brooklyn's stream anchor, which was hanging on
340 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 18G2.
the starboard quarter in readiness to let go at a mo-
ment's notice, caught the hulk and held the ship just
where the gunners in the fort had long since got the
most accurate range. While thus entangled she was
subjected to a dreadful tire. One shot from Fort Jack-
son broke off the port-quarter anchor close to the stock,
scattering the fragments over the deck. Several shot
hulled her, one of them striking the rail at the break
of the poop deck and plowing a deep furrow across the
planks. Another shot cut Midshipman John Ander-
son and the signal quartermaster, Barney Sands, al-
most in two. Young Anderson, whose ship had been
detailed for another duty, had volunteered to serve in
the Brooklyn. Early in the fight Quartermaster James
Buck received a painful wound, " but for seven hours
afterward he stood bravely at the wheel and performed
his duty, refusing to go below until positively ordered
to do so ; and on the morning of the 25th, without my
knowledge, he again stole to his station and steered
the ship from early daylight until 1.30 p. M., over eight
hours." *
The hawser holding the Brooklyn to the hulk was
quickly severed, and again the sloop of war headed up-
stream ; but scarcely had she got under way when a
sudden jar was felt, the engine stopped, "and a thrill
of alarm ran through the ship." To prevent the Brook-
lyn from being carried downstream by the strong cur-
rent, Captain Craven now called out> " Stand by the
starboard anchor ! " and it seemed for a moment as if the
ship must come to anchor directly under the guns of
both forts, where, being a stationary object, her de-
struction would be a question of a very few minutes.
The blades of the propeller had struck some hard ob-
ject in passing the line of hulks, but after a pause of a
few minutes the engines were started, and again the
ship moved slowly up the river. The Brooklyn now
1 Official report of Captain Craven.
1862. THE BROOKLYN AIDS FARRAGUT. 341
poured shell and shrapnel into Fort Jackson as fast as
the guns could be loaded, receiving a heavy fire in re-
turn. About this time a shot entered the port of gun
No. 9 on the port side, and at the same moment a shell
burst directly over the gun, wounding nine men and
taking off the first captain's head. Acting Midshipman
Bartlett, who was standing amidships between the star-
board and port No. 10 guns, was struck on the back by
a splinter and thrown down. Quickly regaining his
feet, he found that only two of the gun crew on the port
side were standing. The first loader and sponger were
leaning against the side of the ship, while the rest of
the men were lying flat on the deck, one of them direct-
ly in the rear of the gun. As the gun had just been
loaded, Bartlett dragged this man aside so as to be clear
of the recoil and fired it. On the discharge of the gun
the men got up and returned to their stations, none of
them having been seriously injured. " The captain of
the gun found a piece of shell inside his cap, which did
not even scratch his head ; another piece went through
my coat-sleeve."1
While the Hartford was hard aground, exposed to
a terrible fire from both Fort Jackson and Fort St.
Philip, as already narrated, the Brooklyn passed her.
Captain Craven did not discover the peril of the flag-
ship until he had the Hartford on his starboard quar-
ter. Taking in the situation at a glance, notwithstand-
ing the fact that he was in a most exposed position
himself, he promptly gave the order "One bell ! " (slow
down), and a moment later " Two bells ! " (stop), in-
tending to remain alongside of his commanding officer
until he was extricated from his perilous position. The
Brooklyn 's bow now swung around, and she dropped
down to a position where she was on a line between the
two forts, when she poured in a terrific fire of shell and
shrapnel from the port battery. As soon as the enemy
1 Lieut. Bartlett. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. ii, p. 03.
342 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
discovered her they diverted a portion of their fire from
the flagship, just as Captain Craven had desired. Had
the Confederates aimed more accurately, they would
have blown the Brooklyn out of water. As it was,
a storm of shot, shell and shrapnel passed just over
the bulwarks and cut the rigging, the hammock net-
tings and the boats all to pieces, there being scarcely a
sound rope left to the spars. Craven deliberately kept
his ship under this terrific fire until he saw that Farra-
gut was free from the fire-raft, and then continued on
his course up the river.
As she passed within a hundred feet of Fort St.
Philip a long blaze of musketry was opened on her
from the parapets. One of the bullets, entering the
port of gun No. 1, struck Lieutenant James O'Kane in
the leg ; but although he fell to the deck he would not
allow himself to be carried below until he had fired two
of the broadside guns with his own hands. Soon after-
ward a shot took off the head of a marine who was
standing on the starboard quarter. But the greatest
carnage had taken place in the forward division of
guns. A shell exploded near the powder man of the
pivot gun, literally blowing him to pieces, and parts of
his body were scattered all over the forecastle. The
primer of the gun was broken off at the vent, disabling
the gun. As soon as possible the Brooklyn responded
to this fire with grape, which drove the Confederates to
shelter. A prisoner afterward remarked that " the
grape came in like rain, but the worst of all were the
infernal lamp-posts or the stands that held the grape.
The fort was full of them." At times the Brooklyn
was so close to Fort St. Philip that the flashes of the
Confederate cannon scorched the faces and clothing of
the ship's gunners. All this time a heroic quartermas-
ter, Thomas Hollins, stood at the starboard main chains,
undismayed by the storm around him, and his voice
every few minutes was heard above the din of battle,
calmly singing out the varying fathoms of water.
1862. THE LOUISIANA OPENS FIRE. 343
When abreast of the fort, where the flashes leaped out
of the enemy's guns and seemed almost to touch him,
he coolly called out, "Only thirteen feet, sir ! " On ex-
amining the ship after the battle, it was found that her
side near the place where he stood was peppered with
bullets.
Just as Craven was clearing Fort St. Philip he
caught a glimpse, through a break in the smoke, of the
Louisiana. The National commanders had little or no
reliable information as to the condition of the ram, but
rumor had pictured the Louisiana as a most terrible
monster, and with a feeling that they had met their
greatest danger they drew near the ironclad. The
Brooklyn delivered her starboard fire of solid shot,
which could be distinctly heard striking the ram, but
they glanced harmlessly upward. Lieutenant James
McBaker, of the Louisiana, at this moment was stand-
ing astride two beams in the pilot house (the floor not
yet being laid), and the shock caused him to fall to the
deck. Captain Mclntosh, who was in charge of the
Louisiana, was mortally wounded while in the act of
throwing a fireball at a National vessel. The Louisi-
ana fired a heavy shell that struck the Brooklyn about
a foot above the water line on the starboard &ide of the
cutwater near the wood ends, and, forcing its way three
feet into the dead wood and timbers, remained there.
Had that shell exploded, the entire bow would have
been blown off and the ship would have gone to the
bottom in a few minutes. But the Confederates, in
their haste to fire, had neglected to remove the lead
patch from the fuse.
After passing the ram the Brooklyn swung out
into the middle of the river and continued on her
slow course against the current. A number of vessels
could now be made out through the smoke, engaged in
a desperate struggle at close quarters, but as it was im-
possible to distinguish between friend and foe, Captain
Craven refrained from firing. A few minutes later the
344 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
cry ran through the ship, "A steamer coming down on
our port bow ! " and soon they saw black smoke from
the double smokestack of a river boat, quickly fol-
lowed by the outlines of a steamer having her fore-
castle crowded with men as if in readiness to board.
The order " Stand by to repel boarders ! " was passed,
the guns were loaded with shrapnel and the fuses were
cut so as to burn one second. On the steamer came ;
but just before a collision took place the Brooklyn gave
a sheer to starboard, and as the steamer passed to port
the broadside guns of the Brooklyn, beginning with
the forward one, were discharged one after another
as they bore. The missiles sped with fatal precision,
as the rush of steam and the shrieks and yells of the
injured speedily proclaimed. The shells exploded al-
most on leaving the guns, and when it came time for
the after guns in the Brooklyn to be fired the steamer
was nowhere to be seen.
Scarcely had this enemy been disposed of when
some of the men who had been looking out of the ports
saw another black column of smoke creeping out of the
night, and a moment later the cry "The ram ! the ram ! "
passed through the ship. "Four bells! [full speed].
Put your helm hard a-starboard ! " called out Craven.
But it was too late, for in a moment there was a shock
that nearly threw the men off their feet. The Manas-
sas had struck the Brooklyn almost at right angles and
nearly amidships. At the moment of striking the ram
fired her gun. The shot, piercing the chain and plank-
ing on the starboard side, entered the berth deck, made
its way through the pile of rigging and passed into
the sand-bags that had been placed around the steam
drum. The chain plating was driven into the outer
planking, and on the inside the planks were splintered
and crushed for about five feet, and had it not been for
the fact that her bunkers were full of coal she would
undoubtedly have been sunk. When the BrooTdyn
went to sea some weeks after this, the rolling of the
1862. THE MANASSAS RAMS THE BROOKLYN. 345
ship caused her to leak so seriously that she was com-
pelled to run into Pensacola, where a large patch of
planking was bolted over the wound. Mr. Bartlett
writes : "I ran to the No. 10 port, the gun being in,
and, looking out, saw her [the ram] almost directly
alongside. A man came out of the little hatch aft and
ran forward along the port side of the deck as far as
the smokestacks, placed his hand against one of the
funnels and looked to see what damage the ram had
done. I saw him turn, fall over and tumble into the
water, but did not know at the moment what caused his
sudden disappearance until I asked the quartermaster
who was leadsman in the chains, if he had seen him fall.
'Why, yes, sir,' he said, 'I saw him fall overboard — in
fact, I helped him ; for I hit him alongside of the head
with my hand-lead.'" l The shock of the collision threw
the boilers of the Manas sas out of position and pre-
vented her from repeating the attack immediately. As
the men had just been working the port guns and the
Manassas came up suddenly on the starboard side,
none of the Brooklyn's guns could be fired at her,
although an attempt was made to depress the muzzle
of the 30-pounder Parrot. The Manassas vanished in
the night as suddenly as she appeared.
After these narrow escapes Captain Craven pressed
on, feeling his way in the darkness and guiding the ship
by the flashes of the guns. Finding that he was get-
ting too far to the western side, he headed his ship for
Fort St. Philip, but in so doing exposed himself to a
terrible raking fire from Fort Jackson. At this mo-
ment a large three-masted steamer loomed out of the
smoke and opened fire. Waiting until his entire port
broadside bore, Captain Craven fired eleven 9-inch
guns, which sent the stranger down the river in flames.
Pushing carefully across the river until the starboard
lead showed thirteen feet, Captain Craven headed up-
1 Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. ii, p. 67.
346 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
stream, and again brought his broadside to bear on
Fort St. Philip. A torrent of grape and canister was
then poured into that work and completely silenced it.
By the flashes of the guns the enemy could be seen
running to cover. After passing out of range of the
forts the Brooklyn destroyed several gunboats. She
had now been under fire about an hour and a half, and
had eight men killed and twenty-six wounded.
The Richmond, Commander James Alden, the third
vessel of the second division, passed up with less diffi-
culty. Like the others, she got out of line soon after
starting, and was carried close to Fort Jackson at a
time when the guns in that fort were nearly silenced by
the fire from the mortars and their tenders. Her loss
was two killed and four wounded. Much injury to the
men was saved by a carefully prepared splinter-netting.
At one point between the guns the netting was forced
out to its utmost tension ; "indeed," says Commander
Alden, "large pieces of plank were thus prevented
from sweeping the deck and perhaps destroying the
men at the guns."
Commander Bell, leading the third division in the
Sciota, got under fire a little before 4 A. M. and passed
the forts with slight damage. Following him came the
Iroquois, Commander Decamp, which hotly engaged
the forts. Shortly afterward she was attacked by the
McRae and another war vessel, which, coming up on
her quarter and stern, poured in a destructive fire of
grape, copper slugs and langrage. One 11 -inch shell
and a stand of canister, skillfully aimed, drove off the
McRae and mortally wounded her commander, Lieu-
tenant Huger. Huger was serving in the Iroquois when
he resigned his commission in the United States navy.
The command of his vessel then fell upon Lieutenant
Read, who fought his ship gallantly to the end. The
Iroquois, although passing within fifty yards of Fort
Jackson, received no injury from that work, but suf-
fered severely from the raking fire of Fort St. Philip.
1802. BELL LEADS THE THIRD DIVISION. 347
Through a misunderstanding of the order " Starboard ! "
as " Stop her ! " the Iroquois was carried close alongside
the Louisiana. Half of the Confederate crew, sup-
posing that an attempt at boarding was to be made, ran
outside of her casemate to repel boarders, and the Lou-
isiana double-shotted her guns and delivered a heavy
fire at the Iroquois. After getting beyond the line of
fire of the forts, the Iroquois was attacked by five or
six steamers, but as she brought her broadsides into
play they were sent down the stream in a crippled con-
dition. Four miles above this point Commander De-
camp captured gunboat No. 3, which was armed with
one 24-pounder howitzer and was well supplied with
fixed ammunition and small arms. Lieutenant Hen-
derson, with four hundred and thirty soldiers, also was
captured. In passing the forts the Iroquois was badly
injured in her hull, her bowsprit and jib boom were
struck by heavy shot, and all the boats were smashed
to pieces. Her loss was eight killed and twenty-four
wounded.
The Winona took her station astern of the Itasca,
and was following her red light when she became en-
tangled in a mass of logs and driftwood held together
by chains in the moorings of the hulks. While en-
deavoring to back clear of this, she fouled her consort
on the starboard bow, causing a delay of nearly half
an hour. Although the larger part of the fleet by this
time had passed the forts, Lieutenant Nichols pushed
ahead. But day was fast breaking, and by the time
the Winona had passed the obstruction she stood out in
bold relief against the bright sky, presenting a fair mark
to the enemy's gunners. Fort Jackson opened on her,
and the first shot killed one man and wounded another,
while the third and fourth shot killed or wounded
all the men of the 30- pounder except one. In spite of
this disastrous fire, Lieutenant Nichols pressed on to
Fort St. Philip ; but his vessel and the Itasca soon be-
came the center of such a terrific fire that Commander
348 PASSING FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. 1862.
Porter signaled them to retire. The Winona had three
killed and had five wounded, while she had been
"hulled several times, and the decks were wet fore
and aft from the spray of the falling shot."1 The
Itasca received fourteen shot, one in her boiler, and
was so injured that Lieutenant Caldwell ran her ashore
below the mortar boat to prevent sinking. The Kenne-
bec also failed to pass the forts. The Pinola, which
was in line astern of the Iroquois, had her starboard
quarter boat crushed by a chain on the hulks. When
abreast of Fort Jackson, Lieutenant Crosby opened
with his 11 -inch Dahlgren and Parrott guns, the flashes
of the Confederate guns being the only mark presented
to the gunners. The enemy promptly replied, but,
miscalculating the distance, sent most of his shot over
the Pinola, so that only two of them struck her hull.
Lieutenant Crosby then ran within one hundred
and fifty yards of Fort St. Philip, where the fire-rafts
exposed his vessel to the enemy's view. The Confed-
erates opened a heavy fire, and one shot, entering her
starboard quarter, cut away part of the wheel and
wounded several men, including Quartermaster Wil-
liam Ackworth. Another shot entered the hull at the
water line on the starboard side, eight inches forward
of the boiler, passed through the coal-bunkers, cut the
sounding-well in two, and lodged in the pump-well.
A third shot cut away the top of the steam-escape
pipe, and the starboard chain cable from the anchor,
while another passed entirely through the hull imme-
diately over the magazine. After these narrow escapes
the Pinola passed beyond the line of fire, and in the
early dawn sighted a steamer which was thought to
be the Iroquois. Discovering her to be the Governor
Moore, however, Lieutenant Crosby gave her a shot
from his 11 -inch Dahlgren and Parrott guns, both of
which took effect near the water line. At this moment
1 Official report of Lieutenant Nichols.
1862. AT THE END OF THE LINE. 349
the dark hull of the Manassas was discovered in the
Pinola's wake, coming up the river under a full head
of steam. Lieutenant Crosby immediately opened on
the dangerous ram, but before he could come to close
quarters the Mississippi dashed past for the purpose
of running into the iron craft. Just as all were ex-
pecting to see the Manassas crushed, she sheered to
one side and ran ashore, where her crew escaped. The
Mississippi, balked of her prey, checked her swift
course down-stream, ran up to the ram, and riddled
her with shot.
At five o'clock in the morning the Cayuga reached
the Confederate batteries at Chalmette, where, after an
exchange of shot, the regiment under the command
of Colonel Szymanaski surrendered to Captain Bailey.
Farragut's fleet did not anchor off New Orleans until
one o'clock on the afternoon of April 25th. New Or-
leans was surrendered on the 29th, Forts Jackson and
St. Philip having surrendered the day before. The
total loss in the National fleet was thirty-seven killed
and one hundred and forty-seven wounded, while that
of the Confederate land forces was twelve killed and
forty wounded. The loss in the Confederate flotilla
can not be accurately determined, but it must have
been equal to that of the Nationalists.
CHAPTER XL
OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS.
DRIVEN from one stronghold after another by the
National gunboats on the upper Mississippi, and com-
pelled by the genius of Farragut to abandon New Or-
leans, Baton Rouge and Natchez on the lower Missis-
sippi, the Confederates gradually concentrated around
Vicksburg. By the time the National forces were ready
to make a serious demonstration against this place,
many of the troops, guns and munitions of war that
had been scattered over the Western States of the Con-
federacy were massed at Vicksburg, so that it became
one of the most formidable strongholds the world has
ever seen. On the other hand, while the Confederates
were growing stronger by concentration after each de-
feat, the Nationalists were becoming weaker as their
forces were spread over a larger territory and they
were required to guard many points on the river and
the Gulf. Besides this, Farragut's vessels, which had
not been designed for river service, were greatly in
need of repairs. The many collisions between vessels
of the same squadron, caused by the swift current in
narrow waters, their frequent grounding on shoals, and
the heavy impact of enormous logs carried down stream
in the swift current, strained the hulls and perceptibly
weakened the ships. The constant exposure to the
enemy's shot and the wear and tear on the engines,
many of which were old and built for lighter service,
also were beginning to be felt.
The great difficulty of patroling such a vast and
intricate river system in the heart of an enemy's coun-
350
1862. FARRAGUT'S GREAT TASK. 35^
try was further enhanced by the difficulty of obtaining
a coal-supply. The towing and guarding of coal-ves-
sels over a distance of many hundred miles against a
swift current, with the men constantly exposed to
sharpshooters and the sudden fire of masked batteries,
was in itself a work of appalling magnitude. But one
of the most serious tasks which the commanders of
both the lower and the upper Mississippi fleets had to
perform was to guard the health of their men, most of
whom were from the North and, being unaccustomed
to the peculiar climate of the Mississippi Valley, fell
easy victims to disease. On the 25th of July nearly
half of the men in the upper flotilla were reported
unfit for duty and there was nearly as much illness
among Farragut's crews. The time of enlistment for
many of the men had expired, and much difficulty was
experienced in keeping the complements of the vessels
even partially filled. As it was, several of the Na-
tional craft went into action short-handed.
Notwithstanding these serious obstacles, Farragut
determined to push his advantage. Personally he be-
lieved it to be impossible to hold the points along the
river and attack Vicksburg with any hope of perma-
nent success without the co-operation of a strong land
force. He wrote to the Navy Department : "The Gov-
ernment officials appear to think we can do anything.
They expect me to navigate the Mississippi, nine hun-
dred miles, in the face of batteries, ironclad rams, etc. ;
and yet, with all the ironclad vessels they have North,
they could not get to Norfolk or Richmond. The iron-
clads, with the exception of the Monitor, were all
knocked to pieces. Yet I am expected to take New
Orleans, and go up and release Foote from his perilous
situation at Fort Pillow, when he is backed by the
army and has ironclad boats built for the river service,
while our ships are in danger of getting aground and
remaining there till next year ; or, what is more likely,
be burned to prevent them from falling into the enemy's
352 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1862.
hands." But he had received peremptory orders from
Washington to "clear the Mississippi," and, like the
true seaman he was, he gallantly proceeded to obey.
Seeing that New Orleans was securely in the hands
of the army, Farragut ordered the Brooklyn, Captain
Thomas Tingey Craven, up the river. Baton Rouge and
Natchez surrendered without opposition. On the 22d
of May Commander Samuel Phillips Lee summoned
Vicksburg to surrender, but was met with a prompt
refusal, while the attack on the gunboats WissaJdckon
and Itasca on June 9th, by a battery of rifled guns that
the enemy had hastily thrown up at Grand Gulf, plain-
ly indicated that the Confederates had not yet given
up the fight, and showed how easily they could erect
batteries on almost any commanding point along the
river and make it dangerous for vessels to pass. The
Brooklyn and the RicJimond anchored below Vicks-
burg on the 18th of June, and soon afterward Farragut
with his other ships and the mortar steamers Octorara,
Miami, Jackson, Westfield, Clifton, Harriet Lane and
Owasco, and seventeen mortar schooners under Com-
mander Porter, arrived, and on the 26th the mortars
began shelling the works.
The promptness of Farragut' s attack prevented the
enemy from fortifying Vicksburg as well as they did a
few months later, but as it was, its defenses were for-
midable. They consisted of one 9-inch and three 8-inch
guns, and one 18-pounder rifled gun mounted in a bat-
tery on the highest point of the bluff above the town,
where they could deliver a plunging fire and where the
guns in the vessels could not reach them. Near by was
a battery of four 24-pounders, two of them rifled, and
half a mile below the town was a water-battery mount-
ing four 42-pounders and two rifled 32-pounders, com-
manded by Captain Todd, a brother-in-law of President
Lincoln. Besides these batteries, there were two 10-
inch and one 8-inch, one 42-pounder, five 32-pounders,
and two rifled 12-pounders along the bluff where it
18G2. FARRAGUT RUNS BY VICKSBURG. 353
would be difficult for a passing vessel to discover them.
These guns were spread over a distance of three miles.
The current of the river at this place ran at least three
miles an hour.
At three o'clock on the morning of June 28th Far-
ragut got under way with the intention of running the
batteries, as he had done with such astonishing suc-
cess at New Orleans. He arranged his squadron in
two columns, the Richmond, the Hartford and the
Brooklyn forming the starboard line, or that nearest
to the enemy, while the port column consisted of the
Iroquois, Commander James Shedden Palmer, and the
Oneida, which were to steam ahead of the Richmond
and keep off her port bow ; the Wissahickon and the
Sciota, which were to take a position between the
Richmond and the Hartford ; the Winona and the
Pinola, between the Hartford and the Brooklyn ; and
the Kennebec and the Katalidin, taking a position on
the port quarter of the Brooklyn. As these vessels
drew in range about 4 A. M. the mortar flotilla opened
a heavy fire, while the mortar steamers moved up the
river on the Hartford's starboard quarter, and, taking
a position about fourteen hundred yards from the
water-battery, kept up a spirited fire until the ves-
sels were beyond the reach of the enemy's guns. As
the two columns came within range they suffered
from a severe plunging and raking fire, but when
fairly abreast of the enemy they silenced the lower
batteries.
Observing that he wai getting too far in advance of
his vessels, Farragut gave the order to slow down, and
at times he came to a full stop, so as to keep as com-
pact a line as possible and to give the vessels the ad-
vantage of mutual support. Commander Palmer, of the
Iroquois, when he reached the sharp bend in the river
above the town, stopped his engines and drifted down
within supporting distance of the flagship. Not under-
standing Palmer's object, Farragut called out through
354
OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS.
1862.
his trumpet, "Captain Palmer, what do you mean by
disobeying my orders ? " Palmer replied : "I thought
that you had more fire than you could stand, and so I
came down to draw off a part of it." Farragut never
forgot the incident. By 6 A. M. all the vessels had
passed and anchored above Vicksburg except three.
The Brooklyn, the Kennebec and the Katahdin, which
brought up the rear of the National line, through a
misunderstanding, remained two hours before the bat-
teries and then retired below. In this affair the loss in
the fleet was seven killed and thirty wounded. The
Clifton received a shot in her boiler and eight men
were killed by the escaping steam, making fifteen men
in all killed. The Confederates reported no losses.
On the 1st of July Farragut's vessels joined the
flotilla under Captain Charles H. Davis, and the com-
bined fleets took a position above Vicksburg, about
three miles below the point where the Yazoo River
flows into the Mississippi, the war vessels being moored
on the eastern bank and the transports on the western.
Learning that the Confederates were completing the
ram Arkansas, up Yazoo River, Captain Davis, on the
14th of July, ordered the Carondelet, Captain Henry
Walke, the Tyler, Lieutenant-Commander William
Gwin,1 and the steam ram Queen of the West, Colonel
Ellet, having sharpshooters aboard, to ascend the Yazoo
and reconnoiter. The Arkansas was one of two rams
that were being built to destroy the National flotilla
in the Mississippi River. These rams, not quite com-
pleted, were at Memphis, and were nearly captured in
the battle of Memphis. As it was, one of them, the
Tennessee, was burned, while the Arkansas just es-
caped and was taken up the Yazoo ; showing how
valuable were the prompt and decisive movements of
the Union gunboats. In constructing these boats the
Confederates experienced their usual difficulty in build-
1 These officers received their new ranks July 16, 1862.
1862. THE RAM ARKANSAS. 355
ing ironclads. The country was scoured for miles for
iron, worn-out railroad tracks forming a part of the
casemate. When the Arkansas went into action she
was manned by inexperienced men, whose hands were
blistered and bleeding from the little exercise they had
undergone in hauling on the gun tackles. The Arkan-
sas was constructed for a seagoing ship after the
general plan of the Merrimac, being one hundred and
eighty feet over all, and armed with two 8-inch colum-
biads, four 6 '4-inch rifled guns, two 82- pounders and
two 9-inch Dahlgren shell guns. Her heavy wooden
casemate, which on the sides was perpendicular, was
inclined at the bow and stern, and was protected by
railroad iron laid in horizontal courses, dovetailed and
forming a nearly solid mass of iron three inches thick.
In the casemate between the ports were bales of com-
pressed cotton sheathed in wood so as to guard against
fire. Her bow was armed with a sharp cast-iron beak.
The vessel had twin screws but her engines, which
were below the water line, wrere too light for her and
frequently broke down. Her captain was Commander
Isaac Napoleon Brown, formerly of the United States
Navy.
Captain Walke's vessels got under way at 4 A. M.
July 15th. "All was calm, bright and beautiful. The
majestic forest echoed with the sweet warbling of its
wild birds, and its dewy leaves sparkled in the sun-
beams. All seemed inviting the mind to peaceful re-
flection and to stimulate it with hopes of future hap-
piness at home." * There had not been the slightest
intimation that the Arkansas was expected. Suddenly,
when the National gunboats had proceeded about six
miles up the Yazoo, they met the ironclacj coming
down under a full head of steam. At this moment the
Tyler was about one mile and the Queen of the West
two miles in advance of the Carondelet, and being un-
1 Bear-Admiral Walke's Naval Scenes, p. 304.
356
OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS.
1802.
fit for a battle with a vessel of this type, the Tyler
gave the alarm and retreated. Captain Walke, realiz-
SCZNEOFTHB
NAVAL OPERATIONS
IN THE
WESTERN KIVEBS.
0 ' * T'^1
ing the hopelessness of a struggle between his vessels
and a craft of the Merrimac class, and having so
1862. THE CARONDELET AND THE ARKANSAS. 357
many of his men prostrated by the river fever that
he could not man more than one division of guns, de-
cided to fall back on the fleet. It would have been cer-
tain destruction for the Carondelet to have continued
up the river, for by so doing she presented her square
bow as a broad target to the Arkansas '$ ram, and would
easily have been cut down and sunk.
Walke's only course was to retreat. The stern of
his vessel had recently been strengthened with fenders
and barricades, but it had the weakest battery. The
Queen of the West opened a brisk lire on the ram and
then fled down the river to give the alarm, while the
Tyler, in spite of the fact that she was filled with troops
who were exposed on her decks, pluckily kept her
place beside her consort, and the two vessels opened as
heavy a fire at a distance of five hundred to fifty yards
as they could against their advancing foe. One of
their shot struck the Arkansas' pilot-house, mortally
wounding Chief Pilot John Hodges (who was looking
through the peephole) and injuring Commander Brown
and the Yazoo River pilot, J. H. Shacklett, with splin-
ters. Commander Brown had a severe contusion on
the top of his head, and soon afterward a musket shot
grazed his left temple. He fell insensible through the
hatchway to the deck below. But in spite of this seri-
ous loss the Confederate ironclad kept steadily on her
course, evidently with the intention of boarding the
Carondelet. As the distance between the two vessels
diminished, Captain Walke, who was constantly on
deck, called his men to repel boarders. The Confed-
erates did not make the attempt to board, however,
and the Nationalists returned to their guns. The
Carondelet, then passing an island, crowded the ram
to the northern bank of the river, and the Arkansas
gradually forged ahead, when the Carondelet fired her
bow guns at the ram, but having her wheel-rope cut
away for the third time she ran aground. At one time
the colors of the Carondelet became entangled with the
358 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 18C2.
staff, and one of the men was trying to release it. Ob-
serving the man, but not immediately understanding
his object, Captain Walke, as he came from his bow
guns, called out, "I'll shoot the first man that lowers
that flag." It probably was this circumstance that led
Commander Brown to think that the National gunboat
lowered her colors. The CarondeleVs flag was not low-
ered.
The Arkansas, with her colors shot away and
smokestack damaged, continued down the river in
chase of the Tyler, which vessel, although suffering
heavy losses, kept up the heroic fight. The Carondelet
received injuries in her hull and machinery. Thirteen
shot went through her. The crew of the Carondelet
saw a man thrown overboard from the ram, whose peo-
ple also were seen to be bailing. This man had reck-
lessly thrust his head out of a porthole and was cut in
two by a cannon ball. His head and shoulders fell
into the river and his legs and body were immediately
thrown after them. At the time of this battle two of
the Carondelefs 84-pounder rifled guns had been re-
placed by a 50- and a 30-pounder rifled gun. Walke
and Brown were old friends, having been messmates in
a voyage around the world. They had not met since
that voyage, and were not aware of each other's pres-
ence until after the battle.
So unexpected was the approach of the ram that
the only vessel in the National fleet that had steam up
ready for immediate action was the General Bragg.
As the Arkansas entered the Mississippi she turned
her head downstream with the intention of running
through the National fleet and reaching the batteries
at Yicksburg. By this time her smokestack had been
riddled and her steam had gone down so that she
could make only one mile an hour, and this with the
current gave her a speed of about three miles an hour.
On went the ironclad, firing from her bow guns as rap-
idly as possible, to which the National vessels responded
1862. THE ARKANSAS RUNS THE GANTLET. 359
with a terrific fire, but most of their missiles fell harm-
lessly from the mailed sides. Two 11-inch shells,
however, pierced her armor, exploded, and one of them
killed or wounded sixteen of her people, besides set-
ting fire to the cotton backing. Few of the vessels
were able to fire at the ram more than one or two
broadsides. Many of the guns were fired at close quar-
ters, but most of the solid shot glanced off the case-
mate, while the shells were shivered into a thousand
pieces by the concussion.
An officer in the Arkansas, describing the running
of the gantlet, says: "We were passing one of the
large sloops of war when a heavy shot struck the side
abreast of my bow gun, the concussion knocking over
a man who was engaged in taking a shot from the rack.
He rubbed his hip, which had been hurt, and said,
'they would hardly strike twice in a place.' He was
mistaken, poor fellow ! for immediately a shell entered
the breach made by the shot and, imbedding itself in
the cotton lining of the inside bulwark proper, exploded
with terrible effect. I found myself standing in a dense,
suffocating smoke, with my cap gone and hair and
beard singed. The smoke soon cleared away, and I
found but one man (Quartermaster Curtis) left. Six-
teen were killed and wounded by that shell, and the
ship set on fire. Stevens, ever cool and thoughtful,
ran to the engine-room hatch, seized the hose, and
dragged it to the aperture. In a few moments the fire
was extinguished without an alarm having been cre-
ated. The columbiad was fired but once after its crew
was disabled. By the aid of an army captain, Curtis
and myself succeeded in getting a shot down the gun,
with which he struck the Benton. The ill luck which
befell the crew of the bow gun was soon to be followed
by a similar misfortune to the crew of my broadside
gun. An 11-inch shot broke through immediately
above the port, bringing with it a shower of iron and
wooden splinters, which struck down every man at a
360 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1862.
gun. My master's mate, Mr. Wilson, was painfully
wounded in the nose, and I had my left arm smashed.
Curtis was the only sound man in the division when
we mustered the crew to quarters at Vicksburg. Nor
did the mischief of the last shot end with my poor
gun's crew. It passed across the deck, through the
smokestack, and killed eight and wounded seven men
at Scales's gun. Fortunately, he was untouched him-
self, and afterward did excellent service at Grimball's
columbiad.
" Stationed on the ladder leading to the berth deck
was a quartermaster named Eaton. He was assigned
the duty of passing shells from the forward shell room,
and also had a kind of superintendence over the boys
who came for powder. Eaton was a character. He
had thick, rough, red hair, an immense muscular frame,
and a will and a courage rarely encountered. Nothing
daunted him, and the hotter the fight, the fiercer grew
Eaton. From his one eye he glared furiously on all
who seemed inclined to shirk, and his voice grew louder
and more distinct as the shot rattled and crashed upon
our mail. At one instant you would hear him pass the
word down the hatch, '9-inch shell, 5-second fuse.
— Here you are, my lad, with your rifled shell; take
it and go back, quick.— What's the matter that you
can't get that gun out?' and, like a cat, he would
spring from his place and throw his weight on the side
tackle, and the gun was sure to go out. ' What are
you doing here— wounded 1 Where are you hurt 3 Go
back to your gun, or I'll murder you on the spot !
— Here's your 9-inch shell.— Mind, shipmate' (to a
wounded man), ' the ladder is bloody ; don't slip ; let
me help you.' "
While the Arkansas was running the terrible gant-
let her colors, which had been hoisted a second time,
were carried away again. Midshipman Dabney M.
Scales hastened out on the casemate, where he was ex-
posed to as terrific a fire as was ever concentrated on
1862. RAMMING THE ARKANSAS. 3d
one ship, and bravely hoisted the Confederate colors.
The flag of the Arkansas was again carried away, and
young Scales was about to replace it for the second
time when his superior officer ordered him back. After
each discharge the Arkansas closed her ports, thus
presenting an almost impenetrable mass of iron. One
port was left open for an instant, and a shot entering
killed and wounded a number of men. Had the Arkan-
sas been subjected to this fire any length of time she
would have been destroyed ; but as the vessels of the
squadron were unable to follow her, she passed them
in a short time and was moored under the Yicksburg
batteries. Commander Brown afterward said that wrhen
he saw the National fleet he had no hope of seeing
Vicksburg. That belief was shared by many of his
officers. An attempt was made by the Lancaster to
ram, but she was disabled by a shot, and escaping
steam scalded a number of her people, two of them
fatally.
Determined that the audacious ram should not get
off thus easily, Farragut immediately began prepara-
tions for following and destroying her under the guns
of Yicksburg, his plan being to have each of his vessels
fire at the Arkansas as they passed. Late in the after-
noon Captain Davis moved his flotilla down and began
a bombardment of the upper batteries by way of a
diversion, and at dark Farragut's fleet, with the ram
Sumter, Lieutenant-Commander Henry Erben, ran past
the batteries. Anticipating this move, the Confeder-
ates moved the Arkansas, after dark, to a place where
she could not be so readily seen ; but Farragut discov-
ered the change, and many of his ships delivered an
effective fire upon her. Her casemate was badly shat-
tered, the iron being loosened so as to render her unfit
for service, and afterward most of her men were sent
to assist in working the shore batteries. One 11 -inch
shot pierced her casemate and killed or wounded sev-
eral men. In this second passage of the Yicksburg
362 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1862.
batteries the National vessels had five killed and six-
teen wounded, while the flotilla under Davis lost thir-
teen killed, thirty-four wounded and ten missing. Of
this loss the Carondelet, in her action with the ram,
had four killed, six wounded and two drowned, and
the Tyler eight killed and sixteen wounded. The loss
in the Arkansas is placed at ten killed and fifteen
wounded.
Still determined on completing the destruction of
the Arkansas, Commodore William D. Porter, in the
Essex, with the Queen of the West, Lieutenant-Colonel
Alfred E. Ellet, at dawn of July 22d boldly ran under
the batteries of Vicksburg to attack the ram, while
the Benton, the Cincinnati and the Louisville opened
a heavy fire on the upper batteries. As Commodore
Porter was approaching the ram, Commander Brown
slackened his forward moorings so that the head of his
vessel swung out into the stream, thus presenting her
sharp ram to the square bow of the National gunboat,
which was coming down at a high speed with a view
of ramming. Seeing that his own vessel would be
sunk in such a collision, Porter at a distance of fifty
yards fired three solid 9-inch shot at the Arkansas,
one of which struck her casemate a foot beyond the
forward port, cutting off the ends of the railroad iron
and drove the pieces diagonally across the gunroom.
The shot pierced the casemate, split upon the breech of
the starboard after-gun and killed eight and wounded
six of her complement of forty-one men. At the same
time Porter changed his course as rapidly as his clumsy
craft would admit, and so far avoided a collision as to
graze the port side of the Confederate ironclad, and his
vessel was carried ashore just astern of the Arkansas.
In this critical position the Essex remained fully
ten minutes exposed to a heavy fire, but getting afloat
again she continued her course down the river and
soon ran out of range. The Queen of the West suc-
ceeded in giving the Arkansas a heavy blow, and for
1862. DESTRUCTION OP THE ARKANSAS. 3G3
a moment the Confederates believed that their vessel
was destroyed. The Nationalist ram then backed
off and struck again, but the iron-bound hull of the
Arkansas remained intact. All this time the Union
ram had been subjected to a terrific fire. Large holes
were yawning in her hull, one of her steam pipes had
been carried away and her smokestacks were perforated
like a nutmeg grater. As his vessel had been struck
about twenty-five times, and was leaking seriously,
Ellet endeavored to escape up stream, but, although
exposed to a heavy fire, he managed to rejoin the flo-
tilla above Vicksburg. One heavy shot passed through
an iron safe and dismounted a gun. On the 3d of
August the Arkansas, with two gunboats, left Vicks-
burg to assist a detachment of troops under General
Breckenridge in making an attack on the National gar-
rison at Baton Rouge. The attack was made on the 5th
of August, but the Confederates were repelled, the gun-
boats KataJidin and Kineo supporting the land forces
with a heavy fire. The Arkansas was detained from
participating in this affair by her machinery breaking
down several times, and finally she ran aground. On
the approach of the Essex, whose commander had been
on the watch for the ironclad, Lieutenant H. K. Stevens,
then commanding the Arkansas, escaped with his men
on shore and blew her up.
It became more and more evident to the Government
that it was impossible to hold the points on the river
captured by the navy without the co-operation of a
land force, and as the troops could not be spared im-
mediately, the flotilla under Davis retired to Helena
and the lower squadron to New Orleans, while the
larger vessels -were detailed on blockade duty. Several
expeditions were undertaken by the navy, however,
with a view of preventing the enemy from fortifying
the banks. On the 14th of August, Lieutenant Com-
mander Phelps, with the gunboats Benton, Mound City
and General Bragg, and the rams Monarch, Samson
364: OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1862-1863.
and Lioness, with a land force under Colonel Woods,
left Helena, and, going down the Mississippi, dispersed
several bodies of Confederate troops and captured two
steamers. Entering Yazoo River, he destroyed a bat-
tery about twenty miles up the stream. In all, about
half a million dollars' worth of public property was
destroyed in this expedition. On January 15, 1863,
the gunboats Calhoun, Estrella, and Kinsman de-
stroyed the Confederate steamer Cotton in Bayou
Teche. Lieutenant-Commander Thomas McKean Buch-
anan, the senior officer in the squadron, was killed.
Farragut called him "one of our most gallant and per-
severing young officers."
On the 1st of October, 1862, the Mississippi flotilla
was transferred from the Army to the Navy Depart-
ment. Meantime two new types of war vessel had been
added to the fleet. At the suggestion of Captain Davis
a number of light-draft stern-wheel steamers were pur-
chased, and were covered from bow to stern, to the
height of eleven feet, with iron plate a half to three
quarters of an inch thick. These were called tinclads.
They drew not over three feet, were designed for opera-
tions in shallow waters and were armed with six to
eight 24-pounder brass howitzers each, intended prin-
cipally to disperse sharpshooters and troops with light-
field pieces on the banks of narrow streams. Another
class of war vessels was designed for heavy fighting.
They were the Lafayette, the Tuscumbia, the Indian-
ola, the Ghoctaw and the Cliillicothe. These were flat-
bottomed vessels drawing from five to seven feet of
water (the Lafayette and Choctaw drew nine feet), hav-
ing side wheels three quarters of the way aft, each
wheel acting independently of the other, which gave
greater rapidity in turning.
Two of these vessels— the Indlanola and the Tus-
cumbia— also had propellers, and were regarded as un-
usually efficient. The casemate on the forward deck
was plated with two to three inches of iron, while the
1862. PORTER TAKES COMMAND. 365
forward plating in some of the craft was six inches
thick. Sliding shutters, three inches thick, covered
the ports when the guns were run in. Between the
side wheels in the two larger vessels there was a wooden
casemate plated with 2-inch iron on the after end and
with 1-inch iron on each side. The Tuscumbia car-
ried three 11-inch guns in her forward casemate and
two rifled 100-pounders in the after casemate. The
Indianola carried two 11 -inch guns in the forward and
two 9-inch guns in the after casemate. The Chillicothe
had two 11-inch guns, and the CJioctaw three 9-inch
guns and one rifled 100-pounder in the forward case-
mate. She also had a second casemate forward of the
wheels, mounting two 24-pounder howitzers, and a third
casemate abaft the wheel containing two 30-pounder
Parrott rifled guns. The Lafayette carried two 11 -inch
Dahlgren guns forward, four 9-inch guns in broadside,
and two 24-pounder howitzers and two 100-pounder
Parrott guns in the stern. The Samson had been fitted
as a floating machine-shop to accompany the flotilla
and repair damages, while the steamer Black HawTc,
fitted as a school ship, carried an apparatus for raising
sunken vessels.
Commander David Dixon Porter, with the local rank
of Acting Rear- Admiral, succeeded Captain Davis Oc-
tober 15, 1862, and on the 21st of November he ordered
Captain Walke to blockade Yazoo River and destroy
any batteries he might find. Arriving at the mouth of
the river, Captain Walke sent the light-draft steamers
Signal, Acting-Master Scot, and Marmora, Acting-
Master Letty, some miles up the river, where they de-
stroyed several torpedoes and returned. On December
12th Walke sent them up again, accompanied by the
Cairo, Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Self ridge, Jr.,
the Pittsburgh, Lieutenant Hoel, and the Queen of the
West. While these vessels were engaged eighteen or
twenty miles up the river in lifting the torpedoes (demi-
johns filled with powder to be ignited by a wire that was
366 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1862-1863.
operated by a Confederate naval officer concealed on
shore), one or two of them exploded under the Cairo's
bow, and in twelve minutes she sank in thirty-six feet
of water. In spite of this disaster the remaining gun-
boats proceeded with the work. On December 26th
they came within reach of the batteries at Drumgoold's
Bluff, by which time Porter had arrived with the other
gunboats. Taking a position twelve hundred yards
distant, the gunboats opened fire, while National troops
under General William Tecumseh Sherman attacked
the works from the rear on the 29th, but were repelled.
In this affair the Benton was struck twenty-five times,
and her commander, Lieutenant-Commander William
Gwin, was mortally wounded, Master-at-Arms Robert
Boyle was killed, and eight men were wounded, one of
them mortally. The flotilla then retired to the Missis-
sippi.
The capture of the transport Blue Wing with its
cargo of valuable stores by a Confederate expedition
fitted out at Arkansas Post, induced the Nationalists
to send an expedition against that place. Arkansas
Post was defended by a bastioned fort on the left bank
of Arkansas River, mounting three 9 inch guns, one
8-inch shell gun, four rifled and four smooth-bore guns
and six light guns. Rifle pits also were dug around
the fort. The place was defended by Lieutenant John
W. Dunnington, formerly of the United States Navy,
with five thousand men. On January 9, 1863, Porter,
with the De Kalb, Lieutenant-Commander Walker,
the Louisville, Lieutenant-Commander E. K. Owen, the
Cincinnati, Lieutenant George M. Bache, and the light-
draft gunboats Black Hawk, Lexington, Rattler, Glide,
Signal, Forest Rose, Romeo, Juliet and Marmora, to-
gether with the transports conveying troops under
General McClernand, appeared before the fort, and
while the troops were being landed four miles below,
the ironclads, with the Rattler, Lieutenant-Commander
Watson Smith, moved up the river and at 5.30 P. M.
1863. ARKANSAS POST AND ST. CHARLES. 367
opened a heavy fire. The three ironclads approached,
bows on, within four hundred yards of the earthwork,
while the lighter gunboats, with the Black Hawk and
the Lexington, took a position a short distance behind
them and threw shell and shrapnel.
Before the attack was over, Lieutenant-Commander
Smith ran past the fort and opened an enfilading fire,
but becoming entangled in driftwood he was obliged
to return, suffering a considerable loss. At 1.30 p. M.
on the following day the gunboats renewed the attack
and the troops began the assault in the rear. At 4
p. M. the Rattler, the Glide, Lieutenant Wood worth,
and the Monarch, Colonel Charles Ellet, ran by the
fort and destroyed a ferry ten miles above. At 4.40
p. M., when the troops were about to make an assault,
the fort surrendered. In this affair the De Kalb sus-
tained some damage in her hull, one of her 32-pounder
guns was dismounted and one 10-inch gun was de-
stroyed. The other ironclads also were injured in their
hulls. The injuries to the men in the flotilla were con-
fined to the De Kalb and the Louisville, the casualties
being six killed and twenty- five wounded.
On the 12th the De Kalb and the Cincinnati, with
the transports and troops under General Gorman,
pushed up White River and reached St. Charles on the
morning of the 14th. This place was found to be de-
serted, the Confederates having retreated up the river
in the Blue Wing, taking with them a field battery
and two 8-inch guns. Leaving the Cincinnati at St.
Charles, the De Kalb with the transports hastened up
the river in chase and reached Duval's Bluff (fifty
miles farther) at three o'clock in the afternoon of the
16th, and found that the Blue Wing had left that
place only a few minutes before, but the two 8-inch
guns had been landed and were captured while the
enemy was putting them in a railroad car. The guns
were destroyed, and the gunboats returned to Vicks-
burg.
368 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1863.
At 4.30 A. M., February 3d, the Queen of the West,
Colonel Charles Rivers Ellet, went down the river to
run the Vicksburg batteries. Owing to some difficulty
with the wheel, it was broad daylight before she ap-
proached them ; but her intrepid commander kept
steadily on his course, in spite of the angry protests
of all the Confederate guns. When opposite Vicks-
burg he deliberately rounded to and rammed the
steamer Vicksburg that was moored to the bank. At
this moment two shells entered the cotton- protected
bulwarks of the Queen of the West and started a
fire near her starboard wheel, while at the same time
the flashes of her guns set the ram on fire forward.
