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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Naval History of the United States, by 
+Willis J. Abbot
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Naval History of the United States
+       Volume 2 (of 2)
+
+Author: Willis J. Abbot
+
+Illustrator: H. W. McVicar
+             W. C. Jackson
+
+Release Date: August 24, 2008 [EBook #26416]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAVAL HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Christine P. Travers and
+the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all
+other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling
+has been maintained.
+
+Page 993: "they were fired upon the Coreans" has been replaced by
+"they were fired upon by the Coreans".
+
+Page 997: "the rescued part arrived in New York" has been replaced by
+"the rescued party arrived in New York".
+
+Every chapter heading had an illustration; the corresponding tag has
+been removed.]
+
+
+
+
+                         THE NAVAL HISTORY
+
+                               OF THE
+
+                            UNITED STATES
+
+
+                                 BY
+
+                           WILLIS J. ABBOT
+
+
+                       With Many Illustrations
+                 BY H. W. McVICAR AND W. C. JACKSON
+
+
+
+                             _VOLUME TWO_
+
+
+
+
+                               NEW YORK:
+                    PETER FENELON COLLIER, PUBLISHER.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+     CAPTURE OF THE "SURVEYOR." -- WORK OF THE GUNBOAT FLOTILLA. --
+     OPERATIONS ON CHESAPEAKE BAY. -- COCKBURN'S DEPREDATIONS. --
+     CRUISE OF THE "ARGUS." -- HER CAPTURE BY THE "PELICAN." -- BATTLE
+     OF THE "ENTERPRISE" AND "BOXER." -- END OF THE YEAR 1813 ON THE
+     OCEAN.
+
+
+With the capture of the "Chesapeake" in June, 1813, we abandoned our
+story of the naval events along the coast of the United States, to
+follow Capt. Porter and his daring seamen on their long cruise into
+far-off seas. But while the men of the "Essex" were capturing whalers
+in the Pacific, chastising insolent savages at Nookaheevah, and
+fighting a gallant but unsuccessful fight at Valparaiso, other
+blue-jackets were as gallantly serving their country nearer home. From
+Portsmouth to Charleston the coast was watched by British ships, and
+collisions between the enemies were of almost daily occurrence. In
+many of these actions great bravery was shown on both sides.
+Noticeably was this the case in the action between the cutter
+"Surveyor" and the British frigate "Narcissus," on the night of June
+12. The "Surveyor," a little craft manned by a crew of fifteen men,
+and mounting six twelve-pound carronades, was lying in the York River
+near Chesapeake Bay. From the masthead of the "Narcissus," lying
+farther down the bay, the spars of the cutter could be seen above the
+tree-tops; and an expedition was fitted out for her capture. Fifty
+men, led by a veteran officer, attacked the little vessel in the
+darkness, but were met with a most determined resistance. The
+Americans could not use their carronades, but with their muskets they
+did much execution in the enemy's ranks. But they were finally
+overpowered, and the little cutter was towed down under the frigate's
+guns. The next day Mr. Travis, the American commander, received his
+sword which he had surrendered, with a letter from the British
+commander, in which he said, "Your gallant and desperate attempt to
+defend your vessel against more than double your number, on the night
+of the 12th inst., excited such admiration on the part of your
+opponents as I have seldom witnessed, and induced me to return you the
+sword you had so nobly used, in testimony of mine.... In short, I am
+at a loss which to admire most, the previous arrangement on board the
+'Surveyor,' or the determined manner in which her deck was disputed,
+inch by inch."
+
+During the summer of 1813, the little gunboats, built in accordance
+with President Jefferson's plan for a coast guard of single-gun
+vessels, did a great deal of desultory fighting, which resulted in
+little or nothing. They were not very seaworthy craft, the heavy guns
+mounted amidships causing them to careen far over in even a sailor's
+"capfull" of wind. When they went into action, the first shot from the
+gun set the gunboat rocking so that further fire with any precision of
+aim was impossible. The larger gunboats carried sail enough to enable
+them to cruise about the coast, keeping off privateers and checking
+the marauding expeditions of the British. Many of the gunboats,
+however, were simply large gallies propelled with oars, and therefore
+confined in their operations to bays and inland waters. The chief
+scene of their operations was Chesapeake Bay.
+
+This noble sheet of water had been, since the very opening of the year
+1813, under the control of the British, who had gathered there their
+most powerful vessels under the command of Admiral Cockburn, whose
+name gained an unenviable notoriety for the atrocities committed by
+his forces upon the defenceless inhabitants of the shores of
+Chesapeake Bay. Marauding expeditions were continually sent from the
+fleet to search the adjacent country for supplies. When this method of
+securing provisions failed, Cockburn hit upon the plan of bringing his
+fleet within range of a village, and then commanding the inhabitants
+to supply his needs, under penalty of the instant bombardment of the
+town in case of refusal. Sometimes this expedient failed, as when
+Commodore Beresford, who was blockading the Delaware, called upon the
+people of Dover to supply him at once with "twenty-five large bullocks
+and a proportionate quantity of vegetables and hay." But the sturdy
+inhabitants refused, mustered the militia, dragged some old cannon
+down to the water-side, and, for lack of cannon-balls of their own,
+valiantly fired back those thrown by the British, which fitted the
+American ordnance exactly.
+
+Soon after this occurrence, a large party from Cockburn's fleet landed
+at Havre de Grace, and, having driven away the few militia, captured
+and burned the town. Having accomplished this exploit, the marauders
+continued their way up the bay, and turning up into the Sassafras
+River ravaged the country on both sides of the little stream. After
+spreading distress far and wide over the beautiful country that
+borders Chesapeake Bay, the vandals returned to their ships, boasting
+that they had despoiled the Americans of at least seventy thousand
+dollars, and injured them to the amount of ten times that sum.
+
+By June, 1813, the Americans saw that something must be done to check
+the merciless enemy who had thus revived the cruel vandalism, which
+had ceased to attend civilized warfare since the middle ages. A fleet
+of fifteen armed gallies was fitted out to attack the frigate of
+Cockburn's fleet that lay nearest to Norfolk. Urged forward by long
+sweeps, the gunboats bore down upon the frigate, which, taken by
+surprise, made so feeble and irregular a response that the Americans
+thought they saw victory within their grasp. The gunboats chose their
+distance, and opened a well-directed fire upon their huge enemy, that,
+like a hawk attacked by a crowd of sparrows, soon turned to fly. But
+at this moment the wind changed, enabling two frigates which were at
+anchor lower down the bay to come up to the aid of their consort. The
+American gunboats drew off slowly, firing as they departed.
+
+This attack infused new energy into the British, and they at once
+began formidable preparations for an attack upon Norfolk. On the 20th
+of June they moved forward to the assault,--three seventy-four-gun
+ships, one sixty-four, four frigates, two sloops, and three
+transports. They were opposed by the American forces stationed on
+Craney Island, which commands the entrance to Norfolk Harbor. Here the
+Americans had thrown up earthworks, mounting two twenty-four, one
+eighteen, and four six pound cannon. To work this battery, one hundred
+sailors from the "Constellation," together with fifty marines, had
+been sent ashore. A large body of militia and a few soldiers of the
+regular army were also in camp upon the island.
+
+The British set the 22d as the date for the attack; and on the morning
+of that day, fifteen large boats, filled with sailors, marines, and
+soldiers to the number of seven hundred, put off from the ships, and
+dashed toward the batteries. At the same time a larger force tried to
+move forward by land, but were driven back, to wait until their
+comrades in the boats should have stormed and silenced the American
+battery. But that battery was not to be silenced. After checking the
+advance of the British by land, the Americans waited coolly for the
+column of boats to come within point-blank range. On they came,
+bounding over the waves, led by the great barge "Centipede," fifty
+feet long, and crowded with men. The blue-jackets in the shore battery
+stood silently at their guns. Suddenly there arose a cry, "Now, boys,
+are you ready?" "All ready," was the response. "Then fire!" And the
+great guns hurled their loads of lead and iron into the advancing
+boats. The volley was a fearful one; but the British still came on
+doggedly, until the fire of the battery became too terrible to be
+endured. "The American sailors handled the great guns like rifles,"
+said one of the British officers, speaking of the battle. Before this
+terrific fire, the advancing column was thrown into confusion. The
+boats, drifting upon each other, so crowded together that the oars-men
+could not make any headway. A huge round shot struck the "Centipede,"
+passing through her diagonally, leaving death and wounds in its track.
+The shattered craft sunk, and was soon followed by four others. The
+order for retreat was given; and, leaving their dead and some wounded
+in the shattered barges that lay in the shallow water, the British
+fled to their ships. Midshipman Tatnall, who, many years later, served
+in the Confederate navy, waded out with several sailors, and, seizing
+the "Centipede," drew her ashore. He found several wounded men in
+her,--one a Frenchman, with both legs shot away. A small terrier dog
+lay whimpering in the bow. His master had brought him along for a run
+on shore, never once thinking of the possibility of the flower of the
+British navy being beaten back by the Americans.
+
+So disastrous a defeat enraged the British, who proceeded to wreak
+their vengeance upon the little town of Hampton, which they sacked and
+burned, committing acts of shameful violence, more in accordance with
+the character of savages than that of civilized white men. The story
+of the sack of Hampton forms no part of the naval annals of the war,
+and in its details is too revolting to deserve a place here. It is a
+narrative of atrocious cruelty not to be paralleled in the history of
+warfare in the nineteenth century.
+
+Leaving behind him the smoking ruins of Hampton, Cockburn with his
+fleet dropped down the bay, and, turning southward, cruised along the
+coast of the Carolinas. Anchoring off Ocracoke Inlet, the British sent
+a fleet of armed barges into Pamlico Sound to ravage the adjoining
+coast. Two privateers were found lying at anchor in the sound,--the
+"Anaconda" of New York, and the "Atlas" of Philadelphia. The British
+forces, eight hundred in number, dashed forward to capture the two
+vessels. The "Atlas" fell an easy prey; but the thirteen men of the
+"Anaconda" fought stoutly until all hope was gone, then, turning their
+cannon down upon the decks of their own vessel, blew great holes in
+her bottom, and escaped to the shore. After this skirmish, the British
+landed, and marched rapidly to Newbern; but, finding that place well
+defended by militia, made their way back to the coast, desolating the
+country through which they passed, and seizing cattle and slaves. The
+latter they are said to have sent to the West Indies and sold. From
+Pamlico Sound Cockburn went to Cumberland Island, where he established
+his winter quarters, and whence he continued to send out marauding
+expeditions during the rest of the year.
+
+Very different was the character of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded
+the British blockading fleet off the New England coast. A brave and
+able officer, with the nature and training of a gentleman, he was as
+much admired by his enemies for his nobility, as Cockburn was hated
+for his cruelty. It is more than possible, however, that the
+difference between the methods of enforcement of the blockade on the
+New England coast and on the Southern seaboard was due to definite
+orders from the British admiralty: for the Southern States had entered
+into the war heart and soul; while New England gave to the American
+forces only a faint-hearted support, and cried eagerly for peace at
+any cost. So strong was this feeling, that resolutions of honor to the
+brave Capt. Lawrence were defeated in the Massachusetts Legislature,
+on the ground that they would encourage others to embark in the
+needless war in which Lawrence lost his life. Whatever may have been
+the cause, however, the fact remains, that Hardy's conduct while on
+the blockade won for him the respect and admiration of the very people
+against whom his forces were arrayed.
+
+[Illustration: Blue-Jackets at the Guns.]
+
+On June 18 the British blockaders off New York Harbor allowed a little
+vessel to escape to sea, that, before she could be captured, roamed at
+will within sight of the chalk cliffs of England, and inflicted
+immense damage upon the commerce of her enemy. This craft was the
+little ten-gun brig "Argus," which left New York bound for France. She
+carried as passenger Mr. Crawford of Georgia, who had lately been
+appointed United States minister to France. After safely discharging
+her passenger at L'Orient, the "Argus" turned into the chops of the
+English Channel, and cruised about, burning and capturing many of the
+enemy's ships. She was in the very highway of British commerce; and
+her crew had little rest day or night, so plentiful were the ships
+that fell in their way. It was hard for the jackies to apply the torch
+to so many stanch vessels, that would enrich the whole crew with
+prize-money could they but be sent into an American port. But the
+little cruiser was thousands of miles from any American port, and no
+course was open to her save to give every prize to the flames. After
+cruising for a time in the English Channel, Lieut. Allen, who
+commanded the "Argus," took his vessel around Land's End, and into St.
+George's Channel and the Irish Sea. For thirty days he continued his
+daring operations in the very waters into which Paul Jones had carried
+the American flag nearly thirty-five years earlier. British merchants
+and shipping owners in London read with horror of the destruction
+wrought by this one vessel. Hardly a paper appeared without an account
+of some new damage done by the "Argus." Vessels were kept in port
+to rot at their docks, rather than fall a prey to the terrible Yankee.
+Rates of insurance went up to ruinous prices, and many companies
+refused to take any risks whatever so long as the "Argus" remained
+afloat. But the hue and cry was out after the little vessel; and many
+a stout British frigate was beating up and down in St. George's
+Channel, and the chops of the English Channel, in the hopes of falling
+in with the audacious Yankee, who had presumed to bring home to
+Englishmen the horrors of war.
+
+It fell to the lot of the brig-sloop "Pelican" to rid the British
+waters of the "Argus." On the night of the thirteenth of August, the
+American vessel had fallen in with a British vessel from Oporto, and
+after a short chase had captured her. The usual result followed. The
+prisoners with their personal property were taken out of the prize,
+and the vessel was set afire. But, before the torch was applied, the
+American sailors had discovered that their prize was laden with wine;
+and their resolution was not equal to the task of firing the prize
+without testing the quality of the cargo. Besides treating themselves
+to rather deep potations, the boarding-crew contrived to smuggle a
+quantity of the wine into the forecastle of the "Argus." The prize was
+then fired, and the "Argus" moved away under easy sail. But the light
+of the blazing ship attracted the attention of the lookout on the
+"Pelican," and that vessel came down under full sail to discover the
+cause.
+
+Day was just breaking, and by the gray morning light the British saw
+an American cruiser making away from the burning hulk of her last
+prize. The "Pelican" followed in hot pursuit, and was allowed to come
+alongside, although the fleet American could easily have left her far
+astern. But Capt. Allen was ready for the conflict; confident of his
+ship and of his crew, of whose half-intoxicated condition he knew
+nothing, he felt sure that the coming battle would only add more
+laurels to the many already won by the "Argus." He had often declared
+that the "Argus" should never run from any two-master; and now, that
+the gage of battle was offered, he promptly accepted.
+
+At six o'clock in the morning, the "Pelican" came alongside, and
+opened the conflict with a broadside from her thirty-two pound
+carronades. The "Argus" replied with spirit, and a sharp cannonade
+began. Four minutes after the battle opened, Capt. Allen was struck
+by a round shot that cut off his left leg near the thigh. His officers
+rushed to his side, and strove to bear him to his cabin; but he
+resisted, saying he would stay on deck and fight his ship as long as
+any life was left him. With his back to a mast, he gave his orders and
+cheered on his men for a few minutes longer; then, fainting from the
+terrible gush of blood from his wound, was carried below. To lose
+their captain so early in the action, was enough to discourage the
+crew of the "Argus." Yet the officers left on duty were brave and
+skilful. Twice the vessel was swung into a raking position, but the
+gunners failed to seize the advantage. "They seemed to be nodding over
+their guns," said one of the officers afterward. The enemy, however,
+showed no signs of nodding. His fire was rapid and well directed, and
+his vessel manoeuvred in a way that showed a practised seaman in
+command. At last he secured a position under the stern of the "Argus,"
+and lay there, pouring in destructive broadsides, until the Americans
+struck their flag,--just forty-seven minutes after the opening of the
+action. The loss on the "Argus" amounted to six killed and seventeen
+wounded.
+
+No action of the war was so discreditable to the Americans as this. In
+the loss of the "Chesapeake" and in the loss of the "Essex," there
+were certain features of the action that redounded greatly to the
+honor of the defeated party. But in the action between the "Argus" and
+the "Pelican," the Americans were simply outfought. The vessels were
+practically equal in size and armament, though the "Pelican" carried a
+little the heavier metal. It is also stated that the powder used by
+the "Argus" was bad. It had been taken from one of the prizes, and
+afterwards proved to be condemned powder of the British Government. In
+proof of the poor quality of this powder, one of the American officers
+states that many shot striking the side of the "Pelican" were seen to
+fall back into the water; while others penetrated the vessel's skin,
+but did no further damage. All this, however, does not alter the fact
+that the "Argus" was fairly beaten in a fair fight.
+
+While the British thus snapped up an American man-of-war cruising at
+their harbors' mouths, the Americans were equally fortunate in
+capturing a British brig of fourteen guns off the coast of Maine. The
+captor was the United States brig "Enterprise," a lucky little vessel
+belonging to a very unlucky class; for her sister brigs all fell a
+prey to the enemy. The "Nautilus," it will be remembered, was captured
+early in the war. The "Vixen" fell into the hands of Sir James Yeo,
+who was cruising in the West Indies, in the frigate "Southampton;" but
+this gallant officer reaped but little benefit from his prize, for
+frigate and brig alike were soon after wrecked on one of the Bahama
+Islands. The "Siren," late in the war, was captured by the
+seventy-four-gun ship "Medway," and the loss of the "Argus" has just
+been chronicled. Of all these brigs, the "Argus" alone was able to
+fire a gun in her own defence, before being captured; the rest were
+all forced to yield quietly to immensely superior force.
+
+In the war with Tripoli, the "Enterprise" won the reputation of being
+a "lucky" craft; and her daring adventures and thrilling escapes
+during the short naval war with France added to her prestige among
+sailors. When the war with England broke out, the little brig was put
+in commission as soon as possible, and assigned to duty along the
+coast of Maine. She did good service in keeping off privateers and
+marauding expeditions from Nova Scotia. In the early part of
+September, 1813, she was cruising near Penguin Point, when she sighted
+a brig in shore that had the appearance of a hostile war-vessel. The
+stranger soon settled all doubts as to her character by firing several
+guns, seemingly for the purpose of recalling her boats from the shore.
+Then, setting sail with the rapidity of a man-of-war, she bore down
+upon the American vessel. The "Enterprise," instead of waiting for the
+enemy, turned out to sea, under easy sail; and her crew were set to
+work bringing aft a long gun, and mounting it in the cabin, where one
+of the stern windows had been chopped away to make a port. This action
+rather alarmed the sailors, who feared that their commander, Lieut.
+Burrows, whose character was unknown to them, intended to avoid the
+enemy, and was rigging the long gun for a stern-chaser. An impromptu
+meeting was held upon the forecastle; and, after much whispered
+consultation, the people appointed a committee to go aft and tell the
+commander that the lads were burning to engage the enemy, and were
+confident of whipping her. The committee started bravely to discharge
+their commission; but their courage failed them before so mighty a
+potentate as the commander, and they whispered their message to the
+first lieutenant, who laughed, and sent word forward that Mr. Burrows
+only wanted to get sea-room, and would soon give the jackies all the
+fighting they desired.
+
+[Illustration: The Fight with the "Boxer."]
+
+The Americans now had leisure to examine, through their
+marine-glasses, the vessel which was so boldly following them to the
+place of battle. She was a man-of-war brig, flying the British ensign
+from both mastheads and at the peak. Her armament consisted of twelve
+eighteen-pound carronades and two long sixes, as against the fourteen
+eighteen-pound carronades and two long nines of the "Enterprise." The
+Englishman carried a crew of sixty-six men, while the quarter-rolls of
+the American showed a total of one hundred and two. But in the battle
+which followed the British fought with such desperate bravery as to
+almost overcome the odds against them.
+
+For some time the two vessels fought shy of each other, manoeuvring
+for a windward position. Towards three o'clock in the afternoon, the
+Americans gained this advantage, and at once shortened sail, and edged
+down toward the enemy. As the ships drew near, a sailor was seen to
+climb into the rigging of the Englishman, and nail the colors to the
+mast, giving the lads of the "Enterprise" a hint as to the character
+of the reception they might expect. As the vessels came within range,
+both crews cheered lustily, and continued cheering until within
+pistol-shot, when the two broadsides were let fly at almost exactly
+the same moment. With the first fire, both commanders fell. Capt.
+Blyth of the English vessel was almost cut in two by a round shot as
+he stood on his quarter-deck. He died instantly. Lieut. Burrows was
+struck by a canister-shot, which inflicted a mortal wound. He refused
+to be carried below, and was tenderly laid upon the deck, where he
+remained during the remainder of the battle, cheering on his men, and
+crying out that the colors of the "Enterprise" should never be struck.
+The conflict was sharp, but short. For ten minutes only the answering
+broadsides rung out; then the colors of the British ship were hauled
+down. She proved to be the sloop-of-war "Boxer," and had suffered
+severely from the broadsides of the "Enterprise." Several shots had
+taken effect in her hull, her foremast was almost shot away, and
+several guns were dismounted. Three men beside her captain were
+killed, and seventeen wounded. But she had not suffered these injuries
+without inflicting some in return. The "Enterprise" was much cut up
+aloft. Her foremast and mainmast had each been pierced by an
+eighteen-pound ball. Her captain lay upon the deck, gasping in the
+last agonies of death, but stoutly protesting that he would not be
+carried below until he received the sword of the commander of the
+"Boxer." At last this was brought him; and grasping it he cried, "Now
+I am satisfied. I die contented."
+
+The two shattered brigs were taken into Portland, where the bodies of
+the two slain commanders were buried with all the honors of war. The
+"Enterprise" was repaired, and made one more cruise before the close
+of the war; but the "Boxer" was found to be forever ruined for a
+vessel of war, and she was sold into the merchant-service. The fact
+that she was so greatly injured in so short a time led a London
+paper, in speaking of the battle, to say, "The fact seems to be but
+too clearly established, that the Americans have some superior mode of
+firing; and we cannot be too anxiously employed in discovering to what
+circumstances that superiority is owing."
+
+[Illustration: The Surrender of the "Boxer."]
+
+This battle practically closed the year's naval events upon the ocean.
+The British privateer "Dart" was captured near Newport by some
+volunteers from the gunboats stationed at that point. But, with this
+exception, nothing noteworthy in naval circles occurred during the
+remainder of the year. Looking back over the annals of the naval
+operations of 1813, it is clear that the Americans were the chief
+sufferers. They had the victories over the "Peacock," "Boxer," and
+"Highflyer" to boast of; but they had lost the "Chesapeake," "Argus,"
+and "Viper." But, more than this, they had suffered their coast to be
+so sealed up by British blockaders that many of their best vessels
+were left to lie idle at their docks. The blockade, too, was growing
+stricter daily, and the outlook for the future seemed gloomy; yet, as
+it turned out, in 1814 the Americans regained the ground they had lost
+the year before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+     ON THE LAKES. -- CLOSE OF HOSTILITIES ON LAKES ERIE AND HURON. --
+     DESULTORY WARFARE ON LAKE ONTARIO IN 1813. -- HOSTILITIES ON
+     ONTARIO IN 1814. -- THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. -- END OF THE
+     WAR UPON THE LAKES.
+
+
+In considering the naval operations on the Great Lakes, it must be
+kept in mind, that winter, which checked but little naval activity on
+the ocean, locked the great fresh-water seas in an impenetrable
+barrier of ice, and effectually stopped all further hostilities
+between the hostile forces afloat. The victory gained by Commodore
+Perry on Lake Erie in September, 1813, gave the Americans complete
+command of that lake; and the frozen season soon coming on, prevented
+any attempts on the part of the enemy to contest the American
+supremacy. But, indeed, the British showed little ability, throughout
+the subsequent course of the war, to snatch from the Americans the
+fruits of the victory at Put-in-Bay. They embarked upon no more
+offensive expeditions; and the only notable naval contest between the
+two belligerents during the remainder of the war occurred Aug. 12,
+1814, when a party of seventy-five British seamen and marines
+attempted to cut out three American schooners that lay at the foot of
+the lake near Fort Erie. The British forces were at Queenstown, on
+the Niagara River; but by dint of carrying their boats twenty miles
+through the woods, then poling down a narrow and shallow stream, with
+a second portage of eight miles, the adventurers managed to reach Lake
+Erie. Embarking here, they pulled down to the schooners. To the hail
+of the lookout, they responded, "Provision boats." And, as no British
+were thought to be on Lake Erie, the response satisfied the officer of
+the watch. He quickly discovered his mistake, however, when he saw his
+cable cut, and a party of armed men scrambling over his bulwarks. This
+first prize, the "Somers," was quickly in the hands of the British,
+and was soon joined in captivity by the "Ohio," whose people fought
+bravely but unavailingly against the unexpected foe. While the
+fighting was going on aboard the vessels, they were drifting down the
+stream; and, by the time the British victory was complete, both
+vessels were beyond the range of Fort Erie's guns, and safe from
+recapture. This successful enterprise certainly deserves a place as
+the boldest and best executed cutting-out expedition of the war.
+
+[Illustration: On the Way to Lake Erie.]
+
+Long before this occurrence, Capt. Arthur Singleton, who had succeeded
+to Perry's command, despairing of any active service on Lake Erie, had
+taken his squadron of five vessels into Lake Huron, where the British
+still held the supremacy. His objective point was the Island of
+Michilimackinac (Mackinaw), which had been captured by the enemy early
+in the war. On his way, he stopped and burned the British fort and
+barracks of St. Joseph. At Mackinaw he was repulsed, with the loss of
+seventy men; after which he returned to Lake Erie, leaving two
+vessels, the "Scorpion" and "Tigress," to blockade the Nattagawassa
+River. The presence of these vessels irritated the British, and they
+at once set about preparations for their capture. On the night of the
+3d of September the "Tigress" was captured after a sharp struggle,
+which, as the British commanding officer said, "did credit to her
+officers, who were all severely wounded." At the time of the attack,
+the "Scorpion" was several miles away, and knew nothing of the
+misfortune of her consort. Knowing this, the British sent their
+prisoners ashore, and, hoisting the American flag over the captured
+vessel, waited patiently for their game to come to them. They were not
+disappointed in their expectations. On the 5th the "Scorpion" came up,
+and anchored, unsuspectingly, within two miles of her consort. At
+early dawn the next morning the "Tigress" weighed anchor; and, with
+the stars and stripes still flying, dropped down alongside the
+unsuspecting schooner, poured in a sudden volley, and, instantly
+boarding, carried the vessel without meeting any resistance.
+
+With these two skirmishes, the war upon Lake Erie and Lake Huron was
+ended. But on Lake Ontario the naval events, though in no case
+comparable with Perry's famous victory, were numerous and noteworthy.
+
+In our previous discussion of the progress of the war upon Lake
+Ontario, we left Commodore Chauncey in winter quarter at Sackett's
+Harbor, building new ships, and making vigorous efforts to secure
+sailors to man them. His energy met with its reward; for, when the
+melting ice left the lake open for navigation in the spring of 1813,
+the American fleet was ready for active service, while the best
+vessels belonging to the British were still in the hands of the
+carpenters and riggers. The first service performed by the American
+fleet was aiding Gen. Pike in his attack upon York, where the
+Americans burned an almost completed twenty-four-gun ship, and
+captured the ten-gun brig "Gloucester." The land forces who took part
+in this action were terribly injured by the explosion of the
+powder-magazine, to which the British had applied a slow-match when
+they found they could no longer hold their position. This battle was
+fought April 27, 1813. One month later, the naval forces co-operated
+with the soldiery in driving the British from Fort George, on the
+Canada side of the Niagara River, near Lake Ontario. Perry came from
+Lake Erie to take part in this action, and led a landing party under
+the fire of the British artillery with that dashing courage which he
+showed later at the battle of Put-in-Bay. The work of the sailors in
+this action was cool and effective. Their fire covered the advance of
+the troops, and silenced more than one of the enemy's guns. "The
+American ships," writes a British historian, "with their heavy
+discharges of round and grape, too well succeeded in thinning the
+British ranks."
+
+But by this time the British fleet was ready for sea, and left
+Kingston on the 27th of May; while Chauncey was still at the extreme
+western end of the lake. The enemy determined to make an immediate
+assault upon Sackett's Harbor, and there destroy the corvette "Gen.
+Pike," which, if completed, would give Chauncey supremacy upon the
+lake. Accordingly the fleet under Sir James Lucas Yeo, with a large
+body of troops under Sir George Prescott, appeared before the harbor
+on the 29th. Although the forces which rallied to the defence of the
+village were chiefly raw militia, the British attack was conducted
+with so little spirit that the defenders won the day; and the enemy
+retreated, leaving most of his wounded to fall into the hands of the
+Americans. Yeo then returned to Kingston; and the American fleet came
+up the lake, and put into Sackett's Harbor, there to remain until the
+completion of the "Pike" should give Chauncey control of the lake.
+While the Americans thus remained in port, the British squadron made
+brief incursions into the lake, capturing a few schooners and breaking
+up one or two encampments of the land forces of the United States.
+
+Not until the 21st of July did the Americans leave their anchorage. On
+that day, with the formidable corvette "Pike" at the head of the
+line, Chauncey left Sackett's Harbor, and went up to Niagara. Some
+days later, Yeo took his squadron to sea; and on the 7th of August the
+two hostile fleets came in sight of one another for the first time.
+Then followed a season of manoeuvring,--of challenging and
+counter-challenging, of offering battle and of avoiding
+it,--terminating in so inconclusive an engagement that one is forced
+to believe that neither commander dared to enter the battle for which
+both had been so long preparing. The American squadron consisted
+largely of schooners armed with long guns. In smooth weather these
+craft were valuable adjuncts to the larger vessels, while in rough
+weather they were useless. Yeo's squadron was mostly square-rigged,
+and was therefore equally serviceable in all kinds of weather. It
+seems likely, therefore, that the Americans strove to bring on the
+conflict in smooth weather; while the British were determined to wait
+until a heavy sea should lessen the force of their foes. In this
+dilemma several days passed away.
+
+On the night of the 7th of August the wind came up to blow, and the
+rising waves soon demonstrated the uselessness of schooners for
+purposes of war. At early dawn a fierce gust of wind caused the
+schooners "Hamilton" and "Scourge" to careen far to leeward. Their
+heavy guns broke loose; then, crashing down to the submerged beams of
+the schooners, pulled them still farther over; and, the water rushing
+in at their hatches, they foundered, carrying with them to the bottom
+all their officers, and all but sixteen of the men. This loss reduced
+Chauncey's force to more of an equality with that of the British; yet
+for two days longer the manoeuvring continued, without a shot being
+fired. On the night of the 10th the two squadrons formed in order of
+battle, and rapidly approached each other. At eleven o'clock a
+cannonade was begun by both parties, and continued for about an hour;
+though the shot did little material damage on either side. At midnight
+the British, by a quick movement, cut out and captured two American
+schooners, and sailed away, without suffering any damage.
+
+A month then intervened before the next hostile meeting. In his
+despatches to his superior authorities, each commander stoutly affirms
+that he spent the time in chasing the enemy, who refused to give him
+battle. Whether it was the British or the Americans that avoided the
+battle, it is impossible to decide; but it seems reasonable to
+believe, that, had either party been really determined upon bringing
+matters to an issue, the other could have been forced into giving
+battle.
+
+On the 11th of September, the enemies met near the mouth of the
+Genesee River, and exchanged broadsides. A few of the British vessels
+were hulled, and, without more ado, hauled off into the shallow waters
+of Ambert Bay, whither the Americans could not follow them. Then
+ensued another long period of peace, broken at last by a naval action
+in York Bay, on the 28th, in which the British were worsted and
+obliged to fly, though none of their ships were destroyed or captured.
+On Oct. 2, Chauncey accomplished a really important work, by capturing
+five British transports, with two hundred and sixty-four men, seven
+naval and ten army officers. With this achievement, the active work of
+the Ontario squadron ended for the year, as Chauncey remained
+blockading Yeo at Kingston, until the approach of winter rendered that
+precaution no longer necessary.
+
+The navigable season of 1814 opened with the British first upon the
+lake. The long winter had been employed by the belligerents in adding
+to their fleets; a work completed first by Yeo, who put out upon the
+lake on the 3d of May, with eight square-rigged vessels, of which two
+were new frigates. The Americans had given up their unseaworthy
+schooners, and had a fleet of eight square-rigged vessels nearly
+ready, but still lacking the cordage and guns for the three new craft.
+Yeo thus had the lake to himself for a time, and began a vigorous
+campaign by an attack upon Oswego, aided by a large body of British
+troops. Succeeding in this enterprise, he set sail for Sackett's
+Harbor, and, taking up his position just outside the bar, disposed his
+vessels for a long and strict blockade. This action was particularly
+troublesome to the Americans at that time; for their new frigates were
+just ready for their guns and cables, which could not be brought
+overland, and the arrival of which by water was seemingly prevented by
+the blockade. It was in this emergency that the plan, already
+described, for transporting the great cable for the "Niagara"
+overland, on the backs of men, was decided upon. Yeo remained on guard
+at the mouth of the harbor until the 6th of June, then raised the
+blockade, and disappeared down the lake. For six weeks the Americans
+continued working on their fleet, to get the ships ready for service.
+During this time the British gunboat "Black Snake" was brought into
+the harbor, a prize to Lieut. Gregory, who had captured it by a
+sudden assault, with a score of sailors at his back. On the 1st of
+July, the same officer made a sudden descent upon Presque Isle, where
+he found a British vessel pierced for fourteen guns on the stocks,
+ready for launching. The raiders hastily set fire to the ship, and
+retreated before the enemy could get his forces together.
+
+It was July 31 before Chauncey set sail from Sackett's Harbor. He now
+had under his command a squadron of eight vessels, two of which were
+frigates, two ship sloops-of-war, and eight brig-sloops of no mean
+power. Yeo had, to oppose this force, a fleet of no less respectable
+proportions. Yet, for the remainder of the year, these two squadrons
+cruised about the lake, or blockaded each other in turn, without once
+coming to battle. As transports, the vessels were of some service to
+their respective governments; but, so far as any actual naval
+operations were concerned, they might as well never have been built.
+The war closed, leaving the two cautious commanders still waiting for
+a satisfactory occasion for giving battle.
+
+Such was the course of the naval war upon the Great Lakes; but the
+thunder of hostile cannon and the cheers of sailors were heard upon
+yet another sheet of fresh water, before the quarrel between England
+and the United States was settled. In the north-east corner of New
+York State, and slightly overlapping the Canada line, lies Lake
+Champlain,--a picturesque sheet of water, narrow, and dotted with
+wooded islands. From the northern end of the lake flows the Richelieu
+River, which follows a straight course through Canada to the St.
+Lawrence, into which it empties. The long, navigable water-way thus
+open from Canada to the very heart of New York was to the British a
+most tempting path for an invading expedition. By the shore of the
+lake a road wound along; thus smoothing the way for a land force,
+whose advance might be protected by the fire of the naval force that
+should proceed up the lake. Naturally, so admirable an international
+highway early attracted the attention of the military authorities of
+both belligerents; and, while the British pressed forward their
+preparations for an invading expedition, the Americans hastened to
+make such arrangements as should give them control of the lake. Her
+European wars, however, made so great a demand for soldiers upon Great
+Britain, that not until 1814 could she send to America a sufficient
+force to undertake the invasion of the United States from the north.
+In the spring of that year, a force of from ten thousand to fifteen
+thousand troops, including several thousand veterans who had served
+under Wellington, were massed at Montreal; and in May a move was made
+by the British to get control of the lake, before sending their
+invading forces into New York. The British naval force already in the
+Richelieu River, and available for service, consisted of a brig, two
+sloops, and twelve or fourteen gunboats. The American flotilla
+included a large corvette, a schooner, a small sloop, and ten
+gunboats, or galleys, propelled with oars. Seeing that the British
+were preparing for active hostilities, the Americans began to build,
+with all possible speed, a large brig; a move which the enemy promptly
+met by pushing forward with equal energy the construction of a
+frigate. While the new vessels were on the stocks, an irregular
+warfare was carried on by those already in commission. At the opening
+of the season, the American vessels lay in Otter Creek; and, just as
+they were ready to leave port, the enemy appeared off the mouth of the
+creek with a force consisting of the brig "Linnet" and eight or ten
+galleys. The object of the British was to so obstruct the mouth of the
+creek that the Americans should be unable to come out. With this end
+in view, they had brought two sloops laden with stones, which they
+intended to sink in the narrow channel. But, luckily, the Americans
+had thrown up earthworks at the mouth of the river; and a party of
+sailors so worked the guns, that, after much manoeuvring, the British
+were forced to retire without effecting their purpose.
+
+About the middle of August, the Americans launched their new brig, the
+"Eagle;" and the little squadron put out at once into the lake, under
+command of Capt. Thomas Macdonough. Eight days later, the British got
+their new ship, the "Confiance," into the water. She possessed one
+feature new to American naval architecture,--a furnace in which to
+heat cannon-balls.
+
+By this time (September, 1814), the invading column of British
+veterans, eleven thousand strong, had begun its march into New York
+along the west shore of the lake. Two thousand Americans only could be
+gathered to dispute their progress; and these, under the command of
+Brigadier-Gen. Macomb, were gathered at Plattsburg. To this point,
+accordingly, Macdonough took his fleet, and awaited the coming of the
+enemy; knowing that if he could beat back the fleet of the British,
+their land forces, however powerful, would be forced to cease their
+advance. The fleet that he commanded consisted of the flagship
+"Saratoga," carrying eight long twenty-four-pounders, six
+forty-two-pound and twelve thirty-two-pound carronades; the brig
+"Eagle," carrying eight long eighteens, and twelve thirty-two-pound
+carronades; schooner "Ticonderoga," with eight long twelve-pounders,
+four long eighteen-pounders, and five thirty-two-pound carronades;
+sloop "Preble," with seven long nines; and ten galleys. The commander
+who ruled over this fleet was a man still in his twenty-ninth year.
+The successful battles of the War of 1812 were fought by young
+officers, and the battle of Lake Champlain was no exception to the
+rule.
+
+The British force which came into battle with Macdonough's fleet was
+slightly superior. It was headed by the flagship "Confiance," a
+frigate of the class of the United States ship "Constitution,"
+carrying thirty long twenty-fours, a long twenty-four-pounder on a
+pivot, and six thirty-two or forty-two pound carronades. The other
+vessels were the "Linnet," a brig mounting sixteen long twelves; and
+the "Chubb" and "Finch" (captured from the Americans under the names
+of "Growler" and "Eagle"),--sloops carrying respectively ten
+eighteen-pound carronades and one long six; and six eighteen-pound
+carronades, four long sixes, and one short eighteen. To these were
+added twelve gunboats, with varied armaments, but each slightly
+heavier than the American craft of the same class.
+
+The 11th of September had been chosen by the British for the combined
+land and water attack upon Plattsburg. With the movements of the land
+forces, this narrative will not deal. The brunt of the conflict fell
+upon the naval forces, and it was the success of the Americans upon
+the water that turned the faces of the British invaders toward Canada.
+
+The village of Plattsburg stands upon the shore of a broad bay which
+communicates with Lake Champlain by an opening a mile and a half wide,
+bounded upon the north by Cumberland Head, and on the south by Crab
+Island. In this bay, about two miles from the western shore,
+Macdonough's fleet lay anchored in double line, stretching north and
+south. The four large vessels were in the front rank, prepared to meet
+the brunt of the conflict; while the galleys formed a second line in
+the rear. The morning of the day of battle dawned clear, with a brisk
+north-east wind blowing. The British were stirring early, and at
+daybreak weighed anchor and came down the lake. Across the low-lying
+isthmus that connected Cumberland Head with the mainland, the
+Americans could see their adversaries' topmasts as they came down to
+do battle. At this sight, Macdonough called his officers about him,
+and, kneeling upon the quarter-deck, besought Divine aid in the
+conflict so soon to come. When the little group rose from their knees,
+the leading ship of the enemy was seen swinging round Cumberland Head;
+and the men went to their quarters to await the fiery trial that all
+knew was impending.
+
+The position of the American squadron was such that the British were
+forced to attack "bows on," thus exposing themselves to a raking fire.
+By means of springs on their cables, the Americans were enabled to
+keep their broadsides to the enemy, and thus improve, to the fullest,
+the advantage gained by their position. The British came on gallantly,
+and were greeted by four shots from the long eighteens of the "Eagle,"
+that had no effect. But, at the sound of the cannon, a young game-cock
+that was running at large on the "Saratoga" flew upon a gun, flapped
+his wings, and crowed thrice, with so lusty a note that he was heard
+far over the waters. The American seamen, thus roused from the painful
+revery into which the bravest fall before going into action, cheered
+lustily, and went into the fight, encouraged as only sailors could be
+by the favorable omen.
+
+Soon after the defiant game-cock had thus cast down the gage of
+battle, Macdonough sighted and fired the first shot from one of the
+long twenty-four pounders of the "Saratoga." The heavy ball crashed
+into the bow of the "Confiance," and cut its way aft, killing and
+wounding several men, and demolishing the wheel. Nothing daunted, the
+British flagship came on grandly, making no reply, and seeking only to
+cast anchor alongside the "Saratoga," and fight it out yard-arm to
+yard-arm. But the fire of the Americans was such that she could not
+choose her distance; but after having been badly cut up, with both her
+port anchors shot away, was forced to anchor at a distance of a
+quarter of a mile. But her anchor had hardly touched bottom, when she
+suddenly flashed out a sheet of flames, as her rapid broadsides rung
+out and her red-hot shot sped over the water toward the American
+flagship. Her first broadside killed or wounded forty of the
+Americans; while many more were knocked down by the shock, but
+sustained no further injury. So great was the carnage, that the
+hatches were opened, and the dead bodies passed below, that the men
+might have room to work the guns. Among the slain was Mr. Gamble, the
+first lieutenant, who was on his knees sighting a gun, when a shot
+entered the port, split the quoin, drove a great piece of metal
+against his breast, and stretched him dead upon the deck without
+breaking his skin. By a singular coincidence, fifteen minutes later a
+shot from one of the "Saratoga's" guns struck the muzzle of a
+twenty-four on the "Confiance," and, dismounting it, hurled it against
+Capt. Downie's groin, killing him instantly without breaking the skin;
+a black mark about the size of a small plate was the sole visible
+injury.
+
+In the mean time, the smaller vessels had become engaged, and were
+fighting with no less courage than the flag-ships. The "Chubb" had
+early been disabled by a broadside from the "Eagle," and drifted
+helplessly under the guns of the "Saratoga." After receiving a shot
+from that vessel, she struck, and was taken possession of by
+Midshipman Platt, who put off from the flagship in an open boat,
+boarded the prize, and took her into Plattsburg Bay, near the mouth of
+the Saranac. More than half her people were killed or wounded during
+the short time she was in the battle. The "Linnet," in the mean time,
+had engaged the "Eagle," and poured in her broadsides with such effect
+that the springs on the cables of the American were cut away, and she
+could no longer bring her broadsides to bear. Her captain therefore
+cut his cables, and soon gained a position from which he could bring
+his guns to bear upon the "Confiance." The "Linnet" thereupon dashed
+in among the American gunboats, and, driving them off, commenced a
+raking fire upon the "Saratoga." The "Finch," meanwhile, had ranged
+gallantly up alongside the "Ticonderoga," but was sent out of the
+fight by two broadsides from the American. She drifted helplessly
+before the wind, and soon grounded near Crab Island. On the island was
+a hospital, and an abandoned battery mounting one six-pound gun. Some
+of the convalescent patients, seeing the enemy's vessel within range,
+opened fire upon her from the battery, and soon forced her to haul
+down her flag. Nearly half her crew were killed or wounded. Almost at
+the same moment, the United States sloop "Preble" was forced out of
+the fight by the British gunboats, that pressed so fiercely upon her
+that she cut her cables and drifted inshore.
+
+[Illustration: Hiram Paulding fires the Guns.]
+
+The "Ticonderoga" fought a gallant fight throughout. After ridding
+herself of the "Finch," she had a number of the British gunboats to
+contend with; and they pressed forward to the attack with a gallantry
+that showed them to be conscious of the fact, that, if this vessel
+could be carried, the American line would be turned, and the day won
+by the English. But the American schooner fought stubbornly. Her
+gallant commander, Lieut. Cassin, walked up and down the taffrail,
+heedless of the grape and musket-balls that whistled past his head,
+pointing out to the gunners the spot whereon to train the guns, and
+directing them to load with canister and bags of bullets when the
+enemy came too near. The gunners of the schooner were terribly
+hampered in their work by the lack of matches for the guns; for the
+vessel was new, and the absence of these very essential articles was
+unnoticed until too late. The guns of one division were fired
+throughout the fight by Hiram Paulding, a sixteen-year-old
+midshipman, who flashed his pistol at the priming of the guns as soon
+as aim was taken. When no gun was ready for his services, he rammed a
+ball into his weapon and discharged it at the enemy. The onslaught of
+the British was spirited and determined. Often they pressed up within
+a boat-hook's length of the schooner, only to be beaten back by her
+merciless fire. Sometimes so few were left alive in the galleys that
+they could hardly man the oars to pull out of the fight. In this way
+the "Ticonderoga" kept her enemies at bay while the battle was being
+decided between the "Saratoga" and the "Confiance."
+
+For it was upon the issue of the conflict between these two ships,
+that victory or defeat depended. Each had her ally and satellite.
+Under the stern of the "Saratoga" lay the "Linnet," pouring in raking
+broadsides. The "Confiance," in turn, was suffering from the
+well-directed fire of the "Eagle." The roar of the artillery was
+unceasing, and dense clouds of gunpowder-smoke hid the warring ships
+from the eyes of the eager spectators on shore. The "Confiance" was
+unfortunate in losing her gallant captain early in the action, while
+Macdonough was spared to fight his ship to the end. His gallantry and
+activity, however, led him to expose himself fearlessly; and twice he
+narrowly escaped death. He worked like a common sailor, loading and
+firing a favorite twenty-four-pound gun; and once, while on his knees,
+sighting the piece, a shot from the "Confiance" cut in two the
+spanker-boom, a great piece of which fell heavily upon the captain's
+head, stretching him senseless upon the deck. He lay motionless for
+two or three minutes, and his men mourned him as dead; but suddenly
+his activity returned, and he leaped to his feet, and was soon again
+in the thick of the fight. In less than five minutes the cry again
+arose, that the captain was killed. He had been standing at the breach
+of his favorite cannon, when a round shot took off the head of the
+captain of the gun, and dashed it with terrific force into the face of
+Macdonough, who was driven across the deck, and hurled against the
+bulwarks. He lay an instant, covered with the blood of the slain man;
+but, hearing his men cry that he was killed, he rushed among them, to
+cheer them on with his presence.
+
+And, indeed, at this moment the crew of the "Saratoga" needed the
+presence of their captain to cheer them on to further exertion. The
+red-hot shot of the "Confiance" had twice set fire to the American
+ship. The raking fire from the "Linnet" had dismounted carronades and
+long guns one by one, until but a single serviceable gun was left in
+the starboard battery. A too heavy charge dismounted this piece, and
+threw it down the hatchway, leaving the frigate without a single gun
+bearing upon the enemy. In such a plight the hearts of the crew might
+well fail them. But Macdonough was ready for the emergency. He still
+had his port broadside untouched, and he at once set to work to swing
+the ship round so that this battery could be brought to bear. An
+anchor was let fall astern, and the whole ship's company hauled in on
+the hawser, swinging the ship slowly around. It was a dangerous
+manoeuvre; for, as the ship veered round, her stern was presented to
+the "Linnet," affording an opportunity for raking, which the gunners
+on that plucky little vessel immediately improved. But patience and
+hard pulling carried the day; and gradually the heavy frigate was
+turned sufficiently for the after gun to bear, and a gun's crew was at
+once called from the hawsers to open fire. One by one the guns swung
+into position, and soon the whole broadside opened with a roar.
+
+Meanwhile the "Confiance" had attempted the same manoeuvre. But her
+anchors were badly placed; and, though her people worked gallantly,
+they failed to get the ship round. She bore for some time the
+effective fire from the "Saratoga's" fresh broadside, but, finding
+that she could in no way return the fire, struck her flag, two hours
+and a quarter after the battle commenced. Beyond giving a hasty cheer,
+the people of the "Saratoga" paid little attention to the surrender of
+their chief enemy, but instantly turned their guns upon the "Linnet."
+In this combat the "Eagle" could take no part, and the thunder of her
+guns died away. Farther down the bay, the "Ticonderoga" had just
+driven away the last of the British galleys; so that the "Linnet" now
+alone upheld the cause of the enemy. She was terribly outmatched by
+her heavier foe, but her gallant captain Pring kept up a desperate
+defence. Her masts and rigging were hopelessly shattered; and no
+course was open to her, save to surrender, or fight a hopeless fight.
+Capt. Pring sent off a lieutenant, in an open boat, to ascertain the
+condition of the "Confiance." The officer returned with the report
+that Capt. Downie was killed, and the frigate terribly cut up; and as
+by this time the water, pouring in the shot-holes in the "Linnet's"
+hull, had risen a foot above the lower deck, her flag was hauled
+down, and the battle ended in a decisive triumph for the Americans.
+
+Terrible was the carnage, and many and strange the incidents, of this
+most stubbornly contested naval battle. All of the prizes were in a
+sinking condition. In the hull of the "Confiance" were a hundred and
+five shot-holes, while the "Saratoga" was pierced by fifty-five. Not a
+mast that would bear canvas was left standing in the British fleet;
+those of the flagship were splintered like bundles of matches, and the
+sails torn to rags. On most of the enemy's vessels, more than half of
+the crews were killed or wounded. The loss on the British side
+probably aggregated three hundred. Midshipman William Lee of the
+"Confiance" wrote home after the battle, "The havoc on both sides was
+dreadful. I don't think there are more than five of our men, out of
+three hundred, but what are killed or wounded. Never was a shower of
+hail so thick as the shot whistling about our ears. Were you to see my
+jacket, waistcoat, and trousers, you would be astonished to know how I
+escaped as I did; for they are literally torn all to rags with shot
+and splinters. The upper part of my hat was also shot away. There is
+one of the marines who was in the Trafalgar action with Lord Nelson,
+who says it was a mere flea-bite in comparison with this."
+
+The Americans, though victorious, had suffered greatly. Their loss
+amounted to about two hundred men. The "Saratoga" had been cut up
+beyond the possibility of repair. Her decks were covered with dead and
+dying. The shot of the enemy wrought terrible havoc in the ranks of
+the American officers. Lieut. Stansbury of the "Ticonderoga" suddenly
+disappeared in the midst of the action; nor could any trace of him be
+found, until, two days later, his body, cut nearly in two by a round
+shot, rose from the waters of the lake. Lieut. Vallette of the
+"Saratoga" was knocked down by the head of a sailor, sent flying by a
+cannon-ball. Some minutes later he was standing on a shot-box giving
+orders, when a shot took the box from beneath his feet, throwing him
+heavily upon the deck. Mr. Brum, the master, a veteran man-o'-war's
+man, was struck by a huge splinter, which knocked him down, and
+actually stripped every rag of clothing from his body. He was thought
+to be dead, but soon re-appeared at his post, with a strip of canvas
+about his waist, and fought bravely until the end of the action. Some
+days before the battle, a gentleman of Oswego gave one of the sailors
+a glazed tarpaulin hat, of the kind then worn by seamen. A week later
+the sailor re-appeared, and, handing him the hat with a semi-circular
+cut in the crown and brim, made while it was on his head by a
+cannon-shot, remarked calmly, "Look here, Mr. Sloane, how the damned
+John Bulls have spoiled my hat!"
+
+The last British flag having been hauled down, an officer was sent to
+take possession of the "Confiance." In walking along her gun-deck, he
+accidentally ran against a ratline, by which one of her starboard guns
+was discharged. At this sound, the British galleys and gunboats, which
+had been lying quietly with their ensigns down, got out oars and moved
+off up the lake. The Americans had no vessels fit for pursuing them,
+and they were allowed to escape. In the afternoon the British officers
+came to the American flagship to complete the surrender. Macdonough
+met them courteously; and, on their offering their swords, put them
+back, saying, "Gentlemen, your gallant conduct makes you worthy to
+wear your weapons. Return them to their scabbards." By sundown the
+surrender was complete, and Macdonough sent off to the Secretary of
+the Navy a despatch, saying, "_Sir,_--The Almighty has been pleased to
+grant us a signal victory on Lake Champlain, in the capture of one
+frigate, one brig, and two sloops-of-war of the enemy."
+
+Some days later, the captured ships, being beyond repair, were taken
+to the head of the lake, and scuttled. Some of the guns were found to
+be still loaded; and, in drawing the charges, one gun was found with a
+canvas bag containing two round shot rammed home, and wadded, without
+any powder; another gun contained two cartridges and no shot; and a
+third had a wad rammed down before the powder, thus effectually
+preventing the discharge of the piece. The American gunners were not
+altogether guiltless of carelessness of this sort. Their chief error
+lay in ramming down so many shot upon the powder that the force of the
+explosion barely carried the missiles to the enemy. In proof of this,
+the side of the "Confiance" was thickly dotted with round shot, which
+had struck into, but failed to penetrate, the wood.
+
+The result of this victory was immediate and gratifying. The land
+forces of the British, thus deprived of their naval auxiliaries,
+turned about, and retreated to Canada, abandoning forever their
+projected invasion. New York was thus saved by Macdonough's skill and
+bravery. Yet the fame he won by his victory was not nearly
+proportionate to the naval ability he showed, and the service he had
+rendered to his country. Before the popular adulation of Perry,
+Macdonough sinks into second place. One historian only gives him the
+pre-eminence that is undoubtedly his due. Says Mr. Theodore Roosevelt,
+in his admirable history, "The Naval War of 1812," "But Macdonough in
+this battle won a higher fame than any other commander of the war,
+British or American. He had a decidedly superior force to contend
+against, and it was solely owing to his foresight and resource that we
+won the victory. He forced the British to engage at a disadvantage by
+his excellent choice of position, and he prepared beforehand for every
+possible contingency. His personal prowess had already been shown at
+the cost of the rovers of Tripoli, and in this action he helped fight
+the guns as ably as the best sailor. His skill, seamanship, quick eye,
+readiness of resource, and indomitable pluck are beyond all praise.
+Down to the time of the civil war, he is the greatest figure in our
+naval history. A thoroughly religious man, he was as generous and
+humane as he was skilful and brave. One of the greatest of our sea
+captains, he has left a stainless name behind him."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+     ON THE OCEAN. -- THE WORK OF THE SLOOPS-OF-WAR. -- LOSS OF THE
+     "FROLIC." -- FRUITLESS CRUISE OF THE "ADAMS." -- THE "PEACOCK"
+     TAKES THE "ÉPERVIER." -- THE CRUISE OF THE "WASP." -- SHE
+     CAPTURES THE "REINDEER." -- SINKS THE "AVON." -- MYSTERIOUS END
+     OF THE "WASP."
+
+
+The opening of the year 1814 found the American coast still rigidly
+blockaded by the British men-of-war. Two or three of the enemy lay off
+the mouth of every considerable harbor, and were not to be driven from
+their post by the icy winds and storms of midwinter on the American
+coast. It was almost impossible for any American vessel to escape to
+sea, and a matter of almost equal difficulty for such vessels as were
+out to get into a home port. The frigate "President" had put to sea
+early in December, 1813, and after a cruise of eight weeks, during
+which the traditional ill-luck of the ship pursued her remorselessly,
+managed to dash into New York Harbor past the blockading squadron. At
+Boston the blockade was broken by the "Constitution." She left port on
+the 1st of January, ran off to the southward, and cruised for some
+weeks in the West Indies. Here she captured the British man-of-war
+schooner "Pictou," fourteen guns, and several merchant-vessels. She
+also fell in with the British thirty-six-gun frigate "Pique," which
+fled, and escaped pursuit by cutting through a narrow channel during a
+dark and squally night. The "Constitution" then returned to the coast
+of the United States, and narrowly escaped falling into the clutches
+of two British frigates. She managed to gain the shelter of Marblehead
+Harbor, and there remained until the latter part of the year.
+
+But, while the larger vessels were thus accomplishing little or
+nothing, two or three small sloops-of-war, of a class newly built,
+slipped through the enemy's lines, and, gaining the open sea, fought
+one or two notable actions. Of these, the first vessel to get to sea
+was the new sloop-of-war "Frolic;" but her career was short and
+inglorious, for she had been at sea but a few weeks when she fell in
+with the enemy's frigate "Orpheus" and the schooner "Shelburne." A
+chase ensued, in which the American vessel threw overboard her guns
+and anchors, and started the water; but to no avail, for she was
+overhauled, and forced to surrender. Her service afloat was limited to
+the destruction of a Carthagenian privateer, which sunk before her
+guns, carrying down nearly a hundred men.
+
+The "Adams," a vessel that had suffered many vicissitudes,--having
+been built for a frigate, then cut down to a sloop-of-war, and finally
+been sawed asunder and converted into a corvette,--put to sea on the
+18th of January, under the command of Capt. Charles Morris, formerly
+of the "Constitution." She laid her course straight to the eastward,
+and for some time cruised off the western coast of Africa and the
+Canary Isles. She met with but little success in this region,
+capturing only three brigs,--the cargo of one of which consisted of
+wine and fruit; and the second, of palm-oil and ivory. Abandoning the
+African coast, the corvette turned westward along the equator, and
+made for the West Indies. A large Indiaman fell in her way, and was
+brought to; but, before the Americans could take possession of their
+prize, a British fleet of twenty-five sail, with two men-of-war, hove
+in sight, and the "Adams" was forced to seek safety in flight. She put
+into Savannah for provisions and water, but, hearing that the enemy
+was in force near by, worked out to sea, and made sail for another
+cruise. Capt. Morris took up a position on the limits of the Gulf
+Stream, near the Florida coast, in the expectation of cutting out an
+Indiaman from some passing convoy. The expected fleet soon came, but
+was under the protection of a seventy-four, two frigates, and three
+brigs,--a force sufficient to keep at bay the most audacious of
+corvettes. Morris hung about the convoy for two days, but saw no
+chance of eluding the watchful guards. He then crossed the Atlantic to
+the coast of Ireland. Here the "Adams" narrowly escaped capture; for
+she was sighted by a frigate, which gave chase, and would have
+overhauled her, had not the Americans thrown overboard some small
+cannon, and cut away their anchors. Thus lightened, the corvette sped
+away, and soon left her pursuers behind.
+
+Continued ill-fortune now reduced the spirits of the sailors of the
+"Adams" to very low ebb. They were forced to struggle unceasingly
+against the fierce gales which in winter sweep the Atlantic. Their
+stock of food and water was giving out; and, to add to their distress,
+scurvy, the sailors' worst enemy, began to show itself in the ship.
+They had boldly run into the very waters in which the "Argus" had won
+so rich a reward, yet not a sail gladdened the eyes of the lookout on
+the "Adams." It was then with great disappointment that the jackies
+saw the prow of the corvette turned homeward, after a cruise that
+would bring them neither honor nor prize-money. The passage homeward
+was quickly made, and on the 16th of August the vessel was in
+soundings off the coast of Maine. Night fell, with a dense fog
+concealing all landmarks from view. Through the darkness the corvette
+sped on at a pace of eleven miles an hour, until, just as day was
+breaking, the cry of "Breakers ahead!" was followed by a heavy blow,
+indicating that the ship had struck. The force of the blow had not
+been sufficient to stave in the bottom,--a fortunate fact, for the
+hold was full of prisoners. Nevertheless, she was hard and fast
+aground, on a ledge of rock that lifted her bow six feet above her
+stern. Morris, who had rushed upon deck at the first alarm, was unable
+to make out the ship's position, and feared that they were on Cashes
+Ledge, a reef so far from the land that it would have been impossible
+to save in the boats more than half the crew. He had determined,
+however, to instantly lower the boats and send them off in search of
+land, when a gust of wind, blowing away the fog, showed a beetling
+cliff not a hundred yards away. Rugged and inhospitable as was the
+coast thus exposed, it was better than an expanse of ocean; and at
+once Morris set to work landing his prisoners, and the sick, of whom
+the "Adams" had nearly sixty. With spare sails, tents were put up on
+the beach; and, stores having been landed, the comfort of all was
+assured, in case the ship should go to pieces. What the desolate shore
+was to which they were thus forced to turn for shelter, no one knew.
+
+All hands now turned to at the capstan, in the hopes of getting the
+vessel off; and about noon, the tide having reached its flood, she
+gradually slid off the ledge into deep water. After trying the pumps,
+to see if any serious leak had been started, the difficult task of
+taking the ship out of the labyrinth of reefs in which she lay was
+begun. For more than two miles their course lay through a narrow and
+tortuous channel, bordered on either side with jagged reefs; but the
+corvette safely threaded her way between the rocks, and soon lay
+floating in deep water. The next morning the fog blew away; and the
+voyagers discovered to their astonishment that they were off Mount
+Desert, instead of near Portsmouth as they had expected.
+
+To return into the cluster of reefs after the little colony of
+invalids and prisoners that had been left behind, would have been mere
+folly: so sending two fishing-boats to search out the shore party, and
+carry them to the nearest village, the "Adams" continued her course,
+intending to put into the Penobscot River. While making for this
+point, a sail was sighted, which proved to be the British brig-sloop
+"Rifleman." The corvette gave chase, but the Englishman kept well in
+the offing; and, as the condition of the American crew was such that
+to lead them into action would have been imprudent, Morris abandoned
+the pursuit, and, putting into the Penobscot, dropped anchor off
+Hampden. Here, for the present, we will leave the "Adams."
+
+The "Peacock"--a second of the new sloops-of-war, bearing the name of
+a captured British vessel--put out from New York in March, and made
+her way to the southward, selecting as her cruising station the waters
+off the coast of Florida. For some time it seemed that the exertions
+of the sailors were to be of no avail. Not a sail was to be seen, and
+the chances for prize-money seemed to be small indeed. But on the 29th
+of March three merchant-vessels were made out in the offing; while a
+heavy-built, square-rigged, trim-looking craft that hovered about them
+was evidently a man-of-war. The strangers seemed to have sighted the
+American vessel; for the merchantmen were seen to hastily haul up and
+run off to the north-east, while the man-of-war edged away for the
+American ship.
+
+The stranger was His British Majesty's brig sloop-of-war "Epervier,"
+of eighteen guns, and carrying a crew of one hundred and twenty-eight
+men. The "Peacock" was a ship-sloop of twenty-two guns, with a crew of
+one hundred and sixty-six men. The advantage, therefore, lay with the
+Americans; but, in the battle that ensued, the damage they inflicted
+upon the enemy was out of any proportion to their excess of strength.
+
+The two ships bore down gallantly upon each other, and at a little
+after ten in the morning passed, exchanging heavy broadsides. The shot
+of each took effect in the rigging; but the "Peacock" suffered the
+more, having her foreyard totally disabled,--an injury that compelled
+her to run large during the rest of the action, and forego all
+attempts at manoeuvring. The two vessels having passed each other, the
+"Epervier" eased off, and returned to the fight, running on a parallel
+course with the American ship. The interchange of broadsides then
+became very rapid; but the British marksmanship was poor, and few of
+their shot took effect. The "Epervier," on the contrary, suffered
+severely from the American fire, which took effect in her hull,
+dismounting several guns, and so injuring the brig that a British
+naval officer, writing of the action some years later, said, "The most
+disgraceful part of the affair was that our ship was cut to pieces,
+and the enemy hardly scratched."
+
+The injury aloft which both vessels sustained caused the battle to
+take on the character of an action at long range. Under such
+conditions, the victory was assured to the side showing the best
+gunnery. For a moment only did it seem that the vessels were likely to
+come to close quarters, and the English captain seized that occasion
+to call up his boarders. But they refused, saying, "She's too heavy
+for us." And a few minutes later the Englishman hauled down his flag,
+having lost nine killed or mortally wounded, and fourteen wounded. The
+Americans had suffered but little; only two men being injured, and
+these but slightly. The shot of the enemy had passed through the
+rigging of the "Peacock," while the "Epervier" had been hulled
+forty-five times.
+
+The "Epervier" proved to be a valuable prize. In her hold specie to
+the amount of one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars was found;
+and, when the brig was sold to the United States Government, she
+brought fifty-five thousand dollars: so that the prize-money won by
+that action kept the sailors in good-humor for many months to come.
+But, before the prize could be safely carried into an American port,
+she had a gantlet to run, in which she narrowly escaped capture. After
+the wreck of battle had been cleared away, the brig and her captor
+made for Savannah, but were sighted and chased by two British
+frigates. The "Peacock," in the hope of drawing away the pursuers,
+left her prize, and headed out to sea. One frigate only followed her,
+and the other pressed on hotly after the "Epervier," which, to avoid
+capture, was forced to run into shallow water, whither the heavy
+frigate could not follow her. But she was not to escape so easily; for
+the boats of the frigate were lowered, filled with armed men, and set
+out in pursuit of the brig, which moved but slowly before the light
+breeze then blowing. The boats soon overhauled the fugitive, and
+escape seemed hopeless; for the "Epervier" was manned by a prize-crew
+of only sixteen men. But Lieut. Nicholson, who was in command,
+determined to try the effect of bluster. Accordingly he leaped upon
+the taffrail, with a speaking-trumpet in his hand, and shouted out
+orders as if calling a huge crew to quarters. The British, who were
+within easy range, stopped their advance, and, fearing a destructive
+broadside from the brig's guns, turned and fled precipitately. The
+"Epervier" continued her course, and reached Savannah in safety on the
+1st of May. The "Peacock" reached the same port four days later.
+
+At the moment when the captured "Epervier," flying the stars and
+stripes, was proudly making her way up the harbor of Savannah amid the
+plaudits of the people of the little city, there sailed from
+Portsmouth, N.H., a vessel that was destined to fight a good fight for
+the honor of that starry banner; and, after winning a glorious
+victory, to disappear forever from the face of the ocean, carrying to
+some unknown grave a crew of as brave hearts as ever beat under
+uniforms of navy blue.
+
+This was the new sloop of war "Wasp," named after the gallant little
+craft that had been taken by the British after her capture of the
+"Frolic." She was a stanch three-master, carrying eleven guns to a
+broadside. Her crew was purely American, not a foreigner among them;
+but all trained seamen from the seaboard villages and towns of New
+England,--the homes at that time of probably the hardiest seafaring
+population in the world. Capt. Blakely, who commanded the vessel, had
+been attached to the "Enterprise" for some time, but had been ordered
+to the command of the "Wasp" a few days before the former vessel
+fought her successful battle with the "Boxer." Blakely, while in
+command of the "Enterprise," had greatly desired to meet an enemy
+worthy of his metal. Great, then, was his chagrin, when the
+"Enterprise," two weeks after he quitted her, fought her gallant
+battle. In a letter written in January, 1814, he says, "I shall ever
+view as one of the most unfortunate events of my life having quitted
+the 'Enterprise' at the moment I did. Had I remained in her a
+fortnight longer, my name might have been classed with those who stand
+so high. I cannot but consider it a mortifying circumstance that I
+left her but a few days before she fell in with the only enemy upon
+this station with which she could have creditably contended. I confess
+I felt heartily glad when I received my order to take command of the
+'Wasp,' conceiving that there was no hope of doing any thing in the
+'Enterprise.' But when I heard of the contest of the latter ship, and
+witnessed the great delay in the equipment of the former, I had no
+cause to congratulate myself. The 'Peacock' has ere this spread her
+plumage to the winds, and the 'Frolic' will soon take her revels on
+the ocean; but the 'Wasp' will, I fear, remain for some time a dull,
+harmless drone in the waters of her country."
+
+Notwithstanding his impatience, Blakely was forced to endure the
+restraints of Portsmouth navy-yard for nearly three months, while the
+"Wasp" was fitting out; but when she did finally get to sea, on May 1,
+1814, she proved herself to be far from a "dull, harmless drone."
+Slipping unobserved through the British blockading line, the "Wasp"
+made straight for the European coast before a fresh wind, and was soon
+cruising in the chops of the English channel, where the "Argus" had
+won her laurels and met with her defeat. Many English merchantmen were
+captured and burned, and the terror that spread in English shipping
+circles recalled the days of the "Argus."
+
+At daylight on the 28th of June, the "Wasp" sighted two merchantmen,
+and straightway gave chase. Soon a third vessel was discovered on the
+weather-beam; and, abandoning the vessels first sighted, the American
+bore down upon the stranger. She proved to be the "Reindeer," a
+British brig-sloop of eighteen guns, carrying a crew of one hundred
+and eighteen men. Although the British vessel was by no means a match
+in weight of metal for the "Wasp," her captain, William Manners,
+brought her into action with a cool gallantry which well justified his
+reputation as one of the bravest men in the British navy.
+
+[Illustration: Boarding the "Reindeer."]
+
+At ten o'clock in the morning the ships were near enough to each other
+to exchange signals, but several hours were spent in manoeuvring for
+the weather-gage; so that it was not until after three in the
+afternoon that the action fairly opened. The day was admirably
+suitable for a naval battle. Light clouds floated across the sky, and
+the gentle breeze that was blowing had sufficient strength to propel
+the ships without careening them. The surface of the ocean was
+unusually calm for that quarter, in which a rather choppy sea is
+usually running. Before the light breeze the "Wasp" came down upon her
+foe, bows on, with her decks cleared for action, and the men at their
+quarters. On the top-gallant forecastle of the "Reindeer" was mounted
+a twelve-pound carronade, and the action was opened by the discharge
+of this piece. In the position she then held, the "Wasp" was unable to
+reply; and her crew had to bear five effective shots from this gun
+without being able to fire a shot in return,--an ordeal that less
+well-disciplined crews might not have endured. For nine minutes the
+Americans returned not a shot; but then the "Wasp" luffed up, firing
+the guns from aft forward as they bore. The two ships were now lying
+broadside to broadside, not twenty yards apart, and every shot told.
+For ten minutes this position was held, and the two crews worked like
+Furies in loading and firing the great guns. The roar of the cannon
+was incessant, and the recoil of the heavy explosions deadened what
+little way the ships had on when fire was opened. Capt. Manners was
+too old an officer not to know, that, in an artillery duel of that
+kind, the victory would surely rest with the side that carried the
+heaviest guns: so he ran his vessel aboard the "Wasp" on the starboard
+quarter, intending to board and carry the day with the stubborn,
+dashing gallantry shown by British seamen when once led to an enemy's
+deck. At the ringing notes of the bugle, calling up the boarders, the
+British gathered aft, their faces begrimed with gunpowder, their arms
+bare, and their keen cutlasses firmly clutched in their strong right
+hands. The Americans took the alarm at once, and crowded forward to
+repel the enemy. The marines, whose hard duty it is in long-range
+fighting to stand with military impassiveness, drawn up in line on
+deck, while the shot whistle by them, and now and then cut great gaps
+in their straight lines,--the marines came aft, with their muskets
+loaded and bayonets fixed. Before them were sailors with sharp-pointed
+boarding-pikes, ready to receive the enemy should he come aboard;
+while close under the bulwarks were grouped the boarders, ready with
+cutlass and pistol to beat back the flood of men that should come
+pouring over the side. The grating of the ships' sides told that the
+vessels were touching; and the next instant the burly British seamen,
+looming up like giants, as they dashed through the dense murkiness of
+the powder-smoke, were among the Americans, cutting and firing right
+and left. From the deck of the "Reindeer" the marines kept up a
+constant fire of musketry, to which the sea-soldiers of the "Wasp"
+responded vigorously. Marksmen posted in the tops of each vessel
+picked off men from their enemy's decks, choosing generally the
+officers.
+
+[Illustration: The Captain of the "Reindeer."]
+
+Sharp and bloody though the British attack was, the boarders could
+make no way against the stubborn stand of the Americans. Capt.
+Manners, seeing his men beaten back, sprang forward to rally them. He
+was desperately wounded. A gun-shot had passed through his thighs, and
+a grape-shot had cut across the calves of his legs; but, maimed and
+bleeding to death as he was, he leaped into the rigging, and, cheering
+and waving his sword, called to his men to follow him to the decks of
+the Yankee. The Britons rallied nobly under the encouragement of their
+brave captain, and again advanced to the assault. But the figure of
+the daring officer, as he stood thus before his men, waving his sword
+and calling on them to come on, caught the eye of one of the men in
+the "Wasp's" maintop; and the next instant a ball crashed into the
+captain's brain, and he fell heavily to the deck, with his dying eyes
+turned upwards toward the flag in whose service he had given his life.
+
+Seeing the British captain fall and the men waver, Capt. Blakely with
+a cheer called up the boarders of the "Wasp;" and in an instant a
+stream of shouting sailors, cutlass in hand, was pouring over the
+hammock-nettings, and driving the foe backward on his own decks. The
+British still fought stubbornly; but their numbers were terribly
+thinned, and their officers had fallen one by one, until now the
+captain's clerk was the highest officer left. Seeing his men falling
+back before the resistless torrent of boarders, this gentleman finally
+struck the flag; and the battle ended, twenty-seven minutes after the
+"Reindeer" had fired the opening gun, and eighteen after the "Wasp"
+had responded.
+
+[Illustration: The End of the "Reindeer."]
+
+The execution and damage done on the "Reindeer" by the "Wasp's" shot
+were appalling. Of her crew of one hundred and eighteen men,
+thirty-three were killed or fatally wounded, and thirty-four were
+wounded. The havoc wrought among her officers has already been
+mentioned. Evidence of the accuracy and skill of the American gunners
+was to be seen in the fact that the brig was completely cut to pieces
+in the line of her ports. Her decks were swept clean of boats, spars,
+and rigging. Her masts were badly shattered, and her foremast soon
+went by the board. The "Wasp" had suffered severely, but was in much
+better condition than her captured adversary. Eleven of her crew were
+killed or mortally wounded, and fifteen were wounded severely or
+slightly. She had been hulled by six round and many grape shot, and
+her foremast had been cut by a twenty-four-pound shot. A few hours'
+work cleared from her decks all trace of the bloody fight, and she was
+in condition for another action. But it would have been folly to try
+to get the crippled "Reindeer" to port from that region, swarming with
+British cruisers: so Capt. Blakely took the prisoners on the "Wasp,"
+put a few of the wounded on a neutral vessel that happened to pass,
+and, burning the prize, made his way to the harbor of L'Orient. He had
+fought a brave fight, and come out victor after a desperate contest.
+But, though defeated, the plucky British might well boast of the
+gallant manner in which they engaged an enemy so much their superior
+in strength. History nowhere records a more gallant death than that of
+the British captain, who fell leading his men in a dashing but vain
+attempt to retrieve the day by boarding. In its manoeuvring, in the
+courage and discipline of the crews, and in the gallantry of the two
+captains, the action of the "Wasp" and the "Reindeer" may well go down
+to history as a model naval duel of the age of sails.
+
+The "Wasp" remained in port for several weeks, occupying the time in
+refitting, and filling the gaps in her crew by enlistment from the
+American privateers which then were to be seen occasionally in every
+port of the world. She then put out to sea, and soon fell in with a
+convoy of ten British merchantmen, under the protection of the
+seventy-four "Armada." Though he had no intention of giving battle to
+the line-of-battle ship, Blakely determined to capture one of the
+merchantmen; and to this end the "Wasp" hung upon the skirts of the
+convoy, making rapid dashes now at one vessel, then at another, and
+keeping the seventy-four in constant anxiety. Finally the swift little
+cruiser actually succeeded in capturing one of the vessels, and
+escaping before the heavy seventy-four could get to the scene of the
+conflict. The prize proved to be a valuable one, for she was laden
+with iron and brass cannon and military stores.
+
+Towards nightfall of the same day, Sept. 1, 1814, four more sail were
+sighted; and the "Wasp" at once made off in chase of the most
+weatherly. At eight o'clock the "Wasp" had gained so rapidly upon the
+chase, that the latter began firing with her stern chaser, and soon
+after opened with one of her lee guns. All the time the enemy kept up
+a vigorous signalling with rockets, lanterns, and guns. By half-past
+nine the "Wasp" was within hailing-distance, and an officer posted on
+the bow hailed the stranger several times; but as she returned no
+satisfactory answer, and refused to heave to, the "Wasp" opened upon
+her with a twelve-pound carronade, and soon after poured a broadside
+into her quarter. The two ships ploughed through the black water,
+under full sail, side by side. The Americans had no idea of the
+identity of their assailant, but, by the flashes of the guns, could
+see that she was a heavy brig. Her ports gleamed brightly with
+battle-lanterns; and the crowds of sailors in the tops, and the
+regularity of her fire, showed that she was a man-of-war with a
+well-disciplined crew, and no mere marauding privateer. For a time
+this running fight continued at such short range that the only
+American injured was struck by a wad from the enemy's cannon. The
+British gunners were poor marksmen, and the "Wasp" suffered but
+little; but it was evident that the American fire was taking effect,
+for gun after gun on the enemy was silenced. At ten o'clock the
+Americans, receiving no response to their carronade, stopped firing;
+and Capt. Blakely, seizing a speaking-trumpet, shouted across the
+water, "Have you struck?" No answer came, and the enemy began a feeble
+fire. The "Wasp" let fly another broadside, and Blakely repeated the
+question. This time an affirmative response came through the darkness;
+and the "Wasp" stopped firing, and made preparations to take
+possession of her prize. Just as the boat was being lowered from the
+davits, the lookout's cry of "Sail, ho!" checked the proceedings.
+Through the black night a cloud of canvas could be seen far astern,
+denoting the presence of another ship, probably an enemy. The drums of
+the "Wasp" beat fiercely; and the men trooped back to their quarters,
+ready for a second battle. But in the mean time two more sail hove in
+sight, and there remained to the "Wasp" nothing but flight. She
+accordingly made off into the darkness, receiving one broadside from
+one of the newly arrived men-of-war as she departed. So suddenly was
+she forced to fly, that she was unable to learn the name and condition
+of the vessel she had forced to surrender.
+
+It became known in the United States later that the "Wasp's" adversary
+in the battle in the darkness was the British sloop-of-war "Avon," of
+eighteen guns. She was badly cut up by the fire of the American
+gunners, losing her mainmast early in the action. At the time she
+surrendered, she was in a sinking condition; and, had it not been for
+the timely arrival of the brig-sloop "Castilian" and the "Tartarus,"
+both British, the crew of the "Avon" would have been prisoners on the
+"Wasp," or carried to the bottom in the shattered hulk of their own
+ship. The loss on the "Avon" was ten killed and thirty-two wounded,
+while on the "Wasp" but three men were injured.
+
+Of all this the gallant Capt. Blakely was ignorant; and, indeed, it is
+probable that he never knew with whom he had fought his last battle.
+For the subsequent history of the "Wasp" is more tragic in its
+unfathomable mystery than is the fate of the bravest ship ever sent to
+the bottom by the broadsides of an enemy. What was the end of the
+"Wasp," and where her bones now lie, no one knows. For some little
+time after her battle with the "Avon," her movements can be traced.
+Sept. 12, she captured the British brig "Three Brothers," and scuttled
+her; two days later, the brig "Bacchus" met the same fate at her
+hands. Sept. 21, she took the brig "Atlanta," eight guns; and, this
+being a valuable prize, Midshipman Geisinger of the "Wasp" was put on
+board, and took her safely to Savannah. He brought the last news that
+was heard of the ill-fated cruiser for many years. Months passed, and
+lengthened into years; and still the "Wasp" came not into port, nor
+could any trace of her whereabouts be found. As time passed on, the
+attempts to account for her delay changed into theories as to the
+cause of her total disappearance. All sorts of rumors were afloat.
+According to one account, the ship was wrecked on the African coast,
+and her gallant lads were ending their weary lives as slaves to the
+turbaned Moors of Barbary. Another theory was based on the rumor that
+an English frigate went into Cadiz much crippled, and with her crew
+severely injured, and reported that she had been engaged with a heavy
+American corvette, which had so suddenly disappeared that she was
+thought to have sunk with all on board. But, as time passed on, the
+end of the "Wasp" was forgotten by all save a few whose hearts ached
+for some of the gallant lads thus blotted from the face of the earth.
+
+Years after, the fate of the daring cruiser was again brought into
+remembrance by fresh news curiously found. When the officers and crew
+of the "Essex," after that vessel's gallant battle with the "Phoebe"
+and "Cherub," were sent to the United States under parole, two
+officers remained at Valparaiso, to give testimony before the
+prize-court. These gentlemen were Lieut. McKnight, and Mr. Lyman a
+master's mate. After going to Brazil in the "Phoebe," the two officers
+took passage in a Swedish brig bound for England. Months passed; and,
+nothing being heard from them, their friends became alarmed for their
+safety. In that time, before the day of the telegraph and steam
+transportation, many things might have easily detained the two
+officers for a year or more, and nothing be heard of them. But, when
+two years had passed, inquiries began to be made as to their fate,
+both by their friends and the naval authorities. The first step was to
+find the vessel upon which they had left Brazil. This was a work of
+time; so that it was many years after the disappearance of the
+officers when the brig was found lying at a London dock. She was the
+brig "Adonis," and the master proved to be the same who had commanded
+her when the two officers had taken passage. He readily recalled the
+circumstance, but claimed that the two passengers had left him in
+mid-ocean to go aboard an American man-of-war; and in proof of this he
+brought out the log-book, and, turning back to the year 1814, pointed
+out the following entries:--
+
+[Illustration: The End of the "Wasp."]
+
+     "AUG. 23.--Left Rio de Janeiro; Stephen Decatur McKnight and
+     James Lyman, passengers for England.
+
+     "OCT. 9.--At eight o'clock in the morning discovered a strange
+     sail giving chase to us, and fired several guns; she gaining very
+     fast. At half-past ten o'clock hove to, and was boarded by an
+     officer dressed in an English doctor's uniform; the vessel also
+     hoisted an English ensign. The officer proceeded to examine my
+     ship's papers, etc., likewise the letter-bags, and took from one
+     of them a letter to the victualling office, London. Finding I had
+     two American officers as passengers, he immediately left the
+     ship, and went on board the sloop-of-war. He shortly after
+     returned, took the American gentlemen with him, and went a second
+     time on board the ship. In about half an hour he returned, with
+     Messrs. McKnight and Lyman; and they informed me that the vessel
+     was the United States sloop-of-war 'Wasp,' commanded by Capt.
+     Blakely, or Blake, last from France, where she had refitted; had
+     lately sunk the 'Reindeer,' English sloop-of-war, and another
+     vessel, which sunk without their being able to save a single
+     person, or learn the vessel's name; that Messrs. McKnight and
+     Lyman had now determined to leave me and go on board the 'Wasp;'
+     paid me their passage in dollars, at 5_s._ 9_d._; and, having
+     taken their luggage on board, the 'Wasp' made sail to the
+     southward. Shortly after they had left, I discovered that Lieut.
+     McKnight had left his writing-desk behind; and I immediately made
+     signal for the 'Wasp' to return, and stood towards her. They,
+     observing my signal, stood back, came alongside, and sent their
+     boat on board for the writing-desk; after which they sent me a
+     log-line and some other presents, and made all sail in a
+     direction for the line, and, I have reason to suppose, for the
+     convoy that passed on Thursday previous."
+
+And so the "Wasp," with her ill-fated crew thus re-enforced, passed
+forever from the sight of man. What was her course after leaving the
+"Adonis," none may ever know. Whether some chance spark, touching the
+deadly stores of her magazine, sent vessel and crew to a sudden but
+merciful death; or whether, after gallantly battling with some fierce
+tropical hurricane, she drifted about the trackless ocean a helpless
+hulk, with a slowly dying crew, carried hither and yon before the
+winds and the currents, until her timbers, rotting asunder, gave a
+watery sepulchre to her crew of lifeless bodies, must remain a mystery
+until the day when the sea shall give up its dead. But, until that day
+comes, the gallant deeds done by vessel and crew for the flag under
+which they served should keep the names of the "Wasp" and her men ever
+memorable in the annals of the great nation whose infancy they so
+gallantly protected.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+     OPERATIONS ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. -- THE BOMBARDMENT OF
+     STONINGTON. -- DESTRUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES CORVETTE "ADAMS."
+     -- OPERATIONS ON CHESAPEAKE BAY. -- WORK OF BARNEY'S BARGE
+     FLOTILLA. -- ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH UPON WASHINGTON. --
+     DESTRUCTION OF THE CAPITOL. -- OPERATIONS AGAINST BALTIMORE. --
+     BOMBARDMENT OF FORT McHENRY.
+
+
+The remaining work of the British blockading squadrons along the
+Atlantic Coast demands some attention, and some account must be given
+of certain land actions which were inseparably connected with the
+course of naval events. This narrative can well be divided into two
+parts, each dealing with the operations of one section of the
+blockading fleet; thus tracing the course of events up to the close of
+the war on the New England coast, before taking up the proceedings on
+the Chesapeake station.
+
+It will be remembered that Decatur had been checked in his attempt to
+break the blockade at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, and was
+forced to take the frigates "United States" and "Macedonian," and the
+sloop-of-war "Hornet," into New London Harbor. Early in December,
+1813, he determined to try to slip out; and choosing a dark night,
+when wind and tide were in his favor, he dropped down the bay, and was
+about to put to sea, when bright blue lights blazed up on either side
+of the harbor's mouth, and the plan was exposed by the treachery of
+some party never detected. After this failure, the two frigates
+returned up the river, where they remained until the end of the war.
+The "Hornet" managed to get to sea, and did good service before peace
+was declared.
+
+In April, 1814, the British blockaders on the New England coast began
+active operations by sending an expedition up the Connecticut River to
+Pautopaug Point, where the invaders landed, spiked the guns of a small
+battery, and destroyed twenty-two vessels. Thence they proceeded down
+the river, burning a few more craft on the way, and escaped safely to
+their ships; although a party of militia, and sailors and marines from
+Decatur's vessels, attempted to cut them off. Shortly after this
+occurrence, a fleet of American gunboats attacked the blockading
+squadron off New London, and succeeded in inflicting serious damages
+upon the enemy.
+
+In June, the enemy's depredations extended to the Massachusetts coast.
+The little village of Wareham was the first sufferer. A sudden descent
+made by boats' crews from the frigates "Superb" and "Nimrod" so
+completely surprised the inhabitants, that the enemy burned the
+shipping at the wharves, set fire to a factory, and retreated before
+the villagers fully comprehended the blow that had fallen upon them.
+Like occurrences took place at other coastwise towns; and, in every
+case, the militia proved powerless to check the enemy. All up and down
+the New England coast, from Maine to the mouth of the Connecticut
+River, the people were panic-stricken; and hardly a night passed
+without witnessing the flames of some bonfire kindled by the British
+out of American property.
+
+[Illustration: The Descent on Wareham.]
+
+In August, 1814, Commodore Hardy appeared off Stonington with a fleet
+of several vessels, headed by the seventy-four "Ramillies." Casting
+anchor near shore, he sent to the mayor and selectmen the following
+curt note: "Not wishing to destroy the unoffending inhabitants
+residing in the town of Stonington, one hour is granted them, from the
+receipt of this, to remove out of town." This message naturally caused
+great consternation; and, while messengers were sent in all directions
+to call together the militia, the answer was returned to the fleet:
+"We shall defend the place to the last extremity. Should it be
+destroyed, we will perish in its ruins." And, having thus defied the
+enemy, the farmers and fishermen who inhabited the town set about
+preparing for its defence. The one battery available for service
+consisted of two eighteen-pounders and a four-pounder, mounted behind
+earth breastworks. The gunners were put under the command of an old
+sailor, who had been impressed into the British navy, where he served
+four years. The skill he thus acquired in gunnery, he now gladly used
+against his former oppressors. It was near nightfall when the British
+opened fire; and they kept up a constant cannonade with round shot,
+bombs, Congreve rockets, and carcasses until near midnight, without
+doing the slightest damage. The bursting shells, the fiery rockets,
+and the carcasses filled with flaming chemicals, fairly filled the
+little wooden village with fire; but the exertions of the people
+prevented the spread of the flames. The fleet ceased firing at
+midnight, but there was no peace for the villagers. Militia-men were
+pouring in from the country round about, laborers were at work
+throwing up breastwork, carriers were dashing about in search of
+ammunition, and all was activity, until, with the first gleam of
+daylight, the fire of the ships was re-opened. The Americans promptly
+responded, and soon two eighteen-pound shot hulled the brig
+"Despatch." For an hour or two a rapid fire was kept up; then, the
+powder giving out, the Americans spiked their largest gun, and,
+nailing a flag to the battery flagstaff, went in search of more
+ammunition. The British did not land; and the Americans, finding six
+kegs of powder, took the gun to a blacksmith, who drilled out the
+spike, and the action continued. So vigorous and well directed was the
+fire of the Americans, that the "Despatch" was forced to slip her
+cables and make off to a place of safety. That afternoon a truce was
+declared, which continued until eight the next morning. By that time,
+the Americans had assembled in sufficient force to defeat any landing
+party the enemy could send ashore. The bombardment of the town
+continued; but the aim of the British was so inconceivably poor, that,
+during the three days' firing, no damage was done by their shot. A
+more ludicrous fiasco could hardly be imagined, and the Americans were
+quick to see the comical side of the affair. Before departing, the
+British fired over fifteen tons of lead and iron into the town. A
+quantity of this was picked up by the Americans, and offered for sale.
+In a New York paper appeared the advertisement,--
+
+     "Just received, and offered for sale, about three tons of round
+     shot, consisting of six, nine, twelve, eighteen, twenty-four, and
+     thirty-two pounds; very handsome, being a small proportion of
+     those which were fired from His Britannic Majesty's ships on the
+     unoffending inhabitants of Stonington, in the recent _brilliant_
+     attack on that place. Likewise a few carcasses, in good order,
+     weighing about two hundred pounds each. Apply," etc.
+
+A popular bard of the time set forth in rollicking verse the exploits
+of the British gunners:--
+
+  "They killed a goose, they killed a hen,
+  Three hogs they wounded in a pen;
+  They dashed away,--and pray what then?
+      That was not taking Stonington.
+
+  "The shells were thrown, the rockets flew;
+  But not a shell of all they threw--
+  Though every house was full in view--
+      Could burn a house in Stonington."
+
+With this affair, in which the British expended ammunition to the
+amount of fifty thousand dollars, and lost twenty men killed and fifty
+wounded, active offensive operations along the Connecticut coast
+ended. Farther north, however, the British still raided towns and
+villages, showing more spirit in their attacks than did Hardy at
+Stonington. Eastport, Me., was captured in July, and converted into a
+veritable British colony. The inhabitants who remained in the town
+were forced to take an oath of allegiance to Great Britain;
+fortifications were thrown up, and an arsenal established; King
+George's officials were placed in the custom-house, and thenceforward
+until the end of the war the town was virtually British. Encouraged by
+this success, the enemy undertook a more difficult task. A formidable
+fleet of men-of-war and transports, bearing almost ten thousand
+troops, was fitted out at Halifax for the purpose of reducing to
+British rule all that part of Maine lying between Passamaquoddy Bay
+and the Penobscot River. This expedition set sail from Halifax on the
+26th of August, bound for Machias; but on the voyage down the coast of
+Maine the brig "Rifleman" was encountered, and from her the presence
+of the United States corvette "Adams" in the Penobscot River was
+learned. It will be remembered that the "Adams," before entering the
+river, had chased the British brig. Upon learning this, the British
+naval commander, Admiral Griffiths, pressed forward to the mouth of
+the Penobscot, and, anchoring there, despatched a land and naval
+expedition up the river for the capture of the corvette.
+
+When the news of this advancing force reached Capt. Morris, the
+"Adams" was partially out of water, dismantled, and in the hands of
+the ship carpenters, who were repairing the injuries she had received
+on the rocks off Mount Desert. The ship herself was utterly
+defenceless, but Morris made strenuous attempts to collect a land
+force to defend her. He managed to rally a few hundred militia-men,
+who, with the sailors and marines, were routed by the enemy on the
+night of the 3d of September. Finding that the enemy's forces were not
+to be driven back by so small a body of men, Morris retreated, first
+setting fire to the corvette, which was totally destroyed before the
+British came up.
+
+The retreating sailors were then forced to march over rugged roads to
+Portsmouth, N.H.; and, as walking was an exercise they were little
+accustomed to, many suffered severely from the unusual exertion. The
+difficulty of getting provisions along the road led the men to
+separate into several parties; but, notwithstanding the opportunities
+thus afforded for desertion, all who were not broken down by the long
+march ultimately reported for duty at the Portsmouth navy-yard.
+
+Along the Southern seaboard the course of the war was even more
+disastrous to the Americans. Intelligence which reached the national
+authorities in the spring of 1814 led them to believe that the British
+were planning an expedition for the capture of Washington. Grave as
+was the danger, the authorities were slow to move; and though in July
+the Government called for fifteen thousand troops, and gave their
+command to Gen. Winder, yet the actual defensive force about the
+national capital consisted of but a few hundred militia. The naval
+defence was intrusted to the veteran Commodore Barney, who had served
+with distinction in the Revolution, and during the early years of the
+second war with Great Britain had commanded the Baltimore privateer
+"Rossie." The force put under Barney's command consisted of twenty-six
+gunboats and barges, manned by nine hundred men. Chiefly by his own
+energetic exertions, this force was ready for service in April; and by
+June the crews were drilled and disciplined, and the commanders
+schooled in the tactics of squadron evolutions. On the 1st of that
+month occurred the first brush with the enemy. The American flotilla
+was then lying in Chesapeake Bay, a little below the mouth of the
+Patuxent; and, a portion of the enemy's squadron coming within range,
+Barney ordered out his forces in chase. The British, outnumbered, fled
+down the bay; but, though Barney was rapidly overhauling them, he saw
+his hopes of victory shattered by the sudden appearance of His
+Britannic Majesty's seventy-four gun ship "Dragon." Thus re-enforced,
+it became the turn of the British to pursue; and the Americans
+retreated, firing constantly as they fled. The British continuing
+their advance, Barney was forced to take shelter in the Patuxent
+River; and he was gradually forced up that stream as far as the mouth
+of St. Leonard's Creek. The enemy then, feeling certain that the
+Americans were fairly entrapped, anchored at the mouth of the river,
+and awaited re-enforcements. These soon arrived; and on the 8th of the
+month the enemy's forces, consisting of a frigate, brig, and two
+schooners, moved up the river to the mouth of the creek. Farther they
+could not go, owing to shoal-water; but they fitted out a small
+flotilla of barges, and sent them on up the creek. With this enemy
+Commodore Barney was ready to come to close quarters; and he moved
+down upon the British, who quickly retreated to the shelter of their
+ships. Two or three such sham attacks were made by the enemy, but not
+until the 10th of the month did they actually give battle to the
+Americans.
+
+On the morning of that day the British advanced in force to the
+attack; and the peaceful little creek was ablaze with flags and bright
+uniforms, and the wooded shores echoed back the strains of martial
+music. Twenty-one barges, one rocket-boat, and two schooners formed
+the British column of attack, which moved grandly up the creek, with
+the bands playing patriotic airs, and the sailors, confident of
+victory, cheering lustily. Eight hundred men followed the British
+colors. Against this force Barney advanced with but five hundred
+sailors. His sloop and gun-vessels he left at anchor, as being too
+unwieldy for the narrow shoal-waters of St. Leonard's Creek; and he
+met the enemy's flotilla with but thirteen barges. The enemy opened
+the action at long range with rockets and howitzers. The former were
+terrible missiles in an action of this character, corresponding to the
+shells of modern naval warfare. Some idea of their destructiveness may
+be derived from the fact, that one of them, fired at long range,
+exploded and set fire to a boat, after having first passed through the
+body of one of her crew. Barney had no rockets; and, as the combat at
+long range was telling upon his men, he at once dashed forward into
+the midst of the enemy. Soon the barges were engaged in desperate
+hand-to-hand conflicts. The sailors, grappling with their adversary's
+craft, fought with pistol and cutlass across the gunwales. Barney, in
+a small barge with twenty men, dashed about, now striking a blow in
+aid of some overmatched American boat, then cheering on some laggard,
+or applauding some deed of gallantry that occurred in his sight. Major
+William Barney, son of the commodore, saw an American barge on fire,
+and deserted by her crew who feared the explosion of her magazine.
+Running his boat alongside, he jumped into the flaming craft; and by
+dint of bailing in water, and rocking her from side to side, he
+succeeded in saving the barge. For more than an hour the action raged,
+both sides fighting with great vigor and gallantry; but the Americans
+having pierced the British line, the enemy, falling into confusion,
+turned, and strained every muscle to gain the protection of their
+ship's guns. The Americans followed in hot pursuit; but their
+course was abruptly checked at the mouth of the creek by a British
+schooner, whose eighteen guns commanded respect. For a moment the
+pursuing barges fell back; then, choosing advantageous positions, they
+opened fire upon the schooner with such effect that she soon turned to
+escape. She succeeded in getting under the protecting guns of the
+frigate and sloop-of-war, but was so cut to pieces in the short action
+that she was run aground and abandoned. The larger vessels now opened
+fire upon Barney's forces; and the flotilla, after a few shots of
+defiance, returned to its quarters up the creek.
+
+[Illustration: The Battle of the Barges.]
+
+For the next two weeks all was quiet along the shores of the Patuxent
+and St. Leonard's Creek. The enemy had learned wisdom from their late
+defeat, and contented themselves with blockading the mouth of the
+creek, and leaving Barney undisturbed in his retreat. But the doughty
+commodore had no idea of being thus confined, and during the time of
+quiet made preparations for an attempt to break the blockade. Land
+forces from Washington were sent down to aid in this attempt; and two
+pieces of artillery were to be mounted on a hill at the mouth of the
+creek, and thence throw red-hot shot into the enemy's ships. The land
+forces, however, rendered not the slightest assistance; and a too
+cautious colonel posted the battery at such a point that no shot could
+reach the enemy without first passing through a hill. Accordingly,
+when Barney led his flotilla gallantly down to the attack, he found
+that the issue of the conflict rested upon the sailors alone. From the
+battery, which was expected to draw the enemy's fire, not a single
+effective shot was fired. The sailors fought nobly, using their heavy
+long twelves and eighteens with great effect. But they were sadly
+hampered by their position; for the mouth of the creek was so narrow
+that but eight barges could lie abreast, and the others coming down
+from above soon packed the little stream from shore to shore, giving
+the enemy a mark that the poorest gunner could hardly miss. Against
+the storm of grape and canister that the British poured upon them, the
+sailors had absolutely no protection. The barges were without
+bulwarks, and the blue-jackets at the guns and at the oars were
+exposed to the full force of the British fire. Yet in this exposed
+situation the gallant fellows kept up the fight for nearly an hour,
+only withdrawing when the last ray of hope for help from the shore
+battery had vanished. Shortly after the Americans abandoned the
+attack, the blockading squadron got under way and stood down the bay.
+From the way in which one of the frigates was working her pumps, the
+Americans saw that their fire had not been entirely without effect.
+
+Barney's flotilla had now given the British so much trouble that they
+determined to destroy it without delay; and an expedition of more than
+five thousand men--composed of regulars, marines, and a few
+negroes--was carried up the Patuxent, and landed at Benedict, where an
+armed brig had been stationed to cover the disembarkation. It was
+early dawn when the signal to land was given, and the river was
+covered in an instant with a well-manned and warlike flotilla. It was
+hard work for the British sailors, for a strong current was running;
+but by three o'clock in the afternoon the whole army was landed, and
+encamped in a strong position on a hill overlooking the village.
+Though no American troops were anywhere in the vicinity, the landing
+was conducted with the utmost caution. As the prow of each boat grated
+on the sand, the soldiers leaped on the beach, and instantly drew up
+in line, ready to repel any attack. After the infantry was landed,
+about a hundred artillerymen followed, and the same number of sailors
+dragging howitzers.
+
+It is easily understood that this powerful force was not organized
+solely to destroy Barney's pitiful little flotilla. The real purpose
+of the British commander was to press on into the interior, and
+capture Washington, which the Americans had foolishly left without any
+defences whatever. It came to Barney's ears that Admiral Cockburn had
+boasted that he would destroy the American flotilla, and dine in
+Washington the following Sunday. This news the American commodore sent
+off to the authorities at the capital, and they then began to make
+futile preparations to repel the invader. In the mean time the British
+commenced their march up the shores of the Patuxent, meeting with no
+opposition. Barney, knowing that the defence of the national capital
+was of far greater importance than the fate of his flotilla, landed
+with four hundred men, and hastened to the American lines before
+Washington. He left the barges under the command of the second
+lieutenant, Mr. Frazier, with instructions to set fire to every boat
+on the appearance of the enemy, and then join the commodore with all
+the men left under his charge. Accordingly, when the invading column
+reached Nottingham, Mr. Frazier took the flotilla still higher up the
+creek,--a move that vastly disconcerted the British, who saw their
+prey eluding them. "But in the main object of our pursuit we were
+disappointed," wrote a British officer. "The flotilla which had been
+stationed opposite to Nottingham retired, on our approach, higher up
+the stream; and we were consequently in the situation of a huntsman
+who sees his hounds at fault, and has every reason to apprehend that
+his game will escape." But the game never fell into the hands of the
+ardent hunters; for the next day Mr. Frazier fulfilled his orders by
+setting fire to every barge, and, after seeing several of the larger
+boats blow up, mustered his men, and cut across the country, to join
+his superior officer. The British naval forces soon after reached Pig
+Point, the scene of this destruction, and there remained; while the
+land forces immediately turned away from the river, and marched upon
+Washington.
+
+[Illustration: Sharp-Shooters.]
+
+It is not necessary to give in detail the incidents of the series of
+skirmishes by which the British fought their way to the American
+capital. They were opposed by raw militia, and the few sailors and
+marines under Barney. The former fled with promptitude at the very
+first fire, but the sailors and marines fought gallantly. The fighting
+was sharpest at Bladensburg; and here Barney's blue-jackets won praise
+from everybody, even from the enemy whose advance they disputed.
+Barney himself led the Americans, and sighted a favorite gun of the
+sailors' battery, until he fell desperately wounded. This battery
+commanded the road by which the main column of British advanced; and
+by its hail of grape and canister it beat back the advancing
+regiments, and for some time checked their further progress. The
+British thereupon opened with rockets, and sent out sharp-shooters to
+pick off the Yankee gunners. One of these riflemen was observed by the
+Americans to deliberately build for himself a small redoubt of stones
+from an old wall; and, lying down behind it, he began a deliberate
+fire upon the Americans. His first bullet went through the cap of one
+of the sailors, and the second sent a poor fellow to his long account.
+The marines answered with their muskets; but the fellow's stone
+rampart saved him, and he continued his fire. Barney vowed to put an
+end to that affair, and, carefully sighting one of his cannon, pulled
+the lanyard. The heavy round shot was seen to strike the
+sharp-shooter's defence, and stones and man disappeared in a cloud of
+dust. Meantime, the enemy had thrown out flanking parties under cover
+of the woods, and had nearly surrounded the little band of sailors. A
+musket-ball struck Barney in the thigh, and he began to grow faint
+with loss of blood; and, finding that the militia had fled, and the
+sailors were becoming exhausted, the commodore ordered a retreat. The
+blue-jackets left the field in good order; but their gallant commander
+had gone but a few steps, when the pain of his wound forced him to lie
+down under a tree, and await the coming of the enemy. The British soon
+came up, led by Gen. Ross and Capt. Wainwright of the navy. After
+learning Barney's rank, and courteously offering to secure surgical
+aid, the general turned to his companion, and, speaking of the
+stubborn resistance made by the battery, said, "I told you it was the
+flotilla men."--"Yes. You were right, though I could not believe you,"
+was the response. "They have given us the only fighting we have had."
+
+Meanwhile, the British, having routed the Americans at every point,
+pressed on to Washington. The inhabitants fled before them, and the
+town was almost deserted when the British marched in with banners
+flying and bands playing. The enemy held the city for only a day; but
+in that time they did such deeds of vandalism, that even the people
+and the press of London cried out in indignation. The President's
+house, the Capitol, all the public buildings except the Patent
+Office, were burned to the ground. The navy-yard, with the uncompleted
+ships on the stocks, was likewise burned; but in this the enemy only
+acted in accordance with the rules of war. It was their destruction of
+the public buildings, the national archives, and the Congressional
+library, that aroused the wrathful indignation of all fair-minded
+people, whether Americans or Europeans. "Willingly," said one London
+newspaper, "would we throw a veil of oblivion over our transactions at
+Washington. The Cossacks spared Paris, but we spared not the capital
+of America." A second English journal fitly denounced the proceedings
+as "a return to the times of barbarism."
+
+[Illustration: The March on Washington.]
+
+But, if the invaders are rightly to be blamed for the useless
+vandalism they encouraged, the American authorities are still more
+culpable for their neglect of the most ordinary precautions of war.
+That a national capital, close to the sea, should be left virtually
+unprotected while the enemy was massing his forces only a few miles
+away, seems almost unbelievable. But so it was with Washington; for
+five hundred flotilla men were forced to bear the brunt of the attack
+of five thousand British. True it is that the military authorities had
+massed seven thousand militia-men for the defence of the city; but
+such was the trepidation of these untrained soldiers, that they fled
+before the main body of the British had come into the fight. That the
+sailors and marines fought bravely, we have the testimony of the
+British themselves. Mr. Gleig, a subaltern in the attacking army,
+writes, "Of the sailors, however, it would be injustice not to speak
+in the terms which their conduct merits. They were employed as
+gunners; and not only did they serve their guns with a quickness and
+precision which astonished their assailants, but they stood till some
+of them were actually bayonneted with fuses in their hands; nor was it
+till their leader was wounded and taken, and they saw themselves
+deserted on all sides by the soldiers, that they quitted the field."
+Therefore, in the battle of Bladensburg, the blue-jackets won nothing
+but honor, though the results of the battle were so mortifying to the
+national pride of the people of the United States.
+
+On the 25th of August the British left the smoking ruins of Washington
+behind them, and made for their fleet lying in the Patuxent. They
+feared that the outraged nation would rise upon them, and turn their
+march into a bloody retreat, like that of the British soldiery from
+the historic field of Lexington. Accordingly their departure was by
+night, immediately after a furious storm of rain and wind. Strict
+orders were issued to all the Americans in Washington, warning them,
+under penalty of death, not to leave their houses until the sun rose
+the next morning. Then the British stealthily marched out of the town.
+"No man spoke above his breath," says subaltern Gleig. "Our very steps
+were planted lightly, and we cleared the town without exciting
+observation." A two days' march brought them to Benedict, where the
+fleet lay in waiting for their reception.
+
+[Illustration: The Burning of Washington.]
+
+In the mean time, a portion of the British fleet had ascended the
+Potomac as far as Alexandria, and, finding that town defenceless,
+proceeded to dictate to the inhabitants the terms upon which they
+could save their village from desolation. The British demanded that
+all naval stores and ordnance, all the shipping and its furniture, all
+merchandise, and all provisions in the town should be surrendered.
+Several vessels had been scuttled, to prevent their falling into the
+hands of the enemy; these, the British demanded, should be raised,
+repaired, and delivered to them Time, however, did not permit the
+fulfilment of this condition; but to the others, harsh and humiliating
+though they were, the inhabitants were forced to accede. Heavy laden
+with the spoils of the village, the pillagers weighed anchor and
+started down the Potomac. But they were not destined to carry away
+their booty unmolested. News of the expedition reached Baltimore, and
+a large party of the sailors at the navy-yard were sent to the banks
+of the Potomac to cut off the enemy's retreat. They were officered by
+four men famous in American naval annals,--Perry, Rodgers, Porter, and
+Creighton. At Indian Head, just below Mount Vernon, the Potomac River
+narrows and flows swiftly between densely wooded bluffs. At this point
+the Americans threw up redoubts, and, mounting all the cannon that
+could be gathered on such short notice, prepared to dispute the
+enemy's passage. When the British fleet hove in sight, they were
+greeted with a storm of shot from the unsuspected batteries; and they
+recoiled in confusion. Practised American hunters lined the woody
+shores, and picked off the British sailors with musket-balls. For some
+time the fleet was thus checked in its progress. Finally the admiral
+determined that only by a bold dash could he escape; and accordingly,
+massing his vessels and concentrating his fire on the chief battery,
+he dashed past, and rejoined his superior officer, Cockburn, not
+without paying dearly for his exploit at Alexandria.
+
+While the British were thus devastating the shores of Chesapeake Bay,
+they cast more than one longing look toward the thriving city of
+Baltimore, which, by its violent patriotism, had done much to urge on
+the war. From the shipyards of Baltimore came more than one stout
+naval vessel that had forced the enemy to haul down his colors. But
+that which more than any thing else aroused the hatred of the British
+was the share Baltimore took in fitting out and manning those swift
+privateers, concerning whose depredations upon British commerce we
+shall have something to say in a later chapter. "It is a doomed town,"
+said Vice-admiral Warren. "The truculent inhabitants of Baltimore must
+be tamed with the weapons which shook the wooden turrets of
+Copenhagen," cried the editor of a great London paper. But,
+nevertheless, Baltimore did not fall before the invader, although for
+some time the army and navy of the enemy were united in the attempt to
+bring desolation upon the obnoxious city.
+
+[Illustration: Planning the Attack.]
+
+After the fall of Washington, the depredations of the British along
+the shores of Chesapeake Bay redoubled, and the marauding expeditions
+thus employed were really feelers thrown out to test the strength of
+the defenses of Baltimore. That the marauders found some opposition,
+is evident from a passage in the journal of a British officer. "But
+these hasty excursions, though generally successful, were not always
+performed without loss to the invaders." On one of these expeditions,
+Sir Peter Parker, captain of the frigate "Menelaus," lost his life. He
+had been ordered down to the mouth of the bay just after the fall of
+Washington. "I must first have a frolic with the Yankees," said he.
+And accordingly, after a jovial dinner aboard his frigate, he led a
+night expedition of sailors and marines ashore, expecting to surprise
+a small body of Maryland militia stationed at Moorfields. Sir Peter's
+frolic turned out disastrously; for the Marylanders were on the watch,
+and received the invaders with a fierce volley. Sir Peter was
+gallantly cheering on his men, when a musket-ball cut the main artery
+in his thigh. "They have hit me, Pearce," he said faintly to his
+lieutenant; "but it's nothing. Push on, my brave boys, and follow me."
+But even thus cheering, he fell back, the words died away in his
+throat, and he bled to death before a surgeon could be found. It is
+but right to say, that, though he sailed in Cockburn's command, he had
+none of the cruel brutality which his admiral too often showed.
+
+On the 12th of September a more serious assault was made upon
+Baltimore. The British naval and military forces united in the attack,
+which was made by land and sea. A force of nine thousand men,
+including two thousand marines and two thousand sailors, was landed
+fifteen miles from Baltimore, and under the command of Gen. Ross and
+Admiral Cockburn marched gayly inland, never doubting that they would
+find the Americans unprepared, and repeat their exploits at
+Washington. In this expectation they were sadly disappointed; for the
+Maryland militia, aided by a few regulars and seamen, outfought the
+British at every point, and checked their farther advance. Among the
+slain was Gen. Ross, who was shot down as he was leading the advance
+of the British skirmishers. In the mean time, the British fleet had
+been taking its share in the engagement by attempting to reduce Fort
+McHenry. A large flotilla of frigates, schooners, sloops, and
+bomb-ketches entered the Patapsco River on the morning of the 12th,
+and, casting anchor out of the reach of the fort's guns, opened a
+furious fire. The fort was manned by militia-men and a large
+detachment of the gallant sailors from Barney's flotilla. When the
+continual falling of shells within the fort told that the enemy had
+come within range, the guns of Fort McHenry opened in response. But,
+to the intense chagrin of the Americans, it was found that their works
+mounted not a single gun that would carry to the enemy's fleet. There
+then remained to the garrison only the trying duty of holding their
+post, and enduring without response a galling fire from the enemy. All
+the garrison stood to the guns without flinching; while the shrieking
+shells fell on all sides, and, exploding, scattered deadly missiles in
+all directions. One shell struck and dismounted one of the
+twenty-four-pounders, killing and wounding several of its men. Admiral
+Cochrane, who commanded the attacking fleet, saw this incident, and
+ordered three of his bomb-vessels to move up nearer to the fort. This
+gave the Americans the opportunity for which they had been longing,
+and instantly every gun in the fort opened upon the three luckless
+ketches. Half an hour of this fire sufficed to drive the three vessels
+back to their original station.
+
+Night fell, but brought no cessation of the bombardment. But the
+enemy, while never slackening his fire, had determined to take
+advantage of the darkness to send out a landing party to take two
+small batteries on the banks of the Patapsco, and then assault Fort
+McHenry from the rear. Twelve hundred and fifty men, with
+scaling-ladders and fascines, left the fleet in barges, and moved up
+the Patapsco towards Fort Covington and the City Battery. But their
+plan, though well laid, was defeated by the vigilance and courage of
+the garrisons of the two threatened positions,--sailors all, and many
+of them men from Barney's flotilla, a training-school which seems to
+have given to the region about Chesapeake Bay its most gallant
+defenders. Just as the storming party turned the prows of the barges
+towards the shore, they were discovered; and from McHenry, Covington,
+and the City Battery burst a thunderous artillery-fire, that shook the
+houses in Baltimore, and illumined the dark shores of the river with a
+lurid glare. Bold as the British sailors were, they could advance no
+farther under so terrible a fire. Two of the barges were shot to
+pieces, leaving their crews struggling in the water. A ceaseless hail
+of grape and canister spread death and wounds broadcast among the
+enemy; and, after wavering a moment, they turned and fled to their
+ships. Cochrane, seeing his plan for taking the American positions by
+assault thus frustrated, redoubled the fury of his fire; hoping that,
+when daybreak made visible the distant shore, nothing but a heap of
+ruins should mark the spot where Fort McHenry stood the night before.
+
+A night bombardment is at once a beautiful and a terrible spectacle.
+The ceaseless flashing of the great guns, lighting up with a lurid
+glare the dense clouds of smoke that hang over the scene of battle;
+the roar of the artillery; the shriek of the shell as it leaves the
+cannon's mouth, slowly dying into a murmur and a dull explosion, as,
+with a flash of fire, the missile explodes far away,--combine to form
+a picture, that, despite the horrors of wounds and death, rouses the
+enthusiasm and admiration of the beholder. When viewed from the deck
+of one of an attacking fleet, the scene is even more impressive. At
+each discharge of the great guns, the vessel reels and trembles like a
+huge animal in agony. The surging waters alongside reflect in their
+black depths the flash of the cannon and the fiery trail of the flying
+shell. Far in the distance can be seen the flashes of the enemy's
+guns, each of which may mean the despatch of a missile bringing death
+and pain in its track. One who has witnessed such a spectacle can
+readily understand the fascination which men find in the great game of
+war.
+
+[Illustration: The Star Spangled Banner.]
+
+Pacing the deck of the one of the British vessels was a young
+American, whose temperament was such that he could fully appreciate
+all the beauties of the scene, even though harassed by anxious fears
+lest the British should be successful. This man was Francis S. Key,
+who had visited the fleet with a flag of truce, but was unable to get
+away before the bombardment began. When the sun set on the evening of
+the 13th, Key saw his country's flag waving proudly over the ramparts
+at which the British guns had been so furiously pounding. Would that
+flag still be there when the sun should rise again? That was the
+question which Key asked himself as he anxiously walked the deck
+throughout the night, striving to pierce the darkness, and make out,
+by the lurid lightnings of the cannon, whether the flag was still
+there. As the night wore on, Key took an old letter from his pocket,
+and on the blank sheet jotted down the lines of the immortal national
+song, "The Star Spangled Banner." Its words merely voice the writer's
+thoughts; for often during that night he looked anxiously shorewards,
+to see if
+
+       "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
+  Gave proof, through the night, that our flag was still there."
+
+When the anxiously awaited daylight came, Fort McHenry still stood;
+and over it waved defiantly the starry folds of the United States
+flag. The British saw that, by land and sea, their attack had failed;
+and early in the morning the fleet, after taking on board the remnant
+of the land forces, sailed suddenly away, and left Baltimore safe.
+They had bombarded Fort McHenry for twenty-five hours, throwing nearly
+two thousand shells. Yet, wonderful as it may appear, only four of the
+Americans were killed, and twenty-four wounded. With this failure the
+British ended their chief offensive operations along the shores of the
+Chesapeake. The greater part of the fleet and the soldiery then moved
+southward, to take part in the operations along the Gulf coast, that
+culminated in the disastrous defeat of the invaders at New Orleans.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+     DESULTORY HOSTILITIES ON THE OCEAN. -- ATTACK UPON FORT BOWYER.
+     -- LAFITTE THE PIRATE. -- BRITISH EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW ORLEANS.
+     -- BATTLE AT THE RIGOLETS. -- ATTACK ON NEW ORLEANS, AND DEFEAT
+     OF THE BRITISH. -- WORK OF THE BLUE-JACKETS. -- CAPTURE OF THE
+     FRIGATE "PRESIDENT." -- THE "CONSTITUTION" TAKES THE "CYANE" AND
+     "LEVANT." -- THE "HORNET" TAKES THE "PENGUIN." -- END OF THE WAR.
+
+
+The naval incidents of the latter part of 1814 conferred little honor
+upon either of the belligerents. Seldom did the meetings between
+hostile ships rise to the dignity of battles. One or two small
+American brigs fell a prey to British frigates; but in every instance
+the disparity of force was so great that the weaker surrendered
+without striking a blow. Such was the case with the sixteen-gun brig
+"Rattlesnake," which escaped from one British frigate by throwing
+overboard all her guns, only to immediately fall a prey to the
+"Leander." In July of the same year, the United States brig "Siren"
+was captured by the British frigate "Medway," off the coast of Africa,
+after a long chase, during which the American hove overboard every
+thing movable on the brig. Not all these petty encounters ended so
+favorably for the enemy. Off New York a cutting-out party of
+volunteers surprised and captured the British tender "Eagle," a small
+craft carrying one thirty-two-pound howitzer, and fourteen men. Ten
+days later, the frigate "Tenedos," which had done such good service on
+the blockade, suffered the loss of her tender, which was gallantly
+carried away by the crew of a Yankee gunboat. Some very desperate
+combats between American privateers and British naval vessels were
+fought about this time, and will be duly noted in detail in the
+chapter treating of the exploits of the private armed navy.
+
+As the autumn came on, the British naval forces began to rendezvous in
+the Gulf of Mexico, preparatory to the campaign before New Orleans. On
+Sept. 14, a squadron of four British sloops-of-war appeared off
+Mobile, and opened fire upon Fort Bowyer, which guarded the entrance
+to Mobile Bay. The attack was vigorous, and the defence determined. A
+British land expedition moved upon the fort from the landward side;
+and the little garrison found itself surrounded by enemies, many of
+whom were Indians, whose savage assistance the British had accepted
+from the very opening of the war. A small force, only, defended the
+fort. Percy, the British admiral, knew the weakness of the garrison;
+and, thinking of the ninety-two guns he could bring to bear against
+the twenty worked by the Americans, announced proudly, that he would
+give the garrison just twenty minutes to surrender. The twenty minutes
+passed quickly, and still the fort responded savagely to the fire of
+its assailants. The flag of the British ship "Hermes" was shot away;
+and soon after, a round shot cut her cable, and she drifted upon a
+sand-bank, and lay helpless, and exposed to a raking fire. Her
+captain, having set her afire, abandoned her; and she soon blew up.
+The other vessels kept up the attack gallantly for a time. The
+flagstaff of the fort was shot away; but the flag soon re-appeared,
+waving from a sponge-staff. The Americans then redoubled their fire,
+which soon told so severely upon the British ships that they were
+forced to withdraw. In the mean time, the assault of the Indians and
+troops had been checked, and the forces driven back in disorder, thus
+leaving the victory to the Americans.
+
+It is not within the province of this work to treat of the military
+operations that led up to the battle of New Orleans. But the last
+months of 1814 witnessed a series of naval incidents trivial in
+themselves, but deriving importance from their connection with Gen.
+Jackson's great victory. Over certain incidents in the preparations of
+the Americans for repelling the invasion hangs a shade of romance.
+
+To the southward of the quaint, rambling, rose-covered city of New
+Orleans, the tawny flood of the Mississippi winds towards the gulf in
+huge serpentine curves. The shores between which it flows rise scarce
+higher than the surface of the river itself; and a slight increase in
+the volume of water, or a strong wind, will serve to turn the whole
+region into a great, watery marsh. From the mouth of the great river,
+the whole coast of Louisiana, extending north and west, is a grassy
+sea, a vast expanse of marsh-grass, broken here and there by inlets of
+the Mexican Gulf, and sluggish, winding bayous that lead up into the
+higher lands of the State,--waterways that lead even to the back door
+of the Crescent City herself, but known only to oyster-gatherers, or
+in 1814 to the adventurous men who followed the banner of Lafitte the
+Baratarian pirate.
+
+Pirate he was called then; but it is doubtful whether his misdeeds
+ever exceeded smuggling, or, at worst, privateering under the
+protecting flag of some belligerent nation. When all nations were
+warring, what was easier than for a few gallant fellows, with
+swift-sailing feluccas, to lurk about the shores of the gulf, and now
+under the Spanish flag, now under the French, or any colors which
+suited the case, sally out and capture the richly laden Indiamen that
+frequented those summer seas? And when a power known as the United
+States Government, that had its quarters more than a thousand miles
+from the country of the Creoles, passed an outrageous law known as the
+embargo, what was more natural than that the Baratarians, knowing the
+mysterious waterways that led up to the Crescent City, should utilize
+their knowledge to take ships and cargoes in and out without the
+formality of a custom-house examination? Such were the times that led
+to the formation and growth of the "piratical" colony of Barataria.
+Its leaders and rulers were John and Pierre Lafitte; one of whom lived
+in New Orleans in the character of a prosperous merchant, while the
+other led the expeditions which brought in merchandise to stock the
+former's stores. Under the influence of the warlike state of Europe,
+the trade of these worthies throve, and their settlement at Grande
+Isle took on the appearance of a prosperous colony and naval station.
+Storehouses and dwellings stood close to the sea. The fertile face of
+the island was cut up into fruitful plantations and orange-groves.
+Breastworks, well dotted with the muzzles of cannon, commanded the
+approach by sea. More than once, from behind those ramparts, the
+Baratarians had proved that they could fight, and that they
+acknowledged the authority of no flag. The Creoles of New Orleans
+looked indulgently upon the conduct of the outlaws; but the few
+Americans in the city were highly incensed to see the authority of the
+United States thus set aside, and vowed that when the war was over the
+audacious adventurers should be crushed. However, the end came even
+sooner.
+
+On the 3d of September, a British armed brig anchored near the
+buccaneers' retreat, and sent a flag of truce ashore. Lafitte, with
+great dignity, received the envoys in his tent, and assured them of
+his protection, though the whole village was up in arms clamoring for
+the death of the intruders. The British officer then announced that he
+had come to secure the aid of Lafitte and his followers in the
+campaign against New Orleans. He offered the pirate captain
+forgiveness for all piracies committed against the British
+flag,--whereat the chief smiled sardonically,--also thirty thousand
+dollars in cash, a captain's commission in the British navy, and lands
+for himself and his followers. It was a tempting bribe; for at that
+moment Lafitte's brother lay in the _calaboza_ at New Orleans awaiting
+trial for piracy, and the Americans were preparing rapidly for a
+descent upon the Baratarian stronghold. But, little as he liked the
+American flag, Lafitte liked the British still less: so, asking the
+Englishman to wait a few days for his answer, he sent a report of the
+occurrence to the New Orleans authorities, and offered to co-operate
+with the Americans, if he could be assured of pardon for all offences
+committed against the government. This document caused some hesitation
+at New Orleans; but the military authorities determined to refuse the
+offer, and break up the outlaws' nest. Accordingly, a few days later,
+the war schooner "Carolina," six gunboats, a tender, and a launch,
+dropped down the Mississippi, and, rounding into the deep blue waters
+of the gulf, headed for Barataria. Lafitte had too many friends in New
+Orleans not to know of the force thus sent against him; and, when the
+Americans reached Grande Terre, they found the pirates at their
+batteries, and the Baratarian flotilla drawn up in order of battle.
+The contest was sharp, but ended in the rout of the Baratarians. Their
+village was burned, their fortifications razed; and, when the
+triumphant Americans returned to New Orleans, they brought in their
+train ten armed prizes and a number of prisoners, although Lafitte was
+not to be found among the latter. Thereafter, the Baratarians, as an
+organization, vanished from history. Lafitte was afterwards
+occasionally heard of as a desperado on the more western shores of the
+Mexican Gulf; and it is further noticeable, that two guns were served
+by Baratarians under their old lieutenant, Dominique Yon, on that
+bloody day when Packenham's forces were beaten back on the field of
+Chalmette.
+
+Early in December the movement of the British upon New Orleans took
+definite shape. On the 8th of that month, the calm waters of the Gulf
+of Mexico, off the Chandeleur Islands, were the scene of a grand
+rendezvous of British naval and military forces. All the vessels of
+Cockburn's Chesapeake fleet were there, with other men-of-war,
+transports, and schooners, to the number of fifty vessels. At the head
+was the towering two-decker "Tonnant," carrying the Admiral's flag.
+Frigates, corvettes, and sloops-of-war came trooping in the rear; and
+the transports bore seven thousand men for the capture of the Southern
+city. The British were in high good-humor as the anchors were let fall
+and the ships swung round with their heads to the tide. The voyage
+across the gulf from the rendezvous at Jamaica had been like a holiday
+trip. The weather had been fine, and the sea smooth; and the soft air
+of that semi-tropical region was a never-ending source of delight to
+sailors who had been suffering the hardships of a Northern station.
+
+The point at which the British fleet had come to anchor lay about
+fifty miles due east of New Orleans. In that day of sailing-vessels,
+no enemy could breast the waters of the rolling Mississippi and crush
+the resistance of the city's defenders, as did Farragut in 1862.
+Knowing that they could not hope to take their ships up to the levee
+of the city, the enemy determined to cast anchor near the entrance of
+Lake Borgne, and send through a chain of lakes and bayous a mammoth
+expedition in barges, to a point within ten miles of the city. But
+this well-laid plan had been betrayed to the Americans by Lafitte; and
+a little band of American sailors, under the command of Lieut. Catesby
+Jones, had taken up a position at the Rigolets, and were prepared to
+dispute the farther progress of the invading forces. Five gunboats,
+and one hundred and eighty-five men, constituted the American force,
+which for a time held the British in check. Finally, the enemy,
+finding that the swift American cutters could easily evade the
+lumbering war-vessels, fitted out a fleet of forty-five barges, manned
+by a thousand veteran British sea-dogs, who had seen service in half
+a dozen naval wars. The Americans had news of the contemplated attack,
+and made skilful preparations to meet it. The gunboats were moored in
+a fore and aft line, at a point near the Rigolets. Their broadsides
+bore upon the enemy, and the shallowness of the water was such that by
+no means could they be surrounded. The sailors were prepared for a
+desperate conflict, and spent the night before the battle in tricing
+up the boarding-nettings, sharpening cutlasses, and getting small-arms
+in good trim. In the morning the British came on to the attack. It was
+a long pull from the fleet to the place of battle: so their commander
+brought his flotilla to anchor just out of range of the American guns;
+and there the grim old veterans devoured their dinners, and took their
+rations of grog, with appetites undisturbed by the thought of the
+coming conflict. Dinner over, the enemy weighed anchor, and dashed
+forward, with long, swift strokes, into the very flashes of the
+Americans' cannon. The Americans knew that their one chance of victory
+was to keep the overwhelming forces of their foe out of boarding
+distance, and they worked their guns with a rapidity born of
+desperation. Musket-bullets, grape-shot, and canister poured in a
+murderous fire upon the advancing boats. But the sturdy old British
+veterans knew that the best way to stop that fire was to get at the
+base of it; and they pressed on undauntedly, responding vigorously,
+meanwhile, with their bow guns. Soon they were up to the gunwales of
+the American flotilla, and the grappling-irons were fixed; then, with
+sharp blows of cutlasses, deadly play of the pikes, and a ceaseless
+rattle of small-arms, they poured upon the decks of the Americans. The
+boarding-nettings could not long check so furious a foe, and fell
+before the fierce slash of the cutlasses. The decks once gained, the
+overpowering numbers of the Englishmen crushed all further resistance;
+and the flotilla was finally taken, after about one hundred of the
+enemy and fifty Americans had fallen.
+
+The American flotilla being thus shattered, there remained no further
+obstacle to prevent the landing of the invading army. Of the advance
+of that brilliant body of veteran troops over sands and marshes, and
+through sluggish bayous and canals half-full of stagnant water, until
+they emerged on the bank of the river, nine miles below New Orleans,
+it is not my purpose to speak further. Nor does an account of Gen.
+Jackson's vigorous measures of defence and glorious victory come
+within the province of this narrative. The interesting story of
+Jackson's creation of an army from leather-shirted Kentucky riflemen,
+gay Creoles from the Creole Quarter of the Crescent City, swarthy
+Spaniards and mulattoes, nondescript desperadoes from the old band of
+Lafitte, and militia and regulars from all the Southern States, forms
+no part of the naval annals of the war. It is enough to say that the
+flower of the British army, led by a veteran of the Peninsula,
+recoiled before that motley crew of untrained soldiers, and were
+beaten back, leaving their gallant leader and thousands of their brave
+men dead upon the field. The navy was not without some share in this
+glorious triumph. On the 23d of December the schooner "Carolina"
+dropped down from New Orleans, and opened fire upon the enemy. "Now,
+then, for the honor of America, give it to them!" sung out her
+commander, as the first broadside was fired. The attack, unexpected as
+it was, created a panic in the British camp. A feeble reply was made
+with rockets and musketry; but even this was soon discontinued, and
+the enemy took refuge under the steep bank of the levee, whither the
+plunging shot could not follow them. All night the "Carolina" kept up
+her fire; and, when at daybreak she moved away, she left the camp of
+the enemy in confusion. During the day she renewed the attack, and
+persisted in her fire until the British threw up a heavy battery on
+the river's bank, and replied. The lads of the "Carolina" promptly
+accepted the challenge thus offered, and for a time a spirited combat
+was maintained. But the battery threw red-hot shot, and the schooner
+was soon set on fire and destroyed. Meanwhile the corvette "Louisiana"
+had come down to the scene of action, and in the subsequent
+engagements did some effective work. When the final onslaught of the
+British was made, on Jan. 7, 1815, the guns of the "Louisiana" were
+mounted on the opposite bank of the river, and the practised sailors
+worked them with deadly effect, until the flight of the American
+militia on that side exposed the battery to certain capture. The
+sailors then spiked their guns, and marched off unmolested. The
+sailors of the "Carolina," on that day of desperate fighting, were in
+the centre of Jackson's line, between the Creoles and the swarthy
+Baratarians under Dominique Yon. Here they worked their howitzers, and
+watched the scarlet lines of the enemy advance and melt away before
+that deadly blaze; advance and fall back again in hopeless rout. And
+among the many classes of fighting men whom Jackson had rallied before
+that British line, none did battle more valiantly for the honor of
+the nation and the safety of the flowery city of New Orleans than did
+those blue-jackets ashore.
+
+It is a fitting commentary upon the folly of war, that the battle of
+New Orleans was fought after the two warring nations had signed a
+treaty of peace. The lives of some hundreds of brave Englishmen and
+Americans were needlessly sacrificed in a cause already decided. Far
+across the Atlantic Ocean, in the quaint old Dutch city of Ghent,
+representatives of England and the United States met, and, after some
+debate, signed the treaty on the 24th of December, 1814. But there was
+then no Atlantic cable, no "ocean greyhounds" to annihilate space and
+time; and it was months before the news of the treaty reached the
+scene of war. In the mean time, the hostilities were continued by land
+and sea.
+
+The year 1815 found the American navy largely increased by new
+vessels, though the vigilance of the British blockaders kept most of
+these close in port. The "Constitution" was at sea, having run the
+blockade at Boston. In New York Harbor were the "President,"
+"Peacock," "Hornet," and "Tom Bowline," awaiting a chance to slip out
+for a cruise to the East Indies. It was decided that the vessels
+should run out singly, and the "President" was selected to make the
+first attempt. The night of the 14th of January was dark and foggy,
+and the blockading fleet was nowhere to be seen. Then, if ever, was
+the time for escape; and the Yankee tars weighed anchor and started
+out through the Narrows. In the impenetrable darkness of the night,
+baffled by head-winds and perplexing currents, the pilots lost their
+reckoning, and the orders to the man at the wheel were quick and
+nervous, until an ominous grating of the ship's keel, followed by the
+loss of headway, told that the frigate was aground. For a time the
+ship lay helpless, straining all her timbers as each wave lifted her
+slightly, and then let the heavy hull fall back upon the shoal. By ten
+o'clock the rising tide floated her off; but, on examination, Capt.
+Decatur found that she was seriously injured. To return to port was
+impossible with the wind then blowing: so all sail was crowded on, in
+the hopes of getting safely away before the blockading squadron should
+catch sight of the ship. As luck would have it, the blockaders had
+been forced from their posts by the gale of the day before, and the
+"President" had laid her course so as to infallibly fall into their
+clutches. Before daylight the lookout reported two sail in sight, and
+at daybreak the ship was fairly surrounded by the enemy's vessels. All
+at once gave chase to the luckless American; and a few hours were
+enough to show that her sailing qualities were so seriously injured by
+her pounding on the bar, that the enemy was rapidly overhauling her.
+Decatur adopted every known expedient to increase his ship's speed,
+but to no avail. After she had been lightened by starting the water,
+cutting away boats and anchors, chopping up and heaving overboard the
+ponderous cables, together with spars and provisions, the enemy still
+gained; and the foremost pursuer, a razee, opened fire. The
+"President" responded with her stern-chasers, but her shot had no
+effect. "It is said that on this occasion," writes Cooper, "the shot
+of the American ship were observed to be thrown with a momentum so
+unusually small, as to have since excited much distrust of the quality
+of her gunpowder. It is even added, that many of these shot were
+distinctly seen, when clear of the smoke, until they struck." At six
+o'clock in the evening, the frigate "Endymion" led the British
+squadron in chase, and had gained a position so close upon the
+American's beam that her broadsides were rapidly crippling the
+fugitive. Thereupon Decatur determined upon a desperate expedient,
+that sounds like some of his reckless exploits in the war with
+Tripoli. His plan was to bring the "President" about, and run boldly
+alongside the enemy. Every thing was to be sacrificed to the end of
+getting to close quarters. When once the two ships had grappled, the
+Americans were to board, carry the British ship in a hand-to-hand
+battle, and then, abandoning the crippled "President," escape in the
+captured frigate. So desperate a plan needed the cordial co-operation
+of every man: so it was first presented to the commissioned officers,
+who gladly embraced the desperate project. The sailors were then sent
+aft, and Decatur addressed them from the quarter-deck.
+
+"My lads," said he, "that ship is coming up with us. As our ship won't
+sail, we'll go on board of theirs, every man and boy of us, and carry
+her into New York. All I ask of you is to follow me. This is a
+favorite ship of the country. If we allow her to be taken, we shall be
+deserted by our wives and sweethearts. What, let such a ship as this
+go for nothing! 'Twould break the heart of every pretty girl in New
+York."
+
+[Illustration: "President" and "Endymion."]
+
+With hearty cheers, the jackies returned to their guns. All were ready
+for the coming struggle. Over the main hatch was mounted a howitzer,
+with its black muzzle peering down into the hold, ready to scuttle the
+ship when the boarders should spring upon the enemy's deck. The sun,
+by this time, had sunk below the horizon, and the darkness of night
+was gathering over the ocean. The two ships surged toward each
+other,--great black masses, lighted up on either side by rows of open
+ports, through which gleamed the uncertain light of the
+battle-lanterns. On the gun-deck the men stood stern and silent; their
+thoughts fixed upon the coming battle, or perhaps wandering back to
+the green fields and pleasant homes they had so recently left, perhaps
+forever. The gray old yeoman of the frigate, with his mates, walked
+from gun to gun, silently placing a well-sharpened cutlass, a dirk,
+and a heavy leather boarding-cap at each man's side. The marines were
+drawn up in a line amidships; their erect, soldierly air and rigid
+alignment contrasting with the careless slouchiness of the sailors.
+Butts for the sailors' ridicule as they were during a cruise, the
+marines knew that, in hand-to-hand conflicts, their part was as
+dashing as that of their tormentors of the forecastle.
+
+When the "President" had come within a quarter of a mile of her
+adversary, Decatur perceived that his enemy was determined to decide
+the contest at long range. As the "President" hauled down nearer, the
+"Endymion" sheered off, keeping up meanwhile a vigorous cannonade. To
+this the Americans responded in kind; and so much superior was the
+gunnery of the Yankee tars, that the rigging of the enemy was seen to
+be fast going to pieces, while her guns were being silenced one by
+one. But her fire did sad havoc among the men of the "President," and
+particularly among the officers. The first broadside carried away
+Decatur's first lieutenant, Mr. Babbitt, who was struck by a
+thirty-two-pound shot, which cut off his right leg below the knee, and
+hurled him through the wardroom hatch to the deck below, fracturing
+his wounded leg in two places. Shortly after, Decatur was knocked to
+the deck by a heavy splinter. For some time he lay unconscious; then
+opening his eyes, and seeing a throng of anxious seamen about him, he
+ordered them to their stations, and resumed his duties. The fire of
+the "Endymion" then slackened; and she lay upon the water, with her
+sails cut from the yards. At that moment Lieut. Howell turned to a
+midshipman standing at his side, and said gayly, "Well, we have
+whipped that ship, at any rate." A flash from the bow of the
+Englishman followed; and he added, "No: there she is again." The
+midshipman turned to reply, and saw Howell stretched dead at his feet,
+killed by the last shot of the battle.
+
+[Illustration: The "President" tries to escape.]
+
+The enemy was now helpless, and it would have been easy enough for the
+"President" to choose her position and compel her adversary to strike;
+but the presence of two more Englishmen, rapidly coming up astern,
+forced the Americans to abandon their prey and continue their flight.
+It was then late in the evening, and the night was dark and starless.
+Every light was extinguished on the American frigate, in the hope that
+by so doing she might slip away under cover of the night. But the
+British lookouts were sharp-eyed; and by eleven o'clock two frigates
+had closed in on the crippled ship, and a third was rapidly coming up
+astern. All were pouring in rapid broadsides, and the dark waters were
+lighted up like a fiery sea by the ceaseless flashing of the guns.
+Thus surrounded and overpowered, there remained open to the Americans
+no course but to surrender; and at eleven o'clock at night the
+"President" made signal that she had struck. Her fate, like that of
+the "Chesapeake," had accorded with the superstitious sailors' notion
+that she was an unlucky ship. In the long running fight, neither the
+Americans nor the British had escaped without severe loss. On the
+"President" were twenty-four killed and fifty-six wounded; the first,
+second, and third lieutenants being among the slain. The "Endymion"
+had eleven men killed and fourteen wounded. The two frigates were
+ordered to proceed to Bermuda; but the "President's" bad luck seemed
+to follow her, for on the way she encountered a terrific gale, by
+which her masts were carried away, and her timbers so strained that
+all the upper-deck guns had to be thrown overboard to save the ship.
+
+The loss of the "President," at the very mouth of the New York Harbor,
+was certainly a most inauspicious opening for the naval operations of
+1815. The people of New York and Philadelphia, to whom had come
+neither the news of peace nor of the glorious success of the American
+arms at New Orleans, were plunged into despondency. "Now that Great
+Britain is at peace with Europe," thought they, "she can exert all her
+power in the task of subjugating America;" and mournful visions of a
+return to British rule darkened their horizon. But, even while they
+were thus saddened by Decatur's defeat, a gallant vessel--the monarch
+of the American navy--was fighting a good fight for the honor of the
+nation; and out of that fight she came with colors flying and two
+captive men-of-war following in her wake.
+
+It will be remembered that the "Constitution" left Boston in December,
+1814, for an extended cruise. The gallant frigate, always a favorite
+among man-o'-war's men, carried with her on this cruise a full crew of
+native Americans,--thorough seamen, and as plucky fighters as ever
+pulled a lanyard or carried a cutlass. Her course lay due east; and in
+January, 1815, she was in the Bay of Biscay, where she fell in with,
+and captured, two prizes. After this she cruised about for a month,
+without encountering an enemy. American privateers and cruisers had
+fairly driven British merchantmen from the seas, and the tars of the
+"Constitution" found their time hanging heavily on their hands. The
+captain was an able and considerate officer, and much freedom was
+allowed the jackies in their amusements. With boxing, broadsword, and
+single-stick play, drill and skylarking, the hours of daylight were
+whiled away; and by night the men off duty would gather about the
+forecastle lantern to play with greasy, well-thumbed cards, or warble
+tender ditties to black-eyed Susans far across the Atlantic.
+Patriotic melodies formed no small part of Jack's musical
+_repertoire_. Of these, this one, written by a landsman, was for a
+long time popular among the tuneful souls of the forecastle, and was
+not altogether unknown in the wardroom.
+
+  "Now coil up y'r nonsense 'bout England's great navy,
+    And take in y'r slack about oak-hearted tars;
+  For frigates as stout, and as gallant crews have we,
+    Or how came their "Macedon" decked with our stars?
+  Yes, how came her "Guerriere," her "Peacock," and "Java,"
+    All sent broken-ribbed to old Davy of late?
+  How came it? Why, split me, than Britons we're braver;
+    And that they shall feel, too, whenever we meet.
+              Then charge the can cheerily,
+              Send it round merrily:
+  Here's to our country, and captains commanding;
+              To all who inherit
+              Of Lawrence the spirit
+  Disdaining to strike while a stick is left standing."
+
+Many were the verses of this notable production; for, to be popular in
+the forecastle, a song must play a lengthy part in "teasing time." One
+verse, however, is enough to show the manly, if perhaps unreasoning,
+pride the blue-jackets took in the triumphs of the navy.
+
+But the time of the sailors on this closing cruise of the war was not
+destined to be spent in sport and singing alone. The noble frigate was
+not to return to the stagnation of a season of peace in port, without
+adding yet another honor to her already honorable record. On the
+morning of the 20th of February, as the ship was running aimlessly
+before a light wind, some inexplicable impulse led Capt. Stewart to
+suddenly alter his course and run off some sixty miles to the
+south-west. Again the "Constitution's" good luck seemed to justify the
+sailors' belief, for at noon she ran into a group of vessels. The
+first vessel was sighted on the larboard bow, and, as the frigate
+overhauled her, proved to be a full-rigged ship. Soon after a second
+sail, also a ship, was sighted; and a few minutes more sufficed to
+show that both were men-of-war. The one first sighted was the
+frigate-built corvette "Cyane," of thirty-four guns; and the second
+was the sloop-of-war "Levant," of twenty-one guns. For either of
+these vessels singly, the "Constitution," with her fifty-two guns and
+crew of four hundred and fifty men, was more than a match. Yet to
+attack the two was a bold movement, and this Stewart determined to
+undertake. Hardly had the character of the strangers been made out,
+when the corvette was seen making signals to the sloop; and the two
+vessels, then about ten miles apart, made all sail to get together
+before the enemy should overhaul them. This juncture was precisely
+what Stewart wished to prevent; and in a trice the shrill notes of the
+boatswain's whistle sent the sailors in swarms into the rigging, and
+the frigate was as if by magic clothed with a broad expanse of canvas.
+Quickly she felt the effect, and bounded through the water after the
+distant ships like a dolphin chasing a school of flying-fish. The old
+tars on the forecastle looked knowingly over the side at the foamy
+water rushing past, and then cast approving glances aloft where every
+sail was drawing. But their complacency was shattered by a loud crash
+aloft, which proved to be the main royal-mast which had given way
+under the strain. Another spar was rigged speedily, and shipped by the
+active tars, and soon the snowy clouds aloft showed no signs of the
+wreck. At sundown the three vessels were so near each other that their
+colors could be seen. Stewart ran up the stars and stripes, to which
+the strangers responded by setting the British flag at their
+mastheads.
+
+The purpose of the enemy was to delay the opening of the action until
+night should give him opportunity to manoeuvre unobserved; but the
+"Constitution," suspecting this, pressed forward hotly, and opened
+fire a few minutes after six o'clock. By skilful seamanship Stewart
+kept the windward gage of both enemies; and the fight opened with the
+"Cyane" on the port-quarter, and the "Levant" on the port-bow of the
+American frigate. Fifteen minutes of fierce cannonading followed, the
+combatants being within musket-shot most of the time. Every gun was
+engaged; and the heavy broadsides shook the ships, and thundered far
+over the placid surface of the ocean, which was now faintly illumined
+by the rising moon. The triangular space between the ships was filled
+with the dense sulphurous smoke of the burning powder; so that the
+gunners could see nothing of the enemy at whom they were hurling their
+ponderous iron bolts. The men in the tops could now and again catch a
+glimpse of the top hamper of the enemy's ships, but those on the
+gun-deck were working almost at random. After a few minutes of rapid
+firing, the fire of the enemy slackened; and Stewart directed his
+gunners to cease until the smoke should have cleared away. At this
+command a silence, almost oppressive after the heavy cannonading,
+ensued, broken only by the occasional report of a gun from the unseen
+enemy, sounding like minute-guns of distress. Anxiously Stewart waited
+for the smoke to blow away. When it did so, the "Cyane" was seen
+luffing up, to come under the frigate's stern, and get in a raking
+broadside. The movement was discovered just in time to be checked.
+Stewart gave a heavy broadside to the "Levant;" then, bracing back his
+topsails, backed his ship down abreast of the "Cyane," pouring in
+rapid broadsides, before which the fire of the corvette died away. Two
+raking broadsides that crashed into the stern of the "Levant" sent
+that craft out of the action, to refit. The frigate then pressed down
+upon the "Cyane," and with a few heavy broadsides forced her to
+strike.
+
+Capt. Douglass of the "Levant" then proved his bravery by standing by
+his captured consort; although he could have escaped easily, while the
+"Constitution" was taking possession of her prize. No thought of
+flight seems to have occurred to the gallant Briton, though he must
+have known that there was but little hope of his coming out of the
+combat victorious. Still he gallantly came back into the fight,
+meeting the "Constitution" ploughing along on the opposite tack.
+Broadsides were exchanged at such close range that the Yankee gunners
+could hear the ripping of the planks on the enemy's decks as the solid
+shot crashed through beam and stanchion. Having passed each other, the
+ships wore, and returned to the attack; but the weight of the
+American's metal told so severely upon the "Levant" that her flag was
+hauled down, and, firing a gun to leeward, she gave up the fight.
+
+As an exhibition of seamanship, this action is unrivalled in naval
+annals. For Stewart to have taken his ship into action with two
+hostile vessels, and so handle her as not only to escape being raked,
+but actually rake his enemies, was a triumph of nautical skill. The
+action was hard fought by both parties. The loss upon the British
+vessels has never been exactly determined; but it was undoubtedly
+large, for the hulls were badly cut up by the American's fire. The
+"Constitution" had but three men killed, and twelve wounded. The
+officers all escaped unhurt.
+
+After a few hours' pause to repair damages, Stewart took his prizes
+into Porto Praya in the Cape Verde Islands, where they arrived on the
+10th of March. The day after the ships reached port, a heavy fog
+settled over the water, cutting off vision in all directions. As the
+first lieutenant of the "Constitution" was walking the quarter-deck,
+he heard a young midshipman among the prisoners suddenly exclaim,
+"There's a large ship in the offing." The lieutenant peered about on
+every side, but could see nothing, until, looking upward, he saw the
+top-gallant sails of a large ship moving along above the fog-bank.
+Capt. Stewart was quickly notified; and, coolly remarking that the
+stranger was probably a British frigate, he ordered that the men be
+sent to quarters, and the ship prepared for action. The lieutenant
+hastened on deck to execute the orders, but had hardly reached his
+station when he saw the sails of two more ships gliding along above
+the fog-bank. Hastily he returned to the captain's cabin with the
+report. Stewart showed no emotion or alarm, although he knew well that
+the fact that he was in a neutral port would be no protection against
+the British, should they once discover his presence. The affair of the
+"Essex" was still fresh in his mind. Calmly he ordered the lieutenant
+to make sail and take the ship to sea, signalling to the two prizes to
+follow. The orders were given quietly on deck; and in fifteen minutes
+the "Constitution," under full press of sail, was making her way out
+of Porto Praya roads. On the shore were more than a hundred prisoners
+whom Stewart had landed under parole. Regardless of the dictates of
+honor, these men rushed to a Portuguese battery, and opened fire on
+the ships as they passed out. Hearing the cannonade, the lookouts on
+the enemy's vessels looked eagerly for its cause, and caught sight,
+above the fog, of the rapidly receding topsails of the fugitives. At
+this sight the British set out in pursuit; and the fog soon clearing
+away revealed to the Americans two ships-of-the-line and a frigate
+following fast in their wake. The "Constitution" and the "Cyane"
+easily kept out of reach of their pursuers; but the "Levant" dropped
+behind, and finally, at a signal from Stewart, tacked, and stood back
+for Porto Praya. The enemy then abandoned the pursuit of the two
+foremost vessels, and followed the "Levant," but failed to overhaul
+her before she entered the harbor. This, however, checked the British
+not a whit. For the laws of nations and the authority of the
+Portuguese flag that floated over the little town, they cared nothing.
+On they came, and opened fire on the "Levant," which had dropped
+anchor under what was supposed to be a neutral battery. The Americans
+soon discovered their error. Not only did the British disregard the
+neutrality of the port, but the paroled prisoners on shore took
+possession of the battery, and opened fire upon the beleaguered craft.
+Thus caught between two fires, no hope remained to the Americans; and,
+after a few minutes' gallant but useless defence, the flag of the
+"Levant" was hauled down, and she passed again into the hands of the
+British.
+
+It was late in May before the "Constitution" reached New York. Peace
+had then been declared; but none the less were Stewart and his men
+feasted and honored. The old frigate had won for herself a name ever
+to be remembered by the people of the nation, in whose service she had
+received and dealt so many hard knocks. "Old Ironsides," they called
+her; and even to-day, when a later war has given to the navy vessels
+whose sides are literally iron, the "Constitution" still holds her
+place in the hearts of the American people, who think of her lovingly
+by the well-won title of "Old Ironsides."
+
+While we have been following thus Stewart and his gallant frigate in
+their final cruise, some smaller vessels were doing good work for the
+credit of the American flag. It will be remembered, that, when the
+"President" left New York Bay on her short and disastrous cruise of
+January, 1815, she left behind her, at anchor, the "Peacock," the
+"Hornet," and the "Tom Bowline." These vessels, knowing nothing of the
+fate of their former consort, awaited only the coming of a gale
+sufficient to drive away the blockading squadron. On the 22d of
+January it came up to blow; and the three craft, under storm canvas,
+scudded over the bar, and made for the rendezvous at Tristan d'Acunha.
+On the way thither they separated, the "Hornet" cruising alone. On the
+23d she sighted a strange sail on the horizon, and, clapping on all
+sail, bore down upon her. At the same time the stranger sighted the
+"Hornet," and made for her, evidently with hostile intent. The two
+vessels approached each other until within musket-shot, when the
+stranger hoisted English colors, and fired a gun. Capt. Biddle of the
+American ship was ready for the fray, and opened fire with a
+broadside. The response of the enemy was vigorous and effective. For
+fifteen minutes the firing was constant; but the enemy, seeing that
+the Americans were getting the better of the fight, then strove to
+close and board. This Biddle determined to avoid, but called up the
+boarders to beat back the enemy, should they succeed in closing. "At
+the instant," he writes, in his official report, "every officer and
+man repaired to the quarter-deck, when the two vessels were coming in
+contact, and eagerly pressed me to permit them to board the enemy; but
+this I would not permit, as it was evident, from the commencement of
+the action, that our fire was greatly superior, both in quickness and
+effect. The enemy's bowsprit came between our main and mizzen rigging,
+on our starboard side, affording him an opportunity to board us, if
+such was his design; but no attempt was made. There was a considerable
+swell on; and, as the sea lifted us ahead, the enemy's bowsprit
+carried away our mizzen-shrouds, stern davits, and spanker-boom, and
+he hung upon our larboard quarter. At this moment an officer called
+out that they had surrendered. I directed the marines and musketry men
+to cease firing; and while on the taffrail, asking if they had
+surrendered, I received a wound in the neck."
+
+This wound, to which the captain so casually alludes, merits more than
+a passing reference. The fire of both ships had ceased when Biddle
+stepped upon the taffrail; but he had stood there only a moment, when
+two or three of the officers on the quarter-deck cried out that a man
+on the Englishman was aiming at him. Biddle did not hear the caution;
+but two American marines saw the enemy's movement, and, quickly
+bringing up their muskets, sent two balls crashing into the brain of
+the English marksman. He fell back dead, but had fired his piece
+before falling. The bullet struck Biddle in the neck, inflicting a
+painful, but not serious, wound. The blood flowed freely, however; and
+two sailors, rushing up, were about to carry their commander to the
+cock-pit, when he stopped them. Determined to do something to stanch
+the flowing blood, a sailor tore his shirt into bandages, with which
+he bound up his captain's wound. But let us return to Biddle's
+narrative.
+
+"The enemy just then got clear of us; and his foremast and bowsprit
+being both gone, and perceiving us wearing to give him a fresh
+broadside, he again called out that he had surrendered. It was with
+difficulty that I could restrain my crew from firing into him again,
+as he had certainly fired into us after having surrendered. From the
+firing of the first gun, to the last time the enemy cried out that he
+had surrendered, was exactly twenty-two minutes by the watch. She
+proved to be His Britannic Majesty's brig "Penguin," mounting sixteen
+thirty-two-pound carronades, two long twelves, a twelve-pound
+carronade on the top-gallant forecastle, with a swivel on the capstan
+in the tops."
+
+On boarding the prize, Biddle found that she had suffered too severely
+from the American fire to ever be of service again. He accordingly
+removed the prisoners and wounded to his own ship, and scuttled the
+"Penguin." Hardly was this operation accomplished, when two sail were
+sighted, bearing rapidly down upon the scene of action. Nothing
+daunted, the lads of the "Hornet" went to their guns, but were
+heartily glad to find that the two vessels approaching were the
+"Peacock" and "Tom Bowline." On their arrival, the latter vessel was
+converted into a cartel, and sent into Rio de Janeiro with prisoners;
+while the "Hornet" and "Peacock" cruised on toward the Indian Seas. On
+April 28 a heavy line-of-battle ship was sighted, and gave chase. In
+the flight the two sloops parted; the "Peacock" going off unmolested,
+while the "Hornet" fled, hotly pursued by the enemy. For a time it
+seemed as if the little craft must fall a prey to her huge pursuer,
+which had come up within a mile, and was firing great shot at the
+scudding sloop-of-war. Overboard went cables, guns, spars, shot, every
+thing that would lighten the "Hornet." The sails were wet down, and
+every thing that would draw was set. By consummate skill Biddle at
+last succeeded in evading his pursuer; and on the 9th of June the
+"Hornet" entered New York Bay, without a boat or anchor, and with but
+one gun left. But she brought the report that the last naval battle of
+the war had ended in victory for the Americans.
+
+[Illustration: Foundered at Sea.]
+
+Meanwhile the "Peacock" was returning from a cruise not altogether
+void of interest. On parting with the "Hornet," she had struck off to
+the southward, and in the Straits of Sundra, between Borneo and
+Sumatra, had fallen in with the East India Company's cruiser
+"Nautilus," of fourteen guns. Between these two vessels an unfortunate
+and silly rencounter followed. The captain of the "Nautilus" knew of
+the declaration of peace; and, as the "Peacock" bore down upon his
+vessel, he shouted through a speaking-trumpet that peace had been
+declared. To this Capt. Warrington of the "Peacock" paid no attention,
+considering it a mere ruse on the part of the enemy, and responded by
+simply ordering the British to haul down their flag. This the
+Englishman very properly refused to do, and gallantly prepared for the
+unequal combat. Two broadsides were then interchanged, by which the
+"Nautilus" was severely cut up, and eight of her crew killed. She then
+struck her colors. Capt. Warrington, on sending a boat aboard his
+adversary, found that the declaration of peace was no ruse, but a
+truthful statement of facts. His conduct had been almost criminally
+headstrong; and, though he was profuse in formal apologies, the wrong
+done could never be righted. The "Peacock" then continued her homeward
+voyage.
+
+When this vessel reached port, the last of the cruisers had returned;
+and the war was over in fact, as it had long been over technically. It
+has become the fashion to say that it was a useless war, that served
+no purpose, because the treaty by which it was ended contained no
+reference to the hateful doctrine of the right of search, which, more
+than any thing else, had brought on the conflict. Yet, though the
+conduct of the war had not led the British to formally renounce their
+claims in this respect, the exploits of the American navy had shown
+that the Yankee blue-jackets were prepared to, and would, forcibly
+resent any attempt on the part of the British to put those claims into
+practice. The British had entered upon the war gaily, never dreaming
+that the puny American navy would offer any serious resistance to
+Great Britain's domination upon the ocean. Yet now, looking back over
+the three years of the war, they saw an array of naval battles, in the
+majority of which the Americans had been victorious; and in all of
+which the brilliancy of American naval tactics, the skill of the
+officers, and the courage and discipline of the crews, put the younger
+combatants on a plane with the older and more famous naval service.
+Fenimore Cooper, in his "History of the Navy of the United States,"
+thus sums up the results of this naval war: "The navy came out of this
+struggle with a vast increase of reputation. The brilliant style in
+which the ships had been carried into action, the steadiness and
+accuracy with which they had been handled, and the fatal accuracy of
+their fire on nearly every occasion had produced a new era in naval
+warfare. Most of the frigate actions had been as soon decided as
+circumstances would at all allow; and in no instance was it found
+necessary to keep up the fire of a sloop-of-war an hour, when singly
+engaged. Most of the combats of the latter, indeed, were decided in
+about half that time. The execution done in these short conflicts was
+often equal to that made by the largest vessels of Europe in general
+actions; and, in some of them, the slain and wounded comprised a very
+large proportion of their crews.... The ablest and bravest captains of
+the English fleet were ready to admit that a new power was about to
+appear upon the ocean, and that it was not improbable the battle for
+the mastery of the seas would have to be fought over again."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+     PRIVATEERS AND PRISONS OF THE WAR. -- THE "ROSSIE." -- SALEM
+     PRIVATEERS. -- THE "GEN. ARMSTRONG" GIVES BATTLE TO A BRITISH
+     SQUADRON, AND SAVES NEW ORLEANS. -- NARRATIVE OF A BRITISH
+     OFFICER. -- THE "PRINCE DE NEUFCHATEL." -- EXPERIENCES OF
+     AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR. -- THE END.
+
+
+No narrative of the naval exploits of the Americans in the second war
+with Great Britain can be complete without some account of the
+achievements of the fleets of privateers which for three years swept
+the seas, destroying a vast amount of the enemy's property; and, while
+accomplishing their end by enriching their owners, did, nevertheless,
+much incidental good to the American cause. Seldom has the business of
+privateering been so extensively carried on as in the War of 1812. For
+this the reason lay in the rich bait offered by the world-wide
+commerce of Great Britain, whose fleets whitened every known sea.
+Privateering must ever be a weapon wielded by the weaker nation
+against the stronger. And Congress, in the very Act by which it
+declared war, authorized the President to issue letters of marque and
+reprisal to private armed vessels.
+
+The declaration of war had hardly been made public, when the hundreds
+of shipyards from Maine to Savannah resounded with the blows of
+hammers and the grating of saws, as the shipwrights worked, busily
+refitting old vessels, or building new ones, destined to cruise
+against the commerce of John Bull. All sorts of vessels were employed
+in this service. The Atlantic and Gulf Coasts fairly swarmed with
+small pilot-boats, mounting one long gun amidships, and carrying crews
+of twenty to forty men. These little craft made rapid sallies into the
+waters of the Gulf Stream, in search of British West Indiamen homeward
+bound. Other privateers were huge three-masters, carrying heavy
+batteries, and able to outsail any of the enemy's ships. On leaving
+port for a long cruise, these vessels would carry enormous crews, so
+that captured vessels might be manned and sent home. After a
+successful cruise, such a privateer returned to port seldom bringing
+more than one-fifth of the crew with which she had set out. But the
+favorite rig for a privateer was that of the top-sail schooner,--such
+a rig as the "Enterprise" carried during the war with France. The
+famous shipyards of Baltimore turned out scores of clean-cut,
+clipper-built schooners, with long, low hulls and raking masts, which
+straightway took to the ocean on privateering cruises. The armament of
+these vessels generally consisted of six to ten carronades and one
+long pivot-gun, going by the pet name of "Long Tom," mounted
+amidships. The crew was usually a choice assortment of cut-throats and
+seafaring vagabonds of all classes,--ready enough to fight if plunder
+was to be gained, but equally ready to surrender if only honor was to
+be gained by fighting. Yet history records a few actions in which the
+privateersmen showed a steadiness and courage worthy of seamen of the
+regular service.
+
+The limitations of this work do not permit a complete account of the
+work of the privateers during the war. Although an interesting
+subject, and one of historical importance, but a few pages can be
+devoted to it here. Properly treated, it would fill a volume; and,
+indeed, one of the most noted privateersmen has left a narrative of
+the exploits of the principal privateers, which forms a very
+considerable tome. The fact that two hundred and fifty private armed
+cruisers under the American flag captured or destroyed over sixteen
+hundred British vessels will indicate the importance and extent of the
+subject. For us a mere sketch of the exploits of some of the principal
+privateers must suffice.
+
+One of the first things to attract the attention of the reader, in the
+dingy files of some newspaper of 1812-15, is the grotesque names under
+which many of the privateers sailed. The grandiloquent style of the
+regular navy vanishes, and in its place we find homely names; such as
+"Jack's Favorite," "Lovely Lass," "Row-boat," "Saucy Jack," or
+"True-blooded Yankee." Some names are clearly political allusions,--as
+the "Orders in Council" and the "Fair Trade." The "Black Joke," the
+"Shark," and the "Anaconda" must have had a grim significance for the
+luckless merchantmen who fell a prey to the vessels bearing these
+names. "Bunker Hill" and "Divided we fall," though odd names to sail
+under, seemed to bring luck to the two vessels, which were very
+successful in their cruises. "United we stand" was a luckless craft,
+however, taking only one prize; while the achievements of the
+"Full-blooded Yankee" and the "Sine qua non" were equally limited. Of
+the "Poor Sailor," certainly little was to be expected; and it is with
+no surprise that we find she captured only one prize.
+
+Among the most successful privateers was the "Rossie" of Baltimore,
+commanded by the Revolutionary veteran Capt. Barney, who left her,
+finally, to assume command of the American naval forces on Chesapeake
+Bay. She was a clipper-built schooner, carrying fourteen guns, and a
+crew of one hundred and twenty men. The destruction wrought by this
+one cruiser was enormous. In a ninety days' cruise she captured, sunk,
+or otherwise destroyed British property to the amount of a million and
+a half dollars, and took two hundred and seventeen prisoners. All this
+was not done without some hard fighting. One prize--His Britannic
+Majesty's packet-ship "Princess Amelia"--was armed with nine-pounders,
+and made a gallant defence before surrendering. Several men were
+killed, and the "Rossie" suffered the loss of her first lieutenant.
+The prisoners taken by the "Rossie" were exchanged for Americans
+captured by the British. With the first body of prisoners thus
+exchanged, Barney sent a cool note to the British commander at New
+Brunswick, assuring him that before long a second batch of his
+captured countrymen should be sent in.
+
+Several Northern seaports shared with Baltimore the business of
+fitting out and manning privateers. The hardy seamen of Maine and
+Massachusetts were ever ready for a profitable venture of this kind;
+and, as the continuation of the war caused the whale-fishery to
+languish, the sailors gladly took up the adventurous life of
+privateersmen. The profits of a successful cruise were enormous; and
+for days after the home-coming of a lucky privateer the little seaport
+into which she came rang with the boisterous shouts of the carousing
+sailors. "We still, in imagination, see our streets filled with
+privateersmen," writes a historian of Portsmouth, "in groups, with
+blue ribbons tied around their hats, inscribed in large letters,
+'SUCCESS TO THE "FOX,"' or whatever vessel they were to sail in. And
+then another scene, of sailors paid off with so much money that they
+knew not what to do with it. It was one of these men that, in Market
+Square, put his arm around a cow, kissed her, and put a five-dollar
+bill in her mouth, for a good cud. Sometimes they might be seen,
+finely dressed, walking down the sunny streets, carrying parasols."
+One Portsmouth privateer came to grief in the West Indies, and was
+captured by a British vessel of heavier metal. In the hold of the
+privateer was a considerable sum of money in gold coin, the existence
+of which was known only to the captain and his body-servant, a bright
+negro. The British, on capturing the vessel, put a prize-crew on
+board, and, while taking the Yankee captain upon their own ship, left
+his negro servant on the prize. Watching his opportunity, the negro
+brought up the gold coin, and dropped it unobserved into a tub of
+greasy black slush with which he had been slushing down the masts.
+Some days later, the captured vessel reached the port to which she had
+been sent, and was tied up at a wharf to await condemnation. The
+faithful servant lingered about the ship for a time, saying that he
+had no place to go. At last he was gruffly ordered to leave; but,
+before going, he astonished the mate by begging for the tub of slush,
+which he said might enable him to earn a few cents along the docks.
+The mate carelessly told him to take the stuff, and be off; which he
+promptly did, carrying away with him his tub of slush, with its
+concealed treasure. It is worthy of note, that this negro, far from
+home and from the owners of the money, paid it into a bank to the
+credit of the captain whom he had served.
+
+Salem, Mass., was another great port for privateers to hail from. Not
+less than twenty-five of these predatory gentry fitted out at the
+quiet little seaside village; and, when the war was ended, few of the
+inhabitants were unable to tell some tale of personal adventures,
+cruising against the enemy. Indeed, Salem had the honor of receiving
+the first prize captured on the ocean after the declaration of war;
+for into the harbor came, on the 10th of June, 1812, the trim
+privateer schooner "Fame," followed close by two ships, from the
+halliards of which waved the British flag surmounted by the stars and
+stripes. Then the whole town turned out as one man to greet and cheer
+the captors; but, long before the war was ended, the appearance of a
+prize in the harbor aroused little excitement. One of the most
+successful of the rovers sailing from this port was the "Dolphin,"
+whose record during the war shows a list of twenty-two captured
+vessels. Her faculty for making long cruises, and turning up in the
+most unexpected places, made her the dread of all British
+sea-captains. She was manned by a gallant set of lads, who had no fear
+of hard fighting; and many of her prizes were won at the cannon's
+mouth. In January, 1813, the "Dolphin" fell in with a British ship and
+brig cruising together off Cape St. Vincent. Though the enemy
+outnumbered the privateersmen, and carried heavier metal, yet the
+"Dolphin" went gallantly into the fight, and after a severe battle
+succeeded in taking both vessels. Great was the astonishment of the
+British at being thus snapped up by a Yankee privateer almost under
+the guns of the Rock of Gibraltar. The luckless Britons were carried
+to America as prisoners; but so kind was the treatment they met with
+at the hands of the privateers, that on leaving the "Dolphin," at
+Boston, they published a card in which they said, "Should the fortune
+of war ever throw Capt. Stafford or any of his crew into the hands of
+the British, it is sincerely hoped he will meet with similar
+treatment."
+
+Perhaps the foremost of all the fighting privateers was the "Gen.
+Armstrong" of New York; a schooner mounting eight long nines and one
+long twenty-four on a pivot. She had a crew of ninety men, and was
+commanded on her first cruise by Capt. Guy R. Champlin. This vessel
+was one of the first to get to sea, and had cruised for several months
+with fair success, when in March, 1813, she gave chase to a sail off
+the Surinam River on the coast of South America. The stranger seemed
+to evince no great desire to escape; and the privateer soon gained
+sufficiently to discover that the supposed merchantman was a British
+sloop-of-war, whose long row of open ports showed that she carried
+twenty-seven guns. Champlin and his men found this a more ugly
+customer than they had expected; but it was too late to retreat, and
+to surrender was out of the question: so, calling the people to the
+guns, Champlin took his ship into action with a steadiness that no old
+naval captain could have exceeded. "Close quarters and quick work,"
+was the word passed along the gun-deck; and the "Armstrong" was
+brought alongside her antagonist at a distant of half pistol-shot. For
+nearly an hour the two vessels exchanged rapid broadsides; but, though
+the American gunners were the better marksmen, the heavy build of the
+sloop-of-war enabled her to stand against broadsides which would have
+cut the privateer to pieces. Capt. Champlin was hit in the shoulder
+early in the action, but kept his station until the fever of his wound
+forced him to retire to his cabin. However, he still continued to
+direct the course of the action; and, seeing that the tide of battle
+was surely going against him, he ordered the crew to get out the
+sweeps and pull away from the enemy, whose rigging was too badly cut
+up to enable her to give chase. This was quickly done; and the "Gen.
+Armstrong," though badly injured, and with her decks covered with dead
+and dying men, escaped, leaving her more powerful adversary to repair
+damages and make the best of her way home. Capt. Champlin, on his
+arrival at New York, was the hero of the hour. For a privateer to have
+held out for an hour against a man-of-war, was thought a feat worthy
+of praise from all classes of men. The merchants of the city tendered
+the gallant captain a dinner, and the stockholders in his vessel
+presented him with a costly sword.
+
+But the "Gen. Armstrong" was destined to fight yet another battle,
+which should far eclipse the glory of her first. A new captain was to
+win the laurels this time; for Capt. Champlin's wound had forced him
+to retire, and his place was filled by Capt. Samuel C. Reid. On the
+26th of September, 1814, the privateer was lying at anchor in the
+roadstead of Fayal. Over the land that enclosed the snug harbor on
+three sides, waved the flag of Portugal, a neutral power, but
+unfortunately one of insufficient strength to enforce the rights of
+neutrality. While the "Armstrong" was thus lying in the port, a
+British squadron, composed of the "Plantagenet" seventy-four, the
+"Rota" thirty-eight, and "Carnation" eighteen, hove in sight, and
+soon swung into the harbor and dropped anchor. Reid watched the
+movements of the enemy with eager vigilance. He knew well that the
+protection of Portugal would not aid him in the least should the
+captain of that seventy-four choose to open fire upon the "Armstrong."
+The action of the British in coming into the harbor was in itself
+suspicious, and the American had little doubt that the safety of his
+vessel was in jeopardy. While he was pacing the deck, and weighing in
+his mind the probability of an assault by the British, he caught sight
+of some unusual stir aboard the hostile ships. It was night; but the
+moon had risen, and by its pale light Reid saw four large barges let
+fall from the enemy's ships, and, manned by about forty men each, make
+toward his vessel. In an instant every man on the privateer was called
+to his post. That there was to be an attack, was now certain; and the
+Americans determined not to give up their vessel without at least a
+vigorous attempt to defend her. Reid's first act was to warp his craft
+under the guns of a rather dilapidated castle, which was supposed to
+uphold the authority of Portugal over the island and adjacent waters.
+Hardly had the position been gained, when the foremost of the British
+boats came within hail, and Capt. Reid shouted, "Boat ahoy! What
+boat's that?" No response followed the hail; and it was repeated, with
+the warning, "Answer, or I shall fire into you." Still the British
+advanced without responding; and Reid, firmly convinced that they
+purposed to carry his ship with a sudden dash, ordered his gunners to
+open on the boats with grape. This was done, and at the first volley
+the British turned and made off. Capt. Reid then warped his vessel
+still nearer shore; and bending springs on her cable, so that her
+broadside might be kept always toward the enemy, he awaited a second
+attack. At midnight the enemy were seen advancing again, this time
+with fourteen barges and about five hundred men. While the flotilla
+was still at long range, the Americans opened fire upon them with the
+heavy "Long Tom;" and, as they came nearer, the full battery of long
+nine-pounders took up the fight. The carnage in the advancing boats
+was terrible; but the plucky Englishmen pushed on, meeting the
+privateer's fire with volleys of musketry and carronades. Despite the
+American fire, the British succeeded in getting under the bow and
+quarter of the "Armstrong," and strove manfully to board; while the
+Americans fought no less bravely to keep them back. The attack became
+a furious hand-to-hand battle. From behind the boarding-nettings the
+Americans thrust pikes, and fired pistols and muskets, at their
+assailants, who, mounted on each other's shoulders, were hacking
+fiercely at the nettings which kept them from gaining the schooner's
+deck. The few that managed to clamber on the taffrail of the
+"Armstrong" were thrust through and through with pikes, and hurled,
+thus horribly impaled, into the sea. The fighting was fiercest and
+deadliest on the quarter; for there were most of the enemy's boats,
+and there Capt. Reid led the defence in person. So hot was the
+reception met by the British at this point, that they drew off in
+dismay, despairing of ever gaining the privateer's deck. Hardly did
+Reid see the enemy thus foiled on the quarter, when a chorus of
+British cheers from the forecastle, mingled with yells of rage, told
+that the enemy had succeeded in effecting a lodgement there. Calling
+his men about him, the gallant captain dashed forward and was soon in
+the front rank of the defenders, dealing furious blows with his
+cutlass, and crying out, "Come on, my lads, and we'll drive them into
+the sea." The leadership of an officer was all that the sailors
+needed. The three lieutenants on the forecastle had been killed or
+disabled, else the enemy had never come aboard. With Reid to cheer
+them on, the sailors rallied, and with a steady advance drove the
+British back into their boats. The disheartened enemy did not return
+to the attack, but returned to their ships, leaving behind two boats
+captured and two sunk. Their loss in the attack was thirty-four killed
+and eighty-six wounded. On the privateer were two killed and seven
+wounded.
+
+[Illustration: Privateersmen at Home.]
+
+But the attack was not to end here. Reid was too old a sailor to
+expect that the British, chagrined as they were by two repulses, were
+likely to leave the privateer in peace. He well knew that the
+withdrawal of the barges meant not an abandonment, but merely a short
+discontinuance, of the attack. Accordingly he gave his crew scarcely
+time to rest, before he set them to work getting the schooner in trim
+for another battle. The wounded were carried below, and the decks
+cleared of splinters and wreckage. The boarding-nettings were patched
+up, and hung again in place. "Long Tom" had been knocked off his
+carriage by a carronade shot, and had to be remounted; but all was
+done quickly, and by morning the vessel was ready for whatever might
+be in store for her. The third assault was made soon after daybreak.
+Evidently the enemy despaired of his ability to conquer the
+privateersmen in a hand-to-hand battle; for this time he moved the
+brig "Carnation" up within range, and opened fire upon the schooner.
+The man-of-war could fire nine guns at a broadside, while the schooner
+could reply with but seven; but "Long Tom" proved the salvation of the
+privateer. The heavy twenty-four-pound shots from this gun did so much
+damage upon the hull of the brig, that she was forced to draw out of
+the action; leaving the victory, for the third time, with the
+Americans.
+
+But now Capt. Reid decided that it was folly to longer continue the
+conflict. The overwhelming force of the enemy made any thought of
+ultimate escape folly. It only remained for the British to move the
+seventy-four "Plantagenet" into action to seal the doom of the Yankee
+privateer. The gallant defence already made by the Americans had cost
+the British nearly three hundred men in killed and wounded; and Reid
+now determined to destroy his vessel, and escape to the shore. The
+great pivot-gun was accordingly pointed down the main hatch, and two
+heavy shots sent crashing through the bottom. Then applying the torch,
+to make certain the work of destruction, the privateersmen left the
+ship, giving three cheers for the gallant "Gen. Armstrong," as a burst
+of flame and a roar told that the flames had reached her magazine.
+
+This gallant action won loud plaudits for Capt. Reid when the news
+reached the United States. Certainly no vessel of the regular navy was
+ever more bravely or skilfully defended than was the "Gen. Armstrong."
+But, besides the credit won for the American arms, Reid had
+unknowingly done his country a memorable service. The three vessels
+that attacked him were bound to the Gulf of Mexico, to assist in the
+attack upon New Orleans. The havoc Reid wrought among their crews, and
+the damage he inflicted upon the "Carnation," so delayed the New
+Orleans expedition, that Gen. Jackson was able to gather those motley
+troops that fought so well on the plains of Chalmette. Had it not been
+for the plucky fight of the lads of the "Gen. Armstrong," the British
+forces would have reached New Orleans ten days earlier, and
+Packenham's expedition might have ended very differently.
+
+The "Plantagenet" and her consorts were not the only British
+men-of-war bound for New Orleans that fell in with warlike Yankee
+privateers. Some of the vessels from the Chesapeake squadron met a
+privateer, and a contest ensued, from which the American emerged with
+less glory than did the lads of the "Gen. Armstrong." A young British
+officer in his journal thus tells the story:--
+
+"It was my practice to sit for hours, after nightfall, upon the
+taffrail, and strain my eyes in the attempt to distinguish objects on
+shore, or strange sails in the distance. It so happened that on the
+30th I was tempted to indulge in this idle but bewitching employment
+even beyond my usual hour for retiring, and did not quit the deck till
+towards two o'clock in the morning of the 31st [of October]. I had
+just entered my cabin, and was beginning to undress, when a cry from
+above of an enemy in chase drew me instantly to the quarter-deck. On
+looking astern I perceived a vessel making directly after us, and was
+soon convinced of the justice of the alarm, by a shot which whistled
+over our heads. All hands were now called to quarters, the small sails
+taken in; and having spoken to our companion, and made an agreement as
+to position, both ships cleared for action. But the stranger, seeing
+his signal obeyed with so much alacrity, likewise slackened sail, and,
+continuing to keep us in view, followed our wake without approaching
+nearer. In this state things continued till daybreak,--we still
+holding our course, and he hanging back; but, as soon as it was light,
+he set more sail and ran to windward, moving just out of gun-shot in a
+parallel direction with us. It was now necessary to fall upon some
+plan of deceiving him; otherwise, there was little probability that he
+would attack. In the bomb, indeed, the height of the bulwarks served
+to conceal some of the men; but in the transport no such screen
+existed. The troops were therefore ordered below; and only the
+sailors, a few blacks, and the officers kept the deck. The same
+expedient was likewise adopted in part by Capt. Price of the
+'Volcano;' and, in order to give to his ship a still greater
+resemblance than it already had to a merchantman, he displayed an old
+faded scarlet ensign, and drew up his fore and main sail in what
+sailors term a lubberly manner.
+
+"As yet the stranger had shown no colors, but from her build and
+rigging there was little doubt as to her country. She was a beautiful
+schooner, presenting seven ports of a side, and apparently crowded
+with men,--circumstances which immediately led us to believe that she
+was an American privateer. The 'Volcano,' on the other hand, was a
+clumsy, strong-built ship, carrying twelve guns; and the 'Golden
+Fleece' mounted eight: so that in point of artillery the advantage was
+rather on our side; but the American's sailing was so much superior to
+that of either of us, that this advantage was more than
+counter-balanced.
+
+"Having dodged us till eight o'clock, and reconnoitred with great
+exactness, the stranger began to steer gradually nearer and nearer,
+till at length it was judged that she was within range. A gun was
+accordingly fired from the 'Volcano,' and another from the transport;
+the balls from both of which passed over her, and fell into the sea.
+Finding herself thus assaulted, she now threw off all disguise, and
+hung out an American ensign. When putting her helm up, she poured a
+broadside with a volley of musketry into the transport, and ran
+alongside of the bomb, which sailed to windward.
+
+"As soon as her flag was displayed, and her intention of attacking
+discerned, all hands were ordered up; and she received two
+well-directed broadsides from the 'Volcano,' as well as a warm salute
+from the 'Golden Fleece.' But such was the celerity of her motion,
+that she was alongside of the bomb in less time than can be imagined,
+and actually dashing her bow against the other, attempted to carry her
+by boarding. Capt. Price, however, was ready to receive them. The
+boarders were at their posts in an instant; and Jonathan finding, to
+use a vulgar phrase, that he had caught a Tartar, left about twenty
+men upon the 'Volcano's' bowsprit, all of whom were thrown into the
+sea, and filling his sails sheered off with the same speed with which
+he had borne down. In attempting to escape, he unavoidably fell
+somewhat to leeward, and exposed the whole of his deck to the fire of
+the transport. A tremendous discharge of musketry saluted him as he
+passed; and it was almost laughable to witness the haste with which
+his crew hurried below, leaving none upon deck except such as were
+absolutely wanted to work the vessel.
+
+"The 'Volcano' had by this time filled and gave chase, firing with
+great precision at his yards and rigging, in the hope of disabling
+him. But, as fortune would have it, none of his important ropes or
+yards were cut; and we had the mortification to see him in a few
+minutes beyond our reach."
+
+[Illustration: Prison Chaplain and Jailor.]
+
+An exploit of yet another privateer should be chronicled before the
+subject of the private armed navy can be dismissed. On the 11th of
+October, 1814, the brigantine privateer "Prince de Neufchatel,"
+seventeen guns, was encountered near Nantucket by the British frigate
+"Endymion,"--the same ship which was so roughly handled by the
+"President" in her last battle. About nine o'clock at night, a calm
+having come on, the frigate despatched a boarding party of a hundred
+and eleven men in five boats to capture the privateer. The latter
+vessel was short-handed, having but forty men; but this handful of
+Yankee tars gallantly prepared to meet the attack. The guns were
+charged with grape and canister, the boarding-nettings triced up, and
+cutlasses and pistols distributed to the crew. As the British came on,
+the Americans opened fire, notwithstanding which the enemy dashed
+alongside, and strove fiercely to gain the deck. But in this they were
+foiled by the gallantry of the defenders, who fought desperately, and
+cut down the few British who managed to gain a foothold. The conflict
+was short, and the discomfiture of the enemy complete. After but a few
+minutes' fighting, one boat was sunk, one captured, and the other
+three drifted helplessly away, filled with dead and dying. The total
+loss of the British in this affair was twenty-eight killed and
+thirty-seven wounded. Of the crew of the privateer, seven were killed,
+and nine only remained unhurt.
+
+A narrative of the exploits of, and service done by, the American
+sailors in the War of 1812 would be incomplete if it said nothing of
+the sufferings of that great body of tars who spent the greater part
+of the war season confined in British prisons. Several thousand of
+these were thrown into confinement before the war broke out, because
+they refused to serve against their country in British ships. Others
+were prisoners of war. No exact statistics as to the number of
+Americans thus imprisoned have ever been made public; but the records
+of one great prison--that at Dartmoor--show, that, when the war
+closed, six thousand American seamen were imprisoned there,
+twenty-five hundred of whom had been detained from long before the
+opening of the war, on account of their refusal to join the ranks of
+the enemy. As I write, there lies before me a quaint little book, put
+out anonymously in 1815, and purporting to be the "Journal of a Young
+Man captured by the British." Its author, a young surgeon of Salem,
+named Waterhouse, shipped on a Salem privateer, and was captured early
+in the war. His experience with British prisons and transport-ships
+was long; and against his jailors he brings shocking charges of
+brutality, cruelty, and negligence.
+
+The Yankee seamen who were captured during the war were first
+consigned to receiving-prisons at the British naval stations in
+America. Sometimes these places of temporary detention were mouldering
+hulks, moored in bays or rivers; sometimes huge sheds hastily put
+together, and in which the prisoners were kept only by the unceasing
+vigilance of armed guards. "The prison at Halifax," writes Waterhouse,
+"erected solely for the safe-keeping of prisoners of war, resembles an
+horse-stable, with stalls, or stanchions, for keeping the cattle from
+each other. It is to a contrivance of this sort that they attach the
+cords that support those canvas bags or cradles, called hammocks. Four
+tier of these hanging nests were made to hang, one above the other,
+between these stalls, or stanchions.... The general hum and confused
+noise from almost every hammock was at first very distressing. Some
+would be lamenting their hard fate at being shut up like negro slaves
+in a Guinea ship, or like fowls in a hen-coop, for no crime, but for
+fighting the battles of their country; others, late at night, were
+relating their adventures to a new prisoner; others, lamenting their
+aberrations from rectitude, and disobedience to parents, and
+headstrong wilfulness, that drove them to sea, contrary to their
+parents' wish; while others, of the younger class, were sobbing out
+their lamentations at the thoughts of what their mothers and sisters
+suffered after knowing of their imprisonment. Not unfrequently the
+whole night was spent in this way; and when, about daybreak, the weary
+prisoner fell into a doze, he was waked from his slumber by the
+grinding noise of the locks, and the unbarring of the doors, with the
+cry of '_Turn out!_ _All out!_' when each man took down his hammock,
+and lashed it up, and slung it on his back, and was ready to answer to
+the roll-call of the turnkey."
+
+From prisons such as this, the prisoners were conveyed in droves to
+England, in the holds of men-of-war and transports. Poorly fed, worse
+housed, and suffering for lack of air and room, their agony on the
+voyage was terrible. When they were allowed a few hours' time on deck,
+they were sure to arouse the anger of the officers by turbulent
+conduct or imprudent retorts. "One morning as the general and the
+captain of the 'Regulus' (transport) were walking as usual on the
+quarter-deck, one of our Yankee boys passed along the galley with his
+kid of burgoo. He rested it on the hatchway while he adjusted the rope
+ladder to descend with his swill. The thing attracted the attention of
+the general, who asked the man how many of his comrades eat of that
+quantity for their breakfast. 'Six, sir,' said the man, 'but it is fit
+food only for hogs.' This answer affronted the captain, who asked the
+man in an angry tone, 'What part of America he came from?' 'Near to
+Bunker Hill, sir, if you ever heard of that place,' was the answer."
+On another occasion, a Yankee and a slightly wounded British marine
+got into a dispute, and came to blows. The British captain saw the
+occurrence, and accused the American of cowardice in striking a
+wounded man. "I am no coward, sir," said the Yankee. "I was captain of
+a gun on board the 'Constitution' when she captured the 'Guerriere,'
+and afterward when she took the 'Java.' Had I been a coward, I should
+not have been there."
+
+[Illustration: King Dick and his Chaplain.]
+
+On one occasion the prisoners on the transport "Crown Prince," lying
+in the River Medway, took an uncontrollable dislike to the commander
+of a second transport lying close alongside. Their spite was gratified
+quickly and with great effect. The rations served out to the luckless
+captives at that time consisted of fish and cold potatoes. The latter
+edible being of rather poor quality, the prisoners reserved for
+missiles; and the obnoxious officer could not pace his quarter-deck
+without being made a mark for a shower of potatoes. Vainly did he
+threaten to call up his marines and respond with powder and lead: the
+Americans were not to be kept down; and for some days the harassed
+officer hardly dared to show himself upon deck.
+
+The place of final detention for most of the prisoners taken in the
+war with America was Dartmoor Prison; a rambling collection of huge
+frame buildings, surrounded by double walls of wood. The number of
+prisoners confined there, and the length of time which many of them
+had spent within its walls, gave this place many of the
+characteristics of a small State, with rulers and officials of its
+own. One of the strangest characters of the prison was King Dick, a
+gigantic negro, who ruled over the five or six hundred negro
+prisoners. "He is six feet five inches in height," says one of the
+prisoners, "and proportionally large. This black Hercules commands
+respect, and his subjects tremble in his presence. He goes the rounds
+every day, and visits every berth, to see if they all are kept clean.
+When he goes the rounds, he puts on a large bear-skin cap, and carries
+in his hand a huge club. If any of his men are dirty, drunken, or
+grossly negligent, he threatens them with a beating; and if they are
+saucy they are sure to receive one. They have several times conspired
+against him, and attempted to dethrone him; but he has always
+conquered the rebels. One night several attacked him while asleep in
+his hammock: he sprang up, and seized the smallest by his feet, and
+thumped another with him. The poor negro, who had thus been made a
+beetle of, was carried the next day to the hospital, sadly bruised,
+and provokingly laughed at." King Dick, to further uphold his dignity
+as a monarch, had his private chaplain, who followed his royal master
+about, and on Sundays preached rude but vigorous sermons to His
+Majesty's court. On weekdays the court was far from being a dignified
+gathering. King Dick was a famous athlete, and in the cock-loft, over
+which he reigned, was to be seen fine boxing and fencing. Gambling,
+too, was not ruled out of the royal list of amusements; and the cries
+of the players, mingled with the singing of the negroes, and the
+sounds of the musical instruments upon which they played, made that
+section of the prison a veritable pandemonium.
+
+[Illustration: The last Volley of the War.]
+
+But although some few incidents occurred to brighten momentarily the
+dull monotony of the prisoners' lot, the life of these unfortunate
+men, while thus imprisoned, was miserable and hateful to them. Months
+passed, and even years, but there seemed to be no hope for release. At
+last came the news of the declaration of peace. How great then was the
+rejoicing! Thoughts of home, of friends and kindred, flooded the minds
+of all; and even strong men, whom the hardships of prison-life had not
+broken down, seemed to give way all at once to tears of joy. But the
+delays of official action, "red-tape," and the sluggishness of travel
+in that day, kept the poor fellows pent up for months after the treaty
+of peace had been announced to them. Nor were they to escape without
+suffering yet more severely at the hands of their jailors. Three
+months had passed since peace had been declared; and the long delay so
+irritated the prisoners, that they chafed under prison restraint, and
+showed evidences of a mutinous spirit. The guards, to whom was
+intrusted the difficult task of keeping in subjection six thousand
+impatient and desperate men, grew nervous, fearing that at any moment
+the horde of prisoners would rise and sweep away all before them. An
+outbreak was imminent; and the prisoners were like a magazine of
+gunpowder, needing but a spark of provocation to explode. On April 6,
+1815, matters reached a crisis. The soldiers, losing all presence of
+mind, fired on the defenceless Americans, killing five men and
+wounding thirty-four. Thus the last blood shed in the War of 1812 was
+the blood of unarmed prisoners. But the massacre, horrible and
+inexcusable as it was, had the effect of hastening the release of the
+survivors; and soon the last of the captives was on his way home to
+the country over which peace at last reigned again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+     THE LONG PEACE BROKEN BY THE WAR WITH MEXICO. -- ACTIVITY OF THE
+     NAVY. -- CAPTAIN STOCKTON'S STRATAGEM. -- THE BATTLE AT SAN JOSÉ.
+     -- THE BLOCKADE. -- INSTANCES OF PERSONAL BRAVERY. -- THE LOSS OF
+     THE "TRUXTON." -- YELLOW FEVER IN THE SQUADRON. -- THE NAVY AT
+     VERA CRUZ. -- CAPTURE OF ALVARADO.
+
+
+The period of peace which followed the close of the War of 1812 was,
+perhaps, the longest which any nation has ever enjoyed. For the navy
+of the United States, it was a time of absolute peace, inactivity,
+even stagnation. The young nation was living literally up to
+Washington's rule of avoiding entanglements abroad, and its people
+looked with suspicion on the naval branch of the service which had
+rendered such a good account of itself in the war with Great Britain.
+They feared to build and man ships lest possession of a navy might
+prove an incentive to war. And so when war did come--war, not with
+Europe, but with our nearest neighbor--the United States had little
+floating force to join in it. Fortunately, little was needed.
+
+Though war was not declared by the United States against Mexico until
+May, 1846, it had been a possibility ever since the establishment of
+the Texan Republic by the defeat of the Mexicans at San Jacinto in
+1834, and it had been a great probability since 1841, when it was
+discovered that both England and France were holding out prospects of
+assistance to the Mexicans in case of conflict with the United
+States. Neither of these European powers was sincere in the diplomatic
+game which deceived the proud but ignorant Mexicans, but neither did
+either of them scruple to foment a quarrel out of which some selfish,
+though indefinite, advantage might be gained. Indeed they played the
+diplomatic game so skilfully that they deceived a considerable
+minority in the United States and made these believe that the
+admission of Texas to the United States would be unwise and
+inexpedient, and the probable war with Mexico a wickedness dire and
+dreadful. Even General Grant, when he wrote his book, said that such
+were his views at the time, though he was then an army officer and
+trusting to war for advancement. But when hostilities were begun, and
+victory for American arms followed victory, the protests of the peace
+party were unheard amid the enthusiastic shoutings of those who took a
+saner view of the conditions which led to the conflict.
+
+Mexico claimed title not only to Texas, but to California, and if the
+United States had not gone to war in regard to the former, she would
+have had to do so in defence of her conquest of the latter. In
+securing California the navy bore a conspicuous part, and as early as
+1842, Captain Thomas Ap-Catesby Jones, commanding the Pacific
+squadron, was as active as though war had already been declared. In
+September of that year, with his squadron of four ships, he was at
+anchor in the harbor of Callao, and noticing the suspicious conduct of
+the British frigate "Dublin," which shoved off the port and then bore
+away, he concluded to follow her and see just what game she sought, as
+he had been informed by the Navy Department that England was plotting
+in Mexico against the United States; he had also read in a Mexican
+newspaper that war was likely to be declared, if indeed hostilities
+had not already begun. Captain Jones reached Monterey on the 19th of
+October, and though he saw nothing of the "Dublin," he at once
+insisted on the surrender of the place. The next day he learned that
+his action had been premature and made what amends he could. So the
+navy really struck the first official blow that led to this war.
+
+When war had been declared, the Pacific squadron did not learn of it
+until after the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Captain
+Sloat, in command, at once took prompt action. Landing two hundred and
+fifty seamen and marines under Captain Mervine, he captured Monterey
+on the 2d of July. A week later he formally took possession of the
+splendid bay of San Francisco and the neighboring country. He also
+occupied Sutter's Fort, on Sacramento River, and the towns of Bodega
+and Sonoma. In this war it will be noticed throughout this narrative
+that the naval forces were constantly required to do shore duty, a
+duty to which they were unaccustomed but which they performed with
+entire efficiency. The Mexicans had no navy worthy of the name and the
+American sailors were auxiliary to the soldiers. Though untrained to
+this kind of service, and though it was always hard, and sometimes
+quite ungrateful, they responded to orders with entire cheerfulness;
+when the service was most perilous then the blue-jackets entered upon
+it with a gayety that laughed at danger.
+
+On the 19th of July, Fremont and his corps of topographical engineers
+met Captain Sloat and thereafter co-operated with him. In the "Cyane,"
+Commander Du Pont, Fremont was sent to San Diego with one hundred and
+fifty riflemen and that place was occupied. On the 30th of July, the
+"Congress" took possession of San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, the
+seat of the Mexican government in California. About this time the
+command of the Pacific squadron devolved upon Captain Robert F.
+Stockton, who was not a whit less vigilant than his predecessors had
+been. Having all the California seaports, Captain Stockton planned an
+expedition against Los Angeles before the well-armed Mexican soldiers
+in the province could be brought together. He landed three hundred and
+fifty sailors and marines and established a camp at San Pedro. Captain
+Stockton's biographer says: "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 spectacle both singular and amusing." The
+Mexican forces at Los Angeles outnumbered Captain Stockton's land
+forces three to one, so he resorted to a stratagem to deceive the
+enemy as to his force. A flag of truce having appeared on the hills,
+"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 approaching messengers, to the
+rear of some buildings on the beach, and thence to turn in a circle
+and continue their march until the strangers had arrived. Part of the
+circle described in the march was concealed from view, so that to the
+strangers it would appear that a force ten times greater than the
+actual number was defiling before them. When the two 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 six-pounders
+and one thirty-two-pound carronade. The guns were all covered with
+skins so as to conceal their dimensions except the huge mouth of the
+thirty-two-pounder at which the captain was stationed to receive his
+guests.... As his purpose was intimidation he received them with much
+sternness." They asked for a truce, but Stockton demanded and secured
+an immediate and absolute surrender, as the evident object of the
+Mexicans was to gain time. Stockton at once began his tedious march to
+Los Angeles, his men dragging the cannon through the sand. On the 12th
+of August, he received a message from the Mexican general, saying "if
+he marched on the town he would find it the grave of his men." He
+replied: "Then tell your general to have the bells ready to toll at
+eight o'clock in the morning. I shall be there at that time." He was
+as good as his word. The next morning he was joined by Fremont and his
+men, who had come up from San Diego and they entered Los Angeles
+unopposed. He organized a civil government for the entire state, with
+Major Fremont as the head of it, and returning to his ships sailed
+northward on the 5th of September, 1846. The news of these operations
+was sent to Washington overland by the famous scout, Kit Carson.
+
+Meantime the other ships of the Pacific squadron were cruising along
+the coast and capturing everything with a semblance of Mexican
+ownership. But Captain Stockton was much disconcerted in October to
+learn that two Mexican generals, released on parole after the fall of
+Los Angeles, had gathered a force and were besieging the small
+garrison there. The "Savannah" at once went to the scene. At San Pedro
+it was learned that the garrison had been compelled to capitulate and
+was awaiting an American cruiser. Captain Mervine, of the "Savannah,"
+landed a detachment of sailors and marines and began the march to the
+capital. He could not cope with the superior force and had to retire.
+Indeed nearly all the places captured by the active sailors seemed
+likely now to fall into the hands of the Mexicans again. The garrison
+at Monterey was threatened by an uprising of the people; the garrison
+at San Diego was besieged; Los Angeles was in the hands of the enemy,
+and the force at the enemy's camp at San Bernardino was getting
+stronger each day. But Captain Stockton was equal to all demands upon
+him and made up for inadequate forces by celerity of movement. Just
+when matters were most critical the naval forces learned of the
+repulse of General Stephen Kearny by the Mexicans under Pico. It was
+indeed with great difficulty that Kearny and his dragoons were rescued
+by the sailors from their invested position near San Bernardino.
+
+Having got what men he could together, Captain Stockton determined to
+recapture Los Angeles. On the 29th of December, 1846, he began his
+march of 145 miles to the capital. There were no roads, but the route
+was through deep ravines, sand-hills, and deserts. The men were poorly
+armed and badly clothed, and there were few horses to assist in
+drawing the artillery. Never did an American commander have before him
+a more disagreeable prospect. The men, many of them without
+foot-covering, became worn-out in the march and begged to rest, but
+the captain insisted that they must go on, as the Mexicans were
+getting stronger every day. The men responded as best they could.
+
+On the 7th of January, the intrepid Stockton found that the enemy was
+intrenched between him and the San Gabriel River. The Mexican general
+changed his mind and crossed the river with the object of interrupting
+the crossing. But Stockton would not be denied, and repulsed the enemy
+on every side, though outnumbered three to one. This was on the 8th of
+January, the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans. The next day he
+fought again, resisting three furious charges of the enemy. On the
+10th he entered Los Angeles unopposed, and on the 15th he was joined
+there by Fremont and his corps. These seaports in California were not
+seriously harassed during the remainder of the war, but they needed to
+be garrisoned, while the whole coast required watching. A part of the
+squadron was sent south and also into the Bay of California. Before
+the end of 1847 every Mexican gun on the western coast, save those at
+Acapulco, had been silenced. Loreto, La Paz, Mazatlan, San Blas,
+Manzanilla, San Antonio, Guaymas, and Mulye fell to the squadron.
+Sometimes it only needed for a ship or two to appear before a town and
+it would surrender, but generally an assault or the appearance of a
+storming party on land was necessary. But the seamen and marines were
+always invincible in this part of the war, where they were entirely
+without aid from the army.
+
+The most serious predicament in which the Americans found themselves
+in this Pacific Coast campaign was when Lieutenant Heywood, of the
+"Dale," with four midshipmen and twenty marines, were shut up in the
+Mission House at San José, a small village near San Lucas. He was
+surrounded by a large force before he knew it, and two of his
+midshipmen were taken unawares and captured by an enemy not known to
+be near. Lieutenant Heywood maintained himself from the 19th of
+November, 1847, till the 17th of February, 1848, when Commander Du
+Pont, in the "Cyane," came to his rescue. A party of ninety-four
+seamen and marines, under Lieutenant Rowan, went ashore and fought its
+way against six hundred Mexicans until they were defeated and Heywood
+and his men rescued. There was nothing after this on the western coast
+more serious than guerrilla forays.
+
+The operations on the western coast were probably, in result, much
+more important than those of the home squadron in the Mexican Gulf and
+the Rio Grande River. But the latter squadron was the larger, and as
+it was in constant co-operation with the conquering armies which
+finally captured the capital of the country, much more has been heard
+of the doings of the fleet in the east, which was at first commanded
+by Commodore David Conner and then by Commodore Matthew C. Perry. The
+operations on this coast also came in for much criticism, for the
+various ships were filled with young men overflowing with valor and
+mad with desire of glory. They were also comparatively close to home
+and saw the newspapers from New York, Washington, and New Orleans. In
+these papers the army was accorded all the glory while the navy was
+almost ignored. This neglect rankled in the minds of the madcaps, and
+they blamed Commodore Conner, an officer of much experience and
+distinguished record, for not storming every fort and citadel near the
+coast instead of carrying out his instructions to maintain an
+efficient blockade of the ports and to co-operate with the army
+whenever possible. These duties, tiresome and inglorious as they
+seemed, were of the first importance to the scheme of the campaign,
+and they were performed with a patience which rose superior to
+weariness, sickness, and death. The duty required of the blockaders
+did not require much fighting, but the men were in danger of the
+coast fevers all the time, and hundreds died. And then at some seasons
+the fleet was likely to be blown ashore by the fierce "northers" which
+prevailed. Many accidents resulted during these storms, the most
+serious being the capsizing of the brig "Somers," Lieutenant Raphael
+Semmes (afterward commanding the Confederate ship "Alabama")
+commanding, and the loss of more than half her crew.
+
+When the war began at Palo Alto, Commodore Conner was with his
+squadron off Point Isabel, at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Not
+knowing the issue of the battle, five hundred seamen and marines were
+sent to strengthen the garrison at Point Isabel, where the army
+supplies were stored, while Captain Aulick, of the "Potomac," with two
+hundred men, pulled up the Rio Grande in boats for fifteen miles and
+until a junction with the army was established at Barita. At this time
+the squadron consisted of the frigates "Cumberland" (flagship),
+"Potomac," and "Raritan"; the steam frigate "Mississippi"; the
+sloops-of-war "Falmouth," "John Adams," and "St. Mary's"; the
+steam-sloop "Princeton"; and the brigs "Lawrence," "Porpoise," and
+"Somers." Before the close of the war some of these ships were
+recalled, at least one was wrecked, and the squadron was from time to
+time largely reinforced.
+
+The squadron, now that war had begun, was ordered to blockade the
+ports of Matamoras, on the Rio Grande; Tampico, on the Tampico River;
+Alvarado, on the Alvarado; Coatzalcoalcos, on the river of the same
+name; Tabasco, on the Tabasco River; and Vera Cruz, on the Gulf. The
+rivers mentioned, except the Rio Grande, are mere creeks, not fit for
+vessels of any size, and their mouths simply open roadsteads. Vera
+Cruz was the only place with anything like a harbor. The ports in
+Yucatan, such as Laguna and Campeachy, were only visited for supplies
+of fresh meat. The State of Yucatan was not assisting in the war and
+did not need to be blockaded. By the time General Taylor took
+possession of Matamoras, Commodore Conner's fleet had been
+considerably augmented by the addition of the sloops-of-war
+"Germantown," "Albany," "Saratoga" and "Decatur"; the steamers
+"Spitfire," "Vixen," "Alleghany," "Scorpion" and "Scourge"; the brig
+"Truxton"; the gunboats "Reefer," "Bonita," and "Rebel." A little
+later, and just before the bombardment of Vera Cruz, the "Ohio," with
+seventy-four guns, joined, together with the bomb-vessels "Vesuvius,"
+"Hecla," and "Stromboli." There were also a number of small steamers
+and gunboats to operate in shallow water. These constituted what was
+called the "mosquito fleet." With so formidable a fleet the sailors
+felt they were equal to anything, and whenever a larger part of it was
+operating at one place, it was difficult to restrain the men. The
+youngsters even thought Commodore Conner's prudence and conservatism
+to be timidity, and the writer has before him now a book written
+twenty-five years after these events, by one who was a midshipman on
+the flagship, and he quotes the familiar lines about daring to put
+things to the touch. All this was most unfair, but it indicated that
+the blue jackets of the Mexican War were buttoned over hearts that
+knew no fear.
+
+The blockade of the Mexican ports that was maintained was not by any
+means a paper blockade. It was actual, and the very opposite of the
+merely formal closing of ports which the United States had so long
+protested against in other countries. The hardships of the men and
+officers were fearful and the casualties very great. The tediousness
+of the service was relieved now and again by daring expeditions into
+the rivers and ports, where boats were cut out and taken away from
+beneath batteries on shore. The record of such ventures shows that the
+navy in 1846 and 1847 was no whit inferior in dash to the one which
+made the flag glorious some years before in the war with England. One
+instance of such a venture is quoted from the "Recollections of a
+Naval Officer," by Captain William Harwar Parker. He was telling of
+the blockade at Vera Cruz in 1846. He says: "One of the finest fellows
+in the service I often met on Green Island. I allude to Passed
+Midshipman Hynson, of Maryland. He was drowned in the brig 'Somers,'
+when she capsized in the fall of this year. At the time of her
+sinking, Hynson had both of his arms bandaged and in a sling, and was
+almost helpless. It was said that when the brig sank he managed to get
+hold of a spar with another man, and finding it would not support two
+he deliberately let go his hold. It was like him. The way he happened
+to have his arm in a sling was this: While the 'Somers' was
+maintaining the blockade of Vera Cruz, a vessel managed to slip in--I
+think she was a Spanish schooner. The Mexicans moored her to the walls
+of the Castle of San Juan for safety; but the officers of the 'Somers'
+resolved to cut her out or burn her. Hynson was the leading spirit in
+the affair, though Lieutenant James Parker, of Pennsylvania, was the
+senior officer. They took a boat one afternoon and pulled in to visit
+the officers of an English man-of-war lying under Sacrificios Island.
+It was quite usual to do this. After nightfall they left the British
+ship and pulled directly for the schooner, which they boarded and
+carried. This, be it observed, was directly under the guns of the
+castle and the muskets of its garrison. The crew was secured, and
+finding the wind would not serve to take the vessel out, it was
+resolved to burn her. Her captain made some resistance, and the
+sentinel on the walls called out to know what was the matter. Parker,
+who spoke Spanish remarkably well, replied that his men were drunk and
+he was putting them in irons. The party then set fire to the vessel
+and got safely away with their prisoners. It was in setting fire to
+the schooner that Hynson got so badly burned."
+
+In regard to the personal heroism shown by Hynson and others when the
+"Somers" went down, Lieutenant Raphael Semmes, in his book, "Service
+Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War," said: "Those men who could
+not swim were selected to go into the boat. A large man by the name of
+Seymour, the ship's cook, having got into her, he was commanded by
+Lieutenant Parker to come out, in order that he might make room for
+two smaller men, and he _obeyed the order_. He was afterward permitted
+to return to her, however, when it was discovered that he could not
+swim. Passed Midshipman Hynson, a promising young officer, who had
+been partially disabled by a bad burn received in firing the 'Creole'
+a few days previously, was particularly implored to go into the boat.
+A lad by the name of Nutter jumped out of the boat and offered his
+place to Hynson, and a man by the name of Powers did the same thing.
+Hynson refusing both offers, these men declared that then others might
+take their places, as they were resolved to abide in the wreck with
+him. Hynson and Powers were drowned. Nutter was saved. When the plunge
+was made into the sea, Sailing-Master Clemson seized a studding-sail
+boom, in company with five of the seamen. Being a swimmer, and
+perceiving that the boom was not sufficiently buoyant to support them
+all, he left it and struck out alone. He perished--the five men were
+saved."
+
+Just about this time the first of the gunboats reached the squadron,
+and the young men of the steerage were intensely amused at the
+smallness of the vessel. A midshipman from the flagship visited the
+"Reefer." He went alongside of her in the barge, and, not knowing any
+better, stepped over her port-quarter. Lieutenant Sterrett, in
+command, said in his least gentle voice: "Sir, there is a gangway to
+this vessel!" Before long even the youngsters learned to respect these
+little steamers. Commodore Conner now made an expedition to capture
+Alvarado, but just as he was about ready to begin a bombardment his
+pilots predicted a "norther," and he hoisted the signal, "Return to
+the anchorage off Vera Cruz." This was popularly regarded as a
+_fiasco_, but doubtless the Commodore was entirely right, as Alvarado
+might be taken at any time, and subsequently was taken in a manner
+which has been a joke in the navy ever since. Of this something will
+presently be said. Tampico, a town of 7,000 inhabitants, 210 miles
+north of Vera Cruz, was next proceeded against. The bar at the mouth
+of the Tampico River is considered the most dangerous on the coast,
+and the larger vessels did not try to cross it. But the smaller
+steamers and gunboats of the "mosquito fleet" went in, and the town
+was surrendered without firing a shot. It was then occupied by the
+army. The next movement was against Frontera, at the mouth of the
+Tabasco River, and Tabasco, some seventy miles up that little stream.
+Frontera was taken by surprise, and Commodore Perry, now second in
+command to Commodore Conner, moved up the stream with vessels of too
+heavy draught. He came near losing the "Cumberland" in the mud, and,
+as it was, she was so disabled that when she was pulled from her perch
+on a bar she had to be sent home for repairs. Perry, however, defeated
+the Mexican flotilla and captured all the boats. Two of the prizes had
+to be blown up, but the "Champion," a fast river boat, which had run
+between Richmond and Norfolk, was taken out and afterward usefully
+employed as a despatch-boat. In this expedition there was considerable
+fighting and also some losses both of officers and men.
+
+In blockading the port of Tuspan, some 120 miles northwest of Vera
+Cruz, the brig "Truxton," Captain Carpenter, was stationed. The ship
+was blown ashore and was under the Mexican guns. The Captain sent a
+boat to tell the Commodore of the disaster, but before relief could
+reach him he surrendered. In doing this he was opposed bitterly by all
+his officers, and the quarter-master on duty positively refused to
+obey the order to haul down the flag. Lieutenant Bushrod Hunter, who
+first went for assistance, reached the squadron off Vera Cruz, as did
+also Lieutenant Otway Berryman, with a boat's crew, which left before
+the surrender had been effected. The remainder of the crew were taken
+to Vera Cruz as prisoners of war. As soon as Commodore Conner heard of
+the disaster he sent Captain Engle with the "Princeton" to Tuspan. He
+made short work of it. He drove the Mexicans out of the brig, took
+what armament was left, and then burned her. The guns taken out of the
+"Truxton" were placed in forts erected to protect Tuspan. But these
+were captured next year by Commodore Perry and Captain Breese. The
+officers and men of the navy had a grudge against Tuspan, and the
+landing detachment which carried the works fought as though each man
+in it were a demon. It lost three killed, while five officers and six
+seamen were wounded.
+
+During the summer of 1847, the men of the squadron operating in the
+Gulf suffered severely from yellow fever and also from scurvy brought
+on by a lack of fresh food. It was so bad on the "Mississippi" that
+she had to been sent to Pensacola. Commodore Perry was himself
+stricken, but he refused to leave, and changed his flag to the
+"Germantown," which remained. This was after the fall of Vera Cruz,
+and when the duty of the naval forces was once again only that of
+blockaders. The investment of Vera Cruz was the most considerable
+single piece of work performed by the navy during the war. Commodore
+Conner had gathered at Vera Cruz all his available forces and
+anxiously awaited the coming of General Scott and his army, who were
+at Lobos Island, 150 miles north of Vera Cruz. General Taylor, with
+5,000 men, had just defeated Santa Anna with 20,000 men at Buena
+Vista, and two days later, that is, on the 24th of February, 1847,
+General Scott gave his final orders to his fleet of transports which
+was to take his army to Vera Cruz. Early in March the transports with
+12,600 men arrived in front of Vera Cruz. Captain Parker, in his book
+previously quoted, says: "No words can express our excitement as ship
+after ship crowded with enthusiastic soldiers successively came in;
+some anchoring near us and others continuing on for the anchorage at
+Anton Lizardo. We had been so long on our ships, and for some months
+so inactive, that we were longing for something to do. I cannot answer
+for others, but the scene of that day--and I recollect that it was
+Sunday--is so vivid, and the events so firmly fixed in my memory, that
+I can almost see the ship "Diadem" as she grazed our spanker-boom in
+her desire to pass near enough to speak us, and I can to this day
+whistle the waltz played by an infantry band on board a transport
+anchored near us that night, though I have never heard it since."
+
+Indeed, the naval contingent was most anxious to be in some of the
+heavy fighting, and the chance seeming near, all was enthusiasm aboard
+the ships of the squadron. A few days after General Scott's arrival he
+and Commodore Conner and a large number of principal officers,
+including Captain Joseph E. Johnston, of the "Engineers," made a
+reconnaissance to decide on the best place to land the army. They
+selected the mainland abreast of Sacrificios Island.
+
+On the 9th of March, the steamers "Spitfire" and "Vixen" and several
+gunboats ran close inshore and shelled the sand-hills and chaparral in
+which the enemy might be concealed. Only a few horsemen were made to
+scamper away. The Government for this very landing had sent out a
+number of surf-boats, flat on the bottom and sharp at both ends. Each
+of these carried one hundred men with their arms and accoutrements.
+They proved most admirable for the service, as the whole army was
+landed with out a mishap, and, singularly enough, the Mexicans did not
+molest the Americans in the least while this important movement was in
+progress. By midnight of the 9th of March the whole of the army was
+ashore. Landing the troops having been accomplished, the work of
+taking the artillery pieces, the ammunition, and supplies was begun,
+and this consumed a week, each day lasting from four in the morning
+till ten at night.
+
+While this was in progress, General Scott was so arranging his troops
+that he should entirely invest the city, and by the 20th of March the
+bombardment began. General Scott summoned the authorities to
+surrender, and gave them a chance to send the women and children out
+of the city. Both invitation and opportunity were declined. And so it
+came about that many non-combatants were killed in the siege that
+followed. The sailors not only had to land the army and the materials
+of war, but they were obliged to help get the siege guns in place. The
+blue-jacket ashore is nearly always alive to the importance of having
+a lark, and even in this arduous service they acted very much as
+though they were on a spree. On one occasion a "norther" came up, and
+for several days the seamen could not get back to their ships. Being
+idle they had a good time to their hearts' content. It is said that
+before the end of the first day every Jack of them had a horse and was
+a mounted marine. One of these, a very tough old salt, had for his
+charger a donkey, and on this animal he rode by General Scott's
+quarters in great pride. "Some officers standing by observing that he
+was, as they thought, seated too far back, called out to him to shift
+his seat more amidships. 'Gentlemen,' said Jack, drawing rein, 'this
+is the first craft I ever commanded, and it's d--d hard if I can't
+ride on the quarter-deck.'"
+
+But there was more serious work immediately in store for the navy than
+fetching and carrying for the army and rewarding themselves in boyish
+pranks. The day before the serious bombardment began the squadron was
+notified by signal from the flagship: "Commodore Perry commands the
+squadron." There was rejoicing at this, for Perry was regarded as a
+man who preferred a fight for its own sake rather than to have no
+fight at all. In this command he proved that he was a good fighter,
+but he proved also that he knew how to be conservative when necessity
+made such a course wise. Commodore Conner went home because his health
+demanded that he should. The Navy Department was not dissatisfied with
+him. But the opportunity for heavy fighting came after Perry took the
+command. From the beginning of the siege the fleet kept up a heavy
+firing on the city and castle so as to divert the fire from the land
+forces.
+
+General Scott soon saw that his guns were not strong enough to batter
+down the walls of the city, so he requested Commodore Perry to send
+him some heavy guns. The Commodore's gallant reply was: "Certainly,
+General, but I must fight them." And fight them he did, as we shall
+see. Six heavy pieces of ordnance were landed, and about 200 seamen
+and volunteers were attached to each gun. Three of these were
+sixty-eight-pounder shell guns and three thirty-two-pounder solid-shot
+guns. Each of these guns weighed about three tons. Now each of these
+had to be dragged through the loose sand, almost knee-deep, for
+something like three miles before it could be put in the position the
+engineers had assigned to it. This battery, by the way, was protected
+by bags of sand piled on each other, and this was the first time that
+this device had been used. When the battery was in position the
+officers and men of the ships were so anxious to fight it that, to
+prevent jealousy, the officers first to be assigned drew lots for the
+honor. The first day Captain Aulick commanded, and the next day
+Captain Mayo. The naval battery fired with such precision that they
+did amazing damage to the enemy's works, and on the second day the
+guns in Vera Cruz were silenced. Then began a parley as to terms, but
+on the 28th there was an unconditional surrender. Now Scott had a
+foothold in the part of Mexico which counted for something, and he was
+able to begin that masterly march through the Valley of Mexico and on
+to the capital of the country. But he never could have obtained this
+foothold without the assistance of the navy. The country did not
+recognize this at once, and the newspapers being printed by landsmen,
+all of the immediate glory was bestowed on General Scott.
+
+Now that Vera Cruz had fallen and General Scott's plans called for a
+movement toward the interior, it was most desirable for him to have
+better cavalry. But he lacked horses. Singular as it may seem, he
+called upon the navy to assist in supplying this deficiency. It was
+known that there were Mexican horsemen in and about Alvarado, so it
+was determined to proceed against this place by land and sea, so that
+the town could be reduced, and the horses secured at the same time.
+General Quitman, with a brigade, was sent by land, so as to keep the
+horsemen from running away, while the "Potomac," Captain Aulick, and
+the "Scourge," Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter, were sent to appear in
+front of Alvarado. It was evidently intended that Captain Aulick and
+General Quitman would move on the place on some appointed day.
+Lieutenant Hunter did not know what the plans were, and as his boat
+was much faster than the "Potomac" he arrived in front of Alvarado
+long before Captain Aulick. When the "Potomac" did come in sight, a
+great commotion was noticed in the harbor. The "Albany," which had
+been doing blockading service, came out and informed Captain Aulick
+that Alvarado had been taken.
+
+"By whom?" asked the Captain.
+
+"By Lieutenant Hunter, in the 'Scourge,'" was the reply.
+
+The "Scourge," it should be explained, was a very small steamer,
+carrying one gun and forty men. Hunter went up pretty close and
+observing indications of flinching, he fired three guns and dashed
+boldly in and captured the place. The horsemen, the capture of whom
+was the main object of the expedition, were frightened off before
+General Quitman could intercept them. Having taken possession of
+Alvarado, Lieutenant Hunter placed in the town a garrison consisting
+of a midshipman and two men, and hurried his steamer up the river to a
+place called Tlacotalpan, which he also captured. When General Quitman
+arrived in Alvarado with his brigade and the place was gravely handed
+over to him by Passed Midshipman William G. Temple (afterward a very
+distinguished officer of high rank) he was greatly amused and laughed
+heartily. But Commodore Perry was annoyed and angry. As soon as he
+could get hold of Hunter--not an easy matter, as Hunter had gone on
+his conquering way still further up the river with the intention of
+taking all the rest of Mexico not subjugated by Taylor and Scott--he
+placed him under arrest and preferred charges against him. When Hunter
+was shortly tried by court-martial, he was sentenced to be reprimanded
+by the Commodore, the reprimand to be read from the quarter-deck of
+every vessel in the squadron.
+
+The reprimand, prepared by Commodore Perry, was thought by pretty
+nearly all the officers of the squadron to be entirely too severe. A
+military offence had been committed, but it amounted to a mere trifle,
+and the time was ripe for the people to laugh over such an occurrence.
+In effect the reprimand was something like this: "Who told you to take
+Alvarado? You were sent to watch Alvarado, not to take it. You have
+taken Alvarado with but a single gun and not a marine to back you!"
+Then the announcement was made that the squadron would soon move
+against Tabasco, and that Hunter should not accompany it, but that he
+should be dismissed the squadron. And he was sent home. In New York
+the people made a hero of him, giving him swords and dinners, and
+securing for him the command of the schooner "Taney," in which he made
+a roving cruise to the Mediterranean. As long as he lived he was
+always spoken of as "Alvarado" Hunter. A sense of humor is sometimes a
+dangerous cargo for a public man to carry; but the absence of it also
+is often dangerous. In this instance Commodore Perry, because he did
+not see the amusing aspect of Hunter's escapade, made himself so
+ridiculous that he came near cutting short his own career, which, as
+will afterward be seen in this history, was destined for greater
+achievements than any in the past.
+
+[Illustration: Blue-Jackets before Vera Cruz.]
+
+The next objective point for the navy was Tuspan, where the "Truxton"
+had been lost. The bar at Tuspan is dangerous, and even the small
+steamers of the squadron had their masts hoisted out of them to
+lighten them. Commodore Perry hoisted his flag on the "Spitfire" and
+led the way up the river with the boats of the squadron in tow. The
+first fort on the river below the town, called the Pana, was silenced
+by the gun of the "Spitfire" and then stormed by the sailors; two
+other forts were taken in the same way and the town was occupied. The
+Mexicans made a spirited defence, but did little damage, only one man
+being killed. Among the wounded were Captain Tatnall, Commander
+Whittle, and Lieutenant James Parker. The guns taken from the
+"Truxton" were found in one of the forts and restored to the fleet.
+
+The last naval operation of the war was against Tabasco. Commodore
+Perry took all of the fleet which could possibly go up the river from
+Frontera. This town was easily captured, but when the ascent of the
+river began the boats were continually fired upon from the trees and
+chaparral along the banks. At a place called Devil's Bend, the passage
+of the river was interrupted by a sunken obstruction, technically
+called a _chevaux de frise_. Commodore Perry did not mean to let this
+stop him, so he organized a land force of seamen and marines and
+concluded to march to Tabasco. He had numerous skirmishes, but was not
+stopped. One day his own ships passed him, the _chevaux de frise_
+having been raised by attaching rubber bags to it and then inflating
+them with air. When Perry arrived at Tabasco he found the American
+flag flying, the town having fallen without resistance to his own
+ships. So his own arduous march across country had been all for
+nothing. This was the last work of the sailors, but the marines of the
+navy still saw glorious service, as a detachment of them was with
+General Scott, participating in the attack on Chapultepec. They were
+also among the first to enter the City of Mexico when that capital
+surrendered.
+
+The navy in the War with Mexico did itself credit as it always had
+before, and reflected honor upon the country, whose flag was upheld
+with brilliant courage and untiring zeal.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+     THE NAVY IN PEACE. -- SURVEYING THE DEAD SEA. -- SUPPRESSING THE
+     SLAVE TRADE. -- THE FRANKLIN RELIEF EXPEDITION. -- COMMODORE
+     PERRY IN JAPAN. -- SIGNING OF THE TREATY. -- TROUBLE IN CHINESE
+     WATERS. -- THE KOSZTA CASE. -- THE SECOND FRANKLIN RELIEF
+     EXPEDITION. -- FOOTE AT CANTON. -- "BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER."
+
+
+After the Mexican War the navy engaged for twelve years in works of
+peace varied by a little exciting police duty on the high seas. Much
+was done for commerce and for civilization in the years immediately
+succeeding 1848, but the story, though important, is not exciting, and
+is therefore little known. The records of these years afford a fair
+suggestion of what a navy may do when actual fighting is not
+necessary, and when its vessels, with the trained sailors and
+scientists who man them, may be utilized in utilitarian work.
+
+Shortly after the close of the Mexican War, the armed ship "Supply,"
+under command of Lieutenant Lynch, sailed on an expedition to the Dead
+Sea. The start was made from New York, and the vessel arrived in the
+Mediterranean only a few weeks after peace had been declared with
+Mexico. At Smyrna, Lieutenant Lynch left the "Supply," and went to
+Constantinople to obtain permission to enter the Turkish domains. This
+having been granted, the party sailed for Haifa. Arriving at this port
+on the 21st of March, they left their ship, and set out for the Sea of
+Galilee by an overland route, carrying on trucks the boats which had
+been specially built for navigation in the river Jordan. Upon
+reaching Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the
+party divided, one detachment embarking in the boats to navigate the
+Sea of Galilee, and the other mounting camels and horses to make the
+trip by land, with the intention of keeping those who had sailed in
+view as much as possible, and protecting them from attacks by
+wandering Arabs or aiding them if necessary in the passage of the
+tortuous and turbulent Jordan. Eight days were consumed in making this
+passage, and a distance covered of 200 miles, although if the trip had
+been made in a straight line instead of along the winding course of
+the river, it would have been necessary to have traversed only sixty
+miles. An encampment was established on the desolate banks of the Dead
+Sea, and several exploring and scientific expeditions in the
+neighborhood were made. Among the interesting facts gathered was the
+exact depression of the Dead Sea below the level of the ocean. This
+was found to be 1,312 feet.
+
+The western coast of Africa was the scene of the next important
+activity on the part of the American cruisers. The slave-trade, which
+in the eighteenth century had assumed extensive proportions, still
+flourished to a degree which made the condition upon the coast a
+disgrace to civilization. It was a notorious fact, moreover, that a
+large proportion of the vessels in the trade were of American build
+and sailed under the Stars and Stripes. The United States Government
+was anxious to wipe out this blot upon the nation's fair fame; and
+consequently, in 1849, sent Lieutenant Foote, in command of the brig
+"Perry," to African waters. The lieutenant, who, by the way, afterward
+became the distinguished Admiral Foote, at once began active cruising
+off Ambrig, a notorious slave mart. The "Perry" was constantly at sea,
+chasing and boarding suspicious vessels, and very often her boats
+passed through the surf and ran up the jungle-bordered rivers to the
+slave barracoons. Many large slavers were captured, and when, in 1851,
+the "Perry" was succeeded on the African coast by the squadron under
+Commander Gregory, Lieutenant Foote had effectually checked the slave
+trade. He was thanked for his services by the Secretary of the Navy.
+
+While Lieutenant Foote was sailing under the blazing sun of Africa,
+another lieutenant, Edwin J. De Haven, in command of the brigs
+"Rescue" and "Advance," was pushing his way northward through the ice
+of the Arctic Ocean. The Navy Department had considered it proper and
+fitting to aid England in her search for the British commander, Sir
+John Franklin and his men, who had sailed into the Arctic regions on
+an exploring expedition, and had been gone so long as to warrant the
+belief that they were in grave peril, if not already dead. Volunteers
+for the relief expedition had been called for by the department.
+Lieutenant De Haven and others had responded, and on May 24th, 1850,
+started on their errand of mercy. In July, the party was in Baffin's
+Bay, and here the brigs remained embedded in the ice for twenty-one
+days. On the 29th of July, by a sudden movement of the floe, an
+opening at the north presented itself; a north-east breeze sprang up
+at the same time, and with press of sail the brigs were able to force
+their way into clear water.
+
+For a month afterward there was continual battling with the ice, and
+slow progress northward. On August 27th, Lieutenant De Haven, having
+in the mean time fallen in with several English relief expeditions,
+decided to make a search on the shores adjacent to a Lancaster Sound.
+Here were found three graves, and various signs that Franklin and his
+companions had spent a winter somewhere thereabouts; but there were no
+indications of the course his vessels, the "Erebus" and the "Terror,"
+had taken when they had sailed away. Throughout the winter the search
+was continued, and the "Rescue" and the "Advance" were often in
+imminent danger of destruction in the masses of ice which pressed
+against the sides of the ships with enormous force. "Every moment,"
+said Lieutenant De Haven, in his report, "I expected the vessels would
+be crushed or overwhelmed by the masses of ice forced up far above our
+bulwarks." But at last, on June 6th, they forced their way again into
+the open sea; and as the instructions had been not to spend a second
+winter in the Arctic regions, sail was set for home, and late in the
+summer of 1851 the brigs arrived at New York.
+
+The sending of the frigate "Mississippi," commanded by Captain Matthew
+G. Perry, to the coast of Halifax, in 1852, averted what threatened to
+be serious trouble. A dispute had arisen among the American and
+Canadian fishing schooners in those waters, and seven American vessels
+had been seized by the British cruisers.
+
+This caused intense indignation in New England; but Captain Perry
+poured oil upon the troubled waters, and in 1854, as a result of his
+visit, a reciprocity treaty between the United States and Canada was
+signed, and this lasted for ten years.
+
+Captain Perry performed his most important services for the
+government, however, in Japan. The early fifties were an era of
+exploring expeditions for the navy. There were trips up the rivers
+into unknown regions of South America and Africa. The Isthmus of
+Darien was explored, and an ambitious scheme to cut a ship-channel
+through was found to be impracticable. It was very natural, during
+this activity in penetrating little-known parts of the world, that
+attention should have been given to Japan, which was a land of mystery
+to the world at large because of the exclusion of foreigners from that
+country. In 1852, Captain Perry was assigned the command of the
+squadron cruising in the East Indies, and was empowered, in addition
+to his ordinary duties, to make a display of force in the waters of
+Japan in order to obtain better treatment for American seamen cast
+upon Japanese shores, and to gain entry into Japanese ports for
+vessels seeking supplies. He bore a letter, moreover, from the
+President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan, written with a
+view to obtaining a treaty providing for friendly intercourse and
+commerce with the haughty island kingdom. On the 8th of July, the
+squadron, comprising the frigates "Mississippi," "Susquehanna," and
+"Powhatan"; the corvette "Macedonian"; the sloops-of-war "Plymouth,"
+"Saratoga," and "Vandalia"; and the store-ships "Supply,"
+"Southampton," and "Lexington," anchored off the city of Uraga, in the
+Bay of Jeddo, Japan. Captain Perry decided that the proper course to
+pursue with the Japanese was to assume a very lofty and commanding
+tone and bearing. He therefore ordered away from the sides of his
+vessel the boats which swarmed around it, and allowed none but
+government officials of high rank to come on board. He himself
+remained in seclusion in his cabin, treating with the Japanese through
+intermediaries. He moved his squadron nearer the capital than was
+allowable, and then demanded that a special commission, composed of
+men of the highest rank, be appointed to convey his letter from the
+President to the Emperor. The close proximity of the ships-of-war to
+the capital, and Captain Perry's peremptory demand, were not at all to
+the liking of the Japanese; but they were greatly impressed with his
+apparent dignity and power, and at last consented to receive and
+consider the letter. Fearing treachery, Captain Perry moved his ships
+up so that their guns would command the building prepared for his
+reception, and on the 14th of July went ashore with an escort of 400
+officers and men, who found themselves, on landing, surrounded by
+about 6,000 Japanese soldiers under arms.
+
+Three months were given to the Japanese officials to reply to the
+letter, and Captain Perry sailed with his squadron for the coast of
+China. He returned after an interval of three months, and anchored his
+ships beyond Uraga, where the previous conference had been held, and
+nearer the capital, despite the fact that a place twenty miles below
+had been appointed for the second meeting. The Japanese demurred at
+this, being so exclusive that they did not wish their capital nor
+their country even to be seen by foreigners. Instead of respecting
+these wishes, Captain Perry approached still nearer, until he was only
+eight miles from Tokio. This high-handed policy had the desired
+effect. Five special Japanese commissioners met Captain Perry, and in
+a building within range of the ships' guns, negotiations were carried
+on. They resulted, on March 31st, in the signing of a treaty by the
+Japanese, in which they promised to open two of their ports to
+American vessels seeking supplies; to give aid to seamen of the United
+States wrecked upon their shores; to allow American citizens
+temporarily residing in their ports to enter, within certain
+prescribed limits, the surrounding country; to permit consuls of the
+United States to reside in one of the open ports; and, in general, to
+show a peaceful and friendly spirit toward our government and
+citizens. This treaty is important, because it opened the door for the
+peoples of the world to a country which has since proved to be
+possessed of vast wealth and resources. Captain Perry received high
+praise for his firmness and diplomacy in the conduct of the difficult
+negotiations.
+
+One vessel of Captain Perry's fleet, the "Plymouth," had remained at
+Shanghai when the squadron returned to Japanese waters, and she played
+a very active though brief part in the troubles which then existed in
+China. Imperial and revolutionary troops were fighting for supremacy,
+and the former showed a hostile disposition to the American and
+English residents of Shanghai. An American pilot was captured by an
+Imperial man-of-war, but was retaken in a most spirited manner from
+the Chinese by Lieutenant Guest, and a boat's crew from the
+"Plymouth." The Chinese manifestations of hostility toward foreign
+residents continued, and on the 4th of April, 1854, about ninety men
+from the "Plymouth" and American merchant-ships, under the leadership
+of Commander Kelly, went ashore, and in conjunction with one hundred
+and fifty men from a British man-of-war, began an attack upon the
+Imperial camp. The Americans had two field-pieces and a twelve-pound
+boat-howitzer, which, together with the muskets, were used so
+effectively that, after ten minutes of sharp fighting, the Chinese
+fled in great disorder, leaving a number of dead and wounded upon the
+field. The American loss was two killed and four wounded.
+
+Piracy was rampant in the China seas during this period, and so bold
+and ferocious were the Chinese desperadoes that their junks were a
+great terror to merchant vessels, and seriously interfered with
+commerce. The "Powhatan," another of Captain Perry's squadron, and the
+English sloop "Rattler," joined forces against a fleet of piratical
+junks off Khulan, in 1855, and completely destroyed them, killing many
+of the pirates in the attack and taking a large number of prisoners.
+In Happy Valley, Hong-Kong, a monument was erected to commemorate the
+eight English and American sailors who were killed in the conflict.
+
+While the East India squadron was performing these important and
+gallant services off the coasts of Japan and China, the other vessels
+of the navy were by no means idle. Among the conspicuous naval events
+of the time was the spirited action of Commander Ingraham at Smyrna,
+in 1854. A young Austrian, Martin Koszta, had lived in New York city
+two years before, and had declared his intention of becoming an
+American citizen. He had gone to Smyrna on business, and having
+incurred the displeasure of the Austrian government, had been seized,
+and was a prisoner on board the Austrian man-of-war "Hussar."
+Commander Ingraham, commanding the sloop-of-war "St. Louis," demanded
+that Koszta be surrendered, on the ground that he was an American
+citizen. This being refused, Ingraham cleared for action, although the
+"Hussar's" force was much superior to his own. His bold stand brought
+the Austrians to satisfactory terms, and the threatened engagement was
+averted by the surrender of Koszta.
+
+There were two Arctic expeditions in addition to that of the "Rescue"
+and the "Advance" in the early fifties. Both of them grew out of the
+ill-fated Arctic explorations of Sir John Franklin. Lady Franklin, his
+wife, was anxious, upon the failure of the first relief expeditions,
+to send another, and she asked that a surgeon of the United States
+Navy, Dr. Kane, be permitted to command it. The Navy Department
+granted the request, and in June, 1853, the expedition, composed of
+eighteen men under orders from the department and the patronage of
+Henry Grinnell, of New York, and George Peabody, the American
+merchant, of London, began the northwest journey. This search for Sir
+John Franklin's ships was also unsuccessful, and the relief party was
+for a long time in imminent danger of a fate similar to Franklin's.
+After living for two winters imprisoned in the ice in Smith's Sound,
+they abandoned their vessel, which had been largely broken up to
+provide fuel, and started on a journey over the ice in sledges. After
+eighty-four days of extreme privation and thrilling adventure, they
+reached Driscol Bay, where they were found by Commander Hartstone and
+Lieutenant Simms, commanding respectively the "Release" and the
+"Arctic," which vessels had been fitted out by order of Congress to
+rescue them. In October, 1855, the united party reached New York.
+
+In November, 1855, the presence of the United States ship
+"Germantown," commanded by Captain Lynch, in the harbor of Montevideo,
+prevented an extensive massacre. There had been a rebellion in
+Paraguay, and the insurrectionists had capitulated. The government
+troops rushed upon them with the intention of despatching them, when a
+detachment of United States marines interfered and put an end to the
+sanguinary scene. Three years afterward the marines performed
+efficient services in Montevideo in protecting foreign residents
+against the insurgents in another rebellion.
+
+The rather curious episode of a battle-ship fighting Indians occurred
+in 1856. The sloop-of-war "Decatur," Commander Gansevoort, anchored
+off Seattle, Washington, to protect the settlers from attacks from a
+large body of Indians. The savages appeared, and fought the marines,
+who had landed, with much spirit for six hours. At nightfall they
+disappeared in the woods, having suffered the loss of a large number
+of braves.
+
+One of the most gallant and important of the minor operations of the
+navy took place in November of the same year. Trouble having arisen
+between the Chinese authorities of the City of Canton and the English
+officials in the vicinity, it was thought that American interests
+might be injured, and in consequence Commander Foote stationed his
+vessel, the sloop-of-war "Portsmouth," of the squadron under
+Flag-Officer Armstrong, near the island of Whampoa, and thence
+proceeded, in several armed boats, to ascend the river to Canton to
+establish an armed neutrality. Several Americans, however, joined the
+British in an attack upon the governor's palace, and planted the flag
+beside the English colors on the wall of the city. Commander Foote
+disavowed this act, but as he was returning from an interview with the
+flag-officer at Whampoa, several shots of grape and canister were
+fired from the forts upon his boat, although it displayed the American
+flag. The next day the "Portsmouth" and the "Levant," which had come
+up the river to lend her aid, proceeded to the Canton barrier forts to
+avenge the insult. The "Levant" grounded before coming in range of the
+forts; but the "Portsmouth," under a sharp fire, sailed on until
+within about 500 yards of the nearest fort; then she opened fire.
+After she had thrown about 200 shells, the Chinese ceased firing. Then
+followed four days of unsatisfactory parley with Yeh, the Governor of
+Canton, after which Commander Foote renewed the attack. The "Levant"
+now joined the "Portsmouth," and the vessels began a cannonade, which
+was returned with spirit for an hour. Then 208 men, in ten boats, were
+landed, and stormed the nearest fort, which was taken. Five thousand
+pigtail-wearing soldiers afterward attempted to recapture it, but were
+repulsed. In like manner, on the following morning, the next fort was
+taken, with an American loss of but three men. During the afternoon
+the defenders of the third fort fled. The next morning, in the face of
+a heavy fire, the fourth and last fort was carried by a rapid assault.
+The little company of Americans was now in possession of four modern
+forts constructed by European engineers, which had been defended,
+moreover, by thousands of men. The insult had been avenged, and the
+affair resulted in a treaty of friendship and commerce with China.
+
+There was little love between Americans and Chinese, however, and
+three years afterward Captain Josiah Tatnall rendered valuable aid to
+the English and French gunboats when fired upon by the Chinese forts.
+The boats, under the command of Sir James Hope, were attempting to
+remove obstructions in the Peiho River when the forts suddenly opened
+a destructive fire. A desperate conflict followed, in which several
+hundred of the English were killed. Captain Tatnall commanded the
+chartered steamer "Toey-Wan," which was in the harbor. He forgot his
+neutrality as he watched the scene. With the exclamation, "Blood is
+thicker than water!" he jumped into his launch and steamed for the
+British flagship. The boat was struck with a ball, and before its trip
+was ended sunk, the coxswain being killed and Lieutenant Trenchart
+severely wounded. The others who had manned her were rescued, and they
+helped the English at the guns. Captain Tatnall afterward used the
+"Toey-Wan" to tow up and bring into action the British reserves. His
+action was a clear violation of the treaty and the neutrality law. He
+received but slight punishment, however, and gained great popularity
+in Great Britain.
+
+At Eaya, in the Feejee Islands, in 1858, a sharp conflict took place
+between the natives and forty men under Lieutenant Caldwell, who had
+been sent to destroy the principal village as retribution for the
+murder of two American citizens. The natives were sent fleeing inland.
+The Secretary of the Navy said of the affair, "The gallantry,
+coolness, and bravery displayed by officers and men was in the highest
+degree commendable." A somewhat similar episode occurred in the
+vicinity of Kisembo, on the west coast of Africa, in 1860. The natives
+threatened the property and lives of American citizens, and would
+undoubtedly have put their threats into effect had it not been for the
+presence and prompt action of Commander Brent of the sloop-of-war
+"Marion." When an insurrection occurred in the neighborhood of Panama,
+in July, 1860, Commander Porter landed a body of marines and sailors
+from his ship, the "St. Mary's," which was then stationed on the
+western coast of Mexico. The governor gave up the city of Panama to
+the joint occupancy of the forces of the "St. Mary's" and the British
+ship-of-war "Clio," and tranquillity was quickly restored.
+
+
+
+
+PART III
+
+
+
+
+BLUE-JACKETS OF '61.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     THE OPENING OF THE CONFLICT. -- THE NAVIES OF THE CONTESTANTS. --
+     DIX'S FAMOUS DESPATCH. -- THE RIVER GUNBOATS.
+
+
+The story of the naval operations of the civil war is a record of
+wonderful energy and inventive skill in improvising and building
+war-vessels, vigilance and courage in handling them, and desperate
+bravery and dash displayed by officers and seamen in the great
+engagements in which vessels of either side took part. Yet of the
+immense body of literature dealing with the war, the greater part is
+given to telling the story of the great armies of the North and South.
+The details of the great land battles are familiar to many who have
+but a vague idea of the service done by the "blue jackets" of the
+North, and the daring deeds performed by the navies of both sides.
+
+When the first mutterings of the storm of war began to be heard, the
+United States Government had at its disposal sixty-nine
+vessels-of-war, of which twenty-seven were laid up for repairs, or,
+sailors would say, "out of commission." Of the forty-two vessels in
+commission, twenty-six were absent on missions to the East Indies,
+the African coast, and other distant quarters of the globe. Long
+months must elapse before the most hasty orders could reach them. Many
+were sailing-vessels, and must consume many months of precious time
+before they could reach the shores of the United States. Indeed,
+though on the inauguration of President Lincoln on March 4, 1861, all
+these vessels were immediately recalled, not one arrived before the
+middle of June, and many were delayed until late in the following
+winter. Of the vessels at home, many were old-fashioned
+sailing-frigates; beautiful with their towering masts and clouds of
+snowy canvas, but almost useless in that day when steam had become
+known as the only means of propelling vessels-of-war.
+
+[Illustration: The "Hartford," Farragut's Flagship.]
+
+In officers and men the navy was almost as deficient as in vessels. A
+long peace had filled the lists of officers with old men past that
+age in which may be expected the alertness and energy that must be
+possessed by Jack afloat. The lower grades were filled by boyish
+officers from the Naval Academy, who had never seen a gun fired in
+anger. The service was becoming rusty from long idleness.
+
+Such was the condition of the navy of the United States when Abraham
+Lincoln was made President. Four years later the navy of the United
+States consisted of six hundred and seventy-one vessels. No nation of
+the world had such a naval power. The stern lessons of the great war
+had taught shipbuilders that wooden ships were a thing of the past.
+The little "Monitor" had by one afternoon's battle proved to all the
+sovereigns of Europe that their massive ships were useless. And all
+this had been done by a people grappling in deadly strife with an
+enemy in their very dwellings. The world's history contains no more
+wonderful story of energy and invention.
+
+[Illustration: Departure of a Naval Expedition from Port Royal.]
+
+When President Lincoln began his term of office, he appointed Gideon
+Welles of Connecticut Secretary of the Navy. South Carolina had
+seceded from the Union. Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and
+Louisiana had followed South Carolina. Anderson, with a handful of
+United States troops, was holding Fort Sumter, expecting every minute
+to see the puff of smoke from the distant casement of Fort Moultrie,
+and hear the shriek of the shell that should announce the opening of
+the attack. At Washington, politicians were intriguing. The loyalty of
+no man could be regarded as certain. Officers of the army and navy
+were daily resigning, and hastening to put themselves under the
+command of their various States. In the South all was activity. In the
+North the popular desire for a compromise hampered the authorities so
+that no decided stand against the spread of the rebellion could be
+made. The new Secretary of the Navy found himself face to face with
+the certainty of a long and bloody war, yet had under his command a
+navy hardly adequate for times of peace. To add to his perplexity,
+many of the oldest and most skilful officers in the navy resigned,
+saying that their duty to their States was greater than to the United
+States as a whole. A few revenue officers even went so far as to
+deliver to the State authorities the vessels of which they were in
+command. One commander, a Georgian, bringing his ship back from
+foreign waters, hesitated long whether to take it to the navy-yard at
+New York, or to deliver it to the Southern leaders. He finally
+decided to obey orders, and the ship remained with the United States.
+Some days afterward the commander told his lieutenant of his
+hesitation. "We all saw it," said the younger officer; "and had you
+turned the ship's prow towards Charleston, you would have been
+instantly put in irons."
+
+The surrender of another naval vessel called forth that famous
+despatch from John A. Dix that will ever be linked with his name. The
+United States revenue cutter "McClelland" was lying at New Orleans,
+under the command of Capt. Breshwood. The revenue service is distinct
+from the regular navy, and is under the general command of the
+Secretary of the Treasury. John A. Dix, then Secretary of the
+Treasury, suspected that Capt. Breshwood was about to surrender his
+vessel to the Confederates, and sent an agent to order him to take the
+vessel to New York. Breshwood refused, and instantly Dix sent the
+despatch: "Tell Lieut. Caldwell to arrest Capt. Breshwood, assume
+command of the cutter, and obey the order through you. If Capt.
+Breshwood, after arrest, undertakes to interfere with the command of
+the cutter, tell Lieut. Caldwell to consider him as a mutineer, and
+treat him accordingly. _If any man attempts to haul down the American
+flag, shoot him on the spot._" This despatch was intercepted by the
+Confederates, and the cutter was surrendered. But Dix's determined
+words reverberated through the North, and thrilled all hearts with the
+hope that the time for delay was past, and that the growing rebellion
+would be put down with a firm hand.
+
+So at the opening of the war we find the North with a navy consisting
+of but a few old-fashioned ships, few sailors, officers everywhere
+resigning, and a general feeling of distrust of brother officers in
+all grades.
+
+The condition of the South as regards the navy was even worse. The
+Southern States had never done any great amount of ship-building. The
+people were almost all engaged in farming. The crops of cotton and
+sugar that they raised were shipped in vessels built in Maine, and
+manned by sailors from the seafaring villages of New England. At the
+time the war broke out, there was hardly a shipyard in the confines of
+the Confederacy. A few vessels were gained by the treachery of United
+States officers. The capture of the Norfolk navy-yard brought them
+large quantities of naval stores, and by wonderful activity a few
+vessels were built for service on inland sounds and rivers. But at no
+time could the Confederacy have been said to have a navy; and,
+keeping this fact in view, the record the Confederates made with two
+or three vessels is most wonderful. In war-vessels for service on that
+wonderful network of rivers that make up the waterways of the
+Mississippi Valley, the South was not so deficient as in ships of the
+seagoing class. The long, crescent-shaped levee at New Orleans is
+lined throughout certain seasons of the year by towering
+river-steamers which ply up and down the Mississippi and connecting
+streams, taking from the plantations huge loads of cotton, sugar, and
+rice, and carrying to the planters those supplies which can only be
+furnished by the markets of a great city. The appearance of one of
+these towering river transports as she comes sailing down the turbid
+stream of the great Father of Waters, laden to the water's edge with
+brown bales of cotton, and emitting from her lofty, red crowned
+smoke-stacks dense clouds of pitchy black smoke, is most wonderful.
+Unlike ocean-steamers, the river-steamer carries her load upon her
+deck. Built to penetrate far towards the head-waters of rivers and
+bayous that in summer become mere shallow ditches, these steamers have
+a very light draught. Many of them, whose tiers of white cabins tower
+sixty or seventy feet into the air, have but three feet of hull
+beneath the river's surface. The first deck, when the vessel is but
+lightly loaded, stands perhaps two feet out of water. Above this,
+carried on rows of posts twenty feet high, comes the first cabin. All
+between is open to the air on either side; so that, as one of the huge
+river-monsters passes at night, the watcher on the bank can see the
+stalwart, black, half-naked bodies of the negro stokers, bending
+before the glowing furnace doors, and throwing in the soft coal, that
+issues in clouds of smoke from the towering chimneys seventy feet
+above. The lights in three rows of cabin windows glow; and the
+unceasing beat of the paddle-wheels mingles with the monotonous puff
+of the steam from the escape-pipes, and the occasional bursts of music
+from the open cabin doors. One who for the first time looks on one of
+these leviathans of the Mississippi, pursuing its stately course at
+night, does not wonder at the frightened negro, who, seeing for the
+first time a night-steamboat, rushed madly from the river's bank,
+crying that the angel Gabriel had come to blow the last trump.
+
+When these boats have taken on their full load of cotton, they present
+a very different appearance. Then all the open space beneath the
+cabins is filled by a mass of cotton-bales. The hull is so sunken in
+the water that the lowest tier of cotton-bales is lapped by the little
+waves that ruffle the surface of the river. The stokers and furnaces
+are hid from view, and the cabins appear to be floating on one huge
+cotton bale. Generally a great wooden stern-wheel propels this strange
+craft, adding to the grotesqueness of the sight.
+
+It may readily be understood, that vessels of this class, in which
+strength was subordinated to lightness, and economy to gingerbread
+decoration, seemed to be but poor materials for vessels-of-war. The
+tremendous recoil of a rifled cannon fired from one of those airy
+decks, meant to stand no ruder shock than the vibration caused by
+dancing pleasure-parties, would shake the whole frail structure to
+pieces. Yet the ingenuity born of necessity, and the energy awakened
+by the immediate prospect of war, led the Confederate engineers to
+convert some of these pleasure-palaces into the most terrible engines
+of destruction chronicled in the annals of war. The first step was to
+sweep off all the towering superstructure of decks, cabins, and
+saloons; tear away all the fanciful mouldings, the decorated
+staterooms, and carved and gilded stairways. This left a long, shallow
+hull, with a powerful engine in the centre, and great paddle-wheels
+towering on either side; the whole so light that the soldiers of
+Grant's army, when they first saw one, stoutly averred that "those
+boats could run on a heavy dew." The hull was then thinly plated with
+iron, and the prow lengthened, and made massive, until it formed the
+terrible "ram," fallen into disuse since the days of the Greek
+galleys, to be taken up again by naval architects in the nineteenth
+century. Then on the deck was built a pent-house of oak and iron, with
+sloping sides just high enough to cover the engine. The two towering
+smoke-stacks, the pride of the old river-steamers, were cut down to
+squat pipes protruding a foot or two above the strange structure. In
+the sides were embrasures, from which, when open, peered the iron
+muzzles of the dogs of war, ready to show their teeth and spit fire
+and iron at the enemy. This was the most powerful type of the river
+gunboat, and with them the Confederacy was fairly well provided;
+though it was not long before the war department of the United States
+was well supplied with similar ships. It was these iron-clad gunboats
+that used to rouse the anger of the doughty Admiral Farragut, who
+persisted in declaring them cowardly engines of destruction, and
+predicted that as they came into use, the race of brave fighting
+jack-tars would disappear. On one occasion the admiral was ploughing
+his way up the Mississippi above New Orleans, in one of Commodore
+Bailey's river iron-clads. The batteries of the enemy on either hand
+were pounding away at the ascending ships, hurling huge bolts of iron
+against their mailed sides, with a thunder that was deafening, and a
+shock that made the stricken ships reel. The admiral stood in the
+gunroom of one of the iron-clads, watching the men working the guns,
+in an atmosphere reeking with the smoke of the powder. A look of
+manifest disapproval was on his face. Suddenly an unusually
+well-directed shot struck a weak point in the armor, and, bursting
+through, killed two men near the admiral's position. He looked for a
+moment on the ghastly spectacle, then turning to an officer said, "You
+may stay here in your iron-clad room if you wish: as for me, I feel
+safer on deck." And on deck he went, and stayed there while the fleet
+passed through the hail of shot and shell.
+
+The scarcity of iron in the Southern States prevented the naval
+authorities of the newly organized Confederacy from equipping a very
+large fleet of iron-clads. At the outbreak of the war, the Tredegar
+Iron Works at Richmond was the only place in the South where iron
+plates of a size suitable for plating vessels could be rolled. The
+demand was of course far in excess of the facilities of the factory,
+and many were the make-shifts that shipbuilders were forced to. Some
+vessels were plated only about the centre, so as to protect the boiler
+and engines. Others bore such a thin coat of iron that they were
+derisively called "tin-clads" by the sailors, who insisted that a
+Yankee can-opener was all that was necessary to rip the vessel up.
+Sometimes, when even a little iron was unattainable, bales of cotton
+were piled up around the sides, like breastworks, for the protection
+of men and engines. The vessel which captured the United States ship
+"Harriet Lane," at Galveston, was thus provided; and the defence
+proved very valuable. One great objection to the cotton-bale bulwarks
+was the very inflammable nature of the material, since a red-hot shot
+from the enemy, or a bit of blazing wadding from a gun, would set it
+smouldering with a dense black smoke that drove the men from their
+guns until the bales could be thrown overboard; thus extinguishing the
+fire, but exposing the men to the fire of the enemy.
+
+One of the most striking features of the war of secession was the
+manner in which private citizens hastened to contribute towards the
+public defence. This was so no less in naval than in military circles.
+Perhaps the greatest gift ever made by a citizen to his Government was
+the gift by "Commodore" Vanderbilt to the United States of a
+magnificently equipped ship-of-war, which was named "The Vanderbilt"
+in honor of her donor, and did efficient service in maintaining the
+blockade on the Atlantic coast. Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the present
+owner of the "New-York Herald," put his yacht at the service of the
+Government, and was himself commissioned a lieutenant in the revenue
+service.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     FORT SUMTER BOMBARDED. -- ATTEMPT OF THE "STAR OF THE WEST" TO
+     RE-ENFORCE ANDERSON. -- THE NAVAL EXPEDITION TO FORT SUMTER. --
+     THE RESCUE OF THE FRIGATE "CONSTITUTION." -- BURNING THE NORFOLK
+     NAVY-YARD.
+
+
+[Illustration: Fort Moultrie.]
+
+The first purely warlike event of the civil war was the bombardment
+and capture of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, by the troops of the
+State of South Carolina. At the time when it first became evident that
+civil war was inevitable, Fort Sumter was vacant. The only United
+States troops stationed at Charleston were two companies of artillery
+under Major Robert Anderson. The fortifications of Charleston Harbor
+consisted of Fort Moultrie on the main land (in which Anderson's
+command was stationed), Fort Pinckney, and Fort Sumter standing
+massive and alone in the centre of the harbor. Anderson, with his
+handful of troops in the most vulnerable of the three forts, saw day
+by day the secession sentiment growing stronger. Almost daily some of
+the privileges of the soldiery were cut off; such as the right of
+passing through the city, and the right to buy supplies in the public
+markets. Daily could be heard the drum and the tread of the newly
+organized bodies of State soldiers. Anderson saw that his position was
+a weak one, but could get no orders from headquarters. Finally he
+decided to assume the responsibility of evacuating Fort Moultrie and
+occupying Fort Sumter. To-day it hardly seems as though he could have
+thought of doing otherwise, but at that time it was a grave
+responsibility for a man to assume. The whole voice of the North was
+for compromise, and it was his part to commit the first overt act of
+war. But he was nobly upheld in his decision by his Northern brethren.
+Having decided, he lost no time in carrying his plan into effect. His
+little corps of troops was drawn up at midnight on the parade, and for
+the first time informed of the contemplated movement. The guns of Fort
+Moultrie were hurriedly knocked from their trunnions, and spiked; the
+gun-carriages were piled in great heaps, and fired; and every thing
+that might in any way be used against the United States Government was
+destroyed. Then the work of evacuation was begun. A small fleet of
+row-boats carried the troops to the entrance of the great, sullen
+fort, standing alone in the middle of the harbor, and made frequent
+trips bringing supplies and ammunition from the deserted fortress. All
+was done silently: the oars were muffled, and the commands of the
+officers were whispered, that no tidings should be told of the
+movement under way. Before sunrise all was completed; and when the
+rays of the rising sun fell upon the stars and stripes floating from
+the flagstaff of Sumter, the people of Charleston turned their eyes
+from the starry flag to the clouds of smoke arising from Fortress
+Moultrie, and comprehended that the war had begun. Newspaper
+correspondents and agents of the Federal Government, and the Southern
+leaders, rushed for the telegraph-wires; and the news soon sped over
+the country, that Sumter was occupied. The South Carolinians at once
+began to build earthworks on all points bearing on the fort, and were
+evidently preparing to drive Anderson and his troops out. Anderson
+promptly telegraphed to Washington for supplies and re-enforcements,
+and expressed his intention of staying as long as the walls stood. The
+Government was dilatory, but finally concluded to re-enforce the fort,
+and to that end secured the steamer "Star of the West," and began the
+work of provisioning her for the voyage. It was decided that she
+should carry no guns: that would look too much like war; and
+accordingly, on the 8th of January, this helpless vessel set out to
+the aid of the beleaguered garrison of Fort Sumter. The news was at
+once telegraphed to Charleston; and the gunners in the Confederate
+trenches shotted their guns, and awaited the appearance of the
+steamer. She hove into sight on the morning of the 12th, and when
+within range was notified, by a shot across her bows, that she was
+expected to stop. This signal being disregarded, the firing began in
+earnest; and the shot and shell fell thick about the ship, which kept
+pluckily on her course. But it was useless to persist. One shot struck
+the steamer near the bows, others whizzed through her rigging, and
+finally her captain saw a tug putting out from the land, towing a
+schooner crowded with armed men to cut off the "Star's" retreat. He
+gave the command "Hard a port." The ship's head swung round, and she
+steamed away, leaving the garrison to their fate. An old gunner who
+stood in a casemate of Fort Sumter, with the lanyard of a shotted gun
+in his hand, tells the story of how he begged Major Anderson to let
+him fire on the rebel batteries. "Not yet; be patient," was the
+response. When the shells began to fall thick about the steamer, he
+again asked permission to retaliate, but met the same response. Then
+when he saw the white splinters fly from the bow, where the enemies'
+shell had struck, he cried, "Now, surely, we can return _that!_" but
+still the answer was, "Be patient." When the "Star of the West,"
+confessing defeat, turned and fled from the harbor, Anderson turned
+and walked away, curtly saying there was no need to fire then, but to
+save the load for the necessity that was coming.
+
+[Illustration: Anderson's Command occupying Fort Sumter.]
+
+[Illustration: Major Robert Anderson.]
+
+The first naval operation of the war was the expedition fitted out to
+relieve Fort Sumter. In itself, this expedition was but an
+insignificant affair, ending in failure; but as the first warlike
+action on the part of the United States Government, it attracted the
+greatest attention throughout the nation. In preparing the vessels for
+sea, great care was taken to keep their destination secret, so that no
+warning should reach the Confederates, who were lying in their
+batteries about Sumter, awaiting the first offensive action of the
+United States authorities to begin shelling the fortress. While the
+squadron was fitting out, it was generally supposed that it was
+intended to carry troops and munitions of war to Fort Pickens in
+Pensacola Harbor, which was invested by the Confederates. When the
+fleet finally sailed, each commander carried sealed orders, upon
+opening which he first found that the expedition was bound for
+Charleston Harbor. Notwithstanding all this secrecy, the destination
+of the fleet was telegraphed to the Confederates almost as soon as the
+last vessel dropped past Sandy Hook; and the fire from the circle
+of batteries about the doomed fort in Charleston Harbor began
+immediately. When the fleet arrived at its destination, the
+bombardment was well under way. To attempt to land troops or stores
+under the withering fire concentrated upon the fort, would have been
+madness. The only vessel of sufficient strength to engage the
+batteries, the "Pawnee," had been separated from the fleet by a gale a
+few nights before, and had not yet arrived. Sadly the sailors gave up
+the attempt, and, beating up and down outside the harbor bar, awaited
+the inevitable end of the unequal conflict. When, finally, after a
+heroic resistance of several days, Major Anderson and his little band,
+worn with constant vigilance and labor, destitute of provisions, and
+exposed to a constant hail of iron missiles from without and a raging
+fire within, agreed to capitulate, the United States steamship
+"Baltic," of the Fort Sumter expedition, took him on board and bore
+him safely to New York. The main purpose of the expedition had failed,
+it is true; but the Government had made its first decisive move, and
+public sympathy and confidence were excited.
+
+[Illustration: Fort Sumter under Fire.]
+
+The preparations for the coming struggle were now being pressed
+forward on every hand. An incident which occurred soon after the fall
+of Sumter awakened the greatest enthusiasm throughout the North. The
+United States frigate "Constitution" was lying at Annapolis, where she
+was being used by the authorities of the naval academy there for a
+school-ship. Although the State of Maryland had not seceded from the
+Union, yet secessionists were to be found in great numbers in all
+parts of the State. A number of them determined to seize the ship.
+Besides being a war-vessel of considerable strength, the
+"Constitution"--or "Old Ironsides," as she was affectionately
+called--was famous for her many exploits, and dear to the hearts of
+Americans for her long service under the stars and stripes. "If we can
+but capture the vessel, and turn her guns against the Union," thought
+the conspirators, "we will strike a heavy blow at the Northern
+sympathizers." And, indeed, it would have been a heavy blow to the
+nation had they captured the old frigate that did such service under
+Preble in the war with Tripoli; and that in the War of 1812 forced the
+British to strike their colors, and gave to the United States navy an
+equal place on the high seas with any nation of the world. The plans
+of the conspirators were well laid. The ship was manned by but twenty
+men, and lay above a bar, over which she could only be carried by the
+aid of a steam-tug. Fortunately the officers and crew were all loyal.
+For four days and four nights they watched the preparations being made
+on shore for their capture. Mysterious signals flashed from the
+surrounding hills. Armed bodies of men were seen drilling on the
+shore. All seemed to tend toward certain capture. Yet with no chance
+of escape the brave men kept vigilant guard, with guns shotted and
+always primed.
+
+Near Annapolis was stationed the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry, with
+Gen. Butler in command. News was carried to the general of the
+perilous position of the "Constitution," and he at once determined to
+hasten to her relief. Just as the crew of the old frigate had
+abandoned all hope, the steamer "Maryland" entered the harbor, her
+guards and decks crowded with the men of the Eighth Massachusetts.
+Quickly the "Constitution" was prepared for sailing. Her anchors were
+slipped, all useless weight cast overboard, and, with the "Maryland"
+as tug, the stately frigate passed slowly over the bar, and out of the
+grasp of the conspirators.
+
+The "Constitution" was not the only United States vessel that the
+Confederates were planning to seize. Soon after she escaped from their
+hands, an event occurred by which a vast quantity of naval stores, and
+the mutilated but still valuable hulls of some of the most powerful
+war-vessels in the United States navy, fell into their hands. The
+United States navy-yard at Norfolk was one of the most valuable of all
+the governmental possessions. In the great yard was government
+property amounting to more than twenty millions of dollars.
+Machine-shops, foundries, dwellings for officers, and a massive
+granite dry-dock made it one of the most complete navy-yards in the
+world. An enormous quantity of cannon, cannon-balls, powder, and
+small-arms packed the huge storehouses. In the magnificent harbor were
+lying some of the most formidable vessels of the United States navy,
+including the steam frigate "Merrimac," of which we shall hear much
+hereafter. Small wonder was it, that the people of Virginia, about to
+secede from the Union, looked with covetous eyes upon this vast stock
+of munitions of war lying apparently within their grasp. It did not
+take long for them to persuade themselves that they were right in
+seizing it; and, once decided, their movements were vigorous and open.
+Of their ability to capture the yard, and gain possession of all the
+property there, they felt no doubt. The first thing to be done was to
+entrap the ships so that they should be unable to get out of the
+harbor. Accordingly, on the 16th of April, three large stone-vessels
+were sunk directly in the channel, apparently barring the exit of the
+frigates most effectually. Indeed, so confident of success were the
+plotters, that in a despatch to Richmond, announcing the successful
+sinking of the stone-ships, they said, "Thus have we secured for
+Virginia three of the best ships of the navy." But later events
+showed, that, in boasting so proudly, the Virginians were committing
+the old error of counting chickens before they were hatched.
+
+The condition of affairs within the navy-yard now seemed desperate.
+There appeared to be no chance of getting the vessels beyond the
+obstructions. The militia of Virginia was rapidly gathering in the
+town. Among the naval officers on the ships great dissension existed,
+as many were Southerners, about to resign their posts in the United
+States service to enter the service of their States. These men would,
+of course, give no active aid to any movement for the salvation of the
+United States property in the yard. Any assistance must come from the
+outside; the beleaguered could but passively await the course of
+events.
+
+At seven o'clock on the night of April 21, the United States steamer
+"Pawnee," which had been lying under the guns of Fortress Monroe,
+hoisted anchor, and headed up the bay, on an errand of destruction. It
+was too late to save the navy-yard with its precious stores. The only
+thing to be done was to burn, break, and destroy every thing that
+might be of service to an enemy. The decks of the "Pawnee" were black
+with men,--soldiers to guard the gates, and complete the work of
+destruction within the yard; blue-jacketed tars to do what might be
+done to drag the entrapped vessels from the snare set them by the
+Virginians. It was a bright moon-light night. The massive hull of the
+ship-of-war, black in the cold, white rays of the moon, passed rapidly
+up the Elizabeth River. The sunken wrecks were reached, and
+successfully avoided; and about nine o'clock the "Pawnee" steamed into
+the anchorage of the navy-yard, to be greeted with cheers from the
+tars of the "Cumberland" and "Pennsylvania," who expected her arrival.
+The townspeople seeing the war-vessel, with ports thrown open, and
+black muzzles of the guns protruding, took to their houses, fearing
+she would open fire on the town. Quickly the "Pawnee" steamed to her
+moorings. The marines were hurriedly disembarked, and hastened to
+guard the entrances to the navy-yard. Howitzers were planted so as to
+rake every street leading to the yard. Thus secure against attack, the
+work of the night began. Nearly two thousand willing hands were set
+hard at work, cannon were dismounted and spiked, rifles and muskets
+dashed to pieces; great quantities of combustibles were piled up in
+the mammoth buildings, ready to be fired at a given signal. In the
+mean time, the blue-jackets were not idle. It was quickly decided,
+that, of all the magnificent vessels anchored in the harbor, the
+"Cumberland" was the only one that could be towed past the
+obstructions in the river. All hands were set to work removing every
+thing of value from the doomed vessels to the "Cumberland." Gunpowder
+and combustibles were then arranged so as to completely destroy the
+vessels when ignited. When the moon went down at twelve o'clock, the
+preparations were complete. All the men were then taken on board the
+"Cumberland" and "Pawnee," save a few who were left to fire the
+trains. As the two vessels started from the moorings, the barracks
+were fired, the lurid light casting a fearful gleam upon the crowded
+yards and shrouds of the towering frigate. A little way out in the
+stream a rocket was sent up from the "Pawnee." This was the signal for
+the firing of the trains. The scene that followed is thus described by
+an eye-witness:--
+
+"The rocket sped high in air, paused a second, and burst in showers of
+many colored lights; and, as it did so, the well-set trains at the
+ship-houses, and on the decks of the fated vessels left behind, went
+off as if lit simultaneously by the rocket. One of the ship-houses
+contained the old 'New York,' a ship thirty years on the stocks, and
+yet unfinished; the other was vacant. But both houses, and the old
+'New York,' burned like tinder. The vessels fired were the
+'Pennsylvania,' the 'Merrimac,' the 'Germantown,' the 'Plymouth,' the
+'Raritan,' the 'Columbia,' and the 'Dolphin.' The old 'Delaware' and
+'Columbus," worn-out and disabled seventy-fours, were scuttled, and
+sunk at the upper docks on Friday.
+
+"I need not try to picture the scene of the grand conflagration that
+now burst like the day of judgment on the startled citizens of
+Norfolk, Portsmouth, and all the surrounding country. Any one who has
+seen a ship burn, and knows how like a fiery serpent the flame leaps
+from pitchy deck to smoking shrouds, and writhes to their very top
+around the masts that stand like martyrs doomed, can form some idea of
+the wonderful display that followed. It was not thirty minutes from
+the time the trains were fired, till the conflagration roared like a
+hurricane, and the flames from land and water swayed and met and
+mingled together, and darted high, and fell, and leaped up again, and
+by their very motion showed their sympathy with the crackling,
+crashing war of destruction beneath.
+
+[Illustration: Destruction of Norfolk Navy-yard.]
+
+"But in all this magnificent scene the old ship 'Pennsylvania' was the
+centre-piece. She was a very giant in death, as she had been in life.
+She was a sea of flame; and when the iron had entered her soul, and
+her bowels were consuming, then did she spout forth from every
+porthole of every deck torrents and cataracts of fire, that to the
+mind of Milton would have represented her a frigate of hell pouring
+out unending broadsides of infernal fire. Several of her guns were
+left loaded, but not shotted; and as the fire reached them they sent
+out on the startled morning air minute-guns of fearful peal, that
+added greatly to the alarm that the light of the fire had spread
+through the country round about. The 'Pennsylvania' burned like a
+volcano for five hours and a half before her mainmast fell. I stood
+watching the proud but perishing old leviathan as this emblem of her
+majesty was about to come down. At precisely half-past nine o'clock
+the tall tree that stood in her centre tottered and fell, and crushed
+deep into her burning sides."
+
+During this fearful scene the people of the little town, and the
+Virginia militia-men who had been summoned to take possession of the
+navy-yard, were no idle spectators. Hardly had the "Pawnee" steamed
+out into the stream, when the great gates were battered down, and
+crowds of men rushed in, eager to save whatever arms were uninjured.
+Throughout the fire they worked like beavers, and succeeded in saving
+a large quantity of munitions of war to be used by the Confederacy.
+The ships that had been fired all burned to the water's edge. One was
+raised, and re-appeared as the formidable "Merrimac" that at one time
+threatened the destruction of the whole Union navy.
+
+A great amount of valuable property was saved for the Virginians by
+the coolness of a young boy, the son of one of the citizens of the
+town. This lad was within the gates of the navy-yard when the troops
+from the ships rushed in, and closed and barricaded them against the
+townspeople. He was frightened, and hid himself behind a quantity of
+boards and rubbish, and lay there a silent and immensely frightened
+spectator of the work of destruction. An officer passed near him
+directing the movements of two sailors, who were laying a train of
+gunpowder to an immense pile of explosives and combustibles in the
+huge granite dry-dock. The train passed over a broad board; and the
+boy, hardly knowing what he did, drew away this board, leaving a gap
+of eight inches in the train. When all the trains were fired, this was
+of course stopped at the gap; and the dry-dock was saved, and still
+remains in the Norfolk Navy Yard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     DIFFICULTIES OF THE CONFEDERATES IN GETTING A NAVY. -- EXPLOIT OF
+     THE "FRENCH LADY." -- NAVAL SKIRMISHING ON THE POTOMAC. -- THE
+     CRUISE OF THE "SUMTER."
+
+
+The disparity of maritime importance between the North and the South,
+and the consequent difficulties to be overcome by the latter in
+getting a navy, have been already alluded to. As it has been stated,
+in river-steamers and ponderous rams the South was fairly well
+supplied; but what was really needed were ocean-going ships, to break
+the rigid blockade that was slowly starving the Confederacy into
+submission,--swift cruisers to prey on the commerce of the enemy, and
+powerful line-of-battle ships, which, by successfully coping with the
+vessels of the United States on the high seas, should secure for the
+Confederacy recognition, and possibly assistance, from the great
+powers of Europe. But how to get these without shipyards,
+shipbuilders, or seamen, was a task that baffled the ingenuity of the
+best minds in the South. Immediately upon the organization of the
+Confederate cabinet, an agent was sent to England to negotiate for
+vessels and guns. But, though this agent was a man of wonderful
+resources and great diplomacy, he found an almost insuperable obstacle
+in the universally recognized law of nations, to the effect that no
+neutral nation shall sell vessels or munitions of war to belligerents.
+It is true that this agent, Capt. Bulloch, did succeed in securing
+three ships,--the "Florida," the "Shenandoah," and the celebrated
+"Alabama;" but to do so cost an immense amount of diplomacy and the
+sacrificing of the strength of the vessels to the necessity which
+existed for making them appear to be merchantmen. To build an
+iron-clad in a foreign port, was out of the question; and consequently
+ships so obtained were forced to fly from any well-equipped
+war-vessel, and only venture to attack unarmed merchantmen.
+
+[Illustration: The "French Lady."]
+
+The United States vessels which were delivered into the hands of the
+Confederates by their officers were mainly small revenue cutters, of
+little use in naval warfare and soon given up or destroyed. Not a
+single ship of this class made any record of distinguished service for
+the Confederacy. Several merchant-vessels were captured by the
+Confederates, who concocted the most ingenious plans to secure
+success. One bright July morning the steamer "St. Nicholas" was lying
+at her dock in Baltimore, with steam up, and all prepared for her
+regular trip down the Chesapeake. Quite a large number of passengers
+had bought tickets, and lounged about the decks, waiting for the
+voyage to begin. Among the passengers were a number of mechanics, with
+tools in their hands, going down the bay in search of work. Shortly
+before the signal to cast off was given, a carriage was driven down
+the wharf, and a lady, heavily veiled, alighted, assisted by two
+gentlemen. The gentlemen stated that she was a French lady, and in
+ill-health. Accordingly she was at once assigned a stateroom, to which
+she retired. Soon after, the vessel cast off and headed down the bay.
+When fairly out of the harbor, the stateroom door opened, and instead
+of the frail, heavily veiled widow who went in, out strode a
+black-whiskered man, armed to the teeth. He had no trouble now in
+speaking English, and at once demanded the surrender of the ship. The
+honest mechanics dropped their tools, and, drawing concealed weapons,
+rallied around their leader. They had found the work they started out
+to seek. The ship was captured, and a new privateer was ready to prey
+on Northern merchant-ships. Once in the hands of the conspirators, the
+vessel was run into a little port where the passengers were landed,
+and a hundred and fifty more Confederates taken aboard. Under the
+command of Capt. Thomas (the "French lady"), the vessel proceeded to
+Fredericksburg, where she, and three brigs captured on the way, were
+delivered to the Confederate leaders. This adventure so favorably
+terminated, Thomas, with his officers, started back to Baltimore,
+to lay plans for the capture of some other unsuspecting craft. But
+fortune, which had thus far favored him, deserted him at last. On the
+vessel upon which the conspirators took passage were two
+police-officers of Baltimore. One of these officers recognized Thomas,
+and quietly laid plans for his capture. In the harbor at Baltimore
+stands Fort McHenry. Under its frowning casemates the ships of the
+United States could lie without fear of attack from the thousands of
+discontented men who made of Baltimore a secession city. The captain
+of the "Mary Washington" was ordered by Lieut. Carmichael, the officer
+of police, to bring the ship into the anchorage, under the guns of the
+fort. This soon came to the ears of Thomas, who with his men rallied
+on the deck, and, with revolvers drawn, seemed prepared to make a
+desperate resistance. They were soon convinced that the officers had
+ample power behind them, and therefore submitted. On arriving at the
+fort, a company of soldiers was sent aboard the boat, and the
+prisoners were marched ashore. But Thomas was not to be found. Search
+was made in all parts of the boat, without avail; and the officers had
+decided that he had jumped overboard, with the desperate intention of
+swimming ashore. Just as they were about to give up the search, a
+noise was heard that seemed to come from a bureau in the ladies'
+cabin. Search was made, and there, coiled up in a narrow
+bureau-drawer, lay the leader of the band. He had been there two
+hours, and was helpless from cramp and exhaustion. He was placed in a
+cell at Fort Lafayette; but later, having been given the privilege of
+walking about the fort, managed to escape by making floats of empty
+tomato-cans, and with their aid swimming almost two miles. He was
+afterwards recaptured, and remained a prisoner until released by
+reason of an exchange of prisoners between the North and South. Soon
+after his capture, the Federal authorities at Baltimore learned that
+plans had been made to capture other passenger steamers in the same
+way; but the ringleader being locked up, there was no difficulty in
+defeating the plans of the band.
+
+During the first few weeks of the war, before active hostilities had
+fairly commenced, events of this nature were of almost daily
+occurrence. On the Potomac particularly, small cruisers were in
+continual danger of being captured, and put into commission under the
+Confederate flag. A trading schooner loaded with garden-produce,
+dropping lazily down the river to the bay, would suddenly be boarded
+by four or five armed men, her crew driven below, and the vessel run
+into some convenient port on the Virginia shore, to re-appear in a day
+or two with a small rifled cannon mounted on the forecastle, and a
+crew thirsting to capture more vessels for the Confederacy. On one
+occasion a party of congressmen from Washington started down the
+Potomac for an excursion to Hampton Roads. Their vessel was a small
+tug, which carried a bow-gun carefully screened from observation by
+tarpaulin. A short distance down the river, a boat with a howitzer was
+seen putting out into the stream, and shaping its course directly
+across the bows of the tug. As the two boats drew nearer together, a
+demand came from the smaller that the tug should be surrendered "to
+the State of Virginia." Apparently yielding, the captain of the tug
+slowed up his vessel, and waited for his assailants to come alongside,
+which they did until suddenly confronted with the muzzle of a cannon,
+trained directly on their boat, and a loud voice demanding that they
+surrender at once, which they accordingly did, and were taken to
+Washington by their triumphant captors. Many such trivial events are
+chronicled by the newspapers of the time. The advantage gained by
+either side was small, and the only effect was to keep the war
+sentiment at fever-heat.
+
+[Illustration: Blockading the Mouth of the Mississippi.]
+
+The first regularly commissioned man-of-war of the Confederate States
+was the "Sumter," an old passenger steamer remodelled so as to carry
+five guns. This vessel, though only registering five hundred tons, and
+smaller than many a steam-yacht of to-day, roamed over the high seas
+at will for more than a year, burning and destroying the
+merchant-vessels of the North, and avoiding easily any conflicts with
+the Northern men-of-war. Her exploits made the owners of American
+merchant-vessels tremble for their property; and the United States
+authorities made the most desperate attempts to capture her, but in
+vain. In his journal of Dec. 3, 1861, Capt. Semmes of the "Sumter"
+writes with the greatest satisfaction: "The enemy has done us the
+honor to send in pursuit of us the 'Powhattan,' the 'Niagara,' the
+'Iroquois,' the 'Keystone State,' and the 'San Jacinto.'" Any one of
+these vessels could have blown the 'Sumter' out of water with one
+broadside, but the cunning and skill of her commander enabled her to
+escape them all.
+
+It was on the 1st of June, 1861, that the "Sumter" cast loose from the
+levee at New Orleans, and started down the Mississippi on her way to
+the open sea. For two months workmen had been busy fitting her for the
+new part she was to play. The long rows of cabins on the upper deck
+were torn down; and a heavy eight-inch shell-gun, mounted on a pivot
+between the fore and mainmasts, and the grinning muzzles of four
+twenty-four-pounder howitzers peeping from the ports, told of her
+warlike character. The great levee of the Crescent City was crowded
+with people that day. Now and again the roll of the drum, or the
+stirring notes of "Dixie," would be heard, as some volunteer company
+marched down to the river to witness the departure of the entire
+Confederate navy. Slowly the vessel dropped down the river, and,
+rounding the English turn, boomed out with her great gun a parting
+salute to the city she was never more to see. Ten miles from the mouth
+of the river she stopped; for anchored off the bar below lay the
+powerful United States steamer "Brooklyn," with three other
+men-of-war, each more than a match for the infant navy of the
+Confederacy. Eleven days the "Sumter" lay tugging at her anchors in
+the muddy current of the great river, but at last the time of action
+arrived. The news came that the "Brooklyn" had started in chase of a
+vessel, and the mouth of the river was clear. Quickly the "Sumter" got
+under way, and with all steam up made for the channel over the bar.
+She was still six miles from the bar when the "Brooklyn" caught sight
+of her, and abandoning her first chase strove desperately to head her
+off. It was a time of intense excitement. Each vessel was about
+equally distant from the bar for which each was steaming at the
+highest possible speed. For the "Sumter," it was escape or die. It was
+too late to fly up the river to the sheltering guns of Fort St.
+Philip. Should the "Brooklyn" get within range, the "Sumter" was
+doomed. The "Brooklyn" was the faster vessel of the two, but had the
+wind in her teeth; while the "Sumter" had the advantage of wind and
+current. At length the pass was reached, and the "Sumter" dashed over
+the bar, and out on the smooth blue water of the Gulf of Mexico, well
+ahead of her powerful foe. The "Brooklyn" quickly rounded to, and a
+quick puff of smoke from amidships told the crew of the flying vessel
+that the terrible pivot-gun of their enemy had sent a warning message
+after them. But there was but a second of suspense, when a great jet
+of water springing from the surface of the gulf told that the bolt had
+fallen short. The "Brooklyn" then quickly crowded on all sail, and
+started in hot pursuit, but after four hours abandoned the chase, put
+up her helm, and started sullenly back for the river's mouth; while
+the tars of the "Sumter" crowded shrouds and bulwarks, and cheered
+heartily for the navy of the young Confederacy.
+
+The "Sumter" was now fairly embarked on her career. The open sea was
+her territory, and all ships floating the stars and stripes at the
+masthead were to be her prey. She was not a strong vessel; and her
+orders were to avoid any battles with the powerful ships of the
+"Yankee" navy, but to seize and destroy all merchantmen that should
+come in her way. Her first purpose was to capture these vessels, and
+by selling them in neutral ports profit by the prize. But the neutral
+nations soon refused to admit all rebel prizes to their ports; and, as
+all the ports of the Confederacy were closed by the blockade, nothing
+was left but to burn the vessels when captured. Many a floating
+bonfire marked the way of the little "Sumter," and great was the
+consternation among the ship-owners of the North.
+
+When four days out, the "Sumter" captured her first prize. She was a
+fine ship, the "Golden Rocket" of Maine, six hundred and ninety tons.
+With the United States flag fluttering at the peak, she came sailing
+proudly towards her unsuspected enemy, from whose peak the red flag of
+England was displayed as a snare. When the two vessels came within a
+mile of each other, the wondering crew of the merchantman saw the
+English flag come tumbling down, while a ball of bunting rose quickly
+to the peak of the mysterious stranger, and catching the breeze
+floated out, showing a strange flag,--the stars and bars of the
+Confederacy. At the same minute a puff of smoke from the "Long Tom"
+amidships was followed by a solid shot ricochetting along the water
+before the dismayed merchantman, and conveying a forcible, but not at
+all polite, invitation to stop. The situation dawned on the astonished
+skipper of the ship,--he was in the hands of "the Rebels;" and with a
+sigh he brought his vessel up into the wind, and awaited the outcome
+of the adventure. And bad enough the outcome was for him; for Capt.
+Semmes, unwilling to spare a crew to man the prize, determined to set
+her on fire. It was about sunset when the first boat put off from the
+"Sumter" to visit the captured ship. The two vessels were lying a
+hundred yards apart, rising and falling in unison on the slow rolling
+swells of the tropic seas. The day was bright and warm, and in the
+west the sun was slowly sinking to the meeting line of sky and ocean.
+All was quiet and peaceful, as only a summer afternoon in Southern
+seas can be. Yet in the midst of all that peace and quiet, a scene in
+the great drama of war was being enacted. Nature was peaceful, man
+violent.
+
+For a time nothing was heard save the measured thump of the oars in
+the rowlocks, as the boats plied to and fro between the two ships,
+transporting the captured crew to the "Sumter." Finally the last trip
+was made, and the boat hoisted to the davits. Then all eyes were
+turned toward the "Golden Rocket." She lay almost motionless, a dark
+mass on the black ocean. The sun had long since sunk beneath the
+horizon; and the darkness of the night was only relieved by the
+brilliancy of the stars, which in those latitudes shine with wondrous
+brightness. Soon the watches on the "Sumter" caught a hasty breath. A
+faint gleam was seen about the companionway of the "Rocket." Another
+instant, and with a roar and crackle, a great mass of flame shot up
+from the hatch, as from the crater of a volcano. Instantly the
+well-tarred rigging caught, and the flame ran up the shrouds as a
+ladder of fire, and the whole ship was a towering mass of flame. The
+little band of men on the "Sumter" looked on the terrific scene with
+bated breath. Though they fully believed in the justice of their
+cause, they could not look on the destruction they had wrought without
+feelings of sadness. It was their first act of war. One of the
+officers of the "Sumter" writes: "Few, few on board can forget the
+spectacle,--a ship set fire to at sea. It would seem that man was
+almost warring with his Maker. Her helpless condition, the red flames
+licking the rigging as they climbed aloft, the sparks and pieces of
+burning rope taken off by the wind, and flying miles to leeward, the
+ghastly glare thrown upon the dark sea as far as the eye could reach,
+and then the deathlike stillness of the scene,--all these combined to
+place the "Golden Rocket" on the tablet of our memories forever." But
+it was not long before the crew of the "Sumter" could fire a vessel,
+and sail away indifferently, with hardly a glance at their terrible
+handiwork.
+
+The "Sumter" continued on her cruise, with varying fortunes. Sometimes
+weeks would pass with no prizes to relieve the tedium of the long
+voyage. Occasionally she would run into a neutral port for coal or
+water, but most of the time was spent on the open sea. The crew were
+kept actively employed with drills and exercises; while the officers,
+yawning over their books or games, longed for the welcome cry from the
+masthead, "Sail ho!" In September the "Sumter" captured a brig, the
+"Joseph Park;" and the boarding officer, on examining the log-book,
+found an entry made by her captain on the day of leaving Pernambuco:
+"We have a tight, fast vessel, and we don't care for Jeff Davis." The
+unlucky captain had holloaed long before he was out of the wood.
+
+The "Joseph Park" was the last prize the tars of the "Sumter" had the
+pleasure of "looting" for many days. Up and down the tropic seas the
+cruiser travelled, loitering about the paths of ocean commerce to no
+avail. Often enough the long-drawn hail of the lookout in the
+cross-trees, "Sail ho-o-o-o!" would bring the jackies tumbling up from
+the forecastle, and set the officers peering anxiously through their
+telescopes. But the sails so sighted proved to be English, French,
+Spanish, any thing but American; and life aboard the "Sumter" became
+as dull as a fisher's where fish are not to be found. In September
+Capt. Semmes ran his vessel into a Martinique harbor, to make some
+needed repairs, and give the sailors a run ashore. Here they were
+blockaded for some time by the United States frigate "Iroquois," but
+finally escaped through the cunning of Semmes. Lying in the harbor
+near the "Sumter" were two Yankee schooners, whose captains arranged
+with the commander of the "Iroquois" to signal him if the "Sumter"
+should leave the harbor. If on passing the bar she headed south, a
+single red light should gleam at the masthead of the schooner; should
+her course lie northward, two lights would be displayed. Semmes, lying
+at anchor in the bay, and chafing over his captivity, determined to
+break away. He had noticed the frequent communications between the
+schooners and the man-of-war, and suspected that his course would be
+spied out. Nevertheless, he determined to dare all, and one black
+night slipped his cables, and with all lights out, and running-gear
+muffled, glided swiftly out of the harbor. In the distance he could
+see the lights of the "Iroquois," as she steamed slowly up and down in
+the offing, like a sentry on guard. Up in the cross-trees of the
+"Sumter" sat a sharp-eyed old quarter-master, with orders not to mind
+the "Iroquois," but to keep a close watch on the suspected schooners.
+Soon a light gleamed from the maintop of each. Semmes's suspicions
+grew. "They have signalled our course," said he: "we'll double." The
+ship's head was quickly brought about, and headed south; then all
+turned to watch the movements of the "Iroquois." She had headed
+northward, and was exerting every power to catch the flying vessel
+supposed to be just ahead. Satisfied with having so successfully
+humbugged the enemy, the "Sumter" proceeded leisurely on her course to
+the southward, leaving the "Iroquois" steaming furiously in the
+opposite direction. "I do think, however," writes Capt Semmes in his
+log-book, "that a tough old quarter-master, and a grizzled boatswain's
+mate, who had clean shaven their heads in preparation for a desperate
+fight, were mightily disgusted."
+
+The subsequent career of the "Sumter" was uneventful. She captured but
+few more vessels; and in January of the next year ran into the harbor
+at Gibraltar, where she was blockaded by a powerful United States
+frigate, and finally sold as being worn out. She had been in
+commission a little over a year, and in that time had captured
+eighteen vessels, burned seven, and released two on a heavy ransom to
+be paid to the Confederate Government at the end of the war. It is
+needless to say these ransoms were never paid. Capt. Semmes, with his
+crew, proceeded to England, and took command of a mysterious ship,
+"No. 290," just built at Liverpool, which soon appeared on the high
+seas as the dreaded "Alabama."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+     THE POTOMAC FLOTILLA. -- CAPTURE OF ALEXANDRIA. -- ACTIONS AT
+     MATTHIAS POINT. -- BOMBARDMENT OF THE HATTERAS FORTS.
+
+
+In petty skirmishes and in general inactivity the forces of both
+contestants idled away the five months following the fall of Fort
+Sumter. The defeat of the Union armies at Bull Run had checked active
+operations along the Potomac. On either side of the river the hostile
+armies were drilling constantly to bring the raw recruits down to the
+efficiency of trained soldiers. Four hundred thousand men lay in
+hostile camps within sight of each other. From the national Capitol at
+Washington the stars and bars of the Confederate flag could be seen
+floating over the camp at Arlington. Occasionally the quiet would be
+broken by the crack of a rifle, as some straggler, on one side or the
+other, took a casual shot at the sentry pacing on the other side of
+the broad stream. Sometimes a battery would come driving down to the
+shore, select an advantageous spot, and begin an afternoon's target
+practice at the hostile camp; but the damage done was immaterial, and
+after wasting much powder and shot the recruits would limber up their
+guns and return to their camp. It would have been easy, at almost any
+time, for either army to have crossed the Potomac and invaded the
+territory of the enemy; but each hung back in apparent dread of taking
+the first decisive step. Abraham Lincoln at this time illustrated the
+existing condition of affairs, by one of those stories which have made
+him celebrated as a raconteur. A number of politicians, calling at the
+White House, spoke of the apparent inactivity of the army authorities,
+and demanded that some decisive move should be made; some powerful
+preparations to beat back the enemy should he attempt to cross the
+Potomac. "Gentlemen," said Lincoln, with the twinkle in his eye that
+always foretold a story, "when I was a boy I saw an incident which I
+have always recollected, and which seems to me to resemble very much
+the attitude now assumed by the parties in this impending war. My
+father owned a dog,--a particularly vicious, aggressive, and
+pugnacious bull-terrier,--one of these fellows with heavy, short
+necks, and red, squinting eyes, that seem ever to be on the lookout
+for a fight. Next door to us lived a neighbor who likewise rejoiced in
+the possession of a canine of appearance and habits of mind similar to
+our pet. From the date of their first meeting these dogs had been
+deadly enemies, and had growled and yelped at each other through the
+picket-fence separating the two yards, until we were forced to keep at
+least one dog chained continually. The strained relations between the
+dogs became a matter of general interest, and speculations were rife
+among the neighbors as to the probable outcome of a hostile meeting.
+Those were the times when a lively dog-fight would draw the merchant
+from his counter, and the blacksmith from his anvil; and it is even on
+record that an honorable judge once hurriedly adjourned his court at
+the premonitory sounds of snarling in the court-house square. Well,
+the knowledge that two dogs, pining for a fight, were being forcibly
+restrained, was too much to be borne by the people of the village; and
+a plot was concocted for bringing about a fight. One night two pickets
+were surreptitiously removed from the fence, leaving an opening of
+ample size to permit a dog to pass. In the morning our dog was sunning
+himself in the yard, when the neighbor's dog rushed to his side of
+the fence, and made remarks not to be borne by any self-respecting
+canine. Then began the usual performance of snarls and barks, and
+baring of white teeth, as the dogs made frantic efforts to get at each
+other. The neighbors assembled in a crowd, and the knowing ones
+predicted a lively time when those two dogs found the hole in the
+fence. Down the line of the fence the two curs walked, their eyes
+glaring, their jaws snapping, their tongues out, and dropping foam.
+The racket was tremendous. At each place where the pickets were a
+little spread, they redoubled their efforts to clinch. They approached
+the opening. The interest of the spectators redoubled. Now they
+reached the spot; sprung at each other; their jaws touched,--and each,
+dropping his tail, slunk away to his kennel. Gentlemen, the attitude
+of these armies reminds me of that dog-fight."
+
+[Illustration: Flag of the Confederacy.]
+
+While the armies of the two contestants were thus idly resting upon
+their arms, the navy was obliged to discharge duties, which, while
+they brought some danger, did not gain glory for either officers or
+men. The joys of Washington society were not for the naval officers.
+The applicant for promotion, who, when asked by an examiner, "Where is
+the post of a colonel when his regiment is drawn up for battle?"
+responded promptly, "In Washington," had been serving in the army, and
+not with the naval corps. Besides the duties of the officers detailed
+upon the blockading service, there remained to the navy the arduous
+task of patrolling the Potomac River, and preventing as far as
+possible communication between the shores.
+
+This work, as may be readily understood, demanded the most untiring
+vigilance and the most unflagging energy. The shores on each side of
+the Potomac are indented with bays and tributary streams in which a
+sloop or large row-boat can easily be concealed during the day. At
+night it was impossible to prevent boats laden with contraband goods,
+or conveying the bearers of secret despatches, slipping across the
+river from the northern side, and running into the concealment
+afforded by the irregularity of the Virginia shore-line. Even at this
+early period of the war, the vigorous blockade of the Confederate
+seaports had created a great lack of many necessaries in the Southern
+States. Particularly did the lack of quinine afflict the people of
+those malarial sections comprised within the limits of the South
+Atlantic and Gulf States. So great was the demand for this drug, that
+the enormous sums offered for it led many a speculative druggist north
+of Mason and Dixon's line to invest his all in quinine, and try to run
+it through the Potomac blockade. Of course, as the traffic was carried
+on in small boats, it was impossible to break it up altogether; though
+by the efforts of the navy it was almost destroyed.
+
+Briefly stated, the duties of the Potomac flotilla may be said to have
+been to patrol the river from Washington to its mouth, to inspect both
+sides _daily_ if possible, and to observe whether any preparations for
+batteries were being made at any point, and watch for any transports
+with troops or provisions, and convoy them to Washington. The flotilla
+consisted of small vessels, lightly armed; the "Pawnee," the heaviest
+of the fleet, being a sloop of less than thirteen hundred tons, with a
+battery of fifteen guns, none of long range. Clearly such an armada as
+this could be of but little avail against the earthworks which the
+Virginians were busily erecting on every commanding bluff.
+
+Toward the later part of May, 1861, the Federal Government determined
+to send troops across the river and occupy the city of Alexandria. The
+"Pawnee" had for some days been lying off the town, completely
+covering it with her batteries. She had held this position without
+making any offensive movement; as her commander understood, that, even
+should he compel the town to surrender, he had not the men necessary
+for holding the position. On the morning of the 24th, Commander Rowan
+saw two steamers coming down the river, laden with Federal troops. He
+at once sent a boat ashore, and demanded the surrender of the city,
+which was immediately evacuated by the Virginian troops. When the army
+of occupation landed, it proved to be Ellsworth's famous Zouave
+Regiment, made up largely of the firemen and "Bowery boys" of New York
+City. Ellsworth, while marching through the streets at the head of his
+command, saw a Confederate flag floating from a mast on top of a
+dwelling. With two of his men he proceeded to enter the house, go on
+the roof, and tear down the flag. As he came down the stairs, a man
+carrying a gun stepped from a doorway, and demanded what he did there.
+"This is my trophy," cried Ellsworth, flourishing the bit of striped
+bunting. "And you are mine," responded the man, quickly bringing his
+gun up, and discharging it full into Ellsworth's breast. The two
+Zouaves, maddened at the death of their commander, shot the slayer
+through the brain, and plunged their bayonets into his body before he
+fell. Ellsworth's death created the greatest excitement in the North,
+as it was almost the first blood shed in the war. While the capture of
+Alexandria was in itself no great achievement, it was of importance as
+the first move of the Northern armies into Virginia.
+
+Had the efforts of the navy towards keeping the Potomac clear of
+hostile batteries been supplemented by a co-operating land force, an
+immense advantage would have been gained at the very outset. As it
+was, all that could be done was to temporarily check the exertions of
+the enemy. A battery silenced by the guns from the ships in the
+daytime could be, and usually was, repaired during the night, and
+remained a constant menace to the transports going to or from
+Washington. Under such circumstances, the work of the Potomac flotilla
+could only be fatiguing and discouraging. Much of it had to be
+performed in row-boats; and the crews of the various vessels were kept
+rowing up and down the banks of the river, making midnight excursions
+up creeks to examine suspected localities, and lying in wait for
+smugglers, and the mail-carriers and spies of the enemy. They were in
+continual danger of being opened upon by masked batteries and
+concealed sharp-shooters. The "prize money," the hope of which cheers
+up the man-o'-wars-man in his dreariest hours, amounted to nothing;
+for their prizes were small row-boats and worthless river-craft. The
+few engagements with the enemies' batteries brought little glory or
+success. In one battle on the 29th of May, 1861, a flotilla,
+consisting of the "Thomas Freeborn" (a paddle-wheel steamer, carrying
+three guns), the "Anacostia," and the "Resolute" (a little craft of
+ninety tons and two guns), engaged the batteries at Aquia Creek, and
+pounded away with their pygmy guns for two hours, without doing any
+visible damage. Two days later the bombardment was renewed, and two of
+the vessels were slightly damaged. A more serious event occurred at
+Matthias Point in the latter part of June. Matthias Point was one of
+the chief lurking-places of the Confederate guerrillas, who, concealed
+in the dense undergrowth along the banks of the Potomac, could pour a
+destructive fire into any vessels that passed. Commander J. H. Ward of
+the "Freeborn" planned to break up this ambush, sending a landing
+party to cut away the trees and undergrowth. The landing party,
+commanded by Lieut. Chaplin, was to be covered by the guns of the
+"Freeborn" and "Reliance." It was late in the afternoon when they
+pushed off for the shore. All seemed quiet; and the bursting of the
+shells, which were occasionally dropped into the woods, seemed to have
+driven the enemy away. Hardly, however, had the sailors begun the work
+of hewing down the undergrowth, when from all quarters a hot fire was
+begun, driving them to their boats in a rout. The decks of the two
+vessels were swept by the storm of lead. Commander Ward, while
+sighting the bow-gun of the "Freeborn," was struck in the abdomen by a
+bullet, and died in a few minutes. On the shore the sailors were
+hurrying into the boats and pushing off to avoid capture. Lieut.
+Chaplin acted with great bravery, and succeeded in getting all his men
+away, with their muskets. The last man left on the shore was unable to
+swim; and Chaplin, taking him on his shoulders, bore him safely to the
+boat. Though the fire of the enemy was concentrated on the two,
+neither was hurt, although a minie-ball passed through the
+lieutenant's cap.
+
+Two months later this same locality was the scene of another bloody
+disaster to the Union arms. On the 16th of August the "Resolute" and
+the "Reliance" were ordered to make a reconnoissance of the
+neighborhood of Matthias Point. After steaming about the shore for
+some time, and noticing nothing of a suspicious character, a boat was
+seen on the Virginia shore, and an officer and five men despatched to
+capture her. They had just reached her, and were in the act of making
+fast, when a volley of musketry was fired from the bushes not more
+than five yards away, and three of the crew were instantly killed, and
+one wounded. The watchers on the war-vessels, lying in the river,
+sprang to their guns, and threw several rounds of shell into the cover
+that sheltered the enemy, soon driving them away. The two uninjured
+men in the boat succeeded in getting her away with her load of dead
+and dying.
+
+It is easy to understand how exasperating, how infuriating, such
+service as this must have been to the officers and men of the navy.
+For a man to risk his life in the heat and excitement of a battle, is
+as nothing to the feeling that one may be at any time caught in a
+death-trap, and slaughtered in cold blood.
+
+[Illustration: Naval Patrol on the Potomac.]
+
+A more successful expedition was organized in October, by Lieut.
+Harrill of the steamer "Union." He had been informed that a large
+schooner was lying in Quantico Creek, and that the Confederates were
+massing a number of troops there for the purpose of crossing the
+river. He at once determined to destroy the schooner. Accordingly he
+manned three boats at half-past two in the morning, and in the
+darkness proceeded, with muffled oars, toward the mouth of the creek.
+Here some difficulty was experienced, as the entrance is narrow and
+obstructed by sandbars; but working energetically, and in perfect
+silence, the sailors overcame all obstacles. Once in the creek, they
+pulled rapidly along within pistol-shot of the shore, until the tall
+masts of the schooner could be descried in the darkness. One sentry
+was on guard, who fled wildly as he saw the mysterious boat emerge
+from the darkness of the night. The grappling-irons were thrown
+aboard, and the jackies swarmed nimbly up the sides, and began the
+work of destruction. A huge pile of combustibles was made in the
+cabin, and hastily set on fire. The flames spread rapidly; and, though
+they insured the destruction of the schooner, they also lighted up the
+creek, showing the boats with the sailors bending to their oars to
+escape the storm of bullets that they knew must follow. The glare of
+the burning schooner, the reflection of the flames on the water, the
+flash of the rifles from the shores made a wild picture. Occasionally
+a flash from the river was followed by a deep boom, as a heavy shot
+left the muzzle of a cannon on the steamers. But through it all, the
+men escaped; and the projected invasion of the Confederates was
+abandoned, owing to the loss of their schooner.
+
+All through the war this untiring patrol of the Potomac was continued.
+Among miasmatic vapors and clouds of noxious insects on mud-flats, in
+narrow channels whose densely wooded banks might conceal legions of
+hostile sharp-shooters, the river navy kept up its work. Earning but
+little glory, though in the midst of constant peril, the officers and
+men kept up their work, and contributed not a little to the final
+outcome of the great conflict.
+
+All this time the officers of the naval vessels, riding at anchor in
+Hampton Roads, were chafing under the enforced idleness. Even the
+occasional artillery duels with which their army brethren whiled away
+the time were denied to the wistful blue-jackets. Beyond an occasional
+chase, generally useless, after a fleet blockade-runner, the sailors
+had absolutely no employment. At last, however, the opportunity came.
+The first great naval expedition of the war was set under way.
+
+From Cape Henry, at the mouth of the James River, the coast of
+Virginia and North Carolina sweeps grandly out to the eastward, like a
+mammoth bow, with its lower end at Beaufort, two hundred miles south.
+Along this coast-line the great surges of mighty ocean, rolling with
+unbroken course from the far-off shore of Europe, trip and fall with
+unceasing roar upon an almost uninterrupted beach of snowy sand, a
+hundred and more miles long. Near the southern end of this expanse of
+sand stands a lighthouse, towering solitary above the surrounding
+plain of sea and sand. No inviting beacon giving notice to the weary
+marines of safe haven is this steady light that pierces the darkness
+night after night. It tells of treacherous shoals and roaring
+breakers; of the loss of many a good ship, whose ribs, half buried in
+the drifting sand, lie rotting in the salt air; of skies ever
+treacherous, and waters ever turbulent. It is the light of Hatteras.
+
+Some twenty miles below Cape Hatteras light occurs the first great
+opening in the stretch of sand that extends south from Cape Henry.
+Once he has passed through this opening; the mariner finds himself in
+the most peaceful waters. The great surges of the Atlantic spend
+themselves on the sandy fringe outside, while within are the quiet
+waters of Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, dotted with fertile islands,
+and bordering a coast rich in harbors. The wary blockade-runner,
+eluding the watchfulness of the United States blockaders cruising
+outside, had but to pass the portals of Hatteras Inlet, to unload at
+his leisure his precious cargo, and load up with the cotton which grew
+in great abundance on the islands and fertile shores of the sound.
+
+Recognizing the importance of this harbor, the Confederates had early
+in the war fortified the point north of Hatteras Inlet. Shortly after
+the fall of Fort Sumter, a Yankee skipper, Daniel Campbell,
+incautiously running his schooner the "Lydia Francis" too near the
+stormy cape, was wrecked, and sought shelter among the people at the
+inlet. When, some days after, he proposed to leave, he was astounded
+to find that he had been delivered from the sea only to fall a prey to
+the fortunes of war. He was kept a prisoner for three months; and on
+his release, going directly to Fortress Monroe, he proved that he had
+kept his eyes open to some purpose. He reported to flag-officer
+Stringham that the Confederates had two batteries,--one of ten, the
+other of five guns,--known as Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark. With these
+two forts the Confederates claimed that they could control the
+entrance to Albemarle Sound.
+
+[Illustration: The Fleet off Hatteras.]
+
+As soon as this information was received, an expedition for the
+destruction of these forts was organized. It was necessarily chiefly
+naval, although a land force under Gen. Butler went with the fleet. On
+Aug. 25, 1861, Hampton Roads presented a scene of the greatest
+activity. The fleet seemed to have awakened from a long sleep. Every
+vessel was being hastily prepared for sailing. Two transports, the
+"George Peabody" and the "Adelaide," were crowded with the soldiers of
+Gen. Butler's command. From the mainmast of the flagship "Minnesota"
+waved the signal-flags, changing constantly as different orders were
+sent to the commanders of the other warships. At two o'clock three
+balls of bunting were run up to the truck, and catching the breeze
+were blown out into flags, giving the order, "Get under way at once."
+From the surrounding men-of-war came the shrill pipe of the
+boatswains' whistle, and the steady tramp of the men at the capstan
+bars as they dragged the anchors to the cat-heads. The nimble
+blue-jackets, climbing about the shrouds and yards, soon had the snowy
+clouds of canvas set. The wind was fresh; and with bands playing, and
+cheers of blue-jackets and soldiers, the stately squadron sailed down
+the bay.
+
+But none on board, save the superior officers, knew whither the fleet
+was bound. Hardly were they fairly on the Atlantic, when the course
+was shaped to the southward, and that much was settled. But whether
+New Orleans, Charleston, or Beaufort was the point to be attacked, the
+sailors did not know.
+
+The squadron which sailed from Hampton Roads consisted of the
+war-vessels "Minnesota," "Wabash," "Pawnee," "Monticello," and
+"Harriet Lane;" the transports "George Peabody" and "Adelaide;" and
+the tug "Fanny." Soon after rounding Cape Henry, the vessels became
+separated; and when the other vessels reached Hatteras, on the 27th,
+the "Minnesota" and "Wabash" were nowhere to be seen. As these were
+the most powerful frigates of the fleet, great fears were felt for the
+success of the expedition; but at last they appeared on the horizon. A
+place for landing was selected, and the vessels withdrew into the
+offing to spend the night. It was determined to begin the attack early
+the next day.
+
+The morning dawned clear, with a calm sea. At four o'clock the men
+were summoned to breakfast. At seven the operation of landing the
+troops was begun. All the surf-boats, barges, and lifeboats in the
+fleet were put to the work. The great war-vessels moved into position,
+and prepared to cover with a terrific fire the landing of the troops.
+The first shot was fired by the "Wabash," and the cannonading was at
+once taken up by the rest of the fleet. The vessels were placed so
+that a whole broadside could be discharged at once. Thousands of
+pounds of iron balls were thrown into the forts. Under cover of the
+cannonading, the disembarkation of the troops began.
+
+But the opposition of the enemy was not the only difficulty to be met.
+During the time consumed in getting ready to land, heavy banks of
+clouds had been crawling up from the horizon, and the soft wind of
+morning had grown into a steady blow. Cape Hatteras was true to its
+reputation. On the shelving beach, where the troops must land, the
+great rollers were breaking in torrents of foam. The first lifeboats
+that attempted the landing were swamped, and the soldiers reached the
+land wet and chilled through. The surf-boats were stove in. The
+barges, which had been relied upon to land men in large numbers,
+proved unmanageable, and were towed away by the "Harriet Lane." When
+the attempt to land the troops was given up, it was found that but
+three hundred and twenty men had been landed. This was too small a
+party to storm the forts, and the issue of the battle depended upon
+the great guns of the navy.
+
+[Illustration: Attack on the Hatteras Forts.]
+
+By this time the gunners on the ships had calculated the exact range,
+and were firing with fearful effect. Broadside followed broadside,
+with the regularity of machinery. It was war without its horrors for
+the blue-jackets, since bad marksmanship or poor powder prevented the
+Confederate gunners doing any damage. On the gun-deck of the superb
+frigate "Minnesota," the jackies were working their guns as coolly as
+though they were on drill. The operations of loading and firing were
+gone through with like clock-work. The officers could watch the course
+of the shells until they struck, and instruct the men, without
+undergoing any danger.
+
+But in the forts the scene was one of terror. As soon as the gunners
+of the fleet had secured the range, the shells began crashing into the
+fort, bewildering the untried soldiers, and driving them from their
+guns. A shell falling in the fort, and bursting, would sweep clean a
+space thirty feet square. It was madness to try to work the guns. All
+sought refuge in the bomb proofs, and an occasional shot was all that
+showed the presence of any defenders in the forts. Soon the
+Confederates decided to abandon Fort Clark, the smaller of the two,
+and mass their forces in Fort Hatteras. As a ruse, to check the
+bombardment of the ships, the flags on both forts were hauled down.
+This was, of course, taken as a token of surrender; and as the
+cannonading stopped, and the clouds of gray gunpowder-smoke lifted,
+the shrouds of the bombarding squadron were filled with men, and cheer
+upon cheer rang out in honor of the victory. Soon the troops occupied
+the deserted battery, and the "Monticello" was ordered into the inlet
+to take possession of Fort Hatteras. She had proceeded only a little
+way, however, when suddenly a heavy fire was opened upon her from the
+fort, and at the same time a large body of re-enforcements was seen
+approaching from the south. The gunners came down from the shrouds,
+stopped cheering, and began their work again. For a time the
+"Monticello" was in a dangerous position. In a narrow and unknown
+channel, she was forced to retreat slowly, under heavy fire from the
+fort, being hit eight times. The heavy fire of the other vessels,
+however, soon drove the Confederate gunners from their guns. The
+sailors worked untiringly, and seemed enraged by the deceit practised
+by the enemy. One man, while sponging out a gun, preparatory to
+reloading it, dropped his sponge overboard. Quick as thought he
+vaulted the gunwale, and re-appeared on the surface of the water
+swimming for the sponge. Recovering it, he in a few moments crawled
+dripping through a porthole, to report respectfully to the captain of
+the gun: "Just come aboard, sir."
+
+The fort abandoned by the Confederates had been occupied by the troops
+that had been landed; and, under cover of the furious bombardment, the
+work of landing was vigorously prosecuted. Night came, and with it a
+gale so heavy that the vessels had to desert their stations, and
+withdraw into the offing. When the morning broke, however, the sea had
+calmed sufficiently to allow the gunners to again set about their
+terrible work.
+
+The second day's firing was even more accurate than that of the first;
+and the gray-coats were soon compelled to retire to the bomb-proofs,
+and abandon all attempt to return the fire of the ships. Soon three
+shells in rapid succession burst close to the magazine of the fort,
+telling plainly to the affrighted defenders that nothing was left for
+them but surrender. A white flag was raised, and Commodore Barron went
+off to the fleet to formally surrender the forts and the eight hundred
+men of his command. When the terms were concluded, the defeated
+soldier turned to flag-officer Stringham, and asked if the loss of
+life on the ships had been very large. "Not a man has been injured,"
+was the response. "Wonderful!" exclaimed the questioner. "No one could
+have imagined that this position could have been captured without
+sacrificing thousands of men." But so it was. Without the loss of a
+man, had fallen a most important post, together with cannon,
+provisions, and nearly seven hundred men.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+     THE "TRENT" AFFAIR. -- OPERATIONS IN ALBEMARLE AND PAMLICO
+     SOUNDS. -- DESTRUCTION OF THE CONFEDERATE FLEET.
+
+
+Early in the war an event occurred which for a time seemed likely to
+bring England to the aid of the Confederates. The Confederate
+Government had appointed as diplomatic commissioners to England two
+gentlemen, Messrs. Mason and Slidell. They had escaped from Mobile on
+a fleet blockade-runner, and reached Havana, where they remained a
+week waiting for the regular English packet to convey them to
+Liverpool. While in Havana they were lavishly entertained by the
+colony of Confederate sympathizers there; and feeling perfectly safe,
+now that they were outside the jurisdiction of the United States, they
+made no attempt to conceal their official character, and boasted of
+the errand upon which they were sent.
+
+The United States frigate "San Jacinto," which was one of the many
+vessels kept rushing about the high seas in search of the privateer
+"Sumter," happened to be in the harbor of Havana at this time. She was
+commanded by Capt. Wilkes, an officer who had made an exhaustive study
+of international law, particularly as bearing upon the right of a
+war-vessel to search a vessel belonging to a neutral nation. Capt.
+Wilkes, knowing that by capturing the Confederate commissioners, he
+could win for himself the applause of the entire North, determined to
+make the attempt. By a study of his books bearing on international
+law, he managed to convince himself that he was justified in stopping
+the British steamer, and taking from it by force the bodies of Messrs.
+Mason and Slidell. Accordingly he set sail from the harbor of Havana,
+and cruised up and down at a distance of more than a marine league
+from the coast, awaiting the appearance of the vessel. Five days after
+the "San Jacinto's" departure, the commissioners set sail in the
+British mail-steamer "Trent." She was intercepted in the Bahama
+Channel by the "San Jacinto." When the man-of-war fired a blank
+cartridge as a signal to heave to, the commander of the "Trent" ran
+the British flag to the peak, and continued, feeling secure under the
+emblem of neutrality. Then came a more peremptory summons in the shape
+of a solid shot across the bows; and, as the incredulous captain of
+the "Trent" still continued his course, a six-inch shell was dropped
+within about one hundred feet of his vessel. Then he stopped. A boat
+put off from the "San Jacinto," and made for the "Trent." Up the side
+of the merchant-vessel clambered a spruce lieutenant, and demanded the
+immediate surrender of the two commissioners. The captain protested,
+pointed to the flag with the cross of St. George waving above his
+head, and invoked the power of her Britannic majesty,--all to no
+avail. The two commissioners had retired to their cabins, and refused
+to come out without being compelled by actual force. The boat was sent
+back to the "San Jacinto," and soon returned with a file of marines,
+who were drawn up with their muskets on the deck of the "Trent." Every
+British ship which carries mails carries a regularly commissioned
+officer of the navy, who is responsible for them. This officer on the
+"Trent" was somewhat of a martinet, and his protests at this violation
+of the rights of a neutral vessel were very vigorous. When the first
+gun was fired, he rushed below, and soon re-appeared in all the
+resplendent glory of gold lace and brass buttons which go to make up a
+naval uniform. He danced about the deck in an ecstasy of rage, and
+made the most fearful threats of the wrath of the British people. The
+passengers too became excited, and protested loudly. Every thing
+possible was done by the people of the "Trent" to put themselves on
+record as formally protesting. Nevertheless, the commissioners were
+taken away, carried to New York, and from there sent into confinement
+at Fort Warren.
+
+When the news of this great achievement became known, Wilkes was made
+the lion of the hour. Unthinking people met and passed resolutions of
+commendation. He was tendered banquets by cities. He was elected a
+member of learned societies in all parts of the country, and was
+generally eulogized. Even the Secretary of the Navy, who should have
+recognized the grave troubles likely to grow out of this violation of
+the principles of neutrality, wrote a letter to Capt. Wilkes, warmly
+indorsing his course, and only regretting that he had not captured the
+steamer as well as the two commissioners.
+
+But fortunately we had wiser heads in the other executive departments
+of the government. President Lincoln and Secretary Seward quickly
+disavowed the responsibility for Wilkes's action. Letters were written
+to the United States minister in England, Charles Francis Adams,
+alluding to the proceeding as one for which Capt. Wilkes as an
+individual was alone responsible. And well it was that this attitude
+was taken: for hardly had the news reached England, when with one
+voice the people cried for war. Sympathizing with the South as they
+undoubtedly did, it needed but this insult to the British flag to
+rouse the war spirit of the nation. Transports loaded with troops were
+immediately ordered to Canada; the reserves were called out; the
+ordnance factories were set running day and night; while the press of
+the nation, and the British minister at Washington, demanded the
+immediate release of the captives, and a full apology from the United
+States.
+
+The matter was conducted on this side with the utmost diplomacy. We
+were undoubtedly in the wrong, and the only thing was to come out with
+as little sacrifice of national dignity as possible. The long time
+necessary for letters to pass between this country and England was an
+important factor in calming the people. Minister Adams said, that, had
+the Atlantic cable then been in operation, nothing could have
+prevented a war. In the end the demands of Great Britain were acceded
+to, and the commissioners proceeded on their way. The last note of the
+diplomatic correspondence was a courteous letter from President
+Lincoln to the British minister, offering to allow the British troops
+_en route_ for Canada to land at Portland, Me., and thus avoid the
+long winter's march through New Brunswick. The peaceful settlement of
+the affair chagrined the Confederates not a little, as they had hoped
+to gain Great Britain as a powerful ally in their fight against the
+United States.
+
+Soon after the capture of the forts at Hatteras Inlet, the authorities
+of the Union again turned their attention in that direction, with the
+result of sending the Burnside expedition to Albemarle Sound.
+
+The coast of North Carolina is honeycombed with rivers, inlets, and
+lagoons, which open into the two broad sounds known as Pamlico and
+Albemarle, and which are protected from the turbulence of the Atlantic
+by the long ridge of sand which terminates at Cape Hatteras. While the
+capture of the Hatteras forts had given the Union authorities control
+of Hatteras Inlet, the chief entrance to the sounds, yet the long,
+narrow island was broken by other lesser inlets of a size sufficient
+to permit the passage of light-draught steamers. The Confederates had
+quite a fleet of swift, light vessels of insignificant armament, often
+only a single gun, with which they occasionally made a descent upon
+some coaster or merchantman, running close inshore, and dragged her in
+as a prize. With these swift steamers, too, they effectually
+controlled all navigation of the sounds. But the greatest advantage
+that they derived from their control of the sounds was the vast
+facilities given them for constructing, at their leisure, powerful
+iron-clads in some of the North Carolina shipyards; then sending them
+to reduce the Hatteras forts, and so out into the Atlantic to fight
+for the destruction of the blockade. All these conditions were clear
+to the authorities of the Union; and therefore, in the early part of
+January, 1862, a joint military and naval expedition was fitted out
+for operation against the Confederate works and steamers in these
+inland waters. It was in the early days of the war; and the flotilla
+was one of those heterogeneous collections of remodelled
+excursion-steamers, tugs, ferry-boats, and even canal-boats, which at
+that time was dignified with the title of "the fleet." In fitting out
+this expedition two very conflicting requirements were followed. In
+the most favorable circumstances, the channel at Hatteras Inlet is
+seldom over seven and a half feet: consequently the vessels must be of
+light draught. But the Confederate steamers in the sounds carried
+heavy rifled cannon, and the armament of the forts on Roanoke Island
+was of the heaviest: therefore, the vessels must carry heavy guns to
+be able to cope with the enemy. This attempt to put a heavy armament
+on the gun-deck made the vessels roll so heavily as to be almost
+unseaworthy.
+
+[Illustration: Shores of Albemarle Sound.]
+
+In addition to the armed vessels belonging to the navy, a number of
+transports accompanied the expedition, bearing the army corps under
+the command of Gen. Burnside; and the whole number of craft finally
+assembled for the subjugation of the North Carolina sounds was one
+hundred and twenty. This heterogeneous assemblage of vessels was sent
+on a voyage in the dead of winter, down a dangerous coast, to one of
+the stormiest points known to the mariner. Hatteras was true to its
+reputation; and, when the squadron reached the inlet, a furious
+north-easter was blowing, sending the gray clouds scudding across the
+sky, and making the heavy rollers break on the beach and the bar in a
+way that foretold certain destruction, should any hardy pilot attempt
+to run his ship into the narrow and crooked inlet. Outside there was
+no safe anchorage, and the situation of the entire squadron was most
+precarious. Several serious mishaps occurred before the vessels got
+into the small and altogether insufficient harbor between the seaward
+bar and the "bulkhead" or inner bar. The first vessel to come to grief
+was one of the canal-boats laden with hay, oats, and other stores. She
+was without any motive power, being towed by a steam-tug, and, getting
+into the trough of the sea, rolled and sheered so that she could not
+be towed. The heavy rolling started her seams, and it was soon evident
+that she was sinking. With the greatest caution a boat was lowered
+from one of the steamers, and put off to rescue the crew of the
+foundering craft. Laboriously the sailors worked their way through the
+tossing sea to the lee side of the "Grape-shot," and after much
+difficulty succeeded in taking off all on board, and the return trip
+was commenced. All went well until the boat came under the lee of the
+steamer, and the men were about to clamber up the sides. Suddenly an
+immense sea lifted the vessel high in the air; and in an instant the
+boat was swamped, and the men were struggling in the icy water. All
+were ultimately saved, but it was with the greatest difficulty. The
+"Grape-shot," left to her fate, went ashore some fourteen miles above
+Hatteras. Her cargo served some practical use, after all; for some
+horses from the wreck of the "Pocahontas" managed to reach the shore,
+and kept themselves alive by munching the water-soaked hay and oats.
+
+The "Pocahontas" was one of the steamers chartered by the war
+department as a horse transport. Her actions during this gale furnish
+a fair illustration of the manner in which the Government was often
+deluded into purchasing almost valueless ships. She started with the
+Burnside expedition from Hampton Roads, freighted with one hundred
+and thirteen horses. As soon as the gale off Hatteras came on, she
+began to show signs of unseaworthiness. First the boilers gave way,
+loosened from their places by the heavy rolling of the ship. All
+progress had to be stopped until they were patched up. Then down fell
+the grates, extinguishing the fires. Then the steering-gear was
+broken; and, getting into the trough of the sea, she rolled until her
+smokestack broke its moorings and fell over. Finally she sprung a leak
+and was run ashore. The crew were all saved, but for a long time their
+chances for life seemed small indeed. Ninety of the horses were lost,
+some having been thrown overboard ten miles from the land. Others were
+left tied in their stalls, to perish when the ship went to pieces in
+the breakers. Those that were thrown overboard near the beach swam
+ashore through breakers in which no boat nor man could live, and,
+finding the waste and wreckage from the cargo of the "Grape-shot,"
+lived for days on the hay and oats, soaked with sea-water though they
+were.
+
+For two days this gale continued. The outlook for the fleet seemed
+hopeless. The inner bar of the harbor was absolutely impassable.
+Between the outer bar and the inner were packed seventy vessels. This
+space, though called a harbor, was almost unsheltered. Crowded with
+vessels as it was, it made an anchorage only less dangerous than that
+outside. Although the vessels were anchored, bow and stern, the
+violence of the sea was such that they frequently crashed into each
+other, breaking bulwarks, spars, and wheel-houses, and tearing away
+standing-rigging. A schooner breaking from its anchorage went tossing
+and twirling through the fleet, crashing into vessel after vessel,
+until finally, getting foul of a small steamer, dragged it from its
+moorings; and the two began a waltz in the crowded harbor, to the
+great detriment of the surrounding craft. At last the two runaways
+went aground on a shoal, and pounded away there until every seam was
+open, and the holds filled with water.
+
+A strange mishap was that which befell the gunboat "Zouave." She was
+riding safely at anchor, remote from other ships, taking the seas
+nobly, and apparently in no possible danger. Her crew occupied
+themselves in going to the assistance of those in the distressed
+vessels, feeling that their own was perfectly safe. But during the
+night, the tide being out, the vessel was driven against one of the
+flukes of her own anchor; and as each wave lifted her up and dropped
+her heavily on the sharp iron, a hole was stove in her bottom,
+sinking her so quickly that the crew took to the boats, saving
+nothing.
+
+But the most serious disaster was the total wreck of the "City of New
+York," a large transport, with a cargo of ordnance stores valued at
+two hundred thousand dollars. Unable to enter the inlet, she tried to
+ride out the gale outside. The tremendous sea, and the wind blowing
+furiously on shore, caused her to drag her anchors; and those on board
+saw certain death staring them in the face, as hour by hour the ship
+drifted nearer and nearer to the tumbling mass of mighty breakers,
+that with an unceasing roar, and white foam gleaming like the teeth of
+an enraged lion, broke heavily on the sand. She struck on Monday
+afternoon, and soon swung around, broadside to the sea, so as to be
+helpless and at the mercy of the breakers. Every wave broke over her
+decks. The condition of her crew was frightful. In the dead of winter,
+the wind keen as a razor, and the waves of icy coldness, the body soon
+became benumbed; and it was with the greatest effort that the men
+could cling to the rigging. So great was the fury of the wind and
+waves, that no assistance could be given her. For a boat to venture
+into that seething caldron of breakers would have been throwing away
+lives. So the crew of the doomed ship were left to save themselves as
+best they might. The night passed away, and Tuesday morning saw the
+gale still blowing with unabated force. Hoping to lessen the strain on
+the hull, they cut away the foremast. In falling, it tore away the
+pipes, and the vessel became a perfect wreck. Numbed with cold, and
+faint for lack of food, the crew lashed themselves to the bulwarks and
+rigging; and so, drenched by the icy spray, and chilled through by the
+wind, they spent another fearful night. The next day the fury of the
+storm seemed to have somewhat abated. The sea was still running high,
+and breaking over the almost unrecognizable hulk stranded on the
+beach. With the aid of a glass, sailors on the other ships could see
+the inanimate forms of the crew lashed to the rigging. It was
+determined to make a vigorous attempt to save them. The first boat
+sent out on the errand of mercy was watched eagerly from all the
+vessels. Now it would be seen raised high on the top of some
+tremendous wave, then, plunging into the trough, it would be lost from
+the view of the anxious watchers. All went well until the boat reached
+the outermost line of the breakers, when suddenly a towering wave,
+rushing resistlessly along, broke directly over the stern, swamping
+the boat, and drowning seven of the crew. Again the last hope seemed
+lost to the exhausted men on the wreck. But later in the day, the sea
+having gone down somewhat, a steam-tug succeeded in reaching the wreck
+and rescuing the crew. The second engineer was the last man to leave
+the ship. He remained lashed to the mast until all were taken on the
+tug. Then, climbing to the top-mast, he cut down the flag that had
+waved during those two wild days and nights, and bore it safely away.
+
+After this gale died away, the work of getting the squadron over the
+inner bar was begun. It was a tremendous task. Many of the ships drew
+too much water for the shallow channel, and it was necessary to remove
+large parts of their cargoes. The bar, which is known as Buckhead
+Shoal, was an expanse of quicksand a mile wide, with a tortuous
+channel ever changing with the shifting sands. Many of the ships
+stranded, and the tugs were constantly busy in towing them off.
+Scarcely would one be safely afloat, than another would "bring up all
+standing" on some new shoal. Two weeks elapsed before all the vessels
+were safe within the landlocked sound. They were none too soon; for
+hardly had the last vessel crossed the bar, than the black gathering
+clouds, the murky, tossing sea, and the foaming billows breaking on
+the bar, foretold another of the storms for which Cape Hatteras is
+famed. Through the storm a queer-looking craft was seen approaching
+the fleet. It was found to be a boat-load of escaping slaves, who had
+put to sea at random, feeling sure of finding "de Yankees" somewhere.
+From these men much valuable information was obtained.
+
+Up to this time no one in the fleet, excepting the superior officers,
+was informed as to the exact destination of the expedition. Now as the
+signal to get under way blew out from the foremast of the flagship,
+and as the prow of the leading vessel was turned to the northward, all
+knew, and all cried, "Roanoke Island." This island was heavily
+fortified by the Confederates, and from its position was a point of
+considerable strategic importance. It guards the entrance to Pamlico
+Sound from Albemarle Sound, and into Pamlico Sound open great bays and
+rivers that penetrate far into the interior of Virginia and North
+Carolina. On this island the Confederates had erected three forts of
+formidable strength. These forts commanded the channel through which
+the vessels would have to pass; and to make the task doubly dangerous,
+the channel was obstructed with sharpened piles and sunken hulks, so
+as to be apparently impassable. Beyond the obstructions was the
+Confederate fleet, which, though insignificant compared with the
+attacking squadron, was formidable in connection with the forts. It
+was the task of the invaders to capture these forts, and destroy the
+fleet.
+
+It was on Feb. 5 that the squadron prepared to leave its moorings at
+Hatteras Inlet. It was an imposing spectacle. The flagship
+"Philadelphia" led the naval squadron, which advanced with the
+precision of a body of troops. Behind, with less regularity, came the
+army transports. About one hundred vessels were in the three columns
+that moved over the placid waters of the sound toward the forts. It
+was five in the afternoon of a short February day that the fleet came
+in sight of the forts. Signals were made for the squadron to form in a
+circle about the flagship. The early darkness of winter had fallen
+upon the scene. The waters of the sound were smooth as a mill-pond.
+From the white cottages on the shore gleamed lights, and brilliant
+signal-lanterns hung in the rigging of the ships. Through the fleet
+pulled swift gigs bearing the commanders of the different vessels.
+
+The morning dawned dark and rainy. At first it was thought that the
+fog and mist would prevent the bombardment, but all doubt was put at
+an end by the signal, "Prepare for action," from the flagship. The
+drums beat to quarters, and soon the guns were manned by sailors
+stripped to the waist. The magazines were opened; and the surgeons
+cleared away the cock-pits, and spread out their glistening
+instruments ready for their work.
+
+The fleet got under way, and stood up the channel almost to the point
+where the obstructions were planted. Beyond these were the gunboats of
+the enemy. The cannonade was begun without loss of time. A portion of
+the fleet began a vigorous fire upon the Confederate gunboats, while
+the others attacked the forts. The gunboats were soon driven away, and
+then the forts received the entire fire. The water was calm, and the
+aim of the gunners was admirable. The forts could hardly respond to
+the fire, since the great shells, plunging by hundreds into the
+trenches, drove the men from their guns into the bomb-proof casemates.
+The officers of the ships could watch with their glasses the effect of
+every shell, and by their directions the aim of the gunners was made
+nearly perfect.
+
+While the bombarding was going on, Gen. Burnside set about landing his
+troops near the southern end of the island. The first boat was fired
+upon by soldiers concealed in the woods. The "Delaware" instantly
+pitched a few shells into the woods from which the firing proceeded,
+and in a few minutes the enemy could be seen running out like rats
+from a burning granary. The landing then went on unimpeded. The boats
+were unable to get up to the bank, owing to shoal water; and the
+soldiers were obliged to wade ashore in the icy water, waist-deep, and
+sinking a foot more in the soft mud of the bottom.
+
+The bombardment was continued for some hours after nightfall. A night
+bombardment is a stirring scene. The passionate and spiteful glare of
+the cannon-flashes; the unceasing roar of the explosions; the demoniac
+shriek of the shells in the air, followed by their explosion with a
+lightning flash, and crash like thunder; the volumes of gray smoke
+rising upon the dark air,--make up a wonderful and memorable sight.
+
+In the morning the bombardment was recommenced, and the work of
+landing troops went on. Eight gunboats were sent to tear away the
+obstructions in the channel; and there beneath the guns of the enemy's
+fleet, and the frowning cannon of the forts, the sailors worked with
+axe and ketch until the barricade was broken, and the eight ships
+passed to the sound above the forts. In the mean time, the troops on
+the island began the march against the forts. There were few paths,
+and they groped their way through woods and undergrowth, wading
+through morasses, and tearing their way through tangled thickets to
+get at the enemy's front. The advance was slow, but steady, until the
+open field before the forts was reached; then a change was ordered,
+led by the famous Hawkins Zouaves, who rushed madly upon the fort,
+shouting their war cry of _Zou, zou, zou!_ Like a resistless flood the
+attackers poured over the earthworks, and the frightened defenders
+fled. Before five o'clock the entire island was in the hands of the
+troops, and the fleet had passed the barricade. During the bombardment
+the vessels sustained severe injuries. An act of heroism which made
+the hero celebrated was that of John Davis, gunner's mate on board the
+"Valley City." A shell entered the magazine of that ship, and
+exploded, setting the woodwork on fire. An open barrel of gunpowder
+stood in the midst of the flames, with sparks dropping about it. At
+any moment an explosion might occur which would shatter the vessel to
+fragments. Men shrank back, expecting every moment to be their
+last. With wonderful presence of mind Davis threw himself across the
+open end of the barrel, and with his body covered the dangerous
+explosive until the fire was put out.
+
+[Illustration: Contrabands escaping to Fleet.]
+
+As soon as the stars and stripes were hoisted on the flagstaffs of the
+forts, the Confederate fleet, which had been maintaining a desultory
+fire, fled up the sound, after setting fire to one schooner which had
+become hopelessly crippled in the battle. She blazed away far on into
+the night, and finally, when the flames reached her magazine, blew up
+with a tremendous report, seeming like a final involuntary salute paid
+by the defeated enemy to the prowess of the Union arms. When quiet
+finally settled down upon the scene, and Gen. Burnside and Commander
+Goldsborough counted up their gains, they found that six forts,
+twenty-five hundred prisoners, and forty-two great guns had fallen
+into the hands of the victors. The Union loss was forty killed and two
+hundred wounded.
+
+The next day was Sunday. It was considered highly important that the
+success of the day before should be vigorously followed up; and an
+expedition of fourteen vessels, under Capt. Rowan, was ordered to
+follow the retreating Confederate fleet and destroy it. The flying
+squadron was chased as far as Elizabeth City on the Pasquotauk River.
+Here night overtook the pursuers; and they came to anchor at the mouth
+of the stream, effectually cutting off all hope of retreat. The
+Confederates in the vessels lying off the town passed an anxious
+night. Outnumbered two to one by the pursuing vessels, they saw no
+hope of a successful resistance. With a courage which in view of the
+facts seems to be almost foolhardy, they determined to stick to their
+ships, and fight to the death. The feelings of the inhabitants of the
+town were hardly less gloomy. So thoroughly impregnable had they
+considered the forts at Roanoke Island, that they had made absolutely
+no preparations for defence; and now they found their homes upon the
+eve of capture. The victorious army had not yet had an opportunity to
+show the merciful way in which the inhabitants of captured cities were
+treated throughout the war; and the good people of Elizabeth City may
+be excused for fearing, that, with the destruction of their fleet,
+they were to be delivered into the merciless hands of a lawless enemy.
+
+Morning dawned bright and clear. With the greatest deliberation the
+preparations for action were made on the attacking vessels. It was
+discovered, that, owing to the continuous firing during the Roanoke
+Island engagement, but twenty rounds of ammunition per gun were left
+to each vessel. It was accordingly ordered that no long-distance
+firing should be done; but each vessel should dash at the enemy, run
+him down if possible, and then board and fight it out, hand to hand.
+Early in the morning the fleet started up the river. The enemy's fleet
+was soon sighted, lying behind the guns of a small battery on Cobb's
+Point. When within long range, battery and vessels opened a tremendous
+fire with eighty-pound rifles. The approach of the squadron continued
+until when within three-quarters of a mile the signal was flung out
+from the mast of the flagship, "Dash at the enemy." Then full speed
+was put on, and firing commenced from bow-guns. The Confederates
+became totally demoralized. The battery was abandoned when the first
+vessel poured her broadside into it as she passed. Before the enemy's
+fleet was reached, many of his vessels were fired and abandoned. The
+United States steamship "Perry" struck the "Sea-Bird" amidships,
+sinking her so quickly that the crew had scarce time to escape. The
+crew of the "Delaware" boarded the "Fanny," sabering and shooting her
+defenders until they fled over the side into the water. The victory
+was complete and overwhelming. Three or four of the victorious vessels
+at once proceeded to the town, where they found the enemy in full
+retreat and compelling the inhabitants to set fire to their houses.
+This was quickly stopped, and the invaders became the protectors of
+the conquered people.
+
+The power of the Confederates in this part of the country being so
+effectually destroyed, the navy was divided into small detachments and
+sent cruising up the lagoons and rivers opening into the North
+Carolina sounds, merely to show the people the power of the United
+States Government, and to urge them to cease their resistance to its
+authority. Three vessels were sent to Edenton. As they came abreast of
+the village, a company of mounted artillery precipitately fled. A
+detachment of marines sent ashore found a number of cannon which they
+destroyed, and a nearly completed schooner to which they set fire.
+Other small places were visited, generally without any opposition
+being encountered.
+
+A somewhat larger force was sent to a small town named Winton, as it
+had been rumored that a force of Union men were there disputing the
+authority of the Confederate Government, and the navy wished to go to
+their assistance. The "Delaware" and "Hudson," in advance of the
+squadron, came within sight of the landing and warehouses of Winton
+about four in the afternoon. The town itself was hidden from the view
+of the vessels by a high bluff. It was a clear, quiet afternoon, and
+all seemed peaceful. The long wharf, running out into the stream, was
+deserted by all save a negro woman, who, roused from her occupation of
+fishing, gazed inquisitively at the strange vessels. The place looked
+like a commercial port going to seed on account of the blockade. The
+two vessels proceeded on their way unmolested, ranging past the wharf,
+and apprehending no danger. Suddenly from the woods on the bluff a
+terrific fire was poured upon the vessels. The negress, having served
+her end as a decoy, fled hastily to shelter. The bluffs seemed to be
+held by two batteries of light artillery and a considerable force of
+armed men. Fortunately the aim of the artillery men was bad, and the
+vessels sustained no severe damage. Still, they were in a precarious
+position. The "Delaware" was too near to bring her battery to bear,
+and was obliged to turn slowly in the narrow channel. The "Perry,"
+more fortunately situated, opened at once on the enemy with shrapnel.
+But the contest was unequal, and the two vessels were forced to
+retreat down the river about seven miles, there to await the remainder
+of the squadron.
+
+Two days after, the flotilla began the advance up the river, shelling
+the town as they ascended. Once opposite the town, the troops were
+landed, and the Hawkins Zouaves soon had possession of the bluff and
+town. Knapsacks, ammunition, and muskets in considerable quantity fell
+into the hands of the victors; and, after burning the barracks of the
+enemy, the squadron returned to the base of operations at Roanoke
+Island.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+     REDUCTION OF NEWBERN. -- EXPLOITS OF LIEUT. CUSHING. --
+     DESTRUCTION OF THE RAM "ALBEMARLE."
+
+
+After the destruction of the Confederate flotilla at Elizabeth City,
+and the affair at Winton, the Union fleet remained quietly at anchor
+off Roanoke Island, or made short excursions up the little rivers
+emptying into the sounds. Over a month passed in comparative inaction,
+as the ships were awaiting supplies and particularly ammunition. When
+finally the transports from New York arrived, and the magazines of the
+war-vessels were filled with shot and shell and gunpowder, they again
+turned their attention to the enemy. The victories already won had
+almost driven the Confederates from that part of North Carolina which
+borders on the sounds. Roanoke Island, Elizabeth City, Edenton, and
+Plymouth had one after the other yielded to the persuasive eloquence
+of the ship's cannon, and there was left to the Confederates only one
+fort,--Newbern, on the River Neuse. As a city Newbern is
+insignificant; but as a military post it was of a good deal of
+importance, and the Confederates had made active preparations for its
+defence.
+
+It was on the 12th of March, 1862, that Commander Rowan started from
+Hatteras Inlet with a flotilla of thirteen vessels, and army
+transports bearing three thousand men. The long column steamed down
+the placid waters of Pamlico Sound, and, turning into the Neuse
+River, anchored about fifteen miles below the city. Although the night
+before the battle, and within sight of the white steeples of the
+menaced city, all was quiet and peaceful. The banks of the broad
+stream were densely wooded, and from them could be heard at times the
+cry of the whip-poor-will, or the hoot of the night-owl. The vessels
+were anchored far out in the middle of the stream, so as to avoid the
+deadly bullets of any lurking sharp-shooters. The lookouts kept a
+close watch for floating torpedoes; while the sailors off duty spun
+their yarns in the forecastle, and bet pipes and tobacco on the result
+of the coming battle. The jolly tars of the Burnside expedition had
+hardly yet learned that war was a serious matter. They had met with
+but little serious resistance, had captured powerful forts without
+losing a man, had chased and destroyed the Confederate fleet without
+any serious damage to their own, and felt, accordingly, that war was a
+game in which it was their part always to win, and the part of the
+enemy to run away. Certainly the fight at Newbern did nothing to
+dispel this idea.
+
+When morning broke, the shrill piping of the boatswain's whistle
+brought the crew to their places on deck. Breakfast was served, and
+leisurely eaten; for it is one of the established theories of the
+navy, that sailors can't fight on empty stomachs. Breakfast over, the
+work of landing the troops was begun. The point chosen was a broad
+beach fringed with woods near the anchorage of the vessels. Before
+landing the troops, the ships threw a few shells into the woods, to
+make certain that they concealed no ambuscade, as in the disastrous
+affair at Matthias Point. After two dozen shells had burst, mowing
+down trees, and driving out frightened animals in plenty, but no
+sharp-shooters, the long-boats put off from the transports bearing the
+soldiers for the land attack. As soon as six or seven hundred were
+landed, they formed in column, and moved rapidly up the beach. The
+others followed as rapidly as they could be put on shore. The gunboats
+steamed slowly up the river, keeping abreast of the troops, and
+throwing shells into the woods ahead of the attacking column. Had any
+Confederates prepared to resist the march, they must have been driven
+out of the forest before the Federals came within musket-range. Not an
+atom of resistance was made. The plans of the invaders seemed
+irresistible. About half-past four in the afternoon, a puff of smoke
+rose from the river-bank far ahead of the leading vessel, and in a few
+seconds a heavy shell plunged into the water a hundred yards ahead of
+the flotilla. The enemy was getting awake to the situation. The
+gunboats soon returned the fire, and the cannonading was continued at
+long range, without damage to either side, until sundown, when the
+troops went into camp, and the vessels chose an anchorage near by.
+
+At daylight the next morning, the advance was resumed. The day was so
+foggy that the usual signals between the vessels could not be seen,
+and orders from the flagship had to be carried by boat. The fleet
+proceeded up the river; and, when the fog lifted, the ramparts of Fort
+Dixie--the one that had fired on them the night before--were visible.
+A vigorous bombardment was at once begun; but the fort failed to
+reply, and a storming-party sent ashore found it empty. Hoisting the
+stars and stripes above the deserted bastions, the ships went on. Soon
+they reached Fort Ellis. Here the firing was sharp on both sides. The
+fort was a powerful earthwork, well armed with rifles ranging from
+thirty-two to eighty pounders. The Confederates did but little damage
+with their guns; their aim being bad for want of practice, and their
+powder of poor quality. Still, they fought on with great courage until
+a shell from the "Delaware" burst in the magazine, firing the powder
+there, and hurling the fort, with large numbers of its brave
+defenders, high in the air. This ended the fight with Fort Ellis, and
+the fleet continued its way up the river.
+
+[Illustration: Flag of South Carolina.]
+
+Shortly after passing Fort Ellis, two rows of obstructions were met in
+the channel. The lower barrier was composed of a series of piles
+driven into the river-bottom, and cut off below the water; back of
+these came a row of pointed and iron tipped piles pointing down stream
+at such an angle as to be likely to pierce the hull of any vessel that
+should run upon them. Entwined about these piles was a cable
+connecting with thirty powerful torpedoes. That any vessel could
+pierce such a barrier seems almost incredible; yet all the vessels of
+the flotilla passed, and but two were seriously injured. One of the
+sharp iron piles drove through the bottom of the "Barney," sending the
+crew to the pumps, and the carpenter down into the hold with his
+felt-covered plugs. But her damages were quickly repaired, and she
+went on with the rest of the fleet. Right under the guns of Fort
+Thompson the second line of obstructions was encountered. It consisted
+of a line of sunken vessels closely massed, and a _cheval-de-frise_ of
+stakes and logs, that blocked the entire river, save a small passage
+close in shore under the guns of the battery. Here was more hard work
+for the sailors; but they managed to creep through, and ranging up in
+line, broadside to Fort Thompson, they opened a vigorous cannonade
+upon that work. The condition of the garrison of the fort was
+desperate. The troops that had marched up the beach abreast of the
+vessels began a vigorous attack on the landward face of the fort,
+while the vessels in the river kept up a vigorous fire on the
+water-front. Soon the gunners of the fort were called away from the
+river-front to meet the hot assault of the soldiers on the land; and,
+as the conflict grew close, the ships ceased firing, lest their shell
+should mow down foe and friend alike. Leaving the enemy to the
+attention of the soldiery, the ships proceeded up the river past two
+deserted forts that gave no answer to vigorous shelling. Just as the
+last vessel was passing Fort Thompson, the attacking troops, with a
+cheer, rushed upon the ramparts; and in a minute the stars and stripes
+were fluttering from the flagstaff. This was the last resistance
+encountered, and at two P.M. the victors were in full possession of
+the city. The war ships sped up the river after three Confederate
+steamers that were endeavoring to escape, and soon captured them. One
+was run ashore and burned, while the other two were added to the
+conquering fleet. As a last resort, the flying enemy sent down a huge
+fire-raft, in the hope of burning some of the Union vessels; but this
+was stopped by the piers of a railroad bridge, and, burning that,
+effectually cut off Newbern's communication with the world. During the
+entire two days' engagement, the navy did not lose a man on the ships.
+Two of a small landing-party were killed, and eleven, wounded; while
+of the soldiers there were killed eighty-eight, and wounded three
+hundred and fifty-two. This victory gave to the United States the
+entire control of the North Carolina sounds and tributary navigable
+waters.
+
+For years after this, the sounds were occupied by a small squadron of
+the United States navy, mainly blockading cruisers. It was during
+these three years of occupation that Lieut. W. B. Cushing performed
+those wonderfully daring deeds that made him a name and fame apart
+from all other war-records. These feats so particularly belong to
+Cushing's record, rather than to the history of any years of the war,
+that they may well be considered together here. The wonderful
+exhibitions of daring by which this young officer earned his promotion
+to the rank of a commander, while still hardly more than a boy, were
+the ascent of New River Inlet in the steamer "Ellis," for the purpose
+of destroying the enemy's salt-works, and a blockade-runner at New
+Topsail Inlet; and finally, the great achievement of his life, the
+destruction of the ram "Albemarle" in the Roanoke River.
+
+Lieut. Cushing entered the navy during the first year of the civil war,
+being himself at that time but nineteen years old. A comrade who served
+with him at the time of the destruction of the "Albemarle" describes him
+as about six feet high, very slender, with a smooth face, and dark wavy
+hair. Immediately upon his joining the navy, he was assigned to duty
+with the blockading squadron on the Atlantic coast. He distinguished
+himself during the first year of the war, at a time when the
+opportunities of the service were not very brilliant, by unfailing
+vigilance, and soon won for himself the honor of a command. In November,
+1862, he was put in command of the steamer "Ellis," and ordered to
+preserve the blockade of New River Inlet on the North Carolina coast,
+not far from the favorite port of the blockade-runners, Wilmington. The
+duties of a blockading man-of-war are monotonous, at best. Lying at
+anchor off the mouth of the blockaded harbor, or steaming slowly up and
+down for days together, the crew grow discontented; and the officers are
+at their wits' end to devise constant occupation to dispel the
+turbulence which idleness always arouses among sailors. Inaction is the
+great enemy of discipline on board ship, and it is for this reason that
+the metal and trimmings aboard a man-of-war are so continually being
+polished. A big brass pivot-gun amidships will keep three or four
+jackies polishing an hour or two every day; and petty officers have been
+known to go around secretly, and deface some of the snowy woodwork or
+gleaming brass, when it seemed that surfaces to be polished were
+becoming exhausted. It is no unusual thing to set a gang of sailors to
+work rubbing away with polish on the flukes of the great anchors, merely
+to give them work. But while this sort of occupation may drive dull care
+away from the heart of Jack, his officers are not so easily entertained;
+and the dull routine of blockading duty at an unfrequented port is most
+wearisome to adventurous spirits. Particularly was this the case with
+Lieut. Cushing, and he was constantly upon the lookout for some perilous
+adventure. One day late in November, information was brought to him that
+the enemy had established large salt-works at Jacksonville, thirty-five
+miles up the river. Even thus early in the war, the vigorous blockade
+was beginning to tell upon the supplies of the Confederates; and one of
+the articles of which the Southern armies were in the greatest need was
+salt. The distress caused by the lack of it was great. Many of the
+soldiers were in the habit of sprinkling gunpowder upon their food to
+give it a flavor approaching that of salt. In olden days, particularly
+in the British navy about the end of the eighteenth century, it was the
+custom for the captains to issue to their crews, before going into
+battle, large cups of grog with gunpowder stirred in. It was believed
+that this mixture made the men fight more desperately. But this theory
+of the doughty sea-dogs of past generations no longer finds any support,
+and doubtless the soldiers of the Confederacy felt they could fight
+better upon salt than on their enforced seasoning of gunpowder. At
+Manassas Junction, when the Confederate army by a rapid movement
+captured a large provision train, the rush of the soldiers for two or
+three cars laden with salt was so great that a strong guard had to be
+stationed to beat back pilferers, and secure a proper division of the
+much-prized seasoning.
+
+The officers of the Union navy were well informed of this scarcity of
+salt throughout the South, and accordingly made it a point to destroy
+all salt-works along the coast. The officers of the Gulf squadron were
+constantly employed in raiding establishments of this character, of
+which there were numbers along the coast of Louisiana, Alabama, and
+Mississippi. Cushing, on hearing of the existence of salt-works in the
+district over which he stood guard, determined to destroy them. But to
+do this was a matter of no small peril. Jacksonville was thirty-five
+miles up a small stream, in the heart of a country teeming with
+Confederate troops and their guerrilla sympathizers. The densely
+wooded shores could conceal sharp-shooters, who could easily pick off
+every man stationed on the steamer's deck. At any point of the entire
+distance a masked battery might be stationed, that could blow the
+invading craft out of water, and leave none of her crew uncaptured to
+tell the tale. Nevertheless, the intrepid young commander determined
+to make the attempt. His vessel was a small steamer, mounting one
+heavy gun amidships and two smaller cannon on each side. Without any
+mishap the "Ellis" and her crew reached the town about noon. On the
+way up the river a dense column of black smoke appeared ahead, rising
+above the forest. All thought that the Confederates, hearing of their
+approach, had evacuated the town, firing it as they retreated. All
+possible steam was put on, and the little gunboat dashed up the river
+in the hope of saving some of the property of the inhabitants. But, on
+rounding an abrupt curve in the river, the mystery was solved by the
+appearance of a fine schooner, loaded with cotton and turpentine, and
+drifting helplessly, a mass of crackling flames, down the stream. She
+was clearly a blockade-runner, freighted with the chief products of
+the country, and had been waiting a chance to slip out past the
+blockader, and run for some friendly port. Cushing's bold move up the
+river had entrapped her neatly, and her owners had fired her and fled.
+The fire was a magnificent sight. The inflammable cargo, the tarry
+ropes and cordage, fed the flames, which leaped from hull to
+main-truck. The cotton burned sullenly, giving forth immense clouds of
+dense, black smoke. To save her was hopeless, and the "Ellis" kept out
+of the way of the flying fire-brands and continued on. The expected
+salt-works were not found, however; and the only trophies to be
+obtained at the town were about twenty-five stand of arms and two
+schooners, evidently blockade-runners. The post-office was also
+visited, and a large mail captured and removed, in the hope of finding
+therein some valuable information regarding the movements of the
+enemy. The town itself was one of the sleepy little Southern villages,
+with wide streets, grass-grown and lined with live-oaks. Children, and
+boys too young to have been drafted into the Southern army, followed
+the sailors and marines curiously as they strolled up and down the
+silent streets. The war had robbed the little city of its men; the
+blockade had robbed it of its little coasting-trade. Such an air of
+quiet and desolation hung about the place, that the inhabitants
+probably welcomed the advent of even the hostile sailors as being
+something to break the monotony. After a stoppage of an hour and a
+half, the "Ellis" started down the river. The quiet of the upward
+voyage had dispelled any thoughts of danger, but about five o'clock
+suspicions were re-awakened by the sight of a small encampment on the
+bank. A few shells thrown over the tents quickly sent the campers
+scurrying into the woods; and, as the camps seemed to have no
+artillery, the "Ellis" continued without further hostilities. A short
+distance down the stream the Confederates opened upon them with two
+guns mounted on a lofty bluff. Cushing, ever ready for a skirmish,
+stopped his engine, and cleared away the big pivot-gun for action. The
+battle-flag was hoisted at the fore, and the crew, with three cheers,
+set about the work. About an hour of artillery practice followed,
+when, the enemy being driven from his guns, the "Ellis" proceeded on
+her way. It was now growing dark, and the tide was rapidly falling.
+The two pilots on the steamer agreed that daylight and high tide were
+necessary to get the vessel safely out of the river. With great
+reluctance Cushing ordered the anchor to be let fall, and proceeded to
+make preparations for the night. On both banks of the river could be
+seen the flash of lanterns, proving that the Confederates were aware
+of the steamer's presence, and were contemplating an attack. To resist
+such an attack if made in force during the night, seemed almost
+hopeless; yet the sailors went cheerfully about the work of
+preparation, getting out cutlasses and revolvers, and putting up the
+boarding-nettings over the sides. In watchful anxiety the hours wore
+away. No sound escaped the vigilant ear of the men on duty. But the
+enemy evidently had abandoned the attack, and when morning broke none
+were to be seen. With light hearts, and feeling that the worst was
+past, the little party continued their way, only to find that the
+worst was yet to come. Soon after daylight, the pilot, mistaking the
+channel, ran the ship so solidly aground that there was clearly no
+hope of extricating her. All this time she had been towing one of the
+captured schooners; and Cushing, with quick decisiveness, ordered that
+every thing should be removed from the "Ellis" to the schooner. This
+was quickly done, leaving nothing but the great pivot-gun aboard.
+
+But even when so greatly lightened, the ship would not float, and
+Cushing saw that all was lost. As a final expedient he sent a boat's
+crew back after the cannon that the enemy had abandoned the day
+before, intending to construct a land-battery with them, and so keep
+his ship. But the Confederates had already removed the guns, so this
+forlorn hope failed. Orders were then given for the crew to take the
+schooner, and drop down the river for a mile or two. The young captain
+expressed his intention of remaining aboard his craft, and asked for
+six volunteers to help him fight the pivot-gun. They were quickly
+found; and, while the remainder of the crew dropped down the river in
+the schooner, the devoted little band calmly awaited the beginning of
+the attack. They did not have long to wait. Soon a cannon boomed from
+the bank, and a heavy shell whizzed over their heads. Then another,
+from another direction, and a third, and a fourth, each from a
+distinct battery. They were hopeless odds, yet Cushing and his command
+fought on until the gunners, getting the range, dropped shot after
+shot into the doomed vessel. Then fire broke out in three or four
+places. This was too much; and the seven daring men took to a small
+boat, and rowed to the schooner. First, however, they loaded the long
+gun, and turned it on the enemy, in order, as Cushing said, "that she
+might fight for herself when we could do so no longer." Once in the
+schooner, they sailed rapidly down the river; and just as they reached
+the sound a deep boom announced that the fire had reached the
+magazine, and the "Ellis" was blown into a million pieces. Daring as
+this adventure was, Cushing was much distressed at its termination;
+and in his official report he asks for a general court of inquiry, to
+determine whether he had properly upheld the honor of the nation's
+flag.
+
+Another daring expedition was undertaken by Cushing when in command of
+the "Monticello." This was in February, 1864. He was cruising off Cape
+Fear River. At Smithville, a small town some distance up the river,
+was a Confederate army-post. Cushing's plan was to proceed up the
+river in row-boats, burn any vessels that might be at the dock,
+capture the commanding officers, and escape before the enemy could
+recover from the surprise. It was a rash and rather useless
+expedition, but Cushing successfully carried it out. With two boats
+and twenty men, he went quietly past the guns of the fort, concealed
+by the blackness of a cloudy night, ascended the river to the town,
+and landed directly in front of the hotel. A high bank concealed the
+party from view, and lying in ambush here they managed to capture some
+negroes, from whom the desired information was obtained. Then with two
+officers and a seaman, Cushing walked from the deck to Gen. Herbert's
+headquarters in so open a manner as to disarm suspicion. Entering the
+house they met an engineer officer, who tried to raise an alarm, but
+was quickly captured and gagged. The adjutant-general, never dreaming
+that any enemy could be so near him, supposed it was a mutiny, and
+fled hastily, half dressed, to the woods, not even calling out the
+garrison. Cushing then with his speechless prisoner walked calmly back
+before the long barracks that sheltered a thousand hostile soldiers,
+and within a few yards of the sentry on the wharf. Only when the
+affrighted adjutant-general returned from his hasty trip to the woods
+did the Confederates know that an enemy had been in their midst. Then
+there was great excitement, arresting of sentries, calling out of
+guards, and signalling to the fort that hostile boats were in the
+harbor. But all too late. Cushing's coolness, courage, dash, and
+invincible luck had carried him scot-free through another dare-devil
+adventure.
+
+From the "Monticello" Cushing made yet another dangerous excursion
+into the enemy's country. On this occasion he had a more adequate
+purpose for his perilous errand. It was believed that the Confederate
+ram "Raleigh" was in the Cape Fear River above the town of Smithville,
+the scene of the last adventure. Cushing obtained permission from his
+superior officer to ascend the river, and try to blow up the ram with
+a torpedo. On the night of the 23d of June he started, taking with him
+Jones and Howarth, the officers who had been with him in the previous
+trip, and fifteen men. The night was pitchy dark, and all went well as
+they passed the fort and the little town of Smithville. Fifteen miles
+from the river's mouth, they saw the moon suddenly break through the
+clouds; and the surface of the river suddenly became bright, revealing
+to the sentries on shore the Yankee boat fifteen miles within
+Confederate territory. Quickly the boats turned about, and headed down
+the river; but this was a mere feint, as Cushing doubled as soon as he
+reached the shadow of the opposite bank, and continued his course into
+the hostile territory. Toward morning, when within about seven miles
+of Wilmington, a very stronghold of the Confederates, he landed, and
+hid his boat in a neighboring swamp. The men lay in hiding all day;
+and, just as they were about to start out again, they captured two
+boats with a Wilmington fishing-party. During the second night Cushing
+crept cautiously up to within three miles of Wilmington, closely
+examining the defences of the town and the obstructions in the river.
+At daybreak he rowed up one of the creeks until he found the road
+between Fort Fisher and Wilmington. Here he crouched by a hedge until
+a mounted mail-carrier came by from the fort. The soldier was captured
+and dismounted, vastly astonished at the sight of a blue-jacket in
+that region. Presently, along came the carrier from the town, on the
+way to the fort. He too was astonished at the sight, but flung back a
+scornful answer to the demand that he surrender, and galloped hastily
+away. In an instant Cushing was on the back of the captured horse, and
+after him; but the fugitive was too well mounted, and escaped. Matters
+were now becoming very serious. The runaway would doubtless give the
+alarm everywhere. Immediate flight was imperative. The men had been
+away from the boat for some hours, and were famished. Food must be
+had. But how to get it? Cushing's solution of the problem was
+characteristic. Having captured some other prisoners, he learned that
+a store was to be found about two miles off. A prisoner about
+Howarth's size was ordered to strip, and Howarth put on his clothing.
+The change from the trim blue uniform of a Yankee naval officer to the
+slouchy jeans jumper and overalls of a North Carolina "cracker" was
+somewhat amusing, but the disguise was complete. Mounting the captured
+horse, Howarth rode off in the character of a "poor-white" farmer come
+in to do his marketing. He chatted freely with the people he met along
+the road, and securing his provision, returned to the boat without
+arousing the least suspicion. Snugly ensconced in the thick bushes,
+the party then proceeded to sup, and after the meal amused themselves
+in cutting telegraph-wires, and at dark returned to the boat. This was
+the third night in the river, and Cushing prepared to return.
+Embarking with his prisoners, he pulled up to the "Raleigh," and found
+that she would not need his attentions, as she was already a total
+wreck. Then he began the descent of the river. When a little way down
+the prisoners were set adrift, with neither sails nor oars in order
+that they might not report the occurrence too soon. The blue-jackets
+continued their pull down the river. Just as they reached the mouth
+the moon shone out, and a quick hail came from a guard-boat. Cushing
+made no answer, but in a low voice urged his men on, intending to
+attack the enemy. But in an instant more three boats came out of the
+shadow, and at the same instant five appeared on the other side. One
+opening seemed left for the beleaguered boat to dash through. At it
+they went, but a schooner filled with troops suddenly appeared
+blockading this last exit. It looked as though all was up, and those
+in the boat saw before them the cheerful prospect of execution as
+spies. But Cushing's pluck and self-possession, which had never yet
+failed, still stood by him. He resorted to strategy, and, like the
+hunted fox, threw his pursuers off the track by doubling. He made a
+dash so rapid and determined towards the western bar, that all the
+boats of the enemy rushed to block that point. For an instant his own
+was in the shadow of a cloud. In that instant he had turned, and
+headed at full speed for New Inlet. His men were as cool as he. With a
+few vigorous pulls the boat shot out into the breakers where the enemy
+dared not follow it, and soon after the cutter was hoisted to the
+davits of the "Monticello," uninjured, after a stay of three nights in
+the heart of the enemy's country.
+
+It was near the end of the great war that Cushing performed the
+greatest feat of daring of his adventurous career; and, as on the
+previous occasions, the scene of the exploit was in the waters
+tributary to the North Carolina sounds. Early in the spring of 1863 it
+became evident to the officers of the Union squadron in the sounds,
+that the Confederates were making arrangements to drive the Yankee
+ships from those waters, and to re-open the coasting-trade to the
+people of North Carolina. The chief source of alarm to the fleet was a
+heavy iron-clad which was reported to be building on the Roanoke River
+above Plymouth. Full descriptions of this vessel were in the hands of
+the Union officers; and they saw clearly that, should she be
+completed, no vessel of the sound squadron, nor perhaps the entire
+navy, would be able to do battle against her successfully. The river
+was too shallow for the war-vessels to go up to the point where the
+ram was being built, and the channel at Hatteras Inlet was not deep
+enough for iron-clads to be brought in to compete with the enemy when
+finished. The naval authorities repeatedly urged the army to send an
+expedition to burn the boat; but Major-Gen. Foster, in command of the
+department of North Carolina, declared it was of no importance, as the
+Confederates would never put it to any use. Time showed a very
+different state of affairs. In April, 1864, the ram was completed, and
+named the "Albemarle." Her first work was to co-operate with ten
+thousand Confederate troops in the recapture of Plymouth, which was
+accomplished with very little difficulty. Lieut. Flusser was at
+Plymouth with four small gunboats, and remained bravely at his post
+as he saw the powerful ram bearing down upon him. It was half-past
+three in the morning, and the chill, gray dawn was just breaking over
+the earth. Above the river hung a mist, through which the great body
+of the ram could be seen coming doggedly down to the conflict. The
+"Miami" and "Southfield" were lashed together; and, at the order of
+Commander Flusser, they started to meet the iron-clad, firing quickly
+and with good aim. The "Albemarle" came on silently, disdaining to
+fire a gun. With a crash she struck the "Miami" a glancing blow on the
+port-bow, gouging off two great planks. Sliding past the wounded
+craft, she plunged into the "Southfield," crushing completely through
+her side, so that she began to settle at once. The lashings between
+the gunboats parted, and the "Southfield" sank rapidly, carrying part
+of her crew with her. As the "Albemarle" crashed into the two vessels,
+she fired her bow-gun several times, killing and wounding many of the
+Union sailors, and killing Lieut. Flusser. When she turned and made a
+second dash for the "Miami," the latter fled down the stream, knowing
+that to dare the power of the enemy was mere madness. The "Albemarle"
+steamed back to Plymouth, and by her aid the town was easily
+recaptured by the Confederates.
+
+The squadron in the sounds was now in a state of the greatest anxiety.
+At any moment the impregnable monster might descend the river and
+destroy the frail wooden gunboats at her leisure. Preparations were
+made for a desperate battle when the time should come. Captains were
+instructed to bring their ships to close quarters with the enemy and
+to endeavor to throw powder or shells down her smokestack. Every
+possible means by which a wooden steamer might cope with an iron-clad
+was provided.
+
+[Illustration: Destruction of the "Albemarle."]
+
+On the 5th of May the ram put in an appearance, steaming down the
+river. Deliberately she approached within easy range, then let fly a
+shot at the "Mattabesett" which knocked her launch to pieces and
+wounded several men. The "Mattabesett" ran up to within one hundred
+and fifty yards of the "Albemarle," and gave her a broadside of solid
+shot from nine-inch Dahlgrens and one hundred-pounder rifles. When
+these shot struck a sloping place on the ram's armor, they glanced
+off. Those that struck full on the plating simply crumbled to pieces,
+leaving no dent to tell of the blow. One beautifully aimed shot struck
+the muzzle of one of the cannon on the ram and broke it. The gun
+was used throughout the fight, however, as the "Albemarle" carried but
+two and could not spare one of them. The "Sassacus" followed in line
+of battle. She delivered her broadside in passing. The ram rushed
+madly at her, but was evaded by good steering. Then the "Sassacus" in
+turn rushed at the ram at full speed, thinking to run her down. She
+struck amidships at right angles, and with the crash of the collision
+came a hundred-pound shot from the ram, that passed through the wooden
+ship from end to end. Still the engines of the "Sassacus" were kept
+going, in the hope of pushing the "Albemarle" beneath the water. The
+iron-clad careened slowly, the water washed over her after-deck; the
+crew of the "Sassacus," far out on the bow, tried vainly to drop
+shells and packages of powder down the ram's smoking chimneys. It was
+a moment of intense excitement. But the ram was too much for her
+assailant. Recovering from the shock of the collision, she slowly
+swung around until her bow-gun could be brought to bear on her
+tormentor, when she let fly a ponderous bolt. It crashed through the
+side of the steamer and plunged into her boiler. In an instant hot,
+scalding steam filled the engine-room and spread over the whole ship.
+Cries of agony arose on every side. Twenty-one of the crew were
+terribly scalded. Nothing remained but retreat; and the "Sassacus"
+steamed away from her enemy, after making one of the bravest fights in
+naval history. In the mean time the other gunboats were pounding away
+at the ram. The "Miami" was trying in vain to get an opportunity to
+discharge a large torpedo. Two other vessels were spreading nets about
+the great ship, trying to foul the propeller. The action continued
+until dark, when the ram withdrew, uninjured and without losing a man.
+She had fought alone for three hours against six ships, and had
+seriously damaged every one of her adversaries. It must also be
+remembered that she carried but two guns.
+
+The "Albemarle" lay for a long time idle at her moorings in Roanoke
+River, feeling sure that at her own pleasure she could go into the
+sounds, and complete the destruction of the fleet. Lieut. Cushing,
+then twenty-one years old, begged permission to attempt to destroy
+her. The authority was gladly granted by the navy department, and
+Cushing began making his plans for the adventure. His first plan was
+to take a squad of men, with two steam-launches, up the Roanoke, and
+blow the ram up by means of a torpedo. The launches were sent from
+New York, but one was swamped while crossing Delaware Bay.
+
+Cushing, however, was not the man to be balked by an accident: so,
+cutting down his force one-half, he prepared for the start. Thirteen
+officers and men made up the little party which seemed bound to
+certain death. The spirit which animated the blue-jackets during the
+war may be imagined from the fact that many sailors tried to purchase
+the privilege of going on this perilous expedition, by offering their
+month's pay to those who had been selected. To understand what a
+forlorn hope the little boat-load of men were cherishing, we must
+understand what were the defences of the "Albemarle." She lay at a
+broad wharf, on which was encamped a large guard of soldiers as well
+as her crew. Above and below her, great fires were kept burning on the
+shores, to prevent any boat approaching unseen. She was surrounded by
+a boom, or "water-fence," of floating logs, about thirty feet from her
+hull, to keep off any torpedo-boats. From the mouth of the Roanoke to
+her moorings was about eight miles; the shores being lined on either
+side by pickets, and a large picket-station being established in
+mid-stream about one mile below Plymouth.
+
+To attempt to penetrate this network of defences seemed to be
+foolhardy. Yet Cushing's record for dash and courage, and his
+enthusiasm, inspired his comrades with confidence; and they set out
+feeling certain of success. On the night of the 27th of October, the
+daring band, in their pygmy steamer, steamed rapidly up the river. No
+word was spoken aboard. The machinery was oiled until it ran
+noiselessly; and not a light shone from the little craft, save when
+the furnace-door was hastily opened to fire up. The Confederate
+sentries on the bank saw nothing of the party; and, even when they
+passed the picket schooners near the wreck of the "Southfield," they
+were unchallenged, although they could see the schooners, and hear the
+voices of the men, not more than twenty yards away. Not until they
+came into the fitful glare of the firelight were they seen, and then
+quick hails came from the sentries on the wharf and the "Albemarle's"
+decks. But the light on the shore aided the adventurers by showing
+them the position of the ram. They dashed up alongside, amid a shower
+of bullets that seemed to fill the air. On the decks of the ram all
+was confusion, the alarm rattles were sprung, the bell rung violently.
+The launch running alongside came into contact with the row of logs,
+and sheered off to make a dash over it. Cushing, who on these
+dangerous expeditions was like a schoolboy on a holiday, answered with
+ridicule all hails. "Go ashore for your lives," "Surrender yourselves,
+or I shall sink you," he cried, as the gunners on the ram trained a
+heavy gun on the little launch. Now she was headed straight for the
+ram, and had a run of thirty yards before striking the boom. She
+reached, and dashed over. Cushing, standing in the stern, held in one
+hand the tiller ropes, in the other the lanyard of the torpedo. He
+looked up, saw the muzzle of a heavy gun trained directly on his boat:
+one convulsive pull of the rope, and with a roar the torpedo exploded
+under the hull of the "Albemarle," just as a hundred-pound shot
+crashed through the bottom of his boat. In a second the launch had
+disappeared; her crew were struggling in the waves, or lying dead
+beneath them, and the "Albemarle" with a mortal wound was sinking to
+the bottom.
+
+Cushing swam to the middle of the river, and headed down stream. Most
+of his companions were killed, captured, or drowned. In the middle of
+the stream he met Woodman, who had followed him on previous
+expeditions. Woodman was almost exhausted. Cushing supported him as
+long as he was able, but was forced to leave him, and the sailor sank
+to the bottom. The young lieutenant floated down the river until at
+last he reached the shore, exhausted and faint from a wound in his
+wrist. He lay half covered with water in a swamp until daylight. While
+there he heard two Confederate officers who passed say that the
+"Albemarle" was a total wreck. That news gave him new energy, and he
+set about getting safely away. Through the thick undergrowth of the
+swamp he crawled for some hours, until he found a negro who gave him
+shelter and food. Then he plunged again into the swamp, and walked on
+until he captured a skiff from a Rebel picket; and with this he safely
+reached the fleet,--the only one of the thirteen who set out two days
+before. So ended the most wonderful adventure of the war.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+     THE BLOCKADE-RUNNERS. -- NASSAU AND WILMINGTON. -- WORK OF THE
+     CRUISERS.
+
+
+While it is undeniably true that the naval battles of the civil war
+were in many cases unimportant as compared with the gigantic
+operations of the mighty armies in Virginia and Tennessee, yet there
+was one service performed by the navy, alone and unaided, which
+probably, more than any thing else, led to the final subjugation of
+the South. This was the blockade.
+
+To fully appreciate what a terrible weapon the blockade is when
+energetically pursued, one need only look at the condition of the
+South during the latter years of the war. Medicines were almost
+unattainable for love or money. Salt was more carefully hoarded than
+silver. Woollen goods for clothing were not to be had. Nothing that
+could not be produced by the people of the revolted States could be
+obtained at their markets. Their whole territory was in a state of
+siege, surrounded by a barrier only a little less unrelenting than the
+iron circle the Germans drew around besieged Paris.
+
+Almost the first war measure of Abraham Lincoln was to declare the
+ports of the Confederacy in a state of blockade. At first this seemed
+a rash proclamation, and one which could not be sustained by the force
+at the command of the Federals. It is a rule of warfare, that
+"blockades, to be binding, must be effective;" that is, it is not
+lawful for a nation with a small fleet to declare an enemy's coast in
+a state of blockade, and then capture such trading-vessels as may
+happen to run in the way of its cruisers. The nation must have a large
+enough fleet to station vessels before each of the principal harbors
+of the enemy, and to maintain a constant and vigilant patrol up and
+down his coast. If this cannot be done, the blockade is called a
+"paper blockade," and merchantmen are justified in attempting to evade
+it. An instance of a "paper blockade" occurred during the early months
+of the civil war, which will illustrate this point. Wilmington, N.C.,
+was throughout the war one of the favorite ports for blockade-runners.
+From its situation, the many entrances to its harbor, and other
+natural advantages, it was the most difficult of all the Southern
+ports to keep guarded. With the rest of the Confederate ports,
+Wilmington was declared blockaded; but it was long after, before a
+suitable blockading-fleet was stationed there. In July, 1861, the
+British brig "Herald" left Wilmington without molestation. When two
+days out, she ran across a United States man-of-war, that promptly
+captured her. The courts, however, decided that a port so little
+guarded as Wilmington was at that time could not be legally called
+blockaded, and the brig was therefore released.
+
+But it did not take many months for the energetic men of the Navy
+Department to get together such a fleet of boats of all kinds as to
+enable them to effectually seal all the ports of the Confederacy. A
+blockading vessel need not be of great strength or powerful armament.
+All that is necessary is that she should be swift, and carry a gun
+heavy enough to overawe any merchantman that might attempt to run the
+blockade. And as such vessels were easy to improvise out of tug-boats,
+ferry-boats, yachts, and other small craft, it came about that by the
+last of 1861, the people of the seaport towns of the South, looking
+seaward from their deserted wharves, could see two or three Federal
+cruisers lying anchored off the outer bar, just out of reach of the
+guns of shore-batteries. It was a service of no little danger for the
+blue-jackets. The enemy were ever on the alert to break the blockade
+by destroying the ships with torpedoes. Iron-clad rams were built on
+the banks of the rivers, and sent down to sink and destroy the vessels
+whose watchfulness meant starvation to the Confederacy. The
+"Albemarle" and the "Merrimac" were notable instances of this course
+of attack. But the greatest danger which the sailors had to encounter
+was the peril of being wrecked by the furious storms which continually
+ravage the Atlantic coast. The sailor loves the open sea in a blow;
+but until the civil war, no captain had ever dared to lie tugging at
+his cables within a mile or two of a lee shore, with a stiff
+north-easter lashing the sea into fury. In the blockading service of
+our great naval war, the war of 1812, the method in vogue was to keep
+a few vessels cruising up and down the coast; and, when it came on to
+blow, these ships would put out into the open sea and scud for some
+other point. But in '61 we had hundreds of vessels stationed along the
+enemy's coast; and where a ship was stationed, there she stayed, to
+meet the fury of the wind and waves by putting out more anchors, and
+riding out at her cables storms that would have blown the blockader of
+1812 hundreds of miles from her post.
+
+In the earlier years of the war the blockade-runners were nearly all
+sailing-vessels, schooners, and brigs, that were easily captured. But
+when the supplies of the South became exhausted, and the merchants of
+England began building ships especially for this purpose, the duty of
+the blockading squadron became exciting and often very profitable. The
+business assumed such proportions that half the shipyards in England
+were engaged in turning out fast steamers to engage in it. At first it
+was the custom to send goods in regular ocean-steamers from England to
+the blockaded port; but this was soon abandoned, as the risk of
+capture on the long run across the Atlantic was too great. Not until
+the plan was adopted of shipping the goods to some neutral port along
+our coast, and there transferring the cargo to some small, swift
+vessel, and making the run into the Confederate port in a few hours,
+did the business of blockade-running become very extensive. Goods
+shipped for a neutral point were in no danger of being captured by our
+cruisers, and therefore the danger of the long trans-Atlantic passage
+was done away with.
+
+[Illustration: Nassau: The Haunt of the Blockade-Runners.]
+
+Of these neutral points which served as way-stations for the
+blockade-runners, there were four on or near our coast,--the Bermuda
+Islands, which lie about seven hundred miles east of Charleston; Nassau,
+which is off the coast of Florida, and a little more than five hundred
+miles southeast of Charleston; Havana; and the little Mexican town of
+Matamoras on the Rio Grande, opposite Brownsville, Texas. The Bermudas
+were to some extent used, but their distance from the coast made them
+inconvenient as compared with Nassau or Matamoras. Their chief trade was
+with Wilmington, which became a favorite port during the latter years of
+the war. Havana was popular for a time, and at first sight would appear
+to be admirably placed for a blockade-runners' rendezvous. But, though
+the coast of Florida was but one hundred miles distant, it was
+surrounded by dangerous reefs, its harbors were bad and far apart, and
+there were no railroads in the southern part of the State to transport
+the contraband goods after they were landed. Besides, Key West, the
+naval station of the Union forces in the South, was unpleasantly near,
+and the gulf blockade was maintained with more rigor than that on the
+Atlantic coast. Matamoras was peculiarly well situated for a
+blockade-running point. It is on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande
+River, about forty miles above its mouth. Goods once landed could be
+shipped in barges and lighters across the river in absolute safety,
+since heavy batteries prevented the cruisers of the gulf-squadron from
+entering the river. As a result of this trade, Matamoras became a
+thriving place. Hundreds of vessels lay in its harbor, where now it is
+unusual to see five at a time. For four years its streets were crowded
+with heavy freight vans, while stores and hotels reaped a rich harvest
+from the sailors of the vessels engaged in the contraband traffic. Now
+it is as quiet and sleepy a little town as can be found in all the
+drowsy land of Mexico.
+
+But the true paradise of the blockade-runners was Nassau, the chief
+port of the Bahama Islands, and a colony of Great Britain. Here all
+the conditions necessary to successfully evade the blockade were to be
+found. The flag that waved over the island was that of a nation
+powerful enough to protect its citizens, and to enforce the laws
+relative to neutrality. Furthermore, Great Britain was undoubtedly in
+sympathy with the Confederates; and so far from prohibiting the
+efforts of her citizens to keep up trade with the blockaded ports, she
+encouraged and aided them in every way in her power. And aside from
+her mere sympathy with the struggles of the young Confederacy, England
+had a most powerful incentive to break down the blockade. In
+Manchester the huge cotton-mills, employing thousands of hands, were
+shut down for lack of cotton, and the mill-hands were starving for
+lack of work; while shut up in the blockaded ports of the South were
+tons upon tons of the fleecy staple, that, once in England, would be
+worth its weight in gold. It was small wonder that the merchants of
+England set to work deliberately to fit out blockade-runners, that
+they might again get their mills running, and their people fed.
+
+[Illustration: Cotton Ships at Nassau.]
+
+The years of the war were lively times for the little town of Nassau.
+Hardly had the proclamation of President Lincoln announcing the
+blockade of all Confederate ports been issued, when at a bound Nassau
+became prominent as the point of all most suitable for a
+blockade-runners' rendezvous. Its harbor and the surrounding waters
+were deep enough for merchant-vessels, but too shallow to allow much
+cruising about by warships of heavy armament. It was within a few
+hours' running of three Confederate ports, and it was protected by the
+flag of Great Britain. Early in the war the Confederates established a
+consulate in the little town, and the Stars and Stripes and the Stars
+and Bars waved within a few rods of each other. Then great
+shipping-houses of Liverpool sent over agents, and established branch
+houses. Great warehouses and wharves were built Soon great ocean ships
+and steamers began unloading their cargoes at these wharves. Then
+swift, rakish schooners began to drop into the harbor, and after
+discharging heavy loads of cotton would take on cargoes of English
+goods, and slip out at nightfall to begin the stealthy dash past the
+watching gunboats. As the war went on, and the profits of the trade
+increased with its dangers, a new style of craft began to appear in
+the little harbor. These were the Clyde built blockade-runners, on
+which the workmen of the Clyde shipyards had been laboring day and
+night to get them ready before the war should end. They were long,
+low, piratical looking craft, with two smoke-stacks raking aft, and
+with one or two masts for showing signals, for they never hoisted a
+sail. Two huge paddle-boxes towered above the deck amidships, the
+wheels being of enormous size. No structure of any kind encumbered the
+deck. Even the steersman stood unsheltered at a wheel in the bow. They
+were painted dark gray, and at night could slip unseen along the water
+within a stone's-throw of the most watchful lookout on a man-of-war.
+They burned great quantities of a kind of coal that gave out no smoke,
+and when steaming at night not a light was allowed on board. Many of
+these strange craft can be seen now along the levees at New Orleans,
+or at the wharves in Mobile, where they are used as excursion-steamers
+or for tug-boats. They were always the merest shells, fitted only for
+carrying freight, as not many passengers were to be found who desired
+to be taken into the Confederate territory. Occasionally, however,
+some soldier of fortune from abroad would drift from Nassau, and
+thence to the mainland, to join the armies of the Confederacy. The
+Confederate agents on the island were always on the lookout for such
+adventurers, and were ever ready to aid them. Sometimes, too,
+returning agents of the Confederacy from Europe would make the run
+through the blockading-fleet; so that the blockade-runners were seldom
+without two or three passengers, poor though their accommodations
+might be. For the voyage from Nassau to Wilmington, three hundred
+dollars passage money was charged, or more than fifty cents a mile. To
+guard against treachery, passage could only be obtained through the
+Confederate consul, who carefully investigated the proofs of each
+applicant's identity before issuing to him a ticket.
+
+When the blockade-runner had taken her cargo and passengers aboard,
+and was prepared for her voyage, every one in the little town came
+down to the docks to see her start. It was a populace strongly
+Southern in feeling that filled the streets of Nassau, and nothing but
+good wishes were to be heard on every side. Perhaps from a house on
+the hillside, over which floated the Stars and Stripes, the United
+States consul might be watching through a spyglass the movements of
+the steamer, and wishing in his heart that she might fall in with
+some Yankee cruiser; but nevertheless, under his very eyes, the
+audacious racer slips out, and starts on her stealthy voyage. On
+leaving the harbor, a quick run of fifteen or twenty miles would be
+taken along the coast, to try the machinery. Great care would be taken
+to keep within British waters, lest some watchful gunboat should seize
+the prize thus early in her career. When every thing proved in good
+working trim, the little vessel's prow would be turned northward, and
+the perilous voyage begun. For the first day, little danger was to be
+expected, and the voyage was generally so timed that the outer line of
+blockaders would be reached just after nightfall. A soldier going to
+enlist in one of the Confederate cavalry regiments thus tells the
+story of his evasion of the blockade.
+
+"After a favorable voyage we reached the desired point off Wilmington
+at the proper time. A brief stoppage was made, when soon the final
+preparations were completed for running the gauntlet of the Federal
+blockaders, who would become visible shortly, as we approached nearer
+shore. All the lights in the steamer were extinguished, and all
+passengers ordered below, only the officers and crew being permitted
+to remain on deck. The furnaces were replenished with carefully
+selected coal, which would give the greatest amount of heat and the
+least smoke. The last orders were given, and every man was at his
+appointed place. Presently the boilers hissed, and the paddle-wheels
+began to revolve faster and faster, as the fleet little steamer rose
+higher and higher in the water from the immense force of the rapid
+strokes; she actually felt like a horse gathering himself up under you
+for a great leap. After a little while, the few faint sounds from the
+deck which we could hitherto faintly catch in the cabin ceased
+altogether, and there was the stillness of death except for the sounds
+necessarily made by the movements of the machinery. Then we realized
+that we were running for our lives past the line of cruisers, and that
+at any moment a big shell might come crashing through our cabin,
+disagreeably lighting up the darkness in which we were sitting. Our
+suspense was prolonged for some minutes longer, when the speed was
+slackened, and finally we stopped altogether. Even then we did not
+know whether we were safely through the lines, or whether we had been
+brought to under the guns of a hostile ship, for we could distinguish
+nothing whatever through the portholes. However, we were soon released
+from the cabin, and walked on deck, to find ourselves safely through
+the blockade. In the offing could be descried several of the now
+harmless blockaders, and near at hand lay the coast of North Carolina.
+Soon the gray dawn was succeeded by a brilliant, lovely sunrise, which
+lighted up cheerfully the low-lying shores and earthworks bristling
+with artillery, while from a fort near by floated the Southern Cross,
+the symbol of the glorious cause for which we had come to fight."
+
+When the blockade-runner, after safely running the gauntlet of the
+warships, steamed leisurely up to the wharves of the blockaded town,
+every one rushed to the docks to greet her. Her captain and crew
+became at once people of great importance. They were beset on every
+side for news of the great world outside. The papers that they brought
+in were bought eagerly by the people, hungering for tidings of
+something else than the interminable war. The sailors of the steamer,
+on being paid off, rambled about the streets of the city, spending
+their money royally, and followed by a train of admiring hangers-on.
+The earnings of the sailors in case of a successful voyage were
+immense. A thousand dollars for the four or five days' trip was
+nothing unusual for common seamen, while the captain often received
+eight or nine thousand. But the risk of capture, with the confiscation
+of all property, and some months' imprisonment in a Federal fortress,
+rather marred the attractiveness of the nefarious trade. The profits
+of a successful voyage to the owner of the ship and cargo were
+enormous. One of the steamers, specially built for the trade, at large
+cost, has been known to pay for herself fully in one voyage. Indeed,
+the profits must have been huge to induce merchants to take the risk
+of absolutely losing a ship and cargo worth half a million of dollars.
+It is certain, too, that throughout the war the number of vessels
+captured, while trying to run the blockade, was far in excess of those
+that succeeded. Up to the end of 1863 the Federal Secretary of the
+Navy reported 1,045 vessels captured, classified as follows:
+schooners, 547; steamers, 179; sloops, 117; brigs, 30; barks, 26;
+ships, 15; yachts and boats, 117. Of course, most of these were small,
+coastwise vessels. Even among the steamers captured, there were but
+few of the fleet-going, English-built craft.
+
+There was no small amount of smuggling carried on between the ports of
+the North and the blockaded ports. The patriotism of the Northern
+merchant was not always so great as to prevent his embarking in the
+traffic which he saw enriching his English competitor. Many of the
+schooners captured started from Northern ports and worked their way
+along the coast until that chain of inlets, sounds, and bayous was
+reached, which borders the coast south of Chesapeake Bay. Once inside
+the bar, the smuggler could run at his leisure for any of the little
+towns that stood on the banks of the rivers of Virginia and North
+Carolina. The chase of one of these little vessels was a dreary duty
+to the officers of the blockading-ships. The fugitives were fast
+clippers of the models that made Maine shipbuilders famous, until the
+inauguration of steam-navigation made a gracefully modelled hull
+immaterial as compared with powerful machinery. Even when the great,
+lumbering warship had overhauled the flying schooner so as to bring a
+gun to bear on her, the little boat might suddenly dash into some
+inlet or up a river, where the man-of-war, with her heavy draught,
+could not hope to follow. And if captured, the prize was worth but
+little, and the prize-money, that cheers the sailors' hearts, was but
+small. But the chase and capture of one of the swift Clyde-built
+steamers was a different matter. Perhaps a lookout in the maintop of a
+cruiser, steaming idly about the Atlantic, between Nassau and
+Wilmington, would spy, far off on the horizon, a black speck, moving
+swiftly along the ocean. No curling smoke would tell of the
+blockade-runner's presence, and nothing could be seen until the hull
+of the steamer itself was perceptible. With the quick hail of the
+lookout, the man-of-war would head for the prize, and start in hot
+pursuit. Certain it is that the smuggler started to fly before the
+watchful lookout on the cruiser caught sight of her. The towering
+masts and capacious funnels of the man-of-war, with the cloud of black
+smoke from her furnaces, made her a conspicuous object at distances
+from which the smuggler would be invisible. With the blockade-runners
+the rule was to avoid any sail, no matter how innocent it might seem;
+and the appearance of a cloud of smoke on the horizon was the signal
+for an immediate change of course, and a flight for safety. When the
+chase began in this way, the cruiser had but little chance of making a
+capture, for the superior speed of the merchant-vessel would quickly
+carry her out of sight. Sometimes, however, a favorable wind would
+enable the pursuer to use her sails, and then the chase would become
+exciting. With a cloud of canvas set, the man-of-war would gradually
+overhaul the flying vessel; and when within range, the great bow-gun
+would be cleared, and with a roar a shell would be sent flying after
+the prize. All hands would watch its course anxiously. Generally it
+fell short. Then another and another messenger would be sent to the
+enemy, which seldom struck the mark, for gunnery on a rough sea is a
+difficult art. But the blockade-runner can't stand being used for
+target-practice long. The cool head of her captain begins to
+deliberate upon means of getting out of range. Mere running before the
+wind won't do it: so he makes a long detour, and doubles on his
+course, heading directly into the teeth of the breeze. Now the cruiser
+is at a disadvantage. Her sail-power gone, she stands no chance of
+capturing her game. Her shells begin to fall far short of the
+smuggler, and soon she ceases firing altogether; and the
+blockade-runner, driven hundreds of miles out of her course, but safe
+for the time, goes on her way rejoicing.
+
+[Illustration: Blockade-Runner in North Carolina Sounds.]
+
+One of the most brilliant captures of the war was that of the
+blockade-runner "Young Republic," by the United States gunboat "Grand
+Gulf." The "Young Republic" succeeded in evading the watchfulness of
+the blockading-squadron about the mouth of the Cape Fear River, and
+under cover of the night ran in safely to the anchorage under the guns
+of the Confederate forts. The baffled blockaders saw her moving slowly
+up the river, while the cannon of the forts on either side thundered
+out salutes to the daring vessel that brought precious supplies to the
+Confederacy. But the blockading-squadron, though defeated for the
+time, determined to wait and catch her when she came out. Accordingly
+the "Grand Gulf," one of the fastest of the United States vessels, was
+stationed at the mouth of the river, with orders to watch for the
+"Young Republic." A week passed, and there was no sign of her. At
+last, one bright day, the lookout in the tops saw the mast and funnel
+of a steamer moving along above the forest which lined the river's
+bank. Soon the hull of the vessel came into view; and with a rattle of
+hawse-chains, her anchors were let fall, and she swung to beneath the
+protecting guns of the fort. It was clear that she was going to wait
+there until a dark or foggy night gave her a good chance to slip past
+the gunboat that watched the river's mouth as a cat watches the mouth
+of a mouse-hole. With their marine glasses the officers on the gunboat
+could see the decks of the "Young Republic" piled high with brown
+bales of cotton, worth immense sums of money. They thought of the huge
+value of the prize, and the grand distribution of prize-money, and
+determined to use every effort to make a capture. Strategy was
+determined upon, and it was decided to give the blockade-runner the
+chance to get out of the river that she was awaiting. Accordingly the
+gunboat steamed away up the coast a few miles, leaving the mouth of
+the river clear. When hidden by a projecting headland, she stopped and
+waited for the blockade-runner to come out. The stokers were kept hard
+at work making the great fires roar, until the steam-gauge showed the
+highest pressure the boilers could bear. The sailors got out
+additional sails, clewed up cordage and rigging, and put the ship in
+order for a fast run. When enough time had elapsed, she steamed out to
+see if the "Young Republic" had taken the bait. Officers and crew
+crowded forward to catch the first sight around the headland. The
+great man-of-war sped through the water. The headland was rounded, and
+a cheer went up from the crowd of jackies; for there, in the offing,
+was the blockade-runner, gliding through the water like a dolphin, and
+steaming for dear life to Nassau. Then the chase began in earnest. The
+"Young Republic" was one of those long, sharp steamers built on the
+Clyde expressly for running the blockade. Her crew knew that a long
+holiday in port, with plenty of money, would follow a successful
+cruise; and they worked untiringly to keep up the fires, and set every
+sail so that it would draw. On the cruiser the jackies saw visions of
+a prize worth a million and a half of dollars; and the thought of so
+much prize-money to spend, or to send home, spurred them on. For
+several hours the chase seemed likely to be a long, stern one; but
+then the freshening wind filled the sails of the gunboat, and she
+began to overhaul the fugitive. When within a mile or two, she began
+firing great shells with her pivot-gun. Then the flying
+blockade-runner began to show signs of fear; and with a good glass the
+crew could be seen throwing over bale after bale of the precious
+cotton, to lighten the vessel. In the last thirty miles of the chase
+the sea was fairly covered with cotton-bales. More than three hundred
+were passed floating in the water; and the jackies gnashed their
+teeth, and growled gruffly, at the sight of so much wealth slipping
+through their fingers. On the high paddle-wheel box of the
+blockade-runner, the captain could be seen coolly directing his crew,
+and now and again turning to take a look through his glass at the
+pursuer. As the chase continued, the certainty of capture became more
+and more evident. Then the fugitives began throwing overboard or
+destroying every thing of value: furniture, silver-ware,
+chronometers, the fittings of the cabin, every thing that could
+benefit their captors, the chagrined blockade-runners destroyed. The
+officers of the gunboat saw that if they wished to gain any thing by
+their capture, they must make haste. At the risk of an explosion, more
+steam was crowded on; and the gunboat was soon alongside the "Young
+Republic," and in a position to give her an enormous broadside. The
+blockade-runner saw that he was caught and must submit. For lack of a
+white flag, a pillow-case was run up to the masthead, and the beating
+of the great wheels stopped. The davits amidships of the "Grand Gulf"
+are swung out, and a boat's crew, with a lieutenant and dapper
+midshipman, climb in. A quick order, "Let fall there," and the boat
+drops into the water, and is headed for the prize. Another moment, and
+the stars and stripes supplant the pillow-case waving from the
+masthead of the "Young Republic." An officer who went into the
+boiler-room found that the captured crew had planned to blow up the
+vessel by tying down the safety-valve, so that an enormous pressure of
+steam strained the boilers almost to bursting. A quick blow of a
+hatchet, and that danger was done away with. Then, with a prize-crew
+on board, the "Young Republic" started on her voyage to New York;
+while the "Grand Gulf" returned to Wilmington to hunt for fresh game.
+
+[Illustration: Pursuing a Blockade-Runner.]
+
+A curious capture was that of the British schooner "Francis," which
+was running between Nassau and the coast of Florida. On her last trip
+she was nearing the coast, when she fell in with a fishing-smack, and
+was warned that a Federal gunboat was not far away. Still she kept on
+her course until sundown, when the breeze went down, and she lay
+becalmed. The gunboat had been steaming into inlets and lagoons all
+day, and had not sighted the schooner. When night came on, she steamed
+out into the open sea, within a quarter of a mile of the
+blockade-runner, and, putting out all lights, lay to for the night.
+Those on the schooner could see the gunboat, but the lookout on the
+cruiser did not see the blockade-runner. Soon a heavy fog came up, and
+entirely hid the vessels from each other. The blockade-runners could
+only hope that a breeze might spring up, and enable them to escape.
+But now a curious thing occurred. It almost seems as if two vessels on
+the ocean exercise a magnetic attraction for each other so often do
+collisions occur where there seems room for all the navies of the
+world to pass in review. So it was this night. The anxious men on
+the schooner soon found that the two vessels were drifting together,
+and they were absolutely powerless to prevent it. At midnight, though
+they could see nothing, they could hear the men on the gunboat
+talking. Two hours after, the schooner nestled gently up by the side
+of the gunboat; and a slight jar gave its crew their first intimation
+that a prize was there, simply waiting to be taken. All they had to do
+was to climb over the railing. This was promptly done, and the
+disgusted blockade-runners were sent below as prisoners. Half an hour
+later came a breeze that would have carried them safely to port.
+
+The gray sea-fogs played many scurvy tricks with the
+blockading-fleets, often letting the runners in right under the
+muzzles of the great guns. It was far easier to spy out a vessel in
+the darkest night than in the thick gray fog that enveloped all
+objects like a blanket. One of the strangest of all the pranks played
+by the fog occurred in December, 1863, in Charleston Harbor. A wary
+blockade-runner was creeping out of the harbor, within easy range of
+the great guns of the fleet, and all hands were trembling, lest at any
+minute should come the flash of a gun, and shriek of a shell, bearing
+a peremptory command to heave to. Suddenly the flash came, and was
+followed by the bang! bang! of great guns from all quarters of the
+fleet. But the fire seemed pointed in another direction; and the
+runner made the best of her way out to sea, thinking that some less
+fortunate vessel, trying to come in on the other side of the fleet,
+had been captured or blown out of the water. It turned out that a
+small fog-bank had taken the form of a gray steamer moving swiftly
+over the water, and had been fiercely cannonaded by the whole Federal
+fleet. This occurrence gave the Confederates an idea; and they began
+sending out dummies to engage the fleet, while the true
+blockade-runners would slip out unobserved in the excitement. One
+night as the tide was running out with great force, an old hulk was
+cut adrift from a wharf, and drifted down rapidly upon the Federal
+fleet. It was just after the exploits of the "Merrimac" had made
+Confederate rams famous, and the naval officers were a little nervous.
+The hulk drifted quite into the midst of the fleet before being
+observed; and when she was hailed she bore down on the largest of the
+men-of-war as though she were a powerful ram, steered by a commander
+of desperate bravery. The great gunboat's deck rang with the bo's'n's
+whistle, as the crew were piped to repel boarders, and to their
+quarters at the guns. A fierce fire was poured on the hostile craft,
+that came on sullenly, as if scorning to make reply. One by one the
+other vessels of the fleet drew near, and concentrated their fire on
+the wretched lumber schooner. It was too much for her; and she gave up
+the unequal combat, and sank to the bottom. For days after, the
+gallant tars of the squadron blockading Charleston rejoiced in the
+destruction of a "Rebel ram;" but none of them knew, that, while they
+were engaged in the desperate contest, two great blockade-runners,
+heavily laden with cotton, had slipped out of the harbor, and were
+well under way for Nassau.
+
+Stories of adventure and of desperate pluck and dash abound in the
+records of the blockade. Both among the officers of the
+blockading-fleets, and the commanders of the runners, were found great
+courage and fine seamanship. One fact is particularly noticeable to
+the student of the blockade: an English captain running the blockade
+would never dare the dangers that a Confederate would brave without a
+tremor. A Confederate captain would rush his ship through the hostile
+fleet, and stick to her until she sunk; while an Englishman would run
+his ship ashore, and take to the woods. The cases of the "Hattie,"
+commanded by H. S. Lebby, a Confederate, and the "Princess Royal," a
+fine, staunch, iron steamer, with an English commander and crew, are
+typical. The "Hattie" was the last runner to enter or leave Charleston
+Harbor. She was a small, swift steamer; but she made more successful
+trips than any other runner. Men living in Charleston to-day, who were
+interested in the work of this little vessel during the war, say that
+her cargoes were worth at least fifty millions of dollars. She had
+numerous narrow escapes, but was never captured. Her reputation was
+such that the Confederate authorities selected her as the vessel to
+bring in army supplies and ammunition, and at least three battles were
+fought with ammunition brought in her hold. Her last entrance to
+Charleston was one night in February, 1865. Eighteen Federal vessels
+lay anchored off the harbor, and for a runner to venture in seemed
+madness. But the captain of the "Hattie" was used to taking desperate
+chances, and he proposed to enter that harbor. The ship had been
+freshly painted a blue-white, and as she drifted along the water, with
+all lights out, looked like a bank of mist. She was within two hundred
+yards of the outer row of blockaders before her presence was detected.
+Suddenly fire was opened on her from the nearest gunboat, and in an
+instant the air was full of rockets announcing her presence. The
+little vessel had no means of retaliation: all there was for her to do
+was to dash through the fire and make for the city. Steam was crowded
+on; and she flew up the channel, running the gauntlet of the fleet,
+and escaping almost untouched. Then came the real peril. Just below
+Fort Sumter were two barges anchored in the channel, and filled with
+armed men. Past these she dashed, her great speed saving her from
+boarding; but she received the fire of both boats, which wounded
+several of her crew, and cut off the fingers of the pilot's hand
+resting on the wheel. This danger past, there was one more to be met.
+A large monitor lay anchored up the harbor, and the "Hattie" was
+running so close to her that the commands of the officers in the
+turret could be clearly heard. One after the other the two great guns
+were fired, both shots missing; and the "Hattie," safely past the
+gauntlet, sailed up to the dock in triumph. But by that time it was
+clear that the last days of the war were near at hand, and accordingly
+the work of unloading and reloading the vessel for her outward trip
+was pressed with the greatest vigor. All the time she lay at her dock,
+Charleston was being vigorously bombarded by the Federal men-of-war
+lying outside the harbor. The bay fairly swarmed with blockading
+cruisers; yet a week later the little steamer slipped out through a
+fleet of twenty-six cruisers without being hailed, and carried her
+cotton safely to market. When the news of Lee's surrender was
+received, she was lying safe at her dock in Nassau.
+
+The "Princess Royal," to which we have alluded, was a large iron screw
+steamer, freighted with drugs, army supplies, guns, and two engines
+and boilers for two iron-clads in Charleston Harbor,--a most valuable
+and important cargo for the Confederates. She made the run from Nassau
+to a point near the coast without adventure, and in the early gray of
+the morning was stealing up the coast towards the harbor, when a
+blockader caught sight of her, and started in pursuit. The later began
+firing when a mile and a half away; and, though there was hardly a
+chance of the shots taking effect, the cannonade gave the captain of
+the runner the cold shakes. His boat was one of the fastest on the
+ocean, and he needed only to put on steam to escape all the blockaders
+on the coast. But he was a thorough paced coward; and, thinking only
+of his own safety, he headed the craft for the beach, and with his
+crew fled into the woods. The valuable ship and her cargo fell into
+the hands of the Federals.
+
+Sometimes runners were captured through apparently the most trivial
+accidents. One ship, heavily laden with army supplies, and carrying a
+large number of passengers, was running through the blockading-fleet,
+and seemed sure of escape. All lights were out, the passengers were in
+the cabin, not a word was to be heard on deck, even the commands of
+the officers being delivered in whispers. Suddenly a prolonged
+cock-crow rent the air, and, with the silence of every thing
+surrounding, sounded like a clarion peal from a trumpet. The
+deck-hands rushed for a box of poultry on the deck, and dragged out
+bird after bird, wringing their necks. The true offender was almost
+the last to be caught, and avenged the deaths of his brothers by
+crowing vigorously all the time. The noise was enough to alarm the
+blockaders; and in a moment the hail, "Surrender, or we'll blow you
+out of water!" brought the unlucky runner to a standstill,--a
+prisoner. The "Southern Cross" narrowly escaped capture on account of
+the stupidity of an Irish deck-hand, whose craving for tobacco proved
+too strong for his discretion. The ship was steaming slyly by two
+cruisers, and in the darkness would have escaped unseen, when the
+deck-hand, who had been without a smoke as long as he could stand it,
+lit a match and puffed away at his pipe. The tiny flame was enough for
+the cruisers, and they began a spirited cannonade. The "Southern
+Cross" ran for her life. The shooting was guess-work, but the gunners
+on the cruisers showed all the proverbial Yankee skill at guessing.
+The first ball carried away the roof of the pilot-house, and the
+second ripped away the railing along the deck for thirty feet. But the
+captain was plucky, and made a run for it. He was forced to pass
+within a hundred feet of one of the cruisers; and as he saw the
+muzzles of the great guns bearing on his ship, he heard the command,
+"Heave to, or I'll sink you." But he took his chances, and escaped
+with only the damage caused by a solid shot crashing through the hull.
+
+One of the strangest experiences of all was that of the captain of a
+blockade-runner putting in to Wilmington one bitter cold night, when
+the snow was blowing in clouds, and the fingers of the men at the
+wheel and the sailors on watch were frostbitten. The runner had
+reached the harbor safely; but there in channel lay a blockader in
+such a position that any ship coming in must pass within a hundred
+feet of her. The Confederate had a light-draught vessel, and tried to
+squeeze through. When he passed the gunboat, only twelve feet of
+space separated the two vessels; and he saw a lookout, with his arms
+on the rail, looking right at the passing vessel. The Confederate
+expected an immediate alarm, but it did not come. Wondering at the
+cause, but happy in his luck, he sped on, and gained the harbor
+safely. Some days after, he learned that the lookout was a dead man,
+frozen at his post of duty.
+
+It will readily be understood that the inducements offered to
+blockade-runners must have been immense to persuade men to run such
+risks. The officers and sailors made money easily, and spent it
+royally when they reached Nassau. "I never expect to see such flush
+times again in my life," said a blockade-running captain, speaking of
+Nassau. "Money was as plentiful as dirt. I have seen a man toss up a
+twenty-dollar gold piece on "heads or tails," and it would be followed
+by a score of the yellow boys in five seconds. There were times when
+the bank-vaults could not hold all the gold, and the coins were dumped
+down by the bushel, and guarded by soldiers. Men wagered, gambled,
+drank, and seemed crazy to get rid of their money. I once saw two
+captains bet five hundred dollars each on the length of a certain
+porch. Again I saw a wager of eight hundred dollars a side as to how
+many would be at the dinner-table of a certain hotel. The Confederates
+were paying the English big prices for goods, but multiplying the
+figures by five, seven, and ten as soon as the goods were landed in
+Charleston. Ten dollars invested in quinine in Nassau would bring from
+four hundred to six hundred dollars in Charleston. A pair of
+four-dollar boots would bring from fourteen to sixteen dollars; a
+two-dollar hat would bring eight dollars, and so on through all the
+list of goods brought in. Every successful captain might have made a
+fortune in a year; but it is not believed that five out of the whole
+number had a thousand dollars on hand when the war closed. It was come
+easy, go easy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+     DUPONT'S EXPEDITION TO HILTON HEAD AND PORT ROYAL. -- THE FIERY
+     CIRCLE.
+
+
+The great joint naval and military expedition, which in August, 1861,
+had reduced the forts at Hatteras Inlet, and, continuing its progress,
+had, by successive victories, brought Roanoke Island, Newbern,
+Elizabeth City, and the Sounds of Pamlico and Albemarle under the sway
+of the Federal Government, was but the first of a series of
+expeditions intended to drive the Confederates from the Atlantic
+seaboard, and secure for the United States vessels safe harbors and
+coaling stations in the bays and inlets along the South Atlantic
+coast. The proper maintenance of the blockade made it necessary that
+the seaboard should be in the hands of the Federals. For a blockader
+off Charleston or Wilmington to be forced to return to Hampton Roads
+to coal or to make repairs, would entail the loss of weeks, perhaps
+months, of valuable time. Besides, the sounds and inlets with which
+that irregular coast is honeycombed were of great use to the
+Confederates, who could construct at their leisure great rams like the
+"Merrimac" or "Albemarle," and hurl them against the fleet with the
+hope of breaking the blockade. Such opportunities were eagerly seized
+by the Confederates whenever offered; and in many cases the defeating
+of their purposes seems almost providential, so great was the seeming
+disparity between the attacking ram and the forces which finally
+repulsed it.
+
+In reviewing the part of the navy in the civil war, we find that it
+acted like a great iron band, ever drawing closer and closer about the
+Confederacy, forcing the Southern armies from one point after another,
+until at last the whole coast was in the hands of the Unionists, and
+the Confederates were driven into the interior, there to be dealt with
+by the Northern armies. One is reminded of that iron chamber in Poe's
+story, which day by day grows smaller and smaller, until the wretched
+prisoner within is forced into the pit yawning in the centre. So,
+during the war, the Confederates lost Hatteras Inlet, Roanoke Island,
+Hilton Head, Fernandina, Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston
+comparatively early in the struggle. Wilmington, behind the almost
+impregnable bastions of Fort Fisher, and Charleston, surrounded by a
+cordon of defensive forts, remained the last strongholds of the
+Confederacy on the Atlantic coast, until the final downfall of the
+great uprising.
+
+Shortly after the capture of the Hatteras Forts, the navy department
+saw the need of a harbor and base of naval operations farther south.
+Charleston, with its powerful defences, was deemed impregnable at that
+time; and elaborate descriptions of the Southern coast were prepared,
+setting forth the advantages and disadvantages of available Southern
+ports. Fernandina, Brunswick, Port Royal, and Bull's Bay, were duly
+considered; and, while the Navy Department was debating which point to
+seize, Admiral Dupont was diligently fitting out an expedition to be
+in readiness to attack any that should be determined upon. Up to the
+last moment it was thought that Fernandina would be selected. But
+finally, with the advice of Gen. Sherman, it was determined to make
+the attempt to wrest Port Royal from the Confederates.
+
+Port Royal is the general name given to a broad body of water formed
+by the confluence of the Broad and Beaufort Rivers, and opening into
+the Atlantic Ocean on the South Carolina coast, about midway between
+Charleston and Savannah. No more beautiful region is to be found in
+the world. Far enough south to escape the rigors of the northern
+winters, and far enough north to be free from the enervating heat of
+the tropics; honeycombed by broad, salt-water lagoons, giving moisture
+and mildness to the air,--the country about Port Royal is like a great
+garden; and even to-day, ravaged though it was by the storms of war,
+it shows many traces of its former beauty. It is in this region that
+are found the famous Sea Islands, on which grows cotton so much more
+fleecy and fine of fibre than the product of the interior, that it is
+known the world over as Sea Island cotton, and sells at the highest
+price in the markets of England. In '61 the islands bore the great
+hospitable manor-houses of the Southern planters; broad of rooms and
+wide of piazzas, and always open for the entertainment of travellers,
+were they friends or strangers. The planters living there were among
+the wealthiest in the South, at a time when all planters were wealthy.
+They numbered their slaves by thousands. Standing on the broad piazza
+of one of these Southern homes, one could see the rows of rough huts
+that made up the negro quarters, and hear faintly the sound of the
+banjo and rude negro melodies, mingling with the music of piano or
+harp within the parlor of the mansion-house. Refined by education and
+travel, the planters of the region about Port Royal made up a courtly
+society, until war burst upon them, and reduced their estates to
+wildernesses, and themselves to beggary.
+
+At the head of the Beaufort River stood the little town of Beaufort.
+Before the war this was a thriving place; its magnificent harbor made
+it easily accessible for the largest merchant-ships, and the richly
+productive country round about furnished heavy cargoes of the fleecy
+staple that gave to the South the name of the "cotton kingdom." On
+Saturdays and holidays the broad streets of Beaufort would be crowded
+with carriages and horsemen from the neighboring plantations. The
+planters, in broad-brimmed hats and suits of snowy linen, thronged the
+broad piazzas of the hotel, or grouped together in the shade of the
+spreading trees that lined the streets, discussing the cotton crops
+and prices. Now all is changed. Beaufort is a sleepy little village,
+with no sign of trade, domestic or foreign; and the country round
+about, once dotted with handsome plantation homes, now seems a very
+wilderness, save where Northerners have erected for themselves winter
+homes on the Sea Islands.
+
+[Illustration: Fortress Monroe.]
+
+It was late in October, 1861, when the final determination to attack
+the forts at Port Royal was reached. For weeks before, the squadron
+lying at Hampton Roads had been making preparations for a great naval
+movement, and all the newspapers of the North were filled with wise
+speculations as to its objective point. Reporters, correspondents, and
+editors were alike baffled in their efforts to secure accurate
+information; and even the commanders of the men-of-war were ignorant
+of their destination. But it seems that the Confederates were warned
+by some of their sympathizers in Washington, and the destination of
+the fleet was better known south of Mason and Dixon's line than in the
+North. On Tuesday, Oct. 29, the squadron was all ready for the voyage.
+It was by far the most powerful fleet ever gathered under the flag of
+the United States. Twenty-five vessels laden with coal had sailed the
+day before. On the placid waters of the bay, under the frowning walls
+of Fortress Monroe, floated fifty men-of-war and transports. The day
+was clear, and the breeze brisk, and the hearts of the jolly jack-tars
+bounded within them as they thought of escaping from the long
+inactivity of a season in port. Long-boats bearing despatches rowed
+from ship to ship; hucksters from the shore came off in dories,
+dingies, and all variety of queer craft, to drive a farewell bargain
+with the sailors. The transport vessels were crowded with soldiers in
+the gay uniforms of militia commands. (It was early in the war then,
+and they had not learned that a man could fight as well in dingy
+rags.) The "Wabash" was flagship, and aboard her was Admiral DuPont.
+When she made the signal for getting under way, all was bustle and
+animation on all the other vessels of the fleet, and on all sides
+could be heard the noise of preparation for the start. The boatswains
+piped away cheerily; and a steady tramp, tramp, from the deck of each
+ship, and the clicking of the capstan catches, told that the anchors
+were coming up. Soon from the black funnels of the steamers clouds of
+smoke began to pour, and in the rigging of the sail frigates were
+crowds of nimble sailors. The commands "All ready! Let fall!" rang
+sharply over the water from the ships. Broad sheets of snowy canvas
+appeared where before were but ropes and spars, and in a moment the
+whole squadron was under way. The steamers led off briskly, with much
+churning of the water by their paddle-wheels and "brazen-fins;" after
+them followed the magnificent sailing frigates, with sail set,--lofty
+masses of canvas towering toward the skies, and moving with stately
+grace. At the very head of all went the flagship, the grand old
+"Wabash," with the flag of Admiral DuPont floating from the fore. None
+of the commanders knew whither they were bound. All were to follow the
+flagship, and in event of separation to refer to sealed orders with
+which each was provided. For the first day all went well. The promise
+of fair weather given by the beautiful day of starting seemed about to
+be fulfilled. But on the second night, as they came near the terrible
+region of Cape Hatteras, the wind began to freshen, and continued
+increasing in fierceness until it fairly blew a gale. The night was
+pitchy dark, and the crews on the vessels could hardly see the craft
+by which they were surrounded. Great as was the danger of being cast
+on the treacherous shoals of Hatteras, the peril of instant
+destruction by collision was even more imminent. Fifty vessels,
+heavily freighted with human lives, were pitching and tossing within a
+few rods of each other, and within a few miles of a lee shore. It
+seemed that the destruction of a large number of the vessels was
+unavoidable; and the sailors may be pardoned, if, remembering the
+mishaps of the Burnside expedition, they conceived Hatteras to be
+tenanted by an evil spirit, determined to prevent the invasion of
+Confederate territory. To add to the danger, the Confederates had
+extinguished the warning light at the Cape, and the navigators of the
+fleet had nothing to guide them in their course. When morning came,
+the fleet was pretty well scattered, although still many vessels were
+near enough together to be in no small danger. The transport "Winfield
+Scott," which carried four hundred and fifty soldiers, besides a large
+crew, was observed to be rolling heavily, and flying signals of
+distress. From the decks of the "Bienville," the nearest steamer, the
+officers with their glasses could see the crew of the distressed
+vessel working like beavers, throwing overboard every thing of weight
+to lighten the ship. Notwithstanding all their efforts, she was
+clearly water-logged, and sunk so low in the water that wave after
+wave broke over her decks, every now and then sweeping a man away to
+sure death in the raging sea. It seemed folly to attempt to launch
+lifeboats in such a furious sea, but the captain of the "Bienville"
+determined to make the attempt to save the men on the doomed "Winfield
+Scott." The crew was piped to quarters, and the captain asked for
+volunteers to go to the rescue. Man after man stepped forward, until
+enough had been secured to man three boats with ten men each.
+Carefully the boats were dropped into the sea, and man after man swung
+into them; then they put off and started for the sinking ship. But
+while these preparations were being made, the two ships had been
+drifting closer and closer together. Soon it was seen that a collision
+was inevitable. Fortunately the boats were broadside on, so that the
+cutting effect of a blow from the bow was avoided. They were presently
+so near each other that the men began jumping from the deck of the
+"Winfield Scot" upon that of the "Bienville." The leap, though a
+perilous one, was made in safety by over thirty men. Suddenly a great
+wave lifted the ships up and dashed them together. Three poor
+wretches, just about to jump, were caught between the vessels and
+crushed to death. A few sharp cries of agony, and all was over; and
+the vessels, drifting apart, let their bodies, crushed beyond
+recognition, fall into the water. By this time the small boats, with
+their determined crews on board, had succeeded in getting around to
+the lee side of the sinking ship, and the work of getting the soldiers
+and sailors over the side was begun. By the most strenuous efforts all
+were saved, and the "Bienville" steamed away, leaving the "Winfield
+Scott" to her fate.
+
+[Illustration: Du Pont's Expedition off Cape Hatteras.]
+
+Night came on, with the gale blowing with still greater fury. The wind
+shrieked through the cordage, and now and again a great wave would
+sweep across the decks of the crowded vessels, making the men hang on
+to the rigging for dear life. Soon another ship began to go to pieces.
+The "Governor," which had been steaming along near the "Wabash"
+since the time of leaving Hampton Roads, had become separated from
+her consort during the gale of the first day. On the second night,
+those aboard her perceived that she was showing signs of weakness, and
+was likely to go down with all on board unless aid could be obtained.
+Not a sail, however, was in sight; and every wave seemed about to
+overwhelm or dash to pieces the frail craft. She labored heavily in
+the furious sea. By and by the strain on her timbers was such that the
+port hog-brace broke in two places, weakening the vessel so that her
+fate was apparent to all. Soldiers and sailors worked away with a
+frantic energy born by the fear of death, and succeeded in bracing up
+the timbers, so as to avoid, for a time, the breaking-up. Soon after,
+a heavy roll of the vessel broke the smokestack, and it was pitched
+overboard. Luckily it broke some three feet above the deck, so that
+the fires could still be kept up. Then the steam-pipe burst; and with
+this accident the fate of all on board seemed sealed, for they no
+longer could keep the vessel's head to the waves, and the great seas
+came rolling over her, sweeping her decks of every thing movable. They
+began sending up rockets, and, after some time of anxious waiting, saw
+an answering signal; so that, through the remainder of that fearful
+night, the men on the doomed ship felt that, whatever might occur,
+they had friends at hand. The night was spent in toil at the pumps;
+and in the morning a faint cheer went up as two vessels were seen,
+ready to lend assistance. A signal of distress, quickly hoisted, was
+answered from the nearer, which proved to be the "Isaac P. Smith." The
+"Smith" sent off a boat and made fast a hawser to the wreck, and took
+her in tow; but in a few minutes the hawser parted. It became clear
+that the men must be taken off the sinking ship; but how to do it, was
+the question. By this time a second ship, the "Young Rover," had
+arrived to assist in the rescue. A second cable was put aboard; but
+this, too, parted. Hope seemed lost, when the lookout reported a third
+ship, the frigate "Sabine," coming to the rescue. The "Sabine" came to
+anchor, and sent a hawser aboard the sinking "Governor." Then the
+hawser was gradually taken in until the two ships lay close together,
+stern to stern. Spars were rigged over the stern of the frigate, and
+some thirty men swung over the seething waters to safety. Then the two
+vessels came together with a crash, and about forty men sprang from
+the sinking ship to the deck of the frigate. But the damage done by
+the collision was so great that it was deemed prudent to slack up the
+hawser and let the "Governor" drop astern again. Those on board
+busied themselves throwing overboard all things movable, with the
+intention of lightening the vessel. After some hours of suspense, the
+work of getting the men off the sinking craft was recommenced, and
+boats were sent to their assistance. The sea was running too high for
+them to approach close to the steamer's guards, so they lay off some
+feet, and the soldiers jumped into them. It was a perilous leap, with
+the boats pitching one way, and the ship another, and a raging sea of
+tossing waters between; but it was made bravely by every man, and but
+seven or eight were lost. Soon after the last man left the "Governor,"
+she lurched to one side and sank, carrying with her the arms and
+ammunition of the troops she was transporting.
+
+It was on Monday morning, Nov. 4, that the flagship "Wabash" cast
+anchor off Port Royal. In the offing were a few more sail headed for
+the same point, and during the day some twenty-five vessels of the
+scattered squadron came up. For the next day ships were constantly
+arriving, and by Tuesday night the whole squadron lay safely anchored
+in the broad harbor.
+
+The defences which the Confederates had erected upon Hilton Head, a
+lofty bluff overlooking the harbor, were powerfully designed
+earthworks, poorly armed and manned. The forts were two in number,
+placed on a commanding elevation, and might have been made impregnable
+had the Confederates taken advantage of the warning sent them by their
+spies in Washington. Fort Walker had fourteen guns which could bear on
+an attacking fleet, and Fort Beauregard had twenty. When the fight
+began, the gunners found that most of their ammunition was either too
+large or too small for the guns. To support the forts in their fight,
+was a wretched little fleet of tugs and schooners, mounting a gun or
+two each, but absolutely powerless before the smallest of Du Pont's
+ships-of-war. Indeed, when the battle began, the Union navy gave its
+undivided attention to the forts, and did not even give battle to
+Tatnall's mosquito fleet.
+
+Thursday morning dawned bright and mild as a morning in June. The
+shores of the beautiful bay were covered with woods, out of which rung
+the clear notes of Southern song-birds. The scene from the ships was
+one of the most charming imaginable. The placid bay, the luxuriant
+shores, the ocean showing across the low-lying ridge of white sand,
+the forts frowning from the steep headland, the fleet of majestic
+frigates mustered for the attack, and in the distance the flotilla of
+defenceless transports, safely out of range, their decks and rigging
+crowded with fifteen thousand men--all this presented a panorama of
+life and beauty which few eyes have ever beheld.
+
+[Illustration: The opening Gun.]
+
+Du Pont, in the majestic "Wabash," moved down the bay, and, as he came
+in range of Fort Walker, sent a shell shrieking from a bow-gun, as
+signal that the action was begun. The old frigate moved on slowly,
+making play with the bow-guns until abreast of the fort, when with a
+crash she let fly her whole broadside. On she went for a few yards,
+then turning in a grand circle came back, giving the other broadside
+to the forts as she passed. The other ships fell in behind; and round
+and round before the forts the fiery circle revolved, spitting out
+fire and ponderous iron bolts, and making the peaceful shores of the
+bay tremble with the deep reverberations of the cannon.
+
+The Confederates, for their part, went into the action with the utmost
+coolness. They had been assured that their position was impregnable,
+and had been cautioned to be deliberate and determined in their
+defence. For a time their artillery service was admirable. But soon
+they found certain discouraging features about the affair. Their guns
+were too light to have any effect on the fleet, and their powder was
+of such bad quality that many of their shots fell short. Two great
+guns dismounted themselves, seriously injuring the men who were
+handling them, and the very first broadside from the fleet dismounted
+several more. Then it was found that the shells for the great Parrott
+guns were too large, and that the shells from other cannon failed to
+explode, owing to defective fuses. Soon the fleet found a point of
+fire from which it could enfilade the forts, and thereafter a perfect
+hail of shell and grape-shot fell in the trenches. One shell disabled
+eleven men. A solid shot struck a gun thought to be perfectly
+protected, and hurled it, with the men serving it, over the parapet.
+Every twenty minutes a gun was dismounted in Fort Walker, and at the
+end of the conflict Fort Beauregard had but nine serviceable guns.
+
+For about four hours there was no cessation of fire on the part of the
+fleet. Round and round the circle the vessels steamed, giving one fort
+a broadside on the way up, and the other a broadside on the way down.
+The bombs rose from them in a majestic sweep through the air, and
+plunged into the fort, exploding with a roar equal to that of a
+cannon. One ship was commanded by Capt. Drayton, who rained shot and
+shell mercilessly against the forts, although one of them was in
+command of his own brother.
+
+At half-past one Fort Walker was found untenable, and the work of
+abandoning it was begun. The evacuation was completed in great haste,
+many valuables were left behind, and not even the guns were spiked.
+Still the entire garrison escaped to mainland, although the Federals
+had three thousand troops who might have made them all prisoners. Not
+long thereafter, Fort Beauregard also yielded to fate, and the day was
+won by the Federals.
+
+[Illustration: The Fight at Hilton Head.]
+
+The landing of the troops was at once begun. Thirty large boats bore a
+Connecticut regiment of one thousand men to the beach. Their bright,
+fresh uniforms, their muskets glittering in the sun, and their
+regular, swaying stride as they marched up the sandy beach to the
+martial strains of the regimental band, made a striking picture.
+They clambered over the ramparts, and in a few moments the stars and
+stripes floated from the staff which had but lately upheld the flag of
+the young Confederacy. Within the forts, all was carnage and
+confusion: dismounted cannon, surrounded by the dead bodies of the
+gunners, heaps of shells, and fragments of woodwork, were piled about
+the parade-ground and in the trenches. The story of the terrific
+bombardment was graphically told by those horrible evidences of death
+and destruction. And well might the scene be a horrible one. For over
+five hours, fifty shot a minute had been discharged at the forts, and
+most of them did execution. When one recollects that each shot of the
+great guns cost eight dollars, we get a vivid idea of the money spent
+in war.
+
+Immediately upon the capture of Hilton Head, the victors began making
+it a great naval and military station. Great storehouses were built,
+wharves constructed, and vast intrenchments thrown up for the defence
+of the spot. The slaves, escaping from the neighboring plantations,
+came in droves, begging to be allowed to work; but they received but a
+cold welcome, for they were still looked upon as property, and the
+officers did not wish to be charged with enticing them away from their
+masters.
+
+The news of the occupation of Hilton Head by the Northern armies
+caused the greatest consternation in the cities of Charleston and
+Savannah, From both places people fled into the interior, expecting an
+immediate advance of the Union troops. But the armies were set to
+digging, not to marching, and soon the affrighted citizens returned to
+their homes. Port Royal was held by the Northern forces until the end
+of the war, and proved of great value for the proper maintenance of
+the blockade. Its greatest disadvantage was its unhealthiness. Of
+fifteen thousand men landed there in November, five thousand were on
+the sick-list within a month.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+     THE FIRST IRON-CLAD VESSELS IN HISTORY. -- THE "MERRIMAC" SINKS
+     THE "CUMBERLAND," AND DESTROYS THE "CONGRESS." -- DUEL BETWEEN
+     THE "MONITOR" AND "MERRIMAC."
+
+
+It will be remembered that when the Union forces, alarmed by the
+threatening attitude of the inhabitants of Norfolk and the vicinity,
+fled from the Norfolk navy-yard, leaving every thing there in flames,
+they left behind them a fine United States frigate, "Merrimac," a ship
+of thirty-five hundred tons, carrying forty guns. The departing
+Federals did their work of destruction fairly well; for the great ship
+was burnt to the upper edge of her copper sheathing, and sank to the
+bottom of the river. Three or four months after the occupation of the
+Norfolk navy-yard by the Confederates, Lieut. George M. Brooke, an
+ex-officer of the United States navy, who had resigned that he might
+follow the fortunes of his State, while looking at the hulk lying in
+the river-channel, was suddenly inspired with the thought that she
+might be raised and converted into a formidable vessel-of-war. He
+carefully matured his plans, and after due consideration proposed to
+the Confederate secretary of the navy, that the "Merrimac" be raised
+and converted into an iron-clad. His plans were approved, and orders
+were given that they should be carried out. The "Merrimac," as
+originally built, was one of the grand old types of war-vessels. Her
+solid oak sides rose high above the water, and were pierced by a long
+row of gaping portholes. Her masts towered high in the air; and when
+her great sails were set, her hull seemed crushed beneath so vast an
+expanse of canvas. When she had been remodelled, her entire appearance
+was changed. She had no longer the appearance of a ship, but seemed
+like a house afloat; and tradition says that the old salt on the
+"Cumberland," who first sighted her, reported gravely to the officer
+of the deck, "Quaker meetin'-house floating down the bay, sir."
+
+When the hulk had been raised and placed in the dry-dock, the first
+thing done was to cut it down to the level of the berth-deck; that is,
+to the level of the deck below the gun-deck in the old rig. Then both
+ends of the ship were decked over for a distance of seventy feet;
+while the midship section was covered by a sort of roof, or
+pent-house, one hundred and seventy feet long, and extending about
+seven feet above the gun-deck. This roof was of pitch pine and oak,
+twenty-four inches thick, and covered with iron plates two inches
+thick. The upper part of the roof, being flat, was railed in, making a
+kind of promenade deck. In the great chamber formed by this roof were
+mounted ten guns, two of which, the bow and stern guns, were
+seven-inch rifles, and fairly powerful guns for those days. A strange
+feature of this ship, and one that was not discovered until she was
+launched, was that the weight of the iron-plating and the heavy guns
+she carried sunk her so deep in the water that the low deck forward
+and aft of the gunroom was always under water; so much so that the
+commander of another ship in the Confederate navy writes that he was
+obliged always to give the "Merrimac" a wide berth, lest he should run
+his ship on some part of the ram which lay unseen beneath the surface
+of the water. Powerful as this ship was, she had some serious defects.
+The greatest of these were her engines. They were the same that had
+been in her as a United States vessel, and had been condemned by a
+naval board as very defective. Naturally several weeks under water had
+not improved them; but the Confederates could not be particular about
+machinery just then, and the old engines were left in the new ram. It
+was quickly found that they could not be depended upon more than six
+hours at a time; and one of the ship's officers, in writing years
+afterwards, remarks, "A more ill-contrived or unreliable pair of
+engines could only have been found in some vessels of the United
+States navy." The second faulty feature about the "Merrimac" was that
+her rudder and propeller were entirely unprotected. The ram which was
+so much dreaded, and which made the "Merrimac" a forerunner of a new
+class of war-vessels, was of cast-iron, projecting four feet, and so
+badly secured that it was loosened in ramming the "Cumberland," and
+started a bad leak in the Confederate ship.
+
+When this formidable vessel was completed, she was christened by her
+new owners the "Virginia;" but the name of the old United States
+frigate of which she was built stuck to her, and she has ever since
+been known as the "Merrimac," and so we shall speak of her in this
+narrative. She received as commander Commodore Franklin Buchanan, an
+ex-Union officer of ability and daring, to whom the cadets of the
+naval academy at Annapolis owe the beautiful situation of the academy,
+and many of its admirable features; for he it was, who, in 1845, under
+a commission from Mr. Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, organized and
+located the naval academy, and launched that institution upon its
+successful career. Of officers the "Merrimac" had no lack, and good
+ones they were; but in her crew she was lamentably deficient. Most of
+the crew was made up of men from the army, who knew nothing of
+seamanship, but who could at any rate fire a gun. A few good sailors
+were obtained from those who escaped to Norfolk after the destruction
+of the Confederate flotilla at Elizabeth City by Capt. Rowan's
+squadron. They had but little chance for drills and exercise on the
+new ship, for up to the very hour of sailing she was crowded with
+workmen getting her ready for the task of breaking down the Yankee
+blockade. When she finally set out to do battle for the South, she was
+a new and untried ship: not a gun had been fired, and hardly a
+revolution of her engines had been made. And so she started down the
+river on her trial trip, but intending, nevertheless, to do battle
+with the strongest ships of the United States navy. Accompanying her
+were four small Confederate gunboats,--the "Beaufort," the "Yorktown,"
+the "Jamestown," and the "Teaser." Soon rounding out into Hampton
+Roads, the little squadron caught sight of the Northern fleet at
+anchor, and made for them. An officer on the "Congress" thus tells the
+story of the events that followed:--
+
+"The 8th of March was a fine mild day, such as is common in Southern
+Virginia during the early spring; and every one on board our ship was
+enjoying the weather, and pleasing himself with the prospect of going
+North in a day or two at farthest, and being relieved from the
+monotony of a blockade at anchor. Some of us were pacing the poop,
+basking in the sun, and watching the gulls, which here, as all over
+the world, wherever a man-of-war is anchored, manage to find out when
+it is dinnertime, appearing regularly when the mess-tins are being
+washed, and the cooks are taking the buckets of broken victuals to the
+head to throw overboard. Then they chatter and scream, and fight for
+the remnants as they drift astern, until all is consumed, when they
+betake themselves to fresh fields out of sight until we pipe to dinner
+again.
+
+"One bell had struck some time, when the attention of the
+quarter-master on watch was drawn to an unusual appearance against the
+fringe of woods away over in the Norfolk Channel. After gazing
+intently some time, he approached the officer of the deck, and
+presenting him the glass said,'I believe _that thing_ is a-comin' down
+at last, sir.'
+
+"Sure enough! There was a huge black roof, with a smokestack emerging
+from it, creeping down towards Sewall's Point. Three or four
+satellites, in the shape of small steamers and tugs, surrounded and
+preceded her. Owing to the intervening land, they could not be seen
+from Hampton Roads until some time after we had made them out; but,
+when they did show themselves clear of the point, there was a great
+stir among the shipping. But they turned up into the James River
+channel instead of down toward the fort, approaching our anchorage
+with ominous silence and deliberation.
+
+"The officers were by this time all gathered on the poop, looking at
+the strange craft, and hazarding all sorts of conjectures about her;
+and when it was plain that she was coming to attack us, or to force
+the passage, we beat to quarters, the "Cumberland's" drum answering
+ours.
+
+"By a little after four bells, or two o'clock, the strange monster was
+close enough for us to make out her plating and ports; and we tried
+her with a solid shot from one of our stern-guns, the projectile
+glancing off her forward casemate like a drop of water from a duck's
+back. This opened our eyes. Instantly she threw aside the screen from
+one of her forward ports, and answered us with grape, killing and
+wounding quite a number. She then passed us, receiving our broadside
+and giving one in return, at a distance of less than two hundred
+yards. Our shot had apparently no effect upon her, but the result of
+her broadside on our ship was simply terrible. One of her shells
+dismounted an eight-inch gun, and either killed or wounded every one
+of the gun's crew, while the slaughter at the other guns was fearful.
+There were comparatively few wounded, the fragments of the huge shells
+she threw killing outright as a general thing. Our clean and handsome
+gun-deck was in an instant changed into a slaughter-pen, with
+lopped-off legs and arms, and bleeding, blackened bodies, scattered
+about by the shells; while blood and brains actually dripped from the
+beams. One poor fellow had his chest transfixed by a splinter of oak
+as thick as the wrist; but the shell-wounds were even worse. The
+quarter-master, who had first discovered the approach of the
+iron-clad,--an old man-of-war's man, named John Leroy,--was taken
+below with both legs off. The gallant fellow died in a few minutes,
+but cheered and exhorted the men to stand by the ship, almost with his
+last breath. The 'Merrimac' had, in the mean time, passed up stream;
+and our poor fellows, thinking she had had enough of it, and was for
+getting away, actually began to cheer. For many of them it was the
+last cheer they were ever to give. We soon saw what her object was;
+for standing up abreast of the bow of the 'Cumberland,' and putting
+her helm aport, she ran her ram right into that vessel. The gallant
+frigate kept up her splendid and deliberate, but ineffectual, fire,
+until she filled and sank, which she did in a very few minutes. A
+small freight-steamer of the quarter-master's department, and some
+tugs and boats from the camp-wharf, put off to rescue the survivors,
+who were forced to jump overboard. In spite of shot from the
+Confederate gunboats, one of which pierced the boiler of the
+freight-boat, they succeeded in saving the greater number of those who
+were in the water. Seeing the fate of the 'Cumberland,' which sank in
+very deep water, we set our topsails and jib, and slipped the chains,
+under a sharp fire from the gunboats, which killed and wounded many.
+With the help of the sails, and the tug 'Zouave,' the ship was now run
+on the flats which make off from Newport News Point. Here the vessel
+keeled over as the tide continued to fall, leaving us only two guns
+which could be fought,--those in the stern ports. Two large
+steam-frigates and a sailing-frigate, towed by tugs, had started up
+from Hampton Roads to our assistance. They all got aground before they
+had achieved half the distance; and it was fortunate that they did so,
+for they would probably have met the fate of the 'Cumberland,' in
+which case the lives of the twelve or thirteen hundred men comprising
+their crews would have been uselessly jeopardized.
+
+"After the 'Merrimac' had sunk the 'Cumberland,' she came down the
+channel and attacked us again. Taking up a position about one hundred
+and fifty yards astern of us, she deliberately raked us with
+eighty-pounder shell; while the steamers we had so long kept up the
+river, and those which had come out with the iron-clad from Norfolk,
+all concentrated the fire of their small rifled guns upon us. At this
+time we lost two officers, both elderly men. One was an acting master,
+who was killed on the quarter-deck by a small rifle-bolt which struck
+him between the shoulders, and went right through him. The other was
+our old coast pilot, who was mortally wounded by a fragment of shell.
+We kept up as strong a fire as we could from our two stern-guns; but
+the men were repeatedly swept away from them, and at last both pieces
+were disabled, one having the muzzle knocked off, and the other being
+dismounted. Rifles and carbines were also used by some of our people
+to try to pick off the 'Merrimac's' crew when her ports were opened to
+fire, but of course the effect of the small-arms was not apparent to
+us.
+
+"It is useless to attempt to describe the condition of our decks by
+this time. No one who has not seen it can appreciate the effect of
+such a fire in a confined space. Men were being killed and maimed
+every minute, those faring best whose duty kept them on the spar deck.
+Just before our stern-guns were disabled, there were repeated calls
+for powder from them; and, none appearing, I took a look on the
+berth-deck to learn the cause. After my eyes had become a little
+accustomed to the darkness, and the sharp smoke from burning oak, I
+saw that the line of cooks and wardroom servants stationed to pass
+full boxes had been raked by a shell, and the whole of them either
+killed or wounded,--a sufficient reason why there was a delay with the
+powder. (I may mention here that the officer who commanded our powder
+division was a brother of the captain of the 'Merrimac.') The shells
+searched the vessel everywhere. A man previously wounded was killed in
+the cock-pit where he had been taken for surgical aid. The deck of the
+cock-pit had to be kept sluiced with water from the pumps, to
+extinguish the fire from the shells, although dreadfully wounded men
+were lying on this deck, and the water was icy cold; but the
+shell-room hatch opened out of the cock-pit, and fire must be kept out
+of there at all hazards, or the whole of us would go into the air
+together. In the wardroom and steerage, the bulkheads were all knocked
+down by the shells, and by the axemen making way for the hose,
+forming a scene of perfect ruin and desolation. Clothing, books,
+glass, china, photographs, chairs, bedding, and tables were all mixed
+in one confused heap. Some time before this, our commanding officer, a
+fine young man, had been instantly killed by a fragment of shell which
+struck him in the chest. His watch, and one of his shoulder-straps
+(the other being gone), were afterwards sent safely to his father, a
+veteran naval officer.
+
+"We had now borne this fire for nearly an hour, and there was no
+prospect of assistance from any quarter, while we were being
+slaughtered without being able to return a shot. Seeing this, the
+officer who had succeeded to the command of the ship, upon
+consultation with our former captain (who was on board as a guest),
+ordered our flag to be struck. It is not a pleasant thing to have to
+strike your flag; but I did not see then, and do not see now, what
+else we were to do.
+
+"A boat now boarded us with an officer from the 'Merrimac,' who said
+he would take charge of the ship. He did nothing, however, but gaze
+about a little, and pick up a carbine and cutlass,--I presume as
+trophies. One of the small gunboats then came alongside, and the
+officer from the 'Merrimac' left. The commander of the gunboat said
+that we must get out of the ship at once, as he had orders to burn
+her. Some of our people went on board of his craft as prisoners, but
+not many. As her upper deck was about even with our main-deck ports,
+our surgeon stepped out of one, and told the commanding officer that
+we had some dreadfully wounded men, and that we must have time to
+collect them, and place them on board his vessel, and, moreover, that
+our ship was on fire with no possibility of saving her. The reply was,
+'You must make haste: those scoundrels on shore are firing at me now.'
+In fact, the rifle-balls were 'pinging' about very briskly, scarring
+the rusty black sides of the poor old frigate; for the Twentieth
+Indiana Regiment had come down from the camp to the point, and opened
+fire on the gunboat as she lay alongside of us. Our doctor having no
+desire to be killed, especially by our own people, jumped back into
+the port, just as the steamer, finding it too hot, shoved off and left
+us. As soon as she did so, they all opened upon us again; although we
+had a white flag flying to show we were out of action, and we
+certainly could not be held responsible for the action of the regiment
+on shore. After ten or fifteen minutes, however, they all withdrew,
+and went down the channel, to bestow their attentions upon the
+frigate 'Minnesota' which was hard aground. Fortunately the 'Merrimac'
+drew too much water to come near the 'Minnesota' at that stage of
+tide, and the small-fry were soon driven off by the latter ship's
+battery. Night now approaching, the whole Rebel flotilla withdrew, and
+proceeded up the Norfolk Channel.
+
+"Although relieved from the pressure of actual battle, we still had
+the unpleasant consciousness that the fire was making progress in the
+vicinity of our after-magazine; and we felt as I suppose men would
+feel who are walking in the crater of a volcano on the verge of
+eruption. Fortunately for us, the 'Merrimac' and her consorts had not
+fired much at our upper works and spars, the principal damage being
+inflicted upon our lower decks. We had, therefore, the launch and
+first cutter,--large boats,--which, with a little stuffing of
+shot-holes, were fit to carry us the short distance between our ship
+and the shore. The yard and stay-tackles were got up, and the boats
+put into the water, as soon as possible; the fire gaining, and the sun
+going down, in the mean time.
+
+"By successive boatloads the survivors were all landed; the launch
+being brought up under the bill port, and the wounded, in cots,
+lowered into her by a whip from the fore yard, which was braced up for
+the purpose. This boat was nearly filled with water on her last trip,
+being a good deal damaged; obliging some of the officers, who had
+stayed until the last, to jump overboard into the icy cold water, and
+lean their hands on the gunwale, so as to relieve the boat of a part
+of their weight. She grounded in water about waist-deep; and the
+soldiers from the camp waded out and assisted our men in bearing on
+shore, and to the log hospital of the Twentieth Indiana, those who
+were in cots. We had managed to get the body of our gallant young
+commander on shore in one of the cots, as a wounded man. The mass of
+the men were so 'gallied,' to use a sailor phrase, by the time the
+action was over, what with enduring so severe a fire without being
+able to respond, and also with the knowledge that an explosion of the
+magazine might occur at any time, that I doubt whether they could have
+been induced to bring off a man whom they knew to be dead. The
+officers repeatedly went about the decks looking for wounded men; and
+I firmly believe that all who were alive were brought off. Our poor
+old ship, deserted by all but the dead, burned till about midnight,
+when she blew up."
+
+The final destruction of the "Congress" must have been a most imposing
+spectacle. A member of the Confederate army, who was stationed in one
+of the batteries near the scene of action, thus describes it: "Night
+had come, mild and calm, refulgent with all the beauty of Southern
+skies in early spring. The moon, in her second quarter, was just
+rising over the rippling waters; but her silvery light was soon paled
+by the conflagration of the 'Congress,' whose lurid glare was
+reflected in the river. The burning frigate four miles away seemed
+very much nearer. As the flames crept up the rigging, every mast,
+spar, and rope glittered against the dark sky in dazzling lines of
+fire. The hull, aground upon the shoal, was plainly visible; and upon
+its black surface each porthole seemed the mouth of a fiery furnace.
+For hours the flames raged, with hardly a perceptible change in the
+wondrous picture. At irregular intervals, loaded guns and shells,
+exploding as the flames reached them, sent forth their deep
+reverberations, re-echoed over and over from every headland of the
+bay. The masts and rigging were still standing, apparently intact,
+when about two o'clock in the morning a monstrous sheet of flame rose
+from the vessel to an immense height. The ship was rent in twain by
+the tremendous flash. Blazing fragments seemed to fill the air; and,
+after a long interval, a deep, deafening report announced the
+explosion of the ship's powder-magazine. When the blinding glare had
+subsided, I supposed that every vestige of the vessel would have
+disappeared; but apparently all the force of the explosion had been
+upward. The rigging had vanished entirely, but the hull seemed hardly
+shattered; the only apparent change in it was that in two or three
+places, two or three of the portholes had been blown into one great
+gap. It continued to burn until the brightness of its blaze was
+effaced by the morning sun."
+
+In the great drama of the first day's fight at Hampton Roads, the
+heroic part was played by the frigate "Cumberland." On the morning of
+that fateful 8th of March, she was swinging idly at her moorings, her
+boats floating at the boom, and her men lounging about the deck, never
+dreaming of the impending disaster. It was wash-day, and from the
+lower rigging of the ship hung garments drying in the sun. About noon
+the lookout saw a cloud of smoke, apparently coming down the river
+from Norfolk, and at once notified the officer of the deck. It was
+surmised that it might be the new and mysterious iron-clad "Merrimac,"
+about which many rumors were current, but few facts known. Quickly the
+ship was set in trim for action, and the men sent to quarters. All
+the stern preparations for battle were made--the guns all shotted, the
+men in position, the magazines opened; shot, shell, cartridges, all in
+place; the powder-boys at their stations; swords, pistols,
+boarding-pikes, in the racks. Down in the cock-pit the surgeons spread
+out upon their tables the gleaming instruments, which made brave men
+shudder with the thought of what a few minutes would bring.
+
+The sailors prepared for the fight gayly, never doubting for a moment
+that victory would be on their side. So paltry had been the resistance
+that the Confederates had heretofore been able to oppose to the
+Northern arms, by sea, that the blue-jackets felt that they had only
+to open a fight in order to win it. The officers were more serious.
+Rumors had reached them that the "Merrimac" was a most powerful
+vessel, destined to annihilate the navy of the North; and they looked
+on this first battle with the monster with many misgivings. Their
+fears were somewhat lessened by an article printed in the Norfolk
+papers, a few days previous, denouncing the "Merrimac" as a bungling
+bit of work, absolutely unseaworthy, and unable to stand against the
+powerful vessels of the North. As it turned out, however, this article
+was published as a _ruse_ to deceive the Northern authorities.
+
+The iron ship came steaming sullenly down the bay. The "Congress" was
+the first ship in range, and a puff of smoke from the "Merrimac's"
+bow-gun warned the crew of the frigate that danger was coming. All
+held their breath an instant, until, with a clatter and whiz, a storm
+of grape-shot rattled against her sides, and whistled through the
+rigging. Then came a sigh of relief that it was no worse. When the
+enemy was within a quarter of a mile, the "Congress" let fly her whole
+broadside, and the crew crowded the ports to see the result. The great
+iron shot rattled off the mailed sides of the monster, like hailstones
+from a roof. Then came the return fire; and the "Congress" was riddled
+with shells, and her decks ran with blood. The "Merrimac" passed
+sullenly on.
+
+Now it was the turn of the "Cumberland." Her officers and crew had
+seen the results of the fire of the "Congress," and, with sinking
+hearts, felt how hopeless was their own position. There was no chance
+for escape, for no wind filled the sails of the frigate. She lay
+helpless, awaiting the attack of the iron battery that bore down upon
+her, without firing a shot or opening a port. At a little past two the
+mailed frigate had approached the "Cumberland" within grape-shot
+distance. Fire was opened upon her with the heaviest guns; and
+officers and men watched breathlessly the course of their shot, and
+cried aloud with rage, or groaned in despair, as they saw them fall
+harmlessly from the iron ship. Still they had no thought of surrender.
+The fire of the "Cumberland" was received silently by the "Merrimac;"
+and she came straight on, her sharp prow cutting viciously through the
+water, and pointed straight for her victim. A second broadside, at
+point-blank range, had no effect on her. One solid shot was seen to
+strike her armored sides, and, glancing upward, fly high into the air,
+as a baseball glances from the bat of the batsman; then, falling, it
+struck the roof of the pilot-house, and fell harmlessly into the sea.
+In another instant the iron ram crashed into the side of the
+"Cumberland," cutting through oaken timbers, decks, and cabins. At the
+same time all the guns that could be brought to bear on the Northern
+frigate were discharged; and shells crashed through her timbers, and
+exploded upon her decks, piling splinters, guns, gun-carriages, and
+men in one confused wreck. Had not the engines of the ram been
+reversed just before striking the frigate, her headway would have
+carried her clear to the opposite side of the doomed ship, and the
+"Cumberland," in sinking, would have carried her destroyer to the
+bottom with her. As it was, the "Merrimac," with a powerful wrench,
+drew out of the wreck she had made, loosening her iron prow, and
+springing a serious leak in the operation. She drew off a short
+distance, paused to examine the work she had done, and then, as if
+satisfied, started to complete the destruction of the "Congress."
+
+And well might the men of the "Merrimac" be satisfied with their
+hour's work. The "Cumberland" was a hopeless wreck, rapidly sinking.
+Her decks were bloodstained, and covered with dead men, and scattered
+arms and legs, torn off by the exploding shells. And yet her brave
+crew stuck to their guns, and fought with cool valor, and without a
+vestige of confusion. They had had but a few moments to prepare for
+action; and the long rows of clothes, drying in the rigging, told how
+peaceful had been their occupation before the "Merrimac" appeared upon
+the scene. Yet now that the storm of battle had burst, and its issue
+was clearly against them, these men stood to their guns, although they
+could feel the deck sinking beneath them. Every man was at his post;
+and even when the waters were pouring in on the gun-deck, the guns
+were loaded and fired. Indeed, the last shot was fired from a gun half
+buried in the waves. Then the grand old frigate settled down to the
+bottom, carrying half her crew with her, but keeping the stars and
+stripes still floating at the fore.
+
+The destruction of the "Cumberland" being completed, the "Merrimac"
+steamed over to the "Congress." This frigate fought well and
+valorously, but was soon pounded into a helpless condition by the
+shells of the "Merrimac," as shown by the story of her officer,
+already quoted. When a white flag, floating at her peak, told of
+surrender, the "Merrimac" left her to the attention of the smaller
+vessels in the Confederate flotilla, and set out to find further
+victims. But by this time the remainder of the Federal fleet had taken
+alarm, and fled into a safe position under the shelter of the Federal
+batteries on shore. The "Minnesota" only had been unfortunate in her
+attempted flight, and was aground on a bar near the scene of the
+fight. But now only two hours of daylight remained, and the tide was
+low, and still on the ebb. The heavy iron frigate could not get within
+effective distance of the "Minnesota," her crew were weary with a
+day's fighting, and so she turned away and headed up the river for
+Norfolk.
+
+In taking account of injuries on the ram that night, it was found that
+the injured numbered twenty-one; many of whom had been shot while
+alongside the surrendered "Congress." Not an atom of damage was done
+to the interior of the vessel, and her armor showed hardly a trace of
+the terrible test through which it had passed. But nothing outside had
+escaped: the muzzles of two guns had been shot off; the ram was
+wrenched away in withdrawing from the "Cumberland;" one anchor, the
+smokestack, steam-pipe, railings, flagstaff, boat-davitts--all were
+swept away as though a huge mowing-machine had passed over the deck.
+But, so far as her fighting qualities were concerned, the "Merrimac"
+was as powerful as when she started out from Norfolk on that bright
+spring morning.
+
+It can easily be understood that the news of the engagement caused the
+most intense excitement throughout this country, and indeed throughout
+the whole world. In the South, all was rejoicing over this signal
+success of the Confederate ship. Bells were rung, and jubilees held,
+in all the Southern cities. An officer of the "Merrimac," who was
+despatched post-haste to Richmond with reports of the engagement, was
+met at every station by excited crowds, who demanded that he tell the
+story of the fight over and over again. At last the starving people of
+the Confederacy saw the way clear for the sweeping away of the
+remorseless blockade.
+
+In the North, the excitement was that of fear. The people of seaboard
+cities imagined every moment the irresistible iron ship steaming into
+their harbors, and mowing down their buildings with her terrible
+shells. The Secretary of War said, at a hastily called cabinet meeting
+in Washington: "The 'Merrimac' will change the whole character of the
+war: she will destroy every naval vessel; she will lay all the
+seaboard cities under contribution. Not unlikely we may have a shell
+or cannon-ball from one of her guns, in the White House, before we
+leave this room."
+
+In this excited state, wild with joy, or harassed with fear, the whole
+country went to sleep that March night, little dreaming that the
+morrow would change the whole face of the naval situation, and that
+even then a little untried vessel was steaming, unheralded, toward
+Hampton Roads, there to meet the dreaded "Merrimac," and save the
+remnants of the Federal fleet. Then no one knew of the "Monitor;" but
+twenty-four hours later her name, and that of her inventor Ericsson,
+were household words in all the States of the Union and the
+Confederacy.
+
+[Illustration: "Merrimac" and "Cumberland."]
+
+Capt. John Ericsson was a Swedish engineer, residing in this country,
+who had won a name for himself by inventing the screw-propeller as a
+means of propulsion for steamships. He and a Connecticut capitalist,
+C. S. Bushnell by name, had ever since the opening of the war been
+trying to induce the Government to build some iron-clads after a
+pattern designed by Ericsson, and which afterwards became known as the
+"monitor" pattern. Their labors at Washington met with little success.
+After a long explanation of the plan before the wise authorities of
+the Naval Board, Capt. Ericsson was calmly dismissed with the remark,
+"It resembles nothing in the heavens above, or the earth beneath, or
+the waters under the earth. You can take it home, and worship it
+without violating any Commandment." Finally, however, leave was
+obtained to build a monitor for the Government, provided the builders
+would take all financial risks in case it proved a failure. So, with
+this grudging permission, the work of building the warship that was
+destined to save the Federal navy was begun. Work was prosecuted night
+and day, and in one hundred days the vessel was ready for launching.
+Great was the discussion over her. Distinguished engineers predicted
+that she would never float; and many attended the launch expecting to
+see the vessel plunge from the ways to the bottom of the river, like a
+turtle from a log. So general was this opinion, that boats were in
+readiness to rescue her passengers if she went down. But Capt.
+Ericsson's plans were well laid. The great vessel glided with a
+graceful dip into the river, and floated at her cables buoyantly. She
+was a strange-looking craft. All that was to be seen of her above
+water was a low deck about a foot above the water, bearing in the
+centre a large round iron turret pierced with two great portholes.
+Besides the turret, the smooth surface of the deck was broken by two
+other elevations,--a small iron pilot-house forward, made of iron
+plates about ten inches thick, and with iron gratings in front; aft of
+the turret was a low smokestack. Beneath the water-line this vessel
+had some strange features. The upper part of her hull, forming the
+deck, projected beyond her hull proper about four feet on every side.
+This projection was known as the "overhang," and was designed as a
+protection against rams. It was made of white oak and iron, and was
+impenetrable by any cannon of that day; although now, when steel
+rifled cannon are built that will send a ball through twenty inches of
+wrought iron, the original "Monitor" would be a very weak vessel.
+
+The turret in this little vessel, which held the two guns that she
+mounted, was so arranged as to revolve on a central pivot, thus
+enabling the gunners to keep their guns continually pointed at the
+enemy, whatever might be the position of the vessel. When the time for
+the first battle actually arrived, it was found that the turret would
+not revolve properly; but in later ships of the same class this
+trouble was avoided.
+
+It was at two o'clock on the morning after the day on which the
+"Merrimac" had wrought such havoc among the ships of the North, that
+this queer-looking little vessel steamed into Hampton Roads. As the
+gray dawn began to break, she passed under the quarter of the
+"Minnesota," and cast anchor. The tars on the great frigate looked
+curiously at the strange craft, and wondered if that insignificant
+"cheese-box on a raft" was going to do battle with the dreaded
+"Merrimac." Small hopes had they that their noble frigate would be
+saved by any such pygmy warship.
+
+In the mean time, the men of the "Merrimac" up at Norfolk were working
+energetically to prepare her for the destruction of the rest of the
+Union ships. Her ram was tightened in its place, her steering
+apparatus overhauled, and some changes made, and her rickety engine
+was patched up. At daybreak all was bustle as the ram prepared to move
+down on the Union fleet. But just as she was about to start, her
+officers saw the queer craft lying by the "Minnesota," which they at
+once knew to be the Ericsson "Monitor." Her appearance was not very
+terrible; but, nevertheless, the Confederates felt that she had
+appeared at a most inopportune moment for them. Still they raised
+anchor, and started down the bay to meet their mysterious enemy.
+
+It was Sunday morning, and the sun rose in a cloudless blue sky. A
+light breeze stirred the surface of the water, and played lazily with
+the long streaming pennants of the men-of-war. The batteries on both
+sides of the bay were crowded with men waiting for the great naval
+battle of the day. Up at Norfolk a gay holiday party was embarking on
+steam-tugs, to accompany the Confederate ship and witness the total
+destruction of the Union fleet. No thought of defeat ever entered the
+minds of the proud believers in the new iron-clad of the Confederacy.
+
+At the first sign of life on board the "Merrimac," the "Monitor" began
+her preparations for the battle. In fifteen minutes she was in battle
+trim. The iron hatches were closed, the dead-light covers put on, and
+obstructions removed from the main deck, so as to present a smooth
+surface only twenty-four inches above the water, unbroken, save by the
+turret and pilot-house. In the pilot-house was Lieut. Worden, who was
+to command the "Monitor" in this her first battle.
+
+[Illustration: Battle of the "Monitor" and "Merrimac."]
+
+Leisurely the "Merrimac" came down the bay, followed by her attendant
+tugs; and, as she came within range, she opened fire on the
+"Minnesota," which was still aground. The frigate responded with a
+mighty broadside, which, however, rattled off the mailed sides of the
+ram like so many peas. Clearly, every thing depended upon the
+"Monitor;" and that little craft steamed boldly out from behind the
+"Minnesota," and sent two huge iron balls, weighing one hundred and
+seventy pounds each, against the side of the "Merrimac." The shot
+produced no effect beyond showing the men of the "Merrimac" that they
+had met a foeman worthy of their steel. The "Merrimac" slowed up her
+engines, as though to survey the strange antagonist thus braving her
+power. The "Monitor" soon came up, and a cautious fight began; each
+vessel sailing round the other, advancing, backing, making quick
+dashes here and there, like two pugilists sparring for an opening. The
+two shots of the "Monitor" would come banging one after the other
+against the "Merrimac's" armor, like the "one, two" of a skilled
+boxer. In this dancing battle the "Monitor" had an enormous
+advantage, on account of her size, greater speed, and the way in which
+she answered her helm. The "Merrimac" was like a huge hawk being
+chased and baited by a little sparrow. Her heavy broadsides found
+nothing to hit in the almost submerged hull of the "Monitor." When a
+ball struck the turret, it glanced off, unless striking fair in the
+centre, when it fell in fragments, doing no greater damage than to
+dent the iron plates, and sometimes knocking down the men at the guns
+inside. The first manoeuvre tried by the "Merrimac" was to run down
+her little antagonist; and she did strike her with a force that dented
+the iron overhang of the "Monitor," and clashed the men in the
+"Merrimac" to the deck, with blood streaming from their nostrils. For
+a moment it seemed as though the "Monitor" must go under; but
+gradually the terrible ram glanced off, and the little vessel,
+righting, sent again her terrible two shots at her enemy. In the
+action of the day before, shot and shell had beaten against the sides
+of the ram so rapidly that one could not count the concussions. Now it
+was a series of tremendous blows about a minute apart; and, if the men
+had not been working away at their guns, they could have heard the oak
+timbers splintering behind the iron plating. At a critical moment in
+the fight the "Merrimac" ran aground; and the "Monitor" steamed around
+her several times, seeking for weak places in which to plant a shot
+Once Worden dashed at his adversary's screw, hoping to disable it, but
+missed by perhaps two feet. Two shots from the "Monitor" struck the
+muzzles of two cannon protruding from the portholes of the "Merrimac,"
+and broke them off, throwing huge splinters of iron among the gunners
+inside. And so the battle continued until about noon: gun answered gun
+with thunderous reports, that echoed back from the batteries on shore
+in rolling reverberations. The pleasure-seeking tugs from Norfolk had
+scuttled back again out of the way of the great cannon-balls that were
+skipping along the water in every direction. Neither of the combatants
+had received any serious injury. On board the "Monitor" the only hurt
+was received by a gunner, who was leaning against the iron wall of the
+turret just as a shot struck outside; he was carried below, disabled.
+But at last one lucky shot fired from one of the disabled guns of the
+"Merrimac" ended this gigantic contest; sending each contestant to her
+moorings, without an actual victory for either side. This shot struck
+full and fair against the gratings of the pilot-house, through which
+Lieut. Worden was looking as he directed the course of his ship. The
+concussion knocked him senseless. Flakes of iron and powder were
+driven into his eyes and face, blinding him completely for the time.
+He fell back from the wheel, and the "Monitor" was left for a moment
+without her guiding spirit. All was confusion; but in a few moments
+Worden recovered, and gave the order to sheer off. The "Monitor" then
+drew away, while Worden was moved to the cabin, and the second officer
+sent to his station in the turret. Lying on a sofa in the cabin, his
+eyes bandaged, and the horror of life-long blindness upon him, Worden
+asked faintly, "Have I saved the 'Minnesota'?"--"Yes," answered the
+surgeon. "Then," said he, "I die happy."
+
+While these scenes were transpiring on the "Monitor," the "Merrimac"
+lay quietly awaiting her return. The Confederate officers say that she
+waited an hour, and then, concluding that the "Monitor" had abandoned
+the fight, withdrew to Norfolk. The Northern officers and historians
+say that the "Merrimac" was in full retreat when the decisive shot was
+fired. It is hard to decide, from such conflicting statements, to
+which side the victory belonged. Certain it is, that not a man on the
+"Merrimac" was injured, and that all damages she sustained in the
+fight were remedied before sunrise the next day. Later, as we shall
+see, she challenged the Union fleet to a new battle, without response.
+But with all these facts in view, it must be borne in mind that the
+purpose of the "Merrimac," that bright March Sunday, was to destroy
+the frigate "Minnesota:" in that purpose she was foiled by the
+"Monitor," and to that extent at least the "Monitor" was the victor.
+
+Lieut. Worden, after the fight, went directly to Washington. President
+Lincoln was at a cabinet meeting when he heard of Worden's arrival in
+the city, and hastily rising said, "Gentlemen, I must go to _that
+fellow_." Worden was lying on a sofa, his head swathed in bandages,
+when the President entered. "Mr. President," said he, "you do me great
+honor by this visit."--"Sir," replied Mr. Lincoln, while the tears ran
+down his cheeks, "I am the one who is honored in this interview."
+
+Among his crew Worden was very much beloved. The following letter,
+sent him while on a bed of pain, is all the more touching for the rude
+form in which their affection for their commander is expressed:--
+
+[Illustration: Handling a Gun.]
+
+
+TO CAPTAIN WORDEN.
+
+                              HAMPTON ROADS, April 24, 1862.
+                                   UNITED STATES MONITOR.
+
+     TO OUR DEAR AND HONORED CAPTAIN.
+
+     _Dear Sir,_--These few lines is from your own crew of the
+     Monitor, with their kindest Love to you their Honored Captain,
+     hoping to God that they will have the pleasure of welcoming you
+     back to us again soon, for we are all ready able and willing to
+     meet Death or any thing else, only give us back our Captain
+     again. Dear Captain, we have got your Pilot-house fixed and all
+     ready for you when you get well again; and we all sincerely hope
+     that soon we will have the pleasure of welcoming you back to
+     it.... We are waiting very patiently to engage our Antagonist if
+     we could only get a chance to do so. The last time she came out
+     we all thought we would have the Pleasure of sinking her. But we
+     all got disappointed, for we did not fire one shot, and the
+     Norfolk papers says we are cowards in the Monitor--and all we
+     want is a chance to show them where it lies with you for our
+     Captain. We can teach them who is cowards. But there is a great
+     deal that we would like to write to you but we think you will
+     soon be with us again yourself. But we all join in with our
+     kindest love to you, hoping that God will restore you to us again
+     and hoping that your sufferings is at an end now, and we are all
+     so glad to hear that your eyesight will be spaired to you again.
+     We would wish to write more to you if we have your kind
+     Permission to do so but at present we all conclude by tendering
+     to you our kindest Love and affection, to our Dear and Honored
+     Captain.
+
+     We remain untill Death your Affectionate Crew
+
+                                   THE MONITOR BOYS.
+
+The "Merrimac," after being repaired and altered to some extent,
+sailed down the bay on the 11th of April, for the purpose, as her
+officers said, of meeting the "Monitor" again. She steamed into the
+Roads, and exchanged a few shots with the Union batteries at the
+rip-raps; but the "Monitor," and other Union vessels, remained below
+Fortress Monroe, in Chesapeake Bay, out of the reach of the
+Confederate vessel. Again, a few days later, the "Merrimac" went to
+Hampton Roads, and tried to lure the "Monitor" to battle; but again
+the challenge passed unanswered. It is probable that the Federal naval
+authorities did not care to imperil the only vessel that stood between
+them and destruction, out of mere bravado. Had the "Monitor" come out,
+an attempt would have been made to carry her by boarding. The crew of
+the "Merrimac" were prepared for the attack; and four gunboats
+accompanying her were crowded with men, divided into squads, each with
+its specified duty. Some were to try and wedge the turret, some were
+to cover the pilot-house and all the openings with tarpaulin, others
+were to try to throw shells and gunpowder down the smokestack. But all
+these preparations proved useless, as the "Monitor" still remained
+quietly at her anchorage. On May 8 a third trip was made by the
+"Merrimac." When she came down the bay, she found the Union fleet,
+including the "Monitor," hard at work shelling the Confederate
+batteries at Sewall's Point. As she came towards them, they ceased
+their cannonade, and retired again to the shelter of Fortress Monroe.
+The "Merrimac" steamed up and down the Roads for some hours; and
+finally Commodore Tatnall, in deep disgust, gave the order, "Mr.
+Jones, fire a gun to windward, and take the ship back to her buoy."
+
+Back to Norfolk she went, never again to leave that harbor. On the 9th
+of May the officers of the "Merrimac" noticed that the Confederate
+flag was no longer floating over the shore-batteries. A reconnoissance
+proved that the land forces had abandoned Norfolk, and it was
+necessary to get the ship away before the Union troops arrived and
+hemmed her in. Her pilots declared that if the ship was lightened they
+could take her up the James River; and accordingly all hands threw
+overboard ballast and trappings, until she was lightened three feet.
+Then the pilots claimed that with the prevalent wind they could not
+handle her. It was now useless to try to run her through the Union
+fleet, for the lightening process had exposed three feet of her
+unarmed hull to the fire of the enemy. It was accordingly determined
+that she should be destroyed. She was run ashore on Craney Island, and
+trains of powder laid all over her, and fired. Every gun was loaded,
+and the doors of the magazine were left open. Her crew then started on
+the march for the interior. It was just in the gray of the morning
+that a rumbling of the earth was felt, followed by a shock that made
+all stagger. A column of smoke and flame shot into the air; huge
+cannon were hurled high above the tree-tops, discharging in mid-air.
+One shot fell in the woods some distance ahead of the marching crew,
+and all knew that it marked the end of the mighty "Merrimac."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+     THE NAVY IN THE INLAND WATERS. -- THE MISSISSIPPI SQUADRON. --
+     SWEEPING THE TENNESSEE RIVER.
+
+
+We will now leave for a time the blue-water sailors, whose battles,
+triumphs, and defeats we have been considering, and look at the work
+done by the tars of both North and South on the great waterways which
+cut up the central portion of the United States, known as the Valley
+of the Mississippi. It was in this section that the navy of the North
+did some of its most effective work against the Confederacy, and it
+was there that the sailor boys of the South did many deeds of the most
+desperate valor. There is much of romance about service on the blue
+ocean which is not to be found in routine duty along the yellow muddy
+streams that flowed through the territory claimed by King Cotton. The
+high, tapering masts, the yards squared and gracefully proportioned,
+the rigging taut, and with each rope in its place, of an
+ocean-frigate, are not seen in the squat, box-like gunboats that
+dashed by the batteries at Vicksburg, or hurled shot and shell at each
+other in the affair at Memphis. But Farragut, stanch old sea-dog as he
+was, did much of his grandest fighting on the turbid waters of the
+Mississippi; and the work of the great fleet at Port Royal was fully
+equalled by Porter's mortar-boats below New Orleans.
+
+Let us follow the fortunes of the Union fleet on their cruises about
+the great rivers of the interior, and first discover what the work was
+that they set out to perform.
+
+The rivers making up the Mississippi system flow for the greater part
+of their length through the States that had joined the new
+Confederacy. The northern Confederate battle-line was along the south
+bank of the Ohio River, and there they had erected batteries that
+controlled the passage of that river. South of the mouth of the Ohio,
+every river was lined with Confederate batteries, and bore on its
+placid bosom fleets of Confederate gunboats. At Columbus on the
+Mississippi, not far south of the mouth of the Ohio, were strong
+batteries over which floated the stars and bars of the Confederacy.
+Farther down was Island Number 10, bearing one of the most powerful
+fortifications the world has ever seen. Then came Fort Pillow,
+guarding the city of Memphis; then at Vicksburg frowned earthworks,
+bastions, and escarpments that rivalled Gibraltar for impregnability.
+Lower down were fortifications at Grand Gulf, Port Hudson, and Baton
+Rouge. Fort Henry guarded the Tennessee River, and Fort Donelson the
+Cumberland, and both of these rivers were very important as waterways
+for the transportation of supplies to the Union armies marching into
+Tennessee. It was absolutely necessary that all these fortifications
+should be swept away, and the rivers opened for navigation down to the
+Gulf of Mexico. It was necessary that the work should be done from
+above; for the forts below New Orleans were thought to be impassible,
+and Farragut's passage of them late in the war made all the world ring
+with his name.
+
+It became evident, very early in the war, that no great progress could
+be made in the task of crushing the powerful insurrection until
+telling blows had been struck at the Confederate control of the inland
+waterways. When the attention of the war department was turned in that
+direction, they found but little to encourage them in the prospect.
+Along the thousands of miles of the banks of the Mississippi and its
+tributaries, there was not one gun mounted belonging to the United
+States, not one earthwork over which floated the starry flag of the
+Union. The Confederate positions on this great chain of waterways
+were, as we have seen, of great strength. To attack them, the armies
+of the North must first fight their way through whole States populated
+by enemies. Obviously, the war department alone could not complete so
+gigantic a task, and the services of the navy were called into
+requisition. So energetically did the navy department prosecute its
+task, that, by the end of the war, over one hundred Federal
+war-vessels floated on those streams, on which, three years before, no
+craft dared sail under the American flag. It was a strange navy in
+looks, but in actions it showed itself worthy of the service in which
+it was enlisted.
+
+Many of the steamers built for the river marine were wooden gunboats,
+hastily remodelled from the hulks of old craft. They were seldom
+plated with iron, and their machinery was feebly protected by coal
+bunkers, while their oaken sides were barely thick enough to stop a
+musket-ball. But the true iron-clad war-vessel made its appearance on
+the rivers even before it was to be seen in the ocean squadrons.
+
+It was as early in the war as July, 1861, that the
+quarter-master-general advertised for bids for the construction of
+iron-clad gunboats for service on the Mississippi and tributary
+rivers. The contract was given to James B. Eads, an engineer, who
+during the war performed much valuable service for the United States
+Government, and who in later years has made himself a world-wide fame
+by the construction of the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi
+River, by which the bar at the mouth of the great stream is swept away
+by the mighty rush of the pent-up waters. Mr. Eads was instructed to
+build seven iron-clad gunboats with all possible expedition. They were
+to be plated two and a half inches thick, and, though of six hundred
+tons burden, were not to draw more than six feet of water. They were
+to carry thirteen heavy guns each.
+
+[Illustration: A River-Gunboat.]
+
+These river-gunboats, like the little "Monitor," had none of the grace
+and grandeur of the old style of sailing-frigate, in which Paul Jones
+fought so well for his country. The tapering masts of the mighty
+frigate, the spidery cordage by which the blue-jackets climbed to
+loosen the snowy sheets of canvas--these gave way in the gunboat to a
+single slender flagstaff for signalling, and two towering smoke-stacks
+anchored to the deck by heavy iron cables, and belching forth the
+black smoke from roaring fires of pitch-pine or soft coal. Instead of
+the gracefully curved black sides, with two rows of ports, from which
+peeped the muzzles of great cannon, the gunboat's sides above water
+sloped like the roof of a house, and huge iron shutters hid the cannon
+from view. Inside, all was dark and stuffy, making battle-lanterns
+necessary even in daylight fights. The broad white gun-deck, scrubbed
+to a gleaming white by hollystone and limejuice, on which the
+salt-water sailors gathered for their mess or drill, was replaced by a
+cramped room, with the roof hardly high enough to let the jolly tars
+skylark beneath without banging their skulls against some projecting
+beam. Truly it may be said, that, if the great civil war made naval
+architecture more powerful, it also robbed the war-vessels of all
+their beauty.
+
+It is hard to appreciate now the immense difficulty experienced in
+getting those first seven river-gunboats built by the appointed time.
+The war had just begun, and a people accustomed to peace had not yet
+found out that those not actually at the seat of war could continue
+their usual course of life unmolested. Rolling-mills, machine-shops,
+founderies, saw-mills, and shipyards were all idle. Working-men were
+enlisting, or going to the Far West, away from the storm of war that
+was expected to sweep up the Mississippi Valley. The timber for the
+ships was still standing in the forests. The engines that were to
+drive the vessels against the enemy were yet to be built. Capt. Eads's
+contract called for the completion of the seven vessels in sixty-five
+days, and he went at his work with a will. His success showed that not
+all the great services done for a nation in time of war come from the
+army or navy. Within two weeks four thousand men were at work getting
+the gunboats ready. Some were in Michigan felling timber, some in the
+founderies and machine-shops of Pittsburg, and others in the shipyards
+at St. Louis, where the hulls of the vessels were on the stocks. Day
+and night, weekdays and Sundays, the work went on; and in forty-five
+days the first vessel was completed, and christened the "St. Louis."
+The others followed within the appointed time. Before the autumn of
+1861, the river navy of the United States numbered nearly a score of
+vessels, while nearly forty mortar-boats were in process of
+construction. Of this flotilla, Capt. A. H. Foote, an able naval
+officer, was put in command, and directed to co-operate with the land
+forces in all movements.
+
+The first service to which the gunboats were assigned was mainly
+reconnoitring expeditions before the front of the advancing Union
+armies. They were stationed at the junction of the Ohio and
+Mississippi Rivers; and the country about Cairo was occupied by a
+large body of Union troops under the command of Gen. Grant, then a
+young officer little known. The opening fight of the river campaign
+was little more than a skirmish; but it proved the superiority of the
+gunboats over a land-force for the purpose of opening the river. One
+bright day in September, the "Lexington" and "Conestoga" were ordered
+to proceed down the river eight or ten miles, and dislodge a
+Confederate battery that had taken a position on Lucas Point. The two
+vessels steamed cautiously down the stream, without encountering any
+resistance until within easy range of the battery, when the
+Confederates opened with sixteen cannon. The shot and shells fell all
+about the vessels; but neither was hit, showing that the Confederate
+gunners were not yet used to firing at a moving mark. But the fire of
+the gunboats was admirably directed; the shells falling among the
+Confederates, dismounting the guns, and driving the gunners from their
+pieces. It was too hot a spot for any man to hold; and a cavalry corps
+quickly attached their horses to the guns, and drew them down the
+river to the shelter of the Confederate works at Columbus. Then the
+defeated party sent up the gunboat "Yankee" to attack the two victors,
+but this vessel was quickly disposed of. She opened fire at long
+range, but without success. The first shot from the "Conestoga" struck
+the water a few feet from the "Yankee," and, ricochetting, plunged
+into her hull. The discomfited vessel immediately put about, and
+started down stream, followed by a heavy fire from the two Northern
+ships. Just as she was passing out of range, an eight-inch shell from
+the "Lexington" struck her starboard wheel-house, and shattered the
+paddle-wheel, totally disabling the vessel, so that she drifted
+sidelong to her anchorage like a wounded duck.
+
+On the return of the Northern vessels up the river, they first
+encountered the form of warfare that proved the most perilous for the
+sailors of the river navy. Confederate sharp-shooters lined the banks,
+perched in the trees, or hidden in the long, marshy grass; and any
+unwary tar who showed his head above the bulwarks was made a target
+for several long rifles in the hands of practised shots.
+
+The next active service performed by the gunboats was at the battle of
+Belmont, directly opposite the Confederate batteries at Columbus. The
+Union troops, landing in force, had driven the Confederates from their
+camp, and were engaged in securing the spoils, when the gunners at
+Columbus, seeing that the camp was in the hands of the enemy, turned
+their heavy guns on it, and soon drove out the Yankees. The
+Confederates had rallied in the woods, and now came pouring out, in
+the hope of cutting off the Union retreat to the boats. On all sides
+the dark gray columns could be seen marching out of the woods, and
+pouring down upon the retreating army of the North. Batteries were
+wheeling into position, and staff-officers in travelling carriages
+were dashing to and fro carrying orders. It seemed a black day for
+the three or four thousand Unionists who were making for their
+transports with all possible speed. But now was the time for the
+gunboats to take a hand in the fight. Three of them dropped into
+position, and began a deadly fire upon the Confederate line. The huge
+shells ploughed their way through whole platoons of men. Bursting,
+they would mow down soldiers like saplings before a cyclone. One shell
+exploded directly beneath an officer's carriage, and threw horses,
+carriage, and men high in the air. The Confederates hastened to get
+their field-batteries into position, and replied to the deadly fire
+from the ships, but to no avail. Their light artillery was of no
+effect upon the plated sides of the gunboats, and they saw their
+cannon dismounted or shattered by the solid shot from the big guns of
+the iron-clads. They fought bravely, but the conflict was unequal. It
+was sheer madness for any body of men, with muskets and light
+artillery, to stand against the fire of the gunboats. The gunboats
+saved the day. The retreat of the Union army was unchecked; and,
+covered by the war-vessels, the transports returned safely to Cairo.
+
+On the Tennessee River, near the northern boundary of Tennessee, the
+Confederates had thrown up certain earthworks to which they gave the
+name of Fort Henry. This, with Fort Donelson, situated near by, formed
+the principal Confederate strongholds in Tennessee. Gen. Grant
+determined to strike a heavy blow by capturing these two forts; and
+Commodore Foote, with his seven gunboats, was ordered to co-operate
+with the land-forces in the expedition. They started from Cairo on
+Feb. 2, 1862. When a few miles below the fort, the troops were landed
+and ordered to proceed up the back country, and attack the fort in the
+rear, while Foote should engage it from the river with his gunboats.
+While the troops were being landed, Gen. Grant boarded the "Essex,"
+and went up the river to get a view of the fort they were about to
+attack. Had it been completed in accordance with the plans of the
+engineers, it would have been most formidable. Time, however, had been
+short, and the earthworks were far from being completed. There were
+many points on the river or on the opposite bank, from which a
+well-directed artillery fire would make them untenable. The
+Confederate commander, Gen. Tilghman, fully appreciated this fact,
+and, at the approach of the gunboats, had sent four-fifths of his
+garrison across the country to Fort Donelson, being determined to
+sacrifice as few men as possible in the defence of so untenable a
+position. While Grant and Foote were examining the works through their
+field-glasses, the sullen boom of a great gun came over the waters,
+and a heavy rifled shot crashed through the stateroom of Capt. Porter
+on the "Essex." The two commanders concluded that the Confederate
+gunners, though new to war, understood something of artillery
+practice; and the "Essex" was accordingly taken down the river, out of
+range.
+
+The following night was chill and rainy; and the Union forces,
+bivouacking on shore, grumbled loudly over their discomforts. The
+morning dawned dark; but soon the sun came out, and the preparations
+for battle were begun. The troops were first despatched on their
+cross-country march; and, as they departed, Commodore Foote remarked
+coolly, that his gunboats would have reduced the fort before the land
+forces came within five miles of it. This proved to be the fact.
+
+The gunboats formed in line of battle, and advanced up the river. The
+four iron-clads led, steaming abreast. About a mile in the rear, came
+the three wooden vessels. The fort was soon in range; but both parties
+seemed anxious for a determined conflict, and no shot was fired on
+either side as the gunboats came sullenly on. How different must have
+been the feelings of the two combatants! Tilghman, with his handful of
+men, hardly able to work eight of the eleven guns mounted in his fort,
+and knowing that his defeat was a mere question of time; Foote, with
+his iron-clads and supporting gunboats, his seventy-two guns, and his
+knowledge that six thousand men were marching upon the rear of the
+Confederate works. On the one side, all was absolute certainty of
+defeat; on the other, calm confidence of victory.
+
+When the flotilla was within a third of a mile of the fort, the fire
+began. The gunners on the ships could see the muzzles of the
+Confederate guns, the piles of shells and cannon-balls, and the men at
+their work. The firing on both sides was deliberate and deadly. The
+Confederates were new to the work, but they proved themselves good
+marksmen. The first shot was fired from the shore, and, missing the
+"Essex" by but a few feet, plumped into the water, so near the next
+ship in line as to throw water over her decks. Within five minutes,
+the "Essex" and the "Cincinnati" were both hit. The armor of the
+gunboats proved no match for the shots of the Confederates, and in
+many cases it was penetrated. In some instances, shells, entering
+through the portholes, did deadly damage.
+
+On the shore, the shells from the gunboats were doing terrible work.
+Banks of solid earth, eight feet thick, were blown away by the
+terrible explosions. One, bursting in front of a ten-inch columbiad,
+filled that powerful gun with mud almost to the muzzle, disabling it
+for the remainder of the fight. A shot from the "Essex" struck the
+muzzle of a great gun, ripped off a splinter of iron three feet long,
+and crushed a gunner to pulp. The gun was just about to be fired, and
+burst, killing or wounding every man of the crew. At the same moment a
+shell crashed through the side of the "Essex," killing men right and
+left: took off the head of a sailor standing by Capt. Porter, wounded
+the captain, and plunged into the boiler. In an instant the ship was
+filled with scalding steam. The men in the pilot-house were
+suffocated. Twenty men and officers were killed or scalded. The ship
+was disabled, and drifted out of the fight. While withdrawing, she
+received two more shots, making twenty in all that had fallen to her
+share in this hot engagement. But by this time the fort was very
+thoroughly knocked to pieces. The big twenty-four pounder was
+dismounted, and five of its crew killed. Gun after gun was keeled
+over, and man after man carried bleeding to the bomb-proofs, until
+Gen. Tilghman himself dropped coat and sword, and pulled away at a gun
+by the side of his soldiers. Receiving ten shots while they could only
+fire one, this little band held out for two long hours; and only when
+the crew of the last remaining piece threw themselves exhausted on the
+ground, did the flag come fluttering down. Gen. Tilghman went to the
+fleet and surrendered the fort to Commodore Foote, and Grant's army
+came up more than an hour after the battle was over. To the navy
+belongs the honor of taking Fort Henry, while to Gen. Tilghman and his
+plucky soldiers belongs the honor of making one of the most desperate
+fights under the most unfavorable circumstances recorded in the
+history of the civil war.
+
+The fall of Fort Henry opened the way for the Union advance to Fort
+Donelson, and marked the first step of the United States Government
+toward regaining control of the Mississippi. It broke the northern
+battle-line of the Confederacy, and never again was that line
+re-established.
+
+With Fort Henry fallen, and Gen. Tilghman and his little garrison
+prisoners on the Union gunboats, Grant's soldier-boys and Foote's
+blue-jackets began active preparations for continuing the conquest of
+Tennessee by the capture of Fort Donelson. No time was lost. The very
+night that the stars and stripes were first hoisted over the bastion
+of Fort Henry saw three of Foote's gunboats steaming up the river on a
+reconnoitring expedition. Before them the Confederates fled in every
+direction. After several hours' advance, they came to a heavy
+railroad-bridge spanning the river, and effectually preventing further
+progress. Beyond the bridge were several Confederate steamers, black
+with men, and heavily laden with valuable military stores. With all
+steam on, they were dashing up stream, and rapidly leaving the
+gunboats behind. Enraged at seeing such valuable prizes slipping
+through their hands, the Union gunners sent shell after shell
+shrieking after the flying boats, but to no avail. A party was hastily
+landed for the purpose of swinging the draw of the bridge, but found
+the machinery broken, and the ways on which the bridge swung twisted
+and bent out of shape. An hour's hard work with axes and crowbars, and
+the draw was swung far enough to let pass the "Conestoga" and the
+"Lexington." They dashed forward like greyhounds slipped from the
+leash; and, after several hours' hard steaming, a smoke over the
+tree-tops told that the Confederate fugitives were not far ahead. Soon
+a bend in the river was passed; and there, within easy range, were two
+of the flying steamers. A commotion was visible on board, and boat
+after boat was seen to put off, and make for the shore; on reaching
+which the crews immediately plunged into the woods, and were out of
+sight before the gunboats could get within range. Soon light blue
+smoke curling from the windows of the steamers told that they had been
+fired; and as the last boats left each vessel, she ceased her onward
+course, and drifted, abandoned and helpless, down the stream. When
+within about a thousand yards of the two gunboats, the deserted
+steamers blew up with such force, that, even at that great distance,
+the glass was shattered in the "Conestoga," and her woodwork seriously
+damaged.
+
+The two gunboats leisurely continued their excursion into the heart of
+the enemy's country. Little or no danger was to be feared. At that
+time, the Confederates had not learned to plant torpedoes in their
+rivers, to blow the enemy's vessels into fragments. There was no
+artillery stationed in that section to check their progress, and the
+only resistance found was an occasional rifle-shot from some concealed
+sharp-shooter in the bushes on the shore. On the 7th of February the
+gunboats reached Cerro Gordo, Tenn.; and here they made a valuable
+capture. The Confederates had been at work for weeks converting the
+steamer "Eastport" into an iron-clad ram; and, as the Union vessels
+came up, they found her almost completed, and absolutely without
+defence. Besides the new vessel, there was in the shipyard a large
+quantity of lumber and ship-timber, which was of the greatest value to
+the builders of the river navy. The two gunboats promptly captured all
+this property; and waiting until the "Tyler," which had been detained
+at the drawbridge, came up, they left her in charge, and continued
+their raid into the enemy's country. Little incident occurred until
+they reached the head of navigation of the river, where they found all
+the Confederate vessels which had been flying before them for two
+days. These were burned, and the two gunboats started back down the
+river, stopping for the "Eastport" on the way. The captured vessel was
+afterwards completed, and served the cause of the Union for two years,
+when she was blown up on the Red River.
+
+When the raiding expedition reached Cairo, the officers found Foote
+getting his squadron together for the attack on Fort Donelson. This
+fortification was one strongly relied upon by the Confederates for the
+maintenance of their northern line of battle. It was on the bank of
+the Cumberland River, nearly opposite the site of Fort Henry on the
+Tennessee. A garrison of at least fifteen thousand men manned the
+works, and were commanded by no less than three generals; and the fact
+that there were _three_ generals in command had much to do with the
+fall of the fort. Its strength was rather on its river-front. Here the
+river winds about between abrupt hillsides, and on the front of one of
+these hills stood Fort Donelson. The water-batteries were made up of
+heavy guns, so mounted as to command the river for miles. On the
+landward side were heavy earthworks, abatis, and sharp pointed
+_chevaux-de-frise_.
+
+Against this fortification marched Grant with an army of eighteen
+thousand men, and Foote with his flotilla of gunboats. The Sunday
+before the start, Foote, who was a descendant of the old Puritans, and
+ever as ready to pray as to fight, attended church in a little
+meeting-house at Cairo. The clergyman did not appear on time; and the
+congregation waited, until many, growing weary, were leaving the
+church. Then the bluff old sailor rose in his pew, and, marching to
+the pulpit, delivered a stirring sermon, offering thanks for the
+victories of the Union arms, and imploring divine aid in the coming
+struggles. The next day he was on his way to hurl shot and shell at
+the men in the trenches of Fort Donelson.
+
+While the capture of Fort Henry was a feather in the caps of the
+sailor-boys of the North, Fort Donelson must be credited to the valor
+of the soldiers. Against the heavy wall of the water-batteries, the
+guns of Foote's little flotilla pounded away in vain, while the heavy
+shells from the Confederate cannon did dreadful work on the thinly
+armored gunboats. It was on the 13th of April that the assault was
+opened by the "Carondelet." This vessel had reached the scene of
+action before the rest of the flotilla, and by order of the army
+commander tested the strength of the fort by a day's cannonade. She
+stationed herself about a mile from the batteries, at a spot where she
+would be somewhat protected by a jutting point, and began a deliberate
+cannonade with her bow-guns. One hundred and thirty shots went
+whizzing from her batteries against the front of the Confederate
+batteries, without doing any serious damage. Then came an iron ball
+weighing one hundred and twenty pounds, fired from a heavy gun, which
+burst through one of her portholes, and scattered men bleeding and
+mangled in every direction over the gun-deck. She withdrew a short
+distance for repairs, but soon returned, and continued the fire the
+remainder of the day. When evening fell, she had sent one hundred and
+eighty shells at the fort, with the result of killing one man. This
+was not promising.
+
+The next day the attack was taken up by all the gunboats. The distance
+chosen this time was four hundred yards, and the fight was kept up
+most stubbornly. It was St. Valentine's Day; and as the swarthy
+sailors, stripped to the waist, begrimed with powder, and stained with
+blood, rammed huge iron balls down the muzzles of the guns, they said
+with grim pleasantry, "There's a valentine for the gray-coats." And
+right speedily did the gray-coats return the gift. Shot and shell from
+the batteries came in volleys against the sides of the gunboats. In
+the fort the condition of affairs was not serious. The shells chiefly
+fell in the soft earth of the hilltop above, and embedded themselves
+harmlessly in the mud. One of the gunners after the fight said: "We
+were more bothered by flying mud than any thing else. A shell bursting
+up there would throw out great clots of clay, that blocked up the
+touch-holes of our guns, spoiled the priming of our shells, and
+plastered up the faces of our men. Of course, now and then a bit of
+shell would knock some poor fellow over; but, though we were all green
+hands at war, we expected to see lots more blood and carnage than the
+Yankee gunboats dealt out to us."
+
+The gunboats, however, had put themselves in a hot place. Twenty heavy
+guns on the hillside high above were hurling solid shot down on the
+little fleet. The sailors stuck to their work well; and though the
+vessels were in a fair way of being riddled, they succeeded in driving
+the enemy from his lower battery. But the upper battery was
+impregnable; and the gunners there, having got the correct range, were
+shooting with unpleasant precision. Two of the vessels were disabled
+by being struck in the steering-chains. On the "Carondelet" a piece
+burst, hurling its crew bleeding on the deck. No vessel escaped with
+less than twenty wounds, while the flagship was hit fifty-nine times.
+Commodore Foote was wounded in the foot by a heavy splinter; a wound
+from which he never fully recovered, and which for some years debarred
+him from service afloat.
+
+That afternoon's bombardment showed clearly that Fort Donelson could
+never be taken by the navy. When Foote ordered his gunboats to cease
+firing and drop back out of position, the Confederates swarmed back
+into the lower battery that they had abandoned; and, after a few
+hours' work, the fort was as strong as before the fight. It was the
+first case in the history of the war in which the navy had failed to
+reduce the fortifications against which it had been ordered. The
+Hatteras forts, the works at Roanoke Island and at Hilton Head, Fort
+Henry--all had fallen before the cannon of the Union sailors; and
+Foote may well be pardoned if he yielded to Gen. Grant with great
+reluctance the honor of reducing Fort Donelson. For two days Grant's
+army invested the fort, and kept up a constant cannonade; then the
+defenders, despairing of escape, and seeing no use of further
+prolonging the defence, surrendered.
+
+The capture of Fort Donelson was an important success for the Union
+arms. In addition to the large number of prisoners, and the great
+quantity of munitions of war captured, the destruction of the fort
+left the Cumberland River open to the passage of the Union gunboats,
+and the Confederate battle-line was moved back yet another point. But
+now was to come a most heroic test of the power of the river-navy and
+the army of the North.
+
+Some sixty miles below Cairo, the rushing, tawny current of the mighty
+Mississippi turns suddenly northward, sweeping back, apparently,
+toward its source, in a great bend eight or ten miles long. At the
+point where the swift current sweeps around the bend, is a low-lying
+island, about a mile long and half a mile wide. This is known as
+Island No. 10; and at the opening of the war, it was supposed to hold
+the key to the navigation of the Mississippi River. Here the
+Confederates had thrown up powerful earthworks, the heavy guns in
+which effectually commanded the river, both up and down stream. The
+works were protected against a land bombardment by the fact that the
+only tenable bit of land, New Madrid, was held by Confederate troops.
+The shores of the Mississippi about Island No. 10 present the
+dreariest appearance imaginable. The Missouri shore is low and swampy.
+In 1811 an earthquake-shock rent the land asunder. Great tracts were
+sunk beneath the water-level of the river. Trees were thrown down, and
+lie rotting in the black and miasmatic water. Other portions of the
+land were thrown up, rugged, and covered with rank vegetation, making
+hills that serve only as places of refuge for water-moccasons and
+other noxious reptiles. Around this dreary waste of mud and water, the
+river rushes in an abrupt bend, making a peninsula ten miles long and
+three wide. Below this peninsula is New Madrid, a little village in
+the least settled part of Missouri; here the Confederates had
+established an army-post, and thrown up strong intrenchments. It was
+not, however, upon the intrenchments that they relied, but rather upon
+the impassable morasses by which they were surrounded on every side.
+In New Madrid were posted five or six thousand men; a small fleet of
+Confederate gunboats lay in the stream off the village; and higher up
+the river was Island No. 10, with its frowning bastions and rows of
+heavy siege-guns, prepared to beat back all advances of the Union
+troops.
+
+[Illustration: Mortar Boats at Island No. 10.]
+
+In planning for the attack of this stronghold, the first difficulty
+found by Commodore Foote lay in the fact that his gunboats were above
+the batteries. In fighting down stream in that manner, the ships must
+be kept at long range: for, should a shot from the enemy injure the
+engine or boiler of a gunboat, the vessel is doomed; for the rapid
+current will rush her down under the enemy's guns, and her capture is
+certain. But the peril of running the batteries so as to carry on the
+fight from below seemed too great to be ventured upon; and besides,
+even with Island No. 10 passed, there would still be the batteries of
+New Madrid to cope with, and the gunboats of the Confederates to
+take the ships in the rear. So it was determined that the navy should
+begin a bombardment of the Confederate works, while the army under
+Gen. Pope should attend to New Madrid. Accordingly, on March 15, the
+whiz of a rifled shell from the flagship "Benton" announced to the
+Confederates that the North wanted the Mississippi opened for travel.
+
+In this engagement use was made for the first time of a new style of
+vessel known as mortar-boats, which in later conflicts on the rivers
+did great service. These boats were simple floats, heavily built, and
+calculated to stand the most terrible shocks. On the float was raised
+a sort of sheet-iron fort or wall, about five feet high; and in the
+centre stood one thirteen-inch mortar. The mortar is the earliest of
+all forms of cannon, and was in use in Europe in 1435. Its name is
+derived from its resemblance to an ordinary druggist's mortar. The
+great thirteen-inch mortars used in the civil war weighed seventeen
+thousand pounds, and threw a shell thirteen inches in diameter. These
+shells were so heavy that it took two men to bring them up to the
+cannon's mouth. In the river-service, the mortar-boats were moored to
+the bank, and a derrick was set up in such a position that the shells
+could be hoisted up, and let fall into the yawning iron pot below.
+Foote had fourteen of these monsters pounding away at the
+Confederates, and the roar was deafening.
+
+A correspondent of the "Chicago Times," who was with the fleet at the
+time of the bombardment, thus describes the manner of using these
+immense cannon: "The operation of firing the mortars, which was
+conducted when we were near by, is rather stunning. The charge is from
+fifteen to twenty-two pounds. The shell weighs two hundred and thirty
+pounds. For a familiar illustration, it is about the size of a large
+soup-plate. So your readers may imagine, when they sit down to dinner,
+the emotions they would experience if they happened to see a ball of
+iron of those dimensions coming toward them at the rate of a thousand
+miles a minute. The boat is moored alongside the shore, so as to
+withstand the shock firmly, and the men go ashore when the mortar is
+fired. A pull of the string does the work, and the whole vicinity is
+shaken with the concussion. The report is deafening, and the most
+enthusiastic person gets enough of it with two or three discharges.
+There is no sound from the shell at this point of observation, and no
+indication to mark the course it is taking; but in a few seconds the
+attentive observer with a good glass will see the cloud of smoke that
+follows its explosion, and then the report comes back with a dull
+boom. If it has done execution, the enemy may be seen carrying off
+their killed and wounded."
+
+And so from mortar-boats and gunboats, the iron hail was poured upon
+the little island, but without effect. When Foote with his flotilla
+first opened fire, he thought that the Confederate works would be
+swept away in a day or two. His ordnance was the heaviest ever seen on
+the Mississippi, and in number his guns were enough to have battered
+down a mountain. But his days grew to weeks, and still the flag of the
+Confederacy floated above Island No. 10. The men on the mortar-boats
+were giving way under the tremendous shocks of the explosions. Many
+were rendered deaf for days at a time. The jar of the explosions
+brought to the surface of the river hundreds of old logs and roots
+that had lain rotting in the soft ooze of the bottom. When all the
+mortars were engaged, the surface of the river was covered with foam
+and bubbles; and men by the thousand went about with their ears
+stuffed with tow, to protect them against the sound. Yet, after weeks
+of such firing, Gen. Beauregard telegraphed to Richmond, that the
+Yankees had "thrown three thousand shells, and burned fifty tons of
+gunpowder," without injuring his batteries in the least.
+
+The Confederates remained passive in their trenches. They had no guns
+that would carry far enough to reply to Foote's mortars, and they did
+not wish to waste powder. It was galling to stand fire without
+replying; but, fortunately for them, the fire was not very deadly, and
+but few were injured. When, however, a shell did fall within the
+works, it made work enough to repair damages, as by its explosion a
+hole as large as a small house would be torn in the ground. But for
+every one that fell within the batteries, twenty fell outside. Some
+strange freaks are recorded of the shells. One fell on a cannon,
+around which eight or ten men were lying. The gun-carriage was blown
+to pieces, but not a man was hurt. Another fell full on the head of a
+man who was walking about distributing rations, and not so much as a
+button from his uniform was ever found.
+
+But while the navy was thus playing at bowls with great guns, the army
+had marched through the interior, captured New Madrid, and obtained a
+foothold below Island No. 10. Thus the Confederates were surrounded;
+and the very impassability of the land, that had been an advantage to
+them, now told against them, for it cut off all hope of
+re-enforcements. Gen. Pope's position was such that he could not get
+at the island, nor secure a commanding position, without aid from the
+navy. He begged Foote to try to run the batteries; but the commodore
+replied, that the risk was greater than the prospective gain, and
+continued his cannonade. Then a new idea was broached. By cutting a
+canal through the bayous, swamps, and woods of the peninsula, the
+lighter vessels could be taken by the fort without risk, and Foote
+would then dare the dangers of a dash by in the gunboats. Every one
+said that such a canal was impossible; but the men of the North were
+given to doing impossible things in those days, and while Foote's
+mortar-boats continued their thunder, fifteen hundred men were set to
+work cutting a way through the noisome swamps. A channel forty feet
+wide must be made. First gangs of men with axes and saws, working in
+three feet of water, went ahead, cutting down the rank vegetation. As
+fast as a little space was cleared, a small steamer went in, and with
+dredge and steam-capstan hauled out the obstructions. In some places
+the surveyed channel was so filled with drift-wood, fallen trees, and
+tangled roots, that the labor of a thousand men for a day seemed to
+make no impression. When the canal was pretty well blocked out, the
+levee was cut; and the rush of the waters from the great river
+undermined trees, and piled up new obstacles for the steamers to tow
+away. Amid the foulest vapors the men worked, and more than a thousand
+were sent to the hospital with chills and fever, and rheumatism. The
+most venomous snakes lurked in the dark recesses of the swamp; on
+cypress-stumps or floating logs the deadly water-moccason lay
+stretched out, ready to bite without warning. Wherever there was a bit
+of dry ground, the workers were sure to hear the rattle of the
+rattlesnake. Sometimes whole nests of these reptiles would be
+uncovered.
+
+The work was continued day and night. When the failing daylight ceased
+to make its way through the thickly intwined branches of trees and
+climbing vines, great torches would be lighted, and by their fitful
+glare the soldiers and sailors worked on in the water and mud. The
+light glared from the furnaces of the steamers, lighting up the
+half-naked forms of the stokers. Now and then some dry vine or tree
+would catch a spark from a torch, and in an instant would be
+transformed into a pillar of fire. After eight days of work the canal
+was finished, and was found to be of sufficient depth for the passage
+of the transports. And now Commodore Foote saw that the time had come
+when he must attempt to run his gunboats past the forts, be the danger
+what it might.
+
+On April 1, Foote ordered a reconnoissance of the batteries, and this
+order evoked one of the most daring deeds in the history of the war.
+The night was pitchy dark, and heavy clouds were driven across the sky
+by a strong, damp wind, that told of a coming storm. In five boats a
+party of fifty sailors and fifty soldiers put off from the fleet,
+prepared to go down and beard the Confederate lion in his den. Hardly
+had they started on their perilous expedition, when the rain began
+falling in sheets, and now and again flashes of lightning made the
+dark shores visible for an instant, then the black night hid every
+thing again from view. It was midnight, and the fierceness of the wind
+added to the terror of the moment. On the banks, the great
+forest-trees were bending and groaning before the blast, while the
+broad surface of the river was lashed into foaming billows. Under
+cover of the darkness the little band passed rapidly down the river;
+past the shore-batteries and past the Confederate picket-boats, they
+sped unseen. When they were within a few feet of the shore, a flash of
+lightning revealed them for just an instant to the sentries. Then all
+was black, save for the quick flashes of the sentries' guns as they
+gave the alarm and fell back. The Federals landed rapidly, and drove
+the confused Confederates from the battery. Then began the work of
+spiking the guns. Every fifth man carried a number of rat-tail files,
+which were to be driven into the vents of the cannon, and then broken
+off. While the raiders were engaged in this work, the Confederates
+rallied, and soon drove back the blue-jackets to their boats, with a
+slight loss in killed and captured. How many guns they had disabled,
+it is hard to say. In the excitement and glory of successful
+adventure, the reports were much exaggerated. Histories of that date
+depict the men as calmly spiking _every_ gun, and then retiring
+deliberately. One writer claims that only one gun was spiked. However,
+testimony from Confederates on duty in the batteries goes to show that
+four guns were totally disabled. But the true value of the adventure
+to the Union forces was the dash and valor it disclosed, and the
+encouragement the people received from its success.
+
+The next day after this successful exploit, a gunboat, the
+"Carondelet," was made ready to try the dash past the batteries of
+Island No. 10. Again the weather was favorable to the plans of the
+Federals, for the night was as dark and wild as the one before. The
+day had been clear, and the night opened with so bright a moon that
+for a time it was thought that the project would have to be abandoned;
+but toward ten o'clock a heavy thunder-storm came up, and soon the
+black sky, the wildly waving tree-tops, and the sheets of rain
+scudding across the river, gave promise of a suitable night.
+
+All day the sailors on the "Carondelet" had been working busily,
+getting their vessel in trim for the trip. Heavy planks were laid
+along the deck, to ward off plunging shot. Chain cables were coiled
+about all weak points, cord-wood was piled around the boilers, and the
+pilot-house was wrapped round and about with heavy hawsers. On the
+side toward the battery was tied a large barge, piled high with
+cotton-bales. When the time for starting drew nigh, all lights were
+extinguished. The guns were run in, and the ports closed. The sailors,
+heavily armed, were sent to their stations. Muskets, revolvers, and
+sabres were in the racks. Down in the boiler-room the stokers were
+throwing coal upon the roaring fires; and in the engine-room the
+engineer stood with his hand on the throttle, waiting for the signal
+to get under way.
+
+Towards eleven o'clock the time seemed propitious for starting. The
+storm was at its height, and the roll of the thunder would drown the
+beat of the steamer's paddles. The word was given; and the
+"Carondelet," with her two protecting barges, passed out of sight of
+the flotilla, and down towards the cannon of the enemy. For the first
+half-mile all went well. The vessel sped along silently and unseen.
+The men on the gun-deck, unable to see about, sat breathlessly,
+expecting that at any moment a cannon-ball might come crashing through
+the side into their midst. Suddenly from the towering smoke-stacks,
+burst out sheets of flame five feet high, caused by the burning soot
+inside, and lighting up the river all about. Quickly extinguished,
+they quickly broke out again; and now from the camp of the alarmed
+enemy came the roll of the drum, and the ringing notes of the bugle
+sounding the alarm. A gunboat was bearing down on the works, and the
+Confederates sprang to their guns with a will. The men on the
+"Carondelet" knew what to expect, and soon it came. Five signal
+rockets rushed up into the sky, and in an instant thereafter came the
+roar of a great gun from one of the batteries. Then all joined in, and
+the din became terrible. With volley after volley the Confederates
+hurled cannon-balls, shells, musket, and even pistol-bullets at the
+flying ship, that could only be seen an instant at a time by the
+fitful flashes of the lightning. On the "Carondelet" all was still as
+death. The men knew the deadly peril they were in, and realized how
+impossible it was for them to make any fight. In the black night,
+threading the crooked and ever-changing channel of the Mississippi
+River, it was impossible to go more than half-speed. In the bow men
+were stationed casting the lead, and calling out the soundings to the
+brave old Capt. Hoel, who stood on the upper deck unprotected from the
+storm of bullets, and repeated the soundings to Capt. Walker. So
+through the darkness, through the storm of shot and shell, the
+"Carondelet" kept on her way. Past the land-batteries, past the rows
+of cannon on the island, and past the formidable floating battery, she
+swept uninjured. Heavy and continuous as was the fire of the
+Confederates, it was mainly without aim. The hay-barge was hit three
+times, but not a scar was on the gunboat when she stopped before the
+water-front of New Madrid after twenty minutes' run through that
+dreadful fire.
+
+And now the roar of the great guns had died away, and the men on the
+vessels of the flotilla up the river were all anxiety to know what had
+been the fate of their gallant comrades on the "Carondelet." All the
+time the battle raged, the decks of the ships at anchor were crowded
+with sailors looking eagerly down the river, and trying to make out by
+the blinding flashes of the cannon the dark form of a gunboat speeding
+by the hostile camp. Now all is silent; the roar of battle is over,
+the flash of gunpowder no more lights up the night. But what has
+become of the gallant men who braved that tempest of steel and iron?
+Are they floating down the troubled waters beneath the wreck of their
+vessel? It was a moment of suspense. After a few minutes' silence,
+there comes through the strangely quiet air the deep boom of a heavy
+gun. It had been agreed, that, if the "Carondelet" made the passage of
+the batteries safely, she should fire six heavy guns. The old tars on
+the decks say softly to themselves, "One." Then comes another, and a
+third, and still more, until suddenly a ringing cheer goes up from the
+flotilla, louder than the thunder itself. Men dance for joy; grizzled
+tars fall into each other's arms, sing, shout, cry. An answering
+salute goes booming back, rockets scud up into the clouds; and
+Commodore Foote, with a heart too full for talking, goes down into his
+cabin to be alone.
+
+That night's work by the "Carondelet" terminated Confederate domain on
+Island No. 10. The next night another gunboat came down, and the two
+set to work carrying the troops across the river, protecting
+artillerymen engaged in erecting batteries, and generally completing
+the investment of the island. In two days every loop-hole of escape
+for the Confederates is closed,--gunboats above and below them,
+batteries peering down from every bluff, and regiments of infantry,
+all prepared to move upon the works. They made one or two ineffectual
+but plucky attempts to ward off capture. One private soldier swam
+ashore, skulked past the Union pickets, and made his way to one of the
+Union mortar-boats. He succeeded in getting to the mortar, and
+successfully spiked it, thus terminating its usefulness. A second
+Confederate succeeded in reaching the deck of the mortar-boat, but
+while making his way across the deck tripped and fell. The rat-tail
+file he was carrying was driven into his side, making a wound from
+which he died in two hours. A third man, reckless of life, set out in
+a canoe to blow up a gunboat. He carried with him a fifty-pound keg of
+gunpowder, which he proposed to strap on the rudder-post of the
+vessel. He succeeded in getting under the stern of the vessel; but the
+gleam of his lighted match alarmed the sentry, who fired, hitting him
+in the shoulder. The Confederate went overboard, and managed to get
+ashore; while his keg of powder, with the fuse lighted, went drifting
+down stream. Soon it exploded, throwing up an immense column of water,
+and showing that it would have sent the stoutest vessel to the bottom
+had it been properly placed.
+
+But such struggles as these could not long avert the impending
+disaster. The Confederates were hemmed in on every side. It was true
+that they had a strong position, and could make a desperate
+resistance; but they were separated from their friends, and their
+final downfall was but a question of time. Appreciating this fact,
+they surrendered two days after the "Carondelet" had passed the
+batteries; and Foote made his second step (this time one of sixty
+miles) toward the conquest of the Mississippi.
+
+To-day nothing remains of the once extensive island, save a small
+sand-bank in the middle of the great river. The rushing current of the
+Father of Waters has done its work, and Island No. 10 is now a mere
+tradition.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+     FAMOUS CONFEDERATE PRIVATEERS. -- THE "ALABAMA," THE
+     "SHENANDOAH," THE "NASHVILLE."
+
+
+Let us now desert, for a time, the progress of the Union forces down
+the Mississippi River, and turn our attention toward the true home of
+the sailors,--the blue waters of the ocean. We have heard much, from
+many sources, of the exploits of the Confederate commerce-destroyers,
+privateers, or, as the Union authorities and the historians of the war
+period loved to call them, the "Rebel pirates." In the course of this
+narrative we have already dealt with the career of the "Sumter," one
+of the earliest of these vessels. A glance at the career of the most
+famous of all the Confederate cruisers, the "Alabama," will be
+interesting.
+
+This vessel was built in England, ostensibly as a merchant-vessel,
+although her heavy decks and sides, and her small hatchways, might
+have warned the English officials that she was intended for purposes
+of war. Before she was finished, however, the customs-house people
+began to suspect her character; and goaded on by the frequent
+complaints of the United States minister, that a war-vessel was being
+built for the Confederates, they determined to seize her. But
+customs-house officials do things slowly; and, while they were getting
+ready for the seizure, Capt. Semmes, who had taken command of the new
+ship, duped them, and got his vessel safely out of English waters.
+Private detectives and long-shore customs officers had been visiting
+the ship daily on visits of examination; but, by the aid of champagne
+and jolly good-fellowship, their inexperienced eyes were easily
+blinded to the manifest preparations for a warlike cruise. But finally
+came a retired naval officer who was not to be humbugged. A sailor on
+board thus tells the story of his visit: "He was evidently a naval
+officer, alert and resolute, and soon silenced the officer's
+explanations. He looked at the hatchways, shot-racks, and magazines;
+and, surveying the hammock-hooks on the berth-deck, said, 'You'll have
+a large crew for a merchant-steamer.' We had taken on board some heavy
+oak plank, that lay on the main deck; the officer remarked that they
+were for anchor-stocks, and was shortly answered, 'Wouldn't make bad
+gun-platforms, sir,' which, indeed, was just what they were intended
+for. With a 'Good-morning, sir,' our visitor mounted the side and was
+gone." This visit alarmed the Confederates; and immediate preparations
+were made to run the ship, which still went by the name of the "No.
+290," out of the British waters the next day. To disarm suspicion, a
+large party of ladies and gentlemen were invited aboard; and the ship
+started down the Mersey, ostensibly on her trial trip, with the sounds
+of music and popping corks ringing from her decks. But peaceful and
+merry as the start seemed, it was the beginning of a voyage that was
+destined to bring ruin to hundreds of American merchants, and leave
+many a good United States vessel a smoking ruin on the breast of the
+ocean. When she was a short distance down the river, two tugs were
+seen putting off from the shore; and in a moment the astonished guests
+were requested to leave the ship, and betake themselves homeward in
+the tugs. It is unnecessary to follow the voyage of the "No. 290" to
+Nassau, and detail the way in which cannon, ammunition, and naval
+stores were sent out from Portsmouth in a second vessel, and
+transferred to her just outside of Nassau. It is enough to say that on
+a bright, clear Sunday morning, in the latter part of August, 1862,
+Capt. Rafael Semmes, late of the Confederate cruiser "Sumter," a
+gentleman of middle height, wearing a uniform of gray and gold, his
+dark mustache waxed to such sharp points that one would think him a
+Frenchman rather than a Southerner, stood on the quarter-deck of the
+"No. 290," with his crew mustered before him, reading out his
+commission from Jefferson Davis, as commander of the Confederate
+States' steam-sloop "Alabama." As he read, an old master's-mate,
+standing at the peak-halyards, begins pulling at the ropes. The
+British ensign, carried through the ship's anonymous days, comes
+fluttering down, and in its place runs up the white naval ensign of
+the Confederacy, with the starry Southern cross in the red field of
+the corner. Then the reading is ended. Boom! goes the starboard
+forecastle-gun. The band bursts forth with the stirring notes of
+Dixie; and the sailors, after three ringing cheers, crowd forward to
+wait for further developments. Soon the sailors are summoned aft
+again, and Capt. Semmes addresses them. He tells them that, as the
+"Alabama" is to be a ship-of-war, they are released from their
+shipping contracts, but are invited to ship under the new plan. He
+briefly details the purpose of the cruise. The "Alabama" is to be a
+bird of passage, flitting from port to port, and hovering about the
+highways of travel, to lie in wait for the merchant-vessels of the
+North. Armed vessels she will avoid as much as possible, confining her
+warfare to the helpless merchantmen. It is hardly a glorious
+programme, but it seems to bear the promise of prize-money; and before
+the day is over Capt. Semmes has shipped a crew of eighty men, and
+with these the "Alabama" begins her cruise. The remainder of the
+sailors are sent ashore, and the "Alabama" starts off under sail, in
+search of her first capture.
+
+Let us look for a moment at this vessel, perhaps the most famous of
+all cruisers. She was a fast screw-steamer, of a little more than a
+thousand tons' burden. Her screw was so arranged that it could be
+hoisted out of the water; and, as the saving of coal was a matter of
+necessity, the "Alabama" did most of her cruising under sail. Her hull
+was of wood, with no iron plating, and her battery consisted of but
+eight light guns: two facts which made it necessary that she should
+avoid any conflicts with the powerful ships of the United States navy.
+Her lines were beautifully fine; and, as she sped swiftly through the
+water, Capt. Semmes felt that his vessel could escape the Northern
+cruisers as easily as she could overhaul the lumbering merchantmen.
+The crew was a turbulent one, picked up in the streets of Liverpool,
+and made up of men of all nationalities. Terrific rows would arise in
+the forecastle, and differences between the sailors were often settled
+by square stand-up fights. The petty officers seldom interfered; one
+old boatswain remarking, when he heard the noise of blows in the
+forecastle, "Blast them, let 'em slug one another's heads off; it will
+keep 'em out of mischief." And it generally did, for the combatants
+were usually fast friends the next day.
+
+As soon as the new ship was cleaned up, and put in order, drill began.
+The men were all green; and hard, steady work at the guns, and with
+the cutlasses, was necessary to fit them for service. The decks
+resounded with "right," "left," "head protect," "right overcut." The
+men were slow in learning; but the officers were Southerners, devoted
+to their cause, and were tireless in getting the crew into shape.
+
+After several days of cruising and drill, a vessel was sighted which
+was unmistakably American. One of the sailors tells the story of her
+capture graphically. "On the morning of the 5th of September the cry
+of 'ship ahoy!' from the masthead brought all hands on deck. Sure
+enough, about two miles to the leeward of us was a fine barque, at
+once pronounced a 'spouter' (whaler), and an American. In order to
+save coal,--of which very essential article we had about three hundred
+tons aboard,--we never used our screw unless absolutely necessary. We
+were on the starboard tack, and with the fresh breeze soon came
+alongside. We had the American flag set, and the chase showed the
+stars and stripes. A gun was fired; and, as we came within hail, we
+gave the order, 'Back your mainsail; I'll send a boat on board of
+you.'
+
+"'Cutter away,' and the boat came down from the davits, and we pulled
+for our first prize. It soon became a vain thing, and tiresome; but
+this our first essay was a novelty, and we made the stretches buckle
+with our impatience to get aboard. The bowman hooked on to the chains,
+and we went up the side like cats. When we got aft, the captain asked
+in a dazed sort of manner, 'Why--why--what does this mean?' The
+master, Fullam, replied, 'You are prize to the Confederate steamer
+"Alabama," Capt. Semmes commanding. I'll trouble you for your papers.'
+Now, this man had been four years out, and had no doubt heard of the
+trouble at home; but he couldn't realize this, and he stared, and
+said, 'Confederate government--Alabama--why, that's a State,' and then
+was sternly told to get his papers. We were ordered to put the crew in
+irons, and they, too, seemed utterly dumbfounded; and one poor fellow
+said to me, 'Must I lose all my clothes?' I answered, 'Yes,' but
+advised him to put on all he could, and if he had any money to slip it
+in his boot. 'Money! I h'aint seen a dollar for three years; but I'm
+obliged to ye all the same.'"
+
+Then, after searching the vessel for valuables, the captives were
+taken back to the "Alabama," while one boat's-crew remained behind to
+fire the vessel.
+
+"She was loaded with oil," writes sailor Haywood; "and, when it
+caught, a high column of dense black smoke poured out of the
+hatchways, and spread in vast involutions to the leeward. Soon the red
+forked flames began to climb her masts, and her spars glowed with
+light; with a crash her mainmast fell, carrying the foremast with it,
+and sending a shower of sparks high in the air; her stout sides seemed
+to burst open; and what was a stately ship was now a blackened hulk,
+the rising sea breaking in white-caps over it, and at last, with a
+surge and wallow, sinking out of sight." Alone, by one of the
+lee-ports, the ruined American captain stood, looking sadly upon the
+end of all his long four years' labor. For this he had borne the icy
+hardships of the Arctic seas. The long, dreary four years of
+separation from wife and home had been lightened by the thought, that
+by a prosperous voyage he might bring home enough money to stay always
+in the little shingled cottage in the narrow street of some New
+England fishing-village; but now all that was over. When he should
+arrive home he would be penniless, with nothing but the clothes on his
+back, and all because of a war of the very existence of which he knew
+nothing. It was hard to bear, but war brings nothing but affliction.
+
+After this capture, the "Alabama" had a lively season for several
+weeks, capturing often two or three vessels a day. Generally they met
+with no resistance; but occasionally the blood of some old sea-dog
+would boil, and he would do the best in his power to injure his
+captors. A story of one such incident was thus told by one of the
+"Alabama's" crew:--
+
+[Illustration: Looting a Prize.]
+
+"When we ran around in search of whalers, we came upon a Yankee
+skipper who didn't know what surrender meant. We were just well to the
+west of the stormy cape, when one morning after breakfast we raised a
+whaler. He was headed up the coast, and about noon we overhauled him.
+He paid no attention to the first shot, and it was only when the
+second one hulled him that he came into the wind. It was then seen
+that he had fifteen or sixteen men aboard, and that all were armed
+with muskets, and meant to defend the ship. The lieutenant was sent
+off with his boat; but no sooner was he within fair musket-range, than
+the whaler opened on him, killing one man, and wounding two, at the
+first volley. The officer pushed ahead, and demanded a surrender;
+but he got another volley, and the reply that the whaler 'would go to
+the bottom before he would surrender to a Rebel!'
+
+"The boat was recalled, and our gunners were instructed to hull the
+whaler with solid shot. We approached him within rifle-range, and
+opened fire. Every one of the balls plumped through his side at and
+above the water-line, and he answered with his muskets, severely
+wounding two men. He was repeatedly hailed to surrender, but in reply
+he encouraged his men to maintain their fire. We soon had the sea
+pouring into his starboard side through a dozen holes; and when it was
+seen that he would soon go down, we ceased firing, and again demanded
+his surrender. I can remember just how he looked as he sprang upon the
+rail,--tall, gaunt, hair flying, and eyes blazing,--and shouted in
+reply,--
+
+"'The 'Ben Scott' don't surrender! Come and take us--if you can.'
+
+"Five minutes later his craft settled down, bow first. We lowered the
+boats to save his crew, and, strangely enough, not a man was lost.
+When we brought them aboard, the Yankee skipper walked up to Semmes,
+bareheaded, barefooted, and coatless, and said,--
+
+"'If I'd only have had one old cannon aboard, we'd have licked ye out
+of yer butes! Here we are, and what are ye going to do with us?'
+
+"He was voted a jolly good fellow, and the crew were better treated
+than any other ever forced aboard. In order to give them their
+liberty, the very next capture we made was bonded, and they were put
+aboard to sail for home."
+
+But now the decks of the "Alabama" were getting rather uncomfortably
+crowded with prisoners, and it became necessary to put into some port
+where they could be landed. Accordingly the ship was headed for
+Martinique, and soon lay anchored in the harbor of that place, where
+she began coaling. While she lay there, a Yankee schooner put into the
+port, and was about to drop anchor near the dangerous cruiser, when
+some one gave the skipper a hint; and, with a startled "b'gosh," he
+got his sails up, and scudded out to sea. The "Alabama" lay in port
+some days. The first set of the sailors who received permission to go
+ashore proceeded to get drunk, and raised so great a disturbance, that
+thereafter they were obliged to look on the tropical prospect from the
+deck of the vessel. The next day a United States war-vessel was seen
+standing into the harbor, and Capt. Semmes immediately began to make
+preparations to fight her. But as she came nearer she proved to be
+the "San Jacinto," a vessel mounting fourteen heavy guns, and
+altogether too powerful for the "Alabama." So thinking discretion the
+better part of valor, the Confederate ship remained safe in the
+neutral harbor. The "San Jacinto" quietly remained outside, thinking
+that at last the fox was caught. But that same night, with all lights
+extinguished, and running under full steam, the "Alabama" slipped
+right under the broadside of her enemy, getting clean away, so quietly
+that the "San Jacinto" remained for four days guarding the empty trap,
+while the "Alabama" was off again on another voyage of destruction,
+and the tuneful souls in the forecastle were roaring out the chorus,--
+
+  "Oh, our jolly privateer
+    Has left old England's shore!
+  Lord, send us lots of prizes,
+    But no Yankee man-of-war."
+
+Soon after leaving Martinique, the "Alabama" made a capture which
+embarrassed the captain not a little by its size. It was Sunday (which
+Capt. Semmes calls in his journal "the 'Alabama's' lucky day"), when a
+bit of smoke was seen far off on the horizon, foretelling the approach
+of a steamer. Now was the time for a big haul; and the "Alabama's"
+canvas was furled, and her steam-gear put in running order. The two
+vessels approached each other rapidly; and soon the stranger came near
+enough for those on the "Alabama" to make out her huge walking-beam,
+see-sawing up and down amidships. The bright colors of ladies' dresses
+were visible; and some stacks of muskets, and groups of blue-uniformed
+men, forward, told of the presence of troops. The "Alabama" came up
+swiftly, her men at the guns, and the United States flag flying from
+the peak,--a rather dishonorable ruse habitually practised by Capt.
+Semmes. In a moment the stranger showed the stars and stripes, and
+then the "Alabama" ran up the white ensign of the Confederacy, and
+fired a blank cartridge. But the stranger had no thought of
+surrendering, and crowded on all steam and fled. The "Alabama" was no
+match for her in speed, so a more peremptory summons was sent in the
+shape of a shell that cut the steamer's foremast in two. This hint was
+sufficient. The huge paddles ceased revolving, and a boat's-crew from
+the "Alabama" went aboard to take possession. The prize proved to be
+the mail steamer "Ariel," with five hundred passengers, besides a
+hundred and forty marines and a number of army and navy officers. Now
+Capt. Semmes had an elephant on his hands, and what to do with that
+immense number of people he could not imagine. Clearly the steamer
+could not be burned like other captures. For two days Capt. Semmes
+kept the prize near him, debating what was to be done, and then
+released her; exacting from all the military and naval officers their
+paroles that they would not take up arms against the Confederacy.
+
+After this exploit the "Alabama" went into port for a few days, and
+then headed into the Gulf of Mexico. Here she steamed about, capturing
+and burning a few United States merchantmen, until on the 11th of
+January she found herself off the port of Galveston, where a strong
+blockading fleet was stationed. And here she fought her first battle.
+
+About four o'clock of a clear afternoon, the lookout in the cross
+trees of the United States sloop-of-war "Hatteras," stationed off the
+port of Galveston, hailed the officer of the deck, and reported a
+steamer standing up and down outside. The stranger was watched closely
+through marine glasses, and finally decided to be a blockade-runner
+trying to make the port; and the "Hatteras" immediately set out in
+pursuit. This was just what Capt. Semmes desired. He knew that the
+ships stationed off Galveston were not heavily armed, and he felt sure
+that if he could entice one away from the rest of the fleet he would
+be able to send her to the bottom. Accordingly he steamed away slowly,
+letting the "Hatteras" gain on him, but at the same time drawing her
+out of the reach of any aid from her consorts. When about twenty miles
+away from the fleet, the "Alabama" slowed down and finally stopped
+altogether, waiting for the "Hatteras" to come up. The latter vessel
+came within two hundred yards, and hailed, "What ship's that?"--"Her
+Majesty's ship 'Petrel,'" answered Semmes, pursuing the course of
+deception that brings so much discredit on his otherwise dashing
+career. The captain of the "Hatteras" answered that he would send a
+boat aboard; but, before the boat touched the water, a second hail
+announced, "We are the Confederate ship 'Alabama,'" and in an instant
+a heavy broadside crashed into the "Hatteras." Every one of the shots
+took effect; and one big fellow from the one hundred and five pounder
+rifle peeled off six feet of iron plating from the side of the
+"Hatteras," and lodged in the hold. Dazed by this unexpected fire, but
+plucky as ever, the blue-jackets sprang to their guns and returned
+the fire. The two ships were so close together that a good shot with a
+revolver could have picked off his man every time, and the sailors
+hurled taunts at each other between the volleys. Not a shot missed the
+"Hatteras:" in five minutes she was riddled with holes, and on fire,
+and a minute or two later the engineer came up coolly and reported,
+"Engine's disabled, sir;" followed quickly by the carpenter, who
+remarked, "Ship's making water fast; can't float more than ten
+minutes, sir." There was nothing for it but surrender, and the flag
+came down amid frantic yells from the "Alabama" sailors. Semmes got
+out his boats with wonderful rapidity, and picked up all the men on
+the "Hatteras;" and the defeated vessel sank in ten minutes. One of
+the strange things about this battle was the small number of men
+injured. Nothing but shells were fired, and they searched every part
+of the vessels; yet when the fight was over the "Alabama" had but one
+man wounded, while the "Hatteras" had two men killed and three
+wounded. The shells played some strange pranks in their course. One
+ripped up a long furrow in the deck of the "Alabama," and knocked two
+men high in the air without disabling them. Another struck a gun full
+in the mouth, tore off one side of it, and shoved it back ten feet,
+without injuring any of the crew. One man who was knocked overboard by
+the concussion was back again and serving his gun in two minutes. A
+shell exploded in the coal of the "Hatteras," and sent the stuff
+flying all about the vessel, without injuring a man.
+
+With her prisoners stowed away in all available places about her
+decks, the "Alabama" headed for Jamaica, and cast anchor in the harbor
+of Port Royal. There were several English men-of-war there, and the
+officers of the victorious ship were lionized and feasted to their
+hearts' content. The prisoners were landed, the "Alabama's" wounds
+were bound up, and she was made ready for another cruise.
+
+[Illustration: Sinking of the "Alabama."]
+
+After five days in port, she set out again on her wanderings about the
+world. Week after week she patrolled the waters in all parts of the
+globe where ships were likely to be met. Sometimes she would go a
+fortnight without a capture, and then the men in the forecastle would
+grow turbulent and restive under the long idleness. Every bit of
+brass-work was polished hour after hour, and the officers were at
+their wits' end to devise means for "teasing-time." The men made
+sword-knots and chafing-gear enough to last the whole navy, and
+then looked longingly at the captain's mustache, as the only thing
+left in which a "Turk's head" could be tied. Music enlivened the hours
+for a time; but the fiddler was soon voted a bore, and silenced by
+some one pouring a pint of molasses into the _f_-holes of his
+instrument. The enraged musician completed the job by breaking it over
+the head of the joker. After several weeks, they put into Cape Town.
+Here the practical joker of the crew made himself famous by utterly
+routing an inquisitive old lady, who asked, "What do you do with your
+prisoners?" The grizzled old tar dropped his voice to a confidential
+whisper, and, with a look of the utmost frankness, replied, "We biles
+'em, mum. We tried a roast, but there ain't a hounce of meat on one o'
+them Yankee carkages. Yes, mum, we biles 'em." The startled old lady
+gasped out, "Good lordy," and fled from the ship.
+
+Putting out from Cape Town, the "Alabama" continued her weary round of
+cruising. Many vessels were captured, and most of them were burned.
+One Yankee captain proved too much for Semmes, as his story will show.
+His ship was chased by the "Alabama" in heavy weather all day, and
+occasionally fired upon. When the steamer was abeam, "she closed up
+with us," the captain says, "as near as safety would permit, and,
+hailing us, asked where we were bound, and demanded the surrender of
+the ship to the Confederate Government. I answered through my trumpet,
+'Come and take me.' Conversation being too straining for the lungs
+amid the howling of the wind and rolling of the huge billows, and the
+proximity of the vessels too dangerous, we separated a little, and had
+recourse to blackboards to carry on our conversation. Semmes asked
+where we were bound. I answered, without a blush, 'Melbourne,'
+thinking that possibly he might try to intercept me if he knew that I
+was to pass through the Straits of Sunda. Then he had the cheek to
+order me to 'haul down your flag and surrender, escape or no
+escape,'--on a kind of parole, I suppose he meant. I wrote on the
+board: 'First capture, then parole,' This answer vexed him, I am sure,
+for he immediately wrote: 'Surrender, or I will sink you.' I wrote:
+'That would be murder, not battle.'--'Call it what you will, I will do
+it,' he wrote. 'Attempt it, and by the living God, I will run you
+down, and we will sink together,' I wrote in reply. I knew his threat
+was vain; for in that heavy sea, rolling his rails under, he did not
+dare to free his guns, which were already double lashed. They would
+have carried away their tackles, and gone through the bulwarks
+overboard. Conscious that he had made empty threats, we said no more,
+but doggedly kept on our course. Sail was still further reduced on
+both vessels, as the wind kept increasing and was now blowing a gale.
+We were now gradually and surely drawing ahead of the steamer. It was
+growing dark. Rejoicing at my fortunate escape, I gave the valiant
+Semmes a parting shot by hoisting the signal 'Good-by.' Dipping the
+star-spangled banner as a salute, I hauled it down, and the steamer
+was soon lost to sight in the darkness.... I never saw her after our
+escape; but, indirectly, she forced me to sell my ship in China soon
+after."
+
+But we cannot follow the "Alabama" in her career about the world. A
+full account of her captures would fill volumes; and in this narrative
+we must pass hastily by the time that she spent scouring the ocean,
+dodging United States men-of-war, and burning Northern merchantmen,
+until, on the 11th of June, she entered the harbor of Cherbourg,
+France, and had hardly dropped anchor when the United States
+man-of-war "Kearsarge" appeared outside, and calmly settled down to
+wait for the Confederate to come out and fight. Capt. Semmes seemed
+perfectly ready for the conflict, and began getting his ship in shape
+for the battle. The men, too, said that they had had a "plum-pudding
+voyage" of it so far, and they were perfectly ready for a fight. The
+forecastle poet was set to work, and soon ground out a song, of which
+the refrain was,--
+
+  "We're homeward bound, we're homeward bound!
+   And soon shall stand on English ground;
+   But, ere our native land we see,
+   We first must fight the 'Kearsargee.'"
+
+This was the last song made on board the "Alabama," and the poet was
+never more seen after the fight with the "Kearsargee."
+
+[Illustration: Rescue of Capt. Semmes.]
+
+The "Kearsarge" had hardly hove in sight when Capt. Semmes began
+taking in coal, and ordered the yards sent down from aloft, and the
+ship put in trim for action. Outside the breakwater, the "Kearsarge"
+was doing the same thing. In armament, the two vessels were nearly
+equal; the "Alabama" having eight guns to the "Kearsarge's" seven, but
+the guns of the latter vessel were heavier and of greater range. In
+the matter of speed, the "Kearsarge" had a slight advantage. The great
+advantage which the "Kearsarge" had was gained by the forethought of
+her commander, who had chains hung down her sides, protecting the
+boilers and machinery. Semmes might easily have done the same thing
+had the idea occurred to him.
+
+It was on Sunday, June 19, that the "Alabama" started out to the duel
+that was to end in her destruction. Though Sunday was Capt. Semmes's
+lucky day, his luck this time seemed to have deserted him. The
+"Alabama" was accompanied in her outward voyage by a large French
+iron-clad frigate. The broad breakwater was black with people waiting
+to see the fight. The news had spread as far as Paris, and throngs had
+come down by special trains to view the great naval duel. A purple
+haze hung over the placid water, through which could be seen the
+"Kearsarge," with her colors flying defiantly, steaming slowly ahead,
+and ready for the "Alabama" to come up. Small steamers on every side
+followed the "Alabama," as near the scene of conflict as they dared.
+One English yacht, the "Deerhound," with her owner's family aboard,
+hung close to the combatants during the fight. No duel of the age of
+chivalry had a more eager throng of spectators.
+
+Now the "Alabama" has passed the three-mile line, and is on the open
+sea. The big French iron-clad stops; the pilot-boats, with no liking
+for cannon-balls, stop too. The "Deerhound" goes out a mile or so
+farther, and the "Alabama" advances alone to meet the antagonist that
+is waiting quietly for her coming. The moment of conflict is at hand;
+and Capt. Semmes, mustering his men on the deck, addresses them
+briefly, and sends them to their quarters; and now, with guns shotted,
+and lanyards taut, and ready for the pull, the "Alabama" rushes toward
+her enemy. When within a distance of a mile, the first broadside was
+let fly, without avail. The "Kearsarge," more cool and prudent, waits
+yet awhile; and, when the first shot does go whizzing from her big
+Dahlgren guns, it strikes the "Alabama," and makes her quiver all
+over. Clearly it won't do to fight at long range; and Capt. Semmes
+determines to close in on his more powerful antagonist, and even try
+to carry her by boarding, as in the glorious days of Paul Jones. But
+the wary Winslow of the "Kearsarge" will have none of that; and he
+keeps his ship at a good distance, all the time pouring great shot
+into the sides of the "Alabama." Now the two vessels begin circling
+around each other in mighty circles, each trying to get in a raking
+position. The men on the "Alabama" began to find that their gunpowder
+was bad and caky; while at the same moment one of the officers saw two
+big solid shot strike the "Kearsarge" amidships, and fall back into
+the water, revealing the heretofore unsuspected armor. This was
+discouraging. Then came a big shot that knocked over the pivot-gun,
+and killed half its crew. One sailor saw a shot come in a port, glide
+along the gun, and strike the man at the breach full in the breast,
+killing him instantly.
+
+The "Kearsarge," too, was receiving some pretty heavy blows, but her
+iron armor protected her vulnerable parts. One shell lodged in her
+sternpost, but failed to explode. Had it burst, the "Kearsarge's"
+fighting would have been over.
+
+After an hour the officers of the "Alabama" began coming to Capt.
+Semmes with grave faces, and reporting serious accidents. At last the
+first lieutenant reported the ship sinking, and the order was given to
+strike the flag. She was sinking rapidly, and the time had come for
+every man to save himself. The "Kearsarge" was shamefully slow in
+getting out her boats; and finally when the "Alabama," throwing her
+bow high in the air, went down with a rush, she carried most of her
+wounded with her, and left the living struggling in the water. Capt.
+Semmes was picked up by a boat from the yacht "Deerhound," and was
+carried in that craft to England away from capture. For so escaping,
+he has been harshly criticised by many people; but there seems to be
+no valid reason why he should refuse the opportunity so offered him.
+Certain it is, that, had he not reached the "Deerhound," he would have
+been drowned; for none of the boats of the "Kearsarge" were near him
+when he was struggling in the water.
+
+So ended the career of the "Alabama." Her life had been a short one,
+and her career not the most glorious imaginable; but she had fulfilled
+the purpose for which she was intended. She had captured sixty-four
+merchant-vessels, kept a large number of men-of-war busy in chasing
+her from one end of the world to the other, and inflicted on American
+commerce an almost irreparable injury.
+
+Although the "Alabama" was by all means the most noted and the most
+successful of all the Confederate cruisers, there were others that
+entered upon the career of privateering, and followed it for a while
+with varying degrees of success. Some were captured revenue-cutters,
+which the Confederates armed with a single heavy gun, and turned loose
+on the ocean in search of Yankee schooners. Others were merely tugs
+or pilot-boats. Generally their careers were short. In one instance a
+fine privateer, from which the Confederates expected great things,
+attempted to capture a United States man-of-war, under the delusion
+that it was a merchant-vessel. The captain of the man-of-war saw the
+mistake under which the Confederate labored, and allowed the privateer
+to come up within short range, when, with a sudden broadside, he sent
+her to the bottom, abruptly terminating her career as a commerce
+destroyer. Some quite formidable iron-clad cruisers were built abroad;
+but in most cases all the diplomacy of the Confederate agents proved
+unavailing to prevent the confiscation of the ships by the neutral
+governments in whose territory they were built. Two iron-clad rams
+built at Liverpool, ostensibly for private parties, but really for the
+Confederate Government, were seized by the British authorities. Six
+splendid vessels were built in France, but only one succeeded in
+getting away to join the Confederate service. This one was a ram with
+armored sides, and was named the "Stonewall." The war was nearly over
+when she was put in commission, and her services for the Confederacy
+amounted to nothing. She made one short cruise, during which she fell
+in with two United States men-of-war, that avoided a fight with her on
+account of her superior strength. At the end of her cruise the war was
+over, and she was sold to the Mikado of Japan, whose flag she now
+carries.
+
+[Illustration: The End of a Privateer.]
+
+The "Nashville" was an old side-wheel passenger-steamer, of which the
+Confederates had made a privateer. Her career was a short one. She
+made one trip to England as a blockade-runner, and on her return
+voyage she burned three or four United States merchantmen. She then
+put into the Great Ogeechee River, where she was blockaded by three
+Union men-of-war. The Confederates protected her by filling the river
+with torpedoes, and anchoring the ship at a point where the guns of a
+strong fort could beat back all assailants. Here she lay for several
+weeks, while the men on the blockaders were fuming at the thought that
+they were to be kept idle, like cats watching a rat-hole. At last
+Capt. Worden, who was there with his redoubtable monitor "Montauk,"
+determined to destroy the privateer, despite the torpedoes and the big
+guns of the fort. He accordingly began a movement up the river,
+picking his way slowly through the obstructions. The fort began a
+lively cannonade; but Worden soon found that he had nothing to fear
+from that quarter, as the guns were not heavy enough to injure the
+iron sides of the little monitor. But, as he went up the river, the
+"Nashville" took the alarm and fled before him; and it seemed that the
+most the Union fleet could do would be to keep her from coming down
+again, for with her light draught she could keep well out of range of
+the monitor's guns. But one morning Worden perceived a strange
+commotion on the "Nashville;" and, looking carefully through his
+glass, he saw that she was aground. Now was his time; and at once he
+pushed forward to a point twelve hundred yards from her, and directly
+under the guns of Fort MacAllister. From this point he began a
+deliberate fire upon the doomed privateer. The great guns of the fort
+were roaring away, and their shells came crashing against the sides of
+the "Montauk;" but to this Worden paid no heed. It was splendid long
+distance practice for his gunners; and, when they got the range, not a
+shot missed the stranded Confederate vessel. From his pilot-house
+Worden could see the crew of the "Nashville" escaping in boats,
+leaping into the water over the sides,--doing anything to escape from
+that terribly destructive fire. All the time the great fifteen-inch
+shells were dropping into the vessel with fearful precision. By and by
+a heavy fog fell upon the scene; but the gunners on the "Montauk" knew
+where their enemy was, and kept up their steady fire, though they
+could see nothing. When the fog lifted, they saw the "Nashville" a
+mass of flames; and in a moment she blew up, covering the placid
+surface of the river with blackened fragments. Then the "Montauk"
+returned to her consorts, well satisfied with her day's work.
+
+[Illustration: The "Nashville" burning a Prize.]
+
+The last of the Confederate privateers to ravage the ocean was the
+"Shenandoah," originally an English merchant-vessel engaged in the
+East India trade. She was large, fast, and strongly built; and the
+astute agent of the Confederacy knew, when he saw her lying in a
+Liverpool dock, that she was just calculated for a privateer. She was
+purchased by private parties, and set sail, carrying a large stock of
+coal and provisions, but no arms. By a strange coincidence, a second
+vessel left Liverpool the same day, carrying several mysterious
+gentlemen, who afterwards proved to be Confederate naval officers. The
+cargo of this second vessel consisted almost entirely of remarkably
+heavy cases marked "machinery." The two vessels, once out of English
+waters, showed great fondness for each other, and proceeded together
+to a deserted, barren island near Madeira. Here they anchored side by
+side; and the mysterious gentlemen, now resplendent in the gray and
+gold uniform of the Confederacy, stepped aboard the "Shenandoah." Then
+the cases were hoisted out of the hold of the smaller vessel; and,
+when the "machinery" was mounted on the gun-deck of the "Shenandoah,"
+it proved to be a number of very fine steel-rifled cannon. Then the
+crew was mustered on the gun-deck, and informed that they were manning
+the new Confederate ship "Shenandoah;" and with a cheer the flag was
+hoisted at the peak, and the newly created ship-of-war started off in
+search of merchantmen to make bonfires of. From Madeira the cruiser
+made for the Southern Ocean,--a fresh field not yet ravaged by any
+Confederate vessel. This made the hunting all the better for the
+"Shenandoah," and she burned vessels right and left merrily. In the
+spring of 1865, she put into the harbor of Melbourne, Australia, where
+her officers were lavishly entertained by the citizens. Thence she
+proceeded to the northward, spending some time in the Indian Ocean,
+and skirting the Asiatic coast, until she reached Behrings Straits.