Hastening downstream, Colonel Ellet cut his cotton
bales adrift and arrived below Vicksburg in safety,
although his vessel had been struck twelve times by
heavy shot and one of his guns had been dismounted.
Continuing down the river the same day, he was fired
upon by two batteries, but no injury was done, and on
the next day, when fifteen miles below the mouth of
Red River, he captured the steamers A. W. Balser and
Moro, laden with stores for the Confederate army.
Retracing his course up the river, Colonel Ellet cap-
tured seven Confederate officers and a third steamer,
the Berwick Bay, laden with stores.
Having burned his prizes and replenished his coal-
bunkers from a barge that had been floated past Vicks-
burg on the night of February 7th, Colonel Ellet in
company with the De Soto, a small ferry-boat partially
protected with cotton and iron, and the barge, went
down the river, destroying all craft and property that
fell in his way. Proceeding up Red River to Atcha-
falaya Bayou, he left the De Soto and the barge at that
point, entered the bayou and destroyed a large quan-
tity of Government property, including a train of army
wagons and seventy barrels of beef. At one time the
Queen of the West was fired on by guerrillas and one
of her officers was wounded. Returning to Red River,
1863. LOSS OF THE QUEEN OF THE WEST. 369
the Queen of the West, with the De Soto, pushed up
that stream and on the morning of February 14th seized
the transport Era No. 5, with two Confederate officers.
On rounding a bluff near Gordon's Landing, seventy-
five miles from the mouth of the river, the Queen of
the West was suddenly fired upon by a battery of four
32- pounders, and in attempting to back out of range
she ran aground in easy reach of the enemy. A shot
soon severed a steam-pipe and compelled the crew to
abandon the ship. This was done without attempting
to burn it, as Ellet was unable to remove a wounded
officer. There being only one boat in the Queen of the
West, most of her men escaped to the De Soto on bales
of cotton.
In her haste to retreat down the river, the De Soto
ran into a bank and lost her rudder, so that the fugi-
tives were compelled to drift with the current, picking
up, from time to time, fugitives from the Queen of the
West as they floated down the stream on bales of cot-
ton. When ten miles from the place of the disaster
the De Soto was overtaken by her yawl, which had
been sent to bring off some of the men from the Queen
of the West. Reaching the place where they had left
the Era No. 5, the fugitives burned the De Soto and
continued their flight in the transport, reaching the
Mississippi on the 15th. On the next day, when eight
miles below Natchez, they met the Indianola, Lieu-
tenant-Commander George Brown, who on the night
of February 12th, with a coal barge on each side, had
run the Vicksburg batteries unscathed. The two Na-
tional vessels now turned downstream, and at Ellis Cliff
met the Confederate gunboat Webb, which was in hot
pursuit of the Era No. 5. A chase followed, but the
Webb soon distanced the Indianola, encumbered as she
was with the coal barges. Arriving at the mouth of
Red River, Brown, on the 18th of February, sent the
Era No. 5 to communicate with the army near Vicks-
burg while he prepared his vessel for an attack from
370 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1863.
the Webb and the Queen of the West by filling his
gangways and casemates with cotton.
When a little below New Carthage, at 9.30 p. M.,
February 24th, the Indianola discovered several steam-
ers in chase of her. They were the Queen of the West,
Captain James McCloskey ; the Webb, Captain Charles
Pierce ; the cottonclad steamer Dr. Batey, Lieutenant-
Colonel Brand, having on board two hundred and fifty
riflemen under Major J. L. Brent ; and the tender
Grand Era. The Confederates determined to attack
under cover of darkness, when the National gunboat
could not fire with accuracy. When a little above
Palmyra Island the Queen of the West, leading the
other Confederate vessels by five hundred yards, at-
tempted to ram the Indianola abaft the port wheel,
but, by backing, Lieutenant-Commander Brown re-
ceived the blow on the coal barge, which was crushed
in, and, being cut adrift, sank. Making downstream,
the Indianola met the Webb, which was coming up the
river at full speed, and a head-on collision took place,
the bow of the latter being crushed in eight feet, but
as this part of her hull had been filled in solid she did
not sink. The Indianola was not seriously injured.
The Webb aimed a second blow, but succeeded only in
carrying away the second barge.
By this time the Queen of the West had turned and
was now coming downstream at full speed with the
intention of ramming the Indianola again, but the
National gunboat also had turned and was heading up-
stream, so that the Confederate ram struck the Indian-
ola a glancing blow on the starboard bow, and as the
Queen of the West passed, Lieutenant-Commander
Brown sent two 9-inch shot into her, killing two and
wrounding four men besides disabling two guns. In the
uncertain light it was exceedingly difficult for those
peering out of the narrow sight-holes in the pilot house
of the Indianola to keep track of so many lively foes,
and it was impossible to fire with any accuracy except
1863. LOSS OF THE INDIANOLA. 371
at close quarters. The Indianola soon received another
blow from the Queen of the West just abaft the wheel-
house, which disabled the starboard rudder. Almost
at the same instant the Webb struck her stern, caus-
ing the water to rush in at an alarming rate. Thus
disabled, Brown ran aground on the west bank and
surrendered, but the Confederates towed their prize
over to the east bank, where she sank near Jefferson
Davis' plantation. In this affair the Indianola had
one killed, one wounded and seven missing, while the
Confederate loss is reported at two killed and five
wounded.
As the Confederates were attempting to raise the
Indianola two days later, the Nationalists above
Vicksburg made a dummy monitor by placing pork
barrels on a coal-barge so as to resemble smokestacks,
and building fires in mud furnaces sent her down the
river at daylight. As she neared the Vicksburg bat-
teries a terrific fire was opened on her, but she passed
unscathed and ran ashore about two and a half miles
above the Indianola. When the Confederate com-
manders saw the "terrible-looking" monitor coming
down they fled precipitately, leaving the Indianola
to her fate, and on the following day, although the
dummy monitor was still hard and fast aground, they
destroyed their prize. Two months afterward, or April
14, the Queen of the West, then commanded by Captain
Fuller, was destroyed in Grand Lake (in Bayou Atcha-
falaya), after a spirited action, by National gunboats,
JSstrella, Calhoun, and Arizona, under the command
of Commander Cook.
By cutting the levee near Delta so as to flood the
surrounding country, it was hoped to enter Yazoo
River through Moon Lake, Cold Water and the Tal-
lahatchie Rivers and attack Vicksburg from that side.
Under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel James H.
Wilson, of the engineers, the work of cutting the levee
was begun February 2d, and the river was let in on the
372 OPERATIONS ON WESTERN RIVERS. 1863.
following evening, but it took several days for the
water to attain its level in the vast territory flooded.
Late in February the following gunboats under the
command of Lieutenant-Commander Watson Smith,
and transports with six thousand troops, were detailed
by Porter for this service : Rattler, flagship ; Chilli-
cothe, Lieutenant-Commander James P. Foster ; De
Kalb. Lieutenant-Commander John G. Walker ; Mar-
mora, Signal, Romeo, Petrel, Forest Rose, and the rams
Lioness and Fulton. After nearly four days' struggle
against overhanging trees and masses of driftwood, the
vessels got as far as Cold Water River. When the
Confederates learned of the expedition they felled
enormous trees across the stream, which so delayed the
gunboats that it was March 6th before they entered
Tallahatchie River.
By this time many of the transports and several of
the gunboats had been seriously injured by this "land
cruise." The smokestacks of the Romeo were carried
away, the Petrel lost her wheel and the Chillicothe
had a plank started under water by running on the
stump of a tree. But despite these injuries the vessels
pushed on and approached Fort Pemberton on the llth
of March. This fort was hastily constructed of earth
and cotton and mounted one 6'4-inch rifled gun, some
field pieces, and three 20-pounder Parrott rifled guns,
under the command of Lieutenant F. E. Shepperd, of
the Confederate Navy. The channel was obstructed
by a raft and the hull of the Star of the West, the little
steamer that had been fired on by the Confederates in
Charleston early in 1861.
As the river was so narrow at this point that only
one gunboat at a time could act freely, the CTiillicotJie,
at 10 A. M. on March llth, advanced and opened a
heavy fire on Fort Pemberton, but in a short time she
was struck twice on the turret, and she retired in order
to get cotton bales for additional protection. At 4.25
P. M. she returned with the De Kalb, but soon after-
1863. ATTACK OX FORT PEMBERTON. 373
ward a shell struck the muzzle of her port 11-inch gun
just as the gunners had entered a shell and were strip-
ping the patch from the fuse. Both shells exploded at
the same instant, killing two men and wounding eleven.
After the Chillicothe had received a shot that killed a
man she drew out of range, Lieutenant-Commander
Foster reporting four killed and fifteen wounded. The
next day was spent in preparing for another attack,
and at 11.30 A. M. on March 13th the Chillicothe and
the De Kalb again came into action. After maintain-
ing a severe fire until 2 P. M. the Chillicothe retired,
having been struck forty-four times ; but the De Kalb
still kept up the fight, firing every fifteen minutes,
although getting no reply. The attack was renewed
on the following day by the Chillicothe and the De
Kalb, but they were badly cut up and compelled to
retire, the former having four killed and sixteen wound-
ed, and the latter three killed and three wounded. On
March 15th a gun from the De Kalb was landed and
placed in a battery, but on the 18th the expedition was
abandoned and the gunboats retreated.
Meantime Porter, with the Louisville, Lieutenant-
Commander E. K. Owen ; the Cincinnati. Lieutenant
George M. Bache ; the Carondelet, Lieutenant John
M. Murphy ; the Mound City, Lieutenant Byron Wil-
son ; the Pittsburgh, Lieutenant William R. Hoel, and
four mortar boats and four tugs, attempted to reach
the Yazoo below Yazoo City. Entering Steele's Bayou
March 16th, the vessels forced their way through the
bushes and trees of Black Bayou and up Deer Creek
to Rolling Fork, where the enemy began felling trees,
not only to prevent a further advance, but to cut off
the retreat of the gunboats. Finding that it was im-
possible to carry out his plans, Porter, on the 20th of
March, began a difficult retreat and narrowly escaped
losing his entire squadron.
CHAPTER XII.
THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED.
WHILE this indecisive warfare was taking place in
the upper Mississippi, Farragut was attending to his
extensive command in the Gulf ; but on the 14th of
March, 1863, he appeared with his fleet at Port Hudson
and determined to run past the place. The batteries at
this point, on a bluff about a hundred feet high, mount-
ed two 10-inch and two 8-inch columbiads, two 42-
pounders, two 32-pounders, three 24-pounders and
eight rifled guns. The National vessels formed in
pairs, each of the heavier ones taking a gunboat on its
port side, excepting the Mississippi: the Hartford
(flagship), Captain James Shedden Palmer, and the
Albatross, Lieutenant-Commander John E. Hart ; the
Richmond (the slowest ship), Captain James Alden,
and the Genesee (the fastest vessel), Commander Wil-
liam Henry Macomb ; the Monongahela, Captain James
Paterson McKinstry, and the Kineo, Lieutenant-Com-
mander John Watters; and the Mississippi, Captain
Melancton Smith.
As these vessels drew near the enemy at eleven
o'clock that night, six mortar schooners, with the Es-
sex, Commander Charles Henry Bromedge Caldwell,
and the Sachem, took a position and opened a heavy
fire on the lower batteries. When the fleet was in
range the batteries opened a fire, to which the ships
responded with their bow guns and the howitzers in
their tops. Large bonfires were lighted along the
shores, and the dense smoke in the damp night air set-
tled on the river, causing an impenetrable gloom and
374
1863. FARRAGUT PASSES PORT HUDSON. 375
throwing the line of battle into confusion. Being in the
lead, the Hartford was able to push ahead of the smoke;
but when she got to the bend in the river her bow
was caught by the five-mile current and she was nearly
carried ashore, her stern actually touching ground
under the guns of a battery. By the assistance of her
consort the flagship backed clear and again headed up-
stream, passing beyond the line of fire with only one
man killed and two wounded. One marine fell over-
board, and although his cries for help were heard in
the other ships, he could not be saved. Just as the
Richmond and the Genesee had reached the last bat-
tery and were about to turn, a plunging shot came into
the berth deck of the former, pierced a pile of hawsers
and clothes bags, entered the engine room, displaced the
starboard safety valve, and, twisting the lever of the
port safety valve, threw it partly open. The escaping
steam quickly filled the fire room and berth deck and
reduced the pressure to nine pounds, which made it
impossible for the Richmond to stem the current, even
with the aid of her consort, and she was compelled
to retreat. In doing this Captain Alden had to run
the gantlet of the enemy's batteries again, besides
taking great risks of being fired into by the other Union
vessels. The RicJimond had three men killed and fif-
teen wounded, Lieutenant-Commander Andrew Boyd
Cummings being among the latter. He was mortally
hurt while cheering his men.
When the MonongaTiela and the Kineo were under
fire of one of the heaviest Confederate batteries, a shot
disabled the latter's rudder, and soon afterward the
Monongahela ran aground. The Kineo, still having
headway, broke adrift from her consort and also ran
aground a short distance below. At this moment a
shot carried away the bridge under Captain McKinstry,
throwing him to the deck, disabled. Lieutenant Na-
thaniel W. Thomas succeeded to the command of the
ship and conducted himself with credit. The Monon-
376 THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED. 1863.
gahela remained in this condition nearly half an hour,
when the Klneo, getting afloat again, managed to tow
her off ; but Lieutenant-Commander Watters, finding
that it was impossible to steer his craft, drifted out of
action. No one on board was injured. The Monon-
galiela continued up the river until near the bend,
when a crank-pin became heated and she also drifted
helplessly out of action, sustaining a loss of six killed
and twenty-one wounded.
The Mississippi, which was the last vessel in line,
passed the batteries and was approaching the bend at
full speed when she ran hard and fast aground. After
thirty-five minutes spent in a vain endeavor to get her
afloat, during which she was subjected to a terrific fire,
Captain Smith decided to abandon her, and when every
one had been set ashore a fire was started in the for-
ward storeroom ; but before the flames had made seri-
ous headway three shot pierced the hull below the
water line and the inrushing water extinguished the
flames. The ship was then fired aft, and when assured
that she would be destroyed Captain Smith left her.
At 3 A. M. she drifted down the river, and at 6.30 A. M.
blew up. Her loss was reported to be twenty-five killed
and many wounded. Such was the fate of Perry's flag-
ship in his expedition to Japan. The Missouri, a sister
ship, was burned twenty years before at Gibraltar.
After communicating with General Banks, Farragut
proceeded up the river with the Hartford and the Al-
batross. At Grand Gulf these vessels were fired on by
four rifled guns and sustained a loss of two killed and
six wounded. Farragut arrived below Yicksburg March
20th, where he was joined by the ram Switzerland,
Colonel Charles Rivers Ellet, which ran the batteries
on the 25th. The ram Lancaster, Lieutenant-Colonel
John A. Ellet, also attempted to run the gantlet, but
she was sunk, her men floating down the river on bales
of cotton. On the 31st of March the three vessels went
down the river, destroying a large number of boats, and
1863. PORTER PASSES VICKSBURG. 377
at Grand Gulf the Confederate batteries fired on them,
killing one man in the Switzerland. Reaching Port
Hudson on April 6th, Farragut was anxious to com-
municate with the rest of his squadron and General
Banks, from whom he had been separated three weeks.
As the ordinary means of signaling were futile, Farra-
gut's secretary, Mr. Gabaudan, on the night of April
7th got into a skiff covered with twigs so as to resem-
ble driftwood, and, lying in the bottom with a revolver
and a paddle by his side, he floated past the batteries
unmolested, although at one time some Confederate
sentinels put off in a boat to examine his craft. On
the 8th of April Farragut captured a Confederate
steamer at the mouth of Red River, and from this time
a vigorous patrol of that stream was maintained and
the enemy's communications interrupted. Soon after-
ward Farragut returned to the Gulf, leaving Porter in
charge of the fleet in the upper Mississippi.
On the night of April 16th Porter ran the batteries
at Vicksburg with the gunboats Benton (flagship), Lieu-
tenant-Commander James A. Greer; the Lafayette,
Captain Henry Walke ; the Louisville, Lieutenant-
Commander Elias K. Owen ; the Mound City, Lieuten-
ant Byron Wilson ; the Pittsburgh, Acting- Volunteer-
Lieutenant William R. Hoel ; the Carondelet, Acting-
Lieutenant John McLeod Murphy ; the Tuscumbia,
Lieutenant-Commander James W. Shirk ; the General
Price, Commander Selim E. Woodworth ; and the army
transports Silver Wave, Henry Clay and Forest Queen
and the tug Joy. An officer in the Lafayette wrote :
"The firing began at 10.55 P. M. and continued about
an hour and a quarter, during which a perfect tornado
of shot and shell continued to shriek over our deck and
among all the vessels of the fleet. Five hundred, per-
haps a thousand, shot were discharged, but not more
than one in ten struck or did any damage to the fleet.
They mostly went over. On running out the guns a
good view could be had through the ports of the rebel
3Y8 THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED. 1863.
batteries, which now flashed like a thunderstorm along
the river as far as the eye could see ; but the incessant
spatter of rifle balls, the spray from falling shot, the
thunder of steel-pointed projectiles upon our sides, did
not incline one to take a very protracted view of the
scenery. A few discharges of grape, shrapnel and per-
cussion shell was all we could afford at the time to be-
stow upon our rebel friends in exchange for their com-
pliments. At each round the Confederate artillerymen
gave a shout, which seemed surprisingly near. At one
time we could not have been one hundred yards from
the Vicksburg wharves. Our vessel, with the steamer
and barge lashed to our starboard side, became almost
unmanageable, drifted in the eddy and turned her head
square round, looking the batteries in the face. At
this time we seemed to be receiving their concentrated
flre at less than a hundred yards from the shore. The
smoke from our own and the rebel guns, with the glare
of the burning buildings from the opposite shore, ren-
dered it difficult for the pilots to make out the direction
we were going. The enemy, supposing we were disabled,
set up a fiendish yell of triumph. We soon, however,
backed round, and once more presented our broadside
to them, and slowly drifted past, as if in contempt of
their impotent efforts. Shells burst all around the
pilot-house, and at one time John Denning, our pilot,
was literally baptized with fire. He thought himself
killed, but he brushed the fire from his head and found
he was unhurt." The vessels passed without serious
injury, excepting the transport Henry Clay, which took
fire and sank. On the night of the 22d six more army
transports ran the batteries, but one of them sank.
On the 29th of April the gunboats Benton, Tuscum-
bia, Louisville, Carondelet, Lafayette, Mound City
and Pittsburgh attacked the Confederate batteries at
Grand Gulf, which now mounted two 8-inch and two
7-inch rifled guns, one rifled 100-pounder gun, two 32-
pounders, one 30-pounder rifled gun and five light guns.
1863. ATTACK ON FORT DE RUSSY. 379
After a spirited fire of five and a half hours, when the
enemy was nearly silenced, Porter retired with a loss
of seven killed and nineteen wounded in the Benton,
five killed and twenty-four wounded in the Tuscumbia,
six killed and thirteen wounded in the Pittsburgh and
one wounded in the Lafayette. On the same night
Porter ran the batteries, with the loss of one killed in
the Mound City, and assisted the army in crossing the
river at Bruinsburg. On the 30th of April the gunboats
above Vicksburg, under the command of Lieutenant-
Commander Kidder Randolph Breese, opened a heavy
fire on Haines's Bluff to divert the enemy's attention
from Grand Gulf. The Choctaw, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Francis Munroe Ramsay, was struck forty- six
times. Early in May the enemy evacuated Grand Gulf.
On the 4th of May the gunboats Albatross, Lieu-
tenant-Commander John E. Hart, Calhoun, Clifton,
Arizona and Estrella, Lieutenant-Commander Au-
gustus P. Cooke, attacked Fort De Russy. The Al-
batross, running within five hundred yards of the
battery, for forty minutes maintained a spirited fire,
when she was compelled to retire, having been hulled
eleven times and having two men killed and four
wounded. The Benton, the Lafayette, the Pittsburgh
and the General Price, under Porter, came to their
assistance the next day, but the fort was found to be
deserted, and shortly afterward Alexandria was occu-
pied by the National forces.
While making a reconnoissance down the Atcha-
falaya, the Switzerland, Lieutenant-Colonel J. A. Ellet,
was fired upon at Simmesport by Confederate artillery,
June 3, 1863, and several of her men were injured.
The next day Captain Walke, in the Lafayette, with
the Pittsburgh, shelled the Confederates from their
position and destroyed their camp.
During the attack on Port Hudson, May 27th, a
battery of four 9-inch shell guns was handled with
great spirit by a detachment of seamen from the Rich-
380 THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED. 1863.
mond and the Essex, under the command of Lieuten-
ant-Commander Edward Terry, while from May 23d to
June 26th half a dozen mortar schooners, with the Es-
sex and Carondelet, kept up a heavy fire on Port Hud-
son. The De Kalb, Lieutenant-Commander John G.
Walker, destroyed property in Yazoo City and a vessel
three hundred and ten feet long.
On the day when Grant assaulted Vicksburg, May
22d, the gunboats under Porter opened a heavy fire on
the enemy and received some damage in return. While
engaging the batteries on the 27th of May, the Cincin-
nati, Lieutenant George M. Bache, was pierced below
the water line by several shot. When the vessel was
under this heavy fire Quartermaster Frank Bois went
out of the casemate and coolly nailed the colors to the
stump of the flagstaff. Before the Cincinnati could
be properly secured to the bank she sank. Her loss
was five killed, fourteen wounded and fifteen missing.
During the siege of Vicksburg thirteen heavy guns
were landed from the flotilla and did good service
under Lieutenant-Commanders Thomas Oliver Self-
ridge, Jr., and John G. Walker, and Acting-Masters
Charles B. Dahlgren and J. Frank Keed. These guns
fired one thousand shells into Vicksburg. A 9-inch, a
10- inch and a 100-pounder rifled gun on a scow, under
the 'orders of Lieutenant-Commander Francis M. Ram-
say, enfiladed the batteries. In his official report Porter
says : " The mortar-boats were under charge of Gun-
ner Eugene Mack, who for thirty days stood at his
post, the firing continuing night and day. He per-
formed his duty well, and merits approval. The labor
was extremely hard, and every man at the mortars was
laid up with sickness owing to excessive labor. After
Mr. Mack was taken ill, Ensign Miller took charge and
conducted the firing with marked ability. We know
that nothing conduced more to the end of the siege than
the mortar-firing, which demoralized the Confederates,
killed and wounded a number of persons, killed the
1863. DONALDSONVILLE. 381
cattle, destroyed property of all kinds and set the city
on fire. On the last two days we were enabled to reach
the outer works of the enemy by firing heavy charges
of twenty-six pounds of powder ; the distance was three
miles, and the falling of shells was very annoying to the
rebels. To use the words of the Confederate officer, * our
shells intruded everywhere.' " On July 4, 1803, Vicks-
burg surrendered, and five days later Port Hudson fell.
While the siege of Port Hudson was in progress the
Princess Royal, Commander Melanchton Brooks Wool-
sey, and the Winona, Lieutenant-Commander Aaron
Ward Weaver, gave great assistance, repelling the Con-
federate attack on the fort at Donaldsonville, June 28th.
The Kineo arrived on the scene later. Two days before
the surrender of Port Hudson the Monongahela, Com-
mander Abner Read, was fired upon by a masked bat-
tery of fieldpieces, by which two of her men were killed
and four wounded, among the latter being her com-
mander (mortally) and Captain Thornton A. Jenkins.
On the day that Vicksburg fell an overwhelming
force of Confederate troops made a sudden attack on
the garrison of four thousand men, under Major-
General B. M. Prentiss, at Helena, Having broken
through the National center, the Confederates were
pressing down a hillside, confident of capturing the
post. At this moment Lieutenant-Commander James
M. Pritchett, commanding the Tyler, took a position
where his guns bore on the enemy and then opened a
terrific fire. " The slaughter of the enemy at this time
was terrible, and all unite in describing the horrors of
that hillside and the ravines after the battle as baffling
description, the killed being literally torn to pieces by
shell, and the avenging fire of the gunboat pursued the
enemy two or three miles to his reserve forces, creating
a panic there which added not a little to the end of
victory."1 The enemy was repelled with a loss of four
1 Official report of Lieutenant-Commander S. Ledyard Phelps.
382 THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED. 1864.
hundred killed and eleven hundred prisoners. This
was the third instance in which this gallant little gun-
boat figured prominently in retrieving the fortunes of
the Union army — first at Belmont, again at Pittsburg
Landing and finally at Helena. Shortly afterward the
De Kalb, while ascending Yazoo River, was sunk by
a torpedo. A month before this, June 6th, the Choc-
taw, Lieutenant-Commander Ramsay, rendered ma-
terial assistance in routing the Confederates after their
successful attack on a brigade of negro troops at Mil-
liken's Bend. About six weeks later Lieutenant-Com-
mander Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., entered Red River
and proceeded up Tensas River as far as Tensas Lake,
and by Ouachita River reached Harrisonburg, destroy-
ing much public property and four steamers. In Au-
gust, Lieutenant Bache went two hundred and fifty
miles up White River with the gunboats Lexington,
Cricket and Marmora. The Cricket went forty miles
up Little Red River and returned, having one man
killed and eight wounded by sharpshooters.
Early in March, 1864, Rear- Admiral Porter accom-
panied General Banks' expedition against Shreveport
up Red River, with the following gunboats : Essex,
Commander Robert Townseud ; Eastport, Lieutenant-
Commander S. Ledyard Phelps ; Black Hawk, Lieu-
tenant-Commander K. Randolph Breese ; Lafayette,
Lieutenant-Commander James P. Foster ; Benton,
Lieutenant-Commander James A. Greer ; Louisville,
Lieutenant-Commander Elias K. Owen ; Carondelet,
Lieutenant-Commander John G. Mitchell ; Osage, Lieu-
tenant-Commander Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr. ; Ouachita,
Lieutenant-Commander Byron Wilson ; Lexington,
Lieutenant George M. Bache ; Chillicothe, Acting-
Volunteer-Lieutenant Joseph Couthony ; Pittsburgh,
Acting- Volunteer-Lieutenant WilliarnR. Hoel; Mound
City, Acting- Volunteer-Lieutenant Amos R. Lang-
thorne ; Neosho, Acting- Volunteer-Lieutenant Samuel
Howard ; Ozark, Acting-Master George W. Browne ;
1864. RED RIVER EXPEDITION. 383
Fort Hindman, Acting- Volunteer- Lieu tenant John
Pearce ; Cricket, Acting-Master Henry H. Gorringe ;
Gazelle, Acting- Master Charles Thatcher. This magni-
ficent flotilla, with a large fleet of transports, began the
ascent of Red River on the 12th of March. Lieutenant-
Commander Phelps, with the lighter gunboats, forcing
his way through the obstructions eight miles below
Fort De Russy, arrived opposite that place on the 14th,
and dropped a few shells just before the fort was car-
ried by troops who had marched from Sirnmesport.
The expedition reached Alexandria on the loth and
the 16th, where a garrison was established, and Porter,
with the Cricket, the Fort Hindman, the Lexington,
the Osage, the Neosho and the CTiillicothe, pressed for-
ward, and in spite of the low water and extremely diffi-
cult navigation reached Springfield Landing on the 10th
of April. There he learned that the National troops
had been checked at Pleasant Hill and were retreating,
which compelled the gunboats to begin their difficult
retreat of four hundred miles in the heart of the ene-
my's country. On the 12th of April two thousand Con-
federate troops made a furious attack on the Osage, the
Lexington and six transports (the Osage and two of the
transports being aground), but were repelled with heavy
loss. On the 15th the Eastport was sunk by a torpedo,
but after great exertions by her officers and crew she
was raised on the 21st and moved some distance down
the stream. The vessel had been so damaged, however,
that on the 26th Lieutenant Phelps destroyed her. At
this moment the gunboats accompanying her — the
Cricket, the Juliet and the Fort Hindman— and two
pump -boats were attacked by the Confederates, but the
enemy was repelled. Five miles above Cane River these
vessels were roughly handled by a heavy battery. Por-
ter, being in the Cricket, made a dash past the battery,
and although his vessel was struck thirty-eight times
and sustained a loss of twenty-five killed or wounded
in a crew of fifty, he rejoined his squadron. The Juliet
331 THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED. 1864.
had fifteen killed or wounded, and the Fort Hindman
three killed and five wounded.
When the vessels reached Alexandria it was found
that the water had fallen so low that it was impossible
to pass the rapids. Destruction seemed to await this
magnificent fleet, but under the direction of Lieutenant-
Colonel Joseph Bailey, and with the assistance of sev-
eral hundred troops from a Maine regiment, a dam was
built across the stream, and from the 9th to the 13th of
May the gunboats were passed over the rapids and
saved. For this invaluable service Bailey was promoted
to the rank of Brigadier- General. The Pittsburgh, the
Mound City, the Louisville, the Carondelet and the
OzarTc were stripped of their iron plating, which, to-
gether with eleven 32-pounders, was thrown into the
river. Before the fleet reach a place of safety the
gunboats Comngton, Lieutenant Lord, and Signal,
Lieutenant Morgan, and the transport Warner were
attacked, and after a heroic defense they were cap-
tured, the Comngton having had forty-four killed,
wounded or missing out of a complement of seventy-
six men. From this time to the close of the war Red
River remained in Confederate hands, but wras carefully
blockaded. Porter was relieved of his command, and
Captain Alexander M. Pennock was left in charge.
While stationed at Tunica Bend, near Port Hudson,
the tinclad Naiad, Ac ting- Master Hubbell, and the
General Bragg were suddenly fired upon at daylight, x
June 24th, by a battery of 6-pounders that had been
captured from General Banks. The National gunboats
promptly responded, and for about an hour maintained
a heavy fire, when at the approach of the monitor
Winnebago the enemy fled. The General Bragg was
uninjured, but the Naiad was badly cut up, having
her pilot-house, armory and dispensary destroyed.
One of her pilots was mortally wounded, and Mr. Hub-
bell was severely injured below the right knee.
On the 24th of June, 1864, Lieutenant Bache left
1864. BACHE'S SPIRITED ATTACK. 385
Duval's Bluff with a number of troops in transports
convoyed by the Tyler and the tinclads Naumkeag
and Fawn, but before he had gone twenty miles he
picked up two men who had escaped from the light-
draught steamer Queen City, which had been captured
by the Confederates only five hours before. Sending
back the transports, Lieutenant Bache formed his three
vessels in line of battle and boldly attacked a battery
of seven field-pieces and two thousand Confederate
troops who were advantageously posted near Clarendon.
Steaming past the battery, the Tyler and the Fawn re-
ceived shot in their pilot-houses, and the latter's pilot
was killed. Soon afterward another shot entered the
Fawn's pilot-house. The Tyler and Naumkeag, after
passing the battery, returned to the assistance of
their consort and put the enemy to flight. This was
the battery that had taken the Queen City by surprise
and disabled her engines at the first fire, and killed two
and wounded eight of her men. The other boats had
three killed and fifteen wounded.
On the 1st of November Captain Samuel Phillips
Lee succeeded to the command of the Western flotilla.
The removal of the seat of war to the east of Mis-
sissippi River made the patrol of the Western waters
even more hazardous than before, as roving bands of
guerillas were able to plant masked batteries along the
banks and open fire on unsuspecting gunboats and trans-
ports. Early in November the Confederates erected a
battery on the upper Tennessee, which cut off eight
transports and the little gunboats Key West, Elfin and
TawaTi, commanded by Lieutenant King, from the sup-
port of the larger Union gunboats below. The gunboat
Undine also fell into the hands of the enemy and was
destroyed. On November 4th, Lieutenant-Commanders
Shirk and Leroy Fitch attacked the batteries with
some light gunboats, while Lieutenant King opened
fire from above ; but although fighting gallantly and
being repeatedly struck, the gunboats could not dis-
70
386 THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED. 1864-1865.
lodge the enemy. To prevent his vessels from falling
into the hands of the Confederates, Lieutenant King
destroyed them.
Acting-Master Gilbert Morton, on October 28th, ren-
dered valuable assistance to the Union troops under
General Granger when they were attacked by the Con-
federates above Muscle Shoals. On December 4th, Fitch,
with the Carondelet and the Fair play, opened an
effective fire on Hood's troops that were advancing
upon Nashville. On the 6th he engaged a battery with
the Neosho and the Carondelet, the former being struck
by more than a hundred shot. Our gunboats also
played an important part in the attack on Hood's army
on the 15th, Lieutenant Moreau Forrest assisting greatly
in cutting off the enemy's retreat.
In April, 1865, the Webb, Lieutenant-Commander
Charles W. Read, ran the blockade at the mouth of
the Red River and attempted to get to sea with a load
of cotton, and actually got twenty-three miles beyond
New Orleans before she was captured. In June,
1865, the small Confederate naval force in Red River
surrendered, and on the 14th of August Captain Lee
was relieved of his command and most of the vessels
of the Western flotilla were sold.
CHAPTER XIII.
ATTACK ON THE WYOMING.
WHILE these stirring scenes were taking place In
the United States an incident occurred in Japan which
was attended with most serious circumstances. At the
outbreak of the civil war the Government ordered the
steam frigate Wyoming, Commander David Stockton
McDougal, to cruise in Asiatic waters and keep a
sharp lookout for Confederate commerce destroyers.
McDougal entered the navy in 1828, and when Mare
Island was purchased by the Government for a navy
yard he was in command of the storeship Warren at
San Francisco, Commander David Glasgow Farragut
being ordered to that station. As the place then was
destitute of quarters for officers, Farragut and his
family became the guests of McDougal aboard the
Warren.1 In 1860 McDougal was ordered to com-
mand the Wyoming, then at Panama, in place of Cap-
tain John K. Mitchell, who entered the Confederate
service. The Wyoming was a sister ship to the Kear-
sarge, which also was engaged in the same duty in
European waters. She carried two 11-inch Dahlgren
guns on pivots amidship, and had four 32-pounders in
the broadside. Her complement was one hundred and
sixty men.
About the time of the Wyoming's arrival in Eastern
waters the edict of the Mikado of Japan expelling
foreigners was in force. Availing themselves of the
opportunity this edict gave them to embroil the
1 Mrs. D. McDougal Van Voorhis to the author.
387
388 ATTACK ON THE WYOMING. 1863.
Mikado in trouble with some foreign power, the
Choshiu clansmen began the erection of batteries at
the Straits of Shimonoseki. "The Straits of Shimono-
seki form the western entrance into the inland sea and
divide the great islands of Hondo and Kiushiu. They
are three miles long and from one half to one mile
wide, the navigable channel being from three to seven
hundred feet wide. The town, of eighteen thousand
inhabitants, consists chiefly of one very long street at
the foot of bold bluffs, except that in the center the
houses completely encircle and cover two or three
small hills, and cluster thickly in a ravine. . . . Some
have called it * the Gibraltar of the Japanese Medi-
terranean.' The tide in its ebb and flow runs like a
mill race at the rate of five miles an hour, and the
violent oscillations acting upon the numerous sunken
rocks and shoals have, in the course of centuries, fur-
nished an appalling list of wrecks and great loss of life.
Every landmark in the region is eloquent or ominous
with traditions of gloom. ... On one of the rocky
ledges stands the monument of the young Emperor
Antoku, drowned in the great naval battle (A. D. 1185)
between the Genji and the Heike, the white and red
flags, where possibly one thousand war ships fought
together."1
On commanding bluffs from fifty to one hundrecL^
feet high and overlooking this "terror to navigation "
the Choshiu men erected seven batteries mounting from
two to seven guns each, mostly 32-pounders, and a few
12- and 24-pounders. Some of the guns were 8-inch
Dahlgrens, a present from our Government. Besides
this the warlike clansmen had purchased the iron
steamer Lancefield, the bark Daniel Webster and the
brig LanricJc. On the steamer they mounted four
guns, on the bark six and on the brig four, mostly 24-
pounders.
1 William Elliot Griffis, in Century Magazine.
1863. FIRING ON FOREIGNERS. 389
On June 25, 1863, the clansmen had the first oppor-
tunity to show their power. On that day the Ameri-
can steamer Pembroke, from Yokohama for Nagasaki,
entered the straits, but instead of attempting the pas-
sage when the tide was in force, she followed the cus-
tom of dropping anchor and waiting for slack water.
Soon after the Pembroke came to, the Daniel Webster
moved by and dropped anchor a short distance from
her. No suspicions of foul play seem to have been
entertained by the master of the Pembroke, for he had
shown his colors, and his pilot had been furnished by
the Government at Tokio.
About an hour after midnight the bark, without the
slightest warning, opened fire on the Pembroke, and
soon the Lanrick approached, her crew shouting, and
anchoring near the bark, opened on the steamer.
Realizing that the Japanese were determined to sink
his vessel, the master of the Pembroke retraced his
course and eluded his assailants. Complaint was made
to the officials at Tokio, and indemnity to the amount
of ten thousand dollars was demanded and paid.
Two weeks after the attack on the Pembroke, or
July 8th, the French dispatch boat Kien-cJiang an-
chored at the entrance to the straits to await the turn
of the tide, just as the American steamer had done.
Without warning, the batteries opened fire, seven shot
taking effect. The Frenchmen then lowered a boat to
inquire the reason for the attack, but it had scarcely
left the ship's side when it was sunk by a shot and
several of the men killed. With great difficulty the
Kien-chang, in a sinking condition, reached Nagasaki,
where the affair was reported to the commander of the
Dutch cruiser Medusa, Captain de Cassembroot.
The Medusa approached the straits in daylight on
July llth. "No sooner was the Medusa opposite to
the brig, than the Lanrick, which flew the flag of
Nagato, the bark Daniel Webster and the heavy bat-
tery of Sennenji, mounting six guns, opened simul-
390 ATTACK ON THE WYOMING. 1863.
taneously. In a few minutes the frigate was within
the concentrated fire of six batteries. What most
astonished the Hollanders were the projectiles, such
size and weight being undreamed of. The splendid
abilities of the Japanese artillerists and the rapidity of
their fire were astonishing. To find 6- and 8-inch
shells exploding on their ship was a novelty to the
Dutchmen in the Eastern World, and showed that the
Japanese were up to the times. With his port broad-
side Captain de Cassembroot illustrated true 'Dutch
courage' for an hour and a half. Unable on account
of his draft to attack the ships directly, he passed on
his way. The Medusa was hit thirty-one times. Seven
shots pierced the hull, sending bolts and splinters in
showers about the decks. Three 8-inch shells burst on
board. The long-boat, cutter and smokestack were
ruined. Four men were killed and five wounded."1
For this service — although it is difficult to discover just
what service was performed — Captain de Cassembroot,
on his return to Europe, was knighted and his crew
received medals of honor. The Medusa was a much
heavier war ship than the Wyoming.
Nine days after this the French gunboat Tancrede
while swiftly steaming through the straits was fired
upon and struck three times ; and not long afterward a
Japanese steamer — mistaken for a foreigner — was at-
tacked, burned and sunk by the batteries, the bodies
of nine officers and nineteen seamen who were killed
being swept out to sea.
This firing on unsuspecting vessels from a safe emi-
nence of fifty to one hundred feet, of course, was great
sport for the Choshiu clansmen, but their day of reck-
oning was coming. The word "reckoning" having
been ascribed by our English cousins as being charac-
teristically Yankee, we need feel no surprise in finding
the avenger to be the American war craft Wyoming.
1 William Elliot Griffis, in Century Magazine.
1863. McDOUGAL IN ACTION. 391
Commander McDougal was a true American sea-
man. He was a man who did not know what fear
was, which, combined with a clear insight into the
motives for action, made an ideal officer. He was a
contemporary of Rear- Admirals John Rodgers, Middle-
ton, Alden and Case. While on board the Natchez,
in the harbor of Pensacola, engaged in surveying, he
gave an exhibition of dauntless courage which was a
marked characteristic all his life. The bay at the time
was alive with sharks, especially around the ship,
where they swarmed ready to snatch the mess refuse
thrown overboard. One day the cry "Man over-
board ! " startled the ship's company. Without hesi-
tation McDougal whipped off his coat, jumped into
the water, and managed to keep the man afloat and
fight off the sharks until a boat came to the rescue.1
When the news of the attack on the Pembroke
reached Commander McDougal he was under orders to
return home with the Wyoming, but this affair deter-
mined him in proceeding immediately to the scene of
hostilities. Accordingly he dropped anchor at the
eastern end of the straits on the evening of July 15th,
having first learned that the Lancefield drew no more
water than his ship. Early the next morning the
Wyoming rounded a point of land, when one of the
batteries opened fire, the first shot striking the ship
just above the engine room, cutting away some rigging
— ample evidence of the accuracy of Japanese gunners.
Making no reply to this, the Wyoming steamed on
until she rounded another promontory, when she came
in full sight of the town and within long range of all
the batteries and the Japanese war ships.
Then began the serious work of the day. The
shrewd American commander had noticed a line of
stakes driven into the mud, evidently marking the edge
1 Mrs. D. McDougal Van Voorhis (daughter of Rear-Admiral Mc-
Dougal) to the author.
392 ATTACK ON THE WYOMING. 1863.
of the main channel. Rightly guessing that the enemy
had long got the precise range of this water way, Mc-
Dougal ordered his pilots to take his ship toward the
northern shore, close under the batteries on that side.
The Daniel Webster was anchored close to the town,
the Lanrick about fifty yards beyond, and a length
ahead and near her was the Lancefield. All these
vessels were rigged with kedge anchors and grappling
irons at their yardarms ready to close on the Wyo-
ming and carry her by boarding. Their decks were
crowded with men, shouting and defying the Ameri-
cans to come on.
Making directly for these vessels, McDougal shook
out his colors but reserved his fire, intending to attack
the vessels first and give his attention to the batteries
afterward. The sight of the American flags seemed to
have acted like oil on the fire, for now the Japanese
opened from other batteries with savage ferocity. Mc-
Dougal's shift from the main channel somewhat dis-
concerted their plans, as seen by the fact that most of
their shot took effect in the Wyoming's rigging. Ob-
serving a good opportunity to deliver a few blows,
McDougal opened with his pivots and starboard guns,
and with such effect that one battery was torn to
pieces and silenced at the first broadside.
Keeping steadily on for the ships, the Wyoming
when nearly abreast of the squadron was fired upon
by the Daniel Webster, by which two men, William
Clark and George Watson, who were stationed near
the Wyoming's anchor, were killed, the latter by a
chain shot. About the same time a shot from one of
the batteries came aboard and killed a marine sta-
tioned at the gangway. The Americans were now fir-
ing from every gun in the ship, and with splendid
effect, as was shown by the clouds of earth and broken
gun mountings that were hurled into the air.
Aided by the strong tide the Wyoming swiftly
passed down the straits, so that the Japanese gunners
1863. SINKING THE LANCEFIELD. 393
in the ships, although firing with admirable rapidity,
could discharge no more than three broadsides. One
of their shells killed all the crew of the forward 32-
pounder excepting three men. The captain of the
gun, William Thompson, had his left arm torn off.
Observing that the tackle of this gun had been carried
away, one of the American seamen, Charles J. Murphy,
though badly wounded, bent on new tackle and fought
the gun short-handed until Lieutenant Barton sent him
a few men from the pivot gun. About that time Bar-
ton's sword-guard was struck by a piece of shell and
bent out of shape.
The Wyoming had now passed the ships, when she
rounded to with the intention of making a target of
them, but at this critical juncture she ran aground
where six batteries and the squadron could concentrate
their fire upon her, and for a moment it looked very
much like defeat. The Lancefield was now observed
to slip her cable and steam over to the northern shore,
probably with a view of gathering headway for ram-
ming the helpless American. Realizing the danger,
McDougal directed all his attention to the steamer,
hoping to disable her before she could do the threat-
ened mischief.
Meantime the Wyoming's engines had been re-
versed, and after a powerful effort she was backed
clear of the mud and into deep water. Manoeuvring
as well as the five-knot current and sunken rocks
would admit of, McDougal got his two pivot guns into
play on the Lancefield, and soon 11-inch shells were
doing their awful work on the hull of the steamer. The
second carefully aimed shell from the forward pivot
gun crashed through the side of the Lancefield, one
foot above the water line, pierced the boiler, and came
out on the other side, tearing a great hole in the hull.
As if not satisfied with this work, the shell speeded
over the water and exploded in the town a quarter of a
mile away.
394: ATTACK ON THE WYOMING. 1863.
In an instant the Lancefield was enveloped in a mass
of steam, smoke, flame and cinders. A native boat put
off from her side with a crowd of men, while scores of
other men threw themselves into the sea. Two more
shells were then sent into the Lancefield to insure her
destruction. The pivot guns were then turned on the
Daniel Webster, which ship had been keeping up a
destructive fire. A few well-directed shells settled her
fate, and she followed the Lancefield to the bottom.
McDougal was now able to devote his entire energy to
the shore batteries. He deliberately retraced his course
through the straits, keeping up a most effective fire, so
much so that, although greatly exposed, his vessel was
scarcely injured.
After passing the last battery and getting beyond
the reach of the Japanese guns the Wyoming came to
and the men had time to count their losses. The ac-
tion had lasted just one hour and ten minutes, in which
time the ship had been struck more than twenty times,
ten shot having pierced her hull. Six holes were found
in the smokestack, four shot had taken effect in both
main and fore masts and the rigging was badly injured.
The ship had fired fifty-five rounds, or nearly one for
every minute of the action. Six men were killed and
four wounded. A coal heaver named Michael Lynch
had both legs taken off below the knees. He walked
half the length of the deck and complained of his " toes
hurting him*" before he died. Four days later the
French frigate Semiramis and gunboat Tancrede en-
tered the straits, and after landing a detachment of
two hundred and fifty men captured the batteries.
Speaking of this brilliant action, Griffis says: "To
the Choshiu clansmen, brave and capable as they them-
selves were, it seemed as though McDougal possessed
more than human nerve in thus running his vessel into
the fierce fire which they had prepared for him. Long
afterward they spoke respectfully of the 'American
devils.' They had fought the Dutch frigate, and four
1863. McDOUGAL'S PLUCK. 395
days later were chastised at one point by the French,
but neither of these combats, carried on in mid-chan-
nel at long range, or by a charge after the single bat-
tery had been emptied by long bombardment, so im-
pressed the thinking men of Japan's most intellectual
clan as that of the commander of a single ship coolly
and of choice meeting such overwhelming odds at close
quarters and winning so surprising a victory. The
Choshiu men were noted for their thinking and for the
power of profiting by their reverses, and this time their
profit was great.