+Here she lay in wait for returning whalers, who in that season were
+apt to congregate in Behrings Sea in great numbers, ready for the long
+voyage around Cape Horn to their home ports on the New England coast.
+Capt. Waddell was not disappointed in his expectations, for he reached
+the straits just as the returning whalers were coming out in a body.
+One day he captured eleven in a bunch. With one-third his crew
+standing at the guns ready to fire upon any vessel that should attempt
+to get up sail, Waddell kept the rest of his men rowing from ship to
+ship, taking off the crews. Finally all the prisoners were put aboard
+three of the whalers, and the eight empty ships were set afire. It was
+a grand spectacle. On every side were the towering icebergs, whose
+glassy sides reflected the lurid glare from the burning ships. Great
+black volumes of smoke arose from the blazing oil into the clear blue
+northern sky. The ruined men crowded upon the three whalers saw the
+fruits of their years of labor thus destroyed in an afternoon, and
+heaped curses upon the heads of the men who had thus robbed them. What
+wonder if, in the face of such apparently wanton destruction as this,
+they overlooked the niceties of the law of war, and called their
+captors pirates! Yet for the men of the "Shenandoah" it was no
+pleasant duty to thus cruise about the world, burning and destroying
+private property, and doing warfare only against unarmed people. More
+than one has left on record his complaint of the utter unpleasantness
+of the duty; but all felt that they were aiding the cause for which
+their brothers at home were fighting, and so they went on in their
+work of destruction.
+
+For two months more Waddell continued his depredations in the northern
+seas. Many a stout bark from New London or New Bedford fell a prey to
+his zeal for a cause that was even then lost. For the Confederacy had
+fallen. The last volley of the war had been discharged three months
+before. Of this Capt. Waddell was ignorant, and his warlike operations
+did not end until the captain of a British bark told him of the
+surrender of Lee and Johnston, and the end of the war. To continue his
+depredations longer would be piracy: so Capt. Waddell hauled down his
+Confederate flag, and heading for Liverpool surrendered his ship to
+the British authorities, by whom it was promptly transferred to the
+United States. So ended the last of the Confederate privateers.
+
+[Illustration: "Shenandoah" burning Whalers.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+     WORK OF THE GULF SQUADRON. -- THE FIGHT AT THE PASSES OF THE
+     MISSISSIPPI. -- DESTRUCTION OF THE SCHOONER "JUDAH." -- THE
+     BLOCKADE OF GALVESTON, AND CAPTURE OF THE "HARRIET LANE."
+
+
+The naval forces of the United States during the war may be roughly
+classified as the Atlantic fleets, the river navy, and the Gulf
+squadron. The vessels comprising the latter detachment enjoyed some
+light service during the opening months of the war; but, as the time
+went on, the blue-jackets of the Gulf squadron found that they had no
+reason to congratulate themselves on securing an easy berth. Their
+blockading duty was not so arduous as that of their brothers along the
+rugged Atlantic coast; but they were harassed continually by
+Confederate rams, which would make a dash into the fleet, strike heavy
+blows, and then fly up some convenient river far into the territory of
+the Confederacy. One such attack was made upon the squadron blockading
+the Mississippi in October, 1861.
+
+Some eighty miles below New Orleans, the Mississippi divides into
+three great channels, which flow at wide angles from each other into
+the Gulf of Mexico. These streams flow between low marshy banks hardly
+higher than the muddy surface of the river, covered with thick growths
+of willows, and infested with reptiles and poisonous insects. The
+point from which these three streams diverge is known as the "Head of
+the Passes," and it was here that the blockading squadron of four
+vessels was stationed. The ships swung idly at their moorings for
+weeks. The pestilential vapors from the surrounding marshes were
+rapidly putting all the crews in the sick bay, while the clouds of
+gnats and mosquitoes that hung about made Jack's life a wretched one.
+They did not even have the pleasurable excitement of occasionally
+chasing a blockade-runner, for the wary merchants of New Orleans knew
+that there was absolutely no hope of running a vessel out through a
+river so effectually blockaded. And so the sailors idled away their
+time, smoking, singing, dancing to the music of a doleful fiddle,
+boxing with home-made canvas gloves that left big spots of black and
+blue where they struck, and generally wishing that "Johnny Reb" would
+show himself so that they might have some excitement, even if it did
+cost a few lives.
+
+But while the blue-jackets at the mouth of the river were spending
+their time thus idly, the people in the beleaguered city higher up
+were vastly enraged at being thus cooped up, and were laying plans to
+drive their jailers away. Occasionally they would take a small fleet
+of flat boats, bind them together, and heap them high with tar, pitch,
+and light wood. Then the whole would be towed down the river, set on
+fire, and drifted down upon the fleet. The light of the great fire
+could be seen far off, and the warships would get up steam and dodge
+the roaring mass of flames as it came surging down on the swift
+current. So many trials of this sort failed, that finally the people
+of the Crescent City gave up this plan in disgust.
+
+Their next plan seemed for a time successful. It was at four o'clock
+one October morning that the watch on the sloop-of-war "Richmond"
+suddenly saw a huge dark mass so close to the ship that it seemed
+fairly to have sprung from the water, and sweeping down rapidly. The
+alarm was quickly given, and the crew beat to quarters. Over the water
+from the other ships, now fully alarmed, came the roll of the drums
+beating the men to their guns. The dark object came on swiftly, and
+the word was passed from man to man, "It's a Confederate ram." And
+indeed it was the ram "Manassas," which the Confederates had been hard
+at work building in the New Orleans shipyards, and on which they
+relied to drive the blockading squadron from the river. As she came
+rushing towards the "Richmond," two great lights higher up the river
+told of fire-rafts bearing down upon the fleet, and by the fitful
+glare three smaller gunboats were seen coming to the assistance of the
+"Manassas." Clearly the Confederates were attacking in force.
+
+The first volley from the fleet rattled harmlessly from the iron-clad
+sides of the "Manassas;" and, not heeding it, she swept on and plunged
+into the side of the "Richmond." The great iron prow cut deep into the
+wooden sides of the Union vessel. Heavy oaken timbers were splintered
+like laths, and the men were violently hurled to the deck. As the ram
+drew away, the blue-jackets sprang to their guns and gave her a
+volley. Some of the shots must have penetrated her armor, for she
+became unmanageable. But the darkness prevented the officers of the
+"Richmond" from seeing how much damage they had done, and they did not
+follow up their advantage. The strange panic that the sight of a ram
+so often brought upon sailors of the old school fell on the officers
+of this squadron, and they began hastily getting their ships out of
+the river. By this time four more Confederate steamers had come to the
+aid of the ram, and were cannonading the Northern fleet at long range.
+In their hurried attempt to escape, the "Richmond" and the "Vincennes"
+had run aground. The captain of the latter vessel, fearing capture,
+determined to fire his vessel and escape with his crew to the
+"Richmond." Accordingly he laid a slow-match to the magazine, lighted
+it, and then, wrapping his ship's colors about his waist in the most
+theatrical manner, abandoned his ship. But the plan was not altogether
+a success. As he left the ship, he was followed by a grizzled old
+sailor, who had seen too much fighting to believe in blowing up his
+own ship; and, when he saw the smoking slow-match, he hastily broke
+off the lighted end, and without saying a word threw it into the
+water. No one observed the action, and the crew of the "Vincennes"
+watched mournfully for their good ship to go up in a cloud of smoke
+and flame. After they had watched nearly an hour, they concluded
+something was wrong, and returned to their old quarters. By this time
+the enemy had given up the conflict, and the United States navy was
+one ship ahead for the old sailor's act of insubordination. The
+Confederate flotilla returned to New Orleans, and reported that they
+had driven the blockaders away. There was great rejoicing in the city:
+windows were illuminated, and receptions were tendered to the officers
+of the Confederate fleet. But, while the rejoicing was still going on,
+the Union ships came quietly back to their old position, and the great
+river was as securely closed as ever.
+
+[Illustration: Fort Pensacola.]
+
+About a month before the fight with the "Manassas," the blue-jackets
+of the North scored for themselves a brilliant success in the harbor
+of Pensacola. The frigate "Colorado" was lying outside the harbor of
+that city, within clear view of the city front. For some weeks the
+sailors had been greatly interested in watching the activity of people
+on shore around a small schooner that was lying in a basin near the
+navy-yard. With a harbor so thoroughly blockaded as was that of
+Pensacola, there seemed really no need of new vessels; and the haste
+of the Confederates seemed inexplicable, until they saw through their
+glasses men at work mounting a heavy pivot-gun amidships. That made it
+clear that another privateer was being fitted out to ravage the seas
+and burn all vessels flying the United States flag. The gallant tars
+of the "Colorado" determined to go in and burn the privateer before
+she should have a chance to escape. It was an undertaking of great
+peril. The schooner was near the navy-yard, where one thousand men
+were ready to spring to her assistance at the first alarm. On the dock
+fronting the navy-yard were mounted a ten-inch columbiad and a
+twelve-pounder field-piece, so placed as to command the deck of the
+schooner and the wharf to which she was moored. Fort Pensacola, not
+far distant, was full of Confederate troops. But the Union sailors
+thought that the destruction of the privateer was of enough importance
+to warrant the risk, and they determined to try the adventure.
+
+[Illustration: Destruction of the Schooner "Judah."]
+
+Accordingly, on the first dark night, four boats, containing one
+hundred officers, sailors, and marines, put off from the side of the
+"Colorado," and headed for the town. All was done with the most
+perfect silence. The tholes of the oars were wrapped in cloth to
+deaden their rattle in the rowlocks. No lights were carried. Not a
+word was spoken after the officers in muffled tones had given the
+order, "Give way." Through the darkness of the night the heavy boats
+glide on. Every man aboard has his work laid out for him, and each
+knows what he is to do. While the main body are to be engaged in
+beating back the guards, some are to spike the guns, and others to
+fire the schooner in several places. When within a hundred yards of
+the schooner, they are discovered by the sentry. As his ringing hail
+comes over the water, the sailors make no reply, but bend to the oars,
+and the boats fairly leap toward the wharf. Bang! goes the sentry's
+rifle; and the men in the hold of the schooner come rushing up just as
+the two boats dash against her side, and the sailors spring like cats
+over the bulwarks. One man was found guarding the guns on the wharf,
+and was shot down. Little time is needed to spike the guns, and then
+those on the wharf turn in to help their comrades on the schooner.
+Here the fighting is sharp and hand to hand. Nearly a hundred men are
+crowded on the deck, and deal pistol-shots and cutlass-blows right and
+left. Several of the crew of the schooner have climbed into the tops,
+and from that point of vantage pour down on the attacking party a
+murderous fire. Horrid yells go up from the enraged combatants, and
+the roar of the musketry is deafening. The crew of the schooner are
+forced backward, step by step, until at last they are driven off the
+vessel altogether, and stand on the wharf delivering a rapid fire. The
+men from the navy-yard are beginning to pour down to the wharf to take
+a hand in the fight. But now a column of smoke begins to arise from
+the open companionway; and the blue-jackets see that their work is
+done, and tumble over the side into their boats. It is high time for
+them to leave, for the Confederates are on the wharf in overwhelming
+force. As they stand there, crowded together, the retiring sailors
+open on them with canister from two howitzers in the boats. Six
+rounds of this sort of firing sends the Confederates looking for
+shelter; and the sailors pull off through the darkness to their ship,
+there to watch the burning vessel, until, with a sudden burst of
+flame, she is blown to pieces.
+
+Considering the dashing nature of this exploit, the loss of life was
+wonderfully small. Lieut. Blake, who commanded one of the boats, was
+saved by one of those strange accidents so common in war. As he was
+going over the side of the "Colorado," some one handed him a metal
+flask filled with brandy, to be used for the wounded. He dropped it
+into the lower pocket of his overcoat, but, finding it uncomfortable
+there, changed it to the side pocket of his coat, immediately over his
+heart. When the boats touched the side of the schooner, Blake was one
+of the first to spring into the chains and clamber aboard. Just as he
+was springing over the gunwale, a Confederate sailor pointed a pistol
+at his heart, and fired it just as Blake cut him down with a savage
+cutlass-stroke. The bullet sped true to its mark, but struck the
+flask, and had just enough force to perforate it, without doing any
+injury to the lieutenant.
+
+The first death in the fight was a sad one. A marine, the first man to
+board the schooner, lost his distinguishing white cap in his leap. His
+comrades followed fast behind him, and, seeing that he wore no cap,
+took him for one of the enemy, and plunged their bayonets deep in his
+breast, killing him instantly. He was known to his comrades as John
+Smith, but on searching his bag letters were found proving that this
+was not his own name. One from his mother begged him to return home,
+and give up his roving life. He proved to be a well-educated young
+man, who through fear of some disgrace had enlisted in the marines to
+hide himself from the world.
+
+[Illustration: Capture of the "Harriet Lane."]
+
+Another dashing event occurred on the Gulf Coast some months later,
+although in this instance the Confederates were the assailants and the
+victors. Galveston had for some time been in the hands of the Union
+forces, and was occupied by three regiments of United States troops.
+In the harbor lay three men-of-war, whose cannon kept the town in
+subjection. It had been rumored for some time that the Confederates
+were planning to recapture the city, and accordingly the most vigilant
+lookout was kept from all the ships. On the 1st of January, 1863, at
+half-past one A.M., as the lookout on the "Harriet Lane" was thinking
+of the new year just ushered in, and wondering whether before the
+end of that year he could see again his cosey Northern home and wife
+and friends, he saw far up the river a cloud of black smoke, that rose
+high in the air, and blotted from sight the shining winter stars. He
+rubbed his eyes, and looked again. There was no mistake: the smoke was
+there, and rapidly moving toward him. Clearly it was a steamer coming
+down the river; but whether an armed enemy or a blockade-runner, he
+could not say. He gave the alarm; and in a moment the roll of the
+drums made the sailors below spring from their hammocks, and, hastily
+throwing on their clothes, rush on deck. The drums beat to quarters,
+and the crew were soon at their guns. Over the water came the roll of
+the drums from the other ships, and from the troops on shore, now all
+aroused and in arms. For thirty hours the Federals had been expecting
+this attack, and now they were fully prepared for it.
+
+The attacking vessels came nearer, and the men on the Union ships
+strained their eyes to see by the faint starlight what manner of craft
+they had to meet. They proved to be two large river-steamships, piled
+high with cotton-bales, crowded with armed men, and provided with a
+few field pieces. Clearly they were only dangerous at close quarters,
+and the "Lane" at once began a rapid fire to beat them back. But the
+bad light spoiled her gunners' aim, and she determined to rush upon
+the enemy, and run him down. The Confederate captain managed his helm
+skilfully, and the "Lane" struck only a glancing blow. Then, in her
+turn, the "Lane" was rammed by the Confederate steamer, which plunged
+into her with a crash and a shock which seemed almost to lift the
+ships out of water. The two vessels drifted apart, the "Lane" hardly
+injured, but the Confederate with a gaping wound in his bow which sent
+him to the bottom in fifteen minutes. But now the other Confederate
+came bearing down under a full head of steam, and crashed into the
+"Lane." Evidently the Confederates wanted to fight in the old style;
+for they threw out grappling-irons, lashed the two ships side to side,
+and began pouring on to the deck of the Federal ship for a
+hand-to-hand conflict. Cries of anger and pain, pistol-shots, cutlass
+blows, and occasional roars from the howitzers rose on the night air,
+and were answered by the sounds of battle from the shore, where the
+Confederates had attacked the slender Union garrison. The sinking
+steamer took up a position near the "Lane," and poured broadside after
+broadside upon the struggling Union ship. But where were the other
+three Union vessels all this time? It seemed as though their
+commanders had lost all their coolness; for they ran their vessels
+here and there, now trying to do something to help their friends on
+shore, now making an ineffectual attempt to aid the "Harriet Lane."
+But on board that vessel matters were going badly for the Federals.
+The Confederates in great numbers kept pouring over the bulwarks, and
+were rapidly driving the crew from the deck. Capt. Wainwright lay dead
+at the door of the cabin. Across his body stood his young son, his
+eyes blazing, his hair waving in the wind. He held in his right hand a
+huge revolver, which he was firing without aim into the tossing mass
+of struggling men before him, while he called on his dead father to
+rise and help him. A stray bullet cut off two of his fingers, and the
+pain was too much for the little hero only ten years old; and,
+dropping the pistol, he burst into tears, crying, "Do you want to kill
+me?" The blue-jackets began to look anxiously for help toward the
+other vessels. But, even while they looked, they saw all hope of help
+cut off; for with a crash and a burst of flame the "Westfield" blew
+up. It turned out later, that, finding his ship aground, the captain
+of the "Westfield" had determined to abandon her, and fire the
+magazine; but in fixing his train he made a fatal error, and the ship
+blew up, hurling captain and crew into the air. The men on the
+"Harriet Lane" saw that all hope was gone, and surrendered their ship.
+When the captains of the two remaining gunboats saw the stars and
+stripes fall from the peak, they turned their vessels' prows toward
+the sea, and scudded out of danger of capture. At the same moment,
+cheers from the gray-coats on shore told that the Confederates had
+been successful both by land and sea, and the stars and bars once more
+floated over Galveston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+     THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS. -- FARRAGUT'S FLEET PASSES FORT ST.
+     PHILIP AND FORT JACKSON.
+
+
+While Commodore Foote, with his flotilla of gunboats and mortar-boats,
+was working his way down the Mississippi River, making occasional
+dashes into the broad streams that flow from either side into the
+father of waters, Admiral Farragut, with his fleet of tall-sparred,
+ocean-going men-of-war, was laying his plans for an expedition
+up-stream. But Farragut's first obstacle lay very near the mouth of
+the broad, tawny river that flows for a thousand miles through the
+centre of the United States. New Orleans, the greatest city of the
+Confederacy, stands on the river's bank, only ninety miles from the
+blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Confederate authorities knew
+the value of this great city to their cause, and were careful not to
+let it go unprotected. Long before any thought of civil war disturbed
+the minds of the people of the United States, the Federal Government
+had built below the Crescent City two forts, that peered at each other
+across the swift, turbid tide of the Mississippi River. Fort St.
+Philip and Fort Jackson they were called, the latter being named in
+honor of the stubborn old military hero who beat back the British
+soldiers at the close of the war of 1812 on the glorious field of
+Chalmette near New Orleans. Fort Jackson was a huge star of stone and
+mortar. In its massive walls were great cavernous bomb-proofs in which
+the soldiers were secure from bursting shells. It stood back about a
+hundred yards from the levee, and its casemates just rose above the
+huge dike that keeps the Mississippi in its proper channel. When the
+river was high from the spring floods of the north, a steamer floating
+on its swift tide towered high above the bastions of the fort. In the
+casemates and on the parapets were mounted seventy-five guns of all
+calibres. By its peculiar shape and situation on a jutting point of
+land, the fort was able to bring its guns to bear upon the river in
+three directions.
+
+When the storm of civil war burst upon the country, the Confederates
+of New Orleans were prompt to seize this and Fort St. Philip, that
+stood on the other side of the river. They found Fort Jackson in the
+state of general decay into which most army posts fall in times of
+peace, and they set at work at once to strengthen it. All over the
+parapet, bomb-proofs, and weak points, bags of sand were piled five or
+six feet deep, making the strongest defence known in war. Steamers
+plied up and down the river, bringing provision, ammunition, and new
+cannon, and soon the fort was ready to stand the most determined
+siege. Fort St. Philip, across the river, though not so imposing a
+military work, was more powerful. It was built of masonry, and heavily
+sodded over all points exposed to fire. It was more irregular in shape
+than Fort Jackson, and with its guns seemed to command every point on
+the river. Both were amply protected from storming by wide, deep moats
+always filled with water.
+
+In these two forts were stationed troops made up of the finest young
+men of New Orleans. For them it was a gay station. Far removed from
+the fighting on the frontier, and within an easy journey of their
+homes, they frolicked away the first year of the war. Every week gay
+parties of pleasure-seekers from New Orleans would come down; and the
+proud defenders would take their friends to the frowning bastions, and
+point out how easily they could blow the enemy's fleet out of water if
+the ships ever came within range of those heavy guns. But the ships
+did not come within range of the guns for many months. They contented
+themselves with lying at the Head of the Passes, and stopping all
+intercourse with the outer world, until New Orleans began to get
+shabby and ragged and hungry, and the pleasure-parties came less often
+to the forts, and the gay young soldiers saw their uniforms getting
+old and tattered, but knew not where to get the cloth to replace them.
+
+[Illustration: Levee at New Orleans before the War.]
+
+In the city no rumble of commerce was heard on the streets. Grass grew
+on the deserted levee, where in times of peace the brown and white
+cotton-bales were piled by the thousand, waiting for strong black
+hands to seize and swing them upon the decks of the trim Liverpool
+packets, that lay three or four deep along the river front. The huge
+gray custom-house that stood at the foot of Canal Street no longer
+resounded with the rapid tread of sea-captains or busy merchants. From
+the pipes of the cotton-presses, the rush of the escaping steam, as
+the ruthless press squeezed the great bale into one-third its original
+size, was no longer heard. Most of the great towering steamboats that
+came rushing down the river with stores of cotton or sugar had long
+since been cut down into squat, powerful gunboats, or were tied up
+idly to the bank. Across the river, in the shipyards of Algiers, there
+seemed a little more life; for there workmen were busy changing
+peaceful merchant vessels into gunboats and rams, that were, the
+people fondly hoped, to drive away the men-of-war at the river's mouth
+and save the city from starvation. From time to time the streets of
+the city resounded with the notes of drum and fife, as one after the
+other the militia companies went off to the front and the fighting.
+Then the time came when none were left save the "Confederate Guards,"
+old gray-haired men, judges, bankers, merchants, gentlemen of every
+degree, too old for active service at the front, but too young not to
+burn for the grasp of a gun or sword while they knew that their sons
+and grandsons were fighting on the bloodstained soil of Virginia and
+Tennessee.
+
+But, while the city was gradually falling into desolation and decay,
+preparations were being made by the Federal navy for its capture. On
+the 2d of February, 1862, Admiral Farragut sailed from Hampton Roads
+in his stanch frigate the "Hartford," to take command of a naval
+expedition intended to capture New Orleans. The place of rendezvous
+was Ship Island, a sandy island in the Gulf of Mexico. Here he
+organized his squadron, and started for his post in the Mississippi,
+below the forts. The first obstacle was found at the mouth of the
+river, where the heavy war-vessels were unable to make their way over
+the bar. Nearly two weeks were occupied in the work of lightening
+these ships until they were able to pass. The frigate "Colorado" was
+unable to get over at all. The "Pensacola" was dragged through the mud
+by the sheer strength of other vessels of the expedition. While they
+were tugging at her, a huge hawser snapped with a report like a
+cannon, and the flying ends killed two men and seriously wounded five
+others. But at last the fleet was safely past all obstacles, and
+Admiral Farragut found himself well established in the lower
+Mississippi, with a force of twenty-five men-of-war, and twenty
+mortar-schooners; one of the most powerful armadas ever despatched
+against an enemy. Farragut lost no time in getting his ships prepared
+for the baptism of fire which was sure to come. While he was
+diligently at work on his preparations, he was visited by some French
+and English naval officers, who had carefully examined the defences of
+the Confederates, and came to warn him that to attack the forts with
+wooden vessels, such as made up his fleet, was sheer madness, and
+would only result in defeat. "You may be right," answered the brave
+old sailor, "but I was sent here to make the attempt. I came here to
+reduce or pass the forts, and to take New Orleans, _and I shall try it
+on_." The foreigners remarked that he was going to certain
+destruction, and politely withdrew.
+
+In the mean time, the tars on the mortar-fleet were working
+industriously to get their ships in fighting-trim. The topmasts were
+stripped of their sails, and lowered; the loose and standing rigging
+strapped to the masts; the spars, forebooms, and gaffs unshipped, and
+secured to the outside of the vessels to avert the danger from
+splinters, which, in naval actions, is often greater than from the
+shots themselves. From the main-deck every thing was removed that
+could obstruct the easy handling of the tremendous mortars; and the
+men were drilled to skill and alertness in firing the huge engines of
+death. The work was hastened on the mortar-schooners, because the plan
+was to rush them into position, and let them harass the Confederates
+with a steady bombardment, while the ships-of-war were preparing for
+their part in the coming fight.
+
+The mortar-fleet was under command of Admiral Porter, an able and
+energetic officer. He soon had his ships ready, and began moving them
+into position along the banks of the river, out of sight of the forts.
+To further conceal them from the gunners in the forts, he had the
+masts and rigging wrapped with green foliage; so that, lying against
+the dense thickets of willows that skirt that part of the river, they
+were invisible. Other boats that were in more exposed positions had
+their hulls covered with grass and reeds, so that they seemed a part
+of the swamp that bordered the river. After the line of fire had been
+obtained by a careful mathematical survey, Porter got all his
+mortar-boats into position, and began his bombardment. The gunners on
+the mortar-boats could not see the forts; but the range had been
+calculated for them, and they merely fired mechanically. A lookout,
+perched on the masthead, could see over the low willow-forest, and
+watch the course of the shells as they rushed high into the air, and
+then, falling with a graceful curve, plunged into the forts. The
+firing was begun on the 16th of April, and was kept up with a will.
+The twenty huge mortars keeping up a constant fire, made a deafening
+roar that shook the earth, and could be heard far up the river at New
+Orleans, where the people poured out into the streets, and gayly
+predicted defeat for any enemy who should attack "the boys in the
+forts." The forts were not slow in returning the fire; but as the
+mortar-vessels were hidden, and did not offer very large marks, their
+fire was rather ineffective. Parties of Confederates, old
+swamp-hunters, and skilled riflemen, stole down through the dense
+thickets, to pick off the crews of the mortar-schooners. They managed
+to kill a few gunners in this way, but were soon driven away by the
+point-blank fire of the supporting gunboats. But all this time the
+shells were falling thick and fast, driving the soldiers to the
+bomb-proofs, and tearing to pieces every thing unprotected. One shell
+set fire to some wooden structures that stood on the parade-ground in
+Fort Jackson; and, as the smoke and flames rose in the air, the
+gunners down the river thought that the fort was burning, and cheered
+and fired with renewed vigor. The shells that burst upon the levee
+soon cut great trenches in it, so that the mighty Mississippi broke
+through with a rush, and flooded the country all about. But the forts
+seemed as strong and unconquered as ever.
+
+While the soldiers were crowded together in the bomb-proofs to escape
+the flying bits of shell, the sailors on the little fleet of
+Confederate vessels anchored above them were busily engaged in getting
+ready a fire-raft which was to float down the river, and make havoc
+among the vessels of the Union fleet. Two such rafts were prepared;
+one of which, an immense affair, carrying cords of blazing pine-wood,
+was sent down in the early morning at a time when the vessels were
+utterly unprepared to defend themselves. Luckily it grounded on a
+sandbar, and burned and crackled away harmlessly until it was
+consumed. This warned Commander Porter of the danger in which his
+mortar-vessels were of a second attack of the same nature; and
+accordingly he put in readiness one hundred and fifty small boats
+with picked crews, and well supplied with axes and grapnels, whose
+duty it was to grapple any future rafts, and tow them into a harmless
+position. They did not have long to wait. At sundown that night,
+Commander Porter reviewed his little squadron of row-boats as they lay
+drawn up in line along the low marshy shores of the mighty river. The
+sun sank a glowing red ball beneath the line at which the blue waters
+of the gulf and the blue arch of heaven seemed to meet. The long
+southern twilight gradually deepened into a black, moonless night. The
+cries of frogs and seabirds, and the little flashes of the fireflies,
+were silenced and blotted out by the incessant roar and flash of the
+tremendous mortars that kept up their deadly work. Suddenly in the
+distance the sky grows red and lurid. "The fort is burning!" cry the
+men at the guns; but from the masthead comes the response, "No, the
+fire is on the river. It is another fire-raft." The alarm was
+instantly given to all the vessels of the fleet. Bright colored
+signal-lights blazed on the decks, and the dark, slender cordage stood
+out against the brilliant red and green fires that flickered strangely
+upon the dark wooded banks of the river. Rockets rushed high into the
+air, and, bursting, let fall a shower of party-colored lights that
+told the watchers far down the river that danger was to be expected.
+Then the signal-lights went out, and all was dark and silent save
+where the lurid glare of the great mass of fire could be seen floating
+in the great curves of the tortuous river toward the crowded ships. It
+was a time of intense suspense. The little flotilla of fire-boats,
+organized by Commander Porter that day, was on the alert; and the
+blue-jackets bent to their oars with a will, and soon had their boats
+ranged along a bend far above the fleet. Here they waited to catch the
+fiery monster, and save the ships. The danger came nearer fast.
+Rapidly the flames increased in volume, until the whole surrounding
+region was lighted up by the glare; while from the floating fire, a
+huge black column of smoke arose, and blended with the clouds that
+glowed as though they themselves were on fire. When the raft came into
+view around a point, it was seen to be too big for the boats to handle
+unaided, and two gunboats slipped their cables, and started for the
+thing of terror. From every side the row-boats dashed at the raft.
+Some grappled it, and the sailors tugged lustily at their oars,
+seeking to drag the mass of flames toward the shore. Then the
+"Westfield," under full head of steam, dashed furiously against the
+raft, crashing in the timbers and sending great clouds of sparks
+flying high in the air. From her hose-pipes she poured floods of water
+on the crackling, roaring, blazing mass; while all the time, with her
+powerful engines, she was pushing it toward the shore.
+
+In the mean time, the sailors from the fleet of small boats were
+swarming upon the raft wherever they could find a foothold free from
+flame. Some carrying buckets dashed water upon the flames, some with
+axes cut loose flaming timbers, and let them float harmlessly down the
+river. It was a fight in which all the men were on one side; but it
+was a grand sight, and was eagerly watched by those on the imperilled
+vessels. The immediate arena of the conflict was bright as day, but
+all around was gloom. At last the pluck and determination of the men
+triumph over the flames. The raft, flaming, smouldering, broken, is
+towed out of the channel, and left to end its life in fitful flashes
+on a sandy point. The returning boats are greeted with cheers, and
+soon darkness and silence fall upon the scene. The mortars cease their
+thunderous work for the night; and ere long the only sounds heard are
+the rush of the mighty waters, or the faint cry of the night birds in
+the forest. The sentinel pacing the deck peers in vain through the
+gloom. War gives way for a time to rest.
+
+[Illustration: Fire-raft at Forts of the Mississippi.]
+
+Hardly had the gray dawn begun to appear, when the roll of the drums
+on the decks of the ships was heard; and, soon after, the roar of the
+opening gun was heard from one of the mortar-schooners. Again the
+bombardment was opened. The twenty boats in the mortar-fleet were
+divided into three divisions, each of which fired for two hours in
+succession, and then stopped for a time to allow the great cannon to
+cool. Thus a continuous bombardment was kept up, and the soldiers in
+the forts were given no time to repair the damages caused by the
+bursting shells. Every mortar was fired once in five minutes; so that
+one shell was hurled towards the fort about every minute, while
+sometimes three shells would be seen sweeping with majestic curves
+through the air at the same time. The shells weighed two hundred and
+fifteen pounds; and when they were hurled into the air by the
+explosion of twenty pounds of powder, the boat bearing the mortar was
+driven down into the water six or eight inches, and the light railings
+and woodwork of buildings at the Balize, thirty miles away, were
+shattered by the concussion. The shells rose high in the air, with an
+unearthly shriek, and after a curve of a mile and a half fell into
+or near the forts, and, bursting, threw their deadly fragments in all
+directions. Day after day, and night after night, this went on. If the
+men on the mortar-schooners showed bravery and endurance in keeping up
+so exhausting a fire so steadily, what shall we say for the men in the
+forts who bore up against it so nobly? Before noon of the first day of
+the bombardment, the soldiers of Fort Jackson saw their barracks
+burned, with their clothing, bedding, and several days' rations.
+Shells were pouring in upon them from vessels that they could not see.
+The smooth-bore guns mounted in the embrasures would hardly send a
+shot to the nearest of the hostile gunboats. Then the river broke
+through its banks, and half the fort was transformed into a morass. An
+officer in Fort Jackson said, after the surrender, that in two hours
+over one hundred shells had fallen upon the parade-ground of that
+work, tearing it up terribly. For six days this terrible fire was
+endured; and during the latter half of the bombardment the water stood
+knee deep on the gun-platforms, and the gunners worked at their guns
+until their shoes, soaked for days and days, fairly fell from their
+feet. For bed and bedding they had the wet earth, for rations raw meat
+and mouldy bread. If there were glory and victory for the Union
+sailors, let there at least be honor and credit granted the soldiers
+of the gray for the dogged courage with which they bore the terrible
+bombardment from Porter's flotilla.
+
+While the mortars were pounding away through those six long days and
+nights, Farragut was getting ready to take his ships past the forts.
+Union scouts and spies had travelled over every foot of land and water
+about the forts; and the exact strength of the Confederates, and the
+difficulties to be overcome, were clearly known to the Federal
+admiral. One of the chief obstructions was a chain of rafts and old
+hulks that stretched across the channel by which the fleet would be
+obliged to ascend the river. Under cover of a tremendous fire from all
+the mortars, two gunboats were sent up to remove this obstruction. The
+night was dark and favorable to the enterprise, and the vessels
+reached the chain before they were discovered. Then, under a fierce
+cannonade from the forts, Lieut. Caldwell put off in a row-boat from
+his vessel, boarded one of the hulks, and managed to break the chain.
+The string of hulks was quickly swept ashore by the swift current, and
+the channel was open for the ascent of the Union fleet.
+
+[Illustration: Breaking the Chain.]
+
+On the 23d of April, Farragut determined that his fleet should make
+the attempt to get past the forts the following day. He knew that
+the enemy must be exhausted with the terrible strain of Porter's
+bombardment, and he felt that the opportunity had arrived for him to
+make a successful dash for the upper river. The fleet was all prepared
+for a desperate struggle. Many of the captains had daubed the sides of
+their vessels with the river mud, that they might be less prominent
+marks for the Confederate gunners. The chain cables of all the vessels
+were coiled about vulnerable parts, or draped over the sides amidships
+to protect the boilers. Knowing that it was to be a night action, the
+gun-decks had been whitewashed; so that even by the dim, uncertain
+light of the battle lanterns, the gunners could see plainly all
+objects about them. Hammocks and nettings were stretched above the
+decks to catch flying splinters from the spars overhead. Late at night
+the admiral in his longboat was pulled from ship to ship to view the
+preparations made, and see that each captain fully understood his
+orders.
+
+It was two o'clock on the morning of the 24th of April, when the
+Confederates on the parapets of their forts might have heard the
+shrill notes of fifes, the steady tramp of men, the sharp clicking of
+capstans, and the grating of chain cables passing through the
+hawse-holes on the ships below. Indeed, it is probable that these
+sounds were heard at the forts, and were understood, for the
+Confederates were on the alert when the ships came steaming up the
+river.
+
+They formed in a stately line of battle, headed by the "Cayuga." As
+they came up the stream, the gunners in the forts could see the
+mastheads over the low willow thickets that bordered the banks of the
+stream. The line of obstructions was reached and passed, and then the
+whole furious fire of both forts fell upon the advancing ships.
+Gallantly they kept on their way, firing thunderous broadsides from
+each side. And, while the ships were under the direct fire of the
+forts, the enemy's fleet came dashing down the river to dispute the
+way. This was more to the taste of Farragut and his boys in blue. They
+were tired of fighting stone walls. In the van of the Confederate
+squadron was the ram "Manassas," that had created such a panic among
+the blockading squadron a month before. She plunged desperately into
+the fight. The great frigate "Brooklyn" was a prominent vessel in the
+Union line, and at her the ram dashed. The bold hearts on the grand
+old frigate did not seek to avoid the conflict, and the two vessels
+rushed together. The ram struck the "Brooklyn" a glancing blow; and
+the shot from her one gun was returned by a hail of cannon-balls from
+the frigate's tremendous broadside, many of which broke through the
+iron plating. Nothing daunted, the ram backed off and rushed at the
+frigate again. This time she struck full on the frigate's side. The
+shock was terrible. Men on the gun-deck of the ram were hurled to the
+deck, with the blood streaming from their nostrils. The frigate keeled
+over farther and farther, until all thought that she would be borne
+beneath the water by the pressure of the ram. All the time the
+spiteful bow-gun of the iron monster was hurling its bolts into her
+hull. But the blow of the ram had done no damage, for she had struck
+one of the coils of chain that had been hung down the "Brooklyn's"
+side. The two vessels slowly swung apart; and, after a final broadside
+from the "Brooklyn," the "Manassas" drifted away in the pitchy
+darkness to seek for new adversaries. She was not long in finding one;
+for as the gray dawn was breaking she suddenly found herself under the
+very bows of the "Mississippi," which was bearing down upon her and
+seemed sure to run her down. The captain of the "Manassas" was an able
+steersman, and neatly dodged the blow; but in this quick movement he
+ran his vessel ashore, and she lay there under the guns of the
+"Mississippi," and unable to bring any of her own guns to bear. The
+captain of the frigate was not slow in taking advantage of this chance
+to be revenged for all the trouble she had given the Union fleet; and
+he took up a good position, and pounded away with his heavy guns at
+the iron monster. The heavy shots crashed through the iron plating and
+came plunging in the portholes, seeking every nook and cranny about
+the vessel. It was too much for men to stand, and the crew of the
+"Manassas" fled to the woods; while their vessel was soon set on fire
+with red-hot shots, and blew up with a tremendous report soon after.
+
+[Illustration: Ram "Tennessee" at Mobile Bay.]
+
+In the mean time, the ships of the Union fleet were doing daring work,
+and meeting a determined resistance. The flagship "Hartford" was met
+by a tug which pushed a huge burning fire-raft against her sides.
+There the flaming thing lay right up against the portholes, the flames
+catching the tarred rigging, and running up the masts. Farragut walked
+his quarter-deck as coolly as though the ship was on parade. "Don't
+flinch from that fire, boys," he sang out, as the flames rushed in the
+portholes, and drove the men from their guns. "There's a hotter fire
+than that 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." But
+the tug did get away, after all; and no one can feel sorry that men
+plucky enough to take an unarmed tug into a terrible fight of frigates
+and iron-clads should escape with their lives. The men on the
+"Hartford" fought the flames with hose and buckets, and at last got
+rid of their dangerous neighbor. Then they saw a steamer crowded with
+men rushing toward the flagship without firing a shot, and evidently
+intending to board. Capt. Broome, with a crew of marines, was working
+a bow-gun on the "Hartford." Carefully he trained the huge piece upon
+the approaching steamer. He stepped back, stooped for a last glance
+along the sights, then with a quick pull of the lanyard the great gun
+went off with a roar, followed instantly by a louder explosion from
+the attacking steamer. When the smoke cleared away, all looked eagerly
+for the enemy; but she had vanished as if by magic. That single shot,
+striking her magazine, had blown her up with all on board.
+
+Much of the hardest fighting was done by the smaller vessels on either
+side. The little Confederate "cotton-clad" "Governor Moore" made a
+desperate fight, dashing through the Union fleet, taking and giving
+broadsides in every direction. The Union vessel "Varuna" also did
+daring work, and naturally these two ships met in desperate conflict.
+After exchanging broadsides, the "Governor Moore" rammed her
+adversary, and, while bearing down on her, received a severe raking
+fire from the "Varuna." The "Governor Moore" was in such a position
+that none of her guns could be brought to bear; but her captain
+suddenly depressed the muzzle of his bow-gun, and sent a shot crashing
+through _his own_ deck and side, and deep into the hull of the
+"Varuna." The vessels soon parted, but the "Varuna" had received her
+death-wound, and sank in shallow water. The "Governor Moore" kept on
+her way, but was knocked to pieces by the fire from the heavy guns of
+the frigates shortly after.
+
+And so the battle raged for five hours. To recount in full the deeds
+of valor done, would be to tell the story of each ship engaged, and
+would require volumes. Witnesses who saw the fight from the start were
+deeply impressed by the majesty of the scene. It was like a grand
+panorama. "From almost perfect silence,--the steamers moving through
+the water like phantom ships,--one incessant roar of heavy cannon
+commenced, the Confederate forts and gunboats opening together on the
+head of our line as it came within range. The Union vessels returned
+the fire as they came up, and soon the hundred and seventy guns of our
+fleet joined in the thunder which seemed to shake the very earth. A
+lurid glare was thrown over the scene by the burning rafts; and, as
+the bombshells crossed each other and exploded in the air, it seemed
+as if a battle were taking place in the heavens as well as on the
+earth. It all ended as suddenly as it commenced."
+
+While this gigantic contest was going on in the river abreast of the
+forts, the people of New Orleans were thronging the streets, listening
+to the unceasing roar of the great guns, and discussing, with pale
+faces and anxious hearts, the outcome of the fight. "Farragut can
+never pass our forts. His wooden ships will be blown to pieces by
+their fire, or dashed into atoms by the 'Manassas,'" people said. But
+many listened in silence: they had husbands, sons, or brothers in that
+fearful fight, and who could tell that they would return alive? By and
+by the firing ceased. Only an occasional shot broke the stillness of
+the morning. Then came the suspense. Had the fleet been beaten back,
+or was it above the forts, and even now sullenly steaming up to the
+city? Everybody rushed for the housetops to look to the southward,
+over the low land through which the Mississippi winds. An hour's
+waiting, and they see curls of smoke rising above the trees, then
+slender dark lines moving along above the tree-tops. "Are they our
+ships?" every one cries; and no one answers until the dark lines are
+seen to be crossed by others at right angles. They are masts with
+yard-arms, masts of seagoing vessels, the masts of the invader's
+fleet. A cry of grief, of fear, of rage, goes up from the housetops.
+"To the levee!" cry the men, and soon the streets resound with the
+rush of many feet toward the river. "The river is crooked, and its
+current swift. It will be hours before the Yankees can arrive: let us
+burn, destroy, that they may find no booty." Let one who was in the
+sorrowful city that terrible April day tell the story. "I went to the
+river-side. There, until far into the night, I saw hundreds of drays
+carrying cotton out of the presses and yards to the wharves, where it
+was fired. The glare of those sinuous miles of flame set men and women
+weeping and wailing thirty miles away, on the farther shore of Lake
+Pontchartrain. But the next day was the day of terrors. During the
+night, fear, wrath, and sense of betrayal, had run through the people
+as the fire had run through the cotton. You have seen, perhaps, a
+family fleeing, with lamentations and wringing of hands, out of a
+burning house; multiply it by thousands upon thousands: that was New
+Orleans, though the houses were not burning. The firemen were out; but
+they cast fire on the waters, putting the torch to the empty ships and
+cutting them loose to float down the river.
+
+[Illustration: New Orleans on Approach of Fleet.]
+
+"Whoever could go was going. The great mass that had no place to go
+to, or means to go with, was beside itself. 'Betrayed! betrayed!' it
+cried, and ran in throngs from street to street, seeking some vent,
+some victim for its wrath. I saw a crowd catch a poor fellow at the
+corner of Magazine and Common Streets, whose crime was that he looked
+like a stranger and might be a spy. He was the palest living man I
+ever saw. They swung him to a neighboring lamp-post; but the Foreign
+Legion was patrolling the town in strong squads, and one of its
+lieutenants, all green and gold, leaped with drawn sword, cut the
+rope, and saved the man. This was one occurrence; there were many like
+it. I stood in the rear door of our store, Canal Street, soon after
+re-opening it. The junior of the firm was within. I called him to look
+toward the river. The masts of the cutter 'Washington' were slowly
+tipping, declining, sinking--down she went. The gunboat moored next
+her began to smoke all over and then to blaze. My employers lifted up
+their heels and left the city, left their goods and their affairs in
+the hands of one mere lad--no stranger would have thought I had
+reached fourteen--and one big German porter. I closed the doors, sent
+the porter to his place in the Foreign Legion, and ran to the levee to
+see the sights.
+
+"What a gathering!--the riff-raff of the wharves, the town, the
+gutters. Such women! such wrecks of women! and all the juvenile
+rag-tag. The lower steamboat-landing, well covered with sugar, rice,
+and molasses, was being rifled. The men smashed; the women scooped up
+the smashings. The river was overflowing the top of the levee. A
+rain-storm began to threaten. 'Are the Yankee ships in sight?' I asked
+of an idler. He pointed out the tops of their naked masts as they
+showed up across the huge bend of the river. They were engaging the
+batteries at Camp Chalmette, the old field of Jackson's renown.
+Presently that was over. Ah, me! I see them now as they come slowly
+round Slaughterhouse Point, into full view: silent, so grim and
+terrible, black with men, heavy with deadly portent, the long banished
+stars and stripes flying against the frowning sky. Oh for the
+'Mississippi,' the 'Mississippi!' Just then she came down upon them.
+But how? Drifting helplessly, a mass of flames.
+
+"The crowds on the levee howled and screamed with rage. The swarming
+decks answered never a word; but one old tar on the 'Hartford,'
+standing with lanyard in hand, beside a great pivot-gun, so plain to
+view that you could see him smile, silently patted its big black
+breech and blandly grinned."
+
+As the masts of the fleet came up the river, a young man stepped out
+upon the roof of the City Hall, and swiftly hoisted the flag of the
+State of Louisiana. When the ships came up, two officers were sent
+ashore to demand the surrender of the city; and shoulder to shoulder
+the two old sailors marched through a howling, cursing mob to the City
+Hall. The mayor refused to surrender the city, saying that Farragut
+already had captured it. The officers went back to their ships, and
+the flag still floated. Two days later the officers, with a hundred
+sailors and marines, returned and demanded that the flag be hauled
+down. No one in the city would tear it down, and the Federals went up
+to the roof to lower it themselves. The street and surrounding
+housetops were crowded with a hostile people, all armed. No one could
+tell that the fall of the flag would not be followed by a volley from
+the undisciplined populace. The marines in front of the building stood
+grouped about two loaded howitzers that bore upon the darkly muttering
+crowd. Violence was in the air. As the two officers rose to go to the
+roof, the mayor, a young Creole, left the room and descended the
+stairs. Quietly he stepped out into the street, and without a word
+stood before one of the howitzers, his arms folded, eying the gunner,
+who stood with lanyard in hand, ready to fire at the word of command.
+The flag fell slowly from the staff. Not a sound arose from the crowd.
+All were watching the mayor, who stood coldly looking on death. The
+Federal officers came down carrying the flag. A few sharp commands,
+and the marines tramped away down the street, with the howitzers
+clanking behind them. The crowd cheered for Mayor Monroe and
+dispersed, and New Orleans became again a city of the United States.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+     ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI. -- FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP SURRENDER.
+     -- THE BATTLE AT ST. CHARLES. -- THE RAM "ARKANSAS." --
+     BOMBARDMENT AND CAPTURE OF PORT HUDSON.
+
+
+While New Orleans was thus excited over the capture of the city, the
+soldiers in the forts below were debating as to the course they should
+adopt. They had not surrendered; and although the great bastions were
+pounded out of shape by the heavy guns of the fleet, yet they were
+still formidable defences, giving perfect security to the men in the
+bomb-proofs. But their case was hopeless: for Farragut was at New
+Orleans, and could cut off their supplies; while Porter, with his
+mortar-boats, was below them, putting escape out of the question.
+Every now and then a big shell would drop on the parade, and its
+flying pieces would remind the garrison that their enemies were
+getting impatient. After waiting a day or two, Porter sent a
+lieutenant with a flag of truce to the fort, calling upon the
+Confederate commander to surrender the two forts and the shattered
+remnant of the Confederate navy. He complimented the Confederates upon
+their gallant defence, but warned them, that, should they refuse to
+surrender, he would recommence his bombardment with new vigor. The
+Confederates refused to surrender until they heard from New Orleans;
+and the next day the monotonous thunder of the heavy mortars began
+again, and again the heavy shells began falling thick and fast upon
+the forts. Wearily the gray-coated soldiers settled down to continue
+what they felt must be a useless defence. The officers did their best
+to inspirit the men; but all knew that a surrender must come before
+long, and at last the men mutinously left their guns, and said they
+would fight no longer. They had borne without flinching a terrible
+bombardment, and now they felt that to fight longer would be a foolish
+sacrifice of life. Many left the forts, and plunged into the woods to
+escape the terrible shells. Gen. Duncan saw that all was lost, and on
+the night of the 28th of April sent an officer to the fleet announcing
+the surrender. On the following day Porter proceeded up-stream with
+his squadron, and anchored off the fort. A boat, manned by six trim
+sailors in dress uniforms, put off, and soon returned, bringing the
+commander of the defeated forces and two or three officers. They were
+received on the "Harriet Lane," and Commodore Porter had made great
+preparations for the meeting. The crews of all the vessels were
+dressed in snow-white mustering-suits, and the officers in
+brass-buttoned blue coats and white trousers. The decks were scrubbed,
+and all traces of the fight cleared away. As the Confederate officers
+came up to the fleet, one of them, a former lieutenant in the Union
+navy, said, "Look at the old navy. I feel proud when I see them. There
+are no half-breeds there: they are the simon-pure." As the
+Confederates came over the side, Porter stood, with his officers,
+ready to receive them. The greatest politeness was observed on either
+side; and Porter writes, "Their bearing was that of men who had gained
+a victory, instead of undergoing defeat." While the papers of
+capitulation were being signed, a message came from the deck that the
+huge Confederate iron-clad "Louisiana" was drifting down upon them, a
+mass of flames, and there was great danger that she would blow up in
+the midst of the Union fleet. "This is sharp practice, gentlemen,"
+said Porter, "and some of us will perhaps be blown up; but I know what
+to do. If you can stand what is coming, we can; but I will make it
+lively for those people if anybody in the flotilla is injured."
+
+"I told Lieut. Wainwright to hail the steamer next him," writes Capt.
+Porter, "and tell her captain to pass the word for the others to veer
+out all their riding-chains to the bitter end, and stand by to sheer
+clear of the burning iron-clad as she drifted down. I then sat down to
+the table, and said, 'Gentlemen, we will proceed to sign the
+capitulation.' I handed the paper to Gen. Duncan, and looked at the
+Confederate officers to see how they would behave under the
+circumstances of a great iron-clad dropping down on them, all in
+flames, with twenty thousand pounds of powder in her magazines. For
+myself, I hoped the fire would not reach the powder until the ship had
+drifted some distance below us. My greatest fear was that she would
+run foul of some of the steamers.
+
+"While I was thinking this over, the officers were sitting as coolly
+as if at tea-table among their friends.
+
+"Just then there was a stir on deck, a kind of swaying of the vessel
+to and fro, a rumbling in the air, then an explosion which seemed to
+shake the heavens. The 'Harriet Lane' was thrown two streaks over, and
+every thing in the cabin was jostled from side to side; but not a man
+left his seat, or showed any intention of doing so.
+
+"I was glad that I had signed before the explosion took place, as I
+would not have liked to have my autograph look shaky."
+
+The destruction of the "Louisiana" was a bit of trickery on the part
+of the Confederate naval officers, which Farragut punished by sending
+them North as close prisoners, while the army officers were granted
+freedom under parole. So ended the Confederate control over the mouth
+of the Mississippi; and Porter, after waiting long enough to see a
+blue-coat garrison in Forts St. Philip and Jackson, started up the
+river to rejoin his chief in New Orleans.
+
+But, on reaching the city, he found that the energetic admiral had
+already started out to clear the river of the Confederate batteries
+that lined it on either side as far up as Vicksburg. This was a
+service of no little danger, and one bringing but little satisfaction;
+for no sooner had the gunboats left one point, from which by hard
+firing they had driven the Confederates, than the latter would return
+in force, build up again their shattered earthworks, mount new guns,
+and be once more ready for battle. But more powerful than these little
+one or two gun-batteries were the Confederate works at Port Hudson,
+the destruction of which was absolutely necessary for further Union
+successes on the great river. Between Port Hudson and Vicksburg, the
+river was completely under the control of the Confederates; and it was
+a powerful gunboat that could hope to navigate that stretch of water
+unharmed. Farragut determined to attack Port Hudson, and set the 14th
+of March, 1863, as the date for the action.
+
+Port Hudson batteries were perched on a high bluff that overlooks one
+of those abrupt curves around which the current of the Mississippi
+River sweeps with such terrific force. The heavy guns bore down upon a
+point at which the ships would almost inevitably be swept out of their
+course by the swift stream, and where the river was filled with
+treacherous shifting shoals. Naval officers all agreed that to pass
+those batteries was a more difficult task than had been the passage of
+the forts below New Orleans; yet Farragut, eager to get at the
+stronghold of the foe in Vicksburg, determined to make the attempt.
+The mortar-vessels were stationed below to drive the enemy from his
+guns with well-directed bombs; while the fleet, led by the stanch old
+"Hartford," should make a bold dash up the river.
+
+Night fell upon the scene; and the ships weighed anchor, and started
+upon their perilous voyage. To the side of each man-of-war was bound a
+gunboat to tow the great vessel out of danger in case of disaster.
+Silently the long string of vessels swept upward towards the
+batteries; but, as the "Hartford" came into range, the watchful
+Confederates gave the alarm, and the nearest battery at once opened
+fire. Then from Porter's mortar-schooners far down the river came an
+answering roar; and, as ship after ship came up into range, she opened
+with shot and shell upon the works. On the dark river-banks great
+alarm fires were kindled, lighting up the water with a lurid glare,
+and making the ships clearly visible to the Confederate gunners. But
+soon the smoke of battle settled down over all; and gunners, whether
+on shore or on the ships, fired at random. The "Hartford" led the way,
+and picked out the course; and the other vessels followed carefully in
+her wake. In the mizzen-top of the flagship was stationed a cool old
+river pilot, who had guided many a huge river steamer, freighted with
+precious lives, through the mazy channels of the Mississippi. There,
+high above the battle-smoke, heedless of the grape-shot and bits of
+flying shell whistling around him, he stood at his post, calmly giving
+his orders through a speaking-tube that led to the wheel-room. Now and
+then the admiral on the deck below would call up, asking about the
+pilot's safety, and was always answered with a cheery hail. But though
+the "Hartford" went by the batteries, heedless of the storm and lead
+poured upon her, she found herself alone, when, after firing a last
+gun, she swept into the clear air and tranquil water out of range of
+the enemy's guns. She waited some time for the other ships to come up,
+while all on board watched eagerly, save those who lay moaning on the
+surgeon's tables in the cock-pit below. The night wore on, and all on
+board were consumed with anxiety for the fate of the vessels that had
+dropped behind. The lookout in the tops reported that he could see far
+down the river a bright red light that could only be caused by a
+burning vessel. It proved to be the steamer "Mississippi," that had
+grounded under the guns of the batteries, and had been fired and
+abandoned by her crew. But of this the admiral knew nothing; and when,
+after an hour or two he heard the dull, heavy boom of an explosion, he
+went sadly to his cabin, fearing that the lives of many valiant
+sailors had been sacrificed. There was no way to communicate with the
+fleet below, and it was not until days afterward that the admiral
+learned how his fleet had been beaten back by the heavy guns of the
+Confederates and the swift current of the river. The "Richmond"
+grounded at a point within easy range of the batteries, and her crew
+fought desperately while shell after shell went crashing through her
+hull. They saw the other vessels of the fleet go drifting by helpless
+in the mighty current of the river, but they faltered not in their
+brave defence until they saw their ship a wreck and in flames. Then
+leaving their dead comrades with the "Richmond" for a funeral pyre,
+they escaped to the shore, and threaded their way through miles of
+morasses and dense thickets until they came to the mortar-boats, where
+they found refuge and rest. And so that first attack on Port Hudson
+ended with Farragut above the batteries, and his ships, below. It had
+only served to prove, that, safe in their heavy earthworks, the
+Confederates could defy any attack by ships alone. This fact was clear
+to the Union authorities, and they began massing troops about the
+hostile works. Two months later, Porter's mortar-boats, the frigates
+and gunboats, and the batteries and muskets of an immense body of
+troops, opened on the works. While the heavy fire was being kept up,
+the Union armies were closing in, digging trenches, and surrounding
+the Confederates on all sides. The firing came to be short-range work
+and very deadly. "To show you what cool and desperate fighting it
+was," says a Confederate, "I had at least twenty-five shots at
+Federals not two hundred feet away. In one instance I fired upon a
+lieutenant who was urging on his men. I wounded him in his left arm.
+He fired at me with his revolver, and sent a bullet through my cap.
+Next time I hit him in the hip, and he fell;, but, while I was
+reloading, he raised himself up, and shot the man next to me through
+the head. The officer was so close to me that I could tell the color
+of his eyes, and detect a small scar on his face."
+
+This sort of work continued for weeks, with occasional charges by the
+Federals. Farragut's fleet kept up its bombardment, but did little
+damage. One of the Confederate soldiers said, some time after the war,
+"One can get used to almost any thing. After the first two or three
+days, we took the bombardment as part of the regular routine. Pieces
+of shell were continually flying about, and it was the regular thing
+for a bomb to drop down among us at intervals. I have seen them come
+down within fifty feet of a sentinel, and throw up a wagon-load of
+dirt, without his even turning his head. We had but few men hurt by
+the artillery-fire. I do not believe we averaged one man hit for every
+thousand pounds of metal thrown. I remember that one day I counted
+thirteen shells and bombs hurled at the spot where I was posted before
+we had a man hurt, and he was only slightly wounded." Naturally, such
+work as this could not drive the Confederates from their trenches; and
+the fleet soon concluded to leave the army to capture Port Hudson,
+while the ships steamed on up the river toward Vicksburg. The army
+kept up the siege for weeks, until the Confederates, hearing of the
+fall of Vicksburg, surrendered.
+
+While the Union fleet was thus fighting its way up to Vicksburg, the
+Confederates were working away at a great ram that they were building
+in a secluded spot far up the Yazoo River. Work on the ram was being
+pushed with the greatest energy; and the Union sailors, in their ships
+on the Mississippi, listened daily to the stories of escaping negroes,
+and wondered when the big ship would come down and give them a tussle.
+The crew of the ram were no less impatient for the fray; for they were
+tired of being hidden away up a little river, plagued by mosquitoes
+and gnats. The dark shades of the heavy forests were seldom brightened
+by a ray of sun. The stream was full of alligators, that lay lazily on
+the banks all day, and bellowed dismally all night. The chirp of a
+bird was rarely heard. In its place were the discordant screams of
+cranes, or hisses of the moccasins or cotton-mouths. When at last the
+carpenters' clatter had ceased, and the ram, ready for action, lay in
+the little river, the crew were mustered on the deck, and told that
+the new boat had been built to clear the Union vessels from the
+Mississippi, and that purpose should be carried out. No white flag was
+to flutter from that flagstaff; and she should sink with all her crew
+before she would surrender. Any sailor who feared to enter upon such a
+service might leave the ship at once. No one left; and the "Arkansas"
+started down the river to look for an enemy. She was not long in
+finding one. At the mouth of the Yazoo floated three Union
+gunboats,--the "Carondelet," the "Tyler," and the "Queen of the West."
+As the ram came down into sight, her men heard the roll of the drums
+on the decks of the hostile vessels. The gunboats quickly opened fire,
+which was as promptly returned by the "Arkansas;" and, as she came
+swiftly rushing down the stream, the three vessels fled before her.
+The men on the ram were all new recruits, and made awkward work of the
+firing; but as she came to close quarters she sent her shells crashing
+into the Union ships, while the shot she received in return rattled
+harmlessly off her steel-mailed sides. The "Carondelet" was the first
+vessel to come to grief. She had hardly fired four shots when a heavy
+solid shot crashed through her side, and rattled against the most
+delicate part of the engine. She was helpless at once; and hardly had
+this damage been reported when a second shot came with a burst into an
+open port, killed five men, and broke its way out the other side. In
+ten minutes her decks were slippery with blood, and thick strewn with
+wounded and dead men. The current of the river drifted her upon a
+sandbar; and she lay there helplessly, now and again answering the
+galling fire of her foe with a feeble shot. Pouring in a last
+broadside, the "Arkansas" steamed past her, and, disregarding the
+other two vessels, headed for Vicksburg, where she knew her aid was
+sorely needed.
+
+The news of her coming preceded her; and, when she came within sight
+of the steeples of the city, at least ten thousand people were
+watching her progress, and wondering whether she could pass by the
+Federal batteries and through the Federal fleet. The Federal fleet was
+all ready for her, and prepared such a gauntlet for the "Arkansas" as
+had never been run by any vessel. As she came within range, every
+Union gun that could be brought to bear opened; and shot and shell
+rained from shore-batteries and marine guns upon the tough hide of the
+ram. As she sped by the vessels, they gave her their broadsides, and
+the effect was tremendous. As the huge iron balls struck the ship, she
+keeled far over; and to her crew inside, it seemed as though she was
+being lifted bodily out of the water. Not a shot broke through the
+armor; but the terrible concussions knocked men down, and made blood
+come pouring from their nostrils. For new men, her crew fought well
+and bravely; though two fell flat on their faces, afraid to lift their
+heads, lest they be taken off by a shell.
+
+[Illustration: The "Arkansas" under Fire.]
+
+When it was seen that the "Arkansas" was likely to pass through the
+lines unscathed, the Federals tried to blockade her way; but she
+deviated not an inch from her path. The vessel that stood before her
+had to move aside, or take the chances of a blow from her terrible
+iron beak. She came straight to the centre of the fleet before opening
+fire; and when her portholes were opened, and the big guns peered out,
+they found plenty of targets. Her first volley knocked a gunboat to
+pieces; and in another minute she had crashed into the side of a Union
+ram, sending that unlucky craft ashore for repairs. But the storm of
+solid shot was too much for her; and she was forced to seek shelter
+under the bluffs, where the heavy guns of the Confederate
+shore-batteries compelled the Union ships to keep a respectful
+distance. Here she lay for several weeks, beating off every assault of
+the Federals, and making a valuable addition to the defences of the
+city. But, in an evil hour, the Confederate authorities decided to
+send her down the river to recapture Baton Rouge. When her journey was
+but half completed, she was pounced upon by several United States
+vessels, with the "Essex" in the lead. Her engines breaking down, she
+drifted upon a sand-bank; and the attacking ships pounded her at their
+leisure, until, with the fire bursting from her portholes, she was
+abandoned by her crew, and blazed away until her career was ended by
+the explosion of her magazine. She had given the Federal fleet some
+hard tussles, but beyond that had done nothing of the work the
+Confederates so fondly hoped of her.
+
+While the flotilla of gunboats, led by the "Essex," were planning for
+the destruction of the "Arkansas," a small naval expedition,
+consisting of three gunboats, was threading its way up the narrow
+channel of the White River in search of some Confederate batteries
+said to be on the banks. Within twelve hours from the start, the
+sailors learned from a ragged negro, whom they captured on the shore,
+that the Confederates had powerful batteries only five miles farther
+up, and that the river channel was obstructed by sunken vessels.
+Anchor was cast for the night; and in the morning the troops
+accompanying the expedition were landed, and plunged into the forest
+with the plan of taking the fort by a rush from the rear. The gunboats
+began a slow advance up the river, throwing shells into the woods
+ahead of them. The blue-jackets kept carefully under cover; for,
+though they could see no foe, yet the constant singing of
+rifle-bullets about the ships proved that somewhere in those bushes
+were concealed sharp-shooters whose powder was good and whose aim was
+true. The "Mound City" was leading the gunboats, and had advanced
+within six hundred yards of the enemy's guns, when a single shot,
+fired from a masked battery high up the bluffs, rang out sharply amid
+the rattle of small-arms. It was the first cannon-shot fired by the
+Confederates in that engagement, and it was probably the most horribly
+deadly shot fired in the war. It entered the port-casemate forward,
+killed three men standing at the gun, and plunged into the boiler. In
+an instant the scalding steam came hissing out, filling the ship from
+stem to stern, and horribly scalding every one upon the gun-deck. The
+deck was covered with writhing forms, and screams of agony rang out
+above the harsh noise of the escaping steam and the roar of battle
+outside. Many were blown overboard; more crawled out of the portholes,
+and dropped into the river to escape the scalding steam, and
+struggling in the water were killed by rifle-balls or the fragments of
+the shells that were bursting all around. The helpless gunboat turned
+round and round in the stream, and drifted away, carrying a crew of
+dead and dying men. So great was the horror of the scene, that one of
+the officers, himself unhurt, who saw his comrades thus tortured all
+about him, went insane.
+
+While this scene was going on before the fort, the Union troops had
+come up behind it, and with a cheer rushed over the breastworks, and
+drove the garrison to surrender. The Confederate banner fell from the
+staff, and the stars and stripes went up in its place. But how great
+was the price that the Federals had to pay for that victory! That
+night, with muffled drums, and arms reversed, the blue-jackets carried
+to the grave fifty-nine of their comrades, who twelve hours before
+were active men. With three volleys of musketry the simple rites over
+the sailors' graves were ended; and those who were left alive, only
+said with a sigh, "It is the fortune of war."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+     ON TO VICKSBURG. -- BOMBARDMENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STRONGHOLD. --
+     PORTER'S CRUISE IN THE FORESTS.
+
+
+While the smaller gunboats were thus making dashes into the enemy's
+country, destroying batteries and unfinished war-vessels, and burning
+salt-works, the heavier vessels of the fleet were being massed about
+Vicksburg, and were preparing to aid the army in reducing that city to
+subjection. We need not describe the way in which Gen. Grant had been
+rushing his troops toward that point, how for weeks his engineers had
+been planning trenches and approaches to the Confederate works, until
+toward the middle part of June, 1863, the people in that city found
+themselves hemmed in by a huge girdle of trenches, batteries, and
+military camps. Gen. Pemberton, with his army of Confederate soldiers,
+had been forced backward from point after point, until at last he
+found himself in Vicksburg, with the prospect of a long siege before
+him, and no way to get past the inexorable lines of blue that
+surrounded him. It is true that he had a wonderfully strong position,
+and many were the tongues that said Vicksburg could never be taken.
+But though stronger than Sebastopol, stronger than the Rock of
+Gibraltar, Vicksburg was destined to fall before that mighty army that
+encircled it, and was slowly starving the city into subjection.
+
+But the Union soldiers, looking from their camps toward the
+Confederate citadel, saw that they had before them some severe work
+before that flag that flaunted over the city should be replaced by the
+stars and stripes. The city stands on a towering bluff high above the
+eastern bank of the Mississippi River. On that frowning height the
+busy hands of Pemberton's soldiers had reared mighty batteries, that
+commanded the Mississippi for miles up and down stream. To think of
+carrying the works by assault, was madness. Sherman had tried, and was
+beaten back with terrible loss. Then Grant, with nearly twenty
+thousand men, and with the co-operation of the river-flotilla, came
+upon the stage, and determined to take the city though it kept him at
+bay for months.
+
+All imaginable plans were tried to get the army below the city; for
+Grant's command had come down from Cairo, and were at the northern and
+most impregnable side of the enemy's works. As at Island No. 10, a
+sharp bend in the river made a long peninsula right under the
+Confederates' guns. Grant, remembering the plan adopted before, set to
+work to cut a canal through the peninsula, so that the gunboats and
+transports might get below the forts. Twelve hundred negroes worked
+with a will upon this ditch for weeks. Then came a terrible
+rain-storm: the swollen, muddy torrent of the river broke in upon the
+unfinished canal, and that work was wasted. Then a new plan was
+suggested, this time by Commodore David Porter, who all through the
+war showed the greatest delight in taking his big gunboats into
+ditches where nothing larger than a frog or musk-rat could hope to
+navigate, and then bringing them out again safe after all.
+
+The country back of Vicksburg was fairly honeycombed with shallow
+lakes, creeks, and those sluggish black streams called in the South
+bayous. Porter had been looking over this aqueous territory for some
+time, and had sent one of his lieutenants off in a steam-launch to see
+what could be done in that network of ditches. When the explorer
+returned, he brought cheering news. He was confident that, with tugs
+and gangs of axemen clearing the way, the gunboats could be taken up
+the Yazoo River, then into a wide bayou, and finally through a maze of
+small waterways, until they should reach the Mississippi again below
+the Vicksburg batteries. Then the transports could follow, the troops
+could march down the other side of the river, be met by the
+transports, ferried across, and take Vicksburg on the flank. It was a
+beautiful plan; and Porter went to Grant with it, full of enthusiasm.
+
+Gen. Grant considered the matter for some time, but finally gave his
+consent, and detailed a number of blue-coated soldiers to aid Porter's
+blue-jackets in the work. They first cut the levees, and let the
+mighty tide of the Mississippi sweep in, filling the bayous to the
+brim, and flooding all the country round about. Then the gunboats
+plunged in, and were borne along on the rushing tide until they
+brought up, all standing, against the trunks of trees, or had their
+smoke-stacks caught by overhanging branches.
+
+Then came the tug of war; and the axemen were called to the front, and
+set to work. They chopped their way along for some distance; the rapid
+current from the river banging the vessels against the trees and
+stumps, until all the standing rigging and light cabins were swept
+away. After a good deal of work they saw before them a broad river,
+wide enough for two vessels to steam abreast. Soon they drifted out
+into it, and the commanding officer sang out cheerily, "On to
+Vicksburg, boys, and no more trees to saw." And so they steamed on,
+thinking how neatly they should take the "gray-coats" in the rear,
+when suddenly a bend in the river showed them, just ahead, a fort in
+the middle of the river, with the channel blocked on either side. That
+was a surprise. The works were new, and the water was still muddy
+about the sunken steamers. Clearly the wily Pemberton had heard of
+this inland naval expedition, and was determined to check it
+effectually.
+
+The gunboats backed water, and crowded in confused groups. The gunners
+in the fort took hurried aim, and pulled the lanyards of their cannon,
+forgetting that those pieces were not loaded. It was hard to tell
+which party was the more excited at the unexpected meeting. This gave
+the blue-jackets a chance to collect their thoughts, and in a minute
+or two the gunboats opened fire; but they were soon convinced that the
+fort was too much for them, and they turned and crawled back through
+the woods to the fleet above Vicksburg. Pemberton scored one point for
+successful strategy.
+
+But, even while this expedition was working its way back to the
+station of the vessels on the Mississippi, Porter was starting another
+through a second chain of water-courses that he had discovered. This
+time he was so sure of getting into the rear of Vicksburg, that he
+took four of his big iron-clads, and two light mortar-boats built
+especially for work in the woods. Gen. Sherman, with a strong
+army-force, marched overland, keeping up with the gunboats. Admiral
+Porter, in his Memoirs, gives a graphic picture of this expedition.
+Back of Vicksburg the country is low, and intersected in every
+direction by narrow, tortuous bayous, lined on either side by gloomy
+morasses or majestic forests. Into these little-known water-courses
+Porter boldly led his ponderous iron-clads; while Sherman, with a
+detachment of troops, advanced along the shore, keeping as near the
+flotilla as possible. Seldom have naval vessels been detailed upon so
+strange a service. For days they steamed on under the spreading
+branches of trees, that often spanned the bayous in a mighty arch
+overhead, shutting out all sunlight. For a time this navigation of
+placid, shady waterways was pleasant enough; but, as they penetrated
+farther into the interior, the jackies sighed for the blue waters of
+the ocean, or even for the turbid current of the Mississippi. The
+heavy foliage that gave so grateful a shade also harbored all sorts of
+animals; and coons, rats, mice, and wildcats, that had been driven to
+the trees for shelter during the prevailing high water, peered down
+upon the sailors, and often dropped sociably down upon the decks of
+the vessels gliding beneath.
+
+At some portions of the voyage the flotilla seemed to be steaming
+through the primeval forest. The bayou was but a few feet wider than
+the gunboats, and its banks were lined by gnarled and knotted old
+veterans of the forest,--live oaks, sycamore, and tupelo gum trees
+that had stood in majestic dignity on the banks of the dark and sullen
+stream for centuries. Sometimes majestic vistas would open; broad
+avenues carpeted with velvet turf, and walled in by the massive tree
+trunks, extending from the banks of the stream far back into the
+country. Again, the stately forests would be replaced by fields of
+waving corn or rice, with the tops of a row of negro cabins or the
+columned front of a planter's house showing in the distance. Then, as
+the flotilla steamed on, this fair prospect would disappear, and be
+replaced by noisome cypress brakes, hung thick with the funereal
+Spanish moss, and harboring beneath the black water many a noxious
+reptile.
+
+So through the ever-changing scenery the gunboats moved along, making
+but little progress, but meeting with no serious obstacle, until one
+morning there appeared on a bit of high ground, some yards in advance
+of the leading gunboat, an army officer mounted on an old white horse.
+It was Gen. Sherman, and his troops were in camp near by. He greeted
+the naval forces cheerily, and, rallying Porter on the amphibious
+service into which his gunboats had been forced, warned him that he
+would soon have not a smokestack standing, nor a boat left at the
+davits.
+
+"So much the better," said the undaunted admiral. "All I want is an
+engine, guns, and a hull to float them. As to boats, they are very
+much in the way."
+
+A short time only was spent in consultation, and then Sherman with his
+forces left the bayou and plunged into the interior, first warning
+Porter that he would have a hard time getting any farther, even if the
+enemy did not come down and surround him. But Porter was not the man
+to abandon the advance, so long as there was water enough to float his
+gunboats. Besides, he had gained some ideas regarding navigation in
+the forests, that enabled him to move his fleet forward with more
+celerity than at first. When a tree blocked the course of the
+iron-clads, they no longer stopped to clear it away by work with the
+axes; but, clapping on all steam, the powerful rams dashed at the
+woody obstruction, and with repeated blows soon knocked it out of the
+way.
+
+Soon after leaving Sherman, Porter saw that the difficulties he had
+thus far met and conquered were as nothing to those which he had yet
+to encounter. The comparatively broad stream up which he had been
+steaming came to an end, and his further progress must be through
+Cypress Bayou, a canal just forty-six feet wide..[??-second period a
+smudge?] The broadest gunboat was forty-two feet wide, and to enter
+that narrow stream made retreat out of the question: there could be no
+turning round to fly. The levees rose on either side of the narrow
+canal high above the decks of the iron-clads, so that the cannon could
+not be sufficiently elevated to do effective work in case of an
+attack. But there were nine feet of water in the great ditch; and that
+was enough for Porter, who pressed boldly on.
+
+The country into which the combined military and naval expedition was
+advancing was in truth the granary of Vicksburg. On all other sides of
+the beleaguered city, the Federal lines were drawn so closely that the
+wagons laden with farm produce could not hope to pass. But here, back
+of the city, and far from the camps of Grant's legions, the work of
+raising produce for the gallant people of Vicksburg was prosecuted
+with the most untiring vigor. The sight, then, of the advancing
+gunboats aroused the greatest consternation. From the deck of his
+vessel Porter could see the people striving to save their property
+from the advancing enemy. Great droves of cattle were being driven
+away far into the interior; negroes were skurrying in all directions,
+driving poultry and pigs to the safe concealment of the forest; wagons
+groaning under the weight of farm and garden produce could be seen
+disappearing in the distance. What the inhabitants could not save they
+destroyed, in order that it might not profit the invaders. A short
+distance from the mouth of the bayou "were six thousand bales of
+cotton piled up on opposite sides of the stream, ready to be taken
+aboard a steamer when the war should end. As the gunboats advanced
+slowly, making little headway against the two-knot current of the
+bayou, Porter saw two men, carrying lighted pine-knots, dash up to the
+cotton, and begin to set it afire. The admiral looked on in disgust.
+"'What fools these mortals be!'" said he to an officer standing at his
+side; "but I suppose those men have a right to burn their own cotton,
+especially as we have no way of preventing them."
+
+"I can send a howitzer shell at them, sir," said the officer, "and
+drive them away."
+
+But to this Porter demurred, saying that he had no desire to kill the
+men, and that they might do as they liked with their own. Accordingly
+the officers quietly watched the vandals, until, after twenty minutes'
+work, the cotton was blazing, and a dense mass of smoke cut off all
+vision ahead, and rose high in the air. Then Porter began to suspect
+that he had made a mistake. The difficulties of navigation in the
+bayou were great enough, without having smoke and fire added to them.
+Yet to wait for the cotton to burn up might cause a serious delay. On
+the high bank of the bayou stood a negro begging the sailors to take
+him aboard.
+
+"Hallo, there, Sambo!" sung out Porter, "how long will it take this
+cotton to burn up?"
+
+"Two day, massa," responded the contraband; "p'raps tree."
+
+That ended the debate. "Ring the bell to go ahead fast," said the
+admiral to the pilot; and away went the flotilla at full speed,
+plunging into the smoke and fire. It was a hot experience for the
+sailors. The heavy iron-clads made but slow progress, and were
+scorched and blistered with the heat. The ports were all shut down,
+and the crews called to fire-quarters, buckets in hand. To remain on
+deck, was impossible. Porter and his captain made the trial, but had
+hardly entered the smoke when the scorching heat drove both into the
+shelter of an iron-covered deck-house. The pilot standing at the wheel
+seized a flag, and, wrapping it about his face and body, was able to
+stay at his post. As the flames grew hotter, the sailors below opened
+the main hatch, and, thrusting up a hose, deluged the deck with floods
+of water. So, without a man in sight, the huge iron ship moved along
+between the walls of flame. Suddenly came an enormous crash. The
+gunboat shivered, and for a moment stood still; then, gathering
+headway, moved on again, though with much ominous grating beneath her
+keel. Soon after she passed out of the smoke and heat, and all hands
+rushed on deck for a whiff of the fresh, cool air. Their first thought
+was of the cause of the collision; and, looking eagerly astern, they
+saw a heavy bridge, about fifty feet of which had been demolished by
+the tremendous power of the ram. This gave Porter a hint as to the
+force he had at his command; and thereafter bridges were rammed as a
+matter of course whenever they impeded the progress of the iron-clads.
+The astonishment of the people along the shore may well be imagined.
+
+The great and formidable obstacles that stood in the path of the
+squadron were, as a rule, overcome by the exertion of the great powers
+of the steam-driven, iron-plated vessels; but at last there came a
+check, that, though it seemed at first insignificant, terminated the
+sylvan manoeuvres of the iron-clad navy. After running the gantlet of
+the burning cotton, butting down trees, and smashing through bridges,
+the column entered a stretch of smooth water that seemed to promise
+fair and unobstructed sailing. But toward the end of this expanse of
+water a kind of green scum was evident, extending right across the
+bayou, from bank to bank. Porter's keen eye caught sight of this; and,
+turning to one of the negroes who had taken refuge on the gunboat, he
+asked what it was. "It's nuffin' but willows, sah," he replied. "When
+de water's out of de bayou, den we cuts de willows to make baskets
+with. You kin go troo dat like a eel."
+
+Satisfied with this explanation, the admiral ordered the tug which
+led the column to go ahead. Under a full head of steam, the tug
+dashed into the willows, but began to slow up, until, after going
+about thirty yards, she stopped, unable to go forward or back.
+Undaunted by this unexpected resistance, Porter cried out that the
+"Cincinnati" would push the tug along; and the heavy gunboat,
+withdrawing a short distance to gain headway, hurled herself forward,
+and dashed into the willows with a force that would have carried her
+through any bridge ever built. But the old fable of the lion bound
+down by the silken net was here re-enacted. The gunboat did not even
+reach the tug. The slender willow-shoots trailed along the sides,
+caught in the rough ends of the iron overhang, and held the vessel
+immovable. Abandoning the attempt to advance, the gunboat strove to
+back out, but to no avail. Then hooks were rigged over the side to
+break away the withes, and men slung in ropes alongside vigorously
+wielded sharp cutlasses and saws; but still the willows retained their
+grip. Matters were now getting serious; and, to add to Porter's
+perplexity, reports came in that Confederate troops were coming down
+upon him. Then he began to lose confidence in his iron-clads, and wish
+right heartily for Sherman and his soldiers, of whose whereabouts he
+could gain no knowledge. The enemy did not leave him long in doubts as
+to their intention, and soon began a vigorous fire of shells from the
+woods. Porter stopped that promptly by manning his mortars and firing
+a few shells at a range measured by the sound of the enemy's cannon.
+The immediate silence of the hostile batteries proved the accuracy of
+the admiral's calculations, and gave him time to devise means for
+escaping from his perilous position.
+
+How to do it without aid from Sherman's troops, was a difficult
+question; and in his perplexity he exclaimed aloud, "Why don't Sherman
+come on? I'd give ten dollars to get a telegram to him." The admiral
+was standing at the moment on the bank of the bayou, near a group of
+negroes; and an athletic-looking contraband stepped forward, and,
+announcing himself as a "telegram-wire," offered to carry the note "to
+kingdum kum for half a dollar." After sharply cross-questioning the
+volunteer, Porter wrote on a scrap of paper, "DEAR SHERMAN,--Hurry up,
+for Heaven's sake. I never knew how helpless an iron-clad could be,
+steaming around through the woods without an army to back her."
+
+"Where will you carry this?" asked Porter, handing the despatch to the
+negro.
+
+[Illustration: Porter's Flotilla on the Red River.]
+
+"In my calabash kiver, massa," responded the messenger with a grin;
+and, stowing the paper away in his woolly hair, he darted away.
+
+The telegram being thus despatched, Porter again turned his attention
+to the willows; and, a fortunate rise in the water having occurred, he
+was able to extricate his vessels and begin his retreat down the
+bayou. He was somewhat perplexed by the silence of the Confederates,
+from whom he had heard nothing since his mortars silenced their masked
+batteries. The conundrum was solved by the sound of wood-chopping in
+the forests ahead, and the discovery shortly after of two heavy logs
+lying athwart the bayou, and stopping the progress of the vessels. An
+hour's hard work with axe and saw removed this obstruction; and the
+tug, slipping through first, shot ahead to prevent any more
+tree-felling. The loud reports of her howitzer soon carried back to
+the fleet the news that she had come up with the enemy, and was
+disputing with them the right to the bayou.
+
+The difficulties of the retreat were no less great than those of the
+advance, with the intermittent attacks of the enemy added. The work of
+removing heavy, soggy logs, half submerged beneath the black waters of
+the bayou, clearing away standing trees, and breaking up and removing
+Red-river rafts, wearied the sailors, and left them little spirit to
+meet the enemy's attacks. The faint sounds of wood-chopping in the
+distance told too well of the additional impediments yet in store for
+the adventurous mariners. Scouts sent out reported that the enemy had
+impressed great gangs of negroes, and were forcing them to do the work
+of felling the trees that were to hem in Uncle Sam's gunboats, for the
+benefit of the C.S.A. But the plans of the Confederates to this end
+were easily defeated. Porter had not only many willing arms at his
+command, but the powerful aid of steam. When the gunboats came to a
+tree lying across the bayou, a landing party went ashore and fastened
+large pulleys to a tree on the bank. Then a rope was passed through
+the block; and one end having been made fast to the fallen tree, the
+other was taken aboard a gunboat. The word was then given, "Back the
+iron-clad hard;" and the fallen monarch of the forest was soon dragged
+across the bayou and out of the way So expert did the jackies become
+in this work, that they were soon able to clear away the trees faster
+than the enemy could fell them. The tug then went ahead, and for a
+time put an end to further tree-chopping, and captured several of the
+negro axemen.
+
+From the captured contrabands Porter learned that the attempt to cut
+off his retreat was directed by the military authorities at Vicksburg.
+This was a startling revelation. He had thought that the Confederates
+were in entire ignorance of his movement; and now it turned out that
+the wily Pemberton had kept a sharp lookout on the marauding gunboats,
+and was shrewdly planning for their capture. While Porter was
+pondering over this new discovery, a party of scouts came in, bringing
+in four captured Confederates, two of whom were commissioned officers.
+The commanding officer, a mere boy, was somewhat chagrined at being
+captured, but felt confident that his friends would recapture him
+shortly. Porter politely asked him to take a glass of wine and some
+supper.
+
+"I don't care if I do," responded the youngster; "and I have the less
+compunction in taking it, as it belongs to us anyhow. In two hours you
+will be surrounded and bagged. You can't escape. How in the Devil's
+name you ever got here, is a wonder to me."
+
+Porter smiled pleasantly, and, helping his guests lavishly, proceeded
+to question them on the numbers and position of the Confederate
+troops. He learned that a large body of troops had been sent out to
+surround the iron-clads, and were even then closing in upon the
+intruders. The danger was imminent, but Porter showed no trepidation.
+
+"How far off are your troops?" he asked.
+
+"About four miles. They will bag you at daylight," was the confident
+response.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," said the admiral, "Gen. Sherman is now surrounding
+your forces with ten thousand men, and will capture them all before
+daylight." And so saying the admiral went on deck, leaving his
+captives lost in wonder; for the information carried to the Vicksburg
+authorities had made no mention of troops.
+
+Though Porter had put on so bold a front before his captives, he
+really felt much anxiety for the fate of his iron-clads. He could hear
+nothing from Sherman, who might be thirty miles away for all he knew.
+Accordingly he retraced his course for a few miles, to throw the enemy
+off the scent, and the next day began again his descent of the bayou,
+bumping along stern foremost amid snags and standing trees. The enemy
+soon gave evidence that he was on the watch, and opened fire with his
+artillery from the rear. At this one gunboat steamed back and silenced
+the artillery for a time, after which she rejoined her fellows.
+Sharp-shooters in the thickets along the levee then began to grow
+troublesome; and the whistle of the rifle-balls, with an occasional
+_ping_ as one struck the smokestack, warned the sailors that the deck
+of a gunboat in a narrow canal was no safe place in time of war. The
+high levees on either side of the bayou made it impossible to use the
+guns properly: so Porter turned them into mortars, and, by using very
+small charges of powder, pitched shells up into the air, dropping them
+into the bushes back of the levee. This somewhat checked the fire of
+the sharp-shooters, but the decks were still dangerous places to
+frequent. A rifle-ball struck Lieut. Wells in the head as he stood
+talking to Porter; and he fell, apparently dead, upon the deck. The
+admiral beckoned an officer to come and bear away the body; but the
+newcomer was also hit, and fell across the body of the first. Porter
+concluded that the locality was getting rather hot, and gladly stepped
+behind a heavy plate of sheet-iron, which an old quarter-master
+brought him with the remark, "There, sir, stand behind that. They've
+fired at you long enough."
+
+From behind his shield, Porter looked out anxiously at the forces by
+which he was beleaguered. He could see clearly that the Confederates
+were increasing in numbers; and, when at last he saw a long gray
+column come sweeping out of the woods, his heart failed him, and for a
+moment he thought that the fate of his flotilla was sealed. But at
+that very moment deliverance was at hand. The Confederates were seen
+to fall into confusion, waver, and give way before a thin blue
+line,--the advance guard of Sherman's troops. The negro
+"telegram-wire" had proved faithful, and Sherman had come on to the
+rescue.
+
+That ended the difficulties of the flotilla. The enemy, once brought
+face to face with Sherman's men, departed abruptly; and soon the
+doughty general, mounted on an old gray horse, came riding down to the
+edge of the bayou, for a word with Porter. Seeing the admiral on the
+deck of his gunboat, he shouted out, "Hallo! Porter, what did you get
+into such an ugly scrape for? So much for you navy fellows getting out
+of your element. Better send for the soldiers always. My boys will put
+you through. Here's your little nigger. He came through all right, and
+I started at once. Your gunboats are enough to scare the crows: they
+look as if you had got a terrible hammering."
+
+Somewhat crestfallen, Porter remarked, that he "never knew what
+helpless things iron-clads could become when they got in a ditch, and
+had no soldiers about." As Sherman declined to come aboard, Porter
+went below to look after his two prisoners.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," said he, as he entered the cabin, "you were right.
+We are surrounded by troops."
+
+The two Confederates were greatly exultant, but assured Porter that
+they would see that he was kindly treated when taken into Vicksburg.
+
+"To Vicksburg!" said he with mock amazement. "Who said any thing of
+Vicksburg?"
+
+"Why, of course you'll be taken there as a prisoner, now that our men
+have surrounded you."
+
+"Oh, you are mistaken there!" responded Porter. "The troops by whom I
+am surrounded are Sherman's boys, six thousand strong." And at this
+news the chagrined captives subsided, and began to consider the
+prospects of a trip to the North, and incarceration in one of the
+military prisons.
+
+Sherman's army soon came up in force, and went into camp along the
+road that skirted the levee. As night fell, the scene took on a wild
+and picturesque air. In the narrow bayou lay the gunboats, strung out
+in single file along a line of half a mile. They bore many signs of
+the hard knocks they had received in their excursion through the
+woods. Boats, davits, steam-pipes, and every thing breakable that rose
+above the level of the deck, had been swept away by the overhanging
+boughs, or dashed to pieces by falling trees. The smoke-stacks and
+wheel-houses were riddled by the bullets of the Confederate
+sharp-shooters. The decks were covered with rubbish of all kinds, and
+here and there was a fissure that told of the bursting of some
+Confederate shell. The paint was blistered, and peeling off, from the
+effects of the cotton-fire through which the fleet had dashed.
+
+On the shore blazed the camp-fires of Sherman's troops; and about the
+huge flaming piles the weary soldiers threw themselves down to catch a
+moment's rest, while the company cooks prepared the evening meal. Many
+of the idle soldiers strolled down to the edge of the bayou, and,
+forming a line along the levee, began chaffing the sailors on the
+ludicrous failure of their attempt to perform naval evolutions in a
+swamp.
+
+"What's gone with your boats, Jack?" sung out one tall fellow in
+cavalry garb. "Been in dry-dock for repairs?"
+
+"How do you like playing mud-turtle?" said another. "Better stick to
+salt water after this."
+
+"Don't go bush-whacking again, unless you have the soldiers with you.
+You look as if your mothers didn't know you were out." And at this a
+yell of approval went up all along the line, while the badgered
+sailors growled and tried to make sharp retorts to the stinging
+ridicule of the landsmen.
+
+So ended this memorable gunboat expedition. It is unparalleled in the
+history of warfare. The feats performed by the unwieldy iron-clads in
+the narrow bayous gained for them, from Lincoln, the title of
+"web-footed" gunboats. They had traversed shallow and tortuous
+channels; they had cleared their path of trees, snags, and even
+bridges; they had run the gantlet of flaming cotton-bales and
+Confederate bullets. After meeting and overcoming so many obstacles,
+their final stoppage by a thicket of pitiful willow-shoots irritated
+the blue-jackets and their commander extremely. Porter had penetrated
+so far into the Yazoo country, that he could see how great damage
+could be inflicted upon the Confederates, if the expedition could but
+be carried out successfully. He had definite information to the
+effect, that, at Yazoo City, the Confederates had a thriving shipyard,
+at which they were pressing forward the construction of steam-rams
+with which to sweep the Mississippi. To reach that point and destroy
+the vessels, would have been a service thoroughly in accord with his
+tastes; but the willows held him back. However, he was able to console
+himself with the thought that the rams were not likely to do the
+Confederates any immediate service; for a truthful contraband, brought
+in by the Union scouts, informed the admiral that "dey has no bottom
+in, no sides to 'em, an' no top on to 'em, sah; an' dere injines is in
+Richmon'."
+
+When the dangers encountered by the gunboats during this expedition
+are considered, the damage sustained seems surprisingly small. Had the
+Confederates acted promptly and vigorously, the intruders would never
+have escaped from the swamps into which their temerity had led them. A
+few torpedoes, judiciously planted in the muddy bed of the bayou,
+would have effectively prevented any farther advance. More than once
+the Confederates posted their artillery within effective range, and
+opened a rapid and well-directed fire upon the gunboats, but erred in
+using explosive shells instead of solid shot. "They were evidently
+greenhorns," wrote Porter, exulting over his narrow escape, "and
+failed to understand that we were iron-clad, and did not mind
+_bursting_-shell. If they had used solid shot, they might have hurt
+us." The infantry forces of the enemy were ample to have given the
+marauding gunboats a vast deal of trouble, if the Confederate officers
+had been enterprising, and had seized upon the opportunities afforded
+them. Night after night the flotilla lay tied up in the centre of a
+narrow bayou, with the levees towering so high above the gunboats'
+ports, that the cannon were useless. At such a time, a determined
+assault by a body of hostile infantry could hardly have been resisted.
+Such an attack was the danger which Porter most feared throughout the
+expedition, and he nightly made preparations for a desperate
+resistance. The widest part of the bayou was chosen for the anchorage,
+in order that a strip of water at least four feet wide might separate
+the gunboats from the shore. The sides of the iron-clads were then
+greased, and the guns loaded with grape, and elevated as much as
+possible. Landing parties with howitzers were sent ashore, and posted
+so as to enfilade any attacking force; scouts were sent out in all
+directions; and the crews of the gunboats slept at their quarters all
+night, ready for action at the first alarm. But it is doubtful whether
+even these elaborate precautions could have saved the flotilla, had
+the Confederates brought one regiment to the assault. However, the
+enemy let the golden moment pass; and, after suffering the agonies of
+suspense for several days, Porter at last saw his gunboats safely
+anchored by the side of Sherman's protecting regiments.
+
+Sherman and Porter held a consultation that night, and concluded that
+it was useless to try to get around Vicksburg by hauling the gunboats
+through the woods; and the following morning the flotilla started back
+to the Union headquarters on the Mississippi.
+
+Gen. Grant was beginning to get impatient. Weeks had passed away, and
+there were still no gunboats or transports below the Vicksburg
+batteries to aid him in carrying out his military plans. He held a
+long consultation with Porter, the outcome of which was that the
+admiral decided to run his gunboats and transports right through the
+fire of the Confederate guns.
+
+[Illustration: Dummy Gunboat passing Forts on the Mississippi.]
+
+But, before sending a vessel through, Porter thought that he would
+test the accuracy of the Confederate gunners by giving them a dummy
+to fire at. He took a large flat boat, and built it up with logs and
+lumber until it looked like a powerful ram. Two huge wheel-houses
+towered amidships, on each of which was painted, in great, staring
+letters, "Deluded Rebels, cave in." From the open ports, the muzzles
+of what appeared to be heavy rifles protruded; though the guns that
+seemed so formidable were really only logs of wood. Two high
+smoke-stacks, built of empty pork-barrels, rose from the centre of
+this strange craft; and at the bottom of each stack was an iron pot,
+in which was a heap of tar and oakum that sent forth volumes of black
+smoke when lighted. One dark night the fires in this sham monster were
+lighted, and she was towed down to the Confederate batteries, and set
+drifting down the river. She was quickly discovered, and the batteries
+on the bluffs opened on her with a roar. There was nothing about the
+dummy to be hurt, however; and it was impossible to sink her. So she
+sailed majestically through the plunging hail of solid shot, and past
+the terrible batteries that were thought to be a match for any thing
+afloat. The Confederates in the trenches looked at each other in
+astonishment and dismay. Word was sent to Gen. Pemberton that a
+powerful Yankee iron-clad had passed the batteries unhurt, and was
+speeding down the stream. The General's first thought was of a
+gunboat, the "Indianola," lately captured from the Federals, and now
+being converted into an iron-clad ram. She must be saved from
+recapture, even if it should be necessary to destroy her. Word was
+hurriedly sent down the river that a formidable ram was bearing down
+upon the "Indianola;" and, if the latter vessel was not in condition
+to do battle, she should be blown up. Accordingly, while the dummy
+ram, caught in an eddy of the river, was whirling helplessly around
+just below Vicksburg, the Confederates put the torch to their new
+war-vessel, and she was soon a heap of ashes. Porter's little joke was
+a good one for the United States.
+
+But all the time that the Union navy was making these futile attempts
+to get the better of the wily general who held the fort at Vicksburg,
+a constant bombardment of the city was kept up. From gunboats and land
+batteries, shells were hurled into the streets of the town, tearing
+down houses, killing men, women, and children, and driving the
+inhabitants to their cellars, or to deep caves dug in the hills. The
+fire from the Union gunboats was most destructive, for they could drop
+down to an advantageous point, shell the city until tired, then steam
+back into safety again.
+
+Cave-digging in the city became a regular business; and caves brought
+from twenty to fifty dollars, according to their size. They generally
+consisted of two or three rooms, and people lived in them quite
+cheerfully during the time that the iron hail was falling in the
+city's streets.
+
+A Northern woman, who was pent up in Vicksburg during the siege, tells
+graphically the story of the bombardment:--
+
+"For many nights we have had but little sleep, because the Federal
+gunboats have been running past the batteries. The uproar when this is
+happening is phenomenal. The first night the thundering artillery
+burst the bars of sleep, we thought it an attack by the river. To get
+into garments, and rush up-stairs, was the work of a moment. From the
+upper gallery we have a fine view of the river; and soon a red glare
+lit up the scene, and showed a small boat, towing two large barges,
+gliding by. The Confederates had set fire to a house near the bank.
+Another night, eight boats ran by, throwing a shower of shot; and two
+burning houses made the river clear as day. One of the batteries has a
+remarkable gun they call 'whistling Dick,' because of the screeching,
+whistling sound it gives; and certainly it does sound like a tortured
+thing. Added to all this is the indescribable Confederate yell, which
+is a soul-harrowing sound to hear. I have gained respect for the
+mechanism of the human ear, which stands it all without injury. The
+streets are seldom quiet at night: even the dragging about of cannon
+makes a din in these echoing gullies. The other night we were on the
+gallery till the last of the eight boats got by. Next day a friend
+said to H----, 'It was a wonder you didn't have your heads taken off
+last night. I passed, and saw them stretched over the gallery; and
+grape-shot were whizzing up the street just on a level with you.' The
+double roar of batteries and boats was so great, we never noticed the
+whizzing. Yesterday the 'Cincinnati' attempted to go by in daylight,
+but was disabled and sunk. It was a pitiful sight: we could not see
+the _finale_, though we saw her rendered helpless.
+
+[Illustration: Passing the Vicksburg Batteries.]
+
+"Since that day the regular siege has continued. We are utterly cut
+off from the world, surrounded by a circle of fire. Would it be wise,
+like the scorpion, to sting ourselves to death? The fiery shower of
+shells goes on day and night. H----'s occupation, of course, is gone,
+his office closed. Every man has to carry a pass in his pocket. People
+do nothing but eat what they can get, sleep when they can, and dodge
+the shells. There are three intervals when the shelling
+stops,--either for the guns to cool, or for the gunners' meals, I
+suppose,--about eight in the morning, the same in the evening, and at
+noon. In that time we have to both prepare and eat ours. Clothing
+cannot be washed, or any thing else done. On the 19th and 22d, when
+the assaults were made on the lines, I watched the soldiers cooking on
+the green opposite. The half-spent balls, coming all the way from
+those lines, were flying so thick that they were obliged to dodge at
+every turn. At all the caves I could see from my high perch, people
+were sitting, eating their poor suppers at the cave doors, ready to
+plunge in again. As the first shell again flew, they dived; and not a
+human being was visible. The sharp crackle of the musketry-firing was
+a strong contrast to the scream of the bombs. I think all the dogs and
+cats must be killed or starved: we don't see any more pitiful animals
+prowling around.... The cellar is so damp and musty, the bedding has
+to be carried out and laid in the sun every day, with the forecast
+that it may be demolished at any moment. The confinement is dreadful.
+To sit and listen as if waiting for death in a horrible manner, would
+drive me insane. I don't know what others do, but we read when I am
+not scribbling in this. H---- borrowed somewhere a lot of Dickens's
+novels, and we re-read them by the dim light in the cellar. When the
+shelling abates, H---- goes to walk about a little, or get the 'Daily
+Citizen,' which is still issuing a tiny sheet at twenty-five and fifty
+cents a copy. It is, of course, but a rehash of speculations which
+amuses a half-hour. To-day he heard, while out, that expert swimmers
+are crossing the Mississippi on logs at night, to bring and carry news
+to Johnston. I am so tired of corn-bread, which I never liked, that I
+eat it with tears in my eyes. We are lucky to get a quart of milk
+daily from a family near, who have a cow they hourly expect to be
+killed. I send five dollars to market each morning, and it buys a
+small piece of mule-meat. Rice and milk is my main food: I can't eat
+the mule-meat. We boil the rice, and eat it cold, with milk, for
+supper. Martha runs the gauntlet to buy the meat and milk once a day
+in a perfect terror. The shells seem to have many different names. I
+hear the soldiers say, 'That's a mortar-shell. There goes a Parrott.
+That's a rifle-shell.' They are all equally terrible. A pair of
+chimney-swallows have built in the parlor chimney. The concussion of
+the house often sends down parts of their nest, which they patiently
+pick up and re-ascend with."
+
+Grant's impassable lines about the beleaguered city soon made
+starvation more to be feared than even the terrible shells from the
+cannon of the gunboats. Necessaries of all sorts became woefully
+scarce in Vicksburg. Five dollars could purchase only a little bit of
+mule's flesh, hardly enough for a meal for two people. Flour was not
+to be had at any price. Bread was made of coarse corn-meal or grated
+peas. The ammunition of the soldiers in the trenches soon began to
+give out, and the utmost economy was exercised. Many of the soldiers
+were armed with muskets that required caps, and it was not many days
+before caps were at a great premium. They were generally smuggled into
+the city through the Union lines by fleet-footed carriers, who ran a
+long gauntlet of Union pickets. Many were shot down in the attempt,
+but more succeeded. One man who brought in sixteen thousand caps, was
+nine days travelling thirteen miles, and was fired on more than twenty
+times.
+
+But, though Grant could have starved the city into subjection by
+simply sitting and waiting, he grew tired of this, and determined to
+force matters to an issue. The first thing to be done was to get the
+gunboats and transports past the batteries. The transports were put
+into shape to stand a cannonade by having their weaker parts covered
+with cotton-bales; and on one dark night in June, the flotilla started
+down the river, with the iron-clad gunboats in advance. Admiral Porter
+led in the "Benton." At eleven o'clock the fleet got under way; and,
+as the "Benton" came abreast of the first batteries, the alarm was
+given in the Confederate camp, and a fierce cannonade began. Huge
+fires were lighted on the shores to light up the river, and make the
+gunboats visible to the Confederate cannoneers. The warships swung
+grandly around the bend, responding with rapid broadsides to the fire
+of the forts. All the vessels were hit once or oftener. The heavy
+smoke that accompanies such fierce cannonading hung over the river,
+cutting off all view of the surroundings from the sailors. The eddying
+currents of the river caught the steamers, swinging them now this way,
+now that, until the perplexed pilots knew not which way their vessels
+were headed. The blue-jackets at the guns worked away cheerily,
+knowing that enemies were on every side of them, and that, no matter
+which way their missiles sped, an enemy was to be found. More than one
+vessel turned completely around; and once, when the rising breeze
+cleared away the smoke, the pilot of the "Benton" found that he was
+taking his ship up-stream again, and was in imminent danger of
+running down a friendly gunboat. But they all passed on without
+receiving any severe injuries, and at five o'clock in the morning lay
+anchored far below the city, ready to begin the attack upon the
+Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf, which were called "the key to
+Vicksburg."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+     VICKSBURG SURRENDERS, AND THE MISSISSIPPI IS OPENED. -- NAVAL
+     EVENTS ALONG THE GULF COAST.
+
+
+The first grand step toward the capture of Vicksburg was made when the
+river-flotilla followed Porter down the Mississippi, and past the guns
+of the Confederate batteries. Grant, with his army, had followed along
+the western bank of the great river; and we now find him ready to
+cross the river, and move upon the Vicksburg batteries from the south.
+But, before this could be done, the Confederate works at Grand Gulf
+must be silenced; and it again happened that the navy was to be the
+chief factor in the contest. For this new battle all the blue-jackets
+were ready and anxious. Admiral Porter says that "when daylight broke,
+after the passage of the fleet, I was besieged by the commanding
+officers of the gunboats, who came to tell me of their mishaps; but,
+when I intimated that I intended to leave at Carthage any vessel that
+could not stand the hammering they would be subject to at Grand Gulf,
+they suddenly discovered that no damage had been done to their
+vessels, which, if any thing, were better prepared for action than
+when they started out!"
+
+The Confederate works at Grand Gulf mounted eighteen guns; and, as
+they stood upon high bluffs overlooking the river, they were most
+formidable. It was decided by the Federals that the navy alone should
+undertake the task of reducing the fortifications,--a decision that
+was of benefit to the Confederates, for their strongest position was
+along the river-front. Four of the guns held a raking position up and
+down the long stretch of muddy water that swirled and eddied by with a
+current of seven miles an hour.
+
+While the fort had the advantage of position, the gunboats were much
+stronger in their armament; and the contest was looked forward to as
+one bound to be desperate. The position of every gun in the batteries,
+and the size of the garrison, were well known to every commander of a
+Union vessel; and they made the most careful preparations for the
+assault.
+
+The Confederates knew that the result of that day's battle would
+decide the ownership of Vicksburg, and they were prepared to offer the
+most desperate resistance. The orders at every battery were to use
+shell alone; and the men were instructed to fire carefully, and only
+after taking deadly aim. In a high tree just outside the fort a
+lookout was stationed; and at early daylight, on the morning of the
+29th of April, 1863, he signalled that the fleet of gunboats was
+bearing down upon the works.
+
+Men who were in the fort that morning saw a strange panorama. The
+stillness was most profound on the shore and on the river. The boats
+moved slowly and grandly down, not a man in sight, and with no sign of
+life. The trees up the river were black with Federal spectators; and
+the chirp of birds was all about the men who stood waiting beside the
+huge cannon.
+
+Porter went at his work with a vim which made the forest tremble and
+the river bubble. For the first few minutes the Confederates were
+appalled by the fierceness of the fire, which stands on record as the
+fastest in the war; but, when the forts did get down to their work,
+they went in with a roar that almost deafened the Federal soldiers
+three miles away. Great shells burst over the gunboats, or, falling
+into the water close by their sides, threw up columns of water that
+deluged the decks. The vessels found the greatest difficulty in
+getting good positions for the swift-eddying current. One moment they
+were bow on, the next headed down stream, or up, or whirling around in
+circles. Of course this greatly hurt the aim of the gunners, but it
+likewise made the vessels poor targets for the Confederates.
+
+Three gunboats--the "Benton," "Tuscumbia," and "Lafayette"-- engaged
+the upper battery; and nowhere in naval history is found the record of
+faster firing than was done by these ships. Their huge shells tore
+away at the walls of earth, throwing up tons of dirt with each
+explosion, but not seeming to affect the strength of the fort at all.
+Not a shot entered an embrasure, though many came near it. One of the
+Confederate artillerists said after the fight,--
+
+"There was not one single minute in all that five hours in which I did
+not expect death. We all worked away as if in a nightmare, and we all
+felt that any moment might be our last. The 'Benton' fired repeatedly
+at my gun; and as many as twenty of her shells struck the opening,
+tearing holes in the parapet ten feet back. Twenty times we were
+almost buried out of sight under the clouds of dirt, and the loose
+earth was knee deep around our gun when the fight closed. Not one of
+us was hit hard enough to draw blood, and yet we all felt ten years
+older for that five hours' work. I sighted the gun, and saw fourteen
+of my shot hit the 'Benton,' and six plunge into another."
+
+The gunboats fought in a way that showed desperate determination. The
+first gun from the "Lafayette" was answered by a shell which crashed
+through her side and exploded in a wardroom, knocking every thing into
+chips. Three times the carpenter came up and reported to the captain
+that the ship was sinking; and each time the reply was, "Very well,
+sir: keep right on firing until the guns are under water." When the
+ship came out of the fight, she counted up fifty scars.
+
+The long-range firing that was carried on at first did not satisfy the
+"Mound City." One particular gunner on the Confederate works seemed to
+cherish a spite against her; and every time the flame leaped from the
+muzzle of his gun, a solid shot banged against the gunboat's side.
+This was not to be tamely borne; and the "Mound City" rushed up so
+close to the bank that her bow stirred up the mud, and from that
+position opened fast and furiously upon the forts with grape and
+canister. A hail of rifle-bullets fell upon her decks; but she stuck
+to her post, and succeeded in driving the enemy to the bomb-proofs.
+
+But, with all their pluck and rapid firing, the gunners of the fleet
+were making no impression on the works. Gen. Grant, who was watching
+the engagement from a tug in mid-stream, saw this, and determined to
+rush his soldiers past the fort in transports, while the navy engaged
+the enemy's guns. This was done quickly, and towards night the ships
+returned to their post up the river, leaving the Confederates in
+possession of the batteries. But the great point had been gained; and
+Grant's army was moving on Vicksburg, with nothing to interfere with
+its besieging operations.
+
+Then began that series of attacks and repulses, of building trenches,
+paralleling, and advancing steadily, until the lines of the Federals
+and the Confederates were so close together that the men used to shout
+jokes and taunts over the breastworks. All the Confederates were known
+as "Johnnies," and all Union soldiers as "Yanks." Often "Johnny" would
+call out, "Well, Yank, when are you coming into town?" Sometimes the
+answer was, "We propose to celebrate the Fourth of July there." The
+"Johnnies" did not believe this; but it was true, nevertheless, for on
+July 4 Grant's victorious army marched into Vicksburg. A day or two
+later the Confederate works at Port Hudson and Grand Gulf were
+surrendered to the Federals, and the Mississippi was again open for
+commerce throughout its length.
+
+When the fall of Vicksburg had thus left the river clear, Admiral
+Porter was ordered to take his fleet up the Red River, and clear away
+any Confederate works that he might find on the banks of that stream.
+Gen. A. J. Smith, with a strong body of troops, accompanied him; while
+Gen. Banks was to march his troops overland from Texas, and join the
+expedition at Shreveport. For several days the gunboats pressed
+forward up the crooked stream, meeting with no opposition, save from
+the sharp-shooters who lined the banks on either side, and kept up a
+constant fire of small-arms.
+
+Shreveport was reached in safety; and, after a short halt, the
+flotilla started again on their voyage up the river. They had
+proceeded but a short distance when a courier came galloping down the
+river's bank, waving a despatch, which he handed to Admiral Porter.
+
+[Illustration: Manning the Yards.]
+
+"The despatch read, 'Gen. Banks badly defeated; return,' Here was a
+dilemma to be placed in,--a victorious army between us and our own
+forces; a long, winding, shallow river wherein the vessels were
+continually grounding; a long string of empty transports, with many
+doubtful captains, who were constantly making excuses to lie by or to
+land (in other words, who were trying to put their vessels into the
+power of the Confederates); and a thousand points on the river where
+we could be attacked with great advantage by the enemy; and the
+banks lined with sharp-shooters, by whom every incautious soldier who
+showed himself was shot."
+
+But, though the admiral clearly saw all the dangers he was exposed to,
+and which he recounts in the foregoing paragraph, he did not propose
+to return, but pressed forward. He soon reached the scene of battle,
+and with the big guns of his boats covered the retreat of the troops;
+then, having done all there was to be done, started down the river.
+
+But now came the great trouble of the whole expedition. Those Southern
+rivers are accustomed in summer to fall rapidly until they become mere
+dry ditches, with a narrow rivulet, hardly deep enough to float a
+row-boat, flowing down the centre. This was the summer season, and the
+Red River was falling fast. The banks swarmed with gray-coated
+soldiery, anxious to be on hand to capture the ships. At Grand Écore
+the "Eastport" became unmanageable, and was blown up. The fleet
+continued on its way quietly, until a serious obstacle was met.
+Admiral Porter writes:--
+
+"One of the 'Cricket's' guns was mounted on the upper deck forward, to
+command the banks; and a crew of six men were kept stationed at it,
+ready to fire at any thing hostile.
+
+"We went along at a moderate pace, to keep within supporting distance
+of each other. I was sitting on the upper deck, reading, with one eye
+on the book and the other on the bushes, when I saw men's heads, and
+sang out to the commanding officer, Gorringe, 'Give those fellows in
+the bushes a two-second shell.' A moment after the shell burst in the
+midst of the people on the bank.
+
+"'Give them another dose,' I said, when, to my astonishment, there
+came on board a shower of projectiles that fairly made the little
+'Cricket' stagger. Nineteen shells burst on board our vessel at the
+first volley. It was the gun-battery of which our prisoner had told
+us. We were going along at this time about six knots an hour; and,
+before we could fire another gun, we were right under the battery and
+turning the point, presenting the 'Cricket's' stern to the enemy. They
+gave us nine shells when we were not more than twenty yards distant
+from the bank, all of which burst inside of us; and, as the vessel's
+stern was presented, they poured in ten more shots, which raked us
+fore and aft.
+
+"Then came the roar of three thousand muskets, which seemed to strike
+every spot in the vessel. Fortunately her sides were musket-proof.
+
+"The 'Cricket' stopped. I had been expecting it. How, thought I, could
+all these shells go through a vessel without disabling the machinery?
+The Rebels gave three cheers, and let us drift on: they were
+determined to have the whole of us. They opened their guns on the two
+pump-boats, and sunk them at the first discharge. The poor negroes
+that could swim tried to reach the shore; but the musketeers picked
+off those that were in the water or clinging to the wrecks. It was a
+dreadful spectacle to witness, with no power to prevent it; but it
+turned out to be the salvation of the 'Cricket.' All this took place
+in less than five minutes.
+
+"The moment the 'Cricket' received the first discharge of artillery, I
+went on deck to the pilot-house, saluted by a volley of musketry as I
+passed along; and, as I opened the pilot-house door, I saw that the
+pilot, Mr. Drening, had his head cut open by a piece of shell, and the
+blood was streaming down his cheeks. He still held on to the wheel. 'I
+am all right, sir,' he said: 'I won't give up the wheel.'
+
+"Gorringe was perfectly cool, and was ringing the engine-room bell to
+go ahead. In front of the wheel-house, the bodies of the men who
+manned the howitzer were piled up. A shell had struck the gun, and,
+exploding, had killed all the crew,--a glorious death for them."
+
+Porter now found himself in a bad fix. His guns could not be elevated
+enough to bear on the batteries that stood on the crest of the high
+bluffs. There was nothing to do but to run by at the best possible
+rate of speed. Suddenly the engine stopped, and the vessel floated
+helplessly down the stream. Porter rushed below to discover the
+trouble. In the engine-room stood the engineer leaning heavily against
+the throttle. Porter shouted at him, but received no reply; then,
+putting his hand on the man's shoulder, found him dead. The admiral
+threw the body aside, pulled open the throttle, and the "Cricket"
+glided along past the batteries to a safe refuge down-stream. The
+other ships came down safely, although more or less cut up; and the
+flotilla continued its retreat down the stream. For a day or two all
+went smoothly as a holiday excursion; then came a sudden reverse,
+that, for a time, seemed to make certain the loss of the entire fleet.
+At Alexandria the Red-river bottom is full of great rocks that make it
+impassable except at the highest water. When Porter's gunboats
+arrived, they found themselves caught in a trap from which there
+seemed to be no hope of escape. The army was encamped along the banks
+of the river, and the soldiers began again their jokes upon Porter's
+habit of taking gunboats for an overland journey. The army generals
+began to get impatient, and advised Porter to blow up his ships, as
+the troops must soon march on and leave him. Porter was sick in bed,
+but this suggestion aroused him. "Burn my gunboats!" he cried,
+springing to his feet. "Never! I'll wait here for high water if I have
+to wait two years." And, indeed, it began to look as though he would
+be forced to wait nearly that long.
+
+[Illustration: Bailey's Dam on the Red River.]
+
+In this time of suspense, there arose a man equal to the emergency. A
+certain Lieut-Col. Bailey, who had been a Wisconsin lumberman, came to
+Porter, and suggested that a dam should be built to raise the water
+fourteen feet above the falls. Porter jumped at the suggestion, and
+eight thousand men were set to work.
+
+"It will take too much time to enter into the details of this truly
+wonderful work," writes Admiral Porter. "Suffice it to say that the
+dam had nearly reached completion in eight days' working-time, and the
+water had risen sufficiently on the upper falls to allow the 'Fort
+Hindman,' 'Osage,' and 'Neosho' to get down and be ready to pass the
+dam. In another day it would have been high enough to enable all the
+other vessels to pass the upper falls. Unfortunately, on the morning
+of the 9th instant the pressure of water became so great that it swept
+away two of the stone barges which swung in below the dam on one side.
+Seeing this unfortunate accident, I jumped on a horse, and rode up to
+where the upper vessels were anchored, and ordered the 'Lexington' to
+pass the upper falls if possible, and immediately attempt to go
+through the dam. I thought I might be able to save the four vessels
+below, not knowing whether the persons employed on the work would ever
+have the heart to renew their enterprise.
+
+"The 'Lexington' succeeded in getting over the upper falls just in
+time, the water rapidly falling as she was passing over. She then
+steered directly for the opening in the dam, through which the water
+was rushing so furiously that it seemed as if nothing but destruction
+awaited her. Thousands of beating hearts looked on, anxious for the
+result. The silence was so great as the 'Lexington' approached the
+dam, that a pin might almost be heard to fall. She entered the gap
+with a full head of steam on, pitched down the roaring torrent, made
+two or three spasmodic rolls, hung for a moment on the rocks below,
+was then swept into deep water by the current, and rounded to safely
+into the bank. Thirty thousand voices rose in one deafening cheer, and
+universal joy seemed to pervade the face of every man present."
+
+After the dam was repaired, the rest of the fleet passed down safely.
+
+With the escape of the Red-river flotilla, the career of Admiral
+Porter on the rivers ended. Indeed, there was but little work for the
+river navy remaining. The Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland
+Rivers were opened; and the Confederate works on the smaller streams
+were unimportant, and could be left to fall with the fall of the
+Confederacy, which was near at hand. There was work for fighting
+sea-captains along the Atlantic coast, and thither Admiral Porter was
+ordered. He will re-appear at the bombardment of Fort Fisher.
+
+An event which caused the greatest excitement in naval circles at this
+time, and which for courage and dash has probably never been equalled
+in the history of the world, was the run of the Confederate privateer
+"Florida" past the United States fleet blockading the harbor of
+Mobile. The "Florida" was originally a merchant-ship, known as the
+"Oreto;" and under that name she sailed from Liverpool, carrying a
+peaceful cargo, and manned by sailors who had no idea that any thing
+beyond a peaceable voyage was planned. She was commanded by an English
+sea-captain; and, although the United States consul at Liverpool
+looked on her with some suspicion, yet he could find no pretext upon
+which to oppose her departure.
+
+Hardly had the ship passed the mouth of the Mersey, when her course
+was shaped for Nassau, the haven of privateers and blockade-runners.
+At Nassau several officers of the Confederate navy were living; and
+from the anxiety with which they scanned the horizon day after day,
+through their telescopes, it would seem that they were watching for
+some friendly craft. The "Oreto" arrived safely at Nassau; and a young
+gentleman who had come with her made all possible haste ashore, and
+delivered to the watchful gentlemen in the town certain letters, which
+made them first look with the greatest satisfaction at the newly
+arrived ship, and then begin again their outlook for vessels. The
+letters were from Capt. Bulloch, the agent in London of the
+Confederacy; and by them he notified his brother naval officers that
+he delivered to them the "Oreto," an admirably built ship, suited for
+an armed cruiser. "It has been impossible to get the regular battery
+intended for her on board," wrote Capt. Bulloch; "but I have sent out
+four seven-inch rifled guns, with all necessary equipments, in the
+steamship 'Bahama,' bound for Nassau."
+
+So here were the naval officers and their ship, but the guns were yet
+to come; and, when they did come, some shrewd planning would be
+necessary to get the guns mounted without alarming the British
+authorities. By the time the "Bahama" arrived, the plans were all
+made. As the steamer came up to the dock, a small schooner slipped
+alongside, and eight or ten heavy cases were transferred from the
+larger vessel's hold to the deck of the coaster. Then the little
+vessel sailed over to Green Cay, a desert island about sixty miles
+from Nassau, where she was soon joined by the "Oreto." There the work
+of changing the peaceful merchantman "Oreto" into the war-cruiser
+"Florida" began.
+
+The work of transferring the armament, and mounting the guns, was very
+laborious. The hot sun of August at the equator poured down upon
+them. Exposure and general discomforts told heavily upon them; and
+before long the yellow-fever, that most terrible scourge of the West
+Indies, broke out among the men. There was no surgeon on board, and
+the care of the sick fell upon Capt. Maffitt. Two United States
+men-of-war were hunting through the West Indies for the vessel they
+knew was fitting out somewhere amid the coral reefs and sandy,
+desolate keys. But Maffitt kept up his courage, and before long found
+himself at sea, with a good stanch ship and crew, that, though
+short-handed, was made up of the very best material. But he had hardly
+cut loose from civilization, and started out upon his cruise, when he
+discovered, that, in the worry and haste of his departure, he had put
+to sea without rammers or sponges for his guns. He was in a desperate
+plight. Had the smallest United States man-of-war met the "Florida,"
+the Confederate could not have offered the slightest resistance. She
+could not have even fired a gun. Capt. Maffitt ran his vessel into
+Havana in the hopes of being allowed to refit there; but the fortunes
+of the Confederacy were waning fast, and all nations feared to give it
+aid or comfort. Seeing no hope, Maffitt determined to dare all things,
+and make a dash for Mobile through the very centre of the
+blockading-fleet.
+
+When the "Florida" put out from the harbor of Havana, only four or
+five men were able to be on deck. The rest, with her commander, were
+below, deathly sick with yellow-fever. Under the command of a young
+lieutenant, her course was laid for Mobile; and in a few hours the
+smoke of the blockading-vessels could be seen rising on the clear air.
+An English ensign was hoisted, and the fleet ship dashed towards the
+men-o'-war that lay in wait. A blank cartridge was fired to warn her
+away, but she paid no heed. Then came a solid shot that ploughed up
+the water before her bow. As this evoked no response, the whole fleet
+opened fire with shot and shell. "Had they depressed their guns but a
+little," said Maffitt afterwards, "the career of the 'Florida' would
+have ended then and there." But, as it was, she sped on, with no signs
+of damage save the flying ends of cut cordage. She could not respond
+to the fire, for but three men remained on her deck. So, silently and
+grimly, she rushed through the fleet, and finally passed the last
+frigate. Quarter of an hour later she anchored under the guns of Fort
+Morgan. She had received eight shots in her hull, and her masts were
+chipped by dozens of fragments of shell. After refitting, the
+"Florida" waited nearly a month for a chance to get out again. Finally
+the moment arrived; and she made her escape, though chased for four
+hours by the blockaders. Once on the open sea, she began the regular
+career of Confederate cruisers, burned unarmed ships, and avoided
+war-vessels, until she was run down in a neutral port by a Union
+man-of-war, whose commander acted in utter defiance of all the rules
+of modern warfare. In the career of the "Florida," after her escape
+from Mobile, there was nothing of moment; and her capture, treacherous
+as it was, brought more discredit upon the Northern arms than did her
+depredations work injury to the Northern merchant-marine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+     OPERATIONS ABOUT CHARLESTON. -- THE BOMBARDMENT, THE SIEGE, AND
+     THE CAPTURE.
+
+
+We have now reached the period at which the rapid decline in the
+prospects of the Confederacy had become apparent, not only to its
+enemies, but to its friends. Throughout the South the stars and bars
+floated over only three strongholds of any importance,--Charleston,
+Mobile, and Wilmington. One after the other these were destined to
+fall, and their final overthrow was to be the work of the navy. It was
+no easy task in any one of the three instances to dislodge the
+Confederates from their positions; for though beaten in the Middle
+States, driven from the Mississippi, and with their very citadel at
+Vicksburg in the hands of the Federals, they still fought with a
+courage and desperation that for a long time baffled the attacks of
+the Unionists.
+
+From the very opening of the war, Charleston Harbor had been the scene
+of naval hostilities. The Confederates, looking upon their mouldering
+wharves, and vessels tugging idly at their chains, then looking out to
+sea past Fort Sumter, could see the ships of the blockading-squadron
+maintaining the watchful guard that was slowly reducing the city to
+penury. What wonder that the blood of the good people of Charleston
+boiled, and that they built, and hurled against their hated enemy,
+weird naval monsters, shapeless torpedo-boats running beneath the
+water, or huge rams that might even batter in the heavy walls of Fort
+Sumter!
+
+One attack so made was successful to a certain extent. It was in
+February, 1864, that an inventive genius in the beleaguered city
+brought out a steam torpedo-boat. The craft was about twenty-five feet
+long, shaped like a cigar, built of boiler iron, and propelled by a
+screw. She had no smokestack, and her deck barely rose above the
+surface of the water. Running out from her bow was a stout spar
+fifteen feet long, bearing at its end a huge torpedo charged with two
+hundred pounds of powder. Just before nine o'clock one night, the
+lookout on the deck of the frigate "Housatonic" saw this strange
+object approaching the ship. It was a bright night, with no sea on. As
+yet torpedoes were hardly known, so the lookout took it for a large
+fish, and simply watched with interest its playful movements. Not
+until it came so close that no guns could be brought to bear, did any
+suspicion of danger enter the lookout's mind. Then there was the roll
+of the alarm-drums; while the men rushed to the side, and poured a
+fierce fire from small-arms on the mysterious object. The "Housatonic"
+started her engines, and tried to escape; but, before any headway
+could be gained, the launch dashed alongside, and a slight jar was
+felt. Then, with a tremendous roar, a huge column of water was thrown
+high in air, washing away men and boats from the deck of the warship.
+A hole large enough to drive a horse through was rent in the hull of
+the ship. Great beams were broken in twain, the heaviest guns were
+dismounted, and men were hurled fifty feet into the air. In five
+minutes the ship had gone to the bottom, and boats from other vessels
+were picking up the crew. The launch escaped in the excitement.
+
+The Union sailor-boys did not let the Confederates outdo them in dash
+and pluck. One of the cleverest bits of work in the whole war was done
+by four boat-crews from two men-of-war on the Charleston station. Word
+had been brought to the blockaders, that, far up a little deep and
+narrow creek, a large steamship was loading with cotton, expecting to
+reach the ocean through the labyrinth of inlets that fairly honeycomb
+the South Carolina coast. Should she once get into that network of
+waterways, it would require a whole fleet to catch her; for there was
+no telling at what point she might emerge.
+
+It was at once determined to try to capture her as she lay at her
+deck, and four boats' crews of picked men were sent out on the
+expedition. It was early evening when they set out; and all through
+the dark night they pulled away, threading the mazes of the tidal
+inlets. Just as the eastern horizon was beginning to grow gray with
+the coming dawn, they came in sight of their destination. Sure enough,
+there on the bank of the river was a little Southern village, changed
+into a prosperous town by the blockade-runners that had evidently been
+making this place a harbor for some time.
+
+All was dark and silent as the grave. Confident in their fancied
+security, the blockade-runners had all turned in, leaving no one on
+guard. The steamer was loaded, and ready to sail in the morning; and
+the thin wreaths of smoke rising from her smokestack told that the
+fires were up. Stealthily the sailors pulled alongside, and clambered
+on deck. Without a word they stole below, put the crew under guards,
+and rushed into the engine-room, where they found the engineer dozing
+on his stool. He was ordered to get under way at once; and, though he
+looked rather dazed, he obeyed the order. And in fifteen minutes the
+steamer was speeding down-stream, leaving the old town still asleep.
+
+One man alone of all the townspeople had seen the capture. A negro,
+hiding behind a pile of lumber on the dock, had watched the whole
+affair, and, as if struck dumb with astonishment, failed to give the
+alarm until the steamer was out of sight down the winding stream. The
+blue-jackets took their capture safely out of the enemy's lines, and
+the next day it was sent to New York as a prize.
+
+While the navy was keeping the port of Charleston sealed, and every
+now and then beating back the improvised gunboats that the
+Confederates sent out in the forlorn hope of breaking through the
+blockade, the armies of the North were closing in upon the doomed
+city. All the North cried aloud for the capture of Charleston. It was
+the city which fired the first gun of the war. Let it be reduced! On
+every available point of land a Union battery was built. Far out in
+the swamps back of the city, where it was thought no living thing save
+reptiles could exist, the soldiers of the North had raised a battery,
+mounting one two-hundred-pound gun. When a young lieutenant was
+ordered to build this battery, he looked the ground over, and reported
+the thing impossible. "There is no such word as impossible," sternly
+answered the colonel. "Set to work, and call for whatever you need to
+secure success."
+
+[Illustration: Cutting out a Blockade-Runner.]
+
+The next day the lieutenant, who was a bit of a wag, made a
+requisition on the quarter-master for one hundred men eighteen feet
+high, to wade through mud sixteen feet deep. Pleasantry is not
+appreciated in war; and the officer was arrested, but soon secured his
+release, and built the battery with men of ordinary height.
+
+[Illustration: War-ships off Charleston Harbor.]
+
+In April, 1862, Admiral Du Pont had lined his iron-clads and monitors
+up before the beetling walls of Fort Sumter, and had hurled solid shot
+for hours, with only the effect of breaking away sharp corners and
+projecting edges of the fort, but leaving it still as powerful a work
+of defence as ever. The little monitors exposed to the terrible fire
+from the guns of Sumter were fairly riddled; and, when the signal was
+finally made to withdraw from the action, the humblest sailor knew
+that Charleston would only fall after a siege as protracted and
+wearisome as that of Vicksburg.
+
+The investment of Charleston lasted from the date of that first attack
+upon Fort Sumter until 1865. From time to time the war-vessels would
+throw a few shells into the city, as a reminder to the inhabitants
+that they were under surveillance. Early in the siege the Swamp Angel,
+as the big gun back in the swamp was called, began sending hourly
+messages, in the form of two-hundred-pound shells, into the city. In
+one quarter, where the shells fell thickest, a severe fire was
+started, which raged fiercely, driving people from their homes, and
+reducing whole blocks to ashes; while the deadly shells aided in the
+work of destruction. But the life of the Swamp Angel, whose shells
+were the most destructive, was but short; for, after a few days' work,
+it burst, scattering the sand-bags, of which the battery was built,
+far and wide over the swamp.
+
+The officers of the army, who were bringing their troops nearer and
+nearer to the city, expected the iron-clad vessels to steam boldly up
+the harbor, and compel a surrender of the city; but the naval officers
+dared not, owing to the torpedoes with which the channel was thickly
+planted. If Sumter could only be captured, the torpedoes could be
+searched out and easily removed; and, with this thought in mind, a
+number of bold sailors fitted out an expedition to attack the fort.
+Thirty boats, filled with armed men, made their way to the base of the
+shattered walls of the fort. As they came up, not a sign of life was
+to be seen about the huge black monster that had so long kept the
+iron-clads at bay. Rapidly and silently the men swarmed from their
+boats, and, led by three brave officers, began the ascent of the
+sloping walls. "The Johnnies are asleep," they whispered to each
+other: "we have the fort this time." But the Johnnies were wide awake,
+and waiting behind those grim bastions until the proper moment should
+arrive. Higher and higher climbed the blue-jackets; and they were just
+about to spring over the last barrier, when there rose before them a
+wall of men and a deadly fire of musketry, and a storm of
+hand-grenades cut their ranks to pieces. Around the corner of the fort
+steamed a small gunboat, which opened fire on the assailants. The
+carnage was terrible; and the sailors were driven back to their
+boats, leaving two hundred dead and wounded, and three stands of
+colors, as trophies for the garrison.
+
+[Illustration: Charleston bombarded.]
+
+After that grapple with the giant fortress, the Federals did not again
+try to come to close quarters; but, keeping at a distance, maintained
+a steady fire upon the fort, which drove its defenders from the guns,
+and enabled the Union troops to throw up batteries upon all the
+neighboring islands. The fleet then remained on blockading-service
+until Feb. 18, 1865, when the Confederates evacuated the city, and
+left the fort to the victorious Federals. Five years after the date
+when Major Anderson with his little band of soldiers had marched out
+of Sumter, leaving the fort to the enemy, the same gallant officer
+returned, and with his own hand hoisted the same tattered flag over
+the almost ruined fortress, amid salvos of artillery and the cheers of
+a victorious army and navy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+     THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY.
+
+
+The last two actions of the United States navy in the civil war were
+destined to be the grandest successes of a long record of daring and
+successful exploits. Farragut at Mobile, and Porter at Fort Fisher,
+added to their wondrous careers the cap-sheaves of two victories
+wrested from apparently unconquerable adversaries.
+
+It was on a bright August morning in 1864 that Admiral Farragut stood
+on the deck of his stanch frigate the "Hartford," that had borne him
+through so many desperate battles. Around the flagship were clustered
+the vessels of the Gulf squadron. There was the battered old
+"Brooklyn," scarred with the wounds of a dozen fights; the "Richmond"
+and the "Itasca," that received their baptism of fire at the fight
+below New Orleans. In all there were fourteen wooden vessels and four
+iron-clad monitors assembled in front of the strongest combination of
+harbor defences that warships ever yet dared attack. Yet Farragut was
+there that bright summer morning to enter that bay, and batter the
+forts of the enemy into subjection. To capture the city was not his
+purpose,--that he left to the army,--but the harbor forts and the
+great ram "Tennessee" must strike their colors to the navy.
+
+Before arranging for the attack, the admiral made a reconnoissance,
+the results of which are thus told by one of his officers: "On the
+afternoon of the day of our arrival, Admiral Farragut, with the
+commanding officers of the different vessels, made a reconnoissance on
+the steam-tender 'Cowslip,' running inside of Sand Island, where the
+monitors were anchored, and near enough to get a good view of both
+forts. On the left, some two miles distant, was Fort Gaines, a small
+brick-and-earth work, mounting a few heavy guns, but too far away from
+the ship-channel to cause much uneasiness to the fleet. Fort Morgan
+was on the right, one of the strongest of the old stone forts, and
+greatly strengthened by immense piles of sand-bags covering every
+portion of the exposed front. The fort was well equipped with three
+tiers of heavy guns, some of them of the best English make, imported
+by the Confederates. In addition, there was in front a battery of
+eleven powerful guns, at the water's edge on the beach. All the guns,
+of both fort and water battery, were within point-blank range of the
+only channel through which the fleet could pass. The Rebels considered
+the works impregnable, but they did not depend solely upon them. Just
+around the point of land, behind Fort Morgan, we could see that
+afternoon three saucy-looking gunboats and the famous ram 'Tennessee.'
+The latter was then considered the strongest and most powerful
+iron-clad ever put afloat; looking like a great turtle, with sloping
+sides covered with iron plates six inches in thickness, thoroughly
+riveted together, and having a formidable iron beak projecting under
+the water. Her armament consisted of six heavy guns of English make,
+sending a solid shot weighing one hundred and ten pounds,--a small
+affair compared with the heavy guns of the present time, but
+irresistible then against every thing but the turrets of the monitors.
+In addition to these means of resistance, the narrow channel in front
+of the fort had been lined with torpedoes. These were under the water,
+anchored to the bottom, and were chiefly in the shape of beer-kegs
+filled with powder, from the sides of which projected numerous little
+tubes containing fulminate, which it was expected would be exploded by
+contact with the passing vessels.
+
+"Except for what Farragut had already accomplished on the Mississippi,
+it would have been considered a foolhardy experiment for wooden
+vessels to attempt to pass so close to one of the strongest forts on
+the coast; but when to the forts were added the knowledge of the
+strength of the ram, and the supposed deadly character of the
+torpedoes, it may be imagined that the coming event impressed the
+person taking his first glimpse of naval warfare as decidedly
+hazardous and unpleasant. So daring an attempt was never made in any
+country but this, and was never successfully made by any commander
+except Farragut, who in this, as in his previous exploits in passing
+the forts of the Mississippi, proved himself the greatest naval
+commander the world has ever seen. It was the confidence reposed in
+him, the recollection that he had never failed in any of his attempts,
+and his manifest faith in the success of the projected movement, that
+inspired all around him."
+
+When the reconnoissance was completed, the admiral called a council of
+his captains in the wardroom of the "Hartford," and announced that the
+attack would be made early the following morning. The council over,
+each commander returned to his ship, there to make ready for the dread
+business of the morrow. The same writer whom we have before quoted
+tells how the night before a battle is spent by brave men not afraid
+of death:--
+
+"At sunset the last order had been issued. Every commanding officer
+knew his duty, and unusual quiet prevailed in the fleet. The waters of
+the Gulf rested for a time from their customary tumult, a gentle
+breeze relieved the midsummer heat, and the evening closed upon us as
+peacefully as if we had been on board a yachting squadron at Newport.
+During the early part of the night, the stillness was almost
+oppressive. The officers of the 'Hartford' gathered around the
+capacious wardroom table, writing what they knew might be their last
+letters to loved ones far away, or giving to friends messages and
+instructions in case of death. There were no signs of fear; but, like
+brave and intelligent men, they recognized the stern possibilities of
+the morrow, and acted accordingly.
+
+"But this occupied but little time; and then, business over, there
+followed an hour of unrestrained jollity. Many an old story was
+retold, and ancient conundrum repeated. Old officers forgot for the
+moment their customary dignity, and it was evident that all were
+exhilarated and stimulated by the knowledge of the coming struggle.
+Capt. Heywood of the marines proposed a final 'walk-around;' Tyson
+solemnly requested information as to 'Which would you rather do or go
+by Fort Morgan?' and all agreed they would prefer to 'do.' La Rue
+Adams repeated the benediction with which the French instructor at the
+naval academy was wont to greet his boys as they were going into
+examination: 'Vell, fellows, I hope ve vill do as vell as I hope ve
+vill do.' Finally, Chief Engineer Williamson suggested an adjournment
+to the forecastle for a last smoke, and the smoking club went forward;
+but somehow smoke had lost its customary flavor, and, after a few
+whiffs, all hands turned in, to enjoy what sleep would come."
+
+When the morning dawned, the men were called to quarters, and the
+advance upon the forts was begun at once. It was a foggy morning, and
+the ships looked like phantom vessels as they moved forward in line of
+battle, with the "Brooklyn" in the van. Second came the "Hartford,"
+with the admiral high up in the rigging, where he could overlook the
+whole scene.
+
+"Nearly every man had his watch in his hand, and waited for the first
+shot. To us, ignorant of every thing going on above, every minute
+seemed an hour; and there was a feeling of great relief when the boom
+of the first gun was heard. This was from the monitor 'Tecumseh,' at
+forty-seven minutes past six o'clock. Presently one or two of our
+forward guns opened, and we could hear the distant sound of the guns
+of the fort in reply. Soon the cannon-balls began to crash through the
+deck above us, and then the thunder of our whole broadside of twelve
+Dahlgren guns kept the vessel in a quiver. But as yet no wounded were
+sent down, and we knew we were still at comparatively long range. In
+the intense excitement of the occasion, it seemed that hours had
+passed; but it was just twenty minutes from the time we went below
+when an officer shouted down the hatchway: 'Send up an army
+signal-officer immediately: the 'Brooklyn' is signalling.' In a moment
+the writer was on deck, where he found the situation as follows: The
+'Brooklyn,' directly in front of us, had stopped, and was backing and
+signalling; the tide was with us, setting strongly through the
+channel, and the stopping of the 'Brooklyn' threatened to bring the
+whole fleet into collision and confusion; the advance vessels of the
+line were trying to back to prevent a catastrophe, but were apparently
+not able to overcome the force of the current; and there was danger
+not only of collision, but of being drifted on shore."
+
+While the fleet was thus embarrassed and hampered, the gunners in the
+forts were pouring in their shot thick and fast. On the decks of the
+ships the most terrible scenes of death were visible. Along the port
+side the bodies of the dead were ranged in long rows, while the
+wounded were carried below, until the surgeon's room was filled to
+its last corner. One poor fellow on the "Hartford" lost both legs by a
+cannon-ball, and, falling, threw up both arms just in time to have
+them carried away also. Strange to say, he recovered from these
+fearful wounds.
+
+Just as the fight was at its hottest, and the vessels were nearing the
+line, the passage of which meant victory, there went up a cry from the
+whole fleet, "The 'Tecumseh!' Look at the 'Tecumseh!'" All eyes were
+turned on the monitor, and every one saw that she was sinking. She
+staggered for a moment, and went down with a rush, carrying her brave
+commander and over a hundred of her crew. A few escaped, the last of
+whom was the pilot. As the pilot was rushing for the hatchway that led
+to the open air and to life, he met at the foot of a narrow ladder
+Commander Craven. Craven stepped back, saying gravely, "After you,
+pilot;" and the pilot passed out. "There was nothing after me," said
+he, in relating the story afterwards; "for as I sprang out of the
+hatchway the water rushed in, carrying all behind me to the bottom."
+
+This terrible sight made the ships stop for a moment in some
+confusion; but Farragut signalled sternly from his flagship, "Go on,"
+and all advanced again. As the fight grew fiercer, the admiral grew
+tired of being on the second ship in the line, and ordered the
+"Hartford" to forge ahead.
+
+"On board a war steamer the engines are directed by the tap of a bell,
+the wires connected with which lead to the quarter-deck. One stroke of
+the bell means 'go ahead;' two, 'stop;' three, 'back;' and four, 'go
+ahead as fast as possible.' Leaning down through the shrouds to the
+officer on deck at the bell-pull, the admiral shouted, 'Four bells,
+_eight bells_, SIXTEEN BELLS! Give her all the steam you've got!' The
+order was instantly transmitted, and the old ship seemed imbued with
+the admiral's spirit; and running past the "Brooklyn" and the
+monitors, regardless of fort, ram, gunboats, and the unseen foe
+beneath, dashed ahead, all alone, save for her gallant consort, the
+'Metacomet.'"
+
+[Illustration: Fight at Mobile Bay.]
+
+But by this time the fleet was well abreast of the forts, and now,
+pouring out broadside after broadside, they swept along past the
+terrible ramparts. The Confederate gunboats had found the fight too
+hot for them, and had fled for shelter, with the exception of the
+dreaded "Tennessee," which seemed to be holding itself in reserve. It
+was but a short time before the vessels were safely past the fort, and
+out of range, floating on the smooth waters of the inner bay. Then
+the crews were piped to breakfast, and all hands began to recount
+their narrow escapes.
+
+But the end was not yet, for the ram "Tennessee" was now ready to try
+her mettle with the fleet. Lieut. Kinney of the "Hartford" tells
+graphically the story of the desperate fight that the ram carried on
+alone against the whole attacking flotilla.
+
+"We were just beginning to feel the re-action following such a season
+of extreme peril and excitement, when we were brought to our senses by
+the sharp, penetrating voice of executive officer Kimberly calling all
+hands to quarters; and a messenger-boy hurried down to us with the
+word, 'The ram is coming.' Every man hastened to his post, the writer
+to the quarter-deck, where the admiral and fleet-captain were
+standing. The cause of the new excitement was evident at once. The
+'Tennessee,' as if ashamed of her failure, had left the fort and was
+making at full speed directly for the "Hartford," being then perhaps a
+mile and a half distant. The spectacle was a grand one, and was viewed
+by the Rebel soldiers in both forts, who were now out of range of our
+guns, and lined the walls. Few audiences have ever witnessed so
+imposing a sight. The great ram came on for a single-handed contest
+with the fleet. She was believed to be invulnerable, and had powerful
+double engines by which she could be easily handled; while our
+monitors were so slow-gaited that they were unable to offer any
+serious obstacle to her approach. Farragut himself seemed to place his
+chief dependence on his wooden vessels. Doubtless the crowd of
+Confederate soldiers who watched the fight expected to see the
+'Tennessee' sink the Yankee vessels in detail, and the chances seemed
+in its favor....
+
+"Meanwhile, the general signal, 'Attack the enemy,' had gone up to the
+peak of the 'Hartford;' and there followed a general slipping of
+cables, and a friendly rivalry to see which could quickest meet the
+foe. The 'Monongahela,' with her artificial iron prow, was bravely in
+the lead, and struck the Rebel craft amidships at full speed, doing no
+damage to the ram, but having her own iron prow destroyed, and being
+otherwise injured. Next came the 'Lackawanna,' with a like result. The
+huge iron frame of the 'Tennessee' scarcely felt the shock, while the
+wooden bow of the Union ship was badly demoralized. For an instant the
+two vessels swung head and stern alongside of each other. In his
+official report, Capt. Marchand naïvely remarks:--
+
+"'A few of the enemy were seen through their ports, who were using
+_most opprobrious_ language. Our marines opened on them with muskets:
+even a spittoon and a holystone were thrown at them from our deck,
+which drove them away.'
+
+"The 'Tennessee' fired two shots through her bow, and then kept on for
+the 'Hartford.' The two flag-ships approached each other, bow to bow.
+The two admirals, Farragut and Buchanan, had entered our navy together
+as boys, and up to the outbreak of the war had been warm friends. But
+now each was hoping for the overthrow of the other; and, had Buchanan
+possessed the grit of Farragut, it is probable that moment would have
+witnessed the destruction of both vessels. For had the ram struck us
+square, as it came, bows on, it would have ploughed its way half
+through the 'Hartford;' and, as we sank, we should have carried it to
+the bottom, unable to extricate itself. But the Rebel admiral was not
+desirous of so much glory; and, just as the two vessels were meeting,
+the course of the 'Tennessee' was slightly changed, enough to strike
+us only a glancing blow on the port-bow, which left us uninjured,
+while the two vessels grated past each other. He tried to sink us with
+a broadside as he went by; but only one of his guns went off, the
+primers in all the others failing. That gun sent a shell that entered
+the berth-deck of the 'Hartford,' and killed five men."
+
+But by this time the unequal conflict was becoming too much even for a
+man of Buchanan's courage. The armor of the ram was penetrated in
+several places, and at last came a shot that almost fatally wounded
+her commander. With the controlling mind that guided her course gone,
+the ram was useless; and in a moment a white flag fluttered from the
+shattered stump of her flagstaff. And so closed the naval battle that
+effectually ended Confederate rule on the Gulf coast, and earned for
+Farragut his proudest laurels.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+     THE FALL OF FORT FISHER. -- THE NAVY ENDS ITS WORK.
+
+
+In noticing the work of the blockading-fleet, we have spoken of the
+fine harbor of Wilmington, and the powerful works that defended its
+entrance. This Confederate stronghold was known as Fort Fisher, and
+had been for a long time a cause of anxiety and worry to the Northern
+authorities. The war had gone past Fort Fisher. To the north and to
+the south of it, the country was under the sway of the Federal
+authorities; but there in North Carolina stood the formidable bastions
+over which floated, in defiance of the laws of the Union, the stars
+and bars of the rapidly dying Confederacy. With its connected
+batteries, Fort Fisher mounted seventy-five guns, and was stronger
+than the celebrated Malakoff at Sebastopol.
+
+To reduce this stronghold, a joint naval and military expedition was
+fitted out; and Gen. Butler was placed in command of the land forces,
+while Admiral Porter, torn from his beloved Western rivers, was given
+command of the fleet. Butler introduced a novel feature at the very
+opening of the siege. He procured an old steamer, and had her packed
+full of gunpowder. On a dark night this craft was towed close to the
+walls of the fort and set afire, in the hopes that she might, in
+blowing up, tear the works to pieces. But in this the projectors were
+disappointed; for the explosion, though a terrific one, did absolutely
+no harm to the Confederate works. When Porter finally did get into the
+fort, he asked a soldier what he thought of the attempt to blow them
+up. "It was a mighty mean trick," responded the Southerner
+satirically. "You woke us all up."
+
+After this fiasco had set all the world laughing, Butler retired
+voluntarily, and was succeeded by Gen. Terry; and on Christmas Eve of
+the year 1864 the fleet began the bombardment, although the land
+forces were not yet prepared for the assault. It was the grandest
+armada that was ever arrayed against any fortress. The thunder of
+nearly five hundred guns rent the air on that Christmas Eve, when
+carols were being sung in Christian churches throughout the world.
+Tremendous as was the cannonade, the earthworks were almost a match
+for it. The fort was not a mass of masonry that these enormous guns
+might batter down and crumble into rubbish, but a huge bank of earth
+in which the shells might harmlessly bury themselves. But five hundred
+cannon are more than a match for any fort, and so they soon proved to
+be in this instance. Earthworks, guns, and men alike went down before
+them. The iron-clads were stationed about three-quarters of a mile
+from the fort, a little farther out were the frigates and heavy
+sloops, and still beyond were the smaller vessels,--all firing to
+cover themselves; and all along the whole extended line there blazed
+one almost continuous sheet of flame, while the rolling thunder of the
+broadsides, and the defiant answering roar from the guns of the forts,
+shook earth and sea. Clouds of dust went up from the bastions of the
+fort, and mingled with the floating smoke above. Within the forts,
+there was a scene of the most terrible confusion: guns were
+overturned, piles of cannon-balls were knocked to pieces and scattered
+about, and two magazines were blown up and scattered fragments all
+over the parade. In one hour and a quarter all the gunners were driven
+to the bomb-proofs, and the forts were silenced, not returning a
+single shot.
+
+[Illustration: Charge of Sailors at Fort Fisher.]
+
+On Christmas morning Gen. Terry arrived with all his transports, and
+the attack was recommenced. Early in the morning the ships fell into
+position and began a slow fire, merely to cover the landing of the
+troops. Again the garrison was driven to the bomb-proofs; and, indeed,
+so entirely were they chased from their posts, that a Federal soldier
+went into the fort and brought off a Confederate flag without ever
+having been seen by the garrison. All the troops were landed; but
+for some reason the attack was deferred, much to the disgust of the
+officers of the fleet, who felt sure that the fort could be taken then
+by a dash. But the troops returned to their transports or went into
+camp, and it was not until weeks after that the assault was fairly
+made. In the mean time, the ships rode out the winter gales at their
+anchors, doing a little desultory firing to keep the garrison in a
+state of unrest.
+
+On the 14th of January the heavy bombardment began again, and again
+the troops were landed. By night it was seen that every gun on the
+face of the fort was disabled, and it was decided to storm the works
+the next day. Sixteen hundred sailors and four hundred marines were
+told off as the storming-party.
+
+Early in the morning the ships began a fierce cannonade, under cover
+of which the sailors and marines landed, and threw up light
+breastworks to cover them until the time should be ripe for the
+charge. The arrangements contemplated a fierce charge by the
+blue-jackets, armed with their cutlasses and revolvers; while the
+marines, remaining in the rifle-pits, should cover the advancing party
+with a hot fire of musketry. The soldiers from the army-camp were to
+charge the fort on the other side.
+
+At three o'clock came the signal that all was ready. The whistles of
+the ships rent the air; and the blue-jackets, with ringing cheers,
+dashed in a compact body up the beach. But in an instant the
+Confederate ramparts were black with men, and a furious fire of
+musketry rained down upon the sailors, who were helpless. The marines
+in the rifle-pits failed to do what was expected of them, and the
+sailors halted for a moment in surprise.
+
+As they stood, a most destructive fire rained down upon them; and the
+poor fellows, grasping their useless cutlasses, turned and fled down
+the beach, leaving great heaps of dead and wounded behind. Then the
+Confederates, thinking the day was theirs, sprang on the ramparts, and
+began a vigorous cheer just as the Union soldiers came pouring over
+the landward face of the fort. Then ensued a fierce hand-to-hand fight
+that lasted for hours. The blue-jackets, encouraged, rushed back to
+the fight, and now at close quarters swung their cutlasses with deadly
+effect, until step by step the Confederates were driven out of the
+fort. Then the fleet opened upon them, and they fled for dear life
+while a sailor sprang to the flagstaff and pulled down the Confederate
+flag. Fort Fisher had fallen. It was a noble victory, and formed a
+fitting climax to the work of the navy throughout that great war.
+
+With the fall of Fort Fisher, the navy ceased to be a prominent factor
+in the war. Its work was done. Along the seacoast, and inland as far
+as navigable rivers extended, the ships of the North had carried the
+starry banner; and the sailor-boys of the North had defended it. And
+their opponents, whether on sea or shore, had shown themselves
+courageous and dashing, and worthy to be numbered as men of the same
+nation as those who proved the victors. And who can doubt, that,
+should the need arise, the sons of these men will show that they have
+in their veins the blood that animated the Blue-Jackets of '61?
+
+
+
+
+PART IV
+
+
+
+
+BLUE JACKETS IN TIMES OF PEACE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     POLICE SERVICE ON THE HIGH SEAS. -- WAR SERVICE IN ASIATIC PORTS.
+     -- LOSSES BY THE PERILS OF THE DEEP. -- A BRUSH WITH THE PIRATES.
+     -- ADMIRAL RODGERS AT COREA. -- SERVICES IN ARCTIC WATERS. -- THE
+     DISASTER AT SAMOA. -- THE ATTACK ON THE "BALTIMORE'S" MEN AT
+     VALPARAISO. -- LOSS OF THE "KEARSARGE." -- THE NAVAL REVIEW.
+
+
+The years immediately following the civil war were particularly quiet
+and uneventful for the navy. The department was chiefly engaged in the
+work of reducing the forces and adapting the navy to the changed
+conditions. At the termination of the war an immense naval armament
+had been developed, and the navy had assumed a magnitude which made
+the United States foremost among the naval powers. This force was
+gradually reduced to a peace standard. The volunteers were discharged
+and retired from service. The large number of captured and purchased
+vessels were disposed of. The home squadrons were withdrawn, and
+squadrons established abroad. The ships in foreign stations displayed
+an unprecedented energy and activity, visiting, in 1866, nearly every
+large port in the world, including several in China which had never
+before been entered by an American man-of-war. The reception of
+Rear-Admiral Bell in his flagship, the "Hartford," by the Japanese,
+was manifestly more hospitable than that given to any other nation.
+Admiral Farragut was made commander of the European squadron in 1867,
+and he was received with distinguished attention by the sovereigns and
+dignitaries of Europe. The "Swatara," of the European squadron, was
+ordered, in November, 1866, to Civita Vecchia, a port in Italy, to
+bring to the United States John H. Surratt, who was charged with being
+implicated in the assassination of Lincoln. The fugitive was
+apprehended, but he escaped, and fled into the papal dominions. He was
+recaptured at Alexandria, and in February was delivered to the marshal
+of the District of Columbia.
+
+The Japanese made further advances of a friendly character toward the
+United States in 1867, when the "Shenandoah," of the Asiatic squadron,
+with the American minister aboard, arrived at the port of Hakodadi,
+and the first salute ever given in honor of a foreign minister was
+fired. Just previous to this, the Japanese government had expressed
+its willingness to open an additional port on the western coast to
+foreign trade, and Commodore Goldsborough, in command of the
+"Shenandoah," visited and made surveys of several harbors in which no
+foreign ship had ever before anchored.
+
+News was received by Rear-Admiral Bell, in the autumn of 1866, that
+the schooner "General Sherman" had been wrecked in the Ping Yang
+River, one of the streams of Corea, and that her officers, crew, and
+passengers had been murdered by the natives. The Rear-Admiral
+despatched one of the vessels of his squadron, the "Wachusett," to
+investigate the matter, and demand from the authorities that the
+survivors, if any, be delivered on board the "Wachusett." The King of
+Corea was communicated with, but without satisfactory results. It was
+found that there were no survivors of the schooner. A few months
+afterward information reached Rear-Admiral Bell that a similar outrage
+had been perpetrated on the southeast end of the island of Formosa. It
+was reported that the American bark "Rover" had been wrecked, and all
+on board murdered. Commander Febiger, with the "Ashuelot," found that
+the crime had been committed by a horde of savages, who, the
+authorities of the island said, were not obedient to their laws.
+Rear-Admiral Bell left Shanghai in June, with the "Wyoming" and
+"Hartford," with the intention of destroying, if possible, the
+lurking-places of the savages. On the 18th of June the vessels
+anchored half a mile from shore, and 181 officers, sailors, and
+marines were landed, under the command of Commander Belknap, of the
+"Hartford," and Lieutenant-Commander Alexander S. Mackenzie. As the
+company approached the hills the natives, dressed in clouts, with
+their bodies painted, and muskets glistening in the sun, descended to
+meet them, fighting from the long grass. After delivering their fire,
+they would retreat, and form ambuscades, into which the men from the
+ships frequently fell in charging after them. In one of these
+Lieutenant-Commander Mackenzie was mortally wounded. After fighting
+under the intensely hot sun for six hours, during which period several
+of the attacking party suffered sunstroke, they returned to their
+ships, the expedition having proved a failure.
+
+The navy performed a valuable maritime service in 1867, by locating and
+surveying a shoal which was reported to exist twenty miles west of
+Georges Shoal, and directly in the track of vessels bound to and from
+Europe. The shoal was found by Commander Chandler with the United States
+steamer "Don," and mariners were made cognizant of a danger which
+probably had been fatal to many vessels. In the same year the "Sacramento,"
+Captain Napoleon Collins, while on an important cruise, was wrecked on
+the reefs off the mouth of the Kothapalem River in the Bay of Bengal.
+The vessel proved a total wreck, but without loss of life. Those aboard
+effected thrilling escapes by means of rafts. The navy suffered another
+misfortune in 1868, in the drowning of Rear-Admiral Bell, commander of
+the Asiatic squadron, Lieutenant-Commander J. H. Reed, and ten of the
+crew of the Admiral's barge, which was upset in crossing the bar near
+Osaka, few days after the opening by the Japanese of that port and Hioto
+to foreigners. Another disaster occurred in 1869. Twenty-seven officers
+and men of the "Fredonia" were drowned at Arica, on the western coast of
+South America The "Fredonia" and "Wateree" were resting at anchor when a
+shock of earthquake was felt. The sea receded and left the former vessel
+on the bottom; a moment afterward the wave rolled back, breaking the
+ship into fragments. The "Wateree" was thrown upon the shore; its
+position was such that the expense of launching would have been greater
+than the worth of the vessel, and it was consequently sold. A year
+previous to its catastrophe, the "Monongahela," in the harbor of St.
+Croix, was swept from her moorings by the force of an earthquake, and
+carried by a wave over the warehouses into one of the streets of the
+town. Five of her crew were lost. The vessel, after an interval of some
+months, was relaunched.
+
+The Cuban rebellion, which began in 1868, occasioned activity on the
+part of some of the cruisers to prevent violations of the neutrality
+law and to protect the interests of American citizens. A company of
+Cuban filibusters, encamped on Gardiner's Island, near the eastern end
+of Long Island, were captured by Lieutenant Breese, in command of the
+revenue cutter "Mahoning," and fifty marines. The prisoners, to the
+number of one hundred and twenty-five, were taken to New York. On the
+island of Cuba some outrages were perpetrated upon American citizens
+by the Spanish authorities. Rear-Admiral Hoff, in command of the North
+Atlantic squadron, was ordered to Santiago de Cuba for the better
+protection of American interests, and no further aggressions occurred.
+
+Two disasters in the navy ushered in the year 1870. In the Bay of
+Yeddo, on January 24th, the steam-sloop "Oneida," just after leaving
+Yokohama for Hong Kong, was run into and sunk by the English steamer
+"Bombay," with the loss of twenty officers and ninety-six men. The tug
+"Marie" was sunk in the same month, with a loss of four men, in Long
+Island Sound. In October of the same year, Commander Sicard of the
+"Saginaw" determined to run to Ocean Island, a small island about a
+hundred miles west of the Midways, to rescue any sailors who might
+have been shipwrecked there. The "Saginaw" was herself wrecked on a
+reef off the perilous coast, but her men, after extreme exertions,
+landed safely on the shores of the uninhabited island. Here they lived
+for some months. They were rescued by a steamer from the Sandwich
+Islands, sent to their aid by the authorities of the islands, who had
+been informed of the accident by William Halford, one of the crew,
+who, with Lieutenant Talbot and three others, had volunteered to make
+the trip from Ocean Island to Honolulu, a distance of 1,500 miles, in
+an open boat. After thirty-one days of great danger and hardship, they
+arrived off one of the Hawaiian group of islands. In attempting to
+land, the boat was upset in the surf, and all but Halford were
+drowned.
+
+At various times during the years 1871 and 1872, the marines of the
+Brooklyn Navy Yard rendered very efficient aid to the revenue officers
+in quelling riots in Brooklyn which grew out of the raiding of illicit
+distilleries. In July, 1871, Captain Gilbert was killed and several
+men wounded by the rioters.
+
+[Illustration: Attack on a Corean Fort.]
+
+The steamer "Forward," bearing the San Salvador flag, landed 200
+desperadoes at Guaymas, Mexico, in June, 1870, and these outlaws took
+possession of the custom-house. They forced the foreign merchants
+to furnish them with funds and goods, and compelled the United States'
+consul to supply coal for their vessel, their purpose being to become
+pirates on a large scale. Commander Low, of the "Mohican," upon
+learning these facts, sailed from Mazatlan, and overtook the "Forward"
+while still in the Gulf of California. She was attacked in the harbor
+of Boca Teacapan by six boatloads of sailors and marines from the
+"Mohican," and was captured and burned.
+
+It seemed desirable, in 1871, that some arrangement should be made
+with the people of Corea whereby sailors wrecked upon these shores
+should have protection. With this end in view our Minister to China,
+accompanied by Rear-Admiral John Rodgers, with the "Colorado," the
+"Alaska," the "Benicia," the "Monocacy," and the "Palos," vessels of
+the Asiatic squadron, sailed to Corea, anchoring in the Sale River.
+The local authorities were assured that the visit was a perfectly
+peaceful one, and they in turn gave evidences of a peaceful spirit.
+But when a party engaged in making surveys and soundings for the
+safety of commerce had got beyond a point where they could be
+protected by the cruisers' guns, they were fired upon by the Coreans,
+and were forced to re-pass the Corean forts under a fierce cannonade.
+Admiral Rodgers and the minister determined that an explanation should
+be at once demanded. No answer having been received from the Coreans
+after an interval of ten days, it was decided that an attack should be
+made upon the forts from which the shots had been fired. A party of
+about 700 of the sailors and marines were landed, and after a march
+through mud which rose to their knees, the first fort was captured
+without serious resistance. The next day, other forts were easily
+taken, and preparations were made to attack the horseshoe-shaped
+citadel, which was defended by a garrison of a thousand Corean
+soldiers. A few shells from the vessels, judiciously planted among the
+Coreans, frightened and disconcerted them; but they made a stubborn
+fight until their ammunition gave out. The attacking party swarmed
+over the walls. Then ensued a desperate hand-to-hand fight The Coreans
+expected no quarter, and fought till all who had not fled had been
+killed or wounded. Lieutenant Hugh McKee, who was the first man to
+climb over the ramparts, fell with a mortal wound. Two hundred and
+forty-seven dead Coreans were counted within the works. Five forts and
+a large number of flags and cannon had been captured. The gallant
+conduct of the men of the navy made a deep impression on the people of
+the China coast and led to the increased consideration and safety of
+American citizens in those localities.
+
+On Saturday morning, November 26, 1877, occurred one of the most
+disastrous wrecks in the history of the navy. The steam sloop-of-war
+"Huron" struck the rocks near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, in a heavy
+gale and was wrecked, with the loss of nearly a hundred officers and
+men. The boats were washed from the davits and the thirty-four persons
+who were saved reached the shore by swimming. Ensign Lucien Young
+landed on the beach after desperate efforts, and spread the alarm. His
+sturdy activity resulted in the saving of several lives.
+
+The members of a naval exploring expedition, which had sailed in the
+"Polaris" for the Arctic regions in 1871, were rescued from boats and
+the floating ice in Baffin's Bay in 1873, the "Polaris" having been
+abandoned as a wreck.
+
+The United States steamer "Rodgers," commanded by Lieutenant Robert M.
+Berry, was detailed in 1881 to search for the exploring party
+organized by James Gordon Bennett and headed by Lieutenant-Commander
+DeLong, which had embarked in the "Jeannette" for the far north and
+had been last heard of in August, 1879. The "Rodgers" was burned and
+abandoned in St. Laurence Bay, Siberia, in November, 1881; but
+Lieutenant Berry continued his search on the coast. In the early
+spring he learned that one party from the "Jeannette," that of
+Chief-Engineer Melville, had been saved and was searching for the
+other two parties which had become separated from the first in a storm
+while attempting to escape from the Arctic seas in open boats after
+the "Jeannette" had been crushed and sunk by the ice. Lieutenant Berry
+soon afterward met Chief-Engineer Melville's party and learned that
+the bodies of Lieutenant DeLong and his companions had been found.
+Search for the other party which had been led by Lieutenant Chipp was
+continued, and the Navy Department fitted out another vessel, the
+"Alliance," to aid in the possible rescue. But Lieutenant Chipp and
+his men were never found.
+
+[Illustration: Wreck of United States War-Ships off Samoa.]
+
+During the massacres by Egyptian troops under Arabi Pasha in
+Alexandria, in 1882, when more than two hundred European residents
+were killed or wounded, the flagship "Lancaster," under Captain
+Gherardi, was in the harbor and afforded a place of refuge for large
+numbers of men, women, and children. A large body of marines with a
+detachment of naval artillery landed in the city and were of much
+service in restoring order.
+
+Another Arctic expedition was fitted out in the spring of 1883. Three
+vessels, the "Thetis," "Alert," and "Bear," left New York by order of
+the Navy Department to search for Lieutenant Greely and his party,
+comprising what is known as the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition. After a
+long voyage, in which the vessels were several times in imminent
+peril, they passed around Cape Sabine and found Lieutenant Greely and
+the seven survivors of his party. Their condition was so enfeebled
+that they could have lived only a little longer. On August 8th the
+relief squadron and the rescued party arrived in New York.
+
+An insurrection broke out in the United States of Colombia in the
+spring of 1885, during which the city of Aspinwall was in great part
+destroyed. The affair assumed such a serious aspect that the vessels
+of the North Atlantic squadron, under Rear Admiral Jouett, were
+ordered to Aspinwall, and in addition to the fleet, the Navy
+Department sent a force consisting of about seven hundred and fifty
+from New York, for the special purpose of operating on shore. Upon his
+arrival at Aspinwall, on April 10th, Rear-Admiral Jouett issued orders
+for the landing of a force to open the transit across the isthmus, and
+on the 12th, trains were run as usual. On April 28th, the insurgents
+capitulated, and shortly afterward the United States naval force was
+withdrawn.
+
+One of the most severe disasters that ever befell the United States
+Navy in time of peace occurred on the 16th of March, 1889, when,
+during a hurricane in the harbor of Apia, Samoa, the "Trenton" and
+"Vandalia" were totally wrecked, and the "Nipsic" was run on shore to
+save her from destruction. Five officers and forty-six men lost their
+lives in this catastrophe. Nothing that skill and experience could
+suggest was left undone to avert the disaster, but the vessels were
+equipped with old-fashioned engines, whose steam-power was not strong
+enough to withstand the fury of the gale. The value of high-pressure
+engines in war vessels was illustrated by the British ship "Calliope,"
+which was able to steam out to sea, and thus escaped destruction on
+the reefs. The "Trenton" and the "Vandalia," which had been two of the
+best of the old wooden fleet, were abandoned. The "Nipsic" sailed for
+the Sandwich Islands, where she was refitted for active service. The
+natives of Samoa displayed great heroism in their efforts to save the
+shipwrecked sailors, and were afterward rewarded by the United States
+government. Fifteen merchant vessels which were in the harbor were
+either sunk or run upon the shore, and the German naval vessels
+"Elber," "Adler," and "Olga" were wrecked, with the loss of many men.
+
+When the United States cruiser "Baltimore" was at anchor in the harbor
+off Valparaiso in October, 1891, shortly after the end of a Chilian
+rebellion, a number of the seamen were given liberty to go on shore.
+They were attacked by a mob in the streets of Valparaiso, and Petty
+Officer Charles Riggin was stabbed, and left to die. Another petty
+officer, Johnson, went to his assistance, and was attempting to carry
+him to an apothecary, when a squad of Chilian police, with fixed
+bayonets, came down the street. When at close quarters, they fired at
+Johnson. A shot passed through his clothes, and another entered
+Riggin's neck, inflicting a death-wound. Petty Officer Hamilton was
+dragged to jail dangerously wounded. As a result of the attack, two
+men, Riggin and Turnbull, died, and eighteen others were disabled by
+wounds. Thirty-six of the "Baltimore's" men were arrested, and treated
+by the Chilian police with extreme brutality. Investigation proved
+that all had been perfectly sober and well-behaved. The attack grew
+out of the bitter hostility of the Chilians toward the United
+States--a feeling largely due to false accusations in reference to the
+action of the navy during the Chilian revolution. The affair caused
+excitement and indignation in the United States, but was amicably
+settled.
+
+[Illustration: Wreck Of The "Kearsarge."]
+
+The most important assemblage of naval vessels ever seen in the waters
+of America took place in April, 1893, in celebration of the Columbian
+quadricentennial. Invitations had been sent to all the important
+maritime powers, and at the rendezvous in Hampton Roads, on April
+24th, the combined fleet, under the direction of Rear-Admiral
+Gherardi, of the United States Navy, comprised twelve men-of-war of
+the United States, four of England, three of France, two of Italy, two
+of Germany, two of Russia, three of Brazil, and one of Holland. At New
+York, the squadron was joined by one more Russian, three Spanish, one
+Argentine vessel, and the "Miantonomoh," of the United States Navy,
+making a combined fleet of thirty-five ships-of-war. The President, on
+board the "Dolphin," reviewed the fleet on April 27th, and the next
+day the armed battalions of the various nations, to the number of
+3,815 men, marched through the streets of New York, and were reviewed
+by the Governor of the State.
+
+The navy suffered a severe loss in 1894, in the wreck of the famous
+old man-of-war "Kearsarge," the conqueror of the "Alabama," which was
+wrecked February 2d on Roncador Reef, while on her way from Port au
+Prince to Bluefields, Nicaragua. Eight days later her men were rescued
+by the "City of Para."
+
+One of the conspicuous features of the pageants which attended the
+opening of the Kiel Canal, between the North and the Baltic seas, on
+June 19th, 1895, was the fleet of war-vessels which assembled in the
+harbor at Kiel. It was the most remarkable ever seen in any waters,
+numbering over a hundred of the finest vessels in existence. A number
+of these, headed by the flagship "New York," belonged to the new navy
+of the United States. These ships provoked the admiration of all the
+naval authorities present, and their effective strength was noted and
+commented upon all over Europe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     THE NAVAL MILITIA. -- A VOLUNTEER SERVICE WHICH IN TIME OF WAR
+     WILL BE EFFECTIVE. -- HOW BOYS ARE TRAINED FOR THE LIFE OF A
+     SAILOR. -- CONDITIONS OF ENLISTMENT IN THE VOLUNTEER BRANCH OF
+     THE SERVICE. -- THE WORK OF THE SEAGOING MILITIA IN SUMMER.
+
+
+The _personnel_ of a navy is quite as important as its vessels. It has
+been said that a ship is worth what her captain and crew are worth. It
+is certainly true that a man-of-war, of whatever power, would be
+useless or worse than useless if her officers and men did not
+understand her wonderfully complicated construction nor know how to
+handle her. The officers of the United States navy are given this
+important instruction at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and the rank
+and file of the men of the navy, those who fill the positions of
+seamen and petty officers, are trained at the station in Coaster's
+Island Harbor, near Newport, R.I., and in the training-ships when
+cruising.
+
+The training-station is designed to ensure the thorough efficiency of
+the corps of men enlisted in the service, and to provide for the
+manning of the vessels by American citizens instead of by foreigners.
+
+There was a time, and not a great while ago, when the gunners and
+crews of United States men-of-war were, with very few exceptions,
+aliens, who spoke the English language with difficulty, and who did
+not have, and could not be expected to have, any of the patriotic
+spirit which makes effective fighters in naval engagements. While this
+condition still exists to some extent, the growth of the apprentice
+system is bringing about a gradual change.
+
+As early as 1837 an attempt was made to establish a naval apprentice
+system. In that year Congress passed an act making it "lawful to
+enlist boys for the navy, not under thirteen nor over eighteen years
+of age, to serve until twenty-one." Within a few months several boys
+were received as apprentices aboard naval vessels. Six years later,
+however, the system was abandoned as a failure, owing to a false
+impression which had gained wide currency that the apprentices would
+receive commissions in the navy.
+
+Capt. S. B. Luce and the officers of the practice-ship "Macedonian"
+investigated the apprentice systems at Portsmouth and Plymouth,
+England, twenty years afterward, and made such favorable reports that
+Secretary Welles was induced to revive it in the United States navy.
+This was done, and during the civil war the system was in successful
+operation, but soon after the close of the war it was again abandoned.
+
+In the following years the want of intelligent seamen of American
+birth in the navy was greatly felt, and in 1875 Secretary of the Navy
+Robeson deemed it advisable to resume the enlistment of boys under the
+naval apprentice law, which was still in existence. As an experiment
+two hundred and fifty boys were enlisted and placed on the frigates
+"Minnesota" and "Constitution" and the sloops of war "Portsmouth" and
+"Saratoga," which were commissioned as training-ships. Since 1875 the
+training-station and vessels have been very important features of the
+naval establishment.
+
+The regulations governing the enlistment of boys are simple and few in
+number. The boys must be between the ages of fourteen and sixteen
+years, of robust form, intelligent, of perfectly sound and healthy
+constitution, free from all physical defect or malformation, and of
+good moral character. They must be able to read and write, although in
+special cases, when a boy shows general intelligence and is otherwise
+qualified, he may be enlisted notwithstanding the fact that his
+reading and writing are imperfect. Each boy presenting himself for
+enlistment must be accompanied by his father, mother, or, in case
+neither is living, by his legally appointed guardian, and must
+voluntarily sign an agreement to serve in the navy till twenty-one
+years of age. Upon enlistment the boys are rated as third-class
+apprentices, and are paid $9 a month. Deserving boys are rated
+second-class apprentices, and receive pay of $15 a month after they
+have completed their term of service on a cruising training-ship. If
+they have served a year on a cruising ship of war they are considered
+properly qualified apprentices, and receive $21 a month. As the
+apprentices become proficient and their services are required, they
+are transferred to the seagoing vessels. Upon the expiration of the
+enlistment of an apprentice he will, if recommended, receive an
+honorable discharge, and if he enlists again within three months, will
+be given pay for this period. The apprentices are under the immediate
+supervision of the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy Department, and
+applications for enlistment are made to the chief of that bureau at
+Washington, or to the officer commanding either the "Vermont," at the
+Brooklyn navy yard, or the "Richmond," stationed at the League Island
+yard, Philadelphia. These were the recruiting-ships, from which the
+boys were being sent to the training-station at Coaster's Island as
+soon as a squad of twenty were enlisted, at the period of this
+writing. Sometimes there have been more ships in this duty.
+
+There are usually about one hundred boys at the station at one time.
+They are taught to march, handle muskets, revolvers, broadswords, and
+cannon; they go aloft so as to get practice with the sails, and are
+also made familiar with the management of boats and oars and
+boathooks. Two hours a day are devoted to lessons, consisting of
+arithmetic, reading, writing, spelling, geography and grammar. Ample
+time is given for recreation, and innocent social pleasures are
+encouraged.
+
+There are two training-ships, besides the famous old ship
+"Constellation," which figured in the War of 1812, at the station
+devoted to the use of the boys, and every six months one of these
+appears at Coaster's Island, and receives the apprentices who have
+been at the station for half a year. The vessel then starts on a
+cruise to Europe if it is summer, and to the West Indies in the
+winter. Each boy remains aboard a year, only half of the crew being
+changed at a time. Practice aloft and the life in general aboard a
+sailing vessel give him a broad general foundation of knowledge of the
+sea and ships, upon which he can build the special training and
+instruction he afterward gets upon a regular man-of-war. When he is
+transferred, upon the expiration of his year on the training-ship, he
+begins the task of mastering the intricacies of a modern ship-of-war.
+Here he remains until his first term of service has expired. If he
+re-enlists and has shown aptitude for the service, he is sent to
+Washington navy yard for a course of six months' instruction in
+gunnery and special branches, such as electricity and torpedoes. He
+becomes a seaman gunner, with the billet and pay of a petty officer.
+
+A serious defect in the apprentice system, however, and one which
+makes it impossible to man the vessels altogether with well-trained
+American citizens, is the fact that the majority of the apprentices do
+not re-enlist after receiving their honorable discharge at the age of
+twenty-one, for the reason that the special training they have
+received enables them to secure better-paid places in civil life than
+are possible to them in the navy. In the government service, too, they
+cannot attain the rank of officers, as there is no such provision for
+the promotion of enlisted men in the navy as there is in the army.
+
+Secretary Tracy, in his report of 1889, forcibly called the attention
+of Congress to this condition. As a remedy he recommended that there
+be a statutory extension of the term of enlistment to twenty-four
+years of age. It was further recommended that the number of
+apprentices be increased from seven hundred and fifty to fifteen
+hundred, and that the course in the training-ships be extended by the
+formation of a special class for training in gunnery on board a ship
+devoted exclusively to this purpose. Congress has as yet taken no
+action upon these and numerous other recommendations which have been
+made for the improvement of the apprentice system, and they remain
+pertinent.
+
+The navy, however, in case of war, would not have to depend entirely
+upon apprentices and graduates of the training-station for its skilled
+seamen. The Naval Militia has become an organization that would render
+very efficient service if called upon by the government. It is
+composed of about three thousand highly intelligent and well-drilled
+young men, and has been organized in sixteen States. It bears the same
+relation to the navy that the National Guard does to the regular army,
+and is therefore wholly under State control; but it is subject to
+call, of course, by the federal government.
+
+The organization of the Naval Militia has been a growth of the last
+eight years, and is due in large measure to the reconstruction of the
+navy and the revival of activity and interest in naval affairs in the
+United States.
+
+It was seen that the new vessels of modern and intricate construction
+and appliances should, in case of war, be manned by men skilled in
+the use of these appliances. The apprentice system brought to the navy
+a supply of apprentices, but the number would be totally inadequate in
+a naval war. A naval reserve force was an urgent necessity.
+
+The first step toward meeting this necessity was made in 1887 by
+Senator Whitthorne, of Tennessee, who in that year introduced a bill
+"to create a naval reserve of auxiliary cruisers, officers, and men,
+from the mercantile marine of the United States." The measure did not
+pass, and the next year another was introduced by Senator Whitthorne,
+providing for the enrolment of a Naval Militia and the organization of
+naval reserve forces. According to this bill, it was to be lawful for
+States and Territories bordering on sea and lake coasts and navigable
+rivers to enroll and designate as the Naval Militia all seafaring men
+of whatever calling or occupation, and all men engaged in the
+navigation of the rivers, lakes, and other waters, or in the
+construction or management of ships and craft, together with
+ship-owners and their employees, yacht-owners, members of yacht clubs
+and other associations for aquatic sports, and all ex-officers and
+former enlisted men of the navy.
+
+The bill contemplated a naval reserve artillery and a naval reserve
+torpedo corps. It did not become a law, but formed a basis for
+legislation in several of the States shortly afterward, although the
+original plan, as shown in the proposed measure, was modified to the
+extent of making the Naval Militia a State organization and forming it
+of volunteers irrespective of occupation.
+
+Massachusetts was the pioneer among the States in the organization of
+the Naval Militia. In May, 1888, the legislature passed a bill
+authorizing the formation of "a naval battalion to be attached to the
+volunteer militia." This measure was prepared, with the assistance of
+others, by Lieutenant John C. Soley, a retired officer of the United
+States navy, and he was afterward energetic in putting it into
+successful operation.
+
+The next State to provide for a Naval Militia was Pennsylvania, whose
+legislature made the necessary law in 1889. On the same day the
+legislature of Rhode Island "established a naval battalion to be
+attached to the Rhode Island militia." In New York, in 1889, a State
+Naval Militia of three battalions of naval reserve artillery and a
+naval reserve torpedo corps, to consist of not less than four
+companies to a battalion, was established.
+
+[Illustration: Cruiser "Columbia" (Commerce Destroyer).]
+
+The practical work of the Naval Militia began in 1890, when the
+Massachusetts battalion drilled on the receiving-ship "Wabash," and
+the New York battalion on the receiving-ship "Minnesota."
+
+A very decided impetus was given to the movement in 1891 by the
+appropriation by Congress of $25,000 for arms and equipments for the
+Naval Militia, leaving the disbursement of the money to the discretion
+of the Secretary of the Navy. Within the year California, North
+Carolina, Texas, and Maryland joined the States having battalions of
+Naval Militia, and at its close the force numbered 1,149 men. Progress
+was made also in 1891 in the method of drilling and instructing the
+members of some of the battalions. Those of New York, Massachusetts,
+and Rhode Island spent several days aboard the vessels of the Squadron
+of Evolution, under the command of Rear-Admiral J. C. Walker, and were
+given practice with the guns and boats, and participated in the ship's
+routine duties.
+
+Further appropriations of $25,000 each for the Naval Militia were made
+in 1892 and 1893. The legislatures of Vermont and South Carolina
+provided for battalions of the Naval Militia in 1892, and those which
+had been authorized, but not yet organized, in Maryland and
+Pennsylvania, were formed. During the summer of 1892 the members of
+the North Carolina Naval Militia were drilled on board the "Newark."
+The "Wabash," the "Chicago," and the "Atlanta" were used for drills by
+the Massachusetts battalions, and those of New York received their
+instruction on the "New Hampshire," the "Chicago," and the "Atlanta."
+The California Naval Militia drilled on board the "Charleston."
+
+The Naval Militia was increased in 1893 by battalions formed in North
+Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, and Connecticut, under laws of
+these various legislatures of that year, and the force numbered 2,376
+officers and men. New Jersey and Virginia, in 1894, organized
+battalions of the Naval Militia, and in that year Congress passed an
+important act, empowering the Secretary of the Navy to lend
+temporarily to any State vessels "not suitable or required for the
+general service, together with such of her apparel, charts, books, and
+instruments of navigation as he may deem proper, said vessel to be
+used only by the regularly organized Naval Militia of the State for
+the purposes of drill and instruction." Even interior States, with no
+bodies of water other than rivers, have organized naval battalions. At
+Pittsburg the organization owns a small armored gunboat, of the sort
+that was so useful on inland waters in the civil war. This vessel was
+presented to the militia by a wealthy manufacturer. Few commands,
+however, are so fortunate. Most take advantage of the law authorizing
+the loan of government ships. Under this law the following vessels
+were lent: the "Minnesota" to Massachusetts, the "Wyandotte" to
+Connecticut, the "New Hampshire" to New York, the "Portsmouth" and the
+"Ajax" to New Jersey, the "St. Louis" to Pennsylvania, the "Dale" to
+Maryland, and the "Nantucket" to North Carolina. The other States have
+been compelled to get along without vessels, for the reason that there
+have been no others available.
+
+[Illustration: Torpedo Boat "Cushing."]
+
+During the summer of 1894 the Massachusetts brigade of the militia
+encamped for drill on Lovell's Island, Boston Harbor, and the monitor
+"Passaic" was lent to the State. There were also drills and
+target-practice on the "Miantonomoh" and the "Atlanta." The forces of
+Connecticut and Rhode Island received instruction on the "Miantonomoh"
+and the "Atlanta" respectively, and New York's battalion spent a week
+on board the "New York" and the "San Francisco" in Gardiner's Bay,
+Long Island. A part of the Pennsylvania force had target-practice at
+sea on board the "New York," and the North Carolina battalion received
+instruction on the "Montgomery."
+
+[Illustration: Armored Cruiser "New York."]
+
+The California division helped to man the "Olympia" for a week in
+1895, taking the places of the crew; the Maryland contingent had a
+week's cruise on the "Dale," and the First Naval Battalion of New York
+carried out a scheme of reconnoissance and distant boat work along the
+northern shore of Long Island, encamping on Shelter Island. The party
+was accompanied by the torpedo boat "Cushing." Most of the other
+battalions had their quota of drill and instruction.
+
+These details of the summer operations of the Naval Militia will
+convey an idea of the manner in which its members are being prepared
+for the emergencies of war. In addition to the summer work, there is
+drill in armories in the winter. This course of training, in
+conjunction with the intelligence and enthusiasm of the young men of
+the Naval Militia, who are of the best classes in this country, has
+made an organization which would doubtless be of very great value in
+time of war.
+
+The uniform of the Naval Militia consists of a blue cap, blouse, and
+trousers of blue trimmed with white braid. The working suit is of
+white duck with white canvas hat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     HOW THE NAVY HAS GROWN. -- THE COST AND CHARACTER OF OUR NEW
+     WHITE SHIPS OF WAR. -- OUR PERIOD OF NAVAL WEAKNESS AND OUR
+     ADVANCE TO A PLACE AMONG THE GREAT NAVAL POWERS. -- THE NEW
+     DEVICES OF NAVAL WARFARE. -- THE TORPEDO, THE DYNAMITE GUN, AND
+     THE MODERN RIFLE. -- ARMOR AND ITS POSSIBILITIES.
+
+
+At the close of the civil war the United States had one of the most
+formidable navies afloat. The necessities of the war had forced the
+Navy Department to the utmost exertion in increasing the number and
+power of the vessels of the fleets. This work of naval upbuilding and
+strengthening had been carried on, moreover, till Fort Fisher fell and
+hostile operations ceased. The result was that at the close of the war
+the United States had upon its hands a large number of ships-of-war
+for which it had no use. The Secretary of the Navy at once began to
+reduce the number, and secretaries succeeding him followed the same
+policy. Old vessels which had outlived their usefulness as cruisers
+were one by one taken out of commission and were not replaced. Thus
+the navy moved steadily on a downward plane. Through the seventies and
+into the eighties this retrogression continued. The lowest ebb was
+reached in 1882, when the entire naval force numbered only thirty-one
+vessels in commission, all but four of which were built entirely of
+wood. They were old-fashioned ships, which had been efficient in a
+past day, but were totally unfit to cope with the modern warships of
+foreign naval powers. Both their guns and engines were inferior. Their
+sole usefulness, in short, lay in displaying the national flag upon
+the seas and in the harbors of the commercial world in times of peace.
+
+This condition of the navy was referred to by Secretary Chandler, in
+his report of 1882, as follows:
+
+"It is not the policy of the United States to maintain a large navy,
+but its reputation, honor, and prosperity require that such naval
+vessels as it possesses shall be the best which human ingenuity can
+devise and modern artificers construct. Our present vessels are not
+such and cannot be made such. They should be gradually replaced by
+iron or steel cruisers, and allowed to go out of commission."
+
+It may be of interest to add that in 1882 there was only one
+high-power cannon in the navy, while there were nearly nineteen
+hundred naval officers, making the proportion of fifty-nine officers
+for each ship, and one for every five seamen.
+
+As the result of Secretary Chandler's recommendations in his report of
+1882, three steel warships and an armed despatch-steamer were
+authorized by the next Congress. The building of these vessels, named
+the "Chicago," the "Boston," the "Atlanta," and the "Dolphin," may be
+regarded as the first movement toward the making of the new navy of
+the United States.
+
+While progress in naval construction has been so rapid that these
+ships are a long distance behind the war-vessels of to-day in power,
+they were then considered to be equal to any afloat in their
+respective classes. All are unarmored. The "Chicago," of forty-five
+hundred tons displacement and a speed of fourteen knots an hour, was
+an example of the largest and best unarmored fighting and cruising
+vessel then built, and, according to Secretary Chandler, had no
+superior in speed, endurance, and armament. In the "Boston" and
+"Atlanta," each of three thousand tons displacement and a speed of
+thirteen knots an hour, speed and endurance were supposed to have been
+given their greatest development, and their fighting power was
+increased by placing the battery on a central superstructure on the
+spar-deck and adopting a brig rig, so that the extremities would be
+clear for a fore and aft fire. The "Dolphin," of fifteen hundred tons
+displacement and a speed of fifteen knots, was designed as an
+auxiliary in naval operations, and it was expected that she would
+furnish a model for high-speed commerce-destroyers to be subsequently
+built. These vessels were constructed at an aggregate cost of over
+$2,400,000, in the shipyard of John Roach, of Chester, Pa. The
+"Dolphin" was launched in 1884.
+
+The Congress which authorized the building of the cruisers also
+directed that the double-turreted monitors, "Puritan," "Amphitrite,"
+"Terror," and "Monadnock," whose keels had been laid several years
+before, be completed. In accordance with this order they were launched
+in 1883.
+
+In order that the work of the reconstruction of the navy should be
+carried on as rapidly as possible, the secretary recommended, in 1883
+and 1884, that seven unarmored cruisers, in addition to the four then
+in the process of construction, be built. Congress adopted his
+suggestion to the extent of authorizing, in 1884, the construction of
+two unarmored cruisers, two gunboats, and two armored cruisers.
+
+The vessels with which the reconstruction of the navy began--namely
+the "Chicago," the "Boston," the "Atlanta," and the "Dolphin"--were
+completed about this time, and were in some measure disappointments.
+It was found that the "Dolphin" was better adapted for pleasure trips
+than for war service, because of the lack of protection against
+hostile fire. The engines had been so placed as to be exposed above
+water-line, which was condemned as a serious mistake in a war-vessel
+without armor-protection. It was realized, too, that the essential
+characteristic in an unarmored cruiser is great speed. The function
+she is expected to perform is to destroy commerce; and if she is
+slower than the merchant-vessels it is useless for her to go to sea;
+and if she is slower than the iron-clads, and consequently cannot
+escape from them, she could not long continue her service. The chief
+objection to the vessels was the lack of a speed equal to that of
+merchantmen and the cruisers of other countries. The type of protected
+cruiser with a maximum speed, in some cases as high as twenty knots,
+developed at this time as a result of the earlier experiments. The
+torpedo, too, was receiving constant attention, and money was freely
+spent for its improvement. It was found that vessels at anchor or
+under slow headway could be protected from torpedoes by being
+surrounded by a large net. This defence was generally adopted for
+armored vessels.
+
+A stride forward in naval construction in the United States marked the
+year 1887. Before that time a serious obstacle in the way of building
+up the navy was the lack in the country of manufactories necessary to
+the construction and armament of a modern war-vessel, namely, that of
+steel forgings for the heavier guns, of armor for iron-clad vessels,
+and of secondary batteries, which are an essential portion of the
+armament. It was important that the country should not be dependent
+upon foreigners for these necessary implements of warfare, because
+they are contraband in time of war, and consequently could not then be
+obtained abroad. Secretary of the Navy Whitney, who succeeded
+Secretary Chandler, stipulated, in his advertisements for bids for the
+contracts of making the armor for the ships under construction, that
+this armor should be of domestic manufacture. Correspondence was also
+opened with the leading steel manufacturers of the country, offering
+them inducements to take the matter up. Interest was awakened, and it
+was found upon investigation that armor could be made in the United
+States as advantageously as abroad. A contract was drawn up with the
+Bethlehem Iron Company, under which a plant for the production of
+armor and gun steel was erected at Bethlehem, Pa., which was designed
+to be second to none in the world. In the matter of the second
+batteries, the policy of insisting upon home manufacture was also
+pursued, with the desired result.
+
+Congress had authorized, in 1885, the construction of two additional
+cruisers and two gunboats. In 1886 there was further authorization of
+two armor-clad vessels, each of about six thousand tons, and each to
+cost, exclusive of armament, not more than $2,500,000. In 1887 the sum
+of $2,000,000 was appropriated for harbor and coast defence vessels.
+As a result of this reawakening on the part of Congress to the
+necessity of a respectable navy, and the manifestations of
+enlightenment in the form of substantial appropriations, Secretary
+Whitney was able to state in his report of 1888 that upon the
+completion of the ships under construction, the United States would
+rank second among the nations in the possession of unarmored cruisers
+or commerce-destroyers possessing the highest characteristics--namely,
+size of three thousand tons and upward and a speed of nineteen knots,
+and more. The vessels, inclusive of the monitors, completed and
+uncompleted, then composing the navy, were as follows: The "Dolphin,"
+"Boston," "Atlanta," "Chicago," whose keels were laid in 1883; the
+"Charleston" "Baltimore," "Newark," "Philadelphia," "San Francisco,"
+protected cruisers, whose keels were laid in 1887 and 1888; and the
+gunboats "Yorktown," "Petrel," "Concord," "Bennington," whose keels
+were laid in 1887 and 1888. In addition to these, there were under
+construction the dynamite cruiser "Vesuvius," with a guaranteed speed
+of twenty knots an hour, and a first-class torpedo-boat with a speed
+of twenty-three knots an hour. Besides these, five protected cruisers
+had been authorized, but were not yet in process of construction.
+
+[Illustration: Dynamite Cruiser "Vesuvius."]
+
+The "Baltimore," "Charlestown," "Yorktown," and "Petrel" were given
+their trial trips in 1889, and were accepted by the Navy Department.
+The trip of the "Baltimore," in particular, was a brilliant success.
+The horse-power proved to be in excess of the contract requirement,
+and her highest speed for one hour was 20.39 knots--this result being
+then unparalleled by any warship in the world of the "Baltimore's"
+displacement.
+
+When Benjamin F. Tracy became Secretary of the Navy, in 1889 he called
+attention to the fact that, while the United States had secured a
+number of excellent vessels of the cruiser type, it did not as yet
+possess an efficient navy. He pointed out that the country had two
+widely separated ocean frontiers to protect, and that there was only
+one way to protect them, namely, by two separate fleets of armored
+battle-ships. He said further that in addition to the battle-ships,
+the condition of the country required at least twenty vessels for
+coast and harbor defence, and, moreover, that the employment of these
+ships as floating fortresses demanded that they be equipped with the
+most powerful batteries and the heaviest of armor. It may be said
+parenthetically that eight vessels of this type, five of which were
+reconstructed monitors, were under construction or had been authorized
+at that time. Secretary Tracy recommended the authorization by the
+following Congress of eight armored battle-ships. He also said that
+the United States could not afford to neglect torpedo-boats, with
+which the foreign naval powers were well supplied, and he recommended
+that appropriations be made for the construction of at least five of
+these boats of the first and second class. The year before, the keel
+of the first of the battle-ships, the "Texas," had been laid in the
+navy-yard at Norfolk, Va., and in 1889 work was begun at the Brooklyn
+navy yard upon another vessel of the same class, the "Maine." These
+vessels are respectively of 6,314 and 6,648 tons displacement. The
+construction of a third battle-ship, which had been provided for, had
+not yet been begun.
+
+Secretary Tracy's recommendations reveal clearly the naval condition
+in 1889. Previous to that year the additions to the navy had consisted
+chiefly of cruisers of from three to four thousand tons, and of
+gunboats under two thousand tons; but, acting upon the secretary's
+report, Congress, on June 10, 1890, authorized, in addition to another
+armored cruiser, three seagoing coast-line battle-ships. These were an
+entirely new class of vessels in the United States navy, and their
+authorization marks another distinct step in its reconstruction.
+
+An appropriation was made in 1891 for an additional armored cruiser,
+designed to be a sister ship to the one provided for in 1890. It was
+the purpose to make these vessels more powerful than any of their type
+in the navy. Their tonnage was fixed at 7,500, and their maximum speed
+at twenty-two knots. They were to be given coal capacity that would
+enable them to cruise for great distances without recoaling. This, it
+will be seen, is an important advantage to a navy so destitute of
+coaling-stations abroad as that of the United States.
+
+The vessels under construction in 1891 were the monitors "Puritan,"
+"Amphitrite," "Monadnock," and "Terror," which had been begun in 1874,
+but had been neglected in subsequent years; the "Maine," the "Texas,"
+the coast-defence vessel "Monterey," which was launched in 1891; the
+"New York," "Cincinnati," "Raleigh," "Detroit," and a practice-ship,
+which had been authorized by the act of 1887; the harbor-defence ram
+"Katahdin;" and gunboats "5" and "6," authorized in 1889; the three
+battle-ships, "Indiana," "Massachusetts," and "Oregon," and the
+protected cruiser "No. 12," authorized by the act of 1890; and
+protected cruiser "No. 13," provided for in 1891.
+
+Three vessels, the "Newark," the "Concord," and the "Bennington," were
+given their trial trips in 1890. The behavior of the "Newark" proved
+her to be a valuable addition to the list of cruisers. The "Concord"
+and the "Bennington," vessels of the gunboat class, similar to the
+"Yorktown," also gave evidences of power and usefulness. They carry a
+comparatively heavy battery, while their light draught enables them to
+run into shallow rivers and bays, and thus perform services for which
+larger vessels are incapacitated.
+
+The subject of the organization of a naval militia or reserve had been
+discussed for some time before Secretary Tracy assumed his office. He
+forcibly urged the necessity of such an organization in his first and
+in following annual reports, until, in 1891, Congress appropriated
+$25,000 for arms for the militia. This was a decided impetus toward
+its development, and at the close of the year it existed in six
+States, an effective, well-drilled, and organized force of eleven
+hundred men.
+
+The year 1892 saw considerable progress in the development of the
+navy. Two important vessels, the "Iowa," a first-class, seagoing
+battle-ship of 11,296 tons displacement, and the "Brooklyn," an
+armored cruiser of 9,150 tons displacement, were provided for by
+Congress. The cruisers "Texas," "Columbia," "Olympia," "Raleigh," and
+"Cincinnati," and the gunboats "Machias" and "Castine" were launched.
+
+Secretary Tracy's administration of the affairs of the navy, which
+closed in 1892, was one of marked progress and development; and this
+development was not confined to ships alone. Experiments extending
+over a period of three years had resulted in the adopting of an armor
+of new composition, namely, nickel-steel, which had been found to be
+far superior to any before known. The manufacture of torpedoes had
+been domesticated. Since 1889 the heavy, rapid-firing guns had been
+developed and proved successful. The manufacture of armor-piercing
+shells, of which two firms in Europe had had the monopoly, was begun
+in this period under the care and encouragement of the Navy
+Department; and the shells turned out soon surpassed the foreign
+product. Through investigation and experiment conducted by its own
+agencies, the Navy Department succeeded in developing a smokeless
+powder, which gave better results than that made abroad. Careful and
+protracted experiments with high explosives were also carried on, with
+the result of developing an explosive that can be safely used in
+shells fired from high-power guns.
+
+In 1893, the first year of the administration of Secretary Herbert,
+the following vessels were launched: the armored battle-ships
+"Indiana" and "Massachusetts;" the protected cruiser "Minneapolis;"
+the unarmored and very rapid cruiser "Marblehead;" and the armed
+coast-defence ram "Katahdin." During the same year Congress authorized
+the construction of three new vessels, to be of the class known as
+light-draft protected gunboats. These are of about twelve hundred tons
+displacement, and are designed for river service in China and
+elsewhere. Several vessels, namely, the "Monterey," "Bancroft,"
+"Detroit," "New York," armored cruiser of 8,480 tons displacement, and
+the gunboat "Machias," were given their trial trips in 1893. The
+results were in each case satisfactory, and the vessels were added to
+the effective fleet of the navy.
+
+Before 1893 the United States had been behind the other important
+nations in the matter of small-arms equipment. The navy was still
+using the old-fashioned, large-calibre rifle, employing a charge of
+black powder, and effectively carrying only twelve hundred yards.
+Under Secretary Herbert's direction, a board of naval officers
+investigated the improved small arms in use in foreign navies, and
+made recommendations which resulted in the adoption of a small-calibre
+magazine rifle, in which is used smokeless powder, and which has an
+effective range of a mile and a half. A further advantage of the new
+rifle is that it employs cartridges of such a weight that no less than
+two hundred rounds can be carried by one man. The cartridges used in
+the old rifle were so heavy that one man could not carry more than
+fifty rounds.
+
+Secretary Herbert recommended in his report of 1893 that Congress
+authorize the construction of at least one new battle-ship and six
+torpedo-boats. He said that for the defence of ports the latter are
+more effective according to cost than any class of vessels. The
+knowledge of their existence alone will make an enemy chary about
+approaching within bombarding distance. The value of this boat is
+recognized by all naval powers, and they are being built abroad in
+great numbers. The next naval appropriation contained a provision
+authorizing the construction of three additional torpedo-boats of the
+general type of the "Ericsson," which was then ready for trial. The
+design for the new boat called for a speed of not less than
+twenty-four and one-half knots an hour. The battle-ships "Indiana,"
+"Texas," and "Oregon" underwent preliminary trial trips in 1894, and
+were accepted by the government in 1895. It is of interest to note
+that until these vessels were put in commission, the navy was still in
+the condition that existed when President Cleveland, in his first
+message to Congress in 1885, made the following statement: "We have
+not a single vessel that could keep the seas against a first-class
+vessel of any important power." It is true that vessels of size and
+power enough to hold their own against the battle-ships of other
+nations had been under construction for several years, but the United
+States was still without an available man-of-war of the first class
+until the "Indiana" and the "Oregon" joined the fleet.
+
+Considerable progress in naval affairs marked the year 1895. One of
+the important events was the adding to the commissioned fleet of the
+coast-defence monitor "Amphitrite," whose keel was laid in 1874. The
+work of remodelling her was begun in 1889, under the appropriation
+made by Congress in 1887. The "Amphitrite" is in some respects an
+old-fashioned type of vessel, but is nevertheless capable of important
+service. Her displacement is 3,990 tons. Her armor and armament are
+heavy, although not so powerful as that of the battle-ships. Her main
+advantage, as with all of the monitors, is that she presents a
+comparatively small target for the enemy's fire.
+
+[Illustration: United States Battle-Ship "Indiana."]
+
+Adopting the spirit of Secretary Herbert's recommendations in his
+report of 1894, Congress, in 1895, authorized the construction of two
+coast-line battle-ships of most formidable equipment and power,
+their cost not to exceed $4,000,000 each. Further provision was made
+for the building of twelve torpedo-boats. An interesting feature of
+the bill was the stipulation that one of the battle-ships shall bear
+the historic name "Kearsarge," after the famous old man-of-war that
+was wrecked in 1894 on Roncador Reef. According to the plans of the
+new ships, they resemble in a general way the "Indiana," although they
+are longer and broader and have a greater displacement, and their
+batteries are more powerful. A new feature in the arrangement of the
+guns was decided upon. The vessels will carry two turrets of two
+stories each. Many objections to this plan were advanced, but it was
+said that all are outweighed by the opportunity which the turrets give
+of concentrating an enormous quantity of shot on a given point. An
+estimate has been made that the "Kearsarge" will carry enough
+ammunition to kill or disable a million persons, and that she will be
+able to discharge it all within a period of five hours. Accommodations
+will be provided for five hundred and twenty officers and men. The
+"Kearsarge" and her sister ship, which will be called the "Kentucky,"
+will carry heavier armor and guns and a greater quantity of the latter
+than any foreign battle-ship in existence or in course of
+construction.
+
+The ram "Katahdin" was rejected by the government in 1895, because,
+upon her official trials, she did not fulfil the speed requirements.
+She made 16.011 knots, while the contract called for 17 knots.
+Congress was asked to purchase the vessel, and finally did so.
+
+The armored cruiser "Brooklyn," designed to be one of the fastest and
+most powerful vessels of her class afloat, was launched from Cramp's
+shipyard in Philadelphia in 1895. She is the sister ship to the "New
+York," which was put in commission in 1893. A matter of significance,
+as showing the rapid progress in the art of naval construction within
+a few years, was the taking out of commission in 1895 of the
+"Chicago," to be refitted with engines and boilers that will give her
+powers approaching those of the newer vessels. Two years will be
+required for this work, and when she is complete she will travel three
+knots an hour faster than heretofore, and in many respects will be
+substantially a new ship.
+
+The official trial trip of the battle-ship "Massachusetts," which
+occurred in 1896, was a source of gratification to the Navy Department
+and to all others who are anxious to see the United States take
+respectable rank among the naval powers. The primary business of a
+battle-ship is to fight; hence her guns and not her speed are of the
+first importance. Naval experts have agreed that the "Massachusetts"
+and her sister ships, the "Indiana" and the "Oregon," have larger and
+more effective batteries than any man-of-war afloat or in progress of
+construction. The "Massachusetts" has now proved, by steaming at the
+rate of 16.15 knots for four hours, with a maximum speed of 17.03
+knots, that she is superior to all other battle-ships in speed as well
+as in armament. Her performance is unparalleled in naval history, and
+makes her the foremost war-vessel of the world. The "Indiana" is a
+trifle slower. She steamed 15.61 knots for four hours, but under the
+disadvantage of a bottom that had never been cleaned. She would
+probably go half a knot faster with a clean bottom. As a
+representative specimen of the battle-ships which belong to the navy,
+a few details of the "Massachusetts'" armament may be of interest. She
+has thirty guns in all. The chief of these are four of thirteen-inch
+calibre, which are the largest in use in modern navies; a pair of them
+can be fired every three minutes. The eight-inch guns are next in
+size. There are four of them, and they can be fired every minute. In
+addition to these, there are two six-inch rifles, twenty six-pounders,
+and four one-pounders. The six-inch guns can be fired twice a minute,
+and the six-pounders twenty times in the same period. In a fight
+lasting thirty minutes, these guns would throw forty-one and a half
+tons of metal, of which forty-four thousand pounds would be the share
+of the thirteen-inch guns, thirty thousand pounds the share of the
+eight-inch, six thousand pounds of the six-inch, and thirty-six
+hundred pounds of the others. The total weight of the "Massachusetts'"
+broadside is 5,724 pounds, and of her head or astern fire 3,434
+pounds.
+
+Another of the monitors, the "Monadnock," was added to the navy in
+1896. She was launched in 1883, and was then practically left alone
+until the acts of 1885, 1886, and 1887 provided for her completion.
+She is now a formidable vessel, with heavy guns which can be made to
+bear on a point a small boat's length from the ship's side, or can
+bombard at a distance of six miles.
+
+While the successive Secretaries of the Navy, during the last fourteen
+years, have been chiefly active in increasing the number of
+ships-of-war, they have not altogether neglected defences on the
+coast. Some of the larger seacoast cities have succeeded in obtaining
+a part of the heavy gun and mortar batteries that would be necessary
+in repelling attacks without the aid of battle-ships. The cities of
+New York and San Francisco have now mounted and ready for action
+powerful pneumatic dynamite gun batteries, the most destructive
+engines of war in existence. Each of these guns is capable of hurling
+a projectile carrying five hundred pounds of the most powerful
+explosive known to man, and is able to destroy the strongest
+iron-clad. In the naval battle of Sinope in the Crimean War, a shell
+designed to explode on striking the object was used for the first
+time. When the high explosives, such as dynamite and gun-cotton,
+appeared, the idea suggested itself that they might be used in the
+shells with vastly greater effect than gunpowder, which had been
+employed. The objection, however was that these explosives are so
+sensitive that there was great danger of their exploding at the outset
+of the journey from the sudden shock of being hurled from the ordinary
+high-power guns and mortars. Captain Zalinski, of the United States
+Artillery, suggested a method of gun construction by which the shells
+could be projected by a steady pressure of compressed air instead of
+by the sudden force of powder gases. This system has been steadily
+improved until the pneumatic dynamite gun now works perfectly and is a
+marvel of destructiveness. The United States possesses six and Great
+Britain one of the seven dynamite guns that have thus far been
+manufactured for coast defence.
+
+The "Iowa," a battle-ship of the first class whose keel was laid in
+1893, was launched in March, 1895. She is the largest vessel of the
+navy now afloat, her displacement being 11,410 tons, which is over a
+thousand tons greater than that of the "Massachusetts," "Indiana," or
+"Oregon."
+
+It will be seen that progress toward the building of the new navy of
+the United States has been steady since the first move was made in
+1882. As a result of this development, the navy now consists, counting
+the vessels built and authorized by Congress, prior to 1896, the naval
+appropriations bill for that year still pending at this writing, of
+about seventy modern ships-of-war. These include eight battle-ships,
+six coast-defence steel-clads, two armored cruisers, one armored ram,
+thirteen protected cruisers, eighteen gunboats and unprotected
+cruisers, and about two dozen torpedo-boats. This fleet gives the
+United States sixth place in the list of naval powers, being outranked
+in number of vessels by England, France, Russia, Germany, or Italy, in
+the order named. A true idea of the comparative fighting strength of
+the United States navy is not conveyed, however, by its rank in the
+numerical strength of the fleet. The _personnel_ of the navy and the
+power of the individual ships must be considered. It is generally
+conceded that the United States has the finest fighting men and
+vessels in the world. These advantages would, in all probability,
+enable us to whip Germany or Italy in a series of naval contests;
+therefore, it is thought by naval critics that we really hold fourth
+position among the naval powers. England is still a long way ahead of
+us, the English navy now numbering nearly five hundred vessels, of
+which one hundred and twenty are armored cruisers. But, comparing the
+navies ship to ship, the United States fleet, so far as it goes, is
+superior even to that of Great Britain. The battle-ships, while
+somewhat smaller, are more effective fighters. The English navy has no
+armored cruisers as fast or as powerful as the "New York" and
+"Brooklyn;" and the commerce-destroyers, "Columbia" and "Minneapolis,"
+are the fastest vessels, either of war or peace, that have gone to
+sea.
+
+That this new navy of ours will ever have to meet so stern an ordeal
+as that through which the sailors of '61 went is wholly improbable. In
+multiplying the number and the effectiveness of fighting machines the
+nations of the world have seemingly lessened the likelihood of war.
+International disputes which once would have put the territory of all
+Europe ablaze are now settled by the peaceful devices of diplomacy.
+But behind the diplomat must be the gun, and it will be a sorry day
+for the United States when, if ever, the sense of security bred of an
+avowed national policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs shall
+lead this people to neglect the naval arm of the republic.
+
+
+
+
+PART V.
+
+
+
+
+THE NAVAL WAR WITH SPAIN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     THE STATE OF CUBA. -- PERTINACITY OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. --
+     SPAIN'S SACRIFICES AND FAILURE. -- SPANISH BARBARITIES. -- THE
+     POLICY OF RECONCENTRATION. -- AMERICAN SYMPATHY AROUSED. -- THE
+     STRUGGLE IN CONGRESS. -- THE ASSASSINATION OF THE "MAINE." --
+     REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. -- THE ONWARD MARCH TO BATTLE.
+
+
+A short time after the inauguration of William McKinley as President
+of the United States in March, 1897, it became apparent that the
+disordered condition of Cuba under Spanish rule was destined
+inevitably to become an issue which the United States must help to
+settle. For two years a great part of the island had been in open and
+determined revolt against Spanish rule. Though the forces of the King
+had been able to hold the seaports, thus cutting off the insurgents
+from regular communication with the outer world and making impotent
+their efforts to secure recognition from foreign powers, the patriots
+under Maceo and Gomez held control of the interior, established a
+government of their own, enforced order, and levied taxes. Enormous
+sacrifices were made by the Spanish people to re-establish sovereignty
+in the island. More than 300,000 troops were sent thither to be
+cruelly cut down by plague and pestilence. A nation, long on the verge
+of bankruptcy, incurred uncomplainingly prodigious additional
+indebtedness to save for its boy king--Alphonso XIII. was at this time
+but twelve years old--its most precious possession in the west, the
+Pearl of the Antilles. Queen Isabella of Spain pawned her jewels that
+Columbus might have the means to press his voyage of discovery into
+unknown seas, but in the closing years of this century the people of
+Spain pawned their national assets, put even themselves and their
+posterity in pawn to hold for Spain the last relics of the empire
+which Columbus won for her.
+
+Though we were forced to draw the sword upon Spain in the cause of
+humanity and human liberty, the man of reason, and of a sense of
+justice, will not withhold from the people of that sorely chastened
+nation admiration for their loyalty and the sacrifices they made in
+their national cause.
+
+But the Spanish people were cruelly betrayed by their own rulers. The
+generals whom they sent to Cuba gave less thought to the suppression
+of the insurrection than to filling their own pockets. Out of the
+millions and millions of pesetas set aside by an already impoverished
+people for the needs of war, a great part was stolen by generals and
+by army contractors. The young conscripts, sent from Spain to a land
+where the air is pestilential to the unacclimated, were clothed and
+shod in shoddy; their food invited disease, and when they fell ill it
+was found that the greed of the generals had consumed the funds that
+should have provided sufficient hospital service. Comparatively few
+fell before the bullets or machetes of the insurgents--for, as we
+shall see, the revolutionists adopted the tactics of Fabius--but by
+thousands they succumbed to fevers of every kind. Death without glory
+was the hapless lot of the Spanish conscript.
+
+The Patriot generals, Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo, met this
+situation with consummate skill. The military problem which confronted
+them was one which chiefly demanded self-restraint. They were
+lamentably destitute of arms and munitions of war. Cartridges were a
+dearly prized acquisition, and it is worth noting, as an indication of
+the venality which corrupted the Spanish army, that a considerable
+share of the insurgent ammunition was obtained by direct traffic with
+the Spanish soldiers. But in the main the Patriots were armed with
+heterogeneous firearms and the machete--a heavy, sword-like knife,
+used, in peace, for cutting cane. The latter at close quarters was a
+formidable weapon, and the insurgents became singularly proficient in
+its use; developing a style of machete play almost as exact and
+scientific as the school of the rapier in ancient France.
+
+This disparity in weapons, however, made it imperative that the
+insurgents should avoid pitched battles with the invaders, who were
+armed with Mauser rifles, that do deadly work at two miles' distance.
+Accordingly, Gomez and Maceo confined themselves to harrying the
+Spanish army of occupation on every side and destroying all vestiges
+of Spanish authority outside the large towns. Warfare of this sort
+inevitably develops into the most cruel, the most barbarous of
+conflicts. So it was in this case. That Cuba might be made desolate,
+unable to pay anything toward the price of its own subjection, the
+insurgents relentlessly destroyed standing crops, burned great fields
+of standing sugar cane, destroyed mills, dynamited railroads, tore up
+roads, and demolished aqueducts. That the peaceful inhabitants--the
+pacificos--might not give aid or comfort to the revolutionists,
+General Weyler caused them to be driven from their farms and herded in
+the towns still under Spanish rule. There they stayed, in squalid huts
+or under thatched sheds, AND STARVED. Systematically, with devilish
+ingenuity, Spain planned to crush Cuba, not by fighting the
+revolutionists, but by starving women and children, old men and
+peaceful farm hands. It is estimated, and conservatively, that more
+than 500,000 people had been starved to death before the United States
+interfered.
+
+Indeed, it was upon the hapless pacificos that the horrors of war
+chiefly descended. They were ruined, but that was the least. Their
+property, the honor of their women, and their lives were held to be
+the legitimate spoil of any Spanish soldier, and the tacit
+legalization of loot, rapine, and murder was taken full advantage of.
+More inhuman even than the regular soldiery were the guerrillas,
+licensed free companions, who roamed the island ever in search of
+spoil. The deeds of these wretches beggar description, and so foul was
+the repute of their corps that prisoners from their number taken by
+the Cubans were instantly put to death. It is just to say here that
+the testimony of Americans who served with Gomez and Maceo proves that
+those leaders enforced humane and orderly conduct upon their
+followers. The death penalty was more than once imposed upon useful
+and brave soldiers, who had been guilty of outrage. Nothing could more
+vividly indicate the moral difference between the Cuban and the
+Spaniard than the contrast between their methods of prosecuting the
+war. Though outlawed, the Revolutionists observed with scrupulous
+exactness the rules of civilized warfare, while the Spaniards murdered
+helpless prisoners, even killing the wounded in their beds, had
+recourse to torture and to nameless mutilation, in order to wreak
+their hatred, and let loose a swarm of bandits and ruffians to prey
+upon the defenseless people of the island.
+
+Out of warfare such as this, waged on an island only a few hours' sail
+from our coast, and in which were heavy American interests, it was
+inevitable that invasion of American rights should proceed, and the
+wrath of the American people be awakened. Our citizens owned large
+plantations in Cuba, which were destroyed either by the Spaniards or
+the insurgents. Many Americans living in the island or visiting there,
+were arrested by the Spanish authorities, and one, at least, Dr. Ruiz,
+was murdered in Morro Castle, while another a newspaper correspondent,
+was cut to pieces by guerrillas. For Spanish outrages upon the lives
+or property of American citizens, claims aggregating $60,000,000 were
+on file with the United States Department of State before the
+declaration of war. The general sympathy of the American people with
+the insurgents, as well as the hope of profit, led to repeated efforts
+by our citizens to smuggle arms and munitions of war to the Cubans,
+and in time it became necessary to employ a great part of the United
+States navy in police duty on the high seas for the purpose of
+stopping the filibusters. This service in behalf of Spain was
+exceedingly repugnant to the American mind, and contributed greatly to
+the growing feeling of irritation toward Spain.
+
+History in coming ages, however, will relate, to the unending horror
+and glory of the American people, that humanitarian considerations,
+rather than regard for imperiled interests, brought the United States
+into a war which most emphatically their people did not desire. The
+great New York newspapers, day by day, printed circumstantial accounts
+of the frightful sufferings in Cuba. One journal secured a great
+number of photographs of scenes amid the starving reconcentrados,
+which, greatly enlarged, were publicly exhibited in all parts of the
+Union. These pictures, showing the frightful distortions of the human
+body as the result of long starvation, showing little children, mere
+skeletons, looking mutely down on the dead bodies of their parents,
+brought home to the mind of the people the state of life in a
+neighboring land as no writing, however brilliant, could. A cry went
+up from every part of the United States that a Christian duty was
+imposed upon our nation to interfere for the alleviation of such
+horrible suffering. Charity came to the rescue with free contributions
+of provisions, and Congress made a heavy appropriation of money for
+the relief of the Cubans. But everywhere the opinion grew that
+philanthropy alone could not right this great wrong, but that the
+strong hand of the United States must reach forth to pluck out the
+Spaniard from the land he ravaged. And when a number of Senators and
+Representatives in Congress made journeys to Cuba, and returning,
+described in formal addresses at the Capitol the scenes of starvation
+and misery, this opinion hardened into positive conviction.
+
+Then, almost as if planned by some all-knowing power, came a great and
+inexplicable disaster, which made American intervention inevitable and
+immediate.
+
+During the latter years of the Cleveland administration the
+representatives of American interests in Cuba urged that a United
+States ship-of-war should be permanently stationed in Havana harbor.
+The request was reasonable, the act in thorough accord with the custom
+of nations. But, fearing to offend Spain, President Cleveland avoided
+taking the step and President McKinley for months imitated him. In
+time this act, which in itself could have had no hostile significance,
+came to be regarded as an expression of hostility to Spain, and all
+the resources of Spanish diplomacy were exerted to prevent any
+American warship from entering Havana harbor. Ultimately, however, the
+pressure of public opinion compelled the Executive to provide for
+representation of American authority in the disordered island, and the
+battle-ship "Maine"--a sister ship to the "Iowa," a picture of which
+appears elsewhere in this volume--was sent to Havana.
+
+The night of February 15 the "Maine" lay quietly at her anchorage in
+the Havana harbor. Her great white hull, with lights shining
+brilliantly from the ports aft where the officers' quarters were,
+gleamed in the starlight. On the berth deck the men swung sleeping in
+their hammocks. The watch on deck breathed gratefully the cool evening
+air after the long tropic day. Captain Sigsbee was at work in his
+cabin, and the officers in the wardroom were chatting over their games
+or dozing over their books. The lights of the town and of the ancient
+fortress of Morro shone brightly through the purpling light. Not far
+away the Spanish man-of-war "Alfonso XIII." lay at her moorings, and
+an American merchantman, brightly lighted, was near. The scene was
+peaceful, quiet, beautiful. True, in the minds of many officers and
+men on the American warship there was a lurking and indefinable sense
+of danger. Their coming had been taken by the Spaniards in Havana as
+a hostile act. Though all the perfunctory requirements of
+international courtesy had been complied with, salutes interchanged,
+visits of ceremony paid and returned, there was yet in the Spanish
+greeting an ill-concealed tone of anger. In the cafés Spanish officers
+cursed the Yankees and boasted of their purpose to destroy them. On
+the streets American blue-jackets, on shore leave, were jostled,
+jeered, and insulted. Yet the ill-temper of the Spaniards, though
+apparent, was so ill defined that no apprehension of a positive attack
+was felt. As is the practice on men-of-war, however, the utmost
+vigilance was maintained. Only the employment of a boat patrol and the
+use of torpedo nettings were lacking to give the "Maine" the aspect of
+a ship in an enemy's harbor.
+
+Then came the disaster that shocked the world. A disaster in which it
+is impossible not to suspect the element of treachery. A disaster
+which if purely accidental, occurring to a hated ship in a port
+surrounded by men who were enemies at heart, was the most
+extraordinary coincidence in history. The story is brief. Not until
+this war is ended and the authority of the United States is employed
+to clear up the mystery, can the real narrative of the destruction of
+the "Maine" be told.
+
+This much we know: At about half-past nine those on the "Maine" who
+lived to tell the tale heard a sudden dull explosion, with a slight
+shock, then a prolonged, deep, furious roar, which shook the ship to
+its very vitals. The people on the other ships in the harbor saw the
+whole forward portion of the "Maine" suddenly become a flaming volcano
+belching forth fire, men, huge pieces of steel, and bursting shells.
+Portions of the ship's hull rained down on decks a thousand yards
+away. When the first fierce shock of the explosion was past, it was
+seen that the "Maine" was on fire and was rapidly sinking.
+
+How wonderful is the power of discipline upon the human mind! On the
+great battle-ship, with hundreds of its men blown to pieces or penned
+down by steel débris to be drowned in the rapidly rising waters, there
+was no panic. Captain Sigsbee, rushing from his cabin door, is met by
+the sergeant of marines who serves him as orderly. Not a detail of
+naval etiquette is lacking. Sergeant William Anthony salutes:
+
+"I have to report, sir, that the ship is blown up and is sinking," he
+says, as he would report a pilot boat in the offing.
+
+The captain reaches the deck to find his officers already at work, the
+men who have not been injured all at their stations. Boats are
+lowered and ply about the harbor to rescue survivors. Though the
+flames rage fiercely, and the part of the ship which they have not yet
+reached is full of high explosives, there is no panic. At the first
+alarm every man has done what years of drill and teaching have taught
+him to do. The after-magazines have been flooded, the boats' crews
+called away. Even preparations for a fight had been attempted.
+Lieutenant Jenkins, hearing the first explosion, sprang so quickly for
+his station at a forward gun that he was caught in the second
+explosion and slain. Though a bolt from heaven or a shock from hell
+had struck the "Maine," it brought death only--not fear nor panic.
+
+The work of rescuing survivors and caring for the wounded was pushed
+apace, for the ship sunk rapidly, until only her after-superstructure
+was above the water. Boats from the Spanish man-of-war joined in the
+work of mercy and her officers, as though conscious that the suspicion
+of treachery was first in every man's mind, exerted themselves in
+every way to show solicitude for the wounded and sorrow for the
+disaster. When all was done that could be done, and the roll of the
+ship's company was called, it was found that 266 brave Americans were
+lost in Havana harbor--a friendly port. Some lie there yet, penned
+down beneath the gnarled and scorched steel which formed the gallant
+"Maine"; others lie in lonely graves on the adjacent shore, where,
+before this war is ended, the American flag shall be raised above them
+to be their avenger and their monument.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It will be necessary to outline in only the most terse and condensed
+form the political and military events which succeeded the destruction
+of the "Maine" and led up to the declaration of war. The news of the
+great disaster was received at home with horror, speedily turning to
+anger. The Government, rightly desiring to proceed calmly and in
+accordance with regularly ascertained facts, strove to calm the public
+temper, but with little success. It gave out as Captain Sigsbee's
+first report of the disaster a cable message, which contained no
+charge of treachery, advised caution, and urged a suspension of
+judgment. But presently it became rumored about Washington that this
+dispatch was, in fact, sent under orders; that the captain's first
+report formally charged the Spaniards with blowing up the ship. In the
+newspapers the discussion raged and theories of the disaster were
+plentiful, but, after long weeks of careful study of the evidence, the
+Naval Board of Inquiry presented the following report:
+
+     When the "Maine" arrived at Havana, she was conducted by the
+     regular Government pilot to buoy No. 4, to which she was moored
+     in from five to six fathoms of water.
+
+     The state of discipline on board, and the condition of her
+     magazines, boilers, coal-bunkers, and storage compartments, are
+     passed in review, with the conclusion that excellent order
+     prevailed, and that no indication of any cause for an internal
+     explosion existed in any quarter.
+
+     At eight o'clock on the evening of February 15 everything had
+     been reported secure, and all was quiet. At 9.40 o'clock the
+     vessel was suddenly destroyed.
+
+     There were two distinct explosions, with a brief interval between
+     them. The first lifted the forward part of the ship very
+     perceptibly; the second, which was more open, prolonged, and of
+     greater volume, is attributed by the Court to the partial
+     explosion of two or more of the forward magazines.
+
+     The evidence of the divers establishes that the after-part of the
+     ship was practically intact, and sank in that condition a very
+     few minutes after the explosion. The forward part was completely
+     demolished.
+
+     Upon the evidence of a concurrent external cause the finding of
+     the Court is as follows:
+
+     At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and
+     one-half feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above
+     the keel when in its natural position, has been forced up so as
+     to be now about four feet above the surface of the water;
+     therefore, about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the
+     ship sunk uninjured.
+
+     The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the
+     after-wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet
+     in length (from frame 17 to frame 25), is doubled back upon
+     itself against the continuation of the same plating extending
+     forward.
+
+     At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel
+     bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside
+     bottom plates. This break is now about six feet below the surface
+     of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position.
+
+     In the opinion of the Court, this effect could have been produced
+     only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the
+     ship, at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the
+     ship.
+
+     The conclusions of the Court are:
+
+     That the loss of the "Maine" was not in any respect due to fault
+     or negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of
+     her crew.
+
+     That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine,
+     which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward
+     magazines; and,
+
+     That no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility
+     for the destruction of the "Maine" upon any person or persons.
+
+[Illustration: Partial View of the Wreck of the "Maine."]
+
+To-day, in the midst of war with Spain, we have no more definite, no
+more authoritative knowledge of the cause of this disaster than this.
+Spain, indeed, through her official commission, decided that the
+explosion was wholly internal, but the American people is not
+convinced. Battleships are not in the habit of blowing themselves up,
+and it is the expectation that the establishment of American authority
+in Cuba will be followed by the unraveling of this murderous plot.
+Undoubtedly an anecdote told of Captain Robley D. Evans (Fighting Bob)
+of the navy expresses the popular conviction:
+
+"The admiral in command of the United States fleet at Key West should
+have sailed for Havana on getting news of the 'Maine's' destruction,"
+said Evans. "He should have reduced the forts, seized the city,
+discovered the assassins, and hanged them."
+
+"But that would have been defiance of the orders of the Navy
+Department," responded his auditor, aghast.
+
+"Perhaps so," admitted Evans, "but the man who did it would have been
+the next President of the United States."
+
+While the "Maine" Court of Inquiry was in session measures looking
+toward war were rapidly taken. March 9, a bill, which had passed both
+houses of Congress without a dissenting voice, became a law,
+appropriating $50,000,000 to be expended for the national defense. Out
+of this sum the Navy Department bought two Brazilian cruisers building
+in England, which were rechristened the "New Orleans" and "Albany." A
+flotilla of yachts, seagoing tugs, and merchantmen was bought and
+refitted. The great American liners "St. Paul," "City of Paris," "City
+of New York," and "St. Louis" were chartered and made into auxiliary
+cruisers. All Europe was ransacked for purchasable warships and
+torpedo boats, with the result of proving that no nation, however
+rich, can equip itself with a navy in an emergency. Not one
+battle-ship was available for purchase, and only four cruisers, of
+doubtful quality. And while this work of preparation was going
+hurriedly on the country was drifting into war with what seemed at the
+time inexplicable slowness, but to the calmer backward glance of
+history will appear dangerously swift in the face of our great lack of
+preparation. What might be termed the milestones on the march to
+battle were these:
+
+_April 5._--Consul General Fitz Hugh Lee recalled from Havana.
+
+_April 11._--Message of the President on Cuba, recommending that we
+have power to intervene forcibly without "recognizing at this time the
+independence of the present insurgent government."
+
+_April 13._--The House passed a resolution directing the President to
+intervene in Cuba at once, and authorizing him to use the land and
+naval forces of the United States to stop the war.
+
+_April 16._--The Senate passed a joint resolution, as a substitute for
+the House resolution, declaring the island to be free, recognizing the
+republic, demanding relinquishment of authority in Cuba by Spain, and
+withdrawal of Spanish forces; directing the President to call out the
+militia in addition to regular land and naval forces, and, finally,
+disclaiming any intention to annex the island.
+
+_April 19._--Senate resolution adopted by the House, with the proviso
+recognizing the republic of Cuba stricken out. Both houses agreed to
+the report in this form.
+
+_April 20._--Ultimatum to Spain, cabled at 11 A.M.--a formal demand
+that Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the
+island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and
+Cuban waters.
+
+President signed Cuban joint resolutions at 11.24.
+
+Señor Polo y Bernabé, the Spanish Minister, was notified. He at once
+requested his passports.
+
+_April 21._--General Woodford, the American Minister at Madrid, left
+Spain.
+
+The President directed the Secretary of the Navy to order the vessels
+of the North Atlantic squadron to proceed without delay to Cuban
+waters to blockade Havana and other ports of the island.
+
+_April 23._--President McKinley signed the proclamation calling for
+125,000 volunteers.
+
+_April 25._--Formal declaration of war recommended by the President,
+and a bill "declaring that war exists between the United States of
+America and the Kingdom of Spain," passed by both houses.
+
+And so the United States embarked on its first war with any European
+Power, save England--a war forced upon us by every consideration of
+humanity--a war which shall be of great advantage or of great harm to
+our Republic, according as its fruits are wisely or wrongly
+administered.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     THE OPENING DAYS OF THE WAR. -- THE FIRST BLOW STRUCK IN THE
+     PACIFIC. -- DEWEY AND HIS FLEET. -- THE BATTLE AT MANILA. -- AN
+     EYE-WITNESS' STORY. -- DELAY AND DOUBT IN THE EAST. -- DULL TIMES
+     FOR THE BLUE-JACKETS. -- THE DISCOVERY OF CERVERA. -- HOBSON'S
+     EXPLOIT. -- THE OUTLOOK.
+
+
+Strangely enough the first warlike stroke at Spain was not delivered
+in or about Cuba, where the quarrel arose, but in the other
+hemisphere, in the far-away waters of the Asiatic Pacific, where the
+American flag is almost a stranger and the power and wealth of the
+great American Republic are unknown. In the Philippine Islands Spain
+retains one of the colonies with which she once encircled the globe.
+More than 7,000,000 people--a peace-loving, kindly, intelligent
+race--are there ruled by the Spaniards, and as the rule was of the
+characteristic Spanish kind, with all the accompaniments of slaughter,
+dishonor, and extortion, the natives--as in Cuba--were in a chronic
+state of rebellion. One uprising, which had assumed very considerable
+proportions, was reported by the Spaniards as suppressed just before
+our declaration of war. That event, however, aroused the
+revolutionists again and, as we shall see, they were of the greatest
+service to us as allies.
+
+When war was declared an American squadron of six warships lay at Hong
+Kong. The vessels were the "Olympia," protected cruiser; "Raleigh,"
+"Baltimore," and "Boston," cruisers; "Concord" and "Petrel," gunboats,
+and the revenue cutter "McCulloch." Not a very powerful fleet--not a
+battle-ship nor even an armored cruiser among them--but the ships
+carried crews of as sturdy Yankee blue-jackets as ever trained a gun,
+and when the time came for daring an enemy's fire the little "Petrel"
+was as dashing and defiant as the stoutest of steel-clads could be. In
+command of the squadron was Admiral George Dewey, a Vermonter, who
+served with Farragut and had his baptism of fire at the forts below
+New Orleans. In time of peace the war record of a subaltern is quickly
+forgotten, and Dewey patiently climbed the ladder of promotion until
+1898 found him a commodore and in command of the Asiatic squadron,
+without anybody's remembering particularly that this officer in far
+Hong Kong had seen fighting and knew how to bear himself under fire.
+It is a significant fact that when he had won the first great victory
+of the war, and the newspapers were searching everywhere for stories
+illustrative of his character, it was discovered that he had chiefly
+impressed himself on the Washington mind by his excessive
+punctiliousness in matters of dress.
+
+Four days after the declaration of war there was a commotion on the
+ships of Dewey's squadron. The signal to weigh anchor flew from the
+foremast of the "Olympia," and everybody knew that the admiral had
+received fighting orders. For some days past the ships had been in
+their battle rigging. The white paint had been covered by a dull
+greenish-gray. All woodwork, railings, and unnecessary hamper had been
+stripped off and sent ashore. The officers' baggage was reduced to the
+barest necessities. Nothing was left anywhere on board which could be
+turned into a cloud of flying splinters by a shell, or which cumbered
+the decks to the inconvenience of the gunners. The warships which, in
+time of peace, were as bright and sparkling as a well-kept yacht, had
+put on the sullen, vicious air of war.
+
+Dewey's objective point when he set sail from the harbor of Hong Kong
+was the Asiatic squadron of Spain, under the command of Admiral
+Montojo. There was every reason to believe that he would find the
+enemy under the protecting guns of the forts that guarded the harbor
+of Manila. In themselves the Spanish ships were no match for the
+American fleet. Three good ships had Admiral Montojo--the "Reina
+Cristina," the "Castilla," and the "Don Antonio de Ulloa"; but his
+others were old-fashioned and lacking in modern armament. But should
+they take positions under the guns of the Spanish forts, at the end of
+a channel plentifully guarded by mines and torpedoes, the disparity in
+forces would disappear. As it occurred this was precisely what they
+did, giving Admiral Dewey opportunity to put into practice tactics
+which it seems he had studied for months in anticipation of exactly
+such an emergency.
+
+On the night of April 30 the American ships arrived at the entrance of
+Manila harbor, unseen by the sentries on the forts. It was known that
+Montojo was inside, and every light was extinguished and every noise
+hushed on the Yankee ships, for the admiral had planned a midnight
+entrance to the stronghold. The ships were stripped for action, boats
+covered with canvas, nettings spread to prevent splinters from flying,
+partitions removed, and ammunition hoists and bullet shields put up.
+At midnight the entrance to the harbor began, the ships steaming in
+single column at about six knots an hour, with the "Olympia" leading.
+Strangely enough not a single torpedo or mine in the channel was
+exploded, though the Spaniards discovered the advance of the ships and
+opened fire from the forts. The first shot in answer was fired by a
+gunner on the "Boston," without orders. He saw the flash of a gun on a
+shore battery and instantly fired his piece without altering its
+elevation. That dismantled a gun in the Spanish works and killed
+thirty men.
+
+For a few hours after passing the forts the wearied blue-jackets slept
+at their guns. With the approach of day came the signal from the
+flagship to prepare for action. In the gray dawn the Spanish fleet
+could be seen about two miles distant, at such a point that their fire
+could be re-enforced by the guns of the forts. A most graphic story of
+the action that followed, as seen from the view-point of "the man
+behind the gun," whom Captain Mahan eulogizes, is told by Chief Gunner
+Evans of the "Boston," from whose narrative I quote the following
+paragraphs:
+
+[Illustration: Dewey at Manila.]
+
+     "We were steaming very slowly, but increasing speed as the dawn
+     increased. In the gray daylight we could make out a line of ships
+     anchored in front of the city. Then we steamed ahead faster. The
+     ships ahead proved to be merchantmen, and at daylight we could
+     discern the Spanish fleet further down the bay, and then it was
+     'Full ahead!' The Spanish fleet did not advance to meet us, and
+     apparently made no move on the defensive. Possibly our audacity
+     had for the moment paralyzed them. But it was not for long. In
+     twenty minutes or so they opened a terrific cannonading at long
+     range. The batteries and forts around Manila opened fire at
+     the same time. Every man on the ship was now wide awake and at
+     his post. I knew that it would not be long before there would be
+     some hot work, and I served my men with a cup of coffee and a
+     piece of hardtack, and a little later gave them each a drink of
+     whisky and water.
+
+     "According to orders, we did not respond to the Spanish guns
+     until our ships came into position. Then the flagship opened
+     fire, and then I followed with two hours of cannonading which I
+     do not believe has ever been equaled in naval warfare. The shots
+     from the 'Olympia' were the prearranged signal for the other
+     ships to do the same.
+
+     "We soon discovered that the batteries of Cavité were very
+     heavily mounted, and the ordnance included several ten-inch guns,
+     and we were not long in finding out that the 'Don Antonio de
+     Ulloa' and the 'Reina Cristina,' the flagship, carried much
+     heavier guns than we thought. We began to fear that our ships had
+     met their match. As hot as the battle was, the heat of the sun
+     was equally so, and I had my men who were bringing up the
+     ammunition throw off every vestige of clothing except their
+     shoes.
+
+     "The Spanish guns had opened upon us at 5.10 A.M., and it was
+     fully 5.40 before we began to reply. But when we did, we made
+     every shot tell, for our gunners demonstrated that their
+     opponents were no match for them in accuracy, although the
+     Spaniards had every advantage and should have known the exact
+     range of every point in the harbor, while of the American fleet
+     not a single gunner had ever as much as been in the harbor
+     before.
+
+     "By 6.30 we had circled three times, and were starting for the
+     fourth when the Spanish admiral came out in the 'Reina Cristina'
+     and gallantly assailed us; but we made it hot for him. I don't
+     know how in the world he escaped with his life. While he was
+     standing on the bridge a shot from one of our ships--I think it
+     was the 'Concord'--blew the bridge clean over; in fact, shot it
+     right from under him, but the Admiral was apparently uninjured,
+     for a few minutes later I saw him walking the deck as calmly as
+     though he was on parade. It was getting too hot for him, and he
+     evidently saw that his ship was no match for us, and he turned to
+     get back to his fleet.
+
+     "Just as the 'Reina Cristina' swung around an eight-inch shell
+     from the port battery, which I was tending, struck her square
+     astern, and set her on fire. By this time other gunners had got
+     the range, and if ever a ship was riddled it was the 'Reina
+     Cristina.' I do not think it was fifteen minutes from the time
+     the shell from the 'Boston' struck her when she went down with,
+     it is said, over two hundred men. The Admiral, however, had
+     escaped in a small boat and made for the 'Isla de Cuba,' where he
+     again hoisted his flag.
+
+     "After we had circled five times, we withdrew. The smoke was so
+     dense that we could hardly distinguish friend from foe. Our men
+     had worked three long hours with scarcely a mouthful of food. I
+     had, however, kept my men well supplied with whisky and water. I
+     gave each a small drink about every twenty minutes.
+
+     "After we had withdrawn, and the clouds of smoke had lifted
+     enough so that we could see, Admiral Dewey signaled the ships to
+     report the number of killed and wounded. It would have done your
+     heart good to have heard the shouts and cheers that went up as
+     ship after ship ran up the signal to indicate that she had no
+     killed and none wounded worth reporting. It was one of the most
+     thrilling moments of the entire battle.
+
+     "It was a wise move on Admiral Dewey's part in withdrawing at
+     that moment, for our men were rapidly becoming exhausted. For my
+     own part I do not think I could have held out another half hour,
+     and neither could my men. We were not only wearied physically,
+     but the nervous strain was something awful. I called my men into
+     the gunroom and served each with a good stiff drink of whisky and
+     told them to take all the rest they could get. I went into the
+     chartroom, as it was about the coolest place on the ship, and
+     threw myself on the chart table. I was too nervous to sleep and
+     too exhausted to move. I just lay there sort of dazed.
+
+     "Soon after ten o'clock we advanced again, and the 'Baltimore'
+     opened the fight. As many of the Spanish ships had been disabled,
+     what we most feared now was the forts. The 'Baltimore' sailed
+     right into the very teeth of the guns, any one of which could
+     have annihilated her, and only bad marksmanship of the Spanish
+     gunners saved her from destruction, and she did not retreat until
+     she had practically silenced the fort.
+
+     "My ship, the 'Boston,' was perhaps struck oftener during the
+     battle than any of the American ships, but in every instance it
+     was small shot or shell, making a glancing blow that did no
+     particular harm. After the first hour or so of the battle, if we
+     had received a damaging shot, the chances are that we would have
+     all gone down, for out of all the ship's boats, only two were of
+     any value, the others having been shattered to pieces.
+
+     "We were circling in line with the other ships when the 'Isla de
+     Cuba' swung around to give us a broadside. The guns in the port
+     battery got the range on the 'Isla de Cuba,' and sent in a shot
+     that struck in amidships and made her tremble from stem to stern.
+     I was watching at the porthole at the time. The other guns of the
+     'Boston' followed the example of the port gunner, and for a few
+     minutes it seemed that the 'Isla de Cuba' was crumbling to pieces
+     like a falling building in an earthquake. We turned, and the
+     starboard guns did equally good work, and when the Spanish flag
+     came tumbling down we let out a yell that was heard around the
+     world, figuratively speaking, if not literally.
+
+     "I can never forget the scene after the battle. The forts were
+     smoking, and scattered all through the bay were the hulks of once
+     magnificent Spanish ships. Some were drifting helplessly about,
+     as though the men on board seemed not to know what to do and had
+     lost their heads entirely. Rigging was trailing in the water and
+     only remnants remained of the lifeboats. Over at one end of the
+     bay was the wreck of the once magnificent 'Reina Cristina.'
+     Further along were smoking hulks, and here and there could be
+     seen only the masts and rigging above water.
+
+     "To add to the horror of the scene, hundreds of corpses came
+     floating by, and it seemed as though the bay was full of dead
+     Spaniards, although I believe less than a thousand were killed. I
+     really think that the sight in the harbor that afternoon
+     impressed men more with the horrors of war than did anything
+     which occurred during the actual battle.
+
+     "During all the fight my men, except for a little while during
+     the interval for breakfast, were stripped to the bare skin and
+     wore only their shoes. The thermometer was over one hundred, and
+     to this was added the heat of the fire of the guns, until it made
+     one's blood fairly boil."
+
+The plan of action was for the fleet to revolve in a great circle or
+ellipse before the delivering their fire from starboard and port
+batteries alternately. The first shot from the "Olympia" was a
+250-pound shell, aimed at the Cavité fort, and discharged with a shout
+from all hands, "Remember the Maine!" After two hours' fighting the
+fleet withdrew for breakfast, returning to action in about two hours,
+and after the Spanish surrender the little "Petrel" was sent in to
+destroy, by boats' crews, the ships in the inner harbor.
+
+Commodore Dewey's official report of the action is a model of modesty
+and brevity. It came in these two cable messages:
+
+     MANILA, May 1.--Squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this
+     morning. Immediately engaged the enemy, and destroyed the
+     following Spanish vessels: "Reina Cristina," "Castilla," "Don
+     Antonio de Ulloa," "Isla de Luzon," "Isla de Cuba," "General
+     Lezo," "Marquis de Duero," "Cano," "Velasco," "Isla de Mindanao,"
+     a transport, and water battery at Cavité. The squadron is
+     uninjured, and only a few men are slightly wounded. Only means of
+     telegraphing is to American Consul at Hong Kong. I shall
+     communicate with him.
+
+                                        DEWEY.
+
+
+     CAVITÉ, May 4.--I have taken possession of naval station at
+     Cavité, on Philippine Islands. Have destroyed the fortifications
+     at bay entrance, paroling the garrison. I control bay completely,
+     and can take city at any time. The squadron is in excellent
+     health and spirits. Spanish loss not fully known but very heavy.
+     One hundred and fifty killed, including captain of "Reina
+     Cristina." I am assisting in protecting Spanish sick and wounded;
+     250 sick and wounded in hospital within our lines. Much
+     excitement at Manila. Will protect foreign residents.
+
+                                        DEWEY.
+
+It is little short of marvelous that no lives were lost on the
+American ships--though a month later Captain Gridley of the "Olympia"
+died from the effect of the concussion of his own guns. The vessels
+were handled with a daring amounting almost to bravado, yet so poor
+was the marksmanship of the Spaniards that little or no damage was
+suffered. It is to be kept in mind that, despite the disparity in the
+armament of the fleets, the Spanish works at Cavité mounted guns of
+twice the weight of any that Dewey's ships bore. Yet, when the action
+was over, the American vessels were practically uninjured, and
+perfectly capable of fulfilling the threat sent by Admiral Dewey,
+that if another shot was fired he would lay Manila in ashes.
+
+At the time these words are written, that threat alone keeps order in
+Manila bay. Dewey with his ships is there, holding the town at the
+muzzles of his guns and waiting for the re-enforcements of troops,
+which were dispatched to his aid from San Francisco almost a month
+after his victory--an unconscionable delay. Some 25,000 troops will be
+sent to his aid, and with the insurgents, who were greatly encouraged
+and strengthened by the American victory, will forever destroy Spain's
+power in the Philippines.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, where it
+was expected the fighting would come first and be most decisive, the
+war lagged languidly for weeks. For a few days the jackies found some
+excitement and some hope of profit in capturing unsuspecting Spanish
+merchantmen, but soon the dull and deadly monotony of the peaceful
+blockade settled down upon the fleet, and Sampson's men grilled grimly
+under a blazing sun by day and slept uneasily by their guns at night,
+week after week, without a touch of battle to vary the dull round. The
+Spanish ships "Vizcaya" and "Oquendo," which had been in the harbor of
+Havana when war was declared, had slipped away, and there was no enemy
+afloat in the neighborhood save puny gunboats and torpedo boats that
+clung close to the protecting guns of the fortresses. Blockading is
+the most trying duty the blue-jacket has to discharge. Destitute
+wholly of glory, the element of danger is still ever present in a form
+which is particularly trying to the nerves. Every night brought danger
+of an attack by torpedo boats. These swift and sinister craft might at
+any time dart out of Havana harbor, discharge their fatal bolt, and
+send a good ship to the bottom as speedily as went the "Maine." That
+the Spaniards at no time even seriously attempted a torpedo-boat
+attack on the blockading squadron seems to reflect on their courage.
+But what they lacked apparently in courage they made up in shrewdness.
+For weeks the best efforts of our board of strategy and our board of
+naval intelligence were baffled by the mysterious movements of the
+Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera. This squadron, which numbered
+among its vessels the powerful armored cruisers "Vizcaya," "Maria
+Teresa," "Cristobal Colon," and "Almirante Oquendo," was reported now
+at the Canaries, then at Cadiz, then dashing through the Suez Canal to
+overwhelm Dewey at Manila, then off the coast of New England,--whereat
+Boston and Portland were mightily alarmed,--then bound South to
+capture or destroy the "Oregon,"--which was painfully making the
+voyage around Cape Horn,--then at Martinique, and, in short, at every
+conceivable point of menace. As a result of these conflicting reports,
+two American fleets were reduced to impotence. The "flying squadron"
+of fast cruisers under Commodore Schley was kept for weeks at moorings
+in Hampton Roads ready to be dispatched for protection of our northern
+coasts, while the squadron of battle-ships under Admiral Sampson was
+made to steam hither and yon in the Caribbean Sea looking for an
+enemy's fleet which much of the time lay snugly on the other side of
+the Atlantic. Accordingly, up to June 15, the results of naval
+operations in West Indian waters were almost _nil_. Powder had been
+burned indeed as when, on April 27, the Spanish works at Matanzas were
+bombarded and silenced by the "New York," "Puritan," and "Cincinnati,"
+of Admiral Sampson's squadron, and on May 13 the works at San Juan,
+Porto Rico, were similarly tested. Deeds of conspicuous gallantry,
+too, were done, as when Ensign Worth Bagley lost his life while
+gallantly engaging Spanish gunboats and shore batteries with the
+torpedo boat "Winslow" at Cardenas. But these actions, though seized
+upon eagerly by a public hungry for war news, were inconclusive and
+trivial. The shore batteries were quickly repaired and strengthened,
+and the great object of capturing Havana seemed at the middle of June
+even further off than it had when war was declared.
+
+Nevertheless, May and June saw a marked progress in the work of
+preparation for active hostilities. The army was mobilized and a great
+camp established at Tampa, Fla. Schley's flying squadron, finally
+relieved from apprehension as to the course of the Spanish fleet, left
+Hampton Roads to increase the naval strength in West Indian waters.
+The great battle-ship "Oregon," after a record-beating voyage around
+Cape Horn, in which her machinery met and withstood every imaginable
+strain, arrived at the rendezvous. And finally it was definitely
+learned that Admiral Cervera, with Spain's principal effective fleet,
+was actually in West Indian waters, and had entered the port of
+Santiago de Cuba for coal and repairs. There he was trapped by an
+exploit which has conferred new glory on the United States Navy and
+has added a new name to the roster of dashing heroes like Somers and
+Gushing.
+
+The harbor of Santiago de Cuba is one of the most easily defended in
+the world. Steep hills rise abruptly from either side of the harbor's
+mouth, which is scarce half a mile wide, with a channel so narrow that
+two vessels could scarcely pass in it. Into the brow of the hills are
+built batteries which, with plunging shot, command the entrance
+completely. An abrupt turn in the interior shore line makes the whole
+inner bay invisible from without, so for days the officers and men of
+the United States blockading fleet outside were ignorant whether
+Cervera's entire fleet was cooped up within. To send in a boat to make
+a reconnoissance would have been suicidal, for the channel, difficult
+at all times, was blocked by mines and torpedoes. For this reason,
+too, there could be no repetition of Dewey's exploit at Manila.
+
+Accordingly, Admiral Sampson was confronted with a problem which
+seemed likely to tax the patience rather than the daring of his men.
+There seemed to be no opportunity for more exciting duty than a long
+blockade, unless the Spaniards should conclude to come out and
+fight--a most unlikely decision for them to reach. The forts, in all
+probability, could be reduced by the ships' cannon, but, even with
+that done, to enter the harbor in single file, so that the undisturbed
+fire of Cervera's fleet could be directed upon the Americans, ship by
+ship, as they entered the bay, would have been a most hazardous
+undertaking. The situation was not made more pleasing to the admiral
+by the fact that he was not sure of having all the Spanish ships in
+the trap. Some might not have entered Santiago, but might be at that
+very time devastating portions of the coast of the United States.
+
+While the admiral was considering the problem thus presented to him,
+there appeared at his cabin a young lieutenant, Richmond P. Hobson, a
+graduate of the Naval Academy in 1889. The scientific side of naval
+duty had always chiefly attracted this young man. Graduating at the
+head of his class, he studied naval construction for two years in
+British dockyards. Above all things a student, a contributor to
+magazines, a delver into mathematical and structural problems, this
+young officer outlined to the admiral an exploit of reckless daring
+and volunteered himself to perform it.
+
+[Illustration: The "Zealandia" leaving San Francisco with Troops for
+the Philippines. (Drawn, after a photograph, by William Ritschel.)]
+
+It was folly, urged Hobson, to keep the entire American fleet watching
+at the door to that harbor. The Spaniards, doing nothing and daring
+nothing themselves, were still reducing Admiral Sampson's powerful
+squadron to complete impotence. If the entrance to the harbor were
+obstructed one or two ships would serve to prevent the Spaniards from
+escaping, and the remainder of the American fleet would be released to
+take part in more vigorous warfare. By sinking a vessel, an old
+collier heavily laden, in the channel this could be accomplished, and
+Hobson volunteered to perform the feat. It was an invitation to almost
+certain death, for the fire of three batteries and part of the Spanish
+fleet, besides the explosion of the mines, must be braved before the
+narrow spot in which the ship was to be sunk could be reached. But
+Hobson thought he could do this, scuttle his ship, and escape with his
+men by swimming to a launch which should accompany him at a distance.
+
+"Do you really expect to escape alive?" asked one of the officers as
+he outlined his project.
+
+"Ah! that is another thing," replied the lieutenant. "I suppose the
+Estrella battery will fire down on us a bit, but the ships will throw
+their searchlights in the gunners' faces and they won't see much of
+us. Then, if we are torpedoed, we should even then be able to make the
+desired position in the channel. It won't be so easy to hit us, and I
+think the men should be able to swim to the dingey. I may jump before
+I am blown up, but I don't see that it makes much difference what I
+do. I have a fair chance of life either way. If our dingey gets shot
+to pieces, we shall then try to swim for the beach right under Morro
+Castle. We shall keep together at all hazards. Then we may be able to
+make our way alongside, and perhaps get back to the ship. We shall
+fight the sentries or a squad until the last, and we shall only
+surrender to overwhelming numbers."
+
+The plan being approved by the admiral, volunteers were asked from the
+fleet, by signal, to accompany Hobson. Practically the whole fleet
+responded. One man was wanted from each ship, but on the "Brooklyn"
+150 and on the "Texas" 140 pleaded to be taken. Finally these seven
+were selected:
+
+Osborn Deignan, a coxswain of the "Merrimac"; George F. Phillips, a
+machinist of the "Merrimac"; John Kelly, a water-tender of the
+"Merrimac"; George Charette, a gunner's mate on the flagship "New
+York"; Daniel Montague, a seaman of the cruiser "Brooklyn"; J. C.
+Murphy, a coxswain of the "Iowa"; Randolph Clausen, a coxswain of the
+"New York."
+
+To man the launch which was detailed to follow the "Merrimac "--the
+ship chosen--four men and Naval Cadet Joseph W. Powell were taken. In
+the end they, too, proved to be heroes.
+
+The steel steamer "Merrimac," loaded with 2,000 tons of coal, was then
+given to Hobson and prepared for sinking. An eye-witness, who followed
+the "Merrimac" as nearly as safety would permit, thus tells the story
+in the New York _Sun_:
+
+     "Cadet Powell and his crew saw the 'Merrimac' head straight for
+     Estrella Point, which is on the east side of the harbor, back of
+     the Morro. They knew that just before she reached that point the
+     engines were to be stopped and the momentum allowed to carry her
+     on. Then the flimsy wooden props holding the bonnets of her
+     sea-valves in place were to be kicked aside, the helm put hard to
+     starboard, and the starboard bower anchor let go. This would
+     steer the ship directly across the channel and check her headway.
+
+     "At the same time seven reduced eight-inch charges, containing
+     eighty pounds of brown powder in copper cases and protected by
+     pitch from water, were to be set off separately. These charges
+     were suspended about ten feet below the water-line at intervals
+     of thirty feet, and connected by a series of dry batteries. As
+     the ship steered across the channel the forward port powder
+     charge was to be exploded. Then, as the stern swung into
+     position, the anchor lashed on the starboard quarter was to be
+     let go and the other six charges exploded in succession. A
+     catamaran and lifeboat were slung aft on the starboard side ready
+     for the seven men to drop into them.
+
+     "The crew in the steam launch watched the course of the old
+     collier with eyes strained. The moon had sunk behind the horizon.
+     It was 3.20 o'clock. On, on the heroes went. Lieutenant Hobson
+     stood on the bridge of the old collier, dressed in full uniform.
+     The other six men were at their posts, clad in tights, to aid
+     their escape in case they had to swim a long distance.
+
+     "The watchers saw her head straight for Estrella Point, saw her
+     swing hard across the channel, apparently undiscovered, heard
+     five of the seven charges explode, and then began a screaming,
+     flashing, death-dealing fire from the Spanish ships and batteries
+     that hid the rest from view.
+
+     "The battery on Dead Man's Point, square in the center of the
+     harbor, opened the fire and soon directed its guns against the
+     launch. In the face of this hell, with ten-and twelve-inch guns
+     blazing at them at this short range, Cadet Powell and the crew of
+     his launch continued to search for the men of the 'Merrimac.'
+
+[Illustration: Morro Castle, Santiago De Cuba.]
+
+     "They saw then the guns of the 'Cristobal Colon,' Admiral
+     Cervera's flagship, and of the old cruiser 'Reina Mercedes,'
+     which had been considered gunless, trained on them and thundering
+     in their ears. "Still they searched with never as much as a
+     faint cry for help or the sign of a single arm raised in mute
+     appeal to guide them. Those on the battle-ship looking into the
+     mouth of the harbor saw only a sheet of flame which, with the
+     roar of the guns, lasted thirty-five minutes. By this time dawn
+     had tinged the land and sky with light, and the tiny launch could
+     be seen loitering by the shore. On the west side of the harbor,
+     in the center of the channel, just where Hobson had promised to
+     sink his vessel, could be seen the tops of the 'Merrimac's'
+     masts. The harbor was blocked."
+
+Hobson and his gallant men were not lost. A shot from one of the
+batteries destroyed the boat in which they had expected to reach the
+launch, but on a raft they escaped from their sinking vessel, only to
+be captured by the Spaniards. With sailor-like chivalry and hearty
+admiration for a gallant deed Admiral Cervera sent word to the fleet
+of their safety and offered to exchange them as soon as the necessary
+formalities could be complied with.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The closing words of this chapter must be penned just as the decisive
+action of the war seems to be at hand. Cervera is hemmed in at
+Santiago with a vastly superior force confronting him. The batteries
+at the harbor's mouth have been demolished by the fire of the fleet.
+At Caimanera, thirty miles away, the United States flag is flying on
+the shore and a battalion of United States marines--"soldiers and
+sailors, too"--are there installed and have twice beaten back the
+attack of Spaniards in double their number. On great transports
+General Shafter's army of 20,000 men is steaming from Key West to
+Caimanera, where the invasion of Cuba will begin. The order has gone
+forth to reduce Porto Rico, and by the time these words reach the
+reader, General Coppinger's army may be landed there. Fitzhugh Lee,
+the gallant, is held in reserve for Havana, where he served his
+country as Consul General during the trying days that led up to the
+war. Hesitation and doubt have vanished. The dreary days of delay are
+over. The end is near--the end of Spanish misrule in the West Indies.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     THE SPANISH FLEET MAKES A DASH FROM THE HARBOR. -- ITS TOTAL
+     DESTRUCTION. -- ADMIRAL CERVERA A PRISONER. -- GREAT SPANISH
+     LOSSES. -- AMERICAN FLEET LOSES BUT ONE MAN.
+
+
+When the event was least expected the Spaniards made a desperate dash
+from the harbor, seeking freedom but finding only death.
+
+July 3d the land forces of General Shafter were closing in on
+Santiago. There had been hard fighting for two days, in which both
+sides had shown dogged courage, but the Spaniards had been beaten back
+into the city, which the Americans almost completely invested. Though
+Shafter had but few heavy siege guns, many of the shells from his
+field artillery fell in the streets of the town and produced a panic
+there.
+
+Admiral Cervera had landed some of his rapid-fire guns in aid of
+General Linares, and his marines fought with the Spanish soldiers. But
+as the American advance continued he saw that he would be caught in a
+trap and ground to pieces between Shafter and Sampson. So he made up
+his mind to the desperate chance of slipping out and trying to run
+past the American squadron.
+
+[Illustration: The Protected Cruiser "Olympia," Admiral Dewey's
+Flagship.]
+
+[Illustration: Admiral George Dewey.]
+
+[Illustration: Acting Rear Admiral W. T. Sampson.]
+
+[Illustration: Rear-admiral Montgomery Sicard.]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore W. S. Schley.]
+
+[Illustration: Captain A. S. Barker, _Late of the "Oregon"; Now of the
+"Newark."_]
+
+[Illustration: Captain "Jack" Philip, _Of the Battle-Ship "Texas."_]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore J. Crittenden Watson. _Second in Command of
+the Gulf Squadron._]
+
+[Illustration: Ensign Worth Bagley Of The "Winslow." _The first
+American Officer killed by the Enemy._]
+
+[Illustration: Cadet George T. Pettengill. _Who fired the first Shot
+of the War._]
+
+[Illustration: Captain F. W. Dickins. _Chief of Bureau of
+Navigation._]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore John A. Howell. _Commanding inner Line of
+Coast Defenses._]
+
+[Illustration: Brig.-Gen. H. C. Hasbrouck. _Commandant of Fort
+Monroe._]
+
+[Illustration: Captain C. E. Clark. _Of the Battle-Ship "Oregon."_]
+
+[Illustration: Admiral F. M. Bunce. _Commandant of Brooklyn Navy
+Yard._]
+
+[Illustration: Bombardment of Spanish Ports and Fleet at Santiago De
+Cuba, July 6, 1898.]
+
+[Illustration: "Maria Teresa" and "Vizcaya" burning on the Beach near
+Santiago.]
+
+[Illustration: The Flagship "New York," followed by the "Vixen,"
+closing on the "Cristobal Colon," while the Latter was being run
+Ashore West of Santiago.]
+
+[Illustration: Effect of a single Spanish Shot on Upper Deck of the
+Battle-Ship "Texas".]
+
+[Illustration: _Part of Crew of "Texas"_ Band of the "Oregon" playing
+Funeral March after the Defeat of the "Colon".]
+
+[Illustration: Engineer Battalion unloading Tools at Siboney.]
+
+[Illustration: "St. Louis." A Transport. "Suwanee." "Vixen." Auxiliary
+Cruisers Protecting Landing.]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore Watson's Fleet for Service in Spanish
+Waters.]
+
+At 9.30 on the morning of the 3d the lookout on the "Texas" saw smoke
+rising above Morro Castle. Immediately after, the black prow of a
+warship appeared in the channel coming out at full speed. It was the
+"Almirante Oquendo." Instantly the "Texas" broke out with bunting
+signaling to all the vessels of the fleet that the Spaniards were
+coming out. On every side rung out the bugles and clattered gongs
+calling the crews of the American ships to quarters. Admiral Sampson
+with the "New York" was far away, and Commodore Schley with the
+"Brooklyn" commanded the fleet. The odds were not so greatly in favor
+of the Americans, for the Spaniards had four armored cruisers and two
+torpedo-boat destroyers, while the Americans had five battle-ships,
+one armored cruiser and a yacht. The superiority of the Spaniards in
+rapid-fire guns was very great.
+
+The "Brooklyn," thinly clad with armor, dashed first into the fray and
+was soon engaged with four armored vessels, each her superior; the
+"Iowa," "Texas" and "Oregon" rushed to her aid. It was soon apparent
+that the Spaniards were more intent on running than fighting.
+Nevertheless, they kept up a rapid fire, but showed the bad
+marksmanship which characterized Montojo's gunners at Manila. One
+shell from the "Oquendo" crashed through the pilot-house of the
+"Texas" just after Captain Philip had left it for the securer retreat
+of the conning tower, and one exploded in the smokestack. These were
+about the most effective shots aimed by the enemy.
+
+A correspondent of the New York "Journal" and the "Sun" stationed
+aboard the "Texas" sent the most graphic account of the battle which
+has at this date, July 6, been printed. Some extracts from it will
+give a clear account of the fighting:
+
+     "Almost before the leading ship was clear of the shadow of Morro
+     Castle the fight had begun. Admiral Cervera started it by a shell
+     from the 'Almirante Oquendo,' to which he had transferred his
+     flag. It struck none of the American vessels. In a twinkling the
+     big guns of the 'Texas' belched forth their thunder, which was
+     followed immediately by a heavy fire from our other ships. The
+     Spaniards turned to the westward under full steam, pouring a
+     constant fire on our ships, and evidently hoping to get away by
+     their superior speed.
+
+     "The 'Texas,' still heading in shore, kept up a hot exchange of
+     shots with the foremost ships, which gradually drew away to the
+     westward under the shadow of the hills. The third of the Spanish
+     vessels, the 'Vizcaya' or 'Infanta Maria Teresa,' was caught by
+     the 'Texas' in good fighting range, and it was she that engaged
+     the chief attention of the first battle-ship commissioned in the
+     American Navy. The 'Texas' steamed west with her adversary, and
+     as she could not catch her with speed she did with her shells.
+
+     "The din of the guns was so terrific that orders had to be yelled
+     close to the messengers' ears, and at times the smoke was so
+     thick that absolutely nothing could be seen. Once or twice the
+     12-inch guns in the turrets were swung across the ship and fired.
+     The concussion shook the great vessel as though she had been
+     struck by a great ball, and everything movable was splintered.
+     The men near the guns were thrown flat on their faces.
+
+     "Meanwhile the 'Oregon' had come in on the run. She passed the
+     'Texas' and chased after Commodore Schley, on the 'Brooklyn,' to
+     head off the foremost of the Spanish ships. The 'Iowa' also
+     turned her course westward, and kept up a hot fire on the running
+     enemy.
+
+     "At 10.10 o'clock the third of the Spanish ships, the one that
+     had been exchanging compliments with the 'Texas,' was seen to be
+     on fire and a mighty cheer went up from our ships. The Spaniard
+     headed for the shore and the 'Texas' turned her attention to the
+     one following. The 'Brooklyn' and 'Oregon,' after a few parting
+     shots, also left her contemptuously and made all steam and shell
+     after the foremost two of the Spanish ships, the 'Almirante
+     Oquendo' and the 'Cristobal Colon.'
+
+     "Just then the two torpedo-boat destroyers 'Pluton' and 'Furor'
+     were discovered. They had come out after the cruisers without
+     being seen, and were boldly heading west down the coast. 'All
+     small guns on the torpedo boats' was the order on the 'Texas,'
+     and in an instant a hail of shot was pouring all about them. A
+     6-pounder from the starboard battery of the 'Texas,' under Ensign
+     Gise, struck the foremost torpedo boat fairly in the boiler.
+
+     "A rending sound was heard above the roar of battle. A great
+     spout of black smoke shot up from that destroyer and she was out
+     of commission. The 'Iowa,' which was coming up fast, threw a few
+     complimentary shots at the second torpedo-boat destroyer and
+     passed on. The little 'Gloucester,' formerly a yacht, then sailed
+     in and finished the second boat."
+
+The "Gloucester" of which the correspondent speaks was in command of
+Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, who had been the executive officer of
+the "Maine." For two months after the disaster to that vessel
+Wainwright lived on a United States ship in the harbor of Havana,
+refusing to set foot on shore until he could go "with a landing party
+of marines." In his attack on the torpedo-boat destroyers--vastly
+superior to his craft in weight and armament--he threw prudence to the
+winds and fought with a fierceness bred of bitter hatred for the Dons.
+His was the most stirring display of personal courage shown on a day
+when all were brave.
+
+To return to the correspondent's account:
+
+     "Gun for gun and shot for shot the running fight was kept up
+     between the Spanish cruisers and the four American vessels. At
+     10.30 o'clock the 'Infanta Maria Teresa' and 'Vizcaya' were
+     almost on the beach, and were evidently in distress. As the
+     'Texas' was firing at them a white flag was run up on the one
+     nearest her. 'Cease firing,' called Captain Philip, and a moment
+     later both the Spaniards were beached. Clouds of black smoke
+     arose from each, and bright flashes of flame could be seen
+     shining through the smoke. Boats were visible putting out from
+     the cruisers to the shore. The 'Iowa' waited to see that the two
+     warships were really out of the fight, and it did not take her
+     long to determine that they would never fight again. The Iowa'
+     herself had suffered some very hard knocks.
+
+     "The 'Brooklyn,' 'Oregon' and 'Texas' pushed ahead after the
+     'Colon' and 'Almirante Oquendo,' which were now running the race
+     of their lives along the coast. At 10.50 o'clock, when Admiral
+     Cervera's flagship, the 'Almirante Oquendo,' suddenly headed in
+     shore, she had the 'Brooklyn' and 'Oregon' abeam and the 'Texas'
+     astern. 'The Brooklyn' and 'Oregon' pushed on after the
+     'Cristobal Colon,' which was making fine time and which looked as
+     if she might escape, leaving the 'Texas' to finish the 'Almirante
+     Oquendo.' This work did not take long. The Spanish ship was
+     already burning. At 11.05 o'clock down came a yellow and red flag
+     at her stern. Just as the 'Texas' got abeam of her she was shaken
+     by a mighty explosion.
+
+     "The crew of the 'Texas' started to cheer. 'Don't cheer, because
+     the poor devils are dying,' called Captain Philip, and the
+     'Texas' left the 'Almirante Oquendo' to her fate to join in the
+     chase of the 'Cristobal Colon.'
+
+     "That ship in desperation was plowing the waters at a rate that
+     caused the fast 'Brooklyn' trouble. The 'Oregon' made great speed
+     for a battle-ship, and the 'Texas' made the effort of her life.
+     Never since her trial trip had she made such time.
+
+     "The 'Brooklyn' might have proved a match to the 'Cristobal
+     Colon' in speed, but she was not supposed to be her match in
+     strength.
+
+     "It would never do to allow even one of the Spanish ships to get
+     away. Straight into the west the strongest chase of modern times
+     took place. The 'Brooklyn' headed the pursuers. She stood well
+     out from the shore in order to try to cut off the 'Cristobal
+     Colon' at a point jutting out into the sea far ahead. The
+     'Oregon' kept a middle course about a mile from the cruiser. The
+     desperate Don ran close along the shore, and now and then he
+     threw a shell of defiance. The old 'Texas' kept well up in the
+     chase under forced draught for over two hours.
+
+     "The fleet Spaniard led the Americans a merry chase, but she had
+     no chance. The 'Brooklyn' gradually forged ahead, so that the
+     escape of the 'Cristobal Colon' was cut off at the point above
+     mentioned. The 'Oregon' was abeam of the 'Colon' then, and the
+     gallant Don gave it up.
+
+     "At 1.15 o'clock he headed for the shore, and five minutes later
+     down came the Spanish flag. None of our ships was then within a
+     mile of her, but her escape was cut off. The 'Texas,' 'Oregon'
+     and 'Brooklyn' closed in on her and stopped their engines a few
+     hundred yards away.
+
+     "Commodore Schley left the 'Brooklyn' in a small boat and went
+     aboard the 'Cristobal Colon' and received the surrender. Meantime
+     the 'New York,' with Admiral Sampson on board, and the 'Vixen'
+     were coming up on the run. Commodore Schley signaled to Admiral
+     Sampson; 'We have won a great victory; details will be
+     communicated.'
+
+     "Then for an hour after the surrender in that little cove under
+     the high hills was a general Fourth of July celebration, though a
+     little premature. Our ships cheered one another, the captains
+     indulged in compliments through the megaphones, and the 'Oregon'
+     got out its band, and the strains of the 'Star-Spangled Banner'
+     echoed over the lines of Spaniards drawn up on the deck of the
+     last of the Spanish fleet, and up over the lofty green-tipped
+     hills of the Cuban mountains.
+
+     "Commodore Schley, coming alongside the 'Texas' from the
+     'Cristobal Colon' in his gig, called out cheerily, 'It was a nice
+     fight, Jack, wasn't it?'
+
+     "The veterans of the 'Texas' lined up and gave three hearty
+     cheers and a tiger for their old commander-in-chief. Captain
+     Philip called all hands to the quarter-deck, and with bared head,
+     thanked God for the almost bloodless victory.
+
+     "'I want to make public acknowledgment here,' he said, 'that I
+     believe in God the Father Almighty. I want all you officers and
+     men to lift your hats and from your hearts offer silent thanks to
+     the Almighty.' "All hats were off. There was a moment or two of
+     absolute silence, and then the overwrought feelings of the ship's
+     company relieved themselves in three hearty cheers for their
+     beloved commander."