"Yet this act of McDougal was not a mere 'run-
ning amuck,' a rash plunge ; it was as cool and scien-
tific a movement, albeit one requiring as much nerve
and courage, as Cushing's attack on the Albemarle.
With Japanese prison cages and torture all foreigners
in Japan of that day were acquainted by daily report.
Even casual walks around Yokohama had made the
American officers familiar with the pillories near the
blood pits, which were almost daily decorated with hu-
man heads. Besides, it had been immemorial law and
custom for the beaten party in Japan to perform Tiara-
Mri ; or, failing, to suffer decapitation. It was a clear
knowledge of these facts that led McDougal, while
shrinking from nothing within the bounds of possibil-
ity, to give an order not mentioned in his amazingly
modest official report. He had only a few days before
seen the American flag hauled down and the legation
of the United States driven from the capital, and this
was humiliation enough for McDougal. Hence he de-
termined neither to see nor to have the like thing done
on the ship he commanded. If boarded or overwhelmed,
or made helpless by grounding or a shot in the boilers,
it was his deliberate purpose to blow up the ship and
all on board, the officer of the powder division being
instructed to that effect."
Speaking of this action, Assistant Secretary of the
Navy Theodore Roosevelt, in a private interview, said,
396 ATTACK ON THE WYOMING. 1863.
"Had that action occurred at any other time than dur-
ing the civil war its fame would have been echoed all
over the world." During her protracted search for the
Alabama in Eastern seas the Wyoming experienced
the usual covert hostility on the part of British fort
officials. On one occasion, when entering Singapore,
she was mistaken for the famous Confederate cruiser,
the result being that every courtesy was shown to her,
the English merchants "sending files of late papers,
flowers, etc."1
Commander Charles J. McDougal, the only son of
McDougal, was drowned March 28, 1881, when off Cape
Meudocino serving as a lighthouse inspector.
The executive officer of the Wyoming in this affair
was Lieutenant George W. Young ; Lieutenant William
Barton, navigator, was in charge of the forward divis-
ion of guns, and Acting- Master John C. Mills com-
manded the after division ; E. R. Denby was surgeon,
George Cochran paymaster (now pay director), Philip
Inch (now chief engineer) was engineer and Walter
Pierce was ensign.
1 Mrs. D. McDougal Van Voorhis to the author.
CHAPTER XIV.
OFF MOBILE BAY.
IN the earlier part of the civil war Mobile Bay was
far removed from the more active naval operations in
the Gulf, and nothing disturbed the quiet of that im-
portant seaport except the occasional rush of the swift
ocean racers that stole past the blockading squadron
and attempted to gain the harbor. Three large rivers
entered this bay, giving unusual facilities for reaching
the interior, and made Mobile the second port of the
Confederacy. The enemy kept up water communica-
tions with New Orleans by means of Mississippi Sound
until the capture of the steamer Anna, early in De-
cember, 1861, and soon afterward that of the P. C.
Wallace by the National gunboat New London, made
this route too hazardous.
The first active fighting before Mobile occurred on
the 29th of January, 1862, when the schooner Wilder,
with a valuable cargo from Havana, was chased ashore
while flying British colors. As the National boats
were removing the cargo a company of Confederate
rangers, under the command of Captain Cottrill, has-
tened down from Mobile, opened a brisk fire, and
drove off the launches with a loss of fifteen to twenty-
five killed or wounded. In the night the gunboats
towed off the Wilder. On the following 28th of June
the British steamer Ann, from St. Thomas, laden with
a valuable cargo of war materials, attempted to run
the blockade under cover of darkness, but was chased
ashore. Her crew escaped after endeavoring to scuttle
the steamer, but her water-tight compartments kept her
397
308 OFF MOBILE BAY. 1862-1864.
afloat and she was captured by the gunboats. August
30th the Winona exchanged a few shells with Fort
Morgan, without much injury to either side, and on
Christmas eve, 1862, the Florida, which had run into
the port on September 4th, opened a long-distance can-
nonade with the New London near Sand Island.
When New Orleans fell, in April, 1862, the Confed-
erates fully believed that the next point of attack
would be Mobile, and they hastened their preparations
accordingly. Realizing the importance of this port,
the authorities at Richmond, early in 1863, ordered
Admiral Franklin Buchanan, who commanded the
Merrimac on the first day of her celebrated battle in
Hampton Roads, to take command of the naval forces
in Mobile Bay. In the spring of 1863 five gunboats
were in course of construction under the direction of
Commander Ebenezer Farrand, at Selma, one hundred
and fifty miles up the Alabama River, which at that
time was the largest naval station in the South. The
ablest engineers in the Confederacy were engaged in
the construction of these vessels. In the winter of
1863-'64 the ram Tennessee, the most formidable iron-
clad completed by the South, was built at SeJma. The
Tennessee was of the type of the Merrimac, but im-
proved. She was two hundred and nine feet over
all, had forty-eight feet beam, and drew over thirteen
feet of water. Her casemate, which rose eight feet
above the deck, was placed amidships and sloped at
an angle of thirty-three degrees to the deck. It was
seventy-eight feet and eight inches long by twenty-
nine feet wide, inside measurement, and was constructed
of yellow-pine beams thirteen inches thick, placed ver-
tically. Over this were five and a half inches of the
same wood in horizontal courses, and on top of that
four inches of oak in vertical courses. Within, the case-
mate was sheathed with two and a half inches of oak.
Over this twenty-five inches of solid wood back-
ing were laid five inches of iron plating on the sides
1863-1864. BUILDING THE TENNESSEE. 399
and stern, and six inches at the forward end of the
casemate. These plates were of the toughest malle-
able iron, made at the Atlanta rolling-mills, two inches
thick, seven inches wide, and twenty-one feet long ;
but where the plating was only five inches deep there
was a single layer of plates one inch thick. This plat-
ing was secured by iron bolts having a diameter of one
inch and a quarter, which ran entirely through the
wood backing and were fastened on the inside of the
casemate with nuts and washers. The pilot-house was
formed by carrying the forward end of the casemate
two feet higher, and was pierced with slits so as to en-
able the line of vision to extend on all sides. The top
of the casemate and pilot-house were covered with
heavy iron grating, while the deck outside the case-
mate was protected by two inches of iron. As an ad-
ditional protection, netting was stretched along the
four sides of the casemate within to prevent splinters
from injuring the gun-crews.
The iron-plated casemate extended two feet below
the water line, and was then bent at the same angle so
as to meet the hull seven feet below water, thus form-
ing a solid knuckle ten feet thick, which protected the
hull from ramming. This knuckle was carried all
around the ship, and, being covered with four inches
of iron, it made a formidable ram at the bow. Massive
sliding shutters five inches thick covered the gun ports
when the guns were run in. This formidable craft was
armed with one 7-inch Brooke rifled gun in the bow
and one in the stern, and on each broadside she carried
two 6.4-inch rifled guns which were cast in the foundry
at Selma, under the supervision of Commander Catesby
ap Rogers Jones. The command of this vessel was
given to Commander James D. Johnston.
The two defective points about the Tennessee were
her low speed and exposed steering-gear. Her high-
pressure engines were designed for a river steamer, and
on her trial trip in March she made only six knots an
400 OFF MOBILE BAY. 1864.
hour. Her steering-gear was laid outside the casemate
and was exposed to an enemy's shot. But these de-
fects were owing to the lack of facilities for construc-
tions of this kind. In his official report Admiral Bu-
chanan says : "I seriously felt the want of experienced
officers during the action." The crew, as finally brought
together, consisted of eighteen officers and one hundred
and ten men.
The conditions under which this craft was built
were singularly like those under which the brigs Law-
rence and Niagara were constructed by Master-Com-
mandant Oliver Hazard Perry on Lake Erie in 1813.
In both cases the vessels were literally hewn out of the
forest, and as the brigs had to be lifted over the bar at
Presque Isle, or Erie, on camels, so it became neces-
sary to raise the Tennessee five feet in order to get her
over the bar at Dog River, where there were only nine
feet of water. The Southern papers expressed the im-
patience of the people at these delays in harsh criti-
cisms, and were daily urging Admiral Buchanan to
attack the National fleet. After great exertions the
timber for the floats was sawed out of the forest, ten
miles up the river, and floated down to Mobile, but just
before they were ready for use they were destroyed by
fire, and the tedious operation had to be repeated.
Besides the Tennessee the Confederates had three
gunboats, which took a share in the battle of August
5th. They were unarmored except around the boilers
and machinery. The first of these was the side-wheel
steamer Morgan, Lieutenant George W. Harrison,
mounting two 7-inch rifled guns and four 32-pounders.
The Gaines, Lieutenant J. W. Bennett, also was a side-
wheel steamer, and mounted one 8-inch rifled gun and
five 32-pounders. The Selma, Lieutenant Peter U.
Murphy, was an open-deck steamer mounting one 6-
inch, two 9-inch and one 8-inch smooth-bore shell guns.
The last was a heavily built steamer, but the other two
were entirely unsuited for war purposes.
1864. A NIGHT ATTACK ATTEMPTED. 401
It was Admiral Buchanan's intention to take the
blockading ships by surprise. The night of May 18th
was selected for the attack, and, having been buoyed
up, the ram was taken in tow by two steamers, one
containing her coal and the other her ammunition, and
carried over the bar and down the bay toward the Na-
tional fleet. All haste was made to prepare her for the
fight, and while she was being towed down the channel
her crew was busily engaged in taking on board her
coal and ammunition. According to the programme
laid out by the Southern papers, the Tennessee was to
destroy the fleet off Mobile Bay, immediately capture
Fort Pickens at Pensacola, and then proceed north-
ward or to New Orleans. It was midnight before
the vessels reached a point down the bay where there
was sufficient water to float the Tennessee, but the tide
had fallen so low that when the floats were cast off the
ram was found to be hard and fast aground. Before
she could be got off daylight revealed her to the Union
fleet, and the advantage of taking it by surprise was
lost. When the next tide floated the Tennessee she
was carried down the channel and anchored under the
guns of Fort Morgan, where she remained until the 5th
of August, her crew improving the interim with daily
practice at the great guns.
Returning from a brief visit in the North, where he
had been resting after his brillliant cervices in Missis-
sippi River, Farragut resumed command of the Gulf
squadron January 18, 1864, the senior officer of the
blockading squadron off Mobile at that time being Cap-
tain Thornton A. Jenkins, of the Richmond. On the
20th of January, Farragut, in the Octorara, Lieutenant-
Commander Lowe, with the Itasca in company, made
a reconnoissance in Mobile Bay, and reported that "if
I had one ironclad I could destroy their whole force."
Early in the year Farragut visited the several stations
of his extensive command, using a light river steamer
called the Tennessee as his flagship ; but from the
71
402 OFF MOBILE BAY. 1864.
middle of May he spent most of his time off Mobile.
He had heard many rumors regarding the strength of
its land and water defenses, and, knowing that the
Confederates were strengthening them by every means
in their power from day to day, he was anxious to
make his attack early in the spring; but the Red
River expedition drew away the only available troops,
and the ironclads necessary for the attack on Mobile
did not arrive until late in the summer. He wrote re-
peatedly to the Government, begging that at least " one
of the many ironclads that are off Charleston and in
the Mississippi," and a few thousand troops, might be
placed under his orders.
By August the defenses of Mobile were among the
most formidable in the South. A brick fort on Dau-
phin Island, called Fort Gaines, built on the ruins of
Fort Tombigbee, defended by eight hundred and sixty-
four men under the command of Colonel Charles D.
Anderson, mounted three 10-inch columbiads, four 32-
pounder rifled guns, and twenty smooth-bore guns
of 32, 24 and 18-pound calibers. Fort Powell com-
manded the principal pass to Mississippi Sound, and
mounted one 10-inch and one 8-inch columbiad and
four rifled guns. The principal fortification was Fort
Morgan, which was an old-fashioned pentagonal brick
work, mounting its guns in three tiers with a full
scarp brick wall four feet eight inches thick, the entire
front being protected by enormous piles of sand-bags.
This fort was built on the site of the little redoubt
called Fort Bowyer, which repelled the British fleet in
1814 with the loss of the war ship Hermes and two hun-
dred men. Fort Morgan proper mounted seven 10-inch,
three 8-inch and twenty-two 32-pounder smooth-bore
guns, and two 8-inch, two 6.5-inch and four 5.82-inch
rifled guns. The exterior batteries mounted four 10-
inch columbiads, one 8-inch rifled gun and two rifled
32-pounders. Within the fort was a citadel, loopholed
for musketry, the brick walls being four feet thick.
1864. DEFENSES OF MOBILE. 403
This fort was commanded by Brigadier-General Rich-
ard L. Page, who had six hundred and forty men.
From Fort Gaines to the edge of the ship channel
was a double line of stakes, the heads of which were
just visible at low water, which prevented light-draught
steamers from entering the bay. Across the ship chan-
nel the Confederates had planted a double row of tor-
pedoes, extending from the western edge of the ship
channel to within three hundred feet of the water bat-
tery at Fort Morgan, the termination of the line being
indicated by a red buoy. This passage was left clear
for blockade-runners. Forty- six of these torpedoes
were lager-beer kegs filled with powder. Four or five
sensitive primers were placed on the upper side, which
would be exploded by a vessel striking them. One
hundred and thirty-four of the torpedoes were tins
shaped like a truncated cone, the lower part being
filled with powder, and the upper part used as an air-
chamber for floating the machine. They were an-
chored with old grate bars. The torpedo would be
exploded by a passing vessel knocking off a cast-
iron cap which pulled the trigger. There were also
nine submarine mortar batteries in course of construc-
tion, under the direction of Brigadier- General G. J.
Rains, and three of them were completed to close the
ship channel.1 Lieutenant-Commander Jouett and
Lieutenant Watson spent some time in dragging for
the torpedoes. They were about seven feet under
water, the fuse being on the upper point of the cone.
One of these fuses was sent to Farragut. He placed
it on his cabin table, but, rolling off, it fell to the deck
and exploded. "Young man," said Farragut to the
person who sent the fuse, "don't send any more of
those infernal machines to me. When it exploded I
thought some one had shot me."
The Confederates made more than one attempt to
1 Official report of Brigadier-General Rains.
404: OFF MOBILE BAY. 1864.
inflict injury on the blockading squadron off Mobile.
Lieutenant James McC. Baker and his brother, Page
M. Baker, offered to go out in a boat on a dark night
with a spar torpedo. Having selected the ship, Lieu-
tenant Baker was to keep the boat in position while
his brother was to dive overboard and explode a tor-
pedo under the ship's water line. The capture of the
Creole under the guns of Fort Pickens by these young
officers, and their other gallant exploits during the
war, sufficiently demonstrated their ability and pluck
to carry out this project, but they failed to get the
necessary permission. To guard against such attacks
as these, Farragut reluctantly resorted to torpedoes.
He wrote : " I have always deemed it [torpedo warfare]
unworthy of a chivalrous nation, but it does not do to
give your enemy such a decided superiority over you."
An attempt was made on the 28th of February,
1864, by the light-draught steamers of the Union squad-
ron to enter Mobile Bay from Mississippi Sound, but
the vessels could not get within effective range of Fort
Powell, and they retired without accomplishing their
purpose. Several shot were exchanged, and four 100-
pound shells struck the mortar schooner John Griffiths
in succession, but fortunately none of them exploded,
and only one man was hurt. The attack, however,
served to divert the enemy's attention from Sherman,
who was then making a raid in Mississippi.
On the night of July 5th Lieutenant John Critten-
den Watson volunteered to lead a boat party against a
blockade-runner that was beached under the guns of
Fort Morgan. Watson was accompanied by Lieutenant
Herbert B. Tyson and Ensigns Dana, Whiting, Glidden
and Pendleton, and Master's-Mate Herrick, while the
Metacomet, Lieutenant-Commander James Edward Jou-
ett, and the Kennebec, Lieutenant-Commander William
Penn McCann, stood in to assist the attacking party.
Under cover of darkness the men pulled boldly under
the guns of the fort, boarded the blockade-runner, fired
1864 PREPARING TO RUN BY FORT MORGAN. 405
her and returned to the fleet without the loss of a man.
Watson also made night explorations in an open boat
under the guns of Fort Morgan to determine the posi-
tion of torpedoes.
By the 4th of August the Union fleet had been in-
creased to twenty-one wooden vessels and four iron-
clads. Farragut had intended to go in that day, but
as the monitor Tecumseh and the Richmond did not
arrive in time the attack was postponed until the next
day. It was only by the greatest exertions that the
commanders of these vessels, which were at Pensacola,
arrived off Mobile on the night of August 4th. Farra-
gut's plan was to pass up the channel close under the
guns of Fort Morgan, and in his general orders he in-
structed the several commanders to place nets in posi-
tion to catch splinters, and to lay chains and sand-bags
along their decks so as to protect the machinery from
plunging shot. He said : "Hang the sheet chains over
the side. Land your starboard boats or lower them on
the port side, and lower the port boats down to the
water's edge. Place a leadsman and a pilot in the port-
quarter boat or the one most convenient to the com-
mander." While at Pensacola the Richmond took
aboard three thousand bags of sand, which were piled
in a barricade several feet thick around the starboard
side from the port bow to the port quarter and from
berth to spar decks, so as to afford additional protec-
tion from a raking fire. Many of the commanders filled
their vacant ports on the starboard side with guns from
the port batteries. Some of the boats were lowered
with sails under them, to take up the concussion and
to catch them in case the falls wrere shot away.
The vessels were ordered to sail in pairs, lashed
together, the larger ship on the starboard and the
smaller vessel on the port side, so that in case either
became disabled the other could be depended upon
for carrying them along : The Brooklyn, Captain
James Alden, with the Octorara, Lieutenant- Com-
406 0FF MOBILE BAY. 1864.
mander Charles H. Greene ; the Hartford, flagship,
Captain Percival Drayton, with the 6-gun double-
ender side- wheel steamer Metacomet, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Jouett ; the 20-gun sloop-of-war Richmond,
Captain Thornton Alexander Jenkins, with the 6-gun
side- wheel steamer Port Royal, Lieutenant-Commander
Bancroft Gherardi ; the 8-gun sloop-of-war Lackawan-
na, Captain John Bonne tt Marchand, with the 8-gun
propeller Seminole, Commander Edward Donaldson;
the 8-gun sloop-of-war Monongahela, Commander
James Hooker Strong, with the 5-gun propeller Kenne-
bec, Lieutenant-Commander McCann ; the 11 -gun sloop-
of-war Ossipee, Commander William Edgar Le Roy,
with the 5-gun propeller Itasca, Lieutenant-Command-
er George Brown ; the 9-gun sloop-of-war Oneida,
Commander James Robert Madison Mullany, with the
10-gun propeller Galena, Lieutenant-Commander Clark
Henry Wells. Farragut at first had intended to lead
the ships in the Hartford, but, yielding to the earnest
solicitations of the officers, he consented to let the
Brooklyn take the post of danger, as she was fitted
with an apparatus for catching torpedoes, and had
four bow guns which could be used to advantage while
approaching the fort. The monitors were to go in sin-
gle file, a little ahead of the wooden ships, in the
following order: the Tecumseh, Commander Tunis
Augustus Maedonough Craven, the Manhattan, Com-
mander James William Augustus Nicholson, the Win-
nebago, Commander Thomas Holdup Stevens, and the
CMckasaw, Lieutenant-Commander George Hamilton
Perkins.
In order that the fleet might hold rapid communi-
cation with the land forces, a number of army signal
officers were sent from New Orleans in a tugboat and
were distributed among the principal vessels. Fifteen
hundred soldiers were landed on Dauphin Island un-
der cover of the guns of the Conemaugh, Lieutenant-
Commander James Charles Philip DeKrafft, August
1864. ON THE EVE OP THE GREAT BATTLE. 407
3d. The steamers Genesee, Pinola, Pembina, Sebago,
Tennessee and Bienmlle, under the command of Lieu-
tenant-Commander Edward C. Graf ton, were instructed
to take a position southeast of Fort Morgan and keep
up a flank fire, but they were unable to get near enough
to the enemy to take an important part in the action.
On the afternoon of August 4th, Farragut, with
the commanders of his vessels, ran into the harbor in
the tender Cowslip to make a final inspection of the
defenses. All around the bay seemed to be quiet
and in readiness to receive the long-expected attack.
The triple tier of cannon at Fort Morgan, protected
by immense piles of sand-bags, frowned upon the
little tender, while the three saucy-looking gunboats
and the bow of the formidable ram Tennessee, just
poking its nose around the point of land, like a great
tiger awaiting its prey, lay above the fort in quiet
readiness. While the Cowslip was making this re-
connoissance a Confederate transport came down the
bay and began landing troops and provisions with an-
other transport at Fort Gaines. Commander Stevens,
of the Winnebago, was ordered to drive her off, but
was cautioned not to approach the fort nearer than a
mile. His orders read : "Get back to your anchorage
before night. We go in a little after daylight in the
morning, so don't use up your crew too much." Run-
ning up to easy range of Fort Gaines, Stevens opened
a well-directed fire on the transports, and drove them
up the bay. The Cowslip then returned to the flag-
ship, and after Farragut had given his final instruc-
tions to his commanders they returned to their several
vessels.
CHAPTER XV.
FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN.
PREPARATIONS for the great battle of Mobile Bay
were now completed. Every precaution that a saga-
cious commander could devise had been taken, and on
the night of August 4th the fleet rode quietly at anchor,
with top-lights glimmering and twinkling through the
rigging as the ships gently swayed with the ocean swell,
in readiness for the morrow. Every one felt the seri-
ousness of the work before him. The seamen dis-
cussed the chances of a battle in quiet tones, or were
leaving last messages or some keepsake with a mess-
mate, in case " something happens to me." In the
earlier part of the evening the officers of the flagship
gathered around the wardroom table, feeling that per-
haps it was the last time they would be together, and
spent the first hour in writing home and in making
their personal arrangements for the battle. This being
done, " there followed an hour of unrestrained jollity.
Many an old story was retold and ancient conundrum
repeated. Old officers forgot for a moment their cus-
tomary dignity, and it was evident that all were ex-
hilarated and stimulated by the knowledge of the com-
ing struggle. There was no other ' stimulation,' for
the strict naval rules prevented. Finally, after a half
hour's smoke on the forecastle, all hands turned in."1
It rained heavily in the evening, but as the night ad-
vanced it cleared up, leaving the atmosphere hot, close
and oppressive, with scarcely a breath of air stirring.
1 Lieut. Kinney, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. iv, p. 386.
408
1864. "IF GOD IS MY LEADER." 499
As the great ships swung restlessly at their anchors the
ebbing and flowing tide played around the cables and
rippled along their black hulls ; the eddies swirling un-
der their quarters like imps of darkness, and then flit-
ting on to the next ship. In the distance, just discern-
ible in the gloom, lay the sullen batteries of Fort
Morgan, with a double force of sentinels pacing back
and forth, ready to fire on any adventurous boat party
or give the alarm at the first approach of the ships.
The National fleet was one of the most formidable
collection of war vessels that at that time had ever been
commanded by one man. Farragut carried in the palm
of his hand more power for destruction than the com-
bined English, French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar.
Yet during the silent watches of that night the great
admiral was restless. However calm he appeared to
his officers and men, he was uneasy on the eve of this
his greatest battle. Descending into the privacy of the
cabin, he made his personal arrangements for the terri-
ble ordeal, and wrote to his wife: "I am going into
Mobile in the morning if God is my leader, as I hope
he is, and in him I place my trust. If he thinks it is
the place for me to die, I am ready to submit to his
will. God bless and preserve you if anything should
happen to me ! "
About midnight a fog rolled in from the Gulf and
enveloped the ships in its dense folds. A little before
daybreak Farragut sent for his steward and asked how
the weather was, and learning that a fresh breeze had
sprung up in the west, which would blow the smoke
from the ships over Fort Morgan, he quietly remarked,
"Then we will go in this morning." And soon after-
ward the merry piping of the boatswain's whistle and
the hoarse cry of "All hands ahoy! Up all ham-
mocks ! " resounded in all corners of the flagship, and
in an instant the sepulchral silence of a few minutes
before had given place to a most spirited scene. Hun-
dreds of men hastened up from the berth deck, bearing
410 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
the hammocks in their arms, and deposited them where
they would best protect the crew from the enemy's
shot or from splinters, after which they hastened to
the performance of their various duties. About this
time the steam launch Loyall, named after Farragut's
wife, "with its pert howitzer in the bow," came along
the port side to receive orders. This work in the Hart-
ford was promptly imitated by all the other vessels in
the fleet, and for a short time the piping of many silver
whistles breaking over the peaceful waters resembled
not a little the chirping of forest birds at daybreak.
By this time the mists of early dawn had been dis-
pelled by a light southwest breeze, and the rays of the
morning sun shone over the scene in unimpeded splen-
dor. In the admiral's cabin, from which had emanated
the orders changing so suddenly the sleeping fleet into
a scene of exhilarating activity, all was quiet and com-
posed. Farragut was breakfasting as calmly as if
nothing unusual were going on. Finally, at 5.30 A. M.,
while sipping his tea, he remarked to his fleet captain,
"Well, Dray ton, we might as well get under way."
In an incredibly short time this simple expression had
been flashed all over the fleet, and "in one minute" all
the ships had made answering signals and were getting
under way. By half past six o'clock the vessels had
crossed the bar, and after a few minutes' delay they
drew out in an imposing line of battle and slowly moved
up the channel. Each ship had colors flying at the
peak and at each masthead, and as the beautiful folds
of the American flags were gently tossed about in the
light breeze, their bright hues gleaming and glancing
in the sunlight, they presented a vision of beauty never
to be forgotten. But the ominous absence of the tom-
pions in the muzzles of the cannon, the silent groups
of men standing beside the monstrous pivot guns in
the bows, the lowering of the topmasts and the absence
of all superfluous rigging, gave the ships a peculiarly
grim and vicious look and too plainly indicated that
1864 THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM. 411
they were entering the harbor strictly on business.
On May 27, 1861, the Natchez Courier said, " Fort Mor-
gan welcomed the Union ships by displaying the United
States flag with the union down and below the Confed-
erate flag." The National fleet was now steaming up
Mobile Bay to inquire about it.
The scene in the flagship at this stage of the action
was thrilling. As the noble Hartford drew near to un-
dergo her part in the battle she seemed to nerve her-
self for the terrible ordeal. An almost unbroken silence
pervaded her decks, disturbed only by the lapping of
the waves against her dark hull as she passed up the
channel, and the musical calls of the leadsmen in the
chains: "By the mark three!" or "A quarter less
four ! " As the men stood at their guns, in momen-
tary expectation of the order to fire or of being cut
down by the enemy's shot, they instinctively oast in-
quiring glances at the determined faces of their officers.
Serious thoughts were passing through their minds,
and many faces bore an anxious expression. The good
and bad deeds of their lives came before them in swift
review, for they realized that at the next moment they
might be standing before their Maker. Yet there were
no signs of flinching. They had been looking forward
to this fight for months. They had speculated on
its chances and counted on its costs, and were now —
with minds made up, with set faces and with tense
nerves — deliberately advancing to the great struggle.
In the cockpit were Surgeon Lansdale and Assistant-
Surgeon Commons and their aids, with their instru-
ments spread out for the first victim. As their bloody
task had not yet begun, they held their watches in
their hands, to time the different periods of the battle.
To them, ignorant of everything going on above, each
minute seemed an hour.
At the wheel, under the break of the poop-deck,
snugly barricaded up to their chins with canvas, were
the veteran seamen McFarland, Wood and Jassin,
412 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
who had been in every engagement of the ship, and on
their coolness in a great measure depended its safety.
Grasping the spokes of the wheel with a determined
clutch, they had ears alone for the captain. On the
quarter-deck was the commanding figure of Captain
Drayton, surrounded by his staff officers, Lieutenant
J. C. Watson, Lieutenant Arthur Reid Yates, whose
duty was to keep a watch on Farragut and convey his
orders to all parts of the ship, Secretary McKinley, who
was busily engaged in taking notes of the battle, and
Acting-Ensign Henry Howard Brownell. Close to them
was the Signal-Quartermaster Knowles, who had hoisted
more than one signal that led to victory. Farragut
himself had taken a position in the port main shrouds
on the upper sheer ratline, twenty five feet up, so as to
command a better view of the battle and at the same
time be within easy speaking distance of Jouett, who
had stationed himself on the wheelhouse of the Meta-
comet. Above Farragut in the top was Martin Free-
man, the pilot, within easy reach of the admiral.
There they stood— the boy graduate from the acade-
my beside the weather-beaten tar who had seen service
in all quarters of the globe, the youthful marine officer
beside the scarred veteran of a dozen actions, each
placing implicit confidence in the other, for they well
knew that a master mind was guiding them. Truly,
the morale of the ship was superb !
At 6.47 A. M., the Tecumseh, being well in the lead
of the monitors, fired the first two guns of the battle,
and one of the shells was seen to explode over Fort
Morgan. This afforded a welcome relief to the dread-
ful suspense. But she did not repeat this, nor did the
Union ships or Fort Morgan follow her example, for all
were anxious to get to close quarters before firing in
earnest. Fort Morgan maintained its silence so long
that finally it was thought that the Confederates were
waiting for the fleet to run into some snare ; but in this
they were mistaken, for at 7.06 A. M. a puff of white
\
'• 3« L^ri8 ^ N ''• j *3Ietacomet \
/ T YU.-M 'iif V
i *w / (! ,/l
miHM&IVO
Brooklyn
Octorara
Hartford
Metacontt
Richmond
\ Pbrt Koyal
Seminole
AdmiraVl barge Level
M«n.<mgahela
15. Kennebec
1«. OuApee
17. Itatca
18. Ontida
19. Galena
DIAGRAM OF THE
BATTLE OF
MOBIJjE BAY
PREPARED FOR THE AUTHOR BY
REAR-ADMIRAL JOUETT
1864. THE BATTLE BEGINS. 4.^3
smoke and a long tongue of flame leaped from the
parapets, followed a few seconds later by a distant
boom, and a heavy shell splashed the water near the
Brooklyn. Another and yet another puff of smoke
curled up from the parapets, and shot began to fall
unpleasantly near the ships.
It was intended that the monitors should take the
lead and draw the first fire of Fort Morgan, but owing
to their low speed they were gradually overhauled by
the wooden ships, and it was not long before the
Brooklyn began to double on the quarter of the rear
monitor. About 7.10 A. M. the Brooklyn opened with
her bow guns, and the other ships followed her exam-
ple as soon as their forward guns bore. Ten minutes
later the enemy's gunboats and the ram Tennessee
moved out from their position behind Fort Morgan,
and, crossing the channel, took a position within the
line of torpedoes and opened a raking fire on the ad-
vancing wooden ships, paying particular attention to
the Hartford. This fire became more and more de-
structive as the fleet drew near, for at first the Confeder-
ates aimed high, and one of their shot struck the fore-
mast of the Hartford, and soon afterward a 120-pound
shot lodged in the main topmast, throwing a cloud of
splinters over the ship. But they soon got a better
range, and splinters, some veritably logs of wood, be-
gan to fly around the decks by the cord. The gunboat
Selma, particularly, was handled with great skill and
coolness. Before going into action her men were sent
to breakfast, and several shot had been fired by the
Union fleet before they were sent to their stations.
In the Hartford the order to go ahead "Slowly,
slowly," and to elevate the guns for fourteen hun-
dred yards, was passed along the deck, but it was
fully five minutes after Fort Morgan opened before the
flagship returned the fire. Finally, when the ship
was in easy range, a bow gun was carefully trained
and fired, and as she drew nearer to the fort some of
414= FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
the other forward guns were brought into action. When
abreast of the enemy the HartfordSs formidable broad-
side was in full play. But aside from the booming of
heavy ordnance, the only sounds that could be heard
aboard were the quiet orders, "Steady, boys, steady!
Left tackle a little — so, so," and then a murderous
broadside would leap from the black side of the flag-
ship, driving the Confederate gunners from their water
batteries ; but they returned to their guns whenever an
opportunity was afforded, like the brave fellows they
were. As the National ships advanced head-on toward
the enemy they presented an excellent target, for if the
Confederates missed one vessel they were almost sure
to rake the one next to it. A shell from their gunboats
struck the Metacomefs hawse pipe, knocked a piece of
the pipe upon deck and cut off a man's head. The shell
then was deflected into the yeoman's storeroom, and
bursting among the oils, paints and turpentine, set the
room in a flame. Observing the danger, Ensign George
E. Wing, who commanded the powder division, with
his men rushed into the room and fought the flames
with wet blankets and hammocks. Finally he called
out, "Batten down the hatches, and leave us to fight
it out." After a fierce struggle the fire was extin-
guished. When the heroic men came out of the hatch
their clothing was scorched, and their faces were black
with the smoke.
The terrific cannonading deadened the light breeze,
and as the smoke of battle collected around the ships
the gunners in the fort were unable to see them dis-
tinctly. As the smoke gradually rose higher and
higher, Farragut, almost unconsciously, climbed up
the rigging, a ratline at a time, until at last he found
himself partly above the futtock bands and clinging
to the futtock shrouds. Here he had free use of both
hands, either for holding his spyglass or for any other
purpose. Once or twice he reached through the lubber
hole and touched the pilot's foot in order to attract his
1864. LASHING FARRAGUT TO THE RIGGING. 415
attention, for the roar of battle drowned his voice. In
the earlier part of the battle Captain Drayton, who had
been keeping a watchful eye on the admiral, fearing
that some damage to the rigging might cause him to
fall overboard, ordered Knowles to ascend the rigging
and secure him to the shrouds. "I went up," said
Knowles, "with a piece of lead-line and made it fast
to one of the forward shrouds, and then took it around
the admiral to the after shroud, making it fast there.
The admiral said, 'Never mind, I am all right,' but I
went ahead and obeyed orders." * When the smoke
of battle compelled Farragut to ascend higher in the
rigging in order to get a better view of what was going
on, he unfastened the lashings with his own hands, and
as he reached the futtock shrouds he passed the line
two or three times around himself and fastened the
end to the rigging.
"About this time," wrote Acting-Ensign Joseph
Marthon, who was in charge of the howitzer in the
Hartford's maintop, only a few feet above the admiral,
"my attention was called to the admiral's position by
his nailing the top in a low tone of voice, asking * where
this water was coming from.' Upon looking about, I
found that the water-breaker placed in the hole of a
coil of rigging I was sitting on had been capsized by
a piece of shell knocking a hole in the top, and the
water was running down on the admiral's head. I in-
formed him of the fact, and he replied, 'I noticed it
is not salt,'"2
Farragut at 7.15 A. M. signaled for closer order,
which was gallantly obeyed, each vessel closing up
within a few yards of the one ahead, so that by 7.20
A. M. the larger vessels had their broadsides playing on
the fort with great effect, while the monitors, with the
exception of the Tecumseh, ran under the guns of the
1 Loyall Farragut's Life of Admiral Farragut, p. 415.
s Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. iv, p. 407.
416 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 18G4.
fort and delivered terrific blows with their enormous
guns. The Tecumseh, after firing the first two shot at
the fort, as just narrated, reloaded with sixty pounds
of powder (the heaviest charge at that time used, al-
though one hundred pounds afterward were fired in
each gun) and steel shot, and, with a view of singling
out the Tennessee and giving battle to her, Commander
Craven steamed ahead as fast as the foul bottom of the
monitor would allow, paying no attention to the fort,
intent only on meeting the huge rain. Farragut wrote :
" I believe that the Tecumseh would have gone up and
grappled with and captured the Tennessee. Craven's
heart was bent upon it." * In order that he might better
direct the movements of his craft, he had stationed him-
self in the pilot-house beside the pilot, John Collins.
Collins was the Metacomeffs pilot, but Jouett gave him
to Craven, as he hoped to see the two ironclads meet
on equal terms. When they arrived at the red buoy
marking the termination of the triple line of torpedoes,
he turned abruptly to the pilot and said : "It can not
be possible that the admiral means to have us go inside
that buoy ; I can not turn my ship there." At this
moment the ram moved from her position on the east
of the buoy and shaped her course to the west. Com-
mander Craven, who had been eagerly watching every
motion of the ram, observed this change of position,
and, fearing that Buchanan might be retreating and
thus deprive the Tecumseh of the opportunity of at-
tacking him first, he ordered his helm to starboard and
moved directly for the Tennessee, regardless of the fact
that his vessel was running into the line of torpedoes.
It appears that Admiral Buchanan also had posted
his flagship with a view of engaging the Tecumseh.
His vessel had been anchored behind a long tongue of
land on the extremity of which Fort Morgan was situ-
ated, and when the National ships were observed ad-
1 Mahan's Life of Farragut, p. 273.
1864. CRAVEN SINGLES OUT THE TENNESSEE. 417
vancing in battle array he gave the signal to prepare
for action. His men hurriedly took their coffee and
hastened to their quarters on the narrow gun-deck of
the ram, which, surrounded by the massive walls of
oak, pine and iron, and covered by bars of iron, ap-
peared more like a dungeon than a ship's deck. Ad-
miral Buchanan called his crew aft, and, as the rays of
the sun poured through the iron grating and slowly
threw its checkered light over the men and decks filled
with the dreadful paraphernalia of war, he addressed
them as follows: "Now, men, the enemy is coming,
and I want you to do your duty ; and you shall not
have it to say when you leave this vessel that you were
not near enough to the enemy, for I will mee.t them,
and then you can fight them alongside of their own
ships ; and if I fall, lay me on one side and go on with
the fight, and never mind me, but whip and sink the
Yankees or fight until you sink yourselves, but do not
surrender."
Buchanan then stationed himself in the Tennessee's
pilot-house, and, like a gladiator warily approaching
his opponent, fixed his eye on the ominous black tur-
ret of the Tecumseh, that, revolving on the mailed raft
propelled by an unseen power and with scarcely per-
ceptible motion, was every moment creeping closer upon
him. For the time there seemed to be a lull in the roar
of battle, as those whose view was- not obstructed by
the smoke instinctively turned their eyes to these cham-
pions of the two new types of war vessel approaching
to grapple in a deadly struggle. Determined to have
the contest at the closest quarters, Buchanan, scarcely
taking his eyes off the black wall of the monitor,
scanned the riveting of the iron plates with the closest
scrutiny. The craft were now so near that he could
almost see the whites of the pilot's eyes in the monitor
gleaming out at him through the massive bars that
protected the sight-holes of the pilot-house. Buchanan
now sent the order through Captain Johnston to Lieu-
72
418 FARRAQUT PASSES FORT MORGAN, 1864.
tenant Wharton, who was in charge of the forward
division of guns, "Not to fire until the vessels are in
actual contact." "Ay, ay, sir," responded the Con-
federate lieutenant. Wharton had been in all the des-
perate engagements between the Arkansas and the
National fleet, and was a cool and determined officer.
A few minutes later the ironclads had approached so
near that he instinctively tightened the lock-string of
the bow gun, which had been carefully trained on the
Tecumseh. But when the ships were less than a hun-
dred yards apart there was a sudden muffled explosion,
like the distant boom of a cannon, and at the same
instant a great column of water sprang up from the
bay alongside of the Tecumseh, leaving a chasm. The
ironclad gave a deep lurch to port, a heavy roll to star-
board and then her bow sank out of sight. Her stern
rose bodily out of the water, and the screw, relieved of
resistance, whirled with tremendous rapidity in the air.
One or more torpedoes had exploded under her. The
next instant, or in thirty seconds from the time the
explosion occurred, the doomed ironclad, with her
colors still flying, plunged bow-foremost to the bottom
of the channel, carrying down with her ninety-three
men out of a crew of one hundred and fourteen. Only
the day before Craven had been warned of the torpe-
does, but he replied, "I don't care a pinch of snuff for
them ! "
In the midst of this scene of horror one of those
acts of heroism which furnish the brightest pages of
naval history stood out with all the brilliancy of a
great soul. When it was seen that the Tecumseh was
going down, Commander Craven and the pilot instinc-
tively made for the opening, through which only one
man at a time could pass, leading out of the pilot-
house, into the turret chamber below. Both men ar-
rived at the opening at the same time. A delay of a
few seconds meant death for both. With the greatness
of soul that might be expected of a descendant of
1864. LOSS OP THE TECUMSEH. 4^9
Captain Thomas Tingey, of the Revolution, Commander
Craven drew back and quietly said to Collins, " You
first, sir." "There was nothing after me," said the
pilot, "for when I reached the last round of the ladder
the vessel seemed to drop from under me."1 When
divers went down to examine the wreck of the Tecum-
sek, a week afterward, nearly all her officers and men
were found at their posts. On the night before the
battle Chief -Engineer John Faron (who, although an
invalid, left his bed at Pensacola to participate in the
fight) had received a letter from his young wife in New
York. When found by the divers he stood with one
hand on the revolving bar of the turret engine, and
in the other hand he grasped the letter, which his
sightless eyes seemed to be reading.
Farragut, who from his elevated position in the main
shrouds of the Hartford had seen the disaster, immedi-
ately hailed Jouett, who was on the starboard wheel-
1 Tunis Augustus Macdonough Craven, a grandson of Captain Thomas
Tingey, of the United States navy, was born in Portsmouth, N. H., Janu-
ary 11, 1813. He entered the navy as a midshipman in February, 1829,
and went through the usual course. In 1841 he was made a lieutenant,
and served in the Falmouth until 1843, when he was transferred to the
North Carolina. As a lieutenant in the Dale he performed gallant service
in the cruise of that vessel in the Gulf of California during the Mexi-
can War. He returned to the Atlantic seaboard in 1849, and commanded
various vessels engaged in the coast survey. In 1857 he commanded the
Atrato in the surveying expedition at the Isthmus of Darien. While in
command of the Mohawk, off Cuba, he captured a brig having on board
five hundred slaves. He received a gold medal from the Queen of Spain
for saving the crew of a Spanish merchant vessel, and about the same time
the New York Board of Underwriters gave Mrs. Craven a silver service of
plate for the protection her husband had afforded to merchantmen on the
high seas. While in command of the Crusader, at the outbreak of the
civil war, he was instrumental in preserving the fortress at Key West to
the National cause. In April, 1861, he was made a commander, and cruised
for Confederate commerce-destroyers. He blockaded the Sumter at Gibral-
tar for two months, so that her officers and crew deserted her. Return-
ing home from this service, he was placed in command of the monitor
Tecumseh and was ordered to join the James River flotilla, but a few
months afterward he was attached to the Gulf squadron under Farragut.
420 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 18(54.
house of the Metacomet^ and asked him if he could
spare a boat for the survivors ; but Jouett had already
sent a boat, in charge of Acting-Ensign Henry C.
Neilds, of the Volunteer Corps, to the scene of the dis-
aster. Notwithstanding the fact that the boat was ex-
posed "to one of the most galling fires I ever saw,"1
Mr. Neilds, starting from the port quarter of the Meta-
comet, pulled under the Hartford's stern and across the
Brooklyn's bow within a hundred yards of Fort Mor-
gan, where, observing the boat and surmising her mis-
sion, General Page gave the order "Don't fire on that
boat ; she is saving drowning men. " In the haste of
getting under way Mr. Neilds forgot to hoist his colors,
and as he was passing the Hartford's broadside an offi-
cer who commanded the forecastle division of guns in
the flagship, observing "the boat without a flag and
knowing nothing of its object, but having torpedoes
uppermost in his mind, connected its presence with
them, trained one of his 100- pounders upon it, and was
about to pull the lock-string, when one of the ship's
company caught his arm, saying, 'For God's sake,
don't fire ! it's one of our own boats ! '" Unconscious
of the narrow escape he had had at the hands of his
friends, young Neilds soon afterward was hailed by
some one and told that his colors were not flying, and
stooping down he hoisted them before the eyes of the
fleet and the men in the fort. " I can scarcely describe
how I felt at witnessing this most gallant act," said one
of the Tennessee's officers. "The muzzle of our gun
was slowly raised, and the bolt intended for the Te-
cumseh flew harmlessly over the heads of that glorious
boat's crew far down the line of our foes."
Reaching the spot where the TecumseJi had sunk,
Mr. Neilds picked up an officer, eight men and the
pilot, and after placing them aboard the Winnelago
he pulled to the Oneida, in which ship he remained
Farragut. s Mahan's Gulf and Inland Waters, p. 234.
1864. A MISTAKEN SHOUT OF JOY. 421
as signal officer until the fleet passed the fort. Four
of the survivors swam to the beach and were made pris-
oners by the garrison of the fort. When the men in
the fort saw the fate of the Tecumseh they cheered,
but General Page promptly checked them, and told
them to sink the Hartford first and then cheer. Owing
to the smoke and confusion of battle few of the men
in the fleet realized the appalling nature of the catas-
trophe, and, the report having started that the Tecum-
seh had sunk the Tennessee, many of the crews gave
cheers, which were taken up by one ship after another
until nearly the whole fleet joined in a mistaken shout
of joy.
Commander Thomas Holdup Stevens, speaking of
this incident, said : " As I was walking to the after
turret of the Winnebago, and when about midway be-
tween the two turrets, I was startled by a series of loud
cheers and yells coming from all directions seemingly,
and looking forward to discover the cause, I saw, to my
consternation, the Tecumseh going down bow foremost,
with the propeller of the ill fated vessel revolving rap-
idly in the air. For a moment I was stunned by the
appalling disaster, whose effects were immediately ob-
served in the changed condition of the situation, in the
feeble fire of the wooden ships, which but now were
belching forth broadsides of destructive missiles, and
in the sudden increase of the vigorous and pitiless fire
from the fort, the ram and the Confederate gunboats
upon our wooden ships."
About the time of the terrible fate of the Tecum-
seh torpedoes were reported almost under the bow of
the Brooklyn, and Captain Alden immediately ordered
his army signal officers to report to the flagship : " The
monitors are right ahead ; we cannot go on without
passing them." Observing that the Brooklyn was sig-
naling, Farragut ordered his army signal officers to
come on deck. Lieutenant Kinney obeyed, and, run-
ning to the forecastle, took the Brooklyn's message.