+
+By this victory the naval power of Spain was effectively and finally
+crushed. She lost four fine armored ships and two large destroyers. In
+killed, wounded and prisoners her loss exceeded eighteen hundred men,
+while but one American was slain. Among the prisoners was Admiral
+Cervera, whose dignified bearing in the presence of disaster won for
+him the high regard of the Americans, his foes. The value of the
+property lost to bankrupt Spain exceeded thirteen million dollars, and
+it is probable that before these words reach the reader the final
+price of Cervera's daring dash will be paid by the surrender of
+Santiago.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Naval History of the United States, by 
+Willis J. Abbot
+
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Naval History of the United States, by 
+Willis J. Abbot
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Naval History of the United States
+       Volume 2 (of 2)
+
+Author: Willis J. Abbot
+
+Illustrator: H. W. McVicar
+             W. C. Jackson
+
+Release Date: August 24, 2008 [EBook #26416]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAVAL HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Christine P. Travers and
+the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="tn">
+<p>Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all
+other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling
+has been maintained.</p>
+
+<p>Page 993: "they were fired upon the Coreans" has been replaced by
+"they were fired upon by the Coreans".</p>
+
+<p>Page 997: "the rescued part arrived in New York" has been replaced by
+"the rescued party arrived in New York".</p>
+
+<p>The Table of Contents and the List of Illustration were not present in the
+original.
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo536" name="illo536"></a>
+<img src="images/536_battle_of_lake_champlain.jpg" width="400" height="552" alt="" title="">
+<p>Battle of Lake Champlain.</p>
+</div>
+
+<h1>THE NAVAL HISTORY<br>
+<span class="smaller">OF THE</span><br>
+UNITED STATES</h1>
+
+<p class="p4 center smaller">BY</p>
+<h2>WILLIS J. ABBOT</h2>
+
+<p class="p4 center">With Many Illustrations<br>
+BY H. W. McVICAR AND W. C. JACKSON</p>
+<p class="p4 center"><span class="smcap">New York</span>:<br>
+PETER FENELON COLLIER, PUBLISHER.</p>
+
+<a id="toc" name="toc"></a>
+<h1>CONTENTS.<br>
+
+<span class="smaller">THE NAVAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.</span></h1>
+
+<h2 class="italic">VOLUME TWO</h2>
+
+<h2><i>PART <abbr title="5">II.</abbr></i><br></h2>
+
+<ul>
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page537">CHAPTER <abbr title="12">XII.</abbr></a>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Capture of the "Surveyor."&mdash;Work of the Gunboat Flotilla.&mdash;Operations on
+    Chesapeake Bay.&mdash;Cockburn's Depredations.&mdash;Cruise of the "Argus."&mdash;Her
+    Capture by the "Pelican."&mdash;Battle Between the "Enterprise" and "Boxer."&mdash;End
+    of the Year 1813 on the Ocean.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page552">CHAPTER <abbr title="13">XIII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">On the Lakes.&mdash;Close of Hostilities on Lakes Erie and Huron.&mdash;Desultory
+    Warfare on Lake Ontario in 1813.&mdash;Hostilities on Lake Ontario in 1814.&mdash;The
+    Battle of Lake Champlain.&mdash;End of the War upon the Lakes.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page569">CHAPTER <abbr title="14">XIV.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">On the Ocean.&mdash;The Work of the Sloops-of-War.&mdash;Loss of the "Frolic."&mdash;Fruitless
+    Cruise of the "Adams."&mdash;The "Peacock" Takes the <span lang="fr">"Épervier."</span>&mdash;The
+    Cruise of the "wasp."&mdash;She Captures the "Reindeer."&mdash;Sinks the
+    "Avon."&mdash;Mysterious End of the "Wasp".</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page588">CHAPTER <abbr title="15">XV.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Operations on the New England Coast.&mdash;The Bombardment of Stonington.&mdash;Destruction
+    Of the United States Corvette "Adams."&mdash;Operations on Chesapeake
+    Bay.&mdash;Work of Barney's Barge Flotilla.&mdash;Advance of the British Upon
+    Washington.&mdash;Destruction of the Capitol.&mdash;Operations Against Baltimore.&mdash;Bombardment
+    of Fort McHenry.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page612">CHAPTER <abbr title="16">XVI.</abbr></a>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Desultory Hostilities on the Ocean.&mdash;Attack Upon Fort Bowyer.&mdash;Lafitte the
+    Pirate.&mdash;British Expedition Against New Orleans.&mdash;Battle of the Rigolets.&mdash;Attack
+    On New Orleans, and Defeat of the British.&mdash;Work of the Blue-jackets.&mdash;Capture
+    Of the Frigate "President."&mdash;The "Constitution" takes
+    The "Cyane" and "Levant."&mdash;The "Hornet" Takes the "Penguin."&mdash;End
+    of the War.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page637">CHAPTER <abbr title="17">XVII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Privateers and Prisons of the War.&mdash;The "Rossie."&mdash;Salem Privateers.&mdash;The
+    "<abbr title="General">Gen.</abbr> Armstrong" Gives Battle To a British Squadron, and Saves New Orleans.&mdash;Narrative
+    of a British Officer.&mdash;The <span lang="fr">"Prince de Neufchatel."</span>&mdash;Experiences
+    Of American Prisoners of War.&mdash;The End.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page658">CHAPTER <abbr title="18">XVIII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Long Peace Broken by the War With Mexico.&mdash;Activity of the Navy.&mdash;Captain
+    Stockton's Stratagem.&mdash;The Battle at San Jose.&mdash;The Blockade.&mdash;Instances
+    of Personal Bravery.&mdash;The Loss of the "Truxton."&mdash;Yellow Fever
+    in the Squadron.&mdash;The Navy at Vera Cruz.&mdash;Capture of Alvarado.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page676">CHAPTER <abbr title="19">XIX.</abbr></a>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Navy in Peace.&mdash;Surveying the Dead Sea.&mdash;Suppressing the Slave Trade.&mdash;The
+    Franklin Relief Expedition.&mdash;Commodore Perry in Japan.&mdash;Signing of
+    the Treaty.&mdash;Trouble in Chinese Waters.&mdash;The Koszta Case.&mdash;The Second
+    Franklin Relief Expedition.&mdash;Foote at Canton.&mdash;"Blood is Thicker Than
+    Water".</span></p></li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2><i>PART <abbr title="3">III.</abbr></i><br>
+
+<span class="smaller">BLUE JACKETS OF '61.</span></h2>
+
+<ul>
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page685">CHAPTER <abbr title="1">I.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Opening of the Conflict.&mdash;The Navies of the Contestants.&mdash;Dix's Famous
+    Despatch.&mdash;The River-gunboats.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page694">CHAPTER <abbr title="2">II.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Fort Sumter Bombarded.&mdash;Attempt of the "Star of the West" to Re-enforce
+    Anderson.&mdash;The Naval Expedition to Fort Sumter.&mdash;The Rescue of the
+    Frigate "Constitution."&mdash;Burning the Norfolk Navy-Yard.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page709">CHAPTER <abbr title="3">III.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Difficulties of the Confederates in Getting a Navy.&mdash;Exploit of the "French
+    Lady."&mdash;Naval Skirmishing on the Potomac.&mdash;The Cruise of the "Sumter"</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page720">CHAPTER <abbr title="4">IV.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Potomac Flotilla.&mdash;Capture of Alexandria.&mdash;Actions at Matthias Point.&mdash;Bombardment
+    of the Hatteras Forts.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page735">CHAPTER <abbr title="5">V.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The "Trent" Affair.&mdash;Operations in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.&mdash;Destruction
+    of the Confederate Fleet.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page752">CHAPTER <abbr title="6">VI.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Reduction of Newbern.&mdash;Exploits of <abbr title="Lieutenant">Lieut.</abbr> Cushing.&mdash;Destruction of the Ram
+    "Albemarle".</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page770">CHAPTER <abbr title="7">VII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Blockade-runners.&mdash;Nassau and Wilmington.&mdash;Work of the Cruisers.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page792">CHAPTER <abbr title="8">VIII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Du Pont's Expedition to Hilton Head and Port Royal.&mdash;The Fiery Circle.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page806">CHAPTER <abbr title="9">IX.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The First Ironclad Vessels in History.&mdash;The "Merrimac" Sinks the "Cumberland,"
+    and Destroys the "Congress."&mdash;Duel between the "Monitor" and
+    "Merrimac".</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page831">CHAPTER <abbr title="10">X.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Navy in the Inland Waters.&mdash;The Mississippi Squadron.&mdash;Sweeping the
+    Tennessee River.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page854">CHAPTER <abbr title="11">XI.</abbr></a>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Famous Confederate Privateers,&mdash;The "Alabama," the "Shenandoah," the
+    "Nashville".</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page881">CHAPTER <abbr title="12">XII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Work of the Gulf Squadron.&mdash;The Fight at the Passes of the Mississippi.&mdash;Destruction
+    of the Schooner "Judah."&mdash;The Blockade of Galveston, and
+    Capture of the "Harriet Lane".</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page893">CHAPTER <abbr title="13">XIII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Capture of New Orleans.&mdash;Farragut's Fleet passes Fort <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Philip and
+    Fort Jackson.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page915">CHAPTER <abbr title="14">XIV.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Along the Mississippi.&mdash;Forts Jackson and <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Philip Surrender.&mdash;The Battle
+    at <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Charles.&mdash;The Ram "Arkansas."&mdash;Bombardment and Capture of Port
+    Hudson.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page925">CHAPTER <abbr title="15">XV.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">On To Vicksburg.&mdash;Bombardment of the Confederate Stronghold.&mdash;Porter's
+    Cruise in the Forests.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page949">CHAPTER <abbr title="16">XVI.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Vicksburg Surrenders, and the Mississippi is opened.&mdash;Naval Events along the
+    Gulf Coast.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page962">CHAPTER <abbr title="17">XVII.</abbr></a>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Operations About Charleston.&mdash;The Bombardment, the Siege, and the Capture.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page972">CHAPTER <abbr title="18">XVIII.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Battle of Mobile Bay.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page981">CHAPTER <abbr title="19">XIX.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Fall of Fort Fisher.&mdash;The Navy ends its Work.</span></p></li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2><i>PART <abbr title="4">IV.</abbr></i><br>
+<span class="smaller">BLUE JACKETS IN TIME OF PEACE.</span></h2>
+
+<ul>
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page987">CHAPTER <abbr title="1">I.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">Police Service on the High Seas.&mdash;War Service in Asiatic Ports.&mdash;Losses by the
+    Perils of the Deep.&mdash;A Brush With the Pirates.&mdash;Admiral Rodgers at Corea.&mdash;Services
+    in Arctic Waters.&mdash;The Disaster at Samoa.&mdash;The Attack on the
+    "Baltimore's" Men at Valparaiso.&mdash;Loss of the "Kearsarge."&mdash;The Naval
+    Review.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page1002">CHAPTER <abbr title="2">II.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Naval Militia.&mdash;A Volunteer Service which in Time of War will be Effective.&mdash;How
+    Boys are Trained for the Life of a Sailor.&mdash;Conditions of
+    Enlistment in the Volunteer Branch of the Service.&mdash;The Work of the
+    Seagoing Militia in Summer.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page1014">CHAPTER <abbr title="3">III.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">How the Navy Has Grown.&mdash;The Cost and Character of Our New White Ships
+    of War.&mdash;Our Period of Naval Weakness and our Advance to a Place among
+    the Great Naval Powers.&mdash;The New Devices of Naval Warfare.&mdash;The Torpedo,
+    the Dynamite Gun, and the Modern Rifle.&mdash;Armor and its Possibilities.</span></p></li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<h2><i>PART <abbr title="5">V.</abbr></i><br>
+<span class="smaller">THE NAVAL WAR WITH SPAIN.</span></h2>
+
+<ul>
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page1031">CHAPTER <abbr title="1">I.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The State of Cuba.&mdash;Pertinacity of the Revolutionists.&mdash;Spain's Sacrifices
+    and Failure.&mdash;Spanish Barbarities.&mdash;The Policy of Reconcentration.&mdash;American
+    Sympathy Aroused.&mdash;The Struggle in Congress.&mdash;The Assassination
+    of the "Maine."&mdash;Report of the Commission.&mdash;The Onward March
+    to Battle.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page1044">CHAPTER <abbr title="2">II.</abbr></a>
+<p><span class="smcap">The Opening Days of the War.&mdash;The First Blow Struck in the Pacific.&mdash;Dewey
+    and his Fleet.&mdash;The Battle at Manila.&mdash;An Eye-witness' Story.&mdash;Delay
+    and Doubt in the East.&mdash;Dull Times for the Blue-jackets.&mdash;The
+    Discovery of Cervera.&mdash;Hobson's Exploit.&mdash;The Outlook.</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="p2"><a href="#page1060">CHAPTER <abbr title="3">III.</abbr></a>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Spanish Fleet makes a Dash from the Harbor.&mdash;Its total Destruction.&mdash;Admiral
+    Cervera a Prisoner.&mdash;Great Spanish Losses.&mdash;American Fleet Loses
+    but one Man.</span></p></li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+
+<ul class="illo smcap">
+<li><a href="#illo536">Battle of Lake Champlain.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo542">Blue-Jackets at the Guns.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo548">The Fight with the "Boxer."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo550">The Surrender of the "Boxer."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo553">On the Way to Lake Erie.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo563">Hiram Paulding fires the Guns.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo576">Boarding the "Reindeer."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo579">The Captain of the "Reindeer."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo580">The End of the "Reindeer."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo584">The End of the "Wasp."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo589">The Descent on Wareham.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo597">The Battle of the Barges.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo599">Sharp-Shooters.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo601">The March on Washington.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo604">The Burning of Washington.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo606">Planning the Attack.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo610">The Star Spangled Banner.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo622">"President" and "Endymion."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo624">The "President" tries to Escape.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo634">Foundered at Sea.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo646">Privateersmen at Home.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo649">Prison Chaplain and Jailor.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo654">King Dick and his Chaplain.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo655">The last Volley of the War.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo674">Blue-Jackets before Vera Cruz.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo686">The "Hartford," Farragut's Flagship.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo687">Departure of a Naval Expedition from Port Royal.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo694">Fort Moultrie.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo698a">Anderson's Command occupying Fort Sumter.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo698b">Major Robert Anderson.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo701">Fort Sumter under Fire.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo707">Destruction of Norfolk Navy-Yard.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo710">The "French Lady."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo714">Blockading the Mouth of the Mississippi.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo722">Flag of the Confederacy.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo725">Naval Patrol on the Potomac.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo730">The Fleet off Hatteras.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo732">Attack on the Hatteras Forts.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo740">Shores of Albemarle Sound.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo749">Contrabands escaping to Fleet.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo754">Flag of South Carolina.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo766">Destruction of the "Albemarle."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo772">Nassau: The Haunt of the Blockade-Runners.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo774">Cotton Ships at Nassau.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo780">Blockade-Runner in North Carolina Sounds.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo784">Pursuing a Blockade-Runner.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo794">Fortress Monroe.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo798">Du Pont's Expedition off Cape Hatteras.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo801">The Opening Gun.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo804">The Fight at Hilton Head.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo818">"Merrimac" and "Cumberland."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo822">Battle of the "Monitor" and "Merrimac."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo828">Handling a Gun.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo833">A River-Gunboat.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo846">Mortar Boats at Island No. 10.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo860">Looting a Prize.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo866">Sinking of the "Alabama."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo869">Rescue of Capt. Semmes.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo872">The End of a Privateer.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo876">The "Nashville" burning a Prize.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo879">"Shenandoah" burning Whalers.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo883">Fort Pensacola.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo887">Destruction of the Schooner "Judah."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo890">Capture of the "Harriet Lane."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo894">Levee at New Orleans before the War.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo900">Fire-raft at Forts of the Mississippi.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo904">Breaking the Chain.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo908">Ram "Tennessee" at Mobile Bay.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo913">New Orleans on Approach of Fleet.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo922">The "Arkansas" under Fire.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo934">Porter's Flotilla on the Red River.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo942">Dummy Gunboat passing Forts on the Mississippi.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo945">Passing the Vicksburg Batteries.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo954">Manning the Yards.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo957">Bailey's Dam on the Red River.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo966">Cutting out a Blockade-Runner.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo967">War-ships off Charleston Harbor.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo971">Charleston Bombarded.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo978">Fight at Mobile Bay.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo984">Charge of Sailors at Fort Fisher.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo992">Attack on a Corean Fort.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo996">Wreck of United States War-ships off Samoa.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1001">Wreck of the "Kearsarge."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1008">Cruiser "Columbia" (Commerce Destroyer).</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1010">Torpedo Boat "Cushing."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1012">Armored Cruiser "New York."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1018">Dynamite Cruiser "Vesuvius."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1024">United States Battle-ship "Indiana."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1040">Partial View of the Wreck of the "Maine."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1048">Dewey at Manila.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1056">The "Zealandia" leaving San Francisco with Troops for the Philippines.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1058">Morro Castle, Santiago De Cuba.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060a">The Protected Cruiser "Olympia," Admiral Dewey's Flagship.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060b">Admiral George Dewey.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060c">Acting Rear Admiral W. T. Sampson.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060d">Rear-Admiral Montgomery Sicard.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060e">Commodore W. S. Schley.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060f">Captain A. S. Barker.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060g">Captain "Jack" Philip.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060h">Commodore J. Crittenden Watson.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060i">Ensign Worth Bagley Of The "Winslow."</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060j">Cadet George T. Pettengill.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060k">Captain F. W. Dickins.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060l">Commodore John A. Howell.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060m">Brig.-Gen. H. C. Hasbrouck.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060n">Captain C. E. Clark.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060o">Admiral F. M. Bunce.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060p">Bombardment of Spanish Ports and Fleet at Santiago De Cuba, July 6, 1898.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060q">"Maria Teresa" and "Vizcaya" burning on the Beach near Santiago.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060r">The Flagship "New York," followed by the "Vixen," closing on the "Cristobal Colon," while the Latter was being run ashore west of Santiago.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060s">Effect of a Single Spanish Shot on Upper Deck of the Battle-Ship "Texas".</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060t">Band of the "Oregon" playing Funeral March after the Defeat of the "Colon".</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060u">Engineer Battalion unloading Tools at Siboney.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060v">Auxiliary Cruisers protecting Landing.</a></li>
+<li><a href="#illo1060w">Commodore Watson's Fleet for Service in Spanish Waters.</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page537" name="page537"></a>(p. 537)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader">
+<img src="images/deco_start_537.jpg" width="400" height="352" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -150px; margin-left: 280px;">
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">CAPTURE OF THE "SURVEYOR." &mdash; WORK OF THE GUNBOAT FLOTILLA. &mdash; OPERATIONS
+ON CHESAPEAKE BAY. &mdash; COCKBURN'S DEPREDATIONS. &mdash; CRUISE OF THE
+"ARGUS." &mdash; HER CAPTURE BY THE "PELICAN." &mdash; BATTLE OF THE "ENTERPRISE"
+AND "BOXER." &mdash; END OF THE YEAR 1813 ON THE OCEAN.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2"><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>ith
+the capture of the "Chesapeake" in June, 1813, we abandoned our
+story of the naval events along the coast of the United States, to
+follow Capt. Porter and his daring seamen on their long cruise into
+far-off seas. But while the men of the "Essex" were capturing whalers
+in the Pacific, chastising insolent savages at Nookaheevah, and
+fighting a gallant but unsuccessful fight at Valparaiso, other
+blue-jackets were as gallantly serving their country nearer home. From
+Portsmouth to Charleston the coast was watched by British ships, and
+collisions between the enemies were of almost daily occurrence. In
+many of these actions great bravery was shown on both <span class="pagenum"><a id="page538" name="page538"></a>(p. 538)</span> sides.
+Noticeably was this the case in the action between the cutter
+"Surveyor" and the British frigate "Narcissus," on the night of June
+12. The "Surveyor," a little craft manned by a crew of fifteen men,
+and mounting six twelve-pound carronades, was lying in the York River
+near Chesapeake Bay. From the masthead of the "Narcissus," lying
+farther down the bay, the spars of the cutter could be seen above the
+tree-tops; and an expedition was fitted out for her capture. Fifty
+men, led by a veteran officer, attacked the little vessel in the
+darkness, but were met with a most determined resistance. The
+Americans could not use their carronades, but with their muskets they
+did much execution in the enemy's ranks. But they were finally
+overpowered, and the little cutter was towed down under the frigate's
+guns. The next day Mr. Travis, the American commander, received his
+sword which he had surrendered, with a letter from the British
+commander, in which he said, "Your gallant and desperate attempt to
+defend your vessel against more than double your number, on the night
+of the 12th inst., excited such admiration on the part of your
+opponents as I have seldom witnessed, and induced me to return you the
+sword you had so nobly used, in testimony of mine.... In short, I am
+at a loss which to admire most, the previous arrangement on board the
+'Surveyor,' or the determined manner in which her deck was disputed,
+inch by inch."</p>
+
+<p>During the summer of 1813, the little gunboats, built in accordance
+with President Jefferson's plan for a coast guard of single-gun
+vessels, did a great deal of desultory fighting, which resulted in
+little or nothing. They were not very seaworthy craft, the heavy guns
+mounted amidships causing them to careen far over in even a sailor's
+"capfull" of wind. When they went into action, the first shot from the
+gun set the gunboat rocking so that further fire with any precision of
+aim was impossible. The larger gunboats carried sail enough to enable
+them to cruise about the coast, keeping off privateers and checking
+the marauding expeditions of the British. Many of the gunboats,
+however, were simply large gallies propelled with oars, and therefore
+confined in their operations to bays and inland waters. The chief
+scene of their operations was Chesapeake Bay.</p>
+
+<p>This noble sheet of water had been, since the very opening of the year
+1813, under the control of the British, who had gathered there their
+most powerful vessels under the command of Admiral Cockburn, whose
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page539" name="page539"></a>(p. 539)</span> name gained an unenviable notoriety for the atrocities
+committed by his forces upon the defenceless inhabitants of the shores
+of Chesapeake Bay. Marauding expeditions were continually sent from
+the fleet to search the adjacent country for supplies. When this
+method of securing provisions failed, Cockburn hit upon the plan of
+bringing his fleet within range of a village, and then commanding the
+inhabitants to supply his needs, under penalty of the instant
+bombardment of the town in case of refusal. Sometimes this expedient
+failed, as when Commodore Beresford, who was blockading the Delaware,
+called upon the people of Dover to supply him at once with
+"twenty-five large bullocks and a proportionate quantity of vegetables
+and hay." But the sturdy inhabitants refused, mustered the militia,
+dragged some old cannon down to the water-side, and, for lack of
+cannon-balls of their own, valiantly fired back those thrown by the
+British, which fitted the American ordnance exactly.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this occurrence, a large party from Cockburn's fleet landed
+at Havre de Grace, and, having driven away the few militia, captured
+and burned the town. Having accomplished this exploit, the marauders
+continued their way up the bay, and turning up into the Sassafras
+River ravaged the country on both sides of the little stream. After
+spreading distress far and wide over the beautiful country that
+borders Chesapeake Bay, the vandals returned to their ships, boasting
+that they had despoiled the Americans of at least seventy thousand
+dollars, and injured them to the amount of ten times that sum.</p>
+
+<p>By June, 1813, the Americans saw that something must be done to check
+the merciless enemy who had thus revived the cruel vandalism, which
+had ceased to attend civilized warfare since the middle ages. A fleet
+of fifteen armed gallies was fitted out to attack the frigate of
+Cockburn's fleet that lay nearest to Norfolk. Urged forward by long
+sweeps, the gunboats bore down upon the frigate, which, taken by
+surprise, made so feeble and irregular a response that the Americans
+thought they saw victory within their grasp. The gunboats chose their
+distance, and opened a well-directed fire upon their huge enemy, that,
+like a hawk attacked by a crowd of sparrows, soon turned to fly. But
+at this moment the wind changed, enabling two frigates which were at
+anchor lower down the bay to come up to the aid of their consort. The
+American gunboats drew off slowly, firing as they departed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page540" name="page540"></a>(p. 540)</span> This attack infused new energy into the British, and they at
+once began formidable preparations for an attack upon Norfolk. On the
+20th of June they moved forward to the assault,&mdash;three
+seventy-four-gun ships, one sixty-four, four frigates, two sloops, and
+three transports. They were opposed by the American forces stationed
+on Craney Island, which commands the entrance to Norfolk Harbor. Here
+the Americans had thrown up earthworks, mounting two twenty-four, one
+eighteen, and four six pound cannon. To work this battery, one hundred
+sailors from the "Constellation," together with fifty marines, had
+been sent ashore. A large body of militia and a few soldiers of the
+regular army were also in camp upon the island.</p>
+
+<p>The British set the 22d as the date for the attack; and on the morning
+of that day, fifteen large boats, filled with sailors, marines, and
+soldiers to the number of seven hundred, put off from the ships, and
+dashed toward the batteries. At the same time a larger force tried to
+move forward by land, but were driven back, to wait until their
+comrades in the boats should have stormed and silenced the American
+battery. But that battery was not to be silenced. After checking the
+advance of the British by land, the Americans waited coolly for the
+column of boats to come within point-blank range. On they came,
+bounding over the waves, led by the great barge "Centipede," fifty
+feet long, and crowded with men. The blue-jackets in the shore battery
+stood silently at their guns. Suddenly there arose a cry, "Now, boys,
+are you ready?" "All ready," was the response. "Then fire!" And the
+great guns hurled their loads of lead and iron into the advancing
+boats. The volley was a fearful one; but the British still came on
+doggedly, until the fire of the battery became too terrible to be
+endured. "The American sailors handled the great guns like rifles,"
+said one of the British officers, speaking of the battle. Before this
+terrific fire, the advancing column was thrown into confusion. The
+boats, drifting upon each other, so crowded together that the oars-men
+could not make any headway. A huge round shot struck the "Centipede,"
+passing through her diagonally, leaving death and wounds in its track.
+The shattered craft sunk, and was soon followed by four others. The
+order for retreat was given; and, leaving their dead and some wounded
+in the shattered barges that lay in the shallow water, the British
+fled to their ships. Midshipman Tatnall, who, many years later, served
+in the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page541" name="page541"></a>(p. 541)</span> Confederate navy, waded out with several sailors,
+and, seizing the "Centipede," drew her ashore. He found several
+wounded men in her,&mdash;one a Frenchman, with both legs shot away. A
+small terrier dog lay whimpering in the bow. His master had brought
+him along for a run on shore, never once thinking of the possibility
+of the flower of the British navy being beaten back by the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>So disastrous a defeat enraged the British, who proceeded to wreak
+their vengeance upon the little town of Hampton, which they sacked and
+burned, committing acts of shameful violence, more in accordance with
+the character of savages than that of civilized white men. The story
+of the sack of Hampton forms no part of the naval annals of the war,
+and in its details is too revolting to deserve a place here. It is a
+narrative of atrocious cruelty not to be paralleled in the history of
+warfare in the nineteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving behind him the smoking ruins of Hampton, Cockburn with his
+fleet dropped down the bay, and, turning southward, cruised along the
+coast of the Carolinas. Anchoring off Ocracoke Inlet, the British sent
+a fleet of armed barges into Pamlico Sound to ravage the adjoining
+coast. Two privateers were found lying at anchor in the sound,&mdash;the
+"Anaconda" of New York, and the "Atlas" of Philadelphia. The British
+forces, eight hundred in number, dashed forward to capture the two
+vessels. The "Atlas" fell an easy prey; but the thirteen men of the
+"Anaconda" fought stoutly until all hope was gone, then, turning their
+cannon down upon the decks of their own vessel, blew great holes in
+her bottom, and escaped to the shore. After this skirmish, the British
+landed, and marched rapidly to Newbern; but, finding that place well
+defended by militia, made their way back to the coast, desolating the
+country through which they passed, and seizing cattle and slaves. The
+latter they are said to have sent to the West Indies and sold. From
+Pamlico Sound Cockburn went to Cumberland Island, where he established
+his winter quarters, and whence he continued to send out marauding
+expeditions during the rest of the year.</p>
+
+<p>Very different was the character of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded
+the British blockading fleet off the New England coast. A brave and
+able officer, with the nature and training of a gentleman, he was as
+much admired by his enemies for his nobility, as Cockburn was hated
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page542" name="page542"></a>(p. 542)</span> for his cruelty. It is more than possible, however, that the
+difference between the methods of enforcement of the blockade on the
+New England coast and on the Southern seaboard was due to definite
+orders from the British admiralty: for the Southern States had entered
+into the war heart and soul; while New England gave to the American
+forces only a faint-hearted support, and cried eagerly for peace at
+any cost. So strong was this feeling, that resolutions of honor to the
+brave Capt. Lawrence were defeated in the Massachusetts Legislature,
+on the ground that they would encourage others to embark in the
+needless war in which Lawrence lost his life. Whatever may have been
+the cause, however, the fact remains, that Hardy's conduct while on
+the blockade won for him the respect and admiration of the very people
+against whom his forces were arrayed.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo542" name="illo542"></a>
+<img src="images/542_blue_jackets_at_the_guns.jpg" width="400" height="556" alt="" title="">
+<p>Blue-Jackets at the Guns.</p></div>
+
+<p>On June 18 the British blockaders off New York Harbor allowed a little
+vessel to escape to sea, that, before she could be captured, roamed at
+will within sight of the chalk cliffs of England, and inflicted
+immense damage upon the commerce of her enemy. This craft was the
+little ten-gun brig "Argus," which left New York bound for France. She
+carried as passenger Mr. Crawford of Georgia, who had lately been
+appointed United States minister to France. After safely discharging
+her passenger at L'Orient, the "Argus" turned into the chops of the
+English Channel, and cruised about, burning and capturing many of the
+enemy's ships. She was in the very highway of British commerce; and
+her crew had little rest day or night, so plentiful were the ships
+that fell in their way. It was hard for the jackies to apply the torch
+to so many stanch vessels, that would enrich the whole crew with
+prize-money could they but be sent into an American port. But the
+little cruiser was thousands of miles from any American port, and no
+course was open to her save to give every prize to the flames. After
+cruising for a time in the English Channel, Lieut. Allen, who
+commanded the "Argus," took his vessel around Land's End, and into St.
+George's Channel and the Irish Sea. For thirty days he continued his
+daring operations in the very waters into which Paul Jones had carried
+the American flag nearly thirty-five years earlier. British merchants
+and shipping owners in London read with horror of the destruction
+wrought by this one vessel. Hardly a paper appeared without an account
+of some <span class="pagenum"><a id="page545" name="page545"></a>(p. 545)</span> new damage done by the "Argus." Vessels were kept
+in port to rot at their docks, rather than fall a prey to the terrible
+Yankee. Rates of insurance went up to ruinous prices, and many
+companies refused to take any risks whatever so long as the "Argus"
+remained afloat. But the hue and cry was out after the little vessel;
+and many a stout British frigate was beating up and down in St.
+George's Channel, and the chops of the English Channel, in the hopes
+of falling in with the audacious Yankee, who had presumed to bring
+home to Englishmen the horrors of war.</p>
+
+<p>It fell to the lot of the brig-sloop "Pelican" to rid the British
+waters of the "Argus." On the night of the thirteenth of August, the
+American vessel had fallen in with a British vessel from Oporto, and
+after a short chase had captured her. The usual result followed. The
+prisoners with their personal property were taken out of the prize,
+and the vessel was set afire. But, before the torch was applied, the
+American sailors had discovered that their prize was laden with wine;
+and their resolution was not equal to the task of firing the prize
+without testing the quality of the cargo. Besides treating themselves
+to rather deep potations, the boarding-crew contrived to smuggle a
+quantity of the wine into the forecastle of the "Argus." The prize was
+then fired, and the "Argus" moved away under easy sail. But the light
+of the blazing ship attracted the attention of the lookout on the
+"Pelican," and that vessel came down under full sail to discover the
+cause.</p>
+
+<p>Day was just breaking, and by the gray morning light the British saw
+an American cruiser making away from the burning hulk of her last
+prize. The "Pelican" followed in hot pursuit, and was allowed to come
+alongside, although the fleet American could easily have left her far
+astern. But Capt. Allen was ready for the conflict; confident of his
+ship and of his crew, of whose half-intoxicated condition he knew
+nothing, he felt sure that the coming battle would only add more
+laurels to the many already won by the "Argus." He had often declared
+that the "Argus" should never run from any two-master; and now, that
+the gage of battle was offered, he promptly accepted.</p>
+
+<p>At six o'clock in the morning, the "Pelican" came alongside, and
+opened the conflict with a broadside from her thirty-two pound
+carronades. The "Argus" replied with spirit, and a sharp cannonade
+began. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page546" name="page546"></a>(p. 546)</span> Four minutes after the battle opened, Capt. Allen was
+struck by a round shot that cut off his left leg near the thigh. His
+officers rushed to his side, and strove to bear him to his cabin; but
+he resisted, saying he would stay on deck and fight his ship as long
+as any life was left him. With his back to a mast, he gave his orders
+and cheered on his men for a few minutes longer; then, fainting from
+the terrible gush of blood from his wound, was carried below. To lose
+their captain so early in the action, was enough to discourage the
+crew of the "Argus." Yet the officers left on duty were brave and
+skilful. Twice the vessel was swung into a raking position, but the
+gunners failed to seize the advantage. "They seemed to be nodding over
+their guns," said one of the officers afterward. The enemy, however,
+showed no signs of nodding. His fire was rapid and well directed, and
+his vessel man&oelig;uvred in a way that showed a practised seaman in
+command. At last he secured a position under the stern of the "Argus,"
+and lay there, pouring in destructive broadsides, until the Americans
+struck their flag,&mdash;just forty-seven minutes after the opening of the
+action. The loss on the "Argus" amounted to six killed and seventeen
+wounded.</p>
+
+<p>No action of the war was so discreditable to the Americans as this. In
+the loss of the "Chesapeake" and in the loss of the "Essex," there
+were certain features of the action that redounded greatly to the
+honor of the defeated party. But in the action between the "Argus" and
+the "Pelican," the Americans were simply outfought. The vessels were
+practically equal in size and armament, though the "Pelican" carried a
+little the heavier metal. It is also stated that the powder used by
+the "Argus" was bad. It had been taken from one of the prizes, and
+afterwards proved to be condemned powder of the British Government. In
+proof of the poor quality of this powder, one of the American officers
+states that many shot striking the side of the "Pelican" were seen to
+fall back into the water; while others penetrated the vessel's skin,
+but did no further damage. All this, however, does not alter the fact
+that the "Argus" was fairly beaten in a fair fight.</p>
+
+<p>While the British thus snapped up an American man-of-war cruising at
+their harbors' mouths, the Americans were equally fortunate in
+capturing a British brig of fourteen guns off the coast of Maine. The
+captor was the United States brig "Enterprise," a lucky little vessel
+belonging to a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page547" name="page547"></a>(p. 547)</span> very unlucky class; for her sister brigs all
+fell a prey to the enemy. The "Nautilus," it will be remembered, was
+captured early in the war. The "Vixen" fell into the hands of Sir
+James Yeo, who was cruising in the West Indies, in the frigate
+"Southampton;" but this gallant officer reaped but little benefit from
+his prize, for frigate and brig alike were soon after wrecked on one
+of the Bahama Islands. The "Siren," late in the war, was captured by
+the seventy-four-gun ship "Medway," and the loss of the "Argus" has
+just been chronicled. Of all these brigs, the "Argus" alone was able
+to fire a gun in her own defence, before being captured; the rest were
+all forced to yield quietly to immensely superior force.</p>
+
+<p>In the war with Tripoli, the "Enterprise" won the reputation of being
+a "lucky" craft; and her daring adventures and thrilling escapes
+during the short naval war with France added to her prestige among
+sailors. When the war with England broke out, the little brig was put
+in commission as soon as possible, and assigned to duty along the
+coast of Maine. She did good service in keeping off privateers and
+marauding expeditions from Nova Scotia. In the early part of
+September, 1813, she was cruising near Penguin Point, when she sighted
+a brig in shore that had the appearance of a hostile war-vessel. The
+stranger soon settled all doubts as to her character by firing several
+guns, seemingly for the purpose of recalling her boats from the shore.
+Then, setting sail with the rapidity of a man-of-war, she bore down
+upon the American vessel. The "Enterprise," instead of waiting for the
+enemy, turned out to sea, under easy sail; and her crew were set to
+work bringing aft a long gun, and mounting it in the cabin, where one
+of the stern windows had been chopped away to make a port. This action
+rather alarmed the sailors, who feared that their commander, Lieut.
+Burrows, whose character was unknown to them, intended to avoid the
+enemy, and was rigging the long gun for a stern-chaser. An impromptu
+meeting was held upon the forecastle; and, after much whispered
+consultation, the people appointed a committee to go aft and tell the
+commander that the lads were burning to engage the enemy, and were
+confident of whipping her. The committee started bravely to discharge
+their commission; but their courage failed them before so mighty a
+potentate as the commander, and they whispered their message to the
+first lieutenant, who laughed, and sent word forward <span class="pagenum"><a id="page548" name="page548"></a>(p. 548)</span> that
+Mr. Burrows only wanted to get sea-room, and would soon give the
+jackies all the fighting they desired.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo548" name="illo548"></a>
+<img src="images/548_the_fight_with_the_boxer.jpg" width="400" height="474" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Fight with the "Boxer."</p></div>
+
+<p>The Americans now had leisure to examine, through their
+marine-glasses, the vessel which was so boldly following them to the
+place of battle. She was a man-of-war brig, flying the British ensign
+from both mastheads and at the peak. Her armament consisted of twelve
+eighteen-pound carronades and two long sixes, as against the fourteen
+eighteen-pound carronades and two long nines of the "Enterprise." The
+Englishman carried a crew of sixty-six men, while the quarter-rolls of
+the American showed a total of one hundred and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page549" name="page549"></a>(p. 549)</span> two. But in
+the battle which followed the British fought with such desperate
+bravery as to almost overcome the odds against them.</p>
+
+<p>For some time the two vessels fought shy of each other, man&oelig;uvring
+for a windward position. Towards three o'clock in the afternoon, the
+Americans gained this advantage, and at once shortened sail, and edged
+down toward the enemy. As the ships drew near, a sailor was seen to
+climb into the rigging of the Englishman, and nail the colors to the
+mast, giving the lads of the "Enterprise" a hint as to the character
+of the reception they might expect. As the vessels came within range,
+both crews cheered lustily, and continued cheering until within
+pistol-shot, when the two broadsides were let fly at almost exactly
+the same moment. With the first fire, both commanders fell. Capt.
+Blyth of the English vessel was almost cut in two by a round shot as
+he stood on his quarter-deck. He died instantly. Lieut. Burrows was
+struck by a canister-shot, which inflicted a mortal wound. He refused
+to be carried below, and was tenderly laid upon the deck, where he
+remained during the remainder of the battle, cheering on his men, and
+crying out that the colors of the "Enterprise" should never be struck.
+The conflict was sharp, but short. For ten minutes only the answering
+broadsides rung out; then the colors of the British ship were hauled
+down. She proved to be the sloop-of-war "Boxer," and had suffered
+severely from the broadsides of the "Enterprise." Several shots had
+taken effect in her hull, her foremast was almost shot away, and
+several guns were dismounted. Three men beside her captain were
+killed, and seventeen wounded. But she had not suffered these injuries
+without inflicting some in return. The "Enterprise" was much cut up
+aloft. Her foremast and mainmast had each been pierced by an
+eighteen-pound ball. Her captain lay upon the deck, gasping in the
+last agonies of death, but stoutly protesting that he would not be
+carried below until he received the sword of the commander of the
+"Boxer." At last this was brought him; and grasping it he cried, "Now
+I am satisfied. I die contented."</p>
+
+<p>The two shattered brigs were taken into Portland, where the bodies of
+the two slain commanders were buried with all the honors of war. The
+"Enterprise" was repaired, and made one more cruise before the close
+of the war; but the "Boxer" was found to be forever ruined for a
+vessel of war, and she was sold into the merchant-service. The fact
+that she <span class="pagenum"><a id="page550" name="page550"></a>(p. 550)</span> was so greatly injured in so short a time led a
+London paper, in speaking of the battle, to say, "The fact seems to be
+but too clearly established, that the Americans have some superior
+mode of firing; and we cannot be too anxiously employed in discovering
+to what circumstances that superiority is owing."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo550" name="illo550"></a>
+<img src="images/550_the_surrender_of_the_boxer.jpg" width="500" height="476" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Surrender of the "Boxer."</p></div>
+
+<p>This battle practically closed the year's naval events upon the ocean.
+The British privateer "Dart" was captured near Newport by some
+volunteers from the gunboats stationed at that point. But, with this
+exception, nothing noteworthy in naval circles occurred during the
+remainder of the year. Looking back over the annals of the naval
+operations of 1813, it <span class="pagenum"><a id="page551" name="page551"></a>(p. 551)</span> is clear that the Americans were the
+chief sufferers. They had the victories over the "Peacock," "Boxer,"
+and "Highflyer" to boast of; but they had lost the "Chesapeake,"
+"Argus," and "Viper." But, more than this, they had suffered their
+coast to be so sealed up by British blockaders that many of their best
+vessels were left to lie idle at their docks. The blockade, too, was
+growing stricter daily, and the outlook for the future seemed gloomy;
+yet, as it turned out, in 1814 the Americans regained the ground they
+had lost the year before.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_551.jpg" width="200" height="99" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page552" name="page552"></a>(p. 552)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader">
+<img src="images/deco_start_552.jpg" width="600" height="461" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -150px; margin-left: 160px;">
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XIII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">ON THE LAKES. &mdash; CLOSE OF HOSTILITIES ON LAKES ERIE AND
+HURON. &mdash; DESULTORY WARFARE ON LAKE ONTARIO IN 1813. &mdash; HOSTILITIES ON
+ONTARIO IN 1814. &mdash; THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. &mdash; END OF THE WAR UPON
+THE LAKES.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_i.jpg" width="50" height="59" alt="I" title=""></span>n
+considering the naval operations on the Great Lakes, it must be
+kept in mind, that winter, which checked but little naval activity on
+the ocean, locked the great fresh-water seas in an impenetrable
+barrier of ice, and effectually stopped all further hostilities
+between the hostile forces afloat. The victory gained by Commodore
+Perry on Lake Erie in September, 1813, gave the Americans complete
+command of that lake; and the frozen season soon coming on, prevented
+any attempts on the part of the enemy to contest the American
+supremacy. But, indeed, the British showed little ability, throughout
+the subsequent course of the war, to snatch from the Americans the
+fruits of the victory at Put-in-Bay. They embarked upon no more
+offensive expeditions; and the only notable naval contest between the
+two belligerents during the remainder of the war occurred Aug. 12,
+1814, when a party of seventy-five British seamen and marines
+attempted to cut out three American schooners that lay at the foot of
+the lake near Fort Erie. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page553" name="page553"></a>(p. 553)</span> The British forces were at
+Queenstown, on the Niagara River; but by dint of carrying their boats
+twenty miles through the woods, then poling down a narrow and shallow
+stream, with a second portage of eight miles, the adventurers managed
+to reach Lake Erie. Embarking here, they pulled down to the schooners.
+To the hail of the lookout, they responded, "Provision boats." And, as
+no British were thought to be on Lake Erie, the response satisfied the
+officer of the watch. He quickly discovered his mistake, however, when
+he saw his cable cut, and a party of armed men scrambling over his
+bulwarks. This first prize, the "Somers," was quickly in the hands of
+the British, and was soon joined in captivity by the "Ohio," whose
+people fought bravely but unavailingly against the unexpected foe.
+While the fighting was going on aboard the vessels, they were drifting
+down the stream; and, by the time the British victory <span class="pagenum"><a id="page554" name="page554"></a>(p. 554)</span> was
+complete, both vessels were beyond the range of Fort Erie's guns, and
+safe from recapture. This successful enterprise certainly deserves a
+place as the boldest and best executed cutting-out expedition of the
+war.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo553" name="illo553"></a>
+<img src="images/553_on_the_way_to_lake_erie.jpg" width="500" height="415" alt="" title="">
+<p>On the Way to Lake Erie.</p></div>
+
+<p>Long before this occurrence, Capt. Arthur Singleton, who had succeeded
+to Perry's command, despairing of any active service on Lake Erie, had
+taken his squadron of five vessels into Lake Huron, where the British
+still held the supremacy. His objective point was the Island of
+Michilimackinac (Mackinaw), which had been captured by the enemy early
+in the war. On his way, he stopped and burned the British fort and
+barracks of St. Joseph. At Mackinaw he was repulsed, with the loss of
+seventy men; after which he returned to Lake Erie, leaving two
+vessels, the "Scorpion" and "Tigress," to blockade the Nattagawassa
+River. The presence of these vessels irritated the British, and they
+at once set about preparations for their capture. On the night of the
+3d of September the "Tigress" was captured after a sharp struggle,
+which, as the British commanding officer said, "did credit to her
+officers, who were all severely wounded." At the time of the attack,
+the "Scorpion" was several miles away, and knew nothing of the
+misfortune of her consort. Knowing this, the British sent their
+prisoners ashore, and, hoisting the American flag over the captured
+vessel, waited patiently for their game to come to them. They were not
+disappointed in their expectations. On the 5th the "Scorpion" came up,
+and anchored, unsuspectingly, within two miles of her consort. At
+early dawn the next morning the "Tigress" weighed anchor; and, with
+the stars and stripes still flying, dropped down alongside the
+unsuspecting schooner, poured in a sudden volley, and, instantly
+boarding, carried the vessel without meeting any resistance.</p>
+
+<p>With these two skirmishes, the war upon Lake Erie and Lake Huron was
+ended. But on Lake Ontario the naval events, though in no case
+comparable with Perry's famous victory, were numerous and noteworthy.</p>
+
+<p>In our previous discussion of the progress of the war upon Lake
+Ontario, we left Commodore Chauncey in winter quarter at Sackett's
+Harbor, building new ships, and making vigorous efforts to secure
+sailors to man them. His energy met with its reward; for, when the
+melting ice left the lake open for navigation in the spring of 1813,
+the American fleet was ready for active service, while the best
+vessels belonging to the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page555" name="page555"></a>(p. 555)</span> British were still in the hands of
+the carpenters and riggers. The first service performed by the
+American fleet was aiding Gen. Pike in his attack upon York, where the
+Americans burned an almost completed twenty-four-gun ship, and
+captured the ten-gun brig "Gloucester." The land forces who took part
+in this action were terribly injured by the explosion of the
+powder-magazine, to which the British had applied a slow-match when
+they found they could no longer hold their position. This battle was
+fought April 27, 1813. One month later, the naval forces co-operated
+with the soldiery in driving the British from Fort George, on the
+Canada side of the Niagara River, near Lake Ontario. Perry came from
+Lake Erie to take part in this action, and led a landing party under
+the fire of the British artillery with that dashing courage which he
+showed later at the battle of Put-in-Bay. The work of the sailors in
+this action was cool and effective. Their fire covered the advance of
+the troops, and silenced more than one of the enemy's guns. "The
+American ships," writes a British historian, "with their heavy
+discharges of round and grape, too well succeeded in thinning the
+British ranks."</p>
+
+<p>But by this time the British fleet was ready for sea, and left
+Kingston on the 27th of May; while Chauncey was still at the extreme
+western end of the lake. The enemy determined to make an immediate
+assault upon Sackett's Harbor, and there destroy the corvette "Gen.
+Pike," which, if completed, would give Chauncey supremacy upon the
+lake. Accordingly the fleet under Sir James Lucas Yeo, with a large
+body of troops under Sir George Prescott, appeared before the harbor
+on the 29th. Although the forces which rallied to the defence of the
+village were chiefly raw militia, the British attack was conducted
+with so little spirit that the defenders won the day; and the enemy
+retreated, leaving most of his wounded to fall into the hands of the
+Americans. Yeo then returned to Kingston; and the American fleet came
+up the lake, and put into Sackett's Harbor, there to remain until the
+completion of the "Pike" should give Chauncey control of the lake.
+While the Americans thus remained in port, the British squadron made
+brief incursions into the lake, capturing a few schooners and breaking
+up one or two encampments of the land forces of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>Not until the 21st of July did the Americans leave their anchorage. On
+that day, with the formidable corvette "Pike" at the head of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page556" name="page556"></a>(p. 556)</span> line, Chauncey left Sackett's Harbor, and went up to
+Niagara. Some days later, Yeo took his squadron to sea; and on the 7th
+of August the two hostile fleets came in sight of one another for the
+first time. Then followed a season of man&oelig;uvring,&mdash;of challenging
+and counter-challenging, of offering battle and of avoiding
+it,&mdash;terminating in so inconclusive an engagement that one is forced
+to believe that neither commander dared to enter the battle for which
+both had been so long preparing. The American squadron consisted
+largely of schooners armed with long guns. In smooth weather these
+craft were valuable adjuncts to the larger vessels, while in rough
+weather they were useless. Yeo's squadron was mostly square-rigged,
+and was therefore equally serviceable in all kinds of weather. It
+seems likely, therefore, that the Americans strove to bring on the
+conflict in smooth weather; while the British were determined to wait
+until a heavy sea should lessen the force of their foes. In this
+dilemma several days passed away.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 7th of August the wind came up to blow, and the
+rising waves soon demonstrated the uselessness of schooners for
+purposes of war. At early dawn a fierce gust of wind caused the
+schooners "Hamilton" and "Scourge" to careen far to leeward. Their
+heavy guns broke loose; then, crashing down to the submerged beams of
+the schooners, pulled them still farther over; and, the water rushing
+in at their hatches, they foundered, carrying with them to the bottom
+all their officers, and all but sixteen of the men. This loss reduced
+Chauncey's force to more of an equality with that of the British; yet
+for two days longer the man&oelig;uvring continued, without a shot being
+fired. On the night of the 10th the two squadrons formed in order of
+battle, and rapidly approached each other. At eleven o'clock a
+cannonade was begun by both parties, and continued for about an hour;
+though the shot did little material damage on either side. At midnight
+the British, by a quick movement, cut out and captured two American
+schooners, and sailed away, without suffering any damage.</p>
+
+<p>A month then intervened before the next hostile meeting. In his
+despatches to his superior authorities, each commander stoutly affirms
+that he spent the time in chasing the enemy, who refused to give him
+battle. Whether it was the British or the Americans that avoided the
+battle, it is impossible to decide; but it seems reasonable to
+believe, that, had <span class="pagenum"><a id="page557" name="page557"></a>(p. 557)</span> either party been really determined upon
+bringing matters to an issue, the other could have been forced into
+giving battle.</p>
+
+<p>On the 11th of September, the enemies met near the mouth of the
+Genesee River, and exchanged broadsides. A few of the British vessels
+were hulled, and, without more ado, hauled off into the shallow waters
+of Ambert Bay, whither the Americans could not follow them. Then
+ensued another long period of peace, broken at last by a naval action
+in York Bay, on the 28th, in which the British were worsted and
+obliged to fly, though none of their ships were destroyed or captured.
+On Oct. 2, Chauncey accomplished a really important work, by capturing
+five British transports, with two hundred and sixty-four men, seven
+naval and ten army officers. With this achievement, the active work of
+the Ontario squadron ended for the year, as Chauncey remained
+blockading Yeo at Kingston, until the approach of winter rendered that
+precaution no longer necessary.</p>
+
+<p>The navigable season of 1814 opened with the British first upon the
+lake. The long winter had been employed by the belligerents in adding
+to their fleets; a work completed first by Yeo, who put out upon the
+lake on the 3d of May, with eight square-rigged vessels, of which two
+were new frigates. The Americans had given up their unseaworthy
+schooners, and had a fleet of eight square-rigged vessels nearly
+ready, but still lacking the cordage and guns for the three new craft.
+Yeo thus had the lake to himself for a time, and began a vigorous
+campaign by an attack upon Oswego, aided by a large body of British
+troops. Succeeding in this enterprise, he set sail for Sackett's
+Harbor, and, taking up his position just outside the bar, disposed his
+vessels for a long and strict blockade. This action was particularly
+troublesome to the Americans at that time; for their new frigates were
+just ready for their guns and cables, which could not be brought
+overland, and the arrival of which by water was seemingly prevented by
+the blockade. It was in this emergency that the plan, already
+described, for transporting the great cable for the "Niagara"
+overland, on the backs of men, was decided upon. Yeo remained on guard
+at the mouth of the harbor until the 6th of June, then raised the
+blockade, and disappeared down the lake. For six weeks the Americans
+continued working on their fleet, to get the ships ready for service.
+During this time the British gunboat "Black Snake" was brought into
+the harbor, a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page558" name="page558"></a>(p. 558)</span> prize to Lieut. Gregory, who had captured it
+by a sudden assault, with a score of sailors at his back. On the 1st
+of July, the same officer made a sudden descent upon Presque Isle,
+where he found a British vessel pierced for fourteen guns on the
+stocks, ready for launching. The raiders hastily set fire to the ship,
+and retreated before the enemy could get his forces together.</p>
+
+<p>It was July 31 before Chauncey set sail from Sackett's Harbor. He now
+had under his command a squadron of eight vessels, two of which were
+frigates, two ship sloops-of-war, and eight brig-sloops of no mean
+power. Yeo had, to oppose this force, a fleet of no less respectable
+proportions. Yet, for the remainder of the year, these two squadrons
+cruised about the lake, or blockaded each other in turn, without once
+coming to battle. As transports, the vessels were of some service to
+their respective governments; but, so far as any actual naval
+operations were concerned, they might as well never have been built.
+The war closed, leaving the two cautious commanders still waiting for
+a satisfactory occasion for giving battle.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the course of the naval war upon the Great Lakes; but the
+thunder of hostile cannon and the cheers of sailors were heard upon
+yet another sheet of fresh water, before the quarrel between England
+and the United States was settled. In the north-east corner of New
+York State, and slightly overlapping the Canada line, lies Lake
+Champlain,&mdash;a picturesque sheet of water, narrow, and dotted with
+wooded islands. From the northern end of the lake flows the Richelieu
+River, which follows a straight course through Canada to the St.
+Lawrence, into which it empties. The long, navigable water-way thus
+open from Canada to the very heart of New York was to the British a
+most tempting path for an invading expedition. By the shore of the
+lake a road wound along; thus smoothing the way for a land force,
+whose advance might be protected by the fire of the naval force that
+should proceed up the lake. Naturally, so admirable an international
+highway early attracted the attention of the military authorities of
+both belligerents; and, while the British pressed forward their
+preparations for an invading expedition, the Americans hastened to
+make such arrangements as should give them control of the lake. Her
+European wars, however, made so great a demand for soldiers upon Great
+Britain, that not until 1814 could she send to America a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page559" name="page559"></a>(p. 559)</span>
+sufficient force to undertake the invasion of the United States from
+the north. In the spring of that year, a force of from ten thousand to
+fifteen thousand troops, including several thousand veterans who had
+served under Wellington, were massed at Montreal; and in May a move
+was made by the British to get control of the lake, before sending
+their invading forces into New York. The British naval force already
+in the Richelieu River, and available for service, consisted of a
+brig, two sloops, and twelve or fourteen gunboats. The American
+flotilla included a large corvette, a schooner, a small sloop, and ten
+gunboats, or galleys, propelled with oars. Seeing that the British
+were preparing for active hostilities, the Americans began to build,
+with all possible speed, a large brig; a move which the enemy promptly
+met by pushing forward with equal energy the construction of a
+frigate. While the new vessels were on the stocks, an irregular
+warfare was carried on by those already in commission. At the opening
+of the season, the American vessels lay in Otter Creek; and, just as
+they were ready to leave port, the enemy appeared off the mouth of the
+creek with a force consisting of the brig "Linnet" and eight or ten
+galleys. The object of the British was to so obstruct the mouth of the
+creek that the Americans should be unable to come out. With this end
+in view, they had brought two sloops laden with stones, which they
+intended to sink in the narrow channel. But, luckily, the Americans
+had thrown up earthworks at the mouth of the river; and a party of
+sailors so worked the guns, that, after much man&oelig;uvring, the
+British were forced to retire without effecting their purpose.</p>
+
+<p>About the middle of August, the Americans launched their new brig, the
+"Eagle;" and the little squadron put out at once into the lake, under
+command of Capt. Thomas Macdonough. Eight days later, the British got
+their new ship, the "Confiance," into the water. She possessed one
+feature new to American naval architecture,&mdash;a furnace in which to
+heat cannon-balls.</p>
+
+<p>By this time (September, 1814), the invading column of British
+veterans, eleven thousand strong, had begun its march into New York
+along the west shore of the lake. Two thousand Americans only could be
+gathered to dispute their progress; and these, under the command of
+Brigadier-Gen. Macomb, were gathered at Plattsburg. To this point,
+accordingly, Macdonough took his fleet, and awaited the coming of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page560" name="page560"></a>(p. 560)</span> enemy; knowing that if he could beat back the fleet of the
+British, their land forces, however powerful, would be forced to cease
+their advance. The fleet that he commanded consisted of the flagship
+"Saratoga," carrying eight long twenty-four-pounders, six
+forty-two-pound and twelve thirty-two-pound carronades; the brig
+"Eagle," carrying eight long eighteens, and twelve thirty-two-pound
+carronades; schooner "Ticonderoga," with eight long twelve-pounders,
+four long eighteen-pounders, and five thirty-two-pound carronades;
+sloop "Preble," with seven long nines; and ten galleys. The commander
+who ruled over this fleet was a man still in his twenty-ninth year.
+The successful battles of the War of 1812 were fought by young
+officers, and the battle of Lake Champlain was no exception to the
+rule.</p>
+
+<p>The British force which came into battle with Macdonough's fleet was
+slightly superior. It was headed by the flagship "Confiance," a
+frigate of the class of the United States ship "Constitution,"
+carrying thirty long twenty-fours, a long twenty-four-pounder on a
+pivot, and six thirty-two or forty-two pound carronades. The other
+vessels were the "Linnet," a brig mounting sixteen long twelves; and
+the "Chubb" and "Finch" (captured from the Americans under the names
+of "Growler" and "Eagle"),&mdash;sloops carrying respectively ten
+eighteen-pound carronades and one long six; and six eighteen-pound
+carronades, four long sixes, and one short eighteen. To these were
+added twelve gunboats, with varied armaments, but each slightly
+heavier than the American craft of the same class.</p>
+
+<p>The 11th of September had been chosen by the British for the combined
+land and water attack upon Plattsburg. With the movements of the land
+forces, this narrative will not deal. The brunt of the conflict fell
+upon the naval forces, and it was the success of the Americans upon
+the water that turned the faces of the British invaders toward Canada.</p>
+
+<p>The village of Plattsburg stands upon the shore of a broad bay which
+communicates with Lake Champlain by an opening a mile and a half wide,
+bounded upon the north by Cumberland Head, and on the south by Crab
+Island. In this bay, about two miles from the western shore,
+Macdonough's fleet lay anchored in double line, stretching north and
+south. The four large vessels were in the front rank, prepared to meet
+the brunt of the conflict; while the galleys formed a second line in
+the rear. The morning of the day of battle dawned clear, with a brisk
+north-east <span class="pagenum"><a id="page561" name="page561"></a>(p. 561)</span> wind blowing. The British were stirring early,
+and at daybreak weighed anchor and came down the lake. Across the
+low-lying isthmus that connected Cumberland Head with the mainland,
+the Americans could see their adversaries' topmasts as they came down
+to do battle. At this sight, Macdonough called his officers about him,
+and, kneeling upon the quarter-deck, besought Divine aid in the
+conflict so soon to come. When the little group rose from their knees,
+the leading ship of the enemy was seen swinging round Cumberland Head;
+and the men went to their quarters to await the fiery trial that all
+knew was impending.</p>
+
+<p>The position of the American squadron was such that the British were
+forced to attack "bows on," thus exposing themselves to a raking fire.
+By means of springs on their cables, the Americans were enabled to
+keep their broadsides to the enemy, and thus improve, to the fullest,
+the advantage gained by their position. The British came on gallantly,
+and were greeted by four shots from the long eighteens of the "Eagle,"
+that had no effect. But, at the sound of the cannon, a young game-cock
+that was running at large on the "Saratoga" flew upon a gun, flapped
+his wings, and crowed thrice, with so lusty a note that he was heard
+far over the waters. The American seamen, thus roused from the painful
+revery into which the bravest fall before going into action, cheered
+lustily, and went into the fight, encouraged as only sailors could be
+by the favorable omen.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the defiant game-cock had thus cast down the gage of
+battle, Macdonough sighted and fired the first shot from one of the
+long twenty-four pounders of the "Saratoga." The heavy ball crashed
+into the bow of the "Confiance," and cut its way aft, killing and
+wounding several men, and demolishing the wheel. Nothing daunted, the
+British flagship came on grandly, making no reply, and seeking only to
+cast anchor alongside the "Saratoga," and fight it out yard-arm to
+yard-arm. But the fire of the Americans was such that she could not
+choose her distance; but after having been badly cut up, with both her
+port anchors shot away, was forced to anchor at a distance of a
+quarter of a mile. But her anchor had hardly touched bottom, when she
+suddenly flashed out a sheet of flames, as her rapid broadsides rung
+out and her red-hot shot sped over the water toward the American
+flagship. Her first broadside killed or wounded forty of the
+Americans; while many more were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page562" name="page562"></a>(p. 562)</span> knocked down by the shock,
+but sustained no further injury. So great was the carnage, that the
+hatches were opened, and the dead bodies passed below, that the men
+might have room to work the guns. Among the slain was Mr. Gamble, the
+first lieutenant, who was on his knees sighting a gun, when a shot
+entered the port, split the quoin, drove a great piece of metal
+against his breast, and stretched him dead upon the deck without
+breaking his skin. By a singular coincidence, fifteen minutes later a
+shot from one of the "Saratoga's" guns struck the muzzle of a
+twenty-four on the "Confiance," and, dismounting it, hurled it against
+Capt. Downie's groin, killing him instantly without breaking the skin;
+a black mark about the size of a small plate was the sole visible
+injury.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean time, the smaller vessels had become engaged, and were
+fighting with no less courage than the flag-ships. The "Chubb" had
+early been disabled by a broadside from the "Eagle," and drifted
+helplessly under the guns of the "Saratoga." After receiving a shot
+from that vessel, she struck, and was taken possession of by
+Midshipman Platt, who put off from the flagship in an open boat,
+boarded the prize, and took her into Plattsburg Bay, near the mouth of
+the Saranac. More than half her people were killed or wounded during
+the short time she was in the battle. The "Linnet," in the mean time,
+had engaged the "Eagle," and poured in her broadsides with such effect
+that the springs on the cables of the American were cut away, and she
+could no longer bring her broadsides to bear. Her captain therefore
+cut his cables, and soon gained a position from which he could bring
+his guns to bear upon the "Confiance." The "Linnet" thereupon dashed
+in among the American gunboats, and, driving them off, commenced a
+raking fire upon the "Saratoga." The "Finch," meanwhile, had ranged
+gallantly up alongside the "Ticonderoga," but was sent out of the
+fight by two broadsides from the American. She drifted helplessly
+before the wind, and soon grounded near Crab Island. On the island was
+a hospital, and an abandoned battery mounting one six-pound gun. Some
+of the convalescent patients, seeing the enemy's vessel within range,
+opened fire upon her from the battery, and soon forced her to haul
+down her flag. Nearly half her crew were killed or wounded. Almost at
+the same moment, the United States sloop "Preble" was forced out of
+the fight by the British <span class="pagenum"><a id="page563" name="page563"></a>(p. 563)</span> gunboats, that pressed so fiercely
+upon her that she cut her cables and drifted inshore.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo563" name="illo563"></a>
+<img src="images/563_hiram_paulding_fires_the_guns.jpg" width="500" height="376" alt="" title="">
+<p>Hiram Paulding fires the Guns.</p></div>
+
+<p>The "Ticonderoga" fought a gallant fight throughout. After ridding
+herself of the "Finch," she had a number of the British gunboats to
+contend with; and they pressed forward to the attack with a gallantry
+that showed them to be conscious of the fact, that, if this vessel
+could be carried, the American line would be turned, and the day won
+by the English. But the American schooner fought stubbornly. Her
+gallant commander, Lieut. Cassin, walked up and down the taffrail,
+heedless of the grape and musket-balls that whistled past his head,
+pointing out to the gunners the spot whereon to train the guns, and
+directing them to load with canister and bags of bullets when the
+enemy came too near. The gunners of the schooner were terribly
+hampered in their work by the lack of matches for the guns; for the
+vessel was new, and the absence of these very essential articles was
+unnoticed until too late. The guns of one division were fired
+throughout the fight by Hiram Paulding, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page564" name="page564"></a>(p. 564)</span> a sixteen-year-old
+midshipman, who flashed his pistol at the priming of the guns as soon
+as aim was taken. When no gun was ready for his services, he rammed a
+ball into his weapon and discharged it at the enemy. The onslaught of
+the British was spirited and determined. Often they pressed up within
+a boat-hook's length of the schooner, only to be beaten back by her
+merciless fire. Sometimes so few were left alive in the galleys that
+they could hardly man the oars to pull out of the fight. In this way
+the "Ticonderoga" kept her enemies at bay while the battle was being
+decided between the "Saratoga" and the "Confiance."</p>
+
+<p>For it was upon the issue of the conflict between these two ships,
+that victory or defeat depended. Each had her ally and satellite.
+Under the stern of the "Saratoga" lay the "Linnet," pouring in raking
+broadsides. The "Confiance," in turn, was suffering from the
+well-directed fire of the "Eagle." The roar of the artillery was
+unceasing, and dense clouds of gunpowder-smoke hid the warring ships
+from the eyes of the eager spectators on shore. The "Confiance" was
+unfortunate in losing her gallant captain early in the action, while
+Macdonough was spared to fight his ship to the end. His gallantry and
+activity, however, led him to expose himself fearlessly; and twice he
+narrowly escaped death. He worked like a common sailor, loading and
+firing a favorite twenty-four-pound gun; and once, while on his knees,
+sighting the piece, a shot from the "Confiance" cut in two the
+spanker-boom, a great piece of which fell heavily upon the captain's
+head, stretching him senseless upon the deck. He lay motionless for
+two or three minutes, and his men mourned him as dead; but suddenly
+his activity returned, and he leaped to his feet, and was soon again
+in the thick of the fight. In less than five minutes the cry again
+arose, that the captain was killed. He had been standing at the breach
+of his favorite cannon, when a round shot took off the head of the
+captain of the gun, and dashed it with terrific force into the face of
+Macdonough, who was driven across the deck, and hurled against the
+bulwarks. He lay an instant, covered with the blood of the slain man;
+but, hearing his men cry that he was killed, he rushed among them, to
+cheer them on with his presence.</p>
+
+<p>And, indeed, at this moment the crew of the "Saratoga" needed the
+presence of their captain to cheer them on to further exertion. The
+red-hot shot of the "Confiance" had twice set fire to the American
+ship. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page565" name="page565"></a>(p. 565)</span> The raking fire from the "Linnet" had dismounted
+carronades and long guns one by one, until but a single serviceable
+gun was left in the starboard battery. A too heavy charge dismounted
+this piece, and threw it down the hatchway, leaving the frigate
+without a single gun bearing upon the enemy. In such a plight the
+hearts of the crew might well fail them. But Macdonough was ready for
+the emergency. He still had his port broadside untouched, and he at
+once set to work to swing the ship round so that this battery could be
+brought to bear. An anchor was let fall astern, and the whole ship's
+company hauled in on the hawser, swinging the ship slowly around. It
+was a dangerous man&oelig;uvre; for, as the ship veered round, her stern
+was presented to the "Linnet," affording an opportunity for raking,
+which the gunners on that plucky little vessel immediately improved.
+But patience and hard pulling carried the day; and gradually the heavy
+frigate was turned sufficiently for the after gun to bear, and a gun's
+crew was at once called from the hawsers to open fire. One by one the
+guns swung into position, and soon the whole broadside opened with a
+roar.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the "Confiance" had attempted the same man&oelig;uvre. But her
+anchors were badly placed; and, though her people worked gallantly,
+they failed to get the ship round. She bore for some time the
+effective fire from the "Saratoga's" fresh broadside, but, finding
+that she could in no way return the fire, struck her flag, two hours
+and a quarter after the battle commenced. Beyond giving a hasty cheer,
+the people of the "Saratoga" paid little attention to the surrender of
+their chief enemy, but instantly turned their guns upon the "Linnet."
+In this combat the "Eagle" could take no part, and the thunder of her
+guns died away. Farther down the bay, the "Ticonderoga" had just
+driven away the last of the British galleys; so that the "Linnet" now
+alone upheld the cause of the enemy. She was terribly outmatched by
+her heavier foe, but her gallant captain Pring kept up a desperate
+defence. Her masts and rigging were hopelessly shattered; and no
+course was open to her, save to surrender, or fight a hopeless fight.
+Capt. Pring sent off a lieutenant, in an open boat, to ascertain the
+condition of the "Confiance." The officer returned with the report
+that Capt. Downie was killed, and the frigate terribly cut up; and as
+by this time the water, pouring in the shot-holes in the "Linnet's"
+hull, had risen a foot above the lower deck, her flag <span class="pagenum"><a id="page566" name="page566"></a>(p. 566)</span> was
+hauled down, and the battle ended in a decisive triumph for the
+Americans.</p>
+
+<p>Terrible was the carnage, and many and strange the incidents, of this
+most stubbornly contested naval battle. All of the prizes were in a
+sinking condition. In the hull of the "Confiance" were a hundred and
+five shot-holes, while the "Saratoga" was pierced by fifty-five. Not a
+mast that would bear canvas was left standing in the British fleet;
+those of the flagship were splintered like bundles of matches, and the
+sails torn to rags. On most of the enemy's vessels, more than half of
+the crews were killed or wounded. The loss on the British side
+probably aggregated three hundred. Midshipman William Lee of the
+"Confiance" wrote home after the battle, "The havoc on both sides was
+dreadful. I don't think there are more than five of our men, out of
+three hundred, but what are killed or wounded. Never was a shower of
+hail so thick as the shot whistling about our ears. Were you to see my
+jacket, waistcoat, and trousers, you would be astonished to know how I
+escaped as I did; for they are literally torn all to rags with shot
+and splinters. The upper part of my hat was also shot away. There is
+one of the marines who was in the Trafalgar action with Lord Nelson,
+who says it was a mere flea-bite in comparison with this."</p>
+
+<p>The Americans, though victorious, had suffered greatly. Their loss
+amounted to about two hundred men. The "Saratoga" had been cut up
+beyond the possibility of repair. Her decks were covered with dead and
+dying. The shot of the enemy wrought terrible havoc in the ranks of
+the American officers. Lieut. Stansbury of the "Ticonderoga" suddenly
+disappeared in the midst of the action; nor could any trace of him be
+found, until, two days later, his body, cut nearly in two by a round
+shot, rose from the waters of the lake. Lieut. Vallette of the
+"Saratoga" was knocked down by the head of a sailor, sent flying by a
+cannon-ball. Some minutes later he was standing on a shot-box giving
+orders, when a shot took the box from beneath his feet, throwing him
+heavily upon the deck. Mr. Brum, the master, a veteran man-o'-war's
+man, was struck by a huge splinter, which knocked him down, and
+actually stripped every rag of clothing from his body. He was thought
+to be dead, but soon re-appeared at his post, with a strip of canvas
+about his waist, and fought bravely until the end of the action. Some
+days before the battle, a gentleman <span class="pagenum"><a id="page567" name="page567"></a>(p. 567)</span> of Oswego gave one of
+the sailors a glazed tarpaulin hat, of the kind then worn by seamen. A
+week later the sailor re-appeared, and, handing him the hat with a
+semi-circular cut in the crown and brim, made while it was on his head
+by a cannon-shot, remarked calmly, "Look here, Mr. Sloane, how the
+damned John Bulls have spoiled my hat!"</p>
+
+<p>The last British flag having been hauled down, an officer was sent to
+take possession of the "Confiance." In walking along her gun-deck, he
+accidentally ran against a ratline, by which one of her starboard guns
+was discharged. At this sound, the British galleys and gunboats, which
+had been lying quietly with their ensigns down, got out oars and moved
+off up the lake. The Americans had no vessels fit for pursuing them,
+and they were allowed to escape. In the afternoon the British officers
+came to the American flagship to complete the surrender. Macdonough
+met them courteously; and, on their offering their swords, put them
+back, saying, "Gentlemen, your gallant conduct makes you worthy to
+wear your weapons. Return them to their scabbards." By sundown the
+surrender was complete, and Macdonough sent off to the Secretary of
+the Navy a despatch, saying, "<span class="italic">Sir,</span>&mdash;The Almighty has been pleased to
+grant us a signal victory on Lake Champlain, in the capture of one
+frigate, one brig, and two sloops-of-war of the enemy."</p>
+
+<p>Some days later, the captured ships, being beyond repair, were taken
+to the head of the lake, and scuttled. Some of the guns were found to
+be still loaded; and, in drawing the charges, one gun was found with a
+canvas bag containing two round shot rammed home, and wadded, without
+any powder; another gun contained two cartridges and no shot; and a
+third had a wad rammed down before the powder, thus effectually
+preventing the discharge of the piece. The American gunners were not
+altogether guiltless of carelessness of this sort. Their chief error
+lay in ramming down so many shot upon the powder that the force of the
+explosion barely carried the missiles to the enemy. In proof of this,
+the side of the "Confiance" was thickly dotted with round shot, which
+had struck into, but failed to penetrate, the wood.</p>
+
+<p>The result of this victory was immediate and gratifying. The land
+forces of the British, thus deprived of their naval auxiliaries,
+turned about, and retreated to Canada, abandoning forever their
+projected invasion. New York was thus saved by Macdonough's skill and
+bravery. Yet the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page568" name="page568"></a>(p. 568)</span> fame he won by his victory was not nearly
+proportionate to the naval ability he showed, and the service he had
+rendered to his country. Before the popular adulation of Perry,
+Macdonough sinks into second place. One historian only gives him the
+pre-eminence that is undoubtedly his due. Says Mr. Theodore Roosevelt,
+in his admirable history, "The Naval War of 1812," "But Macdonough in
+this battle won a higher fame than any other commander of the war,
+British or American. He had a decidedly superior force to contend
+against, and it was solely owing to his foresight and resource that we
+won the victory. He forced the British to engage at a disadvantage by
+his excellent choice of position, and he prepared beforehand for every
+possible contingency. His personal prowess had already been shown at
+the cost of the rovers of Tripoli, and in this action he helped fight
+the guns as ably as the best sailor. His skill, seamanship, quick eye,
+readiness of resource, and indomitable pluck are beyond all praise.
+Down to the time of the civil war, he is the greatest figure in our
+naval history. A thoroughly religious man, he was as generous and
+humane as he was skilful and brave. One of the greatest of our sea
+captains, he has left a stainless name behind him."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_568.jpg" width="300" height="52" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page569" name="page569"></a>(p. 569)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader">
+<img src="images/deco_start_569.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -120px; margin-left: 360px;">
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XIV.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">ON THE OCEAN. &mdash; THE WORK OF THE SLOOPS-OF-WAR. &mdash; LOSS OF THE
+"FROLIC." &mdash; FRUITLESS CRUISE OF THE "ADAMS." &mdash; THE "PEACOCK" TAKES THE
+"ÉPERVIER." &mdash; THE CRUISE OF THE "WASP." &mdash; SHE CAPTURES THE
+"REINDEER." &mdash; SINKS THE "AVON." &mdash; MYSTERIOUS END OF THE "WASP."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he opening of the year 1814 found the American coast still rigidly
+blockaded by the British men-of-war. Two or three of the enemy lay off
+the mouth of every considerable harbor, and were not to be driven from
+their post by the icy winds and storms of midwinter on the American
+coast. It was almost impossible for any American vessel to escape to
+sea, and a matter of almost equal difficulty for such vessels as were
+out to get into a home port. The frigate "President" had put to sea
+early in December, 1813, and after a cruise of eight weeks, during
+which the traditional ill-luck of the ship pursued her remorselessly,
+managed to dash into New York Harbor past the blockading squadron. At
+Boston the blockade was broken by the "Constitution." She left port on
+the 1st of January, ran off to the southward, and cruised <span class="pagenum"><a id="page570" name="page570"></a>(p. 570)</span>
+for some weeks in the West Indies. Here she captured the British
+man-of-war schooner "Pictou," fourteen guns, and several
+merchant-vessels. She also fell in with the British thirty-six-gun
+frigate "Pique," which fled, and escaped pursuit by cutting through a
+narrow channel during a dark and squally night. The "Constitution"
+then returned to the coast of the United States, and narrowly escaped
+falling into the clutches of two British frigates. She managed to gain
+the shelter of Marblehead Harbor, and there remained until the latter
+part of the year.</p>
+
+<p>But, while the larger vessels were thus accomplishing little or
+nothing, two or three small sloops-of-war, of a class newly built,
+slipped through the enemy's lines, and, gaining the open sea, fought
+one or two notable actions. Of these, the first vessel to get to sea
+was the new sloop-of-war "Frolic;" but her career was short and
+inglorious, for she had been at sea but a few weeks when she fell in
+with the enemy's frigate "Orpheus" and the schooner "Shelburne." A
+chase ensued, in which the American vessel threw overboard her guns
+and anchors, and started the water; but to no avail, for she was
+overhauled, and forced to surrender. Her service afloat was limited to
+the destruction of a Carthagenian privateer, which sunk before her
+guns, carrying down nearly a hundred men.</p>
+
+<p>The "Adams," a vessel that had suffered many vicissitudes,&mdash;having
+been built for a frigate, then cut down to a sloop-of-war, and finally
+been sawed asunder and converted into a corvette,&mdash;put to sea on the
+18th of January, under the command of Capt. Charles Morris, formerly
+of the "Constitution." She laid her course straight to the eastward,
+and for some time cruised off the western coast of Africa and the
+Canary Isles. She met with but little success in this region,
+capturing only three brigs,&mdash;the cargo of one of which consisted of
+wine and fruit; and the second, of palm-oil and ivory. Abandoning the
+African coast, the corvette turned westward along the equator, and
+made for the West Indies. A large Indiaman fell in her way, and was
+brought to; but, before the Americans could take possession of their
+prize, a British fleet of twenty-five sail, with two men-of-war, hove
+in sight, and the "Adams" was forced to seek safety in flight. She put
+into Savannah for provisions and water, but, hearing that the enemy
+was in force near by, worked out to sea, and made sail for another
+cruise. Capt. Morris took up a position on the limits of the Gulf
+Stream, near the Florida coast, in the expectation of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page571" name="page571"></a>(p. 571)</span>
+cutting out an Indiaman from some passing convoy. The expected fleet
+soon came, but was under the protection of a seventy-four, two
+frigates, and three brigs,&mdash;a force sufficient to keep at bay the most
+audacious of corvettes. Morris hung about the convoy for two days, but
+saw no chance of eluding the watchful guards. He then crossed the
+Atlantic to the coast of Ireland. Here the "Adams" narrowly escaped
+capture; for she was sighted by a frigate, which gave chase, and would
+have overhauled her, had not the Americans thrown overboard some small
+cannon, and cut away their anchors. Thus lightened, the corvette sped
+away, and soon left her pursuers behind.</p>
+
+<p>Continued ill-fortune now reduced the spirits of the sailors of the
+"Adams" to very low ebb. They were forced to struggle unceasingly
+against the fierce gales which in winter sweep the Atlantic. Their
+stock of food and water was giving out; and, to add to their distress,
+scurvy, the sailors' worst enemy, began to show itself in the ship.
+They had boldly run into the very waters in which the "Argus" had won
+so rich a reward, yet not a sail gladdened the eyes of the lookout on
+the "Adams." It was then with great disappointment that the jackies
+saw the prow of the corvette turned homeward, after a cruise that
+would bring them neither honor nor prize-money. The passage homeward
+was quickly made, and on the 16th of August the vessel was in
+soundings off the coast of Maine. Night fell, with a dense fog
+concealing all landmarks from view. Through the darkness the corvette
+sped on at a pace of eleven miles an hour, until, just as day was
+breaking, the cry of "Breakers ahead!" was followed by a heavy blow,
+indicating that the ship had struck. The force of the blow had not
+been sufficient to stave in the bottom,&mdash;a fortunate fact, for the
+hold was full of prisoners. Nevertheless, she was hard and fast
+aground, on a ledge of rock that lifted her bow six feet above her
+stern. Morris, who had rushed upon deck at the first alarm, was unable
+to make out the ship's position, and feared that they were on Cashes
+Ledge, a reef so far from the land that it would have been impossible
+to save in the boats more than half the crew. He had determined,
+however, to instantly lower the boats and send them off in search of
+land, when a gust of wind, blowing away the fog, showed a beetling
+cliff not a hundred yards away. Rugged and inhospitable as was the
+coast thus exposed, it was better than an expanse of ocean; and at
+once Morris set to work landing his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page572" name="page572"></a>(p. 572)</span> prisoners, and the sick,
+of whom the "Adams" had nearly sixty. With spare sails, tents were put
+up on the beach; and, stores having been landed, the comfort of all
+was assured, in case the ship should go to pieces. What the desolate
+shore was to which they were thus forced to turn for shelter, no one
+knew.</p>
+
+<p>All hands now turned to at the capstan, in the hopes of getting the
+vessel off; and about noon, the tide having reached its flood, she
+gradually slid off the ledge into deep water. After trying the pumps,
+to see if any serious leak had been started, the difficult task of
+taking the ship out of the labyrinth of reefs in which she lay was
+begun. For more than two miles their course lay through a narrow and
+tortuous channel, bordered on either side with jagged reefs; but the
+corvette safely threaded her way between the rocks, and soon lay
+floating in deep water. The next morning the fog blew away; and the
+voyagers discovered to their astonishment that they were off Mount
+Desert, instead of near Portsmouth as they had expected.</p>
+
+<p>To return into the cluster of reefs after the little colony of
+invalids and prisoners that had been left behind, would have been mere
+folly: so sending two fishing-boats to search out the shore party, and
+carry them to the nearest village, the "Adams" continued her course,
+intending to put into the Penobscot River. While making for this
+point, a sail was sighted, which proved to be the British brig-sloop
+"Rifleman." The corvette gave chase, but the Englishman kept well in
+the offing; and, as the condition of the American crew was such that
+to lead them into action would have been imprudent, Morris abandoned
+the pursuit, and, putting into the Penobscot, dropped anchor off
+Hampden. Here, for the present, we will leave the "Adams."</p>
+
+<p>The "Peacock"&mdash;a second of the new sloops-of-war, bearing the name of
+a captured British vessel&mdash;put out from New York in March, and made
+her way to the southward, selecting as her cruising station the waters
+off the coast of Florida. For some time it seemed that the exertions
+of the sailors were to be of no avail. Not a sail was to be seen, and
+the chances for prize-money seemed to be small indeed. But on the 29th
+of March three merchant-vessels were made out in the offing; while a
+heavy-built, square-rigged, trim-looking craft that hovered about them
+was evidently a man-of-war. The strangers seemed to have sighted the
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page573" name="page573"></a>(p. 573)</span> American vessel; for the merchantmen were seen to hastily
+haul up and run off to the north-east, while the man-of-war edged away
+for the American ship.</p>
+
+<p>The stranger was His British Majesty's brig sloop-of-war "Epervier,"
+of eighteen guns, and carrying a crew of one hundred and twenty-eight
+men. The "Peacock" was a ship-sloop of twenty-two guns, with a crew of
+one hundred and sixty-six men. The advantage, therefore, lay with the
+Americans; but, in the battle that ensued, the damage they inflicted
+upon the enemy was out of any proportion to their excess of strength.</p>
+
+<p>The two ships bore down gallantly upon each other, and at a little
+after ten in the morning passed, exchanging heavy broadsides. The shot
+of each took effect in the rigging; but the "Peacock" suffered the
+more, having her foreyard totally disabled,&mdash;an injury that compelled
+her to run large during the rest of the action, and forego all
+attempts at man&oelig;uvring. The two vessels having passed each other,
+the "Epervier" eased off, and returned to the fight, running on a
+parallel course with the American ship. The interchange of broadsides
+then became very rapid; but the British marksmanship was poor, and few
+of their shot took effect. The "Epervier," on the contrary, suffered
+severely from the American fire, which took effect in her hull,
+dismounting several guns, and so injuring the brig that a British
+naval officer, writing of the action some years later, said, "The most
+disgraceful part of the affair was that our ship was cut to pieces,
+and the enemy hardly scratched."</p>
+
+<p>The injury aloft which both vessels sustained caused the battle to
+take on the character of an action at long range. Under such
+conditions, the victory was assured to the side showing the best
+gunnery. For a moment only did it seem that the vessels were likely to
+come to close quarters, and the English captain seized that occasion
+to call up his boarders. But they refused, saying, "She's too heavy
+for us." And a few minutes later the Englishman hauled down his flag,
+having lost nine killed or mortally wounded, and fourteen wounded. The
+Americans had suffered but little; only two men being injured, and
+these but slightly. The shot of the enemy had passed through the
+rigging of the "Peacock," while the "Epervier" had been hulled
+forty-five times.</p>
+
+<p>The "Epervier" proved to be a valuable prize. In her hold specie to
+the amount of one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars was found;
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page574" name="page574"></a>(p. 574)</span> and, when the brig was sold to the United States Government,
+she brought fifty-five thousand dollars: so that the prize-money won
+by that action kept the sailors in good-humor for many months to come.
+But, before the prize could be safely carried into an American port,
+she had a gantlet to run, in which she narrowly escaped capture. After
+the wreck of battle had been cleared away, the brig and her captor
+made for Savannah, but were sighted and chased by two British
+frigates. The "Peacock," in the hope of drawing away the pursuers,
+left her prize, and headed out to sea. One frigate only followed her,
+and the other pressed on hotly after the "Epervier," which, to avoid
+capture, was forced to run into shallow water, whither the heavy
+frigate could not follow her. But she was not to escape so easily; for
+the boats of the frigate were lowered, filled with armed men, and set
+out in pursuit of the brig, which moved but slowly before the light
+breeze then blowing. The boats soon overhauled the fugitive, and
+escape seemed hopeless; for the "Epervier" was manned by a prize-crew
+of only sixteen men. But Lieut. Nicholson, who was in command,
+determined to try the effect of bluster. Accordingly he leaped upon
+the taffrail, with a speaking-trumpet in his hand, and shouted out
+orders as if calling a huge crew to quarters. The British, who were
+within easy range, stopped their advance, and, fearing a destructive
+broadside from the brig's guns, turned and fled precipitately. The
+"Epervier" continued her course, and reached Savannah in safety on the
+1st of May. The "Peacock" reached the same port four days later.</p>
+
+<p>At the moment when the captured "Epervier," flying the stars and
+stripes, was proudly making her way up the harbor of Savannah amid the
+plaudits of the people of the little city, there sailed from
+Portsmouth, N.H., a vessel that was destined to fight a good fight for
+the honor of that starry banner; and, after winning a glorious
+victory, to disappear forever from the face of the ocean, carrying to
+some unknown grave a crew of as brave hearts as ever beat under
+uniforms of navy blue.</p>
+
+<p>This was the new sloop of war "Wasp," named after the gallant little
+craft that had been taken by the British after her capture of the
+"Frolic." She was a stanch three-master, carrying eleven guns to a
+broadside. Her crew was purely American, not a foreigner among them;
+but all trained seamen from the seaboard villages and towns of New
+England,&mdash;the homes at that time of probably the hardiest seafaring
+population in the world. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page575" name="page575"></a>(p. 575)</span> Capt. Blakely, who commanded the
+vessel, had been attached to the "Enterprise" for some time, but had
+been ordered to the command of the "Wasp" a few days before the former
+vessel fought her successful battle with the "Boxer." Blakely, while
+in command of the "Enterprise," had greatly desired to meet an enemy
+worthy of his metal. Great, then, was his chagrin, when the
+"Enterprise," two weeks after he quitted her, fought her gallant
+battle. In a letter written in January, 1814, he says, "I shall ever
+view as one of the most unfortunate events of my life having quitted
+the 'Enterprise' at the moment I did. Had I remained in her a
+fortnight longer, my name might have been classed with those who stand
+so high. I cannot but consider it a mortifying circumstance that I
+left her but a few days before she fell in with the only enemy upon
+this station with which she could have creditably contended. I confess
+I felt heartily glad when I received my order to take command of the
+'Wasp,' conceiving that there was no hope of doing any thing in the
+'Enterprise.' But when I heard of the contest of the latter ship, and
+witnessed the great delay in the equipment of the former, I had no
+cause to congratulate myself. The 'Peacock' has ere this spread her
+plumage to the winds, and the 'Frolic' will soon take her revels on
+the ocean; but the 'Wasp' will, I fear, remain for some time a dull,
+harmless drone in the waters of her country."</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding his impatience, Blakely was forced to endure the
+restraints of Portsmouth navy-yard for nearly three months, while the
+"Wasp" was fitting out; but when she did finally get to sea, on May 1,
+1814, she proved herself to be far from a "dull, harmless drone."
+Slipping unobserved through the British blockading line, the "Wasp"
+made straight for the European coast before a fresh wind, and was soon
+cruising in the chops of the English channel, where the "Argus" had
+won her laurels and met with her defeat. Many English merchantmen were
+captured and burned, and the terror that spread in English shipping
+circles recalled the days of the "Argus."</p>
+
+<p>At daylight on the 28th of June, the "Wasp" sighted two merchantmen,
+and straightway gave chase. Soon a third vessel was discovered on the
+weather-beam; and, abandoning the vessels first sighted, the American
+bore down upon the stranger. She proved to be the "Reindeer," a
+British brig-sloop of eighteen guns, carrying a crew of one hundred
+and eighteen men. Although the British vessel was by no means a match
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page576" name="page576"></a>(p. 576)</span> in weight of metal for the "Wasp," her captain, William
+Manners, brought her into action with a cool gallantry which well
+justified his reputation as one of the bravest men in the British
+navy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo576" name="illo576"></a>
+<img src="images/576_boarding_the_reinder.jpg" width="400" height="550" alt="" title="">
+<p>Boarding the "Reindeer."</p></div>
+
+<p>At ten o'clock in the morning the ships were near enough to each other
+to exchange signals, but several hours were spent in man&oelig;uvring for
+the weather-gage; so that it was not until after three in the
+afternoon that the action fairly opened. The day was admirably
+suitable for a naval battle. Light clouds floated across the sky, and
+the gentle breeze that was blowing had sufficient strength to propel
+the ships without careening them. The surface of the ocean was
+unusually calm for that quarter, in which a rather choppy sea is
+usually running. Before the light breeze the "Wasp" came down upon her
+foe, bows on, with her decks cleared for action, and the men at their
+quarters. On the top-gallant forecastle of the "Reindeer" was mounted
+a twelve-pound carronade, and the action was opened by the discharge
+of this piece. In the position she then held, the "Wasp" was unable to
+reply; and her crew had to bear five effective shots from this gun
+without being able to fire a shot in return,&mdash;an ordeal that less
+well-disciplined crews might not have endured. For nine minutes the
+Americans returned not a shot; but then the "Wasp" luffed up, firing
+the guns from aft forward as they bore. The two ships were now lying
+broadside to broadside, not twenty yards apart, and every shot told.
+For ten minutes this position was held, and the two crews worked like
+Furies in loading and firing the great guns. The roar of the cannon
+was incessant, and the recoil of the heavy explosions deadened what
+little way the ships had on when fire was opened. Capt. Manners was
+too old an officer not to know, that, in an artillery duel of that
+kind, the victory would surely rest with the side that carried the
+heaviest guns: so he ran his vessel aboard the "Wasp" on the starboard
+quarter, intending to board and carry the day with the stubborn,
+dashing gallantry shown by British seamen when once led to an enemy's
+deck. At the ringing notes of the bugle, calling up the boarders, the
+British gathered aft, their faces begrimed with gunpowder, their arms
+bare, and their keen cutlasses firmly clutched in their strong right
+hands. The Americans took the alarm at once, and crowded forward to
+repel the enemy. The marines, whose hard duty it is in long-range
+fighting to stand with military impassiveness, drawn up in line on
+deck, while the shot whistle by them, and now and then cut great gaps
+in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page579" name="page579"></a>(p. 579)</span> their straight lines,&mdash;the marines came aft, with their
+muskets loaded and bayonets fixed. Before them were sailors with
+sharp-pointed boarding-pikes, ready to receive the enemy should he
+come aboard; while close under the bulwarks were grouped the boarders,
+ready with cutlass and pistol to beat back the flood of men that
+should come pouring over the side. The grating of the ships' sides
+told that the vessels were touching; and the next instant the burly
+British seamen, looming up like giants, as they dashed through the
+dense murkiness of the powder-smoke, were among the Americans, cutting
+and firing right and left. From the deck of the "Reindeer" the marines
+kept up a constant fire of musketry, to which the sea-soldiers of the
+"Wasp" responded vigorously. Marksmen posted in the tops of each
+vessel picked off men from their enemy's decks, choosing generally the
+officers.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo579" name="illo579"></a>
+<img src="images/579_the_captain_of_the_reinder.jpg" width="400" height="463" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Captain of the "Reindeer."</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page580" name="page580"></a>(p. 580)</span> Sharp and bloody though the British attack was, the boarders
+could make no way against the stubborn stand of the Americans. Capt.
+Manners, seeing his men beaten back, sprang forward to rally them. He
+was desperately wounded. A gun-shot had passed through his thighs, and
+a grape-shot had cut across the calves of his legs; but, maimed and
+bleeding to death as he was, he leaped into the rigging, and, cheering
+and waving his sword, called to his men to follow him to the decks of
+the Yankee. The Britons rallied nobly under the encouragement of their
+brave captain, and again advanced to the assault. But the figure of
+the daring officer, as he stood thus before his men, waving his sword
+and calling on them to come on, caught the eye of one of the men in
+the "Wasp's" maintop; and the next instant a ball crashed into the
+captain's brain, and he fell heavily to the deck, with his dying eyes
+turned upwards toward the flag in whose service he had given his life.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing the British captain fall and the men waver, Capt. Blakely with
+a cheer called up the boarders of the "Wasp;" and in an instant a
+stream of shouting sailors, cutlass in hand, was pouring over the
+hammock-nettings, and driving the foe backward on his own decks. The
+British still fought stubbornly; but their numbers were terribly
+thinned, and their officers had fallen one by one, until now the
+captain's clerk was the highest officer left. Seeing his men falling
+back before the resistless torrent of boarders, this gentleman finally
+struck the flag; and the battle ended, twenty-seven minutes after the
+"Reindeer" had fired the opening gun, and eighteen after the "Wasp"
+had responded.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo580" name="illo580"></a>
+<img src="images/580_the_end_of_the_reinder.jpg" width="500" height="458" alt="" title="">
+<p>The End of the "Reindeer."</p></div>
+
+<p>The execution and damage done on the "Reindeer" by the "Wasp's" shot
+were appalling. Of her crew of one hundred and eighteen men,
+thirty-three were killed or fatally wounded, and thirty-four were
+wounded. The havoc wrought among her officers has already been
+mentioned. Evidence of the accuracy and skill of the American gunners
+was to be seen in the fact that the brig was completely cut to pieces
+in the line of her ports. Her decks were swept clean of boats, spars,
+and rigging. Her masts were badly shattered, and her foremast soon
+went by the board. The "Wasp" had suffered severely, but was in much
+better condition than her captured adversary. Eleven of her crew were
+killed or mortally wounded, and fifteen were wounded severely or
+slightly. She had been hulled by six round and many grape shot, and
+her foremast had <span class="pagenum"><a id="page581" name="page581"></a>(p. 581)</span> been cut by a twenty-four-pound shot. A few
+hours' work cleared from her decks all trace of the bloody fight, and
+she was in condition for another action. But it would have been folly
+to try to get the crippled "Reindeer" to port from that region,
+swarming with British cruisers: so Capt. Blakely took the prisoners on
+the "Wasp," put a few of the wounded on a neutral vessel that happened
+to pass, and, burning the prize, made his way to the harbor of
+L'Orient. He had fought a brave fight, and come out victor after a
+desperate contest. But, though defeated, the plucky British might well
+boast of the gallant manner in which they engaged an enemy so much
+their superior in strength. History nowhere records a more gallant
+death than that of the British captain, who fell leading his men in a
+dashing but vain attempt to retrieve the day by boarding. In its
+man&oelig;uvring, in the courage and discipline of the crews, and in the
+gallantry of the two captains, the action of the "Wasp" and the
+"Reindeer" may well go down to history as a model naval duel of the
+age of sails.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page582" name="page582"></a>(p. 582)</span> The "Wasp" remained in port for several weeks, occupying the
+time in refitting, and filling the gaps in her crew by enlistment from
+the American privateers which then were to be seen occasionally in
+every port of the world. She then put out to sea, and soon fell in
+with a convoy of ten British merchantmen, under the protection of the
+seventy-four "Armada." Though he had no intention of giving battle to
+the line-of-battle ship, Blakely determined to capture one of the
+merchantmen; and to this end the "Wasp" hung upon the skirts of the
+convoy, making rapid dashes now at one vessel, then at another, and
+keeping the seventy-four in constant anxiety. Finally the swift little
+cruiser actually succeeded in capturing one of the vessels, and
+escaping before the heavy seventy-four could get to the scene of the
+conflict. The prize proved to be a valuable one, for she was laden
+with iron and brass cannon and military stores.</p>
+
+<p>Towards nightfall of the same day, Sept. 1, 1814, four more sail were
+sighted; and the "Wasp" at once made off in chase of the most
+weatherly. At eight o'clock the "Wasp" had gained so rapidly upon the
+chase, that the latter began firing with her stern chaser, and soon
+after opened with one of her lee guns. All the time the enemy kept up
+a vigorous signalling with rockets, lanterns, and guns. By half-past
+nine the "Wasp" was within hailing-distance, and an officer posted on
+the bow hailed the stranger several times; but as she returned no
+satisfactory answer, and refused to heave to, the "Wasp" opened upon
+her with a twelve-pound carronade, and soon after poured a broadside
+into her quarter. The two ships ploughed through the black water,
+under full sail, side by side. The Americans had no idea of the
+identity of their assailant, but, by the flashes of the guns, could
+see that she was a heavy brig. Her ports gleamed brightly with
+battle-lanterns; and the crowds of sailors in the tops, and the
+regularity of her fire, showed that she was a man-of-war with a
+well-disciplined crew, and no mere marauding privateer. For a time
+this running fight continued at such short range that the only
+American injured was struck by a wad from the enemy's cannon. The
+British gunners were poor marksmen, and the "Wasp" suffered but
+little; but it was evident that the American fire was taking effect,
+for gun after gun on the enemy was silenced. At ten o'clock the
+Americans, receiving no response to their carronade, stopped firing;
+and Capt. Blakely, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page583" name="page583"></a>(p. 583)</span> seizing a speaking-trumpet, shouted
+across the water, "Have you struck?" No answer came, and the enemy
+began a feeble fire. The "Wasp" let fly another broadside, and Blakely
+repeated the question. This time an affirmative response came through
+the darkness; and the "Wasp" stopped firing, and made preparations to
+take possession of her prize. Just as the boat was being lowered from
+the davits, the lookout's cry of "Sail, ho!" checked the proceedings.
+Through the black night a cloud of canvas could be seen far astern,
+denoting the presence of another ship, probably an enemy. The drums of
+the "Wasp" beat fiercely; and the men trooped back to their quarters,
+ready for a second battle. But in the mean time two more sail hove in
+sight, and there remained to the "Wasp" nothing but flight. She
+accordingly made off into the darkness, receiving one broadside from
+one of the newly arrived men-of-war as she departed. So suddenly was
+she forced to fly, that she was unable to learn the name and condition
+of the vessel she had forced to surrender.</p>
+
+<p>It became known in the United States later that the "Wasp's" adversary
+in the battle in the darkness was the British sloop-of-war "Avon," of
+eighteen guns. She was badly cut up by the fire of the American
+gunners, losing her mainmast early in the action. At the time she
+surrendered, she was in a sinking condition; and, had it not been for
+the timely arrival of the brig-sloop "Castilian" and the "Tartarus,"
+both British, the crew of the "Avon" would have been prisoners on the
+"Wasp," or carried to the bottom in the shattered hulk of their own
+ship. The loss on the "Avon" was ten killed and thirty-two wounded,
+while on the "Wasp" but three men were injured.</p>
+
+<p>Of all this the gallant Capt. Blakely was ignorant; and, indeed, it is
+probable that he never knew with whom he had fought his last battle.
+For the subsequent history of the "Wasp" is more tragic in its
+unfathomable mystery than is the fate of the bravest ship ever sent to
+the bottom by the broadsides of an enemy. What was the end of the
+"Wasp," and where her bones now lie, no one knows. For some little
+time after her battle with the "Avon," her movements can be traced.
+Sept. 12, she captured the British brig "Three Brothers," and scuttled
+her; two days later, the brig "Bacchus" met the same fate at her
+hands. Sept. 21, she took the brig "Atlanta," eight guns; and, this
+being a valuable prize, Midshipman Geisinger of the "Wasp" was put on
+board, and took her <span class="pagenum"><a id="page584" name="page584"></a>(p. 584)</span> safely to Savannah. He brought the last
+news that was heard of the ill-fated cruiser for many years. Months
+passed, and lengthened into years; and still the "Wasp" came not into
+port, nor could any trace of her whereabouts be found. As time passed
+on, the attempts to account for her delay changed into theories as to
+the cause of her total disappearance. All sorts of rumors were afloat.
+According to one account, the ship was wrecked on the African coast,
+and her gallant lads were ending their weary lives as slaves to the
+turbaned Moors of Barbary. Another theory was based on the rumor that
+an English frigate went into Cadiz much crippled, and with her crew
+severely injured, and reported that she had been engaged with a heavy
+American corvette, which had so suddenly disappeared that she was
+thought to have sunk with all on board. But, as time passed on, the
+end of the "Wasp" was forgotten by all save a few whose hearts ached
+for some of the gallant lads thus blotted from the face of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Years after, the fate of the daring cruiser was again brought into
+remembrance by fresh news curiously found. When the officers and crew
+of the "Essex," after that vessel's gallant battle with the "Ph&oelig;be"
+and "Cherub," were sent to the United States under parole, two
+officers remained at Valparaiso, to give testimony before the
+prize-court. These gentlemen were Lieut. McKnight, and Mr. Lyman a
+master's mate. After going to Brazil in the "Ph&oelig;be," the two
+officers took passage in a Swedish brig bound for England. Months
+passed; and, nothing being heard from them, their friends became
+alarmed for their safety. In that time, before the day of the
+telegraph and steam transportation, many things might have easily
+detained the two officers for a year or more, and nothing be heard of
+them. But, when two years had passed, inquiries began to be made as to
+their fate, both by their friends and the naval authorities. The first
+step was to find the vessel upon which they had left Brazil. This was
+a work of time; so that it was many years after the disappearance of
+the officers when the brig was found lying at a London dock. She was
+the brig "Adonis," and the master proved to be the same who had
+commanded her when the two officers had taken passage. He readily
+recalled the circumstance, but claimed that the two passengers had
+left him in mid-ocean to go aboard an American man-of-war; and in
+proof of this he brought out the log-book, and, turning back to the
+year 1814, pointed out the following entries:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo584" name="illo584"></a>
+<img src="images/584_the_end_of_the_wasp.jpg" width="400" height="560" alt="" title="">
+<p>The End of the "Wasp."</p></div>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page587" name="page587"></a>(p. 587)</span> "<span class="smcap">Aug</span>. 23.&mdash;Left Rio de Janeiro; Stephen Decatur McKnight
+     and James Lyman, passengers for England.</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Oct</span>. 9.&mdash;At eight o'clock in the morning discovered a strange
+     sail giving chase to us, and fired several guns; she gaining very
+     fast. At half-past ten o'clock hove to, and was boarded by an
+     officer dressed in an English doctor's uniform; the vessel also
+     hoisted an English ensign. The officer proceeded to examine my
+     ship's papers, etc., likewise the letter-bags, and took from one
+     of them a letter to the victualling office, London. Finding I had
+     two American officers as passengers, he immediately left the
+     ship, and went on board the sloop-of-war. He shortly after
+     returned, took the American gentlemen with him, and went a second
+     time on board the ship. In about half an hour he returned, with
+     Messrs. McKnight and Lyman; and they informed me that the vessel
+     was the United States sloop-of-war 'Wasp,' commanded by Capt.
+     Blakely, or Blake, last from France, where she had refitted; had
+     lately sunk the 'Reindeer,' English sloop-of-war, and another
+     vessel, which sunk without their being able to save a single
+     person, or learn the vessel's name; that Messrs. McKnight and
+     Lyman had now determined to leave me and go on board the 'Wasp;'
+     paid me their passage in dollars, at 5<span class="italic">s.</span> 9<span class="italic">d.</span>; and, having
+     taken their luggage on board, the 'Wasp' made sail to the
+     southward. Shortly after they had left, I discovered that Lieut.
+     McKnight had left his writing-desk behind; and I immediately made
+     signal for the 'Wasp' to return, and stood towards her. They,
+     observing my signal, stood back, came alongside, and sent their
+     boat on board for the writing-desk; after which they sent me a
+     log-line and some other presents, and made all sail in a
+     direction for the line, and, I have reason to suppose, for the
+     convoy that passed on Thursday previous."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>And so the "Wasp," with her ill-fated crew thus re-enforced, passed
+forever from the sight of man. What was her course after leaving the
+"Adonis," none may ever know. Whether some chance spark, touching the
+deadly stores of her magazine, sent vessel and crew to a sudden but
+merciful death; or whether, after gallantly battling with some fierce
+tropical hurricane, she drifted about the trackless ocean a helpless
+hulk, with a slowly dying crew, carried hither and yon before the
+winds and the currents, until her timbers, rotting asunder, gave a
+watery sepulchre to her crew of lifeless bodies, must remain a mystery
+until the day when the sea shall give up its dead. But, until that day
+comes, the gallant deeds done by vessel and crew for the flag under
+which they served should keep the names of the "Wasp" and her men ever
+memorable in the annals of the great nation whose infancy they so
+gallantly protected.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page588" name="page588"></a>(p. 588)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_588.jpg" width="600" height="331" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XV.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">OPERATIONS ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. &mdash; THE BOMBARDMENT OF
+STONINGTON. &mdash; DESTRUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES CORVETTE
+"ADAMS." &mdash; OPERATIONS ON CHESAPEAKE BAY. &mdash; WORK OF BARNEY'S BARGE
+FLOTILLA. &mdash; ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH UPON WASHINGTON. &mdash; DESTRUCTION OF THE
+CAPITOL. &mdash; OPERATIONS AGAINST BALTIMORE. &mdash; BOMBARDMENT OF FORT McHENRY.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+remaining work of the British blockading squadrons along the
+Atlantic Coast demands some attention, and some account must be given
+of certain land actions which were inseparably connected with the
+course of naval events. This narrative can well be divided into two
+parts, each dealing with the operations of one section of the
+blockading fleet; thus tracing the course of events up to the close of
+the war on the New England coast, before taking up the proceedings on
+the Chesapeake station.</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that Decatur had been checked in his attempt to
+break the blockade at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, and was
+forced to take the frigates "United States" and "Macedonian," and the
+sloop-of-war "Hornet," into New London Harbor. Early in December,
+1813, he determined to try to slip out; and choosing a dark night,
+when wind and tide were in his favor, he dropped down the bay, and was
+about <span class="pagenum"><a id="page589" name="page589"></a>(p. 589)</span> to put to sea, when bright blue lights blazed up on
+either side of the harbor's mouth, and the plan was exposed by the
+treachery of some party never detected. After this failure, the two
+frigates returned up the river, where they remained until the end of
+the war. The "Hornet" managed to get to sea, and did good service
+before peace was declared.</p>
+
+<p>In April, 1814, the British blockaders on the New England coast began
+active operations by sending an expedition up the Connecticut River to
+Pautopaug Point, where the invaders landed, spiked the guns of a small
+battery, and destroyed twenty-two vessels. Thence they proceeded down
+the river, burning a few more craft on the way, and escaped safely to
+their ships; although a party of militia, and sailors and marines from
+Decatur's vessels, attempted to cut them off. Shortly after this
+occurrence, a fleet of American gunboats attacked the blockading
+squadron off New London, and succeeded in inflicting serious damages
+upon the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>In June, the enemy's depredations extended to the Massachusetts coast.
+The little village of Wareham was the first sufferer. A sudden descent
+made by boats' crews from the frigates "Superb" and "Nimrod" so
+completely surprised the inhabitants, that the enemy burned the
+shipping at the wharves, set fire to a factory, and retreated before
+the villagers fully comprehended the blow that had fallen upon them.
+Like occurrences took place at other coastwise towns; and, in every
+case, the militia proved powerless to check the enemy. All up and down
+the New England coast, from Maine to the mouth of the Connecticut
+River, the people were panic-stricken; and hardly a night passed
+without witnessing the flames of some bonfire kindled by the British
+out of American property.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo589" name="illo589"></a>
+<img src="images/589_the_descent_on_wareham.jpg" width="500" height="397" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Descent on Wareham.</p></div>
+
+<p>In August, 1814, Commodore Hardy appeared off Stonington with a fleet
+of several vessels, headed by the seventy-four "Ramillies." Casting
+anchor near shore, he sent to the mayor and selectmen the following
+curt note: "Not wishing to destroy the unoffending inhabitants
+residing in the town of Stonington, one hour is granted them, from the
+receipt of this, to remove out of town." This message naturally caused
+great consternation; and, while messengers were sent in all directions
+to call together the militia, the answer was returned to the fleet:
+"We shall defend the place to the last extremity. Should it be
+destroyed, we will <span class="pagenum"><a id="page590" name="page590"></a>(p. 590)</span> perish in its ruins." And, having thus
+defied the enemy, the farmers and fishermen who inhabited the town set
+about preparing for its defence. The one battery available for service
+consisted of two eighteen-pounders and a four-pounder, mounted behind
+earth breastworks. The gunners were put under the command of an old
+sailor, who had been impressed into the British navy, where he served
+four years. The skill he thus acquired in gunnery, he now gladly used
+against his former oppressors. It was near nightfall when the British
+opened fire; and they kept up a constant cannonade with round shot,
+bombs, Congreve rockets, and carcasses until near midnight, without
+doing the slightest damage. The bursting shells, the fiery rockets,
+and the carcasses filled with flaming chemicals, fairly filled the
+little wooden village with fire; but the exertions of the people
+prevented the spread of the flames. The fleet ceased firing at
+midnight, but there was no peace for the villagers. Militia-men were
+pouring in from the country round about, laborers were at work
+throwing up breastwork, carriers were dashing about in search of
+ammunition, and all was activity, until, with the first gleam of
+daylight, the fire of the ships was re-opened. The Americans promptly
+responded, and soon two eighteen-pound shot hulled the brig
+"Despatch." For an hour or two a rapid <span class="pagenum"><a id="page591" name="page591"></a>(p. 591)</span> fire was kept up;
+then, the powder giving out, the Americans spiked their largest gun,
+and, nailing a flag to the battery flagstaff, went in search of more
+ammunition. The British did not land; and the Americans, finding six
+kegs of powder, took the gun to a blacksmith, who drilled out the
+spike, and the action continued. So vigorous and well directed was the
+fire of the Americans, that the "Despatch" was forced to slip her
+cables and make off to a place of safety. That afternoon a truce was
+declared, which continued until eight the next morning. By that time,
+the Americans had assembled in sufficient force to defeat any landing
+party the enemy could send ashore. The bombardment of the town
+continued; but the aim of the British was so inconceivably poor, that,
+during the three days' firing, no damage was done by their shot. A
+more ludicrous fiasco could hardly be imagined, and the Americans were
+quick to see the comical side of the affair. Before departing, the
+British fired over fifteen tons of lead and iron into the town. A
+quantity of this was picked up by the Americans, and offered for sale.
+In a New York paper appeared the advertisement,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="quote">
+     "Just received, and offered for sale, about three tons of round
+     shot, consisting of six, nine, twelve, eighteen, twenty-four, and
+     thirty-two pounds; very handsome, being a small proportion of
+     those which were fired from His Britannic Majesty's ships on the
+     unoffending inhabitants of Stonington, in the recent <span class="italic">brilliant</span>
+     attack on that place. Likewise a few carcasses, in good order,
+     weighing about two hundred pounds each. Apply," etc.</p>
+
+<p>A popular bard of the time set forth in rollicking verse the exploits
+of the British gunners:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem20">
+<p>"They killed a goose, they killed a hen,<br>
+  Three hogs they wounded in a pen;<br>
+  They dashed away,&mdash;and pray what then?<br>
+<span class="add2em">That was not taking Stonington.</span></p>
+
+<p>"The shells were thrown, the rockets flew;<br>
+  But not a shell of all they threw&mdash;<br>
+  Though every house was full in view&mdash;<br>
+<span class="add2em">Could burn a house in Stonington."</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page592" name="page592"></a>(p. 592)</span> With this affair, in which the British expended ammunition to
+the amount of fifty thousand dollars, and lost twenty men killed and
+fifty wounded, active offensive operations along the Connecticut coast
+ended. Farther north, however, the British still raided towns and
+villages, showing more spirit in their attacks than did Hardy at
+Stonington. Eastport, Me., was captured in July, and converted into a
+veritable British colony. The inhabitants who remained in the town
+were forced to take an oath of allegiance to Great Britain;
+fortifications were thrown up, and an arsenal established; King
+George's officials were placed in the custom-house, and thenceforward
+until the end of the war the town was virtually British. Encouraged by
+this success, the enemy undertook a more difficult task. A formidable
+fleet of men-of-war and transports, bearing almost ten thousand
+troops, was fitted out at Halifax for the purpose of reducing to
+British rule all that part of Maine lying between Passamaquoddy Bay
+and the Penobscot River. This expedition set sail from Halifax on the
+26th of August, bound for Machias; but on the voyage down the coast of
+Maine the brig "Rifleman" was encountered, and from her the presence
+of the United States corvette "Adams" in the Penobscot River was
+learned. It will be remembered that the "Adams," before entering the
+river, had chased the British brig. Upon learning this, the British
+naval commander, Admiral Griffiths, pressed forward to the mouth of
+the Penobscot, and, anchoring there, despatched a land and naval
+expedition up the river for the capture of the corvette.</p>
+
+<p>When the news of this advancing force reached Capt. Morris, the
+"Adams" was partially out of water, dismantled, and in the hands of
+the ship carpenters, who were repairing the injuries she had received
+on the rocks off Mount Desert. The ship herself was utterly
+defenceless, but Morris made strenuous attempts to collect a land
+force to defend her. He managed to rally a few hundred militia-men,
+who, with the sailors and marines, were routed by the enemy on the
+night of the 3d of September. Finding that the enemy's forces were not
+to be driven back by so small a body of men, Morris retreated, first
+setting fire to the corvette, which was totally destroyed before the
+British came up.</p>
+
+<p>The retreating sailors were then forced to march over rugged roads to
+Portsmouth, N.H.; and, as walking was an exercise they were little
+accustomed to, many suffered severely from the unusual exertion. The
+difficulty <span class="pagenum"><a id="page593" name="page593"></a>(p. 593)</span> of getting provisions along the road led the men
+to separate into several parties; but, notwithstanding the
+opportunities thus afforded for desertion, all who were not broken
+down by the long march ultimately reported for duty at the Portsmouth
+navy-yard.</p>
+
+<p>Along the Southern seaboard the course of the war was even more
+disastrous to the Americans. Intelligence which reached the national
+authorities in the spring of 1814 led them to believe that the British
+were planning an expedition for the capture of Washington. Grave as
+was the danger, the authorities were slow to move; and though in July
+the Government called for fifteen thousand troops, and gave their
+command to Gen. Winder, yet the actual defensive force about the
+national capital consisted of but a few hundred militia. The naval
+defence was intrusted to the veteran Commodore Barney, who had served
+with distinction in the Revolution, and during the early years of the
+second war with Great Britain had commanded the Baltimore privateer
+"Rossie." The force put under Barney's command consisted of twenty-six
+gunboats and barges, manned by nine hundred men. Chiefly by his own
+energetic exertions, this force was ready for service in April; and by
+June the crews were drilled and disciplined, and the commanders
+schooled in the tactics of squadron evolutions. On the 1st of that
+month occurred the first brush with the enemy. The American flotilla
+was then lying in Chesapeake Bay, a little below the mouth of the
+Patuxent; and, a portion of the enemy's squadron coming within range,
+Barney ordered out his forces in chase. The British, outnumbered, fled
+down the bay; but, though Barney was rapidly overhauling them, he saw
+his hopes of victory shattered by the sudden appearance of His
+Britannic Majesty's seventy-four gun ship "Dragon." Thus re-enforced,
+it became the turn of the British to pursue; and the Americans
+retreated, firing constantly as they fled. The British continuing
+their advance, Barney was forced to take shelter in the Patuxent
+River; and he was gradually forced up that stream as far as the mouth
+of St. Leonard's Creek. The enemy then, feeling certain that the
+Americans were fairly entrapped, anchored at the mouth of the river,
+and awaited re-enforcements. These soon arrived; and on the 8th of the
+month the enemy's forces, consisting of a frigate, brig, and two
+schooners, moved up the river to the mouth of the creek. Farther they
+could not go, owing to shoal-water; but they fitted out a small
+flotilla of barges, and sent them on up the creek. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page594" name="page594"></a>(p. 594)</span> With this
+enemy Commodore Barney was ready to come to close quarters; and he
+moved down upon the British, who quickly retreated to the shelter of
+their ships. Two or three such sham attacks were made by the enemy,
+but not until the 10th of the month did they actually give battle to
+the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of that day the British advanced in force to the
+attack; and the peaceful little creek was ablaze with flags and bright
+uniforms, and the wooded shores echoed back the strains of martial
+music. Twenty-one barges, one rocket-boat, and two schooners formed
+the British column of attack, which moved grandly up the creek, with
+the bands playing patriotic airs, and the sailors, confident of
+victory, cheering lustily. Eight hundred men followed the British
+colors. Against this force Barney advanced with but five hundred
+sailors. His sloop and gun-vessels he left at anchor, as being too
+unwieldy for the narrow shoal-waters of St. Leonard's Creek; and he
+met the enemy's flotilla with but thirteen barges. The enemy opened
+the action at long range with rockets and howitzers. The former were
+terrible missiles in an action of this character, corresponding to the
+shells of modern naval warfare. Some idea of their destructiveness may
+be derived from the fact, that one of them, fired at long range,
+exploded and set fire to a boat, after having first passed through the
+body of one of her crew. Barney had no rockets; and, as the combat at
+long range was telling upon his men, he at once dashed forward into
+the midst of the enemy. Soon the barges were engaged in desperate
+hand-to-hand conflicts. The sailors, grappling with their adversary's
+craft, fought with pistol and cutlass across the gunwales. Barney, in
+a small barge with twenty men, dashed about, now striking a blow in
+aid of some overmatched American boat, then cheering on some laggard,
+or applauding some deed of gallantry that occurred in his sight. Major
+William Barney, son of the commodore, saw an American barge on fire,
+and deserted by her crew who feared the explosion of her magazine.
+Running his boat alongside, he jumped into the flaming craft; and by
+dint of bailing in water, and rocking her from side to side, he
+succeeded in saving the barge. For more than an hour the action raged,
+both sides fighting with great vigor and gallantry; but the Americans
+having pierced the British line, the enemy, falling into confusion,
+turned, and strained every muscle to gain the protection of their
+ship's guns. The Americans followed in hot pursuit; but their
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page597" name="page597"></a>(p. 597)</span> course was abruptly checked at the mouth of the creek by a
+British schooner, whose eighteen guns commanded respect. For a moment
+the pursuing barges fell back; then, choosing advantageous positions,
+they opened fire upon the schooner with such effect that she soon
+turned to escape. She succeeded in getting under the protecting guns
+of the frigate and sloop-of-war, but was so cut to pieces in the short
+action that she was run aground and abandoned. The larger vessels now
+opened fire upon Barney's forces; and the flotilla, after a few shots
+of defiance, returned to its quarters up the creek.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo597" name="illo597"></a>
+<img src="images/597_the_battle_of_the_barges.jpg" width="400" height="549" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Battle of the Barges.</p></div>
+
+<p>For the next two weeks all was quiet along the shores of the Patuxent
+and St. Leonard's Creek. The enemy had learned wisdom from their late
+defeat, and contented themselves with blockading the mouth of the
+creek, and leaving Barney undisturbed in his retreat. But the doughty
+commodore had no idea of being thus confined, and during the time of
+quiet made preparations for an attempt to break the blockade. Land
+forces from Washington were sent down to aid in this attempt; and two
+pieces of artillery were to be mounted on a hill at the mouth of the
+creek, and thence throw red-hot shot into the enemy's ships. The land
+forces, however, rendered not the slightest assistance; and a too
+cautious colonel posted the battery at such a point that no shot could
+reach the enemy without first passing through a hill. Accordingly,
+when Barney led his flotilla gallantly down to the attack, he found
+that the issue of the conflict rested upon the sailors alone. From the
+battery, which was expected to draw the enemy's fire, not a single
+effective shot was fired. The sailors fought nobly, using their heavy
+long twelves and eighteens with great effect. But they were sadly
+hampered by their position; for the mouth of the creek was so narrow
+that but eight barges could lie abreast, and the others coming down
+from above soon packed the little stream from shore to shore, giving
+the enemy a mark that the poorest gunner could hardly miss. Against
+the storm of grape and canister that the British poured upon them, the
+sailors had absolutely no protection. The barges were without
+bulwarks, and the blue-jackets at the guns and at the oars were
+exposed to the full force of the British fire. Yet in this exposed
+situation the gallant fellows kept up the fight for nearly an hour,
+only withdrawing when the last ray of hope for help from the shore
+battery had vanished. Shortly after the Americans abandoned the
+attack, the blockading <span class="pagenum"><a id="page598" name="page598"></a>(p. 598)</span> squadron got under way and stood down
+the bay. From the way in which one of the frigates was working her
+pumps, the Americans saw that their fire had not been entirely without
+effect.</p>
+
+<p>Barney's flotilla had now given the British so much trouble that they
+determined to destroy it without delay; and an expedition of more than
+five thousand men&mdash;composed of regulars, marines, and a few
+negroes&mdash;was carried up the Patuxent, and landed at Benedict, where an
+armed brig had been stationed to cover the disembarkation. It was
+early dawn when the signal to land was given, and the river was
+covered in an instant with a well-manned and warlike flotilla. It was
+hard work for the British sailors, for a strong current was running;
+but by three o'clock in the afternoon the whole army was landed, and
+encamped in a strong position on a hill overlooking the village.
+Though no American troops were anywhere in the vicinity, the landing
+was conducted with the utmost caution. As the prow of each boat grated
+on the sand, the soldiers leaped on the beach, and instantly drew up
+in line, ready to repel any attack. After the infantry was landed,
+about a hundred artillerymen followed, and the same number of sailors
+dragging howitzers.</p>
+
+<p>It is easily understood that this powerful force was not organized
+solely to destroy Barney's pitiful little flotilla. The real purpose
+of the British commander was to press on into the interior, and
+capture Washington, which the Americans had foolishly left without any
+defences whatever. It came to Barney's ears that Admiral Cockburn had
+boasted that he would destroy the American flotilla, and dine in
+Washington the following Sunday. This news the American commodore sent
+off to the authorities at the capital, and they then began to make
+futile preparations to repel the invader. In the mean time the British
+commenced their march up the shores of the Patuxent, meeting with no
+opposition. Barney, knowing that the defence of the national capital
+was of far greater importance than the fate of his flotilla, landed
+with four hundred men, and hastened to the American lines before
+Washington. He left the barges under the command of the second
+lieutenant, Mr. Frazier, with instructions to set fire to every boat
+on the appearance of the enemy, and then join the commodore with all
+the men left under his charge. Accordingly, when the invading column
+reached Nottingham, Mr. Frazier took the flotilla still higher up the
+creek,&mdash;a move that vastly disconcerted the British, who <span class="pagenum"><a id="page599" name="page599"></a>(p. 599)</span> saw
+their prey eluding them. "But in the main object of our pursuit we
+were disappointed," wrote a British officer. "The flotilla which had
+been stationed opposite to Nottingham retired, on our approach, higher
+up the stream; and we were consequently in the situation of a huntsman
+who sees his hounds at fault, and has every reason to apprehend that
+his game will escape." But the game never fell into the hands of the
+ardent hunters; for the next day Mr. Frazier fulfilled his orders by
+setting fire to every barge, and, after seeing several of the larger
+boats blow up, mustered his men, and cut across the country, to join
+his superior officer. The British naval forces soon after reached Pig
+Point, the scene of this destruction, and there remained; while the
+land forces immediately turned away from the river, and marched upon
+Washington.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo599" name="illo599"></a>
+<img src="images/599_sharp_shooters.jpg" width="500" height="302" alt="" title="">
+<p>Sharp-Shooters.</p></div>
+
+<p>It is not necessary to give in detail the incidents of the series of
+skirmishes by which the British fought their way to the American
+capital. They were opposed by raw militia, and the few sailors and
+marines under Barney. The former fled with promptitude at the very
+first fire, but the sailors and marines fought gallantly. The fighting
+was sharpest at Bladensburg; and here Barney's blue-jackets won praise
+from everybody, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page600" name="page600"></a>(p. 600)</span> even from the enemy whose advance they
+disputed. Barney himself led the Americans, and sighted a favorite gun
+of the sailors' battery, until he fell desperately wounded. This
+battery commanded the road by which the main column of British
+advanced; and by its hail of grape and canister it beat back the
+advancing regiments, and for some time checked their further progress.
+The British thereupon opened with rockets, and sent out sharp-shooters
+to pick off the Yankee gunners. One of these riflemen was observed by
+the Americans to deliberately build for himself a small redoubt of
+stones from an old wall; and, lying down behind it, he began a
+deliberate fire upon the Americans. His first bullet went through the
+cap of one of the sailors, and the second sent a poor fellow to his
+long account. The marines answered with their muskets; but the
+fellow's stone rampart saved him, and he continued his fire. Barney
+vowed to put an end to that affair, and, carefully sighting one of his
+cannon, pulled the lanyard. The heavy round shot was seen to strike
+the sharp-shooter's defence, and stones and man disappeared in a cloud
+of dust. Meantime, the enemy had thrown out flanking parties under
+cover of the woods, and had nearly surrounded the little band of
+sailors. A musket-ball struck Barney in the thigh, and he began to
+grow faint with loss of blood; and, finding that the militia had fled,
+and the sailors were becoming exhausted, the commodore ordered a
+retreat. The blue-jackets left the field in good order; but their
+gallant commander had gone but a few steps, when the pain of his wound
+forced him to lie down under a tree, and await the coming of the
+enemy. The British soon came up, led by Gen. Ross and Capt. Wainwright
+of the navy. After learning Barney's rank, and courteously offering to
+secure surgical aid, the general turned to his companion, and,
+speaking of the stubborn resistance made by the battery, said, "I told
+you it was the flotilla men."&mdash;"Yes. You were right, though I could
+not believe you," was the response. "They have given us the only
+fighting we have had."</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the British, having routed the Americans at every point,
+pressed on to Washington. The inhabitants fled before them, and the
+town was almost deserted when the British marched in with banners
+flying and bands playing. The enemy held the city for only a day; but
+in that time they did such deeds of vandalism, that even the people
+and the press of London cried out in indignation. The President's
+house, the Capitol, all <span class="pagenum"><a id="page601" name="page601"></a>(p. 601)</span> the public buildings except the
+Patent Office, were burned to the ground. The navy-yard, with the
+uncompleted ships on the stocks, was likewise burned; but in this the
+enemy only acted in accordance with the rules of war. It was their
+destruction of the public buildings, the national archives, and the
+Congressional library, that aroused the wrathful indignation of all
+fair-minded people, whether Americans or Europeans. "Willingly," said
+one London newspaper, "would we throw a veil of oblivion over our
+transactions at Washington. The Cossacks spared Paris, but we spared
+not the capital of America." A second English journal fitly denounced
+the proceedings as "a return to the times of barbarism."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo601" name="illo601"></a>
+<img src="images/601_the_march_on_washington.jpg" width="500" height="451" alt="" title="">
+<p>The March on Washington.</p></div>
+
+<p>But, if the invaders are rightly to be blamed for the useless
+vandalism <span class="pagenum"><a id="page602" name="page602"></a>(p. 602)</span> they encouraged, the American authorities are
+still more culpable for their neglect of the most ordinary precautions
+of war. That a national capital, close to the sea, should be left
+virtually unprotected while the enemy was massing his forces only a
+few miles away, seems almost unbelievable. But so it was with
+Washington; for five hundred flotilla men were forced to bear the
+brunt of the attack of five thousand British. True it is that the
+military authorities had massed seven thousand militia-men for the
+defence of the city; but such was the trepidation of these untrained
+soldiers, that they fled before the main body of the British had come
+into the fight. That the sailors and marines fought bravely, we have
+the testimony of the British themselves. Mr. Gleig, a subaltern in the
+attacking army, writes, "Of the sailors, however, it would be
+injustice not to speak in the terms which their conduct merits. They
+were employed as gunners; and not only did they serve their guns with
+a quickness and precision which astonished their assailants, but they
+stood till some of them were actually bayonneted with fuses in their
+hands; nor was it till their leader was wounded and taken, and they
+saw themselves deserted on all sides by the soldiers, that they
+quitted the field." Therefore, in the battle of Bladensburg, the
+blue-jackets won nothing but honor, though the results of the battle
+were so mortifying to the national pride of the people of the United
+States.</p>
+
+<p>On the 25th of August the British left the smoking ruins of Washington
+behind them, and made for their fleet lying in the Patuxent. They
+feared that the outraged nation would rise upon them, and turn their
+march into a bloody retreat, like that of the British soldiery from
+the historic field of Lexington. Accordingly their departure was by
+night, immediately after a furious storm of rain and wind. Strict
+orders were issued to all the Americans in Washington, warning them,
+under penalty of death, not to leave their houses until the sun rose
+the next morning. Then the British stealthily marched out of the town.
+"No man spoke above his breath," says subaltern Gleig. "Our very steps
+were planted lightly, and we cleared the town without exciting
+observation." A two days' march brought them to Benedict, where the
+fleet lay in waiting for their reception.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo604" name="illo604"></a>
+<img src="images/604_the_burning_of_washington.jpg" width="400" height="541" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Burning of Washington.</p></div>
+
+<p>In the mean time, a portion of the British fleet had ascended the
+Potomac as far as Alexandria, and, finding that town defenceless,
+proceeded to dictate to the inhabitants the terms upon which they
+could <span class="pagenum"><a id="page605" name="page605"></a>(p. 605)</span> save their village from desolation. The British
+demanded that all naval stores and ordnance, all the shipping and its
+furniture, all merchandise, and all provisions in the town should be
+surrendered. Several vessels had been scuttled, to prevent their
+falling into the hands of the enemy; these, the British demanded,
+should be raised, repaired, and delivered to them Time, however, did
+not permit the fulfilment of this condition; but to the others, harsh
+and humiliating though they were, the inhabitants were forced to
+accede. Heavy laden with the spoils of the village, the pillagers
+weighed anchor and started down the Potomac. But they were not
+destined to carry away their booty unmolested. News of the expedition
+reached Baltimore, and a large party of the sailors at the navy-yard
+were sent to the banks of the Potomac to cut off the enemy's retreat.
+They were officered by four men famous in American naval
+annals,&mdash;Perry, Rodgers, Porter, and Creighton. At Indian Head, just
+below Mount Vernon, the Potomac River narrows and flows swiftly
+between densely wooded bluffs. At this point the Americans threw up
+redoubts, and, mounting all the cannon that could be gathered on such
+short notice, prepared to dispute the enemy's passage. When the
+British fleet hove in sight, they were greeted with a storm of shot
+from the unsuspected batteries; and they recoiled in confusion.
+Practised American hunters lined the woody shores, and picked off the
+British sailors with musket-balls. For some time the fleet was thus
+checked in its progress. Finally the admiral determined that only by a
+bold dash could he escape; and accordingly, massing his vessels and
+concentrating his fire on the chief battery, he dashed past, and
+rejoined his superior officer, Cockburn, not without paying dearly for
+his exploit at Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>While the British were thus devastating the shores of Chesapeake Bay,
+they cast more than one longing look toward the thriving city of
+Baltimore, which, by its violent patriotism, had done much to urge on
+the war. From the shipyards of Baltimore came more than one stout
+naval vessel that had forced the enemy to haul down his colors. But
+that which more than any thing else aroused the hatred of the British
+was the share Baltimore took in fitting out and manning those swift
+privateers, concerning whose depredations upon British commerce we
+shall have something to say in a later chapter. "It is a doomed town,"
+said Vice-admiral Warren. "The truculent inhabitants of Baltimore must
+be <span class="pagenum"><a id="page606" name="page606"></a>(p. 606)</span> tamed with the weapons which shook the wooden turrets of
+Copenhagen," cried the editor of a great London paper. But,
+nevertheless, Baltimore did not fall before the invader, although for
+some time the army and navy of the enemy were united in the attempt to
+bring desolation upon the obnoxious city.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo606" name="illo606"></a>
+<img src="images/606_planning_the_attack.jpg" width="500" height="462" alt="" title="">
+<p>Planning the Attack.</p></div>
+
+<p>After the fall of Washington, the depredations of the British along
+the shores of Chesapeake Bay redoubled, and the marauding expeditions
+thus employed were really feelers thrown out to test the strength of
+the defenses of Baltimore. That the marauders found some opposition,
+is evident from a passage in the journal of a British officer. "But
+these hasty excursions, though generally successful, were not always
+performed without loss to the invaders." On one of these expeditions,
+Sir Peter Parker, captain of the frigate "Menelaus," lost his life. He
+had been ordered down to the mouth of the bay just after the fall of
+Washington. "I must first have a frolic with the Yankees," said he.
+And accordingly, after a jovial dinner aboard his frigate, he led a
+night expedition of sailors and marines ashore, expecting to surprise
+a small body of Maryland militia stationed at Moorfields. Sir Peter's
+frolic turned out disastrously; for the Marylanders were on the watch,
+and received the invaders with a fierce volley. Sir Peter was
+gallantly cheering on his men, when a musket-ball cut the main artery
+in his thigh. "They have hit me, Pearce," he said faintly to his
+lieutenant; "but it's nothing. Push on, my brave boys, and follow me."
+But even thus cheering, he fell back, the words died away in his
+throat, and he bled to death before a surgeon could be found. It is
+but right to say, that, though he sailed in Cockburn's command, he had
+none of the cruel brutality which his admiral too often showed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page607" name="page607"></a>(p. 607)</span> On the 12th of September a more serious assault was made upon
+Baltimore. The British naval and military forces united in the attack,
+which was made by land and sea. A force of nine thousand men,
+including two thousand marines and two thousand sailors, was landed
+fifteen miles from Baltimore, and under the command of Gen. Ross and
+Admiral Cockburn marched gayly inland, never doubting that they would
+find the Americans unprepared, and repeat their exploits at
+Washington. In this expectation they were sadly disappointed; for the
+Maryland militia, aided by a few regulars and seamen, outfought the
+British at every point, and checked their farther advance. Among the
+slain was Gen. Ross, who was shot down as he was leading the advance
+of the British skirmishers. In the mean time, the British fleet had
+been taking its share in the engagement by attempting to reduce Fort
+McHenry. A large flotilla of frigates, schooners, sloops, and
+bomb-ketches entered the Patapsco River on the morning of the 12th,
+and, casting anchor out of the reach of the fort's guns, opened a
+furious fire. The fort was manned by militia-men and a large
+detachment of the gallant sailors from Barney's flotilla. When the
+continual falling of shells within the fort told that the enemy had
+come within range, the guns of Fort McHenry opened in response. But,
+to the intense chagrin of the Americans, it was found that their works
+mounted not a single gun that would carry to the enemy's fleet. There
+then remained to the garrison only the trying duty of holding their
+post, and enduring without response a galling fire from the enemy. All
+the garrison stood to the guns without flinching; while the shrieking
+shells fell on all sides, and, exploding, scattered deadly missiles in
+all directions. One shell struck and dismounted one of the
+twenty-four-pounders, killing and wounding several of its men. Admiral
+Cochrane, who commanded the attacking fleet, saw this incident, and
+ordered three of his bomb-vessels to move up nearer to the fort. This
+gave the Americans the opportunity for which they had been longing,
+and instantly every gun in the fort opened upon the three luckless
+ketches. Half an hour of this fire sufficed to drive the three vessels
+back to their original station.</p>
+
+<p>Night fell, but brought no cessation of the bombardment. But the
+enemy, while never slackening his fire, had determined to take
+advantage of the darkness to send out a landing party to take two
+small batteries on the banks of the Patapsco, and then assault Fort
+McHenry from the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page608" name="page608"></a>(p. 608)</span> rear. Twelve hundred and fifty men, with
+scaling-ladders and fascines, left the fleet in barges, and moved up
+the Patapsco towards Fort Covington and the City Battery. But their
+plan, though well laid, was defeated by the vigilance and courage of
+the garrisons of the two threatened positions,&mdash;sailors all, and many
+of them men from Barney's flotilla, a training-school which seems to
+have given to the region about Chesapeake Bay its most gallant
+defenders. Just as the storming party turned the prows of the barges
+towards the shore, they were discovered; and from McHenry, Covington,
+and the City Battery burst a thunderous artillery-fire, that shook the
+houses in Baltimore, and illumined the dark shores of the river with a
+lurid glare. Bold as the British sailors were, they could advance no
+farther under so terrible a fire. Two of the barges were shot to
+pieces, leaving their crews struggling in the water. A ceaseless hail
+of grape and canister spread death and wounds broadcast among the
+enemy; and, after wavering a moment, they turned and fled to their
+ships. Cochrane, seeing his plan for taking the American positions by
+assault thus frustrated, redoubled the fury of his fire; hoping that,
+when daybreak made visible the distant shore, nothing but a heap of
+ruins should mark the spot where Fort McHenry stood the night before.</p>
+
+<p>A night bombardment is at once a beautiful and a terrible spectacle.
+The ceaseless flashing of the great guns, lighting up with a lurid
+glare the dense clouds of smoke that hang over the scene of battle;
+the roar of the artillery; the shriek of the shell as it leaves the
+cannon's mouth, slowly dying into a murmur and a dull explosion, as,
+with a flash of fire, the missile explodes far away,&mdash;combine to form
+a picture, that, despite the horrors of wounds and death, rouses the
+enthusiasm and admiration of the beholder. When viewed from the deck
+of one of an attacking fleet, the scene is even more impressive. At
+each discharge of the great guns, the vessel reels and trembles like a
+huge animal in agony. The surging waters alongside reflect in their
+black depths the flash of the cannon and the fiery trail of the flying
+shell. Far in the distance can be seen the flashes of the enemy's
+guns, each of which may mean the despatch of a missile bringing death
+and pain in its track. One who has witnessed such a spectacle can
+readily understand the fascination which men find in the great game of
+war.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo610" name="illo610"></a>
+<img src="images/610_the_star_spangled_banner.jpg" width="400" height="549" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Star Spangled Banner.</p></div>
+
+<p>Pacing the deck of the one of the British vessels was a young
+American, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page611" name="page611"></a>(p. 611)</span> whose temperament was such that he could fully
+appreciate all the beauties of the scene, even though harassed by
+anxious fears lest the British should be successful. This man was
+Francis S. Key, who had visited the fleet with a flag of truce, but
+was unable to get away before the bombardment began. When the sun set
+on the evening of the 13th, Key saw his country's flag waving proudly
+over the ramparts at which the British guns had been so furiously
+pounding. Would that flag still be there when the sun should rise
+again? That was the question which Key asked himself as he anxiously
+walked the deck throughout the night, striving to pierce the darkness,
+and make out, by the lurid lightnings of the cannon, whether the flag
+was still there. As the night wore on, Key took an old letter from his
+pocket, and on the blank sheet jotted down the lines of the immortal
+national song, "The Star Spangled Banner." Its words merely voice the
+writer's thoughts; for often during that night he looked anxiously
+shorewards, to see if</p>
+
+<p class="poem center">
+  "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,<br>
+  Gave proof, through the night, that our flag was still there."</p>
+
+<p>When the anxiously awaited daylight came, Fort McHenry still stood;
+and over it waved defiantly the starry folds of the United States
+flag. The British saw that, by land and sea, their attack had failed;
+and early in the morning the fleet, after taking on board the remnant
+of the land forces, sailed suddenly away, and left Baltimore safe.
+They had bombarded Fort McHenry for twenty-five hours, throwing nearly
+two thousand shells. Yet, wonderful as it may appear, only four of the
+Americans were killed, and twenty-four wounded. With this failure the
+British ended their chief offensive operations along the shores of the
+Chesapeake. The greater part of the fleet and the soldiery then moved
+southward, to take part in the operations along the Gulf coast, that
+culminated in the disastrous defeat of the invaders at New Orleans.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page612" name="page612"></a>(p. 612)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader">
+<img src="images/deco_start_612.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -120px; margin-left: 250px;">
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XVI.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">DESULTORY HOSTILITIES ON THE OCEAN. &mdash; ATTACK UPON FORT BOWYER. &mdash; LAFITTE
+THE PIRATE. &mdash; BRITISH EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW ORLEANS. &mdash; BATTLE AT THE
+RIGOLETS. &mdash; ATTACK ON NEW ORLEANS, AND DEFEAT OF THE BRITISH. &mdash; WORK OF
+THE BLUE-JACKETS. &mdash; CAPTURE OF THE FRIGATE "PRESIDENT." &mdash; THE
+"CONSTITUTION" TAKES THE "CYANE" AND "LEVANT." &mdash; THE "HORNET" TAKES THE
+"PENGUIN." &mdash; END OF THE WAR.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+naval incidents of the latter part of 1814 conferred little honor
+upon either of the belligerents. Seldom did the meetings between
+hostile ships rise to the dignity of battles. One or two small
+American brigs fell a prey to British frigates; but in every instance
+the disparity of force was so great that the weaker surrendered
+without striking a blow. Such was the case with the sixteen-gun brig
+"Rattlesnake," which escaped from one British frigate by throwing
+overboard all her guns, only to immediately fall a prey to the
+"Leander." In July of the same year, the United States brig "Siren"
+was captured by the British frigate "Medway," off the coast of Africa,
+after a long chase, during which the American hove overboard every
+thing movable on the brig. Not all these petty encounters ended so
+favorably for the enemy. Off New York a cutting-out party of
+volunteers surprised and captured the British tender "Eagle," a small
+craft carrying one thirty-two-pound <span class="pagenum"><a id="page613" name="page613"></a>(p. 613)</span> howitzer, and fourteen
+men. Ten days later, the frigate "Tenedos," which had done such good
+service on the blockade, suffered the loss of her tender, which was
+gallantly carried away by the crew of a Yankee gunboat. Some very
+desperate combats between American privateers and British naval
+vessels were fought about this time, and will be duly noted in detail
+in the chapter treating of the exploits of the private armed navy.</p>
+
+<p>As the autumn came on, the British naval forces began to rendezvous in
+the Gulf of Mexico, preparatory to the campaign before New Orleans. On
+Sept. 14, a squadron of four British sloops-of-war appeared off
+Mobile, and opened fire upon Fort Bowyer, which guarded the entrance
+to Mobile Bay. The attack was vigorous, and the defence determined. A
+British land expedition moved upon the fort from the landward side;
+and the little garrison found itself surrounded by enemies, many of
+whom were Indians, whose savage assistance the British had accepted
+from the very opening of the war. A small force, only, defended the
+fort. Percy, the British admiral, knew the weakness of the garrison;
+and, thinking of the ninety-two guns he could bring to bear against
+the twenty worked by the Americans, announced proudly, that he would
+give the garrison just twenty minutes to surrender. The twenty minutes
+passed quickly, and still the fort responded savagely to the fire of
+its assailants. The flag of the British ship "Hermes" was shot away;
+and soon after, a round shot cut her cable, and she drifted upon a
+sand-bank, and lay helpless, and exposed to a raking fire. Her
+captain, having set her afire, abandoned her; and she soon blew up.
+The other vessels kept up the attack gallantly for a time. The
+flagstaff of the fort was shot away; but the flag soon re-appeared,
+waving from a sponge-staff. The Americans then redoubled their fire,
+which soon told so severely upon the British ships that they were
+forced to withdraw. In the mean time, the assault of the Indians and
+troops had been checked, and the forces driven back in disorder, thus
+leaving the victory to the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>It is not within the province of this work to treat of the military
+operations that led up to the battle of New Orleans. But the last
+months of 1814 witnessed a series of naval incidents trivial in
+themselves, but deriving importance from their connection with Gen.
+Jackson's great victory. Over certain incidents in the preparations of
+the Americans for repelling the invasion hangs a shade of romance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page614" name="page614"></a>(p. 614)</span> To the southward of the quaint, rambling, rose-covered city
+of New Orleans, the tawny flood of the Mississippi winds towards the
+gulf in huge serpentine curves. The shores between which it flows rise
+scarce higher than the surface of the river itself; and a slight
+increase in the volume of water, or a strong wind, will serve to turn
+the whole region into a great, watery marsh. From the mouth of the
+great river, the whole coast of Louisiana, extending north and west,
+is a grassy sea, a vast expanse of marsh-grass, broken here and there
+by inlets of the Mexican Gulf, and sluggish, winding bayous that lead
+up into the higher lands of the State,&mdash;waterways that lead even to
+the back door of the Crescent City herself, but known only to
+oyster-gatherers, or in 1814 to the adventurous men who followed the
+banner of Lafitte the Baratarian pirate.</p>
+
+<p>Pirate he was called then; but it is doubtful whether his misdeeds
+ever exceeded smuggling, or, at worst, privateering under the
+protecting flag of some belligerent nation. When all nations were
+warring, what was easier than for a few gallant fellows, with
+swift-sailing feluccas, to lurk about the shores of the gulf, and now
+under the Spanish flag, now under the French, or any colors which
+suited the case, sally out and capture the richly laden Indiamen that
+frequented those summer seas? And when a power known as the United
+States Government, that had its quarters more than a thousand miles
+from the country of the Creoles, passed an outrageous law known as the
+embargo, what was more natural than that the Baratarians, knowing the
+mysterious waterways that led up to the Crescent City, should utilize
+their knowledge to take ships and cargoes in and out without the
+formality of a custom-house examination? Such were the times that led
+to the formation and growth of the "piratical" colony of Barataria.
+Its leaders and rulers were John and Pierre Lafitte; one of whom lived
+in New Orleans in the character of a prosperous merchant, while the
+other led the expeditions which brought in merchandise to stock the
+former's stores. Under the influence of the warlike state of Europe,
+the trade of these worthies throve, and their settlement at Grande
+Isle took on the appearance of a prosperous colony and naval station.
+Storehouses and dwellings stood close to the sea. The fertile face of
+the island was cut up into fruitful plantations and orange-groves.
+Breastworks, well dotted with the muzzles of cannon, commanded the
+approach by sea. More than once, from behind those ramparts, the
+Baratarians <span class="pagenum"><a id="page615" name="page615"></a>(p. 615)</span> had proved that they could fight, and that they
+acknowledged the authority of no flag. The Creoles of New Orleans
+looked indulgently upon the conduct of the outlaws; but the few
+Americans in the city were highly incensed to see the authority of the
+United States thus set aside, and vowed that when the war was over the
+audacious adventurers should be crushed. However, the end came even
+sooner.</p>
+
+<p>On the 3d of September, a British armed brig anchored near the
+buccaneers' retreat, and sent a flag of truce ashore. Lafitte, with
+great dignity, received the envoys in his tent, and assured them of
+his protection, though the whole village was up in arms clamoring for
+the death of the intruders. The British officer then announced that he
+had come to secure the aid of Lafitte and his followers in the
+campaign against New Orleans. He offered the pirate captain
+forgiveness for all piracies committed against the British
+flag,&mdash;whereat the chief smiled sardonically,&mdash;also thirty thousand
+dollars in cash, a captain's commission in the British navy, and lands
+for himself and his followers. It was a tempting bribe; for at that
+moment Lafitte's brother lay in the <span class="italic">calaboza</span> at New Orleans awaiting
+trial for piracy, and the Americans were preparing rapidly for a
+descent upon the Baratarian stronghold. But, little as he liked the
+American flag, Lafitte liked the British still less: so, asking the
+Englishman to wait a few days for his answer, he sent a report of the
+occurrence to the New Orleans authorities, and offered to co-operate
+with the Americans, if he could be assured of pardon for all offences
+committed against the government. This document caused some hesitation
+at New Orleans; but the military authorities determined to refuse the
+offer, and break up the outlaws' nest. Accordingly, a few days later,
+the war schooner "Carolina," six gunboats, a tender, and a launch,
+dropped down the Mississippi, and, rounding into the deep blue waters
+of the gulf, headed for Barataria. Lafitte had too many friends in New
+Orleans not to know of the force thus sent against him; and, when the
+Americans reached Grande Terre, they found the pirates at their
+batteries, and the Baratarian flotilla drawn up in order of battle.
+The contest was sharp, but ended in the rout of the Baratarians. Their
+village was burned, their fortifications razed; and, when the
+triumphant Americans returned to New Orleans, they brought in their
+train ten armed prizes and a number of prisoners, although Lafitte was
+not to be found among the latter. Thereafter, the Baratarians, as an
+organization, vanished from history. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page616" name="page616"></a>(p. 616)</span> Lafitte was afterwards
+occasionally heard of as a desperado on the more western shores of the
+Mexican Gulf; and it is further noticeable, that two guns were served
+by Baratarians under their old lieutenant, Dominique Yon, on that
+bloody day when Packenham's forces were beaten back on the field of
+Chalmette.</p>
+
+<p>Early in December the movement of the British upon New Orleans took
+definite shape. On the 8th of that month, the calm waters of the Gulf
+of Mexico, off the Chandeleur Islands, were the scene of a grand
+rendezvous of British naval and military forces. All the vessels of
+Cockburn's Chesapeake fleet were there, with other men-of-war,
+transports, and schooners, to the number of fifty vessels. At the head
+was the towering two-decker "Tonnant," carrying the Admiral's flag.
+Frigates, corvettes, and sloops-of-war came trooping in the rear; and
+the transports bore seven thousand men for the capture of the Southern
+city. The British were in high good-humor as the anchors were let fall
+and the ships swung round with their heads to the tide. The voyage
+across the gulf from the rendezvous at Jamaica had been like a holiday
+trip. The weather had been fine, and the sea smooth; and the soft air
+of that semi-tropical region was a never-ending source of delight to
+sailors who had been suffering the hardships of a Northern station.</p>
+
+<p>The point at which the British fleet had come to anchor lay about
+fifty miles due east of New Orleans. In that day of sailing-vessels,
+no enemy could breast the waters of the rolling Mississippi and crush
+the resistance of the city's defenders, as did Farragut in 1862.
+Knowing that they could not hope to take their ships up to the levee
+of the city, the enemy determined to cast anchor near the entrance of
+Lake Borgne, and send through a chain of lakes and bayous a mammoth
+expedition in barges, to a point within ten miles of the city. But
+this well-laid plan had been betrayed to the Americans by Lafitte; and
+a little band of American sailors, under the command of Lieut. Catesby
+Jones, had taken up a position at the Rigolets, and were prepared to
+dispute the farther progress of the invading forces. Five gunboats,
+and one hundred and eighty-five men, constituted the American force,
+which for a time held the British in check. Finally, the enemy,
+finding that the swift American cutters could easily evade the
+lumbering war-vessels, fitted out a fleet of forty-five barges, manned
+by a thousand veteran British sea-dogs, who had seen <span class="pagenum"><a id="page617" name="page617"></a>(p. 617)</span> service
+in half a dozen naval wars. The Americans had news of the contemplated
+attack, and made skilful preparations to meet it. The gunboats were
+moored in a fore and aft line, at a point near the Rigolets. Their
+broadsides bore upon the enemy, and the shallowness of the water was
+such that by no means could they be surrounded. The sailors were
+prepared for a desperate conflict, and spent the night before the
+battle in tricing up the boarding-nettings, sharpening cutlasses, and
+getting small-arms in good trim. In the morning the British came on to
+the attack. It was a long pull from the fleet to the place of battle:
+so their commander brought his flotilla to anchor just out of range of
+the American guns; and there the grim old veterans devoured their
+dinners, and took their rations of grog, with appetites undisturbed by
+the thought of the coming conflict. Dinner over, the enemy weighed
+anchor, and dashed forward, with long, swift strokes, into the very
+flashes of the Americans' cannon. The Americans knew that their one
+chance of victory was to keep the overwhelming forces of their foe out
+of boarding distance, and they worked their guns with a rapidity born
+of desperation. Musket-bullets, grape-shot, and canister poured in a
+murderous fire upon the advancing boats. But the sturdy old British
+veterans knew that the best way to stop that fire was to get at the
+base of it; and they pressed on undauntedly, responding vigorously,
+meanwhile, with their bow guns. Soon they were up to the gunwales of
+the American flotilla, and the grappling-irons were fixed; then, with
+sharp blows of cutlasses, deadly play of the pikes, and a ceaseless
+rattle of small-arms, they poured upon the decks of the Americans. The
+boarding-nettings could not long check so furious a foe, and fell
+before the fierce slash of the cutlasses. The decks once gained, the
+overpowering numbers of the Englishmen crushed all further resistance;
+and the flotilla was finally taken, after about one hundred of the
+enemy and fifty Americans had fallen.</p>
+
+<p>The American flotilla being thus shattered, there remained no further
+obstacle to prevent the landing of the invading army. Of the advance
+of that brilliant body of veteran troops over sands and marshes, and
+through sluggish bayous and canals half-full of stagnant water, until
+they emerged on the bank of the river, nine miles below New Orleans,
+it is not my purpose to speak further. Nor does an account of Gen.
+Jackson's vigorous measures of defence and glorious victory come
+within the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page618" name="page618"></a>(p. 618)</span> province of this narrative. The interesting story
+of Jackson's creation of an army from leather-shirted Kentucky
+riflemen, gay Creoles from the Creole Quarter of the Crescent City,
+swarthy Spaniards and mulattoes, nondescript desperadoes from the old
+band of Lafitte, and militia and regulars from all the Southern
+States, forms no part of the naval annals of the war. It is enough to
+say that the flower of the British army, led by a veteran of the
+Peninsula, recoiled before that motley crew of untrained soldiers, and
+were beaten back, leaving their gallant leader and thousands of their
+brave men dead upon the field. The navy was not without some share in
+this glorious triumph. On the 23d of December the schooner "Carolina"
+dropped down from New Orleans, and opened fire upon the enemy. "Now,
+then, for the honor of America, give it to them!" sung out her
+commander, as the first broadside was fired. The attack, unexpected as
+it was, created a panic in the British camp. A feeble reply was made
+with rockets and musketry; but even this was soon discontinued, and
+the enemy took refuge under the steep bank of the levee, whither the
+plunging shot could not follow them. All night the "Carolina" kept up
+her fire; and, when at daybreak she moved away, she left the camp of
+the enemy in confusion. During the day she renewed the attack, and
+persisted in her fire until the British threw up a heavy battery on
+the river's bank, and replied. The lads of the "Carolina" promptly
+accepted the challenge thus offered, and for a time a spirited combat
+was maintained. But the battery threw red-hot shot, and the schooner
+was soon set on fire and destroyed. Meanwhile the corvette "Louisiana"
+had come down to the scene of action, and in the subsequent
+engagements did some effective work. When the final onslaught of the
+British was made, on Jan. 7, 1815, the guns of the "Louisiana" were
+mounted on the opposite bank of the river, and the practised sailors
+worked them with deadly effect, until the flight of the American
+militia on that side exposed the battery to certain capture. The
+sailors then spiked their guns, and marched off unmolested. The
+sailors of the "Carolina," on that day of desperate fighting, were in
+the centre of Jackson's line, between the Creoles and the swarthy
+Baratarians under Dominique Yon. Here they worked their howitzers, and
+watched the scarlet lines of the enemy advance and melt away before
+that deadly blaze; advance and fall back again in hopeless rout. And
+among the many classes of fighting men whom Jackson had rallied before
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page619" name="page619"></a>(p. 619)</span> that British line, none did battle more valiantly for the
+honor of the nation and the safety of the flowery city of New Orleans
+than did those blue-jackets ashore.</p>
+
+<p>It is a fitting commentary upon the folly of war, that the battle of
+New Orleans was fought after the two warring nations had signed a
+treaty of peace. The lives of some hundreds of brave Englishmen and
+Americans were needlessly sacrificed in a cause already decided. Far
+across the Atlantic Ocean, in the quaint old Dutch city of Ghent,
+representatives of England and the United States met, and, after some
+debate, signed the treaty on the 24th of December, 1814. But there was
+then no Atlantic cable, no "ocean greyhounds" to annihilate space and
+time; and it was months before the news of the treaty reached the
+scene of war. In the mean time, the hostilities were continued by land
+and sea.</p>
+
+<p>The year 1815 found the American navy largely increased by new
+vessels, though the vigilance of the British blockaders kept most of
+these close in port. The "Constitution" was at sea, having run the
+blockade at Boston. In New York Harbor were the "President,"
+"Peacock," "Hornet," and "Tom Bowline," awaiting a chance to slip out
+for a cruise to the East Indies. It was decided that the vessels
+should run out singly, and the "President" was selected to make the
+first attempt. The night of the 14th of January was dark and foggy,
+and the blockading fleet was nowhere to be seen. Then, if ever, was
+the time for escape; and the Yankee tars weighed anchor and started
+out through the Narrows. In the impenetrable darkness of the night,
+baffled by head-winds and perplexing currents, the pilots lost their
+reckoning, and the orders to the man at the wheel were quick and
+nervous, until an ominous grating of the ship's keel, followed by the
+loss of headway, told that the frigate was aground. For a time the
+ship lay helpless, straining all her timbers as each wave lifted her
+slightly, and then let the heavy hull fall back upon the shoal. By ten
+o'clock the rising tide floated her off; but, on examination, Capt.
+Decatur found that she was seriously injured. To return to port was
+impossible with the wind then blowing: so all sail was crowded on, in
+the hopes of getting safely away before the blockading squadron should
+catch sight of the ship. As luck would have it, the blockaders had
+been forced from their posts by the gale of the day before, and the
+"President" had laid her course so as to infallibly fall <span class="pagenum"><a id="page620" name="page620"></a>(p. 620)</span>
+into their clutches. Before daylight the lookout reported two sail in
+sight, and at daybreak the ship was fairly surrounded by the enemy's
+vessels. All at once gave chase to the luckless American; and a few
+hours were enough to show that her sailing qualities were so seriously
+injured by her pounding on the bar, that the enemy was rapidly
+overhauling her. Decatur adopted every known expedient to increase his
+ship's speed, but to no avail. After she had been lightened by
+starting the water, cutting away boats and anchors, chopping up and
+heaving overboard the ponderous cables, together with spars and
+provisions, the enemy still gained; and the foremost pursuer, a razee,
+opened fire. The "President" responded with her stern-chasers, but her
+shot had no effect. "It is said that on this occasion," writes Cooper,
+"the shot of the American ship were observed to be thrown with a
+momentum so unusually small, as to have since excited much distrust of
+the quality of her gunpowder. It is even added, that many of these
+shot were distinctly seen, when clear of the smoke, until they
+struck." At six o'clock in the evening, the frigate "Endymion" led the
+British squadron in chase, and had gained a position so close upon the
+American's beam that her broadsides were rapidly crippling the
+fugitive. Thereupon Decatur determined upon a desperate expedient,
+that sounds like some of his reckless exploits in the war with
+Tripoli. His plan was to bring the "President" about, and run boldly
+alongside the enemy. Every thing was to be sacrificed to the end of
+getting to close quarters. When once the two ships had grappled, the
+Americans were to board, carry the British ship in a hand-to-hand
+battle, and then, abandoning the crippled "President," escape in the
+captured frigate. So desperate a plan needed the cordial co-operation
+of every man: so it was first presented to the commissioned officers,
+who gladly embraced the desperate project. The sailors were then sent
+aft, and Decatur addressed them from the quarter-deck.</p>
+
+<p>"My lads," said he, "that ship is coming up with us. As our ship won't
+sail, we'll go on board of theirs, every man and boy of us, and carry
+her into New York. All I ask of you is to follow me. This is a
+favorite ship of the country. If we allow her to be taken, we shall be
+deserted by our wives and sweethearts. What, let such a ship as this
+go for nothing! 'Twould break the heart of every pretty girl in New
+York."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo622" name="illo622"></a>
+<img src="images/622_president_and_endymion.jpg" width="400" height="551" alt="" title="">
+<p>"President" and "Endymion."</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page623" name="page623"></a>(p. 623)</span> With hearty cheers, the jackies returned to their guns. All
+were ready for the coming struggle. Over the main hatch was mounted a
+howitzer, with its black muzzle peering down into the hold, ready to
+scuttle the ship when the boarders should spring upon the enemy's
+deck. The sun, by this time, had sunk below the horizon, and the
+darkness of night was gathering over the ocean. The two ships surged
+toward each other,&mdash;great black masses, lighted up on either side by
+rows of open ports, through which gleamed the uncertain light of the
+battle-lanterns. On the gun-deck the men stood stern and silent; their
+thoughts fixed upon the coming battle, or perhaps wandering back to
+the green fields and pleasant homes they had so recently left, perhaps
+forever. The gray old yeoman of the frigate, with his mates, walked
+from gun to gun, silently placing a well-sharpened cutlass, a dirk,
+and a heavy leather boarding-cap at each man's side. The marines were
+drawn up in a line amidships; their erect, soldierly air and rigid
+alignment contrasting with the careless slouchiness of the sailors.
+Butts for the sailors' ridicule as they were during a cruise, the
+marines knew that, in hand-to-hand conflicts, their part was as
+dashing as that of their tormentors of the forecastle.</p>
+
+<p>When the "President" had come within a quarter of a mile of her
+adversary, Decatur perceived that his enemy was determined to decide
+the contest at long range. As the "President" hauled down nearer, the
+"Endymion" sheered off, keeping up meanwhile a vigorous cannonade. To
+this the Americans responded in kind; and so much superior was the
+gunnery of the Yankee tars, that the rigging of the enemy was seen to
+be fast going to pieces, while her guns were being silenced one by
+one. But her fire did sad havoc among the men of the "President," and
+particularly among the officers. The first broadside carried away
+Decatur's first lieutenant, Mr. Babbitt, who was struck by a
+thirty-two-pound shot, which cut off his right leg below the knee, and
+hurled him through the wardroom hatch to the deck below, fracturing
+his wounded leg in two places. Shortly after, Decatur was knocked to
+the deck by a heavy splinter. For some time he lay unconscious; then
+opening his eyes, and seeing a throng of anxious seamen about him, he
+ordered them to their stations, and resumed his duties. The fire of
+the "Endymion" then slackened; and she lay upon the water, with her
+sails cut <span class="pagenum"><a id="page624" name="page624"></a>(p. 624)</span> from the yards. At that moment Lieut. Howell
+turned to a midshipman standing at his side, and said gayly, "Well, we
+have whipped that ship, at any rate." A flash from the bow of the
+Englishman followed; and he added, "No: there she is again." The
+midshipman turned to reply, and saw Howell stretched dead at his feet,
+killed by the last shot of the battle.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo624" name="illo624"></a>
+<img src="images/624_the_president_tries_to_escape.jpg" width="500" height="364" alt="" title="">
+<p>The "President" tries to Escape.</p></div>
+
+<p>The enemy was now helpless, and it would have been easy enough for the
+"President" to choose her position and compel her adversary to strike;
+but the presence of two more Englishmen, rapidly coming up astern,
+forced the Americans to abandon their prey and continue their flight.
+It was then late in the evening, and the night was dark and starless.
+Every light was extinguished on the American frigate, in the hope that
+by so doing she might slip away under cover of the night. But the
+British lookouts were sharp-eyed; and by eleven o'clock two frigates
+had closed in on the crippled ship, and a third was rapidly coming up
+astern. All were pouring in rapid broadsides, and the dark waters were
+lighted up like a fiery sea by the ceaseless flashing of the guns.
+Thus surrounded and overpowered, there remained open to the Americans
+no course but to surrender; and at eleven o'clock at night the
+"President" made signal that she had struck. Her fate, like that of
+the "Chesapeake," had accorded with the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page625" name="page625"></a>(p. 625)</span> superstitious
+sailors' notion that she was an unlucky ship. In the long running
+fight, neither the Americans nor the British had escaped without
+severe loss. On the "President" were twenty-four killed and fifty-six
+wounded; the first, second, and third lieutenants being among the
+slain. The "Endymion" had eleven men killed and fourteen wounded. The
+two frigates were ordered to proceed to Bermuda; but the "President's"
+bad luck seemed to follow her, for on the way she encountered a
+terrific gale, by which her masts were carried away, and her timbers
+so strained that all the upper-deck guns had to be thrown overboard to
+save the ship.</p>
+
+<p>The loss of the "President," at the very mouth of the New York Harbor,
+was certainly a most inauspicious opening for the naval operations of
+1815. The people of New York and Philadelphia, to whom had come
+neither the news of peace nor of the glorious success of the American
+arms at New Orleans, were plunged into despondency. "Now that Great
+Britain is at peace with Europe," thought they, "she can exert all her
+power in the task of subjugating America;" and mournful visions of a
+return to British rule darkened their horizon. But, even while they
+were thus saddened by Decatur's defeat, a gallant vessel&mdash;the monarch
+of the American navy&mdash;was fighting a good fight for the honor of the
+nation; and out of that fight she came with colors flying and two
+captive men-of-war following in her wake.</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that the "Constitution" left Boston in December,
+1814, for an extended cruise. The gallant frigate, always a favorite
+among man-o'-war's men, carried with her on this cruise a full crew of
+native Americans,&mdash;thorough seamen, and as plucky fighters as ever
+pulled a lanyard or carried a cutlass. Her course lay due east; and in
+January, 1815, she was in the Bay of Biscay, where she fell in with,
+and captured, two prizes. After this she cruised about for a month,
+without encountering an enemy. American privateers and cruisers had
+fairly driven British merchantmen from the seas, and the tars of the
+"Constitution" found their time hanging heavily on their hands. The
+captain was an able and considerate officer, and much freedom was
+allowed the jackies in their amusements. With boxing, broadsword, and
+single-stick play, drill and skylarking, the hours of daylight were
+whiled away; and by night the men off duty would gather about the
+forecastle lantern to play with greasy, well-thumbed cards, or warble
+tender ditties to black-eyed Susans far across <span class="pagenum"><a id="page626" name="page626"></a>(p. 626)</span> the Atlantic.
+Patriotic melodies formed no small part of Jack's musical
+<span class="italic">repertoire</span>. Of these, this one, written by a landsman, was for a
+long time popular among the tuneful souls of the forecastle, and was
+not altogether unknown in the wardroom.</p>
+
+<p class="poem20">"Now coil up y'r nonsense 'bout England's great navy,<br>
+<span class="add1em">And take in y'r slack about oak-hearted tars;</span><br>
+  For frigates as stout, and as gallant crews have we,<br>
+<span class="add1em">Or how came their "Macedon" decked with our stars?</span><br>
+  Yes, how came her "Guerriere," her "Peacock," and "Java,"<br>
+<span class="add1em">All sent broken-ribbed to old Davy of late?</span><br>
+  How came it? Why, split me, than Britons we're braver;<br>
+<span class="add1em">And that they shall feel, too, whenever we meet.</span><br>
+<span class="add5em">Then charge the can cheerily,</span><br>
+<span class="add5em">Send it round merrily:</span><br>
+  Here's to our country, and captains commanding;<br>
+<span class="add5em">To all who inherit</span><br>
+<span class="add5em">Of Lawrence the spirit</span><br>
+  Disdaining to strike while a stick is left standing."</p>
+
+<p>Many were the verses of this notable production; for, to be popular in
+the forecastle, a song must play a lengthy part in "teasing time." One
+verse, however, is enough to show the manly, if perhaps unreasoning,
+pride the blue-jackets took in the triumphs of the navy.</p>
+
+<p>But the time of the sailors on this closing cruise of the war was not
+destined to be spent in sport and singing alone. The noble frigate was
+not to return to the stagnation of a season of peace in port, without
+adding yet another honor to her already honorable record. On the
+morning of the 20th of February, as the ship was running aimlessly
+before a light wind, some inexplicable impulse led Capt. Stewart to
+suddenly alter his course and run off some sixty miles to the
+south-west. Again the "Constitution's" good luck seemed to justify the
+sailors' belief, for at noon she ran into a group of vessels. The
+first vessel was sighted on the larboard bow, and, as the frigate
+overhauled her, proved to be a full-rigged ship. Soon after a second
+sail, also a ship, was sighted; and a few minutes more sufficed to
+show that both were men-of-war. The one first sighted was the
+frigate-built corvette "Cyane," of thirty-four guns; and the second
+was the sloop-of-war "Levant," of twenty-one guns. For either of
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page627" name="page627"></a>(p. 627)</span> these vessels singly, the "Constitution," with her fifty-two
+guns and crew of four hundred and fifty men, was more than a match.
+Yet to attack the two was a bold movement, and this Stewart determined
+to undertake. Hardly had the character of the strangers been made out,
+when the corvette was seen making signals to the sloop; and the two
+vessels, then about ten miles apart, made all sail to get together
+before the enemy should overhaul them. This juncture was precisely
+what Stewart wished to prevent; and in a trice the shrill notes of the
+boatswain's whistle sent the sailors in swarms into the rigging, and
+the frigate was as if by magic clothed with a broad expanse of canvas.
+Quickly she felt the effect, and bounded through the water after the
+distant ships like a dolphin chasing a school of flying-fish. The old
+tars on the forecastle looked knowingly over the side at the foamy
+water rushing past, and then cast approving glances aloft where every
+sail was drawing. But their complacency was shattered by a loud crash
+aloft, which proved to be the main royal-mast which had given way
+under the strain. Another spar was rigged speedily, and shipped by the
+active tars, and soon the snowy clouds aloft showed no signs of the
+wreck. At sundown the three vessels were so near each other that their
+colors could be seen. Stewart ran up the stars and stripes, to which
+the strangers responded by setting the British flag at their
+mastheads.</p>
+
+<p>The purpose of the enemy was to delay the opening of the action until
+night should give him opportunity to man&oelig;uvre unobserved; but the
+"Constitution," suspecting this, pressed forward hotly, and opened
+fire a few minutes after six o'clock. By skilful seamanship Stewart
+kept the windward gage of both enemies; and the fight opened with the
+"Cyane" on the port-quarter, and the "Levant" on the port-bow of the
+American frigate. Fifteen minutes of fierce cannonading followed, the
+combatants being within musket-shot most of the time. Every gun was
+engaged; and the heavy broadsides shook the ships, and thundered far
+over the placid surface of the ocean, which was now faintly illumined
+by the rising moon. The triangular space between the ships was filled
+with the dense sulphurous smoke of the burning powder; so that the
+gunners could see nothing of the enemy at whom they were hurling their
+ponderous iron bolts. The men in the tops could now and again catch a
+glimpse of the top hamper of the enemy's ships, but those on the
+gun-deck were working almost at random. After a few minutes of rapid
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page628" name="page628"></a>(p. 628)</span> firing, the fire of the enemy slackened; and Stewart
+directed his gunners to cease until the smoke should have cleared
+away. At this command a silence, almost oppressive after the heavy
+cannonading, ensued, broken only by the occasional report of a gun
+from the unseen enemy, sounding like minute-guns of distress.
+Anxiously Stewart waited for the smoke to blow away. When it did so,
+the "Cyane" was seen luffing up, to come under the frigate's stern,
+and get in a raking broadside. The movement was discovered just in
+time to be checked. Stewart gave a heavy broadside to the "Levant;"
+then, bracing back his topsails, backed his ship down abreast of the
+"Cyane," pouring in rapid broadsides, before which the fire of the
+corvette died away. Two raking broadsides that crashed into the stern
+of the "Levant" sent that craft out of the action, to refit. The
+frigate then pressed down upon the "Cyane," and with a few heavy
+broadsides forced her to strike.</p>
+
+<p>Capt. Douglass of the "Levant" then proved his bravery by standing by
+his captured consort; although he could have escaped easily, while the
+"Constitution" was taking possession of her prize. No thought of
+flight seems to have occurred to the gallant Briton, though he must
+have known that there was but little hope of his coming out of the
+combat victorious. Still he gallantly came back into the fight,
+meeting the "Constitution" ploughing along on the opposite tack.
+Broadsides were exchanged at such close range that the Yankee gunners
+could hear the ripping of the planks on the enemy's decks as the solid
+shot crashed through beam and stanchion. Having passed each other, the
+ships wore, and returned to the attack; but the weight of the
+American's metal told so severely upon the "Levant" that her flag was
+hauled down, and, firing a gun to leeward, she gave up the fight.</p>
+
+<p>As an exhibition of seamanship, this action is unrivalled in naval
+annals. For Stewart to have taken his ship into action with two
+hostile vessels, and so handle her as not only to escape being raked,
+but actually rake his enemies, was a triumph of nautical skill. The
+action was hard fought by both parties. The loss upon the British
+vessels has never been exactly determined; but it was undoubtedly
+large, for the hulls were badly cut up by the American's fire. The
+"Constitution" had but three men killed, and twelve wounded. The
+officers all escaped unhurt.</p>
+
+<p>After a few hours' pause to repair damages, Stewart took his prizes
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page629" name="page629"></a>(p. 629)</span> into Porto Praya in the Cape Verde Islands, where they
+arrived on the 10th of March. The day after the ships reached port, a
+heavy fog settled over the water, cutting off vision in all
+directions. As the first lieutenant of the "Constitution" was walking
+the quarter-deck, he heard a young midshipman among the prisoners
+suddenly exclaim, "There's a large ship in the offing." The lieutenant
+peered about on every side, but could see nothing, until, looking
+upward, he saw the top-gallant sails of a large ship moving along
+above the fog-bank. Capt. Stewart was quickly notified; and, coolly
+remarking that the stranger was probably a British frigate, he ordered
+that the men be sent to quarters, and the ship prepared for action.
+The lieutenant hastened on deck to execute the orders, but had hardly
+reached his station when he saw the sails of two more ships gliding
+along above the fog-bank. Hastily he returned to the captain's cabin
+with the report. Stewart showed no emotion or alarm, although he knew
+well that the fact that he was in a neutral port would be no
+protection against the British, should they once discover his
+presence. The affair of the "Essex" was still fresh in his mind.
+Calmly he ordered the lieutenant to make sail and take the ship to
+sea, signalling to the two prizes to follow. The orders were given
+quietly on deck; and in fifteen minutes the "Constitution," under full
+press of sail, was making her way out of Porto Praya roads. On the
+shore were more than a hundred prisoners whom Stewart had landed under
+parole. Regardless of the dictates of honor, these men rushed to a
+Portuguese battery, and opened fire on the ships as they passed out.
+Hearing the cannonade, the lookouts on the enemy's vessels looked
+eagerly for its cause, and caught sight, above the fog, of the rapidly
+receding topsails of the fugitives. At this sight the British set out
+in pursuit; and the fog soon clearing away revealed to the Americans
+two ships-of-the-line and a frigate following fast in their wake. The
+"Constitution" and the "Cyane" easily kept out of reach of their
+pursuers; but the "Levant" dropped behind, and finally, at a signal
+from Stewart, tacked, and stood back for Porto Praya. The enemy then
+abandoned the pursuit of the two foremost vessels, and followed the
+"Levant," but failed to overhaul her before she entered the harbor.
+This, however, checked the British not a whit. For the laws of nations
+and the authority of the Portuguese flag that floated over the little
+town, they cared nothing. On they came, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page630" name="page630"></a>(p. 630)</span> and opened fire on
+the "Levant," which had dropped anchor under what was supposed to be a
+neutral battery. The Americans soon discovered their error. Not only
+did the British disregard the neutrality of the port, but the paroled
+prisoners on shore took possession of the battery, and opened fire
+upon the beleaguered craft. Thus caught between two fires, no hope
+remained to the Americans; and, after a few minutes' gallant but
+useless defence, the flag of the "Levant" was hauled down, and she
+passed again into the hands of the British.</p>
+
+<p>It was late in May before the "Constitution" reached New York. Peace
+had then been declared; but none the less were Stewart and his men
+feasted and honored. The old frigate had won for herself a name ever
+to be remembered by the people of the nation, in whose service she had
+received and dealt so many hard knocks. "Old Ironsides," they called
+her; and even to-day, when a later war has given to the navy vessels
+whose sides are literally iron, the "Constitution" still holds her
+place in the hearts of the American people, who think of her lovingly
+by the well-won title of "Old Ironsides."</p>
+
+<p>While we have been following thus Stewart and his gallant frigate in
+their final cruise, some smaller vessels were doing good work for the
+credit of the American flag. It will be remembered, that, when the
+"President" left New York Bay on her short and disastrous cruise of
+January, 1815, she left behind her, at anchor, the "Peacock," the
+"Hornet," and the "Tom Bowline." These vessels, knowing nothing of the
+fate of their former consort, awaited only the coming of a gale
+sufficient to drive away the blockading squadron. On the 22d of
+January it came up to blow; and the three craft, under storm canvas,
+scudded over the bar, and made for the rendezvous at Tristan d'Acunha.
+On the way thither they separated, the "Hornet" cruising alone. On the
+23d she sighted a strange sail on the horizon, and, clapping on all
+sail, bore down upon her. At the same time the stranger sighted the
+"Hornet," and made for her, evidently with hostile intent. The two
+vessels approached each other until within musket-shot, when the
+stranger hoisted English colors, and fired a gun. Capt. Biddle of the
+American ship was ready for the fray, and opened fire with a
+broadside. The response of the enemy was vigorous and effective. For
+fifteen minutes the firing was constant; but the enemy, seeing that
+the Americans were getting the better of the fight, then strove to
+close and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page631" name="page631"></a>(p. 631)</span> board. This Biddle determined to avoid, but called
+up the boarders to beat back the enemy, should they succeed in
+closing. "At the instant," he writes, in his official report, "every
+officer and man repaired to the quarter-deck, when the two vessels
+were coming in contact, and eagerly pressed me to permit them to board
+the enemy; but this I would not permit, as it was evident, from the
+commencement of the action, that our fire was greatly superior, both
+in quickness and effect. The enemy's bowsprit came between our main
+and mizzen rigging, on our starboard side, affording him an
+opportunity to board us, if such was his design; but no attempt was
+made. There was a considerable swell on; and, as the sea lifted us
+ahead, the enemy's bowsprit carried away our mizzen-shrouds, stern
+davits, and spanker-boom, and he hung upon our larboard quarter. At
+this moment an officer called out that they had surrendered. I
+directed the marines and musketry men to cease firing; and while on
+the taffrail, asking if they had surrendered, I received a wound in
+the neck."</p>
+
+<p>This wound, to which the captain so casually alludes, merits more than
+a passing reference. The fire of both ships had ceased when Biddle
+stepped upon the taffrail; but he had stood there only a moment, when
+two or three of the officers on the quarter-deck cried out that a man
+on the Englishman was aiming at him. Biddle did not hear the caution;
+but two American marines saw the enemy's movement, and, quickly
+bringing up their muskets, sent two balls crashing into the brain of
+the English marksman. He fell back dead, but had fired his piece
+before falling. The bullet struck Biddle in the neck, inflicting a
+painful, but not serious, wound. The blood flowed freely, however; and
+two sailors, rushing up, were about to carry their commander to the
+cock-pit, when he stopped them. Determined to do something to stanch
+the flowing blood, a sailor tore his shirt into bandages, with which
+he bound up his captain's wound. But let us return to Biddle's
+narrative.</p>
+
+<p>"The enemy just then got clear of us; and his foremast and bowsprit
+being both gone, and perceiving us wearing to give him a fresh
+broadside, he again called out that he had surrendered. It was with
+difficulty that I could restrain my crew from firing into him again,
+as he had certainly fired into us after having surrendered. From the
+firing of the first gun, to the last time the enemy cried out that he
+had surrendered, was exactly twenty-two minutes by the watch. She
+proved to be His Britannic Majesty's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page632" name="page632"></a>(p. 632)</span> brig "Penguin,"
+mounting sixteen thirty-two-pound carronades, two long twelves, a
+twelve-pound carronade on the top-gallant forecastle, with a swivel on
+the capstan in the tops."</p>
+
+<p>On boarding the prize, Biddle found that she had suffered too severely
+from the American fire to ever be of service again. He accordingly
+removed the prisoners and wounded to his own ship, and scuttled the
+"Penguin." Hardly was this operation accomplished, when two sail were
+sighted, bearing rapidly down upon the scene of action. Nothing
+daunted, the lads of the "Hornet" went to their guns, but were
+heartily glad to find that the two vessels approaching were the
+"Peacock" and "Tom Bowline." On their arrival, the latter vessel was
+converted into a cartel, and sent into Rio de Janeiro with prisoners;
+while the "Hornet" and "Peacock" cruised on toward the Indian Seas. On
+April 28 a heavy line-of-battle ship was sighted, and gave chase. In
+the flight the two sloops parted; the "Peacock" going off unmolested,
+while the "Hornet" fled, hotly pursued by the enemy. For a time it
+seemed as if the little craft must fall a prey to her huge pursuer,
+which had come up within a mile, and was firing great shot at the
+scudding sloop-of-war. Overboard went cables, guns, spars, shot, every
+thing that would lighten the "Hornet." The sails were wet down, and
+every thing that would draw was set. By consummate skill Biddle at
+last succeeded in evading his pursuer; and on the 9th of June the
+"Hornet" entered New York Bay, without a boat or anchor, and with but
+one gun left. But she brought the report that the last naval battle of
+the war had ended in victory for the Americans.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo634" name="illo634"></a>
+<img src="images/634_foundered_at_sea.jpg" width="400" height="552" alt="" title="">
+<p>Foundered at Sea.</p></div>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the "Peacock" was returning from a cruise not altogether
+void of interest. On parting with the "Hornet," she had struck off to
+the southward, and in the Straits of Sundra, between Borneo and
+Sumatra, had fallen in with the East India Company's cruiser
+"Nautilus," of fourteen guns. Between these two vessels an unfortunate
+and silly rencounter followed. The captain of the "Nautilus" knew of
+the declaration of peace; and, as the "Peacock" bore down upon his
+vessel, he shouted through a speaking-trumpet that peace had been
+declared. To this Capt. Warrington of the "Peacock" paid no attention,
+considering it a mere ruse on the part of the enemy, and responded by
+simply ordering the British to haul down their flag. This the
+Englishman very properly refused to do, and gallantly prepared for the
+unequal combat. Two <span class="pagenum"><a id="page635" name="page635"></a>(p. 635)</span> broadsides were then interchanged, by
+which the "Nautilus" was severely cut up, and eight of her crew
+killed. She then struck her colors. Capt. Warrington, on sending a
+boat aboard his adversary, found that the declaration of peace was no
+ruse, but a truthful statement of facts. His conduct had been almost
+criminally headstrong; and, though he was profuse in formal apologies,
+the wrong done could never be righted. The "Peacock" then continued
+her homeward voyage.</p>
+
+<p>When this vessel reached port, the last of the cruisers had returned;
+and the war was over in fact, as it had long been over technically. It
+has become the fashion to say that it was a useless war, that served
+no purpose, because the treaty by which it was ended contained no
+reference to the hateful doctrine of the right of search, which, more
+than any thing else, had brought on the conflict. Yet, though the
+conduct of the war had not led the British to formally renounce their
+claims in this respect, the exploits of the American navy had shown
+that the Yankee blue-jackets were prepared to, and would, forcibly
+resent any attempt on the part of the British to put those claims into
+practice. The British had entered upon the war gaily, never dreaming
+that the puny American navy would offer any serious resistance to
+Great Britain's domination upon the ocean. Yet now, looking back over
+the three years of the war, they saw an array of naval battles, in the
+majority of which the Americans had been victorious; and in all of
+which the brilliancy of American naval tactics, the skill of the
+officers, and the courage and discipline of the crews, put the younger
+combatants on a plane with the older and more famous naval service.
+Fenimore Cooper, in his "History of the Navy of the United States,"
+thus sums up the results of this naval war: "The navy came out of this
+struggle with a vast increase of reputation. The brilliant style in
+which the ships had been carried into action, the steadiness and
+accuracy with which they had been handled, and the fatal accuracy of
+their fire on nearly every occasion had produced a new era in naval
+warfare. Most of the frigate actions had been as soon decided as
+circumstances would at all allow; and in no instance was it found
+necessary to keep up the fire of a sloop-of-war an hour, when singly
+engaged. Most of the combats of the latter, indeed, were decided in
+about half that time. The execution done in these short conflicts was
+often equal to that made by the largest vessels of Europe in general
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page636" name="page636"></a>(p. 636)</span> actions; and, in some of them, the slain and wounded
+comprised a very large proportion of their crews.... The ablest and
+bravest captains of the English fleet were ready to admit that a new
+power was about to appear upon the ocean, and that it was not
+improbable the battle for the mastery of the seas would have to be
+fought over again."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_636.jpg" width="100" height="35" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page637" name="page637"></a>(p. 637)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_637.jpg" width="600" height="457" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XVII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">PRIVATEERS AND PRISONS OF THE WAR. &mdash; THE "ROSSIE." &mdash; SALEM
+PRIVATEERS. &mdash; THE "GEN. ARMSTRONG" GIVES BATTLE TO A BRITISH SQUADRON,
+AND SAVES NEW ORLEANS. &mdash; NARRATIVE OF A BRITISH OFFICER. &mdash; THE "PRINCE
+DE NEUFCHATEL." &mdash; EXPERIENCES OF AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR. &mdash; THE END.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_n.jpg" width="50" height="60" alt="N" title=""></span>o narrative of the naval exploits of the Americans in the second war
+with Great Britain can be complete without some account of the
+achievements of the fleets of privateers which for three years swept
+the seas, destroying a vast amount of the enemy's property; and, while
+accomplishing their end by enriching their owners, did, nevertheless,
+much incidental good to the American cause. Seldom has the business of
+privateering been so extensively carried on as in the War of 1812. For
+this the reason lay in the rich bait offered by the world-wide
+commerce of Great Britain, whose fleets whitened every known sea.
+Privateering must ever be a weapon wielded by the weaker <span class="pagenum"><a id="page638" name="page638"></a>(p. 638)</span>
+nation against the stronger. And Congress, in the very Act by which it
+declared war, authorized the President to issue letters of marque and
+reprisal to private armed vessels.</p>
+
+<p>The declaration of war had hardly been made public, when the hundreds
+of shipyards from Maine to Savannah resounded with the blows of
+hammers and the grating of saws, as the shipwrights worked, busily
+refitting old vessels, or building new ones, destined to cruise
+against the commerce of John Bull. All sorts of vessels were employed
+in this service. The Atlantic and Gulf Coasts fairly swarmed with
+small pilot-boats, mounting one long gun amidships, and carrying crews
+of twenty to forty men. These little craft made rapid sallies into the
+waters of the Gulf Stream, in search of British West Indiamen homeward
+bound. Other privateers were huge three-masters, carrying heavy
+batteries, and able to outsail any of the enemy's ships. On leaving
+port for a long cruise, these vessels would carry enormous crews, so
+that captured vessels might be manned and sent home. After a
+successful cruise, such a privateer returned to port seldom bringing
+more than one-fifth of the crew with which she had set out. But the
+favorite rig for a privateer was that of the top-sail schooner,&mdash;such
+a rig as the "Enterprise" carried during the war with France. The
+famous shipyards of Baltimore turned out scores of clean-cut,
+clipper-built schooners, with long, low hulls and raking masts, which
+straightway took to the ocean on privateering cruises. The armament of
+these vessels generally consisted of six to ten carronades and one
+long pivot-gun, going by the pet name of "Long Tom," mounted
+amidships. The crew was usually a choice assortment of cut-throats and
+seafaring vagabonds of all classes,&mdash;ready enough to fight if plunder
+was to be gained, but equally ready to surrender if only honor was to
+be gained by fighting. Yet history records a few actions in which the
+privateersmen showed a steadiness and courage worthy of seamen of the
+regular service.</p>
+
+<p>The limitations of this work do not permit a complete account of the
+work of the privateers during the war. Although an interesting
+subject, and one of historical importance, but a few pages can be
+devoted to it here. Properly treated, it would fill a volume; and,
+indeed, one of the most noted privateersmen has left a narrative of
+the exploits of the principal privateers, which forms a very
+considerable tome. The fact that <span class="pagenum"><a id="page639" name="page639"></a>(p. 639)</span> two hundred and fifty
+private armed cruisers under the American flag captured or destroyed
+over sixteen hundred British vessels will indicate the importance and
+extent of the subject. For us a mere sketch of the exploits of some of
+the principal privateers must suffice.</p>
+
+<p>One of the first things to attract the attention of the reader, in the
+dingy files of some newspaper of 1812-15, is the grotesque names under
+which many of the privateers sailed. The grandiloquent style of the
+regular navy vanishes, and in its place we find homely names; such as
+"Jack's Favorite," "Lovely Lass," "Row-boat," "Saucy Jack," or
+"True-blooded Yankee." Some names are clearly political allusions,&mdash;as
+the "Orders in Council" and the "Fair Trade." The "Black Joke," the
+"Shark," and the "Anaconda" must have had a grim significance for the
+luckless merchantmen who fell a prey to the vessels bearing these
+names. "Bunker Hill" and "Divided we fall," though odd names to sail
+under, seemed to bring luck to the two vessels, which were very
+successful in their cruises. "United we stand" was a luckless craft,
+however, taking only one prize; while the achievements of the
+"Full-blooded Yankee" and the "Sine qua non" were equally limited. Of
+the "Poor Sailor," certainly little was to be expected; and it is with
+no surprise that we find she captured only one prize.</p>
+
+<p>Among the most successful privateers was the "Rossie" of Baltimore,
+commanded by the Revolutionary veteran Capt. Barney, who left her,
+finally, to assume command of the American naval forces on Chesapeake
+Bay. She was a clipper-built schooner, carrying fourteen guns, and a
+crew of one hundred and twenty men. The destruction wrought by this
+one cruiser was enormous. In a ninety days' cruise she captured, sunk,
+or otherwise destroyed British property to the amount of a million and
+a half dollars, and took two hundred and seventeen prisoners. All this
+was not done without some hard fighting. One prize&mdash;His Britannic
+Majesty's packet-ship "Princess Amelia"&mdash;was armed with nine-pounders,
+and made a gallant defence before surrendering. Several men were
+killed, and the "Rossie" suffered the loss of her first lieutenant.
+The prisoners taken by the "Rossie" were exchanged for Americans
+captured by the British. With the first body of prisoners thus
+exchanged, Barney sent a cool note to the British commander at New
+Brunswick, assuring him that before long a second batch of his
+captured countrymen should be sent in.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page640" name="page640"></a>(p. 640)</span> Several Northern seaports shared with Baltimore the business
+of fitting out and manning privateers. The hardy seamen of Maine and
+Massachusetts were ever ready for a profitable venture of this kind;
+and, as the continuation of the war caused the whale-fishery to
+languish, the sailors gladly took up the adventurous life of
+privateersmen. The profits of a successful cruise were enormous; and
+for days after the home-coming of a lucky privateer the little seaport
+into which she came rang with the boisterous shouts of the carousing
+sailors. "We still, in imagination, see our streets filled with
+privateersmen," writes a historian of Portsmouth, "in groups, with
+blue ribbons tied around their hats, inscribed in large letters,
+'<span class="smcap">Success to the "Fox,"</span>' or whatever vessel they were to sail in. And
+then another scene, of sailors paid off with so much money that they
+knew not what to do with it. It was one of these men that, in Market
+Square, put his arm around a cow, kissed her, and put a five-dollar
+bill in her mouth, for a good cud. Sometimes they might be seen,
+finely dressed, walking down the sunny streets, carrying parasols."
+One Portsmouth privateer came to grief in the West Indies, and was
+captured by a British vessel of heavier metal. In the hold of the
+privateer was a considerable sum of money in gold coin, the existence
+of which was known only to the captain and his body-servant, a bright
+negro. The British, on capturing the vessel, put a prize-crew on
+board, and, while taking the Yankee captain upon their own ship, left
+his negro servant on the prize. Watching his opportunity, the negro
+brought up the gold coin, and dropped it unobserved into a tub of
+greasy black slush with which he had been slushing down the masts.
+Some days later, the captured vessel reached the port to which she had
+been sent, and was tied up at a wharf to await condemnation. The
+faithful servant lingered about the ship for a time, saying that he
+had no place to go. At last he was gruffly ordered to leave; but,
+before going, he astonished the mate by begging for the tub of slush,
+which he said might enable him to earn a few cents along the docks.
+The mate carelessly told him to take the stuff, and be off; which he
+promptly did, carrying away with him his tub of slush, with its
+concealed treasure. It is worthy of note, that this negro, far from
+home and from the owners of the money, paid it into a bank to the
+credit of the captain whom he had served.</p>
+
+<p>Salem, Mass., was another great port for privateers to hail from. Not
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page641" name="page641"></a>(p. 641)</span> less than twenty-five of these predatory gentry fitted out
+at the quiet little seaside village; and, when the war was ended, few
+of the inhabitants were unable to tell some tale of personal
+adventures, cruising against the enemy. Indeed, Salem had the honor of
+receiving the first prize captured on the ocean after the declaration
+of war; for into the harbor came, on the 10th of June, 1812, the trim
+privateer schooner "Fame," followed close by two ships, from the
+halliards of which waved the British flag surmounted by the stars and
+stripes. Then the whole town turned out as one man to greet and cheer
+the captors; but, long before the war was ended, the appearance of a
+prize in the harbor aroused little excitement. One of the most
+successful of the rovers sailing from this port was the "Dolphin,"
+whose record during the war shows a list of twenty-two captured
+vessels. Her faculty for making long cruises, and turning up in the
+most unexpected places, made her the dread of all British
+sea-captains. She was manned by a gallant set of lads, who had no fear
+of hard fighting; and many of her prizes were won at the cannon's
+mouth. In January, 1813, the "Dolphin" fell in with a British ship and
+brig cruising together off Cape St. Vincent. Though the enemy
+outnumbered the privateersmen, and carried heavier metal, yet the
+"Dolphin" went gallantly into the fight, and after a severe battle
+succeeded in taking both vessels. Great was the astonishment of the
+British at being thus snapped up by a Yankee privateer almost under
+the guns of the Rock of Gibraltar. The luckless Britons were carried
+to America as prisoners; but so kind was the treatment they met with
+at the hands of the privateers, that on leaving the "Dolphin," at
+Boston, they published a card in which they said, "Should the fortune
+of war ever throw Capt. Stafford or any of his crew into the hands of
+the British, it is sincerely hoped he will meet with similar
+treatment."</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the foremost of all the fighting privateers was the "Gen.
+Armstrong" of New York; a schooner mounting eight long nines and one
+long twenty-four on a pivot. She had a crew of ninety men, and was
+commanded on her first cruise by Capt. Guy R. Champlin. This vessel
+was one of the first to get to sea, and had cruised for several months
+with fair success, when in March, 1813, she gave chase to a sail off
+the Surinam River on the coast of South America. The stranger seemed
+to evince no great desire to escape; and the privateer soon gained
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page642" name="page642"></a>(p. 642)</span> sufficiently to discover that the supposed merchantman was a
+British sloop-of-war, whose long row of open ports showed that she
+carried twenty-seven guns. Champlin and his men found this a more ugly
+customer than they had expected; but it was too late to retreat, and
+to surrender was out of the question: so, calling the people to the
+guns, Champlin took his ship into action with a steadiness that no old
+naval captain could have exceeded. "Close quarters and quick work,"
+was the word passed along the gun-deck; and the "Armstrong" was
+brought alongside her antagonist at a distant of half pistol-shot. For
+nearly an hour the two vessels exchanged rapid broadsides; but, though
+the American gunners were the better marksmen, the heavy build of the
+sloop-of-war enabled her to stand against broadsides which would have
+cut the privateer to pieces. Capt. Champlin was hit in the shoulder
+early in the action, but kept his station until the fever of his wound
+forced him to retire to his cabin. However, he still continued to
+direct the course of the action; and, seeing that the tide of battle
+was surely going against him, he ordered the crew to get out the
+sweeps and pull away from the enemy, whose rigging was too badly cut
+up to enable her to give chase. This was quickly done; and the "Gen.
+Armstrong," though badly injured, and with her decks covered with dead
+and dying men, escaped, leaving her more powerful adversary to repair
+damages and make the best of her way home. Capt. Champlin, on his
+arrival at New York, was the hero of the hour. For a privateer to have
+held out for an hour against a man-of-war, was thought a feat worthy
+of praise from all classes of men. The merchants of the city tendered
+the gallant captain a dinner, and the stockholders in his vessel
+presented him with a costly sword.</p>
+
+<p>But the "Gen. Armstrong" was destined to fight yet another battle,
+which should far eclipse the glory of her first. A new captain was to
+win the laurels this time; for Capt. Champlin's wound had forced him
+to retire, and his place was filled by Capt. Samuel C. Reid. On the
+26th of September, 1814, the privateer was lying at anchor in the
+roadstead of Fayal. Over the land that enclosed the snug harbor on
+three sides, waved the flag of Portugal, a neutral power, but
+unfortunately one of insufficient strength to enforce the rights of
+neutrality. While the "Armstrong" was thus lying in the port, a
+British squadron, composed of the "Plantagenet" seventy-four, the
+"Rota" thirty-eight, and "Carnation" <span class="pagenum"><a id="page643" name="page643"></a>(p. 643)</span> eighteen, hove in
+sight, and soon swung into the harbor and dropped anchor. Reid watched
+the movements of the enemy with eager vigilance. He knew well that the
+protection of Portugal would not aid him in the least should the
+captain of that seventy-four choose to open fire upon the "Armstrong."
+The action of the British in coming into the harbor was in itself
+suspicious, and the American had little doubt that the safety of his
+vessel was in jeopardy. While he was pacing the deck, and weighing in
+his mind the probability of an assault by the British, he caught sight
+of some unusual stir aboard the hostile ships. It was night; but the
+moon had risen, and by its pale light Reid saw four large barges let
+fall from the enemy's ships, and, manned by about forty men each, make
+toward his vessel. In an instant every man on the privateer was called
+to his post. That there was to be an attack, was now certain; and the
+Americans determined not to give up their vessel without at least a
+vigorous attempt to defend her. Reid's first act was to warp his craft
+under the guns of a rather dilapidated castle, which was supposed to
+uphold the authority of Portugal over the island and adjacent waters.
+Hardly had the position been gained, when the foremost of the British
+boats came within hail, and Capt. Reid shouted, "Boat ahoy! What
+boat's that?" No response followed the hail; and it was repeated, with
+the warning, "Answer, or I shall fire into you." Still the British
+advanced without responding; and Reid, firmly convinced that they
+purposed to carry his ship with a sudden dash, ordered his gunners to
+open on the boats with grape. This was done, and at the first volley
+the British turned and made off. Capt. Reid then warped his vessel
+still nearer shore; and bending springs on her cable, so that her
+broadside might be kept always toward the enemy, he awaited a second
+attack. At midnight the enemy were seen advancing again, this time
+with fourteen barges and about five hundred men. While the flotilla
+was still at long range, the Americans opened fire upon them with the
+heavy "Long Tom;" and, as they came nearer, the full battery of long
+nine-pounders took up the fight. The carnage in the advancing boats
+was terrible; but the plucky Englishmen pushed on, meeting the
+privateer's fire with volleys of musketry and carronades. Despite the
+American fire, the British succeeded in getting under the bow and
+quarter of the "Armstrong," and strove manfully to board; while the
+Americans fought no less bravely to keep them back. The attack became
+a furious hand-to-hand <span class="pagenum"><a id="page644" name="page644"></a>(p. 644)</span> battle. From behind the
+boarding-nettings the Americans thrust pikes, and fired pistols and
+muskets, at their assailants, who, mounted on each other's shoulders,
+were hacking fiercely at the nettings which kept them from gaining the
+schooner's deck. The few that managed to clamber on the taffrail of
+the "Armstrong" were thrust through and through with pikes, and
+hurled, thus horribly impaled, into the sea. The fighting was fiercest
+and deadliest on the quarter; for there were most of the enemy's
+boats, and there Capt. Reid led the defence in person. So hot was the
+reception met by the British at this point, that they drew off in
+dismay, despairing of ever gaining the privateer's deck. Hardly did
+Reid see the enemy thus foiled on the quarter, when a chorus of
+British cheers from the forecastle, mingled with yells of rage, told
+that the enemy had succeeded in effecting a lodgement there. Calling
+his men about him, the gallant captain dashed forward and was soon in
+the front rank of the defenders, dealing furious blows with his
+cutlass, and crying out, "Come on, my lads, and we'll drive them into
+the sea." The leadership of an officer was all that the sailors
+needed. The three lieutenants on the forecastle had been killed or
+disabled, else the enemy had never come aboard. With Reid to cheer
+them on, the sailors rallied, and with a steady advance drove the
+British back into their boats. The disheartened enemy did not return
+to the attack, but returned to their ships, leaving behind two boats
+captured and two sunk. Their loss in the attack was thirty-four killed
+and eighty-six wounded. On the privateer were two killed and seven
+wounded.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo646" name="illo646"></a>
+<img src="images/646_privateersmen_at_home.jpg" width="400" height="554" alt="" title="">
+<p>Privateersmen at Home.</p></div>
+
+<p>But the attack was not to end here. Reid was too old a sailor to
+expect that the British, chagrined as they were by two repulses, were
+likely to leave the privateer in peace. He well knew that the
+withdrawal of the barges meant not an abandonment, but merely a short
+discontinuance, of the attack. Accordingly he gave his crew scarcely
+time to rest, before he set them to work getting the schooner in trim
+for another battle. The wounded were carried below, and the decks
+cleared of splinters and wreckage. The boarding-nettings were patched
+up, and hung again in place. "Long Tom" had been knocked off his
+carriage by a carronade shot, and had to be remounted; but all was
+done quickly, and by morning the vessel was ready for whatever might
+be in store for her. The third assault was made soon after daybreak.
+Evidently the enemy despaired of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page647" name="page647"></a>(p. 647)</span> his ability to conquer
+the privateersmen in a hand-to-hand battle; for this time he moved the
+brig "Carnation" up within range, and opened fire upon the schooner.
+The man-of-war could fire nine guns at a broadside, while the schooner
+could reply with but seven; but "Long Tom" proved the salvation of the
+privateer. The heavy twenty-four-pound shots from this gun did so much
+damage upon the hull of the brig, that she was forced to draw out of
+the action; leaving the victory, for the third time, with the
+Americans.</p>
+
+<p>But now Capt. Reid decided that it was folly to longer continue the
+conflict. The overwhelming force of the enemy made any thought of
+ultimate escape folly. It only remained for the British to move the
+seventy-four "Plantagenet" into action to seal the doom of the Yankee
+privateer. The gallant defence already made by the Americans had cost
+the British nearly three hundred men in killed and wounded; and Reid
+now determined to destroy his vessel, and escape to the shore. The
+great pivot-gun was accordingly pointed down the main hatch, and two
+heavy shots sent crashing through the bottom. Then applying the torch,
+to make certain the work of destruction, the privateersmen left the
+ship, giving three cheers for the gallant "Gen. Armstrong," as a burst
+of flame and a roar told that the flames had reached her magazine.</p>
+
+<p>This gallant action won loud plaudits for Capt. Reid when the news
+reached the United States. Certainly no vessel of the regular navy was
+ever more bravely or skilfully defended than was the "Gen. Armstrong."
+But, besides the credit won for the American arms, Reid had
+unknowingly done his country a memorable service. The three vessels
+that attacked him were bound to the Gulf of Mexico, to assist in the
+attack upon New Orleans. The havoc Reid wrought among their crews, and
+the damage he inflicted upon the "Carnation," so delayed the New
+Orleans expedition, that Gen. Jackson was able to gather those motley
+troops that fought so well on the plains of Chalmette. Had it not been
+for the plucky fight of the lads of the "Gen. Armstrong," the British
+forces would have reached New Orleans ten days earlier, and
+Packenham's expedition might have ended very differently.</p>
+
+<p>The "Plantagenet" and her consorts were not the only British
+men-of-war bound for New Orleans that fell in with warlike Yankee
+privateers. Some of the vessels from the Chesapeake squadron met a
+privateer, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page648" name="page648"></a>(p. 648)</span> a contest ensued, from which the American
+emerged with less glory than did the lads of the "Gen. Armstrong." A
+young British officer in his journal thus tells the story:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It was my practice to sit for hours, after nightfall, upon the
+taffrail, and strain my eyes in the attempt to distinguish objects on
+shore, or strange sails in the distance. It so happened that on the
+30th I was tempted to indulge in this idle but bewitching employment
+even beyond my usual hour for retiring, and did not quit the deck till
+towards two o'clock in the morning of the 31st [of October]. I had
+just entered my cabin, and was beginning to undress, when a cry from
+above of an enemy in chase drew me instantly to the quarter-deck. On
+looking astern I perceived a vessel making directly after us, and was
+soon convinced of the justice of the alarm, by a shot which whistled
+over our heads. All hands were now called to quarters, the small sails
+taken in; and having spoken to our companion, and made an agreement as
+to position, both ships cleared for action. But the stranger, seeing
+his signal obeyed with so much alacrity, likewise slackened sail, and,
+continuing to keep us in view, followed our wake without approaching
+nearer. In this state things continued till daybreak,&mdash;we still
+holding our course, and he hanging back; but, as soon as it was light,
+he set more sail and ran to windward, moving just out of gun-shot in a
+parallel direction with us. It was now necessary to fall upon some
+plan of deceiving him; otherwise, there was little probability that he
+would attack. In the bomb, indeed, the height of the bulwarks served
+to conceal some of the men; but in the transport no such screen
+existed. The troops were therefore ordered below; and only the
+sailors, a few blacks, and the officers kept the deck. The same
+expedient was likewise adopted in part by Capt. Price of the
+'Volcano;' and, in order to give to his ship a still greater
+resemblance than it already had to a merchantman, he displayed an old
+faded scarlet ensign, and drew up his fore and main sail in what
+sailors term a lubberly manner.</p>
+
+<p>"As yet the stranger had shown no colors, but from her build and
+rigging there was little doubt as to her country. She was a beautiful
+schooner, presenting seven ports of a side, and apparently crowded
+with men,&mdash;circumstances which immediately led us to believe that she
+was an American privateer. The 'Volcano,' on the other hand, was a
+clumsy, strong-built <span class="pagenum"><a id="page649" name="page649"></a>(p. 649)</span> ship, carrying twelve guns; and the
+'Golden Fleece' mounted eight: so that in point of artillery the
+advantage was rather on our side; but the American's sailing was so
+much superior to that of either of us, that this advantage was more
+than counter-balanced.</p>
+
+<p>"Having dodged us till eight o'clock, and reconnoitred with great
+exactness, the stranger began to steer gradually nearer and nearer,
+till at length it was judged that she was within range. A gun was
+accordingly fired from the 'Volcano,' and another from the transport;
+the balls from both of which passed over her, and fell into the sea.
+Finding herself thus assaulted, she now threw off all disguise, and
+hung out an American ensign. When putting her helm up, she poured a
+broadside with a volley of musketry into the transport, and ran
+alongside of the bomb, which sailed to windward.</p>
+
+<p>"As soon as her flag was displayed, and her intention of attacking
+discerned, all hands were ordered up; and she received two
+well-directed broadsides from the 'Volcano,' as well as a warm salute
+from the 'Golden Fleece.' But such was the celerity of her motion,
+that she was alongside of the bomb in less time than can be imagined,
+and actually dashing her bow against the other, attempted to carry her
+by boarding. Capt. Price, however, was ready to receive them. The
+boarders were at their posts in an instant; and Jonathan finding, to
+use a vulgar phrase, that he had caught a Tartar, left about twenty
+men upon the 'Volcano's' bowsprit, all of whom were thrown into the
+sea, and filling his sails sheered off with the same speed with which
+he had borne down. In attempting to escape, he unavoidably fell
+somewhat to leeward, and exposed the whole of his deck to the fire of
+the transport. A tremendous discharge of musketry saluted him as he
+passed; and it was almost laughable to witness the haste with which
+his crew hurried below, leaving none upon deck except such as were
+absolutely wanted to work the vessel.</p>
+
+<p>"The 'Volcano' had by this time filled and gave chase, firing with
+great precision at his yards and rigging, in the hope of disabling
+him. But, as fortune would have it, none of his important ropes or
+yards were cut; and we had the mortification to see him in a few
+minutes beyond our reach."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo649" name="illo649"></a>
+<img src="images/649_prison_chaplain_and_jailor.jpg" width="400" height="480" alt="" title="">
+<p>Prison Chaplain and Jailor.</p></div>
+
+<p>An exploit of yet another privateer should be chronicled before the
+subject of the private armed navy can be dismissed. On the 11th of
+October, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page650" name="page650"></a>(p. 650)</span> 1814, the brigantine privateer "Prince de
+Neufchatel," seventeen guns, was encountered near Nantucket by the
+British frigate "Endymion,"&mdash;the same ship which was so roughly
+handled by the "President" in her last battle. About nine o'clock at
+night, a calm having come on, the frigate despatched a boarding party
+of a hundred and eleven men in five boats to capture the privateer.
+The latter vessel was short-handed, having but forty men; but this
+handful of Yankee tars gallantly prepared to meet the attack. The guns
+were charged with grape and canister, the boarding-nettings triced up,
+and cutlasses and pistols distributed to the crew. As the British came
+on, the Americans opened fire, notwithstanding which the enemy dashed
+alongside, and strove fiercely to gain the deck. But in this they were
+foiled by the gallantry of the defenders, who fought desperately, and
+cut down the few British who managed to gain a foothold. The conflict
+was short, and the discomfiture of the enemy complete. After but a few
+minutes' fighting, one boat was sunk, one captured, and the other
+three drifted helplessly away, filled with dead and dying. The total
+loss of the British in this affair was twenty-eight killed and
+thirty-seven wounded. Of the crew of the privateer, seven were killed,
+and nine only remained unhurt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page651" name="page651"></a>(p. 651)</span> A narrative of the exploits of, and service done by, the
+American sailors in the War of 1812 would be incomplete if it said
+nothing of the sufferings of that great body of tars who spent the
+greater part of the war season confined in British prisons. Several
+thousand of these were thrown into confinement before the war broke
+out, because they refused to serve against their country in British
+ships. Others were prisoners of war. No exact statistics as to the
+number of Americans thus imprisoned have ever been made public; but
+the records of one great prison&mdash;that at Dartmoor&mdash;show, that, when
+the war closed, six thousand American seamen were imprisoned there,
+twenty-five hundred of whom had been detained from long before the
+opening of the war, on account of their refusal to join the ranks of
+the enemy. As I write, there lies before me a quaint little book, put
+out anonymously in 1815, and purporting to be the "Journal of a Young
+Man captured by the British." Its author, a young surgeon of Salem,
+named Waterhouse, shipped on a Salem privateer, and was captured early
+in the war. His experience with British prisons and transport-ships
+was long; and against his jailors he brings shocking charges of
+brutality, cruelty, and negligence.</p>
+
+<p>The Yankee seamen who were captured during the war were first
+consigned to receiving-prisons at the British naval stations in
+America. Sometimes these places of temporary detention were mouldering
+hulks, moored in bays or rivers; sometimes huge sheds hastily put
+together, and in which the prisoners were kept only by the unceasing
+vigilance of armed guards. "The prison at Halifax," writes Waterhouse,
+"erected solely for the safe-keeping of prisoners of war, resembles an
+horse-stable, with stalls, or stanchions, for keeping the cattle from
+each other. It is to a contrivance of this sort that they attach the
+cords that support those canvas bags or cradles, called hammocks. Four
+tier of these hanging nests were made to hang, one above the other,
+between these stalls, or stanchions.... The general hum and confused
+noise from almost every hammock was at first very distressing. Some
+would be lamenting their hard fate at being shut up like negro slaves
+in a Guinea ship, or like fowls in a hen-coop, for no crime, but for
+fighting the battles of their country; others, late at night, were
+relating their adventures to a new prisoner; others, lamenting their
+aberrations from rectitude, and disobedience to parents, and
+headstrong wilfulness, that drove them to sea, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page652" name="page652"></a>(p. 652)</span> contrary to
+their parents' wish; while others, of the younger class, were sobbing
+out their lamentations at the thoughts of what their mothers and
+sisters suffered after knowing of their imprisonment. Not unfrequently
+the whole night was spent in this way; and when, about daybreak, the
+weary prisoner fell into a doze, he was waked from his slumber by the
+grinding noise of the locks, and the unbarring of the doors, with the
+cry of '<span class="italic">Turn out!</span> <span class="italic">All out!</span>' when each man took down his hammock,
+and lashed it up, and slung it on his back, and was ready to answer to
+the roll-call of the turnkey."</p>
+
+<p>From prisons such as this, the prisoners were conveyed in droves to
+England, in the holds of men-of-war and transports. Poorly fed, worse
+housed, and suffering for lack of air and room, their agony on the
+voyage was terrible. When they were allowed a few hours' time on deck,
+they were sure to arouse the anger of the officers by turbulent
+conduct or imprudent retorts. "One morning as the general and the
+captain of the 'Regulus' (transport) were walking as usual on the
+quarter-deck, one of our Yankee boys passed along the galley with his
+kid of burgoo. He rested it on the hatchway while he adjusted the rope
+ladder to descend with his swill. The thing attracted the attention of
+the general, who asked the man how many of his comrades eat of that
+quantity for their breakfast. 'Six, sir,' said the man, 'but it is fit
+food only for hogs.' This answer affronted the captain, who asked the
+man in an angry tone, 'What part of America he came from?' 'Near to
+Bunker Hill, sir, if you ever heard of that place,' was the answer."
+On another occasion, a Yankee and a slightly wounded British marine
+got into a dispute, and came to blows. The British captain saw the
+occurrence, and accused the American of cowardice in striking a
+wounded man. "I am no coward, sir," said the Yankee. "I was captain of
+a gun on board the 'Constitution' when she captured the 'Guerriere,'
+and afterward when she took the 'Java.' Had I been a coward, I should
+not have been there."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo654" name="illo654"></a>
+<img src="images/654_king_dick_and_his_chaplain.jpg" width="400" height="552" alt="" title="">
+<p>King Dick and his Chaplain.</p></div>
+
+<p>On one occasion the prisoners on the transport "Crown Prince," lying
+in the River Medway, took an uncontrollable dislike to the commander
+of a second transport lying close alongside. Their spite was gratified
+quickly and with great effect. The rations served out to the luckless
+captives at that time consisted of fish and cold potatoes. The latter
+edible being of rather poor quality, the prisoners reserved for
+missiles; and the obnoxious <span class="pagenum"><a id="page655" name="page655"></a>(p. 655)</span> officer could not pace his
+quarter-deck without being made a mark for a shower of potatoes.
+Vainly did he threaten to call up his marines and respond with powder
+and lead: the Americans were not to be kept down; and for some days
+the harassed officer hardly dared to show himself upon deck.</p>
+
+<p>The place of final detention for most of the prisoners taken in the
+war with America was Dartmoor Prison; a rambling collection of huge
+frame buildings, surrounded by double walls of wood. The number of
+prisoners confined there, and the length of time which many of them
+had spent within its walls, gave this place many of the
+characteristics of a small State, with rulers and officials of its
+own. One of the strangest characters of the prison was King Dick, a
+gigantic negro, who ruled over the five or six hundred negro
+prisoners. "He is six feet five inches in height," says one of the
+prisoners, "and proportionally large. This black Hercules commands
+respect, and his subjects tremble in his presence. He goes the rounds
+every day, and visits every berth, to see if they all are kept clean.
+When he goes the rounds, he puts on a large bear-skin cap, and carries
+in his hand a huge club. If any of his men are dirty, drunken, or
+grossly negligent, he threatens them with a beating; and if they are
+saucy they are sure to receive one. They have several times conspired
+against him, and attempted to dethrone him; but he has always
+conquered the rebels. One night several attacked him while asleep in
+his hammock: he sprang up, and seized the smallest by his feet, and
+thumped another with him. The poor negro, who had thus been made a
+beetle of, was carried the next day to the hospital, sadly bruised,
+and provokingly laughed at." King Dick, to further uphold his dignity
+as a monarch, had his private chaplain, who followed his royal master
+about, and on Sundays preached rude but vigorous sermons to His
+Majesty's court. On weekdays the court was far from being a dignified
+gathering. King Dick was a famous athlete, and in the cock-loft, over
+which he reigned, was to be seen fine boxing and fencing. Gambling,
+too, was not ruled out of the royal list of amusements; and the cries
+of the players, mingled with the singing of the negroes, and the
+sounds of the musical instruments upon which they played, made that
+section of the prison a veritable pandemonium.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo655" name="illo655"></a>
+<img src="images/655_the_last_volley_of_the_war.jpg" width="500" height="489" alt="" title="">
+<p>The last Volley of the War.</p></div>
+
+<p>But although some few incidents occurred to brighten momentarily the
+dull monotony of the prisoners' lot, the life of these unfortunate
+men, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page656" name="page656"></a>(p. 656)</span> while thus imprisoned, was miserable and hateful to
+them. Months passed, and even years, but there seemed to be no hope
+for release. At last came the news of the declaration of peace. How
+great then was the rejoicing! Thoughts of home, of friends and
+kindred, flooded the minds of all; and even strong men, whom the
+hardships of prison-life had not broken down, seemed to give way all
+at once to tears of joy. But the delays of official action,
+"red-tape," and the sluggishness of travel in that day, kept the poor
+fellows pent up for months after the treaty of peace had been
+announced to them. Nor were they to escape without suffering yet more
+severely at the hands of their jailors. Three months had passed since
+peace had been declared; and the long delay so irritated the
+prisoners, that they chafed under prison restraint, and showed
+evidences of a mutinous spirit. The guards, to whom was intrusted the
+difficult task of keeping in subjection six thousand impatient
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page657" name="page657"></a>(p. 657)</span> and desperate men, grew nervous, fearing that at any moment
+the horde of prisoners would rise and sweep away all before them. An
+outbreak was imminent; and the prisoners were like a magazine of
+gunpowder, needing but a spark of provocation to explode. On April 6,
+1815, matters reached a crisis. The soldiers, losing all presence of
+mind, fired on the defenceless Americans, killing five men and
+wounding thirty-four. Thus the last blood shed in the War of 1812 was
+the blood of unarmed prisoners. But the massacre, horrible and
+inexcusable as it was, had the effect of hastening the release of the
+survivors; and soon the last of the captives was on his way home to
+the country over which peace at last reigned again.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_657.jpg" width="300" height="368" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page658" name="page658"></a>(p. 658)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_658.jpg" width="600" height="297" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XVIII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE LONG PEACE BROKEN BY THE WAR WITH MEXICO. &mdash; ACTIVITY OF THE
+NAVY. &mdash; CAPTAIN STOCKTON'S STRATAGEM. &mdash; THE BATTLE AT SAN JOSÉ. &mdash; THE
+BLOCKADE. &mdash; INSTANCES OF PERSONAL BRAVERY. &mdash; THE LOSS OF THE
+"TRUXTON." &mdash; YELLOW FEVER IN THE SQUADRON. &mdash; THE NAVY AT VERA
+CRUZ. &mdash; CAPTURE OF ALVARADO.</p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t2.jpg" width="50" height="49" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+period of peace which followed the close of the War of 1812 was,
+perhaps, the longest which any nation has ever enjoyed. For the navy
+of the United States, it was a time of absolute peace, inactivity,
+even stagnation. The young nation was living literally up to
+Washington's rule of avoiding entanglements abroad, and its people
+looked with suspicion on the naval branch of the service which had
+rendered such a good account of itself in the war with Great Britain.
+They feared to build and man ships lest possession of a navy might
+prove an incentive to war. And so when war did come&mdash;war, not with
+Europe, but with our nearest neighbor&mdash;the United States had little
+floating force to join in it. Fortunately, little was needed.</p>
+
+<p>Though war was not declared by the United States against Mexico until
+May, 1846, it had been a possibility ever since the establishment of
+the Texan Republic by the defeat of the Mexicans at San Jacinto in
+1834, and it had been a great probability since 1841, when it was
+discovered that both England and France were holding out prospects of
+assistance to the Mexicans <span class="pagenum"><a id="page659" name="page659"></a>(p. 659)</span> in case of conflict with the
+United States. Neither of these European powers was sincere in the
+diplomatic game which deceived the proud but ignorant Mexicans, but
+neither did either of them scruple to foment a quarrel out of which
+some selfish, though indefinite, advantage might be gained. Indeed
+they played the diplomatic game so skilfully that they deceived a
+considerable minority in the United States and made these believe that
+the admission of Texas to the United States would be unwise and
+inexpedient, and the probable war with Mexico a wickedness dire and
+dreadful. Even General Grant, when he wrote his book, said that such
+were his views at the time, though he was then an army officer and
+trusting to war for advancement. But when hostilities were begun, and
+victory for American arms followed victory, the protests of the peace
+party were unheard amid the enthusiastic shoutings of those who took a
+saner view of the conditions which led to the conflict.</p>
+
+<p>Mexico claimed title not only to Texas, but to California, and if the
+United States had not gone to war in regard to the former, she would
+have had to do so in defence of her conquest of the latter. In
+securing California the navy bore a conspicuous part, and as early as
+1842, Captain Thomas Ap-Catesby Jones, commanding the Pacific
+squadron, was as active as though war had already been declared. In
+September of that year, with his squadron of four ships, he was at
+anchor in the harbor of Callao, and noticing the suspicious conduct of
+the British frigate "Dublin," which shoved off the port and then bore
+away, he concluded to follow her and see just what game she sought, as
+he had been informed by the Navy Department that England was plotting
+in Mexico against the United States; he had also read in a Mexican
+newspaper that war was likely to be declared, if indeed hostilities
+had not already begun. Captain Jones reached Monterey on the 19th of
+October, and though he saw nothing of the "Dublin," he at once
+insisted on the surrender of the place. The next day he learned that
+his action had been premature and made what amends he could. So the
+navy really struck the first official blow that led to this war.</p>
+
+<p>When war had been declared, the Pacific squadron did not learn of it
+until after the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Captain
+Sloat, in command, at once took prompt action. Landing two hundred and
+fifty seamen and marines under Captain Mervine, he captured Monterey
+on <span class="pagenum"><a id="page660" name="page660"></a>(p. 660)</span> the 2d of July. A week later he formally took possession
+of the splendid bay of San Francisco and the neighboring country. He
+also occupied Sutter's Fort, on Sacramento River, and the towns of
+Bodega and Sonoma. In this war it will be noticed throughout this
+narrative that the naval forces were constantly required to do shore
+duty, a duty to which they were unaccustomed but which they performed
+with entire efficiency. The Mexicans had no navy worthy of the name
+and the American sailors were auxiliary to the soldiers. Though
+untrained to this kind of service, and though it was always hard, and
+sometimes quite ungrateful, they responded to orders with entire
+cheerfulness; when the service was most perilous then the blue-jackets
+entered upon it with a gayety that laughed at danger.</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th of July, Fremont and his corps of topographical engineers
+met Captain Sloat and thereafter co-operated with him. In the "Cyane,"
+Commander Du Pont, Fremont was sent to San Diego with one hundred and
+fifty riflemen and that place was occupied. On the 30th of July, the
+"Congress" took possession of San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, the
+seat of the Mexican government in California. About this time the
+command of the Pacific squadron devolved upon Captain Robert F.
+Stockton, who was not a whit less vigilant than his predecessors had
+been. Having all the California seaports, Captain Stockton planned an
+expedition against Los Angeles before the well-armed Mexican soldiers
+in the province could be brought together. He landed three hundred and
+fifty sailors and marines and established a camp at San Pedro. Captain
+Stockton's biographer says: "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 spectacle both singular and amusing." The
+Mexican forces at Los Angeles outnumbered Captain Stockton's land
+forces three to one, so he resorted to a stratagem to deceive the
+enemy as to his force. A flag of truce having appeared on the hills,
+"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 approaching messengers, to
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page661" name="page661"></a>(p. 661)</span> the rear of some buildings on the beach, and thence to turn
+in a circle and continue their march until the strangers had arrived.
+Part of the circle described in the march was concealed from view, so
+that to the strangers it would appear that a force ten times greater
+than the actual number was defiling before them. When the two 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 six-pounders
+and one thirty-two-pound carronade. The guns were all covered with
+skins so as to conceal their dimensions except the huge mouth of the
+thirty-two-pounder at which the captain was stationed to receive his
+guests.... As his purpose was intimidation he received them with much
+sternness." They asked for a truce, but Stockton demanded and secured
+an immediate and absolute surrender, as the evident object of the
+Mexicans was to gain time. Stockton at once began his tedious march to
+Los Angeles, his men dragging the cannon through the sand. On the 12th
+of August, he received a message from the Mexican general, saying "if
+he marched on the town he would find it the grave of his men." He
+replied: "Then tell your general to have the bells ready to toll at
+eight o'clock in the morning. I shall be there at that time." He was
+as good as his word. The next morning he was joined by Fremont and his
+men, who had come up from San Diego and they entered Los Angeles
+unopposed. He organized a civil government for the entire state, with
+Major Fremont as the head of it, and returning to his ships sailed
+northward on the 5th of September, 1846. The news of these operations
+was sent to Washington overland by the famous scout, Kit Carson.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime the other ships of the Pacific squadron were cruising along
+the coast and capturing everything with a semblance of Mexican
+ownership. But Captain Stockton was much disconcerted in October to
+learn that two Mexican generals, released on parole after the fall of
+Los Angeles, had gathered a force and were besieging the small
+garrison there. The "Savannah" at once went to the scene. At San Pedro
+it was learned that the garrison had been compelled to capitulate and
+was awaiting an American cruiser. Captain Mervine, of the "Savannah,"
+landed a detachment of sailors and marines and began the march to the
+capital. He could not cope with the superior force and had to retire.
+Indeed nearly all the places captured by the active sailors seemed
+likely now to fall into the hands of the Mexicans again. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page662" name="page662"></a>(p. 662)</span> The
+garrison at Monterey was threatened by an uprising of the people; the
+garrison at San Diego was besieged; Los Angeles was in the hands of
+the enemy, and the force at the enemy's camp at San Bernardino was
+getting stronger each day. But Captain Stockton was equal to all
+demands upon him and made up for inadequate forces by celerity of
+movement. Just when matters were most critical the naval forces
+learned of the repulse of General Stephen Kearny by the Mexicans under
+Pico. It was indeed with great difficulty that Kearny and his dragoons
+were rescued by the sailors from their invested position near San
+Bernardino.</p>
+
+<p>Having got what men he could together, Captain Stockton determined to
+recapture Los Angeles. On the 29th of December, 1846, he began his
+march of 145 miles to the capital. There were no roads, but the route
+was through deep ravines, sand-hills, and deserts. The men were poorly
+armed and badly clothed, and there were few horses to assist in
+drawing the artillery. Never did an American commander have before him
+a more disagreeable prospect. The men, many of them without
+foot-covering, became worn-out in the march and begged to rest, but
+the captain insisted that they must go on, as the Mexicans were
+getting stronger every day. The men responded as best they could.</p>
+
+<p>On the 7th of January, the intrepid Stockton found that the enemy was
+intrenched between him and the San Gabriel River. The Mexican general
+changed his mind and crossed the river with the object of interrupting
+the crossing. But Stockton would not be denied, and repulsed the enemy
+on every side, though outnumbered three to one. This was on the 8th of
+January, the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans. The next day he
+fought again, resisting three furious charges of the enemy. On the
+10th he entered Los Angeles unopposed, and on the 15th he was joined
+there by Fremont and his corps. These seaports in California were not
+seriously harassed during the remainder of the war, but they needed to
+be garrisoned, while the whole coast required watching. A part of the
+squadron was sent south and also into the Bay of California. Before
+the end of 1847 every Mexican gun on the western coast, save those at
+Acapulco, had been silenced. Loreto, La Paz, Mazatlan, San Blas,
+Manzanilla, San Antonio, Guaymas, and Mulye fell to the squadron.
+Sometimes it only needed for a ship or two to appear before a town and
+it would surrender, but generally an assault or the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page663" name="page663"></a>(p. 663)</span>
+appearance of a storming party on land was necessary. But the seamen
+and marines were always invincible in this part of the war, where they
+were entirely without aid from the army.</p>
+
+<p>The most serious predicament in which the Americans found themselves
+in this Pacific Coast campaign was when Lieutenant Heywood, of the
+"Dale," with four midshipmen and twenty marines, were shut up in the
+Mission House at San José, a small village near San Lucas. He was
+surrounded by a large force before he knew it, and two of his
+midshipmen were taken unawares and captured by an enemy not known to
+be near. Lieutenant Heywood maintained himself from the 19th of
+November, 1847, till the 17th of February, 1848, when Commander Du
+Pont, in the "Cyane," came to his rescue. A party of ninety-four
+seamen and marines, under Lieutenant Rowan, went ashore and fought its
+way against six hundred Mexicans until they were defeated and Heywood
+and his men rescued. There was nothing after this on the western coast
+more serious than guerrilla forays.</p>
+
+<p>The operations on the western coast were probably, in result, much
+more important than those of the home squadron in the Mexican Gulf and
+the Rio Grande River. But the latter squadron was the larger, and as
+it was in constant co-operation with the conquering armies which
+finally captured the capital of the country, much more has been heard
+of the doings of the fleet in the east, which was at first commanded
+by Commodore David Conner and then by Commodore Matthew C. Perry. The
+operations on this coast also came in for much criticism, for the
+various ships were filled with young men overflowing with valor and
+mad with desire of glory. They were also comparatively close to home
+and saw the newspapers from New York, Washington, and New Orleans. In
+these papers the army was accorded all the glory while the navy was
+almost ignored. This neglect rankled in the minds of the madcaps, and
+they blamed Commodore Conner, an officer of much experience and
+distinguished record, for not storming every fort and citadel near the
+coast instead of carrying out his instructions to maintain an
+efficient blockade of the ports and to co-operate with the army
+whenever possible. These duties, tiresome and inglorious as they
+seemed, were of the first importance to the scheme of the campaign,
+and they were performed with a patience which rose superior to
+weariness, sickness, and death. The duty required of the blockaders
+did not require much fighting, but the men were in danger of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page664" name="page664"></a>(p. 664)</span>
+the coast fevers all the time, and hundreds died. And then at some
+seasons the fleet was likely to be blown ashore by the fierce
+"northers" which prevailed. Many accidents resulted during these
+storms, the most serious being the capsizing of the brig "Somers,"
+Lieutenant Raphael Semmes (afterward commanding the Confederate ship
+"Alabama") commanding, and the loss of more than half her crew.</p>
+
+<p>When the war began at Palo Alto, Commodore Conner was with his
+squadron off Point Isabel, at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Not
+knowing the issue of the battle, five hundred seamen and marines were
+sent to strengthen the garrison at Point Isabel, where the army
+supplies were stored, while Captain Aulick, of the "Potomac," with two
+hundred men, pulled up the Rio Grande in boats for fifteen miles and
+until a junction with the army was established at Barita. At this time
+the squadron consisted of the frigates "Cumberland" (flagship),
+"Potomac," and "Raritan"; the steam frigate "Mississippi"; the
+sloops-of-war "Falmouth," "John Adams," and "St. Mary's"; the
+steam-sloop "Princeton"; and the brigs "Lawrence," "Porpoise," and
+"Somers." Before the close of the war some of these ships were
+recalled, at least one was wrecked, and the squadron was from time to
+time largely reinforced.</p>
+
+<p>The squadron, now that war had begun, was ordered to blockade the
+ports of Matamoras, on the Rio Grande; Tampico, on the Tampico River;
+Alvarado, on the Alvarado; Coatzalcoalcos, on the river of the same
+name; Tabasco, on the Tabasco River; and Vera Cruz, on the Gulf. The
+rivers mentioned, except the Rio Grande, are mere creeks, not fit for
+vessels of any size, and their mouths simply open roadsteads. Vera
+Cruz was the only place with anything like a harbor. The ports in
+Yucatan, such as Laguna and Campeachy, were only visited for supplies
+of fresh meat. The State of Yucatan was not assisting in the war and
+did not need to be blockaded. By the time General Taylor took
+possession of Matamoras, Commodore Conner's fleet had been
+considerably augmented by the addition of the sloops-of-war
+"Germantown," "Albany," "Saratoga" and "Decatur"; the steamers
+"Spitfire," "Vixen," "Alleghany," "Scorpion" and "Scourge"; the brig
+"Truxton"; the gunboats "Reefer," "Bonita," and "Rebel." A little
+later, and just before the bombardment of Vera Cruz, the "Ohio," with
+seventy-four guns, joined, together with the bomb-vessels "Vesuvius,"
+"Hecla," and "Stromboli." <span class="pagenum"><a id="page665" name="page665"></a>(p. 665)</span> There were also a number of small
+steamers and gunboats to operate in shallow water. These constituted
+what was called the "mosquito fleet." With so formidable a fleet the
+sailors felt they were equal to anything, and whenever a larger part
+of it was operating at one place, it was difficult to restrain the
+men. The youngsters even thought Commodore Conner's prudence and
+conservatism to be timidity, and the writer has before him now a book
+written twenty-five years after these events, by one who was a
+midshipman on the flagship, and he quotes the familiar lines about
+daring to put things to the touch. All this was most unfair, but it
+indicated that the blue jackets of the Mexican War were buttoned over
+hearts that knew no fear.</p>
+
+<p>The blockade of the Mexican ports that was maintained was not by any
+means a paper blockade. It was actual, and the very opposite of the
+merely formal closing of ports which the United States had so long
+protested against in other countries. The hardships of the men and
+officers were fearful and the casualties very great. The tediousness
+of the service was relieved now and again by daring expeditions into
+the rivers and ports, where boats were cut out and taken away from
+beneath batteries on shore. The record of such ventures shows that the
+navy in 1846 and 1847 was no whit inferior in dash to the one which
+made the flag glorious some years before in the war with England. One
+instance of such a venture is quoted from the "Recollections of a
+Naval Officer," by Captain William Harwar Parker. He was telling of
+the blockade at Vera Cruz in 1846. He says: "One of the finest fellows
+in the service I often met on Green Island. I allude to Passed
+Midshipman Hynson, of Maryland. He was drowned in the brig 'Somers,'
+when she capsized in the fall of this year. At the time of her
+sinking, Hynson had both of his arms bandaged and in a sling, and was
+almost helpless. It was said that when the brig sank he managed to get
+hold of a spar with another man, and finding it would not support two
+he deliberately let go his hold. It was like him. The way he happened
+to have his arm in a sling was this: While the 'Somers' was
+maintaining the blockade of Vera Cruz, a vessel managed to slip in&mdash;I
+think she was a Spanish schooner. The Mexicans moored her to the walls
+of the Castle of San Juan for safety; but the officers of the 'Somers'
+resolved to cut her out or burn her. Hynson was the leading spirit in
+the affair, though Lieutenant <span class="pagenum"><a id="page666" name="page666"></a>(p. 666)</span> James Parker, of Pennsylvania,
+was the senior officer. They took a boat one afternoon and pulled in
+to visit the officers of an English man-of-war lying under Sacrificios
+Island. It was quite usual to do this. After nightfall they left the
+British ship and pulled directly for the schooner, which they boarded
+and carried. This, be it observed, was directly under the guns of the
+castle and the muskets of its garrison. The crew was secured, and
+finding the wind would not serve to take the vessel out, it was
+resolved to burn her. Her captain made some resistance, and the
+sentinel on the walls called out to know what was the matter. Parker,
+who spoke Spanish remarkably well, replied that his men were drunk and
+he was putting them in irons. The party then set fire to the vessel
+and got safely away with their prisoners. It was in setting fire to
+the schooner that Hynson got so badly burned."</p>
+
+<p>In regard to the personal heroism shown by Hynson and others when the
+"Somers" went down, Lieutenant Raphael Semmes, in his book, "Service
+Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War," said: "Those men who could
+not swim were selected to go into the boat. A large man by the name of
+Seymour, the ship's cook, having got into her, he was commanded by
+Lieutenant Parker to come out, in order that he might make room for
+two smaller men, and he <span class="italic">obeyed the order</span>. He was afterward permitted
+to return to her, however, when it was discovered that he could not
+swim. Passed Midshipman Hynson, a promising young officer, who had
+been partially disabled by a bad burn received in firing the 'Creole'
+a few days previously, was particularly implored to go into the boat.
+A lad by the name of Nutter jumped out of the boat and offered his
+place to Hynson, and a man by the name of Powers did the same thing.
+Hynson refusing both offers, these men declared that then others might
+take their places, as they were resolved to abide in the wreck with
+him. Hynson and Powers were drowned. Nutter was saved. When the plunge
+was made into the sea, Sailing-Master Clemson seized a studding-sail
+boom, in company with five of the seamen. Being a swimmer, and
+perceiving that the boom was not sufficiently buoyant to support them
+all, he left it and struck out alone. He perished&mdash;the five men were
+saved."</p>
+
+<p>Just about this time the first of the gunboats reached the squadron,
+and the young men of the steerage were intensely amused at the
+smallness of the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page667" name="page667"></a>(p. 667)</span> vessel. A midshipman from the flagship
+visited the "Reefer." He went alongside of her in the barge, and, not
+knowing any better, stepped over her port-quarter. Lieutenant
+Sterrett, in command, said in his least gentle voice: "Sir, there is a
+gangway to this vessel!" Before long even the youngsters learned to
+respect these little steamers. Commodore Conner now made an expedition
+to capture Alvarado, but just as he was about ready to begin a
+bombardment his pilots predicted a "norther," and he hoisted the
+signal, "Return to the anchorage off Vera Cruz." This was popularly
+regarded as a <span class="italic">fiasco</span>, but doubtless the Commodore was entirely
+right, as Alvarado might be taken at any time, and subsequently was
+taken in a manner which has been a joke in the navy ever since. Of
+this something will presently be said. Tampico, a town of 7,000
+inhabitants, 210 miles north of Vera Cruz, was next proceeded against.
+The bar at the mouth of the Tampico River is considered the most
+dangerous on the coast, and the larger vessels did not try to cross
+it. But the smaller steamers and gunboats of the "mosquito fleet" went
+in, and the town was surrendered without firing a shot. It was then
+occupied by the army. The next movement was against Frontera, at the
+mouth of the Tabasco River, and Tabasco, some seventy miles up that
+little stream. Frontera was taken by surprise, and Commodore Perry,
+now second in command to Commodore Conner, moved up the stream with
+vessels of too heavy draught. He came near losing the "Cumberland" in
+the mud, and, as it was, she was so disabled that when she was pulled
+from her perch on a bar she had to be sent home for repairs. Perry,
+however, defeated the Mexican flotilla and captured all the boats. Two
+of the prizes had to be blown up, but the "Champion," a fast river
+boat, which had run between Richmond and Norfolk, was taken out and
+afterward usefully employed as a despatch-boat. In this expedition
+there was considerable fighting and also some losses both of officers
+and men.</p>
+
+<p>In blockading the port of Tuspan, some 120 miles northwest of Vera
+Cruz, the brig "Truxton," Captain Carpenter, was stationed. The ship
+was blown ashore and was under the Mexican guns. The Captain sent a
+boat to tell the Commodore of the disaster, but before relief could
+reach him he surrendered. In doing this he was opposed bitterly by all
+his officers, and the quarter-master on duty positively refused to
+obey the order to haul down the flag. Lieutenant Bushrod Hunter, who
+first went for assistance, reached <span class="pagenum"><a id="page668" name="page668"></a>(p. 668)</span> the squadron off Vera
+Cruz, as did also Lieutenant Otway Berryman, with a boat's crew, which
+left before the surrender had been effected. The remainder of the crew
+were taken to Vera Cruz as prisoners of war. As soon as Commodore
+Conner heard of the disaster he sent Captain Engle with the
+"Princeton" to Tuspan. He made short work of it. He drove the Mexicans
+out of the brig, took what armament was left, and then burned her. The
+guns taken out of the "Truxton" were placed in forts erected to
+protect Tuspan. But these were captured next year by Commodore Perry
+and Captain Breese. The officers and men of the navy had a grudge
+against Tuspan, and the landing detachment which carried the works
+fought as though each man in it were a demon. It lost three killed,
+while five officers and six seamen were wounded.</p>
+
+<p>During the summer of 1847, the men of the squadron operating in the
+Gulf suffered severely from yellow fever and also from scurvy brought
+on by a lack of fresh food. It was so bad on the "Mississippi" that
+she had to been sent to Pensacola. Commodore Perry was himself
+stricken, but he refused to leave, and changed his flag to the
+"Germantown," which remained. This was after the fall of Vera Cruz,
+and when the duty of the naval forces was once again only that of
+blockaders. The investment of Vera Cruz was the most considerable
+single piece of work performed by the navy during the war. Commodore
+Conner had gathered at Vera Cruz all his available forces and
+anxiously awaited the coming of General Scott and his army, who were
+at Lobos Island, 150 miles north of Vera Cruz. General Taylor, with
+5,000 men, had just defeated Santa Anna with 20,000 men at Buena
+Vista, and two days later, that is, on the 24th of February, 1847,
+General Scott gave his final orders to his fleet of transports which
+was to take his army to Vera Cruz. Early in March the transports with
+12,600 men arrived in front of Vera Cruz. Captain Parker, in his book
+previously quoted, says: "No words can express our excitement as ship
+after ship crowded with enthusiastic soldiers successively came in;
+some anchoring near us and others continuing on for the anchorage at
+Anton Lizardo. We had been so long on our ships, and for some months
+so inactive, that we were longing for something to do. I cannot answer
+for others, but the scene of that day&mdash;and I recollect that it was
+Sunday&mdash;is so vivid, and the events so firmly fixed in my memory, that
+I can almost see <span class="pagenum"><a id="page669" name="page669"></a>(p. 669)</span> the ship "Diadem" as she grazed our
+spanker-boom in her desire to pass near enough to speak us, and I can
+to this day whistle the waltz played by an infantry band on board a
+transport anchored near us that night, though I have never heard it
+since."</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, the naval contingent was most anxious to be in some of the
+heavy fighting, and the chance seeming near, all was enthusiasm aboard
+the ships of the squadron. A few days after General Scott's arrival he
+and Commodore Conner and a large number of principal officers,
+including Captain Joseph E. Johnston, of the "Engineers," made a
+reconnaissance to decide on the best place to land the army. They
+selected the mainland abreast of Sacrificios Island.</p>
+
+<p>On the 9th of March, the steamers "Spitfire" and "Vixen" and several
+gunboats ran close inshore and shelled the sand-hills and chaparral in
+which the enemy might be concealed. Only a few horsemen were made to
+scamper away. The Government for this very landing had sent out a
+number of surf-boats, flat on the bottom and sharp at both ends. Each
+of these carried one hundred men with their arms and accoutrements.
+They proved most admirable for the service, as the whole army was
+landed with out a mishap, and, singularly enough, the Mexicans did not
+molest the Americans in the least while this important movement was in
+progress. By midnight of the 9th of March the whole of the army was
+ashore. Landing the troops having been accomplished, the work of
+taking the artillery pieces, the ammunition, and supplies was begun,
+and this consumed a week, each day lasting from four in the morning
+till ten at night.</p>
+
+<p>While this was in progress, General Scott was so arranging his troops
+that he should entirely invest the city, and by the 20th of March the
+bombardment began. General Scott summoned the authorities to
+surrender, and gave them a chance to send the women and children out
+of the city. Both invitation and opportunity were declined. And so it
+came about that many non-combatants were killed in the siege that
+followed. The sailors not only had to land the army and the materials
+of war, but they were obliged to help get the siege guns in place. The
+blue-jacket ashore is nearly always alive to the importance of having
+a lark, and even in this arduous service they acted very much as
+though they were on a spree. On one occasion a "norther" came up, and
+for several days the seamen could <span class="pagenum"><a id="page670" name="page670"></a>(p. 670)</span> not get back to their
+ships. Being idle they had a good time to their hearts' content. It is
+said that before the end of the first day every Jack of them had a
+horse and was a mounted marine. One of these, a very tough old salt,
+had for his charger a donkey, and on this animal he rode by General
+Scott's quarters in great pride. "Some officers standing by observing
+that he was, as they thought, seated too far back, called out to him
+to shift his seat more amidships. 'Gentlemen,' said Jack, drawing
+rein, 'this is the first craft I ever commanded, and it's d&mdash;d hard if
+I can't ride on the quarter-deck.'"</p>
+
+<p>But there was more serious work immediately in store for the navy than
+fetching and carrying for the army and rewarding themselves in boyish
+pranks. The day before the serious bombardment began the squadron was
+notified by signal from the flagship: "Commodore Perry commands the
+squadron." There was rejoicing at this, for Perry was regarded as a
+man who preferred a fight for its own sake rather than to have no
+fight at all. In this command he proved that he was a good fighter,
+but he proved also that he knew how to be conservative when necessity
+made such a course wise. Commodore Conner went home because his health
+demanded that he should. The Navy Department was not dissatisfied with
+him. But the opportunity for heavy fighting came after Perry took the
+command. From the beginning of the siege the fleet kept up a heavy
+firing on the city and castle so as to divert the fire from the land
+forces.</p>
+
+<p>General Scott soon saw that his guns were not strong enough to batter
+down the walls of the city, so he requested Commodore Perry to send
+him some heavy guns. The Commodore's gallant reply was: "Certainly,
+General, but I must fight them." And fight them he did, as we shall
+see. Six heavy pieces of ordnance were landed, and about 200 seamen
+and volunteers were attached to each gun. Three of these were
+sixty-eight-pounder shell guns and three thirty-two-pounder solid-shot
+guns. Each of these guns weighed about three tons. Now each of these
+had to be dragged through the loose sand, almost knee-deep, for
+something like three miles before it could be put in the position the
+engineers had assigned to it. This battery, by the way, was protected
+by bags of sand piled on each other, and this was the first time that
+this device had been used. When the battery was in position the
+officers and men of the ships were so anxious to fight it that, to
+prevent <span class="pagenum"><a id="page671" name="page671"></a>(p. 671)</span> jealousy, the officers first to be assigned drew
+lots for the honor. The first day Captain Aulick commanded, and the
+next day Captain Mayo. The naval battery fired with such precision
+that they did amazing damage to the enemy's works, and on the second
+day the guns in Vera Cruz were silenced. Then began a parley as to
+terms, but on the 28th there was an unconditional surrender. Now Scott
+had a foothold in the part of Mexico which counted for something, and
+he was able to begin that masterly march through the Valley of Mexico
+and on to the capital of the country. But he never could have obtained
+this foothold without the assistance of the navy. The country did not
+recognize this at once, and the newspapers being printed by landsmen,
+all of the immediate glory was bestowed on General Scott.</p>
+
+<p>Now that Vera Cruz had fallen and General Scott's plans called for a
+movement toward the interior, it was most desirable for him to have
+better cavalry. But he lacked horses. Singular as it may seem, he
+called upon the navy to assist in supplying this deficiency. It was
+known that there were Mexican horsemen in and about Alvarado, so it
+was determined to proceed against this place by land and sea, so that
+the town could be reduced, and the horses secured at the same time.
+General Quitman, with a brigade, was sent by land, so as to keep the
+horsemen from running away, while the "Potomac," Captain Aulick, and
+the "Scourge," Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter, were sent to appear in
+front of Alvarado. It was evidently intended that Captain Aulick and
+General Quitman would move on the place on some appointed day.
+Lieutenant Hunter did not know what the plans were, and as his boat
+was much faster than the "Potomac" he arrived in front of Alvarado
+long before Captain Aulick. When the "Potomac" did come in sight, a
+great commotion was noticed in the harbor. The "Albany," which had
+been doing blockading service, came out and informed Captain Aulick
+that Alvarado had been taken.</p>
+
+<p>"By whom?" asked the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"By Lieutenant Hunter, in the 'Scourge,'" was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>The "Scourge," it should be explained, was a very small steamer,
+carrying one gun and forty men. Hunter went up pretty close and
+observing indications of flinching, he fired three guns and dashed
+boldly in and captured the place. The horsemen, the capture of whom
+was the main object of the expedition, were frightened off before
+General Quitman could intercept <span class="pagenum"><a id="page672" name="page672"></a>(p. 672)</span> them. Having taken
+possession of Alvarado, Lieutenant Hunter placed in the town a
+garrison consisting of a midshipman and two men, and hurried his
+steamer up the river to a place called Tlacotalpan, which he also
+captured. When General Quitman arrived in Alvarado with his brigade
+and the place was gravely handed over to him by Passed Midshipman
+William G. Temple (afterward a very distinguished officer of high
+rank) he was greatly amused and laughed heartily. But Commodore Perry
+was annoyed and angry. As soon as he could get hold of Hunter&mdash;not an
+easy matter, as Hunter had gone on his conquering way still further up
+the river with the intention of taking all the rest of Mexico not
+subjugated by Taylor and Scott&mdash;he placed him under arrest and
+preferred charges against him. When Hunter was shortly tried by
+court-martial, he was sentenced to be reprimanded by the Commodore,
+the reprimand to be read from the quarter-deck of every vessel in the
+squadron.</p>
+
+<p>The reprimand, prepared by Commodore Perry, was thought by pretty
+nearly all the officers of the squadron to be entirely too severe. A
+military offence had been committed, but it amounted to a mere trifle,
+and the time was ripe for the people to laugh over such an occurrence.
+In effect the reprimand was something like this: "Who told you to take
+Alvarado? You were sent to watch Alvarado, not to take it. You have
+taken Alvarado with but a single gun and not a marine to back you!"
+Then the announcement was made that the squadron would soon move
+against Tabasco, and that Hunter should not accompany it, but that he
+should be dismissed the squadron. And he was sent home. In New York
+the people made a hero of him, giving him swords and dinners, and
+securing for him the command of the schooner "Taney," in which he made
+a roving cruise to the Mediterranean. As long as he lived he was
+always spoken of as "Alvarado" Hunter. A sense of humor is sometimes a
+dangerous cargo for a public man to carry; but the absence of it also
+is often dangerous. In this instance Commodore Perry, because he did
+not see the amusing aspect of Hunter's escapade, made himself so
+ridiculous that he came near cutting short his own career, which, as
+will afterward be seen in this history, was destined for greater
+achievements than any in the past.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo674" name="illo674"></a>
+<img src="images/674_blue_jackets_before_vera_cruz.jpg" width="600" height="406" alt="" title="">
+<p>Blue-Jackets before Vera Cruz.</p></div>
+
+<p>The next objective point for the navy was Tuspan, where the "Truxton"
+had been lost. The bar at Tuspan is dangerous, and even the small
+steamers <span class="pagenum"><a id="page675" name="page675"></a>(p. 675)</span> of the squadron had their masts hoisted out of
+them to lighten them. Commodore Perry hoisted his flag on the
+"Spitfire" and led the way up the river with the boats of the squadron
+in tow. The first fort on the river below the town, called the Pana,
+was silenced by the gun of the "Spitfire" and then stormed by the
+sailors; two other forts were taken in the same way and the town was
+occupied. The Mexicans made a spirited defence, but did little damage,
+only one man being killed. Among the wounded were Captain Tatnall,
+Commander Whittle, and Lieutenant James Parker. The guns taken from
+the "Truxton" were found in one of the forts and restored to the
+fleet.</p>
+
+<p>The last naval operation of the war was against Tabasco. Commodore
+Perry took all of the fleet which could possibly go up the river from
+Frontera. This town was easily captured, but when the ascent of the
+river began the boats were continually fired upon from the trees and
+chaparral along the banks. At a place called Devil's Bend, the passage
+of the river was interrupted by a sunken obstruction, technically
+called a <span class="italic">chevaux de frise</span>. Commodore Perry did not mean to let this
+stop him, so he organized a land force of seamen and marines and
+concluded to march to Tabasco. He had numerous skirmishes, but was not
+stopped. One day his own ships passed him, the <span class="italic">chevaux de frise</span>
+having been raised by attaching rubber bags to it and then inflating
+them with air. When Perry arrived at Tabasco he found the American
+flag flying, the town having fallen without resistance to his own
+ships. So his own arduous march across country had been all for
+nothing. This was the last work of the sailors, but the marines of the
+navy still saw glorious service, as a detachment of them was with
+General Scott, participating in the attack on Chapultepec. They were
+also among the first to enter the City of Mexico when that capital
+surrendered.</p>
+
+<p>The navy in the War with Mexico did itself credit as it always had
+before, and reflected honor upon the country, whose flag was upheld
+with brilliant courage and untiring zeal.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page676" name="page676"></a>(p. 676)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_676.jpg" width="600" height="296" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XIX.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE NAVY IN PEACE. &mdash; SURVEYING THE DEAD SEA. &mdash; SUPPRESSING THE SLAVE
+TRADE. &mdash; THE FRANKLIN RELIEF EXPEDITION. &mdash; COMMODORE PERRY IN
+JAPAN. &mdash; SIGNING OF THE TREATY. &mdash; TROUBLE IN CHINESE WATERS. &mdash; THE KOSZTA
+CASE. &mdash; THE SECOND FRANKLIN RELIEF EXPEDITION. &mdash; FOOTE AT
+CANTON. &mdash; "BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER."</p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_a1.jpg" width="50" height="50" alt="A" title=""></span>fter
+the Mexican War the navy engaged for twelve years in works of
+peace varied by a little exciting police duty on the high seas. Much
+was done for commerce and for civilization in the years immediately
+succeeding 1848, but the story, though important, is not exciting, and
+is therefore little known. The records of these years afford a fair
+suggestion of what a navy may do when actual fighting is not
+necessary, and when its vessels, with the trained sailors and
+scientists who man them, may be utilized in utilitarian work.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the close of the Mexican War, the armed ship "Supply,"
+under command of Lieutenant Lynch, sailed on an expedition to the Dead
+Sea. The start was made from New York, and the vessel arrived in the
+Mediterranean only a few weeks after peace had been declared with
+Mexico. At Smyrna, Lieutenant Lynch left the "Supply," and went to
+Constantinople to obtain permission to enter the Turkish domains. This
+having been granted, the party sailed for Haifa. Arriving at this port
+on the 21st of March, they left their ship, and set out for the Sea of
+Galilee by an overland route, carrying on trucks the boats which had
+been specially built for navigation <span class="pagenum"><a id="page677" name="page677"></a>(p. 677)</span> in the river Jordan.
+Upon reaching Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee,
+the party divided, one detachment embarking in the boats to navigate
+the Sea of Galilee, and the other mounting camels and horses to make
+the trip by land, with the intention of keeping those who had sailed
+in view as much as possible, and protecting them from attacks by
+wandering Arabs or aiding them if necessary in the passage of the
+tortuous and turbulent Jordan. Eight days were consumed in making this
+passage, and a distance covered of 200 miles, although if the trip had
+been made in a straight line instead of along the winding course of
+the river, it would have been necessary to have traversed only sixty
+miles. An encampment was established on the desolate banks of the Dead
+Sea, and several exploring and scientific expeditions in the
+neighborhood were made. Among the interesting facts gathered was the
+exact depression of the Dead Sea below the level of the ocean. This
+was found to be 1,312 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The western coast of Africa was the scene of the next important
+activity on the part of the American cruisers. The slave-trade, which
+in the eighteenth century had assumed extensive proportions, still
+flourished to a degree which made the condition upon the coast a
+disgrace to civilization. It was a notorious fact, moreover, that a
+large proportion of the vessels in the trade were of American build
+and sailed under the Stars and Stripes. The United States Government
+was anxious to wipe out this blot upon the nation's fair fame; and
+consequently, in 1849, sent Lieutenant Foote, in command of the brig
+"Perry," to African waters. The lieutenant, who, by the way, afterward
+became the distinguished Admiral Foote, at once began active cruising
+off Ambrig, a notorious slave mart. The "Perry" was constantly at sea,
+chasing and boarding suspicious vessels, and very often her boats
+passed through the surf and ran up the jungle-bordered rivers to the
+slave barracoons. Many large slavers were captured, and when, in 1851,
+the "Perry" was succeeded on the African coast by the squadron under
+Commander Gregory, Lieutenant Foote had effectually checked the slave
+trade. He was thanked for his services by the Secretary of the Navy.</p>
+
+<p>While Lieutenant Foote was sailing under the blazing sun of Africa,
+another lieutenant, Edwin J. De Haven, in command of the brigs
+"Rescue" and "Advance," was pushing his way northward through the ice
+of the Arctic <span class="pagenum"><a id="page678" name="page678"></a>(p. 678)</span> Ocean. The Navy Department had considered it
+proper and fitting to aid England in her search for the British
+commander, Sir John Franklin and his men, who had sailed into the
+Arctic regions on an exploring expedition, and had been gone so long
+as to warrant the belief that they were in grave peril, if not already
+dead. Volunteers for the relief expedition had been called for by the
+department. Lieutenant De Haven and others had responded, and on May
+24th, 1850, started on their errand of mercy. In July, the party was
+in Baffin's Bay, and here the brigs remained embedded in the ice for
+twenty-one days. On the 29th of July, by a sudden movement of the
+floe, an opening at the north presented itself; a north-east breeze
+sprang up at the same time, and with press of sail the brigs were able
+to force their way into clear water.</p>
+
+<p>For a month afterward there was continual battling with the ice, and
+slow progress northward. On August 27th, Lieutenant De Haven, having
+in the mean time fallen in with several English relief expeditions,
+decided to make a search on the shores adjacent to a Lancaster Sound.
+Here were found three graves, and various signs that Franklin and his
+companions had spent a winter somewhere thereabouts; but there were no
+indications of the course his vessels, the "Erebus" and the "Terror,"
+had taken when they had sailed away. Throughout the winter the search
+was continued, and the "Rescue" and the "Advance" were often in
+imminent danger of destruction in the masses of ice which pressed
+against the sides of the ships with enormous force. "Every moment,"
+said Lieutenant De Haven, in his report, "I expected the vessels would
+be crushed or overwhelmed by the masses of ice forced up far above our
+bulwarks." But at last, on June 6th, they forced their way again into
+the open sea; and as the instructions had been not to spend a second
+winter in the Arctic regions, sail was set for home, and late in the
+summer of 1851 the brigs arrived at New York.</p>
+
+<p>The sending of the frigate "Mississippi," commanded by Captain Matthew
+G. Perry, to the coast of Halifax, in 1852, averted what threatened to
+be serious trouble. A dispute had arisen among the American and
+Canadian fishing schooners in those waters, and seven American vessels
+had been seized by the British cruisers.</p>
+
+<p>This caused intense indignation in New England; but Captain Perry
+poured oil upon the troubled waters, and in 1854, as a result of his
+visit, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page679" name="page679"></a>(p. 679)</span> a reciprocity treaty between the United States and
+Canada was signed, and this lasted for ten years.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Perry performed his most important services for the
+government, however, in Japan. The early fifties were an era of
+exploring expeditions for the navy. There were trips up the rivers
+into unknown regions of South America and Africa. The Isthmus of
+Darien was explored, and an ambitious scheme to cut a ship-channel
+through was found to be impracticable. It was very natural, during
+this activity in penetrating little-known parts of the world, that
+attention should have been given to Japan, which was a land of mystery
+to the world at large because of the exclusion of foreigners from that
+country. In 1852, Captain Perry was assigned the command of the
+squadron cruising in the East Indies, and was empowered, in addition
+to his ordinary duties, to make a display of force in the waters of
+Japan in order to obtain better treatment for American seamen cast
+upon Japanese shores, and to gain entry into Japanese ports for
+vessels seeking supplies. He bore a letter, moreover, from the
+President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan, written with a
+view to obtaining a treaty providing for friendly intercourse and
+commerce with the haughty island kingdom. On the 8th of July, the
+squadron, comprising the frigates "Mississippi," "Susquehanna," and
+"Powhatan"; the corvette "Macedonian"; the sloops-of-war "Plymouth,"
+"Saratoga," and "Vandalia"; and the store-ships "Supply,"
+"Southampton," and "Lexington," anchored off the city of Uraga, in the
+Bay of Jeddo, Japan. Captain Perry decided that the proper course to
+pursue with the Japanese was to assume a very lofty and commanding
+tone and bearing. He therefore ordered away from the sides of his
+vessel the boats which swarmed around it, and allowed none but
+government officials of high rank to come on board. He himself
+remained in seclusion in his cabin, treating with the Japanese through
+intermediaries. He moved his squadron nearer the capital than was
+allowable, and then demanded that a special commission, composed of
+men of the highest rank, be appointed to convey his letter from the
+President to the Emperor. The close proximity of the ships-of-war to
+the capital, and Captain Perry's peremptory demand, were not at all to
+the liking of the Japanese; but they were greatly impressed with his
+apparent dignity and power, and at last consented to receive and
+consider the letter. Fearing treachery, Captain Perry moved his ships
+up so that their guns would command <span class="pagenum"><a id="page680" name="page680"></a>(p. 680)</span> the building prepared
+for his reception, and on the 14th of July went ashore with an escort
+of 400 officers and men, who found themselves, on landing, surrounded
+by about 6,000 Japanese soldiers under arms.</p>
+
+<p>Three months were given to the Japanese officials to reply to the
+letter, and Captain Perry sailed with his squadron for the coast of
+China. He returned after an interval of three months, and anchored his
+ships beyond Uraga, where the previous conference had been held, and
+nearer the capital, despite the fact that a place twenty miles below
+had been appointed for the second meeting. The Japanese demurred at
+this, being so exclusive that they did not wish their capital nor
+their country even to be seen by foreigners. Instead of respecting
+these wishes, Captain Perry approached still nearer, until he was only
+eight miles from Tokio. This high-handed policy had the desired
+effect. Five special Japanese commissioners met Captain Perry, and in
+a building within range of the ships' guns, negotiations were carried
+on. They resulted, on March 31st, in the signing of a treaty by the
+Japanese, in which they promised to open two of their ports to
+American vessels seeking supplies; to give aid to seamen of the United
+States wrecked upon their shores; to allow American citizens
+temporarily residing in their ports to enter, within certain
+prescribed limits, the surrounding country; to permit consuls of the
+United States to reside in one of the open ports; and, in general, to
+show a peaceful and friendly spirit toward our government and
+citizens. This treaty is important, because it opened the door for the
+peoples of the world to a country which has since proved to be
+possessed of vast wealth and resources. Captain Perry received high
+praise for his firmness and diplomacy in the conduct of the difficult
+negotiations.</p>
+
+<p>One vessel of Captain Perry's fleet, the "Plymouth," had remained at
+Shanghai when the squadron returned to Japanese waters, and she played
+a very active though brief part in the troubles which then existed in
+China. Imperial and revolutionary troops were fighting for supremacy,
+and the former showed a hostile disposition to the American and
+English residents of Shanghai. An American pilot was captured by an
+Imperial man-of-war, but was retaken in a most spirited manner from
+the Chinese by Lieutenant Guest, and a boat's crew from the
+"Plymouth." The Chinese manifestations of hostility toward foreign
+residents continued, and on the 4th of April, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page681" name="page681"></a>(p. 681)</span> 1854, about
+ninety men from the "Plymouth" and American merchant-ships, under the
+leadership of Commander Kelly, went ashore, and in conjunction with
+one hundred and fifty men from a British man-of-war, began an attack
+upon the Imperial camp. The Americans had two field-pieces and a
+twelve-pound boat-howitzer, which, together with the muskets, were
+used so effectively that, after ten minutes of sharp fighting, the
+Chinese fled in great disorder, leaving a number of dead and wounded
+upon the field. The American loss was two killed and four wounded.</p>
+
+<p>Piracy was rampant in the China seas during this period, and so bold
+and ferocious were the Chinese desperadoes that their junks were a
+great terror to merchant vessels, and seriously interfered with
+commerce. The "Powhatan," another of Captain Perry's squadron, and the
+English sloop "Rattler," joined forces against a fleet of piratical
+junks off Khulan, in 1855, and completely destroyed them, killing many
+of the pirates in the attack and taking a large number of prisoners.
+In Happy Valley, Hong-Kong, a monument was erected to commemorate the
+eight English and American sailors who were killed in the conflict.</p>
+
+<p>While the East India squadron was performing these important and
+gallant services off the coasts of Japan and China, the other vessels
+of the navy were by no means idle. Among the conspicuous naval events
+of the time was the spirited action of Commander Ingraham at Smyrna,
+in 1854. A young Austrian, Martin Koszta, had lived in New York city
+two years before, and had declared his intention of becoming an
+American citizen. He had gone to Smyrna on business, and having
+incurred the displeasure of the Austrian government, had been seized,
+and was a prisoner on board the Austrian man-of-war "Hussar."
+Commander Ingraham, commanding the sloop-of-war "St. Louis," demanded
+that Koszta be surrendered, on the ground that he was an American
+citizen. This being refused, Ingraham cleared for action, although the
+"Hussar's" force was much superior to his own. His bold stand brought
+the Austrians to satisfactory terms, and the threatened engagement was
+averted by the surrender of Koszta.</p>
+
+<p>There were two Arctic expeditions in addition to that of the "Rescue"
+and the "Advance" in the early fifties. Both of them grew out of the
+ill-fated Arctic explorations of Sir John Franklin. Lady Franklin, his
+wife, was anxious, upon the failure of the first relief expeditions,
+to send another, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page682" name="page682"></a>(p. 682)</span> she asked that a surgeon of the United
+States Navy, Dr. Kane, be permitted to command it. The Navy Department
+granted the request, and in June, 1853, the expedition, composed of
+eighteen men under orders from the department and the patronage of
+Henry Grinnell, of New York, and George Peabody, the American
+merchant, of London, began the northwest journey. This search for Sir
+John Franklin's ships was also unsuccessful, and the relief party was
+for a long time in imminent danger of a fate similar to Franklin's.
+After living for two winters imprisoned in the ice in Smith's Sound,
+they abandoned their vessel, which had been largely broken up to
+provide fuel, and started on a journey over the ice in sledges. After
+eighty-four days of extreme privation and thrilling adventure, they
+reached Driscol Bay, where they were found by Commander Hartstone and
+Lieutenant Simms, commanding respectively the "Release" and the
+"Arctic," which vessels had been fitted out by order of Congress to
+rescue them. In October, 1855, the united party reached New York.</p>
+
+<p>In November, 1855, the presence of the United States ship
+"Germantown," commanded by Captain Lynch, in the harbor of Montevideo,
+prevented an extensive massacre. There had been a rebellion in
+Paraguay, and the insurrectionists had capitulated. The government
+troops rushed upon them with the intention of despatching them, when a
+detachment of United States marines interfered and put an end to the
+sanguinary scene. Three years afterward the marines performed
+efficient services in Montevideo in protecting foreign residents
+against the insurgents in another rebellion.</p>
+
+<p>The rather curious episode of a battle-ship fighting Indians occurred
+in 1856. The sloop-of-war "Decatur," Commander Gansevoort, anchored
+off Seattle, Washington, to protect the settlers from attacks from a
+large body of Indians. The savages appeared, and fought the marines,
+who had landed, with much spirit for six hours. At nightfall they
+disappeared in the woods, having suffered the loss of a large number
+of braves.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most gallant and important of the minor operations of the
+navy took place in November of the same year. Trouble having arisen
+between the Chinese authorities of the City of Canton and the English
+officials in the vicinity, it was thought that American interests
+might be injured, and in consequence Commander Foote stationed his
+vessel, the sloop-of-war "Portsmouth," of the squadron under
+Flag-Officer Armstrong, near <span class="pagenum"><a id="page683" name="page683"></a>(p. 683)</span> the island of Whampoa, and
+thence proceeded, in several armed boats, to ascend the river to
+Canton to establish an armed neutrality. Several Americans, however,
+joined the British in an attack upon the governor's palace, and
+planted the flag beside the English colors on the wall of the city.
+Commander Foote disavowed this act, but as he was returning from an
+interview with the flag-officer at Whampoa, several shots of grape and
+canister were fired from the forts upon his boat, although it
+displayed the American flag. The next day the "Portsmouth" and the
+"Levant," which had come up the river to lend her aid, proceeded to
+the Canton barrier forts to avenge the insult. The "Levant" grounded
+before coming in range of the forts; but the "Portsmouth," under a
+sharp fire, sailed on until within about 500 yards of the nearest
+fort; then she opened fire. After she had thrown about 200 shells, the
+Chinese ceased firing. Then followed four days of unsatisfactory
+parley with Yeh, the Governor of Canton, after which Commander Foote
+renewed the attack. The "Levant" now joined the "Portsmouth," and the
+vessels began a cannonade, which was returned with spirit for an hour.
+Then 208 men, in ten boats, were landed, and stormed the nearest fort,
+which was taken. Five thousand pigtail-wearing soldiers afterward
+attempted to recapture it, but were repulsed. In like manner, on the
+following morning, the next fort was taken, with an American loss of
+but three men. During the afternoon the defenders of the third fort
+fled. The next morning, in the face of a heavy fire, the fourth and
+last fort was carried by a rapid assault. The little company of
+Americans was now in possession of four modern forts constructed by
+European engineers, which had been defended, moreover, by thousands of
+men. The insult had been avenged, and the affair resulted in a treaty
+of friendship and commerce with China.</p>
+
+<p>There was little love between Americans and Chinese, however, and
+three years afterward Captain Josiah Tatnall rendered valuable aid to
+the English and French gunboats when fired upon by the Chinese forts.
+The boats, under the command of Sir James Hope, were attempting to
+remove obstructions in the Peiho River when the forts suddenly opened
+a destructive fire. A desperate conflict followed, in which several
+hundred of the English were killed. Captain Tatnall commanded the
+chartered steamer "Toey-Wan," which was in the harbor. He forgot his
+neutrality as he watched the scene. With the exclamation, "Blood is
+thicker than water!" he jumped <span class="pagenum"><a id="page684" name="page684"></a>(p. 684)</span> into his launch and steamed
+for the British flagship. The boat was struck with a ball, and before
+its trip was ended sunk, the coxswain being killed and Lieutenant
+Trenchart severely wounded. The others who had manned her were
+rescued, and they helped the English at the guns. Captain Tatnall
+afterward used the "Toey-Wan" to tow up and bring into action the
+British reserves. His action was a clear violation of the treaty and
+the neutrality law. He received but slight punishment, however, and
+gained great popularity in Great Britain.</p>
+
+<p>At Eaya, in the Feejee Islands, in 1858, a sharp conflict took place
+between the natives and forty men under Lieutenant Caldwell, who had
+been sent to destroy the principal village as retribution for the
+murder of two American citizens. The natives were sent fleeing inland.
+The Secretary of the Navy said of the affair, "The gallantry,
+coolness, and bravery displayed by officers and men was in the highest
+degree commendable." A somewhat similar episode occurred in the
+vicinity of Kisembo, on the west coast of Africa, in 1860. The natives
+threatened the property and lives of American citizens, and would
+undoubtedly have put their threats into effect had it not been for the
+presence and prompt action of Commander Brent of the sloop-of-war
+"Marion." When an insurrection occurred in the neighborhood of Panama,
+in July, 1860, Commander Porter landed a body of marines and sailors
+from his ship, the "St. Mary's," which was then stationed on the
+western coast of Mexico. The governor gave up the city of Panama to
+the joint occupancy of the forces of the "St. Mary's" and the British
+ship-of-war "Clio," and tranquillity was quickly restored.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a id="page685" name="page685"></a>(p. 685)</span> PART III<br>
+<span class="smaller">BLUE-JACKETS OF '61.</span></h2>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_685.jpg" width="600" height="297" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER I.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE OPENING OF THE CONFLICT. &mdash; THE NAVIES OF THE CONTESTANTS. &mdash; DIX'S
+FAMOUS DESPATCH. &mdash; THE RIVER GUNBOATS.</p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+story of the naval operations of the civil war is a record of
+wonderful energy and inventive skill in improvising and building
+war-vessels, vigilance and courage in handling them, and desperate
+bravery and dash displayed by officers and seamen in the great
+engagements in which vessels of either side took part. Yet of the
+immense body of literature dealing with the war, the greater part is
+given to telling the story of the great armies of the North and South.
+The details of the great land battles are familiar to many who have
+but a vague idea of the service done by the "blue jackets" of the
+North, and the daring deeds performed by the navies of both sides.</p>
+
+<p>When the first mutterings of the storm of war began to be heard, the
+United States Government had at its disposal sixty-nine
+vessels-of-war, of which twenty-seven were laid up for repairs, or,
+sailors would say, "out of commission." Of the forty-two vessels in
+commission, twenty-six were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page686" name="page686"></a>(p. 686)</span> absent on missions to the East
+Indies, the African coast, and other distant quarters of the globe.
+Long months must elapse before the most hasty orders could reach them.
+Many were sailing-vessels, and must consume many months of precious
+time before they could reach the shores of the United States. Indeed,
+though on the inauguration of President Lincoln on March 4, 1861, all
+these vessels were immediately recalled, not one arrived before the
+middle of June, and many were delayed until late in the following
+winter. Of the vessels at home, many were old-fashioned
+sailing-frigates; beautiful with their towering masts and clouds of
+snowy canvas, but almost useless in that day when steam had become
+known as the only means of propelling vessels-of-war.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo686" name="illo686"></a>
+<img src="images/686_the_hartford_farracuts_flagship.jpg" width="500" height="417" alt="" title="">
+<p>The "Hartford," Farragut's Flagship.</p></div>
+
+<p>In officers and men the navy was almost as deficient as in vessels. A
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page687" name="page687"></a>(p. 687)</span> long peace had filled the lists of officers with old men
+past that age in which may be expected the alertness and energy that
+must be possessed by Jack afloat. The lower grades were filled by
+boyish officers from the Naval Academy, who had never seen a gun fired
+in anger. The service was becoming rusty from long idleness.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the condition of the navy of the United States when Abraham
+Lincoln was made President. Four years later the navy of the United
+States consisted of six hundred and seventy-one vessels. No nation of
+the world had such a naval power. The stern lessons of the great war
+had taught shipbuilders that wooden ships were a thing of the past.
+The little "Monitor" had by one afternoon's battle proved to all the
+sovereigns of Europe that their massive ships were useless. And all
+this had been done by a people grappling in deadly strife with an
+enemy in their very dwellings. The world's history contains no more
+wonderful story of energy and invention.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo687" name="illo687"></a>
+<img src="images/687_departure_of_a_naval_expedition_from_port_royal.jpg" width="400" height="544" alt="" title="">
+<p>Departure of a Naval Expedition from Port Royal.</p></div>
+
+<p>When President Lincoln began his term of office, he appointed Gideon
+Welles of Connecticut Secretary of the Navy. South Carolina had
+seceded from the Union. Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and
+Louisiana had followed South Carolina. Anderson, with a handful of
+United States troops, was holding Fort Sumter, expecting every minute
+to see the puff of smoke from the distant casement of Fort Moultrie,
+and hear the shriek of the shell that should announce the opening of
+the attack. At Washington, politicians were intriguing. The loyalty of
+no man could be regarded as certain. Officers of the army and navy
+were daily resigning, and hastening to put themselves under the
+command of their various States. In the South all was activity. In the
+North the popular desire for a compromise hampered the authorities so
+that no decided stand against the spread of the rebellion could be
+made. The new Secretary of the Navy found himself face to face with
+the certainty of a long and bloody war, yet had under his command a
+navy hardly adequate for times of peace. To add to his perplexity,
+many of the oldest and most skilful officers in the navy resigned,
+saying that their duty to their States was greater than to the United
+States as a whole. A few revenue officers even went so far as to
+deliver to the State authorities the vessels of which they were in
+command. One commander, a Georgian, bringing his ship back from
+foreign waters, hesitated long whether to take it to the navy-yard at
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page689" name="page689"></a>(p. 689)</span> New York, or to deliver it to the Southern leaders. He
+finally decided to obey orders, and the ship remained with the United
+States. Some days afterward the commander told his lieutenant of his
+hesitation. "We all saw it," said the younger officer; "and had you
+turned the ship's prow towards Charleston, you would have been
+instantly put in irons."</p>
+
+<p>The surrender of another naval vessel called forth that famous
+despatch from John A. Dix that will ever be linked with his name. The
+United States revenue cutter "McClelland" was lying at New Orleans,
+under the command of Capt. Breshwood. The revenue service is distinct
+from the regular navy, and is under the general command of the
+Secretary of the Treasury. John A. Dix, then Secretary of the
+Treasury, suspected that Capt. Breshwood was about to surrender his
+vessel to the Confederates, and sent an agent to order him to take the
+vessel to New York. Breshwood refused, and instantly Dix sent the
+despatch: "Tell Lieut. Caldwell to arrest Capt. Breshwood, assume
+command of the cutter, and obey the order through you. If Capt.
+Breshwood, after arrest, undertakes to interfere with the command of
+the cutter, tell Lieut. Caldwell to consider him as a mutineer, and
+treat him accordingly. <span class="italic">If any man attempts to haul down the American
+flag, shoot him on the spot.</span>" This despatch was intercepted by the
+Confederates, and the cutter was surrendered. But Dix's determined
+words reverberated through the North, and thrilled all hearts with the
+hope that the time for delay was past, and that the growing rebellion
+would be put down with a firm hand.</p>
+
+<p>So at the opening of the war we find the North with a navy consisting
+of but a few old-fashioned ships, few sailors, officers everywhere
+resigning, and a general feeling of distrust of brother officers in
+all grades.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of the South as regards the navy was even worse. The
+Southern States had never done any great amount of ship-building. The
+people were almost all engaged in farming. The crops of cotton and
+sugar that they raised were shipped in vessels built in Maine, and
+manned by sailors from the seafaring villages of New England. At the
+time the war broke out, there was hardly a shipyard in the confines of
+the Confederacy. A few vessels were gained by the treachery of United
+States officers. The capture of the Norfolk navy-yard brought them
+large quantities of naval stores, and by wonderful activity a few
+vessels were built for service on inland sounds and rivers. But at no
+time could the Confederacy have <span class="pagenum"><a id="page690" name="page690"></a>(p. 690)</span> been said to have a navy;
+and, keeping this fact in view, the record the Confederates made with
+two or three vessels is most wonderful. In war-vessels for service on
+that wonderful network of rivers that make up the waterways of the
+Mississippi Valley, the South was not so deficient as in ships of the
+seagoing class. The long, crescent-shaped levee at New Orleans is
+lined throughout certain seasons of the year by towering
+river-steamers which ply up and down the Mississippi and connecting
+streams, taking from the plantations huge loads of cotton, sugar, and
+rice, and carrying to the planters those supplies which can only be
+furnished by the markets of a great city. The appearance of one of
+these towering river transports as she comes sailing down the turbid
+stream of the great Father of Waters, laden to the water's edge with
+brown bales of cotton, and emitting from her lofty, red crowned
+smoke-stacks dense clouds of pitchy black smoke, is most wonderful.
+Unlike ocean-steamers, the river-steamer carries her load upon her
+deck. Built to penetrate far towards the head-waters of rivers and
+bayous that in summer become mere shallow ditches, these steamers have
+a very light draught. Many of them, whose tiers of white cabins tower
+sixty or seventy feet into the air, have but three feet of hull
+beneath the river's surface. The first deck, when the vessel is but
+lightly loaded, stands perhaps two feet out of water. Above this,
+carried on rows of posts twenty feet high, comes the first cabin. All
+between is open to the air on either side; so that, as one of the huge
+river-monsters passes at night, the watcher on the bank can see the
+stalwart, black, half-naked bodies of the negro stokers, bending
+before the glowing furnace doors, and throwing in the soft coal, that
+issues in clouds of smoke from the towering chimneys seventy feet
+above. The lights in three rows of cabin windows glow; and the
+unceasing beat of the paddle-wheels mingles with the monotonous puff
+of the steam from the escape-pipes, and the occasional bursts of music
+from the open cabin doors. One who for the first time looks on one of
+these leviathans of the Mississippi, pursuing its stately course at
+night, does not wonder at the frightened negro, who, seeing for the
+first time a night-steamboat, rushed madly from the river's bank,
+crying that the angel Gabriel had come to blow the last trump.</p>
+
+<p>When these boats have taken on their full load of cotton, they present
+a very different appearance. Then all the open space beneath the
+cabins <span class="pagenum"><a id="page691" name="page691"></a>(p. 691)</span> is filled by a mass of cotton-bales. The hull is so
+sunken in the water that the lowest tier of cotton-bales is lapped by
+the little waves that ruffle the surface of the river. The stokers and
+furnaces are hid from view, and the cabins appear to be floating on
+one huge cotton bale. Generally a great wooden stern-wheel propels
+this strange craft, adding to the grotesqueness of the sight.</p>
+
+<p>It may readily be understood, that vessels of this class, in which
+strength was subordinated to lightness, and economy to gingerbread
+decoration, seemed to be but poor materials for vessels-of-war. The
+tremendous recoil of a rifled cannon fired from one of those airy
+decks, meant to stand no ruder shock than the vibration caused by
+dancing pleasure-parties, would shake the whole frail structure to
+pieces. Yet the ingenuity born of necessity, and the energy awakened
+by the immediate prospect of war, led the Confederate engineers to
+convert some of these pleasure-palaces into the most terrible engines
+of destruction chronicled in the annals of war. The first step was to
+sweep off all the towering superstructure of decks, cabins, and
+saloons; tear away all the fanciful mouldings, the decorated
+staterooms, and carved and gilded stairways. This left a long, shallow
+hull, with a powerful engine in the centre, and great paddle-wheels
+towering on either side; the whole so light that the soldiers of
+Grant's army, when they first saw one, stoutly averred that "those
+boats could run on a heavy dew." The hull was then thinly plated with
+iron, and the prow lengthened, and made massive, until it formed the
+terrible "ram," fallen into disuse since the days of the Greek
+galleys, to be taken up again by naval architects in the nineteenth
+century. Then on the deck was built a pent-house of oak and iron, with
+sloping sides just high enough to cover the engine. The two towering
+smoke-stacks, the pride of the old river-steamers, were cut down to
+squat pipes protruding a foot or two above the strange structure. In
+the sides were embrasures, from which, when open, peered the iron
+muzzles of the dogs of war, ready to show their teeth and spit fire
+and iron at the enemy. This was the most powerful type of the river
+gunboat, and with them the Confederacy was fairly well provided;
+though it was not long before the war department of the United States
+was well supplied with similar ships. It was these iron-clad gunboats
+that used to rouse the anger of the doughty Admiral Farragut, who
+persisted in declaring them cowardly engines of destruction, and
+predicted that as they <span class="pagenum"><a id="page692" name="page692"></a>(p. 692)</span> came into use, the race of brave
+fighting jack-tars would disappear. On one occasion the admiral was
+ploughing his way up the Mississippi above New Orleans, in one of
+Commodore Bailey's river iron-clads. The batteries of the enemy on
+either hand were pounding away at the ascending ships, hurling huge
+bolts of iron against their mailed sides, with a thunder that was
+deafening, and a shock that made the stricken ships reel. The admiral
+stood in the gunroom of one of the iron-clads, watching the men
+working the guns, in an atmosphere reeking with the smoke of the
+powder. A look of manifest disapproval was on his face. Suddenly an
+unusually well-directed shot struck a weak point in the armor, and,
+bursting through, killed two men near the admiral's position. He
+looked for a moment on the ghastly spectacle, then turning to an
+officer said, "You may stay here in your iron-clad room if you wish:
+as for me, I feel safer on deck." And on deck he went, and stayed
+there while the fleet passed through the hail of shot and shell.</p>
+
+<p>The scarcity of iron in the Southern States prevented the naval
+authorities of the newly organized Confederacy from equipping a very
+large fleet of iron-clads. At the outbreak of the war, the Tredegar
+Iron Works at Richmond was the only place in the South where iron
+plates of a size suitable for plating vessels could be rolled. The
+demand was of course far in excess of the facilities of the factory,
+and many were the make-shifts that shipbuilders were forced to. Some
+vessels were plated only about the centre, so as to protect the boiler
+and engines. Others bore such a thin coat of iron that they were
+derisively called "tin-clads" by the sailors, who insisted that a
+Yankee can-opener was all that was necessary to rip the vessel up.
+Sometimes, when even a little iron was unattainable, bales of cotton
+were piled up around the sides, like breastworks, for the protection
+of men and engines. The vessel which captured the United States ship
+"Harriet Lane," at Galveston, was thus provided; and the defence
+proved very valuable. One great objection to the cotton-bale bulwarks
+was the very inflammable nature of the material, since a red-hot shot
+from the enemy, or a bit of blazing wadding from a gun, would set it
+smouldering with a dense black smoke that drove the men from their
+guns until the bales could be thrown overboard; thus extinguishing the
+fire, but exposing the men to the fire of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most striking features of the war of secession was the
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page693" name="page693"></a>(p. 693)</span> manner in which private citizens hastened to contribute
+towards the public defence. This was so no less in naval than in
+military circles. Perhaps the greatest gift ever made by a citizen to
+his Government was the gift by "Commodore" Vanderbilt to the United
+States of a magnificently equipped ship-of-war, which was named "The
+Vanderbilt" in honor of her donor, and did efficient service in
+maintaining the blockade on the Atlantic coast. Mr. James Gordon
+Bennett, the present owner of the "New-York Herald," put his yacht at
+the service of the Government, and was himself commissioned a
+lieutenant in the revenue service.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_693.jpg" width="100" height="72" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page694" name="page694"></a>(p. 694)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_694.jpg" width="600" height="245" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER II.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">FORT SUMTER BOMBARDED. &mdash; ATTEMPT OF THE "STAR OF THE WEST" TO
+RE-ENFORCE ANDERSON. &mdash; THE NAVAL EXPEDITION TO FORT SUMTER. &mdash; THE RESCUE
+OF THE FRIGATE "CONSTITUTION." &mdash; BURNING THE NORFOLK NAVY-YARD.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo694" name="illo694"></a>
+<img src="images/694_fort_moultrie.jpg" width="500" height="412" alt="" title="">
+<p>Fort Moultrie.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+first purely warlike event of the civil war was the bombardment
+and capture of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, by the troops of the
+State of South Carolina. At the time when it first became evident that
+civil war was inevitable, Fort Sumter was vacant. The only United
+States troops stationed at Charleston were two companies of artillery
+under Major Robert Anderson. The fortifications of Charleston Harbor
+consisted of Fort Moultrie on the main land (in which Anderson's
+command was stationed), Fort Pinckney, and Fort Sumter standing
+massive and alone in the centre of the harbor. Anderson, with his
+handful of troops in the most vulnerable of the three forts, saw day
+by day the secession sentiment growing stronger. Almost daily some of
+the privileges of the soldiery were cut off; such as the right of
+passing through the city, and the right to buy supplies in the public
+markets. Daily could be heard the drum and the tread of the newly
+organized bodies of State soldiers. Anderson saw that his position was
+a weak one, but could get no orders from headquarters. Finally he
+decided to assume the responsibility of evacuating Fort Moultrie and
+occupying Fort Sumter. To-day it hardly seems as though he could have
+thought of doing otherwise, but <span class="pagenum"><a id="page695" name="page695"></a>(p. 695)</span> at that time it was a grave
+responsibility for a man to assume. The whole voice of the North was
+for compromise, and it was his part to commit the first overt act of
+war. But he was nobly upheld in his decision by his Northern brethren.
+Having decided, he lost no time in carrying his plan into effect. His
+little corps of troops was drawn up at midnight on the parade, and for
+the first time informed of the contemplated movement. The guns of Fort
+Moultrie were hurriedly knocked from their trunnions, and spiked; the
+gun-carriages were piled in great heaps, and fired; and every thing
+that might in any way be used against the United States Government was
+destroyed. Then the work of evacuation was begun. A small fleet of
+row-boats carried the troops to the entrance of the great, sullen
+fort, standing alone in the middle of the harbor, and made frequent
+trips bringing supplies and ammunition from the deserted fortress. All
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page697" name="page697"></a>(p. 697)</span> was done silently: the oars were muffled, and the commands
+of the officers were whispered, that no tidings should be told of the
+movement under way. Before sunrise all was completed; and when the
+rays of the rising sun fell upon the stars and stripes floating from
+the flagstaff of Sumter, the people of Charleston turned their eyes
+from the starry flag to the clouds of smoke arising from Fortress
+Moultrie, and comprehended that the war had begun. Newspaper
+correspondents and agents of the Federal Government, and the Southern
+leaders, rushed for the telegraph-wires; and the news soon sped over
+the country, that Sumter was occupied. The South Carolinians at once
+began to build earthworks on all points bearing on the fort, and were
+evidently preparing to drive Anderson and his troops out. Anderson
+promptly telegraphed to Washington for supplies and re-enforcements,
+and expressed his intention of staying as long as the walls stood. The
+Government was dilatory, but finally concluded to re-enforce the fort,
+and to that end secured the steamer "Star of the West," and began the
+work of provisioning her for the voyage. It was decided that she
+should carry no guns: that would look too much like war; and
+accordingly, on the 8th of January, this helpless vessel set out to
+the aid of the beleaguered garrison of Fort Sumter. The news was at
+once telegraphed to Charleston; and the gunners in the Confederate
+trenches shotted their guns, and awaited the appearance of the
+steamer. She hove into sight on the morning of the 12th, and when
+within range was notified, by a shot across her bows, that she was
+expected to stop. This signal being disregarded, the firing began in
+earnest; and the shot and shell fell thick about the ship, which kept
+pluckily on her course. But it was useless to persist. One shot struck
+the steamer near the bows, others whizzed through her rigging, and
+finally her captain saw a tug putting out from the land, towing a
+schooner crowded with armed men to cut off the "Star's" retreat. He
+gave the command "Hard a port." The ship's head swung round, and she
+steamed away, leaving the garrison to their fate. An old gunner who
+stood in a casemate of Fort Sumter, with the lanyard of a shotted gun
+in his hand, tells the story of how he begged Major Anderson to let
+him fire on the rebel batteries. "Not yet; be patient," was the
+response. When the shells began to fall thick about the steamer, he
+again asked permission to retaliate, but met the same response. Then
+when he saw the white splinters fly from the bow, where the enemies'
+shell had struck, he cried, "Now, surely, we can return <span class="pagenum"><a id="page698" name="page698"></a>(p. 698)</span>
+<span class="italic">that!</span>" but still the answer was, "Be patient." When the "Star of the
+West," confessing defeat, turned and fled from the harbor, Anderson
+turned and walked away, curtly saying there was no need to fire then,
+but to save the load for the necessity that was coming.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo698a" name="illo698a"></a>
+<img src="images/698_anderson_s_command_occupying_fort_sumter.jpg" width="600" height="419" alt="" title="">
+<p>Anderson's Command occupying Fort Sumter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo698b" name="illo698b"></a>
+<img src="images/698_major_robert_anderson.jpg" width="400" height="450" alt="" title="">
+<p>Major Robert Anderson.</p></div>
+
+<p>The first naval operation of the war was the expedition fitted out to
+relieve Fort Sumter. In itself, this expedition was but an
+insignificant affair, ending in failure; but as the first warlike
+action on the part of the United States Government, it attracted the
+greatest attention throughout the nation. In preparing the vessels for
+sea, great care was taken to keep their destination secret, so that no
+warning should reach the Confederates, who were lying in their
+batteries about Sumter, awaiting the first offensive action of the
+United States authorities to begin shelling the fortress. While the
+squadron was fitting out, it was generally supposed that it was
+intended to carry troops and munitions of war to Fort Pickens in
+Pensacola Harbor, which was invested by the Confederates. When the
+fleet finally sailed, each commander carried sealed orders, upon
+opening which he first found that the expedition was bound for
+Charleston Harbor. Notwithstanding all this secrecy, the destination
+of the fleet was telegraphed to the Confederates almost as soon as the
+last vessel dropped past Sandy Hook; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page701" name="page701"></a>(p. 701)</span> and the fire from the
+circle of batteries about the doomed fort in Charleston Harbor began
+immediately. When the fleet arrived at its destination, the
+bombardment was well under way. To attempt to land troops or stores
+under the withering fire concentrated upon the fort, would have been
+madness. The only vessel of sufficient strength to engage the
+batteries, the "Pawnee," had been separated from the fleet by a gale a
+few nights before, and had not yet arrived. Sadly the sailors gave up
+the attempt, and, beating up and down outside the harbor bar, awaited
+the inevitable end of the unequal conflict. When, finally, after a
+heroic resistance of several days, Major Anderson and his little band,
+worn with constant vigilance and labor, destitute of provisions, and
+exposed to a constant hail of iron missiles from without and a raging
+fire within, agreed to capitulate, the United States steamship
+"Baltic," of the Fort Sumter expedition, took him on board and bore
+him safely to New York. The main purpose of the expedition had failed,
+it is true; but the Government had made its first decisive move, and
+public sympathy and confidence were excited.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo701" name="illo701"></a>
+<img src="images/701_fort_sumter_under_fire.jpg" width="400" height="572" alt="" title="">
+<p>Fort Sumter under Fire.</p></div>
+
+<p>The preparations for the coming struggle were now being pressed
+forward on every hand. An incident which occurred soon after the fall
+of Sumter awakened the greatest enthusiasm throughout the North. The
+United States frigate "Constitution" was lying at Annapolis, where she
+was being used by the authorities of the naval academy there for a
+school-ship. Although the State of Maryland had not seceded from the
+Union, yet secessionists were to be found in great numbers in all
+parts of the State. A number of them determined to seize the ship.
+Besides being a war-vessel of considerable strength, the
+"Constitution"&mdash;or "Old Ironsides," as she was affectionately
+called&mdash;was famous for her many exploits, and dear to the hearts of
+Americans for her long service under the stars and stripes. "If we can
+but capture the vessel, and turn her guns against the Union," thought
+the conspirators, "we will strike a heavy blow at the Northern
+sympathizers." And, indeed, it would have been a heavy blow to the
+nation had they captured the old frigate that did such service under
+Preble in the war with Tripoli; and that in the War of 1812 forced the
+British to strike their colors, and gave to the United States navy an
+equal place on the high seas with any nation of the world. The plans
+of the conspirators were well laid. The ship was manned by but twenty
+men, and lay above a bar, over which she could only be carried by the
+aid of a steam-tug. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page702" name="page702"></a>(p. 702)</span> Fortunately the officers and crew were
+all loyal. For four days and four nights they watched the preparations
+being made on shore for their capture. Mysterious signals flashed from
+the surrounding hills. Armed bodies of men were seen drilling on the
+shore. All seemed to tend toward certain capture. Yet with no chance
+of escape the brave men kept vigilant guard, with guns shotted and
+always primed.</p>
+
+<p>Near Annapolis was stationed the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry, with
+Gen. Butler in command. News was carried to the general of the
+perilous position of the "Constitution," and he at once determined to
+hasten to her relief. Just as the crew of the old frigate had
+abandoned all hope, the steamer "Maryland" entered the harbor, her
+guards and decks crowded with the men of the Eighth Massachusetts.
+Quickly the "Constitution" was prepared for sailing. Her anchors were
+slipped, all useless weight cast overboard, and, with the "Maryland"
+as tug, the stately frigate passed slowly over the bar, and out of the
+grasp of the conspirators.</p>
+
+<p>The "Constitution" was not the only United States vessel that the
+Confederates were planning to seize. Soon after she escaped from their
+hands, an event occurred by which a vast quantity of naval stores, and
+the mutilated but still valuable hulls of some of the most powerful
+war-vessels in the United States navy, fell into their hands. The
+United States navy-yard at Norfolk was one of the most valuable of all
+the governmental possessions. In the great yard was government
+property amounting to more than twenty millions of dollars.
+Machine-shops, foundries, dwellings for officers, and a massive
+granite dry-dock made it one of the most complete navy-yards in the
+world. An enormous quantity of cannon, cannon-balls, powder, and
+small-arms packed the huge storehouses. In the magnificent harbor were
+lying some of the most formidable vessels of the United States navy,
+including the steam frigate "Merrimac," of which we shall hear much
+hereafter. Small wonder was it, that the people of Virginia, about to
+secede from the Union, looked with covetous eyes upon this vast stock
+of munitions of war lying apparently within their grasp. It did not
+take long for them to persuade themselves that they were right in
+seizing it; and, once decided, their movements were vigorous and open.
+Of their ability to capture the yard, and gain possession of all the
+property there, they felt no doubt. The first thing to be done was to
+entrap the ships so that they should be unable to get out of the
+harbor. Accordingly, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page703" name="page703"></a>(p. 703)</span> on the 16th of April, three large
+stone-vessels were sunk directly in the channel, apparently barring
+the exit of the frigates most effectually. Indeed, so confident of
+success were the plotters, that in a despatch to Richmond, announcing
+the successful sinking of the stone-ships, they said, "Thus have we
+secured for Virginia three of the best ships of the navy." But later
+events showed, that, in boasting so proudly, the Virginians were
+committing the old error of counting chickens before they were
+hatched.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of affairs within the navy-yard now seemed desperate.
+There appeared to be no chance of getting the vessels beyond the
+obstructions. The militia of Virginia was rapidly gathering in the
+town. Among the naval officers on the ships great dissension existed,
+as many were Southerners, about to resign their posts in the United
+States service to enter the service of their States. These men would,
+of course, give no active aid to any movement for the salvation of the
+United States property in the yard. Any assistance must come from the
+outside; the beleaguered could but passively await the course of
+events.</p>
+
+<p>At seven o'clock on the night of April 21, the United States steamer
+"Pawnee," which had been lying under the guns of Fortress Monroe,
+hoisted anchor, and headed up the bay, on an errand of destruction. It
+was too late to save the navy-yard with its precious stores. The only
+thing to be done was to burn, break, and destroy every thing that
+might be of service to an enemy. The decks of the "Pawnee" were black
+with men,&mdash;soldiers to guard the gates, and complete the work of
+destruction within the yard; blue-jacketed tars to do what might be
+done to drag the entrapped vessels from the snare set them by the
+Virginians. It was a bright moon-light night. The massive hull of the
+ship-of-war, black in the cold, white rays of the moon, passed rapidly
+up the Elizabeth River. The sunken wrecks were reached, and
+successfully avoided; and about nine o'clock the "Pawnee" steamed into
+the anchorage of the navy-yard, to be greeted with cheers from the
+tars of the "Cumberland" and "Pennsylvania," who expected her arrival.
+The townspeople seeing the war-vessel, with ports thrown open, and
+black muzzles of the guns protruding, took to their houses, fearing
+she would open fire on the town. Quickly the "Pawnee" steamed to her
+moorings. The marines were hurriedly disembarked, and hastened to
+guard the entrances to the navy-yard. Howitzers were planted so as to
+rake every street leading to the yard. Thus secure against attack, the
+work <span class="pagenum"><a id="page704" name="page704"></a>(p. 704)</span> of the night began. Nearly two thousand willing hands
+were set hard at work, cannon were dismounted and spiked, rifles and
+muskets dashed to pieces; great quantities of combustibles were piled
+up in the mammoth buildings, ready to be fired at a given signal. In
+the mean time, the blue-jackets were not idle. It was quickly decided,
+that, of all the magnificent vessels anchored in the harbor, the
+"Cumberland" was the only one that could be towed past the
+obstructions in the river. All hands were set to work removing every
+thing of value from the doomed vessels to the "Cumberland." Gunpowder
+and combustibles were then arranged so as to completely destroy the
+vessels when ignited. When the moon went down at twelve o'clock, the
+preparations were complete. All the men were then taken on board the
+"Cumberland" and "Pawnee," save a few who were left to fire the
+trains. As the two vessels started from the moorings, the barracks
+were fired, the lurid light casting a fearful gleam upon the crowded
+yards and shrouds of the towering frigate. A little way out in the
+stream a rocket was sent up from the "Pawnee." This was the signal for
+the firing of the trains. The scene that followed is thus described by
+an eye-witness:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The rocket sped high in air, paused a second, and burst in showers of
+many colored lights; and, as it did so, the well-set trains at the
+ship-houses, and on the decks of the fated vessels left behind, went
+off as if lit simultaneously by the rocket. One of the ship-houses
+contained the old 'New York,' a ship thirty years on the stocks, and
+yet unfinished; the other was vacant. But both houses, and the old
+'New York,' burned like tinder. The vessels fired were the
+'Pennsylvania,' the 'Merrimac,' the 'Germantown,' the 'Plymouth,' the
+'Raritan,' the 'Columbia,' and the 'Dolphin.' The old 'Delaware' and
+'Columbus," worn-out and disabled seventy-fours, were scuttled, and
+sunk at the upper docks on Friday.</p>
+
+<p>"I need not try to picture the scene of the grand conflagration that
+now burst like the day of judgment on the startled citizens of
+Norfolk, Portsmouth, and all the surrounding country. Any one who has
+seen a ship burn, and knows how like a fiery serpent the flame leaps
+from pitchy deck to smoking shrouds, and writhes to their very top
+around the masts that stand like martyrs doomed, can form some idea of
+the wonderful display that followed. It was not thirty minutes from
+the time the trains were fired, till the conflagration roared like a
+hurricane, and the flames from land <span class="pagenum"><a id="page707" name="page707"></a>(p. 707)</span> and water swayed and
+met and mingled together, and darted high, and fell, and leaped up
+again, and by their very motion showed their sympathy with the
+crackling, crashing war of destruction beneath.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo707" name="illo707"></a>
+<img src="images/707_destruction_of_norfolk_navy_yard.jpg" width="600" height="422" alt="" title="">
+<p>Destruction of Norfolk Navy-Yard.</p></div>
+
+<p>"But in all this magnificent scene the old ship 'Pennsylvania' was the
+centre-piece. She was a very giant in death, as she had been in life.
+She was a sea of flame; and when the iron had entered her soul, and
+her bowels were consuming, then did she spout forth from every
+porthole of every deck torrents and cataracts of fire, that to the
+mind of Milton would have represented her a frigate of hell pouring
+out unending broadsides of infernal fire. Several of her guns were
+left loaded, but not shotted; and as the fire reached them they sent
+out on the startled morning air minute-guns of fearful peal, that
+added greatly to the alarm that the light of the fire had spread
+through the country round about. The 'Pennsylvania' burned like a
+volcano for five hours and a half before her mainmast fell. I stood
+watching the proud but perishing old leviathan as this emblem of her
+majesty was about to come down. At precisely half-past nine o'clock
+the tall tree that stood in her centre tottered and fell, and crushed
+deep into her burning sides."</p>
+
+<p>During this fearful scene the people of the little town, and the
+Virginia militia-men who had been summoned to take possession of the
+navy-yard, were no idle spectators. Hardly had the "Pawnee" steamed
+out into the stream, when the great gates were battered down, and
+crowds of men rushed in, eager to save whatever arms were uninjured.
+Throughout the fire they worked like beavers, and succeeded in saving
+a large quantity of munitions of war to be used by the Confederacy.
+The ships that had been fired all burned to the water's edge. One was
+raised, and re-appeared as the formidable "Merrimac" that at one time
+threatened the destruction of the whole Union navy.</p>
+
+<p>A great amount of valuable property was saved for the Virginians by
+the coolness of a young boy, the son of one of the citizens of the
+town. This lad was within the gates of the navy-yard when the troops
+from the ships rushed in, and closed and barricaded them against the
+townspeople. He was frightened, and hid himself behind a quantity of
+boards and rubbish, and lay there a silent and immensely frightened
+spectator of the work of destruction. An officer passed near him
+directing the movements of two sailors, who were laying a train of
+gunpowder to an immense pile of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page708" name="page708"></a>(p. 708)</span> explosives and combustibles
+in the huge granite dry-dock. The train passed over a broad board; and
+the boy, hardly knowing what he did, drew away this board, leaving a
+gap of eight inches in the train. When all the trains were fired, this
+was of course stopped at the gap; and the dry-dock was saved, and
+still remains in the Norfolk Navy Yard.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_708.jpg" width="150" height="50" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page709" name="page709"></a>(p. 709)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_709.jpg" width="600" height="254" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER III.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">DIFFICULTIES OF THE CONFEDERATES IN GETTING A NAVY. &mdash; EXPLOIT OF THE
+"FRENCH LADY." &mdash; NAVAL SKIRMISHING ON THE POTOMAC. &mdash; THE CRUISE OF THE
+"SUMTER."</p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+disparity of maritime importance between the North and the South,
+and the consequent difficulties to be overcome by the latter in
+getting a navy, have been already alluded to. As it has been stated,
+in river-steamers and ponderous rams the South was fairly well
+supplied; but what was really needed were ocean-going ships, to break
+the rigid blockade that was slowly starving the Confederacy into
+submission,&mdash;swift cruisers to prey on the commerce of the enemy, and
+powerful line-of-battle ships, which, by successfully coping with the
+vessels of the United States on the high seas, should secure for the
+Confederacy recognition, and possibly assistance, from the great
+powers of Europe. But how to get these without shipyards,
+shipbuilders, or seamen, was a task that baffled the ingenuity of the
+best minds in the South. Immediately upon the organization of the
+Confederate cabinet, an agent was sent to England to negotiate for
+vessels and guns. But, though this agent was a man of wonderful
+resources and great diplomacy, he found an almost insuperable obstacle
+in the universally recognized law of nations, to the effect that no
+neutral nation shall sell vessels or munitions of war to belligerents.
+It is true that this agent, Capt. Bulloch, did succeed in securing
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page710" name="page710"></a>(p. 710)</span> three ships,&mdash;the "Florida," the "Shenandoah," and the
+celebrated "Alabama;" but to do so cost an immense amount of diplomacy
+and the sacrificing of the strength of the vessels to the necessity
+which existed for making them appear to be merchantmen. To build an
+iron-clad in a foreign port, was out of the question; and consequently
+ships so obtained were forced to fly from any well-equipped
+war-vessel, and only venture to attack unarmed merchantmen.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo710" name="illo710"></a>
+<img src="images/710_the_french_lady.jpg" width="400" height="573" alt="" title="">
+<p>The "French Lady."</p></div>
+
+<p>The United States vessels which were delivered into the hands of the
+Confederates by their officers were mainly small revenue cutters, of
+little use in naval warfare and soon given up or destroyed. Not a
+single ship of this class made any record of distinguished service for
+the Confederacy. Several merchant-vessels were captured by the
+Confederates, who concocted the most ingenious plans to secure
+success. One bright July morning the steamer "St. Nicholas" was lying
+at her dock in Baltimore, with steam up, and all prepared for her
+regular trip down the Chesapeake. Quite a large number of passengers
+had bought tickets, and lounged about the decks, waiting for the
+voyage to begin. Among the passengers were a number of mechanics, with
+tools in their hands, going down the bay in search of work. Shortly
+before the signal to cast off was given, a carriage was driven down
+the wharf, and a lady, heavily veiled, alighted, assisted by two
+gentlemen. The gentlemen stated that she was a French lady, and in
+ill-health. Accordingly she was at once assigned a stateroom, to which
+she retired. Soon after, the vessel cast off and headed down the bay.
+When fairly out of the harbor, the stateroom door opened, and instead
+of the frail, heavily veiled widow who went in, out strode a
+black-whiskered man, armed to the teeth. He had no trouble now in
+speaking English, and at once demanded the surrender of the ship. The
+honest mechanics dropped their tools, and, drawing concealed weapons,
+rallied around their leader. They had found the work they started out
+to seek. The ship was captured, and a new privateer was ready to prey
+on Northern merchant-ships. Once in the hands of the conspirators, the
+vessel was run into a little port where the passengers were landed,
+and a hundred and fifty more Confederates taken aboard. Under the
+command of Capt. Thomas (the "French lady"), the vessel proceeded to
+Fredericksburg, where she, and three brigs captured on the way, were
+delivered to the Confederate leaders. This adventure so favorably
+terminated, Thomas, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page713" name="page713"></a>(p. 713)</span> with his officers, started back to
+Baltimore, to lay plans for the capture of some other unsuspecting
+craft. But fortune, which had thus far favored him, deserted him at
+last. On the vessel upon which the conspirators took passage were two
+police-officers of Baltimore. One of these officers recognized Thomas,
+and quietly laid plans for his capture. In the harbor at Baltimore
+stands Fort McHenry. Under its frowning casemates the ships of the
+United States could lie without fear of attack from the thousands of
+discontented men who made of Baltimore a secession city. The captain
+of the "Mary Washington" was ordered by Lieut. Carmichael, the officer
+of police, to bring the ship into the anchorage, under the guns of the
+fort. This soon came to the ears of Thomas, who with his men rallied
+on the deck, and, with revolvers drawn, seemed prepared to make a
+desperate resistance. They were soon convinced that the officers had
+ample power behind them, and therefore submitted. On arriving at the
+fort, a company of soldiers was sent aboard the boat, and the
+prisoners were marched ashore. But Thomas was not to be found. Search
+was made in all parts of the boat, without avail; and the officers had
+decided that he had jumped overboard, with the desperate intention of
+swimming ashore. Just as they were about to give up the search, a
+noise was heard that seemed to come from a bureau in the ladies'
+cabin. Search was made, and there, coiled up in a narrow
+bureau-drawer, lay the leader of the band. He had been there two
+hours, and was helpless from cramp and exhaustion. He was placed in a
+cell at Fort Lafayette; but later, having been given the privilege of
+walking about the fort, managed to escape by making floats of empty
+tomato-cans, and with their aid swimming almost two miles. He was
+afterwards recaptured, and remained a prisoner until released by
+reason of an exchange of prisoners between the North and South. Soon
+after his capture, the Federal authorities at Baltimore learned that
+plans had been made to capture other passenger steamers in the same
+way; but the ringleader being locked up, there was no difficulty in
+defeating the plans of the band.</p>
+
+<p>During the first few weeks of the war, before active hostilities had
+fairly commenced, events of this nature were of almost daily
+occurrence. On the Potomac particularly, small cruisers were in
+continual danger of being captured, and put into commission under the
+Confederate flag. A trading schooner loaded with garden-produce,
+dropping lazily down the river to the bay, would suddenly be boarded
+by four or five armed men, her crew <span class="pagenum"><a id="page714" name="page714"></a>(p. 714)</span> driven below, and the
+vessel run into some convenient port on the Virginia shore, to
+re-appear in a day or two with a small rifled cannon mounted on the
+forecastle, and a crew thirsting to capture more vessels for the
+Confederacy. On one occasion a party of congressmen from Washington
+started down the Potomac for an excursion to Hampton Roads. Their
+vessel was a small tug, which carried a bow-gun carefully screened
+from observation by tarpaulin. A short distance down the river, a boat
+with a howitzer was seen putting out into the stream, and shaping its
+course directly across the bows of the tug. As the two boats drew
+nearer together, a demand came from the smaller that the tug should be
+surrendered "to the State of Virginia." Apparently yielding, the
+captain of the tug slowed up his vessel, and waited for his assailants
+to come alongside, which they did until suddenly confronted with the
+muzzle of a cannon, trained directly on their boat, and a loud voice
+demanding that they surrender at once, which they accordingly did, and
+were taken to Washington by their triumphant captors. Many such
+trivial events are chronicled by the newspapers of the time. The
+advantage gained by either side was small, and the only effect was to
+keep the war sentiment at fever-heat.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo714" name="illo714"></a>
+<img src="images/714_blockading_the_mouth_of_the_mississippi.jpg" width="600" height="298" alt="" title="">
+<p>Blockading the Mouth of the Mississippi.</p></div>
+
+<p>The first regularly commissioned man-of-war of the Confederate States
+was the "Sumter," an old passenger steamer remodelled so as to carry
+five guns. This vessel, though only registering five hundred tons, and
+smaller <span class="pagenum"><a id="page715" name="page715"></a>(p. 715)</span> than many a steam-yacht of to-day, roamed over the
+high seas at will for more than a year, burning and destroying the
+merchant-vessels of the North, and avoiding easily any conflicts with
+the Northern men-of-war. Her exploits made the owners of American
+merchant-vessels tremble for their property; and the United States
+authorities made the most desperate attempts to capture her, but in
+vain. In his journal of Dec. 3, 1861, Capt. Semmes of the "Sumter"
+writes with the greatest satisfaction: "The enemy has done us the
+honor to send in pursuit of us the 'Powhattan,' the 'Niagara,' the
+'Iroquois,' the 'Keystone State,' and the 'San Jacinto.'" Any one of
+these vessels could have blown the 'Sumter' out of water with one
+broadside, but the cunning and skill of her commander enabled her to
+escape them all.</p>
+
+<p>It was on the 1st of June, 1861, that the "Sumter" cast loose from the
+levee at New Orleans, and started down the Mississippi on her way to
+the open sea. For two months workmen had been busy fitting her for the
+new part she was to play. The long rows of cabins on the upper deck
+were torn down; and a heavy eight-inch shell-gun, mounted on a pivot
+between the fore and mainmasts, and the grinning muzzles of four
+twenty-four-pounder howitzers peeping from the ports, told of her
+warlike character. The great levee of the Crescent City was crowded
+with people that day. Now and again the roll of the drum, or the
+stirring notes of "Dixie," would be heard, as some volunteer company
+marched down to the river to witness the departure of the entire
+Confederate navy. Slowly the vessel dropped down the river, and,
+rounding the English turn, boomed out with her great gun a parting
+salute to the city she was never more to see. Ten miles from the mouth
+of the river she stopped; for anchored off the bar below lay the
+powerful United States steamer "Brooklyn," with three other
+men-of-war, each more than a match for the infant navy of the
+Confederacy. Eleven days the "Sumter" lay tugging at her anchors in
+the muddy current of the great river, but at last the time of action
+arrived. The news came that the "Brooklyn" had started in chase of a
+vessel, and the mouth of the river was clear. Quickly the "Sumter" got
+under way, and with all steam up made for the channel over the bar.
+She was still six miles from the bar when the "Brooklyn" caught sight
+of her, and abandoning her first chase strove desperately to head her
+off. It was a time of intense excitement. Each vessel was about
+equally distant from the bar for which <span class="pagenum"><a id="page716" name="page716"></a>(p. 716)</span> each was steaming at
+the highest possible speed. For the "Sumter," it was escape or die. It
+was too late to fly up the river to the sheltering guns of Fort St.
+Philip. Should the "Brooklyn" get within range, the "Sumter" was
+doomed. The "Brooklyn" was the faster vessel of the two, but had the
+wind in her teeth; while the "Sumter" had the advantage of wind and
+current. At length the pass was reached, and the "Sumter" dashed over
+the bar, and out on the smooth blue water of the Gulf of Mexico, well
+ahead of her powerful foe. The "Brooklyn" quickly rounded to, and a
+quick puff of smoke from amidships told the crew of the flying vessel
+that the terrible pivot-gun of their enemy had sent a warning message
+after them. But there was but a second of suspense, when a great jet
+of water springing from the surface of the gulf told that the bolt had
+fallen short. The "Brooklyn" then quickly crowded on all sail, and
+started in hot pursuit, but after four hours abandoned the chase, put
+up her helm, and started sullenly back for the river's mouth; while
+the tars of the "Sumter" crowded shrouds and bulwarks, and cheered
+heartily for the navy of the young Confederacy.</p>
+
+<p>The "Sumter" was now fairly embarked on her career. The open sea was
+her territory, and all ships floating the stars and stripes at the
+masthead were to be her prey. She was not a strong vessel; and her
+orders were to avoid any battles with the powerful ships of the
+"Yankee" navy, but to seize and destroy all merchantmen that should
+come in her way. Her first purpose was to capture these vessels, and
+by selling them in neutral ports profit by the prize. But the neutral
+nations soon refused to admit all rebel prizes to their ports; and, as
+all the ports of the Confederacy were closed by the blockade, nothing
+was left but to burn the vessels when captured. Many a floating
+bonfire marked the way of the little "Sumter," and great was the
+consternation among the ship-owners of the North.</p>
+
+<p>When four days out, the "Sumter" captured her first prize. She was a
+fine ship, the "Golden Rocket" of Maine, six hundred and ninety tons.
+With the United States flag fluttering at the peak, she came sailing
+proudly towards her unsuspected enemy, from whose peak the red flag of
+England was displayed as a snare. When the two vessels came within a
+mile of each other, the wondering crew of the merchantman saw the
+English flag come tumbling down, while a ball of bunting rose quickly
+to the peak of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page717" name="page717"></a>(p. 717)</span> the mysterious stranger, and catching the
+breeze floated out, showing a strange flag,&mdash;the stars and bars of the
+Confederacy. At the same minute a puff of smoke from the "Long Tom"
+amidships was followed by a solid shot ricochetting along the water
+before the dismayed merchantman, and conveying a forcible, but not at
+all polite, invitation to stop. The situation dawned on the astonished
+skipper of the ship,&mdash;he was in the hands of "the Rebels;" and with a
+sigh he brought his vessel up into the wind, and awaited the outcome
+of the adventure. And bad enough the outcome was for him; for Capt.
+Semmes, unwilling to spare a crew to man the prize, determined to set
+her on fire. It was about sunset when the first boat put off from the
+"Sumter" to visit the captured ship. The two vessels were lying a
+hundred yards apart, rising and falling in unison on the slow rolling
+swells of the tropic seas. The day was bright and warm, and in the
+west the sun was slowly sinking to the meeting line of sky and ocean.
+All was quiet and peaceful, as only a summer afternoon in Southern
+seas can be. Yet in the midst of all that peace and quiet, a scene in
+the great drama of war was being enacted. Nature was peaceful, man
+violent.</p>
+
+<p>For a time nothing was heard save the measured thump of the oars in
+the rowlocks, as the boats plied to and fro between the two ships,
+transporting the captured crew to the "Sumter." Finally the last trip
+was made, and the boat hoisted to the davits. Then all eyes were
+turned toward the "Golden Rocket." She lay almost motionless, a dark
+mass on the black ocean. The sun had long since sunk beneath the
+horizon; and the darkness of the night was only relieved by the
+brilliancy of the stars, which in those latitudes shine with wondrous
+brightness. Soon the watches on the "Sumter" caught a hasty breath. A
+faint gleam was seen about the companionway of the "Rocket." Another
+instant, and with a roar and crackle, a great mass of flame shot up
+from the hatch, as from the crater of a volcano. Instantly the
+well-tarred rigging caught, and the flame ran up the shrouds as a
+ladder of fire, and the whole ship was a towering mass of flame. The
+little band of men on the "Sumter" looked on the terrific scene with
+bated breath. Though they fully believed in the justice of their
+cause, they could not look on the destruction they had wrought without
+feelings of sadness. It was their first act of war. One of the
+officers of the "Sumter" writes: "Few, few on board can forget the
+spectacle,&mdash;a ship set fire to at sea. It would seem that man was
+almost warring with his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page718" name="page718"></a>(p. 718)</span> Maker. Her helpless condition, the
+red flames licking the rigging as they climbed aloft, the sparks and
+pieces of burning rope taken off by the wind, and flying miles to
+leeward, the ghastly glare thrown upon the dark sea as far as the eye
+could reach, and then the deathlike stillness of the scene,&mdash;all these
+combined to place the "Golden Rocket" on the tablet of our memories
+forever." But it was not long before the crew of the "Sumter" could
+fire a vessel, and sail away indifferently, with hardly a glance at
+their terrible handiwork.</p>
+
+<p>The "Sumter" continued on her cruise, with varying fortunes. Sometimes
+weeks would pass with no prizes to relieve the tedium of the long
+voyage. Occasionally she would run into a neutral port for coal or
+water, but most of the time was spent on the open sea. The crew were
+kept actively employed with drills and exercises; while the officers,
+yawning over their books or games, longed for the welcome cry from the
+masthead, "Sail ho!" In September the "Sumter" captured a brig, the
+"Joseph Park;" and the boarding officer, on examining the log-book,
+found an entry made by her captain on the day of leaving Pernambuco:
+"We have a tight, fast vessel, and we don't care for Jeff Davis." The
+unlucky captain had holloaed long before he was out of the wood.</p>
+
+<p>The "Joseph Park" was the last prize the tars of the "Sumter" had the
+pleasure of "looting" for many days. Up and down the tropic seas the
+cruiser travelled, loitering about the paths of ocean commerce to no
+avail. Often enough the long-drawn hail of the lookout in the
+cross-trees, "Sail ho-o-o-o!" would bring the jackies tumbling up from
+the forecastle, and set the officers peering anxiously through their
+telescopes. But the sails so sighted proved to be English, French,
+Spanish, any thing but American; and life aboard the "Sumter" became
+as dull as a fisher's where fish are not to be found. In September
+Capt. Semmes ran his vessel into a Martinique harbor, to make some
+needed repairs, and give the sailors a run ashore. Here they were
+blockaded for some time by the United States frigate "Iroquois," but
+finally escaped through the cunning of Semmes. Lying in the harbor
+near the "Sumter" were two Yankee schooners, whose captains arranged
+with the commander of the "Iroquois" to signal him if the "Sumter"
+should leave the harbor. If on passing the bar she headed south, a
+single red light should gleam at the masthead of the schooner; should
+her course lie northward, two lights would be displayed. Semmes, lying
+at <span class="pagenum"><a id="page719" name="page719"></a>(p. 719)</span> anchor in the bay, and chafing over his captivity,
+determined to break away. He had noticed the frequent communications
+between the schooners and the man-of-war, and suspected that his
+course would be spied out. Nevertheless, he determined to dare all,
+and one black night slipped his cables, and with all lights out, and
+running-gear muffled, glided swiftly out of the harbor. In the
+distance he could see the lights of the "Iroquois," as she steamed
+slowly up and down in the offing, like a sentry on guard. Up in the
+cross-trees of the "Sumter" sat a sharp-eyed old quarter-master, with
+orders not to mind the "Iroquois," but to keep a close watch on the
+suspected schooners. Soon a light gleamed from the maintop of each.
+Semmes's suspicions grew. "They have signalled our course," said he:
+"we'll double." The ship's head was quickly brought about, and headed
+south; then all turned to watch the movements of the "Iroquois." She
+had headed northward, and was exerting every power to catch the flying
+vessel supposed to be just ahead. Satisfied with having so
+successfully humbugged the enemy, the "Sumter" proceeded leisurely on
+her course to the southward, leaving the "Iroquois" steaming furiously
+in the opposite direction. "I do think, however," writes Capt Semmes
+in his log-book, "that a tough old quarter-master, and a grizzled
+boatswain's mate, who had clean shaven their heads in preparation for
+a desperate fight, were mightily disgusted."</p>
+
+<p>The subsequent career of the "Sumter" was uneventful. She captured but
+few more vessels; and in January of the next year ran into the harbor
+at Gibraltar, where she was blockaded by a powerful United States
+frigate, and finally sold as being worn out. She had been in
+commission a little over a year, and in that time had captured
+eighteen vessels, burned seven, and released two on a heavy ransom to
+be paid to the Confederate Government at the end of the war. It is
+needless to say these ransoms were never paid. Capt. Semmes, with his
+crew, proceeded to England, and took command of a mysterious ship,
+"No. 290," just built at Liverpool, which soon appeared on the high
+seas as the dreaded "Alabama."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page720" name="page720"></a>(p. 720)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_720.jpg" width="600" height="341" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER IV.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE POTOMAC FLOTILLA. &mdash; CAPTURE OF ALEXANDRIA. &mdash; ACTIONS AT MATTHIAS
+POINT. &mdash; BOMBARDMENT OF THE HATTERAS FORTS.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_i.jpg" width="50" height="59" alt="I" title=""></span>n
+petty skirmishes and in general inactivity the forces of both
+contestants idled away the five months following the fall of Fort
+Sumter. The defeat of the Union armies at Bull Run had checked active
+operations along the Potomac. On either side of the river the hostile
+armies were drilling constantly to bring the raw recruits down to the
+efficiency of trained soldiers. Four hundred thousand men lay in
+hostile camps within sight of each other. From the national Capitol at
+Washington the stars and bars of the Confederate flag could be seen
+floating over the camp at Arlington. Occasionally the quiet would be
+broken by the crack of a rifle, as some straggler, on one side or the
+other, took a casual shot at the sentry pacing on the other side of
+the broad stream. Sometimes a battery would come driving down to the
+shore, select an advantageous spot, and begin an afternoon's target
+practice at the hostile camp; but the damage done was immaterial, and
+after wasting much powder and shot the recruits would limber up their
+guns and return to their camp. It would have been easy, at almost any
+time, for either army to have crossed the Potomac and invaded the
+territory of the enemy; but each hung back in apparent dread of taking
+the first decisive step. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page721" name="page721"></a>(p. 721)</span> Abraham Lincoln at this time
+illustrated the existing condition of affairs, by one of those stories
+which have made him celebrated as a raconteur. A number of
+politicians, calling at the White House, spoke of the apparent
+inactivity of the army authorities, and demanded that some decisive
+move should be made; some powerful preparations to beat back the enemy
+should he attempt to cross the Potomac. "Gentlemen," said Lincoln,
+with the twinkle in his eye that always foretold a story, "when I was
+a boy I saw an incident which I have always recollected, and which
+seems to me to resemble very much the attitude now assumed by the
+parties in this impending war. My father owned a dog,&mdash;a particularly
+vicious, aggressive, and pugnacious bull-terrier,&mdash;one of these
+fellows with heavy, short necks, and red, squinting eyes, that seem
+ever to be on the lookout for a fight. Next door to us lived a
+neighbor who likewise rejoiced in the possession of a canine of
+appearance and habits of mind similar to our pet. From the date of
+their first meeting these dogs had been deadly enemies, and had
+growled and yelped at each other through the picket-fence separating
+the two yards, until we were forced to keep at least one dog chained
+continually. The strained relations between the dogs became a matter
+of general interest, and speculations were rife among the neighbors as
+to the probable outcome of a hostile meeting. Those were the times
+when a lively dog-fight would draw the merchant from his counter, and
+the blacksmith from his anvil; and it is even on record that an
+honorable judge once hurriedly adjourned his court at the premonitory
+sounds of snarling in the court-house square. Well, the knowledge that
+two dogs, pining for a fight, were being forcibly restrained, was too
+much to be borne by the people of the village; and a plot was
+concocted for bringing about a fight. One night two pickets were
+surreptitiously removed from the fence, leaving an opening of ample
+size to permit a dog to pass. In the morning our dog was sunning
+himself <span class="pagenum"><a id="page722" name="page722"></a>(p. 722)</span> in the yard, when the neighbor's dog rushed to his
+side of the fence, and made remarks not to be borne by any
+self-respecting canine. Then began the usual performance of snarls and
+barks, and baring of white teeth, as the dogs made frantic efforts to
+get at each other. The neighbors assembled in a crowd, and the knowing
+ones predicted a lively time when those two dogs found the hole in the
+fence. Down the line of the fence the two curs walked, their eyes
+glaring, their jaws snapping, their tongues out, and dropping foam.
+The racket was tremendous. At each place where the pickets were a
+little spread, they redoubled their efforts to clinch. They approached
+the opening. The interest of the spectators redoubled. Now they
+reached the spot; sprung at each other; their jaws touched,&mdash;and each,
+dropping his tail, slunk away to his kennel. Gentlemen, the attitude
+of these armies reminds me of that dog-fight."</p>
+
+<div class="floatleft">
+<a id="illo722" name="illo722"></a>
+<img src="images/722_flag_of_the_confederacy.jpg" width="300" height="218" alt="" title="">
+<p>Flag of the Confederacy.</p></div>
+
+<p>While the armies of the two contestants were thus idly resting upon
+their arms, the navy was obliged to discharge duties, which, while
+they brought some danger, did not gain glory for either officers or
+men. The joys of Washington society were not for the naval officers.
+The applicant for promotion, who, when asked by an examiner, "Where is
+the post of a colonel when his regiment is drawn up for battle?"
+responded promptly, "In Washington," had been serving in the army, and
+not with the naval corps. Besides the duties of the officers detailed
+upon the blockading service, there remained to the navy the arduous
+task of patrolling the Potomac River, and preventing as far as
+possible communication between the shores.</p>
+
+<p>This work, as may be readily understood, demanded the most untiring
+vigilance and the most unflagging energy. The shores on each side of
+the Potomac are indented with bays and tributary streams in which a
+sloop or large row-boat can easily be concealed during the day. At
+night it was impossible to prevent boats laden with contraband goods,
+or conveying the bearers of secret despatches, slipping across the
+river from the northern side, and running into the concealment
+afforded by the irregularity of the Virginia shore-line. Even at this
+early period of the war, the vigorous blockade of the Confederate
+seaports had created a great lack of many necessaries in the Southern
+States. Particularly did the lack of quinine afflict the people of
+those malarial sections comprised within the limits of the South
+Atlantic and Gulf States. So great was the demand for this <span class="pagenum"><a id="page723" name="page723"></a>(p. 723)</span>
+drug, that the enormous sums offered for it led many a speculative
+druggist north of Mason and Dixon's line to invest his all in quinine,
+and try to run it through the Potomac blockade. Of course, as the
+traffic was carried on in small boats, it was impossible to break it
+up altogether; though by the efforts of the navy it was almost
+destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>Briefly stated, the duties of the Potomac flotilla may be said to have
+been to patrol the river from Washington to its mouth, to inspect both
+sides <span class="italic">daily</span> if possible, and to observe whether any preparations for
+batteries were being made at any point, and watch for any transports
+with troops or provisions, and convoy them to Washington. The flotilla
+consisted of small vessels, lightly armed; the "Pawnee," the heaviest
+of the fleet, being a sloop of less than thirteen hundred tons, with a
+battery of fifteen guns, none of long range. Clearly such an armada as
+this could be of but little avail against the earthworks which the
+Virginians were busily erecting on every commanding bluff.</p>
+
+<p>Toward the later part of May, 1861, the Federal Government determined
+to send troops across the river and occupy the city of Alexandria. The
+"Pawnee" had for some days been lying off the town, completely
+covering it with her batteries. She had held this position without
+making any offensive movement; as her commander understood, that, even
+should he compel the town to surrender, he had not the men necessary
+for holding the position. On the morning of the 24th, Commander Rowan
+saw two steamers coming down the river, laden with Federal troops. He
+at once sent a boat ashore, and demanded the surrender of the city,
+which was immediately evacuated by the Virginian troops. When the army
+of occupation landed, it proved to be Ellsworth's famous Zouave
+Regiment, made up largely of the firemen and "Bowery boys" of New York
+City. Ellsworth, while marching through the streets at the head of his
+command, saw a Confederate flag floating from a mast on top of a
+dwelling. With two of his men he proceeded to enter the house, go on
+the roof, and tear down the flag. As he came down the stairs, a man
+carrying a gun stepped from a doorway, and demanded what he did there.
+"This is my trophy," cried Ellsworth, flourishing the bit of striped
+bunting. "And you are mine," responded the man, quickly bringing his
+gun up, and discharging it full into Ellsworth's breast. The two
+Zouaves, maddened at the death of their commander, shot the slayer
+through the brain, and plunged their bayonets <span class="pagenum"><a id="page724" name="page724"></a>(p. 724)</span> into his body
+before he fell. Ellsworth's death created the greatest excitement in
+the North, as it was almost the first blood shed in the war. While the
+capture of Alexandria was in itself no great achievement, it was of
+importance as the first move of the Northern armies into Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>Had the efforts of the navy towards keeping the Potomac clear of
+hostile batteries been supplemented by a co-operating land force, an
+immense advantage would have been gained at the very outset. As it
+was, all that could be done was to temporarily check the exertions of
+the enemy. A battery silenced by the guns from the ships in the
+daytime could be, and usually was, repaired during the night, and
+remained a constant menace to the transports going to or from
+Washington. Under such circumstances, the work of the Potomac flotilla
+could only be fatiguing and discouraging. Much of it had to be
+performed in row-boats; and the crews of the various vessels were kept
+rowing up and down the banks of the river, making midnight excursions
+up creeks to examine suspected localities, and lying in wait for
+smugglers, and the mail-carriers and spies of the enemy. They were in
+continual danger of being opened upon by masked batteries and
+concealed sharp-shooters. The "prize money," the hope of which cheers
+up the man-o'-wars-man in his dreariest hours, amounted to nothing;
+for their prizes were small row-boats and worthless river-craft. The
+few engagements with the enemies' batteries brought little glory or
+success. In one battle on the 29th of May, 1861, a flotilla,
+consisting of the "Thomas Freeborn" (a paddle-wheel steamer, carrying
+three guns), the "Anacostia," and the "Resolute" (a little craft of
+ninety tons and two guns), engaged the batteries at Aquia Creek, and
+pounded away with their pygmy guns for two hours, without doing any
+visible damage. Two days later the bombardment was renewed, and two of
+the vessels were slightly damaged. A more serious event occurred at
+Matthias Point in the latter part of June. Matthias Point was one of
+the chief lurking-places of the Confederate guerrillas, who, concealed
+in the dense undergrowth along the banks of the Potomac, could pour a
+destructive fire into any vessels that passed. Commander J. H. Ward of
+the "Freeborn" planned to break up this ambush, sending a landing
+party to cut away the trees and undergrowth. The landing party,
+commanded by Lieut. Chaplin, was to be covered by the guns of the
+"Freeborn" and "Reliance." It was late in the afternoon when they
+pushed off for the shore. All seemed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page725" name="page725"></a>(p. 725)</span> quiet; and the bursting
+of the shells, which were occasionally dropped into the woods, seemed
+to have driven the enemy away. Hardly, however, had the sailors begun
+the work of hewing down the undergrowth, when from all quarters a hot
+fire was begun, driving them to their boats in a rout. The decks of
+the two vessels were swept by the storm of lead. Commander Ward, while
+sighting the bow-gun of the "Freeborn," was struck in the abdomen by a
+bullet, and died in a few minutes. On the shore the sailors were
+hurrying into the boats and pushing off to avoid capture. Lieut.
+Chaplin acted with great bravery, and succeeded in getting all his men
+away, with their muskets. The last man left on the shore was unable to
+swim; and Chaplin, taking him on his shoulders, bore him safely to the
+boat. Though the fire of the enemy was concentrated on the two,
+neither was hurt, although a minie-ball passed through the
+lieutenant's cap.</p>
+
+<p>Two months later this same locality was the scene of another bloody
+disaster to the Union arms. On the 16th of August the "Resolute" and
+the "Reliance" were ordered to make a reconnoissance of the
+neighborhood of Matthias Point. After steaming about the shore for
+some time, and noticing nothing of a suspicious character, a boat was
+seen on the Virginia shore, and an officer and five men despatched to
+capture her. They had just reached her, and were in the act of making
+fast, when a volley of musketry was fired from the bushes not more
+than five yards away, and three of the crew were instantly killed, and
+one wounded. The watchers on the war-vessels, lying in the river,
+sprang to their guns, and threw several rounds of shell into the cover
+that sheltered the enemy, soon driving them away. The two uninjured
+men in the boat succeeded in getting her away with her load of dead
+and dying.</p>
+
+<p>It is easy to understand how exasperating, how infuriating, such
+service as this must have been to the officers and men of the navy.
+For a man to risk his life in the heat and excitement of a battle, is
+as nothing to the feeling that one may be at any time caught in a
+death-trap, and slaughtered in cold blood.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo725" name="illo725"></a>
+<img src="images/725_naval_patrol_on_the_potomac.jpg" width="500" height="414" alt="" title="">
+<p>Naval Patrol on the Potomac.</p></div>
+
+<p>A more successful expedition was organized in October, by Lieut.
+Harrill of the steamer "Union." He had been informed that a large
+schooner was lying in Quantico Creek, and that the Confederates were
+massing a number of troops there for the purpose of crossing the
+river. He at once determined to destroy the schooner. Accordingly he
+manned <span class="pagenum"><a id="page726" name="page726"></a>(p. 726)</span> three boats at half-past two in the morning, and in
+the darkness proceeded, with muffled oars, toward the mouth of the
+creek. Here some difficulty was experienced, as the entrance is narrow
+and obstructed by sandbars; but working energetically, and in perfect
+silence, the sailors overcame all obstacles. Once in the creek, they
+pulled rapidly along within pistol-shot of the shore, until the tall
+masts of the schooner could be descried in the darkness. One sentry
+was on guard, who fled wildly as he saw the mysterious boat emerge
+from the darkness of the night. The grappling-irons were thrown
+aboard, and the jackies swarmed nimbly up the sides, and began the
+work of destruction. A huge pile of combustibles was made in the
+cabin, and hastily set on fire. The flames spread rapidly; and, though
+they insured the destruction of the schooner, they also lighted up the
+creek, showing the boats with the sailors bending to their oars to
+escape the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page727" name="page727"></a>(p. 727)</span> storm of bullets that they knew must follow. The
+glare of the burning schooner, the reflection of the flames on the
+water, the flash of the rifles from the shores made a wild picture.
+Occasionally a flash from the river was followed by a deep boom, as a
+heavy shot left the muzzle of a cannon on the steamers. But through it
+all, the men escaped; and the projected invasion of the Confederates
+was abandoned, owing to the loss of their schooner.</p>
+
+<p>All through the war this untiring patrol of the Potomac was continued.
+Among miasmatic vapors and clouds of noxious insects on mud-flats, in
+narrow channels whose densely wooded banks might conceal legions of
+hostile sharp-shooters, the river navy kept up its work. Earning but
+little glory, though in the midst of constant peril, the officers and
+men kept up their work, and contributed not a little to the final
+outcome of the great conflict.</p>
+
+<p>All this time the officers of the naval vessels, riding at anchor in
+Hampton Roads, were chafing under the enforced idleness. Even the
+occasional artillery duels with which their army brethren whiled away
+the time were denied to the wistful blue-jackets. Beyond an occasional
+chase, generally useless, after a fleet blockade-runner, the sailors
+had absolutely no employment. At last, however, the opportunity came.
+The first great naval expedition of the war was set under way.</p>
+
+<p>From Cape Henry, at the mouth of the James River, the coast of
+Virginia and North Carolina sweeps grandly out to the eastward, like a
+mammoth bow, with its lower end at Beaufort, two hundred miles south.
+Along this coast-line the great surges of mighty ocean, rolling with
+unbroken course from the far-off shore of Europe, trip and fall with
+unceasing roar upon an almost uninterrupted beach of snowy sand, a
+hundred and more miles long. Near the southern end of this expanse of
+sand stands a lighthouse, towering solitary above the surrounding
+plain of sea and sand. No inviting beacon giving notice to the weary
+marines of safe haven is this steady light that pierces the darkness
+night after night. It tells of treacherous shoals and roaring
+breakers; of the loss of many a good ship, whose ribs, half buried in
+the drifting sand, lie rotting in the salt air; of skies ever
+treacherous, and waters ever turbulent. It is the light of Hatteras.</p>
+
+<p>Some twenty miles below Cape Hatteras light occurs the first great
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page728" name="page728"></a>(p. 728)</span> opening in the stretch of sand that extends south from Cape
+Henry. Once he has passed through this opening; the mariner finds
+himself in the most peaceful waters. The great surges of the Atlantic
+spend themselves on the sandy fringe outside, while within are the
+quiet waters of Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, dotted with fertile
+islands, and bordering a coast rich in harbors. The wary
+blockade-runner, eluding the watchfulness of the United States
+blockaders cruising outside, had but to pass the portals of Hatteras
+Inlet, to unload at his leisure his precious cargo, and load up with
+the cotton which grew in great abundance on the islands and fertile
+shores of the sound.</p>
+
+<p>Recognizing the importance of this harbor, the Confederates had early
+in the war fortified the point north of Hatteras Inlet. Shortly after
+the fall of Fort Sumter, a Yankee skipper, Daniel Campbell,
+incautiously running his schooner the "Lydia Francis" too near the
+stormy cape, was wrecked, and sought shelter among the people at the
+inlet. When, some days after, he proposed to leave, he was astounded
+to find that he had been delivered from the sea only to fall a prey to
+the fortunes of war. He was kept a prisoner for three months; and on
+his release, going directly to Fortress Monroe, he proved that he had
+kept his eyes open to some purpose. He reported to flag-officer
+Stringham that the Confederates had two batteries,&mdash;one of ten, the
+other of five guns,&mdash;known as Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark. With these
+two forts the Confederates claimed that they could control the
+entrance to Albemarle Sound.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo730" name="illo730"></a>
+<img src="images/730_the_fleet_off_hatteras.jpg" width="400" height="570" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Fleet off Hatteras.</p></div>
+
+<p>As soon as this information was received, an expedition for the
+destruction of these forts was organized. It was necessarily chiefly
+naval, although a land force under Gen. Butler went with the fleet. On
+Aug. 25, 1861, Hampton Roads presented a scene of the greatest
+activity. The fleet seemed to have awakened from a long sleep. Every
+vessel was being hastily prepared for sailing. Two transports, the
+"George Peabody" and the "Adelaide," were crowded with the soldiers of
+Gen. Butler's command. From the mainmast of the flagship "Minnesota"
+waved the signal-flags, changing constantly as different orders were
+sent to the commanders of the other warships. At two o'clock three
+balls of bunting were run up to the truck, and catching the breeze
+were blown out into flags, giving the order, "Get under way at once."
+From the surrounding men-of-war came the shrill pipe of the
+boatswains' whistle, and the steady tramp of the men at <span class="pagenum"><a id="page731" name="page731"></a>(p. 731)</span>
+the capstan bars as they dragged the anchors to the cat-heads. The
+nimble blue-jackets, climbing about the shrouds and yards, soon had
+the snowy clouds of canvas set. The wind was fresh; and with bands
+playing, and cheers of blue-jackets and soldiers, the stately squadron
+sailed down the bay.</p>
+
+<p>But none on board, save the superior officers, knew whither the fleet
+was bound. Hardly were they fairly on the Atlantic, when the course
+was shaped to the southward, and that much was settled. But whether
+New Orleans, Charleston, or Beaufort was the point to be attacked, the
+sailors did not know.</p>
+
+<p>The squadron which sailed from Hampton Roads consisted of the
+war-vessels "Minnesota," "Wabash," "Pawnee," "Monticello," and
+"Harriet Lane;" the transports "George Peabody" and "Adelaide;" and
+the tug "Fanny." Soon after rounding Cape Henry, the vessels became
+separated; and when the other vessels reached Hatteras, on the 27th,
+the "Minnesota" and "Wabash" were nowhere to be seen. As these were
+the most powerful frigates of the fleet, great fears were felt for the
+success of the expedition; but at last they appeared on the horizon. A
+place for landing was selected, and the vessels withdrew into the
+offing to spend the night. It was determined to begin the attack early
+the next day.</p>
+
+<p>The morning dawned clear, with a calm sea. At four o'clock the men
+were summoned to breakfast. At seven the operation of landing the
+troops was begun. All the surf-boats, barges, and lifeboats in the
+fleet were put to the work. The great war-vessels moved into position,
+and prepared to cover with a terrific fire the landing of the troops.
+The first shot was fired by the "Wabash," and the cannonading was at
+once taken up by the rest of the fleet. The vessels were placed so
+that a whole broadside could be discharged at once. Thousands of
+pounds of iron balls were thrown into the forts. Under cover of the
+cannonading, the disembarkation of the troops began.</p>
+
+<p>But the opposition of the enemy was not the only difficulty to be met.
+During the time consumed in getting ready to land, heavy banks of
+clouds had been crawling up from the horizon, and the soft wind of
+morning had grown into a steady blow. Cape Hatteras was true to its
+reputation. On the shelving beach, where the troops must land, the
+great rollers were breaking in torrents of foam. The first lifeboats
+that attempted the landing were swamped, and the soldiers reached the
+land wet and chilled <span class="pagenum"><a id="page732" name="page732"></a>(p. 732)</span> through. The surf-boats were stove in.
+The barges, which had been relied upon to land men in large numbers,
+proved unmanageable, and were towed away by the "Harriet Lane." When
+the attempt to land the troops was given up, it was found that but
+three hundred and twenty men had been landed. This was too small a
+party to storm the forts, and the issue of the battle depended upon
+the great guns of the navy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo732" name="illo732"></a>
+<img src="images/732_attack_on_the_hatteras_forts.jpg" width="400" height="422" alt="" title="">
+<p>Attack on the Hatteras Forts.</p></div>
+
+<p>By this time the gunners on the ships had calculated the exact range,
+and were firing with fearful effect. Broadside followed broadside,
+with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page733" name="page733"></a>(p. 733)</span> the regularity of machinery. It was war without its
+horrors for the blue-jackets, since bad marksmanship or poor powder
+prevented the Confederate gunners doing any damage. On the gun-deck of
+the superb frigate "Minnesota," the jackies were working their guns as
+coolly as though they were on drill. The operations of loading and
+firing were gone through with like clock-work. The officers could
+watch the course of the shells until they struck, and instruct the
+men, without undergoing any danger.</p>
+
+<p>But in the forts the scene was one of terror. As soon as the gunners
+of the fleet had secured the range, the shells began crashing into the
+fort, bewildering the untried soldiers, and driving them from their
+guns. A shell falling in the fort, and bursting, would sweep clean a
+space thirty feet square. It was madness to try to work the guns. All
+sought refuge in the bomb proofs, and an occasional shot was all that
+showed the presence of any defenders in the forts. Soon the
+Confederates decided to abandon Fort Clark, the smaller of the two,
+and mass their forces in Fort Hatteras. As a ruse, to check the
+bombardment of the ships, the flags on both forts were hauled down.
+This was, of course, taken as a token of surrender; and as the
+cannonading stopped, and the clouds of gray gunpowder-smoke lifted,
+the shrouds of the bombarding squadron were filled with men, and cheer
+upon cheer rang out in honor of the victory. Soon the troops occupied
+the deserted battery, and the "Monticello" was ordered into the inlet
+to take possession of Fort Hatteras. She had proceeded only a little
+way, however, when suddenly a heavy fire was opened upon her from the
+fort, and at the same time a large body of re-enforcements was seen
+approaching from the south. The gunners came down from the shrouds,
+stopped cheering, and began their work again. For a time the
+"Monticello" was in a dangerous position. In a narrow and unknown
+channel, she was forced to retreat slowly, under heavy fire from the
+fort, being hit eight times. The heavy fire of the other vessels,
+however, soon drove the Confederate gunners from their guns. The
+sailors worked untiringly, and seemed enraged by the deceit practised
+by the enemy. One man, while sponging out a gun, preparatory to
+reloading it, dropped his sponge overboard. Quick as thought he
+vaulted the gunwale, and re-appeared on the surface of the water
+swimming for the sponge. Recovering it, he in a few moments crawled
+dripping through a porthole, to report respectfully to the captain of
+the gun: "Just come aboard, sir."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page734" name="page734"></a>(p. 734)</span> The fort abandoned by the Confederates had been occupied by
+the troops that had been landed; and, under cover of the furious
+bombardment, the work of landing was vigorously prosecuted. Night
+came, and with it a gale so heavy that the vessels had to desert their
+stations, and withdraw into the offing. When the morning broke,
+however, the sea had calmed sufficiently to allow the gunners to again
+set about their terrible work.</p>
+
+<p>The second day's firing was even more accurate than that of the first;
+and the gray-coats were soon compelled to retire to the bomb-proofs,
+and abandon all attempt to return the fire of the ships. Soon three
+shells in rapid succession burst close to the magazine of the fort,
+telling plainly to the affrighted defenders that nothing was left for
+them but surrender. A white flag was raised, and Commodore Barron went
+off to the fleet to formally surrender the forts and the eight hundred
+men of his command. When the terms were concluded, the defeated
+soldier turned to flag-officer Stringham, and asked if the loss of
+life on the ships had been very large. "Not a man has been injured,"
+was the response. "Wonderful!" exclaimed the questioner. "No one could
+have imagined that this position could have been captured without
+sacrificing thousands of men." But so it was. Without the loss of a
+man, had fallen a most important post, together with cannon,
+provisions, and nearly seven hundred men.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_735.jpg" width="200" height="77" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page735" name="page735"></a>(p. 735)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader">
+<img src="images/deco_start_735.jpg" width="600" height="350" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -100px; margin-left: 180px;">
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER V.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE "TRENT" AFFAIR. &mdash; OPERATIONS IN ALBEMARLE AND PAMLICO
+SOUNDS. &mdash; DESTRUCTION OF THE CONFEDERATE FLEET.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_e.jpg" width="50" height="61" alt="E" title=""></span>arly
+in the war an event occurred which for a time seemed likely to
+bring England to the aid of the Confederates. The Confederate
+Government had appointed as diplomatic commissioners to England two
+gentlemen, Messrs. Mason and Slidell. They had escaped from Mobile on
+a fleet blockade-runner, and reached Havana, where they remained a
+week waiting for the regular English packet to convey them to
+Liverpool. While in Havana they were lavishly entertained by the
+colony of Confederate sympathizers there; and feeling perfectly safe,
+now that they were outside the jurisdiction of the United States, they
+made no attempt to conceal their official character, and boasted of
+the errand upon which they were sent.</p>
+
+<p>The United States frigate "San Jacinto," which was one of the many
+vessels kept rushing about the high seas in search of the privateer
+"Sumter," happened to be in the harbor of Havana at this time. She was
+commanded by Capt. Wilkes, an officer who had made an exhaustive study
+of international law, particularly as bearing upon the right of a
+war-vessel to search a vessel belonging to a neutral nation. Capt.
+Wilkes, knowing that by capturing the Confederate commissioners, he
+could win for himself <span class="pagenum"><a id="page736" name="page736"></a>(p. 736)</span> the applause of the entire North,
+determined to make the attempt. By a study of his books bearing on
+international law, he managed to convince himself that he was
+justified in stopping the British steamer, and taking from it by force
+the bodies of Messrs. Mason and Slidell. Accordingly he set sail from
+the harbor of Havana, and cruised up and down at a distance of more
+than a marine league from the coast, awaiting the appearance of the
+vessel. Five days after the "San Jacinto's" departure, the
+commissioners set sail in the British mail-steamer "Trent." She was
+intercepted in the Bahama Channel by the "San Jacinto." When the
+man-of-war fired a blank cartridge as a signal to heave to, the
+commander of the "Trent" ran the British flag to the peak, and
+continued, feeling secure under the emblem of neutrality. Then came a
+more peremptory summons in the shape of a solid shot across the bows;
+and, as the incredulous captain of the "Trent" still continued his
+course, a six-inch shell was dropped within about one hundred feet of
+his vessel. Then he stopped. A boat put off from the "San Jacinto,"
+and made for the "Trent." Up the side of the merchant-vessel clambered
+a spruce lieutenant, and demanded the immediate surrender of the two
+commissioners. The captain protested, pointed to the flag with the
+cross of St. George waving above his head, and invoked the power of
+her Britannic majesty,&mdash;all to no avail. The two commissioners had
+retired to their cabins, and refused to come out without being
+compelled by actual force. The boat was sent back to the "San
+Jacinto," and soon returned with a file of marines, who were drawn up
+with their muskets on the deck of the "Trent." Every British ship
+which carries mails carries a regularly commissioned officer of the
+navy, who is responsible for them. This officer on the "Trent" was
+somewhat of a martinet, and his protests at this violation of the
+rights of a neutral vessel were very vigorous. When the first gun was
+fired, he rushed below, and soon re-appeared in all the resplendent
+glory of gold lace and brass buttons which go to make up a naval
+uniform. He danced about the deck in an ecstasy of rage, and made the
+most fearful threats of the wrath of the British people. The
+passengers too became excited, and protested loudly. Every thing
+possible was done by the people of the "Trent" to put themselves on
+record as formally protesting. Nevertheless, the commissioners were
+taken away, carried to New York, and from there sent into confinement
+at Fort Warren.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page737" name="page737"></a>(p. 737)</span> When the news of this great achievement became known, Wilkes
+was made the lion of the hour. Unthinking people met and passed
+resolutions of commendation. He was tendered banquets by cities. He
+was elected a member of learned societies in all parts of the country,
+and was generally eulogized. Even the Secretary of the Navy, who
+should have recognized the grave troubles likely to grow out of this
+violation of the principles of neutrality, wrote a letter to Capt.
+Wilkes, warmly indorsing his course, and only regretting that he had
+not captured the steamer as well as the two commissioners.</p>
+
+<p>But fortunately we had wiser heads in the other executive departments
+of the government. President Lincoln and Secretary Seward quickly
+disavowed the responsibility for Wilkes's action. Letters were written
+to the United States minister in England, Charles Francis Adams,
+alluding to the proceeding as one for which Capt. Wilkes as an
+individual was alone responsible. And well it was that this attitude
+was taken: for hardly had the news reached England, when with one
+voice the people cried for war. Sympathizing with the South as they
+undoubtedly did, it needed but this insult to the British flag to
+rouse the war spirit of the nation. Transports loaded with troops were
+immediately ordered to Canada; the reserves were called out; the
+ordnance factories were set running day and night; while the press of
+the nation, and the British minister at Washington, demanded the
+immediate release of the captives, and a full apology from the United
+States.</p>
+
+<p>The matter was conducted on this side with the utmost diplomacy. We
+were undoubtedly in the wrong, and the only thing was to come out with
+as little sacrifice of national dignity as possible. The long time
+necessary for letters to pass between this country and England was an
+important factor in calming the people. Minister Adams said, that, had
+the Atlantic cable then been in operation, nothing could have
+prevented a war. In the end the demands of Great Britain were acceded
+to, and the commissioners proceeded on their way. The last note of the
+diplomatic correspondence was a courteous letter from President
+Lincoln to the British minister, offering to allow the British troops
+<span class="italic">en route</span> for Canada to land at Portland, Me., and thus avoid the
+long winter's march through New Brunswick. The peaceful settlement of
+the affair chagrined the Confederates not a little, as they had hoped
+to gain Great Britain as a powerful ally in their fight against the
+United States.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page738" name="page738"></a>(p. 738)</span> Soon after the capture of the forts at Hatteras Inlet, the
+authorities of the Union again turned their attention in that
+direction, with the result of sending the Burnside expedition to
+Albemarle Sound.</p>
+
+<p>The coast of North Carolina is honeycombed with rivers, inlets, and
+lagoons, which open into the two broad sounds known as Pamlico and
+Albemarle, and which are protected from the turbulence of the Atlantic
+by the long ridge of sand which terminates at Cape Hatteras. While the
+capture of the Hatteras forts had given the Union authorities control
+of Hatteras Inlet, the chief entrance to the sounds, yet the long,
+narrow island was broken by other lesser inlets of a size sufficient
+to permit the passage of light-draught steamers. The Confederates had
+quite a fleet of swift, light vessels of insignificant armament, often
+only a single gun, with which they occasionally made a descent upon
+some coaster or merchantman, running close inshore, and dragged her in
+as a prize. With these swift steamers, too, they effectually
+controlled all navigation of the sounds. But the greatest advantage
+that they derived from their control of the sounds was the vast
+facilities given them for constructing, at their leisure, powerful
+iron-clads in some of the North Carolina shipyards; then sending them
+to reduce the Hatteras forts, and so out into the Atlantic to fight
+for the destruction of the blockade. All these conditions were clear
+to the authorities of the Union; and therefore, in the early part of
+January, 1862, a joint military and naval expedition was fitted out
+for operation against the Confederate works and steamers in these
+inland waters. It was in the early days of the war; and the flotilla
+was one of those heterogeneous collections of remodelled
+excursion-steamers, tugs, ferry-boats, and even canal-boats, which at
+that time was dignified with the title of "the fleet." In fitting out
+this expedition two very conflicting requirements were followed. In
+the most favorable circumstances, the channel at Hatteras Inlet is
+seldom over seven and a half feet: consequently the vessels must be of
+light draught. But the Confederate steamers in the sounds carried
+heavy rifled cannon, and the armament of the forts on Roanoke Island
+was of the heaviest: therefore, the vessels must carry heavy guns to
+be able to cope with the enemy. This attempt to put a heavy armament
+on the gun-deck made the vessels roll so heavily as to be almost
+unseaworthy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo740" name="illo740"></a>
+<img src="images/740_shores_of_albemarle_sound.jpg" width="500" height="339" alt="" title="">
+<p>Shores of Albemarle Sound.</p></div>
+
+<p>In addition to the armed vessels belonging to the navy, a number of
+transports accompanied the expedition, bearing the army corps under
+the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page741" name="page741"></a>(p. 741)</span> command of Gen. Burnside; and the whole number of
+craft finally assembled for the subjugation of the North Carolina
+sounds was one hundred and twenty. This heterogeneous assemblage of
+vessels was sent on a voyage in the dead of winter, down a dangerous
+coast, to one of the stormiest points known to the mariner. Hatteras
+was true to its reputation; and, when the squadron reached the inlet,
+a furious north-easter was blowing, sending the gray clouds scudding
+across the sky, and making the heavy rollers break on the beach and
+the bar in a way that foretold certain destruction, should any hardy
+pilot attempt to run his ship into the narrow and crooked inlet.
+Outside there was no safe anchorage, and the situation of the entire
+squadron was most precarious. Several serious mishaps occurred before
+the vessels got into the small and altogether insufficient harbor
+between the seaward bar and the "bulkhead" or inner bar. The first
+vessel to come to grief was one of the canal-boats laden with hay,
+oats, and other stores. She was without any motive power, being towed
+by a steam-tug, and, getting into the trough of the sea, rolled and
+sheered so that she could not be towed. The heavy rolling started her
+seams, and it was soon evident that she was sinking. With the greatest
+caution a boat was lowered from one of the steamers, and put off to
+rescue the crew of the foundering craft. Laboriously the sailors
+worked their way through the tossing sea to the lee side of the
+"Grape-shot," and after much difficulty succeeded in taking off all on
+board, and the return trip was commenced. All went well until the boat
+came under the lee of the steamer, and the men were about to clamber
+up the sides. Suddenly an immense sea lifted the vessel high in the
+air; and in an instant the boat was swamped, and the men were
+struggling in the icy water. All were ultimately saved, but it was
+with the greatest difficulty. The "Grape-shot," left to her fate, went
+ashore some fourteen miles above Hatteras. Her cargo served some
+practical use, after all; for some horses from the wreck of the
+"Pocahontas" managed to reach the shore, and kept themselves alive by
+munching the water-soaked hay and oats.</p>
+
+<p>The "Pocahontas" was one of the steamers chartered by the war
+department as a horse transport. Her actions during this gale furnish
+a fair illustration of the manner in which the Government was often
+deluded into purchasing almost valueless ships. She started with the
+Burnside expedition from Hampton Roads, freighted with one hundred
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page742" name="page742"></a>(p. 742)</span> and thirteen horses. As soon as the gale off Hatteras came
+on, she began to show signs of unseaworthiness. First the boilers gave
+way, loosened from their places by the heavy rolling of the ship. All
+progress had to be stopped until they were patched up. Then down fell
+the grates, extinguishing the fires. Then the steering-gear was
+broken; and, getting into the trough of the sea, she rolled until her
+smokestack broke its moorings and fell over. Finally she sprung a leak
+and was run ashore. The crew were all saved, but for a long time their
+chances for life seemed small indeed. Ninety of the horses were lost,
+some having been thrown overboard ten miles from the land. Others were
+left tied in their stalls, to perish when the ship went to pieces in
+the breakers. Those that were thrown overboard near the beach swam
+ashore through breakers in which no boat nor man could live, and,
+finding the waste and wreckage from the cargo of the "Grape-shot,"
+lived for days on the hay and oats, soaked with sea-water though they
+were.</p>
+
+<p>For two days this gale continued. The outlook for the fleet seemed
+hopeless. The inner bar of the harbor was absolutely impassable.
+Between the outer bar and the inner were packed seventy vessels. This
+space, though called a harbor, was almost unsheltered. Crowded with
+vessels as it was, it made an anchorage only less dangerous than that
+outside. Although the vessels were anchored, bow and stern, the
+violence of the sea was such that they frequently crashed into each
+other, breaking bulwarks, spars, and wheel-houses, and tearing away
+standing-rigging. A schooner breaking from its anchorage went tossing
+and twirling through the fleet, crashing into vessel after vessel,
+until finally, getting foul of a small steamer, dragged it from its
+moorings; and the two began a waltz in the crowded harbor, to the
+great detriment of the surrounding craft. At last the two runaways
+went aground on a shoal, and pounded away there until every seam was
+open, and the holds filled with water.</p>
+
+<p>A strange mishap was that which befell the gunboat "Zouave." She was
+riding safely at anchor, remote from other ships, taking the seas
+nobly, and apparently in no possible danger. Her crew occupied
+themselves in going to the assistance of those in the distressed
+vessels, feeling that their own was perfectly safe. But during the
+night, the tide being out, the vessel was driven against one of the
+flukes of her own anchor; and as each wave lifted her up and dropped
+her heavily on the sharp iron, a hole was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page743" name="page743"></a>(p. 743)</span> stove in her
+bottom, sinking her so quickly that the crew took to the boats, saving
+nothing.</p>
+
+<p>But the most serious disaster was the total wreck of the "City of New
+York," a large transport, with a cargo of ordnance stores valued at
+two hundred thousand dollars. Unable to enter the inlet, she tried to
+ride out the gale outside. The tremendous sea, and the wind blowing
+furiously on shore, caused her to drag her anchors; and those on board
+saw certain death staring them in the face, as hour by hour the ship
+drifted nearer and nearer to the tumbling mass of mighty breakers,
+that with an unceasing roar, and white foam gleaming like the teeth of
+an enraged lion, broke heavily on the sand. She struck on Monday
+afternoon, and soon swung around, broadside to the sea, so as to be
+helpless and at the mercy of the breakers. Every wave broke over her
+decks. The condition of her crew was frightful. In the dead of winter,
+the wind keen as a razor, and the waves of icy coldness, the body soon
+became benumbed; and it was with the greatest effort that the men
+could cling to the rigging. So great was the fury of the wind and
+waves, that no assistance could be given her. For a boat to venture
+into that seething caldron of breakers would have been throwing away
+lives. So the crew of the doomed ship were left to save themselves as
+best they might. The night passed away, and Tuesday morning saw the
+gale still blowing with unabated force. Hoping to lessen the strain on
+the hull, they cut away the foremast. In falling, it tore away the
+pipes, and the vessel became a perfect wreck. Numbed with cold, and
+faint for lack of food, the crew lashed themselves to the bulwarks and
+rigging; and so, drenched by the icy spray, and chilled through by the
+wind, they spent another fearful night. The next day the fury of the
+storm seemed to have somewhat abated. The sea was still running high,
+and breaking over the almost unrecognizable hulk stranded on the
+beach. With the aid of a glass, sailors on the other ships could see
+the inanimate forms of the crew lashed to the rigging. It was
+determined to make a vigorous attempt to save them. The first boat
+sent out on the errand of mercy was watched eagerly from all the
+vessels. Now it would be seen raised high on the top of some
+tremendous wave, then, plunging into the trough, it would be lost from
+the view of the anxious watchers. All went well until the boat reached
+the outermost line of the breakers, when suddenly a towering wave,
+rushing resistlessly along, broke directly over the stern, swamping
+the boat, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page744" name="page744"></a>(p. 744)</span> drowning seven of the crew. Again the last
+hope seemed lost to the exhausted men on the wreck. But later in the
+day, the sea having gone down somewhat, a steam-tug succeeded in
+reaching the wreck and rescuing the crew. The second engineer was the
+last man to leave the ship. He remained lashed to the mast until all
+were taken on the tug. Then, climbing to the top-mast, he cut down the
+flag that had waved during those two wild days and nights, and bore it
+safely away.</p>
+
+<p>After this gale died away, the work of getting the squadron over the
+inner bar was begun. It was a tremendous task. Many of the ships drew
+too much water for the shallow channel, and it was necessary to remove
+large parts of their cargoes. The bar, which is known as Buckhead
+Shoal, was an expanse of quicksand a mile wide, with a tortuous
+channel ever changing with the shifting sands. Many of the ships
+stranded, and the tugs were constantly busy in towing them off.
+Scarcely would one be safely afloat, than another would "bring up all
+standing" on some new shoal. Two weeks elapsed before all the vessels
+were safe within the landlocked sound. They were none too soon; for
+hardly had the last vessel crossed the bar, than the black gathering
+clouds, the murky, tossing sea, and the foaming billows breaking on
+the bar, foretold another of the storms for which Cape Hatteras is
+famed. Through the storm a queer-looking craft was seen approaching
+the fleet. It was found to be a boat-load of escaping slaves, who had
+put to sea at random, feeling sure of finding "de Yankees" somewhere.
+From these men much valuable information was obtained.</p>
+
+<p>Up to this time no one in the fleet, excepting the superior officers,
+was informed as to the exact destination of the expedition. Now as the
+signal to get under way blew out from the foremast of the flagship,
+and as the prow of the leading vessel was turned to the northward, all
+knew, and all cried, "Roanoke Island." This island was heavily
+fortified by the Confederates, and from its position was a point of
+considerable strategic importance. It guards the entrance to Pamlico
+Sound from Albemarle Sound, and into Pamlico Sound open great bays and
+rivers that penetrate far into the interior of Virginia and North
+Carolina. On this island the Confederates had erected three forts of
+formidable strength. These forts commanded the channel through which
+the vessels would have to pass; and to make the task doubly dangerous,
+the channel was obstructed with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page745" name="page745"></a>(p. 745)</span> sharpened piles and sunken
+hulks, so as to be apparently impassable. Beyond the obstructions was
+the Confederate fleet, which, though insignificant compared with the
+attacking squadron, was formidable in connection with the forts. It
+was the task of the invaders to capture these forts, and destroy the
+fleet.</p>
+
+<p>It was on Feb. 5 that the squadron prepared to leave its moorings at
+Hatteras Inlet. It was an imposing spectacle. The flagship
+"Philadelphia" led the naval squadron, which advanced with the
+precision of a body of troops. Behind, with less regularity, came the
+army transports. About one hundred vessels were in the three columns
+that moved over the placid waters of the sound toward the forts. It
+was five in the afternoon of a short February day that the fleet came
+in sight of the forts. Signals were made for the squadron to form in a
+circle about the flagship. The early darkness of winter had fallen
+upon the scene. The waters of the sound were smooth as a mill-pond.
+From the white cottages on the shore gleamed lights, and brilliant
+signal-lanterns hung in the rigging of the ships. Through the fleet
+pulled swift gigs bearing the commanders of the different vessels.</p>
+
+<p>The morning dawned dark and rainy. At first it was thought that the
+fog and mist would prevent the bombardment, but all doubt was put at
+an end by the signal, "Prepare for action," from the flagship. The
+drums beat to quarters, and soon the guns were manned by sailors
+stripped to the waist. The magazines were opened; and the surgeons
+cleared away the cock-pits, and spread out their glistening
+instruments ready for their work.</p>
+
+<p>The fleet got under way, and stood up the channel almost to the point
+where the obstructions were planted. Beyond these were the gunboats of
+the enemy. The cannonade was begun without loss of time. A portion of
+the fleet began a vigorous fire upon the Confederate gunboats, while
+the others attacked the forts. The gunboats were soon driven away, and
+then the forts received the entire fire. The water was calm, and the
+aim of the gunners was admirable. The forts could hardly respond to
+the fire, since the great shells, plunging by hundreds into the
+trenches, drove the men from their guns into the bomb-proof casemates.
+The officers of the ships could watch with their glasses the effect of
+every shell, and by their directions the aim of the gunners was made
+nearly perfect.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page746" name="page746"></a>(p. 746)</span> While the bombarding was going on, Gen. Burnside set about
+landing his troops near the southern end of the island. The first boat
+was fired upon by soldiers concealed in the woods. The "Delaware"
+instantly pitched a few shells into the woods from which the firing
+proceeded, and in a few minutes the enemy could be seen running out
+like rats from a burning granary. The landing then went on unimpeded.
+The boats were unable to get up to the bank, owing to shoal water; and
+the soldiers were obliged to wade ashore in the icy water, waist-deep,
+and sinking a foot more in the soft mud of the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>The bombardment was continued for some hours after nightfall. A night
+bombardment is a stirring scene. The passionate and spiteful glare of
+the cannon-flashes; the unceasing roar of the explosions; the demoniac
+shriek of the shells in the air, followed by their explosion with a
+lightning flash, and crash like thunder; the volumes of gray smoke
+rising upon the dark air,&mdash;make up a wonderful and memorable sight.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning the bombardment was recommenced, and the work of
+landing troops went on. Eight gunboats were sent to tear away the
+obstructions in the channel; and there beneath the guns of the enemy's
+fleet, and the frowning cannon of the forts, the sailors worked with
+axe and ketch until the barricade was broken, and the eight ships
+passed to the sound above the forts. In the mean time, the troops on
+the island began the march against the forts. There were few paths,
+and they groped their way through woods and undergrowth, wading
+through morasses, and tearing their way through tangled thickets to
+get at the enemy's front. The advance was slow, but steady, until the
+open field before the forts was reached; then a change was ordered,
+led by the famous Hawkins Zouaves, who rushed madly upon the fort,
+shouting their war cry of <span class="italic">Zou, zou, zou!</span> Like a resistless flood the
+attackers poured over the earthworks, and the frightened defenders
+fled. Before five o'clock the entire island was in the hands of the
+troops, and the fleet had passed the barricade. During the bombardment
+the vessels sustained severe injuries. An act of heroism which made
+the hero celebrated was that of John Davis, gunner's mate on board the
+"Valley City." A shell entered the magazine of that ship, and
+exploded, setting the woodwork on fire. An open barrel of gunpowder
+stood in the midst of the flames, with sparks dropping about it. At
+any moment an explosion might occur which would shatter the vessel to
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page749" name="page749"></a>(p. 749)</span> fragments. Men shrank back, expecting every moment to be
+their last. With wonderful presence of mind Davis threw himself across
+the open end of the barrel, and with his body covered the dangerous
+explosive until the fire was put out.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo749" name="illo749"></a>
+<img src="images/749_contrabands_escaping_to_fleet.jpg" width="400" height="577" alt="" title="">
+<p>Contrabands escaping to Fleet.</p></div>
+
+<p>As soon as the stars and stripes were hoisted on the flagstaffs of the
+forts, the Confederate fleet, which had been maintaining a desultory
+fire, fled up the sound, after setting fire to one schooner which had
+become hopelessly crippled in the battle. She blazed away far on into
+the night, and finally, when the flames reached her magazine, blew up
+with a tremendous report, seeming like a final involuntary salute paid
+by the defeated enemy to the prowess of the Union arms. When quiet
+finally settled down upon the scene, and Gen. Burnside and Commander
+Goldsborough counted up their gains, they found that six forts,
+twenty-five hundred prisoners, and forty-two great guns had fallen
+into the hands of the victors. The Union loss was forty killed and two
+hundred wounded.</p>
+
+<p>The next day was Sunday. It was considered highly important that the
+success of the day before should be vigorously followed up; and an
+expedition of fourteen vessels, under Capt. Rowan, was ordered to
+follow the retreating Confederate fleet and destroy it. The flying
+squadron was chased as far as Elizabeth City on the Pasquotauk River.
+Here night overtook the pursuers; and they came to anchor at the mouth
+of the stream, effectually cutting off all hope of retreat. The
+Confederates in the vessels lying off the town passed an anxious
+night. Outnumbered two to one by the pursuing vessels, they saw no
+hope of a successful resistance. With a courage which in view of the
+facts seems to be almost foolhardy, they determined to stick to their
+ships, and fight to the death. The feelings of the inhabitants of the
+town were hardly less gloomy. So thoroughly impregnable had they
+considered the forts at Roanoke Island, that they had made absolutely
+no preparations for defence; and now they found their homes upon the
+eve of capture. The victorious army had not yet had an opportunity to
+show the merciful way in which the inhabitants of captured cities were
+treated throughout the war; and the good people of Elizabeth City may
+be excused for fearing, that, with the destruction of their fleet,
+they were to be delivered into the merciless hands of a lawless enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Morning dawned bright and clear. With the greatest deliberation the
+preparations for action were made on the attacking vessels. It was
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page750" name="page750"></a>(p. 750)</span> discovered, that, owing to the continuous firing during the
+Roanoke Island engagement, but twenty rounds of ammunition per gun
+were left to each vessel. It was accordingly ordered that no
+long-distance firing should be done; but each vessel should dash at
+the enemy, run him down if possible, and then board and fight it out,
+hand to hand. Early in the morning the fleet started up the river. The
+enemy's fleet was soon sighted, lying behind the guns of a small
+battery on Cobb's Point. When within long range, battery and vessels
+opened a tremendous fire with eighty-pound rifles. The approach of the
+squadron continued until when within three-quarters of a mile the
+signal was flung out from the mast of the flagship, "Dash at the
+enemy." Then full speed was put on, and firing commenced from
+bow-guns. The Confederates became totally demoralized. The battery was
+abandoned when the first vessel poured her broadside into it as she
+passed. Before the enemy's fleet was reached, many of his vessels were
+fired and abandoned. The United States steamship "Perry" struck the
+"Sea-Bird" amidships, sinking her so quickly that the crew had scarce
+time to escape. The crew of the "Delaware" boarded the "Fanny,"
+sabering and shooting her defenders until they fled over the side into
+the water. The victory was complete and overwhelming. Three or four of
+the victorious vessels at once proceeded to the town, where they found
+the enemy in full retreat and compelling the inhabitants to set fire
+to their houses. This was quickly stopped, and the invaders became the
+protectors of the conquered people.</p>
+
+<p>The power of the Confederates in this part of the country being so
+effectually destroyed, the navy was divided into small detachments and
+sent cruising up the lagoons and rivers opening into the North
+Carolina sounds, merely to show the people the power of the United
+States Government, and to urge them to cease their resistance to its
+authority. Three vessels were sent to Edenton. As they came abreast of
+the village, a company of mounted artillery precipitately fled. A
+detachment of marines sent ashore found a number of cannon which they
+destroyed, and a nearly completed schooner to which they set fire.
+Other small places were visited, generally without any opposition
+being encountered.</p>
+
+<p>A somewhat larger force was sent to a small town named Winton, as it
+had been rumored that a force of Union men were there disputing the
+authority of the Confederate Government, and the navy wished to go to
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page751" name="page751"></a>(p. 751)</span> their assistance. The "Delaware" and "Hudson," in advance of
+the squadron, came within sight of the landing and warehouses of
+Winton about four in the afternoon. The town itself was hidden from
+the view of the vessels by a high bluff. It was a clear, quiet
+afternoon, and all seemed peaceful. The long wharf, running out into
+the stream, was deserted by all save a negro woman, who, roused from
+her occupation of fishing, gazed inquisitively at the strange vessels.
+The place looked like a commercial port going to seed on account of
+the blockade. The two vessels proceeded on their way unmolested,
+ranging past the wharf, and apprehending no danger. Suddenly from the
+woods on the bluff a terrific fire was poured upon the vessels. The
+negress, having served her end as a decoy, fled hastily to shelter.
+The bluffs seemed to be held by two batteries of light artillery and a
+considerable force of armed men. Fortunately the aim of the artillery
+men was bad, and the vessels sustained no severe damage. Still, they
+were in a precarious position. The "Delaware" was too near to bring
+her battery to bear, and was obliged to turn slowly in the narrow
+channel. The "Perry," more fortunately situated, opened at once on the
+enemy with shrapnel. But the contest was unequal, and the two vessels
+were forced to retreat down the river about seven miles, there to
+await the remainder of the squadron.</p>
+
+<p>Two days after, the flotilla began the advance up the river, shelling
+the town as they ascended. Once opposite the town, the troops were
+landed, and the Hawkins Zouaves soon had possession of the bluff and
+town. Knapsacks, ammunition, and muskets in considerable quantity fell
+into the hands of the victors; and, after burning the barracks of the
+enemy, the squadron returned to the base of operations at Roanoke
+Island.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_751.jpg" width="100" height="113" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page752" name="page752"></a>(p. 752)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_752.jpg" width="600" height="344" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -50px; margin-left: 80px;">
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER VI.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">REDUCTION OF NEWBERN. &mdash; EXPLOITS OF LIEUT. CUSHING. &mdash; DESTRUCTION OF THE
+RAM "ALBEMARLE."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_a2.jpg" width="50" height="59" alt="A" title=""></span>fter
+the destruction of the Confederate flotilla at Elizabeth City,
+and the affair at Winton, the Union fleet remained quietly at anchor
+off Roanoke Island, or made short excursions up the little rivers
+emptying into the sounds. Over a month passed in comparative inaction,
+as the ships were awaiting supplies and particularly ammunition. When
+finally the transports from New York arrived, and the magazines of the
+war-vessels were filled with shot and shell and gunpowder, they again
+turned their attention to the enemy. The victories already won had
+almost driven the Confederates from that part of North Carolina which
+borders on the sounds. Roanoke Island, Elizabeth City, Edenton, and
+Plymouth had one after the other yielded to the persuasive eloquence
+of the ship's cannon, and there was left to the Confederates only one
+fort,&mdash;Newbern, on the River Neuse. As a city Newbern is
+insignificant; but as a military post it was of a good deal of
+importance, and the Confederates had made active preparations for its
+defence.</p>
+
+<p>It was on the 12th of March, 1862, that Commander Rowan started from
+Hatteras Inlet with a flotilla of thirteen vessels, and army
+transports bearing three thousand men. The long column steamed down
+the placid <span class="pagenum"><a id="page753" name="page753"></a>(p. 753)</span> waters of Pamlico Sound, and, turning into the
+Neuse River, anchored about fifteen miles below the city. Although the
+night before the battle, and within sight of the white steeples of the
+menaced city, all was quiet and peaceful. The banks of the broad
+stream were densely wooded, and from them could be heard at times the
+cry of the whip-poor-will, or the hoot of the night-owl. The vessels
+were anchored far out in the middle of the stream, so as to avoid the
+deadly bullets of any lurking sharp-shooters. The lookouts kept a
+close watch for floating torpedoes; while the sailors off duty spun
+their yarns in the forecastle, and bet pipes and tobacco on the result
+of the coming battle. The jolly tars of the Burnside expedition had
+hardly yet learned that war was a serious matter. They had met with
+but little serious resistance, had captured powerful forts without
+losing a man, had chased and destroyed the Confederate fleet without
+any serious damage to their own, and felt, accordingly, that war was a
+game in which it was their part always to win, and the part of the
+enemy to run away. Certainly the fight at Newbern did nothing to
+dispel this idea.</p>
+
+<p>When morning broke, the shrill piping of the boatswain's whistle
+brought the crew to their places on deck. Breakfast was served, and
+leisurely eaten; for it is one of the established theories of the
+navy, that sailors can't fight on empty stomachs. Breakfast over, the
+work of landing the troops was begun. The point chosen was a broad
+beach fringed with woods near the anchorage of the vessels. Before
+landing the troops, the ships threw a few shells into the woods, to
+make certain that they concealed no ambuscade, as in the disastrous
+affair at Matthias Point. After two dozen shells had burst, mowing
+down trees, and driving out frightened animals in plenty, but no
+sharp-shooters, the long-boats put off from the transports bearing the
+soldiers for the land attack. As soon as six or seven hundred were
+landed, they formed in column, and moved rapidly up the beach. The
+others followed as rapidly as they could be put on shore. The gunboats
+steamed slowly up the river, keeping abreast of the troops, and
+throwing shells into the woods ahead of the attacking column. Had any
+Confederates prepared to resist the march, they must have been driven
+out of the forest before the Federals came within musket-range. Not an
+atom of resistance was made. The plans of the invaders seemed
+irresistible. About half-past four in the afternoon, a puff of smoke
+rose from the river-bank far ahead of the leading vessel, and in a few
+seconds a heavy <span class="pagenum"><a id="page754" name="page754"></a>(p. 754)</span> shell plunged into the water a hundred yards
+ahead of the flotilla. The enemy was getting awake to the situation.
+The gunboats soon returned the fire, and the cannonading was continued
+at long range, without damage to either side, until sundown, when the
+troops went into camp, and the vessels chose an anchorage near by.</p>
+
+<p>At daylight the next morning, the advance was resumed. The day was so
+foggy that the usual signals between the vessels could not be seen,
+and orders from the flagship had to be carried by boat. The fleet
+proceeded up the river; and, when the fog lifted, the ramparts of Fort
+Dixie&mdash;the one that had fired on them the night before&mdash;were visible.
+A vigorous bombardment was at once begun; but the fort failed to
+reply, and a storming-party sent ashore found it empty. Hoisting the
+stars and stripes above the deserted bastions, the ships went on. Soon
+they reached Fort Ellis. Here the firing was sharp on both sides. The
+fort was a powerful earthwork, well armed with rifles ranging from
+thirty-two to eighty pounders. The Confederates did but little damage
+with their guns; their aim being bad for want of practice, and their
+powder of poor quality. Still, they fought on with great courage until
+a shell from the "Delaware" burst in the magazine, firing the powder
+there, and hurling the fort, with large numbers of its brave
+defenders, high in the air. This ended the fight with Fort Ellis, and
+the fleet continued its way up the river.</p>
+
+<div class="floatright">
+<a id="illo754" name="illo754"></a>
+<img src="images/754_flag_of_south_carolina.jpg" width="300" height="267" alt="" title="">
+<p>Flag of South Carolina.</p></div>
+
+<p>Shortly after passing Fort Ellis, two rows of obstructions were met in
+the channel. The lower barrier was composed of a series of piles
+driven into the river-bottom, and cut off below the water; back of
+these came a row of pointed and iron tipped piles pointing down stream
+at such an angle as to be likely to pierce the hull of any vessel that
+should run upon them. Entwined about these piles was a cable
+connecting with thirty powerful torpedoes. That any vessel could
+pierce such a barrier seems almost incredible; yet all the vessels of
+the flotilla passed, and but two were seriously injured. One of the
+sharp iron piles drove through the bottom of the "Barney," sending the
+crew to the pumps, and the carpenter down into the hold with his
+felt-covered plugs. But her damages were quickly repaired, and she
+went on with the rest of the fleet. Right under the guns of Fort
+Thompson the second line of obstructions was encountered. It consisted
+of a line of sunken vessels closely massed, and a <span class="italic">cheval-de-frise</span> of
+stakes and logs, that blocked the entire river, save a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page755" name="page755"></a>(p. 755)</span> small
+passage close in shore under the guns of the battery. Here was more
+hard work for the sailors; but they managed to creep through, and
+ranging up in line, broadside to Fort Thompson, they opened a vigorous
+cannonade upon that work. The condition of the garrison of the fort
+was desperate. The troops that had marched up the beach abreast of the
+vessels began a vigorous attack on the landward face of the fort,
+while the vessels in the river kept up a vigorous fire on the
+water-front. Soon the gunners of the fort were called away from the
+river-front to meet the hot assault of the soldiers on the land; and,
+as the conflict grew close, the ships ceased firing, lest their shell
+should mow down foe and friend alike. Leaving the enemy to the
+attention of the soldiery, the ships proceeded up the river past two
+deserted forts that gave no answer to vigorous shelling. Just as the
+last vessel was passing Fort Thompson, the attacking troops, with a
+cheer, rushed upon the ramparts; and in a minute the stars and stripes
+were fluttering from the flagstaff. This was the last resistance
+encountered, and at two <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> the victors were in full possession of
+the city. The war ships sped up the river after three Confederate
+steamers that were endeavoring to escape, and soon captured them. One
+was run ashore and burned, while the other two were added to the
+conquering fleet. As a last resort, the flying enemy sent down a huge
+fire-raft, in the hope of burning some of the Union vessels; but this
+was stopped by the piers of a railroad bridge, and, burning that,
+effectually cut off Newbern's communication with the world. During the
+entire two days' engagement, the navy did not lose a man on the ships.
+Two of a small landing-party were killed, and eleven, wounded; while
+of the soldiers there were killed eighty-eight, and wounded three
+hundred and fifty-two. This victory gave to the United States
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page756" name="page756"></a>(p. 756)</span> the entire control of the North Carolina sounds and
+tributary navigable waters.</p>
+
+<p>For years after this, the sounds were occupied by a small squadron of
+the United States navy, mainly blockading cruisers. It was during
+these three years of occupation that Lieut. W. B. Cushing performed
+those wonderfully daring deeds that made him a name and fame apart
+from all other war-records. These feats so particularly belong to
+Cushing's record, rather than to the history of any years of the war,
+that they may well be considered together here. The wonderful
+exhibitions of daring by which this young officer earned his promotion
+to the rank of a commander, while still hardly more than a boy, were
+the ascent of New River Inlet in the steamer "Ellis," for the purpose
+of destroying the enemy's salt-works, and a blockade-runner at New
+Topsail Inlet; and finally, the great achievement of his life, the
+destruction of the ram "Albemarle" in the Roanoke River.</p>
+
+<p>Lieut. Cushing entered the navy during the first year of the civil
+war, being himself at that time but nineteen years old. A comrade who
+served with him at the time of the destruction of the "Albemarle"
+describes him as about six feet high, very slender, with a smooth
+face, and dark wavy hair. Immediately upon his joining the navy, he
+was assigned to duty with the blockading squadron on the Atlantic
+coast. He distinguished himself during the first year of the war, at a
+time when the opportunities of the service were not very brilliant, by
+unfailing vigilance, and soon won for himself the honor of a command.
+In November, 1862, he was put in command of the steamer "Ellis," and
+ordered to preserve the blockade of New River Inlet on the North
+Carolina coast, not far from the favorite port of the
+blockade-runners, Wilmington. The duties of a blockading man-of-war
+are monotonous, at best. Lying at anchor off the mouth of the
+blockaded harbor, or steaming slowly up and down for days together,
+the crew grow discontented; and the officers are at their wits' end to
+devise constant occupation to dispel the turbulence which idleness
+always arouses among sailors. Inaction is the great enemy of
+discipline on board ship, and it is for this reason that the metal and
+trimmings aboard a man-of-war are so continually being polished. A big
+brass pivot-gun amidships will keep three or four jackies polishing an
+hour or two every day; and petty officers have been known to go around
+secretly, and deface some of the snowy woodwork or gleaming brass,
+when it seemed that surfaces to be <span class="pagenum"><a id="page757" name="page757"></a>(p. 757)</span> polished were becoming
+exhausted. It is no unusual thing to set a gang of sailors to work
+rubbing away with polish on the flukes of the great anchors, merely to
+give them work. But while this sort of occupation may drive dull care
+away from the heart of Jack, his officers are not so easily
+entertained; and the dull routine of blockading duty at an
+unfrequented port is most wearisome to adventurous spirits.
+Particularly was this the case with Lieut. Cushing, and he was
+constantly upon the lookout for some perilous adventure. One day late
+in November, information was brought to him that the enemy had
+established large salt-works at Jacksonville, thirty-five miles up the
+river. Even thus early in the war, the vigorous blockade was beginning
+to tell upon the supplies of the Confederates; and one of the articles
+of which the Southern armies were in the greatest need was salt. The
+distress caused by the lack of it was great. Many of the soldiers were
+in the habit of sprinkling gunpowder upon their food to give it a
+flavor approaching that of salt. In olden days, particularly in the
+British navy about the end of the eighteenth century, it was the
+custom for the captains to issue to their crews, before going into
+battle, large cups of grog with gunpowder stirred in. It was believed
+that this mixture made the men fight more desperately. But this theory
+of the doughty sea-dogs of past generations no longer finds any
+support, and doubtless the soldiers of the Confederacy felt they could
+fight better upon salt than on their enforced seasoning of gunpowder.
+At Manassas Junction, when the Confederate army by a rapid movement
+captured a large provision train, the rush of the soldiers for two or
+three cars laden with salt was so great that a strong guard had to be
+stationed to beat back pilferers, and secure a proper division of the
+much-prized seasoning.</p>
+
+<p>The officers of the Union navy were well informed of this scarcity of
+salt throughout the South, and accordingly made it a point to destroy
+all salt-works along the coast. The officers of the Gulf squadron were
+constantly employed in raiding establishments of this character, of
+which there were numbers along the coast of Louisiana, Alabama, and
+Mississippi. Cushing, on hearing of the existence of salt-works in the
+district over which he stood guard, determined to destroy them. But to
+do this was a matter of no small peril. Jacksonville was thirty-five
+miles up a small stream, in the heart of a country teeming with
+Confederate troops and their guerrilla sympathizers. The densely
+wooded shores could conceal <span class="pagenum"><a id="page758" name="page758"></a>(p. 758)</span> sharp-shooters, who could easily
+pick off every man stationed on the steamer's deck. At any point of
+the entire distance a masked battery might be stationed, that could
+blow the invading craft out of water, and leave none of her crew
+uncaptured to tell the tale. Nevertheless, the intrepid young
+commander determined to make the attempt. His vessel was a small
+steamer, mounting one heavy gun amidships and two smaller cannon on
+each side. Without any mishap the "Ellis" and her crew reached the
+town about noon. On the way up the river a dense column of black smoke
+appeared ahead, rising above the forest. All thought that the
+Confederates, hearing of their approach, had evacuated the town,
+firing it as they retreated. All possible steam was put on, and the
+little gunboat dashed up the river in the hope of saving some of the
+property of the inhabitants. But, on rounding an abrupt curve in the
+river, the mystery was solved by the appearance of a fine schooner,
+loaded with cotton and turpentine, and drifting helplessly, a mass of
+crackling flames, down the stream. She was clearly a blockade-runner,
+freighted with the chief products of the country, and had been waiting
+a chance to slip out past the blockader, and run for some friendly
+port. Cushing's bold move up the river had entrapped her neatly, and
+her owners had fired her and fled. The fire was a magnificent sight.
+The inflammable cargo, the tarry ropes and cordage, fed the flames,
+which leaped from hull to main-truck. The cotton burned sullenly,
+giving forth immense clouds of dense, black smoke. To save her was
+hopeless, and the "Ellis" kept out of the way of the flying
+fire-brands and continued on. The expected salt-works were not found,
+however; and the only trophies to be obtained at the town were about
+twenty-five stand of arms and two schooners, evidently
+blockade-runners. The post-office was also visited, and a large mail
+captured and removed, in the hope of finding therein some valuable
+information regarding the movements of the enemy. The town itself was
+one of the sleepy little Southern villages, with wide streets,
+grass-grown and lined with live-oaks. Children, and boys too young to
+have been drafted into the Southern army, followed the sailors and
+marines curiously as they strolled up and down the silent streets. The
+war had robbed the little city of its men; the blockade had robbed it
+of its little coasting-trade. Such an air of quiet and desolation hung
+about the place, that the inhabitants probably welcomed the advent of
+even the hostile sailors as being something <span class="pagenum"><a id="page759" name="page759"></a>(p. 759)</span> to break the
+monotony. After a stoppage of an hour and a half, the "Ellis" started
+down the river. The quiet of the upward voyage had dispelled any
+thoughts of danger, but about five o'clock suspicions were re-awakened
+by the sight of a small encampment on the bank. A few shells thrown
+over the tents quickly sent the campers scurrying into the woods; and,
+as the camps seemed to have no artillery, the "Ellis" continued
+without further hostilities. A short distance down the stream the
+Confederates opened upon them with two guns mounted on a lofty bluff.
+Cushing, ever ready for a skirmish, stopped his engine, and cleared
+away the big pivot-gun for action. The battle-flag was hoisted at the
+fore, and the crew, with three cheers, set about the work. About an
+hour of artillery practice followed, when, the enemy being driven from
+his guns, the "Ellis" proceeded on her way. It was now growing dark,
+and the tide was rapidly falling. The two pilots on the steamer agreed
+that daylight and high tide were necessary to get the vessel safely
+out of the river. With great reluctance Cushing ordered the anchor to
+be let fall, and proceeded to make preparations for the night. On both
+banks of the river could be seen the flash of lanterns, proving that
+the Confederates were aware of the steamer's presence, and were
+contemplating an attack. To resist such an attack if made in force
+during the night, seemed almost hopeless; yet the sailors went
+cheerfully about the work of preparation, getting out cutlasses and
+revolvers, and putting up the boarding-nettings over the sides. In
+watchful anxiety the hours wore away. No sound escaped the vigilant
+ear of the men on duty. But the enemy evidently had abandoned the
+attack, and when morning broke none were to be seen. With light
+hearts, and feeling that the worst was past, the little party
+continued their way, only to find that the worst was yet to come. Soon
+after daylight, the pilot, mistaking the channel, ran the ship so
+solidly aground that there was clearly no hope of extricating her. All
+this time she had been towing one of the captured schooners; and
+Cushing, with quick decisiveness, ordered that every thing should be
+removed from the "Ellis" to the schooner. This was quickly done,
+leaving nothing but the great pivot-gun aboard.</p>
+
+<p>But even when so greatly lightened, the ship would not float, and
+Cushing saw that all was lost. As a final expedient he sent a boat's
+crew back after the cannon that the enemy had abandoned the day
+before, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page760" name="page760"></a>(p. 760)</span> intending to construct a land-battery with them, and
+so keep his ship. But the Confederates had already removed the guns,
+so this forlorn hope failed. Orders were then given for the crew to
+take the schooner, and drop down the river for a mile or two. The
+young captain expressed his intention of remaining aboard his craft,
+and asked for six volunteers to help him fight the pivot-gun. They
+were quickly found; and, while the remainder of the crew dropped down
+the river in the schooner, the devoted little band calmly awaited the
+beginning of the attack. They did not have long to wait. Soon a cannon
+boomed from the bank, and a heavy shell whizzed over their heads. Then
+another, from another direction, and a third, and a fourth, each from
+a distinct battery. They were hopeless odds, yet Cushing and his
+command fought on until the gunners, getting the range, dropped shot
+after shot into the doomed vessel. Then fire broke out in three or
+four places. This was too much; and the seven daring men took to a
+small boat, and rowed to the schooner. First, however, they loaded the
+long gun, and turned it on the enemy, in order, as Cushing said, "that
+she might fight for herself when we could do so no longer." Once in
+the schooner, they sailed rapidly down the river; and just as they
+reached the sound a deep boom announced that the fire had reached the
+magazine, and the "Ellis" was blown into a million pieces. Daring as
+this adventure was, Cushing was much distressed at its termination;
+and in his official report he asks for a general court of inquiry, to
+determine whether he had properly upheld the honor of the nation's
+flag.</p>
+
+<p>Another daring expedition was undertaken by Cushing when in command of
+the "Monticello." This was in February, 1864. He was cruising off Cape
+Fear River. At Smithville, a small town some distance up the river,
+was a Confederate army-post. Cushing's plan was to proceed up the
+river in row-boats, burn any vessels that might be at the dock,
+capture the commanding officers, and escape before the enemy could
+recover from the surprise. It was a rash and rather useless
+expedition, but Cushing successfully carried it out. With two boats
+and twenty men, he went quietly past the guns of the fort, concealed
+by the blackness of a cloudy night, ascended the river to the town,
+and landed directly in front of the hotel. A high bank concealed the
+party from view, and lying in ambush here they managed to capture some
+negroes, from whom the desired information was obtained. Then with two
+officers and a seaman, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page761" name="page761"></a>(p. 761)</span> Cushing walked from the deck to Gen.
+Herbert's headquarters in so open a manner as to disarm suspicion.
+Entering the house they met an engineer officer, who tried to raise an
+alarm, but was quickly captured and gagged. The adjutant-general,
+never dreaming that any enemy could be so near him, supposed it was a
+mutiny, and fled hastily, half dressed, to the woods, not even calling
+out the garrison. Cushing then with his speechless prisoner walked
+calmly back before the long barracks that sheltered a thousand hostile
+soldiers, and within a few yards of the sentry on the wharf. Only when
+the affrighted adjutant-general returned from his hasty trip to the
+woods did the Confederates know that an enemy had been in their midst.
+Then there was great excitement, arresting of sentries, calling out of
+guards, and signalling to the fort that hostile boats were in the
+harbor. But all too late. Cushing's coolness, courage, dash, and
+invincible luck had carried him scot-free through another dare-devil
+adventure.</p>
+
+<p>From the "Monticello" Cushing made yet another dangerous excursion
+into the enemy's country. On this occasion he had a more adequate
+purpose for his perilous errand. It was believed that the Confederate
+ram "Raleigh" was in the Cape Fear River above the town of Smithville,
+the scene of the last adventure. Cushing obtained permission from his
+superior officer to ascend the river, and try to blow up the ram with
+a torpedo. On the night of the 23d of June he started, taking with him
+Jones and Howarth, the officers who had been with him in the previous
+trip, and fifteen men. The night was pitchy dark, and all went well as
+they passed the fort and the little town of Smithville. Fifteen miles
+from the river's mouth, they saw the moon suddenly break through the
+clouds; and the surface of the river suddenly became bright, revealing
+to the sentries on shore the Yankee boat fifteen miles within
+Confederate territory. Quickly the boats turned about, and headed down
+the river; but this was a mere feint, as Cushing doubled as soon as he
+reached the shadow of the opposite bank, and continued his course into
+the hostile territory. Toward morning, when within about seven miles
+of Wilmington, a very stronghold of the Confederates, he landed, and
+hid his boat in a neighboring swamp. The men lay in hiding all day;
+and, just as they were about to start out again, they captured two
+boats with a Wilmington fishing-party. During the second night Cushing
+crept cautiously up to within three miles of Wilmington, closely
+examining the defences of the town and the obstructions in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page762" name="page762"></a>(p. 762)</span>
+the river. At daybreak he rowed up one of the creeks until he found
+the road between Fort Fisher and Wilmington. Here he crouched by a
+hedge until a mounted mail-carrier came by from the fort. The soldier
+was captured and dismounted, vastly astonished at the sight of a
+blue-jacket in that region. Presently, along came the carrier from the
+town, on the way to the fort. He too was astonished at the sight, but
+flung back a scornful answer to the demand that he surrender, and
+galloped hastily away. In an instant Cushing was on the back of the
+captured horse, and after him; but the fugitive was too well mounted,
+and escaped. Matters were now becoming very serious. The runaway would
+doubtless give the alarm everywhere. Immediate flight was imperative.
+The men had been away from the boat for some hours, and were famished.
+Food must be had. But how to get it? Cushing's solution of the problem
+was characteristic. Having captured some other prisoners, he learned
+that a store was to be found about two miles off. A prisoner about
+Howarth's size was ordered to strip, and Howarth put on his clothing.
+The change from the trim blue uniform of a Yankee naval officer to the
+slouchy jeans jumper and overalls of a North Carolina "cracker" was
+somewhat amusing, but the disguise was complete. Mounting the captured
+horse, Howarth rode off in the character of a "poor-white" farmer come
+in to do his marketing. He chatted freely with the people he met along
+the road, and securing his provision, returned to the boat without
+arousing the least suspicion. Snugly ensconced in the thick bushes,
+the party then proceeded to sup, and after the meal amused themselves
+in cutting telegraph-wires, and at dark returned to the boat. This was
+the third night in the river, and Cushing prepared to return.
+Embarking with his prisoners, he pulled up to the "Raleigh," and found
+that she would not need his attentions, as she was already a total
+wreck. Then he began the descent of the river. When a little way down
+the prisoners were set adrift, with neither sails nor oars in order
+that they might not report the occurrence too soon. The blue-jackets
+continued their pull down the river. Just as they reached the mouth
+the moon shone out, and a quick hail came from a guard-boat. Cushing
+made no answer, but in a low voice urged his men on, intending to
+attack the enemy. But in an instant more three boats came out of the
+shadow, and at the same instant five appeared on the other side. One
+opening seemed left for the beleaguered boat to dash through. At it
+they <span class="pagenum"><a id="page763" name="page763"></a>(p. 763)</span> went, but a schooner filled with troops suddenly
+appeared blockading this last exit. It looked as though all was up,
+and those in the boat saw before them the cheerful prospect of
+execution as spies. But Cushing's pluck and self-possession, which had
+never yet failed, still stood by him. He resorted to strategy, and,
+like the hunted fox, threw his pursuers off the track by doubling. He
+made a dash so rapid and determined towards the western bar, that all
+the boats of the enemy rushed to block that point. For an instant his
+own was in the shadow of a cloud. In that instant he had turned, and
+headed at full speed for New Inlet. His men were as cool as he. With a
+few vigorous pulls the boat shot out into the breakers where the enemy
+dared not follow it, and soon after the cutter was hoisted to the
+davits of the "Monticello," uninjured, after a stay of three nights in
+the heart of the enemy's country.</p>
+
+<p>It was near the end of the great war that Cushing performed the
+greatest feat of daring of his adventurous career; and, as on the
+previous occasions, the scene of the exploit was in the waters
+tributary to the North Carolina sounds. Early in the spring of 1863 it
+became evident to the officers of the Union squadron in the sounds,
+that the Confederates were making arrangements to drive the Yankee
+ships from those waters, and to re-open the coasting-trade to the
+people of North Carolina. The chief source of alarm to the fleet was a
+heavy iron-clad which was reported to be building on the Roanoke River
+above Plymouth. Full descriptions of this vessel were in the hands of
+the Union officers; and they saw clearly that, should she be
+completed, no vessel of the sound squadron, nor perhaps the entire
+navy, would be able to do battle against her successfully. The river
+was too shallow for the war-vessels to go up to the point where the
+ram was being built, and the channel at Hatteras Inlet was not deep
+enough for iron-clads to be brought in to compete with the enemy when
+finished. The naval authorities repeatedly urged the army to send an
+expedition to burn the boat; but Major-Gen. Foster, in command of the
+department of North Carolina, declared it was of no importance, as the
+Confederates would never put it to any use. Time showed a very
+different state of affairs. In April, 1864, the ram was completed, and
+named the "Albemarle." Her first work was to co-operate with ten
+thousand Confederate troops in the recapture of Plymouth, which was
+accomplished with very little difficulty. Lieut. Flusser was at
+Plymouth with four small <span class="pagenum"><a id="page764" name="page764"></a>(p. 764)</span> gunboats, and remained bravely at
+his post as he saw the powerful ram bearing down upon him. It was
+half-past three in the morning, and the chill, gray dawn was just
+breaking over the earth. Above the river hung a mist, through which
+the great body of the ram could be seen coming doggedly down to the
+conflict. The "Miami" and "Southfield" were lashed together; and, at
+the order of Commander Flusser, they started to meet the iron-clad,
+firing quickly and with good aim. The "Albemarle" came on silently,
+disdaining to fire a gun. With a crash she struck the "Miami" a
+glancing blow on the port-bow, gouging off two great planks. Sliding
+past the wounded craft, she plunged into the "Southfield," crushing
+completely through her side, so that she began to settle at once. The
+lashings between the gunboats parted, and the "Southfield" sank
+rapidly, carrying part of her crew with her. As the "Albemarle"
+crashed into the two vessels, she fired her bow-gun several times,
+killing and wounding many of the Union sailors, and killing Lieut.
+Flusser. When she turned and made a second dash for the "Miami," the
+latter fled down the stream, knowing that to dare the power of the
+enemy was mere madness. The "Albemarle" steamed back to Plymouth, and
+by her aid the town was easily recaptured by the Confederates.</p>
+
+<p>The squadron in the sounds was now in a state of the greatest anxiety.
+At any moment the impregnable monster might descend the river and
+destroy the frail wooden gunboats at her leisure. Preparations were
+made for a desperate battle when the time should come. Captains were
+instructed to bring their ships to close quarters with the enemy and
+to endeavor to throw powder or shells down her smokestack. Every
+possible means by which a wooden steamer might cope with an iron-clad
+was provided.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo766" name="illo766"></a>
+<img src="images/766_destruction_of_the_albemarle.jpg" width="400" height="566" alt="" title="">
+<p>Destruction of the "Albemarle."</p></div>
+
+<p>On the 5th of May the ram put in an appearance, steaming down the
+river. Deliberately she approached within easy range, then let fly a
+shot at the "Mattabesett" which knocked her launch to pieces and
+wounded several men. The "Mattabesett" ran up to within one hundred
+and fifty yards of the "Albemarle," and gave her a broadside of solid
+shot from nine-inch Dahlgrens and one hundred-pounder rifles. When
+these shot struck a sloping place on the ram's armor, they glanced
+off. Those that struck full on the plating simply crumbled to pieces,
+leaving no dent to tell of the blow. One beautifully aimed shot struck
+the muzzle of one <span class="pagenum"><a id="page767" name="page767"></a>(p. 767)</span> of the cannon on the ram and broke it.
+The gun was used throughout the fight, however, as the "Albemarle"
+carried but two and could not spare one of them. The "Sassacus"
+followed in line of battle. She delivered her broadside in passing.
+The ram rushed madly at her, but was evaded by good steering. Then the
+"Sassacus" in turn rushed at the ram at full speed, thinking to run
+her down. She struck amidships at right angles, and with the crash of
+the collision came a hundred-pound shot from the ram, that passed
+through the wooden ship from end to end. Still the engines of the
+"Sassacus" were kept going, in the hope of pushing the "Albemarle"
+beneath the water. The iron-clad careened slowly, the water washed
+over her after-deck; the crew of the "Sassacus," far out on the bow,
+tried vainly to drop shells and packages of powder down the ram's
+smoking chimneys. It was a moment of intense excitement. But the ram
+was too much for her assailant. Recovering from the shock of the
+collision, she slowly swung around until her bow-gun could be brought
+to bear on her tormentor, when she let fly a ponderous bolt. It
+crashed through the side of the steamer and plunged into her boiler.
+In an instant hot, scalding steam filled the engine-room and spread
+over the whole ship. Cries of agony arose on every side. Twenty-one of
+the crew were terribly scalded. Nothing remained but retreat; and the
+"Sassacus" steamed away from her enemy, after making one of the
+bravest fights in naval history. In the mean time the other gunboats
+were pounding away at the ram. The "Miami" was trying in vain to get
+an opportunity to discharge a large torpedo. Two other vessels were
+spreading nets about the great ship, trying to foul the propeller. The
+action continued until dark, when the ram withdrew, uninjured and
+without losing a man. She had fought alone for three hours against six
+ships, and had seriously damaged every one of her adversaries. It must
+also be remembered that she carried but two guns.</p>
+
+<p>The "Albemarle" lay for a long time idle at her moorings in Roanoke
+River, feeling sure that at her own pleasure she could go into the
+sounds, and complete the destruction of the fleet. Lieut. Cushing,
+then twenty-one years old, begged permission to attempt to destroy
+her. The authority was gladly granted by the navy department, and
+Cushing began making his plans for the adventure. His first plan was
+to take a squad of men, with two steam-launches, up the Roanoke, and
+blow the ram up by means of a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page768" name="page768"></a>(p. 768)</span> torpedo. The launches were
+sent from New York, but one was swamped while crossing Delaware Bay.</p>
+
+<p>Cushing, however, was not the man to be balked by an accident: so,
+cutting down his force one-half, he prepared for the start. Thirteen
+officers and men made up the little party which seemed bound to
+certain death. The spirit which animated the blue-jackets during the
+war may be imagined from the fact that many sailors tried to purchase
+the privilege of going on this perilous expedition, by offering their
+month's pay to those who had been selected. To understand what a
+forlorn hope the little boat-load of men were cherishing, we must
+understand what were the defences of the "Albemarle." She lay at a
+broad wharf, on which was encamped a large guard of soldiers as well
+as her crew. Above and below her, great fires were kept burning on the
+shores, to prevent any boat approaching unseen. She was surrounded by
+a boom, or "water-fence," of floating logs, about thirty feet from her
+hull, to keep off any torpedo-boats. From the mouth of the Roanoke to
+her moorings was about eight miles; the shores being lined on either
+side by pickets, and a large picket-station being established in
+mid-stream about one mile below Plymouth.</p>
+
+<p>To attempt to penetrate this network of defences seemed to be
+foolhardy. Yet Cushing's record for dash and courage, and his
+enthusiasm, inspired his comrades with confidence; and they set out
+feeling certain of success. On the night of the 27th of October, the
+daring band, in their pygmy steamer, steamed rapidly up the river. No
+word was spoken aboard. The machinery was oiled until it ran
+noiselessly; and not a light shone from the little craft, save when
+the furnace-door was hastily opened to fire up. The Confederate
+sentries on the bank saw nothing of the party; and, even when they
+passed the picket schooners near the wreck of the "Southfield," they
+were unchallenged, although they could see the schooners, and hear the
+voices of the men, not more than twenty yards away. Not until they
+came into the fitful glare of the firelight were they seen, and then
+quick hails came from the sentries on the wharf and the "Albemarle's"
+decks. But the light on the shore aided the adventurers by showing
+them the position of the ram. They dashed up alongside, amid a shower
+of bullets that seemed to fill the air. On the decks of the ram all
+was confusion, the alarm rattles were sprung, the bell rung violently.
+The launch running alongside came into contact with the row of logs,
+and sheered off to make <span class="pagenum"><a id="page769" name="page769"></a>(p. 769)</span> a dash over it. Cushing, who on
+these dangerous expeditions was like a schoolboy on a holiday,
+answered with ridicule all hails. "Go ashore for your lives,"
+"Surrender yourselves, or I shall sink you," he cried, as the gunners
+on the ram trained a heavy gun on the little launch. Now she was
+headed straight for the ram, and had a run of thirty yards before
+striking the boom. She reached, and dashed over. Cushing, standing in
+the stern, held in one hand the tiller ropes, in the other the lanyard
+of the torpedo. He looked up, saw the muzzle of a heavy gun trained
+directly on his boat: one convulsive pull of the rope, and with a roar
+the torpedo exploded under the hull of the "Albemarle," just as a
+hundred-pound shot crashed through the bottom of his boat. In a second
+the launch had disappeared; her crew were struggling in the waves, or
+lying dead beneath them, and the "Albemarle" with a mortal wound was
+sinking to the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>Cushing swam to the middle of the river, and headed down stream. Most
+of his companions were killed, captured, or drowned. In the middle of
+the stream he met Woodman, who had followed him on previous
+expeditions. Woodman was almost exhausted. Cushing supported him as
+long as he was able, but was forced to leave him, and the sailor sank
+to the bottom. The young lieutenant floated down the river until at
+last he reached the shore, exhausted and faint from a wound in his
+wrist. He lay half covered with water in a swamp until daylight. While
+there he heard two Confederate officers who passed say that the
+"Albemarle" was a total wreck. That news gave him new energy, and he
+set about getting safely away. Through the thick undergrowth of the
+swamp he crawled for some hours, until he found a negro who gave him
+shelter and food. Then he plunged again into the swamp, and walked on
+until he captured a skiff from a Rebel picket; and with this he safely
+reached the fleet,&mdash;the only one of the thirteen who set out two days
+before. So ended the most wonderful adventure of the war.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_769.jpg" width="300" height="130" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page770" name="page770"></a>(p. 770)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_685.jpg" width="600" height="297" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER VII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume center">THE BLOCKADE-RUNNERS. &mdash; NASSAU AND WILMINGTON. &mdash; WORK OF THE CRUISERS.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>hile
+it is undeniably true that the naval battles of the civil war
+were in many cases unimportant as compared with the gigantic
+operations of the mighty armies in Virginia and Tennessee, yet there
+was one service performed by the navy, alone and unaided, which
+probably, more than any thing else, led to the final subjugation of
+the South. This was the blockade.</p>
+
+<p>To fully appreciate what a terrible weapon the blockade is when
+energetically pursued, one need only look at the condition of the
+South during the latter years of the war. Medicines were almost
+unattainable for love or money. Salt was more carefully hoarded than
+silver. Woollen goods for clothing were not to be had. Nothing that
+could not be produced by the people of the revolted States could be
+obtained at their markets. Their whole territory was in a state of
+siege, surrounded by a barrier only a little less unrelenting than the
+iron circle the Germans drew around besieged Paris.</p>
+
+<p>Almost the first war measure of Abraham Lincoln was to declare the
+ports of the Confederacy in a state of blockade. At first this seemed
+a rash proclamation, and one which could not be sustained by the force
+at the command of the Federals. It is a rule of warfare, that
+"blockades, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page771" name="page771"></a>(p. 771)</span> to be binding, must be effective;" that is, it
+is not lawful for a nation with a small fleet to declare an enemy's
+coast in a state of blockade, and then capture such trading-vessels as
+may happen to run in the way of its cruisers. The nation must have a
+large enough fleet to station vessels before each of the principal
+harbors of the enemy, and to maintain a constant and vigilant patrol
+up and down his coast. If this cannot be done, the blockade is called
+a "paper blockade," and merchantmen are justified in attempting to
+evade it. An instance of a "paper blockade" occurred during the early
+months of the civil war, which will illustrate this point. Wilmington,
+N.C., was throughout the war one of the favorite ports for
+blockade-runners. From its situation, the many entrances to its
+harbor, and other natural advantages, it was the most difficult of all
+the Southern ports to keep guarded. With the rest of the Confederate
+ports, Wilmington was declared blockaded; but it was long after,
+before a suitable blockading-fleet was stationed there. In July, 1861,
+the British brig "Herald" left Wilmington without molestation. When
+two days out, she ran across a United States man-of-war, that promptly
+captured her. The courts, however, decided that a port so little
+guarded as Wilmington was at that time could not be legally called
+blockaded, and the brig was therefore released.</p>
+
+<p>But it did not take many months for the energetic men of the Navy
+Department to get together such a fleet of boats of all kinds as to
+enable them to effectually seal all the ports of the Confederacy. A
+blockading vessel need not be of great strength or powerful armament.
+All that is necessary is that she should be swift, and carry a gun
+heavy enough to overawe any merchantman that might attempt to run the
+blockade. And as such vessels were easy to improvise out of tug-boats,
+ferry-boats, yachts, and other small craft, it came about that by the
+last of 1861, the people of the seaport towns of the South, looking
+seaward from their deserted wharves, could see two or three Federal
+cruisers lying anchored off the outer bar, just out of reach of the
+guns of shore-batteries. It was a service of no little danger for the
+blue-jackets. The enemy were ever on the alert to break the blockade
+by destroying the ships with torpedoes. Iron-clad rams were built on
+the banks of the rivers, and sent down to sink and destroy the vessels
+whose watchfulness meant starvation to the Confederacy. The
+"Albemarle" and the "Merrimac" were notable instances of this
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page772" name="page772"></a>(p. 772)</span> course of attack. But the greatest danger which the sailors
+had to encounter was the peril of being wrecked by the furious storms
+which continually ravage the Atlantic coast. The sailor loves the open
+sea in a blow; but until the civil war, no captain had ever dared to
+lie tugging at his cables within a mile or two of a lee shore, with a
+stiff north-easter lashing the sea into fury. In the blockading
+service of our great naval war, the war of 1812, the method in vogue
+was to keep a few vessels cruising up and down the coast; and, when it
+came on to blow, these ships would put out into the open sea and scud
+for some other point. But in '61 we had hundreds of vessels stationed
+along the enemy's coast; and where a ship was stationed, there she
+stayed, to meet the fury of the wind and waves by putting out more
+anchors, and riding out at her cables storms that would have blown the
+blockader of 1812 hundreds of miles from her post.</p>
+
+<p>In the earlier years of the war the blockade-runners were nearly all
+sailing-vessels, schooners, and brigs, that were easily captured. But
+when the supplies of the South became exhausted, and the merchants of
+England began building ships especially for this purpose, the duty of
+the blockading squadron became exciting and often very profitable. The
+business assumed such proportions that half the shipyards in England
+were engaged in turning out fast steamers to engage in it. At first it
+was the custom to send goods in regular ocean-steamers from England to
+the blockaded port; but this was soon abandoned, as the risk of
+capture on the long run across the Atlantic was too great. Not until
+the plan was adopted of shipping the goods to some neutral port along
+our coast, and there transferring the cargo to some small, swift
+vessel, and making the run into the Confederate port in a few hours,
+did the business of blockade-running become very extensive. Goods
+shipped for a neutral point were in no danger of being captured by our
+cruisers, and therefore the danger of the long trans-Atlantic passage
+was done away with.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo772" name="illo772"></a>
+<img src="images/772_nassau_the_haunt_of_the_blockade_runners.jpg" width="500" height="420" alt="" title="">
+<p>Nassau: The Haunt of the Blockade-Runners.</p></div>
+
+<p>Of these neutral points which served as way-stations for the
+blockade-runners, there were four on or near our coast,&mdash;the Bermuda
+Islands, which lie about seven hundred miles east of Charleston;
+Nassau, which is off the coast of Florida, and a little more than five
+hundred miles southeast of Charleston; Havana; and the little Mexican
+town of Matamoras on the Rio Grande, opposite Brownsville, Texas. The
+Bermudas were to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page773" name="page773"></a>(p. 773)</span> some extent used, but their distance from
+the coast made them inconvenient as compared with Nassau or Matamoras.
+Their chief trade was with Wilmington, which became a favorite port
+during the latter years of the war. Havana was popular for a time, and
+at first sight would appear to be admirably placed for a
+blockade-runners' rendezvous. But, though the coast of Florida was but
+one hundred miles distant, it was surrounded by dangerous reefs, its
+harbors were bad and far apart, and there were no railroads in the
+southern part of the State to transport the contraband goods after
+they were landed. Besides, Key West, the naval station of the Union
+forces in the South, was unpleasantly near, and the gulf blockade was
+maintained with more rigor than that on the Atlantic coast. Matamoras
+was peculiarly well situated for a blockade-running point. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page774" name="page774"></a>(p. 774)</span>
+It is on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande River, about forty miles
+above its mouth. Goods once landed could be shipped in barges and
+lighters across the river in absolute safety, since heavy batteries
+prevented the cruisers of the gulf-squadron from entering the river.
+As a result of this trade, Matamoras became a thriving place. Hundreds
+of vessels lay in its harbor, where now it is unusual to see five at a
+time. For four years its streets were crowded with heavy freight vans,
+while stores and hotels reaped a rich harvest from the sailors of the
+vessels engaged in the contraband traffic. Now it is as quiet and
+sleepy a little town as can be found in all the drowsy land of Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>But the true paradise of the blockade-runners was Nassau, the chief
+port of the Bahama Islands, and a colony of Great Britain. Here all
+the conditions necessary to successfully evade the blockade were to be
+found. The flag that waved over the island was that of a nation
+powerful enough to protect its citizens, and to enforce the laws
+relative to neutrality. Furthermore, Great Britain was undoubtedly in
+sympathy with the Confederates; and so far from prohibiting the
+efforts of her citizens to keep up trade with the blockaded ports, she
+encouraged and aided them in every way in her power. And aside from
+her mere sympathy with the struggles of the young Confederacy, England
+had a most powerful incentive to break down the blockade. In
+Manchester the huge cotton-mills, employing thousands of hands, were
+shut down for lack of cotton, and the mill-hands were starving for
+lack of work; while shut up in the blockaded ports of the South were
+tons upon tons of the fleecy staple, that, once in England, would be
+worth its weight in gold. It was small wonder that the merchants of
+England set to work deliberately to fit out blockade-runners, that
+they might again get their mills running, and their people fed.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo774" name="illo774"></a>
+<img src="images/774_cotton_ships_at_nassau.jpg" width="500" height="509" alt="" title="">
+<p>Cotton Ships at Nassau.</p></div>
+
+<p>The years of the war were lively times for the little town of Nassau.
+Hardly had the proclamation of President Lincoln announcing the
+blockade of all Confederate ports been issued, when at a bound Nassau
+became prominent as the point of all most suitable for a
+blockade-runners' rendezvous. Its harbor and the surrounding waters
+were deep enough for merchant-vessels, but too shallow to allow much
+cruising about by warships of heavy armament. It was within a few
+hours' running of three Confederate ports, and it was protected by the
+flag of Great Britain. Early in the war the Confederates established a
+consulate in the little town, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page775" name="page775"></a>(p. 775)</span> the Stars and Stripes and
+the Stars and Bars waved within a few rods of each other. Then great
+shipping-houses of Liverpool sent over agents, and established branch
+houses. Great warehouses and wharves were built Soon great ocean ships
+and steamers began unloading their cargoes at these wharves. Then
+swift, rakish schooners began to drop into the harbor, and after
+discharging heavy loads of cotton would take on cargoes of English
+goods, and slip out at nightfall to begin the stealthy dash past the
+watching gunboats. As the war went on, and the profits of the trade
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page776" name="page776"></a>(p. 776)</span> increased with its dangers, a new style of craft began to
+appear in the little harbor. These were the Clyde built
+blockade-runners, on which the workmen of the Clyde shipyards had been
+laboring day and night to get them ready before the war should end.
+They were long, low, piratical looking craft, with two smoke-stacks
+raking aft, and with one or two masts for showing signals, for they
+never hoisted a sail. Two huge paddle-boxes towered above the deck
+amidships, the wheels being of enormous size. No structure of any kind
+encumbered the deck. Even the steersman stood unsheltered at a wheel
+in the bow. They were painted dark gray, and at night could slip
+unseen along the water within a stone's-throw of the most watchful
+lookout on a man-of-war. They burned great quantities of a kind of
+coal that gave out no smoke, and when steaming at night not a light
+was allowed on board. Many of these strange craft can be seen now
+along the levees at New Orleans, or at the wharves in Mobile, where
+they are used as excursion-steamers or for tug-boats. They were always
+the merest shells, fitted only for carrying freight, as not many
+passengers were to be found who desired to be taken into the
+Confederate territory. Occasionally, however, some soldier of fortune
+from abroad would drift from Nassau, and thence to the mainland, to
+join the armies of the Confederacy. The Confederate agents on the
+island were always on the lookout for such adventurers, and were ever
+ready to aid them. Sometimes, too, returning agents of the Confederacy
+from Europe would make the run through the blockading-fleet; so that
+the blockade-runners were seldom without two or three passengers, poor
+though their accommodations might be. For the voyage from Nassau to
+Wilmington, three hundred dollars passage money was charged, or more
+than fifty cents a mile. To guard against treachery, passage could
+only be obtained through the Confederate consul, who carefully
+investigated the proofs of each applicant's identity before issuing to
+him a ticket.</p>
+
+<p>When the blockade-runner had taken her cargo and passengers aboard,
+and was prepared for her voyage, every one in the little town came
+down to the docks to see her start. It was a populace strongly
+Southern in feeling that filled the streets of Nassau, and nothing but
+good wishes were to be heard on every side. Perhaps from a house on
+the hillside, over which floated the Stars and Stripes, the United
+States consul might be watching through a spyglass the movements of
+the steamer, and wishing <span class="pagenum"><a id="page777" name="page777"></a>(p. 777)</span> in his heart that she might fall in
+with some Yankee cruiser; but nevertheless, under his very eyes, the
+audacious racer slips out, and starts on her stealthy voyage. On
+leaving the harbor, a quick run of fifteen or twenty miles would be
+taken along the coast, to try the machinery. Great care would be taken
+to keep within British waters, lest some watchful gunboat should seize
+the prize thus early in her career. When every thing proved in good
+working trim, the little vessel's prow would be turned northward, and
+the perilous voyage begun. For the first day, little danger was to be
+expected, and the voyage was generally so timed that the outer line of
+blockaders would be reached just after nightfall. A soldier going to
+enlist in one of the Confederate cavalry regiments thus tells the
+story of his evasion of the blockade.</p>
+
+<p>"After a favorable voyage we reached the desired point off Wilmington
+at the proper time. A brief stoppage was made, when soon the final
+preparations were completed for running the gauntlet of the Federal
+blockaders, who would become visible shortly, as we approached nearer
+shore. All the lights in the steamer were extinguished, and all
+passengers ordered below, only the officers and crew being permitted
+to remain on deck. The furnaces were replenished with carefully
+selected coal, which would give the greatest amount of heat and the
+least smoke. The last orders were given, and every man was at his
+appointed place. Presently the boilers hissed, and the paddle-wheels
+began to revolve faster and faster, as the fleet little steamer rose
+higher and higher in the water from the immense force of the rapid
+strokes; she actually felt like a horse gathering himself up under you
+for a great leap. After a little while, the few faint sounds from the
+deck which we could hitherto faintly catch in the cabin ceased
+altogether, and there was the stillness of death except for the sounds
+necessarily made by the movements of the machinery. Then we realized
+that we were running for our lives past the line of cruisers, and that
+at any moment a big shell might come crashing through our cabin,
+disagreeably lighting up the darkness in which we were sitting. Our
+suspense was prolonged for some minutes longer, when the speed was
+slackened, and finally we stopped altogether. Even then we did not
+know whether we were safely through the lines, or whether we had been
+brought to under the guns of a hostile ship, for we could distinguish
+nothing whatever through the portholes. However, we were soon released
+from the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page778" name="page778"></a>(p. 778)</span> cabin, and walked on deck, to find ourselves safely
+through the blockade. In the offing could be descried several of the
+now harmless blockaders, and near at hand lay the coast of North
+Carolina. Soon the gray dawn was succeeded by a brilliant, lovely
+sunrise, which lighted up cheerfully the low-lying shores and
+earthworks bristling with artillery, while from a fort near by floated
+the Southern Cross, the symbol of the glorious cause for which we had
+come to fight."</p>
+
+<p>When the blockade-runner, after safely running the gauntlet of the
+warships, steamed leisurely up to the wharves of the blockaded town,
+every one rushed to the docks to greet her. Her captain and crew
+became at once people of great importance. They were beset on every
+side for news of the great world outside. The papers that they brought
+in were bought eagerly by the people, hungering for tidings of
+something else than the interminable war. The sailors of the steamer,
+on being paid off, rambled about the streets of the city, spending
+their money royally, and followed by a train of admiring hangers-on.
+The earnings of the sailors in case of a successful voyage were
+immense. A thousand dollars for the four or five days' trip was
+nothing unusual for common seamen, while the captain often received
+eight or nine thousand. But the risk of capture, with the confiscation
+of all property, and some months' imprisonment in a Federal fortress,
+rather marred the attractiveness of the nefarious trade. The profits
+of a successful voyage to the owner of the ship and cargo were
+enormous. One of the steamers, specially built for the trade, at large
+cost, has been known to pay for herself fully in one voyage. Indeed,
+the profits must have been huge to induce merchants to take the risk
+of absolutely losing a ship and cargo worth half a million of dollars.
+It is certain, too, that throughout the war the number of vessels
+captured, while trying to run the blockade, was far in excess of those
+that succeeded. Up to the end of 1863 the Federal Secretary of the
+Navy reported 1,045 vessels captured, classified as follows:
+schooners, 547; steamers, 179; sloops, 117; brigs, 30; barks, 26;
+ships, 15; yachts and boats, 117. Of course, most of these were small,
+coastwise vessels. Even among the steamers captured, there were but
+few of the fleet-going, English-built craft.</p>
+
+<p>There was no small amount of smuggling carried on between the ports of
+the North and the blockaded ports. The patriotism of the Northern
+merchant was not always so great as to prevent his embarking in the
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page779" name="page779"></a>(p. 779)</span> traffic which he saw enriching his English competitor. Many
+of the schooners captured started from Northern ports and worked their
+way along the coast until that chain of inlets, sounds, and bayous was
+reached, which borders the coast south of Chesapeake Bay. Once inside
+the bar, the smuggler could run at his leisure for any of the little
+towns that stood on the banks of the rivers of Virginia and North
+Carolina. The chase of one of these little vessels was a dreary duty
+to the officers of the blockading-ships. The fugitives were fast
+clippers of the models that made Maine shipbuilders famous, until the
+inauguration of steam-navigation made a gracefully modelled hull
+immaterial as compared with powerful machinery. Even when the great,
+lumbering warship had overhauled the flying schooner so as to bring a
+gun to bear on her, the little boat might suddenly dash into some
+inlet or up a river, where the man-of-war, with her heavy draught,
+could not hope to follow. And if captured, the prize was worth but
+little, and the prize-money, that cheers the sailors' hearts, was but
+small. But the chase and capture of one of the swift Clyde-built
+steamers was a different matter. Perhaps a lookout in the maintop of a
+cruiser, steaming idly about the Atlantic, between Nassau and
+Wilmington, would spy, far off on the horizon, a black speck, moving
+swiftly along the ocean. No curling smoke would tell of the
+blockade-runner's presence, and nothing could be seen until the hull
+of the steamer itself was perceptible. With the quick hail of the
+lookout, the man-of-war would head for the prize, and start in hot
+pursuit. Certain it is that the smuggler started to fly before the
+watchful lookout on the cruiser caught sight of her. The towering
+masts and capacious funnels of the man-of-war, with the cloud of black
+smoke from her furnaces, made her a conspicuous object at distances
+from which the smuggler would be invisible. With the blockade-runners
+the rule was to avoid any sail, no matter how innocent it might seem;
+and the appearance of a cloud of smoke on the horizon was the signal
+for an immediate change of course, and a flight for safety. When the
+chase began in this way, the cruiser had but little chance of making a
+capture, for the superior speed of the merchant-vessel would quickly
+carry her out of sight. Sometimes, however, a favorable wind would
+enable the pursuer to use her sails, and then the chase would become
+exciting. With a cloud of canvas set, the man-of-war would gradually
+overhaul the flying vessel; and when within range, the great bow-gun
+would <span class="pagenum"><a id="page780" name="page780"></a>(p. 780)</span> be cleared, and with a roar a shell would be sent
+flying after the prize. All hands would watch its course anxiously.
+Generally it fell short. Then another and another messenger would be
+sent to the enemy, which seldom struck the mark, for gunnery on a
+rough sea is a difficult art. But the blockade-runner can't stand
+being used for target-practice long. The cool head of her captain
+begins to deliberate upon means of getting out of range. Mere running
+before the wind won't do it: so he makes a long detour, and doubles on
+his course, heading directly into the teeth of the breeze. Now the
+cruiser is at a disadvantage. Her sail-power gone, she stands no
+chance of capturing her game. Her shells begin to fall far short of
+the smuggler, and soon she ceases firing altogether; and the
+blockade-runner, driven hundreds of miles out of her course, but safe
+for the time, goes on her way rejoicing.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo780" name="illo780"></a>
+<img src="images/780_blockade_runner_in_north_carolina_sounds.jpg" width="400" height="566" alt="" title="">
+<p>Blockade-Runner in North Carolina Sounds.</p></div>
+
+<p>One of the most brilliant captures of the war was that of the
+blockade-runner "Young Republic," by the United States gunboat "Grand
+Gulf." The "Young Republic" succeeded in evading the watchfulness of
+the blockading-squadron about the mouth of the Cape Fear River, and
+under cover of the night ran in safely to the anchorage under the guns
+of the Confederate forts. The baffled blockaders saw her moving slowly
+up the river, while the cannon of the forts on either side thundered
+out salutes to the daring vessel that brought precious supplies to the
+Confederacy. But the blockading-squadron, though defeated for the
+time, determined to wait and catch her when she came out. Accordingly
+the "Grand Gulf," one of the fastest of the United States vessels, was
+stationed at the mouth of the river, with orders to watch for the
+"Young Republic." A week passed, and there was no sign of her. At
+last, one bright day, the lookout in the tops saw the mast and funnel
+of a steamer moving along above the forest which lined the river's
+bank. Soon the hull of the vessel came into view; and with a rattle of
+hawse-chains, her anchors were let fall, and she swung to beneath the
+protecting guns of the fort. It was clear that she was going to wait
+there until a dark or foggy night gave her a good chance to slip past
+the gunboat that watched the river's mouth as a cat watches the mouth
+of a mouse-hole. With their marine glasses the officers on the gunboat
+could see the decks of the "Young Republic" piled high with brown
+bales of cotton, worth immense sums of money. They thought of the huge
+value of the prize, and the grand distribution of prize-money, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page783" name="page783"></a>(p. 783)</span> determined to use every effort to make a capture. Strategy
+was determined upon, and it was decided to give the blockade-runner
+the chance to get out of the river that she was awaiting. Accordingly
+the gunboat steamed away up the coast a few miles, leaving the mouth
+of the river clear. When hidden by a projecting headland, she stopped
+and waited for the blockade-runner to come out. The stokers were kept
+hard at work making the great fires roar, until the steam-gauge showed
+the highest pressure the boilers could bear. The sailors got out
+additional sails, clewed up cordage and rigging, and put the ship in
+order for a fast run. When enough time had elapsed, she steamed out to
+see if the "Young Republic" had taken the bait. Officers and crew
+crowded forward to catch the first sight around the headland. The
+great man-of-war sped through the water. The headland was rounded, and
+a cheer went up from the crowd of jackies; for there, in the offing,
+was the blockade-runner, gliding through the water like a dolphin, and
+steaming for dear life to Nassau. Then the chase began in earnest. The
+"Young Republic" was one of those long, sharp steamers built on the
+Clyde expressly for running the blockade. Her crew knew that a long
+holiday in port, with plenty of money, would follow a successful
+cruise; and they worked untiringly to keep up the fires, and set every
+sail so that it would draw. On the cruiser the jackies saw visions of
+a prize worth a million and a half of dollars; and the thought of so
+much prize-money to spend, or to send home, spurred them on. For
+several hours the chase seemed likely to be a long, stern one; but
+then the freshening wind filled the sails of the gunboat, and she
+began to overhaul the fugitive. When within a mile or two, she began
+firing great shells with her pivot-gun. Then the flying
+blockade-runner began to show signs of fear; and with a good glass the
+crew could be seen throwing over bale after bale of the precious
+cotton, to lighten the vessel. In the last thirty miles of the chase
+the sea was fairly covered with cotton-bales. More than three hundred
+were passed floating in the water; and the jackies gnashed their
+teeth, and growled gruffly, at the sight of so much wealth slipping
+through their fingers. On the high paddle-wheel box of the
+blockade-runner, the captain could be seen coolly directing his crew,
+and now and again turning to take a look through his glass at the
+pursuer. As the chase continued, the certainty of capture became more
+and more evident. Then the fugitives began throwing overboard or
+destroying every thing of value: furniture, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page784" name="page784"></a>(p. 784)</span> silver-ware,
+chronometers, the fittings of the cabin, every thing that could
+benefit their captors, the chagrined blockade-runners destroyed. The
+officers of the gunboat saw that if they wished to gain any thing by
+their capture, they must make haste. At the risk of an explosion, more
+steam was crowded on; and the gunboat was soon alongside the "Young
+Republic," and in a position to give her an enormous broadside. The
+blockade-runner saw that he was caught and must submit. For lack of a
+white flag, a pillow-case was run up to the masthead, and the beating
+of the great wheels stopped. The davits amidships of the "Grand Gulf"
+are swung out, and a boat's crew, with a lieutenant and dapper
+midshipman, climb in. A quick order, "Let fall there," and the boat
+drops into the water, and is headed for the prize. Another moment, and
+the stars and stripes supplant the pillow-case waving from the
+masthead of the "Young Republic." An officer who went into the
+boiler-room found that the captured crew had planned to blow up the
+vessel by tying down the safety-valve, so that an enormous pressure of
+steam strained the boilers almost to bursting. A quick blow of a
+hatchet, and that danger was done away with. Then, with a prize-crew
+on board, the "Young Republic" started on her voyage to New York;
+while the "Grand Gulf" returned to Wilmington to hunt for fresh game.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo784" name="illo784"></a>
+<img src="images/784_pursuing_a_blockade_runner.jpg" width="400" height="562" alt="" title="">
+<p>Pursuing a Blockade-Runner.</p></div>
+
+<p>A curious capture was that of the British schooner "Francis," which
+was running between Nassau and the coast of Florida. On her last trip
+she was nearing the coast, when she fell in with a fishing-smack, and
+was warned that a Federal gunboat was not far away. Still she kept on
+her course until sundown, when the breeze went down, and she lay
+becalmed. The gunboat had been steaming into inlets and lagoons all
+day, and had not sighted the schooner. When night came on, she steamed
+out into the open sea, within a quarter of a mile of the
+blockade-runner, and, putting out all lights, lay to for the night.
+Those on the schooner could see the gunboat, but the lookout on the
+cruiser did not see the blockade-runner. Soon a heavy fog came up, and
+entirely hid the vessels from each other. The blockade-runners could
+only hope that a breeze might spring up, and enable them to escape.
+But now a curious thing occurred. It almost seems as if two vessels on
+the ocean exercise a magnetic attraction for each other so often do
+collisions occur where there seems room for all the navies of the
+world to pass in review. So it was this night. The anxious <span class="pagenum"><a id="page787" name="page787"></a>(p. 787)</span>
+men on the schooner soon found that the two vessels were drifting
+together, and they were absolutely powerless to prevent it. At
+midnight, though they could see nothing, they could hear the men on
+the gunboat talking. Two hours after, the schooner nestled gently up
+by the side of the gunboat; and a slight jar gave its crew their first
+intimation that a prize was there, simply waiting to be taken. All
+they had to do was to climb over the railing. This was promptly done,
+and the disgusted blockade-runners were sent below as prisoners. Half
+an hour later came a breeze that would have carried them safely to
+port.</p>
+
+<p>The gray sea-fogs played many scurvy tricks with the
+blockading-fleets, often letting the runners in right under the
+muzzles of the great guns. It was far easier to spy out a vessel in
+the darkest night than in the thick gray fog that enveloped all
+objects like a blanket. One of the strangest of all the pranks played
+by the fog occurred in December, 1863, in Charleston Harbor. A wary
+blockade-runner was creeping out of the harbor, within easy range of
+the great guns of the fleet, and all hands were trembling, lest at any
+minute should come the flash of a gun, and shriek of a shell, bearing
+a peremptory command to heave to. Suddenly the flash came, and was
+followed by the bang! bang! of great guns from all quarters of the
+fleet. But the fire seemed pointed in another direction; and the
+runner made the best of her way out to sea, thinking that some less
+fortunate vessel, trying to come in on the other side of the fleet,
+had been captured or blown out of the water. It turned out that a
+small fog-bank had taken the form of a gray steamer moving swiftly
+over the water, and had been fiercely cannonaded by the whole Federal
+fleet. This occurrence gave the Confederates an idea; and they began
+sending out dummies to engage the fleet, while the true
+blockade-runners would slip out unobserved in the excitement. One
+night as the tide was running out with great force, an old hulk was
+cut adrift from a wharf, and drifted down rapidly upon the Federal
+fleet. It was just after the exploits of the "Merrimac" had made
+Confederate rams famous, and the naval officers were a little nervous.
+The hulk drifted quite into the midst of the fleet before being
+observed; and when she was hailed she bore down on the largest of the
+men-of-war as though she were a powerful ram, steered by a commander
+of desperate bravery. The great gunboat's deck rang with the bo's'n's
+whistle, as the crew were piped to repel boarders, and to their
+quarters at the guns. A <span class="pagenum"><a id="page788" name="page788"></a>(p. 788)</span> fierce fire was poured on the
+hostile craft, that came on sullenly, as if scorning to make reply.
+One by one the other vessels of the fleet drew near, and concentrated
+their fire on the wretched lumber schooner. It was too much for her;
+and she gave up the unequal combat, and sank to the bottom. For days
+after, the gallant tars of the squadron blockading Charleston rejoiced
+in the destruction of a "Rebel ram;" but none of them knew, that,
+while they were engaged in the desperate contest, two great
+blockade-runners, heavily laden with cotton, had slipped out of the
+harbor, and were well under way for Nassau.</p>
+
+<p>Stories of adventure and of desperate pluck and dash abound in the
+records of the blockade. Both among the officers of the
+blockading-fleets, and the commanders of the runners, were found great
+courage and fine seamanship. One fact is particularly noticeable to
+the student of the blockade: an English captain running the blockade
+would never dare the dangers that a Confederate would brave without a
+tremor. A Confederate captain would rush his ship through the hostile
+fleet, and stick to her until she sunk; while an Englishman would run
+his ship ashore, and take to the woods. The cases of the "Hattie,"
+commanded by H. S. Lebby, a Confederate, and the "Princess Royal," a
+fine, staunch, iron steamer, with an English commander and crew, are
+typical. The "Hattie" was the last runner to enter or leave Charleston
+Harbor. She was a small, swift steamer; but she made more successful
+trips than any other runner. Men living in Charleston to-day, who were
+interested in the work of this little vessel during the war, say that
+her cargoes were worth at least fifty millions of dollars. She had
+numerous narrow escapes, but was never captured. Her reputation was
+such that the Confederate authorities selected her as the vessel to
+bring in army supplies and ammunition, and at least three battles were
+fought with ammunition brought in her hold. Her last entrance to
+Charleston was one night in February, 1865. Eighteen Federal vessels
+lay anchored off the harbor, and for a runner to venture in seemed
+madness. But the captain of the "Hattie" was used to taking desperate
+chances, and he proposed to enter that harbor. The ship had been
+freshly painted a blue-white, and as she drifted along the water, with
+all lights out, looked like a bank of mist. She was within two hundred
+yards of the outer row of blockaders before her presence was detected.
+Suddenly fire was opened on her from the nearest gunboat, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page789" name="page789"></a>(p. 789)</span> in an instant the air was full of rockets announcing her
+presence. The little vessel had no means of retaliation: all there was
+for her to do was to dash through the fire and make for the city.
+Steam was crowded on; and she flew up the channel, running the
+gauntlet of the fleet, and escaping almost untouched. Then came the
+real peril. Just below Fort Sumter were two barges anchored in the
+channel, and filled with armed men. Past these she dashed, her great
+speed saving her from boarding; but she received the fire of both
+boats, which wounded several of her crew, and cut off the fingers of
+the pilot's hand resting on the wheel. This danger past, there was one
+more to be met. A large monitor lay anchored up the harbor, and the
+"Hattie" was running so close to her that the commands of the officers
+in the turret could be clearly heard. One after the other the two
+great guns were fired, both shots missing; and the "Hattie," safely
+past the gauntlet, sailed up to the dock in triumph. But by that time
+it was clear that the last days of the war were near at hand, and
+accordingly the work of unloading and reloading the vessel for her
+outward trip was pressed with the greatest vigor. All the time she lay
+at her dock, Charleston was being vigorously bombarded by the Federal
+men-of-war lying outside the harbor. The bay fairly swarmed with
+blockading cruisers; yet a week later the little steamer slipped out
+through a fleet of twenty-six cruisers without being hailed, and
+carried her cotton safely to market. When the news of Lee's surrender
+was received, she was lying safe at her dock in Nassau.</p>
+
+<p>The "Princess Royal," to which we have alluded, was a large iron screw
+steamer, freighted with drugs, army supplies, guns, and two engines
+and boilers for two iron-clads in Charleston Harbor,&mdash;a most valuable
+and important cargo for the Confederates. She made the run from Nassau
+to a point near the coast without adventure, and in the early gray of
+the morning was stealing up the coast towards the harbor, when a
+blockader caught sight of her, and started in pursuit. The later began
+firing when a mile and a half away; and, though there was hardly a
+chance of the shots taking effect, the cannonade gave the captain of
+the runner the cold shakes. His boat was one of the fastest on the
+ocean, and he needed only to put on steam to escape all the blockaders
+on the coast. But he was a thorough paced coward; and, thinking only
+of his own safety, he headed the craft for the beach, and with his
+crew fled into the woods. The valuable ship and her cargo fell into
+the hands of the Federals.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page790" name="page790"></a>(p. 790)</span> Sometimes runners were captured through apparently the most
+trivial accidents. One ship, heavily laden with army supplies, and
+carrying a large number of passengers, was running through the
+blockading-fleet, and seemed sure of escape. All lights were out, the
+passengers were in the cabin, not a word was to be heard on deck, even
+the commands of the officers being delivered in whispers. Suddenly a
+prolonged cock-crow rent the air, and, with the silence of every thing
+surrounding, sounded like a clarion peal from a trumpet. The
+deck-hands rushed for a box of poultry on the deck, and dragged out
+bird after bird, wringing their necks. The true offender was almost
+the last to be caught, and avenged the deaths of his brothers by
+crowing vigorously all the time. The noise was enough to alarm the
+blockaders; and in a moment the hail, "Surrender, or we'll blow you
+out of water!" brought the unlucky runner to a standstill,&mdash;a
+prisoner. The "Southern Cross" narrowly escaped capture on account of
+the stupidity of an Irish deck-hand, whose craving for tobacco proved
+too strong for his discretion. The ship was steaming slyly by two
+cruisers, and in the darkness would have escaped unseen, when the
+deck-hand, who had been without a smoke as long as he could stand it,
+lit a match and puffed away at his pipe. The tiny flame was enough for
+the cruisers, and they began a spirited cannonade. The "Southern
+Cross" ran for her life. The shooting was guess-work, but the gunners
+on the cruisers showed all the proverbial Yankee skill at guessing.
+The first ball carried away the roof of the pilot-house, and the
+second ripped away the railing along the deck for thirty feet. But the
+captain was plucky, and made a run for it. He was forced to pass
+within a hundred feet of one of the cruisers; and as he saw the
+muzzles of the great guns bearing on his ship, he heard the command,
+"Heave to, or I'll sink you." But he took his chances, and escaped
+with only the damage caused by a solid shot crashing through the hull.</p>
+
+<p>One of the strangest experiences of all was that of the captain of a
+blockade-runner putting in to Wilmington one bitter cold night, when
+the snow was blowing in clouds, and the fingers of the men at the
+wheel and the sailors on watch were frostbitten. The runner had
+reached the harbor safely; but there in channel lay a blockader in
+such a position that any ship coming in must pass within a hundred
+feet of her. The Confederate had a light-draught vessel, and tried to
+squeeze through. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page791" name="page791"></a>(p. 791)</span> When he passed the gunboat, only twelve
+feet of space separated the two vessels; and he saw a lookout, with
+his arms on the rail, looking right at the passing vessel. The
+Confederate expected an immediate alarm, but it did not come.
+Wondering at the cause, but happy in his luck, he sped on, and gained
+the harbor safely. Some days after, he learned that the lookout was a
+dead man, frozen at his post of duty.</p>
+
+<p>It will readily be understood that the inducements offered to
+blockade-runners must have been immense to persuade men to run such
+risks. The officers and sailors made money easily, and spent it
+royally when they reached Nassau. "I never expect to see such flush
+times again in my life," said a blockade-running captain, speaking of
+Nassau. "Money was as plentiful as dirt. I have seen a man toss up a
+twenty-dollar gold piece on "heads or tails," and it would be followed
+by a score of the yellow boys in five seconds. There were times when
+the bank-vaults could not hold all the gold, and the coins were dumped
+down by the bushel, and guarded by soldiers. Men wagered, gambled,
+drank, and seemed crazy to get rid of their money. I once saw two
+captains bet five hundred dollars each on the length of a certain
+porch. Again I saw a wager of eight hundred dollars a side as to how
+many would be at the dinner-table of a certain hotel. The Confederates
+were paying the English big prices for goods, but multiplying the
+figures by five, seven, and ten as soon as the goods were landed in
+Charleston. Ten dollars invested in quinine in Nassau would bring from
+four hundred to six hundred dollars in Charleston. A pair of
+four-dollar boots would bring from fourteen to sixteen dollars; a
+two-dollar hat would bring eight dollars, and so on through all the
+list of goods brought in. Every successful captain might have made a
+fortune in a year; but it is not believed that five out of the whole
+number had a thousand dollars on hand when the war closed. It was come
+easy, go easy."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_791.jpg" width="300" height="100" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page792" name="page792"></a>(p. 792)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_694.jpg" width="600" height="245" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER VIII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume center">DUPONT'S EXPEDITION TO HILTON HEAD AND PORT ROYAL. &mdash; THE FIERY CIRCLE.</p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+great joint naval and military expedition, which in August, 1861,
+had reduced the forts at Hatteras Inlet, and, continuing its progress,
+had, by successive victories, brought Roanoke Island, Newbern,
+Elizabeth City, and the Sounds of Pamlico and Albemarle under the sway
+of the Federal Government, was but the first of a series of
+expeditions intended to drive the Confederates from the Atlantic
+seaboard, and secure for the United States vessels safe harbors and
+coaling stations in the bays and inlets along the South Atlantic
+coast. The proper maintenance of the blockade made it necessary that
+the seaboard should be in the hands of the Federals. For a blockader
+off Charleston or Wilmington to be forced to return to Hampton Roads
+to coal or to make repairs, would entail the loss of weeks, perhaps
+months, of valuable time. Besides, the sounds and inlets with which
+that irregular coast is honeycombed were of great use to the
+Confederates, who could construct at their leisure great rams like the
+"Merrimac" or "Albemarle," and hurl them against the fleet with the
+hope of breaking the blockade. Such opportunities were eagerly seized
+by the Confederates whenever offered; and in many cases the defeating
+of their purposes seems almost providential, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page793" name="page793"></a>(p. 793)</span> so great was
+the seeming disparity between the attacking ram and the forces which
+finally repulsed it.</p>
+
+<p>In reviewing the part of the navy in the civil war, we find that it
+acted like a great iron band, ever drawing closer and closer about the
+Confederacy, forcing the Southern armies from one point after another,
+until at last the whole coast was in the hands of the Unionists, and
+the Confederates were driven into the interior, there to be dealt with
+by the Northern armies. One is reminded of that iron chamber in Poe's
+story, which day by day grows smaller and smaller, until the wretched
+prisoner within is forced into the pit yawning in the centre. So,
+during the war, the Confederates lost Hatteras Inlet, Roanoke Island,
+Hilton Head, Fernandina, Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston
+comparatively early in the struggle. Wilmington, behind the almost
+impregnable bastions of Fort Fisher, and Charleston, surrounded by a
+cordon of defensive forts, remained the last strongholds of the
+Confederacy on the Atlantic coast, until the final downfall of the
+great uprising.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the capture of the Hatteras Forts, the navy department
+saw the need of a harbor and base of naval operations farther south.
+Charleston, with its powerful defences, was deemed impregnable at that
+time; and elaborate descriptions of the Southern coast were prepared,
+setting forth the advantages and disadvantages of available Southern
+ports. Fernandina, Brunswick, Port Royal, and Bull's Bay, were duly
+considered; and, while the Navy Department was debating which point to
+seize, Admiral Dupont was diligently fitting out an expedition to be
+in readiness to attack any that should be determined upon. Up to the
+last moment it was thought that Fernandina would be selected. But
+finally, with the advice of Gen. Sherman, it was determined to make
+the attempt to wrest Port Royal from the Confederates.</p>
+
+<p>Port Royal is the general name given to a broad body of water formed
+by the confluence of the Broad and Beaufort Rivers, and opening into
+the Atlantic Ocean on the South Carolina coast, about midway between
+Charleston and Savannah. No more beautiful region is to be found in
+the world. Far enough south to escape the rigors of the northern
+winters, and far enough north to be free from the enervating heat of
+the tropics; honeycombed by broad, salt-water lagoons, giving moisture
+and mildness to the air,&mdash;the country about Port Royal is like a great
+garden; and even <span class="pagenum"><a id="page794" name="page794"></a>(p. 794)</span> to-day, ravaged though it was by the storms
+of war, it shows many traces of its former beauty. It is in this
+region that are found the famous Sea Islands, on which grows cotton so
+much more fleecy and fine of fibre than the product of the interior,
+that it is known the world over as Sea Island cotton, and sells at the
+highest price in the markets of England. In '61 the islands bore the
+great hospitable manor-houses of the Southern planters; broad of rooms
+and wide of piazzas, and always open for the entertainment of
+travellers, were they friends or strangers. The planters living there
+were among the wealthiest in the South, at a time when all planters
+were wealthy. They numbered their slaves by thousands. Standing on the
+broad piazza of one of these Southern homes, one could see the rows of
+rough huts that made up the negro quarters, and hear faintly the sound
+of the banjo and rude negro melodies, mingling with the music of piano
+or harp within the parlor of the mansion-house. Refined by education
+and travel, the planters of the region about Port Royal made up a
+courtly society, until war burst upon them, and reduced their estates
+to wildernesses, and themselves to beggary.</p>
+
+<p>At the head of the Beaufort River stood the little town of Beaufort.
+Before the war this was a thriving place; its magnificent harbor made
+it easily accessible for the largest merchant-ships, and the richly
+productive country round about furnished heavy cargoes of the fleecy
+staple that gave to the South the name of the "cotton kingdom." On
+Saturdays and holidays the broad streets of Beaufort would be crowded
+with carriages and horsemen from the neighboring plantations. The
+planters, in broad-brimmed hats and suits of snowy linen, thronged the
+broad piazzas of the hotel, or grouped together in the shade of the
+spreading trees that lined the streets, discussing the cotton crops
+and prices. Now all is changed. Beaufort is a sleepy little village,
+with no sign of trade, domestic or foreign; and the country round
+about, once dotted with handsome plantation homes, now seems a very
+wilderness, save where Northerners have erected for themselves winter
+homes on the Sea Islands.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo794" name="illo794"></a>
+<img src="images/794_fortress_monroe.jpg" width="400" height="323" alt="" title="">
+<p>Fortress Monroe.</p></div>
+
+<p>It was late in October, 1861, when the final determination to attack
+the forts at Port Royal was reached. For weeks before, the squadron
+lying at Hampton Roads had been making preparations for a great naval
+movement, and all the newspapers of the North were filled with wise
+speculations as to its objective point. Reporters, correspondents, and
+editors were alike baffled in their efforts to secure accurate
+information; and even the commanders of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page795" name="page795"></a>(p. 795)</span> the men-of-war were
+ignorant of their destination. But it seems that the Confederates were
+warned by some of their sympathizers in Washington, and the
+destination of the fleet was better known south of Mason and Dixon's
+line than in the North. On Tuesday, Oct. 29, the squadron was all
+ready for the voyage. It was by far the most powerful fleet ever
+gathered under the flag of the United States. Twenty-five vessels
+laden with coal had sailed the day before. On the placid waters of the
+bay, under the frowning walls of Fortress Monroe, floated fifty
+men-of-war and transports. The day was clear, and the breeze brisk,
+and the hearts of the jolly jack-tars bounded within them as they
+thought of escaping from the long inactivity of a season in port.
+Long-boats bearing despatches rowed from ship to ship; hucksters from
+the shore came off in dories, dingies, and all variety of queer craft,
+to drive a farewell bargain with the sailors. The transport vessels
+were crowded with soldiers in the gay uniforms of militia commands.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page796" name="page796"></a>(p. 796)</span> (It was early in the war then, and they had not learned that
+a man could fight as well in dingy rags.) The "Wabash" was flagship,
+and aboard her was Admiral DuPont. When she made the signal for
+getting under way, all was bustle and animation on all the other
+vessels of the fleet, and on all sides could be heard the noise of
+preparation for the start. The boatswains piped away cheerily; and a
+steady tramp, tramp, from the deck of each ship, and the clicking of
+the capstan catches, told that the anchors were coming up. Soon from
+the black funnels of the steamers clouds of smoke began to pour, and
+in the rigging of the sail frigates were crowds of nimble sailors. The
+commands "All ready! Let fall!" rang sharply over the water from the
+ships. Broad sheets of snowy canvas appeared where before were but
+ropes and spars, and in a moment the whole squadron was under way. The
+steamers led off briskly, with much churning of the water by their
+paddle-wheels and "brazen-fins;" after them followed the magnificent
+sailing frigates, with sail set,&mdash;lofty masses of canvas towering
+toward the skies, and moving with stately grace. At the very head of
+all went the flagship, the grand old "Wabash," with the flag of
+Admiral DuPont floating from the fore. None of the commanders knew
+whither they were bound. All were to follow the flagship, and in event
+of separation to refer to sealed orders with which each was provided.
+For the first day all went well. The promise of fair weather given by
+the beautiful day of starting seemed about to be fulfilled. But on the
+second night, as they came near the terrible region of Cape Hatteras,
+the wind began to freshen, and continued increasing in fierceness
+until it fairly blew a gale. The night was pitchy dark, and the crews
+on the vessels could hardly see the craft by which they were
+surrounded. Great as was the danger of being cast on the treacherous
+shoals of Hatteras, the peril of instant destruction by collision was
+even more imminent. Fifty vessels, heavily freighted with human lives,
+were pitching and tossing within a few rods of each other, and within
+a few miles of a lee shore. It seemed that the destruction of a large
+number of the vessels was unavoidable; and the sailors may be
+pardoned, if, remembering the mishaps of the Burnside expedition, they
+conceived Hatteras to be tenanted by an evil spirit, determined to
+prevent the invasion of Confederate territory. To add to the danger,
+the Confederates had extinguished the warning light at the Cape, and
+the navigators of the fleet had nothing to guide them in their course.
+When morning came, the fleet was pretty well scattered, although
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page797" name="page797"></a>(p. 797)</span> still many vessels were near enough together to be in no
+small danger. The transport "Winfield Scott," which carried four
+hundred and fifty soldiers, besides a large crew, was observed to be
+rolling heavily, and flying signals of distress. From the decks of the
+"Bienville," the nearest steamer, the officers with their glasses
+could see the crew of the distressed vessel working like beavers,
+throwing overboard every thing of weight to lighten the ship.
+Notwithstanding all their efforts, she was clearly water-logged, and
+sunk so low in the water that wave after wave broke over her decks,
+every now and then sweeping a man away to sure death in the raging
+sea. It seemed folly to attempt to launch lifeboats in such a furious
+sea, but the captain of the "Bienville" determined to make the attempt
+to save the men on the doomed "Winfield Scott." The crew was piped to
+quarters, and the captain asked for volunteers to go to the rescue.
+Man after man stepped forward, until enough had been secured to man
+three boats with ten men each. Carefully the boats were dropped into
+the sea, and man after man swung into them; then they put off and
+started for the sinking ship. But while these preparations were being
+made, the two ships had been drifting closer and closer together. Soon
+it was seen that a collision was inevitable. Fortunately the boats
+were broadside on, so that the cutting effect of a blow from the bow
+was avoided. They were presently so near each other that the men began
+jumping from the deck of the "Winfield Scot" upon that of the
+"Bienville." The leap, though a perilous one, was made in safety by
+over thirty men. Suddenly a great wave lifted the ships up and dashed
+them together. Three poor wretches, just about to jump, were caught
+between the vessels and crushed to death. A few sharp cries of agony,
+and all was over; and the vessels, drifting apart, let their bodies,
+crushed beyond recognition, fall into the water. By this time the
+small boats, with their determined crews on board, had succeeded in
+getting around to the lee side of the sinking ship, and the work of
+getting the soldiers and sailors over the side was begun. By the most
+strenuous efforts all were saved, and the "Bienville" steamed away,
+leaving the "Winfield Scott" to her fate.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo798" name="illo798"></a>
+<img src="images/798_du_ponts_expedition_off_cap_hatteras.jpg" width="600" height="386" alt="" title="">
+<p>Du Pont's Expedition off Cape Hatteras.</p></div>
+
+<p>Night came on, with the gale blowing with still greater fury. The wind
+shrieked through the cordage, and now and again a great wave would
+sweep across the decks of the crowded vessels, making the men hang on
+to the rigging for dear life. Soon another ship began to go to pieces.
+The "Governor," which had been steaming along near the "Wabash"
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page799" name="page799"></a>(p. 799)</span> since the time of leaving Hampton Roads, had become
+separated from her consort during the gale of the first day. On the
+second night, those aboard her perceived that she was showing signs of
+weakness, and was likely to go down with all on board unless aid could
+be obtained. Not a sail, however, was in sight; and every wave seemed
+about to overwhelm or dash to pieces the frail craft. She labored
+heavily in the furious sea. By and by the strain on her timbers was
+such that the port hog-brace broke in two places, weakening the vessel
+so that her fate was apparent to all. Soldiers and sailors worked away
+with a frantic energy born by the fear of death, and succeeded in
+bracing up the timbers, so as to avoid, for a time, the breaking-up.
+Soon after, a heavy roll of the vessel broke the smokestack, and it
+was pitched overboard. Luckily it broke some three feet above the
+deck, so that the fires could still be kept up. Then the steam-pipe
+burst; and with this accident the fate of all on board seemed sealed,
+for they no longer could keep the vessel's head to the waves, and the
+great seas came rolling over her, sweeping her decks of every thing
+movable. They began sending up rockets, and, after some time of
+anxious waiting, saw an answering signal; so that, through the
+remainder of that fearful night, the men on the doomed ship felt that,
+whatever might occur, they had friends at hand. The night was spent in
+toil at the pumps; and in the morning a faint cheer went up as two
+vessels were seen, ready to lend assistance. A signal of distress,
+quickly hoisted, was answered from the nearer, which proved to be the
+"Isaac P. Smith." The "Smith" sent off a boat and made fast a hawser
+to the wreck, and took her in tow; but in a few minutes the hawser
+parted. It became clear that the men must be taken off the sinking
+ship; but how to do it, was the question. By this time a second ship,
+the "Young Rover," had arrived to assist in the rescue. A second cable
+was put aboard; but this, too, parted. Hope seemed lost, when the
+lookout reported a third ship, the frigate "Sabine," coming to the
+rescue. The "Sabine" came to anchor, and sent a hawser aboard the
+sinking "Governor." Then the hawser was gradually taken in until the
+two ships lay close together, stern to stern. Spars were rigged over
+the stern of the frigate, and some thirty men swung over the seething
+waters to safety. Then the two vessels came together with a crash, and
+about forty men sprang from the sinking ship to the deck of the
+frigate. But the damage done by the collision was so great that it was
+deemed prudent to slack up the hawser and let the "Governor" drop
+astern again. Those <span class="pagenum"><a id="page800" name="page800"></a>(p. 800)</span> on board busied themselves throwing
+overboard all things movable, with the intention of lightening the
+vessel. After some hours of suspense, the work of getting the men off
+the sinking craft was recommenced, and boats were sent to their
+assistance. The sea was running too high for them to approach close to
+the steamer's guards, so they lay off some feet, and the soldiers
+jumped into them. It was a perilous leap, with the boats pitching one
+way, and the ship another, and a raging sea of tossing waters between;
+but it was made bravely by every man, and but seven or eight were
+lost. Soon after the last man left the "Governor," she lurched to one
+side and sank, carrying with her the arms and ammunition of the troops
+she was transporting.</p>
+
+<p>It was on Monday morning, Nov. 4, that the flagship "Wabash" cast
+anchor off Port Royal. In the offing were a few more sail headed for
+the same point, and during the day some twenty-five vessels of the
+scattered squadron came up. For the next day ships were constantly
+arriving, and by Tuesday night the whole squadron lay safely anchored
+in the broad harbor.</p>
+
+<p>The defences which the Confederates had erected upon Hilton Head, a
+lofty bluff overlooking the harbor, were powerfully designed
+earthworks, poorly armed and manned. The forts were two in number,
+placed on a commanding elevation, and might have been made impregnable
+had the Confederates taken advantage of the warning sent them by their
+spies in Washington. Fort Walker had fourteen guns which could bear on
+an attacking fleet, and Fort Beauregard had twenty. When the fight
+began, the gunners found that most of their ammunition was either too
+large or too small for the guns. To support the forts in their fight,
+was a wretched little fleet of tugs and schooners, mounting a gun or
+two each, but absolutely powerless before the smallest of Du Pont's
+ships-of-war. Indeed, when the battle began, the Union navy gave its
+undivided attention to the forts, and did not even give battle to
+Tatnall's mosquito fleet.</p>
+
+<p>Thursday morning dawned bright and mild as a morning in June. The
+shores of the beautiful bay were covered with woods, out of which rung
+the clear notes of Southern song-birds. The scene from the ships was
+one of the most charming imaginable. The placid bay, the luxuriant
+shores, the ocean showing across the low-lying ridge of white sand,
+the forts frowning from the steep headland, the fleet of majestic
+frigates mustered for the attack, and in the distance the flotilla of
+defenceless <span class="pagenum"><a id="page801" name="page801"></a>(p. 801)</span> transports, safely out of range, their decks and
+rigging crowded with fifteen thousand men&mdash;all this presented a
+panorama of life and beauty which few eyes have ever beheld.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo801" name="illo801"></a>
+<img src="images/801_the_opening_gun.jpg" width="500" height="424" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Opening Gun.</p></div>
+
+<p>Du Pont, in the majestic "Wabash," moved down the bay, and, as he came
+in range of Fort Walker, sent a shell shrieking from a bow-gun, as
+signal that the action was begun. The old frigate moved on slowly,
+making play with the bow-guns until abreast of the fort, when with a
+crash she let fly her whole broadside. On she went for a few yards,
+then turning in a grand circle came back, giving the other broadside
+to the forts as she passed. The other ships fell in behind; and round
+and round before the forts the fiery circle revolved, spitting out
+fire and ponderous iron bolts, and making the peaceful shores of the
+bay tremble with the deep reverberations of the cannon.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page802" name="page802"></a>(p. 802)</span> The Confederates, for their part, went into the action with
+the utmost coolness. They had been assured that their position was
+impregnable, and had been cautioned to be deliberate and determined in
+their defence. For a time their artillery service was admirable. But
+soon they found certain discouraging features about the affair. Their
+guns were too light to have any effect on the fleet, and their powder
+was of such bad quality that many of their shots fell short. Two great
+guns dismounted themselves, seriously injuring the men who were
+handling them, and the very first broadside from the fleet dismounted
+several more. Then it was found that the shells for the great Parrott
+guns were too large, and that the shells from other cannon failed to
+explode, owing to defective fuses. Soon the fleet found a point of
+fire from which it could enfilade the forts, and thereafter a perfect
+hail of shell and grape-shot fell in the trenches. One shell disabled
+eleven men. A solid shot struck a gun thought to be perfectly
+protected, and hurled it, with the men serving it, over the parapet.
+Every twenty minutes a gun was dismounted in Fort Walker, and at the
+end of the conflict Fort Beauregard had but nine serviceable guns.</p>
+
+<p>For about four hours there was no cessation of fire on the part of the
+fleet. Round and round the circle the vessels steamed, giving one fort
+a broadside on the way up, and the other a broadside on the way down.
+The bombs rose from them in a majestic sweep through the air, and
+plunged into the fort, exploding with a roar equal to that of a
+cannon. One ship was commanded by Capt. Drayton, who rained shot and
+shell mercilessly against the forts, although one of them was in
+command of his own brother.</p>
+
+<p>At half-past one Fort Walker was found untenable, and the work of
+abandoning it was begun. The evacuation was completed in great haste,
+many valuables were left behind, and not even the guns were spiked.
+Still the entire garrison escaped to mainland, although the Federals
+had three thousand troops who might have made them all prisoners. Not
+long thereafter, Fort Beauregard also yielded to fate, and the day was
+won by the Federals.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo804" name="illo804"></a>
+<img src="images/804_the_fight_at_hilton_head.jpg" width="400" height="548" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Fight at Hilton Head.</p></div>
+
+<p>The landing of the troops was at once begun. Thirty large boats bore a
+Connecticut regiment of one thousand men to the beach. Their bright,
+fresh uniforms, their muskets glittering in the sun, and their
+regular, swaying stride as they marched up the sandy beach to the
+martial <span class="pagenum"><a id="page805" name="page805"></a>(p. 805)</span> strains of the regimental band, made a striking
+picture. They clambered over the ramparts, and in a few moments the
+stars and stripes floated from the staff which had but lately upheld
+the flag of the young Confederacy. Within the forts, all was carnage
+and confusion: dismounted cannon, surrounded by the dead bodies of the
+gunners, heaps of shells, and fragments of woodwork, were piled about
+the parade-ground and in the trenches. The story of the terrific
+bombardment was graphically told by those horrible evidences of death
+and destruction. And well might the scene be a horrible one. For over
+five hours, fifty shot a minute had been discharged at the forts, and
+most of them did execution. When one recollects that each shot of the
+great guns cost eight dollars, we get a vivid idea of the money spent
+in war.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately upon the capture of Hilton Head, the victors began making
+it a great naval and military station. Great storehouses were built,
+wharves constructed, and vast intrenchments thrown up for the defence
+of the spot. The slaves, escaping from the neighboring plantations,
+came in droves, begging to be allowed to work; but they received but a
+cold welcome, for they were still looked upon as property, and the
+officers did not wish to be charged with enticing them away from their
+masters.</p>
+
+<p>The news of the occupation of Hilton Head by the Northern armies
+caused the greatest consternation in the cities of Charleston and
+Savannah, From both places people fled into the interior, expecting an
+immediate advance of the Union troops. But the armies were set to
+digging, not to marching, and soon the affrighted citizens returned to
+their homes. Port Royal was held by the Northern forces until the end
+of the war, and proved of great value for the proper maintenance of
+the blockade. Its greatest disadvantage was its unhealthiness. Of
+fifteen thousand men landed there in November, five thousand were on
+the sick-list within a month.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_805.jpg" width="100" height="72" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page806" name="page806"></a>(p. 806)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_709.jpg" width="600" height="254" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER IX.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE FIRST IRON-CLAD VESSELS IN HISTORY. &mdash; THE "MERRIMAC" SINKS THE
+"CUMBERLAND," AND DESTROYS THE "CONGRESS." &mdash; DUEL BETWEEN THE "MONITOR"
+AND "MERRIMAC."</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_i.jpg" width="50" height="59" alt="I" title=""></span>t
+will be remembered that when the Union forces, alarmed by the
+threatening attitude of the inhabitants of Norfolk and the vicinity,
+fled from the Norfolk navy-yard, leaving every thing there in flames,
+they left behind them a fine United States frigate, "Merrimac," a ship
+of thirty-five hundred tons, carrying forty guns. The departing
+Federals did their work of destruction fairly well; for the great ship
+was burnt to the upper edge of her copper sheathing, and sank to the
+bottom of the river. Three or four months after the occupation of the
+Norfolk navy-yard by the Confederates, Lieut. George M. Brooke, an
+ex-officer of the United States navy, who had resigned that he might
+follow the fortunes of his State, while looking at the hulk lying in
+the river-channel, was suddenly inspired with the thought that she
+might be raised and converted into a formidable vessel-of-war. He
+carefully matured his plans, and after due consideration proposed to
+the Confederate secretary of the navy, that the "Merrimac" be raised
+and converted into an iron-clad. His plans were approved, and orders
+were given that they should be carried out. The "Merrimac," as
+originally built, was one of the grand old types of war-vessels. Her
+solid oak sides rose high above the water, and were pierced by a long
+row of gaping portholes. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page807" name="page807"></a>(p. 807)</span> Her masts towered high in the air;
+and when her great sails were set, her hull seemed crushed beneath so
+vast an expanse of canvas. When she had been remodelled, her entire
+appearance was changed. She had no longer the appearance of a ship,
+but seemed like a house afloat; and tradition says that the old salt
+on the "Cumberland," who first sighted her, reported gravely to the
+officer of the deck, "Quaker meetin'-house floating down the bay,
+sir."</p>
+
+<p>When the hulk had been raised and placed in the dry-dock, the first
+thing done was to cut it down to the level of the berth-deck; that is,
+to the level of the deck below the gun-deck in the old rig. Then both
+ends of the ship were decked over for a distance of seventy feet;
+while the midship section was covered by a sort of roof, or
+pent-house, one hundred and seventy feet long, and extending about
+seven feet above the gun-deck. This roof was of pitch pine and oak,
+twenty-four inches thick, and covered with iron plates two inches
+thick. The upper part of the roof, being flat, was railed in, making a
+kind of promenade deck. In the great chamber formed by this roof were
+mounted ten guns, two of which, the bow and stern guns, were
+seven-inch rifles, and fairly powerful guns for those days. A strange
+feature of this ship, and one that was not discovered until she was
+launched, was that the weight of the iron-plating and the heavy guns
+she carried sunk her so deep in the water that the low deck forward
+and aft of the gunroom was always under water; so much so that the
+commander of another ship in the Confederate navy writes that he was
+obliged always to give the "Merrimac" a wide berth, lest he should run
+his ship on some part of the ram which lay unseen beneath the surface
+of the water. Powerful as this ship was, she had some serious defects.
+The greatest of these were her engines. They were the same that had
+been in her as a United States vessel, and had been condemned by a
+naval board as very defective. Naturally several weeks under water had
+not improved them; but the Confederates could not be particular about
+machinery just then, and the old engines were left in the new ram. It
+was quickly found that they could not be depended upon more than six
+hours at a time; and one of the ship's officers, in writing years
+afterwards, remarks, "A more ill-contrived or unreliable pair of
+engines could only have been found in some vessels of the United
+States navy." The second faulty feature about the "Merrimac" was that
+her rudder and propeller were entirely unprotected. The ram which was
+so much dreaded, and which <span class="pagenum"><a id="page808" name="page808"></a>(p. 808)</span> made the "Merrimac" a forerunner
+of a new class of war-vessels, was of cast-iron, projecting four feet,
+and so badly secured that it was loosened in ramming the "Cumberland,"
+and started a bad leak in the Confederate ship.</p>
+
+<p>When this formidable vessel was completed, she was christened by her
+new owners the "Virginia;" but the name of the old United States
+frigate of which she was built stuck to her, and she has ever since
+been known as the "Merrimac," and so we shall speak of her in this
+narrative. She received as commander Commodore Franklin Buchanan, an
+ex-Union officer of ability and daring, to whom the cadets of the
+naval academy at Annapolis owe the beautiful situation of the academy,
+and many of its admirable features; for he it was, who, in 1845, under
+a commission from Mr. Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, organized and
+located the naval academy, and launched that institution upon its
+successful career. Of officers the "Merrimac" had no lack, and good
+ones they were; but in her crew she was lamentably deficient. Most of
+the crew was made up of men from the army, who knew nothing of
+seamanship, but who could at any rate fire a gun. A few good sailors
+were obtained from those who escaped to Norfolk after the destruction
+of the Confederate flotilla at Elizabeth City by Capt. Rowan's
+squadron. They had but little chance for drills and exercise on the
+new ship, for up to the very hour of sailing she was crowded with
+workmen getting her ready for the task of breaking down the Yankee
+blockade. When she finally set out to do battle for the South, she was
+a new and untried ship: not a gun had been fired, and hardly a
+revolution of her engines had been made. And so she started down the
+river on her trial trip, but intending, nevertheless, to do battle
+with the strongest ships of the United States navy. Accompanying her
+were four small Confederate gunboats,&mdash;the "Beaufort," the "Yorktown,"
+the "Jamestown," and the "Teaser." Soon rounding out into Hampton
+Roads, the little squadron caught sight of the Northern fleet at
+anchor, and made for them. An officer on the "Congress" thus tells the
+story of the events that followed:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The 8th of March was a fine mild day, such as is common in Southern
+Virginia during the early spring; and every one on board our ship was
+enjoying the weather, and pleasing himself with the prospect of going
+North in a day or two at farthest, and being relieved from the
+monotony <span class="pagenum"><a id="page809" name="page809"></a>(p. 809)</span> of a blockade at anchor. Some of us were pacing the
+poop, basking in the sun, and watching the gulls, which here, as all
+over the world, wherever a man-of-war is anchored, manage to find out
+when it is dinnertime, appearing regularly when the mess-tins are
+being washed, and the cooks are taking the buckets of broken victuals
+to the head to throw overboard. Then they chatter and scream, and
+fight for the remnants as they drift astern, until all is consumed,
+when they betake themselves to fresh fields out of sight until we pipe
+to dinner again.</p>
+
+<p>"One bell had struck some time, when the attention of the
+quarter-master on watch was drawn to an unusual appearance against the
+fringe of woods away over in the Norfolk Channel. After gazing
+intently some time, he approached the officer of the deck, and
+presenting him the glass said,'I believe <span class="italic">that thing</span> is a-comin' down
+at last, sir.'</p>
+
+<p>"Sure enough! There was a huge black roof, with a smokestack emerging
+from it, creeping down towards Sewall's Point. Three or four
+satellites, in the shape of small steamers and tugs, surrounded and
+preceded her. Owing to the intervening land, they could not be seen
+from Hampton Roads until some time after we had made them out; but,
+when they did show themselves clear of the point, there was a great
+stir among the shipping. But they turned up into the James River
+channel instead of down toward the fort, approaching our anchorage
+with ominous silence and deliberation.</p>
+
+<p>"The officers were by this time all gathered on the poop, looking at
+the strange craft, and hazarding all sorts of conjectures about her;
+and when it was plain that she was coming to attack us, or to force
+the passage, we beat to quarters, the "Cumberland's" drum answering
+ours.</p>
+
+<p>"By a little after four bells, or two o'clock, the strange monster was
+close enough for us to make out her plating and ports; and we tried
+her with a solid shot from one of our stern-guns, the projectile
+glancing off her forward casemate like a drop of water from a duck's
+back. This opened our eyes. Instantly she threw aside the screen from
+one of her forward ports, and answered us with grape, killing and
+wounding quite a number. She then passed us, receiving our broadside
+and giving one in return, at a distance of less than two hundred
+yards. Our shot had apparently no effect upon her, but the result of
+her broadside on our ship was simply terrible. One of her shells
+dismounted an eight-inch <span class="pagenum"><a id="page810" name="page810"></a>(p. 810)</span> gun, and either killed or wounded
+every one of the gun's crew, while the slaughter at the other guns was
+fearful. There were comparatively few wounded, the fragments of the
+huge shells she threw killing outright as a general thing. Our clean
+and handsome gun-deck was in an instant changed into a slaughter-pen,
+with lopped-off legs and arms, and bleeding, blackened bodies,
+scattered about by the shells; while blood and brains actually dripped
+from the beams. One poor fellow had his chest transfixed by a splinter
+of oak as thick as the wrist; but the shell-wounds were even worse.
+The quarter-master, who had first discovered the approach of the
+iron-clad,&mdash;an old man-of-war's man, named John Leroy,&mdash;was taken
+below with both legs off. The gallant fellow died in a few minutes,
+but cheered and exhorted the men to stand by the ship, almost with his
+last breath. The 'Merrimac' had, in the mean time, passed up stream;
+and our poor fellows, thinking she had had enough of it, and was for
+getting away, actually began to cheer. For many of them it was the
+last cheer they were ever to give. We soon saw what her object was;
+for standing up abreast of the bow of the 'Cumberland,' and putting
+her helm aport, she ran her ram right into that vessel. The gallant
+frigate kept up her splendid and deliberate, but ineffectual, fire,
+until she filled and sank, which she did in a very few minutes. A
+small freight-steamer of the quarter-master's department, and some
+tugs and boats from the camp-wharf, put off to rescue the survivors,
+who were forced to jump overboard. In spite of shot from the
+Confederate gunboats, one of which pierced the boiler of the
+freight-boat, they succeeded in saving the greater number of those who
+were in the water. Seeing the fate of the 'Cumberland,' which sank in
+very deep water, we set our topsails and jib, and slipped the chains,
+under a sharp fire from the gunboats, which killed and wounded many.
+With the help of the sails, and the tug 'Zouave,' the ship was now run
+on the flats which make off from Newport News Point. Here the vessel
+keeled over as the tide continued to fall, leaving us only two guns
+which could be fought,&mdash;those in the stern ports. Two large
+steam-frigates and a sailing-frigate, towed by tugs, had started up
+from Hampton Roads to our assistance. They all got aground before they
+had achieved half the distance; and it was fortunate that they did so,
+for they would probably have met the fate of the 'Cumberland,' in
+which case the lives of the twelve or thirteen hundred men comprising
+their crews would have been uselessly jeopardized.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page811" name="page811"></a>(p. 811)</span> "After the 'Merrimac' had sunk the 'Cumberland,' she came
+down the channel and attacked us again. Taking up a position about one
+hundred and fifty yards astern of us, she deliberately raked us with
+eighty-pounder shell; while the steamers we had so long kept up the
+river, and those which had come out with the iron-clad from Norfolk,
+all concentrated the fire of their small rifled guns upon us. At this
+time we lost two officers, both elderly men. One was an acting master,
+who was killed on the quarter-deck by a small rifle-bolt which struck
+him between the shoulders, and went right through him. The other was
+our old coast pilot, who was mortally wounded by a fragment of shell.
+We kept up as strong a fire as we could from our two stern-guns; but
+the men were repeatedly swept away from them, and at last both pieces
+were disabled, one having the muzzle knocked off, and the other being
+dismounted. Rifles and carbines were also used by some of our people
+to try to pick off the 'Merrimac's' crew when her ports were opened to
+fire, but of course the effect of the small-arms was not apparent to
+us.</p>
+
+<p>"It is useless to attempt to describe the condition of our decks by
+this time. No one who has not seen it can appreciate the effect of
+such a fire in a confined space. Men were being killed and maimed
+every minute, those faring best whose duty kept them on the spar deck.
+Just before our stern-guns were disabled, there were repeated calls
+for powder from them; and, none appearing, I took a look on the
+berth-deck to learn the cause. After my eyes had become a little
+accustomed to the darkness, and the sharp smoke from burning oak, I
+saw that the line of cooks and wardroom servants stationed to pass
+full boxes had been raked by a shell, and the whole of them either
+killed or wounded,&mdash;a sufficient reason why there was a delay with the
+powder. (I may mention here that the officer who commanded our powder
+division was a brother of the captain of the 'Merrimac.') The shells
+searched the vessel everywhere. A man previously wounded was killed in
+the cock-pit where he had been taken for surgical aid. The deck of the
+cock-pit had to be kept sluiced with water from the pumps, to
+extinguish the fire from the shells, although dreadfully wounded men
+were lying on this deck, and the water was icy cold; but the
+shell-room hatch opened out of the cock-pit, and fire must be kept out
+of there at all hazards, or the whole of us would go into the air
+together. In the wardroom and steerage, the bulkheads were all knocked
+down by <span class="pagenum"><a id="page812" name="page812"></a>(p. 812)</span> the shells, and by the axemen making way for the
+hose, forming a scene of perfect ruin and desolation. Clothing, books,
+glass, china, photographs, chairs, bedding, and tables were all mixed
+in one confused heap. Some time before this, our commanding officer, a
+fine young man, had been instantly killed by a fragment of shell which
+struck him in the chest. His watch, and one of his shoulder-straps
+(the other being gone), were afterwards sent safely to his father, a
+veteran naval officer.</p>
+
+<p>"We had now borne this fire for nearly an hour, and there was no
+prospect of assistance from any quarter, while we were being
+slaughtered without being able to return a shot. Seeing this, the
+officer who had succeeded to the command of the ship, upon
+consultation with our former captain (who was on board as a guest),
+ordered our flag to be struck. It is not a pleasant thing to have to
+strike your flag; but I did not see then, and do not see now, what
+else we were to do.</p>
+
+<p>"A boat now boarded us with an officer from the 'Merrimac,' who said
+he would take charge of the ship. He did nothing, however, but gaze
+about a little, and pick up a carbine and cutlass,&mdash;I presume as
+trophies. One of the small gunboats then came alongside, and the
+officer from the 'Merrimac' left. The commander of the gunboat said
+that we must get out of the ship at once, as he had orders to burn
+her. Some of our people went on board of his craft as prisoners, but
+not many. As her upper deck was about even with our main-deck ports,
+our surgeon stepped out of one, and told the commanding officer that
+we had some dreadfully wounded men, and that we must have time to
+collect them, and place them on board his vessel, and, moreover, that
+our ship was on fire with no possibility of saving her. The reply was,
+'You must make haste: those scoundrels on shore are firing at me now.'
+In fact, the rifle-balls were 'pinging' about very briskly, scarring
+the rusty black sides of the poor old frigate; for the Twentieth
+Indiana Regiment had come down from the camp to the point, and opened
+fire on the gunboat as she lay alongside of us. Our doctor having no
+desire to be killed, especially by our own people, jumped back into
+the port, just as the steamer, finding it too hot, shoved off and left
+us. As soon as she did so, they all opened upon us again; although we
+had a white flag flying to show we were out of action, and we
+certainly could not be held responsible for the action of the regiment
+on shore. After ten or fifteen minutes, however, they all withdrew,
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page813" name="page813"></a>(p. 813)</span> and went down the channel, to bestow their attentions upon
+the frigate 'Minnesota' which was hard aground. Fortunately the
+'Merrimac' drew too much water to come near the 'Minnesota' at that
+stage of tide, and the small-fry were soon driven off by the latter
+ship's battery. Night now approaching, the whole Rebel flotilla
+withdrew, and proceeded up the Norfolk Channel.</p>
+
+<p>"Although relieved from the pressure of actual battle, we still had
+the unpleasant consciousness that the fire was making progress in the
+vicinity of our after-magazine; and we felt as I suppose men would
+feel who are walking in the crater of a volcano on the verge of
+eruption. Fortunately for us, the 'Merrimac' and her consorts had not
+fired much at our upper works and spars, the principal damage being
+inflicted upon our lower decks. We had, therefore, the launch and
+first cutter,&mdash;large boats,&mdash;which, with a little stuffing of
+shot-holes, were fit to carry us the short distance between our ship
+and the shore. The yard and stay-tackles were got up, and the boats
+put into the water, as soon as possible; the fire gaining, and the sun
+going down, in the mean time.</p>
+
+<p>"By successive boatloads the survivors were all landed; the launch
+being brought up under the bill port, and the wounded, in cots,
+lowered into her by a whip from the fore yard, which was braced up for
+the purpose. This boat was nearly filled with water on her last trip,
+being a good deal damaged; obliging some of the officers, who had
+stayed until the last, to jump overboard into the icy cold water, and
+lean their hands on the gunwale, so as to relieve the boat of a part
+of their weight. She grounded in water about waist-deep; and the
+soldiers from the camp waded out and assisted our men in bearing on
+shore, and to the log hospital of the Twentieth Indiana, those who
+were in cots. We had managed to get the body of our gallant young
+commander on shore in one of the cots, as a wounded man. The mass of
+the men were so 'gallied,' to use a sailor phrase, by the time the
+action was over, what with enduring so severe a fire without being
+able to respond, and also with the knowledge that an explosion of the
+magazine might occur at any time, that I doubt whether they could have
+been induced to bring off a man whom they knew to be dead. The
+officers repeatedly went about the decks looking for wounded men; and
+I firmly believe that all who were alive were brought off. Our poor
+old ship, deserted by all but the dead, burned till about midnight,
+when she blew up."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page814" name="page814"></a>(p. 814)</span> The final destruction of the "Congress" must have been a most
+imposing spectacle. A member of the Confederate army, who was
+stationed in one of the batteries near the scene of action, thus
+describes it: "Night had come, mild and calm, refulgent with all the
+beauty of Southern skies in early spring. The moon, in her second
+quarter, was just rising over the rippling waters; but her silvery
+light was soon paled by the conflagration of the 'Congress,' whose
+lurid glare was reflected in the river. The burning frigate four miles
+away seemed very much nearer. As the flames crept up the rigging,
+every mast, spar, and rope glittered against the dark sky in dazzling
+lines of fire. The hull, aground upon the shoal, was plainly visible;
+and upon its black surface each porthole seemed the mouth of a fiery
+furnace. For hours the flames raged, with hardly a perceptible change
+in the wondrous picture. At irregular intervals, loaded guns and
+shells, exploding as the flames reached them, sent forth their deep
+reverberations, re-echoed over and over from every headland of the
+bay. The masts and rigging were still standing, apparently intact,
+when about two o'clock in the morning a monstrous sheet of flame rose
+from the vessel to an immense height. The ship was rent in twain by
+the tremendous flash. Blazing fragments seemed to fill the air; and,
+after a long interval, a deep, deafening report announced the
+explosion of the ship's powder-magazine. When the blinding glare had
+subsided, I supposed that every vestige of the vessel would have
+disappeared; but apparently all the force of the explosion had been
+upward. The rigging had vanished entirely, but the hull seemed hardly
+shattered; the only apparent change in it was that in two or three
+places, two or three of the portholes had been blown into one great
+gap. It continued to burn until the brightness of its blaze was
+effaced by the morning sun."</p>
+
+<p>In the great drama of the first day's fight at Hampton Roads, the
+heroic part was played by the frigate "Cumberland." On the morning of
+that fateful 8th of March, she was swinging idly at her moorings, her
+boats floating at the boom, and her men lounging about the deck, never
+dreaming of the impending disaster. It was wash-day, and from the
+lower rigging of the ship hung garments drying in the sun. About noon
+the lookout saw a cloud of smoke, apparently coming down the river
+from Norfolk, and at once notified the officer of the deck. It was
+surmised that it might be the new and mysterious iron-clad "Merrimac,"
+about which many rumors were current, but few facts known. Quickly the
+ship was set in trim for action, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page815" name="page815"></a>(p. 815)</span> the men sent to
+quarters. All the stern preparations for battle were made&mdash;the guns
+all shotted, the men in position, the magazines opened; shot, shell,
+cartridges, all in place; the powder-boys at their stations; swords,
+pistols, boarding-pikes, in the racks. Down in the cock-pit the
+surgeons spread out upon their tables the gleaming instruments, which
+made brave men shudder with the thought of what a few minutes would
+bring.</p>
+
+<p>The sailors prepared for the fight gayly, never doubting for a moment
+that victory would be on their side. So paltry had been the resistance
+that the Confederates had heretofore been able to oppose to the
+Northern arms, by sea, that the blue-jackets felt that they had only
+to open a fight in order to win it. The officers were more serious.
+Rumors had reached them that the "Merrimac" was a most powerful
+vessel, destined to annihilate the navy of the North; and they looked
+on this first battle with the monster with many misgivings. Their
+fears were somewhat lessened by an article printed in the Norfolk
+papers, a few days previous, denouncing the "Merrimac" as a bungling
+bit of work, absolutely unseaworthy, and unable to stand against the
+powerful vessels of the North. As it turned out, however, this article
+was published as a <span class="italic">ruse</span> to deceive the Northern authorities.</p>
+
+<p>The iron ship came steaming sullenly down the bay. The "Congress" was
+the first ship in range, and a puff of smoke from the "Merrimac's"
+bow-gun warned the crew of the frigate that danger was coming. All
+held their breath an instant, until, with a clatter and whiz, a storm
+of grape-shot rattled against her sides, and whistled through the
+rigging. Then came a sigh of relief that it was no worse. When the
+enemy was within a quarter of a mile, the "Congress" let fly her whole
+broadside, and the crew crowded the ports to see the result. The great
+iron shot rattled off the mailed sides of the monster, like hailstones
+from a roof. Then came the return fire; and the "Congress" was riddled
+with shells, and her decks ran with blood. The "Merrimac" passed
+sullenly on.</p>
+
+<p>Now it was the turn of the "Cumberland." Her officers and crew had
+seen the results of the fire of the "Congress," and, with sinking
+hearts, felt how hopeless was their own position. There was no chance
+for escape, for no wind filled the sails of the frigate. She lay
+helpless, awaiting the attack of the iron battery that bore down upon
+her, without firing a shot or opening a port. At a little past two the
+mailed frigate had approached the "Cumberland" within grape-shot
+distance. Fire was opened upon <span class="pagenum"><a id="page816" name="page816"></a>(p. 816)</span> her with the heaviest guns;
+and officers and men watched breathlessly the course of their shot,
+and cried aloud with rage, or groaned in despair, as they saw them
+fall harmlessly from the iron ship. Still they had no thought of
+surrender. The fire of the "Cumberland" was received silently by the
+"Merrimac;" and she came straight on, her sharp prow cutting viciously
+through the water, and pointed straight for her victim. A second
+broadside, at point-blank range, had no effect on her. One solid shot
+was seen to strike her armored sides, and, glancing upward, fly high
+into the air, as a baseball glances from the bat of the batsman; then,
+falling, it struck the roof of the pilot-house, and fell harmlessly
+into the sea. In another instant the iron ram crashed into the side of
+the "Cumberland," cutting through oaken timbers, decks, and cabins. At
+the same time all the guns that could be brought to bear on the
+Northern frigate were discharged; and shells crashed through her
+timbers, and exploded upon her decks, piling splinters, guns,
+gun-carriages, and men in one confused wreck. Had not the engines of
+the ram been reversed just before striking the frigate, her headway
+would have carried her clear to the opposite side of the doomed ship,
+and the "Cumberland," in sinking, would have carried her destroyer to
+the bottom with her. As it was, the "Merrimac," with a powerful
+wrench, drew out of the wreck she had made, loosening her iron prow,
+and springing a serious leak in the operation. She drew off a short
+distance, paused to examine the work she had done, and then, as if
+satisfied, started to complete the destruction of the "Congress."</p>
+
+<p>And well might the men of the "Merrimac" be satisfied with their
+hour's work. The "Cumberland" was a hopeless wreck, rapidly sinking.
+Her decks were bloodstained, and covered with dead men, and scattered
+arms and legs, torn off by the exploding shells. And yet her brave
+crew stuck to their guns, and fought with cool valor, and without a
+vestige of confusion. They had had but a few moments to prepare for
+action; and the long rows of clothes, drying in the rigging, told how
+peaceful had been their occupation before the "Merrimac" appeared upon
+the scene. Yet now that the storm of battle had burst, and its issue
+was clearly against them, these men stood to their guns, although they
+could feel the deck sinking beneath them. Every man was at his post;
+and even when the waters were pouring in on the gun-deck, the guns
+were loaded and fired. Indeed, the last shot was fired from a gun half
+buried in the waves. Then the grand old frigate settled <span class="pagenum"><a id="page817" name="page817"></a>(p. 817)</span> down
+to the bottom, carrying half her crew with her, but keeping the stars
+and stripes still floating at the fore.</p>
+
+<p>The destruction of the "Cumberland" being completed, the "Merrimac"
+steamed over to the "Congress." This frigate fought well and
+valorously, but was soon pounded into a helpless condition by the
+shells of the "Merrimac," as shown by the story of her officer,
+already quoted. When a white flag, floating at her peak, told of
+surrender, the "Merrimac" left her to the attention of the smaller
+vessels in the Confederate flotilla, and set out to find further
+victims. But by this time the remainder of the Federal fleet had taken
+alarm, and fled into a safe position under the shelter of the Federal
+batteries on shore. The "Minnesota" only had been unfortunate in her
+attempted flight, and was aground on a bar near the scene of the
+fight. But now only two hours of daylight remained, and the tide was
+low, and still on the ebb. The heavy iron frigate could not get within
+effective distance of the "Minnesota," her crew were weary with a
+day's fighting, and so she turned away and headed up the river for
+Norfolk.</p>
+
+<p>In taking account of injuries on the ram that night, it was found that
+the injured numbered twenty-one; many of whom had been shot while
+alongside the surrendered "Congress." Not an atom of damage was done
+to the interior of the vessel, and her armor showed hardly a trace of
+the terrible test through which it had passed. But nothing outside had
+escaped: the muzzles of two guns had been shot off; the ram was
+wrenched away in withdrawing from the "Cumberland;" one anchor, the
+smokestack, steam-pipe, railings, flagstaff, boat-davitts&mdash;all were
+swept away as though a huge mowing-machine had passed over the deck.
+But, so far as her fighting qualities were concerned, the "Merrimac"
+was as powerful as when she started out from Norfolk on that bright
+spring morning.</p>
+
+<p>It can easily be understood that the news of the engagement caused the
+most intense excitement throughout this country, and indeed throughout
+the whole world. In the South, all was rejoicing over this signal
+success of the Confederate ship. Bells were rung, and jubilees held,
+in all the Southern cities. An officer of the "Merrimac," who was
+despatched post-haste to Richmond with reports of the engagement, was
+met at every station by excited crowds, who demanded that he tell the
+story of the fight over and over again. At last the starving people of
+the Confederacy saw the way clear for the sweeping away of the
+remorseless blockade.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page818" name="page818"></a>(p. 818)</span> In the North, the excitement was that of fear. The people of
+seaboard cities imagined every moment the irresistible iron ship
+steaming into their harbors, and mowing down their buildings with her
+terrible shells. The Secretary of War said, at a hastily called
+cabinet meeting in Washington: "The 'Merrimac' will change the whole
+character of the war: she will destroy every naval vessel; she will
+lay all the seaboard cities under contribution. Not unlikely we may
+have a shell or cannon-ball from one of her guns, in the White House,
+before we leave this room."</p>
+
+<p>In this excited state, wild with joy, or harassed with fear, the whole
+country went to sleep that March night, little dreaming that the
+morrow would change the whole face of the naval situation, and that
+even then a little untried vessel was steaming, unheralded, toward
+Hampton Roads, there to meet the dreaded "Merrimac," and save the
+remnants of the Federal fleet. Then no one knew of the "Monitor;" but
+twenty-four hours later her name, and that of her inventor Ericsson,
+were household words in all the States of the Union and the
+Confederacy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo818" name="illo818"></a>
+<img src="images/818_merrimac_and_cumberland.jpg" width="600" height="410" alt="" title="">
+<p>"Merrimac" and "Cumberland."</p></div>
+
+<p>Capt. John Ericsson was a Swedish engineer, residing in this country,
+who had won a name for himself by inventing the screw-propeller as a
+means of propulsion for steamships. He and a Connecticut capitalist,
+C. S. Bushnell by name, had ever since the opening of the war been
+trying to induce the Government to build some iron-clads after a
+pattern designed by Ericsson, and which afterwards became known as the
+"monitor" pattern. Their labors at Washington met with little success.
+After a long explanation of the plan before the wise authorities of
+the Naval Board, Capt. Ericsson was calmly dismissed with the remark,
+"It resembles nothing in the heavens above, or the earth beneath, or
+the waters under the earth. You can take it home, and worship it
+without violating any Commandment." Finally, however, leave was
+obtained to build a monitor for the Government, provided the builders
+would take all financial risks in case it proved a failure. So, with
+this grudging permission, the work of building the warship that was
+destined to save the Federal navy was begun. Work was prosecuted night
+and day, and in one hundred days the vessel was ready for launching.
+Great was the discussion over her. Distinguished engineers predicted
+that she would never float; and many attended the launch expecting to
+see the vessel plunge from the ways to the bottom of the river, like a
+turtle from a log. So general was this opinion, that boats were
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page821" name="page821"></a>(p. 821)</span> in readiness to rescue her passengers if she went down.
+But Capt. Ericsson's plans were well laid. The great vessel glided
+with a graceful dip into the river, and floated at her cables
+buoyantly. She was a strange-looking craft. All that was to be seen of
+her above water was a low deck about a foot above the water, bearing
+in the centre a large round iron turret pierced with two great
+portholes. Besides the turret, the smooth surface of the deck was
+broken by two other elevations,&mdash;a small iron pilot-house forward,
+made of iron plates about ten inches thick, and with iron gratings in
+front; aft of the turret was a low smokestack. Beneath the water-line
+this vessel had some strange features. The upper part of her hull,
+forming the deck, projected beyond her hull proper about four feet on
+every side. This projection was known as the "overhang," and was
+designed as a protection against rams. It was made of white oak and
+iron, and was impenetrable by any cannon of that day; although now,
+when steel rifled cannon are built that will send a ball through
+twenty inches of wrought iron, the original "Monitor" would be a very
+weak vessel.</p>
+
+<p>The turret in this little vessel, which held the two guns that she
+mounted, was so arranged as to revolve on a central pivot, thus
+enabling the gunners to keep their guns continually pointed at the
+enemy, whatever might be the position of the vessel. When the time for
+the first battle actually arrived, it was found that the turret would
+not revolve properly; but in later ships of the same class this
+trouble was avoided.</p>
+
+<p>It was at two o'clock on the morning after the day on which the
+"Merrimac" had wrought such havoc among the ships of the North, that
+this queer-looking little vessel steamed into Hampton Roads. As the
+gray dawn began to break, she passed under the quarter of the
+"Minnesota," and cast anchor. The tars on the great frigate looked
+curiously at the strange craft, and wondered if that insignificant
+"cheese-box on a raft" was going to do battle with the dreaded
+"Merrimac." Small hopes had they that their noble frigate would be
+saved by any such pygmy warship.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean time, the men of the "Merrimac" up at Norfolk were working
+energetically to prepare her for the destruction of the rest of the
+Union ships. Her ram was tightened in its place, her steering
+apparatus overhauled, and some changes made, and her rickety engine
+was patched up. At daybreak all was bustle as the ram prepared to move
+down on the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page822" name="page822"></a>(p. 822)</span> Union fleet. But just as she was about to start,
+her officers saw the queer craft lying by the "Minnesota," which they
+at once knew to be the Ericsson "Monitor." Her appearance was not very
+terrible; but, nevertheless, the Confederates felt that she had
+appeared at a most inopportune moment for them. Still they raised
+anchor, and started down the bay to meet their mysterious enemy.</p>
+
+<p>It was Sunday morning, and the sun rose in a cloudless blue sky. A
+light breeze stirred the surface of the water, and played lazily with
+the long streaming pennants of the men-of-war. The batteries on both
+sides of the bay were crowded with men waiting for the great naval
+battle of the day. Up at Norfolk a gay holiday party was embarking on
+steam-tugs, to accompany the Confederate ship and witness the total
+destruction of the Union fleet. No thought of defeat ever entered the
+minds of the proud believers in the new iron-clad of the Confederacy.</p>
+
+<p>At the first sign of life on board the "Merrimac," the "Monitor" began
+her preparations for the battle. In fifteen minutes she was in battle
+trim. The iron hatches were closed, the dead-light covers put on, and
+obstructions removed from the main deck, so as to present a smooth
+surface only twenty-four inches above the water, unbroken, save by the
+turret and pilot-house. In the pilot-house was Lieut. Worden, who was
+to command the "Monitor" in this her first battle.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo822" name="illo822"></a>
+<img src="images/822_battle_of_the_monitor_and_merrimac.jpg" width="600" height="387" alt="" title="">
+<p>Battle of the "Monitor" and "Merrimac."</p></div>
+
+<p>Leisurely the "Merrimac" came down the bay, followed by her attendant
+tugs; and, as she came within range, she opened fire on the
+"Minnesota," which was still aground. The frigate responded with a
+mighty broadside, which, however, rattled off the mailed sides of the
+ram like so many peas. Clearly, every thing depended upon the
+"Monitor;" and that little craft steamed boldly out from behind the
+"Minnesota," and sent two huge iron balls, weighing one hundred and
+seventy pounds each, against the side of the "Merrimac." The shot
+produced no effect beyond showing the men of the "Merrimac" that they
+had met a foeman worthy of their steel. The "Merrimac" slowed up her
+engines, as though to survey the strange antagonist thus braving her
+power. The "Monitor" soon came up, and a cautious fight began; each
+vessel sailing round the other, advancing, backing, making quick
+dashes here and there, like two pugilists sparring for an opening. The
+two shots of the "Monitor" would come banging one after the other
+against the "Merrimac's" armor, like the "one, two" of a skilled
+boxer. In this <span class="pagenum"><a id="page825" name="page825"></a>(p. 825)</span> dancing battle the "Monitor" had an
+enormous advantage, on account of her size, greater speed, and the way
+in which she answered her helm. The "Merrimac" was like a huge hawk
+being chased and baited by a little sparrow. Her heavy broadsides
+found nothing to hit in the almost submerged hull of the "Monitor."
+When a ball struck the turret, it glanced off, unless striking fair in
+the centre, when it fell in fragments, doing no greater damage than to
+dent the iron plates, and sometimes knocking down the men at the guns
+inside. The first man&oelig;uvre tried by the "Merrimac" was to run down
+her little antagonist; and she did strike her with a force that dented
+the iron overhang of the "Monitor," and clashed the men in the
+"Merrimac" to the deck, with blood streaming from their nostrils. For
+a moment it seemed as though the "Monitor" must go under; but
+gradually the terrible ram glanced off, and the little vessel,
+righting, sent again her terrible two shots at her enemy. In the
+action of the day before, shot and shell had beaten against the sides
+of the ram so rapidly that one could not count the concussions. Now it
+was a series of tremendous blows about a minute apart; and, if the men
+had not been working away at their guns, they could have heard the oak
+timbers splintering behind the iron plating. At a critical moment in
+the fight the "Merrimac" ran aground; and the "Monitor" steamed around
+her several times, seeking for weak places in which to plant a shot
+Once Worden dashed at his adversary's screw, hoping to disable it, but
+missed by perhaps two feet. Two shots from the "Monitor" struck the
+muzzles of two cannon protruding from the portholes of the "Merrimac,"
+and broke them off, throwing huge splinters of iron among the gunners
+inside. And so the battle continued until about noon: gun answered gun
+with thunderous reports, that echoed back from the batteries on shore
+in rolling reverberations. The pleasure-seeking tugs from Norfolk had
+scuttled back again out of the way of the great cannon-balls that were
+skipping along the water in every direction. Neither of the combatants
+had received any serious injury. On board the "Monitor" the only hurt
+was received by a gunner, who was leaning against the iron wall of the
+turret just as a shot struck outside; he was carried below, disabled.
+But at last one lucky shot fired from one of the disabled guns of the
+"Merrimac" ended this gigantic contest; sending each contestant to her
+moorings, without an actual victory for either side. This shot struck
+full and fair against the gratings of the pilot-house, through which
+Lieut. Worden was looking as he directed the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page826" name="page826"></a>(p. 826)</span> course of his
+ship. The concussion knocked him senseless. Flakes of iron and powder
+were driven into his eyes and face, blinding him completely for the
+time. He fell back from the wheel, and the "Monitor" was left for a
+moment without her guiding spirit. All was confusion; but in a few
+moments Worden recovered, and gave the order to sheer off. The
+"Monitor" then drew away, while Worden was moved to the cabin, and the
+second officer sent to his station in the turret. Lying on a sofa in
+the cabin, his eyes bandaged, and the horror of life-long blindness
+upon him, Worden asked faintly, "Have I saved the
+'Minnesota'?"&mdash;"Yes," answered the surgeon. "Then," said he, "I die
+happy."</p>
+
+<p>While these scenes were transpiring on the "Monitor," the "Merrimac"
+lay quietly awaiting her return. The Confederate officers say that she
+waited an hour, and then, concluding that the "Monitor" had abandoned
+the fight, withdrew to Norfolk. The Northern officers and historians
+say that the "Merrimac" was in full retreat when the decisive shot was
+fired. It is hard to decide, from such conflicting statements, to
+which side the victory belonged. Certain it is, that not a man on the
+"Merrimac" was injured, and that all damages she sustained in the
+fight were remedied before sunrise the next day. Later, as we shall
+see, she challenged the Union fleet to a new battle, without response.
+But with all these facts in view, it must be borne in mind that the
+purpose of the "Merrimac," that bright March Sunday, was to destroy
+the frigate "Minnesota:" in that purpose she was foiled by the
+"Monitor," and to that extent at least the "Monitor" was the victor.</p>
+
+<p>Lieut. Worden, after the fight, went directly to Washington. President
+Lincoln was at a cabinet meeting when he heard of Worden's arrival in
+the city, and hastily rising said, "Gentlemen, I must go to <span class="italic">that
+fellow</span>." Worden was lying on a sofa, his head swathed in bandages,
+when the President entered. "Mr. President," said he, "you do me great
+honor by this visit."&mdash;"Sir," replied Mr. Lincoln, while the tears ran
+down his cheeks, "I am the one who is honored in this interview."</p>
+
+<p>Among his crew Worden was very much beloved. The following letter,
+sent him while on a bed of pain, is all the more touching for the rude
+form in which their affection for their commander is expressed:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo828" name="illo828"></a>
+<img src="images/828_handling_a_gun.jpg" width="400" height="571" alt="" title="">
+<p>Handling a Gun.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class="quote">
+
+<p class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a id="page829" name="page829"></a>(p. 829)</span> TO CAPTAIN WORDEN.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Hampton Roads</span>, April 24, 1862.<br>
+<span class="smcap">United States Monitor</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="smcap">To Our Dear and Honored Captain.</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">Dear Sir,</span>&mdash;These few lines is from your own crew of the
+     Monitor, with their kindest Love to you their Honored Captain,
+     hoping to God that they will have the pleasure of welcoming you
+     back to us again soon, for we are all ready able and willing to
+     meet Death or any thing else, only give us back our Captain
+     again. Dear Captain, we have got your Pilot-house fixed and all
+     ready for you when you get well again; and we all sincerely hope
+     that soon we will have the pleasure of welcoming you back to
+     it.... We are waiting very patiently to engage our Antagonist if
+     we could only get a chance to do so. The last time she came out
+     we all thought we would have the Pleasure of sinking her. But we
+     all got disappointed, for we did not fire one shot, and the
+     Norfolk papers says we are cowards in the Monitor&mdash;and all we
+     want is a chance to show them where it lies with you for our
+     Captain. We can teach them who is cowards. But there is a great
+     deal that we would like to write to you but we think you will
+     soon be with us again yourself. But we all join in with our
+     kindest love to you, hoping that God will restore you to us again
+     and hoping that your sufferings is at an end now, and we are all
+     so glad to hear that your eyesight will be spaired to you again.
+     We would wish to write more to you if we have your kind
+     Permission to do so but at present we all conclude by tendering
+     to you our kindest Love and affection, to our Dear and Honored
+     Captain.</p>
+
+<p>We remain untill Death your Affectionate Crew</p>
+
+<p class="right smcap">THE MONITOR BOYS.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The "Merrimac," after being repaired and altered to some extent,
+sailed down the bay on the 11th of April, for the purpose, as her
+officers said, of meeting the "Monitor" again. She steamed into the
+Roads, and exchanged a few shots with the Union batteries at the
+rip-raps; but the "Monitor," and other Union vessels, remained below
+Fortress Monroe, in Chesapeake Bay, out of the reach of the
+Confederate vessel. Again, a few days later, the "Merrimac" went to
+Hampton Roads, and tried to lure the "Monitor" to battle; but again
+the challenge passed unanswered. It is probable that the Federal naval
+authorities did not care to imperil the only vessel that stood between
+them and destruction, out of mere bravado. Had the "Monitor" come out,
+an attempt would have been <span class="pagenum"><a id="page830" name="page830"></a>(p. 830)</span> made to carry her by boarding.
+The crew of the "Merrimac" were prepared for the attack; and four
+gunboats accompanying her were crowded with men, divided into squads,
+each with its specified duty. Some were to try and wedge the turret,
+some were to cover the pilot-house and all the openings with
+tarpaulin, others were to try to throw shells and gunpowder down the
+smokestack. But all these preparations proved useless, as the
+"Monitor" still remained quietly at her anchorage. On May 8 a third
+trip was made by the "Merrimac." When she came down the bay, she found
+the Union fleet, including the "Monitor," hard at work shelling the
+Confederate batteries at Sewall's Point. As she came towards them,
+they ceased their cannonade, and retired again to the shelter of
+Fortress Monroe. The "Merrimac" steamed up and down the Roads for some
+hours; and finally Commodore Tatnall, in deep disgust, gave the order,
+"Mr. Jones, fire a gun to windward, and take the ship back to her
+buoy."</p>
+
+<p>Back to Norfolk she went, never again to leave that harbor. On the 9th
+of May the officers of the "Merrimac" noticed that the Confederate
+flag was no longer floating over the shore-batteries. A reconnoissance
+proved that the land forces had abandoned Norfolk, and it was
+necessary to get the ship away before the Union troops arrived and
+hemmed her in. Her pilots declared that if the ship was lightened they
+could take her up the James River; and accordingly all hands threw
+overboard ballast and trappings, until she was lightened three feet.
+Then the pilots claimed that with the prevalent wind they could not
+handle her. It was now useless to try to run her through the Union
+fleet, for the lightening process had exposed three feet of her
+unarmed hull to the fire of the enemy. It was accordingly determined
+that she should be destroyed. She was run ashore on Craney Island, and
+trains of powder laid all over her, and fired. Every gun was loaded,
+and the doors of the magazine were left open. Her crew then started on
+the march for the interior. It was just in the gray of the morning
+that a rumbling of the earth was felt, followed by a shock that made
+all stagger. A column of smoke and flame shot into the air; huge
+cannon were hurled high above the tree-tops, discharging in mid-air.
+One shot fell in the woods some distance ahead of the marching crew,
+and all knew that it marked the end of the mighty "Merrimac."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page831" name="page831"></a>(p. 831)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_720.jpg" width="600" height="341" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER X.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE NAVY IN THE INLAND WATERS. &mdash; THE MISSISSIPPI SQUADRON. &mdash; SWEEPING
+THE TENNESSEE RIVER.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>e
+will now leave for a time the blue-water sailors, whose battles,
+triumphs, and defeats we have been considering, and look at the work
+done by the tars of both North and South on the great waterways which
+cut up the central portion of the United States, known as the Valley
+of the Mississippi. It was in this section that the navy of the North
+did some of its most effective work against the Confederacy, and it
+was there that the sailor boys of the South did many deeds of the most
+desperate valor. There is much of romance about service on the blue
+ocean which is not to be found in routine duty along the yellow muddy
+streams that flowed through the territory claimed by King Cotton. The
+high, tapering masts, the yards squared and gracefully proportioned,
+the rigging taut, and with each rope in its place, of an
+ocean-frigate, are not seen in the squat, box-like gunboats that
+dashed by the batteries at Vicksburg, or hurled shot and shell at each
+other in the affair at Memphis. But Farragut, stanch old sea-dog as he
+was, did much of his grandest fighting on the turbid waters of the
+Mississippi; and the work of the great fleet at Port Royal was fully
+equalled by Porter's mortar-boats below New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page832" name="page832"></a>(p. 832)</span> Let us follow the fortunes of the Union fleet on their
+cruises about the great rivers of the interior, and first discover
+what the work was that they set out to perform.</p>
+
+<p>The rivers making up the Mississippi system flow for the greater part
+of their length through the States that had joined the new
+Confederacy. The northern Confederate battle-line was along the south
+bank of the Ohio River, and there they had erected batteries that
+controlled the passage of that river. South of the mouth of the Ohio,
+every river was lined with Confederate batteries, and bore on its
+placid bosom fleets of Confederate gunboats. At Columbus on the
+Mississippi, not far south of the mouth of the Ohio, were strong
+batteries over which floated the stars and bars of the Confederacy.
+Farther down was Island Number 10, bearing one of the most powerful
+fortifications the world has ever seen. Then came Fort Pillow,
+guarding the city of Memphis; then at Vicksburg frowned earthworks,
+bastions, and escarpments that rivalled Gibraltar for impregnability.
+Lower down were fortifications at Grand Gulf, Port Hudson, and Baton
+Rouge. Fort Henry guarded the Tennessee River, and Fort Donelson the
+Cumberland, and both of these rivers were very important as waterways
+for the transportation of supplies to the Union armies marching into
+Tennessee. It was absolutely necessary that all these fortifications
+should be swept away, and the rivers opened for navigation down to the
+Gulf of Mexico. It was necessary that the work should be done from
+above; for the forts below New Orleans were thought to be impassible,
+and Farragut's passage of them late in the war made all the world ring
+with his name.</p>
+
+<p>It became evident, very early in the war, that no great progress could
+be made in the task of crushing the powerful insurrection until
+telling blows had been struck at the Confederate control of the inland
+waterways. When the attention of the war department was turned in that
+direction, they found but little to encourage them in the prospect.
+Along the thousands of miles of the banks of the Mississippi and its
+tributaries, there was not one gun mounted belonging to the United
+States, not one earthwork over which floated the starry flag of the
+Union. The Confederate positions on this great chain of waterways
+were, as we have seen, of great strength. To attack them, the armies
+of the North must first fight their way through whole States populated
+by enemies. Obviously, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page833" name="page833"></a>(p. 833)</span> the war department alone could not
+complete so gigantic a task, and the services of the navy were called
+into requisition. So energetically did the navy department prosecute
+its task, that, by the end of the war, over one hundred Federal
+war-vessels floated on those streams, on which, three years before, no
+craft dared sail under the American flag. It was a strange navy in
+looks, but in actions it showed itself worthy of the service in which
+it was enlisted.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the steamers built for the river marine were wooden gunboats,
+hastily remodelled from the hulks of old craft. They were seldom
+plated with iron, and their machinery was feebly protected by coal
+bunkers, while their oaken sides were barely thick enough to stop a
+musket-ball. But the true iron-clad war-vessel made its appearance on
+the rivers even before it was to be seen in the ocean squadrons.</p>
+
+<p>It was as early in the war as July, 1861, that the
+quarter-master-general advertised for bids for the construction of
+iron-clad gunboats for service on the Mississippi and tributary
+rivers. The contract was given to James B. Eads, an engineer, who
+during the war performed much valuable service for the United States
+Government, and who in later years has made himself a world-wide fame
+by the construction of the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi
+River, by which the bar at the mouth of the great stream is swept away
+by the mighty rush of the pent-up waters. Mr. Eads was instructed to
+build seven iron-clad gunboats with all possible expedition. They were
+to be plated two and a half inches thick, and, though of six hundred
+tons burden, were not to draw more than six feet of water. They were
+to carry thirteen heavy guns each.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo833" name="illo833"></a>
+<img src="images/833_a_river_gunboat.jpg" width="500" height="341" alt="" title="">
+<p>A River-Gunboat.</p></div>
+
+<p>These river-gunboats, like the little "Monitor," had none of the grace
+and grandeur of the old style of sailing-frigate, in which Paul Jones
+fought so well for his country. The tapering masts of the mighty
+frigate, the spidery cordage by which the blue-jackets climbed to
+loosen the snowy sheets of canvas&mdash;these gave way in the gunboat to a
+single slender flagstaff for signalling, and two towering smoke-stacks
+anchored to the deck by heavy iron cables, and belching forth the
+black smoke from roaring fires of pitch-pine or soft coal. Instead of
+the gracefully curved black sides, with two rows of ports, from which
+peeped the muzzles of great cannon, the gunboat's sides above water
+sloped like the roof of a house, and huge iron shutters hid the cannon
+from view. Inside, all was dark <span class="pagenum"><a id="page834" name="page834"></a>(p. 834)</span> and stuffy, making
+battle-lanterns necessary even in daylight fights. The broad white
+gun-deck, scrubbed to a gleaming white by hollystone and limejuice, on
+which the salt-water sailors gathered for their mess or drill, was
+replaced by a cramped room, with the roof hardly high enough to let
+the jolly tars skylark beneath without banging their skulls against
+some projecting beam. Truly it may be said, that, if the great civil
+war <span class="pagenum"><a id="page835" name="page835"></a>(p. 835)</span> made naval architecture more powerful, it also robbed
+the war-vessels of all their beauty.</p>
+
+<p>It is hard to appreciate now the immense difficulty experienced in
+getting those first seven river-gunboats built by the appointed time.
+The war had just begun, and a people accustomed to peace had not yet
+found out that those not actually at the seat of war could continue
+their usual course of life unmolested. Rolling-mills, machine-shops,
+founderies, saw-mills, and shipyards were all idle. Working-men were
+enlisting, or going to the Far West, away from the storm of war that
+was expected to sweep up the Mississippi Valley. The timber for the
+ships was still standing in the forests. The engines that were to
+drive the vessels against the enemy were yet to be built. Capt. Eads's
+contract called for the completion of the seven vessels in sixty-five
+days, and he went at his work with a will. His success showed that not
+all the great services done for a nation in time of war come from the
+army or navy. Within two weeks four thousand men were at work getting
+the gunboats ready. Some were in Michigan felling timber, some in the
+founderies and machine-shops of Pittsburg, and others in the shipyards
+at St. Louis, where the hulls of the vessels were on the stocks. Day
+and night, weekdays and Sundays, the work went on; and in forty-five
+days the first vessel was completed, and christened the "St. Louis."
+The others followed within the appointed time. Before the autumn of
+1861, the river navy of the United States numbered nearly a score of
+vessels, while nearly forty mortar-boats were in process of
+construction. Of this flotilla, Capt. A. H. Foote, an able naval
+officer, was put in command, and directed to co-operate with the land
+forces in all movements.</p>
+
+<p>The first service to which the gunboats were assigned was mainly
+reconnoitring expeditions before the front of the advancing Union
+armies. They were stationed at the junction of the Ohio and
+Mississippi Rivers; and the country about Cairo was occupied by a
+large body of Union troops under the command of Gen. Grant, then a
+young officer little known. The opening fight of the river campaign
+was little more than a skirmish; but it proved the superiority of the
+gunboats over a land-force for the purpose of opening the river. One
+bright day in September, the "Lexington" and "Conestoga" were ordered
+to proceed down the river eight or ten miles, and dislodge a
+Confederate battery that had taken a position on <span class="pagenum"><a id="page836" name="page836"></a>(p. 836)</span> Lucas
+Point. The two vessels steamed cautiously down the stream, without
+encountering any resistance until within easy range of the battery,
+when the Confederates opened with sixteen cannon. The shot and shells
+fell all about the vessels; but neither was hit, showing that the
+Confederate gunners were not yet used to firing at a moving mark. But
+the fire of the gunboats was admirably directed; the shells falling
+among the Confederates, dismounting the guns, and driving the gunners
+from their pieces. It was too hot a spot for any man to hold; and a
+cavalry corps quickly attached their horses to the guns, and drew them
+down the river to the shelter of the Confederate works at Columbus.
+Then the defeated party sent up the gunboat "Yankee" to attack the two
+victors, but this vessel was quickly disposed of. She opened fire at
+long range, but without success. The first shot from the "Conestoga"
+struck the water a few feet from the "Yankee," and, ricochetting,
+plunged into her hull. The discomfited vessel immediately put about,
+and started down stream, followed by a heavy fire from the two
+Northern ships. Just as she was passing out of range, an eight-inch
+shell from the "Lexington" struck her starboard wheel-house, and
+shattered the paddle-wheel, totally disabling the vessel, so that she
+drifted sidelong to her anchorage like a wounded duck.</p>
+
+<p>On the return of the Northern vessels up the river, they first
+encountered the form of warfare that proved the most perilous for the
+sailors of the river navy. Confederate sharp-shooters lined the banks,
+perched in the trees, or hidden in the long, marshy grass; and any
+unwary tar who showed his head above the bulwarks was made a target
+for several long rifles in the hands of practised shots.</p>
+
+<p>The next active service performed by the gunboats was at the battle of
+Belmont, directly opposite the Confederate batteries at Columbus. The
+Union troops, landing in force, had driven the Confederates from their
+camp, and were engaged in securing the spoils, when the gunners at
+Columbus, seeing that the camp was in the hands of the enemy, turned
+their heavy guns on it, and soon drove out the Yankees. The
+Confederates had rallied in the woods, and now came pouring out, in
+the hope of cutting off the Union retreat to the boats. On all sides
+the dark gray columns could be seen marching out of the woods, and
+pouring down upon the retreating army of the North. Batteries were
+wheeling into position, and staff-officers in travelling carriages
+were dashing to and fro carrying orders. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page837" name="page837"></a>(p. 837)</span> It seemed a black
+day for the three or four thousand Unionists who were making for their
+transports with all possible speed. But now was the time for the
+gunboats to take a hand in the fight. Three of them dropped into
+position, and began a deadly fire upon the Confederate line. The huge
+shells ploughed their way through whole platoons of men. Bursting,
+they would mow down soldiers like saplings before a cyclone. One shell
+exploded directly beneath an officer's carriage, and threw horses,
+carriage, and men high in the air. The Confederates hastened to get
+their field-batteries into position, and replied to the deadly fire
+from the ships, but to no avail. Their light artillery was of no
+effect upon the plated sides of the gunboats, and they saw their
+cannon dismounted or shattered by the solid shot from the big guns of
+the iron-clads. They fought bravely, but the conflict was unequal. It
+was sheer madness for any body of men, with muskets and light
+artillery, to stand against the fire of the gunboats. The gunboats
+saved the day. The retreat of the Union army was unchecked; and,
+covered by the war-vessels, the transports returned safely to Cairo.</p>
+
+<p>On the Tennessee River, near the northern boundary of Tennessee, the
+Confederates had thrown up certain earthworks to which they gave the
+name of Fort Henry. This, with Fort Donelson, situated near by, formed
+the principal Confederate strongholds in Tennessee. Gen. Grant
+determined to strike a heavy blow by capturing these two forts; and
+Commodore Foote, with his seven gunboats, was ordered to co-operate
+with the land-forces in the expedition. They started from Cairo on
+Feb. 2, 1862. When a few miles below the fort, the troops were landed
+and ordered to proceed up the back country, and attack the fort in the
+rear, while Foote should engage it from the river with his gunboats.
+While the troops were being landed, Gen. Grant boarded the "Essex,"
+and went up the river to get a view of the fort they were about to
+attack. Had it been completed in accordance with the plans of the
+engineers, it would have been most formidable. Time, however, had been
+short, and the earthworks were far from being completed. There were
+many points on the river or on the opposite bank, from which a
+well-directed artillery fire would make them untenable. The
+Confederate commander, Gen. Tilghman, fully appreciated this fact,
+and, at the approach of the gunboats, had sent four-fifths of his
+garrison across the country to Fort Donelson, being determined to
+sacrifice as few men as possible in the defence of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page838" name="page838"></a>(p. 838)</span> so
+untenable a position. While Grant and Foote were examining the works
+through their field-glasses, the sullen boom of a great gun came over
+the waters, and a heavy rifled shot crashed through the stateroom of
+Capt. Porter on the "Essex." The two commanders concluded that the
+Confederate gunners, though new to war, understood something of
+artillery practice; and the "Essex" was accordingly taken down the
+river, out of range.</p>
+
+<p>The following night was chill and rainy; and the Union forces,
+bivouacking on shore, grumbled loudly over their discomforts. The
+morning dawned dark; but soon the sun came out, and the preparations
+for battle were begun. The troops were first despatched on their
+cross-country march; and, as they departed, Commodore Foote remarked
+coolly, that his gunboats would have reduced the fort before the land
+forces came within five miles of it. This proved to be the fact.</p>
+
+<p>The gunboats formed in line of battle, and advanced up the river. The
+four iron-clads led, steaming abreast. About a mile in the rear, came
+the three wooden vessels. The fort was soon in range; but both parties
+seemed anxious for a determined conflict, and no shot was fired on
+either side as the gunboats came sullenly on. How different must have
+been the feelings of the two combatants! Tilghman, with his handful of
+men, hardly able to work eight of the eleven guns mounted in his fort,
+and knowing that his defeat was a mere question of time; Foote, with
+his iron-clads and supporting gunboats, his seventy-two guns, and his
+knowledge that six thousand men were marching upon the rear of the
+Confederate works. On the one side, all was absolute certainty of
+defeat; on the other, calm confidence of victory.</p>
+
+<p>When the flotilla was within a third of a mile of the fort, the fire
+began. The gunners on the ships could see the muzzles of the
+Confederate guns, the piles of shells and cannon-balls, and the men at
+their work. The firing on both sides was deliberate and deadly. The
+Confederates were new to the work, but they proved themselves good
+marksmen. The first shot was fired from the shore, and, missing the
+"Essex" by but a few feet, plumped into the water, so near the next
+ship in line as to throw water over her decks. Within five minutes,
+the "Essex" and the "Cincinnati" were both hit. The armor of the
+gunboats proved no match for the shots of the Confederates, and in
+many cases it was penetrated. In some instances, shells, entering
+through the portholes, did deadly damage.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page839" name="page839"></a>(p. 839)</span> On the shore, the shells from the gunboats were doing
+terrible work. Banks of solid earth, eight feet thick, were blown away
+by the terrible explosions. One, bursting in front of a ten-inch
+columbiad, filled that powerful gun with mud almost to the muzzle,
+disabling it for the remainder of the fight. A shot from the "Essex"
+struck the muzzle of a great gun, ripped off a splinter of iron three
+feet long, and crushed a gunner to pulp. The gun was just about to be
+fired, and burst, killing or wounding every man of the crew. At the
+same moment a shell crashed through the side of the "Essex," killing
+men right and left: took off the head of a sailor standing by Capt.
+Porter, wounded the captain, and plunged into the boiler. In an
+instant the ship was filled with scalding steam. The men in the
+pilot-house were suffocated. Twenty men and officers were killed or
+scalded. The ship was disabled, and drifted out of the fight. While
+withdrawing, she received two more shots, making twenty in all that
+had fallen to her share in this hot engagement. But by this time the
+fort was very thoroughly knocked to pieces. The big twenty-four
+pounder was dismounted, and five of its crew killed. Gun after gun was
+keeled over, and man after man carried bleeding to the bomb-proofs,
+until Gen. Tilghman himself dropped coat and sword, and pulled away at
+a gun by the side of his soldiers. Receiving ten shots while they
+could only fire one, this little band held out for two long hours; and
+only when the crew of the last remaining piece threw themselves
+exhausted on the ground, did the flag come fluttering down. Gen.
+Tilghman went to the fleet and surrendered the fort to Commodore
+Foote, and Grant's army came up more than an hour after the battle was
+over. To the navy belongs the honor of taking Fort Henry, while to
+Gen. Tilghman and his plucky soldiers belongs the honor of making one
+of the most desperate fights under the most unfavorable circumstances
+recorded in the history of the civil war.</p>
+
+<p>The fall of Fort Henry opened the way for the Union advance to Fort
+Donelson, and marked the first step of the United States Government
+toward regaining control of the Mississippi. It broke the northern
+battle-line of the Confederacy, and never again was that line
+re-established.</p>
+
+<p>With Fort Henry fallen, and Gen. Tilghman and his little garrison
+prisoners on the Union gunboats, Grant's soldier-boys and Foote's
+blue-jackets began active preparations for continuing the conquest of
+Tennessee by the capture of Fort Donelson. No time was lost. The very
+night that <span class="pagenum"><a id="page840" name="page840"></a>(p. 840)</span> the stars and stripes were first hoisted over the
+bastion of Fort Henry saw three of Foote's gunboats steaming up the
+river on a reconnoitring expedition. Before them the Confederates fled
+in every direction. After several hours' advance, they came to a heavy
+railroad-bridge spanning the river, and effectually preventing further
+progress. Beyond the bridge were several Confederate steamers, black
+with men, and heavily laden with valuable military stores. With all
+steam on, they were dashing up stream, and rapidly leaving the
+gunboats behind. Enraged at seeing such valuable prizes slipping
+through their hands, the Union gunners sent shell after shell
+shrieking after the flying boats, but to no avail. A party was hastily
+landed for the purpose of swinging the draw of the bridge, but found
+the machinery broken, and the ways on which the bridge swung twisted
+and bent out of shape. An hour's hard work with axes and crowbars, and
+the draw was swung far enough to let pass the "Conestoga" and the
+"Lexington." They dashed forward like greyhounds slipped from the
+leash; and, after several hours' hard steaming, a smoke over the
+tree-tops told that the Confederate fugitives were not far ahead. Soon
+a bend in the river was passed; and there, within easy range, were two
+of the flying steamers. A commotion was visible on board, and boat
+after boat was seen to put off, and make for the shore; on reaching
+which the crews immediately plunged into the woods, and were out of
+sight before the gunboats could get within range. Soon light blue
+smoke curling from the windows of the steamers told that they had been
+fired; and as the last boats left each vessel, she ceased her onward
+course, and drifted, abandoned and helpless, down the stream. When
+within about a thousand yards of the two gunboats, the deserted
+steamers blew up with such force, that, even at that great distance,
+the glass was shattered in the "Conestoga," and her woodwork seriously
+damaged.</p>
+
+<p>The two gunboats leisurely continued their excursion into the heart of
+the enemy's country. Little or no danger was to be feared. At that
+time, the Confederates had not learned to plant torpedoes in their
+rivers, to blow the enemy's vessels into fragments. There was no
+artillery stationed in that section to check their progress, and the
+only resistance found was an occasional rifle-shot from some concealed
+sharp-shooter in the bushes on the shore. On the 7th of February the
+gunboats reached Cerro Gordo, Tenn.; and here they made a valuable
+capture. The Confederates <span class="pagenum"><a id="page841" name="page841"></a>(p. 841)</span> had been at work for weeks
+converting the steamer "Eastport" into an iron-clad ram; and, as the
+Union vessels came up, they found her almost completed, and absolutely
+without defence. Besides the new vessel, there was in the shipyard a
+large quantity of lumber and ship-timber, which was of the greatest
+value to the builders of the river navy. The two gunboats promptly
+captured all this property; and waiting until the "Tyler," which had
+been detained at the drawbridge, came up, they left her in charge, and
+continued their raid into the enemy's country. Little incident
+occurred until they reached the head of navigation of the river, where
+they found all the Confederate vessels which had been flying before
+them for two days. These were burned, and the two gunboats started
+back down the river, stopping for the "Eastport" on the way. The
+captured vessel was afterwards completed, and served the cause of the
+Union for two years, when she was blown up on the Red River.</p>
+
+<p>When the raiding expedition reached Cairo, the officers found Foote
+getting his squadron together for the attack on Fort Donelson. This
+fortification was one strongly relied upon by the Confederates for the
+maintenance of their northern line of battle. It was on the bank of
+the Cumberland River, nearly opposite the site of Fort Henry on the
+Tennessee. A garrison of at least fifteen thousand men manned the
+works, and were commanded by no less than three generals; and the fact
+that there were <span class="italic">three</span> generals in command had much to do with the
+fall of the fort. Its strength was rather on its river-front. Here the
+river winds about between abrupt hillsides, and on the front of one of
+these hills stood Fort Donelson. The water-batteries were made up of
+heavy guns, so mounted as to command the river for miles. On the
+landward side were heavy earthworks, abatis, and sharp pointed
+<span class="italic">chevaux-de-frise</span>.</p>
+
+<p>Against this fortification marched Grant with an army of eighteen
+thousand men, and Foote with his flotilla of gunboats. The Sunday
+before the start, Foote, who was a descendant of the old Puritans, and
+ever as ready to pray as to fight, attended church in a little
+meeting-house at Cairo. The clergyman did not appear on time; and the
+congregation waited, until many, growing weary, were leaving the
+church. Then the bluff old sailor rose in his pew, and, marching to
+the pulpit, delivered a stirring sermon, offering thanks for the
+victories of the Union arms, and imploring divine aid in the coming
+struggles. The next day he was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page842" name="page842"></a>(p. 842)</span> on his way to hurl shot and
+shell at the men in the trenches of Fort Donelson.</p>
+
+<p>While the capture of Fort Henry was a feather in the caps of the
+sailor-boys of the North, Fort Donelson must be credited to the valor
+of the soldiers. Against the heavy wall of the water-batteries, the
+guns of Foote's little flotilla pounded away in vain, while the heavy
+shells from the Confederate cannon did dreadful work on the thinly
+armored gunboats. It was on the 13th of April that the assault was
+opened by the "Carondelet." This vessel had reached the scene of
+action before the rest of the flotilla, and by order of the army
+commander tested the strength of the fort by a day's cannonade. She
+stationed herself about a mile from the batteries, at a spot where she
+would be somewhat protected by a jutting point, and began a deliberate
+cannonade with her bow-guns. One hundred and thirty shots went
+whizzing from her batteries against the front of the Confederate
+batteries, without doing any serious damage. Then came an iron ball
+weighing one hundred and twenty pounds, fired from a heavy gun, which
+burst through one of her portholes, and scattered men bleeding and
+mangled in every direction over the gun-deck. She withdrew a short
+distance for repairs, but soon returned, and continued the fire the
+remainder of the day. When evening fell, she had sent one hundred and
+eighty shells at the fort, with the result of killing one man. This
+was not promising.</p>
+
+<p>The next day the attack was taken up by all the gunboats. The distance
+chosen this time was four hundred yards, and the fight was kept up
+most stubbornly. It was St. Valentine's Day; and as the swarthy
+sailors, stripped to the waist, begrimed with powder, and stained with
+blood, rammed huge iron balls down the muzzles of the guns, they said
+with grim pleasantry, "There's a valentine for the gray-coats." And
+right speedily did the gray-coats return the gift. Shot and shell from
+the batteries came in volleys against the sides of the gunboats. In
+the fort the condition of affairs was not serious. The shells chiefly
+fell in the soft earth of the hilltop above, and embedded themselves
+harmlessly in the mud. One of the gunners after the fight said: "We
+were more bothered by flying mud than any thing else. A shell bursting
+up there would throw out great clots of clay, that blocked up the
+touch-holes of our guns, spoiled the priming of our shells, and
+plastered up the faces of our men. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page843" name="page843"></a>(p. 843)</span> Of course, now and then a
+bit of shell would knock some poor fellow over; but, though we were
+all green hands at war, we expected to see lots more blood and carnage
+than the Yankee gunboats dealt out to us."</p>
+
+<p>The gunboats, however, had put themselves in a hot place. Twenty heavy
+guns on the hillside high above were hurling solid shot down on the
+little fleet. The sailors stuck to their work well; and though the
+vessels were in a fair way of being riddled, they succeeded in driving
+the enemy from his lower battery. But the upper battery was
+impregnable; and the gunners there, having got the correct range, were
+shooting with unpleasant precision. Two of the vessels were disabled
+by being struck in the steering-chains. On the "Carondelet" a piece
+burst, hurling its crew bleeding on the deck. No vessel escaped with
+less than twenty wounds, while the flagship was hit fifty-nine times.
+Commodore Foote was wounded in the foot by a heavy splinter; a wound
+from which he never fully recovered, and which for some years debarred
+him from service afloat.</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon's bombardment showed clearly that Fort Donelson could
+never be taken by the navy. When Foote ordered his gunboats to cease
+firing and drop back out of position, the Confederates swarmed back
+into the lower battery that they had abandoned; and, after a few
+hours' work, the fort was as strong as before the fight. It was the
+first case in the history of the war in which the navy had failed to
+reduce the fortifications against which it had been ordered. The
+Hatteras forts, the works at Roanoke Island and at Hilton Head, Fort
+Henry&mdash;all had fallen before the cannon of the Union sailors; and
+Foote may well be pardoned if he yielded to Gen. Grant with great
+reluctance the honor of reducing Fort Donelson. For two days Grant's
+army invested the fort, and kept up a constant cannonade; then the
+defenders, despairing of escape, and seeing no use of further
+prolonging the defence, surrendered.</p>
+
+<p>The capture of Fort Donelson was an important success for the Union
+arms. In addition to the large number of prisoners, and the great
+quantity of munitions of war captured, the destruction of the fort
+left the Cumberland River open to the passage of the Union gunboats,
+and the Confederate battle-line was moved back yet another point. But
+now was to come a most heroic test of the power of the river-navy and
+the army of the North.</p>
+
+<p>Some sixty miles below Cairo, the rushing, tawny current of the mighty
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page844" name="page844"></a>(p. 844)</span> Mississippi turns suddenly northward, sweeping back,
+apparently, toward its source, in a great bend eight or ten miles
+long. At the point where the swift current sweeps around the bend, is
+a low-lying island, about a mile long and half a mile wide. This is
+known as Island No. 10; and at the opening of the war, it was supposed
+to hold the key to the navigation of the Mississippi River. Here the
+Confederates had thrown up powerful earthworks, the heavy guns in
+which effectually commanded the river, both up and down stream. The
+works were protected against a land bombardment by the fact that the
+only tenable bit of land, New Madrid, was held by Confederate troops.
+The shores of the Mississippi about Island No. 10 present the
+dreariest appearance imaginable. The Missouri shore is low and swampy.
+In 1811 an earthquake-shock rent the land asunder. Great tracts were
+sunk beneath the water-level of the river. Trees were thrown down, and
+lie rotting in the black and miasmatic water. Other portions of the
+land were thrown up, rugged, and covered with rank vegetation, making
+hills that serve only as places of refuge for water-moccasons and
+other noxious reptiles. Around this dreary waste of mud and water, the
+river rushes in an abrupt bend, making a peninsula ten miles long and
+three wide. Below this peninsula is New Madrid, a little village in
+the least settled part of Missouri; here the Confederates had
+established an army-post, and thrown up strong intrenchments. It was
+not, however, upon the intrenchments that they relied, but rather upon
+the impassable morasses by which they were surrounded on every side.
+In New Madrid were posted five or six thousand men; a small fleet of
+Confederate gunboats lay in the stream off the village; and higher up
+the river was Island No. 10, with its frowning bastions and rows of
+heavy siege-guns, prepared to beat back all advances of the Union
+troops.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo846" name="illo846"></a>
+<img src="images/846_mortar_boats_at_island_no_10.jpg" width="400" height="568" alt="" title="">
+<p>Mortar Boats at Island No. 10.</p></div>
+
+<p>In planning for the attack of this stronghold, the first difficulty
+found by Commodore Foote lay in the fact that his gunboats were above
+the batteries. In fighting down stream in that manner, the ships must
+be kept at long range: for, should a shot from the enemy injure the
+engine or boiler of a gunboat, the vessel is doomed; for the rapid
+current will rush her down under the enemy's guns, and her capture is
+certain. But the peril of running the batteries so as to carry on the
+fight from below seemed too great to be ventured upon; and besides,
+even with Island No. 10 passed, there would still be the batteries of
+New Madrid to cope with, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page847" name="page847"></a>(p. 847)</span> the gunboats of the
+Confederates to take the ships in the rear. So it was determined that
+the navy should begin a bombardment of the Confederate works, while
+the army under Gen. Pope should attend to New Madrid. Accordingly, on
+March 15, the whiz of a rifled shell from the flagship "Benton"
+announced to the Confederates that the North wanted the Mississippi
+opened for travel.</p>
+
+<p>In this engagement use was made for the first time of a new style of
+vessel known as mortar-boats, which in later conflicts on the rivers
+did great service. These boats were simple floats, heavily built, and
+calculated to stand the most terrible shocks. On the float was raised
+a sort of sheet-iron fort or wall, about five feet high; and in the
+centre stood one thirteen-inch mortar. The mortar is the earliest of
+all forms of cannon, and was in use in Europe in 1435. Its name is
+derived from its resemblance to an ordinary druggist's mortar. The
+great thirteen-inch mortars used in the civil war weighed seventeen
+thousand pounds, and threw a shell thirteen inches in diameter. These
+shells were so heavy that it took two men to bring them up to the
+cannon's mouth. In the river-service, the mortar-boats were moored to
+the bank, and a derrick was set up in such a position that the shells
+could be hoisted up, and let fall into the yawning iron pot below.