422 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
Farragut promptly replied, " Order the monitors ahead
and go on," but the engines of the Brooklyn and the
Octorara had been reversed, as Captain Alden feared a
repetition of the Tecumsefts disaster. As these two
vessels backed down their bows swung round so
that they lay directly across the channel, exposed to a
raking fire from the fort and completely blocking the
progress of the other vessels. As a matter of fact the
people in the Brooklyn did not see torpedoes at all,
but simply shell boxes, which they mistook for tor-
pedo buoys. The Confederate gunboats "fired very
rapidly, and as they used shells the empty shell boxes
were thrown overboard, consequently they were in line
across the channel."1
In order to prevent a collision, the Hartford and
her consort, the Metacomet, which were the next in line,
reversed their engines also, but before they could come
to a standstill their momentum and the flood tide had
carried their bows so near the Brooklyn's stern that a
collision seemed inevitable. To make matters worse,
the Richmond and the Port Royal were following close
in the flagship's wake, and for a time it looked as if the
fleet was doomed to disaster. The broadsides of the
heavy ships were now out of range, and, relieved of
their fire, the Confederates in Fort Morgan returned to
their guns and opened a terrific cannonade. At this
moment, says an eye-witness, "the whole fort seemed
to be enveloped in flame. Looking aloft from the deck
of the Winnebago while the hulls of our ships were
obscured by the smoke of battle, I could distinctly see,
by the flags flying from the different vessels, the con-
fusion in the order of the fleet, which seemed to be all
tangled up, as was in reality the fact, and but for
Farragut's genius for war, which enabled him at once
to grasp the situation and apply the remedy, the most
complete and crushing disaster would have followed.
1 Rear-Admiral Jouett to the author.
1864. DREADFUL CARNAGE IN THE HARTFORD. 423
This crisis grew out of the hapless disaster to the Tecum-
seh, which was thus far-reaching in its effects."
At this critical period of the battle the National
vessels suffered their heaviest losses. Believing that
the leading ship, the Brooklyn, was the Hartford, the
Confederate gunners in the fort concentrated their fire
on her, and before the battle was over she was struck
seventy times. Besides this, the ships were subjected
to a fearful raking fire from the Confederate gunboats,
the greatest carnage occurring aboard the Hartford.
One man had both legs carried away, and, as he threw
up his hands in agony, another shot took off both his
arms ; yet he survived his injuries. Another man was
killed while climbing up the ladder from the berth
deck. In falling, his body struck Wilson Brown, a
sailor who wras stationed at the shell whip, or davit for
hoisting shells on the berth deck. Brown was knocked
into the hold, where he lay senseless some minutes, but
on recovering consciousness he returned to his post.
The men at the shell whips were twice scattered by
bursting shells. A shot crashed through the bulwarks
and swept away all the men that were stationed on that
side of one of the guns, and about the same time a
shot came through the bow and took off the head of
a gunner at one of the forward guns. The foremast was
twice struck, once slightly, and again by a shell from
the Selma that came tumbling end over end and buried
itself butt end first in the heel of the topmast, just at
the doubling of the mast. Had the shot struck point
on and so exploded, or had it struck the spar at any
other place, the entire mast would have been carried
away.
During the time the fleet was in effective range of
Fort Morgan, which was about an hour, the fort fired
four hundred and ninety-one shot, or an average of
about eight a minute. But there were times when they
fired with much greater rapidity, and, adding the fire
of the Confederate gunboats, it will be seen that the
424 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
National ships were literally in a storm of shot, princi-
pally directed against the Brooklyn and the Hartford.
While Lieutenant Tyson was commanding a for-
ward division of guns, a shell exploded between two
of the guns and killed or wounded fifteen men. The
decks of the Hartford soon presented a horrible spec-
tacle. The planks were slippery with blood, which
ran into the scuppers in a sluggish stream, while frag-
ments of the human body, tufts of hair, shreds of
clothing and splashes of blood adhered to the bul-
warks, masts and other parts of the ship. As fast as
the men were struck the bodies of those still living
were hurried to the cockpit to undergo the knife or
bandage treatment, as their condition demanded, while
those killed outright were laid in a long row on the
port side. The sight of these bodies was not calculated
to raise the spirits of the survivors, and they were
mercifully concealed from view by a canvas covering.
While the leading wooden ships were thus en-
tangled and unable to bring their broadsides into play,
the remaining monitors were handled with conspicuous
gallantry. They ran close up to the fort and kept up
a heavy fire of grape and canister, which acted as a
partial check on the enemy's gunners and prevented a
more serious loss of life in the wooden ships. The
Winnebago was so near the fort that a stone's throw
would have measured the distance, and at intervals
above the roar of battle could be distinctly heard the
officers in the fort directing the fire of the batteries.
The monitors were repeatedly struck by the heaviest
shot, and were damaged to a considerable extent. The
temporary house built on the deck of the Winnebago —
abaft the after turret, for the messing and sleeping
quarters of the officers — was riddled with shot, all the
boats except one were destroyed, and the davits were
saved only by having been unshipped and stowed
away. Her after turret became so jammed that it
could not be turned, and the gunners could fire only
1864. STEVENS' GALLANTRY. 425
when the vessel was headed in the right direction.
One of the Manhattan's 15-inch guns was disabled
by a piece of iron falling into the vent. The CJiick-
asaitfs smokestack was pierced through and through,
which so affected the draft that her steam went down ;
but this was partially remedied by throwing tallow and
coal-tar on the fire. The Winnebago was struck nine-
teen times, three of the shot penetrating her deck.
At this stage of the action Commander Stevens,
whose father had taken a gallant part in the battle of
Lake Erie in 1813, especially aroused the admiration of
the officers of the flagship and other vessels of the fleet
by the cool deliberation with which he walked back
and forth from one turret to another, exposed to the
enemy's fire on the deck of the Winnebago. "About
7.30 A. M., while on deck directing the fire of our guns,"
wrote Rear- Admiral Stevens to the author, "and watch-
ing the course steered by the pilot of the Winnebago,
who was in the pilot-house, I became uneasy lest he
might get too close to the sand point making off south-
west from the sea face of Fort Morgan, and went from
the after to the forward turret of the vessel to direct
him to give the point a little wider berth. By the
time we were abreast of Fort Morgan we were pouring
grape and canister, while the sabots from the projec-
tiles of our heavy vessels, which were firing over us,
were falling freely upon our decks."
The view of the battle obtained from the tops of the
National vessels was one of appalling grandeur. To
windward the fleet and harbor were spread out in a
beautiful panorama, the crews being distinctly seen
firing and reloading their guns, while officers stood at
the back of their men to see that there was no flinch-
ing, and others ran to and fro shouting orders in their
endeavors to prevent a collision. To leeward dense
volumes of smoke, illuminated by rapid flashes of guns,
partly obstructed the vision, but in the occasional
rifts a tall mast with men in the rigging and with
426 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
Old Glory still flying in the breeze would be revealed.
Above all rose the dreadful roar of the tremendous
cannonading, whose sharp impact upon the ear, giving
the peculiar sound of shotted guns, seemed to come
from all quarters with deafening rapidity, while the
ships and their masts quivered like aspens from the
recoil of their murderous broadsides. A glance below
on the deck of the Hartford revealed the men in their
different capacities, some loading and aiming the guns,
some bringing up ammunition, and others carrying
down the wounded, but all stimulated to their utmost
exertions by the ever-vigilant officers. Most of the
men were stripped to the waist, many of them smeared
with the blood of shipmates whom they had carried
below. Others, although wounded, refused to go be-
low, and remained on deck fighting. What a pan-
demonium ! What a hell upon earth ! ! Shot, shell,
grape, shrapnel and canister. How they shriek ! how
the men fight! dragging dead or wounded shipmates
away, so as not to encumber the guns. Bloody and
blackened with burned powder, the perspiration run-
ning down their bodies revealing streaks of white skin,
causes them to look like fiends. The sight of their
fallen shipmates arouses the brutish thirst for venge-
ance, and they load and tire with muttered impreca-
tions on the enemy. Their officers walk among them,
with "Steady, boys ! " " Take your time ! " "Be sure
of your aim ! " " Let each shot tell ! " In the midst of
all this uproar stand Drayton and his executive officer,
Kimberly, the latter smiling and twirling his goatee,
both as cool as if " twa a daily drill." It was in refer-
ence to the heroism of the crew that Brownell wrote :
But ah, the pluck of the crew !
Had you stood on that deck of ours
You had seen what men may do.
The position of the Brooklyn made it impossible
for the Hartford to take the lead, and when Far-
1864. "DAMN THE TORPEDOES!" 427
ragut saw that Captain Alden did not go ahead he
said to his pilot, " What is the matter with the
Brooklyn f She must have plenty of water there."
"Plenty, and to spare, Admiral," replied the pilot.
The next moment the Brooklyn was signaled, "What's
the trouble?" "Torpedoes," was the reply. This was
the critical moment of the battle. There was no time
for counsel. The ships were fast drifting on the line
of torpedoes, and were in imminent danger of sink-
ing each other. Whether the fleet was to suffer an
inglorious defeat or win a great victory depended upon
the next order of Admiral Farragut. The tremen-
dous cheering and renewed firing of the Confederates
showed that they regarded the victory as theirs.
Again the message came from the Brooklyn, "Tell
the admiral that there is a heavy line of torpedoes
ahead." Taking in the situation at a glance, Farra-
gut shouted: "Damn the torpedoes! damn the torpe-
does ! ! * Go ahead, Captain Drayton ! Four bells ! ! "
The Metacomet then backed at full speed until the
Hartford was twisted clear of the Brooklyn, when
Jouett asked if he should go ahead. The Hartford's
pilot answered with a nod, and held up four fingers,
meaning four bells (full speed), for the roar of battle
rendered speaking at that distance difficult, and the
Hartford cleared the Brooklyn and took the lead.
" The effect of this order," wrote Rear- Admiral
Stevens, "was magical in restoring the line of battle.
Order grew out of chaos, men sprang to their guns
with renewed vigor, again the air was tilled with burst-
ing shells and the roar of guns from the Union fleet."
The position of the Brooklyn rendered it impossible
for the Hartford to take the lead without passing to
the west of the red buoy or directly across the fatal
line of torpedoes which but a few seconds before had
1 " The only approach to an oath I ever heard him utter."— Rear-
Admiral Jouett.
428 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864
sunk the Tecumseh. Farragut's order was one of the
boldest and most courageous in naval history. Many
eyes watched the result with painful anxiety. Every
moment they expected to see the masts of the Hartford
thrown into the air, her hull rent into fragments, and
her crew and daring commander blown to atoms. But
on went the flagship, without delay or hesitation,
toward the fatal torpedoes. An almost unbroken si-
lence pervaded her decks as the officers and men, in
grim silence, stood in momentary expectation of being
blown into eternity. The frigate soon reached the fatal
line. Her bow began to pass over the torpedoes. The
men in the magazines, away down in the bottom of the
ship, heard strange objects grating along her hull as
she continued steadily on her course. But fortunately
none of the machines exploded, and as the grand ship
of war passed beyond the fatal line in safety the spec-
tators realized that one of the most daring feats in the
naval history of the world had been accomplished.
A Confederate officer who was stationed in the
water-battery at Fort Morgan says: "The manoeuvring
of the vessels at this critical juncture was a magnificent
sight. At first the ships appeared to be in inextricable
confusion, and at the mercy of the guns. But when
the Hartford dashed forward they realized that a grand
tactical movement had been accomplished." ''Farra-
gut's coolness and quick perception," said General Page,
" saved the Union fleet from a great disaster, and prob-
ably from destruction."
As the Hartford thus took the lead she passed
about two hundred yards ahead of the Tennessee,
which was waiting for an opportunity to ram. Lieu-
tenant Wharton, of the Tennessee, had loaded the
forward 7-inch rifled gun with a percussion shell, be-
lieving, and with good reason, that it would sink the
flagship under the guns of the fort. This done, the
destruction of the remainder of the fleet seemed to be
assured. Lieutenant Wharton writes: "I took the
1864 CONFUSION' IN TEE LINE. 429
lock- string from the captain of the gnn myself, took a
long, deliberate aim, and gave the command : ' Raise ! '
' Steady ! ' * Raise ! ' * Little more ! ' ' Ready ! ' ' Fire ! '
I was as confident that our shell would tear a hole in
the Hartford'1 s side big enough to sink her in a few
minutes as I was that I had fired it. It did tear the
hole expected, but it was above the water line. I have
often speculated since upon the effect of not having
raised the breech of our bow gun, and thus caused that
shell to ricochet before striking the Hartford. I wish
I had let the captain of the gun fire the piece himself."
Buchanan endeavored to ram the Hartford and sink
her, as he had sunk the Cumberland at Hampton Roads,
but Farragut avoided this by turning to one side, and
continued up the channel.
When the Hartford passed the line of torpedoes
and thus took the lead of the column, she left the
Brooklyn and her consort, the Octorara, lying with
their bows toward Fort Morgan, receiving a tremen-
dous raking fire. The Richmond and her consort, the
Port Royal, which were close behind, were carried
rapidly forward by the flood tide, and a collision
seemed inevitable. Knowing that if the four vessels
became entangled in the narrow channel — or, worse yet,
if one or more of them were sunk — it would prevent
the other vessels of the fleet from passing up the bay
to the aid of their flagship, Captain Jenkins gave the
order for the Richmond and her consort to back. He,
like the other Union commanders who had seen the
Hartford pass above the fort, was extremely anxious
for the admiral's safety, as the smoke of battle made
it impossible to see all that was occurring above the
line of torpedoes. He only knew that the terrible ram
and her three consorts were lying in readiness to at-
tack the first vessel that passed the fort, and that the
Hartford and Metacomet were quite alone to contend
with the enemy's naval force. This fact seems to have
been uppermost in the minds of the Union officers at
430 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
this period of the battle, and they exerted themselves
to the utmost to get once more within supporting dis-
tance of their famous leader. In backing, the Rich-
mond's bow fell off to port and enabled her gunners
to open such an effective tire from the starboard bat-
teries, at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards, that
the Confederates were again driven from their water-
battery. The Richmond had her topmasts down, and
so rapid was her fire at this moment that she was com-
pletely enveloped in smoke. Admiral Buchanan, of
the Tennessee, who was well acquainted with Captain
Jenkins (having had him as a midshipman before the
war, and again as his first lieutenant during the Mexi-
can War), lost sight of the Richmond, owing to this
circumstance, and after the battle he asked: "What
became of Jenkins ? I saw his vessel go handsomely
into action and then lost sight of her entirely."1 The
Brooklyn was less fortunate in being concealed from
the enemy, for her tall masts, which had not been low-
ered before the action, enabled the Confederate gun-
ners to aim at her with considerable accuracy, and all
this time she lay bow-on, receiving a dreadful raking
fire from the fort.
The situation of the Union vessels, entangled off
Fort Morgan, was rendered more critical by the shoal
water ; and while the frequent backing and running
ahead were going on, Captain Jenkins at one time was
compelled to navigate his ship with less than afoot of
water under his keel. Farragut's adage that " the
safest way to prevent injury from an enemy is to strike
hard yourself " was never better illustrated than in this
battle. He had given orders for the vessels to run close
to Fort Morgan, and to use plenty of grape and shrap-
nel, and it was this terrible storm of iron and the dense
volume of smoke from the cannonading that discom-
fited and blinded the Confederate gunners. Finally,
1 Mahan's Gulf and Inland Waters, p. 235.
1864. RAMMING THE TENNESSEE. 431
after great risks of collision, the Richmond and her
consort were extricated from their perilous position and
once again were steaming up the channel, with the
Brooklyn and the rest of the wooden ships close be-
hind. In this manner the head of the column passed
the fort, and with the aid of the monitors kept up such
a terrific fire that the enemy was scarcely able to reply.
But as the heavier ships passed up the bay and out
of range, the smaller vessels in the rear of the line
were severely punished by the guns of the fort. One
7-inch shell passed through the OneidcCs chain armor
and pierced her boiler, the escaping steam injuring
thirteen men. For a moment one of the gun-crews
wavered, but Commander Mullany cried out, "Back
to your quarters, men ! " and they returned to their
stations. Another 7-inch shell exploded in her cabin
and severed the wheel-ropes, and about the same time
one of her 11 -inch bow guns and an 8-inch gun were
disabled. Her consort, the Galena, was uninjured, and
succeeded in carrying the disabled Oneida past the fort.
At this stage of the action the Tennessee, having
missed the Hartford and the Metacomet, was observed
coming down the channel to attack the remaining ves-
sels. " As she approached," wrote Captain Jenkins, of
the Richmond, " every one in the Richmond supposed
that she would ram the Brooklyn ; that, we thought,
would be our opportunity, for if she struck the Brook-
lyn the concussion would throw her port side across
our path, and, being so near to us, she would not have
time to straighten up, and we would strike her fairly
and squarely, and most likely sink her. The guns were
loaded with solid shot and with the heaviest charges of
powder ; the forecastle gun crew was ordered to get its
small arms and fire into her gun ports ; and, as previ-
ously determined, if we came into collision at any time,
orders were given to throw gun charges of powder and
bags from the fore and main yardarms down her smoke-
stack. To our great surprise, she sheered off from the
432 FARRAGUT PASSES FORT MORGAN. 1864.
Brooklyn, and at about a hundred yards put two shot
or shells through and through the Brooklyn's side,
doing much damage."1
After passing the Brooklyn, as just described, the
ram made for the Richmond and the Port Royal.
Captain Jenkins had his broadside ready and fired at
short range, producing no more effect upon the mailed
side of the ram, however, than so many pebbles. As
the ram passed the starboard side of the Richmond
Buchanan fired two shot, but owing to the lively mus-
ketry fire played into his ports the gunners missed \
their aim. One of the shot passed uncomfortably close
to Lieutenant Terry's head, and the other passed just
under the feet of the pilot and cut a ratline in the
port main shrouds. The Richmond fired three full and
well-aimed broadsides of 9-inch solid shot, each broad-
side consisting of eleven guns, but without any ap-
parent effect upon the ram. Like the flagship, the
Richmond was compelled to cross the line of torpedoes,
and the men in the Richmond also heard the torpedoes
scraping along the hull of their vessel.
As Buchanan approached the next brace of ships in
the column, the Laclcawanna and the Seminole, he
suddenly made a sheer as if to ram the former, but
owing to her imperfect machinery the Tennessee could
not execute the manoeuvre in time, and only succeeded
in placing herself athwart the course of the Union
ships. This gave the Monongahela (which had been
provided with an artificial iron prow), the ship directly
behind the Lackawanna, an admirable chance for ram-
ming, and Commander Strong put his helm to port and
then sheered around so as to strike the ram at right
angles. For a moment it seemed as if he would be suc-
cessful, but the Kennebec, which was lashed alongside,
prevented him from getting full speed, and he merely
struck the ram a glancing blow on the port quarter, at
1 Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. iv, p. 393.
•
1864. THE RAM AMONG THE SMALLER SHIPS. 433
the same time pouring in a broadside of solid 11-inch
shot, which, like the others, glanced harmlessly off the
mailed side of the ram.
This blow had the effect of throwing the Tennessee's
stern around so that she was again heading straight
down the channel, but on the port side of the Union
column. She rasped along the port side of the Ken-
nebec, scraping the planking and leaving one of her
boats and an iron davit clinging to the Kennebec as
a memento of their meeting. A shell from the ram no\v
exploded on the berth deck of the Kennebcc, wound-
ing an officer and four men. About this time First-
Lieutenant Roderick Prentiss, of the Monongahela,
was mortally wounded, both of his legs being taken off.
At the moment of the collision with the Monongahela
the Kennebec 's cutwater passed through the ram's
barge, completely destroying it. The shell from the
ram caused a fire on the Kennebec's berth deck, and
for a moment it seemed as if the vessel would be de-
stroyed, but by the intrepid efforts of Lieutenant-Com-
mander McCann and his officers it was extinguished.
The next ship in line was the Ossipee, which at the
time the ram changed her position from the starboard
to the port side of the wooden ships was on the port
quarter of the Monongahela ; and when Commander
Le Roy saw his leader preparing to ram, he also fol-
lowed the Monongahela }s motion. But as the Tennes-
see swung round under the pressure of the Mononga-
held's blow, Admiral Buchanan passed between the two
Union vessels, and two shot from the ram entered be-
low the Ossipee's spar deck, close together, just abreast
the forward pivot gun. About this time Lieutenant-
Commander George Brown, of the Itasca, was painfully
injured by a splinter. The executive officer of the
Ossipee, which was lashed alongside, called out to him,
"What's the matter, Brown? Have you been struck by
a splinter?" "You may call it a splinter in your big
vessel," roared Brown in reply, "but aboard this little
73
434 FAEEAGUT PASSES FOET MOEGAN. 1864.
craft it ranks as a log of wood." Running on the star-
board side of the Oneida, which had been crippled
early in the action and was in tow of her consort, the
Galena, Buchanan endeavored several times to fire a
broadside into her, but his primers failed, so that only
one gun was discharged, the shot striking the after 11-
inch pivot gun, which had just been fired.
At 8.20 A. M. the Confederate ironclad passed under
the Oneida? s stern and delivered a raking fire, which
dismounted a 12-pounder howitzer on the poop deck,
and also carried away Commander Mullany's left arm.
While David Nay lor, the powder-boy of the 30-pounder
Parrott gun in the Oneida, was running along the deck
his passing-box was knocked out of his hands and fell
overboard into a boat that was towing alongside. He
jumped overboard after it, recovered his box, and re-
turned to his duties as though nothing had happened.
At this stage of the action occurred one of those
spirited incidents that always appeal to the hearts of
brave men. Commander Stevens had been the com-
mander of the Oneida, and was greatly attached to the
officers and men of that ship. Just before the battle,
Commander Mullany, whose ship was not fitted for such
an engagement, earnestly entreated that a suitable vessel
might be given to him so that he could take part in
the battle. In response to this request Stevens gave
up the Oneida and was placed in command of the
monitor Winnebago, while Mullany took the Oneida,
and, as we have just seen, lost an arm by his devotion
to the cause. The other vessels of the Union fleet,
having their full head of steam, were able to avoid the
ram, but the Oneida, having her boiler pierced, was
dependent entirely upon the Galena, which reduced
the speed of both vessels so much that both were com-
pletely at the mercy of Buchanan. When Commander
Stevens saw the predicament of his old ship and for-
mer crew, he hastened to their defense, and just as the
Tennessee was passing under the stern of the helpless
1864. HEROIC OFFICERS. 435
Oneida he placed the Winnebago between the ram and
the Oneida and harassed Buchanan until the wooden
vessels were beyond his reach. When the people in the
Oneida, who had every reason to expect that they would
be sent to the bottom at the first blow of their huge an-
tagonist, saw the Winnebago come to their rescue they
jumped upon the bulwarks and gave three heartfelt
cheers for their old commander. Stevens, who had re-
mained outside of the turrets of the Winnebago from
the beginning of the battle, at this moment was stand-
ing on the open deck on the starboard side, or that
nearest to the ram, directing a broadside of solid shot
to be fired into the enemy. Hearing the cheers, he
stepped to the port side and took off his hat in ac-
knowledgment.
Lieutenant-Commander George H. Perkins, of the
Cliickasaw, and Volunteer Lieutenant William Hamil-
ton were starting for the North on a leave of absence
just before the battle, but learning that an attack was
to be made on Mobile, they asked permission to take
part in the fight. Lieutenant J. C. Watson entered the
fight under similar circumstances. Farragut wrote of
him : "I would not advise Watson to go home for the
world ; it would break his heart. He thinks he is
bound to see the war out."
Seeing that her prey was veritably snatched from
her jaws, the Tennessee ran under the guns of Fort
Morgan for a "breathing- spell," while the Union ves-
sels proceeded on their way up the channel. About this
time the ram's colors were shot away, but they were
soon replaced. Lieutenant-Commander DeKrafft had
formed his flotilla in the shape of a crescent and opened
a spirited fire on Fort Powell.
CHAPTER XVI.
ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS.
WHILE the Hartford was boldly passing through
the line of torpedoes, the Confederate gunboats Selma,
Morgan and Gaines seized their opportunity of de-
livering a terrific raking fire upon the flagship. Know-
ing that the big sloop-of-war could not readily turn in
the narrow channel, the commander of the Selma kept
his vessel from seven hundred to a thousand yards
straight ahead, so that his stern guns could bear on the
Hartford, while Farragut could only bring a few bow
chasers into play, one of which was soon disabled by a
shell bursting under it. One shot from the Selma
killed ten men and wounded five in the forecastle divi-
sion, the fragments of their bodies being blown upon
the deck of the Metacomet. Many of the gun crews
were reduced to half of their number. Although most
of the men were newly enlisted, great steadiness was
shown by them, and the vacancies were promptly filled
up. Farragut was able to deliver one or two broad-
sides at the Gaines, and the splendid marksmanship
of the Union gunners was never shown to better ad-
vantage. In less than half an hour the Gaines was
aground under the guns of Fort Morgan and deserted.
Finding that the gunboats were occasioning serious
damage, and observing that the last of the Union ves-
sels was safely past Fort Morgan, Farragut at 8.02
A. M. gave the signal, "Gunboats chase enemy's gnn-
boats." Jouett, of the Metacomet, had repeatedly
asked for permission to go in chase, and, now that it
was given, he ordered the men to cut the heavy
436
1864. CHASE AFTER THE CONFEDERATE GUNBOATS. 437
hawsers with sharp broadaxes, and he backed clear
of the Hartford and went, at 8.05, in chase of the
gunboats. The Port Royal, the Kennebec and the
Itasca also joined in the pursuit, but being without
pilots they accomplished little. The Morgan, taking
advantage of a heavy rain and a dense fog that came
over the bay, succeeded in running under the guns of
Fort Morgan, and on the following night, by going
slowly and covering her lights, she made her escape
to Mobile. It was afterward learned that the Mor-
gan, on receiving a broadside from the Metacomet,
hauled down her colors, but as the rainstorm came on
at that moment her surrender was not known, and, re-
hoisting her flag, she made her escape. The Metacomet,
being the fastest gunboat in the fleet, soon outstripped
the others and made after the Selma. As his ship could
not fire directly ahead, Jouett at first yawed once or
twice to fire his guns, but finding that he was losing
ground by so doing he settled down to a dogged pur-
suit. '' I had given my pilot to the gallant Craven, of
the ill-fated Tecumseh, and having no time to consult
the chart and knowing nothing of the channel, and as
the admiral's instructions were imperative — not to allow
any of the Confederate gunboats to reach Mobile — I
abandoned the attempt to fight with my guns in this
running chase." Being more familiar with the bay,
the pilot of the Selma led the Metacomet into shoal
water. This fact was conveyed to Jouett from time to
time by the leadsman, until at last less than a foot of
water under the Metacomefs keel was reported. The
situation was critical, for the Metacomet was far be-
yond supporting distance of her consorts, and should
she run aground the Selma undoubtedly would turn
back and, selecting a position where the National gun-
boat could not return the fire, would soon compel her
surrender. Jouett was an officer, however, who knew
only one duty — "obey orders"; and as the leadsman
continued to call out the alarming soundings Jouett
438 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
finally exclaimed to his executive officer: "Mr. Sleep-
er, order that man out of the chains ! He makes me
nervous " ; and the Metacomet, trembling under the
heavy pressure of steam, went plowing through the
soft mud after the Selma. When the squall that for
a time concealed the enemy's gunboats cleared up,
Jouett found himself on the starboard bow of the Sel-
ma, which at 9.10 A. M., surrendered. Her commander,
P. U. Murphy, had been wounded in the wrist, while
his executive officer, Lieutenant J. H. Com stock, and
seven men were killed. "The coolness and prompt-
ness of Lieutenant-Commander Jouett," wrote Farra-
gut in his official report, "merit high praise." In this
fight the Metacomefs rigging was badly cut, and she
was struck eleven times in the hull.
Before the war, Commander Murphy, then a lieu-
tenant, was very kind to Jouett, who was then a mid-
shipman. Remembering that Murphy was fond of
good eating, Jouett, while at Pensacola two days be-
fore the battler purchased a quantity of crabs and
oysters and placed them on ice. When he was block-
ading off Mobile harbor the three Confederate gunboats
came down and lay under Fort Morgan. Knowing
who commanded them, Jouett often remarked to the
officers that he was fond of " Murphy " and that he in-
tended to catch him, and always kept on hand some
good wines and cigars for him. It so happened that
Jouett did catch him, and as soon as the fight was over
he ordered his steward to prepare a breakfast. When
the Selma struck her colors, Murphy, who was about
sixty-five years old, tall, erect and with long snow-
white hair and beard, having his right arm in a sling,
came on board the Metacomet to surrender his sword.
Ascending the gangway, he stepped on deck, when his
aid advanced and handed him his sword. Jouett had
sent all the crew forward in order that Murphy might
not be unnecessarily mortified, and no one was with
him at the gangway save the officer of the deck and
1864. A BREATHING SPELL. 439
Lieutenant Sleeper ; the other officers were on the port
side of the quarter-deck. Murphy turned, drew him-
self up to his full height, held out his sword and began
a nice speech, but Jouett took his hand and, putting
an arm on his back, said: " I am glad to see you,
Murphy. Come on ; your breakfast has been waiting
some time." Going into the cabin, Murphy saw a
beautiful table laden with oysters, crabs, beefsteaks,
wines etc. Turning to Jouett in astonishment, he said,
"Why didn't you let me know you had all this? I
would have surrendered sooner." And the officers sat
down at the table as though they had never drawn
swords against each other.
With the successful passage of Fort Morgan and
the dangerous line of torpedoes, the dispersion of the
Confederate gunboats and the retreat of the Tennes-
see under the guns of the water-battery, Farragut was
left in undisputed possession of Mobile Bay, and he
now brought his fleet to anchor about four miles above
Fort Morgan. Captain Drayton about this time said
to him : " What we have done has been well done, sir ;
but it all counts for nothing so long as the Tennessee
is there under the guns of Fort Morgan." Farragut
replied, "I know it, and as soon as the people have
had their breakfast I am going for her." This plan,
however, seems to have been abandoned, for he wrote,
"Had Buchanan remained under the fort I should
have attacked him, as soon as it became dark, with
the monitors." His second plan was to change his flag
to the Manhattan and attack under cover of dark-
ness and the smoke of battle, when it would be impos-
sible for the gunners in Fort Morgan to distinguish
between friend and foe. The belief was prevalent
among the National officers that the battle, for some
time at least, was over, and the crews were engaged in
clearing away the dreadful debris, in washing out the
blood-stains and in removing the fragments of bodies
that were strewn over their decks.
440
ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
In the distance the ram Tennessee could be seen
under the guns of Fort Morgan steaming and smoking
like some huge monster taking breath after a desperate
struggle. The intense excitement of battle was over,
the strained nerves were relaxed, and the serious, de-
termined expression on the faces of the officers had
changed into smiles of congratulation as those off duty
assembled in the wardroom to discuss the exciting work
of the morning or to make inquiry for missing friends.
The cooks and mess boys were hurrying about the
decks with their preparations for breakfast. Among
the men the same air of relaxation and relief was ob-
servable. Those who had been intrusted with little
keepsakes intended for some loved one far away in
the North, in case "something should happen to me,"
were returning them to their owners. But an occa-
sional stifled groan coming up from the cockpit, as the
surgeons performed their tasks, was a painful reminder
of the terrible scenes through which they had just
passed, while a glance at the long row of mutilated
bodies under the canvas on the port side served to
check any undue outburst of merriment, for a true sea-
man never forgets to respect a dead shipmate. Once
in" a while a sailor would approach the "dead row"
with an anxious, troubled face, and, half fearfully
lifting the canvas, peer at the blanched faces to see if a
missing messmate was among the dead.
In the midst of this scene of leisurely recovery from
the battle, the startling cry, "The ram is coming!"
passed through, the fleet, and many eyes were instantly
turned in the direction of Fort Morgan. Slowly creep-
ing up the channel, with dense volumes of black smoke
rolling out of her dilapidated smokestack, the Tennes-
see was seen advancing to renew the contest, while the
parapets of Fort Morgan, as well as those of Fort
Gaines and Fort Powell, were seen to be crowded with
Confederate troops eager to witness the finale of this
stupendous naval conflict. When the ram was iirst
1864 "FOLLOW THEM UP, JOHNSTON." 441
seen to be getting under way the National officers
thought she might be going out to sea to destroy the
steamers Genesee, Pinola, Penibina, Sebago, Tennessee
and Bienmlle, which in vain had attempted to bom-
bard Fort Morgan from that direction, and Farragut
said, "We must follow her out." But a moment
later, when he saw that the ram was coming up the
bay to give battle, he added, "No, Buck's coming
here. Get under way at once ! We must be ready for
him ! "
After running under the guns of Fort Morgan, as
described in the last chapter, Admiral Buchanan spent
a half hour in examining the damages of his vessel.
Captain Johnston went outside the casemate, and after
making a thorough investigation reported that no seri-
ous injury had been sustained. Some dents were visi-
ble in the iron plating, and part of the smokestack was
gone, but further than this the Tennessee was not ma-
terially hurt. Learning this, Buchanan said, "Follow
them up, Johnston ; we can't let them off that way."
With some difficulty the unwieldy Tennessee brought
her head round and advanced toward the wooden fleet.
Buchanan had been worsted in the first contest, when
he had the powerful support of Fort Morgan's bat-
teries, three gunboats and the torpedoes. But now he
was advancing single-handed beyond the support of
the Confederate batteries, without the assistance of the
gunboats, and with no torpedoes to depend upon to
sink the monitors, to give battle to the whole fleet.
He had once seen the Merrimac defeated by a single
monitor ; now he was about to engage three monitors
and nearly a score of heavy war-ships.
When it was seen that the ram was coming up the
bay for the purpose of giving battle, the mess gear in
the Union ships was hastily put aside ; the decks were
cleared for action, and the ships got under way. The
anchor of the Hartford was weighed so hurriedly that
it was left hanging under the bow. The naval signal
442 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1804.
was now given, "Attack the ram, not only with your
guns, but bows, at full speed ! " and by the more rapid
system of army signals, the LacTcawanna, the Monon-
gahela and the monitors were ordered, "to run down
the ram ! " At this juncture Fleet-Surgeon Palmer
(who had left his station at Pensacola for the express
purpose of attending the injured in this battle), having
cared for the wounded in the flagship, was shoving
off in the steam barge Loyall for the purpose of visiting
the wounded in the other vessels, when Farragut called
out to him, "Go to the monitors and tell them to at-
tack the Tennessee \ " As the National ironclads were
some distance apart, the execution of this order in-
volved much exposure ; but the heroic surgeon carried
out his instructions to the letter.
Knowing that it was useless to rely entirely on the
heavy guns of the wooden ships to disable the Tennes-
see, Farragut had determined to try the effects of ram-
ming, and his orders were executed in gallant style.
Captain Johnston, of the Tennessee, says, " The heav-
ier vessels seemed to contend with each other for the
glory." Waiting until the Tennessee was some forty
yards distant, Commander Strong, about 9.25 A. M.,
ordered full speed on the Monongahela and succeeded
in striking the ram amidships on the starboard side,
the shock knocking down many of the men in both
ships. The collision, which would have sunk any ves-
sel in the National fleet, occasioned no damage to the
ram further than starting a Small leak, and after the
surrender it was almost impossible to tell where the
blow had been delivered ; but the iron prow of the
Monongahela was wrenched off and the butt ends of
the planks on her bow were badly shattered. At the
time of the collision the Tennessee fired two shells,
which exploded in the berth deck of the Monongahela,
wounding an officer and two men. The Union vessel
then swung round and delivered her starboard broad-
side, and although fired at a distance of about ten
1864. RAMMING THE TENNESSEE. 443
yards, the enormous shot glanced harmlessly off the
sloping sides of the ram.
Commander Strong was closely followed by the
Lackawanna, the latter, about 9.30 A. M., striking the
Tennessee a full blow on the port side at the after end
of the casemate. The collision caused the ram to heel
over heavily, and then to swing round, so that the two
vessels lay side by side, bow and stern, their port sides
scraping against each other. The LacJcawanna's crew
poured a sharp tire of musketry into the ports of the
ram, and John Smith, captain of the Lack alcanna's
forecastle, threw a holystone through one of the Ten-
nessee's ports, which struck a Confederate gunner who
was using abusive language against the Union crew.
A shell exploding in the LacTcawanna started a fire in
the shellroom. George Taylor, the armorer, although
wounded, coolly walked into the room filled with ex-
plosives and extinguished the flames with his hands.
Captain Marchand had shifted several of his port guns
to the starboard side, in order to bear on Fort Morgan
when passing up the channel, so that at this moment
only one 9- inch gun could be brought to bear on the
ram. But this gun did more damage than whole broad-
sides had accomplished before, for the shot smashed one
of the ram's shutters, and drove the fragments within
the shield. Notwithstanding the fact that the Lacka-
wanna's bow had suffered seriously from the collision,
it being crushed in for a distance of five feet below and
three feet above the water line, causing a considerable
leakage, Captain Marchand manosuvred for another op-
portunity to ram. These two collisions caused the Ten-
nessee to leak at the rate of about six inches an hour.
Admiral Buchanan had determined to come to close
quarters with the flagship, and, paying no more atten-
tion to the LacTcawanna than firing two shot through
her, he headed directly for the Hartford. Farragut
was equally anxious to get at the ram, and at this
moment the two flagships were headed for each other
444 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
at full speed. It was impossible in that short distance
for the Hartford to circle round so as to ram the Ten-
nessee on her side, and the only safety for the Union
admiral was to continue on his present course. A bow-
on collision seemed unavoidable, and the other ships
could do nothing but pour in futile broadsides. The
only hope for the Hartford was that the iron beak of
the Tennessee would penetrate so far that she would
be unable to back clear of the wreck, and the two ships
would be dragged down together.
Seeing that a collision was imminent, Fleet-Captain
Drayton hastened to the Hartford's forecastle, while
Farragut sprang to the port-quarter rail, holding to the
mizzen rigging. Observing his exposed position, Flag-
Lieutenant Watson approached the admiral, and, pass-
ing a rope's end around his body, secured him to the
rigging. For some unexplained reason the Tennessee
avoided a head-on collision by slightly changing her
course just before the vessels were in contact, so that
the Hartford's port bow scraped against the port beam
of the ram. The vessels were now so near that Farra-
gut, from his position in the mizzen rigging, could
easily have stepped aboard the ram ; and the Hartford's
anchor, which had been left hanging tinder her bow,
was caught between the two vessels as they came to-
gether, and was bent out of shape. Several of the
Hartford's 9-inch guns were loaded with solid shot and
the heaviest charge of powder, and were discharged
at the ram, but although the vessels were not ten feet
apart the missiles did no perceptible injury. The ram
attempted to return the broadside, and her gun-ham-
mers were heard by the people in the Hartford giving
ominous clicks, but the powder failed to ignite. One
of the ram's guns, however, was fired, the shell from
which entered the Hartford's berth deck, killed an
officer and four men and wounded eight. This gun, the
last that the Tennessee fired, was so close that the flash
scorched the Hartfords side.
1864.
THE FLAGSHIP IX COLLISION.
445
All this time the LacTcawanna had been manoeu-
vring for another chance to ram, and, seizing what ap-
peared to be a favorable opportunity, Captain Mar-
chand ordered full speed. Unfortunately, the Hart-
ford, after her collision with the Tennessee, had put
her helm to starboard and was making a circle, also
Hartford
Diagram showing the different points at which the Tennessee iras rammed
by Farragufs vessels.
with a view of butting the enemy again. At this mo-
ment she got in the way of the Lackawanna, the latter
striking the flagship just forward of the mizzenmast
on the starboard side near the spot where Farragut
stood, narrowly missing him. The bow of the LacJca-
wanna crushed in the side of the flagship within two
446 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
feet of the water line, knocking two ports into one
and upsetting a Dahlgren gun. For a moment there
was some confusion, as it was feared the ship was sink-
ing, and orders were given to lower the port boats. At
the moment of the collision Farragut was standing on
the poop deck, and he immediately climbed over the
side into the starboard mizzen rigging to ascertain the
extent of the damage. The cry immediately rang out
above the din of battle, "Save the admiral ! Save the
admiral ! " but finding that the Hartford could float,
Farragut again appeared to the view of his men, allayed
their fears for his safety, and gave the order for full
speed and ram again.
The Lackawanna now resumed her efforts to secure
a position to butt the Tennessee, and a few minutes
later another collision between the two wooden ves-
sels seemed unavoidable. "And now," wrote Lieu-
tenant Kinney,1 " the admiral became a trifle excited.
He had no idea of whipping the rebels, to be himself
sunk by friends, nor did he realize at the moment that
the Hartford was as much to blame as the LacJca-
wanna. Turning to the writer, he inquired, ' Can you
say For God's sake by signal?' 'Yes, sir,' was the
reply. ' Then say to the Lackawanna, For God's sake,
get out of our way and anchor ! ' In my haste to send
the message, I brought the end of my signal staff down
with considerable violence upon the head of the ad-
miral, who was standing nearer than I thought, caus-
ing him to wince perceptibly. It was a hasty mes-
sage, for the fault was equally divided, each ship
being too eager to reach the enemy, and it turned out
all right, by a fortunate accident, that Captain Mar-
chand never received it.
Up to this time the Tennessee had been dealing with
wooden ships, and had it not been for her low speed
and defective guns, she would have sent the fleet to
1 Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. iv, p. 897.
1864. A BLOW FROM THE MANHATTAN. 447
the bottom in a few minutes. But while this desper-
ate and unequal contest had been going on, the three
monitors were approaching to take part in the fight.
Scarcely had the Monongahela cleared the Tennessee,
after ramming, when Lieutenant Wharton, of the Ten-
nessee, glancing out of the side of one of his gun ports,
caught a glimpse of a " hideous-looking monster [the
Manhattan] creeping up on our port side, whose slowly
revolving turret revealed the cavernous depths of a
mammoth gun. ' Stand clear of the port side ! ' I
shouted. A moment afterward a thunderous report
shook us all, while a blast of dense sulphurous smoke
covered our portholes, and four hundred and forty
pounds of iron, impelled by sixty pounds of powder,
admitted daylight through our sides where, before it
struck us, there had been over two feet of solid wood
covered with five inches of solid iron. This was the
only 15-inch shot that hit us fair. It did not come
through ; the inside netting caught the splinters, and
there were no casualties from it."
The Chickasaw, having received less injury than the
other monitors, passed the Tennessee on the port side,
and after firing her guns she ran under the ram's stern
and doggedly held that position to the close of the
fight, keeping up a terrific fire from her 11 -inch guns.
From that time Lieutenant-Commander Perkins was
never more than fifty yards from his antagonist, and
frequently the vessels were in actual contact. He
planted fifty-two 11-inch solid shot on the Tennessee's
casemate, most of them on the after end, where the
greatest injury was done and many plates were started.
That night, when the Metacomet was taking the Na-
tional and Confederate wounded to Pensacola, the pilot
of the Tennessee asked Lieutenant-Commander Jouett,
"Who commanded the monitor that got under our
stern ? Damn him, he stuck to us like a leech ! "
The Winnebago and the Manhattan also were
pounding away at the ram whenever their partially
448 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
disabled batteries bore. The Manhattan was able to
fire only six shot at the Tennessee, one of which, how-
ever, pierced the mailing on the port side of the ram
and shattered the oak and pine backing, though the
shot itself did not penetrate.
About this time the position of the men within the
casemate of the Tennessee began to be alarming.
Early in the action the pilot had been wounded by
having the trapdoor on the top of the pilot house
knocked down upon his head by a shot that struck
it on the edge while it was thrown back to admit of
his seeing more clearly the position of the vessels. Up
to this stage of the action the massive walls of the case-
mate had afforded ample protection to the men, and
they peered out of their portholes and saw their mis-
siles crash through the wooden ships with deadly effect,
while they were safe from the heaviest shot. But the
persistent hammering of the National ships began to
change the situation. Within a few feet of one of the
after gun ports nine 11-inch solid shot crashed against
the casemate, and the carriage of one of the guns had
been disabled and nearly all the iron plates on the after
side of the casemate had been started. Three of the
port shutters were jammed so that the guns could not
be used for the remainder of ttie action. The atmos-
phere within the casemate, which early in the fight had
been over 100°, had risen to 120°. The shock of the
rammings the Tennessee had received broke off the
smokestack under the casemate, and the coal smoke
began to pour into the gunroom and stifle the gunners,
which, added to the smoke from exploding powder,
made their position almost intolerable, and for relief
many of the men stripped to the waist. "Frequently
during the contest we were surrounded by the enemy,
and all our guns were in action almost at the same mo-
ment." ' A well-directed shot from the Chickasaw
1 Official report of Admiral Buchanan.
1864. SURRENDER OF THE TENNESSEE. 449
jammed the Tennessee's stern- port shutter so that the
gun could not be run in or out, and it was not long be-
fore the rudder chains, which were exposed on the deck
of the Tennessee, were shot away. Relieving-tackles
for steering the ship were adjusted, but these also, in
a short time, were carried away.
Seeing that the battle was against him and that there
was no hope of contending successfully against the fleet,
Buchanan now ordered Johnston to steer for Fort Mor-
gan, with a view of seeking the shelter of its guns.
Buchanan at this time was directing a gun, when a
shot from the ChicJcasaw jammed the shutter so that it
could not be moved. He sent to the engine-room for a
machinist to push out the pin of the shutter, hoping
that it would fall away, thus leaving the port open ;
and while the machinist was endeavoring to do this a
heavy shot struck the edge of the port cover outside
where the man was working. The concussion muti-
lated the man in a horrible manner, scattering the frag-
ments of his body all over the deck, which afterward
were shoveled into a bucket and thrown overboard.
The same shot mortally wounded one of the gun crew,
and drove the washers and nuts across the deck with
such force as to break Buchanan's leg below the knee.
He was carried to the surgeon's table below, and while
his wound was being dressed he sent for Johnston (who
after the accident to the pilot had been directing the
movements of the ram from the pilot-house), and said :
"Well, Johnston, they've got me. You'll have to look
out for her now."
When the command of the Tennessee devolved upon
Captain Johnston her condition was indeed desperate.
The forward and after port covers were jammed so that
the guns were useless. The steam, owing to the wreck
of the smokestack, was going down. Shot were rain-
ing on the after part of the casemate so that it must
soon have fallen in and exposed the men to the dread-
ful effect of shells exploding in their confined space.
74
450 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
For some time the Tennessee was heading aimlessly
about the bay, with the monitors and the wooden ships
relentlessly pursuing her and keeping up a terrific fire
and seeking opportunities to ram. Captain Johnston
now made a personal examination of the broken wheel
chains, and found it was impossible to repair them
without sending a man outside the casemate, which
was constantly swept by a storm of iron, and finally
the tiller was unshipped from the rudder head.
After enduring this fearful battering twenty min-
utes without being able to fire a gun or to direct the
movements of his vessel, Captain Johnston went below
to consult with Admiral Buchanan, who said, "Well,
Johnston, if you can not do them any further injury you
had better surrender." Johnston then returned to the
pilot-house to see if he could get another shot, and
finding that this was impossible, he went on top of the
casemate and took down the flag, which had been at-
tached to a gun scraper and thrust through the grating.
The National vessels did not immediately understand
that a surrender had been made, and continued their
fire. Captain Johnston then wrent on the casemate, and
at 10 A. M. exhibited a white flag, when the firing
ceased.