+Foote had fourteen of these monsters pounding away at the
+Confederates, and the roar was deafening.</p>
+
+<p>A correspondent of the "Chicago Times," who was with the fleet at the
+time of the bombardment, thus describes the manner of using these
+immense cannon: "The operation of firing the mortars, which was
+conducted when we were near by, is rather stunning. The charge is from
+fifteen to twenty-two pounds. The shell weighs two hundred and thirty
+pounds. For a familiar illustration, it is about the size of a large
+soup-plate. So your readers may imagine, when they sit down to dinner,
+the emotions they would experience if they happened to see a ball of
+iron of those dimensions coming toward them at the rate of a thousand
+miles a minute. The boat is moored alongside the shore, so as to
+withstand the shock firmly, and the men go ashore when the mortar is
+fired. A pull of the string does the work, and the whole vicinity is
+shaken with the concussion. The report is deafening, and the most
+enthusiastic person gets enough of it with two or three discharges.
+There is no sound from the shell at this point of observation, and no
+indication to mark the course it is taking; but in a few <span class="pagenum"><a id="page848" name="page848"></a>(p. 848)</span>
+seconds the attentive observer with a good glass will see the cloud of
+smoke that follows its explosion, and then the report comes back with
+a dull boom. If it has done execution, the enemy may be seen carrying
+off their killed and wounded."</p>
+
+<p>And so from mortar-boats and gunboats, the iron hail was poured upon
+the little island, but without effect. When Foote with his flotilla
+first opened fire, he thought that the Confederate works would be
+swept away in a day or two. His ordnance was the heaviest ever seen on
+the Mississippi, and in number his guns were enough to have battered
+down a mountain. But his days grew to weeks, and still the flag of the
+Confederacy floated above Island No. 10. The men on the mortar-boats
+were giving way under the tremendous shocks of the explosions. Many
+were rendered deaf for days at a time. The jar of the explosions
+brought to the surface of the river hundreds of old logs and roots
+that had lain rotting in the soft ooze of the bottom. When all the
+mortars were engaged, the surface of the river was covered with foam
+and bubbles; and men by the thousand went about with their ears
+stuffed with tow, to protect them against the sound. Yet, after weeks
+of such firing, Gen. Beauregard telegraphed to Richmond, that the
+Yankees had "thrown three thousand shells, and burned fifty tons of
+gunpowder," without injuring his batteries in the least.</p>
+
+<p>The Confederates remained passive in their trenches. They had no guns
+that would carry far enough to reply to Foote's mortars, and they did
+not wish to waste powder. It was galling to stand fire without
+replying; but, fortunately for them, the fire was not very deadly, and
+but few were injured. When, however, a shell did fall within the
+works, it made work enough to repair damages, as by its explosion a
+hole as large as a small house would be torn in the ground. But for
+every one that fell within the batteries, twenty fell outside. Some
+strange freaks are recorded of the shells. One fell on a cannon,
+around which eight or ten men were lying. The gun-carriage was blown
+to pieces, but not a man was hurt. Another fell full on the head of a
+man who was walking about distributing rations, and not so much as a
+button from his uniform was ever found.</p>
+
+<p>But while the navy was thus playing at bowls with great guns, the army
+had marched through the interior, captured New Madrid, and obtained a
+foothold below Island No. 10. Thus the Confederates were surrounded;
+and the very impassability of the land, that had been an <span class="pagenum"><a id="page849" name="page849"></a>(p. 849)</span>
+advantage to them, now told against them, for it cut off all hope of
+re-enforcements. Gen. Pope's position was such that he could not get
+at the island, nor secure a commanding position, without aid from the
+navy. He begged Foote to try to run the batteries; but the commodore
+replied, that the risk was greater than the prospective gain, and
+continued his cannonade. Then a new idea was broached. By cutting a
+canal through the bayous, swamps, and woods of the peninsula, the
+lighter vessels could be taken by the fort without risk, and Foote
+would then dare the dangers of a dash by in the gunboats. Every one
+said that such a canal was impossible; but the men of the North were
+given to doing impossible things in those days, and while Foote's
+mortar-boats continued their thunder, fifteen hundred men were set to
+work cutting a way through the noisome swamps. A channel forty feet
+wide must be made. First gangs of men with axes and saws, working in
+three feet of water, went ahead, cutting down the rank vegetation. As
+fast as a little space was cleared, a small steamer went in, and with
+dredge and steam-capstan hauled out the obstructions. In some places
+the surveyed channel was so filled with drift-wood, fallen trees, and
+tangled roots, that the labor of a thousand men for a day seemed to
+make no impression. When the canal was pretty well blocked out, the
+levee was cut; and the rush of the waters from the great river
+undermined trees, and piled up new obstacles for the steamers to tow
+away. Amid the foulest vapors the men worked, and more than a thousand
+were sent to the hospital with chills and fever, and rheumatism. The
+most venomous snakes lurked in the dark recesses of the swamp; on
+cypress-stumps or floating logs the deadly water-moccason lay
+stretched out, ready to bite without warning. Wherever there was a bit
+of dry ground, the workers were sure to hear the rattle of the
+rattlesnake. Sometimes whole nests of these reptiles would be
+uncovered.</p>
+
+<p>The work was continued day and night. When the failing daylight ceased
+to make its way through the thickly intwined branches of trees and
+climbing vines, great torches would be lighted, and by their fitful
+glare the soldiers and sailors worked on in the water and mud. The
+light glared from the furnaces of the steamers, lighting up the
+half-naked forms of the stokers. Now and then some dry vine or tree
+would catch a spark from a torch, and in an instant would be
+transformed into a pillar of fire. After eight days of work the canal
+was finished, and was found to be of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page850" name="page850"></a>(p. 850)</span> sufficient depth for
+the passage of the transports. And now Commodore Foote saw that the
+time had come when he must attempt to run his gunboats past the forts,
+be the danger what it might.</p>
+
+<p>On April 1, Foote ordered a reconnoissance of the batteries, and this
+order evoked one of the most daring deeds in the history of the war.
+The night was pitchy dark, and heavy clouds were driven across the sky
+by a strong, damp wind, that told of a coming storm. In five boats a
+party of fifty sailors and fifty soldiers put off from the fleet,
+prepared to go down and beard the Confederate lion in his den. Hardly
+had they started on their perilous expedition, when the rain began
+falling in sheets, and now and again flashes of lightning made the
+dark shores visible for an instant, then the black night hid every
+thing again from view. It was midnight, and the fierceness of the wind
+added to the terror of the moment. On the banks, the great
+forest-trees were bending and groaning before the blast, while the
+broad surface of the river was lashed into foaming billows. Under
+cover of the darkness the little band passed rapidly down the river;
+past the shore-batteries and past the Confederate picket-boats, they
+sped unseen. When they were within a few feet of the shore, a flash of
+lightning revealed them for just an instant to the sentries. Then all
+was black, save for the quick flashes of the sentries' guns as they
+gave the alarm and fell back. The Federals landed rapidly, and drove
+the confused Confederates from the battery. Then began the work of
+spiking the guns. Every fifth man carried a number of rat-tail files,
+which were to be driven into the vents of the cannon, and then broken
+off. While the raiders were engaged in this work, the Confederates
+rallied, and soon drove back the blue-jackets to their boats, with a
+slight loss in killed and captured. How many guns they had disabled,
+it is hard to say. In the excitement and glory of successful
+adventure, the reports were much exaggerated. Histories of that date
+depict the men as calmly spiking <span class="italic">every</span> gun, and then retiring
+deliberately. One writer claims that only one gun was spiked. However,
+testimony from Confederates on duty in the batteries goes to show that
+four guns were totally disabled. But the true value of the adventure
+to the Union forces was the dash and valor it disclosed, and the
+encouragement the people received from its success.</p>
+
+<p>The next day after this successful exploit, a gunboat, the
+"Carondelet," was made ready to try the dash past the batteries of
+Island No. 10. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page851" name="page851"></a>(p. 851)</span> Again the weather was favorable to the plans
+of the Federals, for the night was as dark and wild as the one before.
+The day had been clear, and the night opened with so bright a moon
+that for a time it was thought that the project would have to be
+abandoned; but toward ten o'clock a heavy thunder-storm came up, and
+soon the black sky, the wildly waving tree-tops, and the sheets of
+rain scudding across the river, gave promise of a suitable night.</p>
+
+<p>All day the sailors on the "Carondelet" had been working busily,
+getting their vessel in trim for the trip. Heavy planks were laid
+along the deck, to ward off plunging shot. Chain cables were coiled
+about all weak points, cord-wood was piled around the boilers, and the
+pilot-house was wrapped round and about with heavy hawsers. On the
+side toward the battery was tied a large barge, piled high with
+cotton-bales. When the time for starting drew nigh, all lights were
+extinguished. The guns were run in, and the ports closed. The sailors,
+heavily armed, were sent to their stations. Muskets, revolvers, and
+sabres were in the racks. Down in the boiler-room the stokers were
+throwing coal upon the roaring fires; and in the engine-room the
+engineer stood with his hand on the throttle, waiting for the signal
+to get under way.</p>
+
+<p>Towards eleven o'clock the time seemed propitious for starting. The
+storm was at its height, and the roll of the thunder would drown the
+beat of the steamer's paddles. The word was given; and the
+"Carondelet," with her two protecting barges, passed out of sight of
+the flotilla, and down towards the cannon of the enemy. For the first
+half-mile all went well. The vessel sped along silently and unseen.
+The men on the gun-deck, unable to see about, sat breathlessly,
+expecting that at any moment a cannon-ball might come crashing through
+the side into their midst. Suddenly from the towering smoke-stacks,
+burst out sheets of flame five feet high, caused by the burning soot
+inside, and lighting up the river all about. Quickly extinguished,
+they quickly broke out again; and now from the camp of the alarmed
+enemy came the roll of the drum, and the ringing notes of the bugle
+sounding the alarm. A gunboat was bearing down on the works, and the
+Confederates sprang to their guns with a will. The men on the
+"Carondelet" knew what to expect, and soon it came. Five signal
+rockets rushed up into the sky, and in an instant thereafter came the
+roar of a great gun from one of the batteries. Then all joined in, and
+the din became <span class="pagenum"><a id="page852" name="page852"></a>(p. 852)</span> terrible. With volley after volley the
+Confederates hurled cannon-balls, shells, musket, and even
+pistol-bullets at the flying ship, that could only be seen an instant
+at a time by the fitful flashes of the lightning. On the "Carondelet"
+all was still as death. The men knew the deadly peril they were in,
+and realized how impossible it was for them to make any fight. In the
+black night, threading the crooked and ever-changing channel of the
+Mississippi River, it was impossible to go more than half-speed. In
+the bow men were stationed casting the lead, and calling out the
+soundings to the brave old Capt. Hoel, who stood on the upper deck
+unprotected from the storm of bullets, and repeated the soundings to
+Capt. Walker. So through the darkness, through the storm of shot and
+shell, the "Carondelet" kept on her way. Past the land-batteries, past
+the rows of cannon on the island, and past the formidable floating
+battery, she swept uninjured. Heavy and continuous as was the fire of
+the Confederates, it was mainly without aim. The hay-barge was hit
+three times, but not a scar was on the gunboat when she stopped before
+the water-front of New Madrid after twenty minutes' run through that
+dreadful fire.</p>
+
+<p>And now the roar of the great guns had died away, and the men on the
+vessels of the flotilla up the river were all anxiety to know what had
+been the fate of their gallant comrades on the "Carondelet." All the
+time the battle raged, the decks of the ships at anchor were crowded
+with sailors looking eagerly down the river, and trying to make out by
+the blinding flashes of the cannon the dark form of a gunboat speeding
+by the hostile camp. Now all is silent; the roar of battle is over,
+the flash of gunpowder no more lights up the night. But what has
+become of the gallant men who braved that tempest of steel and iron?
+Are they floating down the troubled waters beneath the wreck of their
+vessel? It was a moment of suspense. After a few minutes' silence,
+there comes through the strangely quiet air the deep boom of a heavy
+gun. It had been agreed, that, if the "Carondelet" made the passage of
+the batteries safely, she should fire six heavy guns. The old tars on
+the decks say softly to themselves, "One." Then comes another, and a
+third, and still more, until suddenly a ringing cheer goes up from the
+flotilla, louder than the thunder itself. Men dance for joy; grizzled
+tars fall into each other's arms, sing, shout, cry. An answering
+salute goes booming back, rockets scud up into the clouds; and
+Commodore Foote, with a heart too full for talking, goes down into his
+cabin to be alone.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page853" name="page853"></a>(p. 853)</span> That night's work by the "Carondelet" terminated Confederate
+domain on Island No. 10. The next night another gunboat came down, and
+the two set to work carrying the troops across the river, protecting
+artillerymen engaged in erecting batteries, and generally completing
+the investment of the island. In two days every loop-hole of escape
+for the Confederates is closed,&mdash;gunboats above and below them,
+batteries peering down from every bluff, and regiments of infantry,
+all prepared to move upon the works. They made one or two ineffectual
+but plucky attempts to ward off capture. One private soldier swam
+ashore, skulked past the Union pickets, and made his way to one of the
+Union mortar-boats. He succeeded in getting to the mortar, and
+successfully spiked it, thus terminating its usefulness. A second
+Confederate succeeded in reaching the deck of the mortar-boat, but
+while making his way across the deck tripped and fell. The rat-tail
+file he was carrying was driven into his side, making a wound from
+which he died in two hours. A third man, reckless of life, set out in
+a canoe to blow up a gunboat. He carried with him a fifty-pound keg of
+gunpowder, which he proposed to strap on the rudder-post of the
+vessel. He succeeded in getting under the stern of the vessel; but the
+gleam of his lighted match alarmed the sentry, who fired, hitting him
+in the shoulder. The Confederate went overboard, and managed to get
+ashore; while his keg of powder, with the fuse lighted, went drifting
+down stream. Soon it exploded, throwing up an immense column of water,
+and showing that it would have sent the stoutest vessel to the bottom
+had it been properly placed.</p>
+
+<p>But such struggles as these could not long avert the impending
+disaster. The Confederates were hemmed in on every side. It was true
+that they had a strong position, and could make a desperate
+resistance; but they were separated from their friends, and their
+final downfall was but a question of time. Appreciating this fact,
+they surrendered two days after the "Carondelet" had passed the
+batteries; and Foote made his second step (this time one of sixty
+miles) toward the conquest of the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>To-day nothing remains of the once extensive island, save a small
+sand-bank in the middle of the great river. The rushing current of the
+Father of Waters has done its work, and Island No. 10 is now a mere
+tradition.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page854" name="page854"></a>(p. 854)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader">
+<img src="images/deco_start_735.jpg" width="600" height="350" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -100px; margin-left: 180px;">
+
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XI.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">FAMOUS CONFEDERATE PRIVATEERS. &mdash; THE "ALABAMA," THE "SHENANDOAH," THE
+"NASHVILLE."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_l.jpg" width="50" height="61" alt="L" title=""></span>et
+us now desert, for a time, the progress of the Union forces down
+the Mississippi River, and turn our attention toward the true home of
+the sailors,&mdash;the blue waters of the ocean. We have heard much, from
+many sources, of the exploits of the Confederate commerce-destroyers,
+privateers, or, as the Union authorities and the historians of the war
+period loved to call them, the "Rebel pirates." In the course of this
+narrative we have already dealt with the career of the "Sumter," one
+of the earliest of these vessels. A glance at the career of the most
+famous of all the Confederate cruisers, the "Alabama," will be
+interesting.</p>
+
+<p>This vessel was built in England, ostensibly as a merchant-vessel,
+although her heavy decks and sides, and her small hatchways, might
+have warned the English officials that she was intended for purposes
+of war. Before she was finished, however, the customs-house people
+began to suspect her character; and goaded on by the frequent
+complaints of the United States minister, that a war-vessel was being
+built for the Confederates, they determined to seize her. But
+customs-house officials do things slowly; and, while they were getting
+ready for the seizure, Capt. Semmes, who had <span class="pagenum"><a id="page855" name="page855"></a>(p. 855)</span> taken command
+of the new ship, duped them, and got his vessel safely out of English
+waters. Private detectives and long-shore customs officers had been
+visiting the ship daily on visits of examination; but, by the aid of
+champagne and jolly good-fellowship, their inexperienced eyes were
+easily blinded to the manifest preparations for a warlike cruise. But
+finally came a retired naval officer who was not to be humbugged. A
+sailor on board thus tells the story of his visit: "He was evidently a
+naval officer, alert and resolute, and soon silenced the officer's
+explanations. He looked at the hatchways, shot-racks, and magazines;
+and, surveying the hammock-hooks on the berth-deck, said, 'You'll have
+a large crew for a merchant-steamer.' We had taken on board some heavy
+oak plank, that lay on the main deck; the officer remarked that they
+were for anchor-stocks, and was shortly answered, 'Wouldn't make bad
+gun-platforms, sir,' which, indeed, was just what they were intended
+for. With a 'Good-morning, sir,' our visitor mounted the side and was
+gone." This visit alarmed the Confederates; and immediate preparations
+were made to run the ship, which still went by the name of the "No.
+290," out of the British waters the next day. To disarm suspicion, a
+large party of ladies and gentlemen were invited aboard; and the ship
+started down the Mersey, ostensibly on her trial trip, with the sounds
+of music and popping corks ringing from her decks. But peaceful and
+merry as the start seemed, it was the beginning of a voyage that was
+destined to bring ruin to hundreds of American merchants, and leave
+many a good United States vessel a smoking ruin on the breast of the
+ocean. When she was a short distance down the river, two tugs were
+seen putting off from the shore; and in a moment the astonished guests
+were requested to leave the ship, and betake themselves homeward in
+the tugs. It is unnecessary to follow the voyage of the "No. 290" to
+Nassau, and detail the way in which cannon, ammunition, and naval
+stores were sent out from Portsmouth in a second vessel, and
+transferred to her just outside of Nassau. It is enough to say that on
+a bright, clear Sunday morning, in the latter part of August, 1862,
+Capt. Rafael Semmes, late of the Confederate cruiser "Sumter," a
+gentleman of middle height, wearing a uniform of gray and gold, his
+dark mustache waxed to such sharp points that one would think him a
+Frenchman rather than a Southerner, stood on the quarter-deck of the
+"No. 290," with his crew mustered before him, reading out his
+commission <span class="pagenum"><a id="page856" name="page856"></a>(p. 856)</span> from Jefferson Davis, as commander of the
+Confederate States' steam-sloop "Alabama." As he read, an old
+master's-mate, standing at the peak-halyards, begins pulling at the
+ropes. The British ensign, carried through the ship's anonymous days,
+comes fluttering down, and in its place runs up the white naval ensign
+of the Confederacy, with the starry Southern cross in the red field of
+the corner. Then the reading is ended. Boom! goes the starboard
+forecastle-gun. The band bursts forth with the stirring notes of
+Dixie; and the sailors, after three ringing cheers, crowd forward to
+wait for further developments. Soon the sailors are summoned aft
+again, and Capt. Semmes addresses them. He tells them that, as the
+"Alabama" is to be a ship-of-war, they are released from their
+shipping contracts, but are invited to ship under the new plan. He
+briefly details the purpose of the cruise. The "Alabama" is to be a
+bird of passage, flitting from port to port, and hovering about the
+highways of travel, to lie in wait for the merchant-vessels of the
+North. Armed vessels she will avoid as much as possible, confining her
+warfare to the helpless merchantmen. It is hardly a glorious
+programme, but it seems to bear the promise of prize-money; and before
+the day is over Capt. Semmes has shipped a crew of eighty men, and
+with these the "Alabama" begins her cruise. The remainder of the
+sailors are sent ashore, and the "Alabama" starts off under sail, in
+search of her first capture.</p>
+
+<p>Let us look for a moment at this vessel, perhaps the most famous of
+all cruisers. She was a fast screw-steamer, of a little more than a
+thousand tons' burden. Her screw was so arranged that it could be
+hoisted out of the water; and, as the saving of coal was a matter of
+necessity, the "Alabama" did most of her cruising under sail. Her hull
+was of wood, with no iron plating, and her battery consisted of but
+eight light guns: two facts which made it necessary that she should
+avoid any conflicts with the powerful ships of the United States navy.
+Her lines were beautifully fine; and, as she sped swiftly through the
+water, Capt. Semmes felt that his vessel could escape the Northern
+cruisers as easily as she could overhaul the lumbering merchantmen.
+The crew was a turbulent one, picked up in the streets of Liverpool,
+and made up of men of all nationalities. Terrific rows would arise in
+the forecastle, and differences between the sailors were often settled
+by square stand-up fights. The petty officers seldom interfered; one
+old boatswain remarking, when he heard the noise <span class="pagenum"><a id="page857" name="page857"></a>(p. 857)</span> of blows in
+the forecastle, "Blast them, let 'em slug one another's heads off; it
+will keep 'em out of mischief." And it generally did, for the
+combatants were usually fast friends the next day.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the new ship was cleaned up, and put in order, drill began.
+The men were all green; and hard, steady work at the guns, and with
+the cutlasses, was necessary to fit them for service. The decks
+resounded with "right," "left," "head protect," "right overcut." The
+men were slow in learning; but the officers were Southerners, devoted
+to their cause, and were tireless in getting the crew into shape.</p>
+
+<p>After several days of cruising and drill, a vessel was sighted which
+was unmistakably American. One of the sailors tells the story of her
+capture graphically. "On the morning of the 5th of September the cry
+of 'ship ahoy!' from the masthead brought all hands on deck. Sure
+enough, about two miles to the leeward of us was a fine barque, at
+once pronounced a 'spouter' (whaler), and an American. In order to
+save coal,&mdash;of which very essential article we had about three hundred
+tons aboard,&mdash;we never used our screw unless absolutely necessary. We
+were on the starboard tack, and with the fresh breeze soon came
+alongside. We had the American flag set, and the chase showed the
+stars and stripes. A gun was fired; and, as we came within hail, we
+gave the order, 'Back your mainsail; I'll send a boat on board of
+you.'</p>
+
+<p>"'Cutter away,' and the boat came down from the davits, and we pulled
+for our first prize. It soon became a vain thing, and tiresome; but
+this our first essay was a novelty, and we made the stretches buckle
+with our impatience to get aboard. The bowman hooked on to the chains,
+and we went up the side like cats. When we got aft, the captain asked
+in a dazed sort of manner, 'Why&mdash;why&mdash;what does this mean?' The
+master, Fullam, replied, 'You are prize to the Confederate steamer
+"Alabama," Capt. Semmes commanding. I'll trouble you for your papers.'
+Now, this man had been four years out, and had no doubt heard of the
+trouble at home; but he couldn't realize this, and he stared, and
+said, 'Confederate government&mdash;Alabama&mdash;why, that's a State,' and then
+was sternly told to get his papers. We were ordered to put the crew in
+irons, and they, too, seemed utterly dumbfounded; and one poor fellow
+said to me, 'Must I lose all my clothes?' I answered, 'Yes,' but
+advised him to put on all he could, and if he had any money to slip it
+in his boot. 'Money! I h'aint seen a dollar for three years; but I'm
+obliged to ye all the same.'"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page858" name="page858"></a>(p. 858)</span> Then, after searching the vessel for valuables, the captives
+were taken back to the "Alabama," while one boat's-crew remained
+behind to fire the vessel.</p>
+
+<p>"She was loaded with oil," writes sailor Haywood; "and, when it
+caught, a high column of dense black smoke poured out of the
+hatchways, and spread in vast involutions to the leeward. Soon the red
+forked flames began to climb her masts, and her spars glowed with
+light; with a crash her mainmast fell, carrying the foremast with it,
+and sending a shower of sparks high in the air; her stout sides seemed
+to burst open; and what was a stately ship was now a blackened hulk,
+the rising sea breaking in white-caps over it, and at last, with a
+surge and wallow, sinking out of sight." Alone, by one of the
+lee-ports, the ruined American captain stood, looking sadly upon the
+end of all his long four years' labor. For this he had borne the icy
+hardships of the Arctic seas. The long, dreary four years of
+separation from wife and home had been lightened by the thought, that
+by a prosperous voyage he might bring home enough money to stay always
+in the little shingled cottage in the narrow street of some New
+England fishing-village; but now all that was over. When he should
+arrive home he would be penniless, with nothing but the clothes on his
+back, and all because of a war of the very existence of which he knew
+nothing. It was hard to bear, but war brings nothing but affliction.</p>
+
+<p>After this capture, the "Alabama" had a lively season for several
+weeks, capturing often two or three vessels a day. Generally they met
+with no resistance; but occasionally the blood of some old sea-dog
+would boil, and he would do the best in his power to injure his
+captors. A story of one such incident was thus told by one of the
+"Alabama's" crew:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo860" name="illo860"></a>
+<img src="images/860_looting_a_prize.jpg" width="400" height="579" alt="" title="">
+<p>Looting a Prize.</p></div>
+
+<p>"When we ran around in search of whalers, we came upon a Yankee
+skipper who didn't know what surrender meant. We were just well to the
+west of the stormy cape, when one morning after breakfast we raised a
+whaler. He was headed up the coast, and about noon we overhauled him.
+He paid no attention to the first shot, and it was only when the
+second one hulled him that he came into the wind. It was then seen
+that he had fifteen or sixteen men aboard, and that all were armed
+with muskets, and meant to defend the ship. The lieutenant was sent
+off with his boat; but no sooner was he within fair musket-range, than
+the whaler opened on him, killing one man, and wounding two, at the
+first volley. The officer pushed ahead, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page861" name="page861"></a>(p. 861)</span> demanded a
+surrender; but he got another volley, and the reply that the whaler
+'would go to the bottom before he would surrender to a Rebel!'</p>
+
+<p>"The boat was recalled, and our gunners were instructed to hull the
+whaler with solid shot. We approached him within rifle-range, and
+opened fire. Every one of the balls plumped through his side at and
+above the water-line, and he answered with his muskets, severely
+wounding two men. He was repeatedly hailed to surrender, but in reply
+he encouraged his men to maintain their fire. We soon had the sea
+pouring into his starboard side through a dozen holes; and when it was
+seen that he would soon go down, we ceased firing, and again demanded
+his surrender. I can remember just how he looked as he sprang upon the
+rail,&mdash;tall, gaunt, hair flying, and eyes blazing,&mdash;and shouted in
+reply,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'The 'Ben Scott' don't surrender! Come and take us&mdash;if you can.'</p>
+
+<p>"Five minutes later his craft settled down, bow first. We lowered the
+boats to save his crew, and, strangely enough, not a man was lost.
+When we brought them aboard, the Yankee skipper walked up to Semmes,
+bareheaded, barefooted, and coatless, and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'If I'd only have had one old cannon aboard, we'd have licked ye out
+of yer butes! Here we are, and what are ye going to do with us?'</p>
+
+<p>"He was voted a jolly good fellow, and the crew were better treated
+than any other ever forced aboard. In order to give them their
+liberty, the very next capture we made was bonded, and they were put
+aboard to sail for home."</p>
+
+<p>But now the decks of the "Alabama" were getting rather uncomfortably
+crowded with prisoners, and it became necessary to put into some port
+where they could be landed. Accordingly the ship was headed for
+Martinique, and soon lay anchored in the harbor of that place, where
+she began coaling. While she lay there, a Yankee schooner put into the
+port, and was about to drop anchor near the dangerous cruiser, when
+some one gave the skipper a hint; and, with a startled "b'gosh," he
+got his sails up, and scudded out to sea. The "Alabama" lay in port
+some days. The first set of the sailors who received permission to go
+ashore proceeded to get drunk, and raised so great a disturbance, that
+thereafter they were obliged to look on the tropical prospect from the
+deck of the vessel. The next day a United States war-vessel was seen
+standing into the harbor, and Capt. Semmes immediately began to make
+preparations to fight her. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page862" name="page862"></a>(p. 862)</span> But as she came nearer she proved
+to be the "San Jacinto," a vessel mounting fourteen heavy guns, and
+altogether too powerful for the "Alabama." So thinking discretion the
+better part of valor, the Confederate ship remained safe in the
+neutral harbor. The "San Jacinto" quietly remained outside, thinking
+that at last the fox was caught. But that same night, with all lights
+extinguished, and running under full steam, the "Alabama" slipped
+right under the broadside of her enemy, getting clean away, so quietly
+that the "San Jacinto" remained for four days guarding the empty trap,
+while the "Alabama" was off again on another voyage of destruction,
+and the tuneful souls in the forecastle were roaring out the chorus,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem30">
+  "Oh, our jolly privateer<br>
+<span class="add1em">Has left old England's shore!</span><br>
+  Lord, send us lots of prizes,<br>
+<span class="add1em">But no Yankee man-of-war."</span></p>
+
+<p>Soon after leaving Martinique, the "Alabama" made a capture which
+embarrassed the captain not a little by its size. It was Sunday (which
+Capt. Semmes calls in his journal "the 'Alabama's' lucky day"), when a
+bit of smoke was seen far off on the horizon, foretelling the approach
+of a steamer. Now was the time for a big haul; and the "Alabama's"
+canvas was furled, and her steam-gear put in running order. The two
+vessels approached each other rapidly; and soon the stranger came near
+enough for those on the "Alabama" to make out her huge walking-beam,
+see-sawing up and down amidships. The bright colors of ladies' dresses
+were visible; and some stacks of muskets, and groups of blue-uniformed
+men, forward, told of the presence of troops. The "Alabama" came up
+swiftly, her men at the guns, and the United States flag flying from
+the peak,&mdash;a rather dishonorable ruse habitually practised by Capt.
+Semmes. In a moment the stranger showed the stars and stripes, and
+then the "Alabama" ran up the white ensign of the Confederacy, and
+fired a blank cartridge. But the stranger had no thought of
+surrendering, and crowded on all steam and fled. The "Alabama" was no
+match for her in speed, so a more peremptory summons was sent in the
+shape of a shell that cut the steamer's foremast in two. This hint was
+sufficient. The huge paddles ceased revolving, and a boat's-crew from
+the "Alabama" went aboard to take possession. The prize proved to be
+the mail steamer "Ariel," with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page863" name="page863"></a>(p. 863)</span> five hundred passengers,
+besides a hundred and forty marines and a number of army and navy
+officers. Now Capt. Semmes had an elephant on his hands, and what to
+do with that immense number of people he could not imagine. Clearly
+the steamer could not be burned like other captures. For two days
+Capt. Semmes kept the prize near him, debating what was to be done,
+and then released her; exacting from all the military and naval
+officers their paroles that they would not take up arms against the
+Confederacy.</p>
+
+<p>After this exploit the "Alabama" went into port for a few days, and
+then headed into the Gulf of Mexico. Here she steamed about, capturing
+and burning a few United States merchantmen, until on the 11th of
+January she found herself off the port of Galveston, where a strong
+blockading fleet was stationed. And here she fought her first battle.</p>
+
+<p>About four o'clock of a clear afternoon, the lookout in the cross
+trees of the United States sloop-of-war "Hatteras," stationed off the
+port of Galveston, hailed the officer of the deck, and reported a
+steamer standing up and down outside. The stranger was watched closely
+through marine glasses, and finally decided to be a blockade-runner
+trying to make the port; and the "Hatteras" immediately set out in
+pursuit. This was just what Capt. Semmes desired. He knew that the
+ships stationed off Galveston were not heavily armed, and he felt sure
+that if he could entice one away from the rest of the fleet he would
+be able to send her to the bottom. Accordingly he steamed away slowly,
+letting the "Hatteras" gain on him, but at the same time drawing her
+out of the reach of any aid from her consorts. When about twenty miles
+away from the fleet, the "Alabama" slowed down and finally stopped
+altogether, waiting for the "Hatteras" to come up. The latter vessel
+came within two hundred yards, and hailed, "What ship's that?"&mdash;"Her
+Majesty's ship 'Petrel,'" answered Semmes, pursuing the course of
+deception that brings so much discredit on his otherwise dashing
+career. The captain of the "Hatteras" answered that he would send a
+boat aboard; but, before the boat touched the water, a second hail
+announced, "We are the Confederate ship 'Alabama,'" and in an instant
+a heavy broadside crashed into the "Hatteras." Every one of the shots
+took effect; and one big fellow from the one hundred and five pounder
+rifle peeled off six feet of iron plating from the side of the
+"Hatteras," and lodged in the hold. Dazed by this unexpected fire, but
+plucky as ever, the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page864" name="page864"></a>(p. 864)</span> blue-jackets sprang to their guns and
+returned the fire. The two ships were so close together that a good
+shot with a revolver could have picked off his man every time, and the
+sailors hurled taunts at each other between the volleys. Not a shot
+missed the "Hatteras:" in five minutes she was riddled with holes, and
+on fire, and a minute or two later the engineer came up coolly and
+reported, "Engine's disabled, sir;" followed quickly by the carpenter,
+who remarked, "Ship's making water fast; can't float more than ten
+minutes, sir." There was nothing for it but surrender, and the flag
+came down amid frantic yells from the "Alabama" sailors. Semmes got
+out his boats with wonderful rapidity, and picked up all the men on
+the "Hatteras;" and the defeated vessel sank in ten minutes. One of
+the strange things about this battle was the small number of men
+injured. Nothing but shells were fired, and they searched every part
+of the vessels; yet when the fight was over the "Alabama" had but one
+man wounded, while the "Hatteras" had two men killed and three
+wounded. The shells played some strange pranks in their course. One
+ripped up a long furrow in the deck of the "Alabama," and knocked two
+men high in the air without disabling them. Another struck a gun full
+in the mouth, tore off one side of it, and shoved it back ten feet,
+without injuring any of the crew. One man who was knocked overboard by
+the concussion was back again and serving his gun in two minutes. A
+shell exploded in the coal of the "Hatteras," and sent the stuff
+flying all about the vessel, without injuring a man.</p>
+
+<p>With her prisoners stowed away in all available places about her
+decks, the "Alabama" headed for Jamaica, and cast anchor in the harbor
+of Port Royal. There were several English men-of-war there, and the
+officers of the victorious ship were lionized and feasted to their
+hearts' content. The prisoners were landed, the "Alabama's" wounds
+were bound up, and she was made ready for another cruise.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo866" name="illo866"></a>
+<img src="images/866_sinking_of_the_alabama.jpg" width="400" height="587" alt="" title="">
+<p>Sinking of the "Alabama."</p></div>
+
+<p>After five days in port, she set out again on her wanderings about the
+world. Week after week she patrolled the waters in all parts of the
+globe where ships were likely to be met. Sometimes she would go a
+fortnight without a capture, and then the men in the forecastle would
+grow turbulent and restive under the long idleness. Every bit of
+brass-work was polished hour after hour, and the officers were at
+their wits' end to devise means for "teasing-time." The men made
+sword-knots and chafing-gear enough <span class="pagenum"><a id="page867" name="page867"></a>(p. 867)</span> to last the whole
+navy, and then looked longingly at the captain's mustache, as the only
+thing left in which a "Turk's head" could be tied. Music enlivened the
+hours for a time; but the fiddler was soon voted a bore, and silenced
+by some one pouring a pint of molasses into the <span class="italic">f</span>-holes of his
+instrument. The enraged musician completed the job by breaking it over
+the head of the joker. After several weeks, they put into Cape Town.
+Here the practical joker of the crew made himself famous by utterly
+routing an inquisitive old lady, who asked, "What do you do with your
+prisoners?" The grizzled old tar dropped his voice to a confidential
+whisper, and, with a look of the utmost frankness, replied, "We biles
+'em, mum. We tried a roast, but there ain't a hounce of meat on one o'
+them Yankee carkages. Yes, mum, we biles 'em." The startled old lady
+gasped out, "Good lordy," and fled from the ship.</p>
+
+<p>Putting out from Cape Town, the "Alabama" continued her weary round of
+cruising. Many vessels were captured, and most of them were burned.
+One Yankee captain proved too much for Semmes, as his story will show.
+His ship was chased by the "Alabama" in heavy weather all day, and
+occasionally fired upon. When the steamer was abeam, "she closed up
+with us," the captain says, "as near as safety would permit, and,
+hailing us, asked where we were bound, and demanded the surrender of
+the ship to the Confederate Government. I answered through my trumpet,
+'Come and take me.' Conversation being too straining for the lungs
+amid the howling of the wind and rolling of the huge billows, and the
+proximity of the vessels too dangerous, we separated a little, and had
+recourse to blackboards to carry on our conversation. Semmes asked
+where we were bound. I answered, without a blush, 'Melbourne,'
+thinking that possibly he might try to intercept me if he knew that I
+was to pass through the Straits of Sunda. Then he had the cheek to
+order me to 'haul down your flag and surrender, escape or no
+escape,'&mdash;on a kind of parole, I suppose he meant. I wrote on the
+board: 'First capture, then parole,' This answer vexed him, I am sure,
+for he immediately wrote: 'Surrender, or I will sink you.' I wrote:
+'That would be murder, not battle.'&mdash;'Call it what you will, I will do
+it,' he wrote. 'Attempt it, and by the living God, I will run you
+down, and we will sink together,' I wrote in reply. I knew his threat
+was vain; for in that heavy sea, rolling his rails under, he did not
+dare to free his guns, which were already double <span class="pagenum"><a id="page868" name="page868"></a>(p. 868)</span> lashed.
+They would have carried away their tackles, and gone through the
+bulwarks overboard. Conscious that he had made empty threats, we said
+no more, but doggedly kept on our course. Sail was still further
+reduced on both vessels, as the wind kept increasing and was now
+blowing a gale. We were now gradually and surely drawing ahead of the
+steamer. It was growing dark. Rejoicing at my fortunate escape, I gave
+the valiant Semmes a parting shot by hoisting the signal 'Good-by.'
+Dipping the star-spangled banner as a salute, I hauled it down, and
+the steamer was soon lost to sight in the darkness.... I never saw her
+after our escape; but, indirectly, she forced me to sell my ship in
+China soon after."</p>
+
+<p>But we cannot follow the "Alabama" in her career about the world. A
+full account of her captures would fill volumes; and in this narrative
+we must pass hastily by the time that she spent scouring the ocean,
+dodging United States men-of-war, and burning Northern merchantmen,
+until, on the 11th of June, she entered the harbor of Cherbourg,
+France, and had hardly dropped anchor when the United States
+man-of-war "Kearsarge" appeared outside, and calmly settled down to
+wait for the Confederate to come out and fight. Capt. Semmes seemed
+perfectly ready for the conflict, and began getting his ship in shape
+for the battle. The men, too, said that they had had a "plum-pudding
+voyage" of it so far, and they were perfectly ready for a fight. The
+forecastle poet was set to work, and soon ground out a song, of which
+the refrain was,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem20">
+  "We're homeward bound, we're homeward bound!<br>
+   And soon shall stand on English ground;<br>
+   But, ere our native land we see,<br>
+   We first must fight the 'Kearsargee.'"</p>
+
+<p>This was the last song made on board the "Alabama," and the poet was
+never more seen after the fight with the "Kearsargee."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo869" name="illo869"></a>
+<img src="images/869_rescue_of_capt_semmes.jpg" width="350" height="498" alt="" title="">
+<p>Rescue of Capt. Semmes.</p></div>
+
+<p>The "Kearsarge" had hardly hove in sight when Capt. Semmes began
+taking in coal, and ordered the yards sent down from aloft, and the
+ship put in trim for action. Outside the breakwater, the "Kearsarge"
+was doing the same thing. In armament, the two vessels were nearly
+equal; the "Alabama" having eight guns to the "Kearsarge's" seven, but
+the guns of the latter vessel were heavier and of greater range. In
+the matter of speed, the "Kearsarge" had a slight advantage. The great
+advantage <span class="pagenum"><a id="page870" name="page870"></a>(p. 870)</span> which the "Kearsarge" had was gained by the
+forethought of her commander, who had chains hung down her sides,
+protecting the boilers and machinery. Semmes might easily have done
+the same thing had the idea occurred to him.</p>
+
+<p>It was on Sunday, June 19, that the "Alabama" started out to the duel
+that was to end in her destruction. Though Sunday was Capt. Semmes's
+lucky day, his luck this time seemed to have deserted him. The
+"Alabama" was accompanied in her outward voyage by a large French
+iron-clad frigate. The broad breakwater was black with people waiting
+to see the fight. The news had spread as far as Paris, and throngs had
+come down by special trains to view the great naval duel. A purple
+haze hung over the placid water, through which could be seen the
+"Kearsarge," with her colors flying defiantly, steaming slowly ahead,
+and ready for the "Alabama" to come up. Small steamers on every side
+followed the "Alabama," as near the scene of conflict as they dared.
+One English yacht, the "Deerhound," with her owner's family aboard,
+hung close to the combatants during the fight. No duel of the age of
+chivalry had a more eager throng of spectators.</p>
+
+<p>Now the "Alabama" has passed the three-mile line, and is on the open
+sea. The big French iron-clad stops; the pilot-boats, with no liking
+for cannon-balls, stop too. The "Deerhound" goes out a mile or so
+farther, and the "Alabama" advances alone to meet the antagonist that
+is waiting quietly for her coming. The moment of conflict is at hand;
+and Capt. Semmes, mustering his men on the deck, addresses them
+briefly, and sends them to their quarters; and now, with guns shotted,
+and lanyards taut, and ready for the pull, the "Alabama" rushes toward
+her enemy. When within a distance of a mile, the first broadside was
+let fly, without avail. The "Kearsarge," more cool and prudent, waits
+yet awhile; and, when the first shot does go whizzing from her big
+Dahlgren guns, it strikes the "Alabama," and makes her quiver all
+over. Clearly it won't do to fight at long range; and Capt. Semmes
+determines to close in on his more powerful antagonist, and even try
+to carry her by boarding, as in the glorious days of Paul Jones. But
+the wary Winslow of the "Kearsarge" will have none of that; and he
+keeps his ship at a good distance, all the time pouring great shot
+into the sides of the "Alabama." Now the two vessels begin circling
+around each other in mighty circles, each trying to get in a raking
+position. The men on the "Alabama" began to find that <span class="pagenum"><a id="page871" name="page871"></a>(p. 871)</span> their
+gunpowder was bad and caky; while at the same moment one of the
+officers saw two big solid shot strike the "Kearsarge" amidships, and
+fall back into the water, revealing the heretofore unsuspected armor.
+This was discouraging. Then came a big shot that knocked over the
+pivot-gun, and killed half its crew. One sailor saw a shot come in a
+port, glide along the gun, and strike the man at the breach full in
+the breast, killing him instantly.</p>
+
+<p>The "Kearsarge," too, was receiving some pretty heavy blows, but her
+iron armor protected her vulnerable parts. One shell lodged in her
+sternpost, but failed to explode. Had it burst, the "Kearsarge's"
+fighting would have been over.</p>
+
+<p>After an hour the officers of the "Alabama" began coming to Capt.
+Semmes with grave faces, and reporting serious accidents. At last the
+first lieutenant reported the ship sinking, and the order was given to
+strike the flag. She was sinking rapidly, and the time had come for
+every man to save himself. The "Kearsarge" was shamefully slow in
+getting out her boats; and finally when the "Alabama," throwing her
+bow high in the air, went down with a rush, she carried most of her
+wounded with her, and left the living struggling in the water. Capt.
+Semmes was picked up by a boat from the yacht "Deerhound," and was
+carried in that craft to England away from capture. For so escaping,
+he has been harshly criticised by many people; but there seems to be
+no valid reason why he should refuse the opportunity so offered him.
+Certain it is, that, had he not reached the "Deerhound," he would have
+been drowned; for none of the boats of the "Kearsarge" were near him
+when he was struggling in the water.</p>
+
+<p>So ended the career of the "Alabama." Her life had been a short one,
+and her career not the most glorious imaginable; but she had fulfilled
+the purpose for which she was intended. She had captured sixty-four
+merchant-vessels, kept a large number of men-of-war busy in chasing
+her from one end of the world to the other, and inflicted on American
+commerce an almost irreparable injury.</p>
+
+<p>Although the "Alabama" was by all means the most noted and the most
+successful of all the Confederate cruisers, there were others that
+entered upon the career of privateering, and followed it for a while
+with varying degrees of success. Some were captured revenue-cutters,
+which the Confederates armed with a single heavy gun, and turned loose
+on the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page872" name="page872"></a>(p. 872)</span> ocean in search of Yankee schooners. Others were
+merely tugs or pilot-boats. Generally their careers were short. In one
+instance a fine privateer, from which the Confederates expected great
+things, attempted to capture a United States man-of-war, under the
+delusion that it was a merchant-vessel. The captain of the man-of-war
+saw the mistake under which the Confederate labored, and allowed the
+privateer to come up within short range, when, with a sudden
+broadside, he sent her to the bottom, abruptly terminating her career
+as a commerce destroyer. Some quite formidable iron-clad cruisers were
+built abroad; but in most cases all the diplomacy of the Confederate
+agents proved unavailing to prevent the confiscation of the ships by
+the neutral governments in whose territory they were built. Two
+iron-clad rams built at Liverpool, ostensibly for private parties, but
+really for the Confederate Government, were seized by the British
+authorities. Six splendid vessels were built in France, but only one
+succeeded in getting away to join the Confederate service. This one
+was a ram with armored sides, and was named the "Stonewall." The war
+was nearly over when she was put in commission, and her services for
+the Confederacy amounted to nothing. She made one short cruise, during
+which she fell in with two United States men-of-war, that avoided a
+fight with her on account of her superior strength. At the end of her
+cruise the war was over, and she was sold to the Mikado of Japan,
+whose flag she now carries.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo872" name="illo872"></a>
+<img src="images/872_the_end_of_a_privateer.jpg" width="400" height="586" alt="" title="">
+<p>The End of a Privateer.</p></div>
+
+<p>The "Nashville" was an old side-wheel passenger-steamer, of which the
+Confederates had made a privateer. Her career was a short one. She
+made one trip to England as a blockade-runner, and on her return
+voyage she burned three or four United States merchantmen. She then
+put into the Great Ogeechee River, where she was blockaded by three
+Union men-of-war. The Confederates protected her by filling the river
+with torpedoes, and anchoring the ship at a point where the guns of a
+strong fort could beat back all assailants. Here she lay for several
+weeks, while the men on the blockaders were fuming at the thought that
+they were to be kept idle, like cats watching a rat-hole. At last
+Capt. Worden, who was there with his redoubtable monitor "Montauk,"
+determined to destroy the privateer, despite the torpedoes and the big
+guns of the fort. He accordingly began a movement up the river,
+picking his way slowly through the obstructions. The fort began a
+lively cannonade; but Worden soon found that he had nothing to fear
+from that quarter, as the guns were not <span class="pagenum"><a id="page875" name="page875"></a>(p. 875)</span> heavy enough to
+injure the iron sides of the little monitor. But, as he went up the
+river, the "Nashville" took the alarm and fled before him; and it
+seemed that the most the Union fleet could do would be to keep her
+from coming down again, for with her light draught she could keep well
+out of range of the monitor's guns. But one morning Worden perceived a
+strange commotion on the "Nashville;" and, looking carefully through
+his glass, he saw that she was aground. Now was his time; and at once
+he pushed forward to a point twelve hundred yards from her, and
+directly under the guns of Fort MacAllister. From this point he began
+a deliberate fire upon the doomed privateer. The great guns of the
+fort were roaring away, and their shells came crashing against the
+sides of the "Montauk;" but to this Worden paid no heed. It was
+splendid long distance practice for his gunners; and, when they got
+the range, not a shot missed the stranded Confederate vessel. From his
+pilot-house Worden could see the crew of the "Nashville" escaping in
+boats, leaping into the water over the sides,&mdash;doing anything to
+escape from that terribly destructive fire. All the time the great
+fifteen-inch shells were dropping into the vessel with fearful
+precision. By and by a heavy fog fell upon the scene; but the gunners
+on the "Montauk" knew where their enemy was, and kept up their steady
+fire, though they could see nothing. When the fog lifted, they saw the
+"Nashville" a mass of flames; and in a moment she blew up, covering
+the placid surface of the river with blackened fragments. Then the
+"Montauk" returned to her consorts, well satisfied with her day's
+work.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo876" name="illo876"></a>
+<img src="images/876_the_nashville_burning_a_prize.jpg" width="600" height="376" alt="" title="">
+<p>The "Nashville" burning a Prize.</p></div>
+
+<p>The last of the Confederate privateers to ravage the ocean was the
+"Shenandoah," originally an English merchant-vessel engaged in the
+East India trade. She was large, fast, and strongly built; and the
+astute agent of the Confederacy knew, when he saw her lying in a
+Liverpool dock, that she was just calculated for a privateer. She was
+purchased by private parties, and set sail, carrying a large stock of
+coal and provisions, but no arms. By a strange coincidence, a second
+vessel left Liverpool the same day, carrying several mysterious
+gentlemen, who afterwards proved to be Confederate naval officers. The
+cargo of this second vessel consisted almost entirely of remarkably
+heavy cases marked "machinery." The two vessels, once out of English
+waters, showed great fondness for each other, and proceeded together
+to a deserted, barren island near Madeira. Here they anchored side by
+side; and the mysterious gentlemen, now resplendent <span class="pagenum"><a id="page877" name="page877"></a>(p. 877)</span> in the
+gray and gold uniform of the Confederacy, stepped aboard the
+"Shenandoah." Then the cases were hoisted out of the hold of the
+smaller vessel; and, when the "machinery" was mounted on the gun-deck
+of the "Shenandoah," it proved to be a number of very fine
+steel-rifled cannon. Then the crew was mustered on the gun-deck, and
+informed that they were manning the new Confederate ship "Shenandoah;"
+and with a cheer the flag was hoisted at the peak, and the newly
+created ship-of-war started off in search of merchantmen to make
+bonfires of. From Madeira the cruiser made for the Southern Ocean,&mdash;a
+fresh field not yet ravaged by any Confederate vessel. This made the
+hunting all the better for the "Shenandoah," and she burned vessels
+right and left merrily. In the spring of 1865, she put into the harbor
+of Melbourne, Australia, where her officers were lavishly entertained
+by the citizens. Thence she proceeded to the northward, spending some
+time in the Indian Ocean, and skirting the Asiatic coast, until she
+reached Behrings Straits. Here she lay in wait for returning whalers,
+who in that season were apt to congregate in Behrings Sea in great
+numbers, ready for the long voyage around Cape Horn to their home
+ports on the New England coast. Capt. Waddell was not disappointed in
+his expectations, for he reached the straits just as the returning
+whalers were coming out in a body. One day he captured eleven in a
+bunch. With one-third his crew standing at the guns ready to fire upon
+any vessel that should attempt to get up sail, Waddell kept the rest
+of his men rowing from ship to ship, taking off the crews. Finally all
+the prisoners were put aboard three of the whalers, and the eight
+empty ships were set afire. It was a grand spectacle. On every side
+were the towering icebergs, whose glassy sides reflected the lurid
+glare from the burning ships. Great black volumes of smoke arose from
+the blazing oil into the clear blue northern sky. The ruined men
+crowded upon the three whalers saw the fruits of their years of labor
+thus destroyed in an afternoon, and heaped curses upon the heads of
+the men who had thus robbed them. What wonder if, in the face of such
+apparently wanton destruction as this, they overlooked the niceties of
+the law of war, and called their captors pirates! Yet for the men of
+the "Shenandoah" it was no pleasant duty to thus cruise about the
+world, burning and destroying private property, and doing warfare only
+against unarmed people. More than one has left on record his complaint
+of the utter unpleasantness of the duty; but all felt that they were
+aiding the cause for <span class="pagenum"><a id="page878" name="page878"></a>(p. 878)</span> which their brothers at home were
+fighting, and so they went on in their work of destruction.</p>
+
+<p>For two months more Waddell continued his depredations in the northern
+seas. Many a stout bark from New London or New Bedford fell a prey to
+his zeal for a cause that was even then lost. For the Confederacy had
+fallen. The last volley of the war had been discharged three months
+before. Of this Capt. Waddell was ignorant, and his warlike operations
+did not end until the captain of a British bark told him of the
+surrender of Lee and Johnston, and the end of the war. To continue his
+depredations longer would be piracy: so Capt. Waddell hauled down his
+Confederate flag, and heading for Liverpool surrendered his ship to
+the British authorities, by whom it was promptly transferred to the
+United States. So ended the last of the Confederate privateers.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_878.jpg" width="150" height="52" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo879" name="illo879"></a>
+<img src="images/879_shenandoah_burning_whalers.jpg" width="400" height="575" alt="" title="">
+<p>"Shenandoah" burning Whalers.</p></div>
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page881" name="page881"></a>(p. 881)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_685.jpg" width="600" height="297" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">WORK OF THE GULF SQUADRON. &mdash; THE FIGHT AT THE PASSES OF THE
+MISSISSIPPI. &mdash; DESTRUCTION OF THE SCHOONER "JUDAH." &mdash; THE BLOCKADE OF
+GALVESTON, AND CAPTURE OF THE "HARRIET LANE."</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he
+naval forces of the United States during the war may be roughly
+classified as the Atlantic fleets, the river navy, and the Gulf
+squadron. The vessels comprising the latter detachment enjoyed some
+light service during the opening months of the war; but, as the time
+went on, the blue-jackets of the Gulf squadron found that they had no
+reason to congratulate themselves on securing an easy berth. Their
+blockading duty was not so arduous as that of their brothers along the
+rugged Atlantic coast; but they were harassed continually by
+Confederate rams, which would make a dash into the fleet, strike heavy
+blows, and then fly up some convenient river far into the territory of
+the Confederacy. One such attack was made upon the squadron blockading
+the Mississippi in October, 1861.</p>
+
+<p>Some eighty miles below New Orleans, the Mississippi divides into
+three great channels, which flow at wide angles from each other into
+the Gulf of Mexico. These streams flow between low marshy banks hardly
+higher than the muddy surface of the river, covered with thick growths
+of willows, and infested with reptiles and poisonous insects. The
+point from which these three streams diverge is known as the "Head of
+the Passes," and it was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page882" name="page882"></a>(p. 882)</span> here that the blockading squadron of
+four vessels was stationed. The ships swung idly at their moorings for
+weeks. The pestilential vapors from the surrounding marshes were
+rapidly putting all the crews in the sick bay, while the clouds of
+gnats and mosquitoes that hung about made Jack's life a wretched one.
+They did not even have the pleasurable excitement of occasionally
+chasing a blockade-runner, for the wary merchants of New Orleans knew
+that there was absolutely no hope of running a vessel out through a
+river so effectually blockaded. And so the sailors idled away their
+time, smoking, singing, dancing to the music of a doleful fiddle,
+boxing with home-made canvas gloves that left big spots of black and
+blue where they struck, and generally wishing that "Johnny Reb" would
+show himself so that they might have some excitement, even if it did
+cost a few lives.</p>
+
+<p>But while the blue-jackets at the mouth of the river were spending
+their time thus idly, the people in the beleaguered city higher up
+were vastly enraged at being thus cooped up, and were laying plans to
+drive their jailers away. Occasionally they would take a small fleet
+of flat boats, bind them together, and heap them high with tar, pitch,
+and light wood. Then the whole would be towed down the river, set on
+fire, and drifted down upon the fleet. The light of the great fire
+could be seen far off, and the warships would get up steam and dodge
+the roaring mass of flames as it came surging down on the swift
+current. So many trials of this sort failed, that finally the people
+of the Crescent City gave up this plan in disgust.</p>
+
+<p>Their next plan seemed for a time successful. It was at four o'clock
+one October morning that the watch on the sloop-of-war "Richmond"
+suddenly saw a huge dark mass so close to the ship that it seemed
+fairly to have sprung from the water, and sweeping down rapidly. The
+alarm was quickly given, and the crew beat to quarters. Over the water
+from the other ships, now fully alarmed, came the roll of the drums
+beating the men to their guns. The dark object came on swiftly, and
+the word was passed from man to man, "It's a Confederate ram." And
+indeed it was the ram "Manassas," which the Confederates had been hard
+at work building in the New Orleans shipyards, and on which they
+relied to drive the blockading squadron from the river. As she came
+rushing towards the "Richmond," two great lights higher up the river
+told of fire-rafts bearing down upon the fleet, and by the fitful
+glare three smaller gunboats were seen coming to the assistance of the
+"Manassas." Clearly the Confederates were attacking in force.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page883" name="page883"></a>(p. 883)</span> The first volley from the fleet rattled harmlessly from the
+iron-clad sides of the "Manassas;" and, not heeding it, she swept on
+and plunged into the side of the "Richmond." The great iron prow cut
+deep into the wooden sides of the Union vessel. Heavy oaken timbers
+were splintered like laths, and the men were violently hurled to the
+deck. As the ram drew away, the blue-jackets sprang to their guns and
+gave her a volley. Some of the shots must have penetrated her armor,
+for she became unmanageable. But the darkness prevented the officers
+of the "Richmond" from seeing how much damage they had done, and they
+did not follow up their advantage. The strange panic that the sight of
+a ram so often brought upon sailors of the old school fell on the
+officers of this squadron, and they began hastily getting their ships
+out of the river. By this time four more Confederate steamers had come
+to the aid of the ram, and were cannonading the Northern fleet at long
+range. In their hurried attempt to escape, the "Richmond" and the
+"Vincennes" had run aground. The captain of the latter vessel, fearing
+capture, determined to fire his vessel and escape with his crew to the
+"Richmond." Accordingly he laid a slow-match to the magazine, lighted
+it, and then, wrapping his ship's colors about his waist in the most
+theatrical manner, abandoned his ship. But the plan was not altogether
+a success. As he left the ship, he was followed by a grizzled old
+sailor, who had seen too much fighting to believe in blowing up his
+own ship; and, when he saw the smoking slow-match, he hastily broke
+off the lighted end, and without saying a word threw it into the
+water. No one observed the action, and the crew of the "Vincennes"
+watched mournfully for their good ship to go up in a cloud of smoke
+and flame. After they had watched nearly an hour, they concluded
+something was wrong, and returned to their old quarters. By this time
+the enemy had given up the conflict, and the United States navy was
+one ship ahead for the old sailor's act of insubordination. The
+Confederate flotilla returned to New Orleans, and reported that they
+had driven the blockaders away. There was great rejoicing in the city:
+windows were illuminated, and receptions were tendered to the officers
+of the Confederate fleet. But, while the rejoicing was still going on,
+the Union ships came quietly back to their old position, and the great
+river was as securely closed as ever.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo883" name="illo883"></a>
+<img src="images/883_fort_pensacola.jpg" width="500" height="396" alt="" title="">
+<p>Fort Pensacola.</p></div>
+
+<p>About a month before the fight with the "Manassas," the blue-jackets
+of the North scored for themselves a brilliant success in the harbor
+of Pensacola. The frigate "Colorado" was lying outside the harbor of
+that <span class="pagenum"><a id="page884" name="page884"></a>(p. 884)</span> city, within clear view of the city front. For some
+weeks the sailors had been greatly interested in watching the activity
+of people on shore around a small schooner that was lying in a basin
+near the navy-yard. With a harbor so thoroughly blockaded as was that
+of Pensacola, there seemed really no need of new vessels; and the
+haste of the Confederates seemed inexplicable, until they saw through
+their glasses men at work mounting a heavy pivot-gun amidships. That
+made it clear that another privateer was being fitted out to ravage
+the seas and burn all vessels flying the United States flag. The
+gallant tars of the "Colorado" determined to go in and burn the
+privateer before she should have a chance to escape. It was an
+undertaking of great peril. The schooner was near the navy-yard, where
+one thousand men were ready to spring to her assistance at the first
+alarm. On the dock fronting the navy-yard were mounted a ten-inch
+columbiad and a twelve-pounder field-piece, so placed as to command
+the deck <span class="pagenum"><a id="page887" name="page887"></a>(p. 887)</span> of the schooner and the wharf to which she was
+moored. Fort Pensacola, not far distant, was full of Confederate
+troops. But the Union sailors thought that the destruction of the
+privateer was of enough importance to warrant the risk, and they
+determined to try the adventure.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo887" name="illo887"></a>
+<img src="images/887_destruction_of_the_schooner_judah.jpg" width="400" height="571" alt="" title="">
+<p>Destruction of the Schooner "Judah."</p></div>
+
+<p>Accordingly, on the first dark night, four boats, containing one
+hundred officers, sailors, and marines, put off from the side of the
+"Colorado," and headed for the town. All was done with the most
+perfect silence. The tholes of the oars were wrapped in cloth to
+deaden their rattle in the rowlocks. No lights were carried. Not a
+word was spoken after the officers in muffled tones had given the
+order, "Give way." Through the darkness of the night the heavy boats
+glide on. Every man aboard has his work laid out for him, and each
+knows what he is to do. While the main body are to be engaged in
+beating back the guards, some are to spike the guns, and others to
+fire the schooner in several places. When within a hundred yards of
+the schooner, they are discovered by the sentry. As his ringing hail
+comes over the water, the sailors make no reply, but bend to the oars,
+and the boats fairly leap toward the wharf. Bang! goes the sentry's
+rifle; and the men in the hold of the schooner come rushing up just as
+the two boats dash against her side, and the sailors spring like cats
+over the bulwarks. One man was found guarding the guns on the wharf,
+and was shot down. Little time is needed to spike the guns, and then
+those on the wharf turn in to help their comrades on the schooner.
+Here the fighting is sharp and hand to hand. Nearly a hundred men are
+crowded on the deck, and deal pistol-shots and cutlass-blows right and
+left. Several of the crew of the schooner have climbed into the tops,
+and from that point of vantage pour down on the attacking party a
+murderous fire. Horrid yells go up from the enraged combatants, and
+the roar of the musketry is deafening. The crew of the schooner are
+forced backward, step by step, until at last they are driven off the
+vessel altogether, and stand on the wharf delivering a rapid fire. The
+men from the navy-yard are beginning to pour down to the wharf to take
+a hand in the fight. But now a column of smoke begins to arise from
+the open companionway; and the blue-jackets see that their work is
+done, and tumble over the side into their boats. It is high time for
+them to leave, for the Confederates are on the wharf in overwhelming
+force. As they stand there, crowded together, the retiring sailors
+open on them with canister from two <span class="pagenum"><a id="page888" name="page888"></a>(p. 888)</span> howitzers in the boats.
+Six rounds of this sort of firing sends the Confederates looking for
+shelter; and the sailors pull off through the darkness to their ship,
+there to watch the burning vessel, until, with a sudden burst of
+flame, she is blown to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>Considering the dashing nature of this exploit, the loss of life was
+wonderfully small. Lieut. Blake, who commanded one of the boats, was
+saved by one of those strange accidents so common in war. As he was
+going over the side of the "Colorado," some one handed him a metal
+flask filled with brandy, to be used for the wounded. He dropped it
+into the lower pocket of his overcoat, but, finding it uncomfortable
+there, changed it to the side pocket of his coat, immediately over his
+heart. When the boats touched the side of the schooner, Blake was one
+of the first to spring into the chains and clamber aboard. Just as he
+was springing over the gunwale, a Confederate sailor pointed a pistol
+at his heart, and fired it just as Blake cut him down with a savage
+cutlass-stroke. The bullet sped true to its mark, but struck the
+flask, and had just enough force to perforate it, without doing any
+injury to the lieutenant.</p>
+
+<p>The first death in the fight was a sad one. A marine, the first man to
+board the schooner, lost his distinguishing white cap in his leap. His
+comrades followed fast behind him, and, seeing that he wore no cap,
+took him for one of the enemy, and plunged their bayonets deep in his
+breast, killing him instantly. He was known to his comrades as John
+Smith, but on searching his bag letters were found proving that this
+was not his own name. One from his mother begged him to return home,
+and give up his roving life. He proved to be a well-educated young
+man, who through fear of some disgrace had enlisted in the marines to
+hide himself from the world.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo890" name="illo890"></a>
+<img src="images/890_capture_of_the_harriet_lane.jpg" width="400" height="585" alt="" title="">
+<p>Capture of the "Harriet Lane."</p></div>
+
+<p>Another dashing event occurred on the Gulf Coast some months later,
+although in this instance the Confederates were the assailants and the
+victors. Galveston had for some time been in the hands of the Union
+forces, and was occupied by three regiments of United States troops.
+In the harbor lay three men-of-war, whose cannon kept the town in
+subjection. It had been rumored for some time that the Confederates
+were planning to recapture the city, and accordingly the most vigilant
+lookout was kept from all the ships. On the 1st of January, 1863, at
+half-past one <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, as the lookout on the "Harriet Lane" was thinking
+of the new year just <span class="pagenum"><a id="page891" name="page891"></a>(p. 891)</span> ushered in, and wondering whether
+before the end of that year he could see again his cosey Northern home
+and wife and friends, he saw far up the river a cloud of black smoke,
+that rose high in the air, and blotted from sight the shining winter
+stars. He rubbed his eyes, and looked again. There was no mistake: the
+smoke was there, and rapidly moving toward him. Clearly it was a
+steamer coming down the river; but whether an armed enemy or a
+blockade-runner, he could not say. He gave the alarm; and in a moment
+the roll of the drums made the sailors below spring from their
+hammocks, and, hastily throwing on their clothes, rush on deck. The
+drums beat to quarters, and the crew were soon at their guns. Over the
+water came the roll of the drums from the other ships, and from the
+troops on shore, now all aroused and in arms. For thirty hours the
+Federals had been expecting this attack, and now they were fully
+prepared for it.</p>
+
+<p>The attacking vessels came nearer, and the men on the Union ships
+strained their eyes to see by the faint starlight what manner of craft
+they had to meet. They proved to be two large river-steamships, piled
+high with cotton-bales, crowded with armed men, and provided with a
+few field pieces. Clearly they were only dangerous at close quarters,
+and the "Lane" at once began a rapid fire to beat them back. But the
+bad light spoiled her gunners' aim, and she determined to rush upon
+the enemy, and run him down. The Confederate captain managed his helm
+skilfully, and the "Lane" struck only a glancing blow. Then, in her
+turn, the "Lane" was rammed by the Confederate steamer, which plunged
+into her with a crash and a shock which seemed almost to lift the
+ships out of water. The two vessels drifted apart, the "Lane" hardly
+injured, but the Confederate with a gaping wound in his bow which sent
+him to the bottom in fifteen minutes. But now the other Confederate
+came bearing down under a full head of steam, and crashed into the
+"Lane." Evidently the Confederates wanted to fight in the old style;
+for they threw out grappling-irons, lashed the two ships side to side,
+and began pouring on to the deck of the Federal ship for a
+hand-to-hand conflict. Cries of anger and pain, pistol-shots, cutlass
+blows, and occasional roars from the howitzers rose on the night air,
+and were answered by the sounds of battle from the shore, where the
+Confederates had attacked the slender Union garrison. The sinking
+steamer took up a position near the "Lane," and poured broadside after
+broadside upon the struggling Union ship. But where were the other
+three <span class="pagenum"><a id="page892" name="page892"></a>(p. 892)</span> Union vessels all this time? It seemed as though their
+commanders had lost all their coolness; for they ran their vessels
+here and there, now trying to do something to help their friends on
+shore, now making an ineffectual attempt to aid the "Harriet Lane."
+But on board that vessel matters were going badly for the Federals.
+The Confederates in great numbers kept pouring over the bulwarks, and
+were rapidly driving the crew from the deck. Capt. Wainwright lay dead
+at the door of the cabin. Across his body stood his young son, his
+eyes blazing, his hair waving in the wind. He held in his right hand a
+huge revolver, which he was firing without aim into the tossing mass
+of struggling men before him, while he called on his dead father to
+rise and help him. A stray bullet cut off two of his fingers, and the
+pain was too much for the little hero only ten years old; and,
+dropping the pistol, he burst into tears, crying, "Do you want to kill
+me?" The blue-jackets began to look anxiously for help toward the
+other vessels. But, even while they looked, they saw all hope of help
+cut off; for with a crash and a burst of flame the "Westfield" blew
+up. It turned out later, that, finding his ship aground, the captain
+of the "Westfield" had determined to abandon her, and fire the
+magazine; but in fixing his train he made a fatal error, and the ship
+blew up, hurling captain and crew into the air. The men on the
+"Harriet Lane" saw that all hope was gone, and surrendered their ship.
+When the captains of the two remaining gunboats saw the stars and
+stripes fall from the peak, they turned their vessels' prows toward
+the sea, and scudded out of danger of capture. At the same moment,
+cheers from the gray-coats on shore told that the Confederates had
+been successful both by land and sea, and the stars and bars once more
+floated over Galveston.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_892.jpg" width="300" height="124" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page893" name="page893"></a>(p. 893)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_752.jpg" width="600" height="344" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -50px; margin-left: 80px;">
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XIII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS. &mdash; FARRAGUT'S FLEET PASSES FORT ST. PHILIP
+AND FORT JACKSON.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>hile Commodore Foote, with his flotilla of gunboats and mortar-boats,
+was working his way down the Mississippi River, making occasional
+dashes into the broad streams that flow from either side into the
+father of waters, Admiral Farragut, with his fleet of tall-sparred,
+ocean-going men-of-war, was laying his plans for an expedition
+up-stream. But Farragut's first obstacle lay very near the mouth of
+the broad, tawny river that flows for a thousand miles through the
+centre of the United States. New Orleans, the greatest city of the
+Confederacy, stands on the river's bank, only ninety miles from the
+blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Confederate authorities knew
+the value of this great city to their cause, and were careful not to
+let it go unprotected. Long before any thought of civil war disturbed
+the minds of the people of the United States, the Federal Government
+had built below the Crescent City two forts, that peered at each other
+across the swift, turbid tide of the Mississippi River. Fort St.
+Philip and Fort Jackson they were called, the latter being named in
+honor of the stubborn old military hero who beat back the British
+soldiers at the close of the war of 1812 on the glorious field of
+Chalmette near New Orleans. Fort Jackson was a huge <span class="pagenum"><a id="page894" name="page894"></a>(p. 894)</span> star of
+stone and mortar. In its massive walls were great cavernous
+bomb-proofs in which the soldiers were secure from bursting shells. It
+stood back about a hundred yards from the levee, and its casemates
+just rose above the huge dike that keeps the Mississippi in its proper
+channel. When the river was high from the spring floods of the north,
+a steamer floating on its swift tide towered high above the bastions
+of the fort. In the casemates and on the parapets were mounted
+seventy-five guns of all calibres. By its peculiar shape and situation
+on a jutting point of land, the fort was able to bring its guns to
+bear upon the river in three directions.</p>
+
+<p>When the storm of civil war burst upon the country, the Confederates
+of New Orleans were prompt to seize this and Fort St. Philip, that
+stood on the other side of the river. They found Fort Jackson in the
+state of general decay into which most army posts fall in times of
+peace, and they set at work at once to strengthen it. All over the
+parapet, bomb-proofs, and weak points, bags of sand were piled five or
+six feet deep, making the strongest defence known in war. Steamers
+plied up and down the river, bringing provision, ammunition, and new
+cannon, and soon the fort was ready to stand the most determined
+siege. Fort St. Philip, across the river, though not so imposing a
+military work, was more powerful. It was built of masonry, and heavily
+sodded over all points exposed to fire. It was more irregular in shape
+than Fort Jackson, and with its guns seemed to command every point on
+the river. Both were amply protected from storming by wide, deep moats
+always filled with water.</p>
+
+<p>In these two forts were stationed troops made up of the finest young
+men of New Orleans. For them it was a gay station. Far removed from
+the fighting on the frontier, and within an easy journey of their
+homes, they frolicked away the first year of the war. Every week gay
+parties of pleasure-seekers from New Orleans would come down; and the
+proud defenders would take their friends to the frowning bastions, and
+point out how easily they could blow the enemy's fleet out of water if
+the ships ever came within range of those heavy guns. But the ships
+did not come within range of the guns for many months. They contented
+themselves with lying at the Head of the Passes, and stopping all
+intercourse with the outer world, until New Orleans began to get
+shabby and ragged and hungry, and the pleasure-parties came less often
+to the forts, and the gay young soldiers saw their uniforms getting
+old and tattered, but knew not where to get the cloth to replace them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo894" name="illo894"></a>
+<img src="images/894_levee_at_new_orleans_before_the_war.jpg" width="500" height="390" alt="" title="">
+<p>Levee at New Orleans before the War.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page895" name="page895"></a>(p. 895)</span> In the city no rumble of commerce was heard on the streets.
+Grass grew on the deserted levee, where in times of peace the brown
+and white <span class="pagenum"><a id="page896" name="page896"></a>(p. 896)</span> cotton-bales were piled by the thousand, waiting
+for strong black hands to seize and swing them upon the decks of the
+trim Liverpool packets, that lay three or four deep along the river
+front. The huge gray custom-house that stood at the foot of Canal
+Street no longer resounded with the rapid tread of sea-captains or
+busy merchants. From the pipes of the cotton-presses, the rush of the
+escaping steam, as the ruthless press squeezed the great bale into
+one-third its original size, was no longer heard. Most of the great
+towering steamboats that came rushing down the river with stores of
+cotton or sugar had long since been cut down into squat, powerful
+gunboats, or were tied up idly to the bank. Across the river, in the
+shipyards of Algiers, there seemed a little more life; for there
+workmen were busy changing peaceful merchant vessels into gunboats and
+rams, that were, the people fondly hoped, to drive away the men-of-war
+at the river's mouth and save the city from starvation. From time to
+time the streets of the city resounded with the notes of drum and
+fife, as one after the other the militia companies went off to the
+front and the fighting. Then the time came when none were left save
+the "Confederate Guards," old gray-haired men, judges, bankers,
+merchants, gentlemen of every degree, too old for active service at
+the front, but too young not to burn for the grasp of a gun or sword
+while they knew that their sons and grandsons were fighting on the
+bloodstained soil of Virginia and Tennessee.</p>
+
+<p>But, while the city was gradually falling into desolation and decay,
+preparations were being made by the Federal navy for its capture. On
+the 2d of February, 1862, Admiral Farragut sailed from Hampton Roads
+in his stanch frigate the "Hartford," to take command of a naval
+expedition intended to capture New Orleans. The place of rendezvous
+was Ship Island, a sandy island in the Gulf of Mexico. Here he
+organized his squadron, and started for his post in the Mississippi,
+below the forts. The first obstacle was found at the mouth of the
+river, where the heavy war-vessels were unable to make their way over
+the bar. Nearly two weeks were occupied in the work of lightening
+these ships until they were able to pass. The frigate "Colorado" was
+unable to get over at all. The "Pensacola" was dragged through the mud
+by the sheer strength of other vessels of the expedition. While they
+were tugging at her, a huge hawser snapped with a report like a
+cannon, and the flying ends killed two men <span class="pagenum"><a id="page897" name="page897"></a>(p. 897)</span> and seriously
+wounded five others. But at last the fleet was safely past all
+obstacles, and Admiral Farragut found himself well established in the
+lower Mississippi, with a force of twenty-five men-of-war, and twenty
+mortar-schooners; one of the most powerful armadas ever despatched
+against an enemy. Farragut lost no time in getting his ships prepared
+for the baptism of fire which was sure to come. While he was
+diligently at work on his preparations, he was visited by some French
+and English naval officers, who had carefully examined the defences of
+the Confederates, and came to warn him that to attack the forts with
+wooden vessels, such as made up his fleet, was sheer madness, and
+would only result in defeat. "You may be right," answered the brave
+old sailor, "but I was sent here to make the attempt. I came here to
+reduce or pass the forts, and to take New Orleans, <span class="italic">and I shall try it
+on</span>." The foreigners remarked that he was going to certain
+destruction, and politely withdrew.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean time, the tars on the mortar-fleet were working
+industriously to get their ships in fighting-trim. The topmasts were
+stripped of their sails, and lowered; the loose and standing rigging
+strapped to the masts; the spars, forebooms, and gaffs unshipped, and
+secured to the outside of the vessels to avert the danger from
+splinters, which, in naval actions, is often greater than from the
+shots themselves. From the main-deck every thing was removed that
+could obstruct the easy handling of the tremendous mortars; and the
+men were drilled to skill and alertness in firing the huge engines of
+death. The work was hastened on the mortar-schooners, because the plan
+was to rush them into position, and let them harass the Confederates
+with a steady bombardment, while the ships-of-war were preparing for
+their part in the coming fight.</p>
+
+<p>The mortar-fleet was under command of Admiral Porter, an able and
+energetic officer. He soon had his ships ready, and began moving them
+into position along the banks of the river, out of sight of the forts.
+To further conceal them from the gunners in the forts, he had the
+masts and rigging wrapped with green foliage; so that, lying against
+the dense thickets of willows that skirt that part of the river, they
+were invisible. Other boats that were in more exposed positions had
+their hulls covered with grass and reeds, so that they seemed a part
+of the swamp that bordered the river. After the line of fire had been
+obtained by a careful mathematical survey, Porter got all his
+mortar-boats into position, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page898" name="page898"></a>(p. 898)</span> began his bombardment. The
+gunners on the mortar-boats could not see the forts; but the range had
+been calculated for them, and they merely fired mechanically. A
+lookout, perched on the masthead, could see over the low
+willow-forest, and watch the course of the shells as they rushed high
+into the air, and then, falling with a graceful curve, plunged into
+the forts. The firing was begun on the 16th of April, and was kept up
+with a will. The twenty huge mortars keeping up a constant fire, made
+a deafening roar that shook the earth, and could be heard far up the
+river at New Orleans, where the people poured out into the streets,
+and gayly predicted defeat for any enemy who should attack "the boys
+in the forts." The forts were not slow in returning the fire; but as
+the mortar-vessels were hidden, and did not offer very large marks,
+their fire was rather ineffective. Parties of Confederates, old
+swamp-hunters, and skilled riflemen, stole down through the dense
+thickets, to pick off the crews of the mortar-schooners. They managed
+to kill a few gunners in this way, but were soon driven away by the
+point-blank fire of the supporting gunboats. But all this time the
+shells were falling thick and fast, driving the soldiers to the
+bomb-proofs, and tearing to pieces every thing unprotected. One shell
+set fire to some wooden structures that stood on the parade-ground in
+Fort Jackson; and, as the smoke and flames rose in the air, the
+gunners down the river thought that the fort was burning, and cheered
+and fired with renewed vigor. The shells that burst upon the levee
+soon cut great trenches in it, so that the mighty Mississippi broke
+through with a rush, and flooded the country all about. But the forts
+seemed as strong and unconquered as ever.</p>
+
+<p>While the soldiers were crowded together in the bomb-proofs to escape
+the flying bits of shell, the sailors on the little fleet of
+Confederate vessels anchored above them were busily engaged in getting
+ready a fire-raft which was to float down the river, and make havoc
+among the vessels of the Union fleet. Two such rafts were prepared;
+one of which, an immense affair, carrying cords of blazing pine-wood,
+was sent down in the early morning at a time when the vessels were
+utterly unprepared to defend themselves. Luckily it grounded on a
+sandbar, and burned and crackled away harmlessly until it was
+consumed. This warned Commander Porter of the danger in which his
+mortar-vessels were of a second attack of the same nature; and
+accordingly he put in readiness one hundred and fifty <span class="pagenum"><a id="page899" name="page899"></a>(p. 899)</span> small
+boats with picked crews, and well supplied with axes and grapnels,
+whose duty it was to grapple any future rafts, and tow them into a
+harmless position. They did not have long to wait. At sundown that
+night, Commander Porter reviewed his little squadron of row-boats as
+they lay drawn up in line along the low marshy shores of the mighty
+river. The sun sank a glowing red ball beneath the line at which the
+blue waters of the gulf and the blue arch of heaven seemed to meet.
+The long southern twilight gradually deepened into a black, moonless
+night. The cries of frogs and seabirds, and the little flashes of the
+fireflies, were silenced and blotted out by the incessant roar and
+flash of the tremendous mortars that kept up their deadly work.
+Suddenly in the distance the sky grows red and lurid. "The fort is
+burning!" cry the men at the guns; but from the masthead comes the
+response, "No, the fire is on the river. It is another fire-raft." The
+alarm was instantly given to all the vessels of the fleet. Bright
+colored signal-lights blazed on the decks, and the dark, slender
+cordage stood out against the brilliant red and green fires that
+flickered strangely upon the dark wooded banks of the river. Rockets
+rushed high into the air, and, bursting, let fall a shower of
+party-colored lights that told the watchers far down the river that
+danger was to be expected. Then the signal-lights went out, and all
+was dark and silent save where the lurid glare of the great mass of
+fire could be seen floating in the great curves of the tortuous river
+toward the crowded ships. It was a time of intense suspense. The
+little flotilla of fire-boats, organized by Commander Porter that day,
+was on the alert; and the blue-jackets bent to their oars with a will,
+and soon had their boats ranged along a bend far above the fleet. Here
+they waited to catch the fiery monster, and save the ships. The danger
+came nearer fast. Rapidly the flames increased in volume, until the
+whole surrounding region was lighted up by the glare; while from the
+floating fire, a huge black column of smoke arose, and blended with
+the clouds that glowed as though they themselves were on fire. When
+the raft came into view around a point, it was seen to be too big for
+the boats to handle unaided, and two gunboats slipped their cables,
+and started for the thing of terror. From every side the row-boats
+dashed at the raft. Some grappled it, and the sailors tugged lustily
+at their oars, seeking to drag the mass of flames toward the shore.
+Then the "Westfield," under full head of steam, dashed furiously
+against the raft, crashing in the timbers <span class="pagenum"><a id="page900" name="page900"></a>(p. 900)</span> and sending great
+clouds of sparks flying high in the air. From her hose-pipes she
+poured floods of water on the crackling, roaring, blazing mass; while
+all the time, with her powerful engines, she was pushing it toward the
+shore.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean time, the sailors from the fleet of small boats were
+swarming upon the raft wherever they could find a foothold free from
+flame. Some carrying buckets dashed water upon the flames, some with
+axes cut loose flaming timbers, and let them float harmlessly down the
+river. It was a fight in which all the men were on one side; but it
+was a grand sight, and was eagerly watched by those on the imperilled
+vessels. The immediate arena of the conflict was bright as day, but
+all around was gloom. At last the pluck and determination of the men
+triumph over the flames. The raft, flaming, smouldering, broken, is
+towed out of the channel, and left to end its life in fitful flashes
+on a sandy point. The returning boats are greeted with cheers, and
+soon darkness and silence fall upon the scene. The mortars cease their
+thunderous work for the night; and ere long the only sounds heard are
+the rush of the mighty waters, or the faint cry of the night birds in
+the forest. The sentinel pacing the deck peers in vain through the
+gloom. War gives way for a time to rest.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo900" name="illo900"></a>
+<img src="images/900_fire_raft_at_forts_of_the_mississippi.jpg" width="400" height="573" alt="" title="">
+<p>Fire-raft at Forts of the Mississippi.</p></div>
+
+<p>Hardly had the gray dawn begun to appear, when the roll of the drums
+on the decks of the ships was heard; and, soon after, the roar of the
+opening gun was heard from one of the mortar-schooners. Again the
+bombardment was opened. The twenty boats in the mortar-fleet were
+divided into three divisions, each of which fired for two hours in
+succession, and then stopped for a time to allow the great cannon to
+cool. Thus a continuous bombardment was kept up, and the soldiers in
+the forts were given no time to repair the damages caused by the
+bursting shells. Every mortar was fired once in five minutes; so that
+one shell was hurled towards the fort about every minute, while
+sometimes three shells would be seen sweeping with majestic curves
+through the air at the same time. The shells weighed two hundred and
+fifteen pounds; and when they were hurled into the air by the
+explosion of twenty pounds of powder, the boat bearing the mortar was
+driven down into the water six or eight inches, and the light railings
+and woodwork of buildings at the Balize, thirty miles away, were
+shattered by the concussion. The shells rose high in the air, with an
+unearthly <span class="pagenum"><a id="page903" name="page903"></a>(p. 903)</span> shriek, and after a curve of a mile and a half
+fell into or near the forts, and, bursting, threw their deadly
+fragments in all directions. Day after day, and night after night,
+this went on. If the men on the mortar-schooners showed bravery and
+endurance in keeping up so exhausting a fire so steadily, what shall
+we say for the men in the forts who bore up against it so nobly?
+Before noon of the first day of the bombardment, the soldiers of Fort
+Jackson saw their barracks burned, with their clothing, bedding, and
+several days' rations. Shells were pouring in upon them from vessels
+that they could not see. The smooth-bore guns mounted in the
+embrasures would hardly send a shot to the nearest of the hostile
+gunboats. Then the river broke through its banks, and half the fort
+was transformed into a morass. An officer in Fort Jackson said, after
+the surrender, that in two hours over one hundred shells had fallen
+upon the parade-ground of that work, tearing it up terribly. For six
+days this terrible fire was endured; and during the latter half of the
+bombardment the water stood knee deep on the gun-platforms, and the
+gunners worked at their guns until their shoes, soaked for days and
+days, fairly fell from their feet. For bed and bedding they had the
+wet earth, for rations raw meat and mouldy bread. If there were glory
+and victory for the Union sailors, let there at least be honor and
+credit granted the soldiers of the gray for the dogged courage with
+which they bore the terrible bombardment from Porter's flotilla.</p>
+
+<p>While the mortars were pounding away through those six long days and
+nights, Farragut was getting ready to take his ships past the forts.
+Union scouts and spies had travelled over every foot of land and water
+about the forts; and the exact strength of the Confederates, and the
+difficulties to be overcome, were clearly known to the Federal
+admiral. One of the chief obstructions was a chain of rafts and old
+hulks that stretched across the channel by which the fleet would be
+obliged to ascend the river. Under cover of a tremendous fire from all
+the mortars, two gunboats were sent up to remove this obstruction. The
+night was dark and favorable to the enterprise, and the vessels
+reached the chain before they were discovered. Then, under a fierce
+cannonade from the forts, Lieut. Caldwell put off in a row-boat from
+his vessel, boarded one of the hulks, and managed to break the chain.
+The string of hulks was quickly swept ashore by the swift current, and
+the channel was open for the ascent of the Union fleet.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo904" name="illo904"></a>
+<img src="images/904_breaking_the_chain.jpg" width="400" height="596" alt="" title="">
+<p>Breaking the Chain.</p></div>
+
+<p>On the 23d of April, Farragut determined that his fleet should make
+the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page905" name="page905"></a>(p. 905)</span> attempt to get past the forts the following day. He
+knew that the enemy must be exhausted with the terrible strain of
+Porter's bombardment, and he felt that the opportunity had arrived for
+him to make a successful dash for the upper river. The fleet was all
+prepared for a desperate struggle. Many of the captains had daubed the
+sides of their vessels with the river mud, that they might be less
+prominent marks for the Confederate gunners. The chain cables of all
+the vessels were coiled about vulnerable parts, or draped over the
+sides amidships to protect the boilers. Knowing that it was to be a
+night action, the gun-decks had been whitewashed; so that even by the
+dim, uncertain light of the battle lanterns, the gunners could see
+plainly all objects about them. Hammocks and nettings were stretched
+above the decks to catch flying splinters from the spars overhead.
+Late at night the admiral in his longboat was pulled from ship to ship
+to view the preparations made, and see that each captain fully
+understood his orders.</p>
+
+<p>It was two o'clock on the morning of the 24th of April, when the
+Confederates on the parapets of their forts might have heard the
+shrill notes of fifes, the steady tramp of men, the sharp clicking of
+capstans, and the grating of chain cables passing through the
+hawse-holes on the ships below. Indeed, it is probable that these
+sounds were heard at the forts, and were understood, for the
+Confederates were on the alert when the ships came steaming up the
+river.</p>
+
+<p>They formed in a stately line of battle, headed by the "Cayuga." As
+they came up the stream, the gunners in the forts could see the
+mastheads over the low willow thickets that bordered the banks of the
+stream. The line of obstructions was reached and passed, and then the
+whole furious fire of both forts fell upon the advancing ships.
+Gallantly they kept on their way, firing thunderous broadsides from
+each side. And, while the ships were under the direct fire of the
+forts, the enemy's fleet came dashing down the river to dispute the
+way. This was more to the taste of Farragut and his boys in blue. They
+were tired of fighting stone walls. In the van of the Confederate
+squadron was the ram "Manassas," that had created such a panic among
+the blockading squadron a month before. She plunged desperately into
+the fight. The great frigate "Brooklyn" was a prominent vessel in the
+Union line, and at her the ram dashed. The bold hearts on the grand
+old frigate did not seek to avoid the conflict, and the two vessels
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page906" name="page906"></a>(p. 906)</span> rushed together. The ram struck the "Brooklyn" a glancing
+blow; and the shot from her one gun was returned by a hail of
+cannon-balls from the frigate's tremendous broadside, many of which
+broke through the iron plating. Nothing daunted, the ram backed off
+and rushed at the frigate again. This time she struck full on the
+frigate's side. The shock was terrible. Men on the gun-deck of the ram
+were hurled to the deck, with the blood streaming from their nostrils.
+The frigate keeled over farther and farther, until all thought that
+she would be borne beneath the water by the pressure of the ram. All
+the time the spiteful bow-gun of the iron monster was hurling its
+bolts into her hull. But the blow of the ram had done no damage, for
+she had struck one of the coils of chain that had been hung down the
+"Brooklyn's" side. The two vessels slowly swung apart; and, after a
+final broadside from the "Brooklyn," the "Manassas" drifted away in
+the pitchy darkness to seek for new adversaries. She was not long in
+finding one; for as the gray dawn was breaking she suddenly found
+herself under the very bows of the "Mississippi," which was bearing
+down upon her and seemed sure to run her down. The captain of the
+"Manassas" was an able steersman, and neatly dodged the blow; but in
+this quick movement he ran his vessel ashore, and she lay there under
+the guns of the "Mississippi," and unable to bring any of her own guns
+to bear. The captain of the frigate was not slow in taking advantage
+of this chance to be revenged for all the trouble she had given the
+Union fleet; and he took up a good position, and pounded away with his
+heavy guns at the iron monster. The heavy shots crashed through the
+iron plating and came plunging in the portholes, seeking every nook
+and cranny about the vessel. It was too much for men to stand, and the
+crew of the "Manassas" fled to the woods; while their vessel was soon
+set on fire with red-hot shots, and blew up with a tremendous report
+soon after.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo908" name="illo908"></a>
+<img src="images/908_ram_tennessee_at_mobile_bay.jpg" width="400" height="581" alt="" title="">
+<p>Ram "Tennessee" at Mobile Bay.</p></div>
+
+<p>In the mean time, the ships of the Union fleet were doing daring work,
+and meeting a determined resistance. The flagship "Hartford" was met
+by a tug which pushed a huge burning fire-raft against her sides.
+There the flaming thing lay right up against the portholes, the flames
+catching the tarred rigging, and running up the masts. Farragut walked
+his quarter-deck as coolly as though the ship was on parade. "Don't
+flinch from that fire, boys," he sang out, as the flames rushed in the
+portholes, and drove the men from their guns. "There's a hotter fire
+than that for those who <span class="pagenum"><a id="page909" name="page909"></a>(p. 909)</span> don't do their duty. Give that
+rascally little tug a shot, and don't let her go off with a whole
+coat." But the tug did get away, after all; and no one can feel sorry
+that men plucky enough to take an unarmed tug into a terrible fight of
+frigates and iron-clads should escape with their lives. The men on the
+"Hartford" fought the flames with hose and buckets, and at last got
+rid of their dangerous neighbor. Then they saw a steamer crowded with
+men rushing toward the flagship without firing a shot, and evidently
+intending to board. Capt. Broome, with a crew of marines, was working
+a bow-gun on the "Hartford." Carefully he trained the huge piece upon
+the approaching steamer. He stepped back, stooped for a last glance
+along the sights, then with a quick pull of the lanyard the great gun
+went off with a roar, followed instantly by a louder explosion from
+the attacking steamer. When the smoke cleared away, all looked eagerly
+for the enemy; but she had vanished as if by magic. That single shot,
+striking her magazine, had blown her up with all on board.</p>
+
+<p>Much of the hardest fighting was done by the smaller vessels on either
+side. The little Confederate "cotton-clad" "Governor Moore" made a
+desperate fight, dashing through the Union fleet, taking and giving
+broadsides in every direction. The Union vessel "Varuna" also did
+daring work, and naturally these two ships met in desperate conflict.
+After exchanging broadsides, the "Governor Moore" rammed her
+adversary, and, while bearing down on her, received a severe raking
+fire from the "Varuna." The "Governor Moore" was in such a position
+that none of her guns could be brought to bear; but her captain
+suddenly depressed the muzzle of his bow-gun, and sent a shot crashing
+through <span class="italic">his own</span> deck and side, and deep into the hull of the
+"Varuna." The vessels soon parted, but the "Varuna" had received her
+death-wound, and sank in shallow water. The "Governor Moore" kept on
+her way, but was knocked to pieces by the fire from the heavy guns of
+the frigates shortly after.</p>
+
+<p>And so the battle raged for five hours. To recount in full the deeds
+of valor done, would be to tell the story of each ship engaged, and
+would require volumes. Witnesses who saw the fight from the start were
+deeply impressed by the majesty of the scene. It was like a grand
+panorama. "From almost perfect silence,&mdash;the steamers moving through
+the water like phantom ships,&mdash;one incessant roar of heavy cannon
+commenced, the Confederate forts and gunboats opening together on the
+head of our <span class="pagenum"><a id="page910" name="page910"></a>(p. 910)</span> line as it came within range. The Union vessels
+returned the fire as they came up, and soon the hundred and seventy
+guns of our fleet joined in the thunder which seemed to shake the very
+earth. A lurid glare was thrown over the scene by the burning rafts;
+and, as the bombshells crossed each other and exploded in the air, it
+seemed as if a battle were taking place in the heavens as well as on
+the earth. It all ended as suddenly as it commenced."</p>
+
+<p>While this gigantic contest was going on in the river abreast of the
+forts, the people of New Orleans were thronging the streets, listening
+to the unceasing roar of the great guns, and discussing, with pale
+faces and anxious hearts, the outcome of the fight. "Farragut can
+never pass our forts. His wooden ships will be blown to pieces by
+their fire, or dashed into atoms by the 'Manassas,'" people said. But
+many listened in silence: they had husbands, sons, or brothers in that
+fearful fight, and who could tell that they would return alive? By and
+by the firing ceased. Only an occasional shot broke the stillness of
+the morning. Then came the suspense. Had the fleet been beaten back,
+or was it above the forts, and even now sullenly steaming up to the
+city? Everybody rushed for the housetops to look to the southward,
+over the low land through which the Mississippi winds. An hour's
+waiting, and they see curls of smoke rising above the trees, then
+slender dark lines moving along above the tree-tops. "Are they our
+ships?" every one cries; and no one answers until the dark lines are
+seen to be crossed by others at right angles. They are masts with
+yard-arms, masts of seagoing vessels, the masts of the invader's
+fleet. A cry of grief, of fear, of rage, goes up from the housetops.
+"To the levee!" cry the men, and soon the streets resound with the
+rush of many feet toward the river. "The river is crooked, and its
+current swift. It will be hours before the Yankees can arrive: let us
+burn, destroy, that they may find no booty." Let one who was in the
+sorrowful city that terrible April day tell the story. "I went to the
+river-side. There, until far into the night, I saw hundreds of drays
+carrying cotton out of the presses and yards to the wharves, where it
+was fired. The glare of those sinuous miles of flame set men and women
+weeping and wailing thirty miles away, on the farther shore of Lake
+Pontchartrain. But the next day was the day of terrors. During the
+night, fear, wrath, and sense of betrayal, had run through the people
+as the fire had run through the cotton. You have seen, perhaps, a
+family fleeing, with lamentations and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page913" name="page913"></a>(p. 913)</span> wringing of hands,
+out of a burning house; multiply it by thousands upon thousands: that
+was New Orleans, though the houses were not burning. The firemen were
+out; but they cast fire on the waters, putting the torch to the empty
+ships and cutting them loose to float down the river.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo913" name="illo913"></a>
+<img src="images/913_new_orleans_on_approach_of_fleet.jpg" width="400" height="564" alt="" title="">
+<p>New Orleans on Approach of Fleet.</p></div>
+
+<p>"Whoever could go was going. The great mass that had no place to go
+to, or means to go with, was beside itself. 'Betrayed! betrayed!' it
+cried, and ran in throngs from street to street, seeking some vent,
+some victim for its wrath. I saw a crowd catch a poor fellow at the
+corner of Magazine and Common Streets, whose crime was that he looked
+like a stranger and might be a spy. He was the palest living man I
+ever saw. They swung him to a neighboring lamp-post; but the Foreign
+Legion was patrolling the town in strong squads, and one of its
+lieutenants, all green and gold, leaped with drawn sword, cut the
+rope, and saved the man. This was one occurrence; there were many like
+it. I stood in the rear door of our store, Canal Street, soon after
+re-opening it. The junior of the firm was within. I called him to look
+toward the river. The masts of the cutter 'Washington' were slowly
+tipping, declining, sinking&mdash;down she went. The gunboat moored next
+her began to smoke all over and then to blaze. My employers lifted up
+their heels and left the city, left their goods and their affairs in
+the hands of one mere lad&mdash;no stranger would have thought I had
+reached fourteen&mdash;and one big German porter. I closed the doors, sent
+the porter to his place in the Foreign Legion, and ran to the levee to
+see the sights.</p>
+
+<p>"What a gathering!&mdash;the riff-raff of the wharves, the town, the
+gutters. Such women! such wrecks of women! and all the juvenile
+rag-tag. The lower steamboat-landing, well covered with sugar, rice,
+and molasses, was being rifled. The men smashed; the women scooped up
+the smashings. The river was overflowing the top of the levee. A
+rain-storm began to threaten. 'Are the Yankee ships in sight?' I asked
+of an idler. He pointed out the tops of their naked masts as they
+showed up across the huge bend of the river. They were engaging the
+batteries at Camp Chalmette, the old field of Jackson's renown.
+Presently that was over. Ah, me! I see them now as they come slowly
+round Slaughterhouse Point, into full view: silent, so grim and
+terrible, black with men, heavy with deadly portent, the long banished
+stars and stripes flying against the frowning sky. Oh for the
+'Mississippi,' the 'Mississippi!' Just then <span class="pagenum"><a id="page914" name="page914"></a>(p. 914)</span> she came down
+upon them. But how? Drifting helplessly, a mass of flames.</p>
+
+<p>"The crowds on the levee howled and screamed with rage. The swarming
+decks answered never a word; but one old tar on the 'Hartford,'
+standing with lanyard in hand, beside a great pivot-gun, so plain to
+view that you could see him smile, silently patted its big black
+breech and blandly grinned."</p>
+
+<p>As the masts of the fleet came up the river, a young man stepped out
+upon the roof of the City Hall, and swiftly hoisted the flag of the
+State of Louisiana. When the ships came up, two officers were sent
+ashore to demand the surrender of the city; and shoulder to shoulder
+the two old sailors marched through a howling, cursing mob to the City
+Hall. The mayor refused to surrender the city, saying that Farragut
+already had captured it. The officers went back to their ships, and
+the flag still floated. Two days later the officers, with a hundred
+sailors and marines, returned and demanded that the flag be hauled
+down. No one in the city would tear it down, and the Federals went up
+to the roof to lower it themselves. The street and surrounding
+housetops were crowded with a hostile people, all armed. No one could
+tell that the fall of the flag would not be followed by a volley from
+the undisciplined populace. The marines in front of the building stood
+grouped about two loaded howitzers that bore upon the darkly muttering
+crowd. Violence was in the air. As the two officers rose to go to the
+roof, the mayor, a young Creole, left the room and descended the
+stairs. Quietly he stepped out into the street, and without a word
+stood before one of the howitzers, his arms folded, eying the gunner,
+who stood with lanyard in hand, ready to fire at the word of command.
+The flag fell slowly from the staff. Not a sound arose from the crowd.
+All were watching the mayor, who stood coldly looking on death. The
+Federal officers came down carrying the flag. A few sharp commands,
+and the marines tramped away down the street, with the howitzers
+clanking behind them. The crowd cheered for Mayor Monroe and
+dispersed, and New Orleans became again a city of the United States.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page915" name="page915"></a>(p. 915)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_694.jpg" width="600" height="245" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XIV.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI. &mdash; FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP SURRENDER. &mdash; THE
+BATTLE AT ST. CHARLES. &mdash; THE RAM "ARKANSAS." &mdash; BOMBARDMENT AND CAPTURE
+OF PORT HUDSON.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>hile
+New Orleans was thus excited over the capture of the city, the
+soldiers in the forts below were debating as to the course they should
+adopt. They had not surrendered; and although the great bastions were
+pounded out of shape by the heavy guns of the fleet, yet they were
+still formidable defences, giving perfect security to the men in the
+bomb-proofs. But their case was hopeless: for Farragut was at New
+Orleans, and could cut off their supplies; while Porter, with his
+mortar-boats, was below them, putting escape out of the question.
+Every now and then a big shell would drop on the parade, and its
+flying pieces would remind the garrison that their enemies were
+getting impatient. After waiting a day or two, Porter sent a
+lieutenant with a flag of truce to the fort, calling upon the
+Confederate commander to surrender the two forts and the shattered
+remnant of the Confederate navy. He complimented the Confederates upon
+their gallant defence, but warned them, that, should they refuse to
+surrender, he would recommence his bombardment with new vigor. The
+Confederates refused to surrender until they heard from New Orleans;
+and the next day the monotonous thunder of the heavy mortars began
+again, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page916" name="page916"></a>(p. 916)</span> again the heavy shells began falling thick and
+fast upon the forts. Wearily the gray-coated soldiers settled down to
+continue what they felt must be a useless defence. The officers did
+their best to inspirit the men; but all knew that a surrender must
+come before long, and at last the men mutinously left their guns, and
+said they would fight no longer. They had borne without flinching a
+terrible bombardment, and now they felt that to fight longer would be
+a foolish sacrifice of life. Many left the forts, and plunged into the
+woods to escape the terrible shells. Gen. Duncan saw that all was
+lost, and on the night of the 28th of April sent an officer to the
+fleet announcing the surrender. On the following day Porter proceeded
+up-stream with his squadron, and anchored off the fort. A boat, manned
+by six trim sailors in dress uniforms, put off, and soon returned,
+bringing the commander of the defeated forces and two or three
+officers. They were received on the "Harriet Lane," and Commodore
+Porter had made great preparations for the meeting. The crews of all
+the vessels were dressed in snow-white mustering-suits, and the
+officers in brass-buttoned blue coats and white trousers. The decks
+were scrubbed, and all traces of the fight cleared away. As the
+Confederate officers came up to the fleet, one of them, a former
+lieutenant in the Union navy, said, "Look at the old navy. I feel
+proud when I see them. There are no half-breeds there: they are the
+simon-pure." As the Confederates came over the side, Porter stood,
+with his officers, ready to receive them. The greatest politeness was
+observed on either side; and Porter writes, "Their bearing was that of
+men who had gained a victory, instead of undergoing defeat." While the
+papers of capitulation were being signed, a message came from the deck
+that the huge Confederate iron-clad "Louisiana" was drifting down upon
+them, a mass of flames, and there was great danger that she would blow
+up in the midst of the Union fleet. "This is sharp practice,
+gentlemen," said Porter, "and some of us will perhaps be blown up; but
+I know what to do. If you can stand what is coming, we can; but I will
+make it lively for those people if anybody in the flotilla is
+injured."</p>
+
+<p>"I told Lieut. Wainwright to hail the steamer next him," writes Capt.
+Porter, "and tell her captain to pass the word for the others to veer
+out all their riding-chains to the bitter end, and stand by to sheer
+clear of the burning iron-clad as she drifted down. I then sat down to
+the table, and said, 'Gentlemen, we will proceed to sign the
+capitulation.' I handed the paper <span class="pagenum"><a id="page917" name="page917"></a>(p. 917)</span> to Gen. Duncan, and looked
+at the Confederate officers to see how they would behave under the
+circumstances of a great iron-clad dropping down on them, all in
+flames, with twenty thousand pounds of powder in her magazines. For
+myself, I hoped the fire would not reach the powder until the ship had
+drifted some distance below us. My greatest fear was that she would
+run foul of some of the steamers.</p>
+
+<p>"While I was thinking this over, the officers were sitting as coolly
+as if at tea-table among their friends.</p>
+
+<p>"Just then there was a stir on deck, a kind of swaying of the vessel
+to and fro, a rumbling in the air, then an explosion which seemed to
+shake the heavens. The 'Harriet Lane' was thrown two streaks over, and
+every thing in the cabin was jostled from side to side; but not a man
+left his seat, or showed any intention of doing so.</p>
+
+<p>"I was glad that I had signed before the explosion took place, as I
+would not have liked to have my autograph look shaky."</p>
+
+<p>The destruction of the "Louisiana" was a bit of trickery on the part
+of the Confederate naval officers, which Farragut punished by sending
+them North as close prisoners, while the army officers were granted
+freedom under parole. So ended the Confederate control over the mouth
+of the Mississippi; and Porter, after waiting long enough to see a
+blue-coat garrison in Forts St. Philip and Jackson, started up the
+river to rejoin his chief in New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p>But, on reaching the city, he found that the energetic admiral had
+already started out to clear the river of the Confederate batteries
+that lined it on either side as far up as Vicksburg. This was a
+service of no little danger, and one bringing but little satisfaction;
+for no sooner had the gunboats left one point, from which by hard
+firing they had driven the Confederates, than the latter would return
+in force, build up again their shattered earthworks, mount new guns,
+and be once more ready for battle. But more powerful than these little
+one or two gun-batteries were the Confederate works at Port Hudson,
+the destruction of which was absolutely necessary for further Union
+successes on the great river. Between Port Hudson and Vicksburg, the
+river was completely under the control of the Confederates; and it was
+a powerful gunboat that could hope to navigate that stretch of water
+unharmed. Farragut determined to attack Port Hudson, and set the 14th
+of March, 1863, as the date for the action.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page918" name="page918"></a>(p. 918)</span> Port Hudson batteries were perched on a high bluff that
+overlooks one of those abrupt curves around which the current of the
+Mississippi River sweeps with such terrific force. The heavy guns bore
+down upon a point at which the ships would almost inevitably be swept
+out of their course by the swift stream, and where the river was
+filled with treacherous shifting shoals. Naval officers all agreed
+that to pass those batteries was a more difficult task than had been
+the passage of the forts below New Orleans; yet Farragut, eager to get
+at the stronghold of the foe in Vicksburg, determined to make the
+attempt. The mortar-vessels were stationed below to drive the enemy
+from his guns with well-directed bombs; while the fleet, led by the
+stanch old "Hartford," should make a bold dash up the river.</p>
+
+<p>Night fell upon the scene; and the ships weighed anchor, and started
+upon their perilous voyage. To the side of each man-of-war was bound a
+gunboat to tow the great vessel out of danger in case of disaster.
+Silently the long string of vessels swept upward towards the
+batteries; but, as the "Hartford" came into range, the watchful
+Confederates gave the alarm, and the nearest battery at once opened
+fire. Then from Porter's mortar-schooners far down the river came an
+answering roar; and, as ship after ship came up into range, she opened
+with shot and shell upon the works. On the dark river-banks great
+alarm fires were kindled, lighting up the water with a lurid glare,
+and making the ships clearly visible to the Confederate gunners. But
+soon the smoke of battle settled down over all; and gunners, whether
+on shore or on the ships, fired at random. The "Hartford" led the way,
+and picked out the course; and the other vessels followed carefully in
+her wake. In the mizzen-top of the flagship was stationed a cool old
+river pilot, who had guided many a huge river steamer, freighted with
+precious lives, through the mazy channels of the Mississippi. There,
+high above the battle-smoke, heedless of the grape-shot and bits of
+flying shell whistling around him, he stood at his post, calmly giving
+his orders through a speaking-tube that led to the wheel-room. Now and
+then the admiral on the deck below would call up, asking about the
+pilot's safety, and was always answered with a cheery hail. But though
+the "Hartford" went by the batteries, heedless of the storm and lead
+poured upon her, she found herself alone, when, after firing a last
+gun, she swept into the clear air and tranquil water out of range of
+the enemy's guns. She waited some time for the other ships to come up,
+while all on board watched eagerly, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page919" name="page919"></a>(p. 919)</span> save those who lay
+moaning on the surgeon's tables in the cock-pit below. The night wore
+on, and all on board were consumed with anxiety for the fate of the
+vessels that had dropped behind. The lookout in the tops reported that
+he could see far down the river a bright red light that could only be
+caused by a burning vessel. It proved to be the steamer "Mississippi,"
+that had grounded under the guns of the batteries, and had been fired
+and abandoned by her crew. But of this the admiral knew nothing; and
+when, after an hour or two he heard the dull, heavy boom of an
+explosion, he went sadly to his cabin, fearing that the lives of many
+valiant sailors had been sacrificed. There was no way to communicate
+with the fleet below, and it was not until days afterward that the
+admiral learned how his fleet had been beaten back by the heavy guns
+of the Confederates and the swift current of the river. The "Richmond"
+grounded at a point within easy range of the batteries, and her crew
+fought desperately while shell after shell went crashing through her
+hull. They saw the other vessels of the fleet go drifting by helpless
+in the mighty current of the river, but they faltered not in their
+brave defence until they saw their ship a wreck and in flames. Then
+leaving their dead comrades with the "Richmond" for a funeral pyre,
+they escaped to the shore, and threaded their way through miles of
+morasses and dense thickets until they came to the mortar-boats, where
+they found refuge and rest. And so that first attack on Port Hudson
+ended with Farragut above the batteries, and his ships, below. It had
+only served to prove, that, safe in their heavy earthworks, the
+Confederates could defy any attack by ships alone. This fact was clear
+to the Union authorities, and they began massing troops about the
+hostile works. Two months later, Porter's mortar-boats, the frigates
+and gunboats, and the batteries and muskets of an immense body of
+troops, opened on the works. While the heavy fire was being kept up,
+the Union armies were closing in, digging trenches, and surrounding
+the Confederates on all sides. The firing came to be short-range work
+and very deadly. "To show you what cool and desperate fighting it
+was," says a Confederate, "I had at least twenty-five shots at
+Federals not two hundred feet away. In one instance I fired upon a
+lieutenant who was urging on his men. I wounded him in his left arm.
+He fired at me with his revolver, and sent a bullet through my cap.
+Next time I hit him in the hip, and he fell;, but, while I was
+reloading, he raised himself up, and shot the man next to me through
+the head. The officer <span class="pagenum"><a id="page920" name="page920"></a>(p. 920)</span> was so close to me that I could tell
+the color of his eyes, and detect a small scar on his face."</p>
+
+<p>This sort of work continued for weeks, with occasional charges by the
+Federals. Farragut's fleet kept up its bombardment, but did little
+damage. One of the Confederate soldiers said, some time after the war,
+"One can get used to almost any thing. After the first two or three
+days, we took the bombardment as part of the regular routine. Pieces
+of shell were continually flying about, and it was the regular thing
+for a bomb to drop down among us at intervals. I have seen them come
+down within fifty feet of a sentinel, and throw up a wagon-load of
+dirt, without his even turning his head. We had but few men hurt by
+the artillery-fire. I do not believe we averaged one man hit for every
+thousand pounds of metal thrown. I remember that one day I counted
+thirteen shells and bombs hurled at the spot where I was posted before
+we had a man hurt, and he was only slightly wounded." Naturally, such
+work as this could not drive the Confederates from their trenches; and
+the fleet soon concluded to leave the army to capture Port Hudson,
+while the ships steamed on up the river toward Vicksburg. The army
+kept up the siege for weeks, until the Confederates, hearing of the
+fall of Vicksburg, surrendered.</p>
+
+<p>While the Union fleet was thus fighting its way up to Vicksburg, the
+Confederates were working away at a great ram that they were building
+in a secluded spot far up the Yazoo River. Work on the ram was being
+pushed with the greatest energy; and the Union sailors, in their ships
+on the Mississippi, listened daily to the stories of escaping negroes,
+and wondered when the big ship would come down and give them a tussle.
+The crew of the ram were no less impatient for the fray; for they were
+tired of being hidden away up a little river, plagued by mosquitoes
+and gnats. The dark shades of the heavy forests were seldom brightened
+by a ray of sun. The stream was full of alligators, that lay lazily on
+the banks all day, and bellowed dismally all night. The chirp of a
+bird was rarely heard. In its place were the discordant screams of
+cranes, or hisses of the moccasins or cotton-mouths. When at last the
+carpenters' clatter had ceased, and the ram, ready for action, lay in
+the little river, the crew were mustered on the deck, and told that
+the new boat had been built to clear the Union vessels from the
+Mississippi, and that purpose should be carried out. No white flag was
+to flutter from that flagstaff; and she should sink <span class="pagenum"><a id="page921" name="page921"></a>(p. 921)</span> with all
+her crew before she would surrender. Any sailor who feared to enter
+upon such a service might leave the ship at once. No one left; and the
+"Arkansas" started down the river to look for an enemy. She was not
+long in finding one. At the mouth of the Yazoo floated three Union
+gunboats,&mdash;the "Carondelet," the "Tyler," and the "Queen of the West."
+As the ram came down into sight, her men heard the roll of the drums
+on the decks of the hostile vessels. The gunboats quickly opened fire,
+which was as promptly returned by the "Arkansas;" and, as she came
+swiftly rushing down the stream, the three vessels fled before her.
+The men on the ram were all new recruits, and made awkward work of the
+firing; but as she came to close quarters she sent her shells crashing
+into the Union ships, while the shot she received in return rattled
+harmlessly off her steel-mailed sides. The "Carondelet" was the first
+vessel to come to grief. She had hardly fired four shots when a heavy
+solid shot crashed through her side, and rattled against the most
+delicate part of the engine. She was helpless at once; and hardly had
+this damage been reported when a second shot came with a burst into an
+open port, killed five men, and broke its way out the other side. In
+ten minutes her decks were slippery with blood, and thick strewn with
+wounded and dead men. The current of the river drifted her upon a
+sandbar; and she lay there helplessly, now and again answering the
+galling fire of her foe with a feeble shot. Pouring in a last
+broadside, the "Arkansas" steamed past her, and, disregarding the
+other two vessels, headed for Vicksburg, where she knew her aid was
+sorely needed.</p>
+
+<p>The news of her coming preceded her; and, when she came within sight
+of the steeples of the city, at least ten thousand people were
+watching her progress, and wondering whether she could pass by the
+Federal batteries and through the Federal fleet. The Federal fleet was
+all ready for her, and prepared such a gauntlet for the "Arkansas" as
+had never been run by any vessel. As she came within range, every
+Union gun that could be brought to bear opened; and shot and shell
+rained from shore-batteries and marine guns upon the tough hide of the
+ram. As she sped by the vessels, they gave her their broadsides, and
+the effect was tremendous. As the huge iron balls struck the ship, she
+keeled far over; and to her crew inside, it seemed as though she was
+being lifted bodily out of the water. Not a shot broke through the
+armor; but the terrible concussions knocked men down, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page922" name="page922"></a>(p. 922)</span>
+made blood come pouring from their nostrils. For new men, her crew
+fought well and bravely; though two fell flat on their faces, afraid
+to lift their heads, lest they be taken off by a shell.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo922" name="illo922"></a>
+<img src="images/922_the_arkansas_under_fire.jpg" width="600" height="373" alt="" title="">
+<p>The "Arkansas" under Fire.</p></div>
+
+<p>When it was seen that the "Arkansas" was likely to pass through the
+lines unscathed, the Federals tried to blockade her way; but she
+deviated not an inch from her path. The vessel that stood before her
+had to move aside, or take the chances of a blow from her terrible
+iron beak. She came straight to the centre of the fleet before opening
+fire; and when her portholes were opened, and the big guns peered out,
+they found plenty of targets. Her first volley knocked a gunboat to
+pieces; and in another minute she had crashed into the side of a Union
+ram, sending that unlucky craft ashore for repairs. But the storm of
+solid shot was too much for her; and she was forced to seek shelter
+under the bluffs, where the heavy guns of the Confederate
+shore-batteries compelled the Union ships to keep a respectful
+distance. Here she lay for several weeks, beating off every assault of
+the Federals, and making a valuable addition to the defences of the
+city. But, in an evil hour, the Confederate authorities decided to
+send her down the river to recapture Baton Rouge. When her journey was
+but half completed, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page923" name="page923"></a>(p. 923)</span> she was pounced upon by several United
+States vessels, with the "Essex" in the lead. Her engines breaking
+down, she drifted upon a sand-bank; and the attacking ships pounded
+her at their leisure, until, with the fire bursting from her
+portholes, she was abandoned by her crew, and blazed away until her
+career was ended by the explosion of her magazine. She had given the
+Federal fleet some hard tussles, but beyond that had done nothing of
+the work the Confederates so fondly hoped of her.</p>
+
+<p>While the flotilla of gunboats, led by the "Essex," were planning for
+the destruction of the "Arkansas," a small naval expedition,
+consisting of three gunboats, was threading its way up the narrow
+channel of the White River in search of some Confederate batteries
+said to be on the banks. Within twelve hours from the start, the
+sailors learned from a ragged negro, whom they captured on the shore,
+that the Confederates had powerful batteries only five miles farther
+up, and that the river channel was obstructed by sunken vessels.
+Anchor was cast for the night; and in the morning the troops
+accompanying the expedition were landed, and plunged into the forest
+with the plan of taking the fort by a rush from the rear. The gunboats
+began a slow advance up the river, throwing shells into the woods
+ahead of them. The blue-jackets kept carefully under cover; for,
+though they could see no foe, yet the constant singing of
+rifle-bullets about the ships proved that somewhere in those bushes
+were concealed sharp-shooters whose powder was good and whose aim was
+true. The "Mound City" was leading the gunboats, and had advanced
+within six hundred yards of the enemy's guns, when a single shot,
+fired from a masked battery high up the bluffs, rang out sharply amid
+the rattle of small-arms. It was the first cannon-shot fired by the
+Confederates in that engagement, and it was probably the most horribly
+deadly shot fired in the war. It entered the port-casemate forward,
+killed three men standing at the gun, and plunged into the boiler. In
+an instant the scalding steam came hissing out, filling the ship from
+stem to stern, and horribly scalding every one upon the gun-deck. The
+deck was covered with writhing forms, and screams of agony rang out
+above the harsh noise of the escaping steam and the roar of battle
+outside. Many were blown overboard; more crawled out of the portholes,
+and dropped into the river to escape the scalding steam, and
+struggling in the water were killed by rifle-balls or the fragments of
+the shells that were bursting all around. The helpless gunboat turned
+round and round <span class="pagenum"><a id="page924" name="page924"></a>(p. 924)</span> in the stream, and drifted away, carrying a
+crew of dead and dying men. So great was the horror of the scene, that
+one of the officers, himself unhurt, who saw his comrades thus
+tortured all about him, went insane.</p>
+
+<p>While this scene was going on before the fort, the Union troops had
+come up behind it, and with a cheer rushed over the breastworks, and
+drove the garrison to surrender. The Confederate banner fell from the
+staff, and the stars and stripes went up in its place. But how great
+was the price that the Federals had to pay for that victory! That
+night, with muffled drums, and arms reversed, the blue-jackets carried
+to the grave fifty-nine of their comrades, who twelve hours before
+were active men. With three volleys of musketry the simple rites over
+the sailors' graves were ended; and those who were left alive, only
+said with a sigh, "It is the fortune of war."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_924.jpg" width="300" height="134" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page925" name="page925"></a>(p. 925)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_709.jpg" width="600" height="254" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XV.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">ON TO VICKSBURG. &mdash; BOMBARDMENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STRONGHOLD. &mdash; PORTER'S
+CRUISE IN THE FORESTS.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>hile the smaller gunboats were thus making dashes into the enemy's
+country, destroying batteries and unfinished war-vessels, and burning
+salt-works, the heavier vessels of the fleet were being massed about
+Vicksburg, and were preparing to aid the army in reducing that city to
+subjection. We need not describe the way in which Gen. Grant had been
+rushing his troops toward that point, how for weeks his engineers had
+been planning trenches and approaches to the Confederate works, until
+toward the middle part of June, 1863, the people in that city found
+themselves hemmed in by a huge girdle of trenches, batteries, and
+military camps. Gen. Pemberton, with his army of Confederate soldiers,
+had been forced backward from point after point, until at last he
+found himself in Vicksburg, with the prospect of a long siege before
+him, and no way to get past the inexorable lines of blue that
+surrounded him. It is true that he had a wonderfully strong position,
+and many were the tongues that said Vicksburg could never be taken.
+But though stronger than Sebastopol, stronger than the Rock of
+Gibraltar, Vicksburg was destined to fall before that mighty army that
+encircled it, and was slowly starving the city into subjection.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page926" name="page926"></a>(p. 926)</span> But the Union soldiers, looking from their camps toward the
+Confederate citadel, saw that they had before them some severe work
+before that flag that flaunted over the city should be replaced by the
+stars and stripes. The city stands on a towering bluff high above the
+eastern bank of the Mississippi River. On that frowning height the
+busy hands of Pemberton's soldiers had reared mighty batteries, that
+commanded the Mississippi for miles up and down stream. To think of
+carrying the works by assault, was madness. Sherman had tried, and was
+beaten back with terrible loss. Then Grant, with nearly twenty
+thousand men, and with the co-operation of the river-flotilla, came
+upon the stage, and determined to take the city though it kept him at
+bay for months.</p>
+
+<p>All imaginable plans were tried to get the army below the city; for
+Grant's command had come down from Cairo, and were at the northern and
+most impregnable side of the enemy's works. As at Island No. 10, a
+sharp bend in the river made a long peninsula right under the
+Confederates' guns. Grant, remembering the plan adopted before, set to
+work to cut a canal through the peninsula, so that the gunboats and
+transports might get below the forts. Twelve hundred negroes worked
+with a will upon this ditch for weeks. Then came a terrible
+rain-storm: the swollen, muddy torrent of the river broke in upon the
+unfinished canal, and that work was wasted. Then a new plan was
+suggested, this time by Commodore David Porter, who all through the
+war showed the greatest delight in taking his big gunboats into
+ditches where nothing larger than a frog or musk-rat could hope to
+navigate, and then bringing them out again safe after all.</p>
+
+<p>The country back of Vicksburg was fairly honeycombed with shallow
+lakes, creeks, and those sluggish black streams called in the South
+bayous. Porter had been looking over this aqueous territory for some
+time, and had sent one of his lieutenants off in a steam-launch to see
+what could be done in that network of ditches. When the explorer
+returned, he brought cheering news. He was confident that, with tugs
+and gangs of axemen clearing the way, the gunboats could be taken up
+the Yazoo River, then into a wide bayou, and finally through a maze of
+small waterways, until they should reach the Mississippi again below
+the Vicksburg batteries. Then the transports could follow, the troops
+could march down the other side of the river, be met by the
+transports, ferried across, and take Vicksburg <span class="pagenum"><a id="page927" name="page927"></a>(p. 927)</span> on the flank.
+It was a beautiful plan; and Porter went to Grant with it, full of
+enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>Gen. Grant considered the matter for some time, but finally gave his
+consent, and detailed a number of blue-coated soldiers to aid Porter's
+blue-jackets in the work. They first cut the levees, and let the
+mighty tide of the Mississippi sweep in, filling the bayous to the
+brim, and flooding all the country round about. Then the gunboats
+plunged in, and were borne along on the rushing tide until they
+brought up, all standing, against the trunks of trees, or had their
+smoke-stacks caught by overhanging branches.</p>
+
+<p>Then came the tug of war; and the axemen were called to the front, and
+set to work. They chopped their way along for some distance; the rapid
+current from the river banging the vessels against the trees and
+stumps, until all the standing rigging and light cabins were swept
+away. After a good deal of work they saw before them a broad river,
+wide enough for two vessels to steam abreast. Soon they drifted out
+into it, and the commanding officer sang out cheerily, "On to
+Vicksburg, boys, and no more trees to saw." And so they steamed on,
+thinking how neatly they should take the "gray-coats" in the rear,
+when suddenly a bend in the river showed them, just ahead, a fort in
+the middle of the river, with the channel blocked on either side. That
+was a surprise. The works were new, and the water was still muddy
+about the sunken steamers. Clearly the wily Pemberton had heard of
+this inland naval expedition, and was determined to check it
+effectually.</p>
+
+<p>The gunboats backed water, and crowded in confused groups. The gunners
+in the fort took hurried aim, and pulled the lanyards of their cannon,
+forgetting that those pieces were not loaded. It was hard to tell
+which party was the more excited at the unexpected meeting. This gave
+the blue-jackets a chance to collect their thoughts, and in a minute
+or two the gunboats opened fire; but they were soon convinced that the
+fort was too much for them, and they turned and crawled back through
+the woods to the fleet above Vicksburg. Pemberton scored one point for
+successful strategy.</p>
+
+<p>But, even while this expedition was working its way back to the
+station of the vessels on the Mississippi, Porter was starting another
+through a second chain of water-courses that he had discovered. This
+time he was so sure of getting into the rear of Vicksburg, that he
+took four of his big <span class="pagenum"><a id="page928" name="page928"></a>(p. 928)</span> iron-clads, and two light mortar-boats
+built especially for work in the woods. Gen. Sherman, with a strong
+army-force, marched overland, keeping up with the gunboats. Admiral
+Porter, in his Memoirs, gives a graphic picture of this expedition.
+Back of Vicksburg the country is low, and intersected in every
+direction by narrow, tortuous bayous, lined on either side by gloomy
+morasses or majestic forests. Into these little-known water-courses
+Porter boldly led his ponderous iron-clads; while Sherman, with a
+detachment of troops, advanced along the shore, keeping as near the
+flotilla as possible. Seldom have naval vessels been detailed upon so
+strange a service. For days they steamed on under the spreading
+branches of trees, that often spanned the bayous in a mighty arch
+overhead, shutting out all sunlight. For a time this navigation of
+placid, shady waterways was pleasant enough; but, as they penetrated
+farther into the interior, the jackies sighed for the blue waters of
+the ocean, or even for the turbid current of the Mississippi. The
+heavy foliage that gave so grateful a shade also harbored all sorts of
+animals; and coons, rats, mice, and wildcats, that had been driven to
+the trees for shelter during the prevailing high water, peered down
+upon the sailors, and often dropped sociably down upon the decks of
+the vessels gliding beneath.</p>
+
+<p>At some portions of the voyage the flotilla seemed to be steaming
+through the primeval forest. The bayou was but a few feet wider than
+the gunboats, and its banks were lined by gnarled and knotted old
+veterans of the forest,&mdash;live oaks, sycamore, and tupelo gum trees
+that had stood in majestic dignity on the banks of the dark and sullen
+stream for centuries. Sometimes majestic vistas would open; broad
+avenues carpeted with velvet turf, and walled in by the massive tree
+trunks, extending from the banks of the stream far back into the
+country. Again, the stately forests would be replaced by fields of
+waving corn or rice, with the tops of a row of negro cabins or the
+columned front of a planter's house showing in the distance. Then, as
+the flotilla steamed on, this fair prospect would disappear, and be
+replaced by noisome cypress brakes, hung thick with the funereal
+Spanish moss, and harboring beneath the black water many a noxious
+reptile.</p>
+
+<p>So through the ever-changing scenery the gunboats moved along, making
+but little progress, but meeting with no serious obstacle, until one
+morning there appeared on a bit of high ground, some yards in
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page929" name="page929"></a>(p. 929)</span> advance of the leading gunboat, an army officer mounted on
+an old white horse. It was Gen. Sherman, and his troops were in camp
+near by. He greeted the naval forces cheerily, and, rallying Porter on
+the amphibious service into which his gunboats had been forced, warned
+him that he would soon have not a smokestack standing, nor a boat left
+at the davits.</p>
+
+<p>"So much the better," said the undaunted admiral. "All I want is an
+engine, guns, and a hull to float them. As to boats, they are very
+much in the way."</p>
+
+<p>A short time only was spent in consultation, and then Sherman with his
+forces left the bayou and plunged into the interior, first warning
+Porter that he would have a hard time getting any farther, even if the
+enemy did not come down and surround him. But Porter was not the man
+to abandon the advance, so long as there was water enough to float his
+gunboats. Besides, he had gained some ideas regarding navigation in
+the forests, that enabled him to move his fleet forward with more
+celerity than at first. When a tree blocked the course of the
+iron-clads, they no longer stopped to clear it away by work with the
+axes; but, clapping on all steam, the powerful rams dashed at the
+woody obstruction, and with repeated blows soon knocked it out of the
+way.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after leaving Sherman, Porter saw that the difficulties he had
+thus far met and conquered were as nothing to those which he had yet
+to encounter. The comparatively broad stream up which he had been
+steaming came to an end, and his further progress must be through
+Cypress Bayou, a canal just forty-six feet wide..[??-second period a
+smudge?] The broadest gunboat was forty-two feet wide, and to enter
+that narrow stream made retreat out of the question: there could be no
+turning round to fly. The levees rose on either side of the narrow
+canal high above the decks of the iron-clads, so that the cannon could
+not be sufficiently elevated to do effective work in case of an
+attack. But there were nine feet of water in the great ditch; and that
+was enough for Porter, who pressed boldly on.</p>
+
+<p>The country into which the combined military and naval expedition was
+advancing was in truth the granary of Vicksburg. On all other sides of
+the beleaguered city, the Federal lines were drawn so closely that the
+wagons laden with farm produce could not hope to pass. But here, back
+of the city, and far from the camps of Grant's legions, the work of
+raising produce for the gallant people of Vicksburg was prosecuted
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page930" name="page930"></a>(p. 930)</span> with the most untiring vigor. The sight, then, of the
+advancing gunboats aroused the greatest consternation. From the deck
+of his vessel Porter could see the people striving to save their
+property from the advancing enemy. Great droves of cattle were being
+driven away far into the interior; negroes were skurrying in all
+directions, driving poultry and pigs to the safe concealment of the
+forest; wagons groaning under the weight of farm and garden produce
+could be seen disappearing in the distance. What the inhabitants could
+not save they destroyed, in order that it might not profit the
+invaders. A short distance from the mouth of the bayou "were six
+thousand bales of cotton piled up on opposite sides of the stream,
+ready to be taken aboard a steamer when the war should end. As the
+gunboats advanced slowly, making little headway against the two-knot
+current of the bayou, Porter saw two men, carrying lighted pine-knots,
+dash up to the cotton, and begin to set it afire. The admiral looked
+on in disgust. "'What fools these mortals be!'" said he to an officer
+standing at his side; "but I suppose those men have a right to burn
+their own cotton, especially as we have no way of preventing them."</p>
+
+<p>"I can send a howitzer shell at them, sir," said the officer, "and
+drive them away."</p>
+
+<p>But to this Porter demurred, saying that he had no desire to kill the
+men, and that they might do as they liked with their own. Accordingly
+the officers quietly watched the vandals, until, after twenty minutes'
+work, the cotton was blazing, and a dense mass of smoke cut off all
+vision ahead, and rose high in the air. Then Porter began to suspect
+that he had made a mistake. The difficulties of navigation in the
+bayou were great enough, without having smoke and fire added to them.
+Yet to wait for the cotton to burn up might cause a serious delay. On
+the high bank of the bayou stood a negro begging the sailors to take
+him aboard.</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo, there, Sambo!" sung out Porter, "how long will it take this
+cotton to burn up?"</p>
+
+<p>"Two day, massa," responded the contraband; "p'raps tree."</p>
+
+<p>That ended the debate. "Ring the bell to go ahead fast," said the
+admiral to the pilot; and away went the flotilla at full speed,
+plunging into the smoke and fire. It was a hot experience for the
+sailors. The <span class="pagenum"><a id="page931" name="page931"></a>(p. 931)</span> heavy iron-clads made but slow progress, and
+were scorched and blistered with the heat. The ports were all shut
+down, and the crews called to fire-quarters, buckets in hand. To
+remain on deck, was impossible. Porter and his captain made the trial,
+but had hardly entered the smoke when the scorching heat drove both
+into the shelter of an iron-covered deck-house. The pilot standing at
+the wheel seized a flag, and, wrapping it about his face and body, was
+able to stay at his post. As the flames grew hotter, the sailors below
+opened the main hatch, and, thrusting up a hose, deluged the deck with
+floods of water. So, without a man in sight, the huge iron ship moved
+along between the walls of flame. Suddenly came an enormous crash. The
+gunboat shivered, and for a moment stood still; then, gathering
+headway, moved on again, though with much ominous grating beneath her
+keel. Soon after she passed out of the smoke and heat, and all hands
+rushed on deck for a whiff of the fresh, cool air. Their first thought
+was of the cause of the collision; and, looking eagerly astern, they
+saw a heavy bridge, about fifty feet of which had been demolished by
+the tremendous power of the ram. This gave Porter a hint as to the
+force he had at his command; and thereafter bridges were rammed as a
+matter of course whenever they impeded the progress of the iron-clads.
+The astonishment of the people along the shore may well be imagined.</p>
+
+<p>The great and formidable obstacles that stood in the path of the
+squadron were, as a rule, overcome by the exertion of the great powers
+of the steam-driven, iron-plated vessels; but at last there came a
+check, that, though it seemed at first insignificant, terminated the
+sylvan man&oelig;uvres of the iron-clad navy. After running the gantlet
+of the burning cotton, butting down trees, and smashing through
+bridges, the column entered a stretch of smooth water that seemed to
+promise fair and unobstructed sailing. But toward the end of this
+expanse of water a kind of green scum was evident, extending right
+across the bayou, from bank to bank. Porter's keen eye caught sight of
+this; and, turning to one of the negroes who had taken refuge on the
+gunboat, he asked what it was. "It's nuffin' but willows, sah," he
+replied. "When de water's out of de bayou, den we cuts de willows to
+make baskets with. You kin go troo dat like a eel."</p>
+
+<p>Satisfied with this explanation, the admiral ordered the tug which
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page932" name="page932"></a>(p. 932)</span> led the column to go ahead. Under a full head of steam, the
+tug dashed into the willows, but began to slow up, until, after going
+about thirty yards, she stopped, unable to go forward or back.
+Undaunted by this unexpected resistance, Porter cried out that the
+"Cincinnati" would push the tug along; and the heavy gunboat,
+withdrawing a short distance to gain headway, hurled herself forward,
+and dashed into the willows with a force that would have carried her
+through any bridge ever built. But the old fable of the lion bound
+down by the silken net was here re-enacted. The gunboat did not even
+reach the tug. The slender willow-shoots trailed along the sides,
+caught in the rough ends of the iron overhang, and held the vessel
+immovable. Abandoning the attempt to advance, the gunboat strove to
+back out, but to no avail. Then hooks were rigged over the side to
+break away the withes, and men slung in ropes alongside vigorously
+wielded sharp cutlasses and saws; but still the willows retained their
+grip. Matters were now getting serious; and, to add to Porter's
+perplexity, reports came in that Confederate troops were coming down
+upon him. Then he began to lose confidence in his iron-clads, and wish
+right heartily for Sherman and his soldiers, of whose whereabouts he
+could gain no knowledge. The enemy did not leave him long in doubts as
+to their intention, and soon began a vigorous fire of shells from the
+woods. Porter stopped that promptly by manning his mortars and firing
+a few shells at a range measured by the sound of the enemy's cannon.
+The immediate silence of the hostile batteries proved the accuracy of
+the admiral's calculations, and gave him time to devise means for
+escaping from his perilous position.</p>
+
+<p>How to do it without aid from Sherman's troops, was a difficult
+question; and in his perplexity he exclaimed aloud, "Why don't Sherman
+come on? I'd give ten dollars to get a telegram to him." The admiral
+was standing at the moment on the bank of the bayou, near a group of
+negroes; and an athletic-looking contraband stepped forward, and,
+announcing himself as a "telegram-wire," offered to carry the note "to
+kingdum kum for half a dollar." After sharply cross-questioning the
+volunteer, Porter wrote on a scrap of paper, "<span class="smcap">Dear Sherman</span>,&mdash;Hurry up,
+for Heaven's sake. I never knew how helpless an iron-clad could be,
+steaming around through the woods without an army to back her."</p>
+
+<p>"Where will you carry this?" asked Porter, handing the despatch to the
+negro.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo934" name="illo934"></a>
+<img src="images/934_porter_s_flotilla_on_the_red_river.jpg" width="400" height="571" alt="" title="">
+<p>Porter's Flotilla on the Red River.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page935" name="page935"></a>(p. 935)</span> "In my calabash kiver, massa," responded the messenger with a
+grin; and, stowing the paper away in his woolly hair, he darted away.</p>
+
+<p>The telegram being thus despatched, Porter again turned his attention
+to the willows; and, a fortunate rise in the water having occurred, he
+was able to extricate his vessels and begin his retreat down the
+bayou. He was somewhat perplexed by the silence of the Confederates,
+from whom he had heard nothing since his mortars silenced their masked
+batteries. The conundrum was solved by the sound of wood-chopping in
+the forests ahead, and the discovery shortly after of two heavy logs
+lying athwart the bayou, and stopping the progress of the vessels. An
+hour's hard work with axe and saw removed this obstruction; and the
+tug, slipping through first, shot ahead to prevent any more
+tree-felling. The loud reports of her howitzer soon carried back to
+the fleet the news that she had come up with the enemy, and was
+disputing with them the right to the bayou.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulties of the retreat were no less great than those of the
+advance, with the intermittent attacks of the enemy added. The work of
+removing heavy, soggy logs, half submerged beneath the black waters of
+the bayou, clearing away standing trees, and breaking up and removing
+Red-river rafts, wearied the sailors, and left them little spirit to
+meet the enemy's attacks. The faint sounds of wood-chopping in the
+distance told too well of the additional impediments yet in store for
+the adventurous mariners. Scouts sent out reported that the enemy had
+impressed great gangs of negroes, and were forcing them to do the work
+of felling the trees that were to hem in Uncle Sam's gunboats, for the
+benefit of the C.S.A. But the plans of the Confederates to this end
+were easily defeated. Porter had not only many willing arms at his
+command, but the powerful aid of steam. When the gunboats came to a
+tree lying across the bayou, a landing party went ashore and fastened
+large pulleys to a tree on the bank. Then a rope was passed through
+the block; and one end having been made fast to the fallen tree, the
+other was taken aboard a gunboat. The word was then given, "Back the
+iron-clad hard;" and the fallen monarch of the forest was soon dragged
+across the bayou and out of the way So expert did the jackies become
+in this work, that they were soon able to clear away the trees faster
+than the enemy could fell them. The tug then went ahead, and for a
+time put an end to further tree-chopping, and captured several of the
+negro axemen.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page936" name="page936"></a>(p. 936)</span> From the captured contrabands Porter learned that the attempt
+to cut off his retreat was directed by the military authorities at
+Vicksburg. This was a startling revelation. He had thought that the
+Confederates were in entire ignorance of his movement; and now it
+turned out that the wily Pemberton had kept a sharp lookout on the
+marauding gunboats, and was shrewdly planning for their capture. While
+Porter was pondering over this new discovery, a party of scouts came
+in, bringing in four captured Confederates, two of whom were
+commissioned officers. The commanding officer, a mere boy, was
+somewhat chagrined at being captured, but felt confident that his
+friends would recapture him shortly. Porter politely asked him to take
+a glass of wine and some supper.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care if I do," responded the youngster; "and I have the less
+compunction in taking it, as it belongs to us anyhow. In two hours you
+will be surrounded and bagged. You can't escape. How in the Devil's
+name you ever got here, is a wonder to me."</p>
+
+<p>Porter smiled pleasantly, and, helping his guests lavishly, proceeded
+to question them on the numbers and position of the Confederate
+troops. He learned that a large body of troops had been sent out to
+surround the iron-clads, and were even then closing in upon the
+intruders. The danger was imminent, but Porter showed no trepidation.</p>
+
+<p>"How far off are your troops?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"About four miles. They will bag you at daylight," was the confident
+response.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, gentlemen," said the admiral, "Gen. Sherman is now surrounding
+your forces with ten thousand men, and will capture them all before
+daylight." And so saying the admiral went on deck, leaving his
+captives lost in wonder; for the information carried to the Vicksburg
+authorities had made no mention of troops.</p>
+
+<p>Though Porter had put on so bold a front before his captives, he
+really felt much anxiety for the fate of his iron-clads. He could hear
+nothing from Sherman, who might be thirty miles away for all he knew.
+Accordingly he retraced his course for a few miles, to throw the enemy
+off the scent, and the next day began again his descent of the bayou,
+bumping along stern foremost amid snags and standing trees. The enemy
+soon gave evidence that he was on the watch, and opened fire with his
+artillery from the rear. At this one gunboat steamed back and silenced
+the artillery <span class="pagenum"><a id="page937" name="page937"></a>(p. 937)</span> for a time, after which she rejoined her
+fellows. Sharp-shooters in the thickets along the levee then began to
+grow troublesome; and the whistle of the rifle-balls, with an
+occasional <span class="italic">ping</span> as one struck the smokestack, warned the sailors
+that the deck of a gunboat in a narrow canal was no safe place in time
+of war. The high levees on either side of the bayou made it impossible
+to use the guns properly: so Porter turned them into mortars, and, by
+using very small charges of powder, pitched shells up into the air,
+dropping them into the bushes back of the levee. This somewhat checked
+the fire of the sharp-shooters, but the decks were still dangerous
+places to frequent. A rifle-ball struck Lieut. Wells in the head as he
+stood talking to Porter; and he fell, apparently dead, upon the deck.
+The admiral beckoned an officer to come and bear away the body; but
+the newcomer was also hit, and fell across the body of the first.
+Porter concluded that the locality was getting rather hot, and gladly
+stepped behind a heavy plate of sheet-iron, which an old
+quarter-master brought him with the remark, "There, sir, stand behind
+that. They've fired at you long enough."</p>
+
+<p>From behind his shield, Porter looked out anxiously at the forces by
+which he was beleaguered. He could see clearly that the Confederates
+were increasing in numbers; and, when at last he saw a long gray
+column come sweeping out of the woods, his heart failed him, and for a
+moment he thought that the fate of his flotilla was sealed. But at
+that very moment deliverance was at hand. The Confederates were seen
+to fall into confusion, waver, and give way before a thin blue
+line,&mdash;the advance guard of Sherman's troops. The negro
+"telegram-wire" had proved faithful, and Sherman had come on to the
+rescue.</p>
+
+<p>That ended the difficulties of the flotilla. The enemy, once brought
+face to face with Sherman's men, departed abruptly; and soon the
+doughty general, mounted on an old gray horse, came riding down to the
+edge of the bayou, for a word with Porter. Seeing the admiral on the
+deck of his gunboat, he shouted out, "Hallo! Porter, what did you get
+into such an ugly scrape for? So much for you navy fellows getting out
+of your element. Better send for the soldiers always. My boys will put
+you through. Here's your little nigger. He came through all right, and
+I started at once. Your gunboats are enough to scare the crows: they
+look as if you had got a terrible hammering."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page938" name="page938"></a>(p. 938)</span> Somewhat crestfallen, Porter remarked, that he "never knew
+what helpless things iron-clads could become when they got in a ditch,
+and had no soldiers about." As Sherman declined to come aboard, Porter
+went below to look after his two prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, gentlemen," said he, as he entered the cabin, "you were right.
+We are surrounded by troops."</p>
+
+<p>The two Confederates were greatly exultant, but assured Porter that
+they would see that he was kindly treated when taken into Vicksburg.</p>
+
+<p>"To Vicksburg!" said he with mock amazement. "Who said any thing of
+Vicksburg?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, of course you'll be taken there as a prisoner, now that our men
+have surrounded you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you are mistaken there!" responded Porter. "The troops by whom I
+am surrounded are Sherman's boys, six thousand strong." And at this
+news the chagrined captives subsided, and began to consider the
+prospects of a trip to the North, and incarceration in one of the
+military prisons.</p>
+
+<p>Sherman's army soon came up in force, and went into camp along the
+road that skirted the levee. As night fell, the scene took on a wild
+and picturesque air. In the narrow bayou lay the gunboats, strung out
+in single file along a line of half a mile. They bore many signs of
+the hard knocks they had received in their excursion through the
+woods. Boats, davits, steam-pipes, and every thing breakable that rose
+above the level of the deck, had been swept away by the overhanging
+boughs, or dashed to pieces by falling trees. The smoke-stacks and
+wheel-houses were riddled by the bullets of the Confederate
+sharp-shooters. The decks were covered with rubbish of all kinds, and
+here and there was a fissure that told of the bursting of some
+Confederate shell. The paint was blistered, and peeling off, from the
+effects of the cotton-fire through which the fleet had dashed.</p>
+
+<p>On the shore blazed the camp-fires of Sherman's troops; and about the
+huge flaming piles the weary soldiers threw themselves down to catch a
+moment's rest, while the company cooks prepared the evening meal. Many
+of the idle soldiers strolled down to the edge of the bayou, and,
+forming a line along the levee, began chaffing the sailors on the
+ludicrous failure of their attempt to perform naval evolutions in a
+swamp.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page939" name="page939"></a>(p. 939)</span> "What's gone with your boats, Jack?" sung out one tall fellow
+in cavalry garb. "Been in dry-dock for repairs?"</p>
+
+<p>"How do you like playing mud-turtle?" said another. "Better stick to
+salt water after this."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't go bush-whacking again, unless you have the soldiers with you.
+You look as if your mothers didn't know you were out." And at this a
+yell of approval went up all along the line, while the badgered
+sailors growled and tried to make sharp retorts to the stinging
+ridicule of the landsmen.</p>
+
+<p>So ended this memorable gunboat expedition. It is unparalleled in the
+history of warfare. The feats performed by the unwieldy iron-clads in
+the narrow bayous gained for them, from Lincoln, the title of
+"web-footed" gunboats. They had traversed shallow and tortuous
+channels; they had cleared their path of trees, snags, and even
+bridges; they had run the gantlet of flaming cotton-bales and
+Confederate bullets. After meeting and overcoming so many obstacles,
+their final stoppage by a thicket of pitiful willow-shoots irritated
+the blue-jackets and their commander extremely. Porter had penetrated
+so far into the Yazoo country, that he could see how great damage
+could be inflicted upon the Confederates, if the expedition could but
+be carried out successfully. He had definite information to the
+effect, that, at Yazoo City, the Confederates had a thriving shipyard,
+at which they were pressing forward the construction of steam-rams
+with which to sweep the Mississippi. To reach that point and destroy
+the vessels, would have been a service thoroughly in accord with his
+tastes; but the willows held him back. However, he was able to console
+himself with the thought that the rams were not likely to do the
+Confederates any immediate service; for a truthful contraband, brought
+in by the Union scouts, informed the admiral that "dey has no bottom
+in, no sides to 'em, an' no top on to 'em, sah; an' dere injines is in
+Richmon'."</p>
+
+<p>When the dangers encountered by the gunboats during this expedition
+are considered, the damage sustained seems surprisingly small. Had the
+Confederates acted promptly and vigorously, the intruders would never
+have escaped from the swamps into which their temerity had led them. A
+few torpedoes, judiciously planted in the muddy bed of the bayou,
+would have effectively prevented any farther advance. More than once
+the Confederates posted their artillery within effective range, and
+opened <span class="pagenum"><a id="page940" name="page940"></a>(p. 940)</span> a rapid and well-directed fire upon the gunboats, but
+erred in using explosive shells instead of solid shot. "They were
+evidently greenhorns," wrote Porter, exulting over his narrow escape,
+"and failed to understand that we were iron-clad, and did not mind
+<span class="italic">bursting</span>-shell. If they had used solid shot, they might have hurt
+us." The infantry forces of the enemy were ample to have given the
+marauding gunboats a vast deal of trouble, if the Confederate officers
+had been enterprising, and had seized upon the opportunities afforded
+them. Night after night the flotilla lay tied up in the centre of a
+narrow bayou, with the levees towering so high above the gunboats'
+ports, that the cannon were useless. At such a time, a determined
+assault by a body of hostile infantry could hardly have been resisted.
+Such an attack was the danger which Porter most feared throughout the
+expedition, and he nightly made preparations for a desperate
+resistance. The widest part of the bayou was chosen for the anchorage,
+in order that a strip of water at least four feet wide might separate
+the gunboats from the shore. The sides of the iron-clads were then
+greased, and the guns loaded with grape, and elevated as much as
+possible. Landing parties with howitzers were sent ashore, and posted
+so as to enfilade any attacking force; scouts were sent out in all
+directions; and the crews of the gunboats slept at their quarters all
+night, ready for action at the first alarm. But it is doubtful whether
+even these elaborate precautions could have saved the flotilla, had
+the Confederates brought one regiment to the assault. However, the
+enemy let the golden moment pass; and, after suffering the agonies of
+suspense for several days, Porter at last saw his gunboats safely
+anchored by the side of Sherman's protecting regiments.</p>
+
+<p>Sherman and Porter held a consultation that night, and concluded that
+it was useless to try to get around Vicksburg by hauling the gunboats
+through the woods; and the following morning the flotilla started back
+to the Union headquarters on the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>Gen. Grant was beginning to get impatient. Weeks had passed away, and
+there were still no gunboats or transports below the Vicksburg
+batteries to aid him in carrying out his military plans. He held a
+long consultation with Porter, the outcome of which was that the
+admiral decided to run his gunboats and transports right through the
+fire of the Confederate guns.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo942" name="illo942"></a>
+<img src="images/942_dummy_gunboat_passing_forts_on_the_mississippi.jpg" width="400" height="583" alt="" title="">
+<p>Dummy Gunboat passing Forts on the Mississippi.</p></div>
+
+<p>But, before sending a vessel through, Porter thought that he would
+test <span class="pagenum"><a id="page943" name="page943"></a>(p. 943)</span> the accuracy of the Confederate gunners by giving
+them a dummy to fire at. He took a large flat boat, and built it up
+with logs and lumber until it looked like a powerful ram. Two huge
+wheel-houses towered amidships, on each of which was painted, in
+great, staring letters, "Deluded Rebels, cave in." From the open
+ports, the muzzles of what appeared to be heavy rifles protruded;
+though the guns that seemed so formidable were really only logs of
+wood. Two high smoke-stacks, built of empty pork-barrels, rose from
+the centre of this strange craft; and at the bottom of each stack was
+an iron pot, in which was a heap of tar and oakum that sent forth
+volumes of black smoke when lighted. One dark night the fires in this
+sham monster were lighted, and she was towed down to the Confederate
+batteries, and set drifting down the river. She was quickly
+discovered, and the batteries on the bluffs opened on her with a roar.
+There was nothing about the dummy to be hurt, however; and it was
+impossible to sink her. So she sailed majestically through the
+plunging hail of solid shot, and past the terrible batteries that were
+thought to be a match for any thing afloat. The Confederates in the
+trenches looked at each other in astonishment and dismay. Word was
+sent to Gen. Pemberton that a powerful Yankee iron-clad had passed the
+batteries unhurt, and was speeding down the stream. The General's
+first thought was of a gunboat, the "Indianola," lately captured from
+the Federals, and now being converted into an iron-clad ram. She must
+be saved from recapture, even if it should be necessary to destroy
+her. Word was hurriedly sent down the river that a formidable ram was
+bearing down upon the "Indianola;" and, if the latter vessel was not
+in condition to do battle, she should be blown up. Accordingly, while
+the dummy ram, caught in an eddy of the river, was whirling helplessly
+around just below Vicksburg, the Confederates put the torch to their
+new war-vessel, and she was soon a heap of ashes. Porter's little joke
+was a good one for the United States.</p>
+
+<p>But all the time that the Union navy was making these futile attempts
+to get the better of the wily general who held the fort at Vicksburg,
+a constant bombardment of the city was kept up. From gunboats and land
+batteries, shells were hurled into the streets of the town, tearing
+down houses, killing men, women, and children, and driving the
+inhabitants to their cellars, or to deep caves dug in the hills. The
+fire from the Union gunboats was most destructive, for they could drop
+down to an advantageous point, shell the city until tired, then steam
+back into safety again.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page944" name="page944"></a>(p. 944)</span> Cave-digging in the city became a regular business; and caves
+brought from twenty to fifty dollars, according to their size. They
+generally consisted of two or three rooms, and people lived in them
+quite cheerfully during the time that the iron hail was falling in the
+city's streets.</p>
+
+<p>A Northern woman, who was pent up in Vicksburg during the siege, tells
+graphically the story of the bombardment:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"For many nights we have had but little sleep, because the Federal
+gunboats have been running past the batteries. The uproar when this is
+happening is phenomenal. The first night the thundering artillery
+burst the bars of sleep, we thought it an attack by the river. To get
+into garments, and rush up-stairs, was the work of a moment. From the
+upper gallery we have a fine view of the river; and soon a red glare
+lit up the scene, and showed a small boat, towing two large barges,
+gliding by. The Confederates had set fire to a house near the bank.
+Another night, eight boats ran by, throwing a shower of shot; and two
+burning houses made the river clear as day. One of the batteries has a
+remarkable gun they call 'whistling Dick,' because of the screeching,
+whistling sound it gives; and certainly it does sound like a tortured
+thing. Added to all this is the indescribable Confederate yell, which
+is a soul-harrowing sound to hear. I have gained respect for the
+mechanism of the human ear, which stands it all without injury. The
+streets are seldom quiet at night: even the dragging about of cannon
+makes a din in these echoing gullies. The other night we were on the
+gallery till the last of the eight boats got by. Next day a friend
+said to H&mdash;&mdash;, 'It was a wonder you didn't have your heads taken off
+last night. I passed, and saw them stretched over the gallery; and
+grape-shot were whizzing up the street just on a level with you.' The
+double roar of batteries and boats was so great, we never noticed the
+whizzing. Yesterday the 'Cincinnati' attempted to go by in daylight,
+but was disabled and sunk. It was a pitiful sight: we could not see
+the <span class="italic">finale</span>, though we saw her rendered helpless.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo945" name="illo945"></a>
+<img src="images/945_passing_the_vicksburg_batteries.jpg" width="600" height="393" alt="" title="">
+<p>Passing the Vicksburg Batteries.</p></div>
+
+<p>"Since that day the regular siege has continued. We are utterly cut
+off from the world, surrounded by a circle of fire. Would it be wise,
+like the scorpion, to sting ourselves to death? The fiery shower of
+shells goes on day and night. H&mdash;&mdash;'s occupation, of course, is gone,
+his office closed. Every man has to carry a pass in his pocket. People
+do nothing but eat what they can get, sleep when they can, and dodge
+the shells. There are <span class="pagenum"><a id="page946" name="page946"></a>(p. 946)</span> three intervals when the shelling
+stops,&mdash;either for the guns to cool, or for the gunners' meals, I
+suppose,&mdash;about eight in the morning, the same in the evening, and at
+noon. In that time we have to both prepare and eat ours. Clothing
+cannot be washed, or any thing else done. On the 19th and 22d, when
+the assaults were made on the lines, I watched the soldiers cooking on
+the green opposite. The half-spent balls, coming all the way from
+those lines, were flying so thick that they were obliged to dodge at
+every turn. At all the caves I could see from my high perch, people
+were sitting, eating their poor suppers at the cave doors, ready to
+plunge in again. As the first shell again flew, they dived; and not a
+human being was visible. The sharp crackle of the musketry-firing was
+a strong contrast to the scream of the bombs. I think all the dogs and
+cats must be killed or starved: we don't see any more pitiful animals
+prowling around.... The cellar is so damp and musty, the bedding has
+to be carried out and laid in the sun every day, with the forecast
+that it may be demolished at any moment. The confinement is dreadful.
+To sit and listen as if waiting for death in a horrible manner, would
+drive me insane. I don't know what others do, but we read when I am
+not scribbling in this. H&mdash;&mdash; borrowed somewhere a lot of Dickens's
+novels, and we re-read them by the dim light in the cellar. When the
+shelling abates, H&mdash;&mdash; goes to walk about a little, or get the 'Daily
+Citizen,' which is still issuing a tiny sheet at twenty-five and fifty
+cents a copy. It is, of course, but a rehash of speculations which
+amuses a half-hour. To-day he heard, while out, that expert swimmers
+are crossing the Mississippi on logs at night, to bring and carry news
+to Johnston. I am so tired of corn-bread, which I never liked, that I
+eat it with tears in my eyes. We are lucky to get a quart of milk
+daily from a family near, who have a cow they hourly expect to be
+killed. I send five dollars to market each morning, and it buys a
+small piece of mule-meat. Rice and milk is my main food: I can't eat
+the mule-meat. We boil the rice, and eat it cold, with milk, for
+supper. Martha runs the gauntlet to buy the meat and milk once a day
+in a perfect terror. The shells seem to have many different names. I
+hear the soldiers say, 'That's a mortar-shell. There goes a Parrott.
+That's a rifle-shell.' They are all equally terrible. A pair of
+chimney-swallows have built in the parlor chimney. The concussion of
+the house often sends down parts of their nest, which they patiently
+pick up and re-ascend with."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page947" name="page947"></a>(p. 947)</span> Grant's impassable lines about the beleaguered city soon made
+starvation more to be feared than even the terrible shells from the
+cannon of the gunboats. Necessaries of all sorts became woefully
+scarce in Vicksburg. Five dollars could purchase only a little bit of
+mule's flesh, hardly enough for a meal for two people. Flour was not
+to be had at any price. Bread was made of coarse corn-meal or grated
+peas. The ammunition of the soldiers in the trenches soon began to
+give out, and the utmost economy was exercised. Many of the soldiers
+were armed with muskets that required caps, and it was not many days
+before caps were at a great premium. They were generally smuggled into
+the city through the Union lines by fleet-footed carriers, who ran a
+long gauntlet of Union pickets. Many were shot down in the attempt,
+but more succeeded. One man who brought in sixteen thousand caps, was
+nine days travelling thirteen miles, and was fired on more than twenty
+times.</p>
+
+<p>But, though Grant could have starved the city into subjection by
+simply sitting and waiting, he grew tired of this, and determined to
+force matters to an issue. The first thing to be done was to get the
+gunboats and transports past the batteries. The transports were put
+into shape to stand a cannonade by having their weaker parts covered
+with cotton-bales; and on one dark night in June, the flotilla started
+down the river, with the iron-clad gunboats in advance. Admiral Porter
+led in the "Benton." At eleven o'clock the fleet got under way; and,
+as the "Benton" came abreast of the first batteries, the alarm was
+given in the Confederate camp, and a fierce cannonade began. Huge
+fires were lighted on the shores to light up the river, and make the
+gunboats visible to the Confederate cannoneers. The warships swung
+grandly around the bend, responding with rapid broadsides to the fire
+of the forts. All the vessels were hit once or oftener. The heavy
+smoke that accompanies such fierce cannonading hung over the river,
+cutting off all view of the surroundings from the sailors. The eddying
+currents of the river caught the steamers, swinging them now this way,
+now that, until the perplexed pilots knew not which way their vessels
+were headed. The blue-jackets at the guns worked away cheerily,
+knowing that enemies were on every side of them, and that, no matter
+which way their missiles sped, an enemy was to be found. More than one
+vessel turned completely around; and once, when the rising breeze
+cleared away the smoke, the pilot of the "Benton" found that he was
+taking his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page948" name="page948"></a>(p. 948)</span> ship up-stream again, and was in imminent danger
+of running down a friendly gunboat. But they all passed on without
+receiving any severe injuries, and at five o'clock in the morning lay
+anchored far below the city, ready to begin the attack upon the
+Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf, which were called "the key to
+Vicksburg."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_948.jpg" width="300" height="116" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page949" name="page949"></a>(p. 949)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_685.jpg" width="600" height="297" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XVI.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">VICKSBURG SURRENDERS, AND THE MISSISSIPPI IS OPENED. &mdash; NAVAL EVENTS
+ALONG THE GULF COAST.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he first grand step toward the capture of Vicksburg was made when the
+river-flotilla followed Porter down the Mississippi, and past the guns
+of the Confederate batteries. Grant, with his army, had followed along
+the western bank of the great river; and we now find him ready to
+cross the river, and move upon the Vicksburg batteries from the south.
+But, before this could be done, the Confederate works at Grand Gulf
+must be silenced; and it again happened that the navy was to be the
+chief factor in the contest. For this new battle all the blue-jackets
+were ready and anxious. Admiral Porter says that "when daylight broke,
+after the passage of the fleet, I was besieged by the commanding
+officers of the gunboats, who came to tell me of their mishaps; but,
+when I intimated that I intended to leave at Carthage any vessel that
+could not stand the hammering they would be subject to at Grand Gulf,
+they suddenly discovered that no damage had been done to their
+vessels, which, if any thing, were better prepared for action than
+when they started out!"</p>
+
+<p>The Confederate works at Grand Gulf mounted eighteen guns; and, as
+they stood upon high bluffs overlooking the river, they were most
+formidable. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page950" name="page950"></a>(p. 950)</span> It was decided by the Federals that the navy
+alone should undertake the task of reducing the fortifications,&mdash;a
+decision that was of benefit to the Confederates, for their strongest
+position was along the river-front. Four of the guns held a raking
+position up and down the long stretch of muddy water that swirled and
+eddied by with a current of seven miles an hour.</p>
+
+<p>While the fort had the advantage of position, the gunboats were much
+stronger in their armament; and the contest was looked forward to as
+one bound to be desperate. The position of every gun in the batteries,
+and the size of the garrison, were well known to every commander of a
+Union vessel; and they made the most careful preparations for the
+assault.</p>
+
+<p>The Confederates knew that the result of that day's battle would
+decide the ownership of Vicksburg, and they were prepared to offer the
+most desperate resistance. The orders at every battery were to use
+shell alone; and the men were instructed to fire carefully, and only
+after taking deadly aim. In a high tree just outside the fort a
+lookout was stationed; and at early daylight, on the morning of the
+29th of April, 1863, he signalled that the fleet of gunboats was
+bearing down upon the works.</p>
+
+<p>Men who were in the fort that morning saw a strange panorama. The
+stillness was most profound on the shore and on the river. The boats
+moved slowly and grandly down, not a man in sight, and with no sign of
+life. The trees up the river were black with Federal spectators; and
+the chirp of birds was all about the men who stood waiting beside the
+huge cannon.</p>
+
+<p>Porter went at his work with a vim which made the forest tremble and
+the river bubble. For the first few minutes the Confederates were
+appalled by the fierceness of the fire, which stands on record as the
+fastest in the war; but, when the forts did get down to their work,
+they went in with a roar that almost deafened the Federal soldiers
+three miles away. Great shells burst over the gunboats, or, falling
+into the water close by their sides, threw up columns of water that
+deluged the decks. The vessels found the greatest difficulty in
+getting good positions for the swift-eddying current. One moment they
+were bow on, the next headed down stream, or up, or whirling around in
+circles. Of course this greatly hurt the aim of the gunners, but it
+likewise made the vessels poor targets for the Confederates.</p>
+
+<p>Three gunboats&mdash;the "Benton," "Tuscumbia," and "Lafayette"&mdash;<span class="pagenum"><a id="page951" name="page951"></a>(p. 951)</span>
+engaged the upper battery; and nowhere in naval history is found the
+record of faster firing than was done by these ships. Their huge
+shells tore away at the walls of earth, throwing up tons of dirt with
+each explosion, but not seeming to affect the strength of the fort at
+all. Not a shot entered an embrasure, though many came near it. One of
+the Confederate artillerists said after the fight,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There was not one single minute in all that five hours in which I did
+not expect death. We all worked away as if in a nightmare, and we all
+felt that any moment might be our last. The 'Benton' fired repeatedly
+at my gun; and as many as twenty of her shells struck the opening,
+tearing holes in the parapet ten feet back. Twenty times we were
+almost buried out of sight under the clouds of dirt, and the loose
+earth was knee deep around our gun when the fight closed. Not one of
+us was hit hard enough to draw blood, and yet we all felt ten years
+older for that five hours' work. I sighted the gun, and saw fourteen
+of my shot hit the 'Benton,' and six plunge into another."</p>
+
+<p>The gunboats fought in a way that showed desperate determination. The
+first gun from the "Lafayette" was answered by a shell which crashed
+through her side and exploded in a wardroom, knocking every thing into
+chips. Three times the carpenter came up and reported to the captain
+that the ship was sinking; and each time the reply was, "Very well,
+sir: keep right on firing until the guns are under water." When the
+ship came out of the fight, she counted up fifty scars.</p>
+
+<p>The long-range firing that was carried on at first did not satisfy the
+"Mound City." One particular gunner on the Confederate works seemed to
+cherish a spite against her; and every time the flame leaped from the
+muzzle of his gun, a solid shot banged against the gunboat's side.
+This was not to be tamely borne; and the "Mound City" rushed up so
+close to the bank that her bow stirred up the mud, and from that
+position opened fast and furiously upon the forts with grape and
+canister. A hail of rifle-bullets fell upon her decks; but she stuck
+to her post, and succeeded in driving the enemy to the bomb-proofs.</p>
+
+<p>But, with all their pluck and rapid firing, the gunners of the fleet
+were making no impression on the works. Gen. Grant, who was watching
+the engagement from a tug in mid-stream, saw this, and determined to
+rush his soldiers past the fort in transports, while the navy engaged
+the enemy's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page952" name="page952"></a>(p. 952)</span> guns. This was done quickly, and towards night
+the ships returned to their post up the river, leaving the
+Confederates in possession of the batteries. But the great point had
+been gained; and Grant's army was moving on Vicksburg, with nothing to
+interfere with its besieging operations.</p>
+
+<p>Then began that series of attacks and repulses, of building trenches,
+paralleling, and advancing steadily, until the lines of the Federals
+and the Confederates were so close together that the men used to shout
+jokes and taunts over the breastworks. All the Confederates were known
+as "Johnnies," and all Union soldiers as "Yanks." Often "Johnny" would
+call out, "Well, Yank, when are you coming into town?" Sometimes the
+answer was, "We propose to celebrate the Fourth of July there." The
+"Johnnies" did not believe this; but it was true, nevertheless, for on
+July 4 Grant's victorious army marched into Vicksburg. A day or two
+later the Confederate works at Port Hudson and Grand Gulf were
+surrendered to the Federals, and the Mississippi was again open for
+commerce throughout its length.</p>
+
+<p>When the fall of Vicksburg had thus left the river clear, Admiral
+Porter was ordered to take his fleet up the Red River, and clear away
+any Confederate works that he might find on the banks of that stream.
+Gen. A. J. Smith, with a strong body of troops, accompanied him; while
+Gen. Banks was to march his troops overland from Texas, and join the
+expedition at Shreveport. For several days the gunboats pressed
+forward up the crooked stream, meeting with no opposition, save from
+the sharp-shooters who lined the banks on either side, and kept up a
+constant fire of small-arms.</p>
+
+<p>Shreveport was reached in safety; and, after a short halt, the
+flotilla started again on their voyage up the river. They had
+proceeded but a short distance when a courier came galloping down the
+river's bank, waving a despatch, which he handed to Admiral Porter.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo954" name="illo954"></a>
+<img src="images/954_manning_the_yards.jpg" width="400" height="573" alt="" title="">
+<p>Manning the Yards.</p></div>
+
+<p>"The despatch read, 'Gen. Banks badly defeated; return,' Here was a
+dilemma to be placed in,&mdash;a victorious army between us and our own
+forces; a long, winding, shallow river wherein the vessels were
+continually grounding; a long string of empty transports, with many
+doubtful captains, who were constantly making excuses to lie by or to
+land (in other words, who were trying to put their vessels into the
+power of the Confederates); and a thousand points on the river where
+we could be attacked with great advantage <span class="pagenum"><a id="page955" name="page955"></a>(p. 955)</span> by the enemy;
+and the banks lined with sharp-shooters, by whom every incautious
+soldier who showed himself was shot."</p>
+
+<p>But, though the admiral clearly saw all the dangers he was exposed to,
+and which he recounts in the foregoing paragraph, he did not propose
+to return, but pressed forward. He soon reached the scene of battle,
+and with the big guns of his boats covered the retreat of the troops;
+then, having done all there was to be done, started down the river.</p>
+
+<p>But now came the great trouble of the whole expedition. Those Southern
+rivers are accustomed in summer to fall rapidly until they become mere
+dry ditches, with a narrow rivulet, hardly deep enough to float a
+row-boat, flowing down the centre. This was the summer season, and the
+Red River was falling fast. The banks swarmed with gray-coated
+soldiery, anxious to be on hand to capture the ships. At Grand Écore
+the "Eastport" became unmanageable, and was blown up. The fleet
+continued on its way quietly, until a serious obstacle was met.
+Admiral Porter writes:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"One of the 'Cricket's' guns was mounted on the upper deck forward, to
+command the banks; and a crew of six men were kept stationed at it,
+ready to fire at any thing hostile.</p>
+
+<p>"We went along at a moderate pace, to keep within supporting distance
+of each other. I was sitting on the upper deck, reading, with one eye
+on the book and the other on the bushes, when I saw men's heads, and
+sang out to the commanding officer, Gorringe, 'Give those fellows in
+the bushes a two-second shell.' A moment after the shell burst in the
+midst of the people on the bank.</p>
+
+<p>"'Give them another dose,' I said, when, to my astonishment, there
+came on board a shower of projectiles that fairly made the little
+'Cricket' stagger. Nineteen shells burst on board our vessel at the
+first volley. It was the gun-battery of which our prisoner had told
+us. We were going along at this time about six knots an hour; and,
+before we could fire another gun, we were right under the battery and
+turning the point, presenting the 'Cricket's' stern to the enemy. They
+gave us nine shells when we were not more than twenty yards distant
+from the bank, all of which burst inside of us; and, as the vessel's
+stern was presented, they poured in ten more shots, which raked us
+fore and aft.</p>
+
+<p>"Then came the roar of three thousand muskets, which seemed to strike
+every spot in the vessel. Fortunately her sides were musket-proof.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page956" name="page956"></a>(p. 956)</span> "The 'Cricket' stopped. I had been expecting it. How, thought
+I, could all these shells go through a vessel without disabling the
+machinery? The Rebels gave three cheers, and let us drift on: they
+were determined to have the whole of us. They opened their guns on the
+two pump-boats, and sunk them at the first discharge. The poor negroes
+that could swim tried to reach the shore; but the musketeers picked
+off those that were in the water or clinging to the wrecks. It was a
+dreadful spectacle to witness, with no power to prevent it; but it
+turned out to be the salvation of the 'Cricket.' All this took place
+in less than five minutes.</p>
+
+<p>"The moment the 'Cricket' received the first discharge of artillery, I
+went on deck to the pilot-house, saluted by a volley of musketry as I
+passed along; and, as I opened the pilot-house door, I saw that the
+pilot, Mr. Drening, had his head cut open by a piece of shell, and the
+blood was streaming down his cheeks. He still held on to the wheel. 'I
+am all right, sir,' he said: 'I won't give up the wheel.'</p>
+
+<p>"Gorringe was perfectly cool, and was ringing the engine-room bell to
+go ahead. In front of the wheel-house, the bodies of the men who
+manned the howitzer were piled up. A shell had struck the gun, and,
+exploding, had killed all the crew,&mdash;a glorious death for them."</p>
+
+<p>Porter now found himself in a bad fix. His guns could not be elevated
+enough to bear on the batteries that stood on the crest of the high
+bluffs. There was nothing to do but to run by at the best possible
+rate of speed. Suddenly the engine stopped, and the vessel floated
+helplessly down the stream. Porter rushed below to discover the
+trouble. In the engine-room stood the engineer leaning heavily against
+the throttle. Porter shouted at him, but received no reply; then,
+putting his hand on the man's shoulder, found him dead. The admiral
+threw the body aside, pulled open the throttle, and the "Cricket"
+glided along past the batteries to a safe refuge down-stream. The
+other ships came down safely, although more or less cut up; and the
+flotilla continued its retreat down the stream. For a day or two all
+went smoothly as a holiday excursion; then came a sudden reverse,
+that, for a time, seemed to make certain the loss of the entire fleet.
+At Alexandria the Red-river bottom is full of great rocks that make it
+impassable except at the highest water. When Porter's gunboats
+arrived, they found themselves caught in a trap from which there
+seemed to be no hope of escape. The army was encamped along the banks
+of the river, and the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page957" name="page957"></a>(p. 957)</span> soldiers began again their jokes upon
+Porter's habit of taking gunboats for an overland journey. The army
+generals began to get impatient, and advised Porter to blow up his
+ships, as the troops must soon march on and leave him. Porter was sick
+in bed, but this suggestion aroused him. "Burn my gunboats!" he cried,
+springing to his feet. "Never! I'll wait here for high water if I have
+to wait two years." And, indeed, it began to look as though he would
+be forced to wait nearly that long.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo957" name="illo957"></a>
+<img src="images/957_bailey_s_dam_on_the_red_river.jpg" width="600" height="488" alt="" title="">
+<p>Bailey's Dam on the Red River.</p></div>
+
+<p>In this time of suspense, there arose a man equal to the emergency. A
+certain Lieut-Col. Bailey, who had been a Wisconsin lumberman, came to
+Porter, and suggested that a dam should be built to raise the water
+fourteen feet above the falls. Porter jumped at the suggestion, and
+eight thousand men were set to work.</p>
+
+<p>"It will take too much time to enter into the details of this truly
+wonderful <span class="pagenum"><a id="page958" name="page958"></a>(p. 958)</span> work," writes Admiral Porter. "Suffice it to say
+that the dam had nearly reached completion in eight days'
+working-time, and the water had risen sufficiently on the upper falls
+to allow the 'Fort Hindman,' 'Osage,' and 'Neosho' to get down and be
+ready to pass the dam. In another day it would have been high enough
+to enable all the other vessels to pass the upper falls.
+Unfortunately, on the morning of the 9th instant the pressure of water
+became so great that it swept away two of the stone barges which swung
+in below the dam on one side. Seeing this unfortunate accident, I
+jumped on a horse, and rode up to where the upper vessels were
+anchored, and ordered the 'Lexington' to pass the upper falls if
+possible, and immediately attempt to go through the dam. I thought I
+might be able to save the four vessels below, not knowing whether the
+persons employed on the work would ever have the heart to renew their
+enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>"The 'Lexington' succeeded in getting over the upper falls just in
+time, the water rapidly falling as she was passing over. She then
+steered directly for the opening in the dam, through which the water
+was rushing so furiously that it seemed as if nothing but destruction
+awaited her. Thousands of beating hearts looked on, anxious for the
+result. The silence was so great as the 'Lexington' approached the
+dam, that a pin might almost be heard to fall. She entered the gap
+with a full head of steam on, pitched down the roaring torrent, made
+two or three spasmodic rolls, hung for a moment on the rocks below,
+was then swept into deep water by the current, and rounded to safely
+into the bank. Thirty thousand voices rose in one deafening cheer, and
+universal joy seemed to pervade the face of every man present."</p>
+
+<p>After the dam was repaired, the rest of the fleet passed down safely.</p>
+
+<p>With the escape of the Red-river flotilla, the career of Admiral
+Porter on the rivers ended. Indeed, there was but little work for the
+river navy remaining. The Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland
+Rivers were opened; and the Confederate works on the smaller streams
+were unimportant, and could be left to fall with the fall of the
+Confederacy, which was near at hand. There was work for fighting
+sea-captains along the Atlantic coast, and thither Admiral Porter was
+ordered. He will re-appear at the bombardment of Fort Fisher.</p>
+
+<p>An event which caused the greatest excitement in naval circles at this
+time, and which for courage and dash has probably never been equalled
+in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page959" name="page959"></a>(p. 959)</span> the history of the world, was the run of the Confederate
+privateer "Florida" past the United States fleet blockading the harbor
+of Mobile. The "Florida" was originally a merchant-ship, known as the
+"Oreto;" and under that name she sailed from Liverpool, carrying a
+peaceful cargo, and manned by sailors who had no idea that any thing
+beyond a peaceable voyage was planned. She was commanded by an English
+sea-captain; and, although the United States consul at Liverpool
+looked on her with some suspicion, yet he could find no pretext upon
+which to oppose her departure.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly had the ship passed the mouth of the Mersey, when her course
+was shaped for Nassau, the haven of privateers and blockade-runners.
+At Nassau several officers of the Confederate navy were living; and
+from the anxiety with which they scanned the horizon day after day,
+through their telescopes, it would seem that they were watching for
+some friendly craft. The "Oreto" arrived safely at Nassau; and a young
+gentleman who had come with her made all possible haste ashore, and
+delivered to the watchful gentlemen in the town certain letters, which
+made them first look with the greatest satisfaction at the newly
+arrived ship, and then begin again their outlook for vessels. The
+letters were from Capt. Bulloch, the agent in London of the
+Confederacy; and by them he notified his brother naval officers that
+he delivered to them the "Oreto," an admirably built ship, suited for
+an armed cruiser. "It has been impossible to get the regular battery
+intended for her on board," wrote Capt. Bulloch; "but I have sent out
+four seven-inch rifled guns, with all necessary equipments, in the
+steamship 'Bahama,' bound for Nassau."</p>
+
+<p>So here were the naval officers and their ship, but the guns were yet
+to come; and, when they did come, some shrewd planning would be
+necessary to get the guns mounted without alarming the British
+authorities. By the time the "Bahama" arrived, the plans were all
+made. As the steamer came up to the dock, a small schooner slipped
+alongside, and eight or ten heavy cases were transferred from the
+larger vessel's hold to the deck of the coaster. Then the little
+vessel sailed over to Green Cay, a desert island about sixty miles
+from Nassau, where she was soon joined by the "Oreto." There the work
+of changing the peaceful merchantman "Oreto" into the war-cruiser
+"Florida" began.</p>
+
+<p>The work of transferring the armament, and mounting the guns, was very
+laborious. The hot sun of August at the equator poured down upon
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page960" name="page960"></a>(p. 960)</span> them. Exposure and general discomforts told heavily upon
+them; and before long the yellow-fever, that most terrible scourge of
+the West Indies, broke out among the men. There was no surgeon on
+board, and the care of the sick fell upon Capt. Maffitt. Two United
+States men-of-war were hunting through the West Indies for the vessel
+they knew was fitting out somewhere amid the coral reefs and sandy,
+desolate keys. But Maffitt kept up his courage, and before long found
+himself at sea, with a good stanch ship and crew, that, though
+short-handed, was made up of the very best material. But he had hardly
+cut loose from civilization, and started out upon his cruise, when he
+discovered, that, in the worry and haste of his departure, he had put
+to sea without rammers or sponges for his guns. He was in a desperate
+plight. Had the smallest United States man-of-war met the "Florida,"
+the Confederate could not have offered the slightest resistance. She
+could not have even fired a gun. Capt. Maffitt ran his vessel into
+Havana in the hopes of being allowed to refit there; but the fortunes
+of the Confederacy were waning fast, and all nations feared to give it
+aid or comfort. Seeing no hope, Maffitt determined to dare all things,
+and make a dash for Mobile through the very centre of the
+blockading-fleet.</p>
+
+<p>When the "Florida" put out from the harbor of Havana, only four or
+five men were able to be on deck. The rest, with her commander, were
+below, deathly sick with yellow-fever. Under the command of a young
+lieutenant, her course was laid for Mobile; and in a few hours the
+smoke of the blockading-vessels could be seen rising on the clear air.
+An English ensign was hoisted, and the fleet ship dashed towards the
+men-o'-war that lay in wait. A blank cartridge was fired to warn her
+away, but she paid no heed. Then came a solid shot that ploughed up
+the water before her bow. As this evoked no response, the whole fleet
+opened fire with shot and shell. "Had they depressed their guns but a
+little," said Maffitt afterwards, "the career of the 'Florida' would
+have ended then and there." But, as it was, she sped on, with no signs
+of damage save the flying ends of cut cordage. She could not respond
+to the fire, for but three men remained on her deck. So, silently and
+grimly, she rushed through the fleet, and finally passed the last
+frigate. Quarter of an hour later she anchored under the guns of Fort
+Morgan. She had received eight shots in her hull, and her masts were
+chipped by dozens of fragments <span class="pagenum"><a id="page961" name="page961"></a>(p. 961)</span> of shell. After refitting,
+the "Florida" waited nearly a month for a chance to get out again.
+Finally the moment arrived; and she made her escape, though chased for
+four hours by the blockaders. Once on the open sea, she began the
+regular career of Confederate cruisers, burned unarmed ships, and
+avoided war-vessels, until she was run down in a neutral port by a
+Union man-of-war, whose commander acted in utter defiance of all the
+rules of modern warfare. In the career of the "Florida," after her
+escape from Mobile, there was nothing of moment; and her capture,
+treacherous as it was, brought more discredit upon the Northern arms
+than did her depredations work injury to the Northern merchant-marine.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_961.jpg" width="300" height="125" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page962" name="page962"></a>(p. 962)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_720.jpg" width="600" height="341" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XVII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">OPERATIONS ABOUT CHARLESTON. &mdash; THE BOMBARDMENT, THE SIEGE, AND THE
+CAPTURE.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>e have now reached the period at which the rapid decline in the
+prospects of the Confederacy had become apparent, not only to its
+enemies, but to its friends. Throughout the South the stars and bars
+floated over only three strongholds of any importance,&mdash;Charleston,
+Mobile, and Wilmington. One after the other these were destined to
+fall, and their final overthrow was to be the work of the navy. It was
+no easy task in any one of the three instances to dislodge the
+Confederates from their positions; for though beaten in the Middle
+States, driven from the Mississippi, and with their very citadel at
+Vicksburg in the hands of the Federals, they still fought with a
+courage and desperation that for a long time baffled the attacks of
+the Unionists.</p>
+
+<p>From the very opening of the war, Charleston Harbor had been the scene
+of naval hostilities. The Confederates, looking upon their mouldering
+wharves, and vessels tugging idly at their chains, then looking out to
+sea past Fort Sumter, could see the ships of the blockading-squadron
+maintaining the watchful guard that was slowly reducing the city to
+penury. What wonder that the blood of the good people of Charleston
+boiled, and that they built, and hurled against their hated enemy,
+weird <span class="pagenum"><a id="page963" name="page963"></a>(p. 963)</span> naval monsters, shapeless torpedo-boats running
+beneath the water, or huge rams that might even batter in the heavy
+walls of Fort Sumter!</p>
+
+<p>One attack so made was successful to a certain extent. It was in
+February, 1864, that an inventive genius in the beleaguered city
+brought out a steam torpedo-boat. The craft was about twenty-five feet
+long, shaped like a cigar, built of boiler iron, and propelled by a
+screw. She had no smokestack, and her deck barely rose above the
+surface of the water. Running out from her bow was a stout spar
+fifteen feet long, bearing at its end a huge torpedo charged with two
+hundred pounds of powder. Just before nine o'clock one night, the
+lookout on the deck of the frigate "Housatonic" saw this strange
+object approaching the ship. It was a bright night, with no sea on. As
+yet torpedoes were hardly known, so the lookout took it for a large
+fish, and simply watched with interest its playful movements. Not
+until it came so close that no guns could be brought to bear, did any
+suspicion of danger enter the lookout's mind. Then there was the roll
+of the alarm-drums; while the men rushed to the side, and poured a
+fierce fire from small-arms on the mysterious object. The "Housatonic"
+started her engines, and tried to escape; but, before any headway
+could be gained, the launch dashed alongside, and a slight jar was
+felt. Then, with a tremendous roar, a huge column of water was thrown
+high in air, washing away men and boats from the deck of the warship.
+A hole large enough to drive a horse through was rent in the hull of
+the ship. Great beams were broken in twain, the heaviest guns were
+dismounted, and men were hurled fifty feet into the air. In five
+minutes the ship had gone to the bottom, and boats from other vessels
+were picking up the crew. The launch escaped in the excitement.</p>
+
+<p>The Union sailor-boys did not let the Confederates outdo them in dash
+and pluck. One of the cleverest bits of work in the whole war was done
+by four boat-crews from two men-of-war on the Charleston station. Word
+had been brought to the blockaders, that, far up a little deep and
+narrow creek, a large steamship was loading with cotton, expecting to
+reach the ocean through the labyrinth of inlets that fairly honeycomb
+the South Carolina coast. Should she once get into that network of
+waterways, it would require a whole fleet to catch her; for there was
+no telling at what point she might emerge.</p>
+
+<p>It was at once determined to try to capture her as she lay at her
+deck, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page964" name="page964"></a>(p. 964)</span> and four boats' crews of picked men were sent out on
+the expedition. It was early evening when they set out; and all
+through the dark night they pulled away, threading the mazes of the
+tidal inlets. Just as the eastern horizon was beginning to grow gray
+with the coming dawn, they came in sight of their destination. Sure
+enough, there on the bank of the river was a little Southern village,
+changed into a prosperous town by the blockade-runners that had
+evidently been making this place a harbor for some time.</p>
+
+<p>All was dark and silent as the grave. Confident in their fancied
+security, the blockade-runners had all turned in, leaving no one on
+guard. The steamer was loaded, and ready to sail in the morning; and
+the thin wreaths of smoke rising from her smokestack told that the
+fires were up. Stealthily the sailors pulled alongside, and clambered
+on deck. Without a word they stole below, put the crew under guards,
+and rushed into the engine-room, where they found the engineer dozing
+on his stool. He was ordered to get under way at once; and, though he
+looked rather dazed, he obeyed the order. And in fifteen minutes the
+steamer was speeding down-stream, leaving the old town still asleep.</p>
+
+<p>One man alone of all the townspeople had seen the capture. A negro,
+hiding behind a pile of lumber on the dock, had watched the whole
+affair, and, as if struck dumb with astonishment, failed to give the
+alarm until the steamer was out of sight down the winding stream. The
+blue-jackets took their capture safely out of the enemy's lines, and
+the next day it was sent to New York as a prize.</p>
+
+<p>While the navy was keeping the port of Charleston sealed, and every
+now and then beating back the improvised gunboats that the
+Confederates sent out in the forlorn hope of breaking through the
+blockade, the armies of the North were closing in upon the doomed
+city. All the North cried aloud for the capture of Charleston. It was
+the city which fired the first gun of the war. Let it be reduced! On
+every available point of land a Union battery was built. Far out in
+the swamps back of the city, where it was thought no living thing save
+reptiles could exist, the soldiers of the North had raised a battery,
+mounting one two-hundred-pound gun. When a young lieutenant was
+ordered to build this battery, he looked the ground over, and reported
+the thing impossible. "There is no such word as impossible," sternly
+answered the colonel. "Set to work, and call for whatever you need to
+secure success."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo966" name="illo966"></a>
+<img src="images/966_cutting_out_a_blockade_runner.jpg" width="400" height="582" alt="" title="">
+<p>Cutting out a Blockade-Runner.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page967" name="page967"></a>(p. 967)</span> The next day the lieutenant, who was a bit of a wag, made a
+requisition on the quarter-master for one hundred men eighteen feet
+high, to wade through mud sixteen feet deep. Pleasantry is not
+appreciated in war; and the officer was arrested, but soon secured his
+release, and built the battery with men of ordinary height.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo967" name="illo967"></a>
+<img src="images/967_warships_off_charleston_harbor.jpg" width="400" height="420" alt="" title="">
+<p>War-ships off Charleston Harbor.</p></div>
+
+<p>In April, 1862, Admiral Du Pont had lined his iron-clads and monitors
+up before the beetling walls of Fort Sumter, and had hurled solid shot
+for hours, with only the effect of breaking away sharp corners and
+projecting <span class="pagenum"><a id="page968" name="page968"></a>(p. 968)</span> edges of the fort, but leaving it still as
+powerful a work of defence as ever. The little monitors exposed to the
+terrible fire from the guns of Sumter were fairly riddled; and, when
+the signal was finally made to withdraw from the action, the humblest
+sailor knew that Charleston would only fall after a siege as
+protracted and wearisome as that of Vicksburg.</p>
+
+<p>The investment of Charleston lasted from the date of that first attack
+upon Fort Sumter until 1865. From time to time the war-vessels would
+throw a few shells into the city, as a reminder to the inhabitants
+that they were under surveillance. Early in the siege the Swamp Angel,
+as the big gun back in the swamp was called, began sending hourly
+messages, in the form of two-hundred-pound shells, into the city. In
+one quarter, where the shells fell thickest, a severe fire was
+started, which raged fiercely, driving people from their homes, and
+reducing whole blocks to ashes; while the deadly shells aided in the
+work of destruction. But the life of the Swamp Angel, whose shells
+were the most destructive, was but short; for, after a few days' work,
+it burst, scattering the sand-bags, of which the battery was built,
+far and wide over the swamp.</p>
+
+<p>The officers of the army, who were bringing their troops nearer and
+nearer to the city, expected the iron-clad vessels to steam boldly up
+the harbor, and compel a surrender of the city; but the naval officers
+dared not, owing to the torpedoes with which the channel was thickly
+planted. If Sumter could only be captured, the torpedoes could be
+searched out and easily removed; and, with this thought in mind, a
+number of bold sailors fitted out an expedition to attack the fort.
+Thirty boats, filled with armed men, made their way to the base of the
+shattered walls of the fort. As they came up, not a sign of life was
+to be seen about the huge black monster that had so long kept the
+iron-clads at bay. Rapidly and silently the men swarmed from their
+boats, and, led by three brave officers, began the ascent of the
+sloping walls. "The Johnnies are asleep," they whispered to each
+other: "we have the fort this time." But the Johnnies were wide awake,
+and waiting behind those grim bastions until the proper moment should
+arrive. Higher and higher climbed the blue-jackets; and they were just
+about to spring over the last barrier, when there rose before them a
+wall of men and a deadly fire of musketry, and a storm of
+hand-grenades cut their ranks to pieces. Around the corner of the fort
+steamed a small gunboat, which opened fire on the assailants. The
+carnage was terrible; and the sailors <span class="pagenum"><a id="page971" name="page971"></a>(p. 971)</span> were driven back to
+their boats, leaving two hundred dead and wounded, and three stands of
+colors, as trophies for the garrison.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo971" name="illo971"></a>
+<img src="images/971_charleston_bombarded.jpg" width="400" height="586" alt="" title="">
+<p>Charleston Bombarded.</p></div>
+
+<p>After that grapple with the giant fortress, the Federals did not again
+try to come to close quarters; but, keeping at a distance, maintained
+a steady fire upon the fort, which drove its defenders from the guns,
+and enabled the Union troops to throw up batteries upon all the
+neighboring islands. The fleet then remained on blockading-service
+until Feb. 18, 1865, when the Confederates evacuated the city, and
+left the fort to the victorious Federals. Five years after the date
+when Major Anderson with his little band of soldiers had marched out
+of Sumter, leaving the fort to the enemy, the same gallant officer
+returned, and with his own hand hoisted the same tattered flag over
+the almost ruined fortress, amid salvos of artillery and the cheers of
+a victorious army and navy.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_971.jpg" width="250" height="74" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page972" name="page972"></a>(p. 972)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_709.jpg" width="600" height="254" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XVIII.</p>
+
+<p class="resume center">THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t1.jpg" width="50" height="57" alt="T" title=""></span>he last two actions of the United States navy in the civil war were
+destined to be the grandest successes of a long record of daring and
+successful exploits. Farragut at Mobile, and Porter at Fort Fisher,
+added to their wondrous careers the cap-sheaves of two victories
+wrested from apparently unconquerable adversaries.</p>
+
+<p>It was on a bright August morning in 1864 that Admiral Farragut stood
+on the deck of his stanch frigate the "Hartford," that had borne him
+through so many desperate battles. Around the flagship were clustered
+the vessels of the Gulf squadron. There was the battered old
+"Brooklyn," scarred with the wounds of a dozen fights; the "Richmond"
+and the "Itasca," that received their baptism of fire at the fight
+below New Orleans. In all there were fourteen wooden vessels and four
+iron-clad monitors assembled in front of the strongest combination of
+harbor defences that warships ever yet dared attack. Yet Farragut was
+there that bright summer morning to enter that bay, and batter the
+forts of the enemy into subjection. To capture the city was not his
+purpose,&mdash;that he left to the army,&mdash;but the harbor forts and the
+great ram "Tennessee" must strike their colors to the navy.</p>
+
+<p>Before arranging for the attack, the admiral made a reconnoissance,
+the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page973" name="page973"></a>(p. 973)</span> results of which are thus told by one of his officers:
+"On the afternoon of the day of our arrival, Admiral Farragut, with
+the commanding officers of the different vessels, made a
+reconnoissance on the steam-tender 'Cowslip,' running inside of Sand
+Island, where the monitors were anchored, and near enough to get a
+good view of both forts. On the left, some two miles distant, was Fort
+Gaines, a small brick-and-earth work, mounting a few heavy guns, but
+too far away from the ship-channel to cause much uneasiness to the
+fleet. Fort Morgan was on the right, one of the strongest of the old
+stone forts, and greatly strengthened by immense piles of sand-bags
+covering every portion of the exposed front. The fort was well
+equipped with three tiers of heavy guns, some of them of the best
+English make, imported by the Confederates. In addition, there was in
+front a battery of eleven powerful guns, at the water's edge on the
+beach. All the guns, of both fort and water battery, were within
+point-blank range of the only channel through which the fleet could
+pass. The Rebels considered the works impregnable, but they did not
+depend solely upon them. Just around the point of land, behind Fort
+Morgan, we could see that afternoon three saucy-looking gunboats and
+the famous ram 'Tennessee.' The latter was then considered the
+strongest and most powerful iron-clad ever put afloat; looking like a
+great turtle, with sloping sides covered with iron plates six inches
+in thickness, thoroughly riveted together, and having a formidable
+iron beak projecting under the water. Her armament consisted of six
+heavy guns of English make, sending a solid shot weighing one hundred
+and ten pounds,&mdash;a small affair compared with the heavy guns of the
+present time, but irresistible then against every thing but the
+turrets of the monitors. In addition to these means of resistance, the
+narrow channel in front of the fort had been lined with torpedoes.
+These were under the water, anchored to the bottom, and were chiefly
+in the shape of beer-kegs filled with powder, from the sides of which
+projected numerous little tubes containing fulminate, which it was
+expected would be exploded by contact with the passing vessels.</p>
+
+<p>"Except for what Farragut had already accomplished on the Mississippi,
+it would have been considered a foolhardy experiment for wooden
+vessels to attempt to pass so close to one of the strongest forts on
+the coast; but when to the forts were added the knowledge of the
+strength of the ram, and the supposed deadly character of the
+torpedoes, it may be imagined that the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page974" name="page974"></a>(p. 974)</span> coming event
+impressed the person taking his first glimpse of naval warfare as
+decidedly hazardous and unpleasant. So daring an attempt was never
+made in any country but this, and was never successfully made by any
+commander except Farragut, who in this, as in his previous exploits in
+passing the forts of the Mississippi, proved himself the greatest
+naval commander the world has ever seen. It was the confidence reposed
+in him, the recollection that he had never failed in any of his
+attempts, and his manifest faith in the success of the projected
+movement, that inspired all around him."</p>
+
+<p>When the reconnoissance was completed, the admiral called a council of
+his captains in the wardroom of the "Hartford," and announced that the
+attack would be made early the following morning. The council over,
+each commander returned to his ship, there to make ready for the dread
+business of the morrow. The same writer whom we have before quoted
+tells how the night before a battle is spent by brave men not afraid
+of death:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"At sunset the last order had been issued. Every commanding officer
+knew his duty, and unusual quiet prevailed in the fleet. The waters of
+the Gulf rested for a time from their customary tumult, a gentle
+breeze relieved the midsummer heat, and the evening closed upon us as
+peacefully as if we had been on board a yachting squadron at Newport.
+During the early part of the night, the stillness was almost
+oppressive. The officers of the 'Hartford' gathered around the
+capacious wardroom table, writing what they knew might be their last
+letters to loved ones far away, or giving to friends messages and
+instructions in case of death. There were no signs of fear; but, like
+brave and intelligent men, they recognized the stern possibilities of
+the morrow, and acted accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>"But this occupied but little time; and then, business over, there
+followed an hour of unrestrained jollity. Many an old story was
+retold, and ancient conundrum repeated. Old officers forgot for the
+moment their customary dignity, and it was evident that all were
+exhilarated and stimulated by the knowledge of the coming struggle.
+Capt. Heywood of the marines proposed a final 'walk-around;' Tyson
+solemnly requested information as to 'Which would you rather do or go
+by Fort Morgan?' and all agreed they would prefer to 'do.' La Rue
+Adams repeated the benediction with which the French instructor at the
+naval academy was wont to greet his boys as they were going into
+examination: 'Vell, fellows, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page975" name="page975"></a>(p. 975)</span> I hope ve vill do as vell as I
+hope ve vill do.' Finally, Chief Engineer Williamson suggested an
+adjournment to the forecastle for a last smoke, and the smoking club
+went forward; but somehow smoke had lost its customary flavor, and,
+after a few whiffs, all hands turned in, to enjoy what sleep would
+come."</p>
+
+<p>When the morning dawned, the men were called to quarters, and the
+advance upon the forts was begun at once. It was a foggy morning, and
+the ships looked like phantom vessels as they moved forward in line of
+battle, with the "Brooklyn" in the van. Second came the "Hartford,"
+with the admiral high up in the rigging, where he could overlook the
+whole scene.</p>
+
+<p>"Nearly every man had his watch in his hand, and waited for the first
+shot. To us, ignorant of every thing going on above, every minute
+seemed an hour; and there was a feeling of great relief when the boom
+of the first gun was heard. This was from the monitor 'Tecumseh,' at
+forty-seven minutes past six o'clock. Presently one or two of our
+forward guns opened, and we could hear the distant sound of the guns
+of the fort in reply. Soon the cannon-balls began to crash through the
+deck above us, and then the thunder of our whole broadside of twelve
+Dahlgren guns kept the vessel in a quiver. But as yet no wounded were
+sent down, and we knew we were still at comparatively long range. In
+the intense excitement of the occasion, it seemed that hours had
+passed; but it was just twenty minutes from the time we went below
+when an officer shouted down the hatchway: 'Send up an army
+signal-officer immediately: the 'Brooklyn' is signalling.' In a moment
+the writer was on deck, where he found the situation as follows: The
+'Brooklyn,' directly in front of us, had stopped, and was backing and
+signalling; the tide was with us, setting strongly through the
+channel, and the stopping of the 'Brooklyn' threatened to bring the
+whole fleet into collision and confusion; the advance vessels of the
+line were trying to back to prevent a catastrophe, but were apparently
+not able to overcome the force of the current; and there was danger
+not only of collision, but of being drifted on shore."</p>
+
+<p>While the fleet was thus embarrassed and hampered, the gunners in the
+forts were pouring in their shot thick and fast. On the decks of the
+ships the most terrible scenes of death were visible. Along the port
+side the bodies of the dead were ranged in long rows, while the
+wounded were carried <span class="pagenum"><a id="page976" name="page976"></a>(p. 976)</span> below, until the surgeon's room was
+filled to its last corner. One poor fellow on the "Hartford" lost both
+legs by a cannon-ball, and, falling, threw up both arms just in time
+to have them carried away also. Strange to say, he recovered from
+these fearful wounds.</p>
+
+<p>Just as the fight was at its hottest, and the vessels were nearing the
+line, the passage of which meant victory, there went up a cry from the
+whole fleet, "The 'Tecumseh!' Look at the 'Tecumseh!'" All eyes were
+turned on the monitor, and every one saw that she was sinking. She
+staggered for a moment, and went down with a rush, carrying her brave
+commander and over a hundred of her crew. A few escaped, the last of
+whom was the pilot. As the pilot was rushing for the hatchway that led
+to the open air and to life, he met at the foot of a narrow ladder
+Commander Craven. Craven stepped back, saying gravely, "After you,
+pilot;" and the pilot passed out. "There was nothing after me," said
+he, in relating the story afterwards; "for as I sprang out of the
+hatchway the water rushed in, carrying all behind me to the bottom."</p>
+
+<p>This terrible sight made the ships stop for a moment in some
+confusion; but Farragut signalled sternly from his flagship, "Go on,"
+and all advanced again. As the fight grew fiercer, the admiral grew
+tired of being on the second ship in the line, and ordered the
+"Hartford" to forge ahead.</p>
+
+<p>"On board a war steamer the engines are directed by the tap of a bell,
+the wires connected with which lead to the quarter-deck. One stroke of
+the bell means 'go ahead;' two, 'stop;' three, 'back;' and four, 'go
+ahead as fast as possible.' Leaning down through the shrouds to the
+officer on deck at the bell-pull, the admiral shouted, 'Four bells,
+<span class="italic">eight bells</span>, <span class="smcap">SIXTEEN BELLS</span>! Give her all the steam you've got!' The
+order was instantly transmitted, and the old ship seemed imbued with
+the admiral's spirit; and running past the "Brooklyn" and the
+monitors, regardless of fort, ram, gunboats, and the unseen foe
+beneath, dashed ahead, all alone, save for her gallant consort, the
+'Metacomet.'"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo978" name="illo978"></a>
+<img src="images/978_fight_at_mobile_bay.jpg" width="400" height="574" alt="" title="">
+<p>Fight at Mobile Bay.</p></div>
+
+<p>But by this time the fleet was well abreast of the forts, and now,
+pouring out broadside after broadside, they swept along past the
+terrible ramparts. The Confederate gunboats had found the fight too
+hot for them, and had fled for shelter, with the exception of the
+dreaded "Tennessee," which seemed to be holding itself in reserve. It
+was but a short time before the vessels were safely past the fort, and
+out of range, floating on the smooth <span class="pagenum"><a id="page979" name="page979"></a>(p. 979)</span> waters of the inner
+bay. Then the crews were piped to breakfast, and all hands began to
+recount their narrow escapes.</p>
+
+<p>But the end was not yet, for the ram "Tennessee" was now ready to try
+her mettle with the fleet. Lieut. Kinney of the "Hartford" tells
+graphically the story of the desperate fight that the ram carried on
+alone against the whole attacking flotilla.</p>
+
+<p>"We were just beginning to feel the re-action following such a season
+of extreme peril and excitement, when we were brought to our senses by
+the sharp, penetrating voice of executive officer Kimberly calling all
+hands to quarters; and a messenger-boy hurried down to us with the
+word, 'The ram is coming.' Every man hastened to his post, the writer
+to the quarter-deck, where the admiral and fleet-captain were
+standing. The cause of the new excitement was evident at once. The
+'Tennessee,' as if ashamed of her failure, had left the fort and was
+making at full speed directly for the "Hartford," being then perhaps a
+mile and a half distant. The spectacle was a grand one, and was viewed
+by the Rebel soldiers in both forts, who were now out of range of our
+guns, and lined the walls. Few audiences have ever witnessed so
+imposing a sight. The great ram came on for a single-handed contest
+with the fleet. She was believed to be invulnerable, and had powerful
+double engines by which she could be easily handled; while our
+monitors were so slow-gaited that they were unable to offer any
+serious obstacle to her approach. Farragut himself seemed to place his
+chief dependence on his wooden vessels. Doubtless the crowd of
+Confederate soldiers who watched the fight expected to see the
+'Tennessee' sink the Yankee vessels in detail, and the chances seemed
+in its favor....</p>
+
+<p>"Meanwhile, the general signal, 'Attack the enemy,' had gone up to the
+peak of the 'Hartford;' and there followed a general slipping of
+cables, and a friendly rivalry to see which could quickest meet the
+foe. The 'Monongahela,' with her artificial iron prow, was bravely in
+the lead, and struck the Rebel craft amidships at full speed, doing no
+damage to the ram, but having her own iron prow destroyed, and being
+otherwise injured. Next came the 'Lackawanna,' with a like result. The
+huge iron frame of the 'Tennessee' scarcely felt the shock, while the
+wooden bow of the Union ship was badly demoralized. For an instant the
+two vessels swung head and stern alongside of each other. In his
+official report, Capt. Marchand naïvely remarks:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page980" name="page980"></a>(p. 980)</span> "'A few of the enemy were seen through their ports, who were
+using <span class="italic">most opprobrious</span> language. Our marines opened on them with
+muskets: even a spittoon and a holystone were thrown at them from our
+deck, which drove them away.'</p>
+
+<p>"The 'Tennessee' fired two shots through her bow, and then kept on for
+the 'Hartford.' The two flag-ships approached each other, bow to bow.
+The two admirals, Farragut and Buchanan, had entered our navy together
+as boys, and up to the outbreak of the war had been warm friends. But
+now each was hoping for the overthrow of the other; and, had Buchanan
+possessed the grit of Farragut, it is probable that moment would have
+witnessed the destruction of both vessels. For had the ram struck us
+square, as it came, bows on, it would have ploughed its way half
+through the 'Hartford;' and, as we sank, we should have carried it to
+the bottom, unable to extricate itself. But the Rebel admiral was not
+desirous of so much glory; and, just as the two vessels were meeting,
+the course of the 'Tennessee' was slightly changed, enough to strike
+us only a glancing blow on the port-bow, which left us uninjured,
+while the two vessels grated past each other. He tried to sink us with
+a broadside as he went by; but only one of his guns went off, the
+primers in all the others failing. That gun sent a shell that entered
+the berth-deck of the 'Hartford,' and killed five men."</p>
+
+<p>But by this time the unequal conflict was becoming too much even for a
+man of Buchanan's courage. The armor of the ram was penetrated in
+several places, and at last came a shot that almost fatally wounded
+her commander. With the controlling mind that guided her course gone,
+the ram was useless; and in a moment a white flag fluttered from the
+shattered stump of her flagstaff. And so closed the naval battle that
+effectually ended Confederate rule on the Gulf coast, and earned for
+Farragut his proudest laurels.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page981" name="page981"></a>(p. 981)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_752.jpg" width="600" height="344" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<div style="margin-top: -50px; margin-left: 80px;">
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER XIX.</p>
+
+<p class="resume center">THE FALL OF FORT FISHER. &mdash; THE NAVY ENDS ITS WORK.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_i.jpg" width="50" height="59" alt="I" title=""></span>n noticing the work of the blockading-fleet, we have spoken of the
+fine harbor of Wilmington, and the powerful works that defended its
+entrance. This Confederate stronghold was known as Fort Fisher, and
+had been for a long time a cause of anxiety and worry to the Northern
+authorities. The war had gone past Fort Fisher. To the north and to
+the south of it, the country was under the sway of the Federal
+authorities; but there in North Carolina stood the formidable bastions
+over which floated, in defiance of the laws of the Union, the stars
+and bars of the rapidly dying Confederacy. With its connected
+batteries, Fort Fisher mounted seventy-five guns, and was stronger
+than the celebrated Malakoff at Sebastopol.</p>
+
+<p>To reduce this stronghold, a joint naval and military expedition was
+fitted out; and Gen. Butler was placed in command of the land forces,
+while Admiral Porter, torn from his beloved Western rivers, was given
+command of the fleet. Butler introduced a novel feature at the very
+opening of the siege. He procured an old steamer, and had her packed
+full of gunpowder. On a dark night this craft was towed close to the
+walls of the fort and set afire, in the hopes that she might, in
+blowing up, tear the works to pieces. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page982" name="page982"></a>(p. 982)</span> But in this the
+projectors were disappointed; for the explosion, though a terrific
+one, did absolutely no harm to the Confederate works. When Porter
+finally did get into the fort, he asked a soldier what he thought of
+the attempt to blow them up. "It was a mighty mean trick," responded
+the Southerner satirically. "You woke us all up."</p>
+
+<p>After this fiasco had set all the world laughing, Butler retired
+voluntarily, and was succeeded by Gen. Terry; and on Christmas Eve of
+the year 1864 the fleet began the bombardment, although the land
+forces were not yet prepared for the assault. It was the grandest
+armada that was ever arrayed against any fortress. The thunder of
+nearly five hundred guns rent the air on that Christmas Eve, when
+carols were being sung in Christian churches throughout the world.
+Tremendous as was the cannonade, the earthworks were almost a match
+for it. The fort was not a mass of masonry that these enormous guns
+might batter down and crumble into rubbish, but a huge bank of earth
+in which the shells might harmlessly bury themselves. But five hundred
+cannon are more than a match for any fort, and so they soon proved to
+be in this instance. Earthworks, guns, and men alike went down before
+them. The iron-clads were stationed about three-quarters of a mile
+from the fort, a little farther out were the frigates and heavy
+sloops, and still beyond were the smaller vessels,&mdash;all firing to
+cover themselves; and all along the whole extended line there blazed
+one almost continuous sheet of flame, while the rolling thunder of the
+broadsides, and the defiant answering roar from the guns of the forts,
+shook earth and sea. Clouds of dust went up from the bastions of the
+fort, and mingled with the floating smoke above. Within the forts,
+there was a scene of the most terrible confusion: guns were
+overturned, piles of cannon-balls were knocked to pieces and scattered
+about, and two magazines were blown up and scattered fragments all
+over the parade. In one hour and a quarter all the gunners were driven
+to the bomb-proofs, and the forts were silenced, not returning a
+single shot.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo984" name="illo984"></a>
+<img src="images/984_charge_of_sailors_at_fort_fisher.jpg" width="400" height="577" alt="" title="">
+<p>Charge of Sailors at Fort Fisher.</p></div>
+
+<p>On Christmas morning Gen. Terry arrived with all his transports, and
+the attack was recommenced. Early in the morning the ships fell into
+position and began a slow fire, merely to cover the landing of the
+troops. Again the garrison was driven to the bomb-proofs; and, indeed,
+so entirely were they chased from their posts, that a Federal soldier
+went into the fort and brought off a Confederate flag without ever
+having been seen <span class="pagenum"><a id="page985" name="page985"></a>(p. 985)</span> by the garrison. All the troops were
+landed; but for some reason the attack was deferred, much to the
+disgust of the officers of the fleet, who felt sure that the fort
+could be taken then by a dash. But the troops returned to their
+transports or went into camp, and it was not until weeks after that
+the assault was fairly made. In the mean time, the ships rode out the
+winter gales at their anchors, doing a little desultory firing to keep
+the garrison in a state of unrest.</p>
+
+<p>On the 14th of January the heavy bombardment began again, and again
+the troops were landed. By night it was seen that every gun on the
+face of the fort was disabled, and it was decided to storm the works
+the next day. Sixteen hundred sailors and four hundred marines were
+told off as the storming-party.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the morning the ships began a fierce cannonade, under cover
+of which the sailors and marines landed, and threw up light
+breastworks to cover them until the time should be ripe for the
+charge. The arrangements contemplated a fierce charge by the
+blue-jackets, armed with their cutlasses and revolvers; while the
+marines, remaining in the rifle-pits, should cover the advancing party
+with a hot fire of musketry. The soldiers from the army-camp were to
+charge the fort on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>At three o'clock came the signal that all was ready. The whistles of
+the ships rent the air; and the blue-jackets, with ringing cheers,
+dashed in a compact body up the beach. But in an instant the
+Confederate ramparts were black with men, and a furious fire of
+musketry rained down upon the sailors, who were helpless. The marines
+in the rifle-pits failed to do what was expected of them, and the
+sailors halted for a moment in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>As they stood, a most destructive fire rained down upon them; and the
+poor fellows, grasping their useless cutlasses, turned and fled down
+the beach, leaving great heaps of dead and wounded behind. Then the
+Confederates, thinking the day was theirs, sprang on the ramparts, and
+began a vigorous cheer just as the Union soldiers came pouring over
+the landward face of the fort. Then ensued a fierce hand-to-hand fight
+that lasted for hours. The blue-jackets, encouraged, rushed back to
+the fight, and now at close quarters swung their cutlasses with deadly
+effect, until step by step the Confederates were driven out of the
+fort. Then the fleet opened upon them, and they fled for dear life
+while a sailor sprang to the flagstaff and pulled down the Confederate
+flag. Fort Fisher had fallen. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page986" name="page986"></a>(p. 986)</span> It was a noble victory, and
+formed a fitting climax to the work of the navy throughout that great
+war.</p>
+
+<p>With the fall of Fort Fisher, the navy ceased to be a prominent factor
+in the war. Its work was done. Along the seacoast, and inland as far
+as navigable rivers extended, the ships of the North had carried the
+starry banner; and the sailor-boys of the North had defended it. And
+their opponents, whether on sea or shore, had shown themselves
+courageous and dashing, and worthy to be numbered as men of the same
+nation as those who proved the victors. And who can doubt, that,
+should the need arise, the sons of these men will show that they have
+in their veins the blood that animated the Blue-Jackets of '61?<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_986.jpg" width="300" height="135" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a id="page987" name="page987"></a>(p. 987)</span> PART IV<br>
+
+<span class="smaller">BLUE JACKETS IN TIMES OF PEACE</span></h2>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_987.jpg" width="600" height="291" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER I.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">POLICE SERVICE ON THE HIGH SEAS. &mdash; WAR SERVICE IN ASIATIC
+PORTS. &mdash; LOSSES BY THE PERILS OF THE DEEP. &mdash; A BRUSH WITH THE
+PIRATES. &mdash; ADMIRAL RODGERS AT COREA. &mdash; SERVICES IN ARCTIC WATERS. &mdash; THE
+DISASTER AT SAMOA. &mdash; THE ATTACK ON THE "BALTIMORE'S" MEN AT
+VALPARAISO. &mdash; LOSS OF THE "KEARSARGE." &mdash; THE NAVAL REVIEW.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t2.jpg" width="50" height="49" alt="T" title=""></span>he years immediately following the civil war were particularly quiet
+and uneventful for the navy. The department was chiefly engaged in the
+work of reducing the forces and adapting the navy to the changed
+conditions. At the termination of the war an immense naval armament
+had been developed, and the navy had assumed a magnitude which made
+the United States foremost among the naval powers. This force was
+gradually reduced to a peace standard. The volunteers were discharged
+and retired from service. The large number of captured and purchased
+vessels were disposed of. The home squadrons were withdrawn, and
+squadrons established abroad. The ships in foreign stations displayed
+an unprecedented energy and activity, visiting, in 1866, nearly every
+large port in the world, including several in China which had never
+before been entered by an American man-of-war. The reception of
+Rear-Admiral Bell in his flagship, the "Hartford," by the Japanese,
+was manifestly more hospitable than that given to any other nation.
+Admiral Farragut was made commander of the European squadron <span class="pagenum"><a id="page988" name="page988"></a>(p. 988)</span>
+in 1867, and he was received with distinguished attention by the
+sovereigns and dignitaries of Europe. The "Swatara," of the European
+squadron, was ordered, in November, 1866, to Civita Vecchia, a port in
+Italy, to bring to the United States John H. Surratt, who was charged
+with being implicated in the assassination of Lincoln. The fugitive
+was apprehended, but he escaped, and fled into the papal dominions. He
+was recaptured at Alexandria, and in February was delivered to the
+marshal of the District of Columbia.</p>
+
+<p>The Japanese made further advances of a friendly character toward the
+United States in 1867, when the "Shenandoah," of the Asiatic squadron,
+with the American minister aboard, arrived at the port of Hakodadi,
+and the first salute ever given in honor of a foreign minister was
+fired. Just previous to this, the Japanese government had expressed
+its willingness to open an additional port on the western coast to
+foreign trade, and Commodore Goldsborough, in command of the
+"Shenandoah," visited and made surveys of several harbors in which no
+foreign ship had ever before anchored.</p>
+
+<p>News was received by Rear-Admiral Bell, in the autumn of 1866, that
+the schooner "General Sherman" had been wrecked in the Ping Yang
+River, one of the streams of Corea, and that her officers, crew, and
+passengers had been murdered by the natives. The Rear-Admiral
+despatched one of the vessels of his squadron, the "Wachusett," to
+investigate the matter, and demand from the authorities that the
+survivors, if any, be delivered on board the "Wachusett." The King of
+Corea was communicated with, but without satisfactory results. It was
+found that there were no survivors of the schooner. A few months
+afterward information reached Rear-Admiral Bell that a similar outrage
+had been perpetrated on the southeast end of the island of Formosa. It
+was reported that the American bark "Rover" had been wrecked, and all
+on board murdered. Commander Febiger, with the "Ashuelot," found that
+the crime had been committed by a horde of savages, who, the
+authorities of the island said, were not obedient to their laws.
+Rear-Admiral Bell left Shanghai in June, with the "Wyoming" and
+"Hartford," with the intention of destroying, if possible, the
+lurking-places of the savages. On the 18th of June the vessels
+anchored half a mile from shore, and 181 officers, sailors, and
+marines were landed, under the command of Commander Belknap, of the
+"Hartford," and Lieutenant-Commander Alexander S. Mackenzie. As the
+company approached the hills the natives, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page989" name="page989"></a>(p. 989)</span> dressed in clouts,
+with their bodies painted, and muskets glistening in the sun,
+descended to meet them, fighting from the long grass. After delivering
+their fire, they would retreat, and form ambuscades, into which the
+men from the ships frequently fell in charging after them. In one of
+these Lieutenant-Commander Mackenzie was mortally wounded. After
+fighting under the intensely hot sun for six hours, during which
+period several of the attacking party suffered sunstroke, they
+returned to their ships, the expedition having proved a failure.</p>
+
+<p>The navy performed a valuable maritime service in 1867, by locating
+and surveying a shoal which was reported to exist twenty miles west of
+Georges Shoal, and directly in the track of vessels bound to and from
+Europe. The shoal was found by Commander Chandler with the United
+States steamer "Don," and mariners were made cognizant of a danger
+which probably had been fatal to many vessels. In the same year the
+"Sacramento," Captain Napoleon Collins, while on an important cruise,
+was wrecked on the reefs off the mouth of the Kothapalem River in the
+Bay of Bengal. The vessel proved a total wreck, but without loss of
+life. Those aboard effected thrilling escapes by means of rafts. The
+navy suffered another misfortune in 1868, in the drowning of
+Rear-Admiral Bell, commander of the Asiatic squadron,
+Lieutenant-Commander J. H. Reed, and ten of the crew of the Admiral's
+barge, which was upset in crossing the bar near Osaka, few days after
+the opening by the Japanese of that port and Hioto to foreigners.
+Another disaster occurred in 1869. Twenty-seven officers and men of
+the "Fredonia" were drowned at Arica, on the western coast of South
+America The "Fredonia" and "Wateree" were resting at anchor when a
+shock of earthquake was felt. The sea receded and left the former
+vessel on the bottom; a moment afterward the wave rolled back,
+breaking the ship into fragments. The "Wateree" was thrown upon the
+shore; its position was such that the expense of launching would have
+been greater than the worth of the vessel, and it was consequently
+sold. A year previous to its catastrophe, the "Monongahela," in the
+harbor of St. Croix, was swept from her moorings by the force of an
+earthquake, and carried by a wave over the warehouses into one of the
+streets of the town. Five of her crew were lost. The vessel, after an
+interval of some months, was relaunched.</p>
+
+<p>The Cuban rebellion, which began in 1868, occasioned activity on the
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page990" name="page990"></a>(p. 990)</span> part of some of the cruisers to prevent violations of the
+neutrality law and to protect the interests of American citizens. A
+company of Cuban filibusters, encamped on Gardiner's Island, near the
+eastern end of Long Island, were captured by Lieutenant Breese, in
+command of the revenue cutter "Mahoning," and fifty marines. The
+prisoners, to the number of one hundred and twenty-five, were taken to
+New York. On the island of Cuba some outrages were perpetrated upon
+American citizens by the Spanish authorities. Rear-Admiral Hoff, in
+command of the North Atlantic squadron, was ordered to Santiago de
+Cuba for the better protection of American interests, and no further
+aggressions occurred.</p>
+
+<p>Two disasters in the navy ushered in the year 1870. In the Bay of
+Yeddo, on January 24th, the steam-sloop "Oneida," just after leaving
+Yokohama for Hong Kong, was run into and sunk by the English steamer
+"Bombay," with the loss of twenty officers and ninety-six men. The tug
+"Marie" was sunk in the same month, with a loss of four men, in Long
+Island Sound. In October of the same year, Commander Sicard of the
+"Saginaw" determined to run to Ocean Island, a small island about a
+hundred miles west of the Midways, to rescue any sailors who might
+have been shipwrecked there. The "Saginaw" was herself wrecked on a
+reef off the perilous coast, but her men, after extreme exertions,
+landed safely on the shores of the uninhabited island. Here they lived
+for some months. They were rescued by a steamer from the Sandwich
+Islands, sent to their aid by the authorities of the islands, who had
+been informed of the accident by William Halford, one of the crew,
+who, with Lieutenant Talbot and three others, had volunteered to make
+the trip from Ocean Island to Honolulu, a distance of 1,500 miles, in
+an open boat. After thirty-one days of great danger and hardship, they
+arrived off one of the Hawaiian group of islands. In attempting to
+land, the boat was upset in the surf, and all but Halford were
+drowned.</p>
+
+<p>At various times during the years 1871 and 1872, the marines of the
+Brooklyn Navy Yard rendered very efficient aid to the revenue officers
+in quelling riots in Brooklyn which grew out of the raiding of illicit
+distilleries. In July, 1871, Captain Gilbert was killed and several
+men wounded by the rioters.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo992" name="illo992"></a>
+<img src="images/992_attack_on_a_corean_fort.jpg" width="600" height="392" alt="" title="">
+<p>Attack on a Corean Fort.</p></div>
+
+<p>The steamer "Forward," bearing the San Salvador flag, landed 200
+desperadoes at Guaymas, Mexico, in June, 1870, and these outlaws took
+possession <span class="pagenum"><a id="page993" name="page993"></a>(p. 993)</span> of the custom-house. They forced the foreign
+merchants to furnish them with funds and goods, and compelled the
+United States' consul to supply coal for their vessel, their purpose
+being to become pirates on a large scale. Commander Low, of the
+"Mohican," upon learning these facts, sailed from Mazatlan, and
+overtook the "Forward" while still in the Gulf of California. She was
+attacked in the harbor of Boca Teacapan by six boatloads of sailors
+and marines from the "Mohican," and was captured and burned.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed desirable, in 1871, that some arrangement should be made
+with the people of Corea whereby sailors wrecked upon these shores
+should have protection. With this end in view our Minister to China,
+accompanied by Rear-Admiral John Rodgers, with the "Colorado," the
+"Alaska," the "Benicia," the "Monocacy," and the "Palos," vessels of
+the Asiatic squadron, sailed to Corea, anchoring in the Sale River.
+The local authorities were assured that the visit was a perfectly
+peaceful one, and they in turn gave evidences of a peaceful spirit.
+But when a party engaged in making surveys and soundings for the
+safety of commerce had got beyond a point where they could be
+protected by the cruisers' guns, they were fired upon by the Coreans,
+and were forced to re-pass the Corean forts under a fierce cannonade.
+Admiral Rodgers and the minister determined that an explanation should
+be at once demanded. No answer having been received from the Coreans
+after an interval of ten days, it was decided that an attack should be
+made upon the forts from which the shots had been fired. A party of
+about 700 of the sailors and marines were landed, and after a march
+through mud which rose to their knees, the first fort was captured
+without serious resistance. The next day, other forts were easily
+taken, and preparations were made to attack the horseshoe-shaped
+citadel, which was defended by a garrison of a thousand Corean
+soldiers. A few shells from the vessels, judiciously planted among the
+Coreans, frightened and disconcerted them; but they made a stubborn
+fight until their ammunition gave out. The attacking party swarmed
+over the walls. Then ensued a desperate hand-to-hand fight The Coreans
+expected no quarter, and fought till all who had not fled had been
+killed or wounded. Lieutenant Hugh McKee, who was the first man to
+climb over the ramparts, fell with a mortal wound. Two hundred and
+forty-seven dead Coreans were counted within the works. Five forts and
+a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page994" name="page994"></a>(p. 994)</span> large number of flags and cannon had been captured. The
+gallant conduct of the men of the navy made a deep impression on the
+people of the China coast and led to the increased consideration and
+safety of American citizens in those localities.</p>
+
+<p>On Saturday morning, November 26, 1877, occurred one of the most
+disastrous wrecks in the history of the navy. The steam sloop-of-war
+"Huron" struck the rocks near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, in a heavy
+gale and was wrecked, with the loss of nearly a hundred officers and
+men. The boats were washed from the davits and the thirty-four persons
+who were saved reached the shore by swimming. Ensign Lucien Young
+landed on the beach after desperate efforts, and spread the alarm. His
+sturdy activity resulted in the saving of several lives.</p>
+
+<p>The members of a naval exploring expedition, which had sailed in the
+"Polaris" for the Arctic regions in 1871, were rescued from boats and
+the floating ice in Baffin's Bay in 1873, the "Polaris" having been
+abandoned as a wreck.</p>
+
+<p>The United States steamer "Rodgers," commanded by Lieutenant Robert M.
+Berry, was detailed in 1881 to search for the exploring party
+organized by James Gordon Bennett and headed by Lieutenant-Commander
+DeLong, which had embarked in the "Jeannette" for the far north and
+had been last heard of in August, 1879. The "Rodgers" was burned and
+abandoned in St. Laurence Bay, Siberia, in November, 1881; but
+Lieutenant Berry continued his search on the coast. In the early
+spring he learned that one party from the "Jeannette," that of
+Chief-Engineer Melville, had been saved and was searching for the
+other two parties which had become separated from the first in a storm
+while attempting to escape from the Arctic seas in open boats after
+the "Jeannette" had been crushed and sunk by the ice. Lieutenant Berry
+soon afterward met Chief-Engineer Melville's party and learned that
+the bodies of Lieutenant DeLong and his companions had been found.
+Search for the other party which had been led by Lieutenant Chipp was
+continued, and the Navy Department fitted out another vessel, the
+"Alliance," to aid in the possible rescue. But Lieutenant Chipp and
+his men were never found.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo996" name="illo996"></a>
+<img src="images/996_wreck_of_united_states_war_ships_off_samoa.jpg" width="600" height="403" alt="" title="">
+<p>Wreck of United States War-ships off Samoa.</p></div>
+
+<p>During the massacres by Egyptian troops under Arabi Pasha in
+Alexandria, in 1882, when more than two hundred European residents
+were killed or <span class="pagenum"><a id="page997" name="page997"></a>(p. 997)</span> wounded, the flagship "Lancaster," under
+Captain Gherardi, was in the harbor and afforded a place of refuge for
+large numbers of men, women, and children. A large body of marines
+with a detachment of naval artillery landed in the city and were of
+much service in restoring order.</p>
+
+<p>Another Arctic expedition was fitted out in the spring of 1883. Three
+vessels, the "Thetis," "Alert," and "Bear," left New York by order of
+the Navy Department to search for Lieutenant Greely and his party,
+comprising what is known as the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition. After a
+long voyage, in which the vessels were several times in imminent
+peril, they passed around Cape Sabine and found Lieutenant Greely and
+the seven survivors of his party. Their condition was so enfeebled
+that they could have lived only a little longer. On August 8th the
+relief squadron and the rescued party arrived in New York.</p>
+
+<p>An insurrection broke out in the United States of Colombia in the
+spring of 1885, during which the city of Aspinwall was in great part
+destroyed. The affair assumed such a serious aspect that the vessels
+of the North Atlantic squadron, under Rear Admiral Jouett, were
+ordered to Aspinwall, and in addition to the fleet, the Navy
+Department sent a force consisting of about seven hundred and fifty
+from New York, for the special purpose of operating on shore. Upon his
+arrival at Aspinwall, on April 10th, Rear-Admiral Jouett issued orders
+for the landing of a force to open the transit across the isthmus, and
+on the 12th, trains were run as usual. On April 28th, the insurgents
+capitulated, and shortly afterward the United States naval force was
+withdrawn.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most severe disasters that ever befell the United States
+Navy in time of peace occurred on the 16th of March, 1889, when,
+during a hurricane in the harbor of Apia, Samoa, the "Trenton" and
+"Vandalia" were totally wrecked, and the "Nipsic" was run on shore to
+save her from destruction. Five officers and forty-six men lost their
+lives in this catastrophe. Nothing that skill and experience could
+suggest was left undone to avert the disaster, but the vessels were
+equipped with old-fashioned engines, whose steam-power was not strong
+enough to withstand the fury of the gale. The value of high-pressure
+engines in war vessels was illustrated by the British ship "Calliope,"
+which was able to steam out to sea, and thus escaped destruction on
+the reefs. The "Trenton" and the "Vandalia," which had been two of the
+best of the old wooden fleet, were abandoned. The "Nipsic" <span class="pagenum"><a id="page998" name="page998"></a>(p. 998)</span>
+sailed for the Sandwich Islands, where she was refitted for active
+service. The natives of Samoa displayed great heroism in their efforts
+to save the shipwrecked sailors, and were afterward rewarded by the
+United States government. Fifteen merchant vessels which were in the
+harbor were either sunk or run upon the shore, and the German naval
+vessels "Elber," "Adler," and "Olga" were wrecked, with the loss of
+many men.</p>
+
+<p>When the United States cruiser "Baltimore" was at anchor in the harbor
+off Valparaiso in October, 1891, shortly after the end of a Chilian
+rebellion, a number of the seamen were given liberty to go on shore.
+They were attacked by a mob in the streets of Valparaiso, and Petty
+Officer Charles Riggin was stabbed, and left to die. Another petty
+officer, Johnson, went to his assistance, and was attempting to carry
+him to an apothecary, when a squad of Chilian police, with fixed
+bayonets, came down the street. When at close quarters, they fired at
+Johnson. A shot passed through his clothes, and another entered
+Riggin's neck, inflicting a death-wound. Petty Officer Hamilton was
+dragged to jail dangerously wounded. As a result of the attack, two
+men, Riggin and Turnbull, died, and eighteen others were disabled by
+wounds. Thirty-six of the "Baltimore's" men were arrested, and treated
+by the Chilian police with extreme brutality. Investigation proved
+that all had been perfectly sober and well-behaved. The attack grew
+out of the bitter hostility of the Chilians toward the United
+States&mdash;a feeling largely due to false accusations in reference to the
+action of the navy during the Chilian revolution. The affair caused
+excitement and indignation in the United States, but was amicably
+settled.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1001" name="illo1001"></a>
+<img src="images/1001_wreck_of_the_kearsarge.jpg" width="600" height="402" alt="" title="">
+<p>Wreck of the "Kearsarge."</p></div>
+
+<p>The most important assemblage of naval vessels ever seen in the waters
+of America took place in April, 1893, in celebration of the Columbian
+quadricentennial. Invitations had been sent to all the important
+maritime powers, and at the rendezvous in Hampton Roads, on April
+24th, the combined fleet, under the direction of Rear-Admiral
+Gherardi, of the United States Navy, comprised twelve men-of-war of
+the United States, four of England, three of France, two of Italy, two
+of Germany, two of Russia, three of Brazil, and one of Holland. At New
+York, the squadron was joined by one more Russian, three Spanish, one
+Argentine vessel, and the "Miantonomoh," of the United States Navy,
+making a combined fleet of thirty-five ships-of-war. The President, on
+board the "Dolphin," reviewed the fleet <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1001" name="page1001"></a>(p. 1001)</span> on April 27th,
+and the next day the armed battalions of the various nations, to the
+number of 3,815 men, marched through the streets of New York, and were
+reviewed by the Governor of the State.</p>
+
+<p>The navy suffered a severe loss in 1894, in the wreck of the famous
+old man-of-war "Kearsarge," the conqueror of the "Alabama," which was
+wrecked February 2d on Roncador Reef, while on her way from Port au
+Prince to Bluefields, Nicaragua. Eight days later her men were rescued
+by the "City of Para."</p>
+
+<p>One of the conspicuous features of the pageants which attended the
+opening of the Kiel Canal, between the North and the Baltic seas, on
+June 19th, 1895, was the fleet of war-vessels which assembled in the
+harbor at Kiel. It was the most remarkable ever seen in any waters,
+numbering over a hundred of the finest vessels in existence. A number
+of these, headed by the flagship "New York," belonged to the new navy
+of the United States. These ships provoked the admiration of all the
+naval authorities present, and their effective strength was noted and
+commented upon all over Europe.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1002" name="page1002"></a>(p. 1002)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_685.jpg" width="600" height="297" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER II.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE NAVAL MILITIA. &mdash; A VOLUNTEER SERVICE WHICH IN TIME OF WAR WILL BE
+EFFECTIVE. &mdash; HOW BOYS ARE TRAINED FOR THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. &mdash; CONDITIONS
+OF ENLISTMENT IN THE VOLUNTEER BRANCH OF THE SERVICE. &mdash; THE WORK OF THE
+SEAGOING MILITIA IN SUMMER.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_t2.jpg" width="50" height="49" alt="T" title=""></span>he <span class="italic">personnel</span> of a navy is quite as important as its vessels. It has
+been said that a ship is worth what her captain and crew are worth. It
+is certainly true that a man-of-war, of whatever power, would be
+useless or worse than useless if her officers and men did not
+understand her wonderfully complicated construction nor know how to
+handle her. The officers of the United States navy are given this
+important instruction at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and the rank
+and file of the men of the navy, those who fill the positions of
+seamen and petty officers, are trained at the station in Coaster's
+Island Harbor, near Newport, R.I., and in the training-ships when
+cruising.</p>
+
+<p>The training-station is designed to ensure the thorough efficiency of
+the corps of men enlisted in the service, and to provide for the
+manning of the vessels by American citizens instead of by foreigners.</p>
+
+<p>There was a time, and not a great while ago, when the gunners and
+crews of United States men-of-war were, with very few exceptions,
+aliens, who spoke the English language with difficulty, and who did
+not have, and could not be expected to have, any of the patriotic
+spirit which makes effective fighters in naval engagements. While this
+condition still exists to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1003" name="page1003"></a>(p. 1003)</span> some extent, the growth of the
+apprentice system is bringing about a gradual change.</p>
+
+<p>As early as 1837 an attempt was made to establish a naval apprentice
+system. In that year Congress passed an act making it "lawful to
+enlist boys for the navy, not under thirteen nor over eighteen years
+of age, to serve until twenty-one." Within a few months several boys
+were received as apprentices aboard naval vessels. Six years later,
+however, the system was abandoned as a failure, owing to a false
+impression which had gained wide currency that the apprentices would
+receive commissions in the navy.</p>
+
+<p>Capt. S. B. Luce and the officers of the practice-ship "Macedonian"
+investigated the apprentice systems at Portsmouth and Plymouth,
+England, twenty years afterward, and made such favorable reports that
+Secretary Welles was induced to revive it in the United States navy.
+This was done, and during the civil war the system was in successful
+operation, but soon after the close of the war it was again abandoned.</p>
+
+<p>In the following years the want of intelligent seamen of American
+birth in the navy was greatly felt, and in 1875 Secretary of the Navy
+Robeson deemed it advisable to resume the enlistment of boys under the
+naval apprentice law, which was still in existence. As an experiment
+two hundred and fifty boys were enlisted and placed on the frigates
+"Minnesota" and "Constitution" and the sloops of war "Portsmouth" and
+"Saratoga," which were commissioned as training-ships. Since 1875 the
+training-station and vessels have been very important features of the
+naval establishment.</p>
+
+<p>The regulations governing the enlistment of boys are simple and few in
+number. The boys must be between the ages of fourteen and sixteen
+years, of robust form, intelligent, of perfectly sound and healthy
+constitution, free from all physical defect or malformation, and of
+good moral character. They must be able to read and write, although in
+special cases, when a boy shows general intelligence and is otherwise
+qualified, he may be enlisted notwithstanding the fact that his
+reading and writing are imperfect. Each boy presenting himself for
+enlistment must be accompanied by his father, mother, or, in case
+neither is living, by his legally appointed guardian, and must
+voluntarily sign an agreement to serve in the navy till twenty-one
+years of age. Upon enlistment the boys are rated as third-class
+apprentices, and are paid $9 a month. Deserving boys are rated
+second-class apprentices, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1004" name="page1004"></a>(p. 1004)</span> receive pay of $15 a month
+after they have completed their term of service on a cruising
+training-ship. If they have served a year on a cruising ship of war
+they are considered properly qualified apprentices, and receive $21 a
+month. As the apprentices become proficient and their services are
+required, they are transferred to the seagoing vessels. Upon the
+expiration of the enlistment of an apprentice he will, if recommended,
+receive an honorable discharge, and if he enlists again within three
+months, will be given pay for this period. The apprentices are under
+the immediate supervision of the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy
+Department, and applications for enlistment are made to the chief of
+that bureau at Washington, or to the officer commanding either the
+"Vermont," at the Brooklyn navy yard, or the "Richmond," stationed at
+the League Island yard, Philadelphia. These were the recruiting-ships,
+from which the boys were being sent to the training-station at
+Coaster's Island as soon as a squad of twenty were enlisted, at the
+period of this writing. Sometimes there have been more ships in this
+duty.</p>
+
+<p>There are usually about one hundred boys at the station at one time.
+They are taught to march, handle muskets, revolvers, broadswords, and
+cannon; they go aloft so as to get practice with the sails, and are
+also made familiar with the management of boats and oars and
+boathooks. Two hours a day are devoted to lessons, consisting of
+arithmetic, reading, writing, spelling, geography and grammar. Ample
+time is given for recreation, and innocent social pleasures are
+encouraged.</p>
+
+<p>There are two training-ships, besides the famous old ship
+"Constellation," which figured in the War of 1812, at the station
+devoted to the use of the boys, and every six months one of these
+appears at Coaster's Island, and receives the apprentices who have
+been at the station for half a year. The vessel then starts on a
+cruise to Europe if it is summer, and to the West Indies in the
+winter. Each boy remains aboard a year, only half of the crew being
+changed at a time. Practice aloft and the life in general aboard a
+sailing vessel give him a broad general foundation of knowledge of the
+sea and ships, upon which he can build the special training and
+instruction he afterward gets upon a regular man-of-war. When he is
+transferred, upon the expiration of his year on the training-ship, he
+begins the task of mastering the intricacies of a modern ship-of-war.
+Here he remains until his first <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1005" name="page1005"></a>(p. 1005)</span> term of service has
+expired. If he re-enlists and has shown aptitude for the service, he
+is sent to Washington navy yard for a course of six months'
+instruction in gunnery and special branches, such as electricity and
+torpedoes. He becomes a seaman gunner, with the billet and pay of a
+petty officer.</p>
+
+<p>A serious defect in the apprentice system, however, and one which
+makes it impossible to man the vessels altogether with well-trained
+American citizens, is the fact that the majority of the apprentices do
+not re-enlist after receiving their honorable discharge at the age of
+twenty-one, for the reason that the special training they have
+received enables them to secure better-paid places in civil life than
+are possible to them in the navy. In the government service, too, they
+cannot attain the rank of officers, as there is no such provision for
+the promotion of enlisted men in the navy as there is in the army.</p>
+
+<p>Secretary Tracy, in his report of 1889, forcibly called the attention
+of Congress to this condition. As a remedy he recommended that there
+be a statutory extension of the term of enlistment to twenty-four
+years of age. It was further recommended that the number of
+apprentices be increased from seven hundred and fifty to fifteen
+hundred, and that the course in the training-ships be extended by the
+formation of a special class for training in gunnery on board a ship
+devoted exclusively to this purpose. Congress has as yet taken no
+action upon these and numerous other recommendations which have been
+made for the improvement of the apprentice system, and they remain
+pertinent.</p>
+
+<p>The navy, however, in case of war, would not have to depend entirely
+upon apprentices and graduates of the training-station for its skilled
+seamen. The Naval Militia has become an organization that would render
+very efficient service if called upon by the government. It is
+composed of about three thousand highly intelligent and well-drilled
+young men, and has been organized in sixteen States. It bears the same
+relation to the navy that the National Guard does to the regular army,
+and is therefore wholly under State control; but it is subject to
+call, of course, by the federal government.</p>
+
+<p>The organization of the Naval Militia has been a growth of the last
+eight years, and is due in large measure to the reconstruction of the
+navy and the revival of activity and interest in naval affairs in the
+United States.</p>
+
+<p>It was seen that the new vessels of modern and intricate construction
+and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1006" name="page1006"></a>(p. 1006)</span> appliances should, in case of war, be manned by men
+skilled in the use of these appliances. The apprentice system brought
+to the navy a supply of apprentices, but the number would be totally
+inadequate in a naval war. A naval reserve force was an urgent
+necessity.</p>
+
+<p>The first step toward meeting this necessity was made in 1887 by
+Senator Whitthorne, of Tennessee, who in that year introduced a bill
+"to create a naval reserve of auxiliary cruisers, officers, and men,
+from the mercantile marine of the United States." The measure did not
+pass, and the next year another was introduced by Senator Whitthorne,
+providing for the enrolment of a Naval Militia and the organization of
+naval reserve forces. According to this bill, it was to be lawful for
+States and Territories bordering on sea and lake coasts and navigable
+rivers to enroll and designate as the Naval Militia all seafaring men
+of whatever calling or occupation, and all men engaged in the
+navigation of the rivers, lakes, and other waters, or in the
+construction or management of ships and craft, together with
+ship-owners and their employees, yacht-owners, members of yacht clubs
+and other associations for aquatic sports, and all ex-officers and
+former enlisted men of the navy.</p>
+
+<p>The bill contemplated a naval reserve artillery and a naval reserve
+torpedo corps. It did not become a law, but formed a basis for
+legislation in several of the States shortly afterward, although the
+original plan, as shown in the proposed measure, was modified to the
+extent of making the Naval Militia a State organization and forming it
+of volunteers irrespective of occupation.</p>
+
+<p>Massachusetts was the pioneer among the States in the organization of
+the Naval Militia. In May, 1888, the legislature passed a bill
+authorizing the formation of "a naval battalion to be attached to the
+volunteer militia." This measure was prepared, with the assistance of
+others, by Lieutenant John C. Soley, a retired officer of the United
+States navy, and he was afterward energetic in putting it into
+successful operation.</p>
+
+<p>The next State to provide for a Naval Militia was Pennsylvania, whose
+legislature made the necessary law in 1889. On the same day the
+legislature of Rhode Island "established a naval battalion to be
+attached to the Rhode Island militia." In New York, in 1889, a State
+Naval Militia of three battalions of naval reserve artillery and a
+naval reserve torpedo corps, to consist of not less than four
+companies to a battalion, was established.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1008" name="illo1008"></a>
+<img src="images/1008_cruiser_columbia_commerce_destroyer.jpg" width="600" height="421" alt="" title="">
+<p><span class="small">Copyright, 1895, by A. Loeffler.</span><br>
+Cruiser "Columbia" (Commerce Destroyer).</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page1009" name="page1009"></a>(p. 1009)</span> The practical work of the Naval Militia began in 1890, when
+the Massachusetts battalion drilled on the receiving-ship "Wabash,"
+and the New York battalion on the receiving-ship "Minnesota."</p>
+
+<p>A very decided impetus was given to the movement in 1891 by the
+appropriation by Congress of $25,000 for arms and equipments for the
+Naval Militia, leaving the disbursement of the money to the discretion
+of the Secretary of the Navy. Within the year California, North
+Carolina, Texas, and Maryland joined the States having battalions of
+Naval Militia, and at its close the force numbered 1,149 men. Progress
+was made also in 1891 in the method of drilling and instructing the
+members of some of the battalions. Those of New York, Massachusetts,
+and Rhode Island spent several days aboard the vessels of the Squadron
+of Evolution, under the command of Rear-Admiral J. C. Walker, and were
+given practice with the guns and boats, and participated in the ship's
+routine duties.</p>
+
+<p>Further appropriations of $25,000 each for the Naval Militia were made
+in 1892 and 1893. The legislatures of Vermont and South Carolina
+provided for battalions of the Naval Militia in 1892, and those which
+had been authorized, but not yet organized, in Maryland and
+Pennsylvania, were formed. During the summer of 1892 the members of
+the North Carolina Naval Militia were drilled on board the "Newark."
+The "Wabash," the "Chicago," and the "Atlanta" were used for drills by
+the Massachusetts battalions, and those of New York received their
+instruction on the "New Hampshire," the "Chicago," and the "Atlanta."
+The California Naval Militia drilled on board the "Charleston."</p>
+
+<p>The Naval Militia was increased in 1893 by battalions formed in North
+Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, and Connecticut, under laws of
+these various legislatures of that year, and the force numbered 2,376
+officers and men. New Jersey and Virginia, in 1894, organized
+battalions of the Naval Militia, and in that year Congress passed an
+important act, empowering the Secretary of the Navy to lend
+temporarily to any State vessels "not suitable or required for the
+general service, together with such of her apparel, charts, books, and
+instruments of navigation as he may deem proper, said vessel to be
+used only by the regularly organized Naval Militia of the State for
+the purposes of drill and instruction." Even interior States, with no
+bodies of water other than rivers, have organized naval battalions. At
+Pittsburg the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1010" name="page1010"></a>(p. 1010)</span> organization owns a small armored gunboat, of
+the sort that was so useful on inland waters in the civil war. This
+vessel was presented to the militia by a wealthy manufacturer. Few
+commands, however, are so fortunate. Most take advantage of the law
+authorizing the loan of government ships. Under this law the following
+vessels were lent: the "Minnesota" to Massachusetts, the "Wyandotte"
+to Connecticut, the "New Hampshire" to New York, the "Portsmouth" and
+the "Ajax" to New Jersey, the "St. Louis" to Pennsylvania, the "Dale"
+to Maryland, and the "Nantucket" to North Carolina. The other States
+have been compelled to get along without vessels, for the reason that
+there have been no others available.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1010" name="illo1010"></a>
+<img src="images/1010_torpedo_boat_cushing.jpg" width="600" height="334" alt="" title="">
+<p>Torpedo Boat "Cushing."</p></div>
+
+<p>During the summer of 1894 the Massachusetts brigade of the militia
+encamped for drill on Lovell's Island, Boston Harbor, and the monitor
+"Passaic" was lent to the State. There were also drills and
+target-practice on the "Miantonomoh" and the "Atlanta." The forces of
+Connecticut and Rhode Island received instruction on the "Miantonomoh"
+and the "Atlanta" respectively, and New York's battalion spent a week
+on board the "New York" and the "San Francisco" in Gardiner's Bay,
+Long Island. A part of the Pennsylvania force had target-practice at
+sea on board the "New York," and the North Carolina battalion received
+instruction on the "Montgomery."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1012" name="illo1012"></a>
+<img src="images/1012_armored_cruiser_new_york.jpg" width="600" height="432" alt="" title="">
+<p><span class="small">Copyright, 1893, by J. S. Johnston.</span><br>
+Armored Cruiser "New York."</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page1013" name="page1013"></a>(p. 1013)</span> The California division helped to man the "Olympia" for a
+week in 1895, taking the places of the crew; the Maryland contingent
+had a week's cruise on the "Dale," and the First Naval Battalion of
+New York carried out a scheme of reconnoissance and distant boat work
+along the northern shore of Long Island, encamping on Shelter Island.
+The party was accompanied by the torpedo boat "Cushing." Most of the
+other battalions had their quota of drill and instruction.</p>
+
+<p>These details of the summer operations of the Naval Militia will
+convey an idea of the manner in which its members are being prepared
+for the emergencies of war. In addition to the summer work, there is
+drill in armories in the winter. This course of training, in
+conjunction with the intelligence and enthusiasm of the young men of
+the Naval Militia, who are of the best classes in this country, has
+made an organization which would doubtless be of very great value in
+time of war.</p>
+
+<p>The uniform of the Naval Militia consists of a blue cap, blouse, and
+trousers of blue trimmed with white braid. The working suit is of
+white duck with white canvas hat.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1014" name="page1014"></a>(p. 1014)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_1014.jpg" width="600" height="304" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER III.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">HOW THE NAVY HAS GROWN. &mdash; THE COST AND CHARACTER OF OUR NEW WHITE SHIPS
+OF WAR. &mdash; OUR PERIOD OF NAVAL WEAKNESS AND OUR ADVANCE TO A PLACE AMONG
+THE GREAT NAVAL POWERS. &mdash; THE NEW DEVICES OF NAVAL WARFARE. &mdash; THE
+TORPEDO, THE DYNAMITE GUN, AND THE MODERN RIFLE. &mdash; ARMOR AND ITS
+POSSIBILITIES.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_a2.jpg" width="50" height="59" alt="A" title=""></span>t the close of the civil war the United States had one of the most
+formidable navies afloat. The necessities of the war had forced the
+Navy Department to the utmost exertion in increasing the number and
+power of the vessels of the fleets. This work of naval upbuilding and
+strengthening had been carried on, moreover, till Fort Fisher fell and
+hostile operations ceased. The result was that at the close of the war
+the United States had upon its hands a large number of ships-of-war
+for which it had no use. The Secretary of the Navy at once began to
+reduce the number, and secretaries succeeding him followed the same
+policy. Old vessels which had outlived their usefulness as cruisers
+were one by one taken out of commission and were not replaced. Thus
+the navy moved steadily on a downward plane. Through the seventies and
+into the eighties this retrogression continued. The lowest ebb was
+reached in 1882, when the entire naval force numbered only thirty-one
+vessels in commission, all but four of which were built entirely of
+wood. They were old-fashioned <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1015" name="page1015"></a>(p. 1015)</span> ships, which had been
+efficient in a past day, but were totally unfit to cope with the
+modern warships of foreign naval powers. Both their guns and engines
+were inferior. Their sole usefulness, in short, lay in displaying the
+national flag upon the seas and in the harbors of the commercial world
+in times of peace.</p>
+
+<p>This condition of the navy was referred to by Secretary Chandler, in
+his report of 1882, as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"It is not the policy of the United States to maintain a large navy,
+but its reputation, honor, and prosperity require that such naval
+vessels as it possesses shall be the best which human ingenuity can
+devise and modern artificers construct. Our present vessels are not
+such and cannot be made such. They should be gradually replaced by
+iron or steel cruisers, and allowed to go out of commission."</p>
+
+<p>It may be of interest to add that in 1882 there was only one
+high-power cannon in the navy, while there were nearly nineteen
+hundred naval officers, making the proportion of fifty-nine officers
+for each ship, and one for every five seamen.</p>
+
+<p>As the result of Secretary Chandler's recommendations in his report of
+1882, three steel warships and an armed despatch-steamer were
+authorized by the next Congress. The building of these vessels, named
+the "Chicago," the "Boston," the "Atlanta," and the "Dolphin," may be
+regarded as the first movement toward the making of the new navy of
+the United States.</p>
+
+<p>While progress in naval construction has been so rapid that these
+ships are a long distance behind the war-vessels of to-day in power,
+they were then considered to be equal to any afloat in their
+respective classes. All are unarmored. The "Chicago," of forty-five
+hundred tons displacement and a speed of fourteen knots an hour, was
+an example of the largest and best unarmored fighting and cruising
+vessel then built, and, according to Secretary Chandler, had no
+superior in speed, endurance, and armament. In the "Boston" and
+"Atlanta," each of three thousand tons displacement and a speed of
+thirteen knots an hour, speed and endurance were supposed to have been
+given their greatest development, and their fighting power was
+increased by placing the battery on a central superstructure on the
+spar-deck and adopting a brig rig, so that the extremities would be
+clear for a fore and aft fire. The "Dolphin," of fifteen hundred tons
+displacement and a speed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1016" name="page1016"></a>(p. 1016)</span> of fifteen knots, was designed as
+an auxiliary in naval operations, and it was expected that she would
+furnish a model for high-speed commerce-destroyers to be subsequently
+built. These vessels were constructed at an aggregate cost of over
+$2,400,000, in the shipyard of John Roach, of Chester, Pa. The
+"Dolphin" was launched in 1884.</p>
+
+<p>The Congress which authorized the building of the cruisers also
+directed that the double-turreted monitors, "Puritan," "Amphitrite,"
+"Terror," and "Monadnock," whose keels had been laid several years
+before, be completed. In accordance with this order they were launched
+in 1883.</p>
+
+<p>In order that the work of the reconstruction of the navy should be
+carried on as rapidly as possible, the secretary recommended, in 1883
+and 1884, that seven unarmored cruisers, in addition to the four then
+in the process of construction, be built. Congress adopted his
+suggestion to the extent of authorizing, in 1884, the construction of
+two unarmored cruisers, two gunboats, and two armored cruisers.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels with which the reconstruction of the navy began&mdash;namely
+the "Chicago," the "Boston," the "Atlanta," and the "Dolphin"&mdash;were
+completed about this time, and were in some measure disappointments.
+It was found that the "Dolphin" was better adapted for pleasure trips
+than for war service, because of the lack of protection against
+hostile fire. The engines had been so placed as to be exposed above
+water-line, which was condemned as a serious mistake in a war-vessel
+without armor-protection. It was realized, too, that the essential
+characteristic in an unarmored cruiser is great speed. The function
+she is expected to perform is to destroy commerce; and if she is
+slower than the merchant-vessels it is useless for her to go to sea;
+and if she is slower than the iron-clads, and consequently cannot
+escape from them, she could not long continue her service. The chief
+objection to the vessels was the lack of a speed equal to that of
+merchantmen and the cruisers of other countries. The type of protected
+cruiser with a maximum speed, in some cases as high as twenty knots,
+developed at this time as a result of the earlier experiments. The
+torpedo, too, was receiving constant attention, and money was freely
+spent for its improvement. It was found that vessels at anchor or
+under slow headway could be protected from torpedoes by being
+surrounded by a large net. This defence was generally adopted for
+armored vessels.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page1017" name="page1017"></a>(p. 1017)</span> A stride forward in naval construction in the United States
+marked the year 1887. Before that time a serious obstacle in the way
+of building up the navy was the lack in the country of manufactories
+necessary to the construction and armament of a modern war-vessel,
+namely, that of steel forgings for the heavier guns, of armor for
+iron-clad vessels, and of secondary batteries, which are an essential
+portion of the armament. It was important that the country should not
+be dependent upon foreigners for these necessary implements of
+warfare, because they are contraband in time of war, and consequently
+could not then be obtained abroad. Secretary of the Navy Whitney, who
+succeeded Secretary Chandler, stipulated, in his advertisements for
+bids for the contracts of making the armor for the ships under
+construction, that this armor should be of domestic manufacture.
+Correspondence was also opened with the leading steel manufacturers of
+the country, offering them inducements to take the matter up. Interest
+was awakened, and it was found upon investigation that armor could be
+made in the United States as advantageously as abroad. A contract was
+drawn up with the Bethlehem Iron Company, under which a plant for the
+production of armor and gun steel was erected at Bethlehem, Pa., which
+was designed to be second to none in the world. In the matter of the
+second batteries, the policy of insisting upon home manufacture was
+also pursued, with the desired result.</p>
+
+<p>Congress had authorized, in 1885, the construction of two additional
+cruisers and two gunboats. In 1886 there was further authorization of
+two armor-clad vessels, each of about six thousand tons, and each to
+cost, exclusive of armament, not more than $2,500,000. In 1887 the sum
+of $2,000,000 was appropriated for harbor and coast defence vessels.
+As a result of this reawakening on the part of Congress to the
+necessity of a respectable navy, and the manifestations of
+enlightenment in the form of substantial appropriations, Secretary
+Whitney was able to state in his report of 1888 that upon the
+completion of the ships under construction, the United States would
+rank second among the nations in the possession of unarmored cruisers
+or commerce-destroyers possessing the highest characteristics&mdash;namely,
+size of three thousand tons and upward and a speed of nineteen knots,
+and more. The vessels, inclusive of the monitors, completed and
+uncompleted, then composing the navy, were as follows: The "Dolphin,"
+"Boston," <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1018" name="page1018"></a>(p. 1018)</span> "Atlanta," "Chicago," whose keels were laid in
+1883; the "Charleston" "Baltimore," "Newark," "Philadelphia," "San
+Francisco," protected cruisers, whose keels were laid in 1887 and
+1888; and the gunboats "Yorktown," "Petrel," "Concord," "Bennington,"
+whose keels were laid in 1887 and 1888. In addition to these, there
+were under construction the dynamite cruiser "Vesuvius," with a
+guaranteed speed of twenty knots an hour, and a first-class
+torpedo-boat with a speed of twenty-three knots an hour. Besides
+these, five protected cruisers had been authorized, but were not yet
+in process of construction.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1018" name="illo1018"></a>
+<img src="images/1018_dynamite_cruiser_vesuvio.jpg" width="600" height="382" alt="" title="">
+<p>Dynamite Cruiser "Vesuvius."</p></div>
+
+<p>The "Baltimore," "Charlestown," "Yorktown," and "Petrel" were given
+their trial trips in 1889, and were accepted by the Navy Department.
+The trip of the "Baltimore," in particular, was a brilliant success.
+The horse-power proved to be in excess of the contract requirement,
+and her highest speed for one hour was 20.39 knots&mdash;this result being
+then unparalleled by any warship in the world of the "Baltimore's"
+displacement.</p>
+
+<p>When Benjamin F. Tracy became Secretary of the Navy, in 1889 he called
+attention to the fact that, while the United States had secured a
+number <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1019" name="page1019"></a>(p. 1019)</span> of excellent vessels of the cruiser type, it did not
+as yet possess an efficient navy. He pointed out that the country had
+two widely separated ocean frontiers to protect, and that there was
+only one way to protect them, namely, by two separate fleets of
+armored battle-ships. He said further that in addition to the
+battle-ships, the condition of the country required at least twenty
+vessels for coast and harbor defence, and, moreover, that the
+employment of these ships as floating fortresses demanded that they be
+equipped with the most powerful batteries and the heaviest of armor.
+It may be said parenthetically that eight vessels of this type, five
+of which were reconstructed monitors, were under construction or had
+been authorized at that time. Secretary Tracy recommended the
+authorization by the following Congress of eight armored battle-ships.
+He also said that the United States could not afford to neglect
+torpedo-boats, with which the foreign naval powers were well supplied,
+and he recommended that appropriations be made for the construction of
+at least five of these boats of the first and second class. The year
+before, the keel of the first of the battle-ships, the "Texas," had
+been laid in the navy-yard at Norfolk, Va., and in 1889 work was begun
+at the Brooklyn navy yard upon another vessel of the same class, the
+"Maine." These vessels are respectively of 6,314 and 6,648 tons
+displacement. The construction of a third battle-ship, which had been
+provided for, had not yet been begun.</p>
+
+<p>Secretary Tracy's recommendations reveal clearly the naval condition
+in 1889. Previous to that year the additions to the navy had consisted
+chiefly of cruisers of from three to four thousand tons, and of
+gunboats under two thousand tons; but, acting upon the secretary's
+report, Congress, on June 10, 1890, authorized, in addition to another
+armored cruiser, three seagoing coast-line battle-ships. These were an
+entirely new class of vessels in the United States navy, and their
+authorization marks another distinct step in its reconstruction.</p>
+
+<p>An appropriation was made in 1891 for an additional armored cruiser,
+designed to be a sister ship to the one provided for in 1890. It was
+the purpose to make these vessels more powerful than any of their type
+in the navy. Their tonnage was fixed at 7,500, and their maximum speed
+at twenty-two knots. They were to be given coal capacity that would
+enable them to cruise for great distances without recoaling. This, it
+will be seen, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1020" name="page1020"></a>(p. 1020)</span> is an important advantage to a navy so
+destitute of coaling-stations abroad as that of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels under construction in 1891 were the monitors "Puritan,"
+"Amphitrite," "Monadnock," and "Terror," which had been begun in 1874,
+but had been neglected in subsequent years; the "Maine," the "Texas,"
+the coast-defence vessel "Monterey," which was launched in 1891; the
+"New York," "Cincinnati," "Raleigh," "Detroit," and a practice-ship,
+which had been authorized by the act of 1887; the harbor-defence ram
+"Katahdin;" and gunboats "5" and "6," authorized in 1889; the three
+battle-ships, "Indiana," "Massachusetts," and "Oregon," and the
+protected cruiser "No. 12," authorized by the act of 1890; and
+protected cruiser "No. 13," provided for in 1891.</p>
+
+<p>Three vessels, the "Newark," the "Concord," and the "Bennington," were
+given their trial trips in 1890. The behavior of the "Newark" proved
+her to be a valuable addition to the list of cruisers. The "Concord"
+and the "Bennington," vessels of the gunboat class, similar to the
+"Yorktown," also gave evidences of power and usefulness. They carry a
+comparatively heavy battery, while their light draught enables them to
+run into shallow rivers and bays, and thus perform services for which
+larger vessels are incapacitated.</p>
+
+<p>The subject of the organization of a naval militia or reserve had been
+discussed for some time before Secretary Tracy assumed his office. He
+forcibly urged the necessity of such an organization in his first and
+in following annual reports, until, in 1891, Congress appropriated
+$25,000 for arms for the militia. This was a decided impetus toward
+its development, and at the close of the year it existed in six
+States, an effective, well-drilled, and organized force of eleven
+hundred men.</p>
+
+<p>The year 1892 saw considerable progress in the development of the
+navy. Two important vessels, the "Iowa," a first-class, seagoing
+battle-ship of 11,296 tons displacement, and the "Brooklyn," an
+armored cruiser of 9,150 tons displacement, were provided for by
+Congress. The cruisers "Texas," "Columbia," "Olympia," "Raleigh," and
+"Cincinnati," and the gunboats "Machias" and "Castine" were launched.</p>
+
+<p>Secretary Tracy's administration of the affairs of the navy, which
+closed in 1892, was one of marked progress and development; and this
+development <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1021" name="page1021"></a>(p. 1021)</span> was not confined to ships alone. Experiments
+extending over a period of three years had resulted in the adopting of
+an armor of new composition, namely, nickel-steel, which had been
+found to be far superior to any before known. The manufacture of
+torpedoes had been domesticated. Since 1889 the heavy, rapid-firing
+guns had been developed and proved successful. The manufacture of
+armor-piercing shells, of which two firms in Europe had had the
+monopoly, was begun in this period under the care and encouragement of
+the Navy Department; and the shells turned out soon surpassed the
+foreign product. Through investigation and experiment conducted by its
+own agencies, the Navy Department succeeded in developing a smokeless
+powder, which gave better results than that made abroad. Careful and
+protracted experiments with high explosives were also carried on, with
+the result of developing an explosive that can be safely used in
+shells fired from high-power guns.</p>
+
+<p>In 1893, the first year of the administration of Secretary Herbert,
+the following vessels were launched: the armored battle-ships
+"Indiana" and "Massachusetts;" the protected cruiser "Minneapolis;"
+the unarmored and very rapid cruiser "Marblehead;" and the armed
+coast-defence ram "Katahdin." During the same year Congress authorized
+the construction of three new vessels, to be of the class known as
+light-draft protected gunboats. These are of about twelve hundred tons
+displacement, and are designed for river service in China and
+elsewhere. Several vessels, namely, the "Monterey," "Bancroft,"
+"Detroit," "New York," armored cruiser of 8,480 tons displacement, and
+the gunboat "Machias," were given their trial trips in 1893. The
+results were in each case satisfactory, and the vessels were added to
+the effective fleet of the navy.</p>
+
+<p>Before 1893 the United States had been behind the other important
+nations in the matter of small-arms equipment. The navy was still
+using the old-fashioned, large-calibre rifle, employing a charge of
+black powder, and effectively carrying only twelve hundred yards.
+Under Secretary Herbert's direction, a board of naval officers
+investigated the improved small arms in use in foreign navies, and
+made recommendations which resulted in the adoption of a small-calibre
+magazine rifle, in which is used smokeless powder, and which has an
+effective range of a mile and a half. A further advantage of the new
+rifle is that it employs cartridges of such a weight that no less than
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1022" name="page1022"></a>(p. 1022)</span> two hundred rounds can be carried by one man. The
+cartridges used in the old rifle were so heavy that one man could not
+carry more than fifty rounds.</p>
+
+<p>Secretary Herbert recommended in his report of 1893 that Congress
+authorize the construction of at least one new battle-ship and six
+torpedo-boats. He said that for the defence of ports the latter are
+more effective according to cost than any class of vessels. The
+knowledge of their existence alone will make an enemy chary about
+approaching within bombarding distance. The value of this boat is
+recognized by all naval powers, and they are being built abroad in
+great numbers. The next naval appropriation contained a provision
+authorizing the construction of three additional torpedo-boats of the
+general type of the "Ericsson," which was then ready for trial. The
+design for the new boat called for a speed of not less than
+twenty-four and one-half knots an hour. The battle-ships "Indiana,"
+"Texas," and "Oregon" underwent preliminary trial trips in 1894, and
+were accepted by the government in 1895. It is of interest to note
+that until these vessels were put in commission, the navy was still in
+the condition that existed when President Cleveland, in his first
+message to Congress in 1885, made the following statement: "We have
+not a single vessel that could keep the seas against a first-class
+vessel of any important power." It is true that vessels of size and
+power enough to hold their own against the battle-ships of other
+nations had been under construction for several years, but the United
+States was still without an available man-of-war of the first class
+until the "Indiana" and the "Oregon" joined the fleet.</p>
+
+<p>Considerable progress in naval affairs marked the year 1895. One of
+the important events was the adding to the commissioned fleet of the
+coast-defence monitor "Amphitrite," whose keel was laid in 1874. The
+work of remodelling her was begun in 1889, under the appropriation
+made by Congress in 1887. The "Amphitrite" is in some respects an
+old-fashioned type of vessel, but is nevertheless capable of important
+service. Her displacement is 3,990 tons. Her armor and armament are
+heavy, although not so powerful as that of the battle-ships. Her main
+advantage, as with all of the monitors, is that she presents a
+comparatively small target for the enemy's fire.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1024" name="illo1024"></a>
+<img src="images/1024_united_states_battle_ship_indiana.jpg" width="600" height="443" alt="" title="">
+<p><span class="small">Copyright, 1896, by J. S. Johnston.</span><br>
+United States Battle-ship "Indiana."</p></div>
+
+<p>Adopting the spirit of Secretary Herbert's recommendations in his
+report of 1894, Congress, in 1895, authorized the construction of two
+coast-line <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1025" name="page1025"></a>(p. 1025)</span> battle-ships of most formidable equipment and
+power, their cost not to exceed $4,000,000 each. Further provision was
+made for the building of twelve torpedo-boats. An interesting feature
+of the bill was the stipulation that one of the battle-ships shall
+bear the historic name "Kearsarge," after the famous old man-of-war
+that was wrecked in 1894 on Roncador Reef. According to the plans of
+the new ships, they resemble in a general way the "Indiana," although
+they are longer and broader and have a greater displacement, and their
+batteries are more powerful. A new feature in the arrangement of the
+guns was decided upon. The vessels will carry two turrets of two
+stories each. Many objections to this plan were advanced, but it was
+said that all are outweighed by the opportunity which the turrets give
+of concentrating an enormous quantity of shot on a given point. An
+estimate has been made that the "Kearsarge" will carry enough
+ammunition to kill or disable a million persons, and that she will be
+able to discharge it all within a period of five hours. Accommodations
+will be provided for five hundred and twenty officers and men. The
+"Kearsarge" and her sister ship, which will be called the "Kentucky,"
+will carry heavier armor and guns and a greater quantity of the latter
+than any foreign battle-ship in existence or in course of
+construction.</p>
+
+<p>The ram "Katahdin" was rejected by the government in 1895, because,
+upon her official trials, she did not fulfil the speed requirements.
+She made 16.011 knots, while the contract called for 17 knots.
+Congress was asked to purchase the vessel, and finally did so.</p>
+
+<p>The armored cruiser "Brooklyn," designed to be one of the fastest and
+most powerful vessels of her class afloat, was launched from Cramp's
+shipyard in Philadelphia in 1895. She is the sister ship to the "New
+York," which was put in commission in 1893. A matter of significance,
+as showing the rapid progress in the art of naval construction within
+a few years, was the taking out of commission in 1895 of the
+"Chicago," to be refitted with engines and boilers that will give her
+powers approaching those of the newer vessels. Two years will be
+required for this work, and when she is complete she will travel three
+knots an hour faster than heretofore, and in many respects will be
+substantially a new ship.</p>
+
+<p>The official trial trip of the battle-ship "Massachusetts," which
+occurred in 1896, was a source of gratification to the Navy Department
+and to all <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1026" name="page1026"></a>(p. 1026)</span> others who are anxious to see the United States
+take respectable rank among the naval powers. The primary business of
+a battle-ship is to fight; hence her guns and not her speed are of the
+first importance. Naval experts have agreed that the "Massachusetts"
+and her sister ships, the "Indiana" and the "Oregon," have larger and
+more effective batteries than any man-of-war afloat or in progress of
+construction. The "Massachusetts" has now proved, by steaming at the
+rate of 16.15 knots for four hours, with a maximum speed of 17.03
+knots, that she is superior to all other battle-ships in speed as well
+as in armament. Her performance is unparalleled in naval history, and
+makes her the foremost war-vessel of the world. The "Indiana" is a
+trifle slower. She steamed 15.61 knots for four hours, but under the
+disadvantage of a bottom that had never been cleaned. She would
+probably go half a knot faster with a clean bottom. As a
+representative specimen of the battle-ships which belong to the navy,
+a few details of the "Massachusetts'" armament may be of interest. She
+has thirty guns in all. The chief of these are four of thirteen-inch
+calibre, which are the largest in use in modern navies; a pair of them
+can be fired every three minutes. The eight-inch guns are next in
+size. There are four of them, and they can be fired every minute. In
+addition to these, there are two six-inch rifles, twenty six-pounders,
+and four one-pounders. The six-inch guns can be fired twice a minute,
+and the six-pounders twenty times in the same period. In a fight
+lasting thirty minutes, these guns would throw forty-one and a half
+tons of metal, of which forty-four thousand pounds would be the share
+of the thirteen-inch guns, thirty thousand pounds the share of the
+eight-inch, six thousand pounds of the six-inch, and thirty-six
+hundred pounds of the others. The total weight of the "Massachusetts'"
+broadside is 5,724 pounds, and of her head or astern fire 3,434
+pounds.</p>
+
+<p>Another of the monitors, the "Monadnock," was added to the navy in
+1896. She was launched in 1883, and was then practically left alone
+until the acts of 1885, 1886, and 1887 provided for her completion.