But at this moment the Ossipee had seized a favor-
able opportunity for ramming, and was coming down
on the Tennessee at right angles under a full head of
steam, on the starboard side. Commander Le Roy, of
the Ossipee, in passing the Winnebago, exchanged a
pleasant greeting with Commander Stevens, who was
still outside his turrets. Observing a man on the Ten-
nessee's casemate waving a white flag, and recognizing
him as Captain Johnston, Commander Le Roy put his
helm over and reversed his engines, but was too late to
avoid a collision. As the vessels came into contact,
the Union officer came out on his forecastle deck and
called out: "This is the United States steamer Ossi-
pee. Hello, Johnston ! how are you ? I'll send a boat
1864. LOSSES AND INJURIES. 451
alongside for you. Le Roy, don't you know me ? "
These two officers had been warm friends in the navy
before the war. A moment later a boat put out from
the Ossipee and Johnston was cordially received by
Le Roy. An officer now hoisted the National colors
over the battered casemate of the ram, on seeing which
cheers upon cheers burst from the victorious crews.
The ChicJcasaw then took the Tennessee in tow and
anchored her near the Hartford.
In this desperate battle the Hartford was struck
twenty times, the Brooklyn thirty, the Octorara seven-
teen, the Metacomet eleven, the LacJcawanna five, the
Ossipee four, the Monongahela five, the Kennebec two,
and the Galena seven times. Of the monitors, the
Manhattan was struck nine times, the Winnebago
nineteen times and the CMcJcasaw three times. Near-
ly all the plating of the Tennessee on the after end of
the casemate was started, one bolt had been driven in,
several nuts and washers had been knocked off, the
steering-rods had been cut off near the after pivot gun
and the carriage of that gun was damaged ; but there
was no visible injury from the ramming by the Hart-
ford, the Monongahela and the LacTcawanna. " Fif-
ty-three shot-marks in all were counted on the Tennes-
see's shield, three of which had penetrated so far as
to cause splinters to fly on board, and the washers from
the ends of the bolts wounded several men." l
The loss in the National fleet was : Hartford, twen-
ty-five killed and twenty-eight wounded ; Brooklyn,
eleven killed and forty- three wounded ; LacJcawanna,
four killed and thirty-five wounded ; Oneida, eight
killed and thirty wounded ; Monongahela, six wound-
ed ; Metacomet, one killed and two wounded ; Ossipee,
one killed and seven wounded ; Richmond, two wound-
ed ; Galena, one wounded ; Octorara, one killed and
ten wounded ; Kennebec, one killed and six wounded ;
1 Official report of Captain Johnston.
452 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
total, fifty-two killed and one hundred and seventy
wounded. The Tennessee had two killed and nine
wounded ; the Gaines, two killed and three wounded ;
the Selma, eight killed and seven wounded ; the Mor-
gan, one wounded ; total Confederate loss, twelve
killed and twenty wounded. Two hundred and eighty
prisoners were taken. Ninety-three men were drowned
in the TecumseTi, and four were captured.
That night the Metacomet carried all the wounded
to Pensacola, being piloted through the torpedoes by
the Tennessee's pilot. Rear-Admiral Jouett writes :
"I was detailed by Admiral Farragut to take the
wounded of both sides to Pensacola. The awnings and
side curtains were all spread, and the Metacomet be-
came a hospital ship. Admiral Buchanan was wound-
ed in the knee, as he had been in the fight between the
Merrimac and the Monitor. Captain Mullany, of the
Oneida, lost an arm, and there were many others
wounded. They lay in cots on the quarter-deck, sling-
ing side by side, chatting familiarly, taking medicine,
tea, coffee or wine, as the doctor thought best. 'Twas
amusing to hear those poor fellows, who but an hour
ago were trying to kill each other, now spinning yarns
of olden times." Among the Union wounded were
Lieutenant Adams and Mr. Heginbotham, the latter
being hurt mortally. Another one of the wounded was
an Irish lad who had been stationed at a shell whip
during the action, hoisting ammunition to the deck.
While he had his hands above his head, in the act of
hoisting, a shell cut off both his arms at the elbows.
Another man had lost both his legs in the Hartford,
and after the war the two men entered into a peculiar
partnership, putting what was left of their bodies
together as capital (one man supplying the legs and the
other the arms) and selling pictures of Admiral Farra-
gut in the streets of New York. As the Metacomet
was swinging from the wharf at Pensacola on her re-
turn trip to Mobile, Midshipman Carter, of the Ten-
1864. GALLANT OFFICERS. 453
nessee, called out to Jouett, "Don't attempt to fire
No. 2 starboard gun, as there is a shell jammed in the
bore, and the gun will burst and kill some one."
Hearing from Dr. Conrad of the condition of Ad-
miral Buchanan, Farragut ordered his fleet surgeon to
go aboard the Tennessee and personally attend him.
Surgeon Palmer ran alongside the battered ram in the
steam barge Loyall, but such was the slope of the Ten-
nessee^ s sides that the boat could not get near enough
for him to step aboard, and it required a long jump.
Gaining the Tennessee's deck, Palmer climbed through
one of the gun ports, and, picking his path across the
piles of wreckage that encumbered the deck, he found
his way to the Confederate admiral. Preparations had
been made to amputate his leg, but on Dr. Palmer's
advice the operation was postponed and the limb was
saved. In his official report Buchanan said, "We
have received all the attention and consideration we
could desire or accept from Fleet- Surgeon Palmer."
Lieutenant Giraud, of the Ossipee, attended by Captain
Heywood, of the marines, and a guard, was sent to re-
ceive Buchanan's sword ; and when Captain Heywood
met Buchanan he could not refrain from reminding the
Confederate admiral that they had met before when the
Cumberland was sunk by the Merrimac.
Farragut spoke of all his officers "as deserving
my warmest commendation, not only for the untiring
zeal with which they prepared their ships for the con-
test, but for their skill and daring in carrying out my
orders during the engagement." He particularly com-
mended the gallantry of Captains Percival Drayton and
Thornton A. Jenkins ; Commanders Mullany, Nichol-
son, and Stevens; Lieutenant-Commanders Jouett and
Perkins ; Lieutenants Watson and Yates ; Acting-En-
signs Henry C. Nields, Bogart and Heginbotham ; En-
sign Henry Howard Brownell, Secretary McKinley, the
pilot Martin Freeman, Acting- Volunteer-Lieutenants
William Hamilton and P. Giraud. Of his crew he
454: ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1864.
said: "I have never seen a crew come up like ours.
They are ahead of the old set in small arms, and fully
equal to them at the great guns. They arrived here a
mere lot of boys and young men, and have now fattened
up and knocked the 9-inch guns about like 24-pounders,
to the astonishment of everybody. There was but one
man who showed fear, and he was allowed to resign.
This was the most desperate battle I ever fought since
the days of the old Essex" l
At half past two that afternoon Lieutenant-Com-
mander Perkins got under way in the Chickasaw and
for an hour bombarded Fort Powell, and on the follow-
ing night the fort was abandoned by the Confederates
and blown up. The next day Acting-Volunteer- Lieu-
tenant Pomeroy, of the Estrella, hoisted the National
ensign over the fort. On the 6th of August the Chicka-
1 Aside from the officers, the men who won especial distinction in this
great battle were : Wilson Brown,* Thomas Fitzpatrick,* Martin Freeman,
James R. Garrison,* John Lawson,* John McFarland, Charles Melville,*
Thomas O'Connell,* William Pelham, William A. Stanley,* all in the
Hartford. John Brown, William Blageen, William H. Brown,* John
Cooper, J. Henry Denig, Richard Dennis, Samuel W. Davis, Michael Hud-
son, William Halstead. Joseph Irlam, Nicholas Irwin, John Irving, Burnett
Kenna, Alexander Mack,* William Madden, James Machon, James Mifflin,
William Nichols, Miles M.Oviatt, Edward Price, William M. Smith, James
E. Sterling,* Samuel Todd, all in the Brooklyn. Thomas Atkinson, Robert
Brown, Cornelius Cronin, Thomas Cripps, James B. Chandler,* William
W. Call, William Densmore, Adam Duncan, Charles Deakin,* William
Doolin,* Thomas Hayes, Hugh Hamilton, James Mclntosh, John H.
James,* William Jones, James H. Morgan, Andrew Miller, James Martin,
George Parks, Hendrick Sharp, Walter B. Smith, Lebbeus Simpkins,
Oloff Smith, John Smith, James Smith, David Sprowle, Alexander H.
Truett, all of the Richmond. John M. Burns,* Michael Cassidy, Louis G.
Chaput,* Adam McCullock,* Patrick Dougherty, John Edwards,* Samuel
W. Kinnaird, William Phinney, John Smith, George Taylor,* James
Ward,* Daniel Whitfield, all of the Lackawanna. William Gardner,
John E. Jones,* Thomas Kendrick, William Newland, David Naylor, John
Preston.* James S. Roantree, James Sheridan,* Charles B. Woram, all of
the Oneida. Andrew Jones of the Chickasaw. Those marked with an
asterisk either left the sick-bay to take part in the battle, or continued to
fight after being wounded, many of them leaving the surgeon's table to
return to the deck.
1865. CAPTURE OF THE PORTS. 455
saw opened fire on Fort Gaines, which surrendered on
the following morning. This left only Fort Morgan in
the possession of the enemy, and on the 22d of August
the fleet, assisted by land forces under General Granger
and a siege train that had been sent from New Orleans,
opened fire upon it, and in twelve hours threw three
thousand missiles into and around the works. The
next day it surrendered, and this effectually closed
Mobile as a port for blockade-runners. Soon after this
brilliant victory Admiral Farragut went North, and
Captain James S. Palmer assumed command of the
fleet. In February, 1865, he was relieved by Acting-
Rear-Admiral Henry K. Thatcher, although Palmer
still remained in the fleet.
In the spring of 1865 the naval force in Mobile Bay
materially assisted the National troops under General
Canby in reducing the city of Mobile. The vessels
taking part in this affair were the Octorara, Lieuten-
ant-Commander W. W. Low ; the monitors KicJcapoo,
Lieu tenant- Commander M. P. Jones ; Osage, Lieuten-
ant-Commander William W. Gamble ; Milwaukee,
Lieutenant-Commander James H. Gillis ; Winnebago,
Lieutenant-Commander W. A. Kirkland ; and CMcka-
saw, Lieutenant-Commander G. H. Perkins. On the
27th of March these vessels moved up Dog River and
opened fire on the Confederate batteries. While the
Winnebago and the Milwaukee were returning from
Spanish Fort, on the 28th of March, after shelling a
transport two miles up the river, the Milwaukee, when
some two hundred yards from the Union fleet, struck
a torpedo about forty feet from her stern on the port
side, and although her bow remained above water
nearly an hour afterward, her stern sank in three min-
utes. All her people fortunately escaped. Lieutenant-
Commander Gillis afterward commanded a naval bat-
tery, and rendered conspicuous service. It was known "
that many torpedoes had been planted in these waters,
but it was thought that the drag-nets had removed
456 ABOVE THE MOBILE FORTS. 1865.
them. On the 29th of March the Winnebago dragged
her anchor in the fresh breeze, and in order to avoid a
collision the Osage tripped anchor and moved ahead,
but just as she was anchoring again she struck a tor-
pedo and sank almost immediately. None of her men
were drowned, but five of them were killed and eleven
wounded by the force of the explosion. A few days
after this — April 1st — the steamer RodolpTi, having on
board a machine for raising the Milwaukee, was also
struck by a torpedo thirty feet aft from her bow, which
caused her to sink in a few minutes. The explosion
killed four men and wounded eleven.
On the 8th of April Spanish Fort surrendered.
Commander Pierce Crosby was ordered to proceed in
the Metacomet and clear the river of torpedoes (which
the enemy still continued to send down), and he suc-
ceeded in lifting over a hundred and fifty of them. On
the 10th the ironclads and the Octorara moved up the
river and shelled the earthworks named Huger and
Tracy, which were abandoned on the following evening.
On the 12th, Commander Palmer, in the Octorara, ac-
companied by the ironclads, moved up the river within
easy shelling distance of Mobile, while Admiral Thatch-
er, conveying eight thousand troops under General
Granger, crossed the bay in the gunboats ; but the city,
having been evacuated by the Confederate troops, sur-
rendered without further resistance.
While engaged in the work of clearing these waters
of torpedoes, the tugboats Ida, AUTiea and one of the
Cincinnati's launches were blown up, eight men being
killed and five wounded ; and on the 14th of April the
gunboat Scioto had six men killed and five wounded
by a torpedo.
CHAPTER XVII.
OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON.
FROM the time Sumter was fired on a sentimental
interest centered around Charleston, both among the
Nationalists and the Southerners, and it became the
scene of one of the most obstinate sieges in history.
In December, 1861, and January,. 1862, a number of
old whalers filled with stones were sunk in the main
ship channel of Charleston and in Sullivan Island chan-
nel, with a view of closing the port to blockade-run-
ners This aroused a storm of opposition in Europe, as
it was feared that it would destroy the harbor ; but as a
matter of fact the obstructions proved to be of the most
temporary character. Many of the blockade-runners
had been built in England with a view of entering the
shallow harbors and rivers on the Southern coast, so
that few of them found it necessary to take the chan-
nels in Charleston harbor. Furthermore, this "stone
fleet " caused better and deeper channels to be formed.
A blockading force was maintained off Charleston
early in the war, under the command of Rear-Admiral
Samuel Francis Dupont, but it was not until 1863 that
any important naval actions took place off that port.
Early on the morning of January 31st of this year two
ironclad rams, built somewhat in the style of the Merri-
mac, came out and gave battle to the blockading squad-
ron. These vessels — the Palmetto State, Commodore
Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham, and the CTiicora, Captain
John Randolph Tucker — had been built by James M.
Eason, after plans submitted by John L. Porter, who
was identified with the construction of the Merrimac.
457
458 OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1863.
They were one hundred and fifty feet over all, had
thirty-five feet beam and drew twelve feet of water.
Both vessels were covered with two layers of 2-inch
iron, which were laid on twenty-two inches of pine and
oak backing. The iron plating was continued five feet
below the water line, and also covered the ram, which
was a formidable elongation of the bow. Under favor-
able conditions they could steam seven knots. The
Confederates also were building the ironclads Charles-
ton and Columbia, which were plated with six inches
of iron, the ladies of Charleston contributing the money
for the former. The Palmetto State was armed with
one 80-pounder and one 60-pounder rifled gun and
two 8-inch shell guns, while the Chicora carried two
9-inch guns and four 32-pounders, which had been
hooped and rifled to fire a 60-pound projectile.
At the time the Palmetto State and the Chicora
came out of Charleston harbor, two of the most power-
ful vessels of the Union squadron, the Powhatan and
the Canandaigua, were coaling at Port Royal, so that
only the following gunboats were off the port : Housa-
tonic, Ottawa, Unadilla, Mercedita, Keystone State,
Quaker City, Memphis, Augusta, Stettin and Flag.
Of these vessels, only the Housatonic, the Ottawa and
the Unadilla were built for war purposes.
The sea was enveloped in a dense fog, so that the
first intimation the Nationalists had of the attack
was about 4.30 A. M., when the Mercedita, Captain
Henry S. Stellwagen, discovered a strange craft loom-
ing out of the mist off to the starboard, making di-
rectly .toward her. The people in the Union steamer
called out : ' ' What steamer is that ? Drop your anchor
or you will be into us ! " Commodore Ingraham replied,
"The Confederate States' steamer Palmetto /State, "and
almost at the same instant he fired a 7- inch shell into
the Mercedita, which killed a gunner, and, piercing the
condenser and steam drum of her port boiler, exploded,
blowing a hole four feet square in the opposite side near
Map of Charleston Harbor and vicinity.
1863. RAID OF THE PALMETTO STATE AXD CHICORA. 459
the water line. The escaping steam killed several men
and scalded three others. The Confederates then called
on the disabled steamer to surrender and send a boat
aboard. Lieutenant Abbott accordingly went aboard
and gave a parole for all the officers and men in the
Union vessel. Not stopping to secure her prize, the
Palmetto State joined the Cliicora in an attack upon
the Keystone State, Commander William Edgar Le
Roy, whose people had been aroused by the report of
the gun, and soon discovered above the fog the smoke
of a tugboat— as they supposed — approaching from the
direction of the Mercedita.
Meantime, lights in a dark object moving a little
ahead of the Mercedita were discovered, and Com-
mander Le Roy ordered his cables to be slipped, steam
got up, and the forward rifled gun to be trained on the
vessel approaching from the Mercedita. Hailing the
stranger and getting an unsatisfactory answer, the Key-
stone State fired her forward gun, and about the same
instant the Confederate steamer sent a shell into the
forward hold of the Union vessel, setting her on fire.
Directing his men to fire as the guns bore, Le Roy put
his helm aport and held a northeasterly course until
he found the water shoaling, when he headed his vessel
southeast. After ten minutes in this direction the
flames in the hold had been extinguished, and the
Keystone State made for a black smoke with the inten-
tion of ramming. The two vessels exchanged shot at
about 6.17 A. M., when a shell entered the port side of
the Keystone State, destroyed the steam-pipes, emptied
the port boiler and filled the vessel with steam, while
two shot pierced the hull under the water line. As the
ship heeled heavily to starboard and eighteen inches
of water were reported in the well, it was thought that
she was sinking and preparations were made for aban-
doning her. All this time the stranger was firing into
the Keystone State, killing or wounding men at each
shot. Seeing the hopelessness of the struggle, Le Roy
460 OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1863.
hauled down his colors, but as the enemy continued
to fire he rehoisted the flag and renewed the action
from his stern guns. After exchanging a few shot with
several other Union vessels the Confederate vessels re-
turned to Charleston.
The fog hung over the sea all that morning, and it
was not until late in the afternoon that the ironclads
could be seen at anchor near Fort Moultrie. Com-
mander Le Roy ran in his port guns, so as to heel the
ship over, thus raising the two shot-holes above the
water line, and in this condition was towed to Port
Royal, where the Mercedita also arrived. The Key-
stone State had twenty killed and twenty wounded,
Assistant-Surgeon J. H. Gotwold being among the
former. Most of the injuries were caused by steam.
The Confederates reported that the rams were unin-
jured, but they did not again attempt to come out of
the harbor. The partial success of this dashing affair
so elated the Confederates that they declared the
blockade raised, and that the National vessels had
been driven out of sight. The dense fog hanging over
the coast might, in truth, have rendered the blockading
squadron invisible to those on shore, as the proclama-
tion of General Beauregard and Commodore Ingraham
declared, but when the fog rose late in the afternoon
a strong blockading force was seen to be on hand.
On the evening before this attack the gunboat Isaac
Smith, Acting-Lieutenant F. S. Conover, while making
a reconnoissance up the Stono River in company with
the McDonough, Lieutenant-Commander George Ba-
con, was fired upon by a masked battery on James
Island, and almost at the same moment two other bat-
teries opened on her. Conover attempted to retreat,
but a shot disabled his vessel's machinery, so that he
was compelled to surrender, having eight men killed
and seventeen wounded. The Isaac Smith was taken
into the Confederate service under the name Stono.
In May, 1862, the gunboats Unadilla, Pembina and
1863. FIRST ATTACK ON FORT McALLISTER. 461
Ottawa, under the orders of Commander Marchand,
went up the Stono as far as Legareville and captured a
picket guard.
Anxious to test the monitors that were detailed for
the Atlantic blockade, Rear- Admiral Dupont, in Janu-
ary, 1863, ordered the MontauTc, Commander John
Lorimer Worden, mounting one 15-inch and one 11-
inch gun, one of the first to arrive, to Ossabaw Sound
to attack Fort McAllister. This fortification mounted
nine guns and was commanded by Captain George W.
Anderson, Jr. Another object Dupont had in view
was the destruction of the blockade-runner Nashville,
which had been fitted as a cruiser and was in the Great
Ogeechee River, waiting for an opportunity to get to
sea. This vessel, owing to the extreme vigilance of
Lieutenant-Commander John Lee Davis, of the Wissa-
TiicJcon, and Lieutenant John S. Barnes, of the Dawn
(afterward commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Gib-
son), had been kept in port eight months. To render
her position more secure, Fort McAllister had been
strengthened, and a diagonal line of piles was driven
across the channel and a line of torpedoes planted.
At 7 A. M., January 27th, the Montauk, handsomely
supported by the gunboats Seneca, Lieutenant-Com-
mander William Gibson, Wissahickon, Dawn and
Williams, opened fire on the fort, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Davis having reconnoitered the waters the
night before in boats and destroyed the enemy's range
marks. Having expended his shells, Commander Wor-
den about noon retired and signaled the gunboats to
follow. In this affair the ironclad was struck thirteen
times, but none of the Nationalists were injured.
These vessels renewed the attack on February 1st, but
although Captain Anderson reported that "at times
the fire was terrible," and that the " mortar firing was
unusually fine, a large number of shells bursting over
the battery," yet no damage was done which could
not be repaired at night. The Confederate loss was
462 OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1863.
one officer killed, seven men wounded and one gun dis-
abled. Although struck forty-six times in this second
attack, the MontauTc escaped without serious injury.
Discovering that Captain Baker, commander of the
NasJimlle, on the evening of February 27th had run
his ship aground, Commander Worden, early on the
morning of February 28th, moved close up to the line
of piles, where he could reach the stranded cruiser
across a marsh, a distance of twelve hundred yards,
with his guns. Only her upper decks were visible
from the turret of the monitor. At this moment the
Union gunboats opened a heavy fire on Fort McAllis-
ter, while Worden coolly set about making a target of
the Nashville, in spite of a furious protest from Fort
McAllister. A few shells soon determined the range,
and then one of the most beautiful exhibitions of tar-
get firing in the war was given. In twenty minutes
Commander Worden had the Nashville on fire aft,
forward and amidships, in spite of the fog that at one
time obstructed the view, and in fifty minutes the flames
reached the magazine and she blew up. So excited and
exasperated were the Confederates at the audacious at-
tack of the monitor that the fire from Fort McAllister
was wild, and only five shot struck the MontauJz. This
was one of the brilliant achievements of the civil war.
More than one victory has been won by tireless watch-
ing. Finding that he could make no serious impression
on Fort McAllister, Worden, instead of wasting his
powder, quietly bided his time. When the Nashville
grounded his quick eye took in the situation at a
glance. He seized his opportunity and snatched a
brilliant victory from 'a tedious and unusually inglori-
ous blockade. When the Montauk was retiring from
this attack a hole was blown in her bottom by a tor-
pedo. Worden promptly ran her ashore and had
pieces of boiler iron bolted over the wound, and con-
tinued on his station.
Anxious to subject the new monitors to a further
1863. SECOND ATTACK ON I'ORT McALLISTER. 4^3
test, and at the same time give their officers and crews
a chance to become more familiar with the novel craft
before beginning serious operations off Charleston, Du-
pont ordered the Passaic, Captain Percival Drayton,
the Patapsco, Commander Daniel Am men, and the
NaTiant, Commander John A. Downes, with three 13-
inch mortar schooners, to join the MontauTc in an at-
tack upon Fort McAllister. This was done with great
spirit on March 30th, but the shoaling water and the
line of piles prevented the ironclads from approaching
nearer than twelve hundred yards, while the mortar
schooners took a position at four thousand yards. For
eight hours the monitors kept up a heavy tire, but al-
though great craters were made in the parapets and two
guns were disabled, no serious injury was inflicted. As
Captain Drayton boldly took a position in front of the
fort, where seven guns bore on him, his vessel was se-
verely handled. She was struck thirty-four times.
One mortar shell tilled with sand landed on her deck
and would have penetrated had it not struck a beam.
The deck of the monitor was badly shattered in other
places. The remaining ironclads came out of the action
without serious injury. During the attack the gun-
boats Seneca, Wissahickon and Dawn took a position
two miles from the fort, to signal the effect of the shells.
The ironclads that were built for the Atlantic
blockade arrived in the spring of 1863, and by April
7th Admiral Dupont, in obedience to instructions
from Washington, made an attack on Charleston. He
formed his line of battle with the Weehawken, Captain
John Rodgers, leading, followed by the Passaic, Cap-
tain Percival Drayton ; the Montauk, Captain John
Lorimer Worden ; the Patapsco, Commander Daniel
Ammen ; the New Ironsides (flagship), Commander
Thomas Turner ; the CatsTcill, Commander George
Washington Rodgers ; the Nantucket, Commander
Donald McNeil Fairfax; the Nahant, Commander
John A. Downes ; and the KeoTcuJc, Commander Alex-
464: OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 186a
ander Golden Rhind. All these vessels, excepting the
New Ironsides and the Keokuk, were ironclads of the
monitor type, and were armed with one 15-inch and one
11-inch gun each, excepting the Patapsco, which carried
a 150-pounder rifled gun in place of the 11-inch gnn.
The New Ironsides, named after the famous 44-gun
frigate Constitution, was protected with four and a
half inches of iron. She was armed with two 150-
pounder rifled guns and fourteen 11-inch guns. The
Keokuk also was an experiment in iron-clad ships. She
was one hundred and fifty-nine feet over all, had thirty-
nine feet beam, eight feet draft and carried two turrets,
in which were two 11-inch guns. The number of guns
in the attacking fleet was seven 15-inch, twenty-two 11-
inch and four 150-pounder rifled guns ; in all, thirty-
three guns.
The defenses of Charleston at this time were of the
most formidable character. The harbor was fairly
bristling with cannon, while the waters were filled
with piles and rope obstructions and thickly planted
with dangerous torpedoes. The guns bearing on the
ironclads were ten 10-inch columbiads, two 9-inch Dahl-
gren guns, twenty 8-inch guns, two 7-inch rifled guns,
six rifled 42-pounders, eight rifled 32-pounders, fifteen
32-pounders, one rifled 24-pounder, and five 10-inch
mortars ; in all, sixty-nine guns.
Having received instructions to pay no attention to
the guns on Morris Island, but to concentrate their fire
on the center embrasure of Fort Sumter, the National
vessels got under way at 1.15 P. M. ; but so much delay
was caused by the cumbrous torpedo-catcher that had
been rigged on the bow of the WeehawTcen that it was
2.50 P. M. before the vessels were in gunshot of Fort
Moultrie. Soon afterward the ironclads were subjected
to a terrific cross fire, and as the Confederates had
long since determined the exact range, they fired with
great accuracy. The WeehawTcen opened at 3.05 P. M.,
and ran close up to the rope obstructions between
1863. IRONCLADS ATTACK CHARLESTON. 455
Forts Sumter and Moultrie, when a torpedo exploded
near her bow ; but aside from straining the vessel a
little it did no serious damage. Observing a row of
casks ahead, and thinking it imprudent to entangle
his vessel in the rope obstructions, Captain Rodgers
turned the bow of his monitor seaward, but still kept
up a heavy fire. The vessels following the Weehaw-
Tceris lead were subjected to the same destructive fire.
In order to avoid a collision with the Nahant, the
Keokuk ran ahead and was exposed to a terrific tire.
In thirty minutes she was struck ninety times, nine-
teen shot piercing her hull at the water line, while her
turrets were riddled. Seeing that it was impossible to
keep her afloat, Commander Rhind steamed out of
range and anchored, and on the following morning, in
spite of all efforts, she sank off Morris Island.
After braving the fire of sixty- nine guns for about
an hour the ironclads retired, some of them seriously
injured. During the attack the New Ironsides for an
hour held a position directly over a boiler-iron torpedo
containing two thousand pounds of powder, which was
connected by wires with the shore. The Confederates
made every effort to explode the machine, but without
success, and the operator was accused of treachery, un-
til it was learned that one of the wires had been severed
by an ordnance wagon passing over it.
After this unsuccessful attack on Fort Sumter,
Dupont, by the special direction of President Lincoln,
kept up a formidable demonstration before Charles-
ton, so as to divert the enemy's attention from other
points. Learning that the Confederates were com-
pleting an ironclad of the Merrimac type at Savannah,
with which they expected to raise the blockade, Du-
pont ordered the Weehaicken, Captain John Rodgers,
and the Nahant, Commander Downes, to Wassaw
Sound to head it off. This ironclad, christened At-
lanta, had been the British steamer Fingal, purchased
on the Clyde in September, 1861. At that time she
75
466 OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1861-18G3.
was a new ship and had made one or two trips to the
north of Scotland, at which time her log gave her thir-
teen knots an hour. In October, 1861, the Fingal
sailed from Greenock, Scotland, with a number of
Confederate officers aboard, and running into Holy-
head, on a stormy night, she accidentally sank an Aus-
trian brig, the Siccardi. Taking aboard some Con-
federate officers at this point, she arrived at Bermuda,
November 2d, and afterward reached Savannah.
She made several efforts to run the blockade, but
the National vessels so vigilantly guarded the coast
that the Confederates found it impossible to get her to
sea. She was then cut down to the main deck, which
was widened amidships and overlaid with a foot of
wood and iron plating, and upon this foundation was
built the casemate, the sides of which inclined at an
angle of thirty- three degrees. She was two hundred
and four feet over all, had forty-one feet beam and
drew fifteen feet nine inches of water, but her speed
had been reduced to less than eight knots an hour.
Yet even this speed would have made her a dangerous
antagonist for the slow-going monitors. The top of the
casemate was flat, and the pilot house rose three feet
above it. The casemate was covered with four inches of
iron plates in two layers, laid on top of three inches of
oak and fifteen inches of pine. The Atlanta was fitted
with a formidable ram and a spar torpedo. Her arma-
ment consisted of two 7-inch Brooke rifled guns, mount-
ed on pivots in the bow and stern, and two 6 '4-inch
Brooke rifled guns in the broadside. The 7-inch guns
could be used with broadside guns, so that there were
three guns to each broadside. The Confederates were
also building the Georgia after the same plan. This
vessel was two hundred and fifty feet over all and had
sixty feet beam, while her casemate was twelve feet high.
The Atlanta, commanded by Lieutenant William A.
Webb, was designed as a seagoing cruiser, and had twen-
ty-one officers and one hundred and twenty-one men.
1863. THE WEEHAWKEN-ATLANTA FIGHT. 457-
Shortly after daylight, June 17th, the Atlanta was
discovered coming down Wilmington River, accom-
panied by several steamers filled with people eager to
witness the expected victory over the monitors. On
making out the ironclad, the Weehawken and the Na-
Tiant slipped their cables and ran down to the east end
of Wassaw Island, where there was more room for
manoeuvring. Having led the Atlanta far enough out,
the monitors, about 4.30 A.M., advanced to meet the
enemy. While yet a mile and a half away Lieutenant
Webb fired a rifled shell, which struck the water be-
yond the Weehawken and near the Nahant. Rodgers
being considerably in advance of his consort, at 5.15
A. M. fired a shot at a distance of three hundred yards.
This missile knocked a hole in the Atlanta's casemate,
scattering a great quantity of wood and iron splinters
over her gun deck, wounding sixteen men and prostrat-
ing about forty. Another shot from the Weehawken
struck the top of the pilot house, crushing and driving
down the bars on the top and sides, and wounding
both pilots and two helmsmen. The Weehawken fired
three more shots, one of them smashing a port shutter
and starting the joint of the casemate with the deck.
The Atlanta fired in all eight shot, none of which
struck the monitors. At 5.30 A. M., after an action of
only fifteen minutes, Lieutenant Webb hauled down
his colors. A prize crew was placed aboard the At-
lanta, and she was taken to Port Royal. She was re-
paired, and in February, 1864, she was stationed at
Hampton Roads.
On July 4, 1863, Rear- Admiral John Adolphe Ber-
nard Dahlgren arrived at Port Royal, and on the 6th
he succeeded Dupont in command of the fleet. With
a view of making a combined naval and land attack
on Morris Island, the monitors, at 4 A. M., July 10th,
crossed the bar in the following order— Catskill (flag-
ship), Montauk (now commanded by Commander Fair-
fax), Nahant, Weehawken (now commanded by Com-
468 OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1863-1864
mander Edmund R. Colhoun) — and attacked the Con-
federate fortifications at the southern end of Morris
Island. At the same time General Gillmore opened fire
from the batteries he had erected on the northern end
of Folly Island. After four hours of firing the Confed-
erate batteries were silenced and the National troops
took possession. The ironclads then advanced upon
Fort Wagner, which mounted ten or twelve heavy
guns, and, taking a position as close as the shoal waters
would permit, at 9.30, opened fire. In spite of the suf-
focating heat, to which the men in the National vessels
were little accustomed, a severe fire was maintained
until noon, when, two engineers and several firemen in
the CatsTclll being prostrated by the fearful heat, the
monitors dropped out of action to allow their crews to
rest, after which the fight was renewed until 6 p. M.,
when the vessels retired, having fired five hundred
and thirty-four shells and shrapnel. The CatsTtill, be-
ing the flagship, received the largest share of the
enemy's attention, and was struck sixty times. The
side of her pilot house was bulged in, but the vessel
was not disabled. The other monitors escaped — the
WeehawTcen without a shot striking her, the Montauk
struck only twice, and the Nahant six times. Our
troops assaulted Fort Wagner on the llth, but were
repelled with heavy losses. On that and the following
day the ships shelled the Confederate works.
With a view of diverting the enemy's attention from
Morris Island, the troops under General A. H. Terry
were sent up Stono River, accompanied by the Pawnee,
Commander George B. Balch, the McDonough, Lieu-
tenant Bacon, and the Marblehead, Lieutenant Scott.
On July 9th the monitor Nantucket, the Pawnee, the
McDonough and the Williams opened fire on James
Island while the troops landed. , Two days later a Con-
federate battery opened on the army transport Hunter,
to which the McDonough and the Williams promptly
responded. Early on the 16th the enemy opened on
1863. ATTACK ON FORT WAGNER. 4^9
the Pawnee and the Marblehead, disabling the steering
wheel in the former. The fire of the Pawnee checked
the advance of the Confederate troops.
On the 18th of July another naval and land attack
was made on Fort Wagner, the vessels firing with great
precision. At 4 P. M. they ran in with the flood tide
within three hundred yards of the fort and silenced its
guns. At the same time the gunboats Paul Jones,
Commander Rhind ; Ottawa, Lieutenant-Commander
AVilliam Danforth Whiting; Seneca, Lieutenant-Com-
mander William Gibson ; Chippewa, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Thomas Cadwalader Harris ; WissaMckon,
Lieutenant-Commander John Lee Davis, fired with
their pivot guns at long range. General Gillmore had
erected batteries on Morris Island, about a thousand
yards south of Fort Wagner, and opened an effective
fire. As evening came on the National troops made
another assault, but were again repelled.
On the night of August 7th the Confederates cap-
tured a Federal barge and its crew between James and
Morris Islands. On the following night Lieutenant
Philip Porcher, in the Juno, while steaming below
Morris Island, captured the first launch of the Wabash
and a 12-pound howitzer. Twelve men of the launch's
crew threw themselves overboard, five being drowned
and seven being rescued by the other picket boats.
The remaining eleven were captured. On August 4th
a picket boat captured a Confederate launch in which
was Major W. F. Warley of their artillery.
Several attempts were made by the Confederates to
destroy the National vessels by torpedoes, their efforts
being directed chiefly against the New Ironsides. On
the night of October 5th Lieutenant William T. Glassell,
in command of a David torpedo boat, managed to get
alongside of the New Ironsides and exploded a torpedo
three feet under water, but, although giving the massive
ship a bad shaking up, it did no vital injury. The
torpedo boat was destroyed and Lieutenant Glassell
4fr) OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1863.
was made a prisoner. Expeditions also were organized
to surprise some of the monitors and " smother " them
by wedging the turrets, covering the hatchways with
tarpaulins and throwing explosives down the smoke-
stacks. On the night of April 12th one of these expe-
ditions was ready to start, but at the last moment the
men were recalled.
The naval and land attack on Fort Wagner was not
renewed until August 17th, when the ironclads Wee-
hawken (flagship), Catskill, Nahant, MontauJc and New
Ironsides ran in with the flood tide within four hun-
dred and fifty yards of the enemy's batteries and opened
a heavy fire. The gunboats Canandaigua, Mahaska,
Cimmerone, Ottawa, Wissahickon, Dai CMng and
Lodona opened fire at a greater distance. In two
hours Fort Wagner was silenced. Fort Moultrie occa-
sionally reached the New Ironsides with her shot.
While the bombardment was in progress the pilot house
of the Catskill was struck by a heavy shot, and Com-
mander George Washington Rodgers and Acting- As-
sistant-Paymaster Josiah G. Woodbury were killed,
while Pilot Penton and Master's-Mate Wescott were
wounded. After transferring their bodies to a tugboat
the Catskill resumed her fire. At one time Dahlgren,
transferring his flag to the Passaic, accompanied by
the Patapsco, ran within two thousand yards of Sumter
and opened an effective fire. From this time the land
batteries kept up a constant fire on the forts and bat-
teries.
Another attack was made on Sumter by five moni-
tors on August 23d. Before daybreak they ran within
range and kept up a heavy fire until 6 A. M. A night
attack was made by all the ironclads on September 2d,
and in five hours two hundred and forty-five shot were
fired at the enemy. In this affair the ironclads were
hit seventy-one times, one shot driving an iron fragment
in the Weehawken, which broke Captain Badger's leg.
During these attacks the four rifled guns that had been
1863. BOAT ATTACK. 4-^
landed and fired nnder the direction of Commander
Foxhall A. Parker did good service.
On the night of September 6th the Confederates
evacuated Morris Island. On the following night the
Weehawken, in attempting to pass into the harbor be-
tween Sumter and Cumming's Point, grounded and re-
mained in that position until daylight. As soon as she
was discovered the Confederates opened from their
batteries on Sullivan and James Islands. The monitor
responded as well as she could, and some of her shells
caused an explosion in Fort Moultrie, destroyed an
8-inch columbiad, killed sixteen men and wounded
twelve. The New Ironsides, Captain Rowan, with the
other monitors, observing the perilous position of their
consort, ran in and opened a heavy fire on the enemy
until the Weehawken was floated off. On this day the
Patapsco made a handsome dash into the harbor to
examine the obstructions.
With a view of surprising Fort Sumter, a boat ex-
pedition under the command of Commander Thomas
Holdup Stevens attacked the fort on the night of Sep-
tember 8th. The boats moved in five divisions, com-
manded by Lieutenant-Commander Edward P. Wil-
liams, Lieutenants George C. Remey, S. W. Preston
and Francis J. Higginson, and Ensign Charles H.
Craven. There was also a detachment of marines
under Captain McCawley, making a total force of four
hundred men. Unfortunately, the Confederates had
learned of the proposed attack. The boats in tow of
a tug, when about eight hundred yards from Sumter,
dropped the line, and, receiving their final instructions
and the watchword, pulled for the fort. Lieutenant
Higginson's division was to make a diversion toward
the northwest front, while the main attack was to be
made on the southeast front. Through a misunder-
standing, however, the boats followed Higginson's di-
vision. When they approached the fort a heavy fire
of shell, hand grenades and small arms was opened,
472 OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1863.
while the Confederate gunboats and rams poured in a
cross fire. Several of the boats got their men ashore,
where they were promptly captured, but the others,
finding that the Confederates were prepared, retreated.
The Nationalists had three men killed, while thirteen
officers and one hundred and two men were made pris-
oners.
The army batteries again opened on Fort Sumter,
October 26th, while the Patapsco and the LehigJi
opened a cross fire with the 150-pounder rifled guns.
On the 6th of December, while the commander of
the Weehawken, Commander Jesse Duncan, was aboard
the flagship, the monitor suddenly sank. The disaster
was due to leaks in the vessel. The monitors gen-
erally had been trimmed so that the stern would be
deeper than the bow, by which means all water ac-
cumulating from leaks would run aft and could be
thrown out by powerful pumps. The Weehawken,
however, had been taking aboard a number of heavy
shells. The ironclads frequently had been compelled
to run out of action for want of ammunition, and to
increase her supply the WeeJiawkeri s forward hold
was filled with 15-inch shells. This brought her bow
down so much that the water did not run aft freely.
In the heavy swells the vessel took in considerable
quantities of water through the hawse holes, which,
accumulating in the forward extremity of the vessel,
gradually brought her down by the head. This pre-
vented the pumps from reaching the water that accu-
mulated. The increase of water in the vessel was so
gradual that there was no apprehension of danger un-
til a few minutes before she went down, when the sig-
nal "Assistance required" was given. Five minutes
afterward the WeeTiawTcen rolled heavily to starboard,
and, gradually settling, she rose to an upright position
and plunged to the bottom, carrying down four officers
and twenty seamen.
At .six o'clock on Christmas morning the Marble-
1804-1865. SINKING OF THE WEEHAWKEN. 473
head, Lieutenant-Commander Meade, while at anchor
near Legareville had an engagement of an hour and a
half with the Confederate batteries on John's Island.
Hearing the sound of shotted guns, Commander Balch,
in the Pawnee, with the mortar schooner Williams,
Acting-Master Freeman, got under way and opened a
cross fire on the Confederates, driving them from their
guns. In this affair the Marblehead had three men
killed and four wounded, and her hull had been struck
twenty times.
While lying off Charleston on the night of April
18th, the WabasTi was approached by a torpedo boat,
but by slipping her cables and going ahead she avoided
trouble. A round shot struck the machine, and it
was seen no more. On the 9th of July a naval force
assisted General Schimmelfennig, who commanded the
troops in an attack on James Island.
On the morning of November 5th the Palapsco de-
stroyed a sloop that had run aground near Fort Moul-
trie. Five days later the Pontiac, while endeavoring
to pick up her anchor near Moultrie, was struck by a
rifled shell, which killed five men and wounded seven.
On the night of the 15th of January, 1865, the Patapsco,
while on picket duty near the line of obstructions, was
struck by a torpedo and sank in fifteen seconds, in five
fathoms of water. Of her crew, numbering one hundred
and seven men, only five officers and thirty-eight men
escaped.
On the 17th of February, 1864, the Housatonic was
sunk by a torpedo boat. This submarine craft had a
singular history. She was built in Mobile, in 1863, and
was designed to dive under water, the motive power be-
ing a propeller worked by eight men. While on her trial
trip she sank, the crew of ten men suffocating. Being
raised, she was taken to Charleston in 1864, where she
was sunk by the wash of a passing steamer, her crew,
with the exception of Lieutenant Payne, going down
with her. She was raised, but while at the wharf near
474 OPERATIONS OFF CHARLESTON. 1864-1865.
Fort Sumter sank for the third time, carrying down
all her men excepting Lieutenant Payne and two sea-
men. Soon afterward she made several successful dives
in Stono River, but at last stuck her nose in the mud
at the bottom of the river and the crew suffocated.
For the fourth time she was raised, but in attempting
to dive under a schooner for practice she fouled the
cables, and again the crew perished. After being under
water a week she was raised, and Lieutenant George E.
Dixon, with Captain J. F. Carlson and five men, volun-
teered to go in her and blow up the Housatonic, in
spite of the fact that the torpedo boat had already
been the coffin of over thirty men. The daring men
set out a little before nine o'clock, February 17th, and
came near the Federal ship before discovery, and ex-
ploded the torpedo. The Housatonic sank quickly,
carrying down Ensign Hazeltine and four men, while
the rest of the crew took refuge in the rigging, which
remained above water when the hull touched bottom.
The torpedo boat, however, never came to the surface
again. After the war, when the wrecks off Charleston
were being removed, the boat was discovered on the
bottom about a hundred feet from the Housatonic ; all
her men were at their stations.
On the approach of General Sherman's army the
Confederates, on February 17th, evacuated Charleston.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE RAM ALBEMARLE.
THE loss of Roanoke Island and its adjacent waters
was a severer blow to the Confederates than the Na-
tional Government at first realized. Roanoke Island
was the key to all the rear defenses of Norfolk, and ten
of the most important rivers in North Carolina flowed
into Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, by means of which
the Nationalists could make their way far into the
interior. The Albemarle and Chesapeake and the
Northwest and Norfolk Canals and two railroads —
the Petersburg and Norfolk and the Seaboard and
Roanoke — were largely in their power, and the com-
mand of General Huger was cut off from its most effi-
cient means of transportation. Gosport Navy Yard
and the Confederate forces at that point were endan-
gered.
Realizing the importance of these sounds, the Con-
federates made several gallant efforts to recover them.
On March 14, 1863, they made a sudden attack on Fort
Anderson, which the Nationalists had built on the River
Neuse, opposite New Berne, and bombarded the place
for several hours ; but with the assistance of the gun-
boats Hetzel and Hunchback this attack was repelled.
On January 30, 1864, the Confederates made another
dashing attempt to recapture the place. The gunboats
LocTcwood, Commodore Hull and Underwriter were
guarding the river side of the town. A boat-expedi-
tion under the command of Commander John Taylor
Wood made a night attack on the Underwriter, then
commanded by Acting-Master Jacob Westervelt, and
475
476 THE RAM ALBEMARLE. 1863. !
in the desperate fight that took place on the decks of j
the gunboat the Nationalists were finally overpowered,
having had nine killed, twenty wounded and nineteen |
made prisoners, while the Confederate loss was six
killed and twenty-two wounded. The Confederates de-
stroyed the Underwriter and escaped.
Recognizing the necessity of an ironclad of the Mer-
rimac type to co-operate with them on these sounds, the !
Confederates began the construction of several such ves-
sels, which, it was confidently asserted, would make short
work of the frail wooden gunboats that composed the Na-
tional fleet in the North Carolina waters. Early in 1863
they began work on the Albemarle, at Edward's Ferry,
some miles up the Roanoke. The building of the craft
proceeded under great difficulties. Several contracts
for construction of war- vessels were made, but were
broken off on account of the activity of the National
forces. The greatest difficulty in the case of the Albe-
marle was in securing iron, and the country was ran-
sacked for miles around for bolts, bars and metal in
every form for the construction of the ironclad. Captain
Cooke, who was chiefly interested in the Albemarle, be-
came known as the " Ironmonger Captain." The keel
was laid in an open cornfield, while an ordinary black-
smith's outfit constituted the plant for building. Even
the most enthusiastic had little hopes of a successful
war-ship constructed under such circumstances. The
contractor was Gilbert Elliott, and the plans were per-
fected by Chief-Constructor John L. Porter, who also
was concerned in the building of the Merrimac. The
craft was one hundred and twenty-two feet overall, had
forty-five feet beam and drew eight feet of water. The
casemate, built of massive pine timbers, covered with
four-inch planking, was sixty feet long and was covered
with two layers of 2-inch iron. The vessel was pro-
pelled by twin screws, operated by engines of two
hundred horse power each. She was armed with an
Armstrong 100-pounder in the bow and one in the
1804 APPROACH OF THE RAM. 477
stern, while the casemate was so pierced that they could
be used as broadside or quarter guns.
On April 17th and 18th the Confederate troops under
General Hoke made a desperate attack on Plymouth.
The wooden gunboats Miami and Southfield, mounting
five 9-inch guns and a rifled 100-pounder each, were in
the river, under the command of Lieutenant Charles W.
Flusser, and gave great assistance in checking the Con-
federate assaults. Lieutenant Flusser was aware that
the Albemarle was nearly completed, but obstructions
had been placed across the river a little above the town,
which would prevent her coming down and taking part
in the attack. The unusually high water in the river,
however, enabled the ram to float over the obstructions,
and on the night of April 18, 1864, under the command
of Captain James Wallace Cooke, she approached the
Union vessels. Down to the moment of going into ac-
tion the men had been at work completing the ship.
John N. Maffitt, of the Confederate navy, says: "At
early dawn on the 18th steam was up, ten portable
forges, with numerous sledge hammers, were placed on
board, and thus equipped the never- failing Cooke start-
ed on his voyage in a floating workshop. ... On the
turtle-back numerous stages were suspended, thronged
with sailors wielding sledge hammers. Upon the pilot
house stood Captain Cooke, giving directions. Some
of the crew were being exercised at one of the big guns.
4 Drive in spike No. 10 !' sang out the commander.
' On nut below and screw up ! Serve vent and sponge !
Load with cartridge ! ' was the next command. ' Drive
in No. 11, port side— so ! On nut and screw up hard !
Load with shell— Prime ! ' And in this seeming babel
of words the floating monster glided by on her trial
trip and into action."
At midnight, April 19th, the Albemarle was discov-
ered by the picket boats. In case the ram succeeded
in passing the obstruction Lieutenant Flusser had con-
nected the Miami and the Southfield with long spars
478 THE RAM ALBEMARLE. 1864.
and chains, intending to hold the ironclad between the
two vessels, which would in some degree counterbal-
ance the Confederate advantage of armor plating. As
soon as Captain Cooke found that he had been discov-
ered, he hugged the southern shore, so as to avoid run-
ning between the two gunboats, and when nearly abreast
of them he put on a full head of steam, and, running
diagonally across the river, passed the Miami's bow
and rammed the Southfield. The iron beak of the Albe-
marle struck the starboard bow and entered the fire
room of the gunboat, and the chain plates on the for-
ward deck of the ram became entangled with the
Southfield's hull. As the South-field settled and grad-
ually sank she carried down the bow of the ironclad,
so that the water poured through the forward open
ports, and both vessels would have sunk had not the
Southfield, on touching bottom, rolled over and released
the Albemarle.
Both gunboats, as soon as the ironclad was discov-
ered, had opened a heavy fire with shells ; but these,
on striking the iron casemate, were shivered into thou-
sands of pieces. Lieutenant Flusser, who stood behind
a gun in the Miami, fired a heavy shell at a distance of
a few feet at the Albemarle, but the missile was only
shattered into fragments, which, bounding back, killed
Flusser, tearing him almost to pieces, and wounded a
dozen other men. When it was seen that the South-
field would sink, the lashings were cut and many of
the Southfield^ s crew jumped on the Miami's deck.
Some of the Miami's people attempted to board the
ram, but were repelled. Realizing the hopelessness of
the struggle, the Miami with two tugboats retreated
down the river, exchanging shot with the ram as long
as the guns bore. On the following day Plymouth sur-
rendered to General Hoke. The Bombshell had been
sunk by the Confederate land artillery. This vessel
was an ordinary canal-boat mounting one gun and two
light pieces. She had been purchased for the Burnside
1864 WOODEN GUNBOATS AGAINST THE IRONCLAD. 479
expedition together with four other vessels of this class,
which bore the warlike names of Grapeshot, Shrapnel,
Grenade and Rocket. These vessels were officered and
manned by the Marine Artillery Corps under Colonel
Haward, formerly of the revenue service. The Con-
federates afterward raised the Bombshell.
The Nationalists rightly conjectured that this was
only a beginning of the programme laid out for the
Albemarle, and that in a short time she might be ex-
pected in the sound to give battle to the wooden gun-
boats. In anticipation of this, Captain Melancton
Smith stationed the double-ender gunboats Mattabe-
sett, Commander John C. Febiger ; Sassacus, Lieuten-
ant-Commander Francis A. Roe ; Wyalusing, Lieu-
tenant-Commander Walter W. Queen ; and Miami,
Acting- Volunteer- Lieutenant Charles A. French : and
the ferryboats Commodore Hull, Acting-Master Francis
Josselyn ; Whitehead, Acting-Ensign G. W. Barrett ; and
Ceres, Acting-Master H. H. Foster, at the mouth of the
Roanoke to watch for the Albemarle. The armament
of the double-enders consisted of two 100-pounder Par-
rott guns, four 9-inch, four 24 pounders and two 12-
pounder howitzers. The Sassacus carried two addi-
tional 20-pounders, while the Miami had been fitted
with a torpedo, which was to be exploded under the
hull of the ironclad, and she was also provided with a
net, which was to entangle the propellers.
On May 5th the Albemarle came out of Roanoke
River, accompanied by the Bombshell, filled with two
hundred sharpshooters, and the transport Cotton Plant,
for the purpose of escorting military supplies to Alliga-
tor River by order of Commander R. F. Pinckney,
commander of the Confederate naval force in North
Carolina waters. On the completion of this errand,
Captain Cooke intended to make an extended cruise on
the sound against the Union gunboats. As soon as the
Confederate vessels were discovered, Captain Smith
got his little squadron under way, and shortly before
480 THE RAM ALBEMARLE. 1864
5 P. M. drew near the enemy, then fourteen miles from
the mouth of the Roanoke. It was reported that
thirty armed launches, then being fitted out in Chowan
River under Lieutenant R. B. Minor, would come out
and join the Albemarle. The smaller Union vessels
were directed to look out for them, the Bombshell and
the Cotton Plant, while the larger vessels were to pass
the ram, deliver their broadsides, and then, turning,
repeat the manoeuvre. While they were yet at some
distance a puff of white smoke and a faint flash from
the Albemarle's forward gun were seen, showing that
the Confederates had opened the battle. This was
quickly followed by another discharge, and two shells
skillfully aimed cut away the rails and spars and
wounded six men at the Mattabesetff s rifled pivot gun.
The Mattabesett, followed by her consorts, avoided
the Albemarle's attempt to ram, and passing, delivered
broadsides of solid 9-inch and 100-pound shot. These
missiles, although delivered at short range and with
full charges of powder, glanced harmlessly from the
iron casemate. The gunboats then turned and endeav-
ored to renew the action on the other side, but the
Albemarle also turned, thus forming the ships in a cir-
cle. Well knowing that he could not hope to inflict
serious injury by cannon-fire alone, Captain Smith had
instructed his vessels to attempt ramming. The Sas-
sacus, after passing the Albemarle, captured the
Bombshell. About this time she was four hundred
yards from the ironclad, and observing her change
course a little so as to avoid ramming from the Matta-
besett, Roe saw his opportunity to strike a full blow
on the broadside. He ordered his engineer to put oil
and waste on the fires so as to get a full head of steam.
Then, backing until he had secured the right position,
he gave the order for full speed.
On went the swift Sassacus at the top of her speed,
aimed straight for the ram's side, and all hands were
ordered to lie down just before the collision took place.
1864. ROE'S HEROIC DASH. 481
The Sassacus struck the ironclad at right angles on
the starboard side just abaft the casemate. The shock
was terrific, careening the Albemarle over and tearing
away the bow of the Sassacus. The Sassacus swung
alongside, and her paddle-wheel, continuing to revolve,
struck the deck of the ironclad and forced the vessel
several feet below the surface of the water, and many
of the Confederates believed they were sinking. The
Albemarle righted, however, and it was discovered that
she had not been seriously injured. About the time of
the collision the Confederates fired 100-pound shot,
which crashed through the wooden side of the Sassa-
cus as if it had been so much paper. Assistant-Sur-
geon Edgar Holden, who was in the Sassacus, said :
"Through the starboard shutter, which had been partly
jarred off by the concussion, I saw the port of the ram
not ten feet away. It opened, and like a flash of light-
ning I saw the grim muzzle of the cannon, the gun's
crew naked to the waist and blackened with powder ;
then a blaze, a roar and the rush of the shell as it
crashed through, whirling me round and dashing me
to the deck."1
The Confederates followed this up with a shot that
pierced one of the boilers of the Sassacus, and in an
instant the lower deck was filled with steam, which
scalded many of the crew. The enemy then attempted
to board, but was repelled. The disabled Sassacus
slowly drifted out of action, but heroically kept up a
fire as long as she was in range. But another danger
threatened the gunboat. In order to ram the ironclad,
Captain Roe had ordered a full head of steam. The
lower decks were now filled with steam and the remain-
ing boilers were in danger of exploding. Realizing
the peril First-Assistant-Engineer James M. Hobby
called on his men to follow him into the fire-room and
draw the fires. This was done none too soon, and,
1 Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. iv, p. 629.
76
482 THE RAM ALBEMARLE. 1864
blinded and helpless, the heroic engineer was then
brought back to the deck.
The other vessels of the squadron kept up a heavy
fire on the ironclad, but were unable to injure their
shot-proof antagonist. As night came on, the Albe-
marle retired up the river. She had been severely
battered, but not disabled. One of her two guns had its
muzzle cracked, her smokestack was riddled, her tiller
had been disabled and everything exposed outside of
her casemate had been swept away. With a few re-
pairs, she was once more as formidable as ever. On
May 24th she came down the river to drag for torpedoes,
but finding the Whitehead on guard she retreated. In
this desperate battle the Mattabesett had two men killed
and six wounded ; the Sassacus, one killed, six wound-
ed and thirteen scalded ; the Wyalusing, one killed.
Although driven from the sound, the Albemarle
was a constant menace to the fleet. An attempt was
made on May 25th to destroy her with torpedoes. A
party of volunteers from the Wyalusing — consisting of
Coxswain John W. Lloyd, firemen Allen Crawford and
John Laverty, and coal-heavers Charles Baldwin and
Benjamin Lloyd— pulled up a branch of the Roanoke
in a boat containing two torpedoes. Reaching a point
opposite Plymouth, eight miles from the mouth, where
the ram was moored, the men landed, and, carrying the
torpedoes across the intervening swamp on a stretcher,
they reached the Roanoke. Swimming across the
river, John W. Lloyd and Baldwin hauled the torpe-
does to the Plymouth side. The machines were then
connected by a bridle and floated downstream, guided
by Baldwin, with the intention of exploding them
across the bow of the ram ; but when within a few
yards of the ironclad the line fouled a schooner, and
at the same time Baldwin was discovered by a sentry
on the wharf and a volley of musketry was fired.
The men then scattered, and after wandering several
days in the swamps they regained their vessels.
1864. LIEUTENANT WILLAM B. GUSHING. 483
Hearing that the Confederates had nearly com-
pleted a sister ship to the Albemarle, the Government
decided to attempt her destruction at her moorings.
Two steam picket boats with spar torpedoes attached,
which were the invention of First- Assistant-Engineer
John L. Lay and were introduced by Chief-Engineer
William Willis Wiley Wood, were fitted out under
the direction of Edward Gregory in New York. The
bows of the boats were decked over, and the engines
were so constructed that when they were covered with
tarpaulins all light and sound were shut in, and at low
speed they made scarcely any noise. A 12-pounder
howitzer was mounted in the bow, and a spar was fitted
on the starboard bow, at the end of which a torpedo
was to be attached.
Lieutenant William Barker dishing was selected
to command the expedition. This officer, although
only twenty-one years old, was celebrated for the many
daring and successful expeditions he had led while in
command of the Mont f cello off Cape Fear River. On
the night of February 28, 1864, accompanied by Act-
ing-Ensign J. E. Jones, Acting-Master's Mate William
L. Howarth and twenty men, in two boats, he boldly
passed Fort Caswell and landed in front of the hotel
at Smithville, opposite which were the barracks in
which the garrison of about a thousand men was quar-
tered. Concealing his companions under the bank,
Gushing, with two officers and a seaman, entered Gen-
eral Hebert's headquarters and captured an engineer
officer. General Hebert himself was absent. Return-
ing to the boat with his prisoner, Gushing pulled be-
yond the fort before the Confederates could fire on
him, although the alarm had been given.
On the night of the following June 23d Gushing
again entered the river with Howarth and fifteen men
in a boat, for the purpose of destroying the ironclad
ram Raleigh, which the Confederates had constructed
for the purpose of raising the blockade. This vessel,
484: THE RAM ALBEMARLB. 1864.
on the night of May 6, 1864, under the command of
Captain William F. Lynch, and accompanied by two
small river steamers, the Tadkin and the Equator, and
under cover of darkness, attacked the blockading ves-
sels. After exchanging shot with the National vessels
without much damage on either side, the Raleigh re-
turned to the river, but in crossing the bar she strained
herself. It was deemed necessary to destroy this iron-
clad, and Gushing volunteered for the hazardous service.
When the boat was fifteen miles from the starting-point
the moon revealed it to the enemy. Pulling downstream
as if retreating until he reached the shade on the oppo-
site bank, Gushing again headed upstream unobserved,
and at daybreak, when within seven miles of Wilming-
ton, he hid his boat in a swamp. On the following
night he captured a fishing party and compelled them
to act as guides, and with their aid he thoroughly ex-
amined the obstructions in the river three miles below
the town. The next morning Gushing moved up one
of the creeks until he came to a road, where he left his
men and landed. Reaching the main road between
Wilmington and Fort Fisher, he captured a courier
with valuable information. Two hours later he at-
tempted to seize another courier from the town, but,
although chase was given on horseback, the courier
escaped. Howarth then disguised himself in the
clothes of the first courier, went to a store, and secured
provisions without exciting suspicion, although con-
versing freely with the people he met. Having as-
certained that the Raleigh had been destroyed by
the Confederates, the adventurers on the third night
set out on their return. When they reached the
mouth of the river they were discovered and surround-
ed by nine guard boats and a schooner filled with
troops. With indomitable pluck Gushing made a
dash for the western bar, hotly pursued by the Con-
federate boats. Availing himself of the shade, he
suddenly changed his course for New Inlet, and after
1864. DEFENSIVE PRECAUTIONS. 435
an absence of three days lie rejoined his ship without
loss.
On the completion of the picket boats in New York
they were taken to Norfolk by way of the canals, but
in crossing Chesapeake Bay one of them was lost.
From Norfolk they reached Albemarle Sound by the
canal in October, and Lieutenant Gushing reported to
Commander Macomb, of the Shamrock, who was then
the senior officer in these waters. At this time the
Albemarle was commanded by Captain Alexander F.
Warley, who in the ram Manassas had taken a dis-
tinguished part in opposing the passage of Farragut's
ships at New Orleans. Every precaution had been
taken by the Confederates to prevent the Albemarle
from being blown up by torpedoes. She was moored
to the wharf at Plymouth, where a thousand soldiers
remained on guard, and a double line of sentries was
stationed along the river. Her crew, now reduced to
sixty men, was extremely vigilant. As an additional
protection, cypress logs connected by chains and
boomed off some distance from her hull made it im-
possible for a torpedo boat to approach within striking
distance. At this point the river is about one hundred
and fifty yards wide, and a gun was kept constantly
loaded and trained, so as to sweep the bend around
which an attacking party must come.
After several days spent in final preparations, the
picket boat, in tow of the Otsego, was taken near the
mouth of Roanoke River. On the night of October
26th Gushing went up the stream under favorable cir-
cumstances, but before he had proceeded far he ran
aground, and before he could get afloat again it was
too late to carry out his plans, and he returned to the
Otsego. The night of October 27th came on dark and
stormy, and about midnight Cushing again set out,
having in tow a small cutter, for the purpose of captur-
ing the Confederate guard in a schooner anchored near
the Southfield and preventing them from sending up
486 THE RAM ALBEMARLE. 1864.
an alarm rocket. Cashing had with him in the picket
boat Acting-Ensign William L. Howarth, Acting-Mas-
ter's-Mates Thomas S. Gay and John Woodman, Act-
ing-Assistant-Paymaster Francis H. Swan, Acting-
Third-Assistant-Engineers Charles L. Steever and Wil-
liam Stotesbury, and eight men : Samuel Higgins, first
class fireman ; Richard Hamilton, coal-heaver ; Wil-
liam Smith, Bernard Harley, Edward J. Hough ton, or-
dinary seamen ; Lorenzo Deming, Henry Wilkes and
Robert H. King, landsmen. Cushing took his station
in the stern. On his right was the imperturbable
Howarth, and next to Howarth was Woodman, who
was familiar with the river. Behind Cushing and a
little to his right was Swan. The engineer and fire-
men were at their usual stations, while forward on the
deck beside the howitzer was Gay. The plan of attack
was to land a short distance below the ram and board
her from the wharf, carry her by surprise and take
her downstream. If unable to do this, Cushing deter-
mined to blow her up.
The night was dark, with occasional squalls of
rain. Creeping cautiously up the river, the launch
hugged the shore as closely as possible, so as to avail
herself of the shadows of the trees for concealment.
As the adventurers began to draw near the object of
the expedition strict silence was observed, even the
most necessary orders being given in a whisper, and
the speed of the launch was reduced so as to lessen
the chances of the sound of machinery or the churning
of the screw being heard by the pickets who were
known to be guarding each shore. Onward glided the
phantom boat in sepulchral silence. The rippling of
the dainty waves against her bow, parting in graceful,
slanting lines and lapping the banks, was scarcely
heard in the stillness of the night.
About 2.30 A. M. they were a mile below Plymouth,
when the dark outlines of the wrecked Soutlifield
(which the Confederates had attempted to raise), with
1864. THE ALARM GIVEN. 437
her hurricane deck out of water, began to assume
shape, standing out ghostly and forbidding, as if a
warning of what might be the fate of the audacious
launch. Twenty-five Confederate soldiers had been
stationed under a lieutenant in a schooner anchored
near the wreck with a fieldpiece and a rocket. As the
picket boat passed within thirty yards of the South-
field the men nerved themselves in readiness to board
in case of discovery. But they were not challenged,
although the outlines of the wrecked steamer were
perfectly distinct, and the launch must have been visi-
ble from the shore. The guards were drowsy. En-
couraged by this success, Gushing determined to land
near the wharf, take the Albemarle by surprise, cut her
moorings, and bring her into the sound.
Passing the SoutJifield with this object in view, the
two boats rounded the bend of the river, which was
commanded by the cannon, and came in full view of
the town. At this place the Confederates had been in
the habit of keeping fires all night, in order to discover
the approach of an enemy, but on this occasion the
fires had been allowed to go almost out, so that only a
faint glimmer fell over the river. Avoiding this light
as much as possible, dishing crept stealthily toward
the shore, intending to land.
The dark, gloomy outlines of the ram could now be
distinctly seen at the wharf like some huge leviathan
asleep. At this moment, when the adventurers began
to hope that the surprise would be complete, a dog on
shore began a furious barking and aroused the sentry.
Quickly discovering the strange boats, the sentinels
challenged, but no answer was given. Another chal-
lenge came, quickly followed by the sharp crack of a
musket. In an instant the midnight quiet was changed
into a hubbub of wild excitement. Other dogs joined
in the barking, sentinels suddenly loomed up on both
sides of the river, alarm rattles were sprung and bells
were jangled, where but a moment before all had been
488 THE RAM ALBEMARLE. 1864.
profound silence. Fuel was immediately heaped on
the smoldering tires, which soon illuminated the river
for miles. Soldiers, hastily aroused from sleep, were
seizing arms and rushing to their quarters, while the
harsh cries of the officers could be heard.
Knowing that it was useless to maintain further se-
crecy, Gushing shouted out, "Ahead fast ! " at the same
time cutting the tow line, and ordering the cutter to go
down the river and capture the picket guard near the
Southfield. The launch was now going through the
water at full speed. Coming within a short distance
of the ram, Gushing discovered for the first time that
it was protected by a cordon of timber. Believing that
the logs had been in the water long enough to become
slimy, he sheered off one hundred yards so as to gather
headway. Making a broad sweep out on the river, he
attained the desired position, and then came down at
full speed, hoping to slip over the logs and get within
the barricades, where he could use his torpedo. As
the launch cam,e down a volley greeted her, filling the
back of Cushing's coat with buckshot and tearing off
the sole of his shoe, while the ominous snapping of the
primers of the Confederate cannon showed that the
great guns had missed fire. Paymaster Swan was
slightly wounded, but no one was seriously injured.
As the launch approached the Albemarle, Gushing
called out : "Leave the ram ! We're going to blow you
up ! " Others of the party gave the Confederates simi-
lar advice, more with a view of inducing them to leave
the vessel, however, than from any philanthropic mo-
tive of sparing lives other than their own. Just then
the launch fired her howitzer. Passing over the logs
she approached the side of the ram where her men
found themselves looking down the yawning muzzle of
a cannon not ten feet away.
At this moment Gushing lowered the torpedo spar,
and when assured that it was well under the ram's
overhang he detached it with a vigorous pull. The
1864. CUSHING'S DARING EXPLOIT. 489
torpedo slowly rose, and when he felt it touch the
Albemarle's bottom he pulled the trigger line. A dull,
muffled explosion was heard, a column of water shot
upward, the ram careened and "a hole in her bottom
big enough to drive a wagon in" was made.1 The tor-
pedo had been exploded none too soon, for almost at
the same instant the Confederates fired a rifled gun
loaded with 100 pounds of canister, the muzzle of the
gun being only a few feet from the adventurers. The
report was terrific. It seemed as if the launch had
been blown to pieces, but fortunately the explosion of
the torpedo a fraction of a second before the gun was
fired destroyed the aim of the gunners. Had there
been a second's delay in exploding the torpedo the
entire boat's company would have been blown into
eternity ; but everything had been arranged under the
immediate supervision of Gushing, and the programme
had been carried out to the letter without the slightest
hitch or delay.
The Confederates twice called on the party to sur-
render, and several of the men did so ; but Gushing,
having accomplished his purpose, called on every man
to save himself, and, taking off his sword, revolver,
shoes and coat, he jumped into the river and boldly
struck off downstream. After swimming half a mile
he met Woodman, who was almost exhausted, and
helped him along a short distance, when Gushing also
became exhausted. Being unable to get to shore,
Woodman was drowned, and it was only with great
difficulty that Gushing managed to reach the bank.
At daylight he hid himself in a swamp near the fort.
Meeting a negro, from whom he learned that the Albe-
marle had sunk, Gushing, on the following night, es-
caped down the river, and securing a skiff rejoined
the squadron, almost dead with exhaustion and ex-
posure. Samuel Higgins, the fireman, was drowned.
Report of the Albemarle's carpen
tor.
490 THE RAM ALBEMARLE. 1864.
The others surrendered, and were taken ashore in
boats.
For this brilliant service Gushing received a vote of
thanks from Congress and was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant-commander. In many respects the destruc-
tion of the Albemarle was similar to Stephen Decatur's
destruction of the frigate Philadelphia in the harbor of
Tripoli in 1804. Lord Nelson at that time declared it
to be "the most heroic act of the age" ; while Captain
Warley, of the Albemarle, generously admitted that
"a more gallant thing was not done during the war."
The Albemarle was raised and taken to Norfolk, where
in 1867 she was stripped and sold.
Learning that the Albemarle was destroyed, Com-
mander W. H. Macomb, on October 30th, attempted to
reach Plymouth with his flotilla, but the Confederates
had effectually blocked the channel by sinking the
guard schooner near the wreck of the Southfield. On
October 31st he passed into Roanoke River by Middle
River, and engaged the Confederate batteries in a spir-
ited cannon fire at comparatively short range, and for
over an hour dropped shells in and around the Confed-
erate works. Finally one shell exploded the enemy's
magazine, upon which the Confederates retreated. The
vessels engaged were the double- enders Shamrock
(flagship), Lieutenant Ruf us K. Duer ; Otsego, Lieuten-
ant-Commander H. N. T. Arnold ; Wyalusing, Lieuten-
ant-Commander Earl English ; Tacony, Lieutenant-
Commander W. T. Truxtun ; the gunboats Commodore
Hull, Acting-Master Francis Josselyn, and Whitehead,
Acting-Master Gr. W. Barrett ; and the tugs Belle, Act-
ing-Master James Gr. Green, and Bazley, Acting- Master
Mark D. Ames. The National loss in this affair was
six killed and nine wounded. Afterward the Otsego
and the Bazley were sunk by torpedoes.
CHAPTEE XIX.
ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS.
THE brilliant victories of Stringham, Dupont and
Farragut at Hatteras, Port Royal and New Orleans
early in the war compelled the Confederates to aban-
don many of their strongholds on the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts and to concentrate their energies on a few
important ports. This resulted in the extraordinary
strength of Mobile on the Gulf and Savannah, Charleston
and AVilmington on the Atlantic. From the beginning
of the war the Government endeavored to maintain a
vigorous blockade on the southern coast, a distance of
about three thousand miles. In many places the coast
line was doubled and penetrated by innumerable inlets
and intricate channels that gave great facilities to the
blockade-runner, the South Atlantic squadron alone
having more than twenty gmall inlets to guard. One
of the most important objects of the blockade was the
interruption of commerce between the seceding States
and Europe. The States of the Confederacy, being
largely agricultural, had always been dependent on the
outside world for manufactured articles, and as they
had little floating capital it was necessary for them to
realize on their crops.
Ever since Admiral Warren, in 1813, issued his proc-
lamation declaring the United States to be in a state
of blockade, it has been acknowledged that a blockade
to be binding must be effective ; and when President
Lincoln, six days after the surrender of Fort Sumter,
declared the Southern States to be blockaded, he un-
dertook a task that called for all the maritime re-
491
492 ATLANTIC AND GULP COASTS. 1861-1862.
sources of the North. Four neutral ports near the
coast of the Confederacy speedily became headquarters
of the blockade-runners. They were Matamoras in
Mexico on the Rio Grande, Nassau in the Bahamas,
Havana and Bermuda. These places, excepting Ha-
vana, were insignificant towns until the outbreak of the
war, when they suddenly sprang into prominence.
At first the blockade was irregular and imperfect,
but as the squadrons were increased from time to time
it was vigorously maintained. The Atlantic squadron
was divided into the North and South Atlantic block-
ading squadrons, the former being directed against the
coast of North Carolina and Virginia, while the latter
cruised from the northern coast of South Carolina to
Florida. On September 23d, Flag-Officer Goldsborough
assumed command of the North Atlantic blockading
squadron, and on October 29th Flag-Officer Dupont
commanded the South Atlantic blockading squadron.
That the blockade was rigorously and effectively main-
tained will be seen from the number of prizes taken or
destroyed. At Wilmington, sixty-five blockade-run-
ners were intercepted, while the total number of prizes
made during the war was fifteen hundred and four, of
which three hundred and fifty-five were destroyed, and
the others, valued at thirty-two million dollars, were
brought into port. Early in March, 1862, Flag-Officer
Dupont occupied Fernandina and St. Augustine, Fla.,
with little opposition. Commander Christopher Ray-
mond Perry Rodgers hastened up the river with the
Ottawa and the steam launches and captured St. Mary's.
Acting- Lieutenant Thomas A. Budd and Acting-Master
S. W. Mather, commanders of the Union steamers Pen-
guin and Henry Andrew, while examining an aban-
doned earthwork near Mosquito inlet, March 22d, were
fired upon from an ambush and killed. Three of the
crew were killed and two were wounded and taken
prisoners. Fort Clinch and Brunswick were occupied.
While a boat's crew from the PocaJiontas was
1862. PORT ROYAL ISLAND. 493
ashore, February 11, 1862, to procure fresh beef near
Brunswick, it was fired upon by forty Confederate sol-
diers in ambush and two of the crew were killed and
six wounded. Assistant-Surgeon Archibald C. Rhoades
refused a summons to surrender, and by the aid of Pay-
master Kitchen regained the vessel with the rest of the
crew.
On April 10th, Commander Rodgers, with Lieuten-
ant John Irwin, Acting-Master Robertson, Acting-
Midshipmen Mortimer L. Johnson ancj Frederick Pear-
son, Captain of Forecastle Lewis A. Brown, Quarter-
master George H. Wood and a detachment of seamen
from the Wabash, landed on Tybee Island with three
30-pounder Parrott guns and one 24-poimder, and as-
sisted the army in the capture of Fort Pulaski.
Although Hatteras and Port Royal had been cap-
tured, the Confederates were constantly on the watch
for an opportunity to retake these posts. To guard
against this danger Dupont kept his gunboats and
launches constantly engaged in patroling the intri-
cate water-ways and sounds that girded the Southern
coast. This service was attended with much hardship
and exposure. The first move of the Confederates
after losing Port Royal was to cut off that place from
inland communications, by placing obstructions in the
Coosaw River and Whale Branch and by erecting bat-
teries at Port Royal Ferry and near Seabrook. This
they believed would prevent the gunboats from ascend-
ing those streams, and would enable them to throw a
large force upon Port Royal Island and capture a regi-
ment of soldiers holding Beaufort. Commander Rodg-
ers was directed to co-operate with the troops under
General Stevens in an attack on these works with the
following vessels : the Ottawa, Lieutenant Thomas
Holdup Stevens ; the Pembina, Lieutenant John Pine
Bankhead ; the Seneca, Lieutenant Daniel Ammen ;
the armed ferryboat Ellen, Acting-Lieutenant Budd ;
and the tugboat Hale, Acting-Master Foster. Added
494 ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS. 1861-1862.
to this force were four boats from the WdbasTi, each
armed with a howitzer, uiider the command of Lieu-
tenants John Henry Upshur, Stephen Bleecker Luce,
John Irwin and Acting-Master Louis Kempff. In
order that the enemy might not be forewarned of the >
attack, these vessels did not leave Beaufort until dark,
December 31, 1861. Early on the morning of Janu-
ary 1, 1862, the troops were landed, together with two
howitzers and a body of seamen under Lieutenant
Irwin. In spite of every precaution the Confederates
had learned of the intended expedition and were pre-
pared to dispute the landing. They were soon put to
flight, however, by a fire from the gunboats. The next
morning they appeared in force but were again dis-
persed.
Captain Charles H. Davis got under way for a re-
connoissance near Savannah, January 26, 1862, with
the gunboats Ottawa and Seneca, and the steamers
Isaac Smith, Lieutenant James William Augustus
Nicholson, Potomska, Lieutenant Pendleton Gaines
Watmough, Ellen, Acting- Lieutenant Budd, Western
World, Acting- Master Samuel B. Gregory, two armed
launches of the Wabash, and the transports Cosmo-
politan, Delaware and Boston, having on board two
thousand four hundred troops under Brigadier-General
Horatio Governeur Wright. As the vessels entered
Little Tybee River Fort Pulaski did not fire on them,
as it had no guns mounted on that side. Anchor-
ing near a line of piles beyond Wilmington Island,
Captain Davis sent out boat parties to explore the
creeks and inlets. The approach of the expedition
caused great excitement at Savannah. At five o'clock
in the evening several Confederate steamers came in
sight, and as they had it in their power to select posi-
tions and give battle it was thought that an engage-
ment would result. At 11.16 the next morning these
steamers, having scows in tow, passed down the river
and opened a spirited fire on the Union flotilla. Three
1862. PATROLLING SOUTHERN WATERS. 495
of the steamers passed down to Fort Pulaski, but the
other two were driven back.
Acting-Master William I). Urann, of the Crusader,
while assisting a Government agent at North Edisto,
was severely wounded by the enemy. At three o'clock
on the morning of April 19th a force of sixty men
reached the neighborhood and after a short skirmish
put the Confederates to flight. In this affair three of
our seamen were wounded. On the 26th of April the
Wamsutta, Lieutenant Alexander Aldebaran Semmes,
with the Potomska, went up the Riceborough River and
at Woodville Island was fired upon with musketry, by
which two men were killed. The Unionists returned
the fire and soon routed the enemy. On the 29th of
April, while a boat crew from the Hale was destroying
a battery at the junction of the Dawho and South
Edisto Rivers, the Hale was fired upon by a Confeder-
ate battery. The Unionists returned the fire and routed
the enemy. Twenty men then landed and destroyed
the battery, which consisted of two 24-pounders. Com-
mander George Aldrich Prentiss in the Albatross, ac-
companied by the Norwich, made a reconnoissance at
Georgetown, S. C., on May 21st. On the following day
while they were passing the town a woman appeared
in the belfry of the church and displayed the Confeder-
ate flag. The Union vessel did not notice the incident,
as, said Commander Prentiss, "a contest in the streets
would have compelled me to destroy the city."
Commander Charles Steedman in the Port Royal,
with the armed steamer Darlington, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Williams, and the Hale, Lieutenant Alfred T.
Snell, on the 5th of October attacked some batteries the
enemy had erected on St. John's Bluff, about seven
miles from the mouth of St. John's River. The Con-
federates were quickly driven from their works and the
guns were seized. The steamer Morton was also cap-
tured farther up the river. In the latter part of No-
vember, 1862, the Albatross, Lieutenant Commander
496 ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS. 1862.
John E. Hart, destroyed extensive salt works at St.
Andrew's Bay, Florida.
In the summer of 1862 Farragut sent several light
squadrons to cruise along the coast of Texas. One of
these, under the command of Acting- Volunteer-Lieu-
tenant John W. Kittredge, captured Corpus Christi;
another, under Commander William Bainbridge Ren-
shaw, took Galveston ; and a third, consisting of the
light gunboats Kensington, Acting- Master Crocker, and
Rachel Seaman, Acting-Master Quincey A. Hooper,
and a launch with the mortar schooner Henry Janes,
was sent to Sabine Pass. On August 12th the yacht
Corypheus, armed with a 30-pounder Parrott gun,
with the Elmer, chased several Confederate vessels
ashore near Corpus Christi. Four days later a squad-
ron consisting of the Corypheus. the Sachem and the
schooner Reindeer was fired upon by a battery and
the Sachem was injured, while the magazine of the
Corypheus exploded. After silencing the battery the
vessels retired out of range, but on the following day
Kittredge gallantly came into action again. Thirty
men with a 12-pounder howitzer were landed and by
the aid of the cruisers succeeded in repelling an attack
of one hundred and fifty infantry and afterward a
charge of two hundred and fifty cavalry. Seeing that
it was impossible to hold the town without troops, Kit-
tredge retired, shortly after which he and seven men
were surprised and made prisoners.
The vessels ordered to Sabine Pass opened fire on
the fort defending that place September 24th. It
mounted four 32-pounders, while the vessels could
use only a 20-pounder rifled gun and two 32-pounders.
The Confederates responded briskly, but during the
night they retired.
At half past one o'clock New Year's morning, 18G3,
the Confederate cotton-protected steamers Bayou City
(carrying a 68-pounder gun and two hundred soldiers)
and Neptune (armed with two small howitzers and
1363. A REVERSE AT GALVESTON. 497
carrying one hundred and sixty men) made an attack
on the Union squadron off Galveston, which at that
time consisted of the gunboats Westfield, Harriet
Lane, Clifton, Owasco, Sachem and Corypheus. At
the same time Confederate troops made an attack on
the Union garrison, which was quartered on a wharf.
The Sachem and the Corypheus took a position close
inshore to assist the troops. About daylight the Har-
riet Lane, Commander Jonathan May hew Wainwright,
approached the Confederate steamers, opening fire with
• her bow gun. The Bayou City replied with her 68-
pounder, but at the third discharge it burst. Wain-
wright rammed the Bayou City and carried away her
wheel-guard, at the same time pouring in a broadside.
The Neptune rammed the National gunboat, but was
so injured by the collision that she hauled off and sank
near the scene of action. As her upper deck remained
above water the troops were still able to fire on the
Union vessel. Running alongside and making fast, the
soldiers in the Bayou City poured volley after volley
into the Harriet Lane, mortally wounding Wainwright
and Lieutenant-Commander Edward Lea, together with
several of the men, upon which the vessel surren-
dered. At the time of the attack the Westfield was
aground at another entrance to the bay, and the Clif-
ton went to her assistance. Finding he could not get
his vessel afloat, Commander Renshaw blew her up,
but in doing so he, with Lieutenant Charles W. Zim-
merman, Acting-Second- Assistant-Engineer William R.
Greene and about thirreen of the crew, was killed.
The surviving senior officer of the National squadron,
Lieutenant-Commander Law, of the Clifton, believing
that none of his vessels could cope with the Harriet
Lane, retired and raised the blockade.
The occupation of Mexico by the French, June 10,
1863, and the efforts of the French agents to detach
Texas from both the United States and the Confederacy,
made it desirable to have a demonstration in that quar-
77
498 ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS. 1863.
ter, and on September 5th Major-General Franklin
with four thousand National troops sailed from New
Orleans for Sabine Pass, accompanied by the gunboats
Clifton, Sachem, Arizona and Granite City, under the
command of Acting- Volunteer-Lieutenant Frederick
Crocker. Crossing the bar at Sabine Pass September
8th, the gunboats, at 3.30 P. M., opened as heavy a fire
as their light armaments would permit, but in half an
hour a shot pierced the Sachem? s boiler, and shortly
afterward the Clifton grounded and also received a shot
in her boiler. Both vessels maintained a spirited fire-
to the last, but in thirty minutes they were compelled
to surrender, upon which the expedition was aban-
doned. The Clifton had ten killed and nine wounded,
and the Sachem seven killed and a number injured.
Thirty-nine men were reported missing. The sailing
vessel Morning Light and the schooner Velocity also
were captured off Sabine Pass.
Repelled at Sabine Pass, the Nationalists next or-
ganized an expedition for the purpose of making a
landing near the Rio Grande, and on October 26th
three thousand five hundred soldiers under Generals
Banks and Dana sailed from New Orleans under con-
voy of the MonongaJiela, Commander James Hooker
Strong, the Owasco and the Virginia. On November
2d they effected a landing on Brazos Island, near the
mouth of the Rio Grande. Leaving a garrison at
Brownsville, the expedition cruised along the coast to
Corpus Christi, on Mustang Island, where troops were
landed and captured a 3-gun battery. Matagorda Bay
also was taken without serious opposition.
The naval operations in the Chesapeake and ad-
joining waters were closed with a number of spirited
actions. On April 19, 1863, a flotilla consisting of eight
small gunboats, under the command of Lieutenant Ros-
well H. Lamson, assisted three hundred men under
General Getty in capturing a battery at Hill's Point,
while on the 22d Lieutenant William Barker Cushing
1863-1865. IN VIRGINIA WATERS.
499
led a successful land expedition to Chuckatuck. While
engaged in a reconnoissance up the James River, Au-
gust 4th, the ferryboat Commodore Barney was se-
riously injured by a torpedo. On the following morn-
ing the monitor Sangamori, the Commodore Barney
and the small steamer Cohasset, under the command
of Captain Guert Gansevoort, had two indecisive en-
gagements with masked batteries, in one of which the
Commodore Barney had a shot through her boiler.
The National loss was three killed and three wounded.
While exploring Four Mile Creek, May 6, 1864, the
little gunboat Commodore Jones was blown up by a
torpedo and half of her people were killed or wounded,
I and two days later the Shawsheen was destroyed by a
shore battery.
The torpedo that destroyed the Commodore Jones
was an electric mine, and marks a new eia in this de-
partment of naval warfare. In the autumn of 1862
the Confederates organized an electrical torpedo de-
partment, placing at the head of it Lieutenant Hunter
Davidson, who commanded the forward division of
guns in the Merrimac in her action with the Monitor,
March 9, 1862. It is instructive to note, in the light of
the present developments, the objections that were
raised against this "uncivilized and illegitimate"
method of warfare, not only by the Nationalists but
by the Confederates themselves. Hunter Davidson
says : " One of the Northern commanders sent word to
me that I was not engaged in civilized or legitimate
warfare, and that he would not respect a flag of truce
if I came with it, which amused me very much at the
time, in view of General Grant's explosion of the mine
at Petersburg. . . . Papers were picked up on the
banks of the James River after the destruction of the
Commodore Jones offering a reward of twenty-five
thousand dollars for my head, but I never believed
this was done with any other motive than to intimi-
date. My own brother naval officers used to look at
500 ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS. 1863.
me at times with expressions of pity and even con-
tempt, and the Confederate States navy chief of ord-
nance told the Secretary of the Navy that it was ' abom-
inable that the labor and resources of the country should
be wasted in such nonsense.'"1
In spite of opposition from within and without the
Confederates pushed their torpedo work with remark-
able success, considering their lack of skilled mechan-
ics, materials and machinery, it being necessary to
send to Europe or North for the insulated wires for
the electric torpedoes. The destruction of the Commo-
dore Jones was caused by a torpedo mine containing
eighteen hundred pounds of sporting powder and
placed in six fathoms of water. It was ignited under
the personal direction of Hunter Davidson, who says :
" The explosion was effected at midday, when the gun-
boat was accompanied by a powerful fleet. In the
fleet was a servant of mine, a negro boy, who warned
the officers that they were on dangerous ground. I
was aware that the negro had deserted in the direction
of the fleet, and for that reason had wires leading to
the batteries on both sides of the river, believing that
if the Nationalists cut the wires on the high left bank
they would be content with that and proceed, not sup-
posing that there was a battery with mines on the
other side also, which was a swamp.
"My surmise was somewhat correct, for had
battery station on the left bank been occupied we
should have been discovered, as at one time the Com-
modore Jones was high enough upstream to have
looked into the station. She could have been de-
stroyed sooner, but we were waiting for an ironclad.
The orders given on board were distinctly heard by us,
and it was in consequence of certain orders that the
Commodore Jones was destroyed as she dropped back
and over the mine. . . . Many valuable articles from
1 Hunter Davidson to the author.
1863-18G5. TORPEDO WARFARE. 501
the wreck were picked up, especially official correspond-
ence of importance to the Confederate Government.
The captain's trunk, private correspondence, Bible, etc.,
were carefully packed up and sent at once to Major
Mnlford, of the United States flag of truce steamer."
Mr. Davidson also succeeded in exploding a fifty
pound torpedo under the frigate Minnesota, near
where a great quantity of shot and shell were stored
in her hold ready for transportation southward. Mr.
Davidson says: "The torpedo was too small. I
thought so at the time. I could not get a larger
steamer suitable for the purpose, and the one I used
would not manoeuvre with a larger torpedo down in an
ordinary seaway in such open waters as the mouth of
the James. ... It must be considered that I had to
explode my torpedo against perpendicular sides. . . .
As to being drawn into the hole in case I had made
one in the side of the Minnesota, I had provided
for that by previous practice of direct ramming at an
angle, always stopping the engine before striking, and
instructing the engineer to go full speed astern as soon
as he felt the blow, without waiting for orders.
" My torpedo struck the side of the Minnesota and
exploded in just about one second after contact— an
excellent result for the fuse of that day. The pole
was shattered to pieces and the little steamer driven
back forcibly. When she backed off about fifty yards
and stopped to reverse and go ahead, her single cylinder
engine caught 'on centre' and there we remained — it
seemed to me about forty years— under the fire of the
Minnesota. The engineer, Mr. Wright, one of the
bravest and coolest men I ever knew, got the engine
free again, having to feel for the different parts in the
dark. The little steamer was peppered all over with
bullets, several passing through my clothes, but we got
off without any injury. I then steered in the direc-
tion of Norfolk to throw pursuers off the scent, which
proved successful."
502 ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS. 1883-186.-)
Mr. Davidson adds : " Mr. Mallory, the Secretary oi
the Navy, in writing me after the war, uses these words :
' The destruction of the Commodore Jones, the leading
vessel of Lee's fleet, which was ascending the James
River to co-operate with General Butler in the attack
on Drewry's Bluff, by causing the retirement of that
fleet, undoubtedly caved Drewry's Bluff, the key of*
Richmond.' And in the same letter he adds : ' I always
regarded the submarine department under your com- *
mand as equal in importance to any division of the i
army.'
"Admiral Porter states that the man who fired the
torpedo that destroyed the Commodore Jones was shot
from one of Lee's boats. This is a mistake. He was
still living in 1889. The man shot was a carpenter of <
no torpedo importance."
On the destruction of the Merrimac, or Virginia,
the Confederates set about building other ironclads of •
the same type in the James, and by 1864 they had com-
pleted the Fredericksburg, the Richmond and the Vir-
ginia No. %, the last being the most formidable of all, '
having six inches of armor on her sides and eight on \
her ends, and carrying two 8-inch and six 6-inch Brooke :
rifled guns. The Nationalists had stationed the moni-
tors Tecumseh, Canonicus and Saugus, the turret ship ;
Onondaga, and the captured ram Atlanta with a view
of meeting the Confederate ironclads. On January 23,^
1865, while all the Union ironclads, except the Onon-
daga, Commander William A. Parker, were absent, the
enemy's rams, under the command of Commodore John
K. Mitchell, came down the river, but the Virginia
No. 2 and the Richmond ran aground. In this condi-
tion they were subjected to a heavy fire from the Union
batteries and the Onondaga, and when floated off they
retired up the river.
The blockade of Wilmington, N. C., had been main-
tained during the war by a force numbering from
thirty to forty vessels, yet a large percentage of the
1864. FORT FISHER.
503
blockade runners succeeded in getting into and out of
the harbor. The two widely separated entrances of
the port afforded the Confederates unusual facilities for
eluding the vigilance of our officers, and toward the
close of 1864 it was decided to make a determined at-
tack upon the forts guarding the place. These con-
sisted of Fort Caswell, guarding the southern entrance
of Cape Fear River, and Fort Fisher, at the northern
entrance. The latter was one of the most formidable
earthworks on the Atlantic coast. Every art of engi-
neering had been used to make it impregnable. The
parapets were twenty-five feet thick, with an average
height of twenty feet, while the traverses, ten feet
higher, were ten to twelve feet thick. The fort mounted
forty-four guns. Its commander was Colonel William
Lamb. A combined navy and army expedition was
projected against this place under the command of
Rear- Admiral David Dixon Porter and General Ben
jamin Franklin Butler, and an imposing fleet of about
one hundred and fifty vessels was collected in Hamp-
ton Roads.
As a preliminary blow, the old steamer Louisiana
was filled with powder, which was to be exploded
under the walls of the fort. Notwithstanding the fate
of Lieutenant Somers and his gallant shipmates in the
ketch Intrepid, which was blown up with all hands in
the harbor of Tripoli in 1804, Commander Alexander
Colden Rhind, Lieutenant Samuel W. Preston, Sec-
ond-Assistant-Engineer Anthony T. E. Mullen and
Master's-Mate Boyden, with seven men, volunteered
for service in this floating mine. On the night of De-
cember 23, 1864, the Louisiana, in tow of the Wil-
derness, Acting-Master Arey, having the Gettysburg,
Lieutenant Lamson, in company, set out on her per-
ilous mission. She was towed near her station and
guided by Mr. Bradford, of the Coast Survey, and Mr.
Bowen, the pilot. At 11.30 P. M. the Louisiana
dropped her towline and steamed boldly toward Fort
504 ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS. 1^,4.