+She is now a formidable vessel, with heavy guns which can be made to
+bear on a point a small boat's length from the ship's side, or can
+bombard at a distance of six miles.</p>
+
+<p>While the successive Secretaries of the Navy, during the last fourteen
+years, have been chiefly active in increasing the number of
+ships-of-war, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1027" name="page1027"></a>(p. 1027)</span> they have not altogether neglected defences
+on the coast. Some of the larger seacoast cities have succeeded in
+obtaining a part of the heavy gun and mortar batteries that would be
+necessary in repelling attacks without the aid of battle-ships. The
+cities of New York and San Francisco have now mounted and ready for
+action powerful pneumatic dynamite gun batteries, the most destructive
+engines of war in existence. Each of these guns is capable of hurling
+a projectile carrying five hundred pounds of the most powerful
+explosive known to man, and is able to destroy the strongest
+iron-clad. In the naval battle of Sinope in the Crimean War, a shell
+designed to explode on striking the object was used for the first
+time. When the high explosives, such as dynamite and gun-cotton,
+appeared, the idea suggested itself that they might be used in the
+shells with vastly greater effect than gunpowder, which had been
+employed. The objection, however was that these explosives are so
+sensitive that there was great danger of their exploding at the outset
+of the journey from the sudden shock of being hurled from the ordinary
+high-power guns and mortars. Captain Zalinski, of the United States
+Artillery, suggested a method of gun construction by which the shells
+could be projected by a steady pressure of compressed air instead of
+by the sudden force of powder gases. This system has been steadily
+improved until the pneumatic dynamite gun now works perfectly and is a
+marvel of destructiveness. The United States possesses six and Great
+Britain one of the seven dynamite guns that have thus far been
+manufactured for coast defence.</p>
+
+<p>The "Iowa," a battle-ship of the first class whose keel was laid in
+1893, was launched in March, 1895. She is the largest vessel of the
+navy now afloat, her displacement being 11,410 tons, which is over a
+thousand tons greater than that of the "Massachusetts," "Indiana," or
+"Oregon."</p>
+
+<p>It will be seen that progress toward the building of the new navy of
+the United States has been steady since the first move was made in
+1882. As a result of this development, the navy now consists, counting
+the vessels built and authorized by Congress, prior to 1896, the naval
+appropriations bill for that year still pending at this writing, of
+about seventy modern ships-of-war. These include eight battle-ships,
+six coast-defence steel-clads, two armored cruisers, one armored ram,
+thirteen protected cruisers, eighteen gunboats and unprotected
+cruisers, and about two dozen torpedo-boats. This <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1028" name="page1028"></a>(p. 1028)</span> fleet
+gives the United States sixth place in the list of naval powers, being
+outranked in number of vessels by England, France, Russia, Germany, or
+Italy, in the order named. A true idea of the comparative fighting
+strength of the United States navy is not conveyed, however, by its
+rank in the numerical strength of the fleet. The <span class="italic">personnel</span> of the
+navy and the power of the individual ships must be considered. It is
+generally conceded that the United States has the finest fighting men
+and vessels in the world. These advantages would, in all probability,
+enable us to whip Germany or Italy in a series of naval contests;
+therefore, it is thought by naval critics that we really hold fourth
+position among the naval powers. England is still a long way ahead of
+us, the English navy now numbering nearly five hundred vessels, of
+which one hundred and twenty are armored cruisers. But, comparing the
+navies ship to ship, the United States fleet, so far as it goes, is
+superior even to that of Great Britain. The battle-ships, while
+somewhat smaller, are more effective fighters. The English navy has no
+armored cruisers as fast or as powerful as the "New York" and
+"Brooklyn;" and the commerce-destroyers, "Columbia" and "Minneapolis,"
+are the fastest vessels, either of war or peace, that have gone to
+sea.</p>
+
+<p>That this new navy of ours will ever have to meet so stern an ordeal
+as that through which the sailors of '61 went is wholly improbable. In
+multiplying the number and the effectiveness of fighting machines the
+nations of the world have seemingly lessened the likelihood of war.
+International disputes which once would have put the territory of all
+Europe ablaze are now settled by the peaceful devices of diplomacy.
+But behind the diplomat must be the gun, and it will be a sorry day
+for the United States when, if ever, the sense of security bred of an
+avowed national policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs shall
+lead this people to neglect the naval arm of the republic.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a id="page1030" name="page1030"></a>(p. 1030)</span> PART V.<br>
+
+<span class="smaller">THE NAVAL WAR WITH SPAIN.</span></h2>
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1031" name="page1031"></a>(p. 1031)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_685.jpg" width="600" height="297" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER I.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE STATE OF CUBA. &mdash; PERTINACITY OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. &mdash; SPAIN'S
+SACRIFICES AND FAILURE. &mdash; SPANISH BARBARITIES. &mdash; THE POLICY OF
+RECONCENTRATION. &mdash; AMERICAN SYMPATHY AROUSED. &mdash; THE STRUGGLE IN
+CONGRESS. &mdash; THE ASSASSINATION OF THE "MAINE." &mdash; REPORT OF THE
+COMMISSION. &mdash; THE ONWARD MARCH TO BATTLE.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_a2.jpg" width="50" height="59" alt="A" title=""></span> short time after the inauguration of William McKinley as President
+of the United States in March, 1897, it became apparent that the
+disordered condition of Cuba under Spanish rule was destined
+inevitably to become an issue which the United States must help to
+settle. For two years a great part of the island had been in open and
+determined revolt against Spanish rule. Though the forces of the King
+had been able to hold the seaports, thus cutting off the insurgents
+from regular communication with the outer world and making impotent
+their efforts to secure recognition from foreign powers, the patriots
+under Maceo and Gomez held control of the interior, established a
+government of their own, enforced order, and levied taxes. Enormous
+sacrifices were made by the Spanish people to re-establish sovereignty
+in the island. More than 300,000 troops were sent thither to be
+cruelly cut down by plague and pestilence. A nation, long on the verge
+of bankruptcy, incurred uncomplainingly prodigious additional
+indebtedness to save for its boy king&mdash;Alphonso XIII. was at this time
+but twelve years <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1032" name="page1032"></a>(p. 1032)</span> old&mdash;its most precious possession in the
+west, the Pearl of the Antilles. Queen Isabella of Spain pawned her
+jewels that Columbus might have the means to press his voyage of
+discovery into unknown seas, but in the closing years of this century
+the people of Spain pawned their national assets, put even themselves
+and their posterity in pawn to hold for Spain the last relics of the
+empire which Columbus won for her.</p>
+
+<p>Though we were forced to draw the sword upon Spain in the cause of
+humanity and human liberty, the man of reason, and of a sense of
+justice, will not withhold from the people of that sorely chastened
+nation admiration for their loyalty and the sacrifices they made in
+their national cause.</p>
+
+<p>But the Spanish people were cruelly betrayed by their own rulers. The
+generals whom they sent to Cuba gave less thought to the suppression
+of the insurrection than to filling their own pockets. Out of the
+millions and millions of pesetas set aside by an already impoverished
+people for the needs of war, a great part was stolen by generals and
+by army contractors. The young conscripts, sent from Spain to a land
+where the air is pestilential to the unacclimated, were clothed and
+shod in shoddy; their food invited disease, and when they fell ill it
+was found that the greed of the generals had consumed the funds that
+should have provided sufficient hospital service. Comparatively few
+fell before the bullets or machetes of the insurgents&mdash;for, as we
+shall see, the revolutionists adopted the tactics of Fabius&mdash;but by
+thousands they succumbed to fevers of every kind. Death without glory
+was the hapless lot of the Spanish conscript.</p>
+
+<p>The Patriot generals, Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo, met this
+situation with consummate skill. The military problem which confronted
+them was one which chiefly demanded self-restraint. They were
+lamentably destitute of arms and munitions of war. Cartridges were a
+dearly prized acquisition, and it is worth noting, as an indication of
+the venality which corrupted the Spanish army, that a considerable
+share of the insurgent ammunition was obtained by direct traffic with
+the Spanish soldiers. But in the main the Patriots were armed with
+heterogeneous firearms and the machete&mdash;a heavy, sword-like knife,
+used, in peace, for cutting cane. The latter at close quarters was a
+formidable weapon, and the insurgents became singularly proficient in
+its use; developing a style of machete play almost as exact and
+scientific as the school of the rapier in ancient France.</p>
+
+<p>This disparity in weapons, however, made it imperative that the
+insurgents <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1033" name="page1033"></a>(p. 1033)</span> should avoid pitched battles with the invaders,
+who were armed with Mauser rifles, that do deadly work at two miles'
+distance. Accordingly, Gomez and Maceo confined themselves to harrying
+the Spanish army of occupation on every side and destroying all
+vestiges of Spanish authority outside the large towns. Warfare of this
+sort inevitably develops into the most cruel, the most barbarous of
+conflicts. So it was in this case. That Cuba might be made desolate,
+unable to pay anything toward the price of its own subjection, the
+insurgents relentlessly destroyed standing crops, burned great fields
+of standing sugar cane, destroyed mills, dynamited railroads, tore up
+roads, and demolished aqueducts. That the peaceful inhabitants&mdash;the
+pacificos&mdash;might not give aid or comfort to the revolutionists,
+General Weyler caused them to be driven from their farms and herded in
+the towns still under Spanish rule. There they stayed, in squalid huts
+or under thatched sheds, <span class="smcap">AND STARVED</span>. Systematically, with devilish
+ingenuity, Spain planned to crush Cuba, not by fighting the
+revolutionists, but by starving women and children, old men and
+peaceful farm hands. It is estimated, and conservatively, that more
+than 500,000 people had been starved to death before the United States
+interfered.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, it was upon the hapless pacificos that the horrors of war
+chiefly descended. They were ruined, but that was the least. Their
+property, the honor of their women, and their lives were held to be
+the legitimate spoil of any Spanish soldier, and the tacit
+legalization of loot, rapine, and murder was taken full advantage of.
+More inhuman even than the regular soldiery were the guerrillas,
+licensed free companions, who roamed the island ever in search of
+spoil. The deeds of these wretches beggar description, and so foul was
+the repute of their corps that prisoners from their number taken by
+the Cubans were instantly put to death. It is just to say here that
+the testimony of Americans who served with Gomez and Maceo proves that
+those leaders enforced humane and orderly conduct upon their
+followers. The death penalty was more than once imposed upon useful
+and brave soldiers, who had been guilty of outrage. Nothing could more
+vividly indicate the moral difference between the Cuban and the
+Spaniard than the contrast between their methods of prosecuting the
+war. Though outlawed, the Revolutionists observed with scrupulous
+exactness the rules of civilized warfare, while the Spaniards murdered
+helpless prisoners, even killing the wounded in their beds, had
+recourse to torture and to nameless <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1034" name="page1034"></a>(p. 1034)</span> mutilation, in order to
+wreak their hatred, and let loose a swarm of bandits and ruffians to
+prey upon the defenseless people of the island.</p>
+
+<p>Out of warfare such as this, waged on an island only a few hours' sail
+from our coast, and in which were heavy American interests, it was
+inevitable that invasion of American rights should proceed, and the
+wrath of the American people be awakened. Our citizens owned large
+plantations in Cuba, which were destroyed either by the Spaniards or
+the insurgents. Many Americans living in the island or visiting there,
+were arrested by the Spanish authorities, and one, at least, Dr. Ruiz,
+was murdered in Morro Castle, while another a newspaper correspondent,
+was cut to pieces by guerrillas. For Spanish outrages upon the lives
+or property of American citizens, claims aggregating $60,000,000 were
+on file with the United States Department of State before the
+declaration of war. The general sympathy of the American people with
+the insurgents, as well as the hope of profit, led to repeated efforts
+by our citizens to smuggle arms and munitions of war to the Cubans,
+and in time it became necessary to employ a great part of the United
+States navy in police duty on the high seas for the purpose of
+stopping the filibusters. This service in behalf of Spain was
+exceedingly repugnant to the American mind, and contributed greatly to
+the growing feeling of irritation toward Spain.</p>
+
+<p>History in coming ages, however, will relate, to the unending horror
+and glory of the American people, that humanitarian considerations,
+rather than regard for imperiled interests, brought the United States
+into a war which most emphatically their people did not desire. The
+great New York newspapers, day by day, printed circumstantial accounts
+of the frightful sufferings in Cuba. One journal secured a great
+number of photographs of scenes amid the starving reconcentrados,
+which, greatly enlarged, were publicly exhibited in all parts of the
+Union. These pictures, showing the frightful distortions of the human
+body as the result of long starvation, showing little children, mere
+skeletons, looking mutely down on the dead bodies of their parents,
+brought home to the mind of the people the state of life in a
+neighboring land as no writing, however brilliant, could. A cry went
+up from every part of the United States that a Christian duty was
+imposed upon our nation to interfere for the alleviation of such
+horrible suffering. Charity came to the rescue with free contributions
+of provisions, and Congress made a heavy appropriation of money for
+the relief of the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1037" name="page1037"></a>(p. 1037)</span> Cubans. But everywhere the opinion grew
+that philanthropy alone could not right this great wrong, but that the
+strong hand of the United States must reach forth to pluck out the
+Spaniard from the land he ravaged. And when a number of Senators and
+Representatives in Congress made journeys to Cuba, and returning,
+described in formal addresses at the Capitol the scenes of starvation
+and misery, this opinion hardened into positive conviction.</p>
+
+<p>Then, almost as if planned by some all-knowing power, came a great and
+inexplicable disaster, which made American intervention inevitable and
+immediate.</p>
+
+<p>During the latter years of the Cleveland administration the
+representatives of American interests in Cuba urged that a United
+States ship-of-war should be permanently stationed in Havana harbor.
+The request was reasonable, the act in thorough accord with the custom
+of nations. But, fearing to offend Spain, President Cleveland avoided
+taking the step and President McKinley for months imitated him. In
+time this act, which in itself could have had no hostile significance,
+came to be regarded as an expression of hostility to Spain, and all
+the resources of Spanish diplomacy were exerted to prevent any
+American warship from entering Havana harbor. Ultimately, however, the
+pressure of public opinion compelled the Executive to provide for
+representation of American authority in the disordered island, and the
+battle-ship "Maine"&mdash;a sister ship to the "Iowa," a picture of which
+appears elsewhere in this volume&mdash;was sent to Havana.</p>
+
+<p>The night of February 15 the "Maine" lay quietly at her anchorage in
+the Havana harbor. Her great white hull, with lights shining
+brilliantly from the ports aft where the officers' quarters were,
+gleamed in the starlight. On the berth deck the men swung sleeping in
+their hammocks. The watch on deck breathed gratefully the cool evening
+air after the long tropic day. Captain Sigsbee was at work in his
+cabin, and the officers in the wardroom were chatting over their games
+or dozing over their books. The lights of the town and of the ancient
+fortress of Morro shone brightly through the purpling light. Not far
+away the Spanish man-of-war "Alfonso XIII." lay at her moorings, and
+an American merchantman, brightly lighted, was near. The scene was
+peaceful, quiet, beautiful. True, in the minds of many officers and
+men on the American warship there was a lurking and indefinable sense
+of danger. Their coming had been taken by the Spaniards <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1038" name="page1038"></a>(p. 1038)</span> in
+Havana as a hostile act. Though all the perfunctory requirements of
+international courtesy had been complied with, salutes interchanged,
+visits of ceremony paid and returned, there was yet in the Spanish
+greeting an ill-concealed tone of anger. In the cafés Spanish officers
+cursed the Yankees and boasted of their purpose to destroy them. On
+the streets American blue-jackets, on shore leave, were jostled,
+jeered, and insulted. Yet the ill-temper of the Spaniards, though
+apparent, was so ill defined that no apprehension of a positive attack
+was felt. As is the practice on men-of-war, however, the utmost
+vigilance was maintained. Only the employment of a boat patrol and the
+use of torpedo nettings were lacking to give the "Maine" the aspect of
+a ship in an enemy's harbor.</p>
+
+<p>Then came the disaster that shocked the world. A disaster in which it
+is impossible not to suspect the element of treachery. A disaster
+which if purely accidental, occurring to a hated ship in a port
+surrounded by men who were enemies at heart, was the most
+extraordinary coincidence in history. The story is brief. Not until
+this war is ended and the authority of the United States is employed
+to clear up the mystery, can the real narrative of the destruction of
+the "Maine" be told.</p>
+
+<p>This much we know: At about half-past nine those on the "Maine" who
+lived to tell the tale heard a sudden dull explosion, with a slight
+shock, then a prolonged, deep, furious roar, which shook the ship to
+its very vitals. The people on the other ships in the harbor saw the
+whole forward portion of the "Maine" suddenly become a flaming volcano
+belching forth fire, men, huge pieces of steel, and bursting shells.
+Portions of the ship's hull rained down on decks a thousand yards
+away. When the first fierce shock of the explosion was past, it was
+seen that the "Maine" was on fire and was rapidly sinking.</p>
+
+<p>How wonderful is the power of discipline upon the human mind! On the
+great battle-ship, with hundreds of its men blown to pieces or penned
+down by steel débris to be drowned in the rapidly rising waters, there
+was no panic. Captain Sigsbee, rushing from his cabin door, is met by
+the sergeant of marines who serves him as orderly. Not a detail of
+naval etiquette is lacking. Sergeant William Anthony salutes:</p>
+
+<p>"I have to report, sir, that the ship is blown up and is sinking," he
+says, as he would report a pilot boat in the offing.</p>
+
+<p>The captain reaches the deck to find his officers already at work, the
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1039" name="page1039"></a>(p. 1039)</span> men who have not been injured all at their stations. Boats
+are lowered and ply about the harbor to rescue survivors. Though the
+flames rage fiercely, and the part of the ship which they have not yet
+reached is full of high explosives, there is no panic. At the first
+alarm every man has done what years of drill and teaching have taught
+him to do. The after-magazines have been flooded, the boats' crews
+called away. Even preparations for a fight had been attempted.
+Lieutenant Jenkins, hearing the first explosion, sprang so quickly for
+his station at a forward gun that he was caught in the second
+explosion and slain. Though a bolt from heaven or a shock from hell
+had struck the "Maine," it brought death only&mdash;not fear nor panic.</p>
+
+<p>The work of rescuing survivors and caring for the wounded was pushed
+apace, for the ship sunk rapidly, until only her after-superstructure
+was above the water. Boats from the Spanish man-of-war joined in the
+work of mercy and her officers, as though conscious that the suspicion
+of treachery was first in every man's mind, exerted themselves in
+every way to show solicitude for the wounded and sorrow for the
+disaster. When all was done that could be done, and the roll of the
+ship's company was called, it was found that 266 brave Americans were
+lost in Havana harbor&mdash;a friendly port. Some lie there yet, penned
+down beneath the gnarled and scorched steel which formed the gallant
+"Maine"; others lie in lonely graves on the adjacent shore, where,
+before this war is ended, the American flag shall be raised above them
+to be their avenger and their monument.</p>
+
+<hr>
+
+<p>It will be necessary to outline in only the most terse and condensed
+form the political and military events which succeeded the destruction
+of the "Maine" and led up to the declaration of war. The news of the
+great disaster was received at home with horror, speedily turning to
+anger. The Government, rightly desiring to proceed calmly and in
+accordance with regularly ascertained facts, strove to calm the public
+temper, but with little success. It gave out as Captain Sigsbee's
+first report of the disaster a cable message, which contained no
+charge of treachery, advised caution, and urged a suspension of
+judgment. But presently it became rumored about Washington that this
+dispatch was, in fact, sent under orders; that the captain's first
+report formally charged the Spaniards with blowing up the ship. In the
+newspapers the discussion raged and theories of the disaster
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1040" name="page1040"></a>(p. 1040)</span> were plentiful, but, after long weeks of careful study of
+the evidence, the Naval Board of Inquiry presented the following
+report:</p>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p>When the "Maine" arrived at Havana, she was conducted by the
+     regular Government pilot to buoy No. 4, to which she was moored
+     in from five to six fathoms of water.</p>
+
+<p>The state of discipline on board, and the condition of her
+     magazines, boilers, coal-bunkers, and storage compartments, are
+     passed in review, with the conclusion that excellent order
+     prevailed, and that no indication of any cause for an internal
+     explosion existed in any quarter.</p>
+
+<p>At eight o'clock on the evening of February 15 everything had
+     been reported secure, and all was quiet. At 9.40 o'clock the
+     vessel was suddenly destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>There were two distinct explosions, with a brief interval between
+     them. The first lifted the forward part of the ship very
+     perceptibly; the second, which was more open, prolonged, and of
+     greater volume, is attributed by the Court to the partial
+     explosion of two or more of the forward magazines.</p>
+
+<p>The evidence of the divers establishes that the after-part of the
+     ship was practically intact, and sank in that condition a very
+     few minutes after the explosion. The forward part was completely
+     demolished.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the evidence of a concurrent external cause the finding of
+     the Court is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and
+     one-half feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above
+     the keel when in its natural position, has been forced up so as
+     to be now about four feet above the surface of the water;
+     therefore, about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the
+     ship sunk uninjured.</p>
+
+<p>The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the
+     after-wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet
+     in length (from frame 17 to frame 25), is doubled back upon
+     itself against the continuation of the same plating extending
+     forward.</p>
+
+<p>At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel
+     bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside
+     bottom plates. This break is now about six feet below the surface
+     of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position.</p>
+
+<p>In the opinion of the Court, this effect could have been produced
+     only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the
+     ship, at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the
+     ship.</p>
+
+<p>The conclusions of the Court are:</p>
+
+<p>That the loss of the "Maine" was not in any respect due to fault
+     or negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of
+     her crew.</p>
+
+<p>That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine,
+     which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward
+     magazines; and,</p>
+
+<p>That no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility
+     for the destruction of the "Maine" upon any person or persons.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1040" name="illo1040"></a>
+<img src="images/1040_partial_view_of_the_wreck_of_the_maine.jpg" width="500" height="456" alt="" title="">
+<p>Partial View of the Wreck of the "Maine."</p></div>
+
+<p>To-day, in the midst of war with Spain, we have no more definite, no
+more authoritative knowledge of the cause of this disaster than this.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1041" name="page1041"></a>(p. 1041)</span> Spain, indeed, through her official commission, decided
+that the explosion was wholly internal, but the American people is not
+convinced. Battleships are not in the habit of blowing themselves up,
+and it is the expectation that the establishment of American authority
+in Cuba will be followed by the unraveling of this murderous plot.
+Undoubtedly an anecdote told of Captain Robley D. Evans (Fighting Bob)
+of the navy expresses the popular conviction:</p>
+
+<p>"The admiral in command of the United States fleet at Key West should
+have sailed for Havana on getting news of the 'Maine's' destruction,"
+said Evans. "He should have reduced the forts, seized the city,
+discovered the assassins, and hanged them."</p>
+
+<p>"But that would have been defiance of the orders of the Navy
+Department," responded his auditor, aghast.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page1042" name="page1042"></a>(p. 1042)</span> "Perhaps so," admitted Evans, "but the man who did it would
+have been the next President of the United States."</p>
+
+<p>While the "Maine" Court of Inquiry was in session measures looking
+toward war were rapidly taken. March 9, a bill, which had passed both
+houses of Congress without a dissenting voice, became a law,
+appropriating $50,000,000 to be expended for the national defense. Out
+of this sum the Navy Department bought two Brazilian cruisers building
+in England, which were rechristened the "New Orleans" and "Albany." A
+flotilla of yachts, seagoing tugs, and merchantmen was bought and
+refitted. The great American liners "St. Paul," "City of Paris," "City
+of New York," and "St. Louis" were chartered and made into auxiliary
+cruisers. All Europe was ransacked for purchasable warships and
+torpedo boats, with the result of proving that no nation, however
+rich, can equip itself with a navy in an emergency. Not one
+battle-ship was available for purchase, and only four cruisers, of
+doubtful quality. And while this work of preparation was going
+hurriedly on the country was drifting into war with what seemed at the
+time inexplicable slowness, but to the calmer backward glance of
+history will appear dangerously swift in the face of our great lack of
+preparation. What might be termed the milestones on the march to
+battle were these:</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 5.</span>&mdash;Consul General Fitz Hugh Lee recalled from Havana.</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 11.</span>&mdash;Message of the President on Cuba, recommending that we
+have power to intervene forcibly without "recognizing at this time the
+independence of the present insurgent government."</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 13.</span>&mdash;The House passed a resolution directing the President to
+intervene in Cuba at once, and authorizing him to use the land and
+naval forces of the United States to stop the war.</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 16.</span>&mdash;The Senate passed a joint resolution, as a substitute for
+the House resolution, declaring the island to be free, recognizing the
+republic, demanding relinquishment of authority in Cuba by Spain, and
+withdrawal of Spanish forces; directing the President to call out the
+militia in addition to regular land and naval forces, and, finally,
+disclaiming any intention to annex the island.</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 19.</span>&mdash;Senate resolution adopted by the House, with the proviso
+recognizing the republic of Cuba stricken out. Both houses agreed to
+the report in this form.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page1043" name="page1043"></a>(p. 1043)</span> <span class="italic">April 20.</span>&mdash;Ultimatum to Spain, cabled at 11 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>&mdash;a formal
+demand that Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in
+the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba
+and Cuban waters.</p>
+
+<p>President signed Cuban joint resolutions at 11.24.</p>
+
+<p>Señor Polo y Bernabé, the Spanish Minister, was notified. He at once
+requested his passports.</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 21.</span>&mdash;General Woodford, the American Minister at Madrid, left
+Spain.</p>
+
+<p>The President directed the Secretary of the Navy to order the vessels
+of the North Atlantic squadron to proceed without delay to Cuban
+waters to blockade Havana and other ports of the island.</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 23.</span>&mdash;President McKinley signed the proclamation calling for
+125,000 volunteers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="italic">April 25.</span>&mdash;Formal declaration of war recommended by the President,
+and a bill "declaring that war exists between the United States of
+America and the Kingdom of Spain," passed by both houses.</p>
+
+<p>And so the United States embarked on its first war with any European
+Power, save England&mdash;a war forced upon us by every consideration of
+humanity&mdash;a war which shall be of great advantage or of great harm to
+our Republic, according as its fruits are wisely or wrongly
+administered.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/deco_end_1043.jpg" width="100" height="66" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1044" name="page1044"></a>(p. 1044)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_709.jpg" width="600" height="254" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER II.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE OPENING DAYS OF THE WAR. &mdash; THE FIRST BLOW STRUCK IN THE
+PACIFIC. &mdash; DEWEY AND HIS FLEET. &mdash; THE BATTLE AT MANILA. &mdash; AN EYE-WITNESS'
+STORY. &mdash; DELAY AND DOUBT IN THE EAST. &mdash; DULL TIMES FOR THE
+BLUE-JACKETS. &mdash; THE DISCOVERY OF CERVERA. &mdash; HOBSON'S EXPLOIT. &mdash; THE
+OUTLOOK.</p>
+
+
+<p>Strangely enough the first warlike stroke at Spain was not delivered
+in or about Cuba, where the quarrel arose, but in the other
+hemisphere, in the far-away waters of the Asiatic Pacific, where the
+American flag is almost a stranger and the power and wealth of the
+great American Republic are unknown. In the Philippine Islands Spain
+retains one of the colonies with which she once encircled the globe.
+More than 7,000,000 people&mdash;a peace-loving, kindly, intelligent
+race&mdash;are there ruled by the Spaniards, and as the rule was of the
+characteristic Spanish kind, with all the accompaniments of slaughter,
+dishonor, and extortion, the natives&mdash;as in Cuba&mdash;were in a chronic
+state of rebellion. One uprising, which had assumed very considerable
+proportions, was reported by the Spaniards as suppressed just before
+our declaration of war. That event, however, aroused the
+revolutionists again and, as we shall see, they were of the greatest
+service to us as allies.</p>
+
+<p>When war was declared an American squadron of six warships lay at Hong
+Kong. The vessels were the "Olympia," protected cruiser; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1045" name="page1045"></a>(p. 1045)</span>
+"Raleigh," "Baltimore," and "Boston," cruisers; "Concord" and
+"Petrel," gunboats, and the revenue cutter "McCulloch." Not a very
+powerful fleet&mdash;not a battle-ship nor even an armored cruiser among
+them&mdash;but the ships carried crews of as sturdy Yankee blue-jackets as
+ever trained a gun, and when the time came for daring an enemy's fire
+the little "Petrel" was as dashing and defiant as the stoutest of
+steel-clads could be. In command of the squadron was Admiral George
+Dewey, a Vermonter, who served with Farragut and had his baptism of
+fire at the forts below New Orleans. In time of peace the war record
+of a subaltern is quickly forgotten, and Dewey patiently climbed the
+ladder of promotion until 1898 found him a commodore and in command of
+the Asiatic squadron, without anybody's remembering particularly that
+this officer in far Hong Kong had seen fighting and knew how to bear
+himself under fire. It is a significant fact that when he had won the
+first great victory of the war, and the newspapers were searching
+everywhere for stories illustrative of his character, it was
+discovered that he had chiefly impressed himself on the Washington
+mind by his excessive punctiliousness in matters of dress.</p>
+
+<p>Four days after the declaration of war there was a commotion on the
+ships of Dewey's squadron. The signal to weigh anchor flew from the
+foremast of the "Olympia," and everybody knew that the admiral had
+received fighting orders. For some days past the ships had been in
+their battle rigging. The white paint had been covered by a dull
+greenish-gray. All woodwork, railings, and unnecessary hamper had been
+stripped off and sent ashore. The officers' baggage was reduced to the
+barest necessities. Nothing was left anywhere on board which could be
+turned into a cloud of flying splinters by a shell, or which cumbered
+the decks to the inconvenience of the gunners. The warships which, in
+time of peace, were as bright and sparkling as a well-kept yacht, had
+put on the sullen, vicious air of war.</p>
+
+<p>Dewey's objective point when he set sail from the harbor of Hong Kong
+was the Asiatic squadron of Spain, under the command of Admiral
+Montojo. There was every reason to believe that he would find the
+enemy under the protecting guns of the forts that guarded the harbor
+of Manila. In themselves the Spanish ships were no match for the
+American fleet. Three good ships had Admiral Montojo&mdash;the "Reina
+Cristina," the "Castilla," and the "Don Antonio de Ulloa"; but his
+others were old-fashioned <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1046" name="page1046"></a>(p. 1046)</span> and lacking in modern armament.
+But should they take positions under the guns of the Spanish forts, at
+the end of a channel plentifully guarded by mines and torpedoes, the
+disparity in forces would disappear. As it occurred this was precisely
+what they did, giving Admiral Dewey opportunity to put into practice
+tactics which it seems he had studied for months in anticipation of
+exactly such an emergency.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of April 30 the American ships arrived at the entrance of
+Manila harbor, unseen by the sentries on the forts. It was known that
+Montojo was inside, and every light was extinguished and every noise
+hushed on the Yankee ships, for the admiral had planned a midnight
+entrance to the stronghold. The ships were stripped for action, boats
+covered with canvas, nettings spread to prevent splinters from flying,
+partitions removed, and ammunition hoists and bullet shields put up.
+At midnight the entrance to the harbor began, the ships steaming in
+single column at about six knots an hour, with the "Olympia" leading.
+Strangely enough not a single torpedo or mine in the channel was
+exploded, though the Spaniards discovered the advance of the ships and
+opened fire from the forts. The first shot in answer was fired by a
+gunner on the "Boston," without orders. He saw the flash of a gun on a
+shore battery and instantly fired his piece without altering its
+elevation. That dismantled a gun in the Spanish works and killed
+thirty men.</p>
+
+<p>For a few hours after passing the forts the wearied blue-jackets slept
+at their guns. With the approach of day came the signal from the
+flagship to prepare for action. In the gray dawn the Spanish fleet
+could be seen about two miles distant, at such a point that their fire
+could be re-enforced by the guns of the forts. A most graphic story of
+the action that followed, as seen from the view-point of "the man
+behind the gun," whom Captain Mahan eulogizes, is told by Chief Gunner
+Evans of the "Boston," from whose narrative I quote the following
+paragraphs:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1048" name="illo1048"></a>
+<img src="images/1048_dewey_at_manila.jpg" width="400" height="540" alt="" title="">
+<p>Dewey at Manila.</p></div>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p>"We were steaming very slowly, but increasing speed as the dawn
+     increased. In the gray daylight we could make out a line of ships
+     anchored in front of the city. Then we steamed ahead faster. The
+     ships ahead proved to be merchantmen, and at daylight we could
+     discern the Spanish fleet further down the bay, and then it was
+     'Full ahead!' The Spanish fleet did not advance to meet us, and
+     apparently made no move on the defensive. Possibly our audacity
+     had for the moment paralyzed them. But it was not for long. In
+     twenty minutes or so they opened a terrific cannonading at long
+     range. The batteries and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1049" name="page1049"></a>(p. 1049)</span> forts around Manila opened
+     fire at the same time. Every man on the ship was now wide awake
+     and at his post. I knew that it would not be long before there
+     would be some hot work, and I served my men with a cup of coffee
+     and a piece of hardtack, and a little later gave them each a
+     drink of whisky and water.</p>
+
+<p>"According to orders, we did not respond to the Spanish guns
+     until our ships came into position. Then the flagship opened
+     fire, and then I followed with two hours of cannonading which I
+     do not believe has ever been equaled in naval warfare. The shots
+     from the 'Olympia' were the prearranged signal for the other
+     ships to do the same.</p>
+
+<p>"We soon discovered that the batteries of Cavité were very
+     heavily mounted, and the ordnance included several ten-inch guns,
+     and we were not long in finding out that the 'Don Antonio de
+     Ulloa' and the 'Reina Cristina,' the flagship, carried much
+     heavier guns than we thought. We began to fear that our ships had
+     met their match. As hot as the battle was, the heat of the sun
+     was equally so, and I had my men who were bringing up the
+     ammunition throw off every vestige of clothing except their
+     shoes.</p>
+
+<p>"The Spanish guns had opened upon us at 5.10 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, and it was
+     fully 5.40 before we began to reply. But when we did, we made
+     every shot tell, for our gunners demonstrated that their
+     opponents were no match for them in accuracy, although the
+     Spaniards had every advantage and should have known the exact
+     range of every point in the harbor, while of the American fleet
+     not a single gunner had ever as much as been in the harbor
+     before.</p>
+
+<p>"By 6.30 we had circled three times, and were starting for the
+     fourth when the Spanish admiral came out in the 'Reina Cristina'
+     and gallantly assailed us; but we made it hot for him. I don't
+     know how in the world he escaped with his life. While he was
+     standing on the bridge a shot from one of our ships&mdash;I think it
+     was the 'Concord'&mdash;blew the bridge clean over; in fact, shot it
+     right from under him, but the Admiral was apparently uninjured,
+     for a few minutes later I saw him walking the deck as calmly as
+     though he was on parade. It was getting too hot for him, and he
+     evidently saw that his ship was no match for us, and he turned to
+     get back to his fleet.</p>
+
+<p>"Just as the 'Reina Cristina' swung around an eight-inch shell
+     from the port battery, which I was tending, struck her square
+     astern, and set her on fire. By this time other gunners had got
+     the range, and if ever a ship was riddled it was the 'Reina
+     Cristina.' I do not think it was fifteen minutes from the time
+     the shell from the 'Boston' struck her when she went down with,
+     it is said, over two hundred men. The Admiral, however, had
+     escaped in a small boat and made for the 'Isla de Cuba,' where he
+     again hoisted his flag.</p>
+
+<p>"After we had circled five times, we withdrew. The smoke was so
+     dense that we could hardly distinguish friend from foe. Our men
+     had worked three long hours with scarcely a mouthful of food. I
+     had, however, kept my men well supplied with whisky and water. I
+     gave each a small drink about every twenty minutes.</p>
+
+<p>"After we had withdrawn, and the clouds of smoke had lifted
+     enough so that we could see, Admiral Dewey signaled the ships to
+     report the number of killed and wounded. It would have done your
+     heart good to have heard the shouts and cheers that went up as
+     ship <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1050" name="page1050"></a>(p. 1050)</span> after ship ran up the signal to indicate that she
+     had no killed and none wounded worth reporting. It was one of the
+     most thrilling moments of the entire battle.</p>
+
+<p>"It was a wise move on Admiral Dewey's part in withdrawing at
+     that moment, for our men were rapidly becoming exhausted. For my
+     own part I do not think I could have held out another half hour,
+     and neither could my men. We were not only wearied physically,
+     but the nervous strain was something awful. I called my men into
+     the gunroom and served each with a good stiff drink of whisky and
+     told them to take all the rest they could get. I went into the
+     chartroom, as it was about the coolest place on the ship, and
+     threw myself on the chart table. I was too nervous to sleep and
+     too exhausted to move. I just lay there sort of dazed.</p>
+
+<p>"Soon after ten o'clock we advanced again, and the 'Baltimore'
+     opened the fight. As many of the Spanish ships had been disabled,
+     what we most feared now was the forts. The 'Baltimore' sailed
+     right into the very teeth of the guns, any one of which could
+     have annihilated her, and only bad marksmanship of the Spanish
+     gunners saved her from destruction, and she did not retreat until
+     she had practically silenced the fort.</p>
+
+<p>"My ship, the 'Boston,' was perhaps struck oftener during the
+     battle than any of the American ships, but in every instance it
+     was small shot or shell, making a glancing blow that did no
+     particular harm. After the first hour or so of the battle, if we
+     had received a damaging shot, the chances are that we would have
+     all gone down, for out of all the ship's boats, only two were of
+     any value, the others having been shattered to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>"We were circling in line with the other ships when the 'Isla de
+     Cuba' swung around to give us a broadside. The guns in the port
+     battery got the range on the 'Isla de Cuba,' and sent in a shot
+     that struck in amidships and made her tremble from stem to stern.
+     I was watching at the porthole at the time. The other guns of the
+     'Boston' followed the example of the port gunner, and for a few
+     minutes it seemed that the 'Isla de Cuba' was crumbling to pieces
+     like a falling building in an earthquake. We turned, and the
+     starboard guns did equally good work, and when the Spanish flag
+     came tumbling down we let out a yell that was heard around the
+     world, figuratively speaking, if not literally.</p>
+
+<p>"I can never forget the scene after the battle. The forts were
+     smoking, and scattered all through the bay were the hulks of once
+     magnificent Spanish ships. Some were drifting helplessly about,
+     as though the men on board seemed not to know what to do and had
+     lost their heads entirely. Rigging was trailing in the water and
+     only remnants remained of the lifeboats. Over at one end of the
+     bay was the wreck of the once magnificent 'Reina Cristina.'
+     Further along were smoking hulks, and here and there could be
+     seen only the masts and rigging above water.</p>
+
+<p>"To add to the horror of the scene, hundreds of corpses came
+     floating by, and it seemed as though the bay was full of dead
+     Spaniards, although I believe less than a thousand were killed. I
+     really think that the sight in the harbor that afternoon
+     impressed men more with the horrors of war than did anything
+     which occurred during the actual battle.</p>
+
+<p>"During all the fight my men, except for a little while during
+     the interval for breakfast, were stripped to the bare skin and
+     wore only their shoes. The thermometer was over one <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1051" name="page1051"></a>(p. 1051)</span>
+     hundred, and to this was added the heat of the fire of the guns,
+     until it made one's blood fairly boil."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The plan of action was for the fleet to revolve in a great circle or
+ellipse before the delivering their fire from starboard and port
+batteries alternately. The first shot from the "Olympia" was a
+250-pound shell, aimed at the Cavité fort, and discharged with a shout
+from all hands, "Remember the Maine!" After two hours' fighting the
+fleet withdrew for breakfast, returning to action in about two hours,
+and after the Spanish surrender the little "Petrel" was sent in to
+destroy, by boats' crews, the ships in the inner harbor.</p>
+
+<p>Commodore Dewey's official report of the action is a model of modesty
+and brevity. It came in these two cable messages:</p>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p>MANILA, May 1.&mdash;Squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this
+     morning. Immediately engaged the enemy, and destroyed the
+     following Spanish vessels: "Reina Cristina," "Castilla," "Don
+     Antonio de Ulloa," "Isla de Luzon," "Isla de Cuba," "General
+     Lezo," "Marquis de Duero," "Cano," "Velasco," "Isla de Mindanao,"
+     a transport, and water battery at Cavité. The squadron is
+     uninjured, and only a few men are slightly wounded. Only means of
+     telegraphing is to American Consul at Hong Kong. I shall
+     communicate with him.</p>
+
+<p class="right">DEWEY.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p>CAVITÉ, May 4.&mdash;I have taken possession of naval station at
+     Cavité, on Philippine Islands. Have destroyed the fortifications
+     at bay entrance, paroling the garrison. I control bay completely,
+     and can take city at any time. The squadron is in excellent
+     health and spirits. Spanish loss not fully known but very heavy.
+     One hundred and fifty killed, including captain of "Reina
+     Cristina." I am assisting in protecting Spanish sick and wounded;
+     250 sick and wounded in hospital within our lines. Much
+     excitement at Manila. Will protect foreign residents.</p>
+
+<p class="right">DEWEY.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is little short of marvelous that no lives were lost on the
+American ships&mdash;though a month later Captain Gridley of the "Olympia"
+died from the effect of the concussion of his own guns. The vessels
+were handled with a daring amounting almost to bravado, yet so poor
+was the marksmanship of the Spaniards that little or no damage was
+suffered. It is to be kept in mind that, despite the disparity in the
+armament of the fleets, the Spanish works at Cavité mounted guns of
+twice the weight of any that Dewey's ships bore. Yet, when the action
+was over, the American vessels were practically uninjured, and
+perfectly capable of fulfilling the threat sent by <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1052" name="page1052"></a>(p. 1052)</span> Admiral
+Dewey, that if another shot was fired he would lay Manila in ashes.</p>
+
+<p>At the time these words are written, that threat alone keeps order in
+Manila bay. Dewey with his ships is there, holding the town at the
+muzzles of his guns and waiting for the re-enforcements of troops,
+which were dispatched to his aid from San Francisco almost a month
+after his victory&mdash;an unconscionable delay. Some 25,000 troops will be
+sent to his aid, and with the insurgents, who were greatly encouraged
+and strengthened by the American victory, will forever destroy Spain's
+power in the Philippines.</p>
+
+<hr>
+
+<p>In the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, where it
+was expected the fighting would come first and be most decisive, the
+war lagged languidly for weeks. For a few days the jackies found some
+excitement and some hope of profit in capturing unsuspecting Spanish
+merchantmen, but soon the dull and deadly monotony of the peaceful
+blockade settled down upon the fleet, and Sampson's men grilled grimly
+under a blazing sun by day and slept uneasily by their guns at night,
+week after week, without a touch of battle to vary the dull round. The
+Spanish ships "Vizcaya" and "Oquendo," which had been in the harbor of
+Havana when war was declared, had slipped away, and there was no enemy
+afloat in the neighborhood save puny gunboats and torpedo boats that
+clung close to the protecting guns of the fortresses. Blockading is
+the most trying duty the blue-jacket has to discharge. Destitute
+wholly of glory, the element of danger is still ever present in a form
+which is particularly trying to the nerves. Every night brought danger
+of an attack by torpedo boats. These swift and sinister craft might at
+any time dart out of Havana harbor, discharge their fatal bolt, and
+send a good ship to the bottom as speedily as went the "Maine." That
+the Spaniards at no time even seriously attempted a torpedo-boat
+attack on the blockading squadron seems to reflect on their courage.
+But what they lacked apparently in courage they made up in shrewdness.
+For weeks the best efforts of our board of strategy and our board of
+naval intelligence were baffled by the mysterious movements of the
+Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera. This squadron, which numbered
+among its vessels the powerful armored cruisers "Vizcaya," "Maria
+Teresa," "Cristobal Colon," and "Almirante Oquendo," <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1053" name="page1053"></a>(p. 1053)</span> was
+reported now at the Canaries, then at Cadiz, then dashing through the
+Suez Canal to overwhelm Dewey at Manila, then off the coast of New
+England,&mdash;whereat Boston and Portland were mightily alarmed,&mdash;then
+bound South to capture or destroy the "Oregon,"&mdash;which was painfully
+making the voyage around Cape Horn,&mdash;then at Martinique, and, in
+short, at every conceivable point of menace. As a result of these
+conflicting reports, two American fleets were reduced to impotence.
+The "flying squadron" of fast cruisers under Commodore Schley was kept
+for weeks at moorings in Hampton Roads ready to be dispatched for
+protection of our northern coasts, while the squadron of battle-ships
+under Admiral Sampson was made to steam hither and yon in the
+Caribbean Sea looking for an enemy's fleet which much of the time lay
+snugly on the other side of the Atlantic. Accordingly, up to June 15,
+the results of naval operations in West Indian waters were almost
+<span class="italic">nil</span>. Powder had been burned indeed as when, on April 27, the Spanish
+works at Matanzas were bombarded and silenced by the "New York,"
+"Puritan," and "Cincinnati," of Admiral Sampson's squadron, and on May
+13 the works at San Juan, Porto Rico, were similarly tested. Deeds of
+conspicuous gallantry, too, were done, as when Ensign Worth Bagley
+lost his life while gallantly engaging Spanish gunboats and shore
+batteries with the torpedo boat "Winslow" at Cardenas. But these
+actions, though seized upon eagerly by a public hungry for war news,
+were inconclusive and trivial. The shore batteries were quickly
+repaired and strengthened, and the great object of capturing Havana
+seemed at the middle of June even further off than it had when war was
+declared.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, May and June saw a marked progress in the work of
+preparation for active hostilities. The army was mobilized and a great
+camp established at Tampa, Fla. Schley's flying squadron, finally
+relieved from apprehension as to the course of the Spanish fleet, left
+Hampton Roads to increase the naval strength in West Indian waters.
+The great battle-ship "Oregon," after a record-beating voyage around
+Cape Horn, in which her machinery met and withstood every imaginable
+strain, arrived at the rendezvous. And finally it was definitely
+learned that Admiral Cervera, with Spain's principal effective fleet,
+was actually in West Indian waters, and had entered the port of
+Santiago de Cuba for coal and repairs. There he was trapped by an
+exploit which has conferred new glory on the United <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1054" name="page1054"></a>(p. 1054)</span> States
+Navy and has added a new name to the roster of dashing heroes like
+Somers and Gushing.</p>
+
+<p>The harbor of Santiago de Cuba is one of the most easily defended in
+the world. Steep hills rise abruptly from either side of the harbor's
+mouth, which is scarce half a mile wide, with a channel so narrow that
+two vessels could scarcely pass in it. Into the brow of the hills are
+built batteries which, with plunging shot, command the entrance
+completely. An abrupt turn in the interior shore line makes the whole
+inner bay invisible from without, so for days the officers and men of
+the United States blockading fleet outside were ignorant whether
+Cervera's entire fleet was cooped up within. To send in a boat to make
+a reconnoissance would have been suicidal, for the channel, difficult
+at all times, was blocked by mines and torpedoes. For this reason,
+too, there could be no repetition of Dewey's exploit at Manila.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, Admiral Sampson was confronted with a problem which
+seemed likely to tax the patience rather than the daring of his men.
+There seemed to be no opportunity for more exciting duty than a long
+blockade, unless the Spaniards should conclude to come out and
+fight&mdash;a most unlikely decision for them to reach. The forts, in all
+probability, could be reduced by the ships' cannon, but, even with
+that done, to enter the harbor in single file, so that the undisturbed
+fire of Cervera's fleet could be directed upon the Americans, ship by
+ship, as they entered the bay, would have been a most hazardous
+undertaking. The situation was not made more pleasing to the admiral
+by the fact that he was not sure of having all the Spanish ships in
+the trap. Some might not have entered Santiago, but might be at that
+very time devastating portions of the coast of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>While the admiral was considering the problem thus presented to him,
+there appeared at his cabin a young lieutenant, Richmond P. Hobson, a
+graduate of the Naval Academy in 1889. The scientific side of naval
+duty had always chiefly attracted this young man. Graduating at the
+head of his class, he studied naval construction for two years in
+British dockyards. Above all things a student, a contributor to
+magazines, a delver into mathematical and structural problems, this
+young officer outlined to the admiral an exploit of reckless daring
+and volunteered himself to perform it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1056" name="illo1056"></a>
+<img src="images/1056_the_zealandia_leaving_san_francisco.jpg" width="600" height="370" alt="" title="">
+<p>The "Zealandia" leaving San Francisco with Troops for
+the Philippines.<br>
+<span class="small">(Drawn, after a Photograph, by WILLIAM RITSCHEL).</span></p></div>
+
+<p>It was folly, urged Hobson, to keep the entire American fleet watching
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1057" name="page1057"></a>(p. 1057)</span> at the door to that harbor. The Spaniards, doing nothing
+and daring nothing themselves, were still reducing Admiral Sampson's
+powerful squadron to complete impotence. If the entrance to the harbor
+were obstructed one or two ships would serve to prevent the Spaniards
+from escaping, and the remainder of the American fleet would be
+released to take part in more vigorous warfare. By sinking a vessel,
+an old collier heavily laden, in the channel this could be
+accomplished, and Hobson volunteered to perform the feat. It was an
+invitation to almost certain death, for the fire of three batteries
+and part of the Spanish fleet, besides the explosion of the mines,
+must be braved before the narrow spot in which the ship was to be sunk
+could be reached. But Hobson thought he could do this, scuttle his
+ship, and escape with his men by swimming to a launch which should
+accompany him at a distance.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you really expect to escape alive?" asked one of the officers as
+he outlined his project.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! that is another thing," replied the lieutenant. "I suppose the
+Estrella battery will fire down on us a bit, but the ships will throw
+their searchlights in the gunners' faces and they won't see much of
+us. Then, if we are torpedoed, we should even then be able to make the
+desired position in the channel. It won't be so easy to hit us, and I
+think the men should be able to swim to the dingey. I may jump before
+I am blown up, but I don't see that it makes much difference what I
+do. I have a fair chance of life either way. If our dingey gets shot
+to pieces, we shall then try to swim for the beach right under Morro
+Castle. We shall keep together at all hazards. Then we may be able to
+make our way alongside, and perhaps get back to the ship. We shall
+fight the sentries or a squad until the last, and we shall only
+surrender to overwhelming numbers."</p>
+
+<p>The plan being approved by the admiral, volunteers were asked from the
+fleet, by signal, to accompany Hobson. Practically the whole fleet
+responded. One man was wanted from each ship, but on the "Brooklyn"
+150 and on the "Texas" 140 pleaded to be taken. Finally these seven
+were selected:</p>
+
+<p>Osborn Deignan, a coxswain of the "Merrimac"; George F. Phillips, a
+machinist of the "Merrimac"; John Kelly, a water-tender of the
+"Merrimac"; George Charette, a gunner's mate on the flagship "New
+York"; Daniel Montague, a seaman of the cruiser "Brooklyn"; J. C.
+Murphy, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1058" name="page1058"></a>(p. 1058)</span> a coxswain of the "Iowa"; Randolph Clausen, a
+coxswain of the "New York."</p>
+
+<p>To man the launch which was detailed to follow the "Merrimac "&mdash;the
+ship chosen&mdash;four men and Naval Cadet Joseph W. Powell were taken. In
+the end they, too, proved to be heroes.</p>
+
+<p>The steel steamer "Merrimac," loaded with 2,000 tons of coal, was then
+given to Hobson and prepared for sinking. An eye-witness, who followed
+the "Merrimac" as nearly as safety would permit, thus tells the story
+in the New York <span class="italic">Sun</span>:</p>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p>"Cadet Powell and his crew saw the 'Merrimac' head straight for
+     Estrella Point, which is on the east side of the harbor, back of
+     the Morro. They knew that just before she reached that point the
+     engines were to be stopped and the momentum allowed to carry her
+     on. Then the flimsy wooden props holding the bonnets of her
+     sea-valves in place were to be kicked aside, the helm put hard to
+     starboard, and the starboard bower anchor let go. This would
+     steer the ship directly across the channel and check her headway.</p>
+
+<p>"At the same time seven reduced eight-inch charges, containing
+     eighty pounds of brown powder in copper cases and protected by
+     pitch from water, were to be set off separately. These charges
+     were suspended about ten feet below the water-line at intervals
+     of thirty feet, and connected by a series of dry batteries. As
+     the ship steered across the channel the forward port powder
+     charge was to be exploded. Then, as the stern swung into
+     position, the anchor lashed on the starboard quarter was to be
+     let go and the other six charges exploded in succession. A
+     catamaran and lifeboat were slung aft on the starboard side ready
+     for the seven men to drop into them.</p>
+
+<p>"The crew in the steam launch watched the course of the old
+     collier with eyes strained. The moon had sunk behind the horizon.
+     It was 3.20 o'clock. On, on the heroes went. Lieutenant Hobson
+     stood on the bridge of the old collier, dressed in full uniform.
+     The other six men were at their posts, clad in tights, to aid
+     their escape in case they had to swim a long distance.</p>
+
+<p>"The watchers saw her head straight for Estrella Point, saw her
+     swing hard across the channel, apparently undiscovered, heard
+     five of the seven charges explode, and then began a screaming,
+     flashing, death-dealing fire from the Spanish ships and batteries
+     that hid the rest from view.</p>
+
+<p>"The battery on Dead Man's Point, square in the center of the
+     harbor, opened the fire and soon directed its guns against the
+     launch. In the face of this hell, with ten-and twelve-inch guns
+     blazing at them at this short range, Cadet Powell and the crew of
+     his launch continued to search for the men of the 'Merrimac.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1058" name="illo1058"></a>
+<img src="images/1058_morro_castle.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="" title="">
+<p>Morro Castle, Santiago De Cuba.<br>
+<span class="small">Copyright, 1898, by J. Murray Jordan.</span></p></div>
+
+<p>"They saw then the guns of the 'Cristobal Colon,' Admiral
+     Cervera's flagship, and of the old cruiser 'Reina Mercedes,'
+     which had been considered gunless, trained on them and thundering
+     in their ears. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1059" name="page1059"></a>(p. 1059)</span> "Still they searched with never as
+     much as a faint cry for help or the sign of a single arm raised
+     in mute appeal to guide them. Those on the battle-ship looking
+     into the mouth of the harbor saw only a sheet of flame which,
+     with the roar of the guns, lasted thirty-five minutes. By this
+     time dawn had tinged the land and sky with light, and the tiny
+     launch could be seen loitering by the shore. On the west side of
+     the harbor, in the center of the channel, just where Hobson had
+     promised to sink his vessel, could be seen the tops of the
+     'Merrimac's' masts. The harbor was blocked."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Hobson and his gallant men were not lost. A shot from one of the
+batteries destroyed the boat in which they had expected to reach the
+launch, but on a raft they escaped from their sinking vessel, only to
+be captured by the Spaniards. With sailor-like chivalry and hearty
+admiration for a gallant deed Admiral Cervera sent word to the fleet
+of their safety and offered to exchange them as soon as the necessary
+formalities could be complied with.</p>
+
+<hr>
+
+<p>The closing words of this chapter must be penned just as the decisive
+action of the war seems to be at hand. Cervera is hemmed in at
+Santiago with a vastly superior force confronting him. The batteries
+at the harbor's mouth have been demolished by the fire of the fleet.
+At Caimanera, thirty miles away, the United States flag is flying on
+the shore and a battalion of United States marines&mdash;"soldiers and
+sailors, too"&mdash;are there installed and have twice beaten back the
+attack of Spaniards in double their number. On great transports
+General Shafter's army of 20,000 men is steaming from Key West to
+Caimanera, where the invasion of Cuba will begin. The order has gone
+forth to reduce Porto Rico, and by the time these words reach the
+reader, General Coppinger's army may be landed there. Fitzhugh Lee,
+the gallant, is held in reserve for Havana, where he served his
+country as Consul General during the trying days that led up to the
+war. Hesitation and doubt have vanished. The dreary days of delay are
+over. The end is near&mdash;the end of Spanish misrule in the West Indies.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1060" name="page1060"></a>(p. 1060)</span>
+
+<div class="imgheader center">
+<img src="images/deco_start_1060.jpg" width="600" height="334" alt="Decoration" title="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="header">CHAPTER III.</p>
+
+<p class="resume">THE SPANISH FLEET MAKES A DASH FROM THE HARBOR. &mdash; ITS TOTAL
+DESTRUCTION. &mdash; ADMIRAL CERVERA A PRISONER. &mdash; GREAT SPANISH
+LOSSES. &mdash; AMERICAN FLEET LOSES BUT ONE MAN.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap"><img src="images/dropcap_w.jpg" width="50" height="56" alt="W" title=""></span>hen the event was least expected the Spaniards made a desperate dash
+from the harbor, seeking freedom but finding only death.</p>
+
+<p>July 3d the land forces of General Shafter were closing in on
+Santiago. There had been hard fighting for two days, in which both
+sides had shown dogged courage, but the Spaniards had been beaten back
+into the city, which the Americans almost completely invested. Though
+Shafter had but few heavy siege guns, many of the shells from his
+field artillery fell in the streets of the town and produced a panic
+there.</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Cervera had landed some of his rapid-fire guns in aid of
+General Linares, and his marines fought with the Spanish soldiers. But
+as the American advance continued he saw that he would be caught in a
+trap and ground to pieces between Shafter and Sampson. So he made up
+his mind to the desperate chance of slipping out and trying to run
+past the American squadron.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060a" name="illo1060a"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_the_protected_cruiser_olympia.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Protected Cruiser "Olympia," Admiral Dewey's
+Flagship.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060b" name="illo1060b"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_admiral_george_dewey.jpg" width="400" height="613" alt="" title="">
+<p>Admiral George Dewey.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060c" name="illo1060c"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_acting_rear_admiral_w_t_sampson.jpg" width="400" height="580" alt="" title="">
+<p>Acting Rear Admiral W. T. Sampson.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060d" name="illo1060d"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_rear_admiral_montgomery_sicard.jpg" width="400" height="601" alt="" title="">
+<p>Rear-Admiral Montgomery Sicard.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060e" name="illo1060e"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_commodore_w_s_schley.jpg" width="400" height="576" alt="" title="">
+<p>Commodore W. S. Schley.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060f" name="illo1060f"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_captain_a_s_barker.jpg" width="400" height="580" alt="" title="">
+<p>Captain A. S. Barker,<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Late of the "Oregon"; now of the
+"Newark."</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060g" name="illo1060g"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_captain_jack_philip.jpg" width="400" height="580" alt="" title="">
+<p>Captain "Jack" Philip,<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Of the battle-ship "Texas."</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060h" name="illo1060h"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_commodore_j_crittenden_watson.jpg" width="400" height="580" alt="" title="">
+<p>Commodore J. Crittenden Watson.<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Second in Command of the Gulf Squadron.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060i" name="illo1060i"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_ensign_worth_bagley.jpg" width="400" height="567" alt="" title="">
+<p>Ensign Worth Bagley Of The "Winslow."<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">the First
+American Officer killed by the Enemy.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060j" name="illo1060j"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_cadet_george_t_pettengill.jpg" width="400" height="577" alt="" title="">
+<p>Cadet George T. Pettengill.<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Who fired the first Shot
+of the War.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060k" name="illo1060k"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_captain_f_w_dickins.jpg" width="400" height="576" alt="" title="">
+<p>Captain F. W. Dickins.<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Chief of Bureau of
+Navigation.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060l" name="illo1060l"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_commodore_john_a_howell.jpg" width="400" height="582" alt="" title="">
+<p>Commodore John A. Howell.<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Commanding Inner Line of
+Coast Defenses.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060m" name="illo1060m"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_birg_gen_h_c_hasbrouck.jpg" width="400" height="572" alt="" title="">
+<p>Brig.-Gen. H. C. Hasbrouck.<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Commandant of Fort
+Monroe.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060n" name="illo1060n"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_captain_c_e_clark.jpg" width="400" height="561" alt="" title="">
+<p>Captain C. E. Clark.<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Of The Battle-ship "Oregon."</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060o" name="illo1060o"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_admiral_f_m_bunce.jpg" width="400" height="579" alt="" title="">
+<p>Admiral F. M. Bunce.<br>
+<span class="smaller italic">Commandant of Brooklyn Navy
+Yard.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060p" name="illo1060p"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_bombardment_of_spanish_forts_and_fleet.jpg" width="600" height="406" alt="" title="">
+<p>Bombardment of Spanish Ports and Fleet at Santiago De
+Cuba, July 6, 1898.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060q" name="illo1060q"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_maria_teresa_and_vizcaya.jpg" width="400" height="476" alt="" title="">
+<p>"Maria Teresa" and "Vizcaya" burning on the Beach near
+Santiago.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060r" name="illo1060r"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_the_flafship_new_york_followed_by_the_vixen.jpg" width="600" height="353" alt="" title="">
+<p>The Flagship "New York," followed by the "Vixen,"
+closing on the "Cristobal Colon," while the Latter was being run
+ashore west of Santiago.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060s" name="illo1060s"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_effect_of_a_single_spanish_shot.jpg" width="600" height="395" alt="" title="">
+<p>Effect of a Single Spanish Shot on Upper Deck of the
+Battle-Ship "Texas".</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060t" name="illo1060t"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_band_of_the_oregon.jpg" width="400" height="449" alt="" title="">
+<p><span class="smaller italic">Part of Crew of "Texas"</span><br>
+Band of the "Oregon" playing Funeral March after the Defeat of the
+"Colon".</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060u" name="illo1060u"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_engineer_battalion_unloading_tools_at_siboney.jpg" width="600" height="317" alt="" title="">
+<p>Engineer Battalion unloading Tools at Siboney.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060v" name="illo1060v"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_auxiliary_cruisers_protecting_landing.jpg" width="600" height="326" alt="" title="">
+<p><span class="smaller">"St. Louis." <span class="add1em">A Transport.</span> <span class="add1em">"Suwanee."</span> <span class="add1em">"Vixen."</span></span><br>
+Auxiliary Cruisers protecting Landing.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a id="illo1060w" name="illo1060w"></a>
+<img src="images/1060_commodore_watson_s_fllet_for_service_in_spanish.jpg" width="600" height="408" alt="" title="">
+<p>Commodore Watson's Fleet for Service in Spanish Waters.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page1061" name="page1061"></a>(p. 1061)</span> At 9.30 on the morning of the 3d the lookout on the "Texas"
+saw smoke rising above Morro Castle. Immediately after, the black prow
+of a warship appeared in the channel coming out at full speed. It was
+the "Almirante Oquendo." Instantly the "Texas" broke out with bunting
+signaling to all the vessels of the fleet that the Spaniards were
+coming out. On every side rung out the bugles and clattered gongs
+calling the crews of the American ships to quarters. Admiral Sampson
+with the "New York" was far away, and Commodore Schley with the
+"Brooklyn" commanded the fleet. The odds were not so greatly in favor
+of the Americans, for the Spaniards had four armored cruisers and two
+torpedo-boat destroyers, while the Americans had five battle-ships,
+one armored cruiser and a yacht. The superiority of the Spaniards in
+rapid-fire guns was very great.</p>
+
+<p>The "Brooklyn," thinly clad with armor, dashed first into the fray and
+was soon engaged with four armored vessels, each her superior; the
+"Iowa," "Texas" and "Oregon" rushed to her aid. It was soon apparent
+that the Spaniards were more intent on running than fighting.
+Nevertheless, they kept up a rapid fire, but showed the bad
+marksmanship which characterized Montojo's gunners at Manila. One
+shell from the "Oquendo" crashed through the pilot-house of the
+"Texas" just after Captain Philip had left it for the securer retreat
+of the conning tower, and one exploded in the smokestack. These were
+about the most effective shots aimed by the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>A correspondent of the New York "Journal" and the "Sun" stationed
+aboard the "Texas" sent the most graphic account of the battle which
+has at this date, July 6, been printed. Some extracts from it will
+give a clear account of the fighting:</p>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p>"Almost before the leading ship was clear of the shadow of Morro
+     Castle the fight had begun. Admiral Cervera started it by a shell
+     from the 'Almirante Oquendo,' to which he had transferred his
+     flag. It struck none of the American vessels. In a twinkling the
+     big guns of the 'Texas' belched forth their thunder, which was
+     followed immediately by a heavy fire from our other ships. The
+     Spaniards turned to the westward under full steam, pouring a
+     constant fire on our ships, and evidently hoping to get away by
+     their superior speed.</p>
+
+<p>"The 'Texas,' still heading in shore, kept up a hot exchange of
+     shots with the foremost ships, which gradually drew away to the
+     westward under the shadow of the hills. The third of the Spanish
+     vessels, the 'Vizcaya' or 'Infanta Maria Teresa,' was caught by
+     the 'Texas' in good fighting range, and it was she that engaged
+     the chief attention of the first battle-ship commissioned in the
+     American Navy. The 'Texas' steamed west with her adversary, and
+     as she could not catch her with speed she did with her shells.</p>
+
+<p>"The din of the guns was so terrific that orders had to be yelled
+     close to the messengers' <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1062" name="page1062"></a>(p. 1062)</span> ears, and at times the smoke
+     was so thick that absolutely nothing could be seen. Once or twice
+     the 12-inch guns in the turrets were swung across the ship and
+     fired. The concussion shook the great vessel as though she had
+     been struck by a great ball, and everything movable was
+     splintered. The men near the guns were thrown flat on their
+     faces.</p>
+
+<p>"Meanwhile the 'Oregon' had come in on the run. She passed the
+     'Texas' and chased after Commodore Schley, on the 'Brooklyn,' to
+     head off the foremost of the Spanish ships. The 'Iowa' also
+     turned her course westward, and kept up a hot fire on the running
+     enemy.</p>
+
+<p>"At 10.10 o'clock the third of the Spanish ships, the one that
+     had been exchanging compliments with the 'Texas,' was seen to be
+     on fire and a mighty cheer went up from our ships. The Spaniard
+     headed for the shore and the 'Texas' turned her attention to the
+     one following. The 'Brooklyn' and 'Oregon,' after a few parting
+     shots, also left her contemptuously and made all steam and shell
+     after the foremost two of the Spanish ships, the 'Almirante
+     Oquendo' and the 'Cristobal Colon.'</p>
+
+<p>"Just then the two torpedo-boat destroyers 'Pluton' and 'Furor'
+     were discovered. They had come out after the cruisers without
+     being seen, and were boldly heading west down the coast. 'All
+     small guns on the torpedo boats' was the order on the 'Texas,'
+     and in an instant a hail of shot was pouring all about them. A
+     6-pounder from the starboard battery of the 'Texas,' under Ensign
+     Gise, struck the foremost torpedo boat fairly in the boiler.</p>
+
+<p>"A rending sound was heard above the roar of battle. A great
+     spout of black smoke shot up from that destroyer and she was out
+     of commission. The 'Iowa,' which was coming up fast, threw a few
+     complimentary shots at the second torpedo-boat destroyer and
+     passed on. The little 'Gloucester,' formerly a yacht, then sailed
+     in and finished the second boat."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The "Gloucester" of which the correspondent speaks was in command of
+Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, who had been the executive officer of
+the "Maine." For two months after the disaster to that vessel
+Wainwright lived on a United States ship in the harbor of Havana,
+refusing to set foot on shore until he could go "with a landing party
+of marines." In his attack on the torpedo-boat destroyers&mdash;vastly
+superior to his craft in weight and armament&mdash;he threw prudence to the
+winds and fought with a fierceness bred of bitter hatred for the Dons.
+His was the most stirring display of personal courage shown on a day
+when all were brave.</p>
+
+<p>To return to the correspondent's account:</p>
+
+<div class="quote">
+<p>"Gun for gun and shot for shot the running fight was kept up
+     between the Spanish cruisers and the four American vessels. At
+     10.30 o'clock the 'Infanta Maria Teresa' and 'Vizcaya' were
+     almost on the beach, and were evidently in distress. As the
+     'Texas' was firing at them a white flag was run up on the one
+     nearest her. 'Cease firing,' called Captain Philip, and a moment
+     later both the Spaniards were beached. Clouds of black smoke
+     arose from each, and bright flashes of flame could be seen
+     shining through the smoke. Boats were visible putting out from
+     the cruisers to the shore. The 'Iowa' waited to see that the two
+     warships were really out of the fight, and it did not take her
+     <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1063" name="page1063"></a>(p. 1063)</span> long to determine that they would never fight again.
+     The Iowa' herself had suffered some very hard knocks.</p>
+
+<p>"The 'Brooklyn,' 'Oregon' and 'Texas' pushed ahead after the
+     'Colon' and 'Almirante Oquendo,' which were now running the race
+     of their lives along the coast. At 10.50 o'clock, when Admiral
+     Cervera's flagship, the 'Almirante Oquendo,' suddenly headed in
+     shore, she had the 'Brooklyn' and 'Oregon' abeam and the 'Texas'
+     astern. 'The Brooklyn' and 'Oregon' pushed on after the
+     'Cristobal Colon,' which was making fine time and which looked as
+     if she might escape, leaving the 'Texas' to finish the 'Almirante
+     Oquendo.' This work did not take long. The Spanish ship was
+     already burning. At 11.05 o'clock down came a yellow and red flag
+     at her stern. Just as the 'Texas' got abeam of her she was shaken
+     by a mighty explosion.</p>
+
+<p>"The crew of the 'Texas' started to cheer. 'Don't cheer, because
+     the poor devils are dying,' called Captain Philip, and the
+     'Texas' left the 'Almirante Oquendo' to her fate to join in the
+     chase of the 'Cristobal Colon.'</p>
+
+<p>"That ship in desperation was plowing the waters at a rate that
+     caused the fast 'Brooklyn' trouble. The 'Oregon' made great speed
+     for a battle-ship, and the 'Texas' made the effort of her life.
+     Never since her trial trip had she made such time.</p>
+
+<p>"The 'Brooklyn' might have proved a match to the 'Cristobal
+     Colon' in speed, but she was not supposed to be her match in
+     strength.</p>
+
+<p>"It would never do to allow even one of the Spanish ships to get
+     away. Straight into the west the strongest chase of modern times
+     took place. The 'Brooklyn' headed the pursuers. She stood well
+     out from the shore in order to try to cut off the 'Cristobal
+     Colon' at a point jutting out into the sea far ahead. The
+     'Oregon' kept a middle course about a mile from the cruiser. The
+     desperate Don ran close along the shore, and now and then he
+     threw a shell of defiance. The old 'Texas' kept well up in the
+     chase under forced draught for over two hours.</p>
+
+<p>"The fleet Spaniard led the Americans a merry chase, but she had
+     no chance. The 'Brooklyn' gradually forged ahead, so that the
+     escape of the 'Cristobal Colon' was cut off at the point above
+     mentioned. The 'Oregon' was abeam of the 'Colon' then, and the
+     gallant Don gave it up.</p>
+
+<p>"At 1.15 o'clock he headed for the shore, and five minutes later
+     down came the Spanish flag. None of our ships was then within a
+     mile of her, but her escape was cut off. The 'Texas,' 'Oregon'
+     and 'Brooklyn' closed in on her and stopped their engines a few
+     hundred yards away.</p>
+
+<p>"Commodore Schley left the 'Brooklyn' in a small boat and went
+     aboard the 'Cristobal Colon' and received the surrender. Meantime
+     the 'New York,' with Admiral Sampson on board, and the 'Vixen'
+     were coming up on the run. Commodore Schley signaled to Admiral
+     Sampson; 'We have won a great victory; details will be
+     communicated.'</p>
+
+<p>"Then for an hour after the surrender in that little cove under
+     the high hills was a general Fourth of July celebration, though a
+     little premature. Our ships cheered one another, the captains
+     indulged in compliments through the megaphones, and the 'Oregon'
+     got out its band, and the strains of the 'Star-Spangled Banner'
+     echoed over the lines of Spaniards drawn up on the deck of the
+     last of the Spanish fleet, and up over the lofty green-tipped
+     hills of the Cuban mountains.</p>
+
+<p>"Commodore Schley, coming alongside the 'Texas' from the
+     'Cristobal Colon' in his gig, called out cheerily, 'It was a nice
+     fight, Jack, wasn't it?'</p>
+
+<p>"The veterans of the 'Texas' lined up and gave three hearty
+     cheers and a tiger for their old commander-in-chief. Captain
+     Philip called all hands to the quarter-deck, and with bared head,
+     thanked God for the almost bloodless victory.</p>
+
+<p>"'I want to make public acknowledgment here,' he said, 'that I
+     believe in God the Father Almighty. I want all you officers and
+     men to lift your hats and from your hearts offer silent thanks to
+     the Almighty.' <span class="pagenum"><a id="page1064" name="page1064"></a>(p. 1064)</span> "All hats were off. There was a moment
+     or two of absolute silence, and then the overwrought feelings of
+     the ship's company relieved themselves in three hearty cheers for
+     their beloved commander."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>By this victory the naval power of Spain was effectively and finally
+crushed. She lost four fine armored ships and two large destroyers. In
+killed, wounded and prisoners her loss exceeded eighteen hundred men,
+while but one American was slain. Among the prisoners was Admiral
+Cervera, whose dignified bearing in the presence of disaster won for
+him the high regard of the Americans, his foes. The value of the
+property lost to bankrupt Spain exceeded thirteen million dollars, and
+it is probable that before these words reach the reader the final
+price of Cervera's daring dash will be paid by the surrender of
+Santiago.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Naval History of the United States, by 
+Willis J. Abbot
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAVAL HISTORY ***
+
+***** This file should be named 26416-h.htm or 26416-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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+
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+
+
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Naval History of the United States, by
+Willis J. Abbot
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Naval History of the United States
+       Volume 2 (of 2)
+
+Author: Willis J. Abbot
+
+Illustrator: H. W. McVicar
+             W. C. Jackson
+
+Release Date: August 24, 2008 [EBook #26416]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAVAL HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Christine P. Travers and
+the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all
+other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling
+has been maintained.
+
+Page 993: "they were fired upon the Coreans" has been replaced by
+"they were fired upon by the Coreans".
+
+Page 997: "the rescued part arrived in New York" has been replaced by
+"the rescued party arrived in New York".
+
+Every chapter heading had an illustration; the corresponding tag has
+been removed.]
+
+
+
+
+                         THE NAVAL HISTORY
+
+                               OF THE
+
+                            UNITED STATES
+
+
+                                 BY
+
+                           WILLIS J. ABBOT
+
+
+                       With Many Illustrations
+                 BY H. W. McVICAR AND W. C. JACKSON
+
+
+
+                             _VOLUME TWO_
+
+
+
+
+                               NEW YORK:
+                    PETER FENELON COLLIER, PUBLISHER.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+     CAPTURE OF THE "SURVEYOR." -- WORK OF THE GUNBOAT FLOTILLA. --
+     OPERATIONS ON CHESAPEAKE BAY. -- COCKBURN'S DEPREDATIONS. --
+     CRUISE OF THE "ARGUS." -- HER CAPTURE BY THE "PELICAN." -- BATTLE
+     OF THE "ENTERPRISE" AND "BOXER." -- END OF THE YEAR 1813 ON THE
+     OCEAN.
+
+
+With the capture of the "Chesapeake" in June, 1813, we abandoned our
+story of the naval events along the coast of the United States, to
+follow Capt. Porter and his daring seamen on their long cruise into
+far-off seas. But while the men of the "Essex" were capturing whalers
+in the Pacific, chastising insolent savages at Nookaheevah, and
+fighting a gallant but unsuccessful fight at Valparaiso, other
+blue-jackets were as gallantly serving their country nearer home. From
+Portsmouth to Charleston the coast was watched by British ships, and
+collisions between the enemies were of almost daily occurrence. In
+many of these actions great bravery was shown on both sides.
+Noticeably was this the case in the action between the cutter
+"Surveyor" and the British frigate "Narcissus," on the night of June
+12. The "Surveyor," a little craft manned by a crew of fifteen men,
+and mounting six twelve-pound carronades, was lying in the York River
+near Chesapeake Bay. From the masthead of the "Narcissus," lying
+farther down the bay, the spars of the cutter could be seen above the
+tree-tops; and an expedition was fitted out for her capture. Fifty
+men, led by a veteran officer, attacked the little vessel in the
+darkness, but were met with a most determined resistance. The
+Americans could not use their carronades, but with their muskets they
+did much execution in the enemy's ranks. But they were finally
+overpowered, and the little cutter was towed down under the frigate's
+guns. The next day Mr. Travis, the American commander, received his
+sword which he had surrendered, with a letter from the British
+commander, in which he said, "Your gallant and desperate attempt to
+defend your vessel against more than double your number, on the night
+of the 12th inst., excited such admiration on the part of your
+opponents as I have seldom witnessed, and induced me to return you the
+sword you had so nobly used, in testimony of mine.... In short, I am
+at a loss which to admire most, the previous arrangement on board the
+'Surveyor,' or the determined manner in which her deck was disputed,
+inch by inch."
+
+During the summer of 1813, the little gunboats, built in accordance
+with President Jefferson's plan for a coast guard of single-gun
+vessels, did a great deal of desultory fighting, which resulted in
+little or nothing. They were not very seaworthy craft, the heavy guns
+mounted amidships causing them to careen far over in even a sailor's
+"capfull" of wind. When they went into action, the first shot from the
+gun set the gunboat rocking so that further fire with any precision of
+aim was impossible. The larger gunboats carried sail enough to enable
+them to cruise about the coast, keeping off privateers and checking
+the marauding expeditions of the British. Many of the gunboats,
+however, were simply large gallies propelled with oars, and therefore
+confined in their operations to bays and inland waters. The chief
+scene of their operations was Chesapeake Bay.
+
+This noble sheet of water had been, since the very opening of the year
+1813, under the control of the British, who had gathered there their
+most powerful vessels under the command of Admiral Cockburn, whose
+name gained an unenviable notoriety for the atrocities committed by
+his forces upon the defenceless inhabitants of the shores of
+Chesapeake Bay. Marauding expeditions were continually sent from the
+fleet to search the adjacent country for supplies. When this method of
+securing provisions failed, Cockburn hit upon the plan of bringing his
+fleet within range of a village, and then commanding the inhabitants
+to supply his needs, under penalty of the instant bombardment of the
+town in case of refusal. Sometimes this expedient failed, as when
+Commodore Beresford, who was blockading the Delaware, called upon the
+people of Dover to supply him at once with "twenty-five large bullocks
+and a proportionate quantity of vegetables and hay." But the sturdy
+inhabitants refused, mustered the militia, dragged some old cannon
+down to the water-side, and, for lack of cannon-balls of their own,
+valiantly fired back those thrown by the British, which fitted the
+American ordnance exactly.
+
+Soon after this occurrence, a large party from Cockburn's fleet landed
+at Havre de Grace, and, having driven away the few militia, captured
+and burned the town. Having accomplished this exploit, the marauders
+continued their way up the bay, and turning up into the Sassafras
+River ravaged the country on both sides of the little stream. After
+spreading distress far and wide over the beautiful country that
+borders Chesapeake Bay, the vandals returned to their ships, boasting
+that they had despoiled the Americans of at least seventy thousand
+dollars, and injured them to the amount of ten times that sum.
+
+By June, 1813, the Americans saw that something must be done to check
+the merciless enemy who had thus revived the cruel vandalism, which
+had ceased to attend civilized warfare since the middle ages. A fleet
+of fifteen armed gallies was fitted out to attack the frigate of
+Cockburn's fleet that lay nearest to Norfolk. Urged forward by long
+sweeps, the gunboats bore down upon the frigate, which, taken by
+surprise, made so feeble and irregular a response that the Americans
+thought they saw victory within their grasp. The gunboats chose their
+distance, and opened a well-directed fire upon their huge enemy, that,
+like a hawk attacked by a crowd of sparrows, soon turned to fly. But
+at this moment the wind changed, enabling two frigates which were at
+anchor lower down the bay to come up to the aid of their consort. The
+American gunboats drew off slowly, firing as they departed.
+
+This attack infused new energy into the British, and they at once
+began formidable preparations for an attack upon Norfolk. On the 20th
+of June they moved forward to the assault,--three seventy-four-gun
+ships, one sixty-four, four frigates, two sloops, and three
+transports. They were opposed by the American forces stationed on
+Craney Island, which commands the entrance to Norfolk Harbor. Here the
+Americans had thrown up earthworks, mounting two twenty-four, one
+eighteen, and four six pound cannon. To work this battery, one hundred
+sailors from the "Constellation," together with fifty marines, had
+been sent ashore. A large body of militia and a few soldiers of the
+regular army were also in camp upon the island.
+
+The British set the 22d as the date for the attack; and on the morning
+of that day, fifteen large boats, filled with sailors, marines, and
+soldiers to the number of seven hundred, put off from the ships, and
+dashed toward the batteries. At the same time a larger force tried to
+move forward by land, but were driven back, to wait until their
+comrades in the boats should have stormed and silenced the American
+battery. But that battery was not to be silenced. After checking the
+advance of the British by land, the Americans waited coolly for the
+column of boats to come within point-blank range. On they came,
+bounding over the waves, led by the great barge "Centipede," fifty
+feet long, and crowded with men. The blue-jackets in the shore battery
+stood silently at their guns. Suddenly there arose a cry, "Now, boys,
+are you ready?" "All ready," was the response. "Then fire!" And the
+great guns hurled their loads of lead and iron into the advancing
+boats. The volley was a fearful one; but the British still came on
+doggedly, until the fire of the battery became too terrible to be
+endured. "The American sailors handled the great guns like rifles,"
+said one of the British officers, speaking of the battle. Before this
+terrific fire, the advancing column was thrown into confusion. The
+boats, drifting upon each other, so crowded together that the oars-men
+could not make any headway. A huge round shot struck the "Centipede,"
+passing through her diagonally, leaving death and wounds in its track.
+The shattered craft sunk, and was soon followed by four others. The
+order for retreat was given; and, leaving their dead and some wounded
+in the shattered barges that lay in the shallow water, the British
+fled to their ships. Midshipman Tatnall, who, many years later, served
+in the Confederate navy, waded out with several sailors, and, seizing
+the "Centipede," drew her ashore. He found several wounded men in
+her,--one a Frenchman, with both legs shot away. A small terrier dog
+lay whimpering in the bow. His master had brought him along for a run
+on shore, never once thinking of the possibility of the flower of the
+British navy being beaten back by the Americans.
+
+So disastrous a defeat enraged the British, who proceeded to wreak
+their vengeance upon the little town of Hampton, which they sacked and
+burned, committing acts of shameful violence, more in accordance with
+the character of savages than that of civilized white men. The story
+of the sack of Hampton forms no part of the naval annals of the war,
+and in its details is too revolting to deserve a place here. It is a
+narrative of atrocious cruelty not to be paralleled in the history of
+warfare in the nineteenth century.
+
+Leaving behind him the smoking ruins of Hampton, Cockburn with his
+fleet dropped down the bay, and, turning southward, cruised along the
+coast of the Carolinas. Anchoring off Ocracoke Inlet, the British sent
+a fleet of armed barges into Pamlico Sound to ravage the adjoining
+coast. Two privateers were found lying at anchor in the sound,--the
+"Anaconda" of New York, and the "Atlas" of Philadelphia. The British
+forces, eight hundred in number, dashed forward to capture the two
+vessels. The "Atlas" fell an easy prey; but the thirteen men of the
+"Anaconda" fought stoutly until all hope was gone, then, turning their
+cannon down upon the decks of their own vessel, blew great holes in
+her bottom, and escaped to the shore. After this skirmish, the British
+landed, and marched rapidly to Newbern; but, finding that place well
+defended by militia, made their way back to the coast, desolating the
+country through which they passed, and seizing cattle and slaves. The
+latter they are said to have sent to the West Indies and sold. From
+Pamlico Sound Cockburn went to Cumberland Island, where he established
+his winter quarters, and whence he continued to send out marauding
+expeditions during the rest of the year.
+
+Very different was the character of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded
+the British blockading fleet off the New England coast. A brave and
+able officer, with the nature and training of a gentleman, he was as
+much admired by his enemies for his nobility, as Cockburn was hated
+for his cruelty. It is more than possible, however, that the
+difference between the methods of enforcement of the blockade on the
+New England coast and on the Southern seaboard was due to definite
+orders from the British admiralty: for the Southern States had entered
+into the war heart and soul; while New England gave to the American
+forces only a faint-hearted support, and cried eagerly for peace at
+any cost. So strong was this feeling, that resolutions of honor to the
+brave Capt. Lawrence were defeated in the Massachusetts Legislature,
+on the ground that they would encourage others to embark in the
+needless war in which Lawrence lost his life. Whatever may have been
+the cause, however, the fact remains, that Hardy's conduct while on
+the blockade won for him the respect and admiration of the very people
+against whom his forces were arrayed.
+
+[Illustration: Blue-Jackets at the Guns.]
+
+On June 18 the British blockaders off New York Harbor allowed a little
+vessel to escape to sea, that, before she could be captured, roamed at
+will within sight of the chalk cliffs of England, and inflicted
+immense damage upon the commerce of her enemy. This craft was the
+little ten-gun brig "Argus," which left New York bound for France. She
+carried as passenger Mr. Crawford of Georgia, who had lately been
+appointed United States minister to France. After safely discharging
+her passenger at L'Orient, the "Argus" turned into the chops of the
+English Channel, and cruised about, burning and capturing many of the
+enemy's ships. She was in the very highway of British commerce; and
+her crew had little rest day or night, so plentiful were the ships
+that fell in their way. It was hard for the jackies to apply the torch
+to so many stanch vessels, that would enrich the whole crew with
+prize-money could they but be sent into an American port. But the
+little cruiser was thousands of miles from any American port, and no
+course was open to her save to give every prize to the flames. After
+cruising for a time in the English Channel, Lieut. Allen, who
+commanded the "Argus," took his vessel around Land's End, and into St.
+George's Channel and the Irish Sea. For thirty days he continued his
+daring operations in the very waters into which Paul Jones had carried
+the American flag nearly thirty-five years earlier. British merchants
+and shipping owners in London read with horror of the destruction
+wrought by this one vessel. Hardly a paper appeared without an account
+of some new damage done by the "Argus." Vessels were kept in port
+to rot at their docks, rather than fall a prey to the terrible Yankee.
+Rates of insurance went up to ruinous prices, and many companies
+refused to take any risks whatever so long as the "Argus" remained
+afloat. But the hue and cry was out after the little vessel; and many
+a stout British frigate was beating up and down in St. George's
+Channel, and the chops of the English Channel, in the hopes of falling
+in with the audacious Yankee, who had presumed to bring home to
+Englishmen the horrors of war.
+
+It fell to the lot of the brig-sloop "Pelican" to rid the British
+waters of the "Argus." On the night of the thirteenth of August, the
+American vessel had fallen in with a British vessel from Oporto, and
+after a short chase had captured her. The usual result followed. The
+prisoners with their personal property were taken out of the prize,
+and the vessel was set afire. But, before the torch was applied, the
+American sailors had discovered that their prize was laden with wine;
+and their resolution was not equal to the task of firing the prize
+without testing the quality of the cargo. Besides treating themselves
+to rather deep potations, the boarding-crew contrived to smuggle a
+quantity of the wine into the forecastle of the "Argus." The prize was
+then fired, and the "Argus" moved away under easy sail. But the light
+of the blazing ship attracted the attention of the lookout on the
+"Pelican," and that vessel came down under full sail to discover the
+cause.
+
+Day was just breaking, and by the gray morning light the British saw
+an American cruiser making away from the burning hulk of her last
+prize. The "Pelican" followed in hot pursuit, and was allowed to come
+alongside, although the fleet American could easily have left her far
+astern. But Capt. Allen was ready for the conflict; confident of his
+ship and of his crew, of whose half-intoxicated condition he knew
+nothing, he felt sure that the coming battle would only add more
+laurels to the many already won by the "Argus." He had often declared
+that the "Argus" should never run from any two-master; and now, that
+the gage of battle was offered, he promptly accepted.
+
+At six o'clock in the morning, the "Pelican" came alongside, and
+opened the conflict with a broadside from her thirty-two pound
+carronades. The "Argus" replied with spirit, and a sharp cannonade
+began. Four minutes after the battle opened, Capt. Allen was struck
+by a round shot that cut off his left leg near the thigh. His officers
+rushed to his side, and strove to bear him to his cabin; but he
+resisted, saying he would stay on deck and fight his ship as long as
+any life was left him. With his back to a mast, he gave his orders and
+cheered on his men for a few minutes longer; then, fainting from the
+terrible gush of blood from his wound, was carried below. To lose
+their captain so early in the action, was enough to discourage the
+crew of the "Argus." Yet the officers left on duty were brave and
+skilful. Twice the vessel was swung into a raking position, but the
+gunners failed to seize the advantage. "They seemed to be nodding over
+their guns," said one of the officers afterward. The enemy, however,
+showed no signs of nodding. His fire was rapid and well directed, and
+his vessel manoeuvred in a way that showed a practised seaman in
+command. At last he secured a position under the stern of the "Argus,"
+and lay there, pouring in destructive broadsides, until the Americans
+struck their flag,--just forty-seven minutes after the opening of the
+action. The loss on the "Argus" amounted to six killed and seventeen
+wounded.
+
+No action of the war was so discreditable to the Americans as this. In
+the loss of the "Chesapeake" and in the loss of the "Essex," there
+were certain features of the action that redounded greatly to the
+honor of the defeated party. But in the action between the "Argus" and
+the "Pelican," the Americans were simply outfought. The vessels were
+practically equal in size and armament, though the "Pelican" carried a
+little the heavier metal. It is also stated that the powder used by
+the "Argus" was bad. It had been taken from one of the prizes, and
+afterwards proved to be condemned powder of the British Government. In
+proof of the poor quality of this powder, one of the American officers
+states that many shot striking the side of the "Pelican" were seen to
+fall back into the water; while others penetrated the vessel's skin,
+but did no further damage. All this, however, does not alter the fact
+that the "Argus" was fairly beaten in a fair fight.
+
+While the British thus snapped up an American man-of-war cruising at
+their harbors' mouths, the Americans were equally fortunate in
+capturing a British brig of fourteen guns off the coast of Maine. The
+captor was the United States brig "Enterprise," a lucky little vessel
+belonging to a very unlucky class; for her sister brigs all fell a
+prey to the enemy. The "Nautilus," it will be remembered, was captured
+early in the war. The "Vixen" fell into the hands of Sir James Yeo,
+who was cruising in the West Indies, in the frigate "Southampton;" but
+this gallant officer reaped but little benefit from his prize, for
+frigate and brig alike were soon after wrecked on one of the Bahama
+Islands. The "Siren," late in the war, was captured by the
+seventy-four-gun ship "Medway," and the loss of the "Argus" has just
+been chronicled. Of all these brigs, the "Argus" alone was able to
+fire a gun in her own defence, before being captured; the rest were
+all forced to yield quietly to immensely superior force.
+
+In the war with Tripoli, the "Enterprise" won the reputation of being
+a "lucky" craft; and her daring adventures and thrilling escapes
+during the short naval war with France added to her prestige among
+sailors. When the war with England broke out, the little brig was put
+in commission as soon as possible, and assigned to duty along the
+coast of Maine. She did good service in keeping off privateers and
+marauding expeditions from Nova Scotia. In the early part of
+September, 1813, she was cruising near Penguin Point, when she sighted
+a brig in shore that had the appearance of a hostile war-vessel. The
+stranger soon settled all doubts as to her character by firing several
+guns, seemingly for the purpose of recalling her boats from the shore.
+Then, setting sail with the rapidity of a man-of-war, she bore down
+upon the American vessel. The "Enterprise," instead of waiting for the
+enemy, turned out to sea, under easy sail; and her crew were set to
+work bringing aft a long gun, and mounting it in the cabin, where one
+of the stern windows had been chopped away to make a port. This action
+rather alarmed the sailors, who feared that their commander, Lieut.
+Burrows, whose character was unknown to them, intended to avoid the
+enemy, and was rigging the long gun for a stern-chaser. An impromptu
+meeting was held upon the forecastle; and, after much whispered
+consultation, the people appointed a committee to go aft and tell the
+commander that the lads were burning to engage the enemy, and were
+confident of whipping her. The committee started bravely to discharge
+their commission; but their courage failed them before so mighty a
+potentate as the commander, and they whispered their message to the
+first lieutenant, who laughed, and sent word forward that Mr. Burrows
+only wanted to get sea-room, and would soon give the jackies all the
+fighting they desired.
+
+[Illustration: The Fight with the "Boxer."]
+
+The Americans now had leisure to examine, through their
+marine-glasses, the vessel which was so boldly following them to the
+place of battle. She was a man-of-war brig, flying the British ensign
+from both mastheads and at the peak. Her armament consisted of twelve
+eighteen-pound carronades and two long sixes, as against the fourteen
+eighteen-pound carronades and two long nines of the "Enterprise." The
+Englishman carried a crew of sixty-six men, while the quarter-rolls of
+the American showed a total of one hundred and two. But in the battle
+which followed the British fought with such desperate bravery as to
+almost overcome the odds against them.
+
+For some time the two vessels fought shy of each other, manoeuvring
+for a windward position. Towards three o'clock in the afternoon, the
+Americans gained this advantage, and at once shortened sail, and edged
+down toward the enemy. As the ships drew near, a sailor was seen to
+climb into the rigging of the Englishman, and nail the colors to the
+mast, giving the lads of the "Enterprise" a hint as to the character
+of the reception they might expect. As the vessels came within range,
+both crews cheered lustily, and continued cheering until within
+pistol-shot, when the two broadsides were let fly at almost exactly
+the same moment. With the first fire, both commanders fell. Capt.
+Blyth of the English vessel was almost cut in two by a round shot as
+he stood on his quarter-deck. He died instantly. Lieut. Burrows was
+struck by a canister-shot, which inflicted a mortal wound. He refused
+to be carried below, and was tenderly laid upon the deck, where he
+remained during the remainder of the battle, cheering on his men, and
+crying out that the colors of the "Enterprise" should never be struck.
+The conflict was sharp, but short. For ten minutes only the answering
+broadsides rung out; then the colors of the British ship were hauled
+down. She proved to be the sloop-of-war "Boxer," and had suffered
+severely from the broadsides of the "Enterprise." Several shots had
+taken effect in her hull, her foremast was almost shot away, and
+several guns were dismounted. Three men beside her captain were
+killed, and seventeen wounded. But she had not suffered these injuries
+without inflicting some in return. The "Enterprise" was much cut up
+aloft. Her foremast and mainmast had each been pierced by an
+eighteen-pound ball. Her captain lay upon the deck, gasping in the
+last agonies of death, but stoutly protesting that he would not be
+carried below until he received the sword of the commander of the
+"Boxer." At last this was brought him; and grasping it he cried, "Now
+I am satisfied. I die contented."
+
+The two shattered brigs were taken into Portland, where the bodies of
+the two slain commanders were buried with all the honors of war. The
+"Enterprise" was repaired, and made one more cruise before the close
+of the war; but the "Boxer" was found to be forever ruined for a
+vessel of war, and she was sold into the merchant-service. The fact
+that she was so greatly injured in so short a time led a London
+paper, in speaking of the battle, to say, "The fact seems to be but
+too clearly established, that the Americans have some superior mode of
+firing; and we cannot be too anxiously employed in discovering to what
+circumstances that superiority is owing."
+
+[Illustration: The Surrender of the "Boxer."]
+
+This battle practically closed the year's naval events upon the ocean.
+The British privateer "Dart" was captured near Newport by some
+volunteers from the gunboats stationed at that point. But, with this
+exception, nothing noteworthy in naval circles occurred during the
+remainder of the year. Looking back over the annals of the naval
+operations of 1813, it is clear that the Americans were the chief
+sufferers. They had the victories over the "Peacock," "Boxer," and
+"Highflyer" to boast of; but they had lost the "Chesapeake," "Argus,"
+and "Viper." But, more than this, they had suffered their coast to be
+so sealed up by British blockaders that many of their best vessels
+were left to lie idle at their docks. The blockade, too, was growing
+stricter daily, and the outlook for the future seemed gloomy; yet, as
+it turned out, in 1814 the Americans regained the ground they had lost
+the year before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+     ON THE LAKES. -- CLOSE OF HOSTILITIES ON LAKES ERIE AND HURON. --
+     DESULTORY WARFARE ON LAKE ONTARIO IN 1813. -- HOSTILITIES ON
+     ONTARIO IN 1814. -- THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. -- END OF THE
+     WAR UPON THE LAKES.
+
+
+In considering the naval operations on the Great Lakes, it must be
+kept in mind, that winter, which checked but little naval activity on
+the ocean, locked the great fresh-water seas in an impenetrable
+barrier of ice, and effectually stopped all further hostilities
+between the hostile forces afloat. The victory gained by Commodore
+Perry on Lake Erie in September, 1813, gave the Americans complete
+command of that lake; and the frozen season soon coming on, prevented
+any attempts on the part of the enemy to contest the American
+supremacy. But, indeed, the British showed little ability, throughout
+the subsequent course of the war, to snatch from the Americans the
+fruits of the victory at Put-in-Bay. They embarked upon no more
+offensive expeditions; and the only notable naval contest between the
+two belligerents during the remainder of the war occurred Aug. 12,
+1814, when a party of seventy-five British seamen and marines
+attempted to cut out three American schooners that lay at the foot of
+the lake near Fort Erie. The British forces were at Queenstown, on
+the Niagara River; but by dint of carrying their boats twenty miles
+through the woods, then poling down a narrow and shallow stream, with
+a second portage of eight miles, the adventurers managed to reach Lake
+Erie. Embarking here, they pulled down to the schooners. To the hail
+of the lookout, they responded, "Provision boats." And, as no British
+were thought to be on Lake Erie, the response satisfied the officer of
+the watch. He quickly discovered his mistake, however, when he saw his
+cable cut, and a party of armed men scrambling over his bulwarks. This
+first prize, the "Somers," was quickly in the hands of the British,
+and was soon joined in captivity by the "Ohio," whose people fought
+bravely but unavailingly against the unexpected foe. While the
+fighting was going on aboard the vessels, they were drifting down the
+stream; and, by the time the British victory was complete, both
+vessels were beyond the range of Fort Erie's guns, and safe from
+recapture. This successful enterprise certainly deserves a place as
+the boldest and best executed cutting-out expedition of the war.
+
+[Illustration: On the Way to Lake Erie.]
+
+Long before this occurrence, Capt. Arthur Singleton, who had succeeded
+to Perry's command, despairing of any active service on Lake Erie, had
+taken his squadron of five vessels into Lake Huron, where the British
+still held the supremacy. His objective point was the Island of
+Michilimackinac (Mackinaw), which had been captured by the enemy early
+in the war. On his way, he stopped and burned the British fort and
+barracks of St. Joseph. At Mackinaw he was repulsed, with the loss of
+seventy men; after which he returned to Lake Erie, leaving two
+vessels, the "Scorpion" and "Tigress," to blockade the Nattagawassa
+River. The presence of these vessels irritated the British, and they
+at once set about preparations for their capture. On the night of the
+3d of September the "Tigress" was captured after a sharp struggle,
+which, as the British commanding officer said, "did credit to her
+officers, who were all severely wounded." At the time of the attack,
+the "Scorpion" was several miles away, and knew nothing of the
+misfortune of her consort. Knowing this, the British sent their
+prisoners ashore, and, hoisting the American flag over the captured
+vessel, waited patiently for their game to come to them. They were not
+disappointed in their expectations. On the 5th the "Scorpion" came up,
+and anchored, unsuspectingly, within two miles of her consort. At
+early dawn the next morning the "Tigress" weighed anchor; and, with
+the stars and stripes still flying, dropped down alongside the
+unsuspecting schooner, poured in a sudden volley, and, instantly
+boarding, carried the vessel without meeting any resistance.
+
+With these two skirmishes, the war upon Lake Erie and Lake Huron was
+ended. But on Lake Ontario the naval events, though in no case
+comparable with Perry's famous victory, were numerous and noteworthy.
+
+In our previous discussion of the progress of the war upon Lake
+Ontario, we left Commodore Chauncey in winter quarter at Sackett's
+Harbor, building new ships, and making vigorous efforts to secure
+sailors to man them. His energy met with its reward; for, when the
+melting ice left the lake open for navigation in the spring of 1813,
+the American fleet was ready for active service, while the best
+vessels belonging to the British were still in the hands of the
+carpenters and riggers. The first service performed by the American
+fleet was aiding Gen. Pike in his attack upon York, where the
+Americans burned an almost completed twenty-four-gun ship, and
+captured the ten-gun brig "Gloucester." The land forces who took part
+in this action were terribly injured by the explosion of the
+powder-magazine, to which the British had applied a slow-match when
+they found they could no longer hold their position. This battle was
+fought April 27, 1813. One month later, the naval forces co-operated
+with the soldiery in driving the British from Fort George, on the
+Canada side of the Niagara River, near Lake Ontario. Perry came from
+Lake Erie to take part in this action, and led a landing party under
+the fire of the British artillery with that dashing courage which he
+showed later at the battle of Put-in-Bay. The work of the sailors in
+this action was cool and effective. Their fire covered the advance of
+the troops, and silenced more than one of the enemy's guns. "The
+American ships," writes a British historian, "with their heavy
+discharges of round and grape, too well succeeded in thinning the
+British ranks."
+
+But by this time the British fleet was ready for sea, and left
+Kingston on the 27th of May; while Chauncey was still at the extreme
+western end of the lake. The enemy determined to make an immediate
+assault upon Sackett's Harbor, and there destroy the corvette "Gen.
+Pike," which, if completed, would give Chauncey supremacy upon the
+lake. Accordingly the fleet under Sir James Lucas Yeo, with a large
+body of troops under Sir George Prescott, appeared before the harbor
+on the 29th. Although the forces which rallied to the defence of the
+village were chiefly raw militia, the British attack was conducted
+with so little spirit that the defenders won the day; and the enemy
+retreated, leaving most of his wounded to fall into the hands of the
+Americans. Yeo then returned to Kingston; and the American fleet came
+up the lake, and put into Sackett's Harbor, there to remain until the
+completion of the "Pike" should give Chauncey control of the lake.
+While the Americans thus remained in port, the British squadron made
+brief incursions into the lake, capturing a few schooners and breaking
+up one or two encampments of the land forces of the United States.
+
+Not until the 21st of July did the Americans leave their anchorage. On
+that day, with the formidable corvette "Pike" at the head of the
+line, Chauncey left Sackett's Harbor, and went up to Niagara. Some
+days later, Yeo took his squadron to sea; and on the 7th of August the
+two hostile fleets came in sight of one another for the first time.
+Then followed a season of manoeuvring,--of challenging and
+counter-challenging, of offering battle and of avoiding
+it,--terminating in so inconclusive an engagement that one is forced
+to believe that neither commander dared to enter the battle for which
+both had been so long preparing. The American squadron consisted
+largely of schooners armed with long guns. In smooth weather these
+craft were valuable adjuncts to the larger vessels, while in rough
+weather they were useless. Yeo's squadron was mostly square-rigged,
+and was therefore equally serviceable in all kinds of weather. It
+seems likely, therefore, that the Americans strove to bring on the
+conflict in smooth weather; while the British were determined to wait
+until a heavy sea should lessen the force of their foes. In this
+dilemma several days passed away.
+
+On the night of the 7th of August the wind came up to blow, and the
+rising waves soon demonstrated the uselessness of schooners for
+purposes of war. At early dawn a fierce gust of wind caused the
+schooners "Hamilton" and "Scourge" to careen far to leeward. Their
+heavy guns broke loose; then, crashing down to the submerged beams of
+the schooners, pulled them still farther over; and, the water rushing
+in at their hatches, they foundered, carrying with them to the bottom
+all their officers, and all but sixteen of the men. This loss reduced
+Chauncey's force to more of an equality with that of the British; yet
+for two days longer the manoeuvring continued, without a shot being
+fired. On the night of the 10th the two squadrons formed in order of
+battle, and rapidly approached each other. At eleven o'clock a
+cannonade was begun by both parties, and continued for about an hour;
+though the shot did little material damage on either side. At midnight
+the British, by a quick movement, cut out and captured two American
+schooners, and sailed away, without suffering any damage.
+
+A month then intervened before the next hostile meeting. In his
+despatches to his superior authorities, each commander stoutly affirms
+that he spent the time in chasing the enemy, who refused to give him
+battle. Whether it was the British or the Americans that avoided the
+battle, it is impossible to decide; but it seems reasonable to
+believe, that, had either party been really determined upon bringing
+matters to an issue, the other could have been forced into giving
+battle.
+
+On the 11th of September, the enemies met near the mouth of the
+Genesee River, and exchanged broadsides. A few of the British vessels
+were hulled, and, without more ado, hauled off into the shallow waters
+of Ambert Bay, whither the Americans could not follow them. Then
+ensued another long period of peace, broken at last by a naval action
+in York Bay, on the 28th, in which the British were worsted and
+obliged to fly, though none of their ships were destroyed or captured.
+On Oct. 2, Chauncey accomplished a really important work, by capturing
+five British transports, with two hundred and sixty-four men, seven
+naval and ten army officers. With this achievement, the active work of
+the Ontario squadron ended for the year, as Chauncey remained
+blockading Yeo at Kingston, until the approach of winter rendered that
+precaution no longer necessary.
+
+The navigable season of 1814 opened with the British first upon the
+lake. The long winter had been employed by the belligerents in adding
+to their fleets; a work completed first by Yeo, who put out upon the
+lake on the 3d of May, with eight square-rigged vessels, of which two
+were new frigates. The Americans had given up their unseaworthy
+schooners, and had a fleet of eight square-rigged vessels nearly
+ready, but still lacking the cordage and guns for the three new craft.
+Yeo thus had the lake to himself for a time, and began a vigorous
+campaign by an attack upon Oswego, aided by a large body of British
+troops. Succeeding in this enterprise, he set sail for Sackett's
+Harbor, and, taking up his position just outside the bar, disposed his
+vessels for a long and strict blockade. This action was particularly
+troublesome to the Americans at that time; for their new frigates were
+just ready for their guns and cables, which could not be brought
+overland, and the arrival of which by water was seemingly prevented by
+the blockade. It was in this emergency that the plan, already
+described, for transporting the great cable for the "Niagara"
+overland, on the backs of men, was decided upon. Yeo remained on guard
+at the mouth of the harbor until the 6th of June, then raised the
+blockade, and disappeared down the lake. For six weeks the Americans
+continued working on their fleet, to get the ships ready for service.
+During this time the British gunboat "Black Snake" was brought into
+the harbor, a prize to Lieut. Gregory, who had captured it by a
+sudden assault, with a score of sailors at his back. On the 1st of
+July, the same officer made a sudden descent upon Presque Isle, where
+he found a British vessel pierced for fourteen guns on the stocks,
+ready for launching. The raiders hastily set fire to the ship, and
+retreated before the enemy could get his forces together.
+
+It was July 31 before Chauncey set sail from Sackett's Harbor. He now
+had under his command a squadron of eight vessels, two of which were
+frigates, two ship sloops-of-war, and eight brig-sloops of no mean
+power. Yeo had, to oppose this force, a fleet of no less respectable
+proportions. Yet, for the remainder of the year, these two squadrons
+cruised about the lake, or blockaded each other in turn, without once
+coming to battle. As transports, the vessels were of some service to
+their respective governments; but, so far as any actual naval
+operations were concerned, they might as well never have been built.
+The war closed, leaving the two cautious commanders still waiting for
+a satisfactory occasion for giving battle.
+
+Such was the course of the naval war upon the Great Lakes; but the
+thunder of hostile cannon and the cheers of sailors were heard upon
+yet another sheet of fresh water, before the quarrel between England
+and the United States was settled. In the north-east corner of New
+York State, and slightly overlapping the Canada line, lies Lake
+Champlain,--a picturesque sheet of water, narrow, and dotted with
+wooded islands. From the northern end of the lake flows the Richelieu
+River, which follows a straight course through Canada to the St.
+Lawrence, into which it empties. The long, navigable water-way thus
+open from Canada to the very heart of New York was to the British a
+most tempting path for an invading expedition. By the shore of the
+lake a road wound along; thus smoothing the way for a land force,
+whose advance might be protected by the fire of the naval force that
+should proceed up the lake. Naturally, so admirable an international
+highway early attracted the attention of the military authorities of
+both belligerents; and, while the British pressed forward their
+preparations for an invading expedition, the Americans hastened to
+make such arrangements as should give them control of the lake. Her
+European wars, however, made so great a demand for soldiers upon Great
+Britain, that not until 1814 could she send to America a sufficient
+force to undertake the invasion of the United States from the north.
+In the spring of that year, a force of from ten thousand to fifteen
+thousand troops, including several thousand veterans who had served
+under Wellington, were massed at Montreal; and in May a move was made
+by the British to get control of the lake, before sending their
+invading forces into New York. The British naval force already in the
+Richelieu River, and available for service, consisted of a brig, two
+sloops, and twelve or fourteen gunboats. The American flotilla
+included a large corvette, a schooner, a small sloop, and ten
+gunboats, or galleys, propelled with oars. Seeing that the British
+were preparing for active hostilities, the Americans began to build,
+with all possible speed, a large brig; a move which the enemy promptly
+met by pushing forward with equal energy the construction of a
+frigate. While the new vessels were on the stocks, an irregular
+warfare was carried on by those already in commission. At the opening
+of the season, the American vessels lay in Otter Creek; and, just as
+they were ready to leave port, the enemy appeared off the mouth of the
+creek with a force consisting of the brig "Linnet" and eight or ten
+galleys. The object of the British was to so obstruct the mouth of the
+creek that the Americans should be unable to come out. With this end
+in view, they had brought two sloops laden with stones, which they
+intended to sink in the narrow channel. But, luckily, the Americans
+had thrown up earthworks at the mouth of the river; and a party of
+sailors so worked the guns, that, after much manoeuvring, the British
+were forced to retire without effecting their purpose.
+
+About the middle of August, the Americans launched their new brig, the
+"Eagle;" and the little squadron put out at once into the lake, under
+command of Capt. Thomas Macdonough. Eight days later, the British got
+their new ship, the "Confiance," into the water. She possessed one
+feature new to American naval architecture,--a furnace in which to
+heat cannon-balls.
+
+By this time (September, 1814), the invading column of British
+veterans, eleven thousand strong, had begun its march into New York
+along the west shore of the lake. Two thousand Americans only could be
+gathered to dispute their progress; and these, under the command of
+Brigadier-Gen. Macomb, were gathered at Plattsburg. To this point,
+accordingly, Macdonough took his fleet, and awaited the coming of the
+enemy; knowing that if he could beat back the fleet of the British,
+their land forces, however powerful, would be forced to cease their
+advance. The fleet that he commanded consisted of the flagship
+"Saratoga," carrying eight long twenty-four-pounders, six
+forty-two-pound and twelve thirty-two-pound carronades; the brig
+"Eagle," carrying eight long eighteens, and twelve thirty-two-pound
+carronades; schooner "Ticonderoga," with eight long twelve-pounders,
+four long eighteen-pounders, and five thirty-two-pound carronades;
+sloop "Preble," with seven long nines; and ten galleys. The commander
+who ruled over this fleet was a man still in his twenty-ninth year.
+The successful battles of the War of 1812 were fought by young
+officers, and the battle of Lake Champlain was no exception to the
+rule.
+
+The British force which came into battle with Macdonough's fleet was
+slightly superior. It was headed by the flagship "Confiance," a
+frigate of the class of the United States ship "Constitution,"
+carrying thirty long twenty-fours, a long twenty-four-pounder on a
+pivot, and six thirty-two or forty-two pound carronades. The other
+vessels were the "Linnet," a brig mounting sixteen long twelves; and
+the "Chubb" and "Finch" (captured from the Americans under the names
+of "Growler" and "Eagle"),--sloops carrying respectively ten
+eighteen-pound carronades and one long six; and six eighteen-pound
+carronades, four long sixes, and one short eighteen. To these were
+added twelve gunboats, with varied armaments, but each slightly
+heavier than the American craft of the same class.
+
+The 11th of September had been chosen by the British for the combined
+land and water attack upon Plattsburg. With the movements of the land
+forces, this narrative will not deal. The brunt of the conflict fell
+upon the naval forces, and it was the success of the Americans upon
+the water that turned the faces of the British invaders toward Canada.
+
+The village of Plattsburg stands upon the shore of a broad bay which
+communicates with Lake Champlain by an opening a mile and a half wide,
+bounded upon the north by Cumberland Head, and on the south by Crab
+Island. In this bay, about two miles from the western shore,
+Macdonough's fleet lay anchored in double line, stretching north and
+south. The four large vessels were in the front rank, prepared to meet
+the brunt of the conflict; while the galleys formed a second line in
+the rear. The morning of the day of battle dawned clear, with a brisk
+north-east wind blowing. The British were stirring early, and at
+daybreak weighed anchor and came down the lake. Across the low-lying
+isthmus that connected Cumberland Head with the mainland, the
+Americans could see their adversaries' topmasts as they came down to
+do battle. At this sight, Macdonough called his officers about him,
+and, kneeling upon the quarter-deck, besought Divine aid in the
+conflict so soon to come. When the little group rose from their knees,
+the leading ship of the enemy was seen swinging round Cumberland Head;
+and the men went to their quarters to await the fiery trial that all
+knew was impending.
+
+The position of the American squadron was such that the British were
+forced to attack "bows on," thus exposing themselves to a raking fire.
+By means of springs on their cables, the Americans were enabled to
+keep their broadsides to the enemy, and thus improve, to the fullest,
+the advantage gained by their position. The British came on gallantly,
+and were greeted by four shots from the long eighteens of the "Eagle,"
+that had no effect. But, at the sound of the cannon, a young game-cock
+that was running at large on the "Saratoga" flew upon a gun, flapped
+his wings, and crowed thrice, with so lusty a note that he was heard
+far over the waters. The American seamen, thus roused from the painful
+revery into which the bravest fall before going into action, cheered
+lustily, and went into the fight, encouraged as only sailors could be
+by the favorable omen.
+
+Soon after the defiant game-cock had thus cast down the gage of
+battle, Macdonough sighted and fired the first shot from one of the
+long twenty-four pounders of the "Saratoga." The heavy ball crashed
+into the bow of the "Confiance," and cut its way aft, killing and
+wounding several men, and demolishing the wheel. Nothing daunted, the
+British flagship came on grandly, making no reply, and seeking only to
+cast anchor alongside the "Saratoga," and fight it out yard-arm to
+yard-arm. But the fire of the Americans was such that she could not
+choose her distance; but after having been badly cut up, with both her
+port anchors shot away, was forced to anchor at a distance of a
+quarter of a mile. But her anchor had hardly touched bottom, when she
+suddenly flashed out a sheet of flames, as her rapid broadsides rung
+out and her red-hot shot sped over the water toward the American
+flagship. Her first broadside killed or wounded forty of the
+Americans; while many more were knocked down by the shock, but
+sustained no further injury. So great was the carnage, that the
+hatches were opened, and the dead bodies passed below, that the men
+might have room to work the guns. Among the slain was Mr. Gamble, the
+first lieutenant, who was on his knees sighting a gun, when a shot
+entered the port, split the quoin, drove a great piece of metal
+against his breast, and stretched him dead upon the deck without
+breaking his skin. By a singular coincidence, fifteen minutes later a
+shot from one of the "Saratoga's" guns struck the muzzle of a
+twenty-four on the "Confiance," and, dismounting it, hurled it against
+Capt. Downie's groin, killing him instantly without breaking the skin;
+a black mark about the size of a small plate was the sole visible
+injury.
+
+In the mean time, the smaller vessels had become engaged, and were
+fighting with no less courage than the flag-ships. The "Chubb" had
+early been disabled by a broadside from the "Eagle," and drifted
+helplessly under the guns of the "Saratoga." After receiving a shot
+from that vessel, she struck, and was taken possession of by
+Midshipman Platt, who put off from the flagship in an open boat,
+boarded the prize, and took her into Plattsburg Bay, near the mouth of
+the Saranac. More than half her people were killed or wounded during
+the short time she was in the battle. The "Linnet," in the mean time,
+had engaged the "Eagle," and poured in her broadsides with such effect
+that the springs on the cables of the American were cut away, and she
+could no longer bring her broadsides to bear. Her captain therefore
+cut his cables, and soon gained a position from which he could bring
+his guns to bear upon the "Confiance." The "Linnet" thereupon dashed
+in among the American gunboats, and, driving them off, commenced a
+raking fire upon the "Saratoga." The "Finch," meanwhile, had ranged
+gallantly up alongside the "Ticonderoga," but was sent out of the
+fight by two broadsides from the American. She drifted helplessly
+before the wind, and soon grounded near Crab Island. On the island was
+a hospital, and an abandoned battery mounting one six-pound gun. Some
+of the convalescent patients, seeing the enemy's vessel within range,
+opened fire upon her from the battery, and soon forced her to haul
+down her flag. Nearly half her crew were killed or wounded. Almost at
+the same moment, the United States sloop "Preble" was forced out of
+the fight by the British gunboats, that pressed so fiercely upon her
+that she cut her cables and drifted inshore.
+
+[Illustration: Hiram Paulding fires the Guns.]
+
+The "Ticonderoga" fought a gallant fight throughout. After ridding
+herself of the "Finch," she had a number of the British gunboats to
+contend with; and they pressed forward to the attack with a gallantry
+that showed them to be conscious of the fact, that, if this vessel
+could be carried, the American line would be turned, and the day won
+by the English. But the American schooner fought stubbornly. Her
+gallant commander, Lieut. Cassin, walked up and down the taffrail,
+heedless of the grape and musket-balls that whistled past his head,
+pointing out to the gunners the spot whereon to train the guns, and
+directing them to load with canister and bags of bullets when the
+enemy came too near. The gunners of the schooner were terribly
+hampered in their work by the lack of matches for the guns; for the
+vessel was new, and the absence of these very essential articles was
+unnoticed until too late. The guns of one division were fired
+throughout the fight by Hiram Paulding, a sixteen-year-old
+midshipman, who flashed his pistol at the priming of the guns as soon
+as aim was taken. When no gun was ready for his services, he rammed a
+ball into his weapon and discharged it at the enemy. The onslaught of
+the British was spirited and determined. Often they pressed up within
+a boat-hook's length of the schooner, only to be beaten back by her
+merciless fire. Sometimes so few were left alive in the galleys that
+they could hardly man the oars to pull out of the fight. In this way
+the "Ticonderoga" kept her enemies at bay while the battle was being
+decided between the "Saratoga" and the "Confiance."
+
+For it was upon the issue of the conflict between these two ships,
+that victory or defeat depended. Each had her ally and satellite.
+Under the stern of the "Saratoga" lay the "Linnet," pouring in raking
+broadsides. The "Confiance," in turn, was suffering from the
+well-directed fire of the "Eagle." The roar of the artillery was
+unceasing, and dense clouds of gunpowder-smoke hid the warring ships
+from the eyes of the eager spectators on shore. The "Confiance" was
+unfortunate in losing her gallant captain early in the action, while
+Macdonough was spared to fight his ship to the end. His gallantry and
+activity, however, led him to expose himself fearlessly; and twice he
+narrowly escaped death. He worked like a common sailor, loading and
+firing a favorite twenty-four-pound gun; and once, while on his knees,
+sighting the piece, a shot from the "Confiance" cut in two the
+spanker-boom, a great piece of which fell heavily upon the captain's
+head, stretching him senseless upon the deck. He lay motionless for
+two or three minutes, and his men mourned him as dead; but suddenly
+his activity returned, and he leaped to his feet, and was soon again
+in the thick of the fight. In less than five minutes the cry again
+arose, that the captain was killed. He had been standing at the breach
+of his favorite cannon, when a round shot took off the head of the
+captain of the gun, and dashed it with terrific force into the face of
+Macdonough, who was driven across the deck, and hurled against the
+bulwarks. He lay an instant, covered with the blood of the slain man;
+but, hearing his men cry that he was killed, he rushed among them, to
+cheer them on with his presence.
+
+And, indeed, at this moment the crew of the "Saratoga" needed the
+presence of their captain to cheer them on to further exertion. The
+red-hot shot of the "Confiance" had twice set fire to the American
+ship. The raking fire from the "Linnet" had dismounted carronades and
+long guns one by one, until but a single serviceable gun was left in
+the starboard battery. A too heavy charge dismounted this piece, and
+threw it down the hatchway, leaving the frigate without a single gun
+bearing upon the enemy. In such a plight the hearts of the crew might
+well fail them. But Macdonough was ready for the emergency. He still
+had his port broadside untouched, and he at once set to work to swing
+the ship round so that this battery could be brought to bear. An
+anchor was let fall astern, and the whole ship's company hauled in on
+the hawser, swinging the ship slowly around. It was a dangerous
+manoeuvre; for, as the ship veered round, her stern was presented to
+the "Linnet," affording an opportunity for raking, which the gunners
+on that plucky little vessel immediately improved. But patience and
+hard pulling carried the day; and gradually the heavy frigate was
+turned sufficiently for the after gun to bear, and a gun's crew was at
+once called from the hawsers to open fire. One by one the guns swung
+into position, and soon the whole broadside opened with a roar.
+
+Meanwhile the "Confiance" had attempted the same manoeuvre. But her
+anchors were badly placed; and, though her people worked gallantly,
+they failed to get the ship round. She bore for some time the
+effective fire from the "Saratoga's" fresh broadside, but, finding
+that she could in no way return the fire, struck her flag, two hours
+and a quarter after the battle commenced. Beyond giving a hasty cheer,
+the people of the "Saratoga" paid little attention to the surrender of
+their chief enemy, but instantly turned their guns upon the "Linnet."
+In this combat the "Eagle" could take no part, and the thunder of her
+guns died away. Farther down the bay, the "Ticonderoga" had just
+driven away the last of the British galleys; so that the "Linnet" now
+alone upheld the cause of the enemy. She was terribly outmatched by
+her heavier foe, but her gallant captain Pring kept up a desperate
+defence. Her masts and rigging were hopelessly shattered; and no
+course was open to her, save to surrender, or fight a hopeless fight.
+Capt. Pring sent off a lieutenant, in an open boat, to ascertain the
+condition of the "Confiance." The officer returned with the report
+that Capt. Downie was killed, and the frigate terribly cut up; and as
+by this time the water, pouring in the shot-holes in the "Linnet's"
+hull, had risen a foot above the lower deck, her flag was hauled
+down, and the battle ended in a decisive triumph for the Americans.
+
+Terrible was the carnage, and many and strange the incidents, of this
+most stubbornly contested naval battle. All of the prizes were in a
+sinking condition. In the hull of the "Confiance" were a hundred and
+five shot-holes, while the "Saratoga" was pierced by fifty-five. Not a
+mast that would bear canvas was left standing in the British fleet;
+those of the flagship were splintered like bundles of matches, and the
+sails torn to rags. On most of the enemy's vessels, more than half of
+the crews were killed or wounded. The loss on the British side
+probably aggregated three hundred. Midshipman William Lee of the
+"Confiance" wrote home after the battle, "The havoc on both sides was
+dreadful. I don't think there are more than five of our men, out of
+three hundred, but what are killed or wounded. Never was a shower of
+hail so thick as the shot whistling about our ears. Were you to see my
+jacket, waistcoat, and trousers, you would be astonished to know how I
+escaped as I did; for they are literally torn all to rags with shot
+and splinters. The upper part of my hat was also shot away. There is
+one of the marines who was in the Trafalgar action with Lord Nelson,
+who says it was a mere flea-bite in comparison with this."
+
+The Americans, though victorious, had suffered greatly. Their loss
+amounted to about two hundred men. The "Saratoga" had been cut up
+beyond the possibility of repair. Her decks were covered with dead and
+dying. The shot of the enemy wrought terrible havoc in the ranks of
+the American officers. Lieut. Stansbury of the "Ticonderoga" suddenly
+disappeared in the midst of the action; nor could any trace of him be
+found, until, two days later, his body, cut nearly in two by a round
+shot, rose from the waters of the lake. Lieut. Vallette of the
+"Saratoga" was knocked down by the head of a sailor, sent flying by a
+cannon-ball. Some minutes later he was standing on a shot-box giving
+orders, when a shot took the box from beneath his feet, throwing him
+heavily upon the deck. Mr. Brum, the master, a veteran man-o'-war's
+man, was struck by a huge splinter, which knocked him down, and
+actually stripped every rag of clothing from his body. He was thought
+to be dead, but soon re-appeared at his post, with a strip of canvas
+about his waist, and fought bravely until the end of the action. Some
+days before the battle, a gentleman of Oswego gave one of the sailors
+a glazed tarpaulin hat, of the kind then worn by seamen. A week later
+the sailor re-appeared, and, handing him the hat with a semi-circular
+cut in the crown and brim, made while it was on his head by a
+cannon-shot, remarked calmly, "Look here, Mr. Sloane, how the damned
+John Bulls have spoiled my hat!"
+
+The last British flag having been hauled down, an officer was sent to
+take possession of the "Confiance." In walking along her gun-deck, he
+accidentally ran against a ratline, by which one of her starboard guns
+was discharged. At this sound, the British galleys and gunboats, which
+had been lying quietly with their ensigns down, got out oars and moved
+off up the lake. The Americans had no vessels fit for pursuing them,
+and they were allowed to escape. In the afternoon the British officers
+came to the American flagship to complete the surrender. Macdonough
+met them courteously; and, on their offering their swords, put them
+back, saying, "Gentlemen, your gallant conduct makes you worthy to
+wear your weapons. Return them to their scabbards." By sundown the
+surrender was complete, and Macdonough sent off to the Secretary of
+the Navy a despatch, saying, "_Sir,_--The Almighty has been pleased to
+grant us a signal victory on Lake Champlain, in the capture of one
+frigate, one brig, and two sloops-of-war of the enemy."
+
+Some days later, the captured ships, being beyond repair, were taken
+to the head of the lake, and scuttled. Some of the guns were found to
+be still loaded; and, in drawing the charges, one gun was found with a
+canvas bag containing two round shot rammed home, and wadded, without
+any powder; another gun contained two cartridges and no shot; and a
+third had a wad rammed down before the powder, thus effectually
+preventing the discharge of the piece. The American gunners were not
+altogether guiltless of carelessness of this sort. Their chief error
+lay in ramming down so many shot upon the powder that the force of the
+explosion barely carried the missiles to the enemy. In proof of this,
+the side of the "Confiance" was thickly dotted with round shot, which
+had struck into, but failed to penetrate, the wood.
+
+The result of this victory was immediate and gratifying. The land
+forces of the British, thus deprived of their naval auxiliaries,
+turned about, and retreated to Canada, abandoning forever their
+projected invasion. New York was thus saved by Macdonough's skill and
+bravery. Yet the fame he won by his victory was not nearly
+proportionate to the naval ability he showed, and the service he had
+rendered to his country. Before the popular adulation of Perry,
+Macdonough sinks into second place. One historian only gives him the
+pre-eminence that is undoubtedly his due. Says Mr. Theodore Roosevelt,
+in his admirable history, "The Naval War of 1812," "But Macdonough in
+this battle won a higher fame than any other commander of the war,
+British or American. He had a decidedly superior force to contend
+against, and it was solely owing to his foresight and resource that we
+won the victory. He forced the British to engage at a disadvantage by
+his excellent choice of position, and he prepared beforehand for every
+possible contingency. His personal prowess had already been shown at
+the cost of the rovers of Tripoli, and in this action he helped fight
+the guns as ably as the best sailor. His skill, seamanship, quick eye,
+readiness of resource, and indomitable pluck are beyond all praise.
+Down to the time of the civil war, he is the greatest figure in our
+naval history. A thoroughly religious man, he was as generous and
+humane as he was skilful and brave. One of the greatest of our sea
+captains, he has left a stainless name behind him."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+     ON THE OCEAN. -- THE WORK OF THE SLOOPS-OF-WAR. -- LOSS OF THE
+     "FROLIC." -- FRUITLESS CRUISE OF THE "ADAMS." -- THE "PEACOCK"
+     TAKES THE "EPERVIER." -- THE CRUISE OF THE "WASP." -- SHE
+     CAPTURES THE "REINDEER." -- SINKS THE "AVON." -- MYSTERIOUS END
+     OF THE "WASP."
+
+
+The opening of the year 1814 found the American coast still rigidly
+blockaded by the British men-of-war. Two or three of the enemy lay off
+the mouth of every considerable harbor, and were not to be driven from
+their post by the icy winds and storms of midwinter on the American
+coast. It was almost impossible for any American vessel to escape to
+sea, and a matter of almost equal difficulty for such vessels as were
+out to get into a home port. The frigate "President" had put to sea
+early in December, 1813, and after a cruise of eight weeks, during
+which the traditional ill-luck of the ship pursued her remorselessly,
+managed to dash into New York Harbor past the blockading squadron. At
+Boston the blockade was broken by the "Constitution." She left port on
+the 1st of January, ran off to the southward, and cruised for some
+weeks in the West Indies. Here she captured the British man-of-war
+schooner "Pictou," fourteen guns, and several merchant-vessels. She
+also fell in with the British thirty-six-gun frigate "Pique," which
+fled, and escaped pursuit by cutting through a narrow channel during a
+dark and squally night. The "Constitution" then returned to the coast
+of the United States, and narrowly escaped falling into the clutches
+of two British frigates. She managed to gain the shelter of Marblehead
+Harbor, and there remained until the latter part of the year.
+
+But, while the larger vessels were thus accomplishing little or
+nothing, two or three small sloops-of-war, of a class newly built,
+slipped through the enemy's lines, and, gaining the open sea, fought
+one or two notable actions. Of these, the first vessel to get to sea
+was the new sloop-of-war "Frolic;" but her career was short and
+inglorious, for she had been at sea but a few weeks when she fell in
+with the enemy's frigate "Orpheus" and the schooner "Shelburne." A
+chase ensued, in which the American vessel threw overboard her guns
+and anchors, and started the water; but to no avail, for she was
+overhauled, and forced to surrender. Her service afloat was limited to
+the destruction of a Carthagenian privateer, which sunk before her
+guns, carrying down nearly a hundred men.
+
+The "Adams," a vessel that had suffered many vicissitudes,--having
+been built for a frigate, then cut down to a sloop-of-war, and finally
+been sawed asunder and converted into a corvette,--put to sea on the
+18th of January, under the command of Capt. Charles Morris, formerly
+of the "Constitution." She laid her course straight to the eastward,
+and for some time cruised off the western coast of Africa and the
+Canary Isles. She met with but little success in this region,
+capturing only three brigs,--the cargo of one of which consisted of
+wine and fruit; and the second, of palm-oil and ivory. Abandoning the
+African coast, the corvette turned westward along the equator, and
+made for the West Indies. A large Indiaman fell in her way, and was
+brought to; but, before the Americans could take possession of their
+prize, a British fleet of twenty-five sail, with two men-of-war, hove
+in sight, and the "Adams" was forced to seek safety in flight. She put
+into Savannah for provisions and water, but, hearing that the enemy
+was in force near by, worked out to sea, and made sail for another
+cruise. Capt. Morris took up a position on the limits of the Gulf
+Stream, near the Florida coast, in the expectation of cutting out an
+Indiaman from some passing convoy. The expected fleet soon came, but
+was under the protection of a seventy-four, two frigates, and three
+brigs,--a force sufficient to keep at bay the most audacious of
+corvettes. Morris hung about the convoy for two days, but saw no
+chance of eluding the watchful guards. He then crossed the Atlantic to
+the coast of Ireland. Here the "Adams" narrowly escaped capture; for
+she was sighted by a frigate, which gave chase, and would have
+overhauled her, had not the Americans thrown overboard some small
+cannon, and cut away their anchors. Thus lightened, the corvette sped
+away, and soon left her pursuers behind.
+
+Continued ill-fortune now reduced the spirits of the sailors of the
+"Adams" to very low ebb. They were forced to struggle unceasingly
+against the fierce gales which in winter sweep the Atlantic. Their
+stock of food and water was giving out; and, to add to their distress,
+scurvy, the sailors' worst enemy, began to show itself in the ship.
+They had boldly run into the very waters in which the "Argus" had won
+so rich a reward, yet not a sail gladdened the eyes of the lookout on
+the "Adams." It was then with great disappointment that the jackies
+saw the prow of the corvette turned homeward, after a cruise that
+would bring them neither honor nor prize-money. The passage homeward
+was quickly made, and on the 16th of August the vessel was in
+soundings off the coast of Maine. Night fell, with a dense fog
+concealing all landmarks from view. Through the darkness the corvette
+sped on at a pace of eleven miles an hour, until, just as day was
+breaking, the cry of "Breakers ahead!" was followed by a heavy blow,
+indicating that the ship had struck. The force of the blow had not
+been sufficient to stave in the bottom,--a fortunate fact, for the
+hold was full of prisoners. Nevertheless, she was hard and fast
+aground, on a ledge of rock that lifted her bow six feet above her
+stern. Morris, who had rushed upon deck at the first alarm, was unable
+to make out the ship's position, and feared that they were on Cashes
+Ledge, a reef so far from the land that it would have been impossible
+to save in the boats more than half the crew. He had determined,
+however, to instantly lower the boats and send them off in search of
+land, when a gust of wind, blowing away the fog, showed a beetling
+cliff not a hundred yards away. Rugged and inhospitable as was the
+coast thus exposed, it was better than an expanse of ocean; and at
+once Morris set to work landing his prisoners, and the sick, of whom
+the "Adams" had nearly sixty. With spare sails, tents were put up on
+the beach; and, stores having been landed, the comfort of all was
+assured, in case the ship should go to pieces. What the desolate shore
+was to which they were thus forced to turn for shelter, no one knew.
+
+All hands now turned to at the capstan, in the hopes of getting the
+vessel off; and about noon, the tide having reached its flood, she
+gradually slid off the ledge into deep water. After trying the pumps,
+to see if any serious leak had been started, the difficult task of
+taking the ship out of the labyrinth of reefs in which she lay was
+begun. For more than two miles their course lay through a narrow and
+tortuous channel, bordered on either side with jagged reefs; but the
+corvette safely threaded her way between the rocks, and soon lay
+floating in deep water. The next morning the fog blew away; and the
+voyagers discovered to their astonishment that they were off Mount
+Desert, instead of near Portsmouth as they had expected.
+
+To return into the cluster of reefs after the little colony of
+invalids and prisoners that had been left behind, would have been mere
+folly: so sending two fishing-boats to search out the shore party, and
+carry them to the nearest village, the "Adams" continued her course,
+intending to put into the Penobscot River. While making for this
+point, a sail was sighted, which proved to be the British brig-sloop
+"Rifleman." The corvette gave chase, but the Englishman kept well in
+the offing; and, as the condition of the American crew was such that
+to lead them into action would have been imprudent, Morris abandoned
+the pursuit, and, putting into the Penobscot, dropped anchor off
+Hampden. Here, for the present, we will leave the "Adams."
+
+The "Peacock"--a second of the new sloops-of-war, bearing the name of
+a captured British vessel--put out from New York in March, and made
+her way to the southward, selecting as her cruising station the waters
+off the coast of Florida. For some time it seemed that the exertions
+of the sailors were to be of no avail. Not a sail was to be seen, and
+the chances for prize-money seemed to be small indeed. But on the 29th
+of March three merchant-vessels were made out in the offing; while a
+heavy-built, square-rigged, trim-looking craft that hovered about them
+was evidently a man-of-war. The strangers seemed to have sighted the
+American vessel; for the merchantmen were seen to hastily haul up and
+run off to the north-east, while the man-of-war edged away for the
+American ship.
+
+The stranger was His British Majesty's brig sloop-of-war "Epervier,"
+of eighteen guns, and carrying a crew of one hundred and twenty-eight
+men. The "Peacock" was a ship-sloop of twenty-two guns, with a crew of
+one hundred and sixty-six men. The advantage, therefore, lay with the
+Americans; but, in the battle that ensued, the damage they inflicted
+upon the enemy was out of any proportion to their excess of strength.
+
+The two ships bore down gallantly upon each other, and at a little
+after ten in the morning passed, exchanging heavy broadsides. The shot
+of each took effect in the rigging; but the "Peacock" suffered the
+more, having her foreyard totally disabled,--an injury that compelled
+her to run large during the rest of the action, and forego all
+attempts at manoeuvring. The two vessels having passed each other, the
+"Epervier" eased off, and returned to the fight, running on a parallel
+course with the American ship. The interchange of broadsides then
+became very rapid; but the British marksmanship was poor, and few of
+their shot took effect. The "Epervier," on the contrary, suffered
+severely from the American fire, which took effect in her hull,
+dismounting several guns, and so injuring the brig that a British
+naval officer, writing of the action some years later, said, "The most
+disgraceful part of the affair was that our ship was cut to pieces,
+and the enemy hardly scratched."
+
+The injury aloft which both vessels sustained caused the battle to
+take on the character of an action at long range. Under such
+conditions, the victory was assured to the side showing the best
+gunnery. For a moment only did it seem that the vessels were likely to
+come to close quarters, and the English captain seized that occasion
+to call up his boarders. But they refused, saying, "She's too heavy
+for us." And a few minutes later the Englishman hauled down his flag,
+having lost nine killed or mortally wounded, and fourteen wounded. The
+Americans had suffered but little; only two men being injured, and
+these but slightly. The shot of the enemy had passed through the
+rigging of the "Peacock," while the "Epervier" had been hulled
+forty-five times.
+
+The "Epervier" proved to be a valuable prize. In her hold specie to
+the amount of one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars was found;
+and, when the brig was sold to the United States Government, she
+brought fifty-five thousand dollars: so that the prize-money won by
+that action kept the sailors in good-humor for many months to come.
+But, before the prize could be safely carried into an American port,
+she had a gantlet to run, in which she narrowly escaped capture. After
+the wreck of battle had been cleared away, the brig and her captor
+made for Savannah, but were sighted and chased by two British
+frigates. The "Peacock," in the hope of drawing away the pursuers,
+left her prize, and headed out to sea. One frigate only followed her,
+and the other pressed on hotly after the "Epervier," which, to avoid
+capture, was forced to run into shallow water, whither the heavy
+frigate could not follow her. But she was not to escape so easily; for
+the boats of the frigate were lowered, filled with armed men, and set
+out in pursuit of the brig, which moved but slowly before the light
+breeze then blowing. The boats soon overhauled the fugitive, and
+escape seemed hopeless; for the "Epervier" was manned by a prize-crew
+of only sixteen men. But Lieut. Nicholson, who was in command,
+determined to try the effect of bluster. Accordingly he leaped upon
+the taffrail, with a speaking-trumpet in his hand, and shouted out
+orders as if calling a huge crew to quarters. The British, who were
+within easy range, stopped their advance, and, fearing a destructive
+broadside from the brig's guns, turned and fled precipitately. The
+"Epervier" continued her course, and reached Savannah in safety on the
+1st of May. The "Peacock" reached the same port four days later.
+
+At the moment when the captured "Epervier," flying the stars and
+stripes, was proudly making her way up the harbor of Savannah amid the
+plaudits of the people of the little city, there sailed from
+Portsmouth, N.H., a vessel that was destined to fight a good fight for
+the honor of that starry banner; and, after winning a glorious
+victory, to disappear forever from the face of the ocean, carrying to
+some unknown grave a crew of as brave hearts as ever beat under
+uniforms of navy blue.
+
+This was the new sloop of war "Wasp," named after the gallant little
+craft that had been taken by the British after her capture of the
+"Frolic." She was a stanch three-master, carrying eleven guns to a
+broadside. Her crew was purely American, not a foreigner among them;
+but all trained seamen from the seaboard villages and towns of New
+England,--the homes at that time of probably the hardiest seafaring
+population in the world. Capt. Blakely, who commanded the vessel, had
+been attached to the "Enterprise" for some time, but had been ordered
+to the command of the "Wasp" a few days before the former vessel
+fought her successful battle with the "Boxer." Blakely, while in
+command of the "Enterprise," had greatly desired to meet an enemy
+worthy of his metal. Great, then, was his chagrin, when the
+"Enterprise," two weeks after he quitted her, fought her gallant
+battle. In a letter written in January, 1814, he says, "I shall ever
+view as one of the most unfortunate events of my life having quitted
+the 'Enterprise' at the moment I did. Had I remained in her a
+fortnight longer, my name might have been classed with those who stand
+so high. I cannot but consider it a mortifying circumstance that I
+left her but a few days before she fell in with the only enemy upon
+this station with which she could have creditably contended. I confess
+I felt heartily glad when I received my order to take command of the
+'Wasp,' conceiving that there was no hope of doing any thing in the
+'Enterprise.' But when I heard of the contest of the latter ship, and
+witnessed the great delay in the equipment of the former, I had no
+cause to congratulate myself. The 'Peacock' has ere this spread her
+plumage to the winds, and the 'Frolic' will soon take her revels on
+the ocean; but the 'Wasp' will, I fear, remain for some time a dull,
+harmless drone in the waters of her country."
+
+Notwithstanding his impatience, Blakely was forced to endure the
+restraints of Portsmouth navy-yard for nearly three months, while the
+"Wasp" was fitting out; but when she did finally get to sea, on May 1,
+1814, she proved herself to be far from a "dull, harmless drone."
+Slipping unobserved through the British blockading line, the "Wasp"
+made straight for the European coast before a fresh wind, and was soon
+cruising in the chops of the English channel, where the "Argus" had
+won her laurels and met with her defeat. Many English merchantmen were
+captured and burned, and the terror that spread in English shipping
+circles recalled the days of the "Argus."
+
+At daylight on the 28th of June, the "Wasp" sighted two merchantmen,
+and straightway gave chase. Soon a third vessel was discovered on the
+weather-beam; and, abandoning the vessels first sighted, the American
+bore down upon the stranger. She proved to be the "Reindeer," a
+British brig-sloop of eighteen guns, carrying a crew of one hundred
+and eighteen men. Although the British vessel was by no means a match
+in weight of metal for the "Wasp," her captain, William Manners,
+brought her into action with a cool gallantry which well justified his
+reputation as one of the bravest men in the British navy.
+
+[Illustration: Boarding the "Reindeer."]
+
+At ten o'clock in the morning the ships were near enough to each other
+to exchange signals, but several hours were spent in manoeuvring for
+the weather-gage; so that it was not until after three in the
+afternoon that the action fairly opened. The day was admirably
+suitable for a naval battle. Light clouds floated across the sky, and
+the gentle breeze that was blowing had sufficient strength to propel
+the ships without careening them. The surface of the ocean was
+unusually calm for that quarter, in which a rather choppy sea is
+usually running. Before the light breeze the "Wasp" came down upon her
+foe, bows on, with her decks cleared for action, and the men at their
+quarters. On the top-gallant forecastle of the "Reindeer" was mounted
+a twelve-pound carronade, and the action was opened by the discharge
+of this piece. In the position she then held, the "Wasp" was unable to
+reply; and her crew had to bear five effective shots from this gun
+without being able to fire a shot in return,--an ordeal that less
+well-disciplined crews might not have endured. For nine minutes the
+Americans returned not a shot; but then the "Wasp" luffed up, firing
+the guns from aft forward as they bore. The two ships were now lying
+broadside to broadside, not twenty yards apart, and every shot told.
+For ten minutes this position was held, and the two crews worked like
+Furies in loading and firing the great guns. The roar of the cannon
+was incessant, and the recoil of the heavy explosions deadened what
+little way the ships had on when fire was opened. Capt. Manners was
+too old an officer not to know, that, in an artillery duel of that
+kind, the victory would surely rest with the side that carried the
+heaviest guns: so he ran his vessel aboard the "Wasp" on the starboard
+quarter, intending to board and carry the day with the stubborn,
+dashing gallantry shown by British seamen when once led to an enemy's
+deck. At the ringing notes of the bugle, calling up the boarders, the
+British gathered aft, their faces begrimed with gunpowder, their arms
+bare, and their keen cutlasses firmly clutched in their strong right
+hands. The Americans took the alarm at once, and crowded forward to
+repel the enemy. The marines, whose hard duty it is in long-range
+fighting to stand with military impassiveness, drawn up in line on
+deck, while the shot whistle by them, and now and then cut great gaps
+in their straight lines,--the marines came aft, with their muskets
+loaded and bayonets fixed. Before them were sailors with sharp-pointed
+boarding-pikes, ready to receive the enemy should he come aboard;
+while close under the bulwarks were grouped the boarders, ready with
+cutlass and pistol to beat back the flood of men that should come
+pouring over the side. The grating of the ships' sides told that the
+vessels were touching; and the next instant the burly British seamen,
+looming up like giants, as they dashed through the dense murkiness of
+the powder-smoke, were among the Americans, cutting and firing right
+and left. From the deck of the "Reindeer" the marines kept up a
+constant fire of musketry, to which the sea-soldiers of the "Wasp"
+responded vigorously. Marksmen posted in the tops of each vessel
+picked off men from their enemy's decks, choosing generally the
+officers.
+
+[Illustration: The Captain of the "Reindeer."]
+
+Sharp and bloody though the British attack was, the boarders could
+make no way against the stubborn stand of the Americans. Capt.
+Manners, seeing his men beaten back, sprang forward to rally them. He
+was desperately wounded. A gun-shot had passed through his thighs, and
+a grape-shot had cut across the calves of his legs; but, maimed and
+bleeding to death as he was, he leaped into the rigging, and, cheering
+and waving his sword, called to his men to follow him to the decks of
+the Yankee. The Britons rallied nobly under the encouragement of their
+brave captain, and again advanced to the assault. But the figure of
+the daring officer, as he stood thus before his men, waving his sword
+and calling on them to come on, caught the eye of one of the men in
+the "Wasp's" maintop; and the next instant a ball crashed into the
+captain's brain, and he fell heavily to the deck, with his dying eyes
+turned upwards toward the flag in whose service he had given his life.
+
+Seeing the British captain fall and the men waver, Capt. Blakely with
+a cheer called up the boarders of the "Wasp;" and in an instant a
+stream of shouting sailors, cutlass in hand, was pouring over the
+hammock-nettings, and driving the foe backward on his own decks. The
+British still fought stubbornly; but their numbers were terribly
+thinned, and their officers had fallen one by one, until now the
+captain's clerk was the highest officer left. Seeing his men falling
+back before the resistless torrent of boarders, this gentleman finally
+struck the flag; and the battle ended, twenty-seven minutes after the
+"Reindeer" had fired the opening gun, and eighteen after the "Wasp"
+had responded.
+
+[Illustration: The End of the "Reindeer."]
+
+The execution and damage done on the "Reindeer" by the "Wasp's" shot
+were appalling. Of her crew of one hundred and eighteen men,
+thirty-three were killed or fatally wounded, and thirty-four were
+wounded. The havoc wrought among her officers has already been
+mentioned. Evidence of the accuracy and skill of the American gunners
+was to be seen in the fact that the brig was completely cut to pieces
+in the line of her ports. Her decks were swept clean of boats, spars,
+and rigging. Her masts were badly shattered, and her foremast soon
+went by the board. The "Wasp" had suffered severely, but was in much
+better condition than her captured adversary. Eleven of her crew were
+killed or mortally wounded, and fifteen were wounded severely or
+slightly. She had been hulled by six round and many grape shot, and
+her foremast had been cut by a twenty-four-pound shot. A few hours'
+work cleared from her decks all trace of the bloody fight, and she was
+in condition for another action. But it would have been folly to try
+to get the crippled "Reindeer" to port from that region, swarming with
+British cruisers: so Capt. Blakely took the prisoners on the "Wasp,"
+put a few of the wounded on a neutral vessel that happened to pass,
+and, burning the prize, made his way to the harbor of L'Orient. He had
+fought a brave fight, and come out victor after a desperate contest.
+But, though defeated, the plucky British might well boast of the
+gallant manner in which they engaged an enemy so much their superior
+in strength. History nowhere records a more gallant death than that of
+the British captain, who fell leading his men in a dashing but vain
+attempt to retrieve the day by boarding. In its manoeuvring, in the
+courage and discipline of the crews, and in the gallantry of the two
+captains, the action of the "Wasp" and the "Reindeer" may well go down
+to history as a model naval duel of the age of sails.
+
+The "Wasp" remained in port for several weeks, occupying the time in
+refitting, and filling the gaps in her crew by enlistment from the
+American privateers which then were to be seen occasionally in every
+port of the world. She then put out to sea, and soon fell in with a
+convoy of ten British merchantmen, under the protection of the
+seventy-four "Armada." Though he had no intention of giving battle to
+the line-of-battle ship, Blakely determined to capture one of the
+merchantmen; and to this end the "Wasp" hung upon the skirts of the
+convoy, making rapid dashes now at one vessel, then at another, and
+keeping the seventy-four in constant anxiety. Finally the swift little
+cruiser actually succeeded in capturing one of the vessels, and
+escaping before the heavy seventy-four could get to the scene of the
+conflict. The prize proved to be a valuable one, for she was laden
+with iron and brass cannon and military stores.
+
+Towards nightfall of the same day, Sept. 1, 1814, four more sail were
+sighted; and the "Wasp" at once made off in chase of the most
+weatherly. At eight o'clock the "Wasp" had gained so rapidly upon the
+chase, that the latter began firing with her stern chaser, and soon
+after opened with one of her lee guns. All the time the enemy kept up
+a vigorous signalling with rockets, lanterns, and guns. By half-past
+nine the "Wasp" was within hailing-distance, and an officer posted on
+the bow hailed the stranger several times; but as she returned no
+satisfactory answer, and refused to heave to, the "Wasp" opened upon
+her with a twelve-pound carronade, and soon after poured a broadside
+into her quarter. The two ships ploughed through the black water,
+under full sail, side by side. The Americans had no idea of the
+identity of their assailant, but, by the flashes of the guns, could
+see that she was a heavy brig. Her ports gleamed brightly with
+battle-lanterns; and the crowds of sailors in the tops, and the
+regularity of her fire, showed that she was a man-of-war with a
+well-disciplined crew, and no mere marauding privateer. For a time
+this running fight continued at such short range that the only
+American injured was struck by a wad from the enemy's cannon. The
+British gunners were poor marksmen, and the "Wasp" suffered but
+little; but it was evident that the American fire was taking effect,
+for gun after gun on the enemy was silenced. At ten o'clock the
+Americans, receiving no response to their carronade, stopped firing;
+and Capt. Blakely, seizing a speaking-trumpet, shouted across the
+water, "Have you struck?" No answer came, and the enemy began a feeble
+fire. The "Wasp" let fly another broadside, and Blakely repeated the
+question. This time an affirmative response came through the darkness;
+and the "Wasp" stopped firing, and made preparations to take
+possession of her prize. Just as the boat was being lowered from the
+davits, the lookout's cry of "Sail, ho!" checked the proceedings.
+Through the black night a cloud of canvas could be seen far astern,
+denoting the presence of another ship, probably an enemy. The drums of
+the "Wasp" beat fiercely; and the men trooped back to their quarters,
+ready for a second battle. But in the mean time two more sail hove in
+sight, and there remained to the "Wasp" nothing but flight. She
+accordingly made off into the darkness, receiving one broadside from
+one of the newly arrived men-of-war as she departed. So suddenly was
+she forced to fly, that she was unable to learn the name and condition
+of the vessel she had forced to surrender.
+
+It became known in the United States later that the "Wasp's" adversary
+in the battle in the darkness was the British sloop-of-war "Avon," of
+eighteen guns. She was badly cut up by the fire of the American
+gunners, losing her mainmast early in the action. At the time she
+surrendered, she was in a sinking condition; and, had it not been for
+the timely arrival of the brig-sloop "Castilian" and the "Tartarus,"
+both British, the crew of the "Avon" would have been prisoners on the
+"Wasp," or carried to the bottom in the shattered hulk of their own
+ship. The loss on the "Avon" was ten killed and thirty-two wounded,
+while on the "Wasp" but three men were injured.
+
+Of all this the gallant Capt. Blakely was ignorant; and, indeed, it is
+probable that he never knew with whom he had fought his last battle.
+For the subsequent history of the "Wasp" is more tragic in its
+unfathomable mystery than is the fate of the bravest ship ever sent to
+the bottom by the broadsides of an enemy. What was the end of the
+"Wasp," and where her bones now lie, no one knows. For some little
+time after her battle with the "Avon," her movements can be traced.
+Sept. 12, she captured the British brig "Three Brothers," and scuttled
+her; two days later, the brig "Bacchus" met the same fate at her
+hands. Sept. 21, she took the brig "Atlanta," eight guns; and, this
+being a valuable prize, Midshipman Geisinger of the "Wasp" was put on
+board, and took her safely to Savannah. He brought the last news that
+was heard of the ill-fated cruiser for many years. Months passed, and
+lengthened into years; and still the "Wasp" came not into port, nor
+could any trace of her whereabouts be found. As time passed on, the
+attempts to account for her delay changed into theories as to the
+cause of her total disappearance. All sorts of rumors were afloat.
+According to one account, the ship was wrecked on the African coast,
+and her gallant lads were ending their weary lives as slaves to the
+turbaned Moors of Barbary. Another theory was based on the rumor that
+an English frigate went into Cadiz much crippled, and with her crew
+severely injured, and reported that she had been engaged with a heavy
+American corvette, which had so suddenly disappeared that she was
+thought to have sunk with all on board. But, as time passed on, the
+end of the "Wasp" was forgotten by all save a few whose hearts ached
+for some of the gallant lads thus blotted from the face of the earth.
+
+Years after, the fate of the daring cruiser was again brought into
+remembrance by fresh news curiously found. When the officers and crew
+of the "Essex," after that vessel's gallant battle with the "Phoebe"
+and "Cherub," were sent to the United States under parole, two
+officers remained at Valparaiso, to give testimony before the
+prize-court. These gentlemen were Lieut. McKnight, and Mr. Lyman a
+master's mate. After going to Brazil in the "Phoebe," the two officers
+took passage in a Swedish brig bound for England. Months passed; and,
+nothing being heard from them, their friends became alarmed for their
+safety. In that time, before the day of the telegraph and steam
+transportation, many things might have easily detained the two
+officers for a year or more, and nothing be heard of them. But, when
+two years had passed, inquiries began to be made as to their fate,
+both by their friends and the naval authorities. The first step was to
+find the vessel upon which they had left Brazil. This was a work of
+time; so that it was many years after the disappearance of the
+officers when the brig was found lying at a London dock. She was the
+brig "Adonis," and the master proved to be the same who had commanded
+her when the two officers had taken passage. He readily recalled the
+circumstance, but claimed that the two passengers had left him in
+mid-ocean to go aboard an American man-of-war; and in proof of this he
+brought out the log-book, and, turning back to the year 1814, pointed
+out the following entries:--
+
+[Illustration: The End of the "Wasp."]
+
+     "AUG. 23.--Left Rio de Janeiro; Stephen Decatur McKnight and
+     James Lyman, passengers for England.
+
+     "OCT. 9.--At eight o'clock in the morning discovered a strange
+     sail giving chase to us, and fired several guns; she gaining very
+     fast. At half-past ten o'clock hove to, and was boarded by an
+     officer dressed in an English doctor's uniform; the vessel also
+     hoisted an English ensign. The officer proceeded to examine my
+     ship's papers, etc., likewise the letter-bags, and took from one
+     of them a letter to the victualling office, London. Finding I had
+     two American officers as passengers, he immediately left the
+     ship, and went on board the sloop-of-war. He shortly after
+     returned, took the American gentlemen with him, and went a second
+     time on board the ship. In about half an hour he returned, with
+     Messrs. McKnight and Lyman; and they informed me that the vessel
+     was the United States sloop-of-war 'Wasp,' commanded by Capt.
+     Blakely, or Blake, last from France, where she had refitted; had
+     lately sunk the 'Reindeer,' English sloop-of-war, and another
+     vessel, which sunk without their being able to save a single
+     person, or learn the vessel's name; that Messrs. McKnight and
+     Lyman had now determined to leave me and go on board the 'Wasp;'
+     paid me their passage in dollars, at 5_s._ 9_d._; and, having
+     taken their luggage on board, the 'Wasp' made sail to the
+     southward. Shortly after they had left, I discovered that Lieut.
+     McKnight had left his writing-desk behind; and I immediately made
+     signal for the 'Wasp' to return, and stood towards her. They,
+     observing my signal, stood back, came alongside, and sent their
+     boat on board for the writing-desk; after which they sent me a
+     log-line and some other presents, and made all sail in a
+     direction for the line, and, I have reason to suppose, for the
+     convoy that passed on Thursday previous."
+
+And so the "Wasp," with her ill-fated crew thus re-enforced, passed
+forever from the sight of man. What was her course after leaving the
+"Adonis," none may ever know. Whether some chance spark, touching the
+deadly stores of her magazine, sent vessel and crew to a sudden but
+merciful death; or whether, after gallantly battling with some fierce
+tropical hurricane, she drifted about the trackless ocean a helpless
+hulk, with a slowly dying crew, carried hither and yon before the
+winds and the currents, until her timbers, rotting asunder, gave a
+watery sepulchre to her crew of lifeless bodies, must remain a mystery
+until the day when the sea shall give up its dead. But, until that day
+comes, the gallant deeds done by vessel and crew for the flag under
+which they served should keep the names of the "Wasp" and her men ever
+memorable in the annals of the great nation whose infancy they so
+gallantly protected.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+     OPERATIONS ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. -- THE BOMBARDMENT OF
+     STONINGTON. -- DESTRUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES CORVETTE "ADAMS."
+     -- OPERATIONS ON CHESAPEAKE BAY. -- WORK OF BARNEY'S BARGE
+     FLOTILLA. -- ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH UPON WASHINGTON. --
+     DESTRUCTION OF THE CAPITOL. -- OPERATIONS AGAINST BALTIMORE. --
+     BOMBARDMENT OF FORT McHENRY.
+
+
+The remaining work of the British blockading squadrons along the
+Atlantic Coast demands some attention, and some account must be given
+of certain land actions which were inseparably connected with the
+course of naval events. This narrative can well be divided into two
+parts, each dealing with the operations of one section of the
+blockading fleet; thus tracing the course of events up to the close of
+the war on the New England coast, before taking up the proceedings on
+the Chesapeake station.
+
+It will be remembered that Decatur had been checked in his attempt to
+break the blockade at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, and was
+forced to take the frigates "United States" and "Macedonian," and the
+sloop-of-war "Hornet," into New London Harbor. Early in December,
+1813, he determined to try to slip out; and choosing a dark night,
+when wind and tide were in his favor, he dropped down the bay, and was
+about to put to sea, when bright blue lights blazed up on either side
+of the harbor's mouth, and the plan was exposed by the treachery of
+some party never detected. After this failure, the two frigates
+returned up the river, where they remained until the end of the war.
+The "Hornet" managed to get to sea, and did good service before peace
+was declared.
+
+In April, 1814, the British blockaders on the New England coast began
+active operations by sending an expedition up the Connecticut River to
+Pautopaug Point, where the invaders landed, spiked the guns of a small
+battery, and destroyed twenty-two vessels. Thence they proceeded down
+the river, burning a few more craft on the way, and escaped safely to
+their ships; although a party of militia, and sailors and marines from
+Decatur's vessels, attempted to cut them off. Shortly after this
+occurrence, a fleet of American gunboats attacked the blockading
+squadron off New London, and succeeded in inflicting serious damages
+upon the enemy.
+
+In June, the enemy's depredations extended to the Massachusetts coast.
+The little village of Wareham was the first sufferer. A sudden descent
+made by boats' crews from the frigates "Superb" and "Nimrod" so
+completely surprised the inhabitants, that the enemy burned the
+shipping at the wharves, set fire to a factory, and retreated before
+the villagers fully comprehended the blow that had fallen upon them.
+Like occurrences took place at other coastwise towns; and, in every
+case, the militia proved powerless to check the enemy. All up and down
+the New England coast, from Maine to the mouth of the Connecticut
+River, the people were panic-stricken; and hardly a night passed
+without witnessing the flames of some bonfire kindled by the British
+out of American property.
+
+[Illustration: The Descent on Wareham.]
+
+In August, 1814, Commodore Hardy appeared off Stonington with a fleet
+of several vessels, headed by the seventy-four "Ramillies." Casting
+anchor near shore, he sent to the mayor and selectmen the following
+curt note: "Not wishing to destroy the unoffending inhabitants
+residing in the town of Stonington, one hour is granted them, from the
+receipt of this, to remove out of town." This message naturally caused
+great consternation; and, while messengers were sent in all directions
+to call together the militia, the answer was returned to the fleet:
+"We shall defend the place to the last extremity. Should it be
+destroyed, we will perish in its ruins." And, having thus defied the
+enemy, the farmers and fishermen who inhabited the town set about
+preparing for its defence. The one battery available for service
+consisted of two eighteen-pounders and a four-pounder, mounted behind
+earth breastworks. The gunners were put under the command of an old
+sailor, who had been impressed into the British navy, where he served
+four years. The skill he thus acquired in gunnery, he now gladly used
+against his former oppressors. It was near nightfall when the British
+opened fire; and they kept up a constant cannonade with round shot,
+bombs, Congreve rockets, and carcasses until near midnight, without
+doing the slightest damage. The bursting shells, the fiery rockets,
+and the carcasses filled with flaming chemicals, fairly filled the
+little wooden village with fire; but the exertions of the people
+prevented the spread of the flames. The fleet ceased firing at
+midnight, but there was no peace for the villagers. Militia-men were
+pouring in from the country round about, laborers were at work
+throwing up breastwork, carriers were dashing about in search of
+ammunition, and all was activity, until, with the first gleam of
+daylight, the fire of the ships was re-opened. The Americans promptly
+responded, and soon two eighteen-pound shot hulled the brig
+"Despatch." For an hour or two a rapid fire was kept up; then, the
+powder giving out, the Americans spiked their largest gun, and,
+nailing a flag to the battery flagstaff, went in search of more
+ammunition. The British did not land; and the Americans, finding six
+kegs of powder, took the gun to a blacksmith, who drilled out the
+spike, and the action continued. So vigorous and well directed was the
+fire of the Americans, that the "Despatch" was forced to slip her
+cables and make off to a place of safety. That afternoon a truce was
+declared, which continued until eight the next morning. By that time,
+the Americans had assembled in sufficient force to defeat any landing
+party the enemy could send ashore. The bombardment of the town
+continued; but the aim of the British was so inconceivably poor, that,
+during the three days' firing, no damage was done by their shot. A
+more ludicrous fiasco could hardly be imagined, and the Americans were
+quick to see the comical side of the affair. Before departing, the
+British fired over fifteen tons of lead and iron into the town. A
+quantity of this was picked up by the Americans, and offered for sale.
+In a New York paper appeared the advertisement,--
+
+     "Just received, and offered for sale, about three tons of round
+     shot, consisting of six, nine, twelve, eighteen, twenty-four, and
+     thirty-two pounds; very handsome, being a small proportion of
+     those which were fired from His Britannic Majesty's ships on the
+     unoffending inhabitants of Stonington, in the recent _brilliant_
+     attack on that place. Likewise a few carcasses, in good order,
+     weighing about two hundred pounds each. Apply," etc.
+
+A popular bard of the time set forth in rollicking verse the exploits
+of the British gunners:--
+
+  "They killed a goose, they killed a hen,
+  Three hogs they wounded in a pen;
+  They dashed away,--and pray what then?
+      That was not taking Stonington.
+
+  "The shells were thrown, the rockets flew;
+  But not a shell of all they threw--
+  Though every house was full in view--
+      Could burn a house in Stonington."
+
+With this affair, in which the British expended ammunition to the
+amount of fifty thousand dollars, and lost twenty men killed and fifty
+wounded, active offensive operations along the Connecticut coast
+ended. Farther north, however, the British still raided towns and
+villages, showing more spirit in their attacks than did Hardy at
+Stonington. Eastport, Me., was captured in July, and converted into a
+veritable British colony. The inhabitants who remained in the town
+were forced to take an oath of allegiance to Great Britain;
+fortifications were thrown up, and an arsenal established; King
+George's officials were placed in the custom-house, and thenceforward
+until the end of the war the town was virtually British. Encouraged by
+this success, the enemy undertook a more difficult task. A formidable
+fleet of men-of-war and transports, bearing almost ten thousand
+troops, was fitted out at Halifax for the purpose of reducing to
+British rule all that part of Maine lying between Passamaquoddy Bay
+and the Penobscot River. This expedition set sail from Halifax on the
+26th of August, bound for Machias; but on the voyage down the coast of
+Maine the brig "Rifleman" was encountered, and from her the presence
+of the United States corvette "Adams" in the Penobscot River was
+learned. It will be remembered that the "Adams," before entering the
+river, had chased the British brig. Upon learning this, the British
+naval commander, Admiral Griffiths, pressed forward to the mouth of
+the Penobscot, and, anchoring there, despatched a land and naval
+expedition up the river for the capture of the corvette.
+
+When the news of this advancing force reached Capt. Morris, the
+"Adams" was partially out of water, dismantled, and in the hands of
+the ship carpenters, who were repairing the injuries she had received
+on the rocks off Mount Desert. The ship herself was utterly
+defenceless, but Morris made strenuous attempts to collect a land
+force to defend her. He managed to rally a few hundred militia-men,
+who, with the sailors and marines, were routed by the enemy on the
+night of the 3d of September. Finding that the enemy's forces were not
+to be driven back by so small a body of men, Morris retreated, first
+setting fire to the corvette, which was totally destroyed before the
+British came up.
+
+The retreating sailors were then forced to march over rugged roads to
+Portsmouth, N.H.; and, as walking was an exercise they were little
+accustomed to, many suffered severely from the unusual exertion. The
+difficulty of getting provisions along the road led the men to
+separate into several parties; but, notwithstanding the opportunities
+thus afforded for desertion, all who were not broken down by the long
+march ultimately reported for duty at the Portsmouth navy-yard.
+
+Along the Southern seaboard the course of the war was even more
+disastrous to the Americans. Intelligence which reached the national
+authorities in the spring of 1814 led them to believe that the British
+were planning an expedition for the capture of Washington. Grave as
+was the danger, the authorities were slow to move; and though in July
+the Government called for fifteen thousand troops, and gave their
+command to Gen. Winder, yet the actual defensive force about the
+national capital consisted of but a few hundred militia. The naval
+defence was intrusted to the veteran Commodore Barney, who had served
+with distinction in the Revolution, and during the early years of the
+second war with Great Britain had commanded the Baltimore privateer
+"Rossie." The force put under Barney's command consisted of twenty-six
+gunboats and barges, manned by nine hundred men. Chiefly by his own
+energetic exertions, this force was ready for service in April; and by
+June the crews were drilled and disciplined, and the commanders
+schooled in the tactics of squadron evolutions. On the 1st of that
+month occurred the first brush with the enemy. The American flotilla
+was then lying in Chesapeake Bay, a little below the mouth of the
+Patuxent; and, a portion of the enemy's squadron coming within range,
+Barney ordered out his forces in chase. The British, outnumbered, fled
+down the bay; but, though Barney was rapidly overhauling them, he saw
+his hopes of victory shattered by the sudden appearance of His
+Britannic Majesty's seventy-four gun ship "Dragon." Thus re-enforced,
+it became the turn of the British to pursue; and the Americans
+retreated, firing constantly as they fled. The British continuing
+their advance, Barney was forced to take shelter in the Patuxent
+River; and he was gradually forced up that stream as far as the mouth
+of St. Leonard's Creek. The enemy then, feeling certain that the
+Americans were fairly entrapped, anchored at the mouth of the river,
+and awaited re-enforcements. These soon arrived; and on the 8th of the
+month the enemy's forces, consisting of a frigate, brig, and two
+schooners, moved up the river to the mouth of the creek. Farther they
+could not go, owing to shoal-water; but they fitted out a small
+flotilla of barges, and sent them on up the creek. With this enemy
+Commodore Barney was ready to come to close quarters; and he moved
+down upon the British, who quickly retreated to the shelter of their
+ships. Two or three such sham attacks were made by the enemy, but not
+until the 10th of the month did they actually give battle to the
+Americans.
+
+On the morning of that day the British advanced in force to the
+attack; and the peaceful little creek was ablaze with flags and bright
+uniforms, and the wooded shores echoed back the strains of martial
+music. Twenty-one barges, one rocket-boat, and two schooners formed
+the British column of attack, which moved grandly up the creek, with
+the bands playing patriotic airs, and the sailors, confident of
+victory, cheering lustily. Eight hundred men followed the British
+colors. Against this force Barney advanced with but five hundred
+sailors. His sloop and gun-vessels he left at anchor, as being too
+unwieldy for the narrow shoal-waters of St. Leonard's Creek; and he
+met the enemy's flotilla with but thirteen barges. The enemy opened
+the action at long range with rockets and howitzers. The former were
+terrible missiles in an action of this character, corresponding to the
+shells of modern naval warfare. Some idea of their destructiveness may
+be derived from the fact, that one of them, fired at long range,
+exploded and set fire to a boat, after having first passed through the
+body of one of her crew. Barney had no rockets; and, as the combat at
+long range was telling upon his men, he at once dashed forward into
+the midst of the enemy. Soon the barges were engaged in desperate
+hand-to-hand conflicts. The sailors, grappling with their adversary's
+craft, fought with pistol and cutlass across the gunwales. Barney, in
+a small barge with twenty men, dashed about, now striking a blow in
+aid of some overmatched American boat, then cheering on some laggard,
+or applauding some deed of gallantry that occurred in his sight. Major
+William Barney, son of the commodore, saw an American barge on fire,
+and deserted by her crew who feared the explosion of her magazine.
+Running his boat alongside, he jumped into the flaming craft; and by
+dint of bailing in water, and rocking her from side to side, he
+succeeded in saving the barge. For more than an hour the action raged,
+both sides fighting with great vigor and gallantry; but the Americans
+having pierced the British line, the enemy, falling into confusion,
+turned, and strained every muscle to gain the protection of their
+ship's guns. The Americans followed in hot pursuit; but their
+course was abruptly checked at the mouth of the creek by a British
+schooner, whose eighteen guns commanded respect. For a moment the
+pursuing barges fell back; then, choosing advantageous positions, they
+opened fire upon the schooner with such effect that she soon turned to
+escape. She succeeded in getting under the protecting guns of the
+frigate and sloop-of-war, but was so cut to pieces in the short action
+that she was run aground and abandoned. The larger vessels now opened
+fire upon Barney's forces; and the flotilla, after a few shots of
+defiance, returned to its quarters up the creek.
+
+[Illustration: The Battle of the Barges.]
+
+For the next two weeks all was quiet along the shores of the Patuxent
+and St. Leonard's Creek. The enemy had learned wisdom from their late
+defeat, and contented themselves with blockading the mouth of the
+creek, and leaving Barney undisturbed in his retreat. But the doughty
+commodore had no idea of being thus confined, and during the time of
+quiet made preparations for an attempt to break the blockade. Land
+forces from Washington were sent down to aid in this attempt; and two
+pieces of artillery were to be mounted on a hill at the mouth of the
+creek, and thence throw red-hot shot into the enemy's ships. The land
+forces, however, rendered not the slightest assistance; and a too
+cautious colonel posted the battery at such a point that no shot could
+reach the enemy without first passing through a hill. Accordingly,
+when Barney led his flotilla gallantly down to the attack, he found
+that the issue of the conflict rested upon the sailors alone. From the
+battery, which was expected to draw the enemy's fire, not a single
+effective shot was fired. The sailors fought nobly, using their heavy
+long twelves and eighteens with great effect. But they were sadly
+hampered by their position; for the mouth of the creek was so narrow
+that but eight barges could lie abreast, and the others coming down
+from above soon packed the little stream from shore to shore, giving
+the enemy a mark that the poorest gunner could hardly miss. Against
+the storm of grape and canister that the British poured upon them, the
+sailors had absolutely no protection. The barges were without
+bulwarks, and the blue-jackets at the guns and at the oars were
+exposed to the full force of the British fire. Yet in this exposed
+situation the gallant fellows kept up the fight for nearly an hour,
+only withdrawing when the last ray of hope for help from the shore
+battery had vanished. Shortly after the Americans abandoned the
+attack, the blockading squadron got under way and stood down the bay.
+From the way in which one of the frigates was working her pumps, the
+Americans saw that their fire had not been entirely without effect.
+
+Barney's flotilla had now given the British so much trouble that they
+determined to destroy it without delay; and an expedition of more than
+five thousand men--composed of regulars, marines, and a few
+negroes--was carried up the Patuxent, and landed at Benedict, where an
+armed brig had been stationed to cover the disembarkation. It was
+early dawn when the signal to land was given, and the river was
+covered in an instant with a well-manned and warlike flotilla. It was
+hard work for the British sailors, for a strong current was running;
+but by three o'clock in the afternoon the whole army was landed, and
+encamped in a strong position on a hill overlooking the village.
+Though no American troops were anywhere in the vicinity, the landing
+was conducted with the utmost caution. As the prow of each boat grated
+on the sand, the soldiers leaped on the beach, and instantly drew up
+in line, ready to repel any attack. After the infantry was landed,
+about a hundred artillerymen followed, and the same number of sailors
+dragging howitzers.
+
+It is easily understood that this powerful force was not organized
+solely to destroy Barney's pitiful little flotilla. The real purpose
+of the British commander was to press on into the interior, and
+capture Washington, which the Americans had foolishly left without any
+defences whatever. It came to Barney's ears that Admiral Cockburn had
+boasted that he would destroy the American flotilla, and dine in
+Washington the following Sunday. This news the American commodore sent
+off to the authorities at the capital, and they then began to make
+futile preparations to repel the invader. In the mean time the British
+commenced their march up the shores of the Patuxent, meeting with no
+opposition. Barney, knowing that the defence of the national capital
+was of far greater importance than the fate of his flotilla, landed
+with four hundred men, and hastened to the American lines before
+Washington. He left the barges under the command of the second
+lieutenant, Mr. Frazier, with instructions to set fire to every boat
+on the appearance of the enemy, and then join the commodore with all
+the men left under his charge. Accordingly, when the invading column
+reached Nottingham, Mr. Frazier took the flotilla still higher up the
+creek,--a move that vastly disconcerted the British, who saw their
+prey eluding them. "But in the main object of our pursuit we were
+disappointed," wrote a British officer. "The flotilla which had been
+stationed opposite to Nottingham retired, on our approach, higher up
+the stream; and we were consequently in the situation of a huntsman
+who sees his hounds at fault, and has every reason to apprehend that
+his game will escape." But the game never fell into the hands of the
+ardent hunters; for the next day Mr. Frazier fulfilled his orders by
+setting fire to every barge, and, after seeing several of the larger
+boats blow up, mustered his men, and cut across the country, to join
+his superior officer. The British naval forces soon after reached Pig
+Point, the scene of this destruction, and there remained; while the
+land forces immediately turned away from the river, and marched upon
+Washington.
+
+[Illustration: Sharp-Shooters.]
+
+It is not necessary to give in detail the incidents of the series of
+skirmishes by which the British fought their way to the American
+capital. They were opposed by raw militia, and the few sailors and
+marines under Barney. The former fled with promptitude at the very
+first fire, but the sailors and marines fought gallantly. The fighting
+was sharpest at Bladensburg; and here Barney's blue-jackets won praise
+from everybody, even from the enemy whose advance they disputed.
+Barney himself led the Americans, and sighted a favorite gun of the
+sailors' battery, until he fell desperately wounded. This battery
+commanded the road by which the main column of British advanced; and
+by its hail of grape and canister it beat back the advancing
+regiments, and for some time checked their further progress. The
+British thereupon opened with rockets, and sent out sharp-shooters to
+pick off the Yankee gunners. One of these riflemen was observed by the
+Americans to deliberately build for himself a small redoubt of stones
+from an old wall; and, lying down behind it, he began a deliberate
+fire upon the Americans. His first bullet went through the cap of one
+of the sailors, and the second sent a poor fellow to his long account.
+The marines answered with their muskets; but the fellow's stone
+rampart saved him, and he continued his fire. Barney vowed to put an
+end to that affair, and, carefully sighting one of his cannon, pulled
+the lanyard. The heavy round shot was seen to strike the
+sharp-shooter's defence, and stones and man disappeared in a cloud of
+dust. Meantime, the enemy had thrown out flanking parties under cover
+of the woods, and had nearly surrounded the little band of sailors. A
+musket-ball struck Barney in the thigh, and he began to grow faint
+with loss of blood; and, finding that the militia had fled, and the
+sailors were becoming exhausted, the commodore ordered a retreat. The
+blue-jackets left the field in good order; but their gallant commander
+had gone but a few steps, when the pain of his wound forced him to lie
+down under a tree, and await the coming of the enemy. The British soon
+came up, led by Gen. Ross and Capt. Wainwright of the navy. After
+learning Barney's rank, and courteously offering to secure surgical
+aid, the general turned to his companion, and, speaking of the
+stubborn resistance made by the battery, said, "I told you it was the
+flotilla men."--"Yes. You were right, though I could not believe you,"
+was the response. "They have given us the only fighting we have had."
+
+Meanwhile, the British, having routed the Americans at every point,
+pressed on to Washington. The inhabitants fled before them, and the
+town was almost deserted when the British marched in with banners
+flying and bands playing. The enemy held the city for only a day; but
+in that time they did such deeds of vandalism, that even the people
+and the press of London cried out in indignation. The President's
+house, the Capitol, all the public buildings except the Patent
+Office, were burned to the ground. The navy-yard, with the uncompleted
+ships on the stocks, was likewise burned; but in this the enemy only
+acted in accordance with the rules of war. It was their destruction of
+the public buildings, the national archives, and the Congressional
+library, that aroused the wrathful indignation of all fair-minded
+people, whether Americans or Europeans. "Willingly," said one London
+newspaper, "would we throw a veil of oblivion over our transactions at
+Washington. The Cossacks spared Paris, but we spared not the capital
+of America." A second English journal fitly denounced the proceedings
+as "a return to the times of barbarism."
+
+[Illustration: The March on Washington.]
+
+But, if the invaders are rightly to be blamed for the useless
+vandalism they encouraged, the American authorities are still more
+culpable for their neglect of the most ordinary precautions of war.
+That a national capital, close to the sea, should be left virtually
+unprotected while the enemy was massing his forces only a few miles
+away, seems almost unbelievable. But so it was with Washington; for
+five hundred flotilla men were forced to bear the brunt of the attack
+of five thousand British. True it is that the military authorities had
+massed seven thousand militia-men for the defence of the city; but
+such was the trepidation of these untrained soldiers, that they fled
+before the main body of the British had come into the fight. That the
+sailors and marines fought bravely, we have the testimony of the
+British themselves. Mr. Gleig, a subaltern in the attacking army,
+writes, "Of the sailors, however, it would be injustice not to speak
+in the terms which their conduct merits. They were employed as
+gunners; and not only did they serve their guns with a quickness and
+precision which astonished their assailants, but they stood till some
+of them were actually bayonneted with fuses in their hands; nor was it
+till their leader was wounded and taken, and they saw themselves
+deserted on all sides by the soldiers, that they quitted the field."
+Therefore, in the battle of Bladensburg, the blue-jackets won nothing
+but honor, though the results of the battle were so mortifying to the
+national pride of the people of the United States.
+
+On the 25th of August the British left the smoking ruins of Washington
+behind them, and made for their fleet lying in the Patuxent. They
+feared that the outraged nation would rise upon them, and turn their
+march into a bloody retreat, like that of the British soldiery from
+the historic field of Lexington. Accordingly their departure was by
+night, immediately after a furious storm of rain and wind. Strict
+orders were issued to all the Americans in Washington, warning them,
+under penalty of death, not to leave their houses until the sun rose
+the next morning. Then the British stealthily marched out of the town.
+"No man spoke above his breath," says subaltern Gleig. "Our very steps
+were planted lightly, and we cleared the town without exciting
+observation." A two days' march brought them to Benedict, where the
+fleet lay in waiting for their reception.
+
+[Illustration: The Burning of Washington.]
+
+In the mean time, a portion of the British fleet had ascended the
+Potomac as far as Alexandria, and, finding that town defenceless,
+proceeded to dictate to the inhabitants the terms upon which they
+could save their village from desolation. The British demanded that
+all naval stores and ordnance, all the shipping and its furniture, all
+merchandise, and all provisions in the town should be surrendered.
+Several vessels had been scuttled, to prevent their falling into the
+hands of the enemy; these, the British demanded, should be raised,
+repaired, and delivered to them Time, however, did not permit the
+fulfilment of this condition; but to the others, harsh and humiliating
+though they were, the inhabitants were forced to accede. Heavy laden
+with the spoils of the village, the pillagers weighed anchor and
+started down the Potomac. But they were not destined to carry away
+their booty unmolested. News of the expedition reached Baltimore, and
+a large party of the sailors at the navy-yard were sent to the banks
+of the Potomac to cut off the enemy's retreat. They were officered by
+four men famous in American naval annals,--Perry, Rodgers, Porter, and
+Creighton. At Indian Head, just below Mount Vernon, the Potomac River
+narrows and flows swiftly between densely wooded bluffs. At this point
+the Americans threw up redoubts, and, mounting all the cannon that
+could be gathered on such short notice, prepared to dispute the
+enemy's passage. When the British fleet hove in sight, they were
+greeted with a storm of shot from the unsuspected batteries; and they
+recoiled in confusion. Practised American hunters lined the woody
+shores, and picked off the British sailors with musket-balls. For some
+time the fleet was thus checked in its progress. Finally the admiral
+determined that only by a bold dash could he escape; and accordingly,
+massing his vessels and concentrating his fire on the chief battery,
+he dashed past, and rejoined his superior officer, Cockburn, not
+without paying dearly for his exploit at Alexandria.
+
+While the British were thus devastating the shores of Chesapeake Bay,
+they cast more than one longing look toward the thriving city of
+Baltimore, which, by its violent patriotism, had done much to urge on
+the war. From the shipyards of Baltimore came more than one stout
+naval vessel that had forced the enemy to haul down his colors. But
+that which more than any thing else aroused the hatred of the British
+was the share Baltimore took in fitting out and manning those swift
+privateers, concerning whose depredations upon British commerce we
+shall have something to say in a later chapter. "It is a doomed town,"
+said Vice-admiral Warren. "The truculent inhabitants of Baltimore must
+be tamed with the weapons which shook the wooden turrets of
+Copenhagen," cried the editor of a great London paper. But,
+nevertheless, Baltimore did not fall before the invader, although for
+some time the army and navy of the enemy were united in the attempt to
+bring desolation upon the obnoxious city.
+
+[Illustration: Planning the Attack.]
+
+After the fall of Washington, the depredations of the British along
+the shores of Chesapeake Bay redoubled, and the marauding expeditions
+thus employed were really feelers thrown out to test the strength of
+the defenses of Baltimore. That the marauders found some opposition,
+is evident from a passage in the journal of a British officer. "But
+these hasty excursions, though generally successful, were not always
+performed without loss to the invaders." On one of these expeditions,
+Sir Peter Parker, captain of the frigate "Menelaus," lost his life. He
+had been ordered down to the mouth of the bay just after the fall of
+Washington. "I must first have a frolic with the Yankees," said he.
+And accordingly, after a jovial dinner aboard his frigate, he led a
+night expedition of sailors and marines ashore, expecting to surprise
+a small body of Maryland militia stationed at Moorfields. Sir Peter's
+frolic turned out disastrously; for the Marylanders were on the watch,
+and received the invaders with a fierce volley. Sir Peter was
+gallantly cheering on his men, when a musket-ball cut the main artery
+in his thigh. "They have hit me, Pearce," he said faintly to his
+lieutenant; "but it's nothing. Push on, my brave boys, and follow me."
+But even thus cheering, he fell back, the words died away in his
+throat, and he bled to death before a surgeon could be found. It is
+but right to say, that, though he sailed in Cockburn's command, he had
+none of the cruel brutality which his admiral too often showed.
+
+On the 12th of September a more serious assault was made upon
+Baltimore. The British naval and military forces united in the attack,
+which was made by land and sea. A force of nine thousand men,
+including two thousand marines and two thousand sailors, was landed
+fifteen miles from Baltimore, and under the command of Gen. Ross and
+Admiral Cockburn marched gayly inland, never doubting that they would
+find the Americans unprepared, and repeat their exploits at
+Washington. In this expectation they were sadly disappointed; for the
+Maryland militia, aided by a few regulars and seamen, outfought the
+British at every point, and checked their farther advance. Among the
+slain was Gen. Ross, who was shot down as he was leading the advance
+of the British skirmishers. In the mean time, the British fleet had
+been taking its share in the engagement by attempting to reduce Fort
+McHenry. A large flotilla of frigates, schooners, sloops, and
+bomb-ketches entered the Patapsco River on the morning of the 12th,
+and, casting anchor out of the reach of the fort's guns, opened a
+furious fire. The fort was manned by militia-men and a large
+detachment of the gallant sailors from Barney's flotilla. When the
+continual falling of shells within the fort told that the enemy had
+come within range, the guns of Fort McHenry opened in response. But,
+to the intense chagrin of the Americans, it was found that their works
+mounted not a single gun that would carry to the enemy's fleet. There
+then remained to the garrison only the trying duty of holding their
+post, and enduring without response a galling fire from the enemy. All
+the garrison stood to the guns without flinching; while the shrieking
+shells fell on all sides, and, exploding, scattered deadly missiles in
+all directions. One shell struck and dismounted one of the
+twenty-four-pounders, killing and wounding several of its men. Admiral
+Cochrane, who commanded the attacking fleet, saw this incident, and
+ordered three of his bomb-vessels to move up nearer to the fort. This
+gave the Americans the opportunity for which they had been longing,
+and instantly every gun in the fort opened upon the three luckless
+ketches. Half an hour of this fire sufficed to drive the three vessels
+back to their original station.
+
+Night fell, but brought no cessation of the bombardment. But the
+enemy, while never slackening his fire, had determined to take
+advantage of the darkness to send out a landing party to take two
+small batteries on the banks of the Patapsco, and then assault Fort
+McHenry from the rear. Twelve hundred and fifty men, with
+scaling-ladders and fascines, left the fleet in barges, and moved up
+the Patapsco towards Fort Covington and the City Battery. But their
+plan, though well laid, was defeated by the vigilance and courage of
+the garrisons of the two threatened positions,--sailors all, and many
+of them men from Barney's flotilla, a training-school which seems to
+have given to the region about Chesapeake Bay its most gallant
+defenders. Just as the storming party turned the prows of the barges
+towards the shore, they were discovered; and from McHenry, Covington,
+and the City Battery burst a thunderous artillery-fire, that shook the
+houses in Baltimore, and illumined the dark shores of the river with a
+lurid glare. Bold as the British sailors were, they could advance no
+farther under so terrible a fire. Two of the barges were shot to
+pieces, leaving their crews struggling in the water. A ceaseless hail
+of grape and canister spread death and wounds broadcast among the
+enemy; and, after wavering a moment, they turned and fled to their
+ships. Cochrane, seeing his plan for taking the American positions by
+assault thus frustrated, redoubled the fury of his fire; hoping that,
+when daybreak made visible the distant shore, nothing but a heap of
+ruins should mark the spot where Fort McHenry stood the night before.
+
+A night bombardment is at once a beautiful and a terrible spectacle.
+The ceaseless flashing of the great guns, lighting up with a lurid
+glare the dense clouds of smoke that hang over the scene of battle;
+the roar of the artillery; the shriek of the shell as it leaves the
+cannon's mouth, slowly dying into a murmur and a dull explosion, as,
+with a flash of fire, the missile explodes far away,--combine to form
+a picture, that, despite the horrors of wounds and death, rouses the
+enthusiasm and admiration of the beholder. When viewed from the deck
+of one of an attacking fleet, the scene is even more impressive. At
+each discharge of the great guns, the vessel reels and trembles like a
+huge animal in agony. The surging waters alongside reflect in their
+black depths the flash of the cannon and the fiery trail of the flying
+shell. Far in the distance can be seen the flashes of the enemy's
+guns, each of which may mean the despatch of a missile bringing death
+and pain in its track. One who has witnessed such a spectacle can
+readily understand the fascination which men find in the great game of
+war.
+
+[Illustration: The Star Spangled Banner.]
+
+Pacing the deck of the one of the British vessels was a young
+American, whose temperament was such that he could fully appreciate
+all the beauties of the scene, even though harassed by anxious fears
+lest the British should be successful. This man was Francis S. Key,
+who had visited the fleet with a flag of truce, but was unable to get
+away before the bombardment began. When the sun set on the evening of
+the 13th, Key saw his country's flag waving proudly over the ramparts
+at which the British guns had been so furiously pounding. Would that
+flag still be there when the sun should rise again? That was the
+question which Key asked himself as he anxiously walked the deck
+throughout the night, striving to pierce the darkness, and make out,
+by the lurid lightnings of the cannon, whether the flag was still
+there. As the night wore on, Key took an old letter from his pocket,
+and on the blank sheet jotted down the lines of the immortal national
+song, "The Star Spangled Banner." Its words merely voice the writer's
+thoughts; for often during that night he looked anxiously shorewards,
+to see if
+
+       "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
+  Gave proof, through the night, that our flag was still there."
+
+When the anxiously awaited daylight came, Fort McHenry still stood;
+and over it waved defiantly the starry folds of the United States
+flag. The British saw that, by land and sea, their attack had failed;
+and early in the morning the fleet, after taking on board the remnant
+of the land forces, sailed suddenly away, and left Baltimore safe.
+They had bombarded Fort McHenry for twenty-five hours, throwing nearly
+two thousand shells. Yet, wonderful as it may appear, only four of the
+Americans were killed, and twenty-four wounded. With this failure the
+British ended their chief offensive operations along the shores of the
+Chesapeake. The greater part of the fleet and the soldiery then moved
+southward, to take part in the operations along the Gulf coast, that
+culminated in the disastrous defeat of the invaders at New Orleans.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+     DESULTORY HOSTILITIES ON THE OCEAN. -- ATTACK UPON FORT BOWYER.
+     -- LAFITTE THE PIRATE. -- BRITISH EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW ORLEANS.
+     -- BATTLE AT THE RIGOLETS. -- ATTACK ON NEW ORLEANS, AND DEFEAT
+     OF THE BRITISH. -- WORK OF THE BLUE-JACKETS. -- CAPTURE OF THE
+     FRIGATE "PRESIDENT." -- THE "CONSTITUTION" TAKES THE "CYANE" AND
+     "LEVANT." -- THE "HORNET" TAKES THE "PENGUIN." -- END OF THE WAR.
+
+
+The naval incidents of the latter part of 1814 conferred little honor
+upon either of the belligerents. Seldom did the meetings between
+hostile ships rise to the dignity of battles. One or two small
+American brigs fell a prey to British frigates; but in every instance
+the disparity of force was so great that the weaker surrendered
+without striking a blow. Such was the case with the sixteen-gun brig
+"Rattlesnake," which escaped from one British frigate by throwing
+overboard all her guns, only to immediately fall a prey to the
+"Leander." In July of the same year, the United States brig "Siren"
+was captured by the British frigate "Medway," off the coast of Africa,
+after a long chase, during which the American hove overboard every
+thing movable on the brig. Not all these petty encounters ended so
+favorably for the enemy. Off New York a cutting-out party of
+volunteers surprised and captured the British tender "Eagle," a small
+craft carrying one thirty-two-pound howitzer, and fourteen men. Ten
+days later, the frigate "Tenedos," which had done such good service on
+the blockade, suffered the loss of her tender, which was gallantly
+carried away by the crew of a Yankee gunboat. Some very desperate
+combats between American privateers and British naval vessels were
+fought about this time, and will be duly noted in detail in the
+chapter treating of the exploits of the private armed navy.
+
+As the autumn came on, the British naval forces began to rendezvous in
+the Gulf of Mexico, preparatory to the campaign before New Orleans. On
+Sept. 14, a squadron of four British sloops-of-war appeared off
+Mobile, and opened fire upon Fort Bowyer, which guarded the entrance
+to Mobile Bay. The attack was vigorous, and the defence determined. A
+British land expedition moved upon the fort from the landward side;
+and the little garrison found itself surrounded by enemies, many of
+whom were Indians, whose savage assistance the British had accepted
+from the very opening of the war. A small force, only, defended the
+fort. Percy, the British admiral, knew the weakness of the garrison;
+and, thinking of the ninety-two guns he could bring to bear against
+the twenty worked by the Americans, announced proudly, that he would
+give the garrison just twenty minutes to surrender. The twenty minutes
+passed quickly, and still the fort responded savagely to the fire of
+its assailants. The flag of the British ship "Hermes" was shot away;
+and soon after, a round shot cut her cable, and she drifted upon a
+sand-bank, and lay helpless, and exposed to a raking fire. Her
+captain, having set her afire, abandoned her; and she soon blew up.
+The other vessels kept up the attack gallantly for a time. The
+flagstaff of the fort was shot away; but the flag soon re-appeared,
+waving from a sponge-staff. The Americans then redoubled their fire,
+which soon told so severely upon the British ships that they were
+forced to withdraw. In the mean time, the assault of the Indians and
+troops had been checked, and the forces driven back in disorder, thus
+leaving the victory to the Americans.
+
+It is not within the province of this work to treat of the military
+operations that led up to the battle of New Orleans. But the last
+months of 1814 witnessed a series of naval incidents trivial in
+themselves, but deriving importance from their connection with Gen.
+Jackson's great victory. Over certain incidents in the preparations of
+the Americans for repelling the invasion hangs a shade of romance.
+
+To the southward of the quaint, rambling, rose-covered city of New
+Orleans, the tawny flood of the Mississippi winds towards the gulf in
+huge serpentine curves. The shores between which it flows rise scarce
+higher than the surface of the river itself; and a slight increase in
+the volume of water, or a strong wind, will serve to turn the whole
+region into a great, watery marsh. From the mouth of the great river,
+the whole coast of Louisiana, extending north and west, is a grassy
+sea, a vast expanse of marsh-grass, broken here and there by inlets of
+the Mexican Gulf, and sluggish, winding bayous that lead up into the
+higher lands of the State,--waterways that lead even to the back door
+of the Crescent City herself, but known only to oyster-gatherers, or
+in 1814 to the adventurous men who followed the banner of Lafitte the
+Baratarian pirate.
+
+Pirate he was called then; but it is doubtful whether his misdeeds
+ever exceeded smuggling, or, at worst, privateering under the
+protecting flag of some belligerent nation. When all nations were
+warring, what was easier than for a few gallant fellows, with
+swift-sailing feluccas, to lurk about the shores of the gulf, and now
+under the Spanish flag, now under the French, or any colors which
+suited the case, sally out and capture the richly laden Indiamen that
+frequented those summer seas? And when a power known as the United
+States Government, that had its quarters more than a thousand miles
+from the country of the Creoles, passed an outrageous law known as the
+embargo, what was more natural than that the Baratarians, knowing the
+mysterious waterways that led up to the Crescent City, should utilize
+their knowledge to take ships and cargoes in and out without the
+formality of a custom-house examination? Such were the times that led
+to the formation and growth of the "piratical" colony of Barataria.
+Its leaders and rulers were John and Pierre Lafitte; one of whom lived
+in New Orleans in the character of a prosperous merchant, while the
+other led the expeditions which brought in merchandise to stock the
+former's stores. Under the influence of the warlike state of Europe,
+the trade of these worthies throve, and their settlement at Grande
+Isle took on the appearance of a prosperous colony and naval station.
+Storehouses and dwellings stood close to the sea. The fertile face of
+the island was cut up into fruitful plantations and orange-groves.
+Breastworks, well dotted with the muzzles of cannon, commanded the
+approach by sea. More than once, from behind those ramparts, the
+Baratarians had proved that they could fight, and that they
+acknowledged the authority of no flag. The Creoles of New Orleans
+looked indulgently upon the conduct of the outlaws; but the few
+Americans in the city were highly incensed to see the authority of the
+United States thus set aside, and vowed that when the war was over the
+audacious adventurers should be crushed. However, the end came even
+sooner.
+
+On the 3d of September, a British armed brig anchored near the
+buccaneers' retreat, and sent a flag of truce ashore. Lafitte, with
+great dignity, received the envoys in his tent, and assured them of
+his protection, though the whole village was up in arms clamoring for
+the death of the intruders. The British officer then announced that he
+had come to secure the aid of Lafitte and his followers in the
+campaign against New Orleans. He offered the pirate captain
+forgiveness for all piracies committed against the British
+flag,--whereat the chief smiled sardonically,--also thirty thousand
+dollars in cash, a captain's commission in the British navy, and lands
+for himself and his followers. It was a tempting bribe; for at that
+moment Lafitte's brother lay in the _calaboza_ at New Orleans awaiting
+trial for piracy, and the Americans were preparing rapidly for a
+descent upon the Baratarian stronghold. But, little as he liked the
+American flag, Lafitte liked the British still less: so, asking the
+Englishman to wait a few days for his answer, he sent a report of the
+occurrence to the New Orleans authorities, and offered to co-operate
+with the Americans, if he could be assured of pardon for all offences
+committed against the government. This document caused some hesitation
+at New Orleans; but the military authorities determined to refuse the
+offer, and break up the outlaws' nest. Accordingly, a few days later,
+the war schooner "Carolina," six gunboats, a tender, and a launch,
+dropped down the Mississippi, and, rounding into the deep blue waters
+of the gulf, headed for Barataria. Lafitte had too many friends in New
+Orleans not to know of the force thus sent against him; and, when the
+Americans reached Grande Terre, they found the pirates at their
+batteries, and the Baratarian flotilla drawn up in order of battle.
+The contest was sharp, but ended in the rout of the Baratarians. Their
+village was burned, their fortifications razed; and, when the
+triumphant Americans returned to New Orleans, they brought in their
+train ten armed prizes and a number of prisoners, although Lafitte was
+not to be found among the latter. Thereafter, the Baratarians, as an
+organization, vanished from history. Lafitte was afterwards
+occasionally heard of as a desperado on the more western shores of the
+Mexican Gulf; and it is further noticeable, that two guns were served
+by Baratarians under their old lieutenant, Dominique Yon, on that
+bloody day when Packenham's forces were beaten back on the field of
+Chalmette.
+
+Early in December the movement of the British upon New Orleans took
+definite shape. On the 8th of that month, the calm waters of the Gulf
+of Mexico, off the Chandeleur Islands, were the scene of a grand
+rendezvous of British naval and military forces. All the vessels of
+Cockburn's Chesapeake fleet were there, with other men-of-war,
+transports, and schooners, to the number of fifty vessels. At the head
+was the towering two-decker "Tonnant," carrying the Admiral's flag.
+Frigates, corvettes, and sloops-of-war came trooping in the rear; and
+the transports bore seven thousand men for the capture of the Southern
+city. The British were in high good-humor as the anchors were let fall
+and the ships swung round with their heads to the tide. The voyage
+across the gulf from the rendezvous at Jamaica had been like a holiday
+trip. The weather had been fine, and the sea smooth; and the soft air
+of that semi-tropical region was a never-ending source of delight to
+sailors who had been suffering the hardships of a Northern station.
+
+The point at which the British fleet had come to anchor lay about
+fifty miles due east of New Orleans. In that day of sailing-vessels,
+no enemy could breast the waters of the rolling Mississippi and crush
+the resistance of the city's defenders, as did Farragut in 1862.
+Knowing that they could not hope to take their ships up to the levee
+of the city, the enemy determined to cast anchor near the entrance of
+Lake Borgne, and send through a chain of lakes and bayous a mammoth
+expedition in barges, to a point within ten miles of the city. But
+this well-laid plan had been betrayed to the Americans by Lafitte; and
+a little band of American sailors, under the command of Lieut. Catesby
+Jones, had taken up a position at the Rigolets, and were prepared to
+dispute the farther progress of the invading forces. Five gunboats,
+and one hundred and eighty-five men, constituted the American force,
+which for a time held the British in check. Finally, the enemy,
+finding that the swift American cutters could easily evade the
+lumbering war-vessels, fitted out a fleet of forty-five barges, manned
+by a thousand veteran British sea-dogs, who had seen service in half
+a dozen naval wars. The Americans had news of the contemplated attack,
+and made skilful preparations to meet it. The gunboats were moored in
+a fore and aft line, at a point near the Rigolets. Their broadsides
+bore upon the enemy, and the shallowness of the water was such that by
+no means could they be surrounded. The sailors were prepared for a
+desperate conflict, and spent the night before the battle in tricing
+up the boarding-nettings, sharpening cutlasses, and getting small-arms
+in good trim. In the morning the British came on to the attack. It was
+a long pull from the fleet to the place of battle: so their commander
+brought his flotilla to anchor just out of range of the American guns;
+and there the grim old veterans devoured their dinners, and took their
+rations of grog, with appetites undisturbed by the thought of the
+coming conflict. Dinner over, the enemy weighed anchor, and dashed
+forward, with long, swift strokes, into the very flashes of the
+Americans' cannon. The Americans knew that their one chance of victory
+was to keep the overwhelming forces of their foe out of boarding
+distance, and they worked their guns with a rapidity born of
+desperation. Musket-bullets, grape-shot, and canister poured in a
+murderous fire upon the advancing boats. But the sturdy old British
+veterans knew that the best way to stop that fire was to get at the
+base of it; and they pressed on undauntedly, responding vigorously,
+meanwhile, with their bow guns. Soon they were up to the gunwales of
+the American flotilla, and the grappling-irons were fixed; then, with
+sharp blows of cutlasses, deadly play of the pikes, and a ceaseless
+rattle of small-arms, they poured upon the decks of the Americans. The
+boarding-nettings could not long check so furious a foe, and fell
+before the fierce slash of the cutlasses. The decks once gained, the
+overpowering numbers of the Englishmen crushed all further resistance;
+and the flotilla was finally taken, after about one hundred of the
+enemy and fifty Americans had fallen.
+
+The American flotilla being thus shattered, there remained no further
+obstacle to prevent the landing of the invading army. Of the advance
+of that brilliant body of veteran troops over sands and marshes, and
+through sluggish bayous and canals half-full of stagnant water, until
+they emerged on the bank of the river, nine miles below New Orleans,
+it is not my purpose to speak further. Nor does an account of Gen.
+Jackson's vigorous measures of defence and glorious victory come
+within the province of this narrative. The interesting story of
+Jackson's creation of an army from leather-shirted Kentucky riflemen,
+gay Creoles from the Creole Quarter of the Crescent City, swarthy
+Spaniards and mulattoes, nondescript desperadoes from the old band of
+Lafitte, and militia and regulars from all the Southern States, forms
+no part of the naval annals of the war. It is enough to say that the
+flower of the British army, led by a veteran of the Peninsula,
+recoiled before that motley crew of untrained soldiers, and were
+beaten back, leaving their gallant leader and thousands of their brave
+men dead upon the field. The navy was not without some share in this
+glorious triumph. On the 23d of December the schooner "Carolina"
+dropped down from New Orleans, and opened fire upon the enemy. "Now,
+then, for the honor of America, give it to them!" sung out her
+commander, as the first broadside was fired. The attack, unexpected as
+it was, created a panic in the British camp. A feeble reply was made
+with rockets and musketry; but even this was soon discontinued, and
+the enemy took refuge under the steep bank of the levee, whither the
+plunging shot could not follow them. All night the "Carolina" kept up
+her fire; and, when at daybreak she moved away, she left the camp of
+the enemy in confusion. During the day she renewed the attack, and
+persisted in her fire until the British threw up a heavy battery on
+the river's bank, and replied. The lads of the "Carolina" promptly
+accepted the challenge thus offered, and for a time a spirited combat
+was maintained. But the battery threw red-hot shot, and the schooner
+was soon set on fire and destroyed. Meanwhile the corvette "Louisiana"
+had come down to the scene of action, and in the subsequent
+engagements did some effective work. When the final onslaught of the
+British was made, on Jan. 7, 1815, the guns of the "Louisiana" were
+mounted on the opposite bank of the river, and the practised sailors
+worked them with deadly effect, until the flight of the American
+militia on that side exposed the battery to certain capture. The
+sailors then spiked their guns, and marched off unmolested. The
+sailors of the "Carolina," on that day of desperate fighting, were in
+the centre of Jackson's line, between the Creoles and the swarthy
+Baratarians under Dominique Yon. Here they worked their howitzers, and
+watched the scarlet lines of the enemy advance and melt away before
+that deadly blaze; advance and fall back again in hopeless rout. And
+among the many classes of fighting men whom Jackson had rallied before
+that British line, none did battle more valiantly for the honor of
+the nation and the safety of the flowery city of New Orleans than did
+those blue-jackets ashore.
+
+It is a fitting commentary upon the folly of war, that the battle of
+New Orleans was fought after the two warring nations had signed a
+treaty of peace. The lives of some hundreds of brave Englishmen and
+Americans were needlessly sacrificed in a cause already decided. Far
+across the Atlantic Ocean, in the quaint old Dutch city of Ghent,
+representatives of England and the United States met, and, after some
+debate, signed the treaty on the 24th of December, 1814. But there was
+then no Atlantic cable, no "ocean greyhounds" to annihilate space and
+time; and it was months before the news of the treaty reached the
+scene of war. In the mean time, the hostilities were continued by land
+and sea.
+
+The year 1815 found the American navy largely increased by new
+vessels, though the vigilance of the British blockaders kept most of
+these close in port. The "Constitution" was at sea, having run the
+blockade at Boston. In New York Harbor were the "President,"
+"Peacock," "Hornet," and "Tom Bowline," awaiting a chance to slip out
+for a cruise to the East Indies. It was decided that the vessels
+should run out singly, and the "President" was selected to make the
+first attempt. The night of the 14th of January was dark and foggy,
+and the blockading fleet was nowhere to be seen. Then, if ever, was
+the time for escape; and the Yankee tars weighed anchor and started
+out through the Narrows. In the impenetrable darkness of the night,
+baffled by head-winds and perplexing currents, the pilots lost their
+reckoning, and the orders to the man at the wheel were quick and
+nervous, until an ominous grating of the ship's keel, followed by the
+loss of headway, told that the frigate was aground. For a time the
+ship lay helpless, straining all her timbers as each wave lifted her
+slightly, and then let the heavy hull fall back upon the shoal. By ten
+o'clock the rising tide floated her off; but, on examination, Capt.
+Decatur found that she was seriously injured. To return to port was
+impossible with the wind then blowing: so all sail was crowded on, in
+the hopes of getting safely away before the blockading squadron should
+catch sight of the ship. As luck would have it, the blockaders had
+been forced from their posts by the gale of the day before, and the
+"President" had laid her course so as to infallibly fall into their
+clutches. Before daylight the lookout reported two sail in sight, and
+at daybreak the ship was fairly surrounded by the enemy's vessels. All
+at once gave chase to the luckless American; and a few hours were
+enough to show that her sailing qualities were so seriously injured by
+her pounding on the bar, that the enemy was rapidly overhauling her.
+Decatur adopted every known expedient to increase his ship's speed,
+but to no avail. After she had been lightened by starting the water,
+cutting away boats and anchors, chopping up and heaving overboard the
+ponderous cables, together with spars and provisions, the enemy still
+gained; and the foremost pursuer, a razee, opened fire. The
+"President" responded with her stern-chasers, but her shot had no
+effect. "It is said that on this occasion," writes Cooper, "the shot
+of the American ship were observed to be thrown with a momentum so
+unusually small, as to have since excited much distrust of the quality
+of her gunpowder. It is even added, that many of these shot were
+distinctly seen, when clear of the smoke, until they struck." At six
+o'clock in the evening, the frigate "Endymion" led the British
+squadron in chase, and had gained a position so close upon the
+American's beam that her broadsides were rapidly crippling the
+fugitive. Thereupon Decatur determined upon a desperate expedient,
+that sounds like some of his reckless exploits in the war with
+Tripoli. His plan was to bring the "President" about, and run boldly
+alongside the enemy. Every thing was to be sacrificed to the end of
+getting to close quarters. When once the two ships had grappled, the
+Americans were to board, carry the British ship in a hand-to-hand
+battle, and then, abandoning the crippled "President," escape in the
+captured frigate. So desperate a plan needed the cordial co-operation
+of every man: so it was first presented to the commissioned officers,
+who gladly embraced the desperate project. The sailors were then sent
+aft, and Decatur addressed them from the quarter-deck.
+
+"My lads," said he, "that ship is coming up with us. As our ship won't
+sail, we'll go on board of theirs, every man and boy of us, and carry
+her into New York. All I ask of you is to follow me. This is a
+favorite ship of the country. If we allow her to be taken, we shall be
+deserted by our wives and sweethearts. What, let such a ship as this
+go for nothing! 'Twould break the heart of every pretty girl in New
+York."
+
+[Illustration: "President" and "Endymion."]
+
+With hearty cheers, the jackies returned to their guns. All were ready
+for the coming struggle. Over the main hatch was mounted a howitzer,
+with its black muzzle peering down into the hold, ready to scuttle the
+ship when the boarders should spring upon the enemy's deck. The sun,
+by this time, had sunk below the horizon, and the darkness of night
+was gathering over the ocean. The two ships surged toward each
+other,--great black masses, lighted up on either side by rows of open
+ports, through which gleamed the uncertain light of the
+battle-lanterns. On the gun-deck the men stood stern and silent; their
+thoughts fixed upon the coming battle, or perhaps wandering back to
+the green fields and pleasant homes they had so recently left, perhaps
+forever. The gray old yeoman of the frigate, with his mates, walked
+from gun to gun, silently placing a well-sharpened cutlass, a dirk,
+and a heavy leather boarding-cap at each man's side. The marines were
+drawn up in a line amidships; their erect, soldierly air and rigid
+alignment contrasting with the careless slouchiness of the sailors.
+Butts for the sailors' ridicule as they were during a cruise, the
+marines knew that, in hand-to-hand conflicts, their part was as
+dashing as that of their tormentors of the forecastle.
+
+When the "President" had come within a quarter of a mile of her
+adversary, Decatur perceived that his enemy was determined to decide
+the contest at long range. As the "President" hauled down nearer, the
+"Endymion" sheered off, keeping up meanwhile a vigorous cannonade. To
+this the Americans responded in kind; and so much superior was the
+gunnery of the Yankee tars, that the rigging of the enemy was seen to
+be fast going to pieces, while her guns were being silenced one by
+one. But her fire did sad havoc among the men of the "President," and
+particularly among the officers. The first broadside carried away
+Decatur's first lieutenant, Mr. Babbitt, who was struck by a
+thirty-two-pound shot, which cut off his right leg below the knee, and
+hurled him through the wardroom hatch to the deck below, fracturing
+his wounded leg in two places. Shortly after, Decatur was knocked to
+the deck by a heavy splinter. For some time he lay unconscious; then
+opening his eyes, and seeing a throng of anxious seamen about him, he
+ordered them to their stations, and resumed his duties. The fire of
+the "Endymion" then slackened; and she lay upon the water, with her
+sails cut from the yards. At that moment Lieut. Howell turned to a
+midshipman standing at his side, and said gayly, "Well, we have
+whipped that ship, at any rate." A flash from the bow of the
+Englishman followed; and he added, "No: there she is again." The
+midshipman turned to reply, and saw Howell stretched dead at his feet,
+killed by the last shot of the battle.
+
+[Illustration: The "President" tries to escape.]
+
+The enemy was now helpless, and it would have been easy enough for the
+"President" to choose her position and compel her adversary to strike;
+but the presence of two more Englishmen, rapidly coming up astern,
+forced the Americans to abandon their prey and continue their flight.
+It was then late in the evening, and the night was dark and starless.
+Every light was extinguished on the American frigate, in the hope that
+by so doing she might slip away under cover of the night. But the
+British lookouts were sharp-eyed; and by eleven o'clock two frigates
+had closed in on the crippled ship, and a third was rapidly coming up
+astern. All were pouring in rapid broadsides, and the dark waters were
+lighted up like a fiery sea by the ceaseless flashing of the guns.
+Thus surrounded and overpowered, there remained open to the Americans
+no course but to surrender; and at eleven o'clock at night the
+"President" made signal that she had struck. Her fate, like that of
+the "Chesapeake," had accorded with the superstitious sailors' notion
+that she was an unlucky ship. In the long running fight, neither the
+Americans nor the British had escaped without severe loss. On the
+"President" were twenty-four killed and fifty-six wounded; the first,
+second, and third lieutenants being among the slain. The "Endymion"
+had eleven men killed and fourteen wounded. The two frigates were
+ordered to proceed to Bermuda; but the "President's" bad luck seemed
+to follow her, for on the way she encountered a terrific gale, by
+which her masts were carried away, and her timbers so strained that
+all the upper-deck guns had to be thrown overboard to save the ship.
+
+The loss of the "President," at the very mouth of the New York Harbor,
+was certainly a most inauspicious opening for the naval operations of
+1815. The people of New York and Philadelphia, to whom had come
+neither the news of peace nor of the glorious success of the American
+arms at New Orleans, were plunged into despondency. "Now that Great
+Britain is at peace with Europe," thought they, "she can exert all her
+power in the task of subjugating America;" and mournful visions of a
+return to British rule darkened their horizon. But, even while they
+were thus saddened by Decatur's defeat, a gallant vessel--the monarch
+of the American navy--was fighting a good fight for the honor of the
+nation; and out of that fight she came with colors flying and two
+captive men-of-war following in her wake.
+
+It will be remembered that the "Constitution" left Boston in December,
+1814, for an extended cruise. The gallant frigate, always a favorite
+among man-o'-war's men, carried with her on this cruise a full crew of
+native Americans,--thorough seamen, and as plucky fighters as ever
+pulled a lanyard or carried a cutlass. Her course lay due east; and in
+January, 1815, she was in the Bay of Biscay, where she fell in with,
+and captured, two prizes. After this she cruised about for a month,
+without encountering an enemy. American privateers and cruisers had
+fairly driven British merchantmen from the seas, and the tars of the
+"Constitution" found their time hanging heavily on their hands. The
+captain was an able and considerate officer, and much freedom was
+allowed the jackies in their amusements. With boxing, broadsword, and
+single-stick play, drill and skylarking, the hours of daylight were
+whiled away; and by night the men off duty would gather about the
+forecastle lantern to play with greasy, well-thumbed cards, or warble
+tender ditties to black-eyed Susans far across the Atlantic.
+Patriotic melodies formed no small part of Jack's musical
+_repertoire_. Of these, this one, written by a landsman, was for a
+long time popular among the tuneful souls of the forecastle, and was
+not altogether unknown in the wardroom.
+
+  "Now coil up y'r nonsense 'bout England's great navy,
+    And take in y'r slack about oak-hearted tars;
+  For frigates as stout, and as gallant crews have we,
+    Or how came their "Macedon" decked with our stars?
+  Yes, how came her "Guerriere," her "Peacock," and "Java,"
+    All sent broken-ribbed to old Davy of late?
+  How came it? Why, split me, than Britons we're braver;
+    And that they shall feel, too, whenever we meet.
+              Then charge the can cheerily,
+              Send it round merrily:
+  Here's to our country, and captains commanding;
+              To all who inherit
+              Of Lawrence the spirit
+  Disdaining to strike while a stick is left standing."
+
+Many were the verses of this notable production; for, to be popular in
+the forecastle, a song must play a lengthy part in "teasing time." One
+verse, however, is enough to show the manly, if perhaps unreasoning,
+pride the blue-jackets took in the triumphs of the navy.
+
+But the time of the sailors on this closing cruise of the war was not
+destined to be spent in sport and singing alone. The noble frigate was
+not to return to the stagnation of a season of peace in port, without
+adding yet another honor to her already honorable record. On the
+morning of the 20th of February, as the ship was running aimlessly
+before a light wind, some inexplicable impulse led Capt. Stewart to
+suddenly alter his course and run off some sixty miles to the
+south-west. Again the "Constitution's" good luck seemed to justify the
+sailors' belief, for at noon she ran into a group of vessels. The
+first vessel was sighted on the larboard bow, and, as the frigate
+overhauled her, proved to be a full-rigged ship. Soon after a second
+sail, also a ship, was sighted; and a few minutes more sufficed to
+show that both were men-of-war. The one first sighted was the
+frigate-built corvette "Cyane," of thirty-four guns; and the second
+was the sloop-of-war "Levant," of twenty-one guns. For either of
+these vessels singly, the "Constitution," with her fifty-two guns and
+crew of four hundred and fifty men, was more than a match. Yet to
+attack the two was a bold movement, and this Stewart determined to
+undertake. Hardly had the character of the strangers been made out,
+when the corvette was seen making signals to the sloop; and the two
+vessels, then about ten miles apart, made all sail to get together
+before the enemy should overhaul them. This juncture was precisely
+what Stewart wished to prevent; and in a trice the shrill notes of the
+boatswain's whistle sent the sailors in swarms into the rigging, and
+the frigate was as if by magic clothed with a broad expanse of canvas.
+Quickly she felt the effect, and bounded through the water after the
+distant ships like a dolphin chasing a school of flying-fish. The old
+tars on the forecastle looked knowingly over the side at the foamy
+water rushing past, and then cast approving glances aloft where every
+sail was drawing. But their complacency was shattered by a loud crash
+aloft, which proved to be the main royal-mast which had given way
+under the strain. Another spar was rigged speedily, and shipped by the
+active tars, and soon the snowy clouds aloft showed no signs of the
+wreck. At sundown the three vessels were so near each other that their
+colors could be seen. Stewart ran up the stars and stripes, to which
+the strangers responded by setting the British flag at their
+mastheads.
+
+The purpose of the enemy was to delay the opening of the action until
+night should give him opportunity to manoeuvre unobserved; but the
+"Constitution," suspecting this, pressed forward hotly, and opened
+fire a few minutes after six o'clock. By skilful seamanship Stewart
+kept the windward gage of both enemies; and the fight opened with the
+"Cyane" on the port-quarter, and the "Levant" on the port-bow of the
+American frigate. Fifteen minutes of fierce cannonading followed, the
+combatants being within musket-shot most of the time. Every gun was
+engaged; and the heavy broadsides shook the ships, and thundered far
+over the placid surface of the ocean, which was now faintly illumined
+by the rising moon. The triangular space between the ships was filled
+with the dense sulphurous smoke of the burning powder; so that the
+gunners could see nothing of the enemy at whom they were hurling their
+ponderous iron bolts. The men in the tops could now and again catch a
+glimpse of the top hamper of the enemy's ships, but those on the
+gun-deck were working almost at random. After a few minutes of rapid
+firing, the fire of the enemy slackened; and Stewart directed his
+gunners to cease until the smoke should have cleared away. At this
+command a silence, almost oppressive after the heavy cannonading,
+ensued, broken only by the occasional report of a gun from the unseen
+enemy, sounding like minute-guns of distress. Anxiously Stewart waited
+for the smoke to blow away. When it did so, the "Cyane" was seen
+luffing up, to come under the frigate's stern, and get in a raking
+broadside. The movement was discovered just in time to be checked.
+Stewart gave a heavy broadside to the "Levant;" then, bracing back his
+topsails, backed his ship down abreast of the "Cyane," pouring in
+rapid broadsides, before which the fire of the corvette died away. Two
+raking broadsides that crashed into the stern of the "Levant" sent
+that craft out of the action, to refit. The frigate then pressed down
+upon the "Cyane," and with a few heavy broadsides forced her to
+strike.
+
+Capt. Douglass of the "Levant" then proved his bravery by standing by
+his captured consort; although he could have escaped easily, while the
+"Constitution" was taking possession of her prize. No thought of
+flight seems to have occurred to the gallant Briton, though he must
+have known that there was but little hope of his coming out of the
+combat victorious. Still he gallantly came back into the fight,
+meeting the "Constitution" ploughing along on the opposite tack.
+Broadsides were exchanged at such close range that the Yankee gunners
+could hear the ripping of the planks on the enemy's decks as the solid
+shot crashed through beam and stanchion. Having passed each other, the
+ships wore, and returned to the attack; but the weight of the
+American's metal told so severely upon the "Levant" that her flag was
+hauled down, and, firing a gun to leeward, she gave up the fight.
+
+As an exhibition of seamanship, this action is unrivalled in naval
+annals. For Stewart to have taken his ship into action with two
+hostile vessels, and so handle her as not only to escape being raked,
+but actually rake his enemies, was a triumph of nautical skill. The
+action was hard fought by both parties. The loss upon the British
+vessels has never been exactly determined; but it was undoubtedly
+large, for the hulls were badly cut up by the American's fire. The
+"Constitution" had but three men killed, and twelve wounded. The
+officers all escaped unhurt.
+
+After a few hours' pause to repair damages, Stewart took his prizes
+into Porto Praya in the Cape Verde Islands, where they arrived on the
+10th of March. The day after the ships reached port, a heavy fog
+settled over the water, cutting off vision in all directions. As the
+first lieutenant of the "Constitution" was walking the quarter-deck,
+he heard a young midshipman among the prisoners suddenly exclaim,
+"There's a large ship in the offing." The lieutenant peered about on
+every side, but could see nothing, until, looking upward, he saw the
+top-gallant sails of a large ship moving along above the fog-bank.
+Capt. Stewart was quickly notified; and, coolly remarking that the
+stranger was probably a British frigate, he ordered that the men be
+sent to quarters, and the ship prepared for action. The lieutenant
+hastened on deck to execute the orders, but had hardly reached his
+station when he saw the sails of two more ships gliding along above
+the fog-bank. Hastily he returned to the captain's cabin with the
+report. Stewart showed no emotion or alarm, although he knew well that
+the fact that he was in a neutral port would be no protection against
+the British, should they once discover his presence. The affair of the
+"Essex" was still fresh in his mind. Calmly he ordered the lieutenant
+to make sail and take the ship to sea, signalling to the two prizes to
+follow. The orders were given quietly on deck; and in fifteen minutes
+the "Constitution," under full press of sail, was making her way out
+of Porto Praya roads. On the shore were more than a hundred prisoners
+whom Stewart had landed under parole. Regardless of the dictates of
+honor, these men rushed to a Portuguese battery, and opened fire on
+the ships as they passed out. Hearing the cannonade, the lookouts on
+the enemy's vessels looked eagerly for its cause, and caught sight,
+above the fog, of the rapidly receding topsails of the fugitives. At
+this sight the British set out in pursuit; and the fog soon clearing
+away revealed to the Americans two ships-of-the-line and a frigate
+following fast in their wake. The "Constitution" and the "Cyane"
+easily kept out of reach of their pursuers; but the "Levant" dropped
+behind, and finally, at a signal from Stewart, tacked, and stood back
+for Porto Praya. The enemy then abandoned the pursuit of the two
+foremost vessels, and followed the "Levant," but failed to overhaul
+her before she entered the harbor. This, however, checked the British
+not a whit. For the laws of nations and the authority of the
+Portuguese flag that floated over the little town, they cared nothing.
+On they came, and opened fire on the "Levant," which had dropped
+anchor under what was supposed to be a neutral battery. The Americans
+soon discovered their error. Not only did the British disregard the
+neutrality of the port, but the paroled prisoners on shore took
+possession of the battery, and opened fire upon the beleaguered craft.
+Thus caught between two fires, no hope remained to the Americans; and,
+after a few minutes' gallant but useless defence, the flag of the
+"Levant" was hauled down, and she passed again into the hands of the
+British.
+
+It was late in May before the "Constitution" reached New York. Peace
+had then been declared; but none the less were Stewart and his men
+feasted and honored. The old frigate had won for herself a name ever
+to be remembered by the people of the nation, in whose service she had
+received and dealt so many hard knocks. "Old Ironsides," they called
+her; and even to-day, when a later war has given to the navy vessels
+whose sides are literally iron, the "Constitution" still holds her
+place in the hearts of the American people, who think of her lovingly
+by the well-won title of "Old Ironsides."
+
+While we have been following thus Stewart and his gallant frigate in
+their final cruise, some smaller vessels were doing good work for the
+credit of the American flag. It will be remembered, that, when the
+"President" left New York Bay on her short and disastrous cruise of
+January, 1815, she left behind her, at anchor, the "Peacock," the
+"Hornet," and the "Tom Bowline." These vessels, knowing nothing of the
+fate of their former consort, awaited only the coming of a gale
+sufficient to drive away the blockading squadron. On the 22d of
+January it came up to blow; and the three craft, under storm canvas,
+scudded over the bar, and made for the rendezvous at Tristan d'Acunha.
+On the way thither they separated, the "Hornet" cruising alone. On the
+23d she sighted a strange sail on the horizon, and, clapping on all
+sail, bore down upon her. At the same time the stranger sighted the
+"Hornet," and made for her, evidently with hostile intent. The two
+vessels approached each other until within musket-shot, when the
+stranger hoisted English colors, and fired a gun. Capt. Biddle of the
+American ship was ready for the fray, and opened fire with a
+broadside. The response of the enemy was vigorous and effective. For
+fifteen minutes the firing was constant; but the enemy, seeing that
+the Americans were getting the better of the fight, then strove to
+close and board. This Biddle determined to avoid, but called up the
+boarders to beat back the enemy, should they succeed in closing. "At
+the instant," he writes, in his official report, "every officer and
+man repaired to the quarter-deck, when the two vessels were coming in
+contact, and eagerly pressed me to permit them to board the enemy; but
+this I would not permit, as it was evident, from the commencement of
+the action, that our fire was greatly superior, both in quickness and
+effect. The enemy's bowsprit came between our main and mizzen rigging,
+on our starboard side, affording him an opportunity to board us, if
+such was his design; but no attempt was made. There was a considerable
+swell on; and, as the sea lifted us ahead, the enemy's bowsprit
+carried away our mizzen-shrouds, stern davits, and spanker-boom, and
+he hung upon our larboard quarter. At this moment an officer called
+out that they had surrendered. I directed the marines and musketry men
+to cease firing; and while on the taffrail, asking if they had
+surrendered, I received a wound in the neck."
+
+This wound, to which the captain so casually alludes, merits more than
+a passing reference. The fire of both ships had ceased when Biddle
+stepped upon the taffrail; but he had stood there only a moment, when
+two or three of the officers on the quarter-deck cried out that a man
+on the Englishman was aiming at him. Biddle did not hear the caution;
+but two American marines saw the enemy's movement, and, quickly
+bringing up their muskets, sent two balls crashing into the brain of
+the English marksman. He fell back dead, but had fired his piece
+before falling. The bullet struck Biddle in the neck, inflicting a
+painful, but not serious, wound. The blood flowed freely, however; and
+two sailors, rushing up, were about to carry their commander to the
+cock-pit, when he stopped them. Determined to do something to stanch
+the flowing blood, a sailor tore his shirt into bandages, with which
+he bound up his captain's wound. But let us return to Biddle's
+narrative.
+
+"The enemy just then got clear of us; and his foremast and bowsprit
+being both gone, and perceiving us wearing to give him a fresh
+broadside, he again called out that he had surrendered. It was with
+difficulty that I could restrain my crew from firing into him again,
+as he had certainly fired into us after having surrendered. From the
+firing of the first gun, to the last time the enemy cried out that he
+had surrendered, was exactly twenty-two minutes by the watch. She
+proved to be His Britannic Majesty's brig "Penguin," mounting sixteen
+thirty-two-pound carronades, two long twelves, a twelve-pound
+carronade on the top-gallant forecastle, with a swivel on the capstan
+in the tops."
+
+On boarding the prize, Biddle found that she had suffered too severely
+from the American fire to ever be of service again. He accordingly
+removed the prisoners and wounded to his own ship, and scuttled the
+"Penguin." Hardly was this operation accomplished, when two sail were
+sighted, bearing rapidly down upon the scene of action. Nothing
+daunted, the lads of the "Hornet" went to their guns, but were
+heartily glad to find that the two vessels approaching were the
+"Peacock" and "Tom Bowline." On their arrival, the latter vessel was
+converted into a cartel, and sent into Rio de Janeiro with prisoners;
+while the "Hornet" and "Peacock" cruised on toward the Indian Seas. On
+April 28 a heavy line-of-battle ship was sighted, and gave chase. In
+the flight the two sloops parted; the "Peacock" going off unmolested,
+while the "Hornet" fled, hotly pursued by the enemy. For a time it
+seemed as if the little craft must fall a prey to her huge pursuer,
+which had come up within a mile, and was firing great shot at the
+scudding sloop-of-war. Overboard went cables, guns, spars, shot, every
+thing that would lighten the "Hornet." The sails were wet down, and
+every thing that would draw was set. By consummate skill Biddle at
+last succeeded in evading his pursuer; and on the 9th of June the
+"Hornet" entered New York Bay, without a boat or anchor, and with but
+one gun left. But she brought the report that the last naval battle of
+the war had ended in victory for the Americans.
+
+[Illustration: Foundered at Sea.]
+
+Meanwhile the "Peacock" was returning from a cruise not altogether
+void of interest. On parting with the "Hornet," she had struck off to
+the southward, and in the Straits of Sundra, between Borneo and
+Sumatra, had fallen in with the East India Company's cruiser
+"Nautilus," of fourteen guns. Between these two vessels an unfortunate
+and silly rencounter followed. The captain of the "Nautilus" knew of
+the declaration of peace; and, as the "Peacock" bore down upon his
+vessel, he shouted through a speaking-trumpet that peace had been
+declared. To this Capt. Warrington of the "Peacock" paid no attention,
+considering it a mere ruse on the part of the enemy, and responded by
+simply ordering the British to haul down their flag. This the
+Englishman very properly refused to do, and gallantly prepared for the
+unequal combat. Two broadsides were then interchanged, by which the
+"Nautilus" was severely cut up, and eight of her crew killed. She then
+struck her colors. Capt. Warrington, on sending a boat aboard his
+adversary, found that the declaration of peace was no ruse, but a
+truthful statement of facts. His conduct had been almost criminally
+headstrong; and, though he was profuse in formal apologies, the wrong
+done could never be righted. The "Peacock" then continued her homeward
+voyage.
+
+When this vessel reached port, the last of the cruisers had returned;
+and the war was over in fact, as it had long been over technically. It
+has become the fashion to say that it was a useless war, that served
+no purpose, because the treaty by which it was ended contained no
+reference to the hateful doctrine of the right of search, which, more
+than any thing else, had brought on the conflict. Yet, though the
+conduct of the war had not led the British to formally renounce their
+claims in this respect, the exploits of the American navy had shown
+that the Yankee blue-jackets were prepared to, and would, forcibly
+resent any attempt on the part of the British to put those claims into
+practice. The British had entered upon the war gaily, never dreaming
+that the puny American navy would offer any serious resistance to
+Great Britain's domination upon the ocean. Yet now, looking back over
+the three years of the war, they saw an array of naval battles, in the
+majority of which the Americans had been victorious; and in all of
+which the brilliancy of American naval tactics, the skill of the
+officers, and the courage and discipline of the crews, put the younger
+combatants on a plane with the older and more famous naval service.
+Fenimore Cooper, in his "History of the Navy of the United States,"
+thus sums up the results of this naval war: "The navy came out of this
+struggle with a vast increase of reputation. The brilliant style in
+which the ships had been carried into action, the steadiness and
+accuracy with which they had been handled, and the fatal accuracy of
+their fire on nearly every occasion had produced a new era in naval
+warfare. Most of the frigate actions had been as soon decided as
+circumstances would at all allow; and in no instance was it found
+necessary to keep up the fire of a sloop-of-war an hour, when singly
+engaged. Most of the combats of the latter, indeed, were decided in
+about half that time. The execution done in these short conflicts was
+often equal to that made by the largest vessels of Europe in general
+actions; and, in some of them, the slain and wounded comprised a very
+large proportion of their crews.... The ablest and bravest captains of
+the English fleet were ready to admit that a new power was about to
+appear upon the ocean, and that it was not improbable the battle for
+the mastery of the seas would have to be fought over again."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+     PRIVATEERS AND PRISONS OF THE WAR. -- THE "ROSSIE." -- SALEM
+     PRIVATEERS. -- THE "GEN. ARMSTRONG" GIVES BATTLE TO A BRITISH
+     SQUADRON, AND SAVES NEW ORLEANS. -- NARRATIVE OF A BRITISH
+     OFFICER. -- THE "PRINCE DE NEUFCHATEL." -- EXPERIENCES OF
+     AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR. -- THE END.
+
+
+No narrative of the naval exploits of the Americans in the second war
+with Great Britain can be complete without some account of the
+achievements of the fleets of privateers which for three years swept
+the seas, destroying a vast amount of the enemy's property; and, while
+accomplishing their end by enriching their owners, did, nevertheless,
+much incidental good to the American cause. Seldom has the business of
+privateering been so extensively carried on as in the War of 1812. For
+this the reason lay in the rich bait offered by the world-wide
+commerce of Great Britain, whose fleets whitened every known sea.
+Privateering must ever be a weapon wielded by the weaker nation
+against the stronger. And Congress, in the very Act by which it
+declared war, authorized the President to issue letters of marque and
+reprisal to private armed vessels.
+
+The declaration of war had hardly been made public, when the hundreds
+of shipyards from Maine to Savannah resounded with the blows of
+hammers and the grating of saws, as the shipwrights worked, busily
+refitting old vessels, or building new ones, destined to cruise
+against the commerce of John Bull. All sorts of vessels were employed
+in this service. The Atlantic and Gulf Coasts fairly swarmed with
+small pilot-boats, mounting one long gun amidships, and carrying crews
+of twenty to forty men. These little craft made rapid sallies into the
+waters of the Gulf Stream, in search of British West Indiamen homeward
+bound. Other privateers were huge three-masters, carrying heavy
+batteries, and able to outsail any of the enemy's ships. On leaving
+port for a long cruise, these vessels would carry enormous crews, so
+that captured vessels might be manned and sent home. After a
+successful cruise, such a privateer returned to port seldom bringing
+more than one-fifth of the crew with which she had set out. But the
+favorite rig for a privateer was that of the top-sail schooner,--such
+a rig as the "Enterprise" carried during the war with France. The
+famous shipyards of Baltimore turned out scores of clean-cut,
+clipper-built schooners, with long, low hulls and raking masts, which
+straightway took to the ocean on privateering cruises. The armament of
+these vessels generally consisted of six to ten carronades and one
+long pivot-gun, going by the pet name of "Long Tom," mounted
+amidships. The crew was usually a choice assortment of cut-throats and
+seafaring vagabonds of all classes,--ready enough to fight if plunder
+was to be gained, but equally ready to surrender if only honor was to
+be gained by fighting. Yet history records a few actions in which the
+privateersmen showed a steadiness and courage worthy of seamen of the
+regular service.
+
+The limitations of this work do not permit a complete account of the
+work of the privateers during the war. Although an interesting
+subject, and one of historical importance, but a few pages can be
+devoted to it here. Properly treated, it would fill a volume; and,
+indeed, one of the most noted privateersmen has left a narrative of
+the exploits of the principal privateers, which forms a very
+considerable tome. The fact that two hundred and fifty private armed
+cruisers under the American flag captured or destroyed over sixteen
+hundred British vessels will indicate the importance and extent of the
+subject. For us a mere sketch of the exploits of some of the principal
+privateers must suffice.
+
+One of the first things to attract the attention of the reader, in the
+dingy files of some newspaper of 1812-15, is the grotesque names under
+which many of the privateers sailed. The grandiloquent style of the
+regular navy vanishes, and in its place we find homely names; such as
+"Jack's Favorite," "Lovely Lass," "Row-boat," "Saucy Jack," or
+"True-blooded Yankee." Some names are clearly political allusions,--as
+the "Orders in Council" and the "Fair Trade." The "Black Joke," the
+"Shark," and the "Anaconda" must have had a grim significance for the
+luckless merchantmen who fell a prey to the vessels bearing these
+names. "Bunker Hill" and "Divided we fall," though odd names to sail
+under, seemed to bring luck to the two vessels, which were very
+successful in their cruises. "United we stand" was a luckless craft,
+however, taking only one prize; while the achievements of the
+"Full-blooded Yankee" and the "Sine qua non" were equally limited. Of
+the "Poor Sailor," certainly little was to be expected; and it is with
+no surprise that we find she captured only one prize.
+
+Among the most successful privateers was the "Rossie" of Baltimore,
+commanded by the Revolutionary veteran Capt. Barney, who left her,
+finally, to assume command of the American naval forces on Chesapeake
+Bay. She was a clipper-built schooner, carrying fourteen guns, and a
+crew of one hundred and twenty men. The destruction wrought by this
+one cruiser was enormous. In a ninety days' cruise she captured, sunk,
+or otherwise destroyed British property to the amount of a million and
+a half dollars, and took two hundred and seventeen prisoners. All this
+was not done without some hard fighting. One prize--His Britannic
+Majesty's packet-ship "Princess Amelia"--was armed with nine-pounders,
+and made a gallant defence before surrendering. Several men were
+killed, and the "Rossie" suffered the loss of her first lieutenant.
+The prisoners taken by the "Rossie" were exchanged for Americans
+captured by the British. With the first body of prisoners thus
+exchanged, Barney sent a cool note to the British commander at New
+Brunswick, assuring him that before long a second batch of his
+captured countrymen should be sent in.
+
+Several Northern seaports shared with Baltimore the business of
+fitting out and manning privateers. The hardy seamen of Maine and
+Massachusetts were ever ready for a profitable venture of this kind;
+and, as the continuation of the war caused the whale-fishery to
+languish, the sailors gladly took up the adventurous life of
+privateersmen. The profits of a successful cruise were enormous; and
+for days after the home-coming of a lucky privateer the little seaport
+into which she came rang with the boisterous shouts of the carousing
+sailors. "We still, in imagination, see our streets filled with
+privateersmen," writes a historian of Portsmouth, "in groups, with
+blue ribbons tied around their hats, inscribed in large letters,
+'SUCCESS TO THE "FOX,"' or whatever vessel they were to sail in. And
+then another scene, of sailors paid off with so much money that they
+knew not what to do with it. It was one of these men that, in Market
+Square, put his arm around a cow, kissed her, and put a five-dollar
+bill in her mouth, for a good cud. Sometimes they might be seen,
+finely dressed, walking down the sunny streets, carrying parasols."
+One Portsmouth privateer came to grief in the West Indies, and was
+captured by a British vessel of heavier metal. In the hold of the
+privateer was a considerable sum of money in gold coin, the existence
+of which was known only to the captain and his body-servant, a bright
+negro. The British, on capturing the vessel, put a prize-crew on
+board, and, while taking the Yankee captain upon their own ship, left
+his negro servant on the prize. Watching his opportunity, the negro
+brought up the gold coin, and dropped it unobserved into a tub of
+greasy black slush with which he had been slushing down the masts.
+Some days later, the captured vessel reached the port to which she had
+been sent, and was tied up at a wharf to await condemnation. The
+faithful servant lingered about the ship for a time, saying that he
+had no place to go. At last he was gruffly ordered to leave; but,
+before going, he astonished the mate by begging for the tub of slush,
+which he said might enable him to earn a few cents along the docks.
+The mate carelessly told him to take the stuff, and be off; which he
+promptly did, carrying away with him his tub of slush, with its
+concealed treasure. It is worthy of note, that this negro, far from
+home and from the owners of the money, paid it into a bank to the
+credit of the captain whom he had served.
+
+Salem, Mass., was another great port for privateers to hail from. Not
+less than twenty-five of these predatory gentry fitted out at the
+quiet little seaside village; and, when the war was ended, few of the
+inhabitants were unable to tell some tale of personal adventures,
+cruising against the enemy. Indeed, Salem had the honor of receiving
+the first prize captured on the ocean after the declaration of war;
+for into the harbor came, on the 10th of June, 1812, the trim
+privateer schooner "Fame," followed close by two ships, from the
+halliards of which waved the British flag surmounted by the stars and
+stripes. Then the whole town turned out as one man to greet and cheer
+the captors; but, long before the war was ended, the appearance of a
+prize in the harbor aroused little excitement. One of the most
+successful of the rovers sailing from this port was the "Dolphin,"
+whose record during the war shows a list of twenty-two captured
+vessels. Her faculty for making long cruises, and turning up in the
+most unexpected places, made her the dread of all British
+sea-captains. She was manned by a gallant set of lads, who had no fear
+of hard fighting; and many of her prizes were won at the cannon's
+mouth. In January, 1813, the "Dolphin" fell in with a British ship and
+brig cruising together off Cape St. Vincent. Though the enemy
+outnumbered the privateersmen, and carried heavier metal, yet the
+"Dolphin" went gallantly into the fight, and after a severe battle
+succeeded in taking both vessels. Great was the astonishment of the
+British at being thus snapped up by a Yankee privateer almost under
+the guns of the Rock of Gibraltar. The luckless Britons were carried
+to America as prisoners; but so kind was the treatment they met with
+at the hands of the privateers, that on leaving the "Dolphin," at
+Boston, they published a card in which they said, "Should the fortune
+of war ever throw Capt. Stafford or any of his crew into the hands of
+the British, it is sincerely hoped he will meet with similar
+treatment."
+
+Perhaps the foremost of all the fighting privateers was the "Gen.
+Armstrong" of New York; a schooner mounting eight long nines and one
+long twenty-four on a pivot. She had a crew of ninety men, and was
+commanded on her first cruise by Capt. Guy R. Champlin. This vessel
+was one of the first to get to sea, and had cruised for several months
+with fair success, when in March, 1813, she gave chase to a sail off
+the Surinam River on the coast of South America. The stranger seemed
+to evince no great desire to escape; and the privateer soon gained
+sufficiently to discover that the supposed merchantman was a British
+sloop-of-war, whose long row of open ports showed that she carried
+twenty-seven guns. Champlin and his men found this a more ugly
+customer than they had expected; but it was too late to retreat, and
+to surrender was out of the question: so, calling the people to the
+guns, Champlin took his ship into action with a steadiness that no old
+naval captain could have exceeded. "Close quarters and quick work,"
+was the word passed along the gun-deck; and the "Armstrong" was
+brought alongside her antagonist at a distant of half pistol-shot. For
+nearly an hour the two vessels exchanged rapid broadsides; but, though
+the American gunners were the better marksmen, the heavy build of the
+sloop-of-war enabled her to stand against broadsides which would have
+cut the privateer to pieces. Capt. Champlin was hit in the shoulder
+early in the action, but kept his station until the fever of his wound
+forced him to retire to his cabin. However, he still continued to
+direct the course of the action; and, seeing that the tide of battle
+was surely going against him, he ordered the crew to get out the
+sweeps and pull away from the enemy, whose rigging was too badly cut
+up to enable her to give chase. This was quickly done; and the "Gen.
+Armstrong," though badly injured, and with her decks covered with dead
+and dying men, escaped, leaving her more powerful adversary to repair
+damages and make the best of her way home. Capt. Champlin, on his
+arrival at New York, was the hero of the hour. For a privateer to have
+held out for an hour against a man-of-war, was thought a feat worthy
+of praise from all classes of men. The merchants of the city tendered
+the gallant captain a dinner, and the stockholders in his vessel
+presented him with a costly sword.
+
+But the "Gen. Armstrong" was destined to fight yet another battle,
+which should far eclipse the glory of her first. A new captain was to
+win the laurels this time; for Capt. Champlin's wound had forced him
+to retire, and his place was filled by Capt. Samuel C. Reid. On the
+26th of September, 1814, the privateer was lying at anchor in the
+roadstead of Fayal. Over the land that enclosed the snug harbor on
+three sides, waved the flag of Portugal, a neutral power, but
+unfortunately one of insufficient strength to enforce the rights of
+neutrality. While the "Armstrong" was thus lying in the port, a
+British squadron, composed of the "Plantagenet" seventy-four, the
+"Rota" thirty-eight, and "Carnation" eighteen, hove in sight, and
+soon swung into the harbor and dropped anchor. Reid watched the
+movements of the enemy with eager vigilance. He knew well that the
+protection of Portugal would not aid him in the least should the
+captain of that seventy-four choose to open fire upon the "Armstrong."
+The action of the British in coming into the harbor was in itself
+suspicious, and the American had little doubt that the safety of his
+vessel was in jeopardy. While he was pacing the deck, and weighing in
+his mind the probability of an assault by the British, he caught sight
+of some unusual stir aboard the hostile ships. It was night; but the
+moon had risen, and by its pale light Reid saw four large barges let
+fall from the enemy's ships, and, manned by about forty men each, make
+toward his vessel. In an instant every man on the privateer was called
+to his post. That there was to be an attack, was now certain; and the
+Americans determined not to give up their vessel without at least a
+vigorous attempt to defend her. Reid's first act was to warp his craft
+under the guns of a rather dilapidated castle, which was supposed to
+uphold the authority of Portugal over the island and adjacent waters.
+Hardly had the position been gained, when the foremost of the British
+boats came within hail, and Capt. Reid shouted, "Boat ahoy! What
+boat's that?" No response followed the hail; and it was repeated, with
+the warning, "Answer, or I shall fire into you." Still the British
+advanced without responding; and Reid, firmly convinced that they
+purposed to carry his ship with a sudden dash, ordered his gunners to
+open on the boats with grape. This was done, and at the first volley
+the British turned and made off. Capt. Reid then warped his vessel
+still nearer shore; and bending springs on her cable, so that her
+broadside might be kept always toward the enemy, he awaited a second
+attack. At midnight the enemy were seen advancing again, this time
+with fourteen barges and about five hundred men. While the flotilla
+was still at long range, the Americans opened fire upon them with the
+heavy "Long Tom;" and, as they came nearer, the full battery of long
+nine-pounders took up the fight. The carnage in the advancing boats
+was terrible; but the plucky Englishmen pushed on, meeting the
+privateer's fire with volleys of musketry and carronades. Despite the
+American fire, the British succeeded in getting under the bow and
+quarter of the "Armstrong," and strove manfully to board; while the
+Americans fought no less bravely to keep them back. The attack became
+a furious hand-to-hand battle. From behind the boarding-nettings the
+Americans thrust pikes, and fired pistols and muskets, at their
+assailants, who, mounted on each other's shoulders, were hacking
+fiercely at the nettings which kept them from gaining the schooner's
+deck. The few that managed to clamber on the taffrail of the
+"Armstrong" were thrust through and through with pikes, and hurled,
+thus horribly impaled, into the sea. The fighting was fiercest and
+deadliest on the quarter; for there were most of the enemy's boats,
+and there Capt. Reid led the defence in person. So hot was the
+reception met by the British at this point, that they drew off in
+dismay, despairing of ever gaining the privateer's deck. Hardly did
+Reid see the enemy thus foiled on the quarter, when a chorus of
+British cheers from the forecastle, mingled with yells of rage, told
+that the enemy had succeeded in effecting a lodgement there. Calling
+his men about him, the gallant captain dashed forward and was soon in
+the front rank of the defenders, dealing furious blows with his
+cutlass, and crying out, "Come on, my lads, and we'll drive them into
+the sea." The leadership of an officer was all that the sailors
+needed. The three lieutenants on the forecastle had been killed or
+disabled, else the enemy had never come aboard. With Reid to cheer
+them on, the sailors rallied, and with a steady advance drove the
+British back into their boats. The disheartened enemy did not return
+to the attack, but returned to their ships, leaving behind two boats
+captured and two sunk. Their loss in the attack was thirty-four killed
+and eighty-six wounded. On the privateer were two killed and seven
+wounded.
+
+[Illustration: Privateersmen at Home.]
+
+But the attack was not to end here. Reid was too old a sailor to
+expect that the British, chagrined as they were by two repulses, were
+likely to leave the privateer in peace. He well knew that the
+withdrawal of the barges meant not an abandonment, but merely a short
+discontinuance, of the attack. Accordingly he gave his crew scarcely
+time to rest, before he set them to work getting the schooner in trim
+for another battle. The wounded were carried below, and the decks
+cleared of splinters and wreckage. The boarding-nettings were patched
+up, and hung again in place. "Long Tom" had been knocked off his
+carriage by a carronade shot, and had to be remounted; but all was
+done quickly, and by morning the vessel was ready for whatever might
+be in store for her. The third assault was made soon after daybreak.
+Evidently the enemy despaired of his ability to conquer the
+privateersmen in a hand-to-hand battle; for this time he moved the
+brig "Carnation" up within range, and opened fire upon the schooner.
+The man-of-war could fire nine guns at a broadside, while the schooner
+could reply with but seven; but "Long Tom" proved the salvation of the
+privateer. The heavy twenty-four-pound shots from this gun did so much
+damage upon the hull of the brig, that she was forced to draw out of
+the action; leaving the victory, for the third time, with the
+Americans.
+
+But now Capt. Reid decided that it was folly to longer continue the
+conflict. The overwhelming force of the enemy made any thought of
+ultimate escape folly. It only remained for the British to move the
+seventy-four "Plantagenet" into action to seal the doom of the Yankee
+privateer. The gallant defence already made by the Americans had cost
+the British nearly three hundred men in killed and wounded; and Reid
+now determined to destroy his vessel, and escape to the shore. The
+great pivot-gun was accordingly pointed down the main hatch, and two
+heavy shots sent crashing through the bottom. Then applying the torch,
+to make certain the work of destruction, the privateersmen left the
+ship, giving three cheers for the gallant "Gen. Armstrong," as a burst
+of flame and a roar told that the flames had reached her magazine.
+
+This gallant action won loud plaudits for Capt. Reid when the news
+reached the United States. Certainly no vessel of the regular navy was
+ever more bravely or skilfully defended than was the "Gen. Armstrong."
+But, besides the credit won for the American arms, Reid had
+unknowingly done his country a memorable service. The three vessels
+that attacked him were bound to the Gulf of Mexico, to assist in the
+attack upon New Orleans. The havoc Reid wrought among their crews, and
+the damage he inflicted upon the "Carnation," so delayed the New
+Orleans expedition, that Gen. Jackson was able to gather those motley
+troops that fought so well on the plains of Chalmette. Had it not been
+for the plucky fight of the lads of the "Gen. Armstrong," the British
+forces would have reached New Orleans ten days earlier, and
+Packenham's expedition might have ended very differently.
+
+The "Plantagenet" and her consorts were not the only British
+men-of-war bound for New Orleans that fell in with warlike Yankee
+privateers. Some of the vessels from the Chesapeake squadron met a
+privateer, and a contest ensued, from which the American emerged with
+less glory than did the lads of the "Gen. Armstrong." A young British
+officer in his journal thus tells the story:--
+
+"It was my practice to sit for hours, after nightfall, upon the
+taffrail, and strain my eyes in the attempt to distinguish objects on
+shore, or strange sails in the distance. It so happened that on the
+30th I was tempted to indulge in this idle but bewitching employment
+even beyond my usual hour for retiring, and did not quit the deck till
+towards two o'clock in the morning of the 31st [of October]. I had
+just entered my cabin, and was beginning to undress, when a cry from
+above of an enemy in chase drew me instantly to the quarter-deck. On
+looking astern I perceived a vessel making directly after us, and was
+soon convinced of the justice of the alarm, by a shot which whistled
+over our heads. All hands were now called to quarters, the small sails
+taken in; and having spoken to our companion, and made an agreement as
+to position, both ships cleared for action. But the stranger, seeing
+his signal obeyed with so much alacrity, likewise slackened sail, and,
+continuing to keep us in view, followed our wake without approaching
+nearer. In this state things continued till daybreak,--we still
+holding our course, and he hanging back; but, as soon as it was light,
+he set more sail and ran to windward, moving just out of gun-shot in a
+parallel direction with us. It was now necessary to fall upon some
+plan of deceiving him; otherwise, there was little probability that he
+would attack. In the bomb, indeed, the height of the bulwarks served
+to conceal some of the men; but in the transport no such screen
+existed. The troops were therefore ordered below; and only the
+sailors, a few blacks, and the officers kept the deck. The same
+expedient was likewise adopted in part by Capt. Price of the
+'Volcano;' and, in order to give to his ship a still greater
+resemblance than it already had to a merchantman, he displayed an old
+faded scarlet ensign, and drew up his fore and main sail in what
+sailors term a lubberly manner.
+
+"As yet the stranger had shown no colors, but from her build and
+rigging there was little doubt as to her country. She was a beautiful
+schooner, presenting seven ports of a side, and apparently crowded
+with men,--circumstances which immediately led us to believe that she
+was an American privateer. The 'Volcano,' on the other hand, was a
+clumsy, strong-built ship, carrying twelve guns; and the 'Golden
+Fleece' mounted eight: so that in point of artillery the advantage was
+rather on our side; but the American's sailing was so much superior to
+that of either of us, that this advantage was more than
+counter-balanced.
+
+"Having dodged us till eight o'clock, and reconnoitred with great
+exactness, the stranger began to steer gradually nearer and nearer,
+till at length it was judged that she was within range. A gun was
+accordingly fired from the 'Volcano,' and another from the transport;
+the balls from both of which passed over her, and fell into the sea.
+Finding herself thus assaulted, she now threw off all disguise, and
+hung out an American ensign. When putting her helm up, she poured a
+broadside with a volley of musketry into the transport, and ran
+alongside of the bomb, which sailed to windward.
+
+"As soon as her flag was displayed, and her intention of attacking
+discerned, all hands were ordered up; and she received two
+well-directed broadsides from the 'Volcano,' as well as a warm salute
+from the 'Golden Fleece.' But such was the celerity of her motion,
+that she was alongside of the bomb in less time than can be imagined,
+and actually dashing her bow against the other, attempted to carry her
+by boarding. Capt. Price, however, was ready to receive them. The
+boarders were at their posts in an instant; and Jonathan finding, to
+use a vulgar phrase, that he had caught a Tartar, left about twenty
+men upon the 'Volcano's' bowsprit, all of whom were thrown into the
+sea, and filling his sails sheered off with the same speed with which
+he had borne down. In attempting to escape, he unavoidably fell
+somewhat to leeward, and exposed the whole of his deck to the fire of
+the transport. A tremendous discharge of musketry saluted him as he
+passed; and it was almost laughable to witness the haste with which
+his crew hurried below, leaving none upon deck except such as were
+absolutely wanted to work the vessel.
+
+"The 'Volcano' had by this time filled and gave chase, firing with
+great precision at his yards and rigging, in the hope of disabling
+him. But, as fortune would have it, none of his important ropes or
+yards were cut; and we had the mortification to see him in a few
+minutes beyond our reach."
+
+[Illustration: Prison Chaplain and Jailor.]
+
+An exploit of yet another privateer should be chronicled before the
+subject of the private armed navy can be dismissed. On the 11th of
+October, 1814, the brigantine privateer "Prince de Neufchatel,"
+seventeen guns, was encountered near Nantucket by the British frigate
+"Endymion,"--the same ship which was so roughly handled by the
+"President" in her last battle. About nine o'clock at night, a calm
+having come on, the frigate despatched a boarding party of a hundred
+and eleven men in five boats to capture the privateer. The latter
+vessel was short-handed, having but forty men; but this handful of
+Yankee tars gallantly prepared to meet the attack. The guns were
+charged with grape and canister, the boarding-nettings triced up, and
+cutlasses and pistols distributed to the crew. As the British came on,
+the Americans opened fire, notwithstanding which the enemy dashed
+alongside, and strove fiercely to gain the deck. But in this they were
+foiled by the gallantry of the defenders, who fought desperately, and
+cut down the few British who managed to gain a foothold. The conflict
+was short, and the discomfiture of the enemy complete. After but a few
+minutes' fighting, one boat was sunk, one captured, and the other
+three drifted helplessly away, filled with dead and dying. The total
+loss of the British in this affair was twenty-eight killed and
+thirty-seven wounded. Of the crew of the privateer, seven were killed,
+and nine only remained unhurt.
+
+A narrative of the exploits of, and service done by, the American
+sailors in the War of 1812 would be incomplete if it said nothing of
+the sufferings of that great body of tars who spent the greater part
+of the war season confined in British prisons. Several thousand of
+these were thrown into confinement before the war broke out, because
+they refused to serve against their country in British ships. Others
+were prisoners of war. No exact statistics as to the number of
+Americans thus imprisoned have ever been made public; but the records
+of one great prison--that at Dartmoor--show, that, when the war
+closed, six thousand American seamen were imprisoned there,
+twenty-five hundred of whom had been detained from long before the
+opening of the war, on account of their refusal to join the ranks of
+the enemy. As I write, there lies before me a quaint little book, put
+out anonymously in 1815, and purporting to be the "Journal of a Young
+Man captured by the British." Its author, a young surgeon of Salem,
+named Waterhouse, shipped on a Salem privateer, and was captured early
+in the war. His experience with British prisons and transport-ships
+was long; and against his jailors he brings shocking charges of
+brutality, cruelty, and negligence.
+
+The Yankee seamen who were captured during the war were first
+consigned to receiving-prisons at the British naval stations in
+America. Sometimes these places of temporary detention were mouldering
+hulks, moored in bays or rivers; sometimes huge sheds hastily put
+together, and in which the prisoners were kept only by the unceasing
+vigilance of armed guards. "The prison at Halifax," writes Waterhouse,
+"erected solely for the safe-keeping of prisoners of war, resembles an
+horse-stable, with stalls, or stanchions, for keeping the cattle from
+each other. It is to a contrivance of this sort that they attach the
+cords that support those canvas bags or cradles, called hammocks. Four
+tier of these hanging nests were made to hang, one above the other,
+between these stalls, or stanchions.... The general hum and confused
+noise from almost every hammock was at first very distressing. Some
+would be lamenting their hard fate at being shut up like negro slaves
+in a Guinea ship, or like fowls in a hen-coop, for no crime, but for
+fighting the battles of their country; others, late at night, were
+relating their adventures to a new prisoner; others, lamenting their
+aberrations from rectitude, and disobedience to parents, and
+headstrong wilfulness, that drove them to sea, contrary to their
+parents' wish; while others, of the younger class, were sobbing out
+their lamentations at the thoughts of what their mothers and sisters
+suffered after knowing of their imprisonment. Not unfrequently the
+whole night was spent in this way; and when, about daybreak, the weary
+prisoner fell into a doze, he was waked from his slumber by the
+grinding noise of the locks, and the unbarring of the doors, with the
+cry of '_Turn out!_ _All out!_' when each man took down his hammock,
+and lashed it up, and slung it on his back, and was ready to answer to
+the roll-call of the turnkey."
+
+From prisons such as this, the prisoners were conveyed in droves to
+England, in the holds of men-of-war and transports. Poorly fed, worse
+housed, and suffering for lack of air and room, their agony on the
+voyage was terrible. When they were allowed a few hours' time on deck,
+they were sure to arouse the anger of the officers by turbulent
+conduct or imprudent retorts. "One morning as the general and the
+captain of the 'Regulus' (transport) were walking as usual on the
+quarter-deck, one of our Yankee boys passed along the galley with his
+kid of burgoo. He rested it on the hatchway while he adjusted the rope
+ladder to descend with his swill. The thing attracted the attention of
+the general, who asked the man how many of his comrades eat of that
+quantity for their breakfast. 'Six, sir,' said the man, 'but it is fit
+food only for hogs.' This answer affronted the captain, who asked the
+man in an angry tone, 'What part of America he came from?' 'Near to
+Bunker Hill, sir, if you ever heard of that place,' was the answer."
+On another occasion, a Yankee and a slightly wounded British marine
+got into a dispute, and came to blows. The British captain saw the
+occurrence, and accused the American of cowardice in striking a
+wounded man. "I am no coward, sir," said the Yankee. "I was captain of
+a gun on board the 'Constitution' when she captured the 'Guerriere,'
+and afterward when she took the 'Java.' Had I been a coward, I should
+not have been there."
+
+[Illustration: King Dick and his Chaplain.]
+
+On one occasion the prisoners on the transport "Crown Prince," lying
+in the River Medway, took an uncontrollable dislike to the commander
+of a second transport lying close alongside. Their spite was gratified
+quickly and with great effect. The rations served out to the luckless
+captives at that time consisted of fish and cold potatoes. The latter
+edible being of rather poor quality, the prisoners reserved for
+missiles; and the obnoxious officer could not pace his quarter-deck
+without being made a mark for a shower of potatoes. Vainly did he
+threaten to call up his marines and respond with powder and lead: the
+Americans were not to be kept down; and for some days the harassed
+officer hardly dared to show himself upon deck.
+
+The place of final detention for most of the prisoners taken in the
+war with America was Dartmoor Prison; a rambling collection of huge
+frame buildings, surrounded by double walls of wood. The number of
+prisoners confined there, and the length of time which many of them
+had spent within its walls, gave this place many of the
+characteristics of a small State, with rulers and officials of its
+own. One of the strangest characters of the prison was King Dick, a
+gigantic negro, who ruled over the five or six hundred negro
+prisoners. "He is six feet five inches in height," says one of the
+prisoners, "and proportionally large. This black Hercules commands
+respect, and his subjects tremble in his presence. He goes the rounds
+every day, and visits every berth, to see if they all are kept clean.
+When he goes the rounds, he puts on a large bear-skin cap, and carries
+in his hand a huge club. If any of his men are dirty, drunken, or
+grossly negligent, he threatens them with a beating; and if they are
+saucy they are sure to receive one. They have several times conspired
+against him, and attempted to dethrone him; but he has always
+conquered the rebels. One night several attacked him while asleep in
+his hammock: he sprang up, and seized the smallest by his feet, and
+thumped another with him. The poor negro, who had thus been made a
+beetle of, was carried the next day to the hospital, sadly bruised,
+and provokingly laughed at." King Dick, to further uphold his dignity
+as a monarch, had his private chaplain, who followed his royal master
+about, and on Sundays preached rude but vigorous sermons to His
+Majesty's court. On weekdays the court was far from being a dignified
+gathering. King Dick was a famous athlete, and in the cock-loft, over
+which he reigned, was to be seen fine boxing and fencing. Gambling,
+too, was not ruled out of the royal list of amusements; and the cries
+of the players, mingled with the singing of the negroes, and the
+sounds of the musical instruments upon which they played, made that
+section of the prison a veritable pandemonium.
+
+[Illustration: The last Volley of the War.]
+
+But although some few incidents occurred to brighten momentarily the
+dull monotony of the prisoners' lot, the life of these unfortunate
+men, while thus imprisoned, was miserable and hateful to them. Months
+passed, and even years, but there seemed to be no hope for release. At
+last came the news of the declaration of peace. How great then was the
+rejoicing! Thoughts of home, of friends and kindred, flooded the minds
+of all; and even strong men, whom the hardships of prison-life had not
+broken down, seemed to give way all at once to tears of joy. But the
+delays of official action, "red-tape," and the sluggishness of travel
+in that day, kept the poor fellows pent up for months after the treaty
+of peace had been announced to them. Nor were they to escape without
+suffering yet more severely at the hands of their jailors. Three
+months had passed since peace had been declared; and the long delay so
+irritated the prisoners, that they chafed under prison restraint, and
+showed evidences of a mutinous spirit. The guards, to whom was
+intrusted the difficult task of keeping in subjection six thousand
+impatient and desperate men, grew nervous, fearing that at any moment
+the horde of prisoners would rise and sweep away all before them. An
+outbreak was imminent; and the prisoners were like a magazine of
+gunpowder, needing but a spark of provocation to explode. On April 6,
+1815, matters reached a crisis. The soldiers, losing all presence of
+mind, fired on the defenceless Americans, killing five men and
+wounding thirty-four. Thus the last blood shed in the War of 1812 was
+the blood of unarmed prisoners. But the massacre, horrible and
+inexcusable as it was, had the effect of hastening the release of the
+survivors; and soon the last of the captives was on his way home to
+the country over which peace at last reigned again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+     THE LONG PEACE BROKEN BY THE WAR WITH MEXICO. -- ACTIVITY OF THE
+     NAVY. -- CAPTAIN STOCKTON'S STRATAGEM. -- THE BATTLE AT SAN JOSE.
+     -- THE BLOCKADE. -- INSTANCES OF PERSONAL BRAVERY. -- THE LOSS OF
+     THE "TRUXTON." -- YELLOW FEVER IN THE SQUADRON. -- THE NAVY AT
+     VERA CRUZ. -- CAPTURE OF ALVARADO.
+
+
+The period of peace which followed the close of the War of 1812 was,
+perhaps, the longest which any nation has ever enjoyed. For the navy
+of the United States, it was a time of absolute peace, inactivity,
+even stagnation. The young nation was living literally up to
+Washington's rule of avoiding entanglements abroad, and its people
+looked with suspicion on the naval branch of the service which had
+rendered such a good account of itself in the war with Great Britain.
+They feared to build and man ships lest possession of a navy might
+prove an incentive to war. And so when war did come--war, not with
+Europe, but with our nearest neighbor--the United States had little
+floating force to join in it. Fortunately, little was needed.
+
+Though war was not declared by the United States against Mexico until
+May, 1846, it had been a possibility ever since the establishment of
+the Texan Republic by the defeat of the Mexicans at San Jacinto in
+1834, and it had been a great probability since 1841, when it was
+discovered that both England and France were holding out prospects of
+assistance to the Mexicans in case of conflict with the United
+States. Neither of these European powers was sincere in the diplomatic
+game which deceived the proud but ignorant Mexicans, but neither did
+either of them scruple to foment a quarrel out of which some selfish,
+though indefinite, advantage might be gained. Indeed they played the
+diplomatic game so skilfully that they deceived a considerable
+minority in the United States and made these believe that the
+admission of Texas to the United States would be unwise and
+inexpedient, and the probable war with Mexico a wickedness dire and
+dreadful. Even General Grant, when he wrote his book, said that such
+were his views at the time, though he was then an army officer and
+trusting to war for advancement. But when hostilities were begun, and
+victory for American arms followed victory, the protests of the peace
+party were unheard amid the enthusiastic shoutings of those who took a
+saner view of the conditions which led to the conflict.
+
+Mexico claimed title not only to Texas, but to California, and if the
+United States had not gone to war in regard to the former, she would
+have had to do so in defence of her conquest of the latter. In
+securing California the navy bore a conspicuous part, and as early as
+1842, Captain Thomas Ap-Catesby Jones, commanding the Pacific
+squadron, was as active as though war had already been declared. In
+September of that year, with his squadron of four ships, he was at
+anchor in the harbor of Callao, and noticing the suspicious conduct of
+the British frigate "Dublin," which shoved off the port and then bore
+away, he concluded to follow her and see just what game she sought, as
+he had been informed by the Navy Department that England was plotting
+in Mexico against the United States; he had also read in a Mexican
+newspaper that war was likely to be declared, if indeed hostilities
+had not already begun. Captain Jones reached Monterey on the 19th of
+October, and though he saw nothing of the "Dublin," he at once
+insisted on the surrender of the place. The next day he learned that
+his action had been premature and made what amends he could. So the
+navy really struck the first official blow that led to this war.
+
+When war had been declared, the Pacific squadron did not learn of it
+until after the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Captain
+Sloat, in command, at once took prompt action. Landing two hundred and
+fifty seamen and marines under Captain Mervine, he captured Monterey
+on the 2d of July. A week later he formally took possession of the
+splendid bay of San Francisco and the neighboring country. He also
+occupied Sutter's Fort, on Sacramento River, and the towns of Bodega
+and Sonoma. In this war it will be noticed throughout this narrative
+that the naval forces were constantly required to do shore duty, a
+duty to which they were unaccustomed but which they performed with
+entire efficiency. The Mexicans had no navy worthy of the name and the
+American sailors were auxiliary to the soldiers. Though untrained to
+this kind of service, and though it was always hard, and sometimes
+quite ungrateful, they responded to orders with entire cheerfulness;
+when the service was most perilous then the blue-jackets entered upon
+it with a gayety that laughed at danger.
+
+On the 19th of July, Fremont and his corps of topographical engineers
+met Captain Sloat and thereafter co-operated with him. In the "Cyane,"
+Commander Du Pont, Fremont was sent to San Diego with one hundred and
+fifty riflemen and that place was occupied. On the 30th of July, the
+"Congress" took possession of San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, the
+seat of the Mexican government in California. About this time the
+command of the Pacific squadron devolved upon Captain Robert F.
+Stockton, who was not a whit less vigilant than his predecessors had
+been. Having all the California seaports, Captain Stockton planned an
+expedition against Los Angeles before the well-armed Mexican soldiers
+in the province could be brought together. He landed three hundred and
+fifty sailors and marines and established a camp at San Pedro. Captain
+Stockton's biographer says: "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 spectacle both singular and amusing." The
+Mexican forces at Los Angeles outnumbered Captain Stockton's land
+forces three to one, so he resorted to a stratagem to deceive the
+enemy as to his force. A flag of truce having appeared on the hills,
+"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 approaching messengers, to the
+rear of some buildings on the beach, and thence to turn in a circle
+and continue their march until the strangers had arrived. Part of the
+circle described in the march was concealed from view, so that to the
+strangers it would appear that a force ten times greater than the
+actual number was defiling before them. When the two 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 six-pounders
+and one thirty-two-pound carronade. The guns were all covered with
+skins so as to conceal their dimensions except the huge mouth of the
+thirty-two-pounder at which the captain was stationed to receive his
+guests.... As his purpose was intimidation he received them with much
+sternness." They asked for a truce, but Stockton demanded and secured
+an immediate and absolute surrender, as the evident object of the
+Mexicans was to gain time. Stockton at once began his tedious march to
+Los Angeles, his men dragging the cannon through the sand. On the 12th
+of August, he received a message from the Mexican general, saying "if
+he marched on the town he would find it the grave of his men." He
+replied: "Then tell your general to have the bells ready to toll at
+eight o'clock in the morning. I shall be there at that time." He was
+as good as his word. The next morning he was joined by Fremont and his
+men, who had come up from San Diego and they entered Los Angeles
+unopposed. He organized a civil government for the entire state, with
+Major Fremont as the head of it, and returning to his ships sailed
+northward on the 5th of September, 1846. The news of these operations
+was sent to Washington overland by the famous scout, Kit Carson.
+
+Meantime the other ships of the Pacific squadron were cruising along
+the coast and capturing everything with a semblance of Mexican
+ownership. But Captain Stockton was much disconcerted in October to
+learn that two Mexican generals, released on parole after the fall of
+Los Angeles, had gathered a force and were besieging the small
+garrison there. The "Savannah" at once went to the scene. At San Pedro
+it was learned that the garrison had been compelled to capitulate and
+was awaiting an American cruiser. Captain Mervine, of the "Savannah,"
+landed a detachment of sailors and marines and began the march to the
+capital. He could not cope with the superior force and had to retire.
+Indeed nearly all the places captured by the active sailors seemed
+likely now to fall into the hands of the Mexicans again. The garrison
+at Monterey was threatened by an uprising of the people; the garrison
+at San Diego was besieged; Los Angeles was in the hands of the enemy,
+and the force at the enemy's camp at San Bernardino was getting
+stronger each day. But Captain Stockton was equal to all demands upon
+him and made up for inadequate forces by celerity of movement. Just
+when matters were most critical the naval forces learned of the
+repulse of General Stephen Kearny by the Mexicans under Pico. It was
+indeed with great difficulty that Kearny and his dragoons were rescued
+by the sailors from their invested position near San Bernardino.