Fisher. When four hundred yards from the fort the
steamer anchored and the sailors were put into a boat, I
while Commander Rhind and Lieutenant Preston pro-
ceeded to light the fuses, which had been arranged by |
Engineer Mullen. These officers then got into a boat!
and reached the Wilderness at midnight. The vessel j>
then steamed out to sea at full speed, and when twelve
miles out hove to. At 1.40 A. M. the powder blew up, |
inflicting little or no injury upon the enemy.
At daylight, December 24th, the fleet stood in to j.
begin the attack on Fort Fisher. The signal to en- !
gage the fort was given at 11.30 A. M., and for the next \
few hours one of the most stupendous cannonades in j
history was witnessed. The fort seemed to be literally j
covered with bursting shells, which dug tremendous \
craters in the parapets. But aside from exploding two J
servipe magazines and burning several buildings the
bombardment did no material injury, and at sunset
Porter signaled the vessels to retire. As little diffi- i
culty was found in silencing the guns of the fort, the
National vessels were scarcely injured by the enemy's
shot. The Osceola was struck by a shell, which came
near her magazine and caused a serious leak. The
Mackinaw's boiler was exploded by a shell, but she
fought the battle out. The principal injuries in the
Union fleet were caused by the bursting of guns, most
of them 100- pounder rifled Parrott guns. In this way
eight men were killed and eleven wounded in the
Ticonderoga, two killed and three wounded in the
Yantic, five killed and eight wounded in the Juniata,
one killed in the Mackinaw and one wounded in the
Quaker City. On the following day, December 25th,
the bombardment was renewed. Seventeen gunboats
under the command of Captain Oliver S. Glisson, aided
by the Brooklyn, covered the landing of the troops.
About three thousand men were landed, but on a
close inspection of the fort General Butler deemed it
unadvisable to attack. After a bombardment of seven
1865. FORT FISHER. 505
hours the fleet retired again, and the attack was post-
poned. In these affairs the fleet lost twenty men
killed and sixfy- three wounded, while the Confederate
loss was six killed and fifty-two wounded. Eight of
the forty-four guns of the fort were rendered unserv-
iceable.
A second expedition against Fort Fisher sailed on
January 12th, and on January 13th six thousand men
were landed, General Alfred Howe Terry commanding
the troops.1 At 3.30 p. M. the fleet got under way and
1 The vessels engaged in the expedition were the Colorado, Commodore
Henry Knox Thatcher; New Ironsides, Commodore William Itadford ; Min-
nesota, Commodore Joseph Lanman ; Powhatan, Commodore James Find-
lay Schenck; Susquehanna, Commodore Sylvanus William Godon; Santi-
ago de Cuba, Captain Oliver S. Glisson ; Wabash, Captain Melancton Smith ;
Fort Jackson, Captain Benjamin Franklin Sands; Vanderbilt, Captain
Charles W. Pickering; Shenandoah,C&\>\.&\n Daniel Boone Ridgely; Ti-
conderoga, Captain Charles Steedman; Brooklyn, Captain James Alden ;
Tuscorara. Commander James Madison Frailey; Monadnock, Commander
Enoch Greenleaf Parrott ; Rhode Island, Commander Stephen Decatur
Trenchard; Nereu*, Commander John Camming Howell ; Mohican, Com-
mander Daniel Ammen; losco, Commander John Guest; Pawtuxet, Com-
mander James Hanna Spotts ; Osceola, Commander John Mellen Brady
Clitz ; Mackinaw, Commander John C. Beaumont; Saugus, Commander
Edmund R. Colhoun; Pontoosnc, Commander William Grenville Temple;
R. R. Cuyhr, Commander Charles Henry Bromedge Caldwell; Juniata,
Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Stowell Phelps; Yantic, Lieutenant-
Commander Thomas Cadwalader Harris; Chippewa, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Edward Eells Potter; Sassacus, Lieutenant-Commander John
Lee Davis: Tacony, Lieutenant-Commander Wiliara Talbot Truxtun ;
Kansas, Lieutenant-Commander Pendleton Gaines Watmough; Unadil-
la, Lieutenant-Commander Francis Munroe Ramsay; Maratanza, Lieu-
tenant-Commander George W. Young ; Maumee, Lieutenant-Commander
Ralph Chandler: Pequot, Lieutenant-Commander Daniel Lawrence Braine ;
Canonicus, Lieutenant-Commander George Eugene Belknap; Mahopac,
Lieutenant-Commander Aaron Ward Weaver; Huron, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Thomas Oliver Selfridge, Jr.; Seneca, Lieutenant-Commander
Montgomery Sicard ; Monticello, Lieutenant William Barker Gushing;
Gettysburg, Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson ; Montgomery, Acting- Volun-
teer-Lieutenant Thomas C. Dunn. The reserve division under the com-
mand of Lieutenant-Commander John Henry Upshur, in the Frolic (for-
merly the A. D. Fam*). consisted of the Britannia, Acting-\ olunteer-
Lieutenant W. B. Sheldon; the Tristam Shandy, Acting-Volunteer-Lieu-
tenant Francis M. Green ; the Lillian, Acting-Volunteer-Lieutenant T. A.
506 ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS. 1865.
began the bombardment. Again the terrific cannonad-
ing of December 24th and 25th was exhibited. As
evening came on the fleet retired, but the ironclads
maintained a desultory fire all night. The bombard-
ment was renewed on the 14th. In the evening Gen-
eral Terry made arrangements with Porter for a com-
bined naval and army attack on the morning of the
15th. Sixteen hundred sailors and four hundred ma-
rines were landed under the command of Lieutenant-
Commander Kidder Randolph Breese and Lieutenant-
Commander James Parker, Lieutenant - Commander
Upshur covering the landing with the light gunboats.
At 9 A. M., January 15th, the vessels opened fire, which
they kept up until 3 P. M., when they ceased in order
that the land forces might rush to the assault. The
attacking column of the army, which was lying con-
cealed under the river bank, charged the left flank of
the fort, wrhile the naval column came up on the open
beach, where it was entirely exposed. Colonel Lamb,
commander of the fort, had stationed most of his men
to sweep the approach from the beach. The sailors
were divided into three divisions, Lieutenant Cushman
commanding the first, Lieutenant-Commander Parker
the second, Lieutenant-Commander Thomas O. Sel-
f ridge, Jr., the third, wrhile the marines were under the
command of Captain L. L. Dawson. The seamen were
repelled with a loss of eighty-two killed and two hun-
dred and sixty-nine wounded. The troops, having less
resistance, carried the fort. Among the killed were
Lieutenants Samuel W. Preston and Benjamin H. Por-
ter, Assistant-Surgeon William Longshaw, Jr., and
Harris; the Aries, Acting-Volunteer-Lieutenant Francis S. Wells; the
Governor Buckingham, Acting- Volunteer-Lieutenant John Macdiarmid;
the Alabama, Acting- Volunteer-Lieutenant A. R. Langthorn ; the Fort
Donelson, Acting-Volunteer-Master G. W. Frost ; the Wilderness, Acting-
Master Henry Arey ; the Nansemond, Acting-Master James H. Porter ; the
Little Ada, Acting- Master Samuel P. Crafts; the ^olus, Acting-Master
Edward S. Keyser ; and the Republic, Acting-Ensign John W. Bennett.
The Malvern was Porter's flagship.
1865. FORT ANDERSON.
507
Acting-Ensign Robert Wiley. An explosion of a maga-
zine in the fort on the 16th killed two hundred men.
Among the wounded were Paymaster Jewett and En-
sign Leighton, Lieutenant-Commander Allen, Lieuten-
ants Bache, Lamson and Baury, Ensigns Evans, Harris,
Chester, Bertwhistle, O'Connor, Coffin and Wood, Act-
ing-Master Louch and Masters-Mates Green, Sims and
Aldrich. The assaulting columns of the army were
led by Generals Comstock and Ames. The losses to
the troops were about seven hundred killed or wounded.
The place was garrisoned with fewer than two thousand
men, including officers.
On February 17th Rear-Admiral Porter attacked
Fort Anderson, which was halfway between Fort Fisher
and Wilmington. The attacking vessels were the Mon-
tauk and the gunboats Pawtucret, Lenapee, Unadilla,
Pequot, Mackinaw, Huron, Sassacus, Pontoosuc,
Maratanza, Osccola, S?iawmut, Seneca, Nyack, Chip-
pewa and Little Ada. The attack was begun on the
18th, and a heavy fire was maintained until three o'clock
in the afternoon, when the fort was silenced. The
Confederates abandoned the place during the night.
The gunboats had three men killed and four wounded.
While the river was being dragged for torpedoes on
the 20th and 21st, one of the machines exploded under
the bow of the Shawmut, killing two men and wound-
ing an officer and one man. On the 22d, Porter at-
tacked Fort Strong at Big Island. Before the enemy
was driven from his guns the Sassacus was badly in-
jured by several shot, one of them at the water line.
On the night of the 20th a torpedo that the Confeder-
ates had floated down from Wilmington struck the
wheel of the Osceola, blowing the wheelhouse to pieces,
but, although doing considerable damage, it did not
injure the hull.
CHAPTER XX.
CONFEDERATE CRUISERS.
AT the outbreak of the civil war the commerce of
the United States was next to the largest in the world,
and as most of it was tributary to the Northern States
the leaders of the Confederacy from the first exerted
themselves to fit out commerce-destroyers. One of the
first of these vessels to get to sea was the Sumter, for-
merly the Habana of the line running between New
Orleans and Havana. She was armed with an 8- inch
pivot gun and four 24-pounder howitzers. On June 18,
1861, under the command of Captain Raphael Semmes,
she dropped down from New Orleans to the Head of
the Passes, but it was several weeks before she could
evade the blockading squadron. Finally, while the
Brooklyn was in chase of a sail, she made a dash for
the bar, and, although closely pursued, got to sea.
Within a week the Sumter made eight prizes. During
the two months she cruised along the South American
coast she stopped at Curagao, Trinidad, and Maranham,
where, although her character was well known, she \\;is
cordially received and every facility was given to her.
The Sumter put into St. Pierre, Martinique, for coal
and supplies, November 9th, where she received the
usual hospitalities in spite of the neutrality of the port.
Five days later Commander James Shedden Palmer, in
the Iroquois, appeared off the port, and learning that
the rule forbidding the stronger vessel to leave the port
within twenty-four hours of the other would be en-
forced, he took a position off the harbor, intending to
blockade the cruiser. Arrangements had been made
508
1861. CAREER OF THE SUMTER. 509
with the master of an American schooner in port to
signal to the Iroquois the direction the Sumter took in
case she attempted to get to sea at night. On the night
of November 23d Semmes headed for the southern part
of the roads, which are twelve miles wide, and observ-
ing that the schooner was signaling, he divined its ob-
ject, and, waiting until he was sure that the Iroquois
wras making for the southern entrance, suddenly turned
back, and, favored by a squall of rain, made his escape
by the northern side of the harbor.
Taking three prizes on his way across the Atlantic,
Semmes docked at Cadiz and then ran round to Gibral-
tar, taking two more merchantmen. At this place he
was blockaded by the Tuscarora, the Kearsarge and
the Ino, and finding that it was impossible to escape,
he sold his vessel and disbanded the crew. Later in
the war the Sumter became a blockade-runner. The
total number of prizes taken by this vessel was fifteen,
of which six were released in Cuban ports, seven were
burned, one ransomed and one recaptured.
Having few vessels in their own ports suitable for
commerce-destroyers, the leaders of the Confederacy
purchased, through their agents and middlemen, ves-
sels in England, which, sailing without guns, ammuni-
tion or crews, were met, sometimes at sea and other
times in out-of-the-way places, by another vessel laden
with armament and stores, and thus became Confeder-
ate cruisers. The principal agent for these transactions
for the Confederate States in England was Captain
James D. Bulloch, while Commodore Samuel Barron
represented the Confederacy in France. The condi-
tions under which these vessels were secured, equipped
and commissioned were sufficiently like those obtained
by Benjamin Franklin in France during the Revolution
to warrant the designation "cruisers."
The first of this class of Confederate cruisers was
the Florida, built at Liverpool, 1861-'62, exactly on
the lines of the British gunboat of that day, under the
510 CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. 1C63, |
name of Oreto, ostensibly for the Italian Government.
Although our minister to England, Charles Francis
Adams, laid conclusive evidence before the British
Government that the Oreto was in reality a Confederate
cruiser, and in spite of the fact that the Italian consul
disclaimed all knowledge of the vessel, she was allowed
to clear from Liverpool, March 22, 1862, consigned to
Adderly & Co., of Nassau, the correspondents of
Fraser, Trenholm & Co., of Liverpool, the wrell-known
financial agents of the Confederate Government. On
April 28th the Oreto arrived at Nassau, where she was
joined by the English steamer Bahama from Hartle-
pool, England, laden with guns, ammunition and a
complete outfit for a cruiser. In order to keep up a
semblance of complying with the laws of neutrals, the
Orcto, when she began taking aboard her armament,
was libeled, but was quickly released by the sympa-
thetic jury, and on August 7th, under Commander
John Newland Maffitt, sailed for an uninhabited island
in the Bahamas, where her two rifled 7-inch guns and
six 6-inch guns, together with the ammunition, were
taken aboard, and she began her career as the Confed-
erate cruiser Florida. At this time the vessel had
only twenty-two men for a crew, and this number was
reduced by yellow fever to only three or four efficient
men.
Touching at Cardenas, Cuba, where he got a re-en-
forcement of twelve men, Maffitt stood over to Mobile,
sighting that port September 4th. The blockading
squadron, under the command of Commander George
Henry Preble, at that time consisted of the Oneida and
the Winona. As the Florida was constructed on the
lines of the English cruisers that were constantly in-
specting the blockade about that time, Maffitt hoisted
English colors, and in broad daylight stood for the
Union vessels. Deceived by this, Preble went to quar-
ters and approached the Florida, believing her to be
an English man-of-war. When near enough he hailed
1862-1863. MAPFITT RUNS THE BLOCKADE. 511
the stranger, but no attention was paid to it. The
Oneida then fired three shots in succession across the
Florida's bow without getting an answer, upon which
Preble fired his broadside, but the Florida still con-
tinued on her swift course. The Oneida, the Winona,
and the schooner Rachel Seaman (the last having just
arrived off the port) fired as rapidly as possible, but the
Florida was speeding away at fourteen knots an hour
to the seven of the Union vessels, and although some-
what damaged she gained the port.
Speaking of the injuries the Florida received from
this fire, one of her midshipmen, G. Terry Sinclair,
records: "We received one 11-inch shell opposite our
port gangway, near the water line. It passed through
our coal bunker, painfully wounding one man and
beheading another, thence to the berth deck, where our
men had previously been ordered as a place of safety.
Fortunately this shell did not explode, the fuse having
been knocked out, probably by contact with the ship's
side. Another shell entered the cabin and, passing
through the pantry, raised havoc with the crockery.
The ship to the day of her destruction bore the marks
of upward of fourteen hundred shrapnel balls. Our
additional casualties were two men slightly wounded." l
Having shipped a crew, Maffitt, at two o'clock in
the morning of January 16, 1863, boldly steamed
through the Union blockading squadron and escaped,
in spite of the additional vessels that had been detailed
especially with a view of capturing him. Taking three
prizes, the Florida was chased for thirty-four hours by
the Sonoma, Commander Thomas Holdup Stevens, but
escaped by her superior speed. Kunning into Nassau,
she was received with every demonstration of joy by
the British inhabitants, and was permitted to remain in
port thirty-six hours, or twelve more than allowed by
Government instructions. She also took aboard coal
1 Century Magazine, July, 1898.
512 CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. 1863.
for three months, although the authorities had forbid-
den a larger supply than would suffice to carry her to
the nearest Confederate port.
Cruising between Bahia and New York, Maffitt in
five months took fourteen prizes, one of which, the
Clarence, was armed with a few light guns, and, being
placed in charge of a prize crew under Lieutenant
Charles W. Read, went on an independent cruise
against our commerce. Between May 6th and May
]()th Read destroyed four vessels, and finding his fifth
prize, the Tacony, better adapted for cruising, he
transferred his crew and armament to her and burned
the Clarence. The Tacony in two weeks made ten
prizes, one of which, the Archer, suited Lieutenant
Read even better than the Tacony, and, burning the
latter, he continued the work of destruction in the
Archer. Running into the harbor of Portland, Me.,
with a boat party shortly after this, Read, with a dar-
ing equal to Connyngham in the Revolution, cut out
the revenue cutter Caleb Gushing ; but on the follow-
ing day he was -attacked by a number of steamers that
came out in chase, and was captured after burning his
prize.
Another prize of the Florida, the bark Lapwing,
was converted into a consort. This vessel was captured
March 27th, and, being placed in charge of Lieutenant
R. S. Floyd and Midshipman Sinclair and seven men,
made an independent cruise. Sinclair describes a clever
capture made by the Lapwing as follows : " With the
Lapwing we captured and bonded a ship by a little
ruse and impudence. Having first sawed a spar to the
requisite length to represent a long gun, we painted
and mounted it on two wheels taken from a family car-
riage found on board. With this trained on the en-
emy, but not too conspicuously in view, we hove him to
with a shot from our 12-pounder [the only gun the
Lapwing carried]. With four well-armed men I was
sent on board, and brought the captain, with his papers,
1863. CATCHING AN AMAZON. 5^3
back with me, he coming in his own boat. It was not
until the captain came on board our ship that he dis-
covered our weakness ; but it was then too late, and
there was nothing else to be done, so he bonded his
ship to us, returning in his own boat."1 Making Bar-
badoes May 30th, Lieutenant Floyd burned the Lap-
wing, and reached the settlement with his men. From
this place they proceeded to Queenstown in an English
bark, eventually rejoining the Florida at Brest.
Meantime the Florida had sailed from Brest, where
she remained six months, and being completely over-
hauled was placed under command of Captain Charles
Manigault Morris. She then crossed the Atlantic, and.
after being allowed by the British authorities to coal
at Bermuda, continued her depredations on American
commerce in the Atlantic Ocean. The peculiar nature
of this service is interestingly revealed by Midshipman
G. T. Sinclair when he says : "Another of our captures,
a vessel from the East Indies, contained a rare charac-
ter in an old lady, who, we were told, was a missionary
on her return home for a vacation. As usual, Captain
Morris gave this lady one of the staterooms in his
cabin ; but it was not long before she had the entire
cabin, and, I think, had she stayed much longer, would
have been captain. She was intensely Union, and had
little use for 'rebels,' nor did she hesitate to tell us so.
We got in the habit of watching for her head as it came
up out of the cabin hatch, when there would be a gen-
eral scamper ; but the poor officer of the deck was
compelled to stand and take her tongue lashing. The
old lady usually promenaded the deck with a green
cotton umbrella raised, and on one occasion one of the
retreating ones returned and found that Lieutenant
Stone, who was in charge of the deck, had gone into
the rigging, where he remained, looking very much like
a cat up a tree with a dog watching him."2
i Century Magazine, July, 1898. * Ibid.
78
514 CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. 1864.
After touching at Teneriffe, Morris, on October 5,1
1864, anchored at Bahia (intending to take in supplies
and then pass around Cape Horn to make a raid on
American whalers in the Pacific), where he found the
United States sloop of war Wachusett, Commander j
Napoleon Collins, of Wilkes' flying squadron. Fearing i
that a battle might be precipitated in the harbor, a
Brazilian corvette anchored between the two vessels, ft!
A little before daybreak, October?, 1864, Collins crossed {
the bow of the corvette, intending to ram and sink the j
Florida at her anchorage. Captain Morris and many j
of his officers and men were ashore. Failing to strike |
square on, the Wachusett carried away the Florida's 1
mizzenmast, main yard, and some of the bulwarks. I
After an exchange of a few shot, Lieutenant Thomas K. I
Porter, the senior officer in the Florida, surrendered
with sixty-nine officers and men. Collins, who had
only three men injured in the affair, took the cruiser in 1
tow and carried her out of the harbor, in spite of the
remonstrances of the Brazilian authorities. The other j
officers of the Florida were Lieutenants S. G. Stone, *<
Samuel Barron, Jr., R. S. Floyd, and George D. Bryan ; : ;
Surgeon Thomas J. Charlton, Assistant- Surgeon Thomas
Emory, Paymaster Richard Taylor, Chief Engineer W. 1
S. Thompson, Midshipmen William B. Sinclair, Jr.,
James H. Dyke, G. Terry Sinclair, and Master's Mate
Thomas T. Hunter, Jr.
That the act of Commander Collins was a flagrant
violation of the rights of a neutral port can not be de-
nied. But in view of the fact that England, France,
Spain, and many of the South American states had re-
peatedly, outrageously, and to a far more serious extent
violated their neutrality toward the United States, his
course does not seem so unjustifiable. The attack of
the British cruisers Phoebe and Cherub on the Essex at
Valparaiso and that of Sir George Collier's squadron on
the Levant in the harbor of Port Praya, the capture
of two American vessels in the port of Tunis by the
1863-1864. ENGLAND'S "NEUTRALITY." 515
British cruiser Lyra, and two in Tripoli by the Eng-
lish war ship Paulina in the Wnr of 1812, showed how
little England regarded the rights of neutral nations.
The act of Commander Collins was promptly disavowed
by the United States Government, but we have yet to
hear of any satisfactory reparation being made by the
British Government in the cases of the Essex and the
Levant. The same contempt for international law was
shown by England during the civil war until the result
of the battle of Gettysburg was known in London.
Brazil also had been notorious for violating her neu-
trality in our struggle with the Confederate States.
Only the year before her officials at Fernando de No-
ronha had permitted the Alabama to take into the
anchorage the American merchant vessel Louisa Hatch
and coal from her and then burn her. About the same
time two more American vessels appeared off the port,
and, running out, the Alabama destroyed them, re-
turning to the harbor the same day. This certainly was
quite as gross a violation of the neutrality of Brazil as
the act of Commander Collins ; and when the sum total
of sucli outrages on the part of Brazil and the United
States has been added up, the balance of charges will
be found weighing heavily against Brazil. The Florida
was taken to the United States and was accidentally
sunk in port. While under Captain Maffitt's command
the Florida and her tenders captured fifty-five vessels,
and under Morris some twenty were added to the list.
On November 10, 1863, the British Government sold
its dispatch boat Victor to men acting in the interests
of the Confederate States, and after the inspector of
machinery in the royal dockyard at Sheerness had
enlisted part of her crew she put to sea under the
name of RappaJiannock. When she put into Calais
for the purpose of completing her outfit the French
officials decided that they would not allow her to finish
the work in their waters, and she remained in that port
till the close of the war.
516 CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. 1863.
Another English vessel, the Georgia, Lieutenant
William L. Mauiy, built for the Confederacy on the
Clyde, got to sea April 1, 1863, and off Morlaix she
met a steamer laden with her armament and stores.
Her first prize was the Dictator, of New York, many
of her crew being persuaded to ship in the Georgia to
take the places of Englishmen who had decided, at the
last moment, not to enlist in the Confederate vessel.
After burning the Dictator, Lieutenant Maury ap-
peared off the Cape de Verde Islands, and, eluding a
National war ship, joined the Alabama at Bahia. The
Georgia then stood down the coast to Rio de Janeiro,
off which port she captured the George Griswold. In
making the run for Trinidad this cruiser captured and
destroyed several vessels, among them the Good Hope.
It was while this merchantman was burning that the
American bark Seaver drew near, attracted by the
flames. Her master promptly put off in his gig,
and unsuspectingly boarded the Georgia. "His first
words, as he stepped over the side, were, 'Can I be
of any assistance ? How did she catch fire ? ' Poor
fellow ! He thought the blaze was accidental, and had
headed for the burning ship to offer assistance. . . .
He explained that he had been for a long time in the
Pacific Ocean, and was ignorant of the fact that civil
war was raging at home. Under the circumstances
Captain Maury decided not to burn him. Our prison-
ers were put on board his vessel, and he went his way
rejoicing."1
After passing the National steam frigate Niagara
one dark night, so closely that voices could be heard
aboard her, the Georgia arrived at Simonstown, Cape
of Good Hope, a few hours after the Alabama had left
there for the East Indies. At this port the Confeder-
ates were cordially received by the people in the Brit-
1 James Morris Morgan, who served in the Georgia as midshipman.
See Century Magazine for August, 1898.
1863. A NARROW ESCAPE. 5^
ish troop ship Himalaya. Putting to sea a few days
afterward, the Georgia made a short cruise to the
south and met the tea fleet, eastward bound. "By
this move," writes Midshipman Morgan, "we missed
running into the United States ship Vanderbilt, which
was hunting for us. When we turned to the north
with the fleet, and while going from one vessel to an-
other inquiring of them their nationality, we came
under the shadow of Table Mountain late in the after-
noon, and saw the Vanderbilt on the horizon steaming
for Table Bay. We did not molest her, but satisfied
ourselves with making a prize of the merchant ship
John Watt." The Georgia next put into Santa Cruz,
in the Canaries, where she was hospitably treated by
the governor. Continuing her course northward, this
cruiser, during a calm, captured the American mer-
chantman Bold Hunter, laden with coal. "We tried
to replenish our stock from her," wrote Mr. Morgan,
"but, the wind rising, the sea became too high, and we
recalled our prize crew, who before returning, fired
the ship.
"The officer of the deck on the Georgia, through
carelessness, allowed his vessel to drift too near the
burning prize, which was forging ahead under all sail,
with no one aboard to control her movements. Seeing
a collision imminent, he pulled the engine bell to go
ahead at full speed. As the engine started there was
a crash in the engine room, and we knew that the
usual accident had happened — namely, that the wooden
cogs which turned the shaft had broken. In an instant
the Bold Hunter was upon us. She rose on a high sea,
and came down on our rail, smashing boat davits and
boats. She recoiled, and rushed at us again like a
mad bull. This time, plunging from the top of a
huge wave, she came down on our taffrail, doing
much damage. It now looked as though the cruise
of the Georgia was about to end ; and had not the
Bold Hunter suddenly sheered off and passed to lee-
518 CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. 1863-1864.
ward of us, the cruiser undoubtedly would have been
destroyed."1
On the following day Captain Maury fell in with
the French bark La Patrie, and, as her master refused
to allow his vessel to be boarded, the Confederates re-
sorted to force. No injury was inflicted, and, finding
that her papers were correct, the Georgia continued on
her course. This incident gave rise to diplomatic cor-
respondence between the French and Confederate Gov-
ernments. Arriving "at Cherbourg, the Georgia, after
many weeks of delay, was permitted to enter a Gov-
ernment dock and undergo much-needed repairs. It
was here decided by the Southern naval authorities
in Europe to place the Georgia out of commission as
soon as her armament could be transferred to the Rap-
pahannocJc, then at Calais. Captain Maury accord-
ingly was detached from the Georgia, while that ves-
sel, in charge of her executive officer, put to sea and
made all speed for a rendezvous on the coast of Mo-
rocco, some thirty miles south of Mogador, where the
RappahannocJc was to join her and receive her arma-
ment. As has been shown, the French authorities
would not permit the Rappahannoclc to leave port ; so
the Georgia, after a long wait at the appointed rendez-
vous—at one time narrowly escaping shipwreck on a
lee shore — made for Bordeaux, where it was learned
that French gendarmes still guarded the moorings that
held the RappahannocTc to the quay of Calais. After
a stay of several weeks at this place, the Georgia, elud-
ing a National cruiser in the night, stood out to sea,
and on May 9, 1864, reached Liverpool. Here the crew
was paid off and the vessel sold to a British merchant,
who had a contract to carry the mails between Liver-
pool and Lisbon. On her first trip the Georgia was
seized by the Niagara off Lisbon and sent to Boston,
where she was condemned by a prize court, the British
1 Century Magazine, August, 1898.
1864-1803. SHENANDOAH DESTROYS WHALERS. 519
merchant never receiving compensation for the fifteen
thousand pounds he paid for her. In all, the Georgia
made eight prizes.
The last of the British-built vessels in the service of
the Confederacy was the Sea King, a fast-sailing vessel
with auxiliary steam power, engaged in the East India
trade. On October 8, 1864, she sailed from London for
Bombay, her commander having the authority to sell
her within six months. On precisely the same day the
British steamer Laurel sailed from Liverpool, and by
one of the strange coincidences so common with Eng-
lish ships during our war these two vessels a few days
later met one another near some deserted islands of
the Madeira group. Another coincidence was that the
Laurel had nineteen Confederate naval officers aboard,
and in her hold were a large number of cases marked
"machinery," which proved to be just the kind of guns
that would be suitable for the Sea King. After the
arms and ammunition had been transferred to the Sea
King she was placed in commission as the Confeder-
ate cruiser Shenandoah, Captain James Iredell Wad-
dell. The principal object of the Shenandoahs cruise
was the destruction of the American whaling trade in
the Japan Sea and the Arctic Ocean, where it had
always been a formidable rival to the English.
After taking a few prizes in the Atlantic Ocean the
Shenandoah proceeded to Melbourne, Australia, where,
strange to say, she met another ship from England
laden with coal, just at a time when Captain Waddell
most needed that commodity. Kemaining here nearly
a month instead of "twenty-four hours," she enlisted
forty-two men and sailed for Behring Straits, where she
destroyed a large number of American whalers. In her
career as a Confederate cruiser the Shenandoah cap-
tured nearly forty American merchantmen, most .
which were destroyed at sea. "We made it a rule
from the start," wrote Midshipman John Thomson
Mason, of the Shenandoah, "that there should be no
520 CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. 1862-1865.!
pillaging of the captured vessels. If we needed stores i
for the ship's use we took them, but our sailors were
never allowed to plunder on their own account." l Cap-
tain Waddell had been an officer in the United States
navy. His executive was Lieutenant William C.
Whittle, Jr., son of Captain Whittle, U. S. N., while
the other lieutenants were John Grimball, Sidney
Smith Lee, son of Captain S. S. Lee, U. S. N., and
nephew of General Robert E. Lee, Francis T. Chew,
and Dabney Minor Scales. Lieutenants Whittle and
Grimball had been classmates of Admiral Dewey at
Annapolis. The sailing master of the Shenandoah was
Irvine S. Bulloch, brother of the Confederate agent in
England, and had served in the same capacity in the
Alabama in her action with the Kearsarge. The other
ward-room officers were Surgeon Charles E. Lining,
Assistant-Surgeon F. J. McNulty, Paymaster W. B.
Smith, Chief-Engineer Matthew O'Brien, Passed Mid-
shipmen Orris A. Browne and John Thomson Mason.
Twelve of the Shenandoah' 's crew had served in the
Alabama during her action off Cherbourg. Learning,
on June 28, 1865, that the war had ended, Waddell
returned to Liverpool and gave up his vessel to the
British Government.
Strenuous efforts were made by the Confederate
Government to secure formidable ironclads, with which
it was hoped to raise the blockade on the Atlantic coast
and recover the Mississippi River. It was only after
the most earnest remonstrances of our minister that
England seized the ironclad rams and prevented them
from going to sea. Captain Bulloch contracted with
the builders of the Alabama for two swift double-tur-
reted rams plated with five and a half inches of iron
and armed with four 9-inch rifled guns, which would
have made them superior to any vessel then in the pos-
session of the United States. These vessels were allowed
1 Century Magazine, August, 181)8.
1864-1865. RAID OP THE TALLAHASSEE.
521
to be launched before the British Government could be
induced to take action concerning them. Finally, on
the threat of Mr. Adams that the equipment and sailing
of these rams meant a declaration of war, they were
taken into the British navy as the Scorpion and the
Wi'cern. In France the Confederate agents contracted
for four corvettes and two rams, but only one of these,
the Stonewall Jackson, Captain Thomas Jefferson Page,
got into the hands of the Confederate agents. She was
sold first to Denmark, and then to the agents of the Con-
federate States. Being plated with four and a half
inches of iron and armed with a 300-pounder rifled
Armstrong gun and two rifled 70-pounders, she would
have made short work of any of our wooden ships.
Springing aleak on her first cruise, she put into Ferrol,
and in March, 1865, offered battle to the sloop of war
Niagara, Commodore Thomas Tingey Craven, and the
Sacramento ; but Craven very properly refused to fight
such a formidable antagonist. Proceeding to Havana,
the Stonewall Jackson was surrendered by the Spanish
officials to the United States. Finally she was sold to
Japan.
Several of the blockade runners were temporarily
turned into cruisers. In October, 1864, the Edith came
out of Wilmington as the Chickamauga, and in the
course of several weeks captured four or five coasters.
On the night of August 6, 1864, the Confederate cruiser
Tallahassee, Captain John Taylor Wood, ran the block-
ade off Wilmington and shaped her course for Sandy
Hook. This craft, originally the Atlanta, had been
built on the Thames ostensibly for the Chinese opium
trade, but, through one of those adroit manipulations
so frequently experienced by English vessels in this
war, she soon found her way to Wilmington, and was
manned and equipped as a Confederate war ship. She
carried one rifled 100-pounder, one rifled 60-pounder,
one 32-pounder, and a long Parrott gun. Cruising off
Sandy Hook several days the Tallahassee made a num-
522 CONFEDERATE CRUISERS. 1864.
ber of prizes, many of them small craft of little value,
the most important capture being the packet ship
Adriatic, of one thousand tons. Destroying his prizes,
Captain Wood appeared off Boston and then put into
Halifax, taking a number of vessels on the way. Hav-
ing replaced his mainmast — which had been carried
away in a collision with the Adriatic — and taking
aboard coal, Captain Wood evaded the several National
war ships that were in waiting for him off the port, and,
running down the coast, rushed the blockade off Wil-
mington and regained that port, having made thirty-
five prizes in this short cruise. The Tallahassee made
another cruise under the names Olustee and Cliame-
leon— this time commanded by Lieutenant Ward — after
which she was taken to England, and eventually was
sold to Japan as a cruiser.
The tribunal that assembled at Geneva for the pur-
pose of arbitrating the "Alabama claims" decided that
England should pay to the United States fifteen million
five hundred thousand dollars for the losses caused by
the Florida, the Alabama, and the Shenandoah after
she left Melbourne.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT.
THE most famous of the English-built Confederate
cruisers was the Alabama, the two hundred and nine-
tieth ship built in the Lairds' shipyard. In spite of the
clearest evidence submitted by Minister Adams that
this vessel was fitting out at Liverpool for service
against, United States commerce, the English Govern-
ment allowed her to sail July 29, 1862. After complet-
ing her preparations at a point fifty miles from Liver-
pool, she passed to the north of Ireland and arrived
at the Azores August 10th, where she was met eight
days later by the bark Agrippina, from London, laden
with guns, ammunition, stores etc. On the 20th the
steamer Bahama, from Liverpool, arrived, having on
board Captain Raphael Semmes with a complement of
officers and a crew, most of the latter being English-
men. Steaming beyond the line of neutral jurisdic-
tion, Semmes lashed the two vessels alongside and
went through the formality of commissioning the Ala-
bama as a Confederate cruiser, and on the 24th began
his famous cruise. The Alabama was both a sailing
vessel and a steamer. Her propeller could be detached
and hoisted in fifteen minutes, so that she could make
from ten to twelve knots with sails alone, and with
steam added fifteen knots.
Captain Semmes had nicely calculated the time it
would take for news of his whereabouts to reach the
United States and a cruiser to overtake him, so his plan
was to cruise in one locality not more than two months
and then renew his depredations in some other quarter
523
524: THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT. 1862-1863.
of the globe. Sailing leisurely across the Atlantic, the
Alabama burned twenty American vessels, Captain
Semmes constituting a prize court in all cases where
doubt arose as to the ownership of captured cargoes.
Reaching the Banks, he headed southwest and touched
at Martinique, where, on November 18th, by a previous
arrangement, the Agrippina was found waiting for
him with a full supply of coal. While the Alabcunt
was in this port the United States sloop of war San
Jacinto, Commander William Ronckendorff, which ves-
sel had been dispatched in search of the Alabama, en-
tered the harbor. Discovering the Confederate cruiser,
and learning that the twenty-four-hour rule v/ould be
enforced, Commander Ronckendorff immediately stood
out and waited for the Alabama. On the night of
October 20th, however, Semmes got to sea unobserved.
Cruising among the West India islands, he captured
the mail steamer Ariel, December 7th, which was re-
leased under bonds to pay ransom. Another sailing
vessel laden with coal met the Alabama at an out-of-
the-way rendezvous, and having replenished her stores
she was again cruising.
From newspapers found in his prizes Semmes had
learned of the intended expedition of General Banks
against Galveston, and with the hope of intercepting
the Union transports he headed for that port, and on
January 11, 1863, drew near the place. At that time
the blockade squadron consisted of the Brooklyn, Com-
modore Henry H. Bell, the Hatteras, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Homer C. Blake, the Cayuga, the Sciota and
several light gunboats. The Hatteras was a frail side-
wheel passenger steamer designed for service on the
Delaware. Her machinery was entirely exposed to
shot. In the great demand for steamers early in the
war she was taken into the service and mounted four
short 32-pounders, two rilled 30- pounders, one rifled 20-
pounderand one 12-pounder howitzer, having a total shot
weight of two hundred and twenty pounds. The Ala-
1863. THE HATTEBAS AND THE ALABAMA. 525
lama carried one rifled 100-pounder Blakely gun, one
8-inch shell gun and six long 32-pounders, with a total
shot weight of three hundred and sixty pounds, three
hundred and twenty-eight pounds of which could be
pivoted on either broadside.
About meridian, January llth, the lookout at the
Brooklyn? s masthead reported a three-masted schooner
or a bark about twelve miles off making for the port.
As the sloop of war was having new grate bars put in
she did not have steam up, and Commodore Bell sig-
naled the Hatteras to run down to the stranger. The
Union vessel promptly made for the newcomer, who
was seen to be making sail as if desirous of escaping
seaward. As the afternoon wore on, Blake discovered
the stranger to be a steamer, and in view of the fact
that the Hatteras, although an exceedingly slow ves-
sel, was rapidly overhauling the chase, he began to
suspect that she was not so anxious to escape as her
manoeuvres indicated. When the pursuit had extended
about twenty'miles the stranger hove to, waiting for the
Hatteras to approach. Running within hailing dis-
tance, Blake asked what ship it was, and was told " Her
Britannic Majesty's ship Petrel" which bore a strong
resemblance to the vessel before him. While this was
going on the Alabama attempted to secure a raking
position, but Blake skillfully avoided it. The Union
commander then gave the name of his ship and ordered
a boat aboard the stranger, but scarcely had it left the
side when a voice from the stranger called out, "This
is the Confederate States steamer Alabama" Then a
broadside was poured into the Hatteras, which imme-
diately showed that the Union vessel was under the
guns of a vessel of superior force. Seeing that his only
hope was at close quarters, Blake put on full speed
and attempted to board ; but Semmes, aware of his ad-
vantage, steamed ahead, and, crossing the Hatteras'
course about forty yards distant, continued the action
on the other side.
526 THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT. 1863.
At first the firing on both sides was spirited, but
the odds were too great and the guns in the National
vessel were quickly silenced. The Alabama fired with
great accuracy. Shell after shell crashed through the
thin hull of the National gunboat and exploded with
dreadful effect. In ten minutes the Hatteras was on
fire in several places, her walking beam was shot away,
and water rushed through the openings made by sheets
of iron being torn off. In thirteen minutes she was dis-
abled and rapidly sinking, upon which Blake surren-
dered. The Confederates promptly got out their boats
and rendered every assistance in saving our men, and
showed them much kindness and attention when aboard
the Alabama. Ten minutes after the surrender flic
Hatteras sank out of sight, bow first. The Alabama
then made for Port Royal, Jamaica, and landed IUT
prisoners.
On hearing the distant booming of guns and the
flashes of light the Brooklyn, the Sciota and the T'nxja
got under way and steered for the scene of action, but,
although cruising all night, they saw nothing of the
Hatteras or of the mysterious stranger. On the fol-
lowing morning the masts of a sunken vessel with the
tops awash were made out, which, on closer examina-
tion, proved to be the Hatteras. Nothing about the
wreck indicated who the stranger was.
On leaving Port Royal Semmes headed southward,
and for two months held a position on the belt one
hundred miles wide near the equator, which was the
"cross roads" for the homeward-bound East India and
Pacific trade. Taking eight prizes here, he proceeded
to Fernando de Noronha, where he coaled from a prize,
the Louisa Hatch. While be was in this port t\v<>
American vessels appeared in the offing, and, without
any remonstrance from the Brazilian authorities, he ran
out and destroyed them and returned on the same day.
Taking ten prizes in the two months that she was off
Brazil, the Alabama, in July, sailed for the Cape of
1863-18G4. WAITING FOR THE ALABAMA. 507
Good Hope, in company with the bark Conrad, a prize,
which had been fitted up, armed with two 12-ponnder
howitzers and placed in commission as the Tusca-
loosa, Lieutenant John Lowe. The British authorities
of Cape Town extended every assistance to the Ala-
bama in her work of destroying England's great com-
mercial rival. Learning that the Vanderbilt, Com-
mander Charles II. Baldwin, one of the vessels that had
been fitted out with a roving commission for the express
purpose of capturing the Alabama, was in the vicinity,
Semmes determined to change his cruising-ground to
the East Indies. There he remained six months, and
after capturing seven vessels and eluding the sloop of
war Wyoming, he returned to the Cape of Good Hope.
Sunday morning, June 12, 1864, the United States
sloop of war Kearsarcje, Captain John Ancrum Wins-
low, lay off the sleepy town of Flushing, Holland.
Many of her officers and men were ashore, and every-
thing about the ship denoted an entire absence of
thought of immediate action. As the day wore on,
however, a cornet suddenly appeared at her foremast
and a gun was fired, a signal for every member of the
ship's company to repair on board immediately. Wins-
low had just received a telegram from Mr. Dayton, our
minister to France, saying that the Alabama had ar-
rived in Cherbourg. *On leaving the Cape of Good
Hope Semmes had sailed for Europe, arriving at Cher-
bourg June llth. Hastily making his preparations for
an immediate departure, Winslow steamed to Dover
for dispatches, and on Tuesday appeared off Cherbourg,
where the Confederate flag could be seen across the
breakwater, flying from the Alabama. Fearing that
the twenty-four-hour rule might be applied to his ship,
Winslow did not anchor in the harbor, but took a sta-
tion off the port. A close watch was placed in order to
prevent the Alabama from again getting to sea unob
served. In this instance, however, the precaution was
unnecessary, for Captain Semmes had determined
528 THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT. 1864.
offer battle to the National ship, and intimated this
intention to the United States consul.
The two vessels were remarkably well matched, the '
Kearsarge carrying two 11-inch pivot guns, four short ;
32-pounders and one rifled 30-pounder, in all seven '•
guns, having a total shot weight of four hundred and
thirty pounds ; while the Alabama carried one 100-
pounder Blakely gun, one 8-inch shell gun and six
long 32-pounders, in all eight guns, with a total of
three hundred and sixty pounds shot weight. In the
battle, however, which was fought with the starboard
batteries of each ship, the Kearsarge used only five
guns, with a total shot weight of three hundred and
sixty-six pounds, while the Alabama used seven guns,
with a total shot weight of three hundred and twenty-
eight pounds, which lessened the difference in weight
of metal to an inconsiderable question of thirty-eight
pounds. The Kearsarge^s complement was one hun-
dred and sixty-three men, while that of the Alabama
was one hundred and forty-nine. The former had a
slight superiority of speed, but this was not utilized in
the action. A year before, while at the Azores, Cap-
tain Winslow had arranged his sheet chains for a dis-
tance of forty-nine feet six inches amidships over the
side of his vessel and extending six feet two inches
down, as additional protection to his machinery. These
chains were secured up and down by marline to eye-
bolts and covered with 1-inch deal boards. But as this
part of the ship was struck only twice in the action,
this protection can not be counted as having materially
favored the National ship.
Comparative forces.
Tons. Guns. Pounds. Crew.
Kearsarge: 1,031 7 366 163
Alabama: 1,016 8 328 149
The sentiment among the townsfolk was overwhelm-
ingly in favor of the Alabama. Whenever her men
"SHE'S COMING!" 529
were recognized in the streets they were received with
enthusiasm and with prophecies of victory. The scene
in the lonely ship that cruised back and forth in quiet
reaches beyond the breakwater was quite different.
The cheap plaudits of the populace were not needed
to nerve the Yankee sailor to his duty. Winslow real-
ized that the public feeling in France and England was
against him and his crew, but he cared naught for that.
He knew what the American tars had done in former
wars, and he had an implicit confidence in his own
ship's company. And so day after day and night after
night the Kearsarye in grim silence stood guard over
the harbor. With each passing hour the hope of a
battle grew fainter. Wednesday came and no Alabama.
Thursday came and passed, with the same barren re-
sult ; then Friday and Saturday, yet no fight.
Sunday, June 19th, dawned with a light haze
hanging over the harbor and town, but in the light
westerly breeze the mists were gradually cleared away,
revealing the shipping and town in all the beauty
of a bright summer's day. A careful scrutiny of the
harbor gave no indication of the Alabama's coming
out that day, and the usual routine of the Sabbath in
an American war ship began. The decks were holy-
stoned until they shone with dazzling whiteness, the
brass works and guns were polished, ropes were coiled
away and everything made shipshape in keeping with
the holy day. After the men, dressed in their best
clothes, had been inspected, they were dismissed to at-
tend divine service. At 10.20 A. M., while the bell was
tolling for church, the officer of the deck reported a
steamer coming out of the harbor, but as this was a
common occurrence it aroused no special interest, and
preparations for worship went on. But a few seconds
later the words "She's coming, and heading straight
for us ! " flashed over the ship. It was not necessary
to ask "Who?" Everybody knew what the "she^"
meant. Captain Winslow immediately put aside his
79
530 THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT. 1864. I
prayer book, and, seizing the trumpet, ordered the ship !
about and the decks cleared for action.
Between nine and ten o'clock Semmes had got under
way, accompanied by the French ironclad Couronne,
flying the pennant of the commandant of the port, ••
whose duty it was to see that the fight should not take
place within the marine league. Having performed
this duty, the Frenchman returned to port. Closely
following him was the private English yacht Deer-
hound. Soon the hills and vantage points along the
coast were black with spectators, many supplied with
camp stools and spyglasses, eager to witness a naval
battle, while special wires to Paris reported each stage
of the action to the excited throngs in the metropolis.
It was estimated that more than fifteen thousand people
witnessed the battle, several of them being the masters
of merchant vessels that had been destroyed by the
Alabama. Excursion trains from Paris arrived fre-
quently, adding to the crowds of spectators. As the
Kearsarge was burning Newcastle coal and the Ala-
bama Welsh coal, causing a distinction in the smoke,
little difficulty was experienced in following the move- \
ments of the two vessels.
In order that no question about neutral waters
should be raised, Winslow led the Alabama seaward,
and at 10.50 A. M., on reaching a point about seven
miles from land, he turned round and headed straight
for the Alabama notwithstanding that he was exposed
to a raking fire from the entire broadsides of the Con-
federate cruiser. At 10.57, when the vessels were about
eighteen hundred yards apart, the Alabama opened the
action with a broadside, which cut away a little of the
rigging, but did no material damage. A second and
part of a third broadside were fired with a similar want
of serious effect, when Captain Winslow, fearing a rak-
ing fire, sheered round and delivered his broadside of
five-second shells at a distance of about nine hundred
yards. Without slackening his speed, Winslow en-
1864. MAGNIFICENT AMERICAN GUNNERY. 531
deavored to pass under the Alabama's stern, but
Semmes prevented this manoeuvre by putting his helm
hard to port. Each vessel then continued to keep its
starboard broadside toward the other, which resulted in
a circular motion, the ships going round a common cen-
ter. Seven complete revolutions were made in this way,
the three-mile current carrying the ships westward.
Early in the action a shot from the Kearsarge car-
ried away the Alabama's gaff and colors. Observing
this, the National crew cheered, but the Confederates
soon hoisted another ensign at their mizzen. About the
close of the battle a shot carried away the halyards of
the Kearsarge's colors, stopped at the mizzen, and in
so doing pulled sufficiently to break the stop and
thereby unfurled the flag that was to be shown in
case of victory. The firing of the Kearsarge was an-
other exhibition of that magnificent American gunnery
which formed one of the notable features of the War of
1812. Word was passed along the American battery to
let every shot tell. The wisdom of this was shown in
the result, the Kearsarge firing only one hundred and
seventy-three missiles, nearly all of which took effect,
while the Alabama fired three hundred and seventy, of
which only twenty-eight struck. The 11 -inch pivot
guns in the Kearsarge especially were handled with
great skill. One 11 -inch shell entered the port of the
Alabama's 8-inch gun, sweeping off a part of the gun
crew. Another 11-inch shell entered the same port,
killing one man and wounding several, which was
quickly followed by a third shell of the same caliber
in the same place. Another heavy shell entered the
wardroom and swept away the table on which Assist-
ant-Surgeon Llewellyn was operating, and, exploding,
blew out the side of the ship. Our 11-inch shells, how-
ever, were aimed principally a little below rather than
above the Alabama's water line, with a view of sink-
ing her, while the 32-pounders swept her decks. In
after pivot gun crew of the Alabama was reformed four
532 THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT. 1SG4.
times during the action. As the vessels circled round
they gradually drew nearer to each other, and toward
the close of the action they were less than six hundred
yards apart, at which time the fire from the National
vessel was reported as being terribly accurate.
Of the twenty-eight shot that struck the Kearsarge,
one, a 68-pounder shell, penetrated the starboard bul-
wark and exploded on the quarter-deck, wounding three
men, one of them, William Gowin, mortally. When
he was taken below, his interest in the battle was un-
abated notwithstanding his terrible injuries. "Lying
on his mattress, he paid attention to the progress of the
fight, so far as he could by the sounds on the deck, his
face showing satisfaction whenever the cheers of his
shipmates were heard ; with difficulty he waved his
hand over his head and joined in each cheer with a
feeble voice."1 One shell exploded in the hammock
nettings and started a fire, but the firemen were called
away and speedily extinguished the flames. One shell
lodged in the sternpost, and had it exploded it might
have done serious injury, but the fuse failed to ignite.
No great damage was done by the other shot that struck
the vessel.
At noon the Alabama ceased firing, set her fore
trysail and jib and endeavored to run inshore. This
manoeuvre for the first time brought her port broadside
to bear where only two guns could be used, Semmes
hoping to bring the shotholes on the starboard side
above the water line by heeling his ship to port.
Observing the Alabama's intention, Winslow quickly
steered so as to cross her bow, and was about to pour
in a raking fire when she hauled down her flag. Not
knowing whether the colors had been carried away by
a shot or by accident, and thinking that it might be
merely a ruse to enable the Alabama to reach the neu-
tral waters, now only two miles distant, Winslow ceased
1 Surgeon John M. Browne, of the Kearsarge.
1864. BRITISH INTERFERENCE. 533
firing, but held his guns in readiness to open again at
a moment's notice. About this time the white flag was
displayed, which convinced the National commander
that the Alabama intended to surrender, and he began
his preparations for rendering her assistance. But at
this moment the Alabama renewed her fire, upon which
the Kearsarge discharge:! three or four guns. Yet the
course of the famous cruiser had been run. She was
rapidly settling, and the only two serviceable boats in
the Kearsarge were sent to save the drowning men.
In a few minutes the Alabama settled by the stern,
and, lifting her bow high out of the water, plunged
to the bottom of the sea.
About this time a boat from the Alabama, in charge
of Master's-Mate Fullam, an Englishman, came along-
side, begging for assistance. On his promising to re-
turn to the Kearsarge, AVinslow allowed Fullam to
turn back and save the drowning men, but the promise
was broken and Fullam repaired on board the Deer-
hound. On the approach of the British steam yacht
Captain Winslow requested her to assist in saving the
men. She did so, and picked up forty-two men, in-
cluding Semmes and fourteen officers, but instead of
placing them aboard the Kearsarge, as Winslow's re-
quest implied, she gradually edged off, and then put
on full steam for Southampton. After picking up the
remaining men the Kearsarge put into Cherbourg.
In response to our minister's request that these men
be given up, the British Government declined to do
so, claiming that it could not consistently with inter-
national law. This was only another of the many in-
stances of Great Britain's straining at a gnat when
international law favored the South and swallowing a
camel when it favored the North. In fact, England,
not only in this but in all other wars, had so outra-
geously violated both the letter and spirit of inter-
national law that it is with surprise that we find her
offering a point of it as an excuse for not surrendering
534: THE KEARSARGE-ALABAMA FIGHT. 1864
these men in 1864. Americans had come to believe!
that not even a shred of that legal texture was left in|
England. As to the owner of the Deerhound, one fact!
stands out above controversy, and that is that he was!
not actuated by any principles of international law
whatever (of which he at that moment was densely
ignorant), but was impelled by the general desire of
all England to see the United States divided and thus
become a less formidable rival to Great Britain.
This celebrated sea fight was among the last of the ;
actions in which the navy took part in the civil war. j
From the time our gunboats began fighting on the ;
Potomac and the western rivers, to Rear- Admiral Por-
ter's operations near Wilmington, the record of the
navy has been notable. Whether the claim of South-
ern writers, that had it not been for the United States
sea forces the South would have triumphed, is exag-
gerated or not, the fact remains that the services of 1
our naval officers and seamen were of incalculable value. ;
At Forts Henry and Donelson, at Memphis and Vicks- j
burg, in the many desperate actions on the western !
rivers, at the great victories in Hampton Roads, New t
Orleans, and Mobile Bay, and in the hazardous and »
brilliant service on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the j
navy demonstrated its great value as a defensive and
offensive force.
NOTE.— Lieutenant James S. Thornton, the executive officer of the
Kearsarge, was executive officer of the Hartford when Farragut passed the
New Orleans forts and served with conspicuous bravery in the subsequent
river engagements. For his gallantry in the Kearsarge- Alabama fight he
was advanced thirty numbers. Acting-Master Edward E. Prcble, who
served in this action with gallantry as the navigator of the Kearsarget
was a grandson of Captain Edward Preble, who commanded the Ameri-
can squadron before Tripoli early in the century.
CHAPTER XXII. .
BLOCKADE RUNNERS.
ONE feature of the maritime operations in the civil
war deserving special notice was that directed against
blockade runners. The magnitude of these operations
is seen when we remember that in the course of the war
eleven hundred and forty-nine prizes were brought in,
two hundred and ten of them being steamers, besides
which three hundred and fifty-five craft were destroyed,
of which eighty-five were steam vessels, making a total
of fifteen hundred and four vessels captured by the
National cruisers. It is well known that the Confed-
eracy was dependent on Europe for nearly all of its
manufactured supplies, and that its only means of
making payment was the produce of, the South. In
fact, it might almost be said that the Confederacy was
vulnerable only at this point, and a systematic attack
on this weakness of the South engaged the attention
of many of our cruisers and men during the four years
of the war.
The humiliating dependence of the South on Europe
for manufactured articles is well illustrated by R. 0.
Crowley, who commanded a Torpedo Division of the
seceding States, when he says : "To give some idea of
the many difficulties we encountered, I will mention,
first, the scarcity of cannon powder ; secondly, we had
only about four miles of insulated copper wire in the
entire Confederacy ; thirdly, we could obtain only about
four or five feet of fine-gauge platinum wire. Battery
material was very scarce, and acids could be purchased
J 535
536 BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 1861-1864.
only from the small quantity remaining in the hands
of druggists when the war broke out. . . . During
the last year of the war arrangements had been per-
fected to secure a large quantity of insulated wire,
cables, acids, batteries, and telegraph apparatus, etc.,
from England, an officer having been sent there for
that purpose. Every material requisite for the exten-
sion of our torpedo system throughout the entire South i
was obtained, and a small advance shipment did actu-
ally reach us through the blockade at Wilmington, j
The remainder was put on board a swift steamer with ,
the intention of running the blockade and returning !
with a full cargo of cotton ; but from the stress of
weather, or other causes, the steamer put into the port
of Fayal, and, as I understand, was wrecked in that
port either from the stupidity of the pilot or from
treachery. The entire cargo was lost, and it was im-
possible to duplicate our material before the war
ended."1
We have noted in these pages what awful havoc the
Confederates created, even with the scanty and defec-
tive materials they had, among our war ships. The
sinking of the Tecumseh, with nearly one hundred of
her men, in Mobile Bay, the destruction of the Commo-
dore Jones, with half of her complement, in James River,
the loss of the Housatonic in Charleston harbor, the
damaging or destruction of a dozen or more of our
monitors and wooden war craft at other points along
the Atlantic and on the Western rivers, cause us to
shudder when we come to speculate on the catastro-
phies the Southern Torpedo Board could have brought
to our doors had they possessed adequate material for
properly carrying on that diabolical — as it was then
generally considered — style of warfare. Yet, on the
testimony of the men engaged in that particular serv-
ice, we see that one of the most dangerous and dreaded
1 Century Magazine, June, 1898.
18G3. DANGERS FROM CONFEDERATE TORPEDOES. 537
means of defense was eliminated from the problem con-
fronting the Nationalists by reason of the blockade
maintained by our maritime forces.
Speaking of the operations in Charleston harbor,
Mr. Crowley says: "We were without the necessary
material to extend our system to Charleston harbor ;
besides, the exigencies of the situation at Richmond
and Wilmington were too pressing to permit us to
think of Charleston. However, some attempts were
made by the local military authorities to lay torpedoes
in the harbor, and a large one was planted in the main
channel, the wires being led into Fort Sumter. On
April 7, 1803, the Federal fleet, commanded by Admiral
Dupont, moved up the channel northward toward Sul-
livan's Island, the frigate [Neio\ Ironsides in advance,
followed by the ironclad Keokuk and the wooden ves-
sels. At a distance of about one thousand yards these
powerful warships opened on Fort Sumter with terrific
effect, and received iu return a heavy fire from all the
adjacent forts. The [New] Ironsides passed over and
over the torpedo before mentioned, and everybody
awaited with intense anxiety the moment when it was
expected she would be blown to pieces by its explo-
'fiion. It failed to 'go off,' however. Several reasons
were assigned for the failure, but probably the true
reason was wet powder and want of system in properly
testing the wires and the torpedo tank. The Federals
believed that the harbor was thickly studded with ex-
plosives ; and, although this belief exercised a very
considerable moral effect, it did not prevent them from
advancing bravely to attack powerful forts, not know-
ing at what moment their ships might be destroyed."1
That President Lincoln's proclamation early in the
war, declaring all the ports of the Confederacy to be
in a state of blockade, ran us afoul of that sound prin-
ciple of international law— namely, "that a blockade,
1 Century Magazine, June, 1898.
538 BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 1861-1865.
to be recognized as such, must be effective " — can not
be denied, but as the struggle progressed one after the
other of the Southern ports were closed to the seced-
ing States, and, our National sea forces concentrating
their efforts on the remaining harbors, the blockade
became most damaging to the South. At first the
blockade runners had little to fear from our navy, and
an almost uninterrupted supply of arms and ammuni-
tion flowed into the South, and it is to be noted that,
for the first two years of the strife, the armies of the
South were remarkably successful. The control and
patrol of the Mississippi and other Western rivers cut
off that vast territory to the southwest from the Con-
federacy, and greatly simplified the problem of block-
ading the remaining coast line of the South.
It was not until the price of cotton had fallen in the
South to eight cents a pound and had risen to fifty
cents a pound in Liverpool that blockade running was
reduced to the nice science which made it celebrated.
Early in the war any of the vessels remaining to the
Confederacy could have engaged in this trade with
comparative impunity ; but as the lines of the blockad-
ing squadrons were tightened the first blockade runners
were captured or driven to other service, while the
enormous profits soon induced the British merchant to
build vessels especially adapted for the traffic. As a
rule, these vessels were required only for the short runs^
between Nassau or Bermuda to Charleston, Wilming-
ton, and Savannah. Every device that ingenuity could
suggest was adopted to render these craft swift, invisi-
ble, and handy for the conditions peculiar to the serv-
ice. " The typical blockade runner of 1863-'64 was a
long, low, side-wheel steamer of from four to six hun-
dred tons, with a slight frame, sharp and narrow, its
length perhaps nine times its beam. It had feathering
paddles and one or two raking, telescope funnels, which
might be lowered close to the deck. The hull rose only
a few feet out of water, and was painted a dull gray
1862. INVISIBILITY OP BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 539
lead color, so that it could hardly be seen by daylight
at two hundred yards. Its spars were two short lower
masts, with no yards, and only a small crow's nest in
the foremast. The deck forward was constructed in
the form known as 'turtleback,' to enable the vessel
to go through a heavy sea. Anthracite coal, which
made no smoke, was burned in the furnaces.
When running in all lights were put out, the binnacle
and fireroom hatch were carefully covered, and steam
was blown off under water." l
The difficulty of detecting a vessel painted lead
color, at night, is well illustrated in the account of Mid-
shipman G. Terry Sinclair. Sinclair had been ordered
from Richmond to Nassau, and on reaching Charles-
ton he says : u On arriving and taking a survey of the
blockading fleet off the bar, I concluded it was easier
to issue such orders than to execute them. On the
evening of June 3d [18G2] I went on board the Cecile,
a small river steamer, painted lead color to render her
difficult of observation at night. About midnight, as
the moon settled behind the hills, we steamed slowly
out of the harbor, and were soon in the midst of the
enemy, whose dark hulls were plainly visible to us.
We crept slowly by, our wheels barely revolving lest
the sound should reach the ears of the enemy. Know-
ing well that discovery meant a prison for an indefinite
time, each minute seemed an hour. To us, who so
plainly saw the dark hulls of the enemy, it seemed
barely possible that they did not also see or hear us ;
but they did not."2
Usually the blockade runner left Bermuda or Nassau
at a time calculated to bring his vessel off the desired
Southern port at night and when the moon would be
down. Having accomplished this most important part
of the programme, he usually found everything in favor
' James Russell Soley. in The Blockade and the Cruisers, pp. 150-157.
* Century Magazine, July, 1898.
540 BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 1862-1865.
of his attempt. Keeping a sharp lookout for the lights
of the blockading force, he stood as faraway as possible,
until, gaining the desired position, when, everything
having been prepared for the crisis, he made the dash
for the port, frequently passing within pistol shot of
the National vessels with impunity. Not knowing
when the rush would be made, the blockading vessels
seldom had a full head of steam up ; while the blockade
runner, vibrating from stem to stern with her highest
pressure, generally got beyond gunshot before the
blockading force was fairly under way. Of course,
once under the guns of the land batteries the blockader
was comparatively safe, but even then there have been
instances where the craft was destroyed by daring boat
parties from the National vessels.
In short, when we come to consider the many cir-
cumstances favoring the blockade runner, and the
stupendous difficulties confronting the blockader, the
wonder is that such a large number of vessels of this
ilk were captured. It shows in a very forcible manner
that our officers and crews were most diligently and
skillfully performing one of the most hazardous and
inglorious duties known to active service. It was sel-
dom, indeed, that a blockade runner, when detected
on the high seas, failed to outspeed our usually slower
war ships, and, even in the few cases where the Nation-
alists happened to have the swifter ship, the coming
on of night, or a squall, or the shoaling of water too
frequently demonstrated the time-honored saying,
" There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip." An interest-
ing illustration of this is given by Captain John Wil-
kinson, formerly of the United States navy, who be-
came one of the most successful blockade runners,
having run the blockade twenty-one times between
December, 1862, and November, 1863, in which time
he carried out six thousand bales of cotton, the value
of which in England was over a million dollars. Wil-
kinson relates that on one occasion, while making the
1861-1865. TRICKS OF THE TRADE.
541
run from Wilmington to Nassau, he was hard pressed
by a sloop of war which was gradually overhauling
him. As night fell over the sea the sloop was about
four miles astern and gaining rapidly, when Wilkinson
directed his engineer to make a black smoke which
could be readily seen by the pursuing war ship, even
though the darkness soon rendered the outlines of the
chase indistinct, and finally obliterated every trace.
When Wilkinson was satisfied that his pursuer had
nothing but the black smoke from his funnels to steer
by he ordered the dampers to be turned off, thus caus-
ing the smoke to cease ; the ship's course changed
eight points, so that in a short time she had com-
pletely disappeared, while the sloop was still chasing
the smoke.
One of the most serious difficulties the blockade
runner had to contend with was the absence of guiding
lights along the coast where he desired to make port.
Soon after hostilities began many of the lights were
discontinued and temporary guides were established.
In the first year of the war the Frying Pan Shoal light-
ship was carried inside the entrance of the port of Wil-
mington and anchored in fancied security under the
| guns of Fort Caswell. The gallant attack on the craft
i by two boats from the Mount Vernon, Commander
f— Oliver S. Glisson, has been noted.1 To repair this seri-
• ous loss the Confederates established a light on the
Mound Battery at New Inlet. At first the blockade
runners availed themselves of the lights on the block-
ading vessels ; but, quickly detecting this, the National
officers extinguished all the lights in their squadrons,
I with the exception of a single lantern on the senior
officer's ship, which usually was anchored in the center
of the force and nearest to the entrance of the port.
As showing how well informed those centers of block-
ade running— Nassau and Bermuda— were kept of the
See pp. 185-186, vol. ii.
542 BLOCKADE RUNNERS.
doings of the Nationalists, it will be remarked that
soon after this new arrangement for the lights wi-nt
into effect all the blockade runners were made aware
of it, and changed their tactics accordingly, so that the
single light from the senior officer's ship, so far fr«>m
inconveniencing the enemy, actually improved the con-
ditions for the dash into port. The vigilance of our
officers also is attested by the fact that they soon dis- 1
covered the advantage the single light afforded the
enemy, and turned it to account by changing the posi- 1
tion of the flagship each night. This resulted in sev- j
eral blockade runners miscalculating their bearings and
going ashore, where the vessel and cargo were either
entirely or partially destroyed.
Finding that the bold dash through the center of
the blockading force was becoming more and more
hazardous, the blockade runner resorted to the plan of |
hugging the shore at one end of the blockade line, and
slipping past the endmost vessel unobserved. In this
the enemy was favored by the shadow the headlands
threw over the sea, the roar of the surf drowning the •
noise from the paddlewheels, so that even on clear, j
starlit nights it was almost impossible for him to be ,
detected. Once having passed the blockade line, the j
runner would show a light on her land side — invisible !
from the sea — which, by prearrangement, was answered |
by two dim lights on land, which enabled the blockade" j
runner to form the range of the channel. A regular
system of signals was devised between the blockade
runners and their accomplices on shore which greatly .
mitigated the dangers of making port. When Fort
Fisher fell Lieutenant Gushing assumed the duties of i
this signal service, and performed the work so skillfully
that two notorious blockade runners, the Charlotte and
the Stag, were inveigled under the guns of the fort, and
captured before the astonished blockade runners knew
that those fortifications had fallen into National hands.
With a view to thwarting the blockade runner in his
1863. CHASE OF THE KATE.
543
attempt to round the end of the blockading line, the
Nationalists stationed a light-draft vessel at either end,
while several other smaller gunboats were placed half
a mile within the line. A careful watch was kept for
the enemy, and when discovered the blockade runner
was permitted to pass the first gunboat, when signals
were sent up, and the inside gunboats quickly sur-
rounded the audacious craft and captured her.
At times, even when the blockade runner had been
chased ashore, the bulk of her cargo— and in many
instances the cargo was worth as much as the craft —
was saved. In fact, it was well understood that the
Confederates had erected batteries at certain points
along the coast, generally near a favorite port of entry,
•which could have protected a beached vessel, at least
long enough to land her cargo, and in some cases to
flave the vessel itself. Owing to the scarcity of artil-
lery, the Confederates did not station guns permanently
in these batteries, but held cavalry and guns in readi-
ness to be rushed to any earthwork near which a block-
ade runner had benched.
The experience of the new English-built blockade
runner Kate is a case in point. In July, 1863, she
attempted to put into Charleston, but being chased off
by the blockading forces there she made for Wilming-
ton, and attempted to pass the National ships off New
~Inlet, On being sighted early in the morning, chase
was given, and her commander was compelled to beach
on Smith's Island, where the crew landed. A boat
party from the Penobscot attempted to float her, but
failing in this they set her on fire and left her, believ-
ing her destruction to be assured. Two or three weeks
afterward, however, the Confederates managed to float
her off, and anchored her under a battery. It was only
with great difficulty that she was finally destroyed
a daring boat party.
The dangers attending attacks on blockade runners
are well illustrated in the case of the ffebe, a Bermuda
544 BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 18G3
steamer laden with contrabands of war, which ranj
ashore on Federal Point about August 1, 1863. Shei
was attacked by a boat from the blockading ves<«-l
Niphon, a screw merchant steamer converted into a
gunboat for the war; but, as it was blowing a heavy
gale at the time, the boat was swamped, though its
crew managed to gain the decks of the stranded craft.
A second boat party was not so fortunate, their boat
also being swamped, the men cast ashore, and made ,
prisoners on the beach. Several other boats now put
off to the assistance of our men in the Hebe, as that ves- j
sel was covered by a 2-gun battery. One of these boats
was upset, and finding that the chances of rescue were ,
small the men aboard the Hebe, after firing the vessel >
so as to insure her destruction, made the best of their
way to the shore and were captured. Several days
later the large vessels of the squadron drew close in- I
shore, and after silencing the Confederate battery j
landed a force and brought off the guns.
Another gallant affair of this kind was that con-
ducted by Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, of the Nan-
semond. On one of the darkest nights of October, '
18G3, Lamson, while stationed with the blockading fleet :
off New Inlet, Wilmington, discovered a strange vessel \
attempting to run the blockade. She was the Venus,
one of the swiftest craft engaged in the contraband^
trade between Wilmington and Nassau. The Nanse-
mond, a purchased side- wheel steamer, was quickly put
about in chase, and after a hard run got within easy
gunshot, when Lamson opened lire, his first shell taking
effect in the enemy's foremast, the second exploding in
the cabin, while the third killed a man as it passed
forward, and the fourth struck the Venus between wind
and water, causing her to leak seriously. Considering
that it was an exceptionally dark night, and that the
two vessels were moving at their highest rate of speed,
we may well admire the marksmanship that rendered
four successive shells effective. Finding that his craft
1863. BRECK'S GALLANT EXPLOIT. 545
must sink in a short time, the commander of the Venus
headed straight for the shore, with the persistent Nan-
semond close behind him. Indeed, so rapid had been
the movements of the Nationalists that scarcely had
the keel of the Venus begun to grate on the gravelly
beach, and before her people could get ashore, when a
boat full of armed men from the gunboat shot along-
side, the men sprang up her sides, and in a twinkling
had the entire ship's company prisoners. Finding that
It would be impossible to float his prize, Lieutenant
Lamson, after removing his prisoners, riddled the
Venus with shell, so that in a short time she was totally
destroyed.
Early on the morning of November 9, 1863, the
Niphon, under the command of Acting-Master J. B.
Breck, while returning to her station off Wilmington
after a chase toward Masonboro Inlet, discovered a
side-wheel steamer endeavoring to run the blockade
from the north. Behind the stranger, and in hot pur-
suit, was a National gunboat, which kept up a con-
tinual fire on the fleeing blockade runner— the Ella
and Anna. Finding that he was completely trapped,
the commander of the Ella and Anna determined on
the bold course of running the NlpTion down. Observ-
ing this move, Breck massed his men at the bow,
intending to board and carry the stranger, even if his
own ship went down. On dashed the blockade runner
at the top of her speed, and, unmindful of the storm of
canister, crashed into the NipTion, carrying away the
latter's bowsprit and stern. Not waiting to see if then
was anything left of his own ship, Breck ordered the
men to board, and in a few minutes they had full po*
session of their prize. In her hold were found three
hundred cases of Austrian rifles, besides other warlike
stores, the sale of the cargo netting one hundred an<
eighty thousand dollars. The prize was taken i
the service under the name Malvern.
One contrivance for eluding the vigilance <
80
546 BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 1863-1864. j
blockaders merits notice. As has been said, the block-
ade runner usually managed to approach the port at |
night ; consequently orders were given to the officers
of the National vessels, on the discovery of a blockade
runner, to sound a general alarm and to fire rockets
in the direction the suspected craft was taking when
last seen, which served as a guide for the other vessels
employed in the blockade. In an incredibly short
time this order was known to all the commanders of
vessels engaged in carrying contraband of war, and
forthwith they supplied themselves with rockets, and
when pursued at night they fired off enough rockets
for a fleet, and of course in a direction they had little
idea of taking. This confused the signals made by the
National boat discovering the enemy, and threw the
entire blockading force off the scent. On one dark
night in September, 1864, this trick resulted in an
exasperating escape of a blockade runner off Wilming-
ton. The HowquaJt had almost run down a contra-
band, when she suddenly found herself subjected to a
severe fire from several of her consorts, which mistook
her for the "other ship," and she was compelled to
withdraw and allow the "real ship" to escape in order
to save herself from disaster.
An unpleasant feature of blockade running was in
the fact that a number of officers in the Royal Navy
assumed command of such craft under fictitious names,'
and, undoubtedly with the connivance of the Admi-
ralty, engaged in service against the United States.
Doubtless the enormous profits to be made out of a few
successful runs between Southern ports and Bermuda
or Nassau was the main incentive for the British
naval officer to engage in this discreditable service.
One British officer, under the name of "A. Roberts,"
states that when blockade running was in the zenith of
its prosperity the rates of pay in a vessel of the first
class for a single round trip between Nassau and Wil-
mington were: Captain, one thousand pounds; chief
• 1862-1865. BRITISH NAVAL OFFICERS IN TRADE. 547
officer, two hundred and fifty pounds ; second and third
oiiirers, one hundred and fifty pounds each; chief en-
gineer, five hundred pounds; crew and firemen, about
fifty pounds each; pilot, seven hundred and fifty
pounds— half of the pay for each venture being paid
in advance. It will be observed that the pay was in
British gold, which at that time commanded a large
premium over the currency of the United States, so
that, when figured in dollars, twenty-five per cent could
easily be added to each man's salary. Aside from these
t'lmrmous rates of pay. the officers were able to stow
away little cargoes on their own account, so that a
six-hundred-pound bale of cotton snugly packed away
under a bunk and in different parts of a stateroom,
valued in Liverpool at three hundred dollars, was one
of the little perquisites within the grasp of these mer-
cenary officers. We can easily believe, then, that many
officers engaged in this contraband trade retired in six
months on comfortable fortunes.
Another harrier to blockade running, and perhaps
one more feared by the enemy, was the flying squad-
ron created by the Nationalists, which was directed to
cruise some fifty miles from the blockaded ports and
in the vicinity of Bermuda and Nassau. This force was
under the command of Acting Rear-Admiral Charles
JVilkes, having the Wachusett as his flagship, and
the Sonoma* Lieutenant Thomas Holdup Stevens, and
Tioga, Lieutenant George W. Rodgers, in company.
The squadron was rapidly increased and its field of
operations enlarged, until it finally covered the entire
Atlantic Ocean. Some of the other vessels added to it
were the Dacotah, Cimmerone, Octorara, Santiago de
Cuba, and Rhode Island. Speaking of this flying
squadron, Captain John Taylor Wood, of the Confed-
erate cruiser Tallahassee, said, after describing his rush
past the blockading force off Wilmington : "More to
be feared than the inshore squadron were the vessels
cruising offshore from forty to fifty miles, in a position
548 BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 1862.'
to sight at daylight the vessels that might come out;
during the night, and these were the fastest and most \
efficient blockaders. . . . The fact that we were chased i
by four cruisers on our first day out proved how
effective was the blockade."1
On November 29, 1862, Wilkes, in the WacJiusett,
having the Sonoma and Tioga in company, appeared
off St. George's harbor, Bermuda. The flagship, with
the Tioga, entered the port, and, observing that the
fort at the entrance showed no colors, Wilkes landed
and demanded an explanation of the governor. That
official replied that there was only a sergeant's guard
in the fort. "But it was observed," records Lieuten-
ant Stevens, "that when Wilkes left his anchorage
for the sea the meteor flag of England was promptly
hoisted."8
In striking contrast to this treatment of Wilkes, we
have the statement of Midshipman G. Terry Sinclair, of
the Confederate cruiser Florida, Captain Maffitt, which
visited the same port in the spring of the following
year. Sinclair says : "When Captain Maffitt called on
the governor, who was an admiral in the English navy,
the latter, in a joking way, expressed surprise that an
ex-officer of the American navy should be guilty of
such a breach of etiquette as entering the harbor with-
out saluting the English flag. To this Captain Maffitt
replied that he could not do otherwise, as his salute
would not be returned. The governor replied that he
(Captain Maffitt) could not tell unless he tried. This
was hint enough for Captain Maffitt, who returned to
his ship, went to quarters, and hoisting the English
ensign at his masthead saluted it, to which the fort
replied."8
1 Century Magazine, July, 1898.
* Rear- Admiral Stevens to the author.
» Century Magazine, July, 1898.
CHAPTER XXIII.
SEA POWER IX THE CIVIL WAR.
THAT we may better understand the importance of
the part played by maritime forces, both North and
South, in the civil war, a brief historical digression is
^necessary. French, English and American statesmen
.for nearly three hundred years have recognized the
[Mississippi River system as being the key to the United
I States. The French discovered this at the time of the
earliest settlements, and while the English, Dutch,
Scandinavians, Scotch-Irish and Spaniards were estab-
lishing themselves along the seaboard, the French were
pushing their way one thousand miles inland, perfect-
ing a chain of trading posts (in reality forts) along the
St. Lawrence, Ohio and Mississippi Eivers and the
Great Lakes, by means of which they hoped to merge
the Canadas and Louisiana into one vast domain which
not only would cut off the littoral settlements from the
Tboundless West, but would give the French great ad-
vantages over the English in time of war.
How sound was the judgment of these statesmen as
to the superior advantages of this enormous river sys-
tem over the seaboard is forcibly shown to-day in the
general decadence of commerce in our Atlantic cities
and the unprecedented massing of population and
trade along these great inland waters. When we see
the vast commerce of the great West pass direct
Europe without paying toll to our seaboard cities, we
marvel at the foresight of the French statesmen who
nearly three hundred years ago devoted their energies
549
550 SEA POWER IN THE CIVIL WAR. 1678-1812.
to controlling these inland water ways, well content to
allow their rivals to occupy the thin outer edge of the
vast continent so long as the French were making sure
of the continent itself. As early as 1678 De la Salle
launched a craft of ten tons on Lake Ontario, and a
year later one of sixty tons was launched on Lake Erie.
No one was more alive to the great power threatening
him in the rear than the English settler himself, and
in this we have the explanation of the persistent efforts
made by the seaboard colonists to wrest this territory
from their inveterate foe.
When the war for American independence broke
out the English followed the old scheme of the French
ministers to control all inland waters, and to use them
as a means of attacking the seaboard territory in the
rear. Their first attempt was made in 1776, when a
combined army and navy expedition came down the
Richelieu River from the St. Lawrence and endeavored
to reach New York by way of Lakes Champlain and
George and the Hudson River, thus cutting off the New
England States from the West. That expedition, as
has been shown in this work, was frustrated by the
stubbornly contested naval action on Lake Champlain,
in which, it is true, the Americans were defeated, but,
like the repulse at Bunker Hill, it was a victorious de-
feat, for the enemy's object was thwarted and they were
compelled to retreat. Captain Mahan, in an advance
chapter of his History of the Royal Navy of Great
Britain, rightly attributes the capture of Burgoyne's
army, when attempting the same passage two y<-ais
later, to this naval engagement — and Burgoyne's cap-
ture has been classed as one of the " decisive battles of
the world."
In the War of 1812 the enemy made desperate at-
tempts— as has been fully shown in this work — to con-
trol the Great Lakes, which plainly shows how impor-
tant they considered these inland waters. " They are
a portion of our marine dominion," said the London
1812-1861. IMPORTANCE OF RIVERS.
551
Times in 1813, " which must on no account be yielded."
In these efforts they were baffled by our naval forces
on Lake Ontario in 1812, defeated by Perry's squadron
on Lake Erie in 1813, and then, changing their point of
attack, they were overwhelmed with disaster by our
naval forces on Lake Champlain in 1814. Still deter-
mined to get a hold on these inland waters, the English
in the winter of 1814-'15, when the announcement of
peace was daily expected, projected their most formi-
dable expedition of the war against New Orleans, hop-
ing to obtain a hold on the great river system which
they believed— and with reason— they could extend to
all the territory drained by it. How these efforts also
were frustrated by our sea power has been shown in
this work, not only by the heroic fight made by our
gunboats on Lake Borgne, but by the detention of a large
section of the expedition at Fayal, in its attack on the
American privateer General Armstrong. These stub-
born sea contests so delayed and harassed the expedi-
tion that our land forces obtained indispensable time
in which to prepare defenses from which the British
finally recoiled.
Such being the strategical importance of the Missis
sippi River system in the eyes of French and English
statesmen, when the West was nothing but a wilder-
ness, of how much greater value must it have been in
1861, when its banks were inhabited by millions ol
people and its waters bore thousands of tons of snip-
ping ? The Ohio, Missouri and other confluents of the
Mississippi would have been of little value to the bor-
dering States if the only natural outlet of those water
ways to the outside world was held by an enemy.
With that mightiest of all river systems in their c
trol, the Confederates could well hope not only to cu
off absolutely the Northern States from the West but
even to carry their conquests to wherever these wato
came. Truly, the Mississippi was rightly termed
" backbone of the rebellion."
552 SEA POWER IN THE CIVIL WAR. 1841-1863.
That the credit of wresting this highly important
water way from the control of the South belongs almost
exclusively to our maritime forces, can not be gainsaid.
From New Orleans to Fort Donelson our navy was the
dominating and almost only considerable factor in that
stupendous struggle. Not only in making this all-im-
portant conquest, but in keeping it, in patrolling the
rivers night and day from end to end, thereby cutting
the Confederates off from the much-needed supplies in
the States of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, the navy
bore the brunt of attack.
And it must not be forgotten that on more than one
occasion our river gunboats saved our land forces from
overwhelming defeat. Grant's army was rescued from
ignominious disaster at Belmont in 1861 by the wooden
gunboats Tyler and Lexington, for an eyewitness
says : " The enemy planted their fresh artillery, sup-
ported by infantry, in a cornfield just above our trans-
ports, with the intention of sinking them when we
started up the river and of bagging the entire army ;
but thanks to the gunboats Tyler and Lexington and
their experienced gunners, they saved us from a ter-
rible doom. They took up a position between us and
the enemy and opened their guns upon them, letting
slip a whole broadside at once. This movement was
performed so quickly that the Confederates could
not fire on us. Their guns were silenced as soon
as they opened, or probably were dismounted. The
first shot from the gunboats made a perfect lane
through the enemy's ranks." The Confederates en-
deavored to reply with musketry, but without effect,
and the fire from the gunboats soon put them to
flight.
In the following year these same gunboats— and un-
der very similar circumstances — saved the National
army from capture at Pittsburg Landing (see vol. ii,
pages 287-289). Then again six gunboats — the ubiqui-
tous Lexington among them— rescued Colonel Hard-
1863. NECESSITY FOR OPENING RIVERS. 553
ing's garrison of eight hundred men when surrounded
by an overwhelming Confederate force (see vol. ii, page
290). It was our gunboats that did so much toward
neutralizing the effect of Morgan's raid in 1863 and in
intercepting his retreat, the little Moose overtaking the
Confederates at a ford two hundred and fifty miles
east of Cincinnati and compelling them to scatter in
headlong flight.
We must keep in mind that the mere independence
of the seceding States was not the only aim of the Con-
federates. They had definitely in view the formation
of one great slave empire, embracing at least the south-
ern half of the United States to the Pacific coast, all of
Mexico, the West India Islands and the Hawaiian Is-
lands. They well knew that by holding the lower half
of the Mississippi River her vast tributaries were com-
paratively useless to any other States, and that their
conquest or friendly attitude would follow in course
of time. In other words, they recognized, just as the
French and English statesmen did, that Nature had
designed this enormous territory to be occupied by one
and only one nation. It would never do for the Na-
tionalists to simply keep possession of the sections
already held by them. They must control the river
system from sources to the mouth, else lose all. To
the Government at Washington a failure to open the
Mississippi meant the ultimate surrender of the vast
territory drained by its confluents. To the leaders at
Richmond the failure to hold their part of the river
system meant the surrender of the most alluring part
of their programme and the perpetual confinement of
the Confederacy to a small area, where there was Me
prospect of future expansion, and where the rapid
growth of the Northern and Western States in a few
generations would, if the Confederacy ™ff f **£
Ling its independence, completely overshadow andin
time overwhelm them. Briefly, the fight for the MM
sissippi was a gigantic struggle for the control of 1
554: SEA POWER IN THE CIVIL WAR. 1801-1*04.
West, and the victory was won for the North by her I
superior maritime power.
One of the most important objects of the National |
policy was to exhaust the resources of the South, and a \
long step was taken to this end by our control of the j
Mississippi River, for it cut off from the Confederacy
the invaluable supplies of beef and cotton from the
fertile States of Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. This
territory being more remote from the seat of war was
less exposed to its ravages, and when the other South-
ern States were exhausted Texas and Arkansas could
have furnished almost illimitable supplies — the beef
for sustenance and the cotton for purchasing military
supplies.
While the struggle for the Mississippi was going on
in the West the far-reaching plans of our Government
were operating most effectively in the "drying up"
process on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is well
known that the South was deficient in manufacturing
plants and skilled mechanics, but so long as military
supplies could be obtained abroad and cotton could be
produced with which to pay for them, these deficien-
cies were comparatively insignificant. But here our
sea power was exerted again with telling effect. Our
Western gunboats cut off the very considerable supply
of cotton from Texas and Arkansas, and the seagoing „
navy wrested seaport after seaport from the South, and
the harbors that could not be taken were blockaded.
True, many swift vessels eluded the blockade, but
many were captured, and in just that proportion crip-
pled the Secessionists, while, as the war progressed, our
blockade lines were drawn closer and closer, gradually
drying up the vitality of the South until she was veri-
tably gasping.
To the unprejudiced student of the military opera-
tions of this unfortunate strife it must be apparent that
the Confederacy could never have been put down had
it not been for the aid of our maritime forces. It was
1861-1862. SUBSTANTIAL NAVAL VICTORIES. 555
very similar to the conditions in the War of 1812, when
disaster after disaster befell our armies and victory after
victory was won by our sea forces, and the contrast be-
came so marked in 1814 that the London Times of
that year was led to exclaim : "It seems fated that the
ignorance, incapacity, and cowardice of the Americans
by land should be continually relieved in point of
t'flVrt on the public mind by their successes at sea."1
In the first two years of the internecine strife disaster
afi'-r disaster befell our land forces, while in striking
contrast we find an almost unbroken series of great
victories to the credit of our navy. It could not be
said that " it is all quiet along the Potomac " with our
navy. Within eighteen months after war was declared
Forts Donelson and Henry, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow,
Memphis, New Orleans had all been taken after superb
fighting, with the result that three of the largest States
of the Confederacy were isolated. On the seaboard
Fort Hatteras, Port Royal, Fort Macon, and many
! lesser points had been captured by the sea forces of
the North, while the dreaded Merrimac had been
thwarted in her far-reaching designs.
In short, when we come to sum up the comparative
number of victories won by the National army and
navy in this war, we find that, in proportion to the num-
. ber of men engaged-there being only fifty-five thou-
sand men in the navy at the most-the navy is immeas-
urably ahead ; and when it comes to a proportionate
comparison of killed and wounded, the navy suffered
quite as much as the army. Our nava forces were
almost invariably successful, and what is more hat
which they took was generally kept, while the sum
total of defeat and victory for our ^J^S
balance with the further discredit of too freque
losing all that their victories gave t m.
. The writer in no way indorses the epithetsj ignorance, incapacity,
and cowardice," the words necessarily being quot
556 SEA POWER IN THE CIVIL WAK. 1861-1864.
' Again it must be admitted that had this war been
settled by land forces alone the result would have been
extremely doubtful. It is generally conceded that
offensive operations require many more men than de-
fensive work to insure any hope of success. As a rule,
the South was acting on the defensive. We point with
pride to the larger population of the North, but we
must not forget that that larger population was needed
to carry on an offensive campaign. Furthermore, the
Southerners were lighting in defense of their homes,
while a large portion of the Northern troops drafted
into the service were of foreign birth, and too plainly
showed on more than one occasion that they had little
relish for the cause in which they were engaged. The
adage that a man fighting for his own home is equal to
three, is not inapplicable in this war ; so that when we
point to the larger population of the North at tlint
time we must not forget that, even if all were loyal
Americans, it required a great preponderancy of force
to carry the war successfully into the South. In view
of these facts it must be admitted that so far as the
land forces of the North and South were concerned
they were sufficiently well matched to have made the
result extremely doubtful.
European statesmen saw this. England and France
did not covertly and openly side with the South without
first carefully weighing the chances, no matter how much
they desired to see the Union dismembered. After look-
ing the situation over carefully they were satisfied that
the South would win, for at that time they had not
counted — nor did we count — on the extraordinary devel-
opment and unprecedented exploits of our navy, which
gave such a crushing blow to the hopes of the Confed-
eracy. Had any one in 1861 said that wooden ships could
run past Forts Jackson and St. Philip or capture K-it-
teries like those at Port Royal and Hatteras, he would
have been set down as mad. Had any one told these
statesmen that in eighteen months the North would
1861-1864. IP THE SOUTH HAD SEA POWER? 557
have a fleet of ironclads capable of withstanding the
heaviest shot or sinking all the wooden ships in the
world, he would have been laughed at. It was this un-
precedented and unexpected development of our mari-
time strength and prowess that changed the attitude
of France and England after the second year of the
struggle.
Looking at the war from another standpoint we are
confronted by an even more striking illustration of the
potency of sea power in that struggle. Suppose, for a
moment, that the South had an equally effective mari-
time force or equally good facilities for building iron-
clads. We have seen what dreadful havoc their
wretchedly constructed ironclads occasioned, and fol-
lowing all these actions critically we will be startled
by discovering in how many instances the Confeder-
ates were overcome not by our ships or guns but by
their own faulty construction and defective armament
and machinery. It is appalling to think of what the
Merrimac could have done had she been constructed
with all the facilities and promptness of a Northern
shipyard. She would have got to sea several weeks
before any monitor could possibly have been made
ready. Had she the proper hull, suitable engines, per-
fect workmanship, our seaboard cities would have been
at her mercy and our wooden ships sunk or scattered
in flight. France and England unquestionably would
have acknowledged the independence of the ^ South
and there would have been a free outflow of cotton
from the Confederacy to Europe and as free a flow o
military supplies of the best quality in return.
558 SEA POWER IN THE CIVIL WAR. 1861-1864.
not more so, than that built by the North ; and what is
more, the South, in spite of its deficiency in skilled
mechanics and machine shops, had their "monsters"
more advanced toward completion than the North.
Look over the list : The Louisiana, of sixteen guns
(nearly completed in April, 1862, in spite of strikes of
employees, lack of material, etc.) ; the Manassas, one
gun ; the New Orleans, twenty guns ; the Memphis,
eighteen guns ; the Mississippi, sixteen guns ; the
Arkansas, ten guns ; the Tennessee (No. 1), ten guns ;
the Tennessee (No. 2), six guns ; the Palmetto State,
four guns ; the Chicora, six guns ; the Merrimac,
ei^ht guns ; the Atlanta, six guns ; the Georgia, six
guns ; the Albemarle, four guns ; the Fredericksburg,
six guns ; the Richmond, six guns ; the Virginia,
eight guns— in all, sixteen ironclads, mounting one hun-
dred and forty- three guns. In almost every instance
these vessels were wretchedly put together, and there
was so much delay in their construction that few got
into active service.
The record of our naval operations on the Western
rivers would have been very different if the Confeder-
ates could have supplemented the strength of their
land batteries and forts with a fleet of ironclads equally
as good as those of the North. As it was, they made
an effective fight with their frail passenger boats, and
in one case captured one of our most formidable iron-
clads, while the unfinished Arkansas safely ran the
gauntlet of the entire National fleet. We have seen
how the upper. Mississippi was opened by our iron-
clads and wooden gunboats. If the Confederates had
equally good or better vessels — and the Arkansas type
proved to be superior to our ironclads — they could not
only have secured their section of this river system,
but could have carried their operations northward.
It is impossible to conceive of Farragut successfully
passing Forts Jackson and St. Philip if the ironclads
Louisiana, New Orleans, Memphis and Mississippi
1861-1864. THE NAVY INDISPENSABLE.
559
had been properly built and ready to be let loose
among the National wooden ships on that night. We
have seen what the Merrimac did five weeks before at
Hampton Roads, yet the Mississippi alone was equal
to three Merrimacs and was regarded as the "greatest
vessel in the world." We all know how much time
and blood it took for our land forces— even with the
aid of the navy — to capture Yicksburg. Suppose the
Confederate ironclads had control of the Mississippi
instead of the Nationalists— as undoubtedly would
have been the case had their various ironclads been
properly and promptly constructed— how many Yicks-
burgs would there have been before our land forces
could have opened the river ; and after capturing all
the Vicksburgs, what was to prevent the Confederate
ironclads from passing and repassing those batteries
with impunity — just as our wooden ships did — and
still be virtually in possession of the river?
And so the comparison could be carried out to the
minutest details of the maritime strength of the North
and the South, each conclusion pointing most unmis-
takably to the belief that, first, had it not been for the
sea power of the North the war would have gone on
almost indefinitely ; and, secondly, had the South had
equally good facilities for increasing its sea power or
for creating a new iron-mailed sea power the secession
could not have been suppressed by force of arms.
END OF VOL. II.
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