+
+Having got what men he could together, Captain Stockton determined to
+recapture Los Angeles. On the 29th of December, 1846, he began his
+march of 145 miles to the capital. There were no roads, but the route
+was through deep ravines, sand-hills, and deserts. The men were poorly
+armed and badly clothed, and there were few horses to assist in
+drawing the artillery. Never did an American commander have before him
+a more disagreeable prospect. The men, many of them without
+foot-covering, became worn-out in the march and begged to rest, but
+the captain insisted that they must go on, as the Mexicans were
+getting stronger every day. The men responded as best they could.
+
+On the 7th of January, the intrepid Stockton found that the enemy was
+intrenched between him and the San Gabriel River. The Mexican general
+changed his mind and crossed the river with the object of interrupting
+the crossing. But Stockton would not be denied, and repulsed the enemy
+on every side, though outnumbered three to one. This was on the 8th of
+January, the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans. The next day he
+fought again, resisting three furious charges of the enemy. On the
+10th he entered Los Angeles unopposed, and on the 15th he was joined
+there by Fremont and his corps. These seaports in California were not
+seriously harassed during the remainder of the war, but they needed to
+be garrisoned, while the whole coast required watching. A part of the
+squadron was sent south and also into the Bay of California. Before
+the end of 1847 every Mexican gun on the western coast, save those at
+Acapulco, had been silenced. Loreto, La Paz, Mazatlan, San Blas,
+Manzanilla, San Antonio, Guaymas, and Mulye fell to the squadron.
+Sometimes it only needed for a ship or two to appear before a town and
+it would surrender, but generally an assault or the appearance of a
+storming party on land was necessary. But the seamen and marines were
+always invincible in this part of the war, where they were entirely
+without aid from the army.
+
+The most serious predicament in which the Americans found themselves
+in this Pacific Coast campaign was when Lieutenant Heywood, of the
+"Dale," with four midshipmen and twenty marines, were shut up in the
+Mission House at San Jose, a small village near San Lucas. He was
+surrounded by a large force before he knew it, and two of his
+midshipmen were taken unawares and captured by an enemy not known to
+be near. Lieutenant Heywood maintained himself from the 19th of
+November, 1847, till the 17th of February, 1848, when Commander Du
+Pont, in the "Cyane," came to his rescue. A party of ninety-four
+seamen and marines, under Lieutenant Rowan, went ashore and fought its
+way against six hundred Mexicans until they were defeated and Heywood
+and his men rescued. There was nothing after this on the western coast
+more serious than guerrilla forays.
+
+The operations on the western coast were probably, in result, much
+more important than those of the home squadron in the Mexican Gulf and
+the Rio Grande River. But the latter squadron was the larger, and as
+it was in constant co-operation with the conquering armies which
+finally captured the capital of the country, much more has been heard
+of the doings of the fleet in the east, which was at first commanded
+by Commodore David Conner and then by Commodore Matthew C. Perry. The
+operations on this coast also came in for much criticism, for the
+various ships were filled with young men overflowing with valor and
+mad with desire of glory. They were also comparatively close to home
+and saw the newspapers from New York, Washington, and New Orleans. In
+these papers the army was accorded all the glory while the navy was
+almost ignored. This neglect rankled in the minds of the madcaps, and
+they blamed Commodore Conner, an officer of much experience and
+distinguished record, for not storming every fort and citadel near the
+coast instead of carrying out his instructions to maintain an
+efficient blockade of the ports and to co-operate with the army
+whenever possible. These duties, tiresome and inglorious as they
+seemed, were of the first importance to the scheme of the campaign,
+and they were performed with a patience which rose superior to
+weariness, sickness, and death. The duty required of the blockaders
+did not require much fighting, but the men were in danger of the
+coast fevers all the time, and hundreds died. And then at some seasons
+the fleet was likely to be blown ashore by the fierce "northers" which
+prevailed. Many accidents resulted during these storms, the most
+serious being the capsizing of the brig "Somers," Lieutenant Raphael
+Semmes (afterward commanding the Confederate ship "Alabama")
+commanding, and the loss of more than half her crew.
+
+When the war began at Palo Alto, Commodore Conner was with his
+squadron off Point Isabel, at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Not
+knowing the issue of the battle, five hundred seamen and marines were
+sent to strengthen the garrison at Point Isabel, where the army
+supplies were stored, while Captain Aulick, of the "Potomac," with two
+hundred men, pulled up the Rio Grande in boats for fifteen miles and
+until a junction with the army was established at Barita. At this time
+the squadron consisted of the frigates "Cumberland" (flagship),
+"Potomac," and "Raritan"; the steam frigate "Mississippi"; the
+sloops-of-war "Falmouth," "John Adams," and "St. Mary's"; the
+steam-sloop "Princeton"; and the brigs "Lawrence," "Porpoise," and
+"Somers." Before the close of the war some of these ships were
+recalled, at least one was wrecked, and the squadron was from time to
+time largely reinforced.
+
+The squadron, now that war had begun, was ordered to blockade the
+ports of Matamoras, on the Rio Grande; Tampico, on the Tampico River;
+Alvarado, on the Alvarado; Coatzalcoalcos, on the river of the same
+name; Tabasco, on the Tabasco River; and Vera Cruz, on the Gulf. The
+rivers mentioned, except the Rio Grande, are mere creeks, not fit for
+vessels of any size, and their mouths simply open roadsteads. Vera
+Cruz was the only place with anything like a harbor. The ports in
+Yucatan, such as Laguna and Campeachy, were only visited for supplies
+of fresh meat. The State of Yucatan was not assisting in the war and
+did not need to be blockaded. By the time General Taylor took
+possession of Matamoras, Commodore Conner's fleet had been
+considerably augmented by the addition of the sloops-of-war
+"Germantown," "Albany," "Saratoga" and "Decatur"; the steamers
+"Spitfire," "Vixen," "Alleghany," "Scorpion" and "Scourge"; the brig
+"Truxton"; the gunboats "Reefer," "Bonita," and "Rebel." A little
+later, and just before the bombardment of Vera Cruz, the "Ohio," with
+seventy-four guns, joined, together with the bomb-vessels "Vesuvius,"
+"Hecla," and "Stromboli." There were also a number of small steamers
+and gunboats to operate in shallow water. These constituted what was
+called the "mosquito fleet." With so formidable a fleet the sailors
+felt they were equal to anything, and whenever a larger part of it was
+operating at one place, it was difficult to restrain the men. The
+youngsters even thought Commodore Conner's prudence and conservatism
+to be timidity, and the writer has before him now a book written
+twenty-five years after these events, by one who was a midshipman on
+the flagship, and he quotes the familiar lines about daring to put
+things to the touch. All this was most unfair, but it indicated that
+the blue jackets of the Mexican War were buttoned over hearts that
+knew no fear.
+
+The blockade of the Mexican ports that was maintained was not by any
+means a paper blockade. It was actual, and the very opposite of the
+merely formal closing of ports which the United States had so long
+protested against in other countries. The hardships of the men and
+officers were fearful and the casualties very great. The tediousness
+of the service was relieved now and again by daring expeditions into
+the rivers and ports, where boats were cut out and taken away from
+beneath batteries on shore. The record of such ventures shows that the
+navy in 1846 and 1847 was no whit inferior in dash to the one which
+made the flag glorious some years before in the war with England. One
+instance of such a venture is quoted from the "Recollections of a
+Naval Officer," by Captain William Harwar Parker. He was telling of
+the blockade at Vera Cruz in 1846. He says: "One of the finest fellows
+in the service I often met on Green Island. I allude to Passed
+Midshipman Hynson, of Maryland. He was drowned in the brig 'Somers,'
+when she capsized in the fall of this year. At the time of her
+sinking, Hynson had both of his arms bandaged and in a sling, and was
+almost helpless. It was said that when the brig sank he managed to get
+hold of a spar with another man, and finding it would not support two
+he deliberately let go his hold. It was like him. The way he happened
+to have his arm in a sling was this: While the 'Somers' was
+maintaining the blockade of Vera Cruz, a vessel managed to slip in--I
+think she was a Spanish schooner. The Mexicans moored her to the walls
+of the Castle of San Juan for safety; but the officers of the 'Somers'
+resolved to cut her out or burn her. Hynson was the leading spirit in
+the affair, though Lieutenant James Parker, of Pennsylvania, was the
+senior officer. They took a boat one afternoon and pulled in to visit
+the officers of an English man-of-war lying under Sacrificios Island.
+It was quite usual to do this. After nightfall they left the British
+ship and pulled directly for the schooner, which they boarded and
+carried. This, be it observed, was directly under the guns of the
+castle and the muskets of its garrison. The crew was secured, and
+finding the wind would not serve to take the vessel out, it was
+resolved to burn her. Her captain made some resistance, and the
+sentinel on the walls called out to know what was the matter. Parker,
+who spoke Spanish remarkably well, replied that his men were drunk and
+he was putting them in irons. The party then set fire to the vessel
+and got safely away with their prisoners. It was in setting fire to
+the schooner that Hynson got so badly burned."
+
+In regard to the personal heroism shown by Hynson and others when the
+"Somers" went down, Lieutenant Raphael Semmes, in his book, "Service
+Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War," said: "Those men who could
+not swim were selected to go into the boat. A large man by the name of
+Seymour, the ship's cook, having got into her, he was commanded by
+Lieutenant Parker to come out, in order that he might make room for
+two smaller men, and he _obeyed the order_. He was afterward permitted
+to return to her, however, when it was discovered that he could not
+swim. Passed Midshipman Hynson, a promising young officer, who had
+been partially disabled by a bad burn received in firing the 'Creole'
+a few days previously, was particularly implored to go into the boat.
+A lad by the name of Nutter jumped out of the boat and offered his
+place to Hynson, and a man by the name of Powers did the same thing.
+Hynson refusing both offers, these men declared that then others might
+take their places, as they were resolved to abide in the wreck with
+him. Hynson and Powers were drowned. Nutter was saved. When the plunge
+was made into the sea, Sailing-Master Clemson seized a studding-sail
+boom, in company with five of the seamen. Being a swimmer, and
+perceiving that the boom was not sufficiently buoyant to support them
+all, he left it and struck out alone. He perished--the five men were
+saved."
+
+Just about this time the first of the gunboats reached the squadron,
+and the young men of the steerage were intensely amused at the
+smallness of the vessel. A midshipman from the flagship visited the
+"Reefer." He went alongside of her in the barge, and, not knowing any
+better, stepped over her port-quarter. Lieutenant Sterrett, in
+command, said in his least gentle voice: "Sir, there is a gangway to
+this vessel!" Before long even the youngsters learned to respect these
+little steamers. Commodore Conner now made an expedition to capture
+Alvarado, but just as he was about ready to begin a bombardment his
+pilots predicted a "norther," and he hoisted the signal, "Return to
+the anchorage off Vera Cruz." This was popularly regarded as a
+_fiasco_, but doubtless the Commodore was entirely right, as Alvarado
+might be taken at any time, and subsequently was taken in a manner
+which has been a joke in the navy ever since. Of this something will
+presently be said. Tampico, a town of 7,000 inhabitants, 210 miles
+north of Vera Cruz, was next proceeded against. The bar at the mouth
+of the Tampico River is considered the most dangerous on the coast,
+and the larger vessels did not try to cross it. But the smaller
+steamers and gunboats of the "mosquito fleet" went in, and the town
+was surrendered without firing a shot. It was then occupied by the
+army. The next movement was against Frontera, at the mouth of the
+Tabasco River, and Tabasco, some seventy miles up that little stream.
+Frontera was taken by surprise, and Commodore Perry, now second in
+command to Commodore Conner, moved up the stream with vessels of too
+heavy draught. He came near losing the "Cumberland" in the mud, and,
+as it was, she was so disabled that when she was pulled from her perch
+on a bar she had to be sent home for repairs. Perry, however, defeated
+the Mexican flotilla and captured all the boats. Two of the prizes had
+to be blown up, but the "Champion," a fast river boat, which had run
+between Richmond and Norfolk, was taken out and afterward usefully
+employed as a despatch-boat. In this expedition there was considerable
+fighting and also some losses both of officers and men.
+
+In blockading the port of Tuspan, some 120 miles northwest of Vera
+Cruz, the brig "Truxton," Captain Carpenter, was stationed. The ship
+was blown ashore and was under the Mexican guns. The Captain sent a
+boat to tell the Commodore of the disaster, but before relief could
+reach him he surrendered. In doing this he was opposed bitterly by all
+his officers, and the quarter-master on duty positively refused to
+obey the order to haul down the flag. Lieutenant Bushrod Hunter, who
+first went for assistance, reached the squadron off Vera Cruz, as did
+also Lieutenant Otway Berryman, with a boat's crew, which left before
+the surrender had been effected. The remainder of the crew were taken
+to Vera Cruz as prisoners of war. As soon as Commodore Conner heard of
+the disaster he sent Captain Engle with the "Princeton" to Tuspan. He
+made short work of it. He drove the Mexicans out of the brig, took
+what armament was left, and then burned her. The guns taken out of the
+"Truxton" were placed in forts erected to protect Tuspan. But these
+were captured next year by Commodore Perry and Captain Breese. The
+officers and men of the navy had a grudge against Tuspan, and the
+landing detachment which carried the works fought as though each man
+in it were a demon. It lost three killed, while five officers and six
+seamen were wounded.
+
+During the summer of 1847, the men of the squadron operating in the
+Gulf suffered severely from yellow fever and also from scurvy brought
+on by a lack of fresh food. It was so bad on the "Mississippi" that
+she had to been sent to Pensacola. Commodore Perry was himself
+stricken, but he refused to leave, and changed his flag to the
+"Germantown," which remained. This was after the fall of Vera Cruz,
+and when the duty of the naval forces was once again only that of
+blockaders. The investment of Vera Cruz was the most considerable
+single piece of work performed by the navy during the war. Commodore
+Conner had gathered at Vera Cruz all his available forces and
+anxiously awaited the coming of General Scott and his army, who were
+at Lobos Island, 150 miles north of Vera Cruz. General Taylor, with
+5,000 men, had just defeated Santa Anna with 20,000 men at Buena
+Vista, and two days later, that is, on the 24th of February, 1847,
+General Scott gave his final orders to his fleet of transports which
+was to take his army to Vera Cruz. Early in March the transports with
+12,600 men arrived in front of Vera Cruz. Captain Parker, in his book
+previously quoted, says: "No words can express our excitement as ship
+after ship crowded with enthusiastic soldiers successively came in;
+some anchoring near us and others continuing on for the anchorage at
+Anton Lizardo. We had been so long on our ships, and for some months
+so inactive, that we were longing for something to do. I cannot answer
+for others, but the scene of that day--and I recollect that it was
+Sunday--is so vivid, and the events so firmly fixed in my memory, that
+I can almost see the ship "Diadem" as she grazed our spanker-boom in
+her desire to pass near enough to speak us, and I can to this day
+whistle the waltz played by an infantry band on board a transport
+anchored near us that night, though I have never heard it since."
+
+Indeed, the naval contingent was most anxious to be in some of the
+heavy fighting, and the chance seeming near, all was enthusiasm aboard
+the ships of the squadron. A few days after General Scott's arrival he
+and Commodore Conner and a large number of principal officers,
+including Captain Joseph E. Johnston, of the "Engineers," made a
+reconnaissance to decide on the best place to land the army. They
+selected the mainland abreast of Sacrificios Island.
+
+On the 9th of March, the steamers "Spitfire" and "Vixen" and several
+gunboats ran close inshore and shelled the sand-hills and chaparral in
+which the enemy might be concealed. Only a few horsemen were made to
+scamper away. The Government for this very landing had sent out a
+number of surf-boats, flat on the bottom and sharp at both ends. Each
+of these carried one hundred men with their arms and accoutrements.
+They proved most admirable for the service, as the whole army was
+landed with out a mishap, and, singularly enough, the Mexicans did not
+molest the Americans in the least while this important movement was in
+progress. By midnight of the 9th of March the whole of the army was
+ashore. Landing the troops having been accomplished, the work of
+taking the artillery pieces, the ammunition, and supplies was begun,
+and this consumed a week, each day lasting from four in the morning
+till ten at night.
+
+While this was in progress, General Scott was so arranging his troops
+that he should entirely invest the city, and by the 20th of March the
+bombardment began. General Scott summoned the authorities to
+surrender, and gave them a chance to send the women and children out
+of the city. Both invitation and opportunity were declined. And so it
+came about that many non-combatants were killed in the siege that
+followed. The sailors not only had to land the army and the materials
+of war, but they were obliged to help get the siege guns in place. The
+blue-jacket ashore is nearly always alive to the importance of having
+a lark, and even in this arduous service they acted very much as
+though they were on a spree. On one occasion a "norther" came up, and
+for several days the seamen could not get back to their ships. Being
+idle they had a good time to their hearts' content. It is said that
+before the end of the first day every Jack of them had a horse and was
+a mounted marine. One of these, a very tough old salt, had for his
+charger a donkey, and on this animal he rode by General Scott's
+quarters in great pride. "Some officers standing by observing that he
+was, as they thought, seated too far back, called out to him to shift
+his seat more amidships. 'Gentlemen,' said Jack, drawing rein, 'this
+is the first craft I ever commanded, and it's d--d hard if I can't
+ride on the quarter-deck.'"
+
+But there was more serious work immediately in store for the navy than
+fetching and carrying for the army and rewarding themselves in boyish
+pranks. The day before the serious bombardment began the squadron was
+notified by signal from the flagship: "Commodore Perry commands the
+squadron." There was rejoicing at this, for Perry was regarded as a
+man who preferred a fight for its own sake rather than to have no
+fight at all. In this command he proved that he was a good fighter,
+but he proved also that he knew how to be conservative when necessity
+made such a course wise. Commodore Conner went home because his health
+demanded that he should. The Navy Department was not dissatisfied with
+him. But the opportunity for heavy fighting came after Perry took the
+command. From the beginning of the siege the fleet kept up a heavy
+firing on the city and castle so as to divert the fire from the land
+forces.
+
+General Scott soon saw that his guns were not strong enough to batter
+down the walls of the city, so he requested Commodore Perry to send
+him some heavy guns. The Commodore's gallant reply was: "Certainly,
+General, but I must fight them." And fight them he did, as we shall
+see. Six heavy pieces of ordnance were landed, and about 200 seamen
+and volunteers were attached to each gun. Three of these were
+sixty-eight-pounder shell guns and three thirty-two-pounder solid-shot
+guns. Each of these guns weighed about three tons. Now each of these
+had to be dragged through the loose sand, almost knee-deep, for
+something like three miles before it could be put in the position the
+engineers had assigned to it. This battery, by the way, was protected
+by bags of sand piled on each other, and this was the first time that
+this device had been used. When the battery was in position the
+officers and men of the ships were so anxious to fight it that, to
+prevent jealousy, the officers first to be assigned drew lots for the
+honor. The first day Captain Aulick commanded, and the next day
+Captain Mayo. The naval battery fired with such precision that they
+did amazing damage to the enemy's works, and on the second day the
+guns in Vera Cruz were silenced. Then began a parley as to terms, but
+on the 28th there was an unconditional surrender. Now Scott had a
+foothold in the part of Mexico which counted for something, and he was
+able to begin that masterly march through the Valley of Mexico and on
+to the capital of the country. But he never could have obtained this
+foothold without the assistance of the navy. The country did not
+recognize this at once, and the newspapers being printed by landsmen,
+all of the immediate glory was bestowed on General Scott.
+
+Now that Vera Cruz had fallen and General Scott's plans called for a
+movement toward the interior, it was most desirable for him to have
+better cavalry. But he lacked horses. Singular as it may seem, he
+called upon the navy to assist in supplying this deficiency. It was
+known that there were Mexican horsemen in and about Alvarado, so it
+was determined to proceed against this place by land and sea, so that
+the town could be reduced, and the horses secured at the same time.
+General Quitman, with a brigade, was sent by land, so as to keep the
+horsemen from running away, while the "Potomac," Captain Aulick, and
+the "Scourge," Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter, were sent to appear in
+front of Alvarado. It was evidently intended that Captain Aulick and
+General Quitman would move on the place on some appointed day.
+Lieutenant Hunter did not know what the plans were, and as his boat
+was much faster than the "Potomac" he arrived in front of Alvarado
+long before Captain Aulick. When the "Potomac" did come in sight, a
+great commotion was noticed in the harbor. The "Albany," which had
+been doing blockading service, came out and informed Captain Aulick
+that Alvarado had been taken.
+
+"By whom?" asked the Captain.
+
+"By Lieutenant Hunter, in the 'Scourge,'" was the reply.
+
+The "Scourge," it should be explained, was a very small steamer,
+carrying one gun and forty men. Hunter went up pretty close and
+observing indications of flinching, he fired three guns and dashed
+boldly in and captured the place. The horsemen, the capture of whom
+was the main object of the expedition, were frightened off before
+General Quitman could intercept them. Having taken possession of
+Alvarado, Lieutenant Hunter placed in the town a garrison consisting
+of a midshipman and two men, and hurried his steamer up the river to a
+place called Tlacotalpan, which he also captured. When General Quitman
+arrived in Alvarado with his brigade and the place was gravely handed
+over to him by Passed Midshipman William G. Temple (afterward a very
+distinguished officer of high rank) he was greatly amused and laughed
+heartily. But Commodore Perry was annoyed and angry. As soon as he
+could get hold of Hunter--not an easy matter, as Hunter had gone on
+his conquering way still further up the river with the intention of
+taking all the rest of Mexico not subjugated by Taylor and Scott--he
+placed him under arrest and preferred charges against him. When Hunter
+was shortly tried by court-martial, he was sentenced to be reprimanded
+by the Commodore, the reprimand to be read from the quarter-deck of
+every vessel in the squadron.
+
+The reprimand, prepared by Commodore Perry, was thought by pretty
+nearly all the officers of the squadron to be entirely too severe. A
+military offence had been committed, but it amounted to a mere trifle,
+and the time was ripe for the people to laugh over such an occurrence.
+In effect the reprimand was something like this: "Who told you to take
+Alvarado? You were sent to watch Alvarado, not to take it. You have
+taken Alvarado with but a single gun and not a marine to back you!"
+Then the announcement was made that the squadron would soon move
+against Tabasco, and that Hunter should not accompany it, but that he
+should be dismissed the squadron. And he was sent home. In New York
+the people made a hero of him, giving him swords and dinners, and
+securing for him the command of the schooner "Taney," in which he made
+a roving cruise to the Mediterranean. As long as he lived he was
+always spoken of as "Alvarado" Hunter. A sense of humor is sometimes a
+dangerous cargo for a public man to carry; but the absence of it also
+is often dangerous. In this instance Commodore Perry, because he did
+not see the amusing aspect of Hunter's escapade, made himself so
+ridiculous that he came near cutting short his own career, which, as
+will afterward be seen in this history, was destined for greater
+achievements than any in the past.
+
+[Illustration: Blue-Jackets before Vera Cruz.]
+
+The next objective point for the navy was Tuspan, where the "Truxton"
+had been lost. The bar at Tuspan is dangerous, and even the small
+steamers of the squadron had their masts hoisted out of them to
+lighten them. Commodore Perry hoisted his flag on the "Spitfire" and
+led the way up the river with the boats of the squadron in tow. The
+first fort on the river below the town, called the Pana, was silenced
+by the gun of the "Spitfire" and then stormed by the sailors; two
+other forts were taken in the same way and the town was occupied. The
+Mexicans made a spirited defence, but did little damage, only one man
+being killed. Among the wounded were Captain Tatnall, Commander
+Whittle, and Lieutenant James Parker. The guns taken from the
+"Truxton" were found in one of the forts and restored to the fleet.
+
+The last naval operation of the war was against Tabasco. Commodore
+Perry took all of the fleet which could possibly go up the river from
+Frontera. This town was easily captured, but when the ascent of the
+river began the boats were continually fired upon from the trees and
+chaparral along the banks. At a place called Devil's Bend, the passage
+of the river was interrupted by a sunken obstruction, technically
+called a _chevaux de frise_. Commodore Perry did not mean to let this
+stop him, so he organized a land force of seamen and marines and
+concluded to march to Tabasco. He had numerous skirmishes, but was not
+stopped. One day his own ships passed him, the _chevaux de frise_
+having been raised by attaching rubber bags to it and then inflating
+them with air. When Perry arrived at Tabasco he found the American
+flag flying, the town having fallen without resistance to his own
+ships. So his own arduous march across country had been all for
+nothing. This was the last work of the sailors, but the marines of the
+navy still saw glorious service, as a detachment of them was with
+General Scott, participating in the attack on Chapultepec. They were
+also among the first to enter the City of Mexico when that capital
+surrendered.
+
+The navy in the War with Mexico did itself credit as it always had
+before, and reflected honor upon the country, whose flag was upheld
+with brilliant courage and untiring zeal.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+     THE NAVY IN PEACE. -- SURVEYING THE DEAD SEA. -- SUPPRESSING THE
+     SLAVE TRADE. -- THE FRANKLIN RELIEF EXPEDITION. -- COMMODORE
+     PERRY IN JAPAN. -- SIGNING OF THE TREATY. -- TROUBLE IN CHINESE
+     WATERS. -- THE KOSZTA CASE. -- THE SECOND FRANKLIN RELIEF
+     EXPEDITION. -- FOOTE AT CANTON. -- "BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER."
+
+
+After the Mexican War the navy engaged for twelve years in works of
+peace varied by a little exciting police duty on the high seas. Much
+was done for commerce and for civilization in the years immediately
+succeeding 1848, but the story, though important, is not exciting, and
+is therefore little known. The records of these years afford a fair
+suggestion of what a navy may do when actual fighting is not
+necessary, and when its vessels, with the trained sailors and
+scientists who man them, may be utilized in utilitarian work.
+
+Shortly after the close of the Mexican War, the armed ship "Supply,"
+under command of Lieutenant Lynch, sailed on an expedition to the Dead
+Sea. The start was made from New York, and the vessel arrived in the
+Mediterranean only a few weeks after peace had been declared with
+Mexico. At Smyrna, Lieutenant Lynch left the "Supply," and went to
+Constantinople to obtain permission to enter the Turkish domains. This
+having been granted, the party sailed for Haifa. Arriving at this port
+on the 21st of March, they left their ship, and set out for the Sea of
+Galilee by an overland route, carrying on trucks the boats which had
+been specially built for navigation in the river Jordan. Upon
+reaching Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the
+party divided, one detachment embarking in the boats to navigate the
+Sea of Galilee, and the other mounting camels and horses to make the
+trip by land, with the intention of keeping those who had sailed in
+view as much as possible, and protecting them from attacks by
+wandering Arabs or aiding them if necessary in the passage of the
+tortuous and turbulent Jordan. Eight days were consumed in making this
+passage, and a distance covered of 200 miles, although if the trip had
+been made in a straight line instead of along the winding course of
+the river, it would have been necessary to have traversed only sixty
+miles. An encampment was established on the desolate banks of the Dead
+Sea, and several exploring and scientific expeditions in the
+neighborhood were made. Among the interesting facts gathered was the
+exact depression of the Dead Sea below the level of the ocean. This
+was found to be 1,312 feet.
+
+The western coast of Africa was the scene of the next important
+activity on the part of the American cruisers. The slave-trade, which
+in the eighteenth century had assumed extensive proportions, still
+flourished to a degree which made the condition upon the coast a
+disgrace to civilization. It was a notorious fact, moreover, that a
+large proportion of the vessels in the trade were of American build
+and sailed under the Stars and Stripes. The United States Government
+was anxious to wipe out this blot upon the nation's fair fame; and
+consequently, in 1849, sent Lieutenant Foote, in command of the brig
+"Perry," to African waters. The lieutenant, who, by the way, afterward
+became the distinguished Admiral Foote, at once began active cruising
+off Ambrig, a notorious slave mart. The "Perry" was constantly at sea,
+chasing and boarding suspicious vessels, and very often her boats
+passed through the surf and ran up the jungle-bordered rivers to the
+slave barracoons. Many large slavers were captured, and when, in 1851,
+the "Perry" was succeeded on the African coast by the squadron under
+Commander Gregory, Lieutenant Foote had effectually checked the slave
+trade. He was thanked for his services by the Secretary of the Navy.
+
+While Lieutenant Foote was sailing under the blazing sun of Africa,
+another lieutenant, Edwin J. De Haven, in command of the brigs
+"Rescue" and "Advance," was pushing his way northward through the ice
+of the Arctic Ocean. The Navy Department had considered it proper and
+fitting to aid England in her search for the British commander, Sir
+John Franklin and his men, who had sailed into the Arctic regions on
+an exploring expedition, and had been gone so long as to warrant the
+belief that they were in grave peril, if not already dead. Volunteers
+for the relief expedition had been called for by the department.
+Lieutenant De Haven and others had responded, and on May 24th, 1850,
+started on their errand of mercy. In July, the party was in Baffin's
+Bay, and here the brigs remained embedded in the ice for twenty-one
+days. On the 29th of July, by a sudden movement of the floe, an
+opening at the north presented itself; a north-east breeze sprang up
+at the same time, and with press of sail the brigs were able to force
+their way into clear water.
+
+For a month afterward there was continual battling with the ice, and
+slow progress northward. On August 27th, Lieutenant De Haven, having
+in the mean time fallen in with several English relief expeditions,
+decided to make a search on the shores adjacent to a Lancaster Sound.
+Here were found three graves, and various signs that Franklin and his
+companions had spent a winter somewhere thereabouts; but there were no
+indications of the course his vessels, the "Erebus" and the "Terror,"
+had taken when they had sailed away. Throughout the winter the search
+was continued, and the "Rescue" and the "Advance" were often in
+imminent danger of destruction in the masses of ice which pressed
+against the sides of the ships with enormous force. "Every moment,"
+said Lieutenant De Haven, in his report, "I expected the vessels would
+be crushed or overwhelmed by the masses of ice forced up far above our
+bulwarks." But at last, on June 6th, they forced their way again into
+the open sea; and as the instructions had been not to spend a second
+winter in the Arctic regions, sail was set for home, and late in the
+summer of 1851 the brigs arrived at New York.
+
+The sending of the frigate "Mississippi," commanded by Captain Matthew
+G. Perry, to the coast of Halifax, in 1852, averted what threatened to
+be serious trouble. A dispute had arisen among the American and
+Canadian fishing schooners in those waters, and seven American vessels
+had been seized by the British cruisers.
+
+This caused intense indignation in New England; but Captain Perry
+poured oil upon the troubled waters, and in 1854, as a result of his
+visit, a reciprocity treaty between the United States and Canada was
+signed, and this lasted for ten years.
+
+Captain Perry performed his most important services for the
+government, however, in Japan. The early fifties were an era of
+exploring expeditions for the navy. There were trips up the rivers
+into unknown regions of South America and Africa. The Isthmus of
+Darien was explored, and an ambitious scheme to cut a ship-channel
+through was found to be impracticable. It was very natural, during
+this activity in penetrating little-known parts of the world, that
+attention should have been given to Japan, which was a land of mystery
+to the world at large because of the exclusion of foreigners from that
+country. In 1852, Captain Perry was assigned the command of the
+squadron cruising in the East Indies, and was empowered, in addition
+to his ordinary duties, to make a display of force in the waters of
+Japan in order to obtain better treatment for American seamen cast
+upon Japanese shores, and to gain entry into Japanese ports for
+vessels seeking supplies. He bore a letter, moreover, from the
+President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan, written with a
+view to obtaining a treaty providing for friendly intercourse and
+commerce with the haughty island kingdom. On the 8th of July, the
+squadron, comprising the frigates "Mississippi," "Susquehanna," and
+"Powhatan"; the corvette "Macedonian"; the sloops-of-war "Plymouth,"
+"Saratoga," and "Vandalia"; and the store-ships "Supply,"
+"Southampton," and "Lexington," anchored off the city of Uraga, in the
+Bay of Jeddo, Japan. Captain Perry decided that the proper course to
+pursue with the Japanese was to assume a very lofty and commanding
+tone and bearing. He therefore ordered away from the sides of his
+vessel the boats which swarmed around it, and allowed none but
+government officials of high rank to come on board. He himself
+remained in seclusion in his cabin, treating with the Japanese through
+intermediaries. He moved his squadron nearer the capital than was
+allowable, and then demanded that a special commission, composed of
+men of the highest rank, be appointed to convey his letter from the
+President to the Emperor. The close proximity of the ships-of-war to
+the capital, and Captain Perry's peremptory demand, were not at all to
+the liking of the Japanese; but they were greatly impressed with his
+apparent dignity and power, and at last consented to receive and
+consider the letter. Fearing treachery, Captain Perry moved his ships
+up so that their guns would command the building prepared for his
+reception, and on the 14th of July went ashore with an escort of 400
+officers and men, who found themselves, on landing, surrounded by
+about 6,000 Japanese soldiers under arms.
+
+Three months were given to the Japanese officials to reply to the
+letter, and Captain Perry sailed with his squadron for the coast of
+China. He returned after an interval of three months, and anchored his
+ships beyond Uraga, where the previous conference had been held, and
+nearer the capital, despite the fact that a place twenty miles below
+had been appointed for the second meeting. The Japanese demurred at
+this, being so exclusive that they did not wish their capital nor
+their country even to be seen by foreigners. Instead of respecting
+these wishes, Captain Perry approached still nearer, until he was only
+eight miles from Tokio. This high-handed policy had the desired
+effect. Five special Japanese commissioners met Captain Perry, and in
+a building within range of the ships' guns, negotiations were carried
+on. They resulted, on March 31st, in the signing of a treaty by the
+Japanese, in which they promised to open two of their ports to
+American vessels seeking supplies; to give aid to seamen of the United
+States wrecked upon their shores; to allow American citizens
+temporarily residing in their ports to enter, within certain
+prescribed limits, the surrounding country; to permit consuls of the
+United States to reside in one of the open ports; and, in general, to
+show a peaceful and friendly spirit toward our government and
+citizens. This treaty is important, because it opened the door for the
+peoples of the world to a country which has since proved to be
+possessed of vast wealth and resources. Captain Perry received high
+praise for his firmness and diplomacy in the conduct of the difficult
+negotiations.
+
+One vessel of Captain Perry's fleet, the "Plymouth," had remained at
+Shanghai when the squadron returned to Japanese waters, and she played
+a very active though brief part in the troubles which then existed in
+China. Imperial and revolutionary troops were fighting for supremacy,
+and the former showed a hostile disposition to the American and
+English residents of Shanghai. An American pilot was captured by an
+Imperial man-of-war, but was retaken in a most spirited manner from
+the Chinese by Lieutenant Guest, and a boat's crew from the
+"Plymouth." The Chinese manifestations of hostility toward foreign
+residents continued, and on the 4th of April, 1854, about ninety men
+from the "Plymouth" and American merchant-ships, under the leadership
+of Commander Kelly, went ashore, and in conjunction with one hundred
+and fifty men from a British man-of-war, began an attack upon the
+Imperial camp. The Americans had two field-pieces and a twelve-pound
+boat-howitzer, which, together with the muskets, were used so
+effectively that, after ten minutes of sharp fighting, the Chinese
+fled in great disorder, leaving a number of dead and wounded upon the
+field. The American loss was two killed and four wounded.
+
+Piracy was rampant in the China seas during this period, and so bold
+and ferocious were the Chinese desperadoes that their junks were a
+great terror to merchant vessels, and seriously interfered with
+commerce. The "Powhatan," another of Captain Perry's squadron, and the
+English sloop "Rattler," joined forces against a fleet of piratical
+junks off Khulan, in 1855, and completely destroyed them, killing many
+of the pirates in the attack and taking a large number of prisoners.
+In Happy Valley, Hong-Kong, a monument was erected to commemorate the
+eight English and American sailors who were killed in the conflict.
+
+While the East India squadron was performing these important and
+gallant services off the coasts of Japan and China, the other vessels
+of the navy were by no means idle. Among the conspicuous naval events
+of the time was the spirited action of Commander Ingraham at Smyrna,
+in 1854. A young Austrian, Martin Koszta, had lived in New York city
+two years before, and had declared his intention of becoming an
+American citizen. He had gone to Smyrna on business, and having
+incurred the displeasure of the Austrian government, had been seized,
+and was a prisoner on board the Austrian man-of-war "Hussar."
+Commander Ingraham, commanding the sloop-of-war "St. Louis," demanded
+that Koszta be surrendered, on the ground that he was an American
+citizen. This being refused, Ingraham cleared for action, although the
+"Hussar's" force was much superior to his own. His bold stand brought
+the Austrians to satisfactory terms, and the threatened engagement was
+averted by the surrender of Koszta.
+
+There were two Arctic expeditions in addition to that of the "Rescue"
+and the "Advance" in the early fifties. Both of them grew out of the
+ill-fated Arctic explorations of Sir John Franklin. Lady Franklin, his
+wife, was anxious, upon the failure of the first relief expeditions,
+to send another, and she asked that a surgeon of the United States
+Navy, Dr. Kane, be permitted to command it. The Navy Department
+granted the request, and in June, 1853, the expedition, composed of
+eighteen men under orders from the department and the patronage of
+Henry Grinnell, of New York, and George Peabody, the American
+merchant, of London, began the northwest journey. This search for Sir
+John Franklin's ships was also unsuccessful, and the relief party was
+for a long time in imminent danger of a fate similar to Franklin's.
+After living for two winters imprisoned in the ice in Smith's Sound,
+they abandoned their vessel, which had been largely broken up to
+provide fuel, and started on a journey over the ice in sledges. After
+eighty-four days of extreme privation and thrilling adventure, they
+reached Driscol Bay, where they were found by Commander Hartstone and
+Lieutenant Simms, commanding respectively the "Release" and the
+"Arctic," which vessels had been fitted out by order of Congress to
+rescue them. In October, 1855, the united party reached New York.
+
+In November, 1855, the presence of the United States ship
+"Germantown," commanded by Captain Lynch, in the harbor of Montevideo,
+prevented an extensive massacre. There had been a rebellion in
+Paraguay, and the insurrectionists had capitulated. The government
+troops rushed upon them with the intention of despatching them, when a
+detachment of United States marines interfered and put an end to the
+sanguinary scene. Three years afterward the marines performed
+efficient services in Montevideo in protecting foreign residents
+against the insurgents in another rebellion.
+
+The rather curious episode of a battle-ship fighting Indians occurred
+in 1856. The sloop-of-war "Decatur," Commander Gansevoort, anchored
+off Seattle, Washington, to protect the settlers from attacks from a
+large body of Indians. The savages appeared, and fought the marines,
+who had landed, with much spirit for six hours. At nightfall they
+disappeared in the woods, having suffered the loss of a large number
+of braves.
+
+One of the most gallant and important of the minor operations of the
+navy took place in November of the same year. Trouble having arisen
+between the Chinese authorities of the City of Canton and the English
+officials in the vicinity, it was thought that American interests
+might be injured, and in consequence Commander Foote stationed his
+vessel, the sloop-of-war "Portsmouth," of the squadron under
+Flag-Officer Armstrong, near the island of Whampoa, and thence
+proceeded, in several armed boats, to ascend the river to Canton to
+establish an armed neutrality. Several Americans, however, joined the
+British in an attack upon the governor's palace, and planted the flag
+beside the English colors on the wall of the city. Commander Foote
+disavowed this act, but as he was returning from an interview with the
+flag-officer at Whampoa, several shots of grape and canister were
+fired from the forts upon his boat, although it displayed the American
+flag. The next day the "Portsmouth" and the "Levant," which had come
+up the river to lend her aid, proceeded to the Canton barrier forts to
+avenge the insult. The "Levant" grounded before coming in range of the
+forts; but the "Portsmouth," under a sharp fire, sailed on until
+within about 500 yards of the nearest fort; then she opened fire.
+After she had thrown about 200 shells, the Chinese ceased firing. Then
+followed four days of unsatisfactory parley with Yeh, the Governor of
+Canton, after which Commander Foote renewed the attack. The "Levant"
+now joined the "Portsmouth," and the vessels began a cannonade, which
+was returned with spirit for an hour. Then 208 men, in ten boats, were
+landed, and stormed the nearest fort, which was taken. Five thousand
+pigtail-wearing soldiers afterward attempted to recapture it, but were
+repulsed. In like manner, on the following morning, the next fort was
+taken, with an American loss of but three men. During the afternoon
+the defenders of the third fort fled. The next morning, in the face of
+a heavy fire, the fourth and last fort was carried by a rapid assault.
+The little company of Americans was now in possession of four modern
+forts constructed by European engineers, which had been defended,
+moreover, by thousands of men. The insult had been avenged, and the
+affair resulted in a treaty of friendship and commerce with China.
+
+There was little love between Americans and Chinese, however, and
+three years afterward Captain Josiah Tatnall rendered valuable aid to
+the English and French gunboats when fired upon by the Chinese forts.
+The boats, under the command of Sir James Hope, were attempting to
+remove obstructions in the Peiho River when the forts suddenly opened
+a destructive fire. A desperate conflict followed, in which several
+hundred of the English were killed. Captain Tatnall commanded the
+chartered steamer "Toey-Wan," which was in the harbor. He forgot his
+neutrality as he watched the scene. With the exclamation, "Blood is
+thicker than water!" he jumped into his launch and steamed for the
+British flagship. The boat was struck with a ball, and before its trip
+was ended sunk, the coxswain being killed and Lieutenant Trenchart
+severely wounded. The others who had manned her were rescued, and they
+helped the English at the guns. Captain Tatnall afterward used the
+"Toey-Wan" to tow up and bring into action the British reserves. His
+action was a clear violation of the treaty and the neutrality law. He
+received but slight punishment, however, and gained great popularity
+in Great Britain.
+
+At Eaya, in the Feejee Islands, in 1858, a sharp conflict took place
+between the natives and forty men under Lieutenant Caldwell, who had
+been sent to destroy the principal village as retribution for the
+murder of two American citizens. The natives were sent fleeing inland.
+The Secretary of the Navy said of the affair, "The gallantry,
+coolness, and bravery displayed by officers and men was in the highest
+degree commendable." A somewhat similar episode occurred in the
+vicinity of Kisembo, on the west coast of Africa, in 1860. The natives
+threatened the property and lives of American citizens, and would
+undoubtedly have put their threats into effect had it not been for the
+presence and prompt action of Commander Brent of the sloop-of-war
+"Marion." When an insurrection occurred in the neighborhood of Panama,
+in July, 1860, Commander Porter landed a body of marines and sailors
+from his ship, the "St. Mary's," which was then stationed on the
+western coast of Mexico. The governor gave up the city of Panama to
+the joint occupancy of the forces of the "St. Mary's" and the British
+ship-of-war "Clio," and tranquillity was quickly restored.
+
+
+
+
+PART III
+
+
+
+
+BLUE-JACKETS OF '61.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     THE OPENING OF THE CONFLICT. -- THE NAVIES OF THE CONTESTANTS. --
+     DIX'S FAMOUS DESPATCH. -- THE RIVER GUNBOATS.
+
+
+The story of the naval operations of the civil war is a record of
+wonderful energy and inventive skill in improvising and building
+war-vessels, vigilance and courage in handling them, and desperate
+bravery and dash displayed by officers and seamen in the great
+engagements in which vessels of either side took part. Yet of the
+immense body of literature dealing with the war, the greater part is
+given to telling the story of the great armies of the North and South.
+The details of the great land battles are familiar to many who have
+but a vague idea of the service done by the "blue jackets" of the
+North, and the daring deeds performed by the navies of both sides.
+
+When the first mutterings of the storm of war began to be heard, the
+United States Government had at its disposal sixty-nine
+vessels-of-war, of which twenty-seven were laid up for repairs, or,
+sailors would say, "out of commission." Of the forty-two vessels in
+commission, twenty-six were absent on missions to the East Indies,
+the African coast, and other distant quarters of the globe. Long
+months must elapse before the most hasty orders could reach them. Many
+were sailing-vessels, and must consume many months of precious time
+before they could reach the shores of the United States. Indeed,
+though on the inauguration of President Lincoln on March 4, 1861, all
+these vessels were immediately recalled, not one arrived before the
+middle of June, and many were delayed until late in the following
+winter. Of the vessels at home, many were old-fashioned
+sailing-frigates; beautiful with their towering masts and clouds of
+snowy canvas, but almost useless in that day when steam had become
+known as the only means of propelling vessels-of-war.
+
+[Illustration: The "Hartford," Farragut's Flagship.]
+
+In officers and men the navy was almost as deficient as in vessels. A
+long peace had filled the lists of officers with old men past that
+age in which may be expected the alertness and energy that must be
+possessed by Jack afloat. The lower grades were filled by boyish
+officers from the Naval Academy, who had never seen a gun fired in
+anger. The service was becoming rusty from long idleness.
+
+Such was the condition of the navy of the United States when Abraham
+Lincoln was made President. Four years later the navy of the United
+States consisted of six hundred and seventy-one vessels. No nation of
+the world had such a naval power. The stern lessons of the great war
+had taught shipbuilders that wooden ships were a thing of the past.
+The little "Monitor" had by one afternoon's battle proved to all the
+sovereigns of Europe that their massive ships were useless. And all
+this had been done by a people grappling in deadly strife with an
+enemy in their very dwellings. The world's history contains no more
+wonderful story of energy and invention.
+
+[Illustration: Departure of a Naval Expedition from Port Royal.]
+
+When President Lincoln began his term of office, he appointed Gideon
+Welles of Connecticut Secretary of the Navy. South Carolina had
+seceded from the Union. Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and
+Louisiana had followed South Carolina. Anderson, with a handful of
+United States troops, was holding Fort Sumter, expecting every minute
+to see the puff of smoke from the distant casement of Fort Moultrie,
+and hear the shriek of the shell that should announce the opening of
+the attack. At Washington, politicians were intriguing. The loyalty of
+no man could be regarded as certain. Officers of the army and navy
+were daily resigning, and hastening to put themselves under the
+command of their various States. In the South all was activity. In the
+North the popular desire for a compromise hampered the authorities so
+that no decided stand against the spread of the rebellion could be
+made. The new Secretary of the Navy found himself face to face with
+the certainty of a long and bloody war, yet had under his command a
+navy hardly adequate for times of peace. To add to his perplexity,
+many of the oldest and most skilful officers in the navy resigned,
+saying that their duty to their States was greater than to the United
+States as a whole. A few revenue officers even went so far as to
+deliver to the State authorities the vessels of which they were in
+command. One commander, a Georgian, bringing his ship back from
+foreign waters, hesitated long whether to take it to the navy-yard at
+New York, or to deliver it to the Southern leaders. He finally
+decided to obey orders, and the ship remained with the United States.
+Some days afterward the commander told his lieutenant of his
+hesitation. "We all saw it," said the younger officer; "and had you
+turned the ship's prow towards Charleston, you would have been
+instantly put in irons."
+
+The surrender of another naval vessel called forth that famous
+despatch from John A. Dix that will ever be linked with his name. The
+United States revenue cutter "McClelland" was lying at New Orleans,
+under the command of Capt. Breshwood. The revenue service is distinct
+from the regular navy, and is under the general command of the
+Secretary of the Treasury. John A. Dix, then Secretary of the
+Treasury, suspected that Capt. Breshwood was about to surrender his
+vessel to the Confederates, and sent an agent to order him to take the
+vessel to New York. Breshwood refused, and instantly Dix sent the
+despatch: "Tell Lieut. Caldwell to arrest Capt. Breshwood, assume
+command of the cutter, and obey the order through you. If Capt.
+Breshwood, after arrest, undertakes to interfere with the command of
+the cutter, tell Lieut. Caldwell to consider him as a mutineer, and
+treat him accordingly. _If any man attempts to haul down the American
+flag, shoot him on the spot._" This despatch was intercepted by the
+Confederates, and the cutter was surrendered. But Dix's determined
+words reverberated through the North, and thrilled all hearts with the
+hope that the time for delay was past, and that the growing rebellion
+would be put down with a firm hand.
+
+So at the opening of the war we find the North with a navy consisting
+of but a few old-fashioned ships, few sailors, officers everywhere
+resigning, and a general feeling of distrust of brother officers in
+all grades.
+
+The condition of the South as regards the navy was even worse. The
+Southern States had never done any great amount of ship-building. The
+people were almost all engaged in farming. The crops of cotton and
+sugar that they raised were shipped in vessels built in Maine, and
+manned by sailors from the seafaring villages of New England. At the
+time the war broke out, there was hardly a shipyard in the confines of
+the Confederacy. A few vessels were gained by the treachery of United
+States officers. The capture of the Norfolk navy-yard brought them
+large quantities of naval stores, and by wonderful activity a few
+vessels were built for service on inland sounds and rivers. But at no
+time could the Confederacy have been said to have a navy; and,
+keeping this fact in view, the record the Confederates made with two
+or three vessels is most wonderful. In war-vessels for service on that
+wonderful network of rivers that make up the waterways of the
+Mississippi Valley, the South was not so deficient as in ships of the
+seagoing class. The long, crescent-shaped levee at New Orleans is
+lined throughout certain seasons of the year by towering
+river-steamers which ply up and down the Mississippi and connecting
+streams, taking from the plantations huge loads of cotton, sugar, and
+rice, and carrying to the planters those supplies which can only be
+furnished by the markets of a great city. The appearance of one of
+these towering river transports as she comes sailing down the turbid
+stream of the great Father of Waters, laden to the water's edge with
+brown bales of cotton, and emitting from her lofty, red crowned
+smoke-stacks dense clouds of pitchy black smoke, is most wonderful.
+Unlike ocean-steamers, the river-steamer carries her load upon her
+deck. Built to penetrate far towards the head-waters of rivers and
+bayous that in summer become mere shallow ditches, these steamers have
+a very light draught. Many of them, whose tiers of white cabins tower
+sixty or seventy feet into the air, have but three feet of hull
+beneath the river's surface. The first deck, when the vessel is but
+lightly loaded, stands perhaps two feet out of water. Above this,
+carried on rows of posts twenty feet high, comes the first cabin. All
+between is open to the air on either side; so that, as one of the huge
+river-monsters passes at night, the watcher on the bank can see the
+stalwart, black, half-naked bodies of the negro stokers, bending
+before the glowing furnace doors, and throwing in the soft coal, that
+issues in clouds of smoke from the towering chimneys seventy feet
+above. The lights in three rows of cabin windows glow; and the
+unceasing beat of the paddle-wheels mingles with the monotonous puff
+of the steam from the escape-pipes, and the occasional bursts of music
+from the open cabin doors. One who for the first time looks on one of
+these leviathans of the Mississippi, pursuing its stately course at
+night, does not wonder at the frightened negro, who, seeing for the
+first time a night-steamboat, rushed madly from the river's bank,
+crying that the angel Gabriel had come to blow the last trump.
+
+When these boats have taken on their full load of cotton, they present
+a very different appearance. Then all the open space beneath the
+cabins is filled by a mass of cotton-bales. The hull is so sunken in
+the water that the lowest tier of cotton-bales is lapped by the little
+waves that ruffle the surface of the river. The stokers and furnaces
+are hid from view, and the cabins appear to be floating on one huge
+cotton bale. Generally a great wooden stern-wheel propels this strange
+craft, adding to the grotesqueness of the sight.
+
+It may readily be understood, that vessels of this class, in which
+strength was subordinated to lightness, and economy to gingerbread
+decoration, seemed to be but poor materials for vessels-of-war. The
+tremendous recoil of a rifled cannon fired from one of those airy
+decks, meant to stand no ruder shock than the vibration caused by
+dancing pleasure-parties, would shake the whole frail structure to
+pieces. Yet the ingenuity born of necessity, and the energy awakened
+by the immediate prospect of war, led the Confederate engineers to
+convert some of these pleasure-palaces into the most terrible engines
+of destruction chronicled in the annals of war. The first step was to
+sweep off all the towering superstructure of decks, cabins, and
+saloons; tear away all the fanciful mouldings, the decorated
+staterooms, and carved and gilded stairways. This left a long, shallow
+hull, with a powerful engine in the centre, and great paddle-wheels
+towering on either side; the whole so light that the soldiers of
+Grant's army, when they first saw one, stoutly averred that "those
+boats could run on a heavy dew." The hull was then thinly plated with
+iron, and the prow lengthened, and made massive, until it formed the
+terrible "ram," fallen into disuse since the days of the Greek
+galleys, to be taken up again by naval architects in the nineteenth
+century. Then on the deck was built a pent-house of oak and iron, with
+sloping sides just high enough to cover the engine. The two towering
+smoke-stacks, the pride of the old river-steamers, were cut down to
+squat pipes protruding a foot or two above the strange structure. In
+the sides were embrasures, from which, when open, peered the iron
+muzzles of the dogs of war, ready to show their teeth and spit fire
+and iron at the enemy. This was the most powerful type of the river
+gunboat, and with them the Confederacy was fairly well provided;
+though it was not long before the war department of the United States
+was well supplied with similar ships. It was these iron-clad gunboats
+that used to rouse the anger of the doughty Admiral Farragut, who
+persisted in declaring them cowardly engines of destruction, and
+predicted that as they came into use, the race of brave fighting
+jack-tars would disappear. On one occasion the admiral was ploughing
+his way up the Mississippi above New Orleans, in one of Commodore
+Bailey's river iron-clads. The batteries of the enemy on either hand
+were pounding away at the ascending ships, hurling huge bolts of iron
+against their mailed sides, with a thunder that was deafening, and a
+shock that made the stricken ships reel. The admiral stood in the
+gunroom of one of the iron-clads, watching the men working the guns,
+in an atmosphere reeking with the smoke of the powder. A look of
+manifest disapproval was on his face. Suddenly an unusually
+well-directed shot struck a weak point in the armor, and, bursting
+through, killed two men near the admiral's position. He looked for a
+moment on the ghastly spectacle, then turning to an officer said, "You
+may stay here in your iron-clad room if you wish: as for me, I feel
+safer on deck." And on deck he went, and stayed there while the fleet
+passed through the hail of shot and shell.
+
+The scarcity of iron in the Southern States prevented the naval
+authorities of the newly organized Confederacy from equipping a very
+large fleet of iron-clads. At the outbreak of the war, the Tredegar
+Iron Works at Richmond was the only place in the South where iron
+plates of a size suitable for plating vessels could be rolled. The
+demand was of course far in excess of the facilities of the factory,
+and many were the make-shifts that shipbuilders were forced to. Some
+vessels were plated only about the centre, so as to protect the boiler
+and engines. Others bore such a thin coat of iron that they were
+derisively called "tin-clads" by the sailors, who insisted that a
+Yankee can-opener was all that was necessary to rip the vessel up.
+Sometimes, when even a little iron was unattainable, bales of cotton
+were piled up around the sides, like breastworks, for the protection
+of men and engines. The vessel which captured the United States ship
+"Harriet Lane," at Galveston, was thus provided; and the defence
+proved very valuable. One great objection to the cotton-bale bulwarks
+was the very inflammable nature of the material, since a red-hot shot
+from the enemy, or a bit of blazing wadding from a gun, would set it
+smouldering with a dense black smoke that drove the men from their
+guns until the bales could be thrown overboard; thus extinguishing the
+fire, but exposing the men to the fire of the enemy.
+
+One of the most striking features of the war of secession was the
+manner in which private citizens hastened to contribute towards the
+public defence. This was so no less in naval than in military circles.
+Perhaps the greatest gift ever made by a citizen to his Government was
+the gift by "Commodore" Vanderbilt to the United States of a
+magnificently equipped ship-of-war, which was named "The Vanderbilt"
+in honor of her donor, and did efficient service in maintaining the
+blockade on the Atlantic coast. Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the present
+owner of the "New-York Herald," put his yacht at the service of the
+Government, and was himself commissioned a lieutenant in the revenue
+service.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     FORT SUMTER BOMBARDED. -- ATTEMPT OF THE "STAR OF THE WEST" TO
+     RE-ENFORCE ANDERSON. -- THE NAVAL EXPEDITION TO FORT SUMTER. --
+     THE RESCUE OF THE FRIGATE "CONSTITUTION." -- BURNING THE NORFOLK
+     NAVY-YARD.
+
+
+[Illustration: Fort Moultrie.]
+
+The first purely warlike event of the civil war was the bombardment
+and capture of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, by the troops of the
+State of South Carolina. At the time when it first became evident that
+civil war was inevitable, Fort Sumter was vacant. The only United
+States troops stationed at Charleston were two companies of artillery
+under Major Robert Anderson. The fortifications of Charleston Harbor
+consisted of Fort Moultrie on the main land (in which Anderson's
+command was stationed), Fort Pinckney, and Fort Sumter standing
+massive and alone in the centre of the harbor. Anderson, with his
+handful of troops in the most vulnerable of the three forts, saw day
+by day the secession sentiment growing stronger. Almost daily some of
+the privileges of the soldiery were cut off; such as the right of
+passing through the city, and the right to buy supplies in the public
+markets. Daily could be heard the drum and the tread of the newly
+organized bodies of State soldiers. Anderson saw that his position was
+a weak one, but could get no orders from headquarters. Finally he
+decided to assume the responsibility of evacuating Fort Moultrie and
+occupying Fort Sumter. To-day it hardly seems as though he could have
+thought of doing otherwise, but at that time it was a grave
+responsibility for a man to assume. The whole voice of the North was
+for compromise, and it was his part to commit the first overt act of
+war. But he was nobly upheld in his decision by his Northern brethren.
+Having decided, he lost no time in carrying his plan into effect. His
+little corps of troops was drawn up at midnight on the parade, and for
+the first time informed of the contemplated movement. The guns of Fort
+Moultrie were hurriedly knocked from their trunnions, and spiked; the
+gun-carriages were piled in great heaps, and fired; and every thing
+that might in any way be used against the United States Government was
+destroyed. Then the work of evacuation was begun. A small fleet of
+row-boats carried the troops to the entrance of the great, sullen
+fort, standing alone in the middle of the harbor, and made frequent
+trips bringing supplies and ammunition from the deserted fortress. All
+was done silently: the oars were muffled, and the commands of the
+officers were whispered, that no tidings should be told of the
+movement under way. Before sunrise all was completed; and when the
+rays of the rising sun fell upon the stars and stripes floating from
+the flagstaff of Sumter, the people of Charleston turned their eyes
+from the starry flag to the clouds of smoke arising from Fortress
+Moultrie, and comprehended that the war had begun. Newspaper
+correspondents and agents of the Federal Government, and the Southern
+leaders, rushed for the telegraph-wires; and the news soon sped over
+the country, that Sumter was occupied. The South Carolinians at once
+began to build earthworks on all points bearing on the fort, and were
+evidently preparing to drive Anderson and his troops out. Anderson
+promptly telegraphed to Washington for supplies and re-enforcements,
+and expressed his intention of staying as long as the walls stood. The
+Government was dilatory, but finally concluded to re-enforce the fort,
+and to that end secured the steamer "Star of the West," and began the
+work of provisioning her for the voyage. It was decided that she
+should carry no guns: that would look too much like war; and
+accordingly, on the 8th of January, this helpless vessel set out to
+the aid of the beleaguered garrison of Fort Sumter. The news was at
+once telegraphed to Charleston; and the gunners in the Confederate
+trenches shotted their guns, and awaited the appearance of the
+steamer. She hove into sight on the morning of the 12th, and when
+within range was notified, by a shot across her bows, that she was
+expected to stop. This signal being disregarded, the firing began in
+earnest; and the shot and shell fell thick about the ship, which kept
+pluckily on her course. But it was useless to persist. One shot struck
+the steamer near the bows, others whizzed through her rigging, and
+finally her captain saw a tug putting out from the land, towing a
+schooner crowded with armed men to cut off the "Star's" retreat. He
+gave the command "Hard a port." The ship's head swung round, and she
+steamed away, leaving the garrison to their fate. An old gunner who
+stood in a casemate of Fort Sumter, with the lanyard of a shotted gun
+in his hand, tells the story of how he begged Major Anderson to let
+him fire on the rebel batteries. "Not yet; be patient," was the
+response. When the shells began to fall thick about the steamer, he
+again asked permission to retaliate, but met the same response. Then
+when he saw the white splinters fly from the bow, where the enemies'
+shell had struck, he cried, "Now, surely, we can return _that!_" but
+still the answer was, "Be patient." When the "Star of the West,"
+confessing defeat, turned and fled from the harbor, Anderson turned
+and walked away, curtly saying there was no need to fire then, but to
+save the load for the necessity that was coming.
+
+[Illustration: Anderson's Command occupying Fort Sumter.]
+
+[Illustration: Major Robert Anderson.]
+
+The first naval operation of the war was the expedition fitted out to
+relieve Fort Sumter. In itself, this expedition was but an
+insignificant affair, ending in failure; but as the first warlike
+action on the part of the United States Government, it attracted the
+greatest attention throughout the nation. In preparing the vessels for
+sea, great care was taken to keep their destination secret, so that no
+warning should reach the Confederates, who were lying in their
+batteries about Sumter, awaiting the first offensive action of the
+United States authorities to begin shelling the fortress. While the
+squadron was fitting out, it was generally supposed that it was
+intended to carry troops and munitions of war to Fort Pickens in
+Pensacola Harbor, which was invested by the Confederates. When the
+fleet finally sailed, each commander carried sealed orders, upon
+opening which he first found that the expedition was bound for
+Charleston Harbor. Notwithstanding all this secrecy, the destination
+of the fleet was telegraphed to the Confederates almost as soon as the
+last vessel dropped past Sandy Hook; and the fire from the circle
+of batteries about the doomed fort in Charleston Harbor began
+immediately. When the fleet arrived at its destination, the
+bombardment was well under way. To attempt to land troops or stores
+under the withering fire concentrated upon the fort, would have been
+madness. The only vessel of sufficient strength to engage the
+batteries, the "Pawnee," had been separated from the fleet by a gale a
+few nights before, and had not yet arrived. Sadly the sailors gave up
+the attempt, and, beating up and down outside the harbor bar, awaited
+the inevitable end of the unequal conflict. When, finally, after a
+heroic resistance of several days, Major Anderson and his little band,
+worn with constant vigilance and labor, destitute of provisions, and
+exposed to a constant hail of iron missiles from without and a raging
+fire within, agreed to capitulate, the United States steamship
+"Baltic," of the Fort Sumter expedition, took him on board and bore
+him safely to New York. The main purpose of the expedition had failed,
+it is true; but the Government had made its first decisive move, and
+public sympathy and confidence were excited.
+
+[Illustration: Fort Sumter under Fire.]
+
+The preparations for the coming struggle were now being pressed
+forward on every hand. An incident which occurred soon after the fall
+of Sumter awakened the greatest enthusiasm throughout the North. The
+United States frigate "Constitution" was lying at Annapolis, where she
+was being used by the authorities of the naval academy there for a
+school-ship. Although the State of Maryland had not seceded from the
+Union, yet secessionists were to be found in great numbers in all
+parts of the State. A number of them determined to seize the ship.
+Besides being a war-vessel of considerable strength, the
+"Constitution"--or "Old Ironsides," as she was affectionately
+called--was famous for her many exploits, and dear to the hearts of
+Americans for her long service under the stars and stripes. "If we can
+but capture the vessel, and turn her guns against the Union," thought
+the conspirators, "we will strike a heavy blow at the Northern
+sympathizers." And, indeed, it would have been a heavy blow to the
+nation had they captured the old frigate that did such service under
+Preble in the war with Tripoli; and that in the War of 1812 forced the
+British to strike their colors, and gave to the United States navy an
+equal place on the high seas with any nation of the world. The plans
+of the conspirators were well laid. The ship was manned by but twenty
+men, and lay above a bar, over which she could only be carried by the
+aid of a steam-tug. Fortunately the officers and crew were all loyal.
+For four days and four nights they watched the preparations being made
+on shore for their capture. Mysterious signals flashed from the
+surrounding hills. Armed bodies of men were seen drilling on the
+shore. All seemed to tend toward certain capture. Yet with no chance
+of escape the brave men kept vigilant guard, with guns shotted and
+always primed.
+
+Near Annapolis was stationed the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry, with
+Gen. Butler in command. News was carried to the general of the
+perilous position of the "Constitution," and he at once determined to
+hasten to her relief. Just as the crew of the old frigate had
+abandoned all hope, the steamer "Maryland" entered the harbor, her
+guards and decks crowded with the men of the Eighth Massachusetts.
+Quickly the "Constitution" was prepared for sailing. Her anchors were
+slipped, all useless weight cast overboard, and, with the "Maryland"
+as tug, the stately frigate passed slowly over the bar, and out of the
+grasp of the conspirators.
+
+The "Constitution" was not the only United States vessel that the
+Confederates were planning to seize. Soon after she escaped from their
+hands, an event occurred by which a vast quantity of naval stores, and
+the mutilated but still valuable hulls of some of the most powerful
+war-vessels in the United States navy, fell into their hands. The
+United States navy-yard at Norfolk was one of the most valuable of all
+the governmental possessions. In the great yard was government
+property amounting to more than twenty millions of dollars.
+Machine-shops, foundries, dwellings for officers, and a massive
+granite dry-dock made it one of the most complete navy-yards in the
+world. An enormous quantity of cannon, cannon-balls, powder, and
+small-arms packed the huge storehouses. In the magnificent harbor were
+lying some of the most formidable vessels of the United States navy,
+including the steam frigate "Merrimac," of which we shall hear much
+hereafter. Small wonder was it, that the people of Virginia, about to
+secede from the Union, looked with covetous eyes upon this vast stock
+of munitions of war lying apparently within their grasp. It did not
+take long for them to persuade themselves that they were right in
+seizing it; and, once decided, their movements were vigorous and open.
+Of their ability to capture the yard, and gain possession of all the
+property there, they felt no doubt. The first thing to be done was to
+entrap the ships so that they should be unable to get out of the
+harbor. Accordingly, on the 16th of April, three large stone-vessels
+were sunk directly in the channel, apparently barring the exit of the
+frigates most effectually. Indeed, so confident of success were the
+plotters, that in a despatch to Richmond, announcing the successful
+sinking of the stone-ships, they said, "Thus have we secured for
+Virginia three of the best ships of the navy." But later events
+showed, that, in boasting so proudly, the Virginians were committing
+the old error of counting chickens before they were hatched.
+
+The condition of affairs within the navy-yard now seemed desperate.
+There appeared to be no chance of getting the vessels beyond the
+obstructions. The militia of Virginia was rapidly gathering in the
+town. Among the naval officers on the ships great dissension existed,
+as many were Southerners, about to resign their posts in the United
+States service to enter the service of their States. These men would,
+of course, give no active aid to any movement for the salvation of the
+United States property in the yard. Any assistance must come from the
+outside; the beleaguered could but passively await the course of
+events.
+
+At seven o'clock on the night of April 21, the United States steamer
+"Pawnee," which had been lying under the guns of Fortress Monroe,
+hoisted anchor, and headed up the bay, on an errand of destruction. It
+was too late to save the navy-yard with its precious stores. The only
+thing to be done was to burn, break, and destroy every thing that
+might be of service to an enemy. The decks of the "Pawnee" were black
+with men,--soldiers to guard the gates, and complete the work of
+destruction within the yard; blue-jacketed tars to do what might be
+done to drag the entrapped vessels from the snare set them by the
+Virginians. It was a bright moon-light night. The massive hull of the
+ship-of-war, black in the cold, white rays of the moon, passed rapidly
+up the Elizabeth River. The sunken wrecks were reached, and
+successfully avoided; and about nine o'clock the "Pawnee" steamed into
+the anchorage of the navy-yard, to be greeted with cheers from the
+tars of the "Cumberland" and "Pennsylvania," who expected her arrival.
+The townspeople seeing the war-vessel, with ports thrown open, and
+black muzzles of the guns protruding, took to their houses, fearing
+she would open fire on the town. Quickly the "Pawnee" steamed to her
+moorings. The marines were hurriedly disembarked, and hastened to
+guard the entrances to the navy-yard. Howitzers were planted so as to
+rake every street leading to the yard. Thus secure against attack, the
+work of the night began. Nearly two thousand willing hands were set
+hard at work, cannon were dismounted and spiked, rifles and muskets
+dashed to pieces; great quantities of combustibles were piled up in
+the mammoth buildings, ready to be fired at a given signal. In the
+mean time, the blue-jackets were not idle. It was quickly decided,
+that, of all the magnificent vessels anchored in the harbor, the
+"Cumberland" was the only one that could be towed past the
+obstructions in the river. All hands were set to work removing every
+thing of value from the doomed vessels to the "Cumberland." Gunpowder
+and combustibles were then arranged so as to completely destroy the
+vessels when ignited. When the moon went down at twelve o'clock, the
+preparations were complete. All the men were then taken on board the
+"Cumberland" and "Pawnee," save a few who were left to fire the
+trains. As the two vessels started from the moorings, the barracks
+were fired, the lurid light casting a fearful gleam upon the crowded
+yards and shrouds of the towering frigate. A little way out in the
+stream a rocket was sent up from the "Pawnee." This was the signal for
+the firing of the trains. The scene that followed is thus described by
+an eye-witness:--
+
+"The rocket sped high in air, paused a second, and burst in showers of
+many colored lights; and, as it did so, the well-set trains at the
+ship-houses, and on the decks of the fated vessels left behind, went
+off as if lit simultaneously by the rocket. One of the ship-houses
+contained the old 'New York,' a ship thirty years on the stocks, and
+yet unfinished; the other was vacant. But both houses, and the old
+'New York,' burned like tinder. The vessels fired were the
+'Pennsylvania,' the 'Merrimac,' the 'Germantown,' the 'Plymouth,' the
+'Raritan,' the 'Columbia,' and the 'Dolphin.' The old 'Delaware' and
+'Columbus," worn-out and disabled seventy-fours, were scuttled, and
+sunk at the upper docks on Friday.
+
+"I need not try to picture the scene of the grand conflagration that
+now burst like the day of judgment on the startled citizens of
+Norfolk, Portsmouth, and all the surrounding country. Any one who has
+seen a ship burn, and knows how like a fiery serpent the flame leaps
+from pitchy deck to smoking shrouds, and writhes to their very top
+around the masts that stand like martyrs doomed, can form some idea of
+the wonderful display that followed. It was not thirty minutes from
+the time the trains were fired, till the conflagration roared like a
+hurricane, and the flames from land and water swayed and met and
+mingled together, and darted high, and fell, and leaped up again, and
+by their very motion showed their sympathy with the crackling,
+crashing war of destruction beneath.
+
+[Illustration: Destruction of Norfolk Navy-yard.]
+
+"But in all this magnificent scene the old ship 'Pennsylvania' was the
+centre-piece. She was a very giant in death, as she had been in life.
+She was a sea of flame; and when the iron had entered her soul, and
+her bowels were consuming, then did she spout forth from every
+porthole of every deck torrents and cataracts of fire, that to the
+mind of Milton would have represented her a frigate of hell pouring
+out unending broadsides of infernal fire. Several of her guns were
+left loaded, but not shotted; and as the fire reached them they sent
+out on the startled morning air minute-guns of fearful peal, that
+added greatly to the alarm that the light of the fire had spread
+through the country round about. The 'Pennsylvania' burned like a
+volcano for five hours and a half before her mainmast fell. I stood
+watching the proud but perishing old leviathan as this emblem of her
+majesty was about to come down. At precisely half-past nine o'clock
+the tall tree that stood in her centre tottered and fell, and crushed
+deep into her burning sides."
+
+During this fearful scene the people of the little town, and the
+Virginia militia-men who had been summoned to take possession of the
+navy-yard, were no idle spectators. Hardly had the "Pawnee" steamed
+out into the stream, when the great gates were battered down, and
+crowds of men rushed in, eager to save whatever arms were uninjured.
+Throughout the fire they worked like beavers, and succeeded in saving
+a large quantity of munitions of war to be used by the Confederacy.
+The ships that had been fired all burned to the water's edge. One was
+raised, and re-appeared as the formidable "Merrimac" that at one time
+threatened the destruction of the whole Union navy.
+
+A great amount of valuable property was saved for the Virginians by
+the coolness of a young boy, the son of one of the citizens of the
+town. This lad was within the gates of the navy-yard when the troops
+from the ships rushed in, and closed and barricaded them against the
+townspeople. He was frightened, and hid himself behind a quantity of
+boards and rubbish, and lay there a silent and immensely frightened
+spectator of the work of destruction. An officer passed near him
+directing the movements of two sailors, who were laying a train of
+gunpowder to an immense pile of explosives and combustibles in the
+huge granite dry-dock. The train passed over a broad board; and the
+boy, hardly knowing what he did, drew away this board, leaving a gap
+of eight inches in the train. When all the trains were fired, this was
+of course stopped at the gap; and the dry-dock was saved, and still
+remains in the Norfolk Navy Yard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     DIFFICULTIES OF THE CONFEDERATES IN GETTING A NAVY. -- EXPLOIT OF
+     THE "FRENCH LADY." -- NAVAL SKIRMISHING ON THE POTOMAC. -- THE
+     CRUISE OF THE "SUMTER."
+
+
+The disparity of maritime importance between the North and the South,
+and the consequent difficulties to be overcome by the latter in
+getting a navy, have been already alluded to. As it has been stated,
+in river-steamers and ponderous rams the South was fairly well
+supplied; but what was really needed were ocean-going ships, to break
+the rigid blockade that was slowly starving the Confederacy into
+submission,--swift cruisers to prey on the commerce of the enemy, and
+powerful line-of-battle ships, which, by successfully coping with the
+vessels of the United States on the high seas, should secure for the
+Confederacy recognition, and possibly assistance, from the great
+powers of Europe. But how to get these without shipyards,
+shipbuilders, or seamen, was a task that baffled the ingenuity of the
+best minds in the South. Immediately upon the organization of the
+Confederate cabinet, an agent was sent to England to negotiate for
+vessels and guns. But, though this agent was a man of wonderful
+resources and great diplomacy, he found an almost insuperable obstacle
+in the universally recognized law of nations, to the effect that no
+neutral nation shall sell vessels or munitions of war to belligerents.
+It is true that this agent, Capt. Bulloch, did succeed in securing
+three ships,--the "Florida," the "Shenandoah," and the celebrated
+"Alabama;" but to do so cost an immense amount of diplomacy and the
+sacrificing of the strength of the vessels to the necessity which
+existed for making them appear to be merchantmen. To build an
+iron-clad in a foreign port, was out of the question; and consequently
+ships so obtained were forced to fly from any well-equipped
+war-vessel, and only venture to attack unarmed merchantmen.
+
+[Illustration: The "French Lady."]
+
+The United States vessels which were delivered into the hands of the
+Confederates by their officers were mainly small revenue cutters, of
+little use in naval warfare and soon given up or destroyed. Not a
+single ship of this class made any record of distinguished service for
+the Confederacy. Several merchant-vessels were captured by the
+Confederates, who concocted the most ingenious plans to secure
+success. One bright July morning the steamer "St. Nicholas" was lying
+at her dock in Baltimore, with steam up, and all prepared for her
+regular trip down the Chesapeake. Quite a large number of passengers
+had bought tickets, and lounged about the decks, waiting for the
+voyage to begin. Among the passengers were a number of mechanics, with
+tools in their hands, going down the bay in search of work. Shortly
+before the signal to cast off was given, a carriage was driven down
+the wharf, and a lady, heavily veiled, alighted, assisted by two
+gentlemen. The gentlemen stated that she was a French lady, and in
+ill-health. Accordingly she was at once assigned a stateroom, to which
+she retired. Soon after, the vessel cast off and headed down the bay.
+When fairly out of the harbor, the stateroom door opened, and instead
+of the frail, heavily veiled widow who went in, out strode a
+black-whiskered man, armed to the teeth. He had no trouble now in
+speaking English, and at once demanded the surrender of the ship. The
+honest mechanics dropped their tools, and, drawing concealed weapons,
+rallied around their leader. They had found the work they started out
+to seek. The ship was captured, and a new privateer was ready to prey
+on Northern merchant-ships. Once in the hands of the conspirators, the
+vessel was run into a little port where the passengers were landed,
+and a hundred and fifty more Confederates taken aboard. Under the
+command of Capt. Thomas (the "French lady"), the vessel proceeded to
+Fredericksburg, where she, and three brigs captured on the way, were
+delivered to the Confederate leaders. This adventure so favorably
+terminated, Thomas, with his officers, started back to Baltimore,
+to lay plans for the capture of some other unsuspecting craft. But
+fortune, which had thus far favored him, deserted him at last. On the
+vessel upon which the conspirators took passage were two
+police-officers of Baltimore. One of these officers recognized Thomas,
+and quietly laid plans for his capture. In the harbor at Baltimore
+stands Fort McHenry. Under its frowning casemates the ships of the
+United States could lie without fear of attack from the thousands of
+discontented men who made of Baltimore a secession city. The captain
+of the "Mary Washington" was ordered by Lieut. Carmichael, the officer
+of police, to bring the ship into the anchorage, under the guns of the
+fort. This soon came to the ears of Thomas, who with his men rallied
+on the deck, and, with revolvers drawn, seemed prepared to make a
+desperate resistance. They were soon convinced that the officers had
+ample power behind them, and therefore submitted. On arriving at the
+fort, a company of soldiers was sent aboard the boat, and the
+prisoners were marched ashore. But Thomas was not to be found. Search
+was made in all parts of the boat, without avail; and the officers had
+decided that he had jumped overboard, with the desperate intention of
+swimming ashore. Just as they were about to give up the search, a
+noise was heard that seemed to come from a bureau in the ladies'
+cabin. Search was made, and there, coiled up in a narrow
+bureau-drawer, lay the leader of the band. He had been there two
+hours, and was helpless from cramp and exhaustion. He was placed in a
+cell at Fort Lafayette; but later, having been given the privilege of
+walking about the fort, managed to escape by making floats of empty
+tomato-cans, and with their aid swimming almost two miles. He was
+afterwards recaptured, and remained a prisoner until released by
+reason of an exchange of prisoners between the North and South. Soon
+after his capture, the Federal authorities at Baltimore learned that
+plans had been made to capture other passenger steamers in the same
+way; but the ringleader being locked up, there was no difficulty in
+defeating the plans of the band.
+
+During the first few weeks of the war, before active hostilities had
+fairly commenced, events of this nature were of almost daily
+occurrence. On the Potomac particularly, small cruisers were in
+continual danger of being captured, and put into commission under the
+Confederate flag. A trading schooner loaded with garden-produce,
+dropping lazily down the river to the bay, would suddenly be boarded
+by four or five armed men, her crew driven below, and the vessel run
+into some convenient port on the Virginia shore, to re-appear in a day
+or two with a small rifled cannon mounted on the forecastle, and a
+crew thirsting to capture more vessels for the Confederacy. On one
+occasion a party of congressmen from Washington started down the
+Potomac for an excursion to Hampton Roads. Their vessel was a small
+tug, which carried a bow-gun carefully screened from observation by
+tarpaulin. A short distance down the river, a boat with a howitzer was
+seen putting out into the stream, and shaping its course directly
+across the bows of the tug. As the two boats drew nearer together, a
+demand came from the smaller that the tug should be surrendered "to
+the State of Virginia." Apparently yielding, the captain of the tug
+slowed up his vessel, and waited for his assailants to come alongside,
+which they did until suddenly confronted with the muzzle of a cannon,
+trained directly on their boat, and a loud voice demanding that they
+surrender at once, which they accordingly did, and were taken to
+Washington by their triumphant captors. Many such trivial events are
+chronicled by the newspapers of the time. The advantage gained by
+either side was small, and the only effect was to keep the war
+sentiment at fever-heat.
+
+[Illustration: Blockading the Mouth of the Mississippi.]
+
+The first regularly commissioned man-of-war of the Confederate States
+was the "Sumter," an old passenger steamer remodelled so as to carry
+five guns. This vessel, though only registering five hundred tons, and
+smaller than many a steam-yacht of to-day, roamed over the high seas
+at will for more than a year, burning and destroying the
+merchant-vessels of the North, and avoiding easily any conflicts with
+the Northern men-of-war. Her exploits made the owners of American
+merchant-vessels tremble for their property; and the United States
+authorities made the most desperate attempts to capture her, but in
+vain. In his journal of Dec. 3, 1861, Capt. Semmes of the "Sumter"
+writes with the greatest satisfaction: "The enemy has done us the
+honor to send in pursuit of us the 'Powhattan,' the 'Niagara,' the
+'Iroquois,' the 'Keystone State,' and the 'San Jacinto.'" Any one of
+these vessels could have blown the 'Sumter' out of water with one
+broadside, but the cunning and skill of her commander enabled her to
+escape them all.
+
+It was on the 1st of June, 1861, that the "Sumter" cast loose from the
+levee at New Orleans, and started down the Mississippi on her way to
+the open sea. For two months workmen had been busy fitting her for the
+new part she was to play. The long rows of cabins on the upper deck
+were torn down; and a heavy eight-inch shell-gun, mounted on a pivot
+between the fore and mainmasts, and the grinning muzzles of four
+twenty-four-pounder howitzers peeping from the ports, told of her
+warlike character. The great levee of the Crescent City was crowded
+with people that day. Now and again the roll of the drum, or the
+stirring notes of "Dixie," would be heard, as some volunteer company
+marched down to the river to witness the departure of the entire
+Confederate navy. Slowly the vessel dropped down the river, and,
+rounding the English turn, boomed out with her great gun a parting
+salute to the city she was never more to see. Ten miles from the mouth
+of the river she stopped; for anchored off the bar below lay the
+powerful United States steamer "Brooklyn," with three other
+men-of-war, each more than a match for the infant navy of the
+Confederacy. Eleven days the "Sumter" lay tugging at her anchors in
+the muddy current of the great river, but at last the time of action
+arrived. The news came that the "Brooklyn" had started in chase of a
+vessel, and the mouth of the river was clear. Quickly the "Sumter" got
+under way, and with all steam up made for the channel over the bar.
+She was still six miles from the bar when the "Brooklyn" caught sight
+of her, and abandoning her first chase strove desperately to head her
+off. It was a time of intense excitement. Each vessel was about
+equally distant from the bar for which each was steaming at the
+highest possible speed. For the "Sumter," it was escape or die. It was
+too late to fly up the river to the sheltering guns of Fort St.
+Philip. Should the "Brooklyn" get within range, the "Sumter" was
+doomed. The "Brooklyn" was the faster vessel of the two, but had the
+wind in her teeth; while the "Sumter" had the advantage of wind and
+current. At length the pass was reached, and the "Sumter" dashed over
+the bar, and out on the smooth blue water of the Gulf of Mexico, well
+ahead of her powerful foe. The "Brooklyn" quickly rounded to, and a
+quick puff of smoke from amidships told the crew of the flying vessel
+that the terrible pivot-gun of their enemy had sent a warning message
+after them. But there was but a second of suspense, when a great jet
+of water springing from the surface of the gulf told that the bolt had
+fallen short. The "Brooklyn" then quickly crowded on all sail, and
+started in hot pursuit, but after four hours abandoned the chase, put
+up her helm, and started sullenly back for the river's mouth; while
+the tars of the "Sumter" crowded shrouds and bulwarks, and cheered
+heartily for the navy of the young Confederacy.
+
+The "Sumter" was now fairly embarked on her career. The open sea was
+her territory, and all ships floating the stars and stripes at the
+masthead were to be her prey. She was not a strong vessel; and her
+orders were to avoid any battles with the powerful ships of the
+"Yankee" navy, but to seize and destroy all merchantmen that should
+come in her way. Her first purpose was to capture these vessels, and
+by selling them in neutral ports profit by the prize. But the neutral
+nations soon refused to admit all rebel prizes to their ports; and, as
+all the ports of the Confederacy were closed by the blockade, nothing
+was left but to burn the vessels when captured. Many a floating
+bonfire marked the way of the little "Sumter," and great was the
+consternation among the ship-owners of the North.
+
+When four days out, the "Sumter" captured her first prize. She was a
+fine ship, the "Golden Rocket" of Maine, six hundred and ninety tons.
+With the United States flag fluttering at the peak, she came sailing
+proudly towards her unsuspected enemy, from whose peak the red flag of
+England was displayed as a snare. When the two vessels came within a
+mile of each other, the wondering crew of the merchantman saw the
+English flag come tumbling down, while a ball of bunting rose quickly
+to the peak of the mysterious stranger, and catching the breeze
+floated out, showing a strange flag,--the stars and bars of the
+Confederacy. At the same minute a puff of smoke from the "Long Tom"
+amidships was followed by a solid shot ricochetting along the water
+before the dismayed merchantman, and conveying a forcible, but not at
+all polite, invitation to stop. The situation dawned on the astonished
+skipper of the ship,--he was in the hands of "the Rebels;" and with a
+sigh he brought his vessel up into the wind, and awaited the outcome
+of the adventure. And bad enough the outcome was for him; for Capt.
+Semmes, unwilling to spare a crew to man the prize, determined to set
+her on fire. It was about sunset when the first boat put off from the
+"Sumter" to visit the captured ship. The two vessels were lying a
+hundred yards apart, rising and falling in unison on the slow rolling
+swells of the tropic seas. The day was bright and warm, and in the
+west the sun was slowly sinking to the meeting line of sky and ocean.
+All was quiet and peaceful, as only a summer afternoon in Southern
+seas can be. Yet in the midst of all that peace and quiet, a scene in
+the great drama of war was being enacted. Nature was peaceful, man
+violent.
+
+For a time nothing was heard save the measured thump of the oars in
+the rowlocks, as the boats plied to and fro between the two ships,
+transporting the captured crew to the "Sumter." Finally the last trip
+was made, and the boat hoisted to the davits. Then all eyes were
+turned toward the "Golden Rocket." She lay almost motionless, a dark
+mass on the black ocean. The sun had long since sunk beneath the
+horizon; and the darkness of the night was only relieved by the
+brilliancy of the stars, which in those latitudes shine with wondrous
+brightness. Soon the watches on the "Sumter" caught a hasty breath. A
+faint gleam was seen about the companionway of the "Rocket." Another
+instant, and with a roar and crackle, a great mass of flame shot up
+from the hatch, as from the crater of a volcano. Instantly the
+well-tarred rigging caught, and the flame ran up the shrouds as a
+ladder of fire, and the whole ship was a towering mass of flame. The
+little band of men on the "Sumter" looked on the terrific scene with
+bated breath. Though they fully believed in the justice of their
+cause, they could not look on the destruction they had wrought without
+feelings of sadness. It was their first act of war. One of the
+officers of the "Sumter" writes: "Few, few on board can forget the
+spectacle,--a ship set fire to at sea. It would seem that man was
+almost warring with his Maker. Her helpless condition, the red flames
+licking the rigging as they climbed aloft, the sparks and pieces of
+burning rope taken off by the wind, and flying miles to leeward, the
+ghastly glare thrown upon the dark sea as far as the eye could reach,
+and then the deathlike stillness of the scene,--all these combined to
+place the "Golden Rocket" on the tablet of our memories forever." But
+it was not long before the crew of the "Sumter" could fire a vessel,
+and sail away indifferently, with hardly a glance at their terrible
+handiwork.
+
+The "Sumter" continued on her cruise, with varying fortunes. Sometimes
+weeks would pass with no prizes to relieve the tedium of the long
+voyage. Occasionally she would run into a neutral port for coal or
+water, but most of the time was spent on the open sea. The crew were
+kept actively employed with drills and exercises; while the officers,
+yawning over their books or games, longed for the welcome cry from the
+masthead, "Sail ho!" In September the "Sumter" captured a brig, the
+"Joseph Park;" and the boarding officer, on examining the log-book,
+found an entry made by her captain on the day of leaving Pernambuco:
+"We have a tight, fast vessel, and we don't care for Jeff Davis." The
+unlucky captain had holloaed long before he was out of the wood.
+
+The "Joseph Park" was the last prize the tars of the "Sumter" had the
+pleasure of "looting" for many days. Up and down the tropic seas the
+cruiser travelled, loitering about the paths of ocean commerce to no
+avail. Often enough the long-drawn hail of the lookout in the
+cross-trees, "Sail ho-o-o-o!" would bring the jackies tumbling up from
+the forecastle, and set the officers peering anxiously through their
+telescopes. But the sails so sighted proved to be English, French,
+Spanish, any thing but American; and life aboard the "Sumter" became
+as dull as a fisher's where fish are not to be found. In September
+Capt. Semmes ran his vessel into a Martinique harbor, to make some
+needed repairs, and give the sailors a run ashore. Here they were
+blockaded for some time by the United States frigate "Iroquois," but
+finally escaped through the cunning of Semmes. Lying in the harbor
+near the "Sumter" were two Yankee schooners, whose captains arranged
+with the commander of the "Iroquois" to signal him if the "Sumter"
+should leave the harbor. If on passing the bar she headed south, a
+single red light should gleam at the masthead of the schooner; should
+her course lie northward, two lights would be displayed. Semmes, lying
+at anchor in the bay, and chafing over his captivity, determined to
+break away. He had noticed the frequent communications between the
+schooners and the man-of-war, and suspected that his course would be
+spied out. Nevertheless, he determined to dare all, and one black
+night slipped his cables, and with all lights out, and running-gear
+muffled, glided swiftly out of the harbor. In the distance he could
+see the lights of the "Iroquois," as she steamed slowly up and down in
+the offing, like a sentry on guard. Up in the cross-trees of the
+"Sumter" sat a sharp-eyed old quarter-master, with orders not to mind
+the "Iroquois," but to keep a close watch on the suspected schooners.
+Soon a light gleamed from the maintop of each. Semmes's suspicions
+grew. "They have signalled our course," said he: "we'll double." The
+ship's head was quickly brought about, and headed south; then all
+turned to watch the movements of the "Iroquois." She had headed
+northward, and was exerting every power to catch the flying vessel
+supposed to be just ahead. Satisfied with having so successfully
+humbugged the enemy, the "Sumter" proceeded leisurely on her course to
+the southward, leaving the "Iroquois" steaming furiously in the
+opposite direction. "I do think, however," writes Capt Semmes in his
+log-book, "that a tough old quarter-master, and a grizzled boatswain's
+mate, who had clean shaven their heads in preparation for a desperate
+fight, were mightily disgusted."
+
+The subsequent career of the "Sumter" was uneventful. She captured but
+few more vessels; and in January of the next year ran into the harbor
+at Gibraltar, where she was blockaded by a powerful United States
+frigate, and finally sold as being worn out. She had been in
+commission a little over a year, and in that time had captured
+eighteen vessels, burned seven, and released two on a heavy ransom to
+be paid to the Confederate Government at the end of the war. It is
+needless to say these ransoms were never paid. Capt. Semmes, with his
+crew, proceeded to England, and took command of a mysterious ship,
+"No. 290," just built at Liverpool, which soon appeared on the high
+seas as the dreaded "Alabama."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+     THE POTOMAC FLOTILLA. -- CAPTURE OF ALEXANDRIA. -- ACTIONS AT
+     MATTHIAS POINT. -- BOMBARDMENT OF THE HATTERAS FORTS.
+
+
+In petty skirmishes and in general inactivity the forces of both
+contestants idled away the five months following the fall of Fort
+Sumter. The defeat of the Union armies at Bull Run had checked active
+operations along the Potomac. On either side of the river the hostile
+armies were drilling constantly to bring the raw recruits down to the
+efficiency of trained soldiers. Four hundred thousand men lay in
+hostile camps within sight of each other. From the national Capitol at
+Washington the stars and bars of the Confederate flag could be seen
+floating over the camp at Arlington. Occasionally the quiet would be
+broken by the crack of a rifle, as some straggler, on one side or the
+other, took a casual shot at the sentry pacing on the other side of
+the broad stream. Sometimes a battery would come driving down to the
+shore, select an advantageous spot, and begin an afternoon's target
+practice at the hostile camp; but the damage done was immaterial, and
+after wasting much powder and shot the recruits would limber up their
+guns and return to their camp. It would have been easy, at almost any
+time, for either army to have crossed the Potomac and invaded the
+territory of the enemy; but each hung back in apparent dread of taking
+the first decisive step. Abraham Lincoln at this time illustrated the
+existing condition of affairs, by one of those stories which have made
+him celebrated as a raconteur. A number of politicians, calling at the
+White House, spoke of the apparent inactivity of the army authorities,
+and demanded that some decisive move should be made; some powerful
+preparations to beat back the enemy should he attempt to cross the
+Potomac. "Gentlemen," said Lincoln, with the twinkle in his eye that
+always foretold a story, "when I was a boy I saw an incident which I
+have always recollected, and which seems to me to resemble very much
+the attitude now assumed by the parties in this impending war. My
+father owned a dog,--a particularly vicious, aggressive, and
+pugnacious bull-terrier,--one of these fellows with heavy, short
+necks, and red, squinting eyes, that seem ever to be on the lookout
+for a fight. Next door to us lived a neighbor who likewise rejoiced in
+the possession of a canine of appearance and habits of mind similar to
+our pet. From the date of their first meeting these dogs had been
+deadly enemies, and had growled and yelped at each other through the
+picket-fence separating the two yards, until we were forced to keep at
+least one dog chained continually. The strained relations between the
+dogs became a matter of general interest, and speculations were rife
+among the neighbors as to the probable outcome of a hostile meeting.
+Those were the times when a lively dog-fight would draw the merchant
+from his counter, and the blacksmith from his anvil; and it is even on
+record that an honorable judge once hurriedly adjourned his court at
+the premonitory sounds of snarling in the court-house square. Well,
+the knowledge that two dogs, pining for a fight, were being forcibly
+restrained, was too much to be borne by the people of the village; and
+a plot was concocted for bringing about a fight. One night two pickets
+were surreptitiously removed from the fence, leaving an opening of
+ample size to permit a dog to pass. In the morning our dog was sunning
+himself in the yard, when the neighbor's dog rushed to his side of
+the fence, and made remarks not to be borne by any self-respecting
+canine. Then began the usual performance of snarls and barks, and
+baring of white teeth, as the dogs made frantic efforts to get at each
+other. The neighbors assembled in a crowd, and the knowing ones
+predicted a lively time when those two dogs found the hole in the
+fence. Down the line of the fence the two curs walked, their eyes
+glaring, their jaws snapping, their tongues out, and dropping foam.
+The racket was tremendous. At each place where the pickets were a
+little spread, they redoubled their efforts to clinch. They approached
+the opening. The interest of the spectators redoubled. Now they
+reached the spot; sprung at each other; their jaws touched,--and each,
+dropping his tail, slunk away to his kennel. Gentlemen, the attitude
+of these armies reminds me of that dog-fight."
+
+[Illustration: Flag of the Confederacy.]
+
+While the armies of the two contestants were thus idly resting upon
+their arms, the navy was obliged to discharge duties, which, while
+they brought some danger, did not gain glory for either officers or
+men. The joys of Washington society were not for the naval officers.
+The applicant for promotion, who, when asked by an examiner, "Where is
+the post of a colonel when his regiment is drawn up for battle?"
+responded promptly, "In Washington," had been serving in the army, and
+not with the naval corps. Besides the duties of the officers detailed
+upon the blockading service, there remained to the navy the arduous
+task of patrolling the Potomac River, and preventing as far as
+possible communication between the shores.
+
+This work, as may be readily understood, demanded the most untiring
+vigilance and the most unflagging energy. The shores on each side of
+the Potomac are indented with bays and tributary streams in which a
+sloop or large row-boat can easily be concealed during the day. At
+night it was impossible to prevent boats laden with contraband goods,
+or conveying the bearers of secret despatches, slipping across the
+river from the northern side, and running into the concealment
+afforded by the irregularity of the Virginia shore-line. Even at this
+early period of the war, the vigorous blockade of the Confederate
+seaports had created a great lack of many necessaries in the Southern
+States. Particularly did the lack of quinine afflict the people of
+those malarial sections comprised within the limits of the South
+Atlantic and Gulf States. So great was the demand for this drug, that
+the enormous sums offered for it led many a speculative druggist north
+of Mason and Dixon's line to invest his all in quinine, and try to run
+it through the Potomac blockade. Of course, as the traffic was carried
+on in small boats, it was impossible to break it up altogether; though
+by the efforts of the navy it was almost destroyed.
+
+Briefly stated, the duties of the Potomac flotilla may be said to have
+been to patrol the river from Washington to its mouth, to inspect both
+sides _daily_ if possible, and to observe whether any preparations for
+batteries were being made at any point, and watch for any transports
+with troops or provisions, and convoy them to Washington. The flotilla
+consisted of small vessels, lightly armed; the "Pawnee," the heaviest
+of the fleet, being a sloop of less than thirteen hundred tons, with a
+battery of fifteen guns, none of long range. Clearly such an armada as
+this could be of but little avail against the earthworks which the
+Virginians were busily erecting on every commanding bluff.
+
+Toward the later part of May, 1861, the Federal Government determined
+to send troops across the river and occupy the city of Alexandria. The
+"Pawnee" had for some days been lying off the town, completely
+covering it with her batteries. She had held this position without
+making any offensive movement; as her commander understood, that, even
+should he compel the town to surrender, he had not the men necessary
+for holding the position. On the morning of the 24th, Commander Rowan
+saw two steamers coming down the river, laden with Federal troops. He
+at once sent a boat ashore, and demanded the surrender of the city,
+which was immediately evacuated by the Virginian troops. When the army
+of occupation landed, it proved to be Ellsworth's famous Zouave
+Regiment, made up largely of the firemen and "Bowery boys" of New York
+City. Ellsworth, while marching through the streets at the head of his
+command, saw a Confederate flag floating from a mast on top of a
+dwelling. With two of his men he proceeded to enter the house, go on
+the roof, and tear down the flag. As he came down the stairs, a man
+carrying a gun stepped from a doorway, and demanded what he did there.
+"This is my trophy," cried Ellsworth, flourishing the bit of striped
+bunting. "And you are mine," responded the man, quickly bringing his
+gun up, and discharging it full into Ellsworth's breast. The two
+Zouaves, maddened at the death of their commander, shot the slayer
+through the brain, and plunged their bayonets into his body before he
+fell. Ellsworth's death created the greatest excitement in the North,
+as it was almost the first blood shed in the war. While the capture of
+Alexandria was in itself no great achievement, it was of importance as
+the first move of the Northern armies into Virginia.
+
+Had the efforts of the navy towards keeping the Potomac clear of
+hostile batteries been supplemented by a co-operating land force, an
+immense advantage would have been gained at the very outset. As it
+was, all that could be done was to temporarily check the exertions of
+the enemy. A battery silenced by the guns from the ships in the
+daytime could be, and usually was, repaired during the night, and
+remained a constant menace to the transports going to or from
+Washington. Under such circumstances, the work of the Potomac flotilla
+could only be fatiguing and discouraging. Much of it had to be
+performed in row-boats; and the crews of the various vessels were kept
+rowing up and down the banks of the river, making midnight excursions
+up creeks to examine suspected localities, and lying in wait for
+smugglers, and the mail-carriers and spies of the enemy. They were in
+continual danger of being opened upon by masked batteries and
+concealed sharp-shooters. The "prize money," the hope of which cheers
+up the man-o'-wars-man in his dreariest hours, amounted to nothing;
+for their prizes were small row-boats and worthless river-craft. The
+few engagements with the enemies' batteries brought little glory or
+success. In one battle on the 29th of May, 1861, a flotilla,
+consisting of the "Thomas Freeborn" (a paddle-wheel steamer, carrying
+three guns), the "Anacostia," and the "Resolute" (a little craft of
+ninety tons and two guns), engaged the batteries at Aquia Creek, and
+pounded away with their pygmy guns for two hours, without doing any
+visible damage. Two days later the bombardment was renewed, and two of
+the vessels were slightly damaged. A more serious event occurred at
+Matthias Point in the latter part of June. Matthias Point was one of
+the chief lurking-places of the Confederate guerrillas, who, concealed
+in the dense undergrowth along the banks of the Potomac, could pour a
+destructive fire into any vessels that passed. Commander J. H. Ward of
+the "Freeborn" planned to break up this ambush, sending a landing
+party to cut away the trees and undergrowth. The landing party,
+commanded by Lieut. Chaplin, was to be covered by the guns of the
+"Freeborn" and "Reliance." It was late in the afternoon when they
+pushed off for the shore. All seemed quiet; and the bursting of the
+shells, which were occasionally dropped into the woods, seemed to have
+driven the enemy away. Hardly, however, had the sailors begun the work
+of hewing down the undergrowth, when from all quarters a hot fire was
+begun, driving them to their boats in a rout. The decks of the two
+vessels were swept by the storm of lead. Commander Ward, while
+sighting the bow-gun of the "Freeborn," was struck in the abdomen by a
+bullet, and died in a few minutes. On the shore the sailors were
+hurrying into the boats and pushing off to avoid capture. Lieut.
+Chaplin acted with great bravery, and succeeded in getting all his men
+away, with their muskets. The last man left on the shore was unable to
+swim; and Chaplin, taking him on his shoulders, bore him safely to the
+boat. Though the fire of the enemy was concentrated on the two,
+neither was hurt, although a minie-ball passed through the
+lieutenant's cap.
+
+Two months later this same locality was the scene of another bloody
+disaster to the Union arms. On the 16th of August the "Resolute" and
+the "Reliance" were ordered to make a reconnoissance of the
+neighborhood of Matthias Point. After steaming about the shore for
+some time, and noticing nothing of a suspicious character, a boat was
+seen on the Virginia shore, and an officer and five men despatched to
+capture her. They had just reached her, and were in the act of making
+fast, when a volley of musketry was fired from the bushes not more
+than five yards away, and three of the crew were instantly killed, and
+one wounded. The watchers on the war-vessels, lying in the river,
+sprang to their guns, and threw several rounds of shell into the cover
+that sheltered the enemy, soon driving them away. The two uninjured
+men in the boat succeeded in getting her away with her load of dead
+and dying.
+
+It is easy to understand how exasperating, how infuriating, such
+service as this must have been to the officers and men of the navy.
+For a man to risk his life in the heat and excitement of a battle, is
+as nothing to the feeling that one may be at any time caught in a
+death-trap, and slaughtered in cold blood.
+
+[Illustration: Naval Patrol on the Potomac.]
+
+A more successful expedition was organized in October, by Lieut.
+Harrill of the steamer "Union." He had been informed that a large
+schooner was lying in Quantico Creek, and that the Confederates were
+massing a number of troops there for the purpose of crossing the
+river. He at once determined to destroy the schooner. Accordingly he
+manned three boats at half-past two in the morning, and in the
+darkness proceeded, with muffled oars, toward the mouth of the creek.
+Here some difficulty was experienced, as the entrance is narrow and
+obstructed by sandbars; but working energetically, and in perfect
+silence, the sailors overcame all obstacles. Once in the creek, they
+pulled rapidly along within pistol-shot of the shore, until the tall
+masts of the schooner could be descried in the darkness. One sentry
+was on guard, who fled wildly as he saw the mysterious boat emerge
+from the darkness of the night. The grappling-irons were thrown
+aboard, and the jackies swarmed nimbly up the sides, and began the
+work of destruction. A huge pile of combustibles was made in the
+cabin, and hastily set on fire. The flames spread rapidly; and, though
+they insured the destruction of the schooner, they also lighted up the
+creek, showing the boats with the sailors bending to their oars to
+escape the storm of bullets that they knew must follow. The glare of
+the burning schooner, the reflection of the flames on the water, the
+flash of the rifles from the shores made a wild picture. Occasionally
+a flash from the river was followed by a deep boom, as a heavy shot
+left the muzzle of a cannon on the steamers. But through it all, the
+men escaped; and the projected invasion of the Confederates was
+abandoned, owing to the loss of their schooner.
+
+All through the war this untiring patrol of the Potomac was continued.
+Among miasmatic vapors and clouds of noxious insects on mud-flats, in
+narrow channels whose densely wooded banks might conceal legions of
+hostile sharp-shooters, the river navy kept up its work. Earning but
+little glory, though in the midst of constant peril, the officers and
+men kept up their work, and contributed not a little to the final
+outcome of the great conflict.
+
+All this time the officers of the naval vessels, riding at anchor in
+Hampton Roads, were chafing under the enforced idleness. Even the
+occasional artillery duels with which their army brethren whiled away
+the time were denied to the wistful blue-jackets. Beyond an occasional
+chase, generally useless, after a fleet blockade-runner, the sailors
+had absolutely no employment. At last, however, the opportunity came.
+The first great naval expedition of the war was set under way.
+
+From Cape Henry, at the mouth of the James River, the coast of
+Virginia and North Carolina sweeps grandly out to the eastward, like a
+mammoth bow, with its lower end at Beaufort, two hundred miles south.
+Along this coast-line the great surges of mighty ocean, rolling with
+unbroken course from the far-off shore of Europe, trip and fall with
+unceasing roar upon an almost uninterrupted beach of snowy sand, a
+hundred and more miles long. Near the southern end of this expanse of
+sand stands a lighthouse, towering solitary above the surrounding
+plain of sea and sand. No inviting beacon giving notice to the weary
+marines of safe haven is this steady light that pierces the darkness
+night after night. It tells of treacherous shoals and roaring
+breakers; of the loss of many a good ship, whose ribs, half buried in
+the drifting sand, lie rotting in the salt air; of skies ever
+treacherous, and waters ever turbulent. It is the light of Hatteras.
+
+Some twenty miles below Cape Hatteras light occurs the first great
+opening in the stretch of sand that extends south from Cape Henry.
+Once he has passed through this opening; the mariner finds himself in
+the most peaceful waters. The great surges of the Atlantic spend
+themselves on the sandy fringe outside, while within are the quiet
+waters of Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, dotted with fertile islands,
+and bordering a coast rich in harbors. The wary blockade-runner,
+eluding the watchfulness of the United States blockaders cruising
+outside, had but to pass the portals of Hatteras Inlet, to unload at
+his leisure his precious cargo, and load up with the cotton which grew
+in great abundance on the islands and fertile shores of the sound.
+
+Recognizing the importance of this harbor, the Confederates had early
+in the war fortified the point north of Hatteras Inlet. Shortly after
+the fall of Fort Sumter, a Yankee skipper, Daniel Campbell,
+incautiously running his schooner the "Lydia Francis" too near the
+stormy cape, was wrecked, and sought shelter among the people at the
+inlet. When, some days after, he proposed to leave, he was astounded
+to find that he had been delivered from the sea only to fall a prey to
+the fortunes of war. He was kept a prisoner for three months; and on
+his release, going directly to Fortress Monroe, he proved that he had
+kept his eyes open to some purpose. He reported to flag-officer
+Stringham that the Confederates had two batteries,--one of ten, the
+other of five guns,--known as Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark. With these
+two forts the Confederates claimed that they could control the
+entrance to Albemarle Sound.
+
+[Illustration: The Fleet off Hatteras.]
+
+As soon as this information was received, an expedition for the
+destruction of these forts was organized. It was necessarily chiefly
+naval, although a land force under Gen. Butler went with the fleet. On
+Aug. 25, 1861, Hampton Roads presented a scene of the greatest
+activity. The fleet seemed to have awakened from a long sleep. Every
+vessel was being hastily prepared for sailing. Two transports, the
+"George Peabody" and the "Adelaide," were crowded with the soldiers of
+Gen. Butler's command. From the mainmast of the flagship "Minnesota"
+waved the signal-flags, changing constantly as different orders were
+sent to the commanders of the other warships. At two o'clock three
+balls of bunting were run up to the truck, and catching the breeze
+were blown out into flags, giving the order, "Get under way at once."
+From the surrounding men-of-war came the shrill pipe of the
+boatswains' whistle, and the steady tramp of the men at the capstan
+bars as they dragged the anchors to the cat-heads. The nimble
+blue-jackets, climbing about the shrouds and yards, soon had the snowy
+clouds of canvas set. The wind was fresh; and with bands playing, and
+cheers of blue-jackets and soldiers, the stately squadron sailed down
+the bay.
+
+But none on board, save the superior officers, knew whither the fleet
+was bound. Hardly were they fairly on the Atlantic, when the course
+was shaped to the southward, and that much was settled. But whether
+New Orleans, Charleston, or Beaufort was the point to be attacked, the
+sailors did not know.
+
+The squadron which sailed from Hampton Roads consisted of the
+war-vessels "Minnesota," "Wabash," "Pawnee," "Monticello," and
+"Harriet Lane;" the transports "George Peabody" and "Adelaide;" and
+the tug "Fanny." Soon after rounding Cape Henry, the vessels became
+separated; and when the other vessels reached Hatteras, on the 27th,
+the "Minnesota" and "Wabash" were nowhere to be seen. As these were
+the most powerful frigates of the fleet, great fears were felt for the
+success of the expedition; but at last they appeared on the horizon. A
+place for landing was selected, and the vessels withdrew into the
+offing to spend the night. It was determined to begin the attack early
+the next day.
+
+The morning dawned clear, with a calm sea. At four o'clock the men
+were summoned to breakfast. At seven the operation of landing the
+troops was begun. All the surf-boats, barges, and lifeboats in the
+fleet were put to the work. The great war-vessels moved into position,
+and prepared to cover with a terrific fire the landing of the troops.
+The first shot was fired by the "Wabash," and the cannonading was at
+once taken up by the rest of the fleet. The vessels were placed so
+that a whole broadside could be discharged at once. Thousands of
+pounds of iron balls were thrown into the forts. Under cover of the
+cannonading, the disembarkation of the troops began.
+
+But the opposition of the enemy was not the only difficulty to be met.
+During the time consumed in getting ready to land, heavy banks of
+clouds had been crawling up from the horizon, and the soft wind of
+morning had grown into a steady blow. Cape Hatteras was true to its
+reputation. On the shelving beach, where the troops must land, the
+great rollers were breaking in torrents of foam. The first lifeboats
+that attempted the landing were swamped, and the soldiers reached the
+land wet and chilled through. The surf-boats were stove in. The
+barges, which had been relied upon to land men in large numbers,
+proved unmanageable, and were towed away by the "Harriet Lane." When
+the attempt to land the troops was given up, it was found that but
+three hundred and twenty men had been landed. This was too small a
+party to storm the forts, and the issue of the battle depended upon
+the great guns of the navy.
+
+[Illustration: Attack on the Hatteras Forts.]
+
+By this time the gunners on the ships had calculated the exact range,
+and were firing with fearful effect. Broadside followed broadside,
+with the regularity of machinery. It was war without its horrors for
+the blue-jackets, since bad marksmanship or poor powder prevented the
+Confederate gunners doing any damage. On the gun-deck of the superb
+frigate "Minnesota," the jackies were working their guns as coolly as
+though they were on drill. The operations of loading and firing were
+gone through with like clock-work. The officers could watch the course
+of the shells until they struck, and instruct the men, without
+undergoing any danger.
+
+But in the forts the scene was one of terror. As soon as the gunners
+of the fleet had secured the range, the shells began crashing into the
+fort, bewildering the untried soldiers, and driving them from their
+guns. A shell falling in the fort, and bursting, would sweep clean a
+space thirty feet square. It was madness to try to work the guns. All
+sought refuge in the bomb proofs, and an occasional shot was all that
+showed the presence of any defenders in the forts. Soon the
+Confederates decided to abandon Fort Clark, the smaller of the two,
+and mass their forces in Fort Hatteras. As a ruse, to check the
+bombardment of the ships, the flags on both forts were hauled down.
+This was, of course, taken as a token of surrender; and as the
+cannonading stopped, and the clouds of gray gunpowder-smoke lifted,
+the shrouds of the bombarding squadron were filled with men, and cheer
+upon cheer rang out in honor of the victory. Soon the troops occupied
+the deserted battery, and the "Monticello" was ordered into the inlet
+to take possession of Fort Hatteras. She had proceeded only a little
+way, however, when suddenly a heavy fire was opened upon her from the
+fort, and at the same time a large body of re-enforcements was seen
+approaching from the south. The gunners came down from the shrouds,
+stopped cheering, and began their work again. For a time the
+"Monticello" was in a dangerous position. In a narrow and unknown
+channel, she was forced to retreat slowly, under heavy fire from the
+fort, being hit eight times. The heavy fire of the other vessels,
+however, soon drove the Confederate gunners from their guns. The
+sailors worked untiringly, and seemed enraged by the deceit practised
+by the enemy. One man, while sponging out a gun, preparatory to
+reloading it, dropped his sponge overboard. Quick as thought he
+vaulted the gunwale, and re-appeared on the surface of the water
+swimming for the sponge. Recovering it, he in a few moments crawled
+dripping through a porthole, to report respectfully to the captain of
+the gun: "Just come aboard, sir."
+
+The fort abandoned by the Confederates had been occupied by the troops
+that had been landed; and, under cover of the furious bombardment, the
+work of landing was vigorously prosecuted. Night came, and with it a
+gale so heavy that the vessels had to desert their stations, and
+withdraw into the offing. When the morning broke, however, the sea had
+calmed sufficiently to allow the gunners to again set about their
+terrible work.
+
+The second day's firing was even more accurate than that of the first;
+and the gray-coats were soon compelled to retire to the bomb-proofs,
+and abandon all attempt to return the fire of the ships. Soon three
+shells in rapid succession burst close to the magazine of the fort,
+telling plainly to the affrighted defenders that nothing was left for
+them but surrender. A white flag was raised, and Commodore Barron went
+off to the fleet to formally surrender the forts and the eight hundred
+men of his command. When the terms were concluded, the defeated
+soldier turned to flag-officer Stringham, and asked if the loss of
+life on the ships had been very large. "Not a man has been injured,"
+was the response. "Wonderful!" exclaimed the questioner. "No one could
+have imagined that this position could have been captured without
+sacrificing thousands of men." But so it was. Without the loss of a
+man, had fallen a most important post, together with cannon,
+provisions, and nearly seven hundred men.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+     THE "TRENT" AFFAIR. -- OPERATIONS IN ALBEMARLE AND PAMLICO
+     SOUNDS. -- DESTRUCTION OF THE CONFEDERATE FLEET.
+
+
+Early in the war an event occurred which for a time seemed likely to
+bring England to the aid of the Confederates. The Confederate
+Government had appointed as diplomatic commissioners to England two
+gentlemen, Messrs. Mason and Slidell. They had escaped from Mobile on
+a fleet blockade-runner, and reached Havana, where they remained a
+week waiting for the regular English packet to convey them to
+Liverpool. While in Havana they were lavishly entertained by the
+colony of Confederate sympathizers there; and feeling perfectly safe,
+now that they were outside the jurisdiction of the United States, they
+made no attempt to conceal their official character, and boasted of
+the errand upon which they were sent.
+
+The United States frigate "San Jacinto," which was one of the many
+vessels kept rushing about the high seas in search of the privateer
+"Sumter," happened to be in the harbor of Havana at this time. She was
+commanded by Capt. Wilkes, an officer who had made an exhaustive study
+of international law, particularly as bearing upon the right of a
+war-vessel to search a vessel belonging to a neutral nation. Capt.
+Wilkes, knowing that by capturing the Confederate commissioners, he
+could win for himself the applause of the entire North, determined to
+make the attempt. By a study of his books bearing on international
+law, he managed to convince himself that he was justified in stopping
+the British steamer, and taking from it by force the bodies of Messrs.
+Mason and Slidell. Accordingly he set sail from the harbor of Havana,
+and cruised up and down at a distance of more than a marine league
+from the coast, awaiting the appearance of the vessel. Five days after
+the "San Jacinto's" departure, the commissioners set sail in the
+British mail-steamer "Trent." She was intercepted in the Bahama
+Channel by the "San Jacinto." When the man-of-war fired a blank
+cartridge as a signal to heave to, the commander of the "Trent" ran
+the British flag to the peak, and continued, feeling secure under the
+emblem of neutrality. Then came a more peremptory summons in the shape
+of a solid shot across the bows; and, as the incredulous captain of
+the "Trent" still continued his course, a six-inch shell was dropped
+within about one hundred feet of his vessel. Then he stopped. A boat
+put off from the "San Jacinto," and made for the "Trent." Up the side
+of the merchant-vessel clambered a spruce lieutenant, and demanded the
+immediate surrender of the two commissioners. The captain protested,
+pointed to the flag with the cross of St. George waving above his
+head, and invoked the power of her Britannic majesty,--all to no
+avail. The two commissioners had retired to their cabins, and refused
+to come out without being compelled by actual force. The boat was sent
+back to the "San Jacinto," and soon returned with a file of marines,
+who were drawn up with their muskets on the deck of the "Trent." Every
+British ship which carries mails carries a regularly commissioned
+officer of the navy, who is responsible for them. This officer on the
+"Trent" was somewhat of a martinet, and his protests at this violation
+of the rights of a neutral vessel were very vigorous. When the first
+gun was fired, he rushed below, and soon re-appeared in all the
+resplendent glory of gold lace and brass buttons which go to make up a
+naval uniform. He danced about the deck in an ecstasy of rage, and
+made the most fearful threats of the wrath of the British people. The
+passengers too became excited, and protested loudly. Every thing
+possible was done by the people of the "Trent" to put themselves on
+record as formally protesting. Nevertheless, the commissioners were
+taken away, carried to New York, and from there sent into confinement
+at Fort Warren.
+
+When the news of this great achievement became known, Wilkes was made
+the lion of the hour. Unthinking people met and passed resolutions of
+commendation. He was tendered banquets by cities. He was elected a
+member of learned societies in all parts of the country, and was
+generally eulogized. Even the Secretary of the Navy, who should have
+recognized the grave troubles likely to grow out of this violation of
+the principles of neutrality, wrote a letter to Capt. Wilkes, warmly
+indorsing his course, and only regretting that he had not captured the
+steamer as well as the two commissioners.
+
+But fortunately we had wiser heads in the other executive departments
+of the government. President Lincoln and Secretary Seward quickly
+disavowed the responsibility for Wilkes's action. Letters were written
+to the United States minister in England, Charles Francis Adams,
+alluding to the proceeding as one for which Capt. Wilkes as an
+individual was alone responsible. And well it was that this attitude
+was taken: for hardly had the news reached England, when with one
+voice the people cried for war. Sympathizing with the South as they
+undoubtedly did, it needed but this insult to the British flag to
+rouse the war spirit of the nation. Transports loaded with troops were
+immediately ordered to Canada; the reserves were called out; the
+ordnance factories were set running day and night; while the press of
+the nation, and the British minister at Washington, demanded the
+immediate release of the captives, and a full apology from the United
+States.
+
+The matter was conducted on this side with the utmost diplomacy. We
+were undoubtedly in the wrong, and the only thing was to come out with
+as little sacrifice of national dignity as possible. The long time
+necessary for letters to pass between this country and England was an
+important factor in calming the people. Minister Adams said, that, had
+the Atlantic cable then been in operation, nothing could have
+prevented a war. In the end the demands of Great Britain were acceded
+to, and the commissioners proceeded on their way. The last note of the
+diplomatic correspondence was a courteous letter from President
+Lincoln to the British minister, offering to allow the British troops
+_en route_ for Canada to land at Portland, Me., and thus avoid the
+long winter's march through New Brunswick. The peaceful settlement of
+the affair chagrined the Confederates not a little, as they had hoped
+to gain Great Britain as a powerful ally in their fight against the
+United States.
+
+Soon after the capture of the forts at Hatteras Inlet, the authorities
+of the Union again turned their attention in that direction, with the
+result of sending the Burnside expedition to Albemarle Sound.
+
+The coast of North Carolina is honeycombed with rivers, inlets, and
+lagoons, which open into the two broad sounds known as Pamlico and
+Albemarle, and which are protected from the turbulence of the Atlantic
+by the long ridge of sand which terminates at Cape Hatteras. While the
+capture of the Hatteras forts had given the Union authorities control
+of Hatteras Inlet, the chief entrance to the sounds, yet the long,
+narrow island was broken by other lesser inlets of a size sufficient
+to permit the passage of light-draught steamers. The Confederates had
+quite a fleet of swift, light vessels of insignificant armament, often
+only a single gun, with which they occasionally made a descent upon
+some coaster or merchantman, running close inshore, and dragged her in
+as a prize. With these swift steamers, too, they effectually
+controlled all navigation of the sounds. But the greatest advantage
+that they derived from their control of the sounds was the vast
+facilities given them for constructing, at their leisure, powerful
+iron-clads in some of the North Carolina shipyards; then sending them
+to reduce the Hatteras forts, and so out into the Atlantic to fight
+for the destruction of the blockade. All these conditions were clear
+to the authorities of the Union; and therefore, in the early part of
+January, 1862, a joint military and naval expedition was fitted out
+for operation against the Confederate works and steamers in these
+inland waters. It was in the early days of the war; and the flotilla
+was one of those heterogeneous collections of remodelled
+excursion-steamers, tugs, ferry-boats, and even canal-boats, which at
+that time was dignified with the title of "the fleet." In fitting out
+this expedition two very conflicting requirements were followed. In
+the most favorable circumstances, the channel at Hatteras Inlet is
+seldom over seven and a half feet: consequently the vessels must be of
+light draught. But the Confederate steamers in the sounds carried
+heavy rifled cannon, and the armament of the forts on Roanoke Island
+was of the heaviest: therefore, the vessels must carry heavy guns to
+be able to cope with the enemy. This attempt to put a heavy armament
+on the gun-deck made the vessels roll so heavily as to be almost
+unseaworthy.
+
+[Illustration: Shores of Albemarle Sound.]
+
+In addition to the armed vessels belonging to the navy, a number of
+transports accompanied the expedition, bearing the army corps under
+the command of Gen. Burnside; and the whole number of craft finally
+assembled for the subjugation of the North Carolina sounds was one
+hundred and twenty. This heterogeneous assemblage of vessels was sent
+on a voyage in the dead of winter, down a dangerous coast, to one of
+the stormiest points known to the mariner. Hatteras was true to its
+reputation; and, when the squadron reached the inlet, a furious
+north-easter was blowing, sending the gray clouds scudding across the
+sky, and making the heavy rollers break on the beach and the bar in a
+way that foretold certain destruction, should any hardy pilot attempt
+to run his ship into the narrow and crooked inlet. Outside there was
+no safe anchorage, and the situation of the entire squadron was most
+precarious. Several serious mishaps occurred before the vessels got
+into the small and altogether insufficient harbor between the seaward
+bar and the "bulkhead" or inner bar. The first vessel to come to grief
+was one of the canal-boats laden with hay, oats, and other stores. She
+was without any motive power, being towed by a steam-tug, and, getting
+into the trough of the sea, rolled and sheered so that she could not
+be towed. The heavy rolling started her seams, and it was soon evident
+that she was sinking. With the greatest caution a boat was lowered
+from one of the steamers, and put off to rescue the crew of the
+foundering craft. Laboriously the sailors worked their way through the
+tossing sea to the lee side of the "Grape-shot," and after much
+difficulty succeeded in taking off all on board, and the return trip
+was commenced. All went well until the boat came under the lee of the
+steamer, and the men were about to clamber up the sides. Suddenly an
+immense sea lifted the vessel high in the air; and in an instant the
+boat was swamped, and the men were struggling in the icy water. All
+were ultimately saved, but it was with the greatest difficulty. The
+"Grape-shot," left to her fate, went ashore some fourteen miles above
+Hatteras. Her cargo served some practical use, after all; for some
+horses from the wreck of the "Pocahontas" managed to reach the shore,
+and kept themselves alive by munching the water-soaked hay and oats.
+
+The "Pocahontas" was one of the steamers chartered by the war
+department as a horse transport. Her actions during this gale furnish
+a fair illustration of the manner in which the Government was often
+deluded into purchasing almost valueless ships. She started with the
+Burnside expedition from Hampton Roads, freighted with one hundred
+and thirteen horses. As soon as the gale off Hatteras came on, she
+began to show signs of unseaworthiness. First the boilers gave way,
+loosened from their places by the heavy rolling of the ship. All
+progress had to be stopped until they were patched up. Then down fell
+the grates, extinguishing the fires. Then the steering-gear was
+broken; and, getting into the trough of the sea, she rolled until her
+smokestack broke its moorings and fell over. Finally she sprung a leak
+and was run ashore. The crew were all saved, but for a long time their
+chances for life seemed small indeed. Ninety of the horses were lost,
+some having been thrown overboard ten miles from the land. Others were
+left tied in their stalls, to perish when the ship went to pieces in
+the breakers. Those that were thrown overboard near the beach swam
+ashore through breakers in which no boat nor man could live, and,
+finding the waste and wreckage from the cargo of the "Grape-shot,"
+lived for days on the hay and oats, soaked with sea-water though they
+were.
+
+For two days this gale continued. The outlook for the fleet seemed
+hopeless. The inner bar of the harbor was absolutely impassable.
+Between the outer bar and the inner were packed seventy vessels. This
+space, though called a harbor, was almost unsheltered. Crowded with
+vessels as it was, it made an anchorage only less dangerous than that
+outside. Although the vessels were anchored, bow and stern, the
+violence of the sea was such that they frequently crashed into each
+other, breaking bulwarks, spars, and wheel-houses, and tearing away
+standing-rigging. A schooner breaking from its anchorage went tossing
+and twirling through the fleet, crashing into vessel after vessel,
+until finally, getting foul of a small steamer, dragged it from its
+moorings; and the two began a waltz in the crowded harbor, to the
+great detriment of the surrounding craft. At last the two runaways
+went aground on a shoal, and pounded away there until every seam was
+open, and the holds filled with water.
+
+A strange mishap was that which befell the gunboat "Zouave." She was
+riding safely at anchor, remote from other ships, taking the seas
+nobly, and apparently in no possible danger. Her crew occupied
+themselves in going to the assistance of those in the distressed
+vessels, feeling that their own was perfectly safe. But during the
+night, the tide being out, the vessel was driven against one of the
+flukes of her own anchor; and as each wave lifted her up and dropped
+her heavily on the sharp iron, a hole was stove in her bottom,
+sinking her so quickly that the crew took to the boats, saving
+nothing.
+
+But the most serious disaster was the total wreck of the "City of New
+York," a large transport, with a cargo of ordnance stores valued at
+two hundred thousand dollars. Unable to enter the inlet, she tried to
+ride out the gale outside. The tremendous sea, and the wind blowing
+furiously on shore, caused her to drag her anchors; and those on board
+saw certain death staring them in the face, as hour by hour the ship
+drifted nearer and nearer to the tumbling mass of mighty breakers,
+that with an unceasing roar, and white foam gleaming like the teeth of
+an enraged lion, broke heavily on the sand. She struck on Monday
+afternoon, and soon swung around, broadside to the sea, so as to be
+helpless and at the mercy of the breakers. Every wave broke over her
+decks. The condition of her crew was frightful. In the dead of winter,
+the wind keen as a razor, and the waves of icy coldness, the body soon
+became benumbed; and it was with the greatest effort that the men
+could cling to the rigging. So great was the fury of the wind and
+waves, that no assistance could be given her. For a boat to venture
+into that seething caldron of breakers would have been throwing away
+lives. So the crew of the doomed ship were left to save themselves as
+best they might. The night passed away, and Tuesday morning saw the
+gale still blowing with unabated force. Hoping to lessen the strain on
+the hull, they cut away the foremast. In falling, it tore away the
+pipes, and the vessel became a perfect wreck. Numbed with cold, and
+faint for lack of food, the crew lashed themselves to the bulwarks and
+rigging; and so, drenched by the icy spray, and chilled through by the
+wind, they spent another fearful night. The next day the fury of the
+storm seemed to have somewhat abated. The sea was still running high,
+and breaking over the almost unrecognizable hulk stranded on the
+beach. With the aid of a glass, sailors on the other ships could see
+the inanimate forms of the crew lashed to the rigging. It was
+determined to make a vigorous attempt to save them. The first boat
+sent out on the errand of mercy was watched eagerly from all the
+vessels. Now it would be seen raised high on the top of some
+tremendous wave, then, plunging into the trough, it would be lost from
+the view of the anxious watchers. All went well until the boat reached
+the outermost line of the breakers, when suddenly a towering wave,
+rushing resistlessly along, broke directly over the stern, swamping
+the boat, and drowning seven of the crew. Again the last hope seemed
+lost to the exhausted men on the wreck. But later in the day, the sea
+having gone down somewhat, a steam-tug succeeded in reaching the wreck
+and rescuing the crew. The second engineer was the last man to leave
+the ship. He remained lashed to the mast until all were taken on the
+tug. Then, climbing to the top-mast, he cut down the flag that had
+waved during those two wild days and nights, and bore it safely away.
+
+After this gale died away, the work of getting the squadron over the
+inner bar was begun. It was a tremendous task. Many of the ships drew
+too much water for the shallow channel, and it was necessary to remove
+large parts of their cargoes. The bar, which is known as Buckhead
+Shoal, was an expanse of quicksand a mile wide, with a tortuous
+channel ever changing with the shifting sands. Many of the ships
+stranded, and the tugs were constantly busy in towing them off.
+Scarcely would one be safely afloat, than another would "bring up all
+standing" on some new shoal. Two weeks elapsed before all the vessels
+were safe within the landlocked sound. They were none too soon; for
+hardly had the last vessel crossed the bar, than the black gathering
+clouds, the murky, tossing sea, and the foaming billows breaking on
+the bar, foretold another of the storms for which Cape Hatteras is
+famed. Through the storm a queer-looking craft was seen approaching
+the fleet. It was found to be a boat-load of escaping slaves, who had
+put to sea at random, feeling sure of finding "de Yankees" somewhere.
+From these men much valuable information was obtained.
+
+Up to this time no one in the fleet, excepting the superior officers,
+was informed as to the exact destination of the expedition. Now as the
+signal to get under way blew out from the foremast of the flagship,
+and as the prow of the leading vessel was turned to the northward, all
+knew, and all cried, "Roanoke Island." This island was heavily
+fortified by the Confederates, and from its position was a point of
+considerable strategic importance. It guards the entrance to Pamlico
+Sound from Albemarle Sound, and into Pamlico Sound open great bays and
+rivers that penetrate far into the interior of Virginia and North
+Carolina. On this island the Confederates had erected three forts of
+formidable strength. These forts commanded the channel through which
+the vessels would have to pass; and to make the task doubly dangerous,
+the channel was obstructed with sharpened piles and sunken hulks, so
+as to be apparently impassable. Beyond the obstructions was the
+Confederate fleet, which, though insignificant compared with the
+attacking squadron, was formidable in connection with the forts. It
+was the task of the invaders to capture these forts, and destroy the
+fleet.
+
+It was on Feb. 5 that the squadron prepared to leave its moorings at
+Hatteras Inlet. It was an imposing spectacle. The flagship
+"Philadelphia" led the naval squadron, which advanced with the
+precision of a body of troops. Behind, with less regularity, came the
+army transports. About one hundred vessels were in the three columns
+that moved over the placid waters of the sound toward the forts. It
+was five in the afternoon of a short February day that the fleet came
+in sight of the forts. Signals were made for the squadron to form in a
+circle about the flagship. The early darkness of winter had fallen
+upon the scene. The waters of the sound were smooth as a mill-pond.
+From the white cottages on the shore gleamed lights, and brilliant
+signal-lanterns hung in the rigging of the ships. Through the fleet
+pulled swift gigs bearing the commanders of the different vessels.
+
+The morning dawned dark and rainy. At first it was thought that the
+fog and mist would prevent the bombardment, but all doubt was put at
+an end by the signal, "Prepare for action," from the flagship. The
+drums beat to quarters, and soon the guns were manned by sailors
+stripped to the waist. The magazines were opened; and the surgeons
+cleared away the cock-pits, and spread out their glistening
+instruments ready for their work.
+
+The fleet got under way, and stood up the channel almost to the point
+where the obstructions were planted. Beyond these were the gunboats of
+the enemy. The cannonade was begun without loss of time. A portion of
+the fleet began a vigorous fire upon the Confederate gunboats, while
+the others attacked the forts. The gunboats were soon driven away, and
+then the forts received the entire fire. The water was calm, and the
+aim of the gunners was admirable. The forts could hardly respond to
+the fire, since the great shells, plunging by hundreds into the
+trenches, drove the men from their guns into the bomb-proof casemates.
+The officers of the ships could watch with their glasses the effect of
+every shell, and by their directions the aim of the gunners was made
+nearly perfect.
+
+While the bombarding was going on, Gen. Burnside set about landing his
+troops near the southern end of the island. The first boat was fired
+upon by soldiers concealed in the woods. The "Delaware" instantly
+pitched a few shells into the woods from which the firing proceeded,
+and in a few minutes the enemy could be seen running out like rats
+from a burning granary. The landing then went on unimpeded. The boats
+were unable to get up to the bank, owing to shoal water; and the
+soldiers were obliged to wade ashore in the icy water, waist-deep, and
+sinking a foot more in the soft mud of the bottom.
+
+The bombardment was continued for some hours after nightfall. A night
+bombardment is a stirring scene. The passionate and spiteful glare of
+the cannon-flashes; the unceasing roar of the explosions; the demoniac
+shriek of the shells in the air, followed by their explosion with a
+lightning flash, and crash like thunder; the volumes of gray smoke
+rising upon the dark air,--make up a wonderful and memorable sight.
+
+In the morning the bombardment was recommenced, and the work of
+landing troops went on. Eight gunboats were sent to tear away the
+obstructions in the channel; and there beneath the guns of the enemy's
+fleet, and the frowning cannon of the forts, the sailors worked with
+axe and ketch until the barricade was broken, and the eight ships
+passed to the sound above the forts. In the mean time, the troops on
+the island began the march against the forts. There were few paths,
+and they groped their way through woods and undergrowth, wading
+through morasses, and tearing their way through tangled thickets to
+get at the enemy's front. The advance was slow, but steady, until the
+open field before the forts was reached; then a change was ordered,
+led by the famous Hawkins Zouaves, who rushed madly upon the fort,
+shouting their war cry of _Zou, zou, zou!_ Like a resistless flood the
+attackers poured over the earthworks, and the frightened defenders
+fled. Before five o'clock the entire island was in the hands of the
+troops, and the fleet had passed the barricade. During the bombardment
+the vessels sustained severe injuries. An act of heroism which made
+the hero celebrated was that of John Davis, gunner's mate on board the
+"Valley City." A shell entered the magazine of that ship, and
+exploded, setting the woodwork on fire. An open barrel of gunpowder
+stood in the midst of the flames, with sparks dropping about it. At
+any moment an explosion might occur which would shatter the vessel to
+fragments. Men shrank back, expecting every moment to be their
+last. With wonderful presence of mind Davis threw himself across the
+open end of the barrel, and with his body covered the dangerous
+explosive until the fire was put out.
+
+[Illustration: Contrabands escaping to Fleet.]
+
+As soon as the stars and stripes were hoisted on the flagstaffs of the
+forts, the Confederate fleet, which had been maintaining a desultory
+fire, fled up the sound, after setting fire to one schooner which had
+become hopelessly crippled in the battle. She blazed away far on into
+the night, and finally, when the flames reached her magazine, blew up
+with a tremendous report, seeming like a final involuntary salute paid
+by the defeated enemy to the prowess of the Union arms. When quiet
+finally settled down upon the scene, and Gen. Burnside and Commander
+Goldsborough counted up their gains, they found that six forts,
+twenty-five hundred prisoners, and forty-two great guns had fallen
+into the hands of the victors. The Union loss was forty killed and two
+hundred wounded.
+
+The next day was Sunday. It was considered highly important that the
+success of the day before should be vigorously followed up; and an
+expedition of fourteen vessels, under Capt. Rowan, was ordered to
+follow the retreating Confederate fleet and destroy it. The flying
+squadron was chased as far as Elizabeth City on the Pasquotauk River.
+Here night overtook the pursuers; and they came to anchor at the mouth
+of the stream, effectually cutting off all hope of retreat. The
+Confederates in the vessels lying off the town passed an anxious
+night. Outnumbered two to one by the pursuing vessels, they saw no
+hope of a successful resistance. With a courage which in view of the
+facts seems to be almost foolhardy, they determined to stick to their
+ships, and fight to the death. The feelings of the inhabitants of the
+town were hardly less gloomy. So thoroughly impregnable had they
+considered the forts at Roanoke Island, that they had made absolutely
+no preparations for defence; and now they found their homes upon the
+eve of capture. The victorious army had not yet had an opportunity to
+show the merciful way in which the inhabitants of captured cities were
+treated throughout the war; and the good people of Elizabeth City may
+be excused for fearing, that, with the destruction of their fleet,
+they were to be delivered into the merciless hands of a lawless enemy.
+
+Morning dawned bright and clear. With the greatest deliberation the
+preparations for action were made on the attacking vessels. It was
+discovered, that, owing to the continuous firing during the Roanoke
+Island engagement, but twenty rounds of ammunition per gun were left
+to each vessel. It was accordingly ordered that no long-distance
+firing should be done; but each vessel should dash at the enemy, run
+him down if possible, and then board and fight it out, hand to hand.
+Early in the morning the fleet started up the river. The enemy's fleet
+was soon sighted, lying behind the guns of a small battery on Cobb's
+Point. When within long range, battery and vessels opened a tremendous
+fire with eighty-pound rifles. The approach of the squadron continued
+until when within three-quarters of a mile the signal was flung out
+from the mast of the flagship, "Dash at the enemy." Then full speed
+was put on, and firing commenced from bow-guns. The Confederates
+became totally demoralized. The battery was abandoned when the first
+vessel poured her broadside into it as she passed. Before the enemy's
+fleet was reached, many of his vessels were fired and abandoned. The
+United States steamship "Perry" struck the "Sea-Bird" amidships,
+sinking her so quickly that the crew had scarce time to escape. The
+crew of the "Delaware" boarded the "Fanny," sabering and shooting her
+defenders until they fled over the side into the water. The victory
+was complete and overwhelming. Three or four of the victorious vessels
+at once proceeded to the town, where they found the enemy in full
+retreat and compelling the inhabitants to set fire to their houses.
+This was quickly stopped, and the invaders became the protectors of
+the conquered people.
+
+The power of the Confederates in this part of the country being so
+effectually destroyed, the navy was divided into small detachments and
+sent cruising up the lagoons and rivers opening into the North
+Carolina sounds, merely to show the people the power of the United
+States Government, and to urge them to cease their resistance to its
+authority. Three vessels were sent to Edenton. As they came abreast of
+the village, a company of mounted artillery precipitately fled. A
+detachment of marines sent ashore found a number of cannon which they
+destroyed, and a nearly completed schooner to which they set fire.
+Other small places were visited, generally without any opposition
+being encountered.
+
+A somewhat larger force was sent to a small town named Winton, as it
+had been rumored that a force of Union men were there disputing the
+authority of the Confederate Government, and the navy wished to go to
+their assistance. The "Delaware" and "Hudson," in advance of the
+squadron, came within sight of the landing and warehouses of Winton
+about four in the afternoon. The town itself was hidden from the view
+of the vessels by a high bluff. It was a clear, quiet afternoon, and
+all seemed peaceful. The long wharf, running out into the stream, was
+deserted by all save a negro woman, who, roused from her occupation of
+fishing, gazed inquisitively at the strange vessels. The place looked
+like a commercial port going to seed on account of the blockade. The
+two vessels proceeded on their way unmolested, ranging past the wharf,
+and apprehending no danger. Suddenly from the woods on the bluff a
+terrific fire was poured upon the vessels. The negress, having served
+her end as a decoy, fled hastily to shelter. The bluffs seemed to be
+held by two batteries of light artillery and a considerable force of
+armed men. Fortunately the aim of the artillery men was bad, and the
+vessels sustained no severe damage. Still, they were in a precarious
+position. The "Delaware" was too near to bring her battery to bear,
+and was obliged to turn slowly in the narrow channel. The "Perry,"
+more fortunately situated, opened at once on the enemy with shrapnel.
+But the contest was unequal, and the two vessels were forced to
+retreat down the river about seven miles, there to await the remainder
+of the squadron.
+
+Two days after, the flotilla began the advance up the river, shelling
+the town as they ascended. Once opposite the town, the troops were
+landed, and the Hawkins Zouaves soon had possession of the bluff and
+town. Knapsacks, ammunition, and muskets in considerable quantity fell
+into the hands of the victors; and, after burning the barracks of the
+enemy, the squadron returned to the base of operations at Roanoke
+Island.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+     REDUCTION OF NEWBERN. -- EXPLOITS OF LIEUT. CUSHING. --
+     DESTRUCTION OF THE RAM "ALBEMARLE."
+
+
+After the destruction of the Confederate flotilla at Elizabeth City,
+and the affair at Winton, the Union fleet remained quietly at anchor
+off Roanoke Island, or made short excursions up the little rivers
+emptying into the sounds. Over a month passed in comparative inaction,
+as the ships were awaiting supplies and particularly ammunition. When
+finally the transports from New York arrived, and the magazines of the
+war-vessels were filled with shot and shell and gunpowder, they again
+turned their attention to the enemy. The victories already won had
+almost driven the Confederates from that part of North Carolina which
+borders on the sounds. Roanoke Island, Elizabeth City, Edenton, and
+Plymouth had one after the other yielded to the persuasive eloquence
+of the ship's cannon, and there was left to the Confederates only one
+fort,--Newbern, on the River Neuse. As a city Newbern is
+insignificant; but as a military post it was of a good deal of
+importance, and the Confederates had made active preparations for its
+defence.
+
+It was on the 12th of March, 1862, that Commander Rowan started from
+Hatteras Inlet with a flotilla of thirteen vessels, and army
+transports bearing three thousand men. The long column steamed down
+the placid waters of Pamlico Sound, and, turning into the Neuse
+River, anchored about fifteen miles below the city. Although the night
+before the battle, and within sight of the white steeples of the
+menaced city, all was quiet and peaceful. The banks of the broad
+stream were densely wooded, and from them could be heard at times the
+cry of the whip-poor-will, or the hoot of the night-owl. The vessels
+were anchored far out in the middle of the stream, so as to avoid the
+deadly bullets of any lurking sharp-shooters. The lookouts kept a
+close watch for floating torpedoes; while the sailors off duty spun
+their yarns in the forecastle, and bet pipes and tobacco on the result
+of the coming battle. The jolly tars of the Burnside expedition had
+hardly yet learned that war was a serious matter. They had met with
+but little serious resistance, had captured powerful forts without
+losing a man, had chased and destroyed the Confederate fleet without
+any serious damage to their own, and felt, accordingly, that war was a
+game in which it was their part always to win, and the part of the
+enemy to run away. Certainly the fight at Newbern did nothing to
+dispel this idea.
+
+When morning broke, the shrill piping of the boatswain's whistle
+brought the crew to their places on deck. Breakfast was served, and
+leisurely eaten; for it is one of the established theories of the
+navy, that sailors can't fight on empty stomachs. Breakfast over, the
+work of landing the troops was begun. The point chosen was a broad
+beach fringed with woods near the anchorage of the vessels. Before
+landing the troops, the ships threw a few shells into the woods, to
+make certain that they concealed no ambuscade, as in the disastrous
+affair at Matthias Point. After two dozen shells had burst, mowing
+down trees, and driving out frightened animals in plenty, but no
+sharp-shooters, the long-boats put off from the transports bearing the
+soldiers for the land attack. As soon as six or seven hundred were
+landed, they formed in column, and moved rapidly up the beach. The
+others followed as rapidly as they could be put on shore. The gunboats
+steamed slowly up the river, keeping abreast of the troops, and
+throwing shells into the woods ahead of the attacking column. Had any
+Confederates prepared to resist the march, they must have been driven
+out of the forest before the Federals came within musket-range. Not an
+atom of resistance was made. The plans of the invaders seemed
+irresistible. About half-past four in the afternoon, a puff of smoke
+rose from the river-bank far ahead of the leading vessel, and in a few
+seconds a heavy shell plunged into the water a hundred yards ahead of
+the flotilla. The enemy was getting awake to the situation. The
+gunboats soon returned the fire, and the cannonading was continued at
+long range, without damage to either side, until sundown, when the
+troops went into camp, and the vessels chose an anchorage near by.
+
+At daylight the next morning, the advance was resumed. The day was so
+foggy that the usual signals between the vessels could not be seen,
+and orders from the flagship had to be carried by boat. The fleet
+proceeded up the river; and, when the fog lifted, the ramparts of Fort
+Dixie--the one that had fired on them the night before--were visible.
+A vigorous bombardment was at once begun; but the fort failed to
+reply, and a storming-party sent ashore found it empty. Hoisting the
+stars and stripes above the deserted bastions, the ships went on. Soon
+they reached Fort Ellis. Here the firing was sharp on both sides. The
+fort was a powerful earthwork, well armed with rifles ranging from
+thirty-two to eighty pounders. The Confederates did but little damage
+with their guns; their aim being bad for want of practice, and their
+powder of poor quality. Still, they fought on with great courage until
+a shell from the "Delaware" burst in the magazine, firing the powder
+there, and hurling the fort, with large numbers of its brave
+defenders, high in the air. This ended the fight with Fort Ellis, and
+the fleet continued its way up the river.
+
+[Illustration: Flag of South Carolina.]
+
+Shortly after passing Fort Ellis, two rows of obstructions were met in
+the channel. The lower barrier was composed of a series of piles
+driven into the river-bottom, and cut off below the water; back of
+these came a row of pointed and iron tipped piles pointing down stream
+at such an angle as to be likely to pierce the hull of any vessel that
+should run upon them. Entwined about these piles was a cable
+connecting with thirty powerful torpedoes. That any vessel could
+pierce such a barrier seems almost incredible; yet all the vessels of
+the flotilla passed, and but two were seriously injured. One of the
+sharp iron piles drove through the bottom of the "Barney," sending the
+crew to the pumps, and the carpenter down into the hold with his
+felt-covered plugs. But her damages were quickly repaired, and she
+went on with the rest of the fleet. Right under the guns of Fort
+Thompson the second line of obstructions was encountered. It consisted
+of a line of sunken vessels closely massed, and a _cheval-de-frise_ of
+stakes and logs, that blocked the entire river, save a small passage
+close in shore under the guns of the battery. Here was more hard work
+for the sailors; but they managed to creep through, and ranging up in
+line, broadside to Fort Thompson, they opened a vigorous cannonade
+upon that work. The condition of the garrison of the fort was
+desperate. The troops that had marched up the beach abreast of the
+vessels began a vigorous attack on the landward face of the fort,
+while the vessels in the river kept up a vigorous fire on the
+water-front. Soon the gunners of the fort were called away from the
+river-front to meet the hot assault of the soldiers on the land; and,
+as the conflict grew close, the ships ceased firing, lest their shell
+should mow down foe and friend alike. Leaving the enemy to the
+attention of the soldiery, the ships proceeded up the river past two
+deserted forts that gave no answer to vigorous shelling. Just as the
+last vessel was passing Fort Thompson, the attacking troops, with a
+cheer, rushed upon the ramparts; and in a minute the stars and stripes
+were fluttering from the flagstaff. This was the last resistance
+encountered, and at two P.M. the victors were in full possession of
+the city. The war ships sped up the river after three Confederate
+steamers that were endeavoring to escape, and soon captured them. One
+was run ashore and burned, while the other two were added to the
+conquering fleet. As a last resort, the flying enemy sent down a huge
+fire-raft, in the hope of burning some of the Union vessels; but this
+was stopped by the piers of a railroad bridge, and, burning that,
+effectually cut off Newbern's communication with the world. During the
+entire two days' engagement, the navy did not lose a man on the ships.
+Two of a small landing-party were killed, and eleven, wounded; while
+of the soldiers there were killed eighty-eight, and wounded three
+hundred and fifty-two. This victory gave to the United States the
+entire control of the North Carolina sounds and tributary navigable
+waters.
+
+For years after this, the sounds were occupied by a small squadron of
+the United States navy, mainly blockading cruisers. It was during
+these three years of occupation that Lieut. W. B. Cushing performed
+those wonderfully daring deeds that made him a name and fame apart
+from all other war-records. These feats so particularly belong to
+Cushing's record, rather than to the history of any years of the war,
+that they may well be considered together here. The wonderful
+exhibitions of daring by which this young officer earned his promotion
+to the rank of a commander, while still hardly more than a boy, were
+the ascent of New River Inlet in the steamer "Ellis," for the purpose
+of destroying the enemy's salt-works, and a blockade-runner at New
+Topsail Inlet; and finally, the great achievement of his life, the
+destruction of the ram "Albemarle" in the Roanoke River.
+
+Lieut. Cushing entered the navy during the first year of the civil war,
+being himself at that time but nineteen years old. A comrade who served
+with him at the time of the destruction of the "Albemarle" describes him
+as about six feet high, very slender, with a smooth face, and dark wavy
+hair. Immediately upon his joining the navy, he was assigned to duty
+with the blockading squadron on the Atlantic coast. He distinguished
+himself during the first year of the war, at a time when the
+opportunities of the service were not very brilliant, by unfailing
+vigilance, and soon won for himself the honor of a command. In November,
+1862, he was put in command of the steamer "Ellis," and ordered to
+preserve the blockade of New River Inlet on the North Carolina coast,
+not far from the favorite port of the blockade-runners, Wilmington. The
+duties of a blockading man-of-war are monotonous, at best. Lying at
+anchor off the mouth of the blockaded harbor, or steaming slowly up and
+down for days together, the crew grow discontented; and the officers are
+at their wits' end to devise constant occupation to dispel the
+turbulence which idleness always arouses among sailors. Inaction is the
+great enemy of discipline on board ship, and it is for this reason that
+the metal and trimmings aboard a man-of-war are so continually being
+polished. A big brass pivot-gun amidships will keep three or four
+jackies polishing an hour or two every day; and petty officers have been
+known to go around secretly, and deface some of the snowy woodwork or
+gleaming brass, when it seemed that surfaces to be polished were
+becoming exhausted. It is no unusual thing to set a gang of sailors to
+work rubbing away with polish on the flukes of the great anchors, merely
+to give them work. But while this sort of occupation may drive dull care
+away from the heart of Jack, his officers are not so easily entertained;
+and the dull routine of blockading duty at an unfrequented port is most
+wearisome to adventurous spirits. Particularly was this the case with
+Lieut. Cushing, and he was constantly upon the lookout for some perilous
+adventure. One day late in November, information was brought to him that
+the enemy had established large salt-works at Jacksonville, thirty-five
+miles up the river. Even thus early in the war, the vigorous blockade
+was beginning to tell upon the supplies of the Confederates; and one of
+the articles of which the Southern armies were in the greatest need was
+salt. The distress caused by the lack of it was great. Many of the
+soldiers were in the habit of sprinkling gunpowder upon their food to
+give it a flavor approaching that of salt. In olden days, particularly
+in the British navy about the end of the eighteenth century, it was the
+custom for the captains to issue to their crews, before going into
+battle, large cups of grog with gunpowder stirred in. It was believed
+that this mixture made the men fight more desperately. But this theory
+of the doughty sea-dogs of past generations no longer finds any support,
+and doubtless the soldiers of the Confederacy felt they could fight
+better upon salt than on their enforced seasoning of gunpowder. At
+Manassas Junction, when the Confederate army by a rapid movement
+captured a large provision train, the rush of the soldiers for two or
+three cars laden with salt was so great that a strong guard had to be
+stationed to beat back pilferers, and secure a proper division of the
+much-prized seasoning.
+
+The officers of the Union navy were well informed of this scarcity of
+salt throughout the South, and accordingly made it a point to destroy
+all salt-works along the coast. The officers of the Gulf squadron were
+constantly employed in raiding establishments of this character, of
+which there were numbers along the coast of Louisiana, Alabama, and
+Mississippi. Cushing, on hearing of the existence of salt-works in the
+district over which he stood guard, determined to destroy them. But to
+do this was a matter of no small peril. Jacksonville was thirty-five
+miles up a small stream, in the heart of a country teeming with
+Confederate troops and their guerrilla sympathizers. The densely
+wooded shores could conceal sharp-shooters, who could easily pick off
+every man stationed on the steamer's deck. At any point of the entire
+distance a masked battery might be stationed, that could blow the
+invading craft out of water, and leave none of her crew uncaptured to
+tell the tale. Nevertheless, the intrepid young commander determined
+to make the attempt. His vessel was a small steamer, mounting one
+heavy gun amidships and two smaller cannon on each side. Without any
+mishap the "Ellis" and her crew reached the town about noon. On the
+way up the river a dense column of black smoke appeared ahead, rising
+above the forest. All thought that the Confederates, hearing of their
+approach, had evacuated the town, firing it as they retreated. All
+possible steam was put on, and the little gunboat dashed up the river
+in the hope of saving some of the property of the inhabitants. But, on
+rounding an abrupt curve in the river, the mystery was solved by the
+appearance of a fine schooner, loaded with cotton and turpentine, and
+drifting helplessly, a mass of crackling flames, down the stream. She
+was clearly a blockade-runner, freighted with the chief products of
+the country, and had been waiting a chance to slip out past the
+blockader, and run for some friendly port. Cushing's bold move up the
+river had entrapped her neatly, and her owners had fired her and fled.
+The fire was a magnificent sight. The inflammable cargo, the tarry
+ropes and cordage, fed the flames, which leaped from hull to
+main-truck. The cotton burned sullenly, giving forth immense clouds of
+dense, black smoke. To save her was hopeless, and the "Ellis" kept out
+of the way of the flying fire-brands and continued on. The expected
+salt-works were not found, however; and the only trophies to be
+obtained at the town were about twenty-five stand of arms and two
+schooners, evidently blockade-runners. The post-office was also
+visited, and a large mail captured and removed, in the hope of finding
+therein some valuable information regarding the movements of the
+enemy. The town itself was one of the sleepy little Southern villages,
+with wide streets, grass-grown and lined with live-oaks. Children, and
+boys too young to have been drafted into the Southern army, followed
+the sailors and marines curiously as they strolled up and down the
+silent streets. The war had robbed the little city of its men; the
+blockade had robbed it of its little coasting-trade. Such an air of
+quiet and desolation hung about the place, that the inhabitants
+probably welcomed the advent of even the hostile sailors as being
+something to break the monotony. After a stoppage of an hour and a
+half, the "Ellis" started down the river. The quiet of the upward
+voyage had dispelled any thoughts of danger, but about five o'clock
+suspicions were re-awakened by the sight of a small encampment on the
+bank. A few shells thrown over the tents quickly sent the campers
+scurrying into the woods; and, as the camps seemed to have no
+artillery, the "Ellis" continued without further hostilities. A short
+distance down the stream the Confederates opened upon them with two
+guns mounted on a lofty bluff. Cushing, ever ready for a skirmish,
+stopped his engine, and cleared away the big pivot-gun for action. The
+battle-flag was hoisted at the fore, and the crew, with three cheers,
+set about the work. About an hour of artillery practice followed,
+when, the enemy being driven from his guns, the "Ellis" proceeded on
+her way. It was now growing dark, and the tide was rapidly falling.
+The two pilots on the steamer agreed that daylight and high tide were
+necessary to get the vessel safely out of the river. With great
+reluctance Cushing ordered the anchor to be let fall, and proceeded to
+make preparations for the night. On both banks of the river could be
+seen the flash of lanterns, proving that the Confederates were aware
+of the steamer's presence, and were contemplating an attack. To resist
+such an attack if made in force during the night, seemed almost
+hopeless; yet the sailors went cheerfully about the work of
+preparation, getting out cutlasses and revolvers, and putting up the
+boarding-nettings over the sides. In watchful anxiety the hours wore
+away. No sound escaped the vigilant ear of the men on duty. But the
+enemy evidently had abandoned the attack, and when morning broke none
+were to be seen. With light hearts, and feeling that the worst was
+past, the little party continued their way, only to find that the
+worst was yet to come. Soon after daylight, the pilot, mistaking the
+channel, ran the ship so solidly aground that there was clearly no
+hope of extricating her. All this time she had been towing one of the
+captured schooners; and Cushing, with quick decisiveness, ordered that
+every thing should be removed from the "Ellis" to the schooner. This
+was quickly done, leaving nothing but the great pivot-gun aboard.
+
+But even when so greatly lightened, the ship would not float, and
+Cushing saw that all was lost. As a final expedient he sent a boat's
+crew back after the cannon that the enemy had abandoned the day
+before, intending to construct a land-battery with them, and so keep
+his ship. But the Confederates had already removed the guns, so this
+forlorn hope failed. Orders were then given for the crew to take the
+schooner, and drop down the river for a mile or two. The young captain
+expressed his intention of remaining aboard his craft, and asked for
+six volunteers to help him fight the pivot-gun. They were quickly
+found; and, while the remainder of the crew dropped down the river in
+the schooner, the devoted little band calmly awaited the beginning of
+the attack. They did not have long to wait. Soon a cannon boomed from
+the bank, and a heavy shell whizzed over their heads. Then another,
+from another direction, and a third, and a fourth, each from a
+distinct battery. They were hopeless odds, yet Cushing and his command
+fought on until the gunners, getting the range, dropped shot after
+shot into the doomed vessel. Then fire broke out in three or four
+places. This was too much; and the seven daring men took to a small
+boat, and rowed to the schooner. First, however, they loaded the long
+gun, and turned it on the enemy, in order, as Cushing said, "that she
+might fight for herself when we could do so no longer." Once in the
+schooner, they sailed rapidly down the river; and just as they reached
+the sound a deep boom announced that the fire had reached the
+magazine, and the "Ellis" was blown into a million pieces. Daring as
+this adventure was, Cushing was much distressed at its termination;
+and in his official report he asks for a general court of inquiry, to
+determine whether he had properly upheld the honor of the nation's
+flag.
+
+Another daring expedition was undertaken by Cushing when in command of
+the "Monticello." This was in February, 1864. He was cruising off Cape
+Fear River. At Smithville, a small town some distance up the river,
+was a Confederate army-post. Cushing's plan was to proceed up the
+river in row-boats, burn any vessels that might be at the dock,
+capture the commanding officers, and escape before the enemy could
+recover from the surprise. It was a rash and rather useless
+expedition, but Cushing successfully carried it out. With two boats
+and twenty men, he went quietly past the guns of the fort, concealed
+by the blackness of a cloudy night, ascended the river to the town,
+and landed directly in front of the hotel. A high bank concealed the
+party from view, and lying in ambush here they managed to capture some
+negroes, from whom the desired information was obtained. Then with two
+officers and a seaman, Cushing walked from the deck to Gen. Herbert's
+headquarters in so open a manner as to disarm suspicion. Entering the
+house they met an engineer officer, who tried to raise an alarm, but
+was quickly captured and gagged. The adjutant-general, never dreaming
+that any enemy could be so near him, supposed it was a mutiny, and
+fled hastily, half dressed, to the woods, not even calling out the
+garrison. Cushing then with his speechless prisoner walked calmly back
+before the long barracks that sheltered a thousand hostile soldiers,
+and within a few yards of the sentry on the wharf. Only when the
+affrighted adjutant-general returned from his hasty trip to the woods
+did the Confederates know that an enemy had been in their midst. Then
+there was great excitement, arresting of sentries, calling out of
+guards, and signalling to the fort that hostile boats were in the
+harbor. But all too late. Cushing's coolness, courage, dash, and
+invincible luck had carried him scot-free through another dare-devil
+adventure.
+
+From the "Monticello" Cushing made yet another dangerous excursion
+into the enemy's country. On this occasion he had a more adequate
+purpose for his perilous errand. It was believed that the Confederate
+ram "Raleigh" was in the Cape Fear River above the town of Smithville,
+the scene of the last adventure. Cushing obtained permission from his
+superior officer to ascend the river, and try to blow up the ram with
+a torpedo. On the night of the 23d of June he started, taking with him
+Jones and Howarth, the officers who had been with him in the previous
+trip, and fifteen men. The night was pitchy dark, and all went well as
+they passed the fort and the little town of Smithville. Fifteen miles
+from the river's mouth, they saw the moon suddenly break through the
+clouds; and the surface of the river suddenly became bright, revealing
+to the sentries on shore the Yankee boat fifteen miles within
+Confederate territory. Quickly the boats turned about, and headed down
+the river; but this was a mere feint, as Cushing doubled as soon as he
+reached the shadow of the opposite bank, and continued his course into
+the hostile territory. Toward morning, when within about seven miles
+of Wilmington, a very stronghold of the Confederates, he landed, and
+hid his boat in a neighboring swamp. The men lay in hiding all day;
+and, just as they were about to start out again, they captured two
+boats with a Wilmington fishing-party. During the second night Cushing
+crept cautiously up to within three miles of Wilmington, closely
+examining the defences of the town and the obstructions in the river.
+At daybreak he rowed up one of the creeks until he found the road
+between Fort Fisher and Wilmington. Here he crouched by a hedge until
+a mounted mail-carrier came by from the fort. The soldier was captured
+and dismounted, vastly astonished at the sight of a blue-jacket in
+that region. Presently, along came the carrier from the town, on the
+way to the fort. He too was astonished at the sight, but flung back a
+scornful answer to the demand that he surrender, and galloped hastily
+away. In an instant Cushing was on the back of the captured horse, and
+after him; but the fugitive was too well mounted, and escaped. Matters
+were now becoming very serious. The runaway would doubtless give the
+alarm everywhere. Immediate flight was imperative. The men had been
+away from the boat for some hours, and were famished. Food must be
+had. But how to get it? Cushing's solution of the problem was
+characteristic. Having captured some other prisoners, he learned that
+a store was to be found about two miles off. A prisoner about
+Howarth's size was ordered to strip, and Howarth put on his clothing.
+The change from the trim blue uniform of a Yankee naval officer to the
+slouchy jeans jumper and overalls of a North Carolina "cracker" was
+somewhat amusing, but the disguise was complete. Mounting the captured
+horse, Howarth rode off in the character of a "poor-white" farmer come
+in to do his marketing. He chatted freely with the people he met along
+the road, and securing his provision, returned to the boat without
+arousing the least suspicion. Snugly ensconced in the thick bushes,
+the party then proceeded to sup, and after the meal amused themselves
+in cutting telegraph-wires, and at dark returned to the boat. This was
+the third night in the river, and Cushing prepared to return.
+Embarking with his prisoners, he pulled up to the "Raleigh," and found
+that she would not need his attentions, as she was already a total
+wreck. Then he began the descent of the river. When a little way down
+the prisoners were set adrift, with neither sails nor oars in order
+that they might not report the occurrence too soon. The blue-jackets
+continued their pull down the river. Just as they reached the mouth
+the moon shone out, and a quick hail came from a guard-boat. Cushing
+made no answer, but in a low voice urged his men on, intending to
+attack the enemy. But in an instant more three boats came out of the
+shadow, and at the same instant five appeared on the other side. One
+opening seemed left for the beleaguered boat to dash through. At it
+they went, but a schooner filled with troops suddenly appeared
+blockading this last exit. It looked as though all was up, and those
+in the boat saw before them the cheerful prospect of execution as
+spies. But Cushing's pluck and self-possession, which had never yet
+failed, still stood by him. He resorted to strategy, and, like the
+hunted fox, threw his pursuers off the track by doubling. He made a
+dash so rapid and determined towards the western bar, that all the
+boats of the enemy rushed to block that point. For an instant his own
+was in the shadow of a cloud. In that instant he had turned, and
+headed at full speed for New Inlet. His men were as cool as he. With a
+few vigorous pulls the boat shot out into the breakers where the enemy
+dared not follow it, and soon after the cutter was hoisted to the
+davits of the "Monticello," uninjured, after a stay of three nights in
+the heart of the enemy's country.
+
+It was near the end of the great war that Cushing performed the
+greatest feat of daring of his adventurous career; and, as on the
+previous occasions, the scene of the exploit was in the waters
+tributary to the North Carolina sounds. Early in the spring of 1863 it
+became evident to the officers of the Union squadron in the sounds,
+that the Confederates were making arrangements to drive the Yankee
+ships from those waters, and to re-open the coasting-trade to the
+people of North Carolina. The chief source of alarm to the fleet was a
+heavy iron-clad which was reported to be building on the Roanoke River
+above Plymouth. Full descriptions of this vessel were in the hands of
+the Union officers; and they saw clearly that, should she be
+completed, no vessel of the sound squadron, nor perhaps the entire
+navy, would be able to do battle against her successfully. The river
+was too shallow for the war-vessels to go up to the point where the
+ram was being built, and the channel at Hatteras Inlet was not deep
+enough for iron-clads to be brought in to compete with the enemy when
+finished. The naval authorities repeatedly urged the army to send an
+expedition to burn the boat; but Major-Gen. Foster, in command of the
+department of North Carolina, declared it was of no importance, as the
+Confederates would never put it to any use. Time showed a very
+different state of affairs. In April, 1864, the ram was completed, and
+named the "Albemarle." Her first work was to co-operate with ten
+thousand Confederate troops in the recapture of Plymouth, which was
+accomplished with very little difficulty. Lieut. Flusser was at
+Plymouth with four small gunboats, and remained bravely at his post
+as he saw the powerful ram bearing down upon him. It was half-past
+three in the morning, and the chill, gray dawn was just breaking over
+the earth. Above the river hung a mist, through which the great body
+of the ram could be seen coming doggedly down to the conflict. The
+"Miami" and "Southfield" were lashed together; and, at the order of
+Commander Flusser, they started to meet the iron-clad, firing quickly
+and with good aim. The "Albemarle" came on silently, disdaining to
+fire a gun. With a crash she struck the "Miami" a glancing blow on the
+port-bow, gouging off two great planks. Sliding past the wounded
+craft, she plunged into the "Southfield," crushing completely through
+her side, so that she began to settle at once. The lashings between
+the gunboats parted, and the "Southfield" sank rapidly, carrying part
+of her crew with her. As the "Albemarle" crashed into the two vessels,
+she fired her bow-gun several times, killing and wounding many of the
+Union sailors, and killing Lieut. Flusser. When she turned and made a
+second dash for the "Miami," the latter fled down the stream, knowing
+that to dare the power of the enemy was mere madness. The "Albemarle"
+steamed back to Plymouth, and by her aid the town was easily
+recaptured by the Confederates.
+
+The squadron in the sounds was now in a state of the greatest anxiety.
+At any moment the impregnable monster might descend the river and
+destroy the frail wooden gunboats at her leisure. Preparations were
+made for a desperate battle when the time should come. Captains were
+instructed to bring their ships to close quarters with the enemy and
+to endeavor to throw powder or shells down her smokestack. Every
+possible means by which a wooden steamer might cope with an iron-clad
+was provided.
+
+[Illustration: Destruction of the "Albemarle."]
+
+On the 5th of May the ram put in an appearance, steaming down the
+river. Deliberately she approached within easy range, then let fly a
+shot at the "Mattabesett" which knocked her launch to pieces and
+wounded several men. The "Mattabesett" ran up to within one hundred
+and fifty yards of the "Albemarle," and gave her a broadside of solid
+shot from nine-inch Dahlgrens and one hundred-pounder rifles. When
+these shot struck a sloping place on the ram's armor, they glanced
+off. Those that struck full on the plating simply crumbled to pieces,
+leaving no dent to tell of the blow. One beautifully aimed shot struck
+the muzzle of one of the cannon on the ram and broke it. The gun
+was used throughout the fight, however, as the "Albemarle" carried but
+two and could not spare one of them. The "Sassacus" followed in line
+of battle. She delivered her broadside in passing. The ram rushed
+madly at her, but was evaded by good steering. Then the "Sassacus" in
+turn rushed at the ram at full speed, thinking to run her down. She
+struck amidships at right angles, and with the crash of the collision
+came a hundred-pound shot from the ram, that passed through the wooden
+ship from end to end. Still the engines of the "Sassacus" were kept
+going, in the hope of pushing the "Albemarle" beneath the water. The
+iron-clad careened slowly, the water washed over her after-deck; the
+crew of the "Sassacus," far out on the bow, tried vainly to drop
+shells and packages of powder down the ram's smoking chimneys. It was
+a moment of intense excitement. But the ram was too much for her
+assailant. Recovering from the shock of the collision, she slowly
+swung around until her bow-gun could be brought to bear on her
+tormentor, when she let fly a ponderous bolt. It crashed through the
+side of the steamer and plunged into her boiler. In an instant hot,
+scalding steam filled the engine-room and spread over the whole ship.
+Cries of agony arose on every side. Twenty-one of the crew were
+terribly scalded. Nothing remained but retreat; and the "Sassacus"
+steamed away from her enemy, after making one of the bravest fights in
+naval history. In the mean time the other gunboats were pounding away
+at the ram. The "Miami" was trying in vain to get an opportunity to
+discharge a large torpedo. Two other vessels were spreading nets about
+the great ship, trying to foul the propeller. The action continued
+until dark, when the ram withdrew, uninjured and without losing a man.
+She had fought alone for three hours against six ships, and had
+seriously damaged every one of her adversaries. It must also be
+remembered that she carried but two guns.
+
+The "Albemarle" lay for a long time idle at her moorings in Roanoke
+River, feeling sure that at her own pleasure she could go into the
+sounds, and complete the destruction of the fleet. Lieut. Cushing,
+then twenty-one years old, begged permission to attempt to destroy
+her. The authority was gladly granted by the navy department, and
+Cushing began making his plans for the adventure. His first plan was
+to take a squad of men, with two steam-launches, up the Roanoke, and
+blow the ram up by means of a torpedo. The launches were sent from
+New York, but one was swamped while crossing Delaware Bay.
+
+Cushing, however, was not the man to be balked by an accident: so,
+cutting down his force one-half, he prepared for the start. Thirteen
+officers and men made up the little party which seemed bound to
+certain death. The spirit which animated the blue-jackets during the
+war may be imagined from the fact that many sailors tried to purchase
+the privilege of going on this perilous expedition, by offering their
+month's pay to those who had been selected. To understand what a
+forlorn hope the little boat-load of men were cherishing, we must
+understand what were the defences of the "Albemarle." She lay at a
+broad wharf, on which was encamped a large guard of soldiers as well
+as her crew. Above and below her, great fires were kept burning on the
+shores, to prevent any boat approaching unseen. She was surrounded by
+a boom, or "water-fence," of floating logs, about thirty feet from her
+hull, to keep off any torpedo-boats. From the mouth of the Roanoke to
+her moorings was about eight miles; the shores being lined on either
+side by pickets, and a large picket-station being established in
+mid-stream about one mile below Plymouth.
+
+To attempt to penetrate this network of defences seemed to be
+foolhardy. Yet Cushing's record for dash and courage, and his
+enthusiasm, inspired his comrades with confidence; and they set out
+feeling certain of success. On the night of the 27th of October, the
+daring band, in their pygmy steamer, steamed rapidly up the river. No
+word was spoken aboard. The machinery was oiled until it ran
+noiselessly; and not a light shone from the little craft, save when
+the furnace-door was hastily opened to fire up. The Confederate
+sentries on the bank saw nothing of the party; and, even when they
+passed the picket schooners near the wreck of the "Southfield," they
+were unchallenged, although they could see the schooners, and hear the
+voices of the men, not more than twenty yards away. Not until they
+came into the fitful glare of the firelight were they seen, and then
+quick hails came from the sentries on the wharf and the "Albemarle's"
+decks. But the light on the shore aided the adventurers by showing
+them the position of the ram. They dashed up alongside, amid a shower
+of bullets that seemed to fill the air. On the decks of the ram all
+was confusion, the alarm rattles were sprung, the bell rung violently.
+The launch running alongside came into contact with the row of logs,
+and sheered off to make a dash over it. Cushing, who on these
+dangerous expeditions was like a schoolboy on a holiday, answered with
+ridicule all hails. "Go ashore for your lives," "Surrender yourselves,
+or I shall sink you," he cried, as the gunners on the ram trained a
+heavy gun on the little launch. Now she was headed straight for the
+ram, and had a run of thirty yards before striking the boom. She
+reached, and dashed over. Cushing, standing in the stern, held in one
+hand the tiller ropes, in the other the lanyard of the torpedo. He
+looked up, saw the muzzle of a heavy gun trained directly on his boat:
+one convulsive pull of the rope, and with a roar the torpedo exploded
+under the hull of the "Albemarle," just as a hundred-pound shot
+crashed through the bottom of his boat. In a second the launch had
+disappeared; her crew were struggling in the waves, or lying dead
+beneath them, and the "Albemarle" with a mortal wound was sinking to
+the bottom.
+
+Cushing swam to the middle of the river, and headed down stream. Most
+of his companions were killed, captured, or drowned. In the middle of
+the stream he met Woodman, who had followed him on previous
+expeditions. Woodman was almost exhausted. Cushing supported him as
+long as he was able, but was forced to leave him, and the sailor sank
+to the bottom. The young lieutenant floated down the river until at
+last he reached the shore, exhausted and faint from a wound in his
+wrist. He lay half covered with water in a swamp until daylight. While
+there he heard two Confederate officers who passed say that the
+"Albemarle" was a total wreck. That news gave him new energy, and he
+set about getting safely away. Through the thick undergrowth of the
+swamp he crawled for some hours, until he found a negro who gave him
+shelter and food. Then he plunged again into the swamp, and walked on
+until he captured a skiff from a Rebel picket; and with this he safely
+reached the fleet,--the only one of the thirteen who set out two days
+before. So ended the most wonderful adventure of the war.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+     THE BLOCKADE-RUNNERS. -- NASSAU AND WILMINGTON. -- WORK OF THE
+     CRUISERS.
+
+
+While it is undeniably true that the naval battles of the civil war
+were in many cases unimportant as compared with the gigantic
+operations of the mighty armies in Virginia and Tennessee, yet there
+was one service performed by the navy, alone and unaided, which
+probably, more than any thing else, led to the final subjugation of
+the South. This was the blockade.
+
+To fully appreciate what a terrible weapon the blockade is when
+energetically pursued, one need only look at the condition of the
+South during the latter years of the war. Medicines were almost
+unattainable for love or money. Salt was more carefully hoarded than
+silver. Woollen goods for clothing were not to be had. Nothing that
+could not be produced by the people of the revolted States could be
+obtained at their markets. Their whole territory was in a state of
+siege, surrounded by a barrier only a little less unrelenting than the
+iron circle the Germans drew around besieged Paris.
+
+Almost the first war measure of Abraham Lincoln was to declare the
+ports of the Confederacy in a state of blockade. At first this seemed
+a rash proclamation, and one which could not be sustained by the force
+at the command of the Federals. It is a rule of warfare, that
+"blockades, to be binding, must be effective;" that is, it is not
+lawful for a nation with a small fleet to declare an enemy's coast in
+a state of blockade, and then capture such trading-vessels as may
+happen to run in the way of its cruisers. The nation must have a large
+enough fleet to station vessels before each of the principal harbors
+of the enemy, and to maintain a constant and vigilant patrol up and
+down his coast. If this cannot be done, the blockade is called a
+"paper blockade," and merchantmen are justified in attempting to evade
+it. An instance of a "paper blockade" occurred during the early months
+of the civil war, which will illustrate this point. Wilmington, N.C.,
+was throughout the war one of the favorite ports for blockade-runners.
+From its situation, the many entrances to its harbor, and other
+natural advantages, it was the most difficult of all the Southern
+ports to keep guarded. With the rest of the Confederate ports,
+Wilmington was declared blockaded; but it was long after, before a
+suitable blockading-fleet was stationed there. In July, 1861, the
+British brig "Herald" left Wilmington without molestation. When two
+days out, she ran across a United States man-of-war, that promptly
+captured her. The courts, however, decided that a port so little
+guarded as Wilmington was at that time could not be legally called
+blockaded, and the brig was therefore released.
+
+But it did not take many months for the energetic men of the Navy
+Department to get together such a fleet of boats of all kinds as to
+enable them to effectually seal all the ports of the Confederacy. A
+blockading vessel need not be of great strength or powerful armament.
+All that is necessary is that she should be swift, and carry a gun
+heavy enough to overawe any merchantman that might attempt to run the
+blockade. And as such vessels were easy to improvise out of tug-boats,
+ferry-boats, yachts, and other small craft, it came about that by the
+last of 1861, the people of the seaport towns of the South, looking
+seaward from their deserted wharves, could see two or three Federal
+cruisers lying anchored off the outer bar, just out of reach of the
+guns of shore-batteries. It was a service of no little danger for the
+blue-jackets. The enemy were ever on the alert to break the blockade
+by destroying the ships with torpedoes. Iron-clad rams were built on
+the banks of the rivers, and sent down to sink and destroy the vessels
+whose watchfulness meant starvation to the Confederacy. The
+"Albemarle" and the "Merrimac" were notable instances of this course
+of attack. But the greatest danger which the sailors had to encounter
+was the peril of being wrecked by the furious storms which continually
+ravage the Atlantic coast. The sailor loves the open sea in a blow;
+but until the civil war, no captain had ever dared to lie tugging at
+his cables within a mile or two of a lee shore, with a stiff
+north-easter lashing the sea into fury. In the blockading service of
+our great naval war, the war of 1812, the method in vogue was to keep
+a few vessels cruising up and down the coast; and, when it came on to
+blow, these ships would put out into the open sea and scud for some
+other point. But in '61 we had hundreds of vessels stationed along the
+enemy's coast; and where a ship was stationed, there she stayed, to
+meet the fury of the wind and waves by putting out more anchors, and
+riding out at her cables storms that would have blown the blockader of
+1812 hundreds of miles from her post.
+
+In the earlier years of the war the blockade-runners were nearly all
+sailing-vessels, schooners, and brigs, that were easily captured. But
+when the supplies of the South became exhausted, and the merchants of
+England began building ships especially for this purpose, the duty of
+the blockading squadron became exciting and often very profitable. The
+business assumed such proportions that half the shipyards in England
+were engaged in turning out fast steamers to engage in it. At first it
+was the custom to send goods in regular ocean-steamers from England to
+the blockaded port; but this was soon abandoned, as the risk of
+capture on the long run across the Atlantic was too great. Not until
+the plan was adopted of shipping the goods to some neutral port along
+our coast, and there transferring the cargo to some small, swift
+vessel, and making the run into the Confederate port in a few hours,
+did the business of blockade-running become very extensive. Goods
+shipped for a neutral point were in no danger of being captured by our
+cruisers, and therefore the danger of the long trans-Atlantic passage
+was done away with.
+
+[Illustration: Nassau: The Haunt of the Blockade-Runners.]
+
+Of these neutral points which served as way-stations for the
+blockade-runners, there were four on or near our coast,--the Bermuda
+Islands, which lie about seven hundred miles east of Charleston; Nassau,
+which is off the coast of Florida, and a little more than five hundred
+miles southeast of Charleston; Havana; and the little Mexican town of
+Matamoras on the Rio Grande, opposite Brownsville, Texas. The Bermudas
+were to some extent used, but their distance from the coast made them
+inconvenient as compared with Nassau or Matamoras. Their chief trade was
+with Wilmington, which became a favorite port during the latter years of
+the war. Havana was popular for a time, and at first sight would appear
+to be admirably placed for a blockade-runners' rendezvous. But, though
+the coast of Florida was but one hundred miles distant, it was
+surrounded by dangerous reefs, its harbors were bad and far apart, and
+there were no railroads in the southern part of the State to transport
+the contraband goods after they were landed. Besides, Key West, the
+naval station of the Union forces in the South, was unpleasantly near,
+and the gulf blockade was maintained with more rigor than that on the
+Atlantic coast. Matamoras was peculiarly well situated for a
+blockade-running point. It is on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande
+River, about forty miles above its mouth. Goods once landed could be
+shipped in barges and lighters across the river in absolute safety,
+since heavy batteries prevented the cruisers of the gulf-squadron from
+entering the river. As a result of this trade, Matamoras became a
+thriving place. Hundreds of vessels lay in its harbor, where now it is
+unusual to see five at a time. For four years its streets were crowded
+with heavy freight vans, while stores and hotels reaped a rich harvest
+from the sailors of the vessels engaged in the contraband traffic. Now
+it is as quiet and sleepy a little town as can be found in all the
+drowsy land of Mexico.
+
+But the true paradise of the blockade-runners was Nassau, the chief
+port of the Bahama Islands, and a colony of Great Britain. Here all
+the conditions necessary to successfully evade the blockade were to be
+found. The flag that waved over the island was that of a nation
+powerful enough to protect its citizens, and to enforce the laws
+relative to neutrality. Furthermore, Great Britain was undoubtedly in
+sympathy with the Confederates; and so far from prohibiting the
+efforts of her citizens to keep up trade with the blockaded ports, she
+encouraged and aided them in every way in her power. And aside from
+her mere sympathy with the struggles of the young Confederacy, England
+had a most powerful incentive to break down the blockade. In
+Manchester the huge cotton-mills, employing thousands of hands, were
+shut down for lack of cotton, and the mill-hands were starving for
+lack of work; while shut up in the blockaded ports of the South were
+tons upon tons of the fleecy staple, that, once in England, would be
+worth its weight in gold. It was small wonder that the merchants of
+England set to work deliberately to fit out blockade-runners, that
+they might again get their mills running, and their people fed.
+
+[Illustration: Cotton Ships at Nassau.]
+
+The years of the war were lively times for the little town of Nassau.
+Hardly had the proclamation of President Lincoln announcing the
+blockade of all Confederate ports been issued, when at a bound Nassau
+became prominent as the point of all most suitable for a
+blockade-runners' rendezvous. Its harbor and the surrounding waters
+were deep enough for merchant-vessels, but too shallow to allow much
+cruising about by warships of heavy armament. It was within a few
+hours' running of three Confederate ports, and it was protected by the
+flag of Great Britain. Early in the war the Confederates established a
+consulate in the little town, and the Stars and Stripes and the Stars
+and Bars waved within a few rods of each other. Then great
+shipping-houses of Liverpool sent over agents, and established branch
+houses. Great warehouses and wharves were built Soon great ocean ships
+and steamers began unloading their cargoes at these wharves. Then
+swift, rakish schooners began to drop into the harbor, and after
+discharging heavy loads of cotton would take on cargoes of English
+goods, and slip out at nightfall to begin the stealthy dash past the
+watching gunboats. As the war went on, and the profits of the trade
+increased with its dangers, a new style of craft began to appear in
+the little harbor. These were the Clyde built blockade-runners, on
+which the workmen of the Clyde shipyards had been laboring day and
+night to get them ready before the war should end. They were long,
+low, piratical looking craft, with two smoke-stacks raking aft, and
+with one or two masts for showing signals, for they never hoisted a
+sail. Two huge paddle-boxes towered above the deck amidships, the
+wheels being of enormous size. No structure of any kind encumbered the
+deck. Even the steersman stood unsheltered at a wheel in the bow. They
+were painted dark gray, and at night could slip unseen along the water
+within a stone's-throw of the most watchful lookout on a man-of-war.
+They burned great quantities of a kind of coal that gave out no smoke,
+and when steaming at night not a light was allowed on board. Many of
+these strange craft can be seen now along the levees at New Orleans,
+or at the wharves in Mobile, where they are used as excursion-steamers
+or for tug-boats. They were always the merest shells, fitted only for
+carrying freight, as not many passengers were to be found who desired
+to be taken into the Confederate territory. Occasionally, however,
+some soldier of fortune from abroad would drift from Nassau, and
+thence to the mainland, to join the armies of the Confederacy. The
+Confederate agents on the island were always on the lookout for such
+adventurers, and were ever ready to aid them. Sometimes, too,
+returning agents of the Confederacy from Europe would make the run
+through the blockading-fleet; so that the blockade-runners were seldom
+without two or three passengers, poor though their accommodations
+might be. For the voyage from Nassau to Wilmington, three hundred
+dollars passage money was charged, or more than fifty cents a mile. To
+guard against treachery, passage could only be obtained through the
+Confederate consul, who carefully investigated the proofs of each
+applicant's identity before issuing to him a ticket.
+
+When the blockade-runner had taken her cargo and passengers aboard,
+and was prepared for her voyage, every one in the little town came
+down to the docks to see her start. It was a populace strongly
+Southern in feeling that filled the streets of Nassau, and nothing but
+good wishes were to be heard on every side. Perhaps from a house on
+the hillside, over which floated the Stars and Stripes, the United
+States consul might be watching through a spyglass the movements of
+the steamer, and wishing in his heart that she might fall in with
+some Yankee cruiser; but nevertheless, under his very eyes, the
+audacious racer slips out, and starts on her stealthy voyage. On
+leaving the harbor, a quick run of fifteen or twenty miles would be
+taken along the coast, to try the machinery. Great care would be taken
+to keep within British waters, lest some watchful gunboat should seize
+the prize thus early in her career. When every thing proved in good
+working trim, the little vessel's prow would be turned northward, and
+the perilous voyage begun. For the first day, little danger was to be
+expected, and the voyage was generally so timed that the outer line of
+blockaders would be reached just after nightfall. A soldier going to
+enlist in one of the Confederate cavalry regiments thus tells the
+story of his evasion of the blockade.
+
+"After a favorable voyage we reached the desired point off Wilmington
+at the proper time. A brief stoppage was made, when soon the final
+preparations were completed for running the gauntlet of the Federal
+blockaders, who would become visible shortly, as we approached nearer
+shore. All the lights in the steamer were extinguished, and all
+passengers ordered below, only the officers and crew being permitted
+to remain on deck. The furnaces were replenished with carefully
+selected coal, which would give the greatest amount of heat and the
+least smoke. The last orders were given, and every man was at his
+appointed place. Presently the boilers hissed, and the paddle-wheels
+began to revolve faster and faster, as the fleet little steamer rose
+higher and higher in the water from the immense force of the rapid
+strokes; she actually felt like a horse gathering himself up under you
+for a great leap. After a little while, the few faint sounds from the
+deck which we could hitherto faintly catch in the cabin ceased
+altogether, and there was the stillness of death except for the sounds
+necessarily made by the movements of the machinery. Then we realized
+that we were running for our lives past the line of cruisers, and that
+at any moment a big shell might come crashing through our cabin,
+disagreeably lighting up the darkness in which we were sitting. Our
+suspense was prolonged for some minutes longer, when the speed was
+slackened, and finally we stopped altogether. Even then we did not
+know whether we were safely through the lines, or whether we had been
+brought to under the guns of a hostile ship, for we could distinguish
+nothing whatever through the portholes. However, we were soon released
+from the cabin, and walked on deck, to find ourselves safely through
+the blockade. In the offing could be descried several of the now
+harmless blockaders, and near at hand lay the coast of North Carolina.
+Soon the gray dawn was succeeded by a brilliant, lovely sunrise, which
+lighted up cheerfully the low-lying shores and earthworks bristling
+with artillery, while from a fort near by floated the Southern Cross,
+the symbol of the glorious cause for which we had come to fight."
+
+When the blockade-runner, after safely running the gauntlet of the
+warships, steamed leisurely up to the wharves of the blockaded town,
+every one rushed to the docks to greet her. Her captain and crew
+became at once people of great importance. They were beset on every
+side for news of the great world outside. The papers that they brought
+in were bought eagerly by the people, hungering for tidings of
+something else than the interminable war. The sailors of the steamer,
+on being paid off, rambled about the streets of the city, spending
+their money royally, and followed by a train of admiring hangers-on.
+The earnings of the sailors in case of a successful voyage were
+immense. A thousand dollars for the four or five days' trip was
+nothing unusual for common seamen, while the captain often received
+eight or nine thousand. But the risk of capture, with the confiscation
+of all property, and some months' imprisonment in a Federal fortress,
+rather marred the attractiveness of the nefarious trade. The profits
+of a successful voyage to the owner of the ship and cargo were
+enormous. One of the steamers, specially built for the trade, at large
+cost, has been known to pay for herself fully in one voyage. Indeed,
+the profits must have been huge to induce merchants to take the risk
+of absolutely losing a ship and cargo worth half a million of dollars.
+It is certain, too, that throughout the war the number of vessels
+captured, while trying to run the blockade, was far in excess of those
+that succeeded. Up to the end of 1863 the Federal Secretary of the
+Navy reported 1,045 vessels captured, classified as follows:
+schooners, 547; steamers, 179; sloops, 117; brigs, 30; barks, 26;
+ships, 15; yachts and boats, 117. Of course, most of these were small,
+coastwise vessels. Even among the steamers captured, there were but
+few of the fleet-going, English-built craft.
+
+There was no small amount of smuggling carried on between the ports of
+the North and the blockaded ports. The patriotism of the Northern
+merchant was not always so great as to prevent his embarking in the
+traffic which he saw enriching his English competitor. Many of the
+schooners captured started from Northern ports and worked their way
+along the coast until that chain of inlets, sounds, and bayous was
+reached, which borders the coast south of Chesapeake Bay. Once inside
+the bar, the smuggler could run at his leisure for any of the little
+towns that stood on the banks of the rivers of Virginia and North
+Carolina. The chase of one of these little vessels was a dreary duty
+to the officers of the blockading-ships. The fugitives were fast
+clippers of the models that made Maine shipbuilders famous, until the
+inauguration of steam-navigation made a gracefully modelled hull
+immaterial as compared with powerful machinery. Even when the great,
+lumbering warship had overhauled the flying schooner so as to bring a
+gun to bear on her, the little boat might suddenly dash into some
+inlet or up a river, where the man-of-war, with her heavy draught,
+could not hope to follow. And if captured, the prize was worth but
+little, and the prize-money, that cheers the sailors' hearts, was but
+small. But the chase and capture of one of the swift Clyde-built
+steamers was a different matter. Perhaps a lookout in the maintop of a
+cruiser, steaming idly about the Atlantic, between Nassau and
+Wilmington, would spy, far off on the horizon, a black speck, moving
+swiftly along the ocean. No curling smoke would tell of the
+blockade-runner's presence, and nothing could be seen until the hull
+of the steamer itself was perceptible. With the quick hail of the
+lookout, the man-of-war would head for the prize, and start in hot
+pursuit. Certain it is that the smuggler started to fly before the
+watchful lookout on the cruiser caught sight of her. The towering
+masts and capacious funnels of the man-of-war, with the cloud of black
+smoke from her furnaces, made her a conspicuous object at distances
+from which the smuggler would be invisible. With the blockade-runners
+the rule was to avoid any sail, no matter how innocent it might seem;
+and the appearance of a cloud of smoke on the horizon was the signal
+for an immediate change of course, and a flight for safety. When the
+chase began in this way, the cruiser had but little chance of making a
+capture, for the superior speed of the merchant-vessel would quickly
+carry her out of sight. Sometimes, however, a favorable wind would
+enable the pursuer to use her sails, and then the chase would become
+exciting. With a cloud of canvas set, the man-of-war would gradually
+overhaul the flying vessel; and when within range, the great bow-gun
+would be cleared, and with a roar a shell would be sent flying after
+the prize. All hands would watch its course anxiously. Generally it
+fell short. Then another and another messenger would be sent to the
+enemy, which seldom struck the mark, for gunnery on a rough sea is a
+difficult art. But the blockade-runner can't stand being used for
+target-practice long. The cool head of her captain begins to
+deliberate upon means of getting out of range. Mere running before the
+wind won't do it: so he makes a long detour, and doubles on his
+course, heading directly into the teeth of the breeze. Now the cruiser
+is at a disadvantage. Her sail-power gone, she stands no chance of
+capturing her game. Her shells begin to fall far short of the
+smuggler, and soon she ceases firing altogether; and the
+blockade-runner, driven hundreds of miles out of her course, but safe
+for the time, goes on her way rejoicing.
+
+[Illustration: Blockade-Runner in North Carolina Sounds.]
+
+One of the most brilliant captures of the war was that of the
+blockade-runner "Young Republic," by the United States gunboat "Grand
+Gulf." The "Young Republic" succeeded in evading the watchfulness of
+the blockading-squadron about the mouth of the Cape Fear River, and
+under cover of the night ran in safely to the anchorage under the guns
+of the Confederate forts. The baffled blockaders saw her moving slowly
+up the river, while the cannon of the forts on either side thundered
+out salutes to the daring vessel that brought precious supplies to the
+Confederacy. But the blockading-squadron, though defeated for the
+time, determined to wait and catch her when she came out. Accordingly
+the "Grand Gulf," one of the fastest of the United States vessels, was
+stationed at the mouth of the river, with orders to watch for the
+"Young Republic." A week passed, and there was no sign of her. At
+last, one bright day, the lookout in the tops saw the mast and funnel
+of a steamer moving along above the forest which lined the river's
+bank. Soon the hull of the vessel came into view; and with a rattle of
+hawse-chains, her anchors were let fall, and she swung to beneath the
+protecting guns of the fort. It was clear that she was going to wait
+there until a dark or foggy night gave her a good chance to slip past
+the gunboat that watched the river's mouth as a cat watches the mouth
+of a mouse-hole. With their marine glasses the officers on the gunboat
+could see the decks of the "Young Republic" piled high with brown
+bales of cotton, worth immense sums of money. They thought of the huge
+value of the prize, and the grand distribution of prize-money, and
+determined to use every effort to make a capture. Strategy was
+determined upon, and it was decided to give the blockade-runner the
+chance to get out of the river that she was awaiting. Accordingly the
+gunboat steamed away up the coast a few miles, leaving the mouth of
+the river clear. When hidden by a projecting headland, she stopped and
+waited for the blockade-runner to come out. The stokers were kept hard
+at work making the great fires roar, until the steam-gauge showed the
+highest pressure the boilers could bear. The sailors got out
+additional sails, clewed up cordage and rigging, and put the ship in
+order for a fast run. When enough time had elapsed, she steamed out to
+see if the "Young Republic" had taken the bait. Officers and crew
+crowded forward to catch the first sight around the headland. The
+great man-of-war sped through the water. The headland was rounded, and
+a cheer went up from the crowd of jackies; for there, in the offing,
+was the blockade-runner, gliding through the water like a dolphin, and
+steaming for dear life to Nassau. Then the chase began in earnest. The
+"Young Republic" was one of those long, sharp steamers built on the
+Clyde expressly for running the blockade. Her crew knew that a long
+holiday in port, with plenty of money, would follow a successful
+cruise; and they worked untiringly to keep up the fires, and set every
+sail so that it would draw. On the cruiser the jackies saw visions of
+a prize worth a million and a half of dollars; and the thought of so
+much prize-money to spend, or to send home, spurred them on. For
+several hours the chase seemed likely to be a long, stern one; but
+then the freshening wind filled the sails of the gunboat, and she
+began to overhaul the fugitive. When within a mile or two, she began
+firing great shells with her pivot-gun. Then the flying
+blockade-runner began to show signs of fear; and with a good glass the
+crew could be seen throwing over bale after bale of the precious
+cotton, to lighten the vessel. In the last thirty miles of the chase
+the sea was fairly covered with cotton-bales. More than three hundred
+were passed floating in the water; and the jackies gnashed their
+teeth, and growled gruffly, at the sight of so much wealth slipping
+through their fingers. On the high paddle-wheel box of the
+blockade-runner, the captain could be seen coolly directing his crew,
+and now and again turning to take a look through his glass at the
+pursuer. As the chase continued, the certainty of capture became more
+and more evident. Then the fugitives began throwing overboard or
+destroying every thing of value: furniture, silver-ware,
+chronometers, the fittings of the cabin, every thing that could
+benefit their captors, the chagrined blockade-runners destroyed. The
+officers of the gunboat saw that if they wished to gain any thing by
+their capture, they must make haste. At the risk of an explosion, more
+steam was crowded on; and the gunboat was soon alongside the "Young
+Republic," and in a position to give her an enormous broadside. The
+blockade-runner saw that he was caught and must submit. For lack of a
+white flag, a pillow-case was run up to the masthead, and the beating
+of the great wheels stopped. The davits amidships of the "Grand Gulf"
+are swung out, and a boat's crew, with a lieutenant and dapper
+midshipman, climb in. A quick order, "Let fall there," and the boat
+drops into the water, and is headed for the prize. Another moment, and
+the stars and stripes supplant the pillow-case waving from the
+masthead of the "Young Republic." An officer who went into the
+boiler-room found that the captured crew had planned to blow up the
+vessel by tying down the safety-valve, so that an enormous pressure of
+steam strained the boilers almost to bursting. A quick blow of a
+hatchet, and that danger was done away with. Then, with a prize-crew
+on board, the "Young Republic" started on her voyage to New York;
+while the "Grand Gulf" returned to Wilmington to hunt for fresh game.
+
+[Illustration: Pursuing a Blockade-Runner.]
+
+A curious capture was that of the British schooner "Francis," which
+was running between Nassau and the coast of Florida. On her last trip
+she was nearing the coast, when she fell in with a fishing-smack, and
+was warned that a Federal gunboat was not far away. Still she kept on
+her course until sundown, when the breeze went down, and she lay
+becalmed. The gunboat had been steaming into inlets and lagoons all
+day, and had not sighted the schooner. When night came on, she steamed
+out into the open sea, within a quarter of a mile of the
+blockade-runner, and, putting out all lights, lay to for the night.
+Those on the schooner could see the gunboat, but the lookout on the
+cruiser did not see the blockade-runner. Soon a heavy fog came up, and
+entirely hid the vessels from each other. The blockade-runners could
+only hope that a breeze might spring up, and enable them to escape.
+But now a curious thing occurred. It almost seems as if two vessels on
+the ocean exercise a magnetic attraction for each other so often do
+collisions occur where there seems room for all the navies of the
+world to pass in review. So it was this night. The anxious men on
+the schooner soon found that the two vessels were drifting together,
+and they were absolutely powerless to prevent it. At midnight, though
+they could see nothing, they could hear the men on the gunboat
+talking. Two hours after, the schooner nestled gently up by the side
+of the gunboat; and a slight jar gave its crew their first intimation
+that a prize was there, simply waiting to be taken. All they had to do
+was to climb over the railing. This was promptly done, and the
+disgusted blockade-runners were sent below as prisoners. Half an hour
+later came a breeze that would have carried them safely to port.
+
+The gray sea-fogs played many scurvy tricks with the
+blockading-fleets, often letting the runners in right under the
+muzzles of the great guns. It was far easier to spy out a vessel in
+the darkest night than in the thick gray fog that enveloped all
+objects like a blanket. One of the strangest of all the pranks played
+by the fog occurred in December, 1863, in Charleston Harbor. A wary
+blockade-runner was creeping out of the harbor, within easy range of
+the great guns of the fleet, and all hands were trembling, lest at any
+minute should come the flash of a gun, and shriek of a shell, bearing
+a peremptory command to heave to. Suddenly the flash came, and was
+followed by the bang! bang! of great guns from all quarters of the
+fleet. But the fire seemed pointed in another direction; and the
+runner made the best of her way out to sea, thinking that some less
+fortunate vessel, trying to come in on the other side of the fleet,
+had been captured or blown out of the water. It turned out that a
+small fog-bank had taken the form of a gray steamer moving swiftly
+over the water, and had been fiercely cannonaded by the whole Federal
+fleet. This occurrence gave the Confederates an idea; and they began
+sending out dummies to engage the fleet, while the true
+blockade-runners would slip out unobserved in the excitement. One
+night as the tide was running out with great force, an old hulk was
+cut adrift from a wharf, and drifted down rapidly upon the Federal
+fleet. It was just after the exploits of the "Merrimac" had made
+Confederate rams famous, and the naval officers were a little nervous.
+The hulk drifted quite into the midst of the fleet before being
+observed; and when she was hailed she bore down on the largest of the
+men-of-war as though she were a powerful ram, steered by a commander
+of desperate bravery. The great gunboat's deck rang with the bo's'n's
+whistle, as the crew were piped to repel boarders, and to their
+quarters at the guns. A fierce fire was poured on the hostile craft,
+that came on sullenly, as if scorning to make reply. One by one the
+other vessels of the fleet drew near, and concentrated their fire on
+the wretched lumber schooner. It was too much for her; and she gave up
+the unequal combat, and sank to the bottom. For days after, the
+gallant tars of the squadron blockading Charleston rejoiced in the
+destruction of a "Rebel ram;" but none of them knew, that, while they
+were engaged in the desperate contest, two great blockade-runners,
+heavily laden with cotton, had slipped out of the harbor, and were
+well under way for Nassau.
+
+Stories of adventure and of desperate pluck and dash abound in the
+records of the blockade. Both among the officers of the
+blockading-fleets, and the commanders of the runners, were found great
+courage and fine seamanship. One fact is particularly noticeable to
+the student of the blockade: an English captain running the blockade
+would never dare the dangers that a Confederate would brave without a
+tremor. A Confederate captain would rush his ship through the hostile
+fleet, and stick to her until she sunk; while an Englishman would run
+his ship ashore, and take to the woods. The cases of the "Hattie,"
+commanded by H. S. Lebby, a Confederate, and the "Princess Royal," a
+fine, staunch, iron steamer, with an English commander and crew, are
+typical. The "Hattie" was the last runner to enter or leave Charleston
+Harbor. She was a small, swift steamer; but she made more successful
+trips than any other runner. Men living in Charleston to-day, who were
+interested in the work of this little vessel during the war, say that
+her cargoes were worth at least fifty millions of dollars. She had
+numerous narrow escapes, but was never captured. Her reputation was
+such that the Confederate authorities selected her as the vessel to
+bring in army supplies and ammunition, and at least three battles were
+fought with ammunition brought in her hold. Her last entrance to
+Charleston was one night in February, 1865. Eighteen Federal vessels
+lay anchored off the harbor, and for a runner to venture in seemed
+madness. But the captain of the "Hattie" was used to taking desperate
+chances, and he proposed to enter that harbor. The ship had been
+freshly painted a blue-white, and as she drifted along the water, with
+all lights out, looked like a bank of mist. She was within two hundred
+yards of the outer row of blockaders before her presence was detected.
+Suddenly fire was opened on her from the nearest gunboat, and in an
+instant the air was full of rockets announcing her presence. The
+little vessel had no means of retaliation: all there was for her to do
+was to dash through the fire and make for the city. Steam was crowded
+on; and she flew up the channel, running the gauntlet of the fleet,
+and escaping almost untouched. Then came the real peril. Just below
+Fort Sumter were two barges anchored in the channel, and filled with
+armed men. Past these she dashed, her great speed saving her from
+boarding; but she received the fire of both boats, which wounded
+several of her crew, and cut off the fingers of the pilot's hand
+resting on the wheel. This danger past, there was one more to be met.
+A large monitor lay anchored up the harbor, and the "Hattie" was
+running so close to her that the commands of the officers in the
+turret could be clearly heard. One after the other the two great guns
+were fired, both shots missing; and the "Hattie," safely past the
+gauntlet, sailed up to the dock in triumph. But by that time it was
+clear that the last days of the war were near at hand, and accordingly
+the work of unloading and reloading the vessel for her outward trip
+was pressed with the greatest vigor. All the time she lay at her dock,
+Charleston was being vigorously bombarded by the Federal men-of-war
+lying outside the harbor. The bay fairly swarmed with blockading
+cruisers; yet a week later the little steamer slipped out through a
+fleet of twenty-six cruisers without being hailed, and carried her
+cotton safely to market. When the news of Lee's surrender was
+received, she was lying safe at her dock in Nassau.
+
+The "Princess Royal," to which we have alluded, was a large iron screw
+steamer, freighted with drugs, army supplies, guns, and two engines
+and boilers for two iron-clads in Charleston Harbor,--a most valuable
+and important cargo for the Confederates. She made the run from Nassau
+to a point near the coast without adventure, and in the early gray of
+the morning was stealing up the coast towards the harbor, when a
+blockader caught sight of her, and started in pursuit. The later began
+firing when a mile and a half away; and, though there was hardly a
+chance of the shots taking effect, the cannonade gave the captain of
+the runner the cold shakes. His boat was one of the fastest on the
+ocean, and he needed only to put on steam to escape all the blockaders
+on the coast. But he was a thorough paced coward; and, thinking only
+of his own safety, he headed the craft for the beach, and with his
+crew fled into the woods. The valuable ship and her cargo fell into
+the hands of the Federals.
+
+Sometimes runners were captured through apparently the most trivial
+accidents. One ship, heavily laden with army supplies, and carrying a
+large number of passengers, was running through the blockading-fleet,
+and seemed sure of escape. All lights were out, the passengers were in
+the cabin, not a word was to be heard on deck, even the commands of
+the officers being delivered in whispers. Suddenly a prolonged
+cock-crow rent the air, and, with the silence of every thing
+surrounding, sounded like a clarion peal from a trumpet. The
+deck-hands rushed for a box of poultry on the deck, and dragged out
+bird after bird, wringing their necks. The true offender was almost
+the last to be caught, and avenged the deaths of his brothers by
+crowing vigorously all the time. The noise was enough to alarm the
+blockaders; and in a moment the hail, "Surrender, or we'll blow you
+out of water!" brought the unlucky runner to a standstill,--a
+prisoner. The "Southern Cross" narrowly escaped capture on account of
+the stupidity of an Irish deck-hand, whose craving for tobacco proved
+too strong for his discretion. The ship was steaming slyly by two
+cruisers, and in the darkness would have escaped unseen, when the
+deck-hand, who had been without a smoke as long as he could stand it,
+lit a match and puffed away at his pipe. The tiny flame was enough for
+the cruisers, and they began a spirited cannonade. The "Southern
+Cross" ran for her life. The shooting was guess-work, but the gunners
+on the cruisers showed all the proverbial Yankee skill at guessing.
+The first ball carried away the roof of the pilot-house, and the
+second ripped away the railing along the deck for thirty feet. But the
+captain was plucky, and made a run for it. He was forced to pass
+within a hundred feet of one of the cruisers; and as he saw the
+muzzles of the great guns bearing on his ship, he heard the command,
+"Heave to, or I'll sink you." But he took his chances, and escaped
+with only the damage caused by a solid shot crashing through the hull.
+
+One of the strangest experiences of all was that of the captain of a
+blockade-runner putting in to Wilmington one bitter cold night, when
+the snow was blowing in clouds, and the fingers of the men at the
+wheel and the sailors on watch were frostbitten. The runner had
+reached the harbor safely; but there in channel lay a blockader in
+such a position that any ship coming in must pass within a hundred
+feet of her. The Confederate had a light-draught vessel, and tried to
+squeeze through. When he passed the gunboat, only twelve feet of
+space separated the two vessels; and he saw a lookout, with his arms
+on the rail, looking right at the passing vessel. The Confederate
+expected an immediate alarm, but it did not come. Wondering at the
+cause, but happy in his luck, he sped on, and gained the harbor
+safely. Some days after, he learned that the lookout was a dead man,
+frozen at his post of duty.
+
+It will readily be understood that the inducements offered to
+blockade-runners must have been immense to persuade men to run such
+risks. The officers and sailors made money easily, and spent it
+royally when they reached Nassau. "I never expect to see such flush
+times again in my life," said a blockade-running captain, speaking of
+Nassau. "Money was as plentiful as dirt. I have seen a man toss up a
+twenty-dollar gold piece on "heads or tails," and it would be followed
+by a score of the yellow boys in five seconds. There were times when
+the bank-vaults could not hold all the gold, and the coins were dumped
+down by the bushel, and guarded by soldiers. Men wagered, gambled,
+drank, and seemed crazy to get rid of their money. I once saw two
+captains bet five hundred dollars each on the length of a certain
+porch. Again I saw a wager of eight hundred dollars a side as to how
+many would be at the dinner-table of a certain hotel. The Confederates
+were paying the English big prices for goods, but multiplying the
+figures by five, seven, and ten as soon as the goods were landed in
+Charleston. Ten dollars invested in quinine in Nassau would bring from
+four hundred to six hundred dollars in Charleston. A pair of
+four-dollar boots would bring from fourteen to sixteen dollars; a
+two-dollar hat would bring eight dollars, and so on through all the
+list of goods brought in. Every successful captain might have made a
+fortune in a year; but it is not believed that five out of the whole
+number had a thousand dollars on hand when the war closed. It was come
+easy, go easy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+     DUPONT'S EXPEDITION TO HILTON HEAD AND PORT ROYAL. -- THE FIERY
+     CIRCLE.
+
+
+The great joint naval and military expedition, which in August, 1861,
+had reduced the forts at Hatteras Inlet, and, continuing its progress,
+had, by successive victories, brought Roanoke Island, Newbern,
+Elizabeth City, and the Sounds of Pamlico and Albemarle under the sway
+of the Federal Government, was but the first of a series of
+expeditions intended to drive the Confederates from the Atlantic
+seaboard, and secure for the United States vessels safe harbors and
+coaling stations in the bays and inlets along the South Atlantic
+coast. The proper maintenance of the blockade made it necessary that
+the seaboard should be in the hands of the Federals. For a blockader
+off Charleston or Wilmington to be forced to return to Hampton Roads
+to coal or to make repairs, would entail the loss of weeks, perhaps
+months, of valuable time. Besides, the sounds and inlets with which
+that irregular coast is honeycombed were of great use to the
+Confederates, who could construct at their leisure great rams like the
+"Merrimac" or "Albemarle," and hurl them against the fleet with the
+hope of breaking the blockade. Such opportunities were eagerly seized
+by the Confederates whenever offered; and in many cases the defeating
+of their purposes seems almost providential, so great was the seeming
+disparity between the attacking ram and the forces which finally
+repulsed it.
+
+In reviewing the part of the navy in the civil war, we find that it
+acted like a great iron band, ever drawing closer and closer about the
+Confederacy, forcing the Southern armies from one point after another,
+until at last the whole coast was in the hands of the Unionists, and
+the Confederates were driven into the interior, there to be dealt with
+by the Northern armies. One is reminded of that iron chamber in Poe's
+story, which day by day grows smaller and smaller, until the wretched
+prisoner within is forced into the pit yawning in the centre. So,
+during the war, the Confederates lost Hatteras Inlet, Roanoke Island,
+Hilton Head, Fernandina, Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston
+comparatively early in the struggle. Wilmington, behind the almost
+impregnable bastions of Fort Fisher, and Charleston, surrounded by a
+cordon of defensive forts, remained the last strongholds of the
+Confederacy on the Atlantic coast, until the final downfall of the
+great uprising.
+
+Shortly after the capture of the Hatteras Forts, the navy department
+saw the need of a harbor and base of naval operations farther south.
+Charleston, with its powerful defences, was deemed impregnable at that
+time; and elaborate descriptions of the Southern coast were prepared,
+setting forth the advantages and disadvantages of available Southern
+ports. Fernandina, Brunswick, Port Royal, and Bull's Bay, were duly
+considered; and, while the Navy Department was debating which point to
+seize, Admiral Dupont was diligently fitting out an expedition to be
+in readiness to attack any that should be determined upon. Up to the
+last moment it was thought that Fernandina would be selected. But
+finally, with the advice of Gen. Sherman, it was determined to make
+the attempt to wrest Port Royal from the Confederates.
+
+Port Royal is the general name given to a broad body of water formed
+by the confluence of the Broad and Beaufort Rivers, and opening into
+the Atlantic Ocean on the South Carolina coast, about midway between
+Charleston and Savannah. No more beautiful region is to be found in
+the world. Far enough south to escape the rigors of the northern
+winters, and far enough north to be free from the enervating heat of
+the tropics; honeycombed by broad, salt-water lagoons, giving moisture
+and mildness to the air,--the country about Port Royal is like a great
+garden; and even to-day, ravaged though it was by the storms of war,
+it shows many traces of its former beauty. It is in this region that
+are found the famous Sea Islands, on which grows cotton so much more
+fleecy and fine of fibre than the product of the interior, that it is
+known the world over as Sea Island cotton, and sells at the highest
+price in the markets of England. In '61 the islands bore the great
+hospitable manor-houses of the Southern planters; broad of rooms and
+wide of piazzas, and always open for the entertainment of travellers,
+were they friends or strangers. The planters living there were among
+the wealthiest in the South, at a time when all planters were wealthy.
+They numbered their slaves by thousands. Standing on the broad piazza
+of one of these Southern homes, one could see the rows of rough huts
+that made up the negro quarters, and hear faintly the sound of the
+banjo and rude negro melodies, mingling with the music of piano or
+harp within the parlor of the mansion-house. Refined by education and
+travel, the planters of the region about Port Royal made up a courtly
+society, until war burst upon them, and reduced their estates to
+wildernesses, and themselves to beggary.
+
+At the head of the Beaufort River stood the little town of Beaufort.
+Before the war this was a thriving place; its magnificent harbor made
+it easily accessible for the largest merchant-ships, and the richly
+productive country round about furnished heavy cargoes of the fleecy
+staple that gave to the South the name of the "cotton kingdom." On
+Saturdays and holidays the broad streets of Beaufort would be crowded
+with carriages and horsemen from the neighboring plantations. The
+planters, in broad-brimmed hats and suits of snowy linen, thronged the
+broad piazzas of the hotel, or grouped together in the shade of the
+spreading trees that lined the streets, discussing the cotton crops
+and prices. Now all is changed. Beaufort is a sleepy little village,
+with no sign of trade, domestic or foreign; and the country round
+about, once dotted with handsome plantation homes, now seems a very
+wilderness, save where Northerners have erected for themselves winter
+homes on the Sea Islands.
+
+[Illustration: Fortress Monroe.]
+
+It was late in October, 1861, when the final determination to attack
+the forts at Port Royal was reached. For weeks before, the squadron
+lying at Hampton Roads had been making preparations for a great naval
+movement, and all the newspapers of the North were filled with wise
+speculations as to its objective point. Reporters, correspondents, and
+editors were alike baffled in their efforts to secure accurate
+information; and even the commanders of the men-of-war were ignorant
+of their destination. But it seems that the Confederates were warned
+by some of their sympathizers in Washington, and the destination of
+the fleet was better known south of Mason and Dixon's line than in the
+North. On Tuesday, Oct. 29, the squadron was all ready for the voyage.
+It was by far the most powerful fleet ever gathered under the flag of
+the United States. Twenty-five vessels laden with coal had sailed the
+day before. On the placid waters of the bay, under the frowning walls
+of Fortress Monroe, floated fifty men-of-war and transports. The day
+was clear, and the breeze brisk, and the hearts of the jolly jack-tars
+bounded within them as they thought of escaping from the long
+inactivity of a season in port. Long-boats bearing despatches rowed
+from ship to ship; hucksters from the shore came off in dories,
+dingies, and all variety of queer craft, to drive a farewell bargain
+with the sailors. The transport vessels were crowded with soldiers in
+the gay uniforms of militia commands. (It was early in the war then,
+and they had not learned that a man could fight as well in dingy
+rags.) The "Wabash" was flagship, and aboard her was Admiral DuPont.
+When she made the signal for getting under way, all was bustle and
+animation on all the other vessels of the fleet, and on all sides
+could be heard the noise of preparation for the start. The boatswains
+piped away cheerily; and a steady tramp, tramp, from the deck of each
+ship, and the clicking of the capstan catches, told that the anchors
+were coming up. Soon from the black funnels of the steamers clouds of
+smoke began to pour, and in the rigging of the sail frigates were
+crowds of nimble sailors. The commands "All ready! Let fall!" rang
+sharply over the water from the ships. Broad sheets of snowy canvas
+appeared where before were but ropes and spars, and in a moment the
+whole squadron was under way. The steamers led off briskly, with much
+churning of the water by their paddle-wheels and "brazen-fins;" after
+them followed the magnificent sailing frigates, with sail set,--lofty
+masses of canvas towering toward the skies, and moving with stately
+grace. At the very head of all went the flagship, the grand old
+"Wabash," with the flag of Admiral DuPont floating from the fore. None
+of the commanders knew whither they were bound. All were to follow the
+flagship, and in event of separation to refer to sealed orders with
+which each was provided. For the first day all went well. The promise
+of fair weather given by the beautiful day of starting seemed about to
+be fulfilled. But on the second night, as they came near the terrible
+region of Cape Hatteras, the wind began to freshen, and continued
+increasing in fierceness until it fairly blew a gale. The night was
+pitchy dark, and the crews on the vessels could hardly see the craft
+by which they were surrounded. Great as was the danger of being cast
+on the treacherous shoals of Hatteras, the peril of instant
+destruction by collision was even more imminent. Fifty vessels,
+heavily freighted with human lives, were pitching and tossing within a
+few rods of each other, and within a few miles of a lee shore. It
+seemed that the destruction of a large number of the vessels was
+unavoidable; and the sailors may be pardoned, if, remembering the
+mishaps of the Burnside expedition, they conceived Hatteras to be
+tenanted by an evil spirit, determined to prevent the invasion of
+Confederate territory. To add to the danger, the Confederates had
+extinguished the warning light at the Cape, and the navigators of the
+fleet had nothing to guide them in their course. When morning came,
+the fleet was pretty well scattered, although still many vessels were
+near enough together to be in no small danger. The transport "Winfield
+Scott," which carried four hundred and fifty soldiers, besides a large
+crew, was observed to be rolling heavily, and flying signals of
+distress. From the decks of the "Bienville," the nearest steamer, the
+officers with their glasses could see the crew of the distressed
+vessel working like beavers, throwing overboard every thing of weight
+to lighten the ship. Notwithstanding all their efforts, she was
+clearly water-logged, and sunk so low in the water that wave after
+wave broke over her decks, every now and then sweeping a man away to
+sure death in the raging sea. It seemed folly to attempt to launch
+lifeboats in such a furious sea, but the captain of the "Bienville"
+determined to make the attempt to save the men on the doomed "Winfield
+Scott." The crew was piped to quarters, and the captain asked for
+volunteers to go to the rescue. Man after man stepped forward, until
+enough had been secured to man three boats with ten men each.
+Carefully the boats were dropped into the sea, and man after man swung
+into them; then they put off and started for the sinking ship. But
+while these preparations were being made, the two ships had been
+drifting closer and closer together. Soon it was seen that a collision
+was inevitable. Fortunately the boats were broadside on, so that the
+cutting effect of a blow from the bow was avoided. They were presently
+so near each other that the men began jumping from the deck of the
+"Winfield Scot" upon that of the "Bienville." The leap, though a
+perilous one, was made in safety by over thirty men. Suddenly a great
+wave lifted the ships up and dashed them together. Three poor
+wretches, just about to jump, were caught between the vessels and
+crushed to death. A few sharp cries of agony, and all was over; and
+the vessels, drifting apart, let their bodies, crushed beyond
+recognition, fall into the water. By this time the small boats, with
+their determined crews on board, had succeeded in getting around to
+the lee side of the sinking ship, and the work of getting the soldiers
+and sailors over the side was begun. By the most strenuous efforts all
+were saved, and the "Bienville" steamed away, leaving the "Winfield
+Scott" to her fate.
+
+[Illustration: Du Pont's Expedition off Cape Hatteras.]
+
+Night came on, with the gale blowing with still greater fury. The wind
+shrieked through the cordage, and now and again a great wave would
+sweep across the decks of the crowded vessels, making the men hang on
+to the rigging for dear life. Soon another ship began to go to pieces.
+The "Governor," which had been steaming along near the "Wabash"
+since the time of leaving Hampton Roads, had become separated from
+her consort during the gale of the first day. On the second night,
+those aboard her perceived that she was showing signs of weakness, and
+was likely to go down with all on board unless aid could be obtained.
+Not a sail, however, was in sight; and every wave seemed about to
+overwhelm or dash to pieces the frail craft. She labored heavily in
+the furious sea. By and by the strain on her timbers was such that the
+port hog-brace broke in two places, weakening the vessel so that her
+fate was apparent to all. Soldiers and sailors worked away with a
+frantic energy born by the fear of death, and succeeded in bracing up
+the timbers, so as to avoid, for a time, the breaking-up. Soon after,
+a heavy roll of the vessel broke the smokestack, and it was pitched
+overboard. Luckily it broke some three feet above the deck, so that
+the fires could still be kept up. Then the steam-pipe burst; and with
+this accident the fate of all on board seemed sealed, for they no
+longer could keep the vessel's head to the waves, and the great seas
+came rolling over her, sweeping her decks of every thing movable. They
+began sending up rockets, and, after some time of anxious waiting, saw
+an answering signal; so that, through the remainder of that fearful
+night, the men on the doomed ship felt that, whatever might occur,
+they had friends at hand. The night was spent in toil at the pumps;
+and in the morning a faint cheer went up as two vessels were seen,
+ready to lend assistance. A signal of distress, quickly hoisted, was
+answered from the nearer, which proved to be the "Isaac P. Smith." The
+"Smith" sent off a boat and made fast a hawser to the wreck, and took
+her in tow; but in a few minutes the hawser parted. It became clear
+that the men must be taken off the sinking ship; but how to do it, was
+the question. By this time a second ship, the "Young Rover," had
+arrived to assist in the rescue. A second cable was put aboard; but
+this, too, parted. Hope seemed lost, when the lookout reported a third
+ship, the frigate "Sabine," coming to the rescue. The "Sabine" came to
+anchor, and sent a hawser aboard the sinking "Governor." Then the
+hawser was gradually taken in until the two ships lay close together,
+stern to stern. Spars were rigged over the stern of the frigate, and
+some thirty men swung over the seething waters to safety. Then the two
+vessels came together with a crash, and about forty men sprang from
+the sinking ship to the deck of the frigate. But the damage done by
+the collision was so great that it was deemed prudent to slack up the
+hawser and let the "Governor" drop astern again. Those on board
+busied themselves throwing overboard all things movable, with the
+intention of lightening the vessel. After some hours of suspense, the
+work of getting the men off the sinking craft was recommenced, and
+boats were sent to their assistance. The sea was running too high for
+them to approach close to the steamer's guards, so they lay off some
+feet, and the soldiers jumped into them. It was a perilous leap, with
+the boats pitching one way, and the ship another, and a raging sea of
+tossing waters between; but it was made bravely by every man, and but
+seven or eight were lost. Soon after the last man left the "Governor,"
+she lurched to one side and sank, carrying with her the arms and
+ammunition of the troops she was transporting.
+
+It was on Monday morning, Nov. 4, that the flagship "Wabash" cast
+anchor off Port Royal. In the offing were a few more sail headed for
+the same point, and during the day some twenty-five vessels of the
+scattered squadron came up. For the next day ships were constantly
+arriving, and by Tuesday night the whole squadron lay safely anchored
+in the broad harbor.
+
+The defences which the Confederates had erected upon Hilton Head, a
+lofty bluff overlooking the harbor, were powerfully designed
+earthworks, poorly armed and manned. The forts were two in number,
+placed on a commanding elevation, and might have been made impregnable
+had the Confederates taken advantage of the warning sent them by their
+spies in Washington. Fort Walker had fourteen guns which could bear on
+an attacking fleet, and Fort Beauregard had twenty. When the fight
+began, the gunners found that most of their ammunition was either too
+large or too small for the guns. To support the forts in their fight,
+was a wretched little fleet of tugs and schooners, mounting a gun or
+two each, but absolutely powerless before the smallest of Du Pont's
+ships-of-war. Indeed, when the battle began, the Union navy gave its
+undivided attention to the forts, and did not even give battle to
+Tatnall's mosquito fleet.
+
+Thursday morning dawned bright and mild as a morning in June. The
+shores of the beautiful bay were covered with woods, out of which rung
+the clear notes of Southern song-birds. The scene from the ships was
+one of the most charming imaginable. The placid bay, the luxuriant
+shores, the ocean showing across the low-lying ridge of white sand,
+the forts frowning from the steep headland, the fleet of majestic
+frigates mustered for the attack, and in the distance the flotilla of
+defenceless transports, safely out of range, their decks and rigging
+crowded with fifteen thousand men--all this presented a panorama of
+life and beauty which few eyes have ever beheld.
+
+[Illustration: The opening Gun.]
+
+Du Pont, in the majestic "Wabash," moved down the bay, and, as he came
+in range of Fort Walker, sent a shell shrieking from a bow-gun, as
+signal that the action was begun. The old frigate moved on slowly,
+making play with the bow-guns until abreast of the fort, when with a
+crash she let fly her whole broadside. On she went for a few yards,
+then turning in a grand circle came back, giving the other broadside
+to the forts as she passed. The other ships fell in behind; and round
+and round before the forts the fiery circle revolved, spitting out
+fire and ponderous iron bolts, and making the peaceful shores of the
+bay tremble with the deep reverberations of the cannon.
+
+The Confederates, for their part, went into the action with the utmost
+coolness. They had been assured that their position was impregnable,
+and had been cautioned to be deliberate and determined in their
+defence. For a time their artillery service was admirable. But soon
+they found certain discouraging features about the affair. Their guns
+were too light to have any effect on the fleet, and their powder was
+of such bad quality that many of their shots fell short. Two great
+guns dismounted themselves, seriously injuring the men who were
+handling them, and the very first broadside from the fleet dismounted
+several more. Then it was found that the shells for the great Parrott
+guns were too large, and that the shells from other cannon failed to
+explode, owing to defective fuses. Soon the fleet found a point of
+fire from which it could enfilade the forts, and thereafter a perfect
+hail of shell and grape-shot fell in the trenches. One shell disabled
+eleven men. A solid shot struck a gun thought to be perfectly
+protected, and hurled it, with the men serving it, over the parapet.
+Every twenty minutes a gun was dismounted in Fort Walker, and at the
+end of the conflict Fort Beauregard had but nine serviceable guns.
+
+For about four hours there was no cessation of fire on the part of the
+fleet. Round and round the circle the vessels steamed, giving one fort
+a broadside on the way up, and the other a broadside on the way down.
+The bombs rose from them in a majestic sweep through the air, and
+plunged into the fort, exploding with a roar equal to that of a
+cannon. One ship was commanded by Capt. Drayton, who rained shot and
+shell mercilessly against the forts, although one of them was in
+command of his own brother.
+
+At half-past one Fort Walker was found untenable, and the work of
+abandoning it was begun. The evacuation was completed in great haste,
+many valuables were left behind, and not even the guns were spiked.
+Still the entire garrison escaped to mainland, although the Federals
+had three thousand troops who might have made them all prisoners. Not
+long thereafter, Fort Beauregard also yielded to fate, and the day was
+won by the Federals.
+
+[Illustration: The Fight at Hilton Head.]
+
+The landing of the troops was at once begun. Thirty large boats bore a
+Connecticut regiment of one thousand men to the beach. Their bright,
+fresh uniforms, their muskets glittering in the sun, and their
+regular, swaying stride as they marched up the sandy beach to the
+martial strains of the regimental band, made a striking picture.
+They clambered over the ramparts, and in a few moments the stars and
+stripes floated from the staff which had but lately upheld the flag of
+the young Confederacy. Within the forts, all was carnage and
+confusion: dismounted cannon, surrounded by the dead bodies of the
+gunners, heaps of shells, and fragments of woodwork, were piled about
+the parade-ground and in the trenches. The story of the terrific
+bombardment was graphically told by those horrible evidences of death
+and destruction. And well might the scene be a horrible one. For over
+five hours, fifty shot a minute had been discharged at the forts, and
+most of them did execution. When one recollects that each shot of the
+great guns cost eight dollars, we get a vivid idea of the money spent
+in war.
+
+Immediately upon the capture of Hilton Head, the victors began making
+it a great naval and military station. Great storehouses were built,
+wharves constructed, and vast intrenchments thrown up for the defence
+of the spot. The slaves, escaping from the neighboring plantations,
+came in droves, begging to be allowed to work; but they received but a
+cold welcome, for they were still looked upon as property, and the
+officers did not wish to be charged with enticing them away from their
+masters.
+
+The news of the occupation of Hilton Head by the Northern armies
+caused the greatest consternation in the cities of Charleston and
+Savannah, From both places people fled into the interior, expecting an
+immediate advance of the Union troops. But the armies were set to
+digging, not to marching, and soon the affrighted citizens returned to
+their homes. Port Royal was held by the Northern forces until the end
+of the war, and proved of great value for the proper maintenance of
+the blockade. Its greatest disadvantage was its unhealthiness. Of
+fifteen thousand men landed there in November, five thousand were on
+the sick-list within a month.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+     THE FIRST IRON-CLAD VESSELS IN HISTORY. -- THE "MERRIMAC" SINKS
+     THE "CUMBERLAND," AND DESTROYS THE "CONGRESS." -- DUEL BETWEEN
+     THE "MONITOR" AND "MERRIMAC."
+
+
+It will be remembered that when the Union forces, alarmed by the
+threatening attitude of the inhabitants of Norfolk and the vicinity,
+fled from the Norfolk navy-yard, leaving every thing there in flames,
+they left behind them a fine United States frigate, "Merrimac," a ship
+of thirty-five hundred tons, carrying forty guns. The departing
+Federals did their work of destruction fairly well; for the great ship
+was burnt to the upper edge of her copper sheathing, and sank to the
+bottom of the river. Three or four months after the occupation of the
+Norfolk navy-yard by the Confederates, Lieut. George M. Brooke, an
+ex-officer of the United States navy, who had resigned that he might
+follow the fortunes of his State, while looking at the hulk lying in
+the river-channel, was suddenly inspired with the thought that she
+might be raised and converted into a formidable vessel-of-war. He
+carefully matured his plans, and after due consideration proposed to
+the Confederate secretary of the navy, that the "Merrimac" be raised
+and converted into an iron-clad. His plans were approved, and orders
+were given that they should be carried out. The "Merrimac," as
+originally built, was one of the grand old types of war-vessels. Her
+solid oak sides rose high above the water, and were pierced by a long
+row of gaping portholes. Her masts towered high in the air; and when
+her great sails were set, her hull seemed crushed beneath so vast an
+expanse of canvas. When she had been remodelled, her entire appearance
+was changed. She had no longer the appearance of a ship, but seemed
+like a house afloat; and tradition says that the old salt on the
+"Cumberland," who first sighted her, reported gravely to the officer
+of the deck, "Quaker meetin'-house floating down the bay, sir."
+
+When the hulk had been raised and placed in the dry-dock, the first
+thing done was to cut it down to the level of the berth-deck; that is,
+to the level of the deck below the gun-deck in the old rig. Then both
+ends of the ship were decked over for a distance of seventy feet;
+while the midship section was covered by a sort of roof, or
+pent-house, one hundred and seventy feet long, and extending about
+seven feet above the gun-deck. This roof was of pitch pine and oak,
+twenty-four inches thick, and covered with iron plates two inches
+thick. The upper part of the roof, being flat, was railed in, making a
+kind of promenade deck. In the great chamber formed by this roof were
+mounted ten guns, two of which, the bow and stern guns, were
+seven-inch rifles, and fairly powerful guns for those days. A strange
+feature of this ship, and one that was not discovered until she was
+launched, was that the weight of the iron-plating and the heavy guns
+she carried sunk her so deep in the water that the low deck forward
+and aft of the gunroom was always under water; so much so that the
+commander of another ship in the Confederate navy writes that he was
+obliged always to give the "Merrimac" a wide berth, lest he should run
+his ship on some part of the ram which lay unseen beneath the surface
+of the water. Powerful as this ship was, she had some serious defects.
+The greatest of these were her engines. They were the same that had
+been in her as a United States vessel, and had been condemned by a
+naval board as very defective. Naturally several weeks under water had
+not improved them; but the Confederates could not be particular about
+machinery just then, and the old engines were left in the new ram. It
+was quickly found that they could not be depended upon more than six
+hours at a time; and one of the ship's officers, in writing years
+afterwards, remarks, "A more ill-contrived or unreliable pair of
+engines could only have been found in some vessels of the United
+States navy." The second faulty feature about the "Merrimac" was that
+her rudder and propeller were entirely unprotected. The ram which was
+so much dreaded, and which made the "Merrimac" a forerunner of a new
+class of war-vessels, was of cast-iron, projecting four feet, and so
+badly secured that it was loosened in ramming the "Cumberland," and
+started a bad leak in the Confederate ship.
+
+When this formidable vessel was completed, she was christened by her
+new owners the "Virginia;" but the name of the old United States
+frigate of which she was built stuck to her, and she has ever since
+been known as the "Merrimac," and so we shall speak of her in this
+narrative. She received as commander Commodore Franklin Buchanan, an
+ex-Union officer of ability and daring, to whom the cadets of the
+naval academy at Annapolis owe the beautiful situation of the academy,
+and many of its admirable features; for he it was, who, in 1845, under
+a commission from Mr. Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, organized and
+located the naval academy, and launched that institution upon its
+successful career. Of officers the "Merrimac" had no lack, and good
+ones they were; but in her crew she was lamentably deficient. Most of
+the crew was made up of men from the army, who knew nothing of
+seamanship, but who could at any rate fire a gun. A few good sailors
+were obtained from those who escaped to Norfolk after the destruction
+of the Confederate flotilla at Elizabeth City by Capt. Rowan's
+squadron. They had but little chance for drills and exercise on the
+new ship, for up to the very hour of sailing she was crowded with
+workmen getting her ready for the task of breaking down the Yankee
+blockade. When she finally set out to do battle for the South, she was
+a new and untried ship: not a gun had been fired, and hardly a
+revolution of her engines had been made. And so she started down the
+river on her trial trip, but intending, nevertheless, to do battle
+with the strongest ships of the United States navy. Accompanying her
+were four small Confederate gunboats,--the "Beaufort," the "Yorktown,"
+the "Jamestown," and the "Teaser." Soon rounding out into Hampton
+Roads, the little squadron caught sight of the Northern fleet at
+anchor, and made for them. An officer on the "Congress" thus tells the
+story of the events that followed:--
+
+"The 8th of March was a fine mild day, such as is common in Southern
+Virginia during the early spring; and every one on board our ship was
+enjoying the weather, and pleasing himself with the prospect of going
+North in a day or two at farthest, and being relieved from the
+monotony of a blockade at anchor. Some of us were pacing the poop,
+basking in the sun, and watching the gulls, which here, as all over
+the world, wherever a man-of-war is anchored, manage to find out when
+it is dinnertime, appearing regularly when the mess-tins are being
+washed, and the cooks are taking the buckets of broken victuals to the
+head to throw overboard. Then they chatter and scream, and fight for
+the remnants as they drift astern, until all is consumed, when they
+betake themselves to fresh fields out of sight until we pipe to dinner
+again.
+
+"One bell had struck some time, when the attention of the
+quarter-master on watch was drawn to an unusual appearance against the
+fringe of woods away over in the Norfolk Channel. After gazing
+intently some time, he approached the officer of the deck, and
+presenting him the glass said,'I believe _that thing_ is a-comin' down
+at last, sir.'
+
+"Sure enough! There was a huge black roof, with a smokestack emerging
+from it, creeping down towards Sewall's Point. Three or four
+satellites, in the shape of small steamers and tugs, surrounded and
+preceded her. Owing to the intervening land, they could not be seen
+from Hampton Roads until some time after we had made them out; but,
+when they did show themselves clear of the point, there was a great
+stir among the shipping. But they turned up into the James River
+channel instead of down toward the fort, approaching our anchorage
+with ominous silence and deliberation.
+
+"The officers were by this time all gathered on the poop, looking at
+the strange craft, and hazarding all sorts of conjectures about her;
+and when it was plain that she was coming to attack us, or to force
+the passage, we beat to quarters, the "Cumberland's" drum answering
+ours.
+
+"By a little after four bells, or two o'clock, the strange monster was
+close enough for us to make out her plating and ports; and we tried
+her with a solid shot from one of our stern-guns, the projectile
+glancing off her forward casemate like a drop of water from a duck's
+back. This opened our eyes. Instantly she threw aside the screen from
+one of her forward ports, and answered us with grape, killing and
+wounding quite a number. She then passed us, receiving our broadside
+and giving one in return, at a distance of less than two hundred
+yards. Our shot had apparently no effect upon her, but the result of
+her broadside on our ship was simply terrible. One of her shells
+dismounted an eight-inch gun, and either killed or wounded every one
+of the gun's crew, while the slaughter at the other guns was fearful.
+There were comparatively few wounded, the fragments of the huge shells
+she threw killing outright as a general thing. Our clean and handsome
+gun-deck was in an instant changed into a slaughter-pen, with
+lopped-off legs and arms, and bleeding, blackened bodies, scattered
+about by the shells; while blood and brains actually dripped from the
+beams. One poor fellow had his chest transfixed by a splinter of oak
+as thick as the wrist; but the shell-wounds were even worse. The
+quarter-master, who had first discovered the approach of the
+iron-clad,--an old man-of-war's man, named John Leroy,--was taken
+below with both legs off. The gallant fellow died in a few minutes,
+but cheered and exhorted the men to stand by the ship, almost with his
+last breath. The 'Merrimac' had, in the mean time, passed up stream;
+and our poor fellows, thinking she had had enough of it, and was for
+getting away, actually began to cheer. For many of them it was the
+last cheer they were ever to give. We soon saw what her object was;
+for standing up abreast of the bow of the 'Cumberland,' and putting
+her helm aport, she ran her ram right into that vessel. The gallant
+frigate kept up her splendid and deliberate, but ineffectual, fire,
+until she filled and sank, which she did in a very few minutes. A
+small freight-steamer of the quarter-master's department, and some
+tugs and boats from the camp-wharf, put off to rescue the survivors,
+who were forced to jump overboard. In spite of shot from the
+Confederate gunboats, one of which pierced the boiler of the
+freight-boat, they succeeded in saving the greater number of those who
+were in the water. Seeing the fate of the 'Cumberland,' which sank in
+very deep water, we set our topsails and jib, and slipped the chains,
+under a sharp fire from the gunboats, which killed and wounded many.
+With the help of the sails, and the tug 'Zouave,' the ship was now run
+on the flats which make off from Newport News Point. Here the vessel
+keeled over as the tide continued to fall, leaving us only two guns
+which could be fought,--those in the stern ports. Two large
+steam-frigates and a sailing-frigate, towed by tugs, had started up
+from Hampton Roads to our assistance. They all got aground before they
+had achieved half the distance; and it was fortunate that they did so,
+for they would probably have met the fate of the 'Cumberland,' in
+which case the lives of the twelve or thirteen hundred men comprising
+their crews would have been uselessly jeopardized.
+
+"After the 'Merrimac' had sunk the 'Cumberland,' she came down the
+channel and attacked us again. Taking up a position about one hundred
+and fifty yards astern of us, she deliberately raked us with
+eighty-pounder shell; while the steamers we had so long kept up the
+river, and those which had come out with the iron-clad from Norfolk,
+all concentrated the fire of their small rifled guns upon us. At this
+time we lost two officers, both elderly men. One was an acting master,
+who was killed on the quarter-deck by a small rifle-bolt which struck
+him between the shoulders, and went right through him. The other was
+our old coast pilot, who was mortally wounded by a fragment of shell.
+We kept up as strong a fire as we could from our two stern-guns; but
+the men were repeatedly swept away from them, and at last both pieces
+were disabled, one having the muzzle knocked off, and the other being
+dismounted. Rifles and carbines were also used by some of our people
+to try to pick off the 'Merrimac's' crew when her ports were opened to
+fire, but of course the effect of the small-arms was not apparent to
+us.
+
+"It is useless to attempt to describe the condition of our decks by
+this time. No one who has not seen it can appreciate the effect of
+such a fire in a confined space. Men were being killed and maimed
+every minute, those faring best whose duty kept them on the spar deck.
+Just before our stern-guns were disabled, there were repeated calls
+for powder from them; and, none appearing, I took a look on the
+berth-deck to learn the cause. After my eyes had become a little
+accustomed to the darkness, and the sharp smoke from burning oak, I
+saw that the line of cooks and wardroom servants stationed to pass
+full boxes had been raked by a shell, and the whole of them either
+killed or wounded,--a sufficient reason why there was a delay with the
+powder. (I may mention here that the officer who commanded our powder
+division was a brother of the captain of the 'Merrimac.') The shells
+searched the vessel everywhere. A man previously wounded was killed in
+the cock-pit where he had been taken for surgical aid. The deck of the
+cock-pit had to be kept sluiced with water from the pumps, to
+extinguish the fire from the shells, although dreadfully wounded men
+were lying on this deck, and the water was icy cold; but the
+shell-room hatch opened out of the cock-pit, and fire must be kept out
+of there at all hazards, or the whole of us would go into the air
+together. In the wardroom and steerage, the bulkheads were all knocked
+down by the shells, and by the axemen making way for the hose,
+forming a scene of perfect ruin and desolation. Clothing, books,
+glass, china, photographs, chairs, bedding, and tables were all mixed
+in one confused heap. Some time before this, our commanding officer, a
+fine young man, had been instantly killed by a fragment of shell which
+struck him in the chest. His watch, and one of his shoulder-straps
+(the other being gone), were afterwards sent safely to his father, a
+veteran naval officer.
+
+"We had now borne this fire for nearly an hour, and there was no
+prospect of assistance from any quarter, while we were being
+slaughtered without being able to return a shot. Seeing this, the
+officer who had succeeded to the command of the ship, upon
+consultation with our former captain (who was on board as a guest),
+ordered our flag to be struck. It is not a pleasant thing to have to
+strike your flag; but I did not see then, and do not see now, what
+else we were to do.
+
+"A boat now boarded us with an officer from the 'Merrimac,' who said
+he would take charge of the ship. He did nothing, however, but gaze
+about a little, and pick up a carbine and cutlass,--I presume as
+trophies. One of the small gunboats then came alongside, and the
+officer from the 'Merrimac' left. The commander of the gunboat said
+that we must get out of the ship at once, as he had orders to burn
+her. Some of our people went on board of his craft as prisoners, but
+not many. As her upper deck was about even with our main-deck ports,
+our surgeon stepped out of one, and told the commanding officer that
+we had some dreadfully wounded men, and that we must have time to
+collect them, and place them on board his vessel, and, moreover, that
+our ship was on fire with no possibility of saving her. The reply was,
+'You must make haste: those scoundrels on shore are firing at me now.'
+In fact, the rifle-balls were 'pinging' about very briskly, scarring
+the rusty black sides of the poor old frigate; for the Twentieth
+Indiana Regiment had come down from the camp to the point, and opened
+fire on the gunboat as she lay alongside of us. Our doctor having no
+desire to be killed, especially by our own people, jumped back into
+the port, just as the steamer, finding it too hot, shoved off and left
+us. As soon as she did so, they all opened upon us again; although we
+had a white flag flying to show we were out of action, and we
+certainly could not be held responsible for the action of the regiment
+on shore. After ten or fifteen minutes, however, they all withdrew,
+and went down the channel, to bestow their attentions upon the
+frigate 'Minnesota' which was hard aground. Fortunately the 'Merrimac'
+drew too much water to come near the 'Minnesota' at that stage of
+tide, and the small-fry were soon driven off by the latter ship's
+battery. Night now approaching, the whole Rebel flotilla withdrew, and
+proceeded up the Norfolk Channel.
+
+"Although relieved from the pressure of actual battle, we still had
+the unpleasant consciousness that the fire was making progress in the
+vicinity of our after-magazine; and we felt as I suppose men would
+feel who are walking in the crater of a volcano on the verge of
+eruption. Fortunately for us, the 'Merrimac' and her consorts had not
+fired much at our upper works and spars, the principal damage being
+inflicted upon our lower decks. We had, therefore, the launch and
+first cutter,--large boats,--which, with a little stuffing of
+shot-holes, were fit to carry us the short distance between our ship
+and the shore. The yard and stay-tackles were got up, and the boats
+put into the water, as soon as possible; the fire gaining, and the sun
+going down, in the mean time.
+
+"By successive boatloads the survivors were all landed; the launch
+being brought up under the bill port, and the wounded, in cots,
+lowered into her by a whip from the fore yard, which was braced up for
+the purpose. This boat was nearly filled with water on her last trip,
+being a good deal damaged; obliging some of the officers, who had
+stayed until the last, to jump overboard into the icy cold water, and
+lean their hands on the gunwale, so as to relieve the boat of a part
+of their weight. She grounded in water about waist-deep; and the
+soldiers from the camp waded out and assisted our men in bearing on
+shore, and to the log hospital of the Twentieth Indiana, those who
+were in cots. We had managed to get the body of our gallant young
+commander on shore in one of the cots, as a wounded man. The mass of
+the men were so 'gallied,' to use a sailor phrase, by the time the
+action was over, what with enduring so severe a fire without being
+able to respond, and also with the knowledge that an explosion of the
+magazine might occur at any time, that I doubt whether they could have
+been induced to bring off a man whom they knew to be dead. The
+officers repeatedly went about the decks looking for wounded men; and
+I firmly believe that all who were alive were brought off. Our poor
+old ship, deserted by all but the dead, burned till about midnight,
+when she blew up."
+
+The final destruction of the "Congress" must have been a most imposing
+spectacle. A member of the Confederate army, who was stationed in one
+of the batteries near the scene of action, thus describes it: "Night
+had come, mild and calm, refulgent with all the beauty of Southern
+skies in early spring. The moon, in her second quarter, was just
+rising over the rippling waters; but her silvery light was soon paled
+by the conflagration of the 'Congress,' whose lurid glare was
+reflected in the river. The burning frigate four miles away seemed
+very much nearer. As the flames crept up the rigging, every mast,
+spar, and rope glittered against the dark sky in dazzling lines of
+fire. The hull, aground upon the shoal, was plainly visible; and upon
+its black surface each porthole seemed the mouth of a fiery furnace.
+For hours the flames raged, with hardly a perceptible change in the
+wondrous picture. At irregular intervals, loaded guns and shells,
+exploding as the flames reached them, sent forth their deep
+reverberations, re-echoed over and over from every headland of the
+bay. The masts and rigging were still standing, apparently intact,
+when about two o'clock in the morning a monstrous sheet of flame rose
+from the vessel to an immense height. The ship was rent in twain by
+the tremendous flash. Blazing fragments seemed to fill the air; and,
+after a long interval, a deep, deafening report announced the
+explosion of the ship's powder-magazine. When the blinding glare had
+subsided, I supposed that every vestige of the vessel would have
+disappeared; but apparently all the force of the explosion had been
+upward. The rigging had vanished entirely, but the hull seemed hardly
+shattered; the only apparent change in it was that in two or three
+places, two or three of the portholes had been blown into one great
+gap. It continued to burn until the brightness of its blaze was
+effaced by the morning sun."
+
+In the great drama of the first day's fight at Hampton Roads, the
+heroic part was played by the frigate "Cumberland." On the morning of
+that fateful 8th of March, she was swinging idly at her moorings, her
+boats floating at the boom, and her men lounging about the deck, never
+dreaming of the impending disaster. It was wash-day, and from the
+lower rigging of the ship hung garments drying in the sun. About noon
+the lookout saw a cloud of smoke, apparently coming down the river
+from Norfolk, and at once notified the officer of the deck. It was
+surmised that it might be the new and mysterious iron-clad "Merrimac,"
+about which many rumors were current, but few facts known. Quickly the
+ship was set in trim for action, and the men sent to quarters. All
+the stern preparations for battle were made--the guns all shotted, the
+men in position, the magazines opened; shot, shell, cartridges, all in
+place; the powder-boys at their stations; swords, pistols,
+boarding-pikes, in the racks. Down in the cock-pit the surgeons spread
+out upon their tables the gleaming instruments, which made brave men
+shudder with the thought of what a few minutes would bring.
+
+The sailors prepared for the fight gayly, never doubting for a moment
+that victory would be on their side. So paltry had been the resistance
+that the Confederates had heretofore been able to oppose to the
+Northern arms, by sea, that the blue-jackets felt that they had only
+to open a fight in order to win it. The officers were more serious.
+Rumors had reached them that the "Merrimac" was a most powerful
+vessel, destined to annihilate the navy of the North; and they looked
+on this first battle with the monster with many misgivings. Their
+fears were somewhat lessened by an article printed in the Norfolk
+papers, a few days previous, denouncing the "Merrimac" as a bungling
+bit of work, absolutely unseaworthy, and unable to stand against the
+powerful vessels of the North. As it turned out, however, this article
+was published as a _ruse_ to deceive the Northern authorities.
+
+The iron ship came steaming sullenly down the bay. The "Congress" was
+the first ship in range, and a puff of smoke from the "Merrimac's"
+bow-gun warned the crew of the frigate that danger was coming. All
+held their breath an instant, until, with a clatter and whiz, a storm
+of grape-shot rattled against her sides, and whistled through the
+rigging. Then came a sigh of relief that it was no worse. When the
+enemy was within a quarter of a mile, the "Congress" let fly her whole
+broadside, and the crew crowded the ports to see the result. The great
+iron shot rattled off the mailed sides of the monster, like hailstones
+from a roof. Then came the return fire; and the "Congress" was riddled
+with shells, and her decks ran with blood. The "Merrimac" passed
+sullenly on.
+
+Now it was the turn of the "Cumberland." Her officers and crew had
+seen the results of the fire of the "Congress," and, with sinking
+hearts, felt how hopeless was their own position. There was no chance
+for escape, for no wind filled the sails of the frigate. She lay
+helpless, awaiting the attack of the iron battery that bore down upon
+her, without firing a shot or opening a port. At a little past two the
+mailed frigate had approached the "Cumberland" within grape-shot
+distance. Fire was opened upon her with the heaviest guns; and
+officers and men watched breathlessly the course of their shot, and
+cried aloud with rage, or groaned in despair, as they saw them fall
+harmlessly from the iron ship. Still they had no thought of surrender.
+The fire of the "Cumberland" was received silently by the "Merrimac;"
+and she came straight on, her sharp prow cutting viciously through the
+water, and pointed straight for her victim. A second broadside, at
+point-blank range, had no effect on her. One solid shot was seen to
+strike her armored sides, and, glancing upward, fly high into the air,
+as a baseball glances from the bat of the batsman; then, falling, it
+struck the roof of the pilot-house, and fell harmlessly into the sea.
+In another instant the iron ram crashed into the side of the
+"Cumberland," cutting through oaken timbers, decks, and cabins. At the
+same time all the guns that could be brought to bear on the Northern
+frigate were discharged; and shells crashed through her timbers, and
+exploded upon her decks, piling splinters, guns, gun-carriages, and
+men in one confused wreck. Had not the engines of the ram been
+reversed just before striking the frigate, her headway would have
+carried her clear to the opposite side of the doomed ship, and the
+"Cumberland," in sinking, would have carried her destroyer to the
+bottom with her. As it was, the "Merrimac," with a powerful wrench,
+drew out of the wreck she had made, loosening her iron prow, and
+springing a serious leak in the operation. She drew off a short
+distance, paused to examine the work she had done, and then, as if
+satisfied, started to complete the destruction of the "Congress."
+
+And well might the men of the "Merrimac" be satisfied with their
+hour's work. The "Cumberland" was a hopeless wreck, rapidly sinking.
+Her decks were bloodstained, and covered with dead men, and scattered
+arms and legs, torn off by the exploding shells. And yet her brave
+crew stuck to their guns, and fought with cool valor, and without a
+vestige of confusion. They had had but a few moments to prepare for
+action; and the long rows of clothes, drying in the rigging, told how
+peaceful had been their occupation before the "Merrimac" appeared upon
+the scene. Yet now that the storm of battle had burst, and its issue
+was clearly against them, these men stood to their guns, although they
+could feel the deck sinking beneath them. Every man was at his post;
+and even when the waters were pouring in on the gun-deck, the guns
+were loaded and fired. Indeed, the last shot was fired from a gun half
+buried in the waves. Then the grand old frigate settled down to the
+bottom, carrying half her crew with her, but keeping the stars and
+stripes still floating at the fore.
+
+The destruction of the "Cumberland" being completed, the "Merrimac"
+steamed over to the "Congress." This frigate fought well and
+valorously, but was soon pounded into a helpless condition by the
+shells of the "Merrimac," as shown by the story of her officer,
+already quoted. When a white flag, floating at her peak, told of
+surrender, the "Merrimac" left her to the attention of the smaller
+vessels in the Confederate flotilla, and set out to find further
+victims. But by this time the remainder of the Federal fleet had taken
+alarm, and fled into a safe position under the shelter of the Federal
+batteries on shore. The "Minnesota" only had been unfortunate in her
+attempted flight, and was aground on a bar near the scene of the
+fight. But now only two hours of daylight remained, and the tide was
+low, and still on the ebb. The heavy iron frigate could not get within
+effective distance of the "Minnesota," her crew were weary with a
+day's fighting, and so she turned away and headed up the river for
+Norfolk.
+
+In taking account of injuries on the ram that night, it was found that
+the injured numbered twenty-one; many of whom had been shot while
+alongside the surrendered "Congress." Not an atom of damage was done
+to the interior of the vessel, and her armor showed hardly a trace of
+the terrible test through which it had passed. But nothing outside had
+escaped: the muzzles of two guns had been shot off; the ram was
+wrenched away in withdrawing from the "Cumberland;" one anchor, the
+smokestack, steam-pipe, railings, flagstaff, boat-davitts--all were
+swept away as though a huge mowing-machine had passed over the deck.
+But, so far as her fighting qualities were concerned, the "Merrimac"
+was as powerful as when she started out from Norfolk on that bright
+spring morning.
+
+It can easily be understood that the news of the engagement caused the
+most intense excitement throughout this country, and indeed throughout
+the whole world. In the South, all was rejoicing over this signal
+success of the Confederate ship. Bells were rung, and jubilees held,
+in all the Southern cities. An officer of the "Merrimac," who was
+despatched post-haste to Richmond with reports of the engagement, was
+met at every station by excited crowds, who demanded that he tell the
+story of the fight over and over again. At last the starving people of
+the Confederacy saw the way clear for the sweeping away of the
+remorseless blockade.
+
+In the North, the excitement was that of fear. The people of seaboard
+cities imagined every moment the irresistible iron ship steaming into
+their harbors, and mowing down their buildings with her terrible
+shells. The Secretary of War said, at a hastily called cabinet meeting
+in Washington: "The 'Merrimac' will change the whole character of the
+war: she will destroy every naval vessel; she will lay all the
+seaboard cities under contribution. Not unlikely we may have a shell
+or cannon-ball from one of her guns, in the White House, before we
+leave this room."
+
+In this excited state, wild with joy, or harassed with fear, the whole
+country went to sleep that March night, little dreaming that the
+morrow would change the whole face of the naval situation, and that
+even then a little untried vessel was steaming, unheralded, toward
+Hampton Roads, there to meet the dreaded "Merrimac," and save the
+remnants of the Federal fleet. Then no one knew of the "Monitor;" but
+twenty-four hours later her name, and that of her inventor Ericsson,
+were household words in all the States of the Union and the
+Confederacy.
+
+[Illustration: "Merrimac" and "Cumberland."]
+
+Capt. John Ericsson was a Swedish engineer, residing in this country,
+who had won a name for himself by inventing the screw-propeller as a
+means of propulsion for steamships. He and a Connecticut capitalist,
+C. S. Bushnell by name, had ever since the opening of the war been
+trying to induce the Government to build some iron-clads after a
+pattern designed by Ericsson, and which afterwards became known as the
+"monitor" pattern. Their labors at Washington met with little success.
+After a long explanation of the plan before the wise authorities of
+the Naval Board, Capt. Ericsson was calmly dismissed with the remark,
+"It resembles nothing in the heavens above, or the earth beneath, or
+the waters under the earth. You can take it home, and worship it
+without violating any Commandment." Finally, however, leave was
+obtained to build a monitor for the Government, provided the builders
+would take all financial risks in case it proved a failure. So, with
+this grudging permission, the work of building the warship that was
+destined to save the Federal navy was begun. Work was prosecuted night
+and day, and in one hundred days the vessel was ready for launching.
+Great was the discussion over her. Distinguished engineers predicted
+that she would never float; and many attended the launch expecting to
+see the vessel plunge from the ways to the bottom of the river, like a
+turtle from a log. So general was this opinion, that boats were in
+readiness to rescue her passengers if she went down. But Capt.
+Ericsson's plans were well laid. The great vessel glided with a
+graceful dip into the river, and floated at her cables buoyantly. She
+was a strange-looking craft. All that was to be seen of her above
+water was a low deck about a foot above the water, bearing in the
+centre a large round iron turret pierced with two great portholes.
+Besides the turret, the smooth surface of the deck was broken by two
+other elevations,--a small iron pilot-house forward, made of iron
+plates about ten inches thick, and with iron gratings in front; aft of
+the turret was a low smokestack. Beneath the water-line this vessel
+had some strange features. The upper part of her hull, forming the
+deck, projected beyond her hull proper about four feet on every side.
+This projection was known as the "overhang," and was designed as a
+protection against rams. It was made of white oak and iron, and was
+impenetrable by any cannon of that day; although now, when steel
+rifled cannon are built that will send a ball through twenty inches of
+wrought iron, the original "Monitor" would be a very weak vessel.
+
+The turret in this little vessel, which held the two guns that she
+mounted, was so arranged as to revolve on a central pivot, thus
+enabling the gunners to keep their guns continually pointed at the
+enemy, whatever might be the position of the vessel. When the time for
+the first battle actually arrived, it was found that the turret would
+not revolve properly; but in later ships of the same class this
+trouble was avoided.
+
+It was at two o'clock on the morning after the day on which the
+"Merrimac" had wrought such havoc among the ships of the North, that
+this queer-looking little vessel steamed into Hampton Roads. As the
+gray dawn began to break, she passed under the quarter of the
+"Minnesota," and cast anchor. The tars on the great frigate looked
+curiously at the strange craft, and wondered if that insignificant
+"cheese-box on a raft" was going to do battle with the dreaded
+"Merrimac." Small hopes had they that their noble frigate would be
+saved by any such pygmy warship.
+
+In the mean time, the men of the "Merrimac" up at Norfolk were working
+energetically to prepare her for the destruction of the rest of the
+Union ships. Her ram was tightened in its place, her steering
+apparatus overhauled, and some changes made, and her rickety engine
+was patched up. At daybreak all was bustle as the ram prepared to move
+down on the Union fleet. But just as she was about to start, her
+officers saw the queer craft lying by the "Minnesota," which they at
+once knew to be the Ericsson "Monitor." Her appearance was not very
+terrible; but, nevertheless, the Confederates felt that she had
+appeared at a most inopportune moment for them. Still they raised
+anchor, and started down the bay to meet their mysterious enemy.
+
+It was Sunday morning, and the sun rose in a cloudless blue sky. A
+light breeze stirred the surface of the water, and played lazily with
+the long streaming pennants of the men-of-war. The batteries on both
+sides of the bay were crowded with men waiting for the great naval
+battle of the day. Up at Norfolk a gay holiday party was embarking on
+steam-tugs, to accompany the Confederate ship and witness the total
+destruction of the Union fleet. No thought of defeat ever entered the
+minds of the proud believers in the new iron-clad of the Confederacy.
+
+At the first sign of life on board the "Merrimac," the "Monitor" began
+her preparations for the battle. In fifteen minutes she was in battle
+trim. The iron hatches were closed, the dead-light covers put on, and
+obstructions removed from the main deck, so as to present a smooth
+surface only twenty-four inches above the water, unbroken, save by the
+turret and pilot-house. In the pilot-house was Lieut. Worden, who was
+to command the "Monitor" in this her first battle.
+
+[Illustration: Battle of the "Monitor" and "Merrimac."]
+
+Leisurely the "Merrimac" came down the bay, followed by her attendant
+tugs; and, as she came within range, she opened fire on the
+"Minnesota," which was still aground. The frigate responded with a
+mighty broadside, which, however, rattled off the mailed sides of the
+ram like so many peas. Clearly, every thing depended upon the
+"Monitor;" and that little craft steamed boldly out from behind the
+"Minnesota," and sent two huge iron balls, weighing one hundred and
+seventy pounds each, against the side of the "Merrimac." The shot
+produced no effect beyond showing the men of the "Merrimac" that they
+had met a foeman worthy of their steel. The "Merrimac" slowed up her
+engines, as though to survey the strange antagonist thus braving her
+power. The "Monitor" soon came up, and a cautious fight began; each
+vessel sailing round the other, advancing, backing, making quick
+dashes here and there, like two pugilists sparring for an opening. The
+two shots of the "Monitor" would come banging one after the other
+against the "Merrimac's" armor, like the "one, two" of a skilled
+boxer. In this dancing battle the "Monitor" had an enormous
+advantage, on account of her size, greater speed, and the way in which
+she answered her helm. The "Merrimac" was like a huge hawk being
+chased and baited by a little sparrow. Her heavy broadsides found
+nothing to hit in the almost submerged hull of the "Monitor." When a
+ball struck the turret, it glanced off, unless striking fair in the
+centre, when it fell in fragments, doing no greater damage than to
+dent the iron plates, and sometimes knocking down the men at the guns
+inside. The first manoeuvre tried by the "Merrimac" was to run down
+her little antagonist; and she did strike her with a force that dented
+the iron overhang of the "Monitor," and clashed the men in the
+"Merrimac" to the deck, with blood streaming from their nostrils. For
+a moment it seemed as though the "Monitor" must go under; but
+gradually the terrible ram glanced off, and the little vessel,
+righting, sent again her terrible two shots at her enemy. In the
+action of the day before, shot and shell had beaten against the sides
+of the ram so rapidly that one could not count the concussions. Now it
+was a series of tremendous blows about a minute apart; and, if the men
+had not been working away at their guns, they could have heard the oak
+timbers splintering behind the iron plating. At a critical moment in
+the fight the "Merrimac" ran aground; and the "Monitor" steamed around
+her several times, seeking for weak places in which to plant a shot
+Once Worden dashed at his adversary's screw, hoping to disable it, but
+missed by perhaps two feet. Two shots from the "Monitor" struck the
+muzzles of two cannon protruding from the portholes of the "Merrimac,"
+and broke them off, throwing huge splinters of iron among the gunners
+inside. And so the battle continued until about noon: gun answered gun
+with thunderous reports, that echoed back from the batteries on shore
+in rolling reverberations. The pleasure-seeking tugs from Norfolk had
+scuttled back again out of the way of the great cannon-balls that were
+skipping along the water in every direction. Neither of the combatants
+had received any serious injury. On board the "Monitor" the only hurt
+was received by a gunner, who was leaning against the iron wall of the
+turret just as a shot struck outside; he was carried below, disabled.
+But at last one lucky shot fired from one of the disabled guns of the
+"Merrimac" ended this gigantic contest; sending each contestant to her
+moorings, without an actual victory for either side. This shot struck
+full and fair against the gratings of the pilot-house, through which
+Lieut. Worden was looking as he directed the course of his ship. The
+concussion knocked him senseless. Flakes of iron and powder were
+driven into his eyes and face, blinding him completely for the time.
+He fell back from the wheel, and the "Monitor" was left for a moment
+without her guiding spirit. All was confusion; but in a few moments
+Worden recovered, and gave the order to sheer off. The "Monitor" then
+drew away, while Worden was moved to the cabin, and the second officer
+sent to his station in the turret. Lying on a sofa in the cabin, his
+eyes bandaged, and the horror of life-long blindness upon him, Worden
+asked faintly, "Have I saved the 'Minnesota'?"--"Yes," answered the
+surgeon. "Then," said he, "I die happy."
+
+While these scenes were transpiring on the "Monitor," the "Merrimac"
+lay quietly awaiting her return. The Confederate officers say that she
+waited an hour, and then, concluding that the "Monitor" had abandoned
+the fight, withdrew to Norfolk. The Northern officers and historians
+say that the "Merrimac" was in full retreat when the decisive shot was
+fired. It is hard to decide, from such conflicting statements, to
+which side the victory belonged. Certain it is, that not a man on the
+"Merrimac" was injured, and that all damages she sustained in the
+fight were remedied before sunrise the next day. Later, as we shall
+see, she challenged the Union fleet to a new battle, without response.
+But with all these facts in view, it must be borne in mind that the
+purpose of the "Merrimac," that bright March Sunday, was to destroy
+the frigate "Minnesota:" in that purpose she was foiled by the
+"Monitor," and to that extent at least the "Monitor" was the victor.
+
+Lieut. Worden, after the fight, went directly to Washington. President
+Lincoln was at a cabinet meeting when he heard of Worden's arrival in
+the city, and hastily rising said, "Gentlemen, I must go to _that
+fellow_." Worden was lying on a sofa, his head swathed in bandages,
+when the President entered. "Mr. President," said he, "you do me great
+honor by this visit."--"Sir," replied Mr. Lincoln, while the tears ran
+down his cheeks, "I am the one who is honored in this interview."
+
+Among his crew Worden was very much beloved. The following letter,
+sent him while on a bed of pain, is all the more touching for the rude
+form in which their affection for their commander is expressed:--
+
+[Illustration: Handling a Gun.]
+
+
+TO CAPTAIN WORDEN.
+
+                              HAMPTON ROADS, April 24, 1862.
+                                   UNITED STATES MONITOR.
+
+     TO OUR DEAR AND HONORED CAPTAIN.
+
+     _Dear Sir,_--These few lines is from your own crew of the
+     Monitor, with their kindest Love to you their Honored Captain,
+     hoping to God that they will have the pleasure of welcoming you
+     back to us again soon, for we are all ready able and willing to
+     meet Death or any thing else, only give us back our Captain
+     again. Dear Captain, we have got your Pilot-house fixed and all
+     ready for you when you get well again; and we all sincerely hope
+     that soon we will have the pleasure of welcoming you back to
+     it.... We are waiting very patiently to engage our Antagonist if
+     we could only get a chance to do so. The last time she came out
+     we all thought we would have the Pleasure of sinking her. But we
+     all got disappointed, for we did not fire one shot, and the
+     Norfolk papers says we are cowards in the Monitor--and all we
+     want is a chance to show them where it lies with you for our
+     Captain. We can teach them who is cowards. But there is a great
+     deal that we would like to write to you but we think you will
+     soon be with us again yourself. But we all join in with our
+     kindest love to you, hoping that God will restore you to us again
+     and hoping that your sufferings is at an end now, and we are all
+     so glad to hear that your eyesight will be spaired to you again.
+     We would wish to write more to you if we have your kind
+     Permission to do so but at present we all conclude by tendering
+     to you our kindest Love and affection, to our Dear and Honored
+     Captain.
+
+     We remain untill Death your Affectionate Crew
+
+                                   THE MONITOR BOYS.
+
+The "Merrimac," after being repaired and altered to some extent,
+sailed down the bay on the 11th of April, for the purpose, as her
+officers said, of meeting the "Monitor" again. She steamed into the
+Roads, and exchanged a few shots with the Union batteries at the
+rip-raps; but the "Monitor," and other Union vessels, remained below
+Fortress Monroe, in Chesapeake Bay, out of the reach of the
+Confederate vessel. Again, a few days later, the "Merrimac" went to
+Hampton Roads, and tried to lure the "Monitor" to battle; but again
+the challenge passed unanswered. It is probable that the Federal naval
+authorities did not care to imperil the only vessel that stood between
+them and destruction, out of mere bravado. Had the "Monitor" come out,
+an attempt would have been made to carry her by boarding. The crew of
+the "Merrimac" were prepared for the attack; and four gunboats
+accompanying her were crowded with men, divided into squads, each with
+its specified duty. Some were to try and wedge the turret, some were
+to cover the pilot-house and all the openings with tarpaulin, others
+were to try to throw shells and gunpowder down the smokestack. But all
+these preparations proved useless, as the "Monitor" still remained
+quietly at her anchorage. On May 8 a third trip was made by the
+"Merrimac." When she came down the bay, she found the Union fleet,
+including the "Monitor," hard at work shelling the Confederate
+batteries at Sewall's Point. As she came towards them, they ceased
+their cannonade, and retired again to the shelter of Fortress Monroe.
+The "Merrimac" steamed up and down the Roads for some hours; and
+finally Commodore Tatnall, in deep disgust, gave the order, "Mr.
+Jones, fire a gun to windward, and take the ship back to her buoy."
+
+Back to Norfolk she went, never again to leave that harbor. On the 9th
+of May the officers of the "Merrimac" noticed that the Confederate
+flag was no longer floating over the shore-batteries. A reconnoissance
+proved that the land forces had abandoned Norfolk, and it was
+necessary to get the ship away before the Union troops arrived and
+hemmed her in. Her pilots declared that if the ship was lightened they
+could take her up the James River; and accordingly all hands threw
+overboard ballast and trappings, until she was lightened three feet.
+Then the pilots claimed that with the prevalent wind they could not
+handle her. It was now useless to try to run her through the Union
+fleet, for the lightening process had exposed three feet of her
+unarmed hull to the fire of the enemy. It was accordingly determined
+that she should be destroyed. She was run ashore on Craney Island, and
+trains of powder laid all over her, and fired. Every gun was loaded,
+and the doors of the magazine were left open. Her crew then started on
+the march for the interior. It was just in the gray of the morning
+that a rumbling of the earth was felt, followed by a shock that made
+all stagger. A column of smoke and flame shot into the air; huge
+cannon were hurled high above the tree-tops, discharging in mid-air.
+One shot fell in the woods some distance ahead of the marching crew,
+and all knew that it marked the end of the mighty "Merrimac."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+     THE NAVY IN THE INLAND WATERS. -- THE MISSISSIPPI SQUADRON. --
+     SWEEPING THE TENNESSEE RIVER.
+
+
+We will now leave for a time the blue-water sailors, whose battles,
+triumphs, and defeats we have been considering, and look at the work
+done by the tars of both North and South on the great waterways which
+cut up the central portion of the United States, known as the Valley
+of the Mississippi. It was in this section that the navy of the North
+did some of its most effective work against the Confederacy, and it
+was there that the sailor boys of the South did many deeds of the most
+desperate valor. There is much of romance about service on the blue
+ocean which is not to be found in routine duty along the yellow muddy
+streams that flowed through the territory claimed by King Cotton. The
+high, tapering masts, the yards squared and gracefully proportioned,
+the rigging taut, and with each rope in its place, of an
+ocean-frigate, are not seen in the squat, box-like gunboats that
+dashed by the batteries at Vicksburg, or hurled shot and shell at each
+other in the affair at Memphis. But Farragut, stanch old sea-dog as he
+was, did much of his grandest fighting on the turbid waters of the
+Mississippi; and the work of the great fleet at Port Royal was fully
+equalled by Porter's mortar-boats below New Orleans.
+
+Let us follow the fortunes of the Union fleet on their cruises about
+the great rivers of the interior, and first discover what the work was
+that they set out to perform.
+
+The rivers making up the Mississippi system flow for the greater part
+of their length through the States that had joined the new
+Confederacy. The northern Confederate battle-line was along the south
+bank of the Ohio River, and there they had erected batteries that
+controlled the passage of that river. South of the mouth of the Ohio,
+every river was lined with Confederate batteries, and bore on its
+placid bosom fleets of Confederate gunboats. At Columbus on the
+Mississippi, not far south of the mouth of the Ohio, were strong
+batteries over which floated the stars and bars of the Confederacy.
+Farther down was Island Number 10, bearing one of the most powerful
+fortifications the world has ever seen. Then came Fort Pillow,
+guarding the city of Memphis; then at Vicksburg frowned earthworks,
+bastions, and escarpments that rivalled Gibraltar for impregnability.
+Lower down were fortifications at Grand Gulf, Port Hudson, and Baton
+Rouge. Fort Henry guarded the Tennessee River, and Fort Donelson the
+Cumberland, and both of these rivers were very important as waterways
+for the transportation of supplies to the Union armies marching into
+Tennessee. It was absolutely necessary that all these fortifications
+should be swept away, and the rivers opened for navigation down to the
+Gulf of Mexico. It was necessary that the work should be done from
+above; for the forts below New Orleans were thought to be impassible,
+and Farragut's passage of them late in the war made all the world ring
+with his name.
+
+It became evident, very early in the war, that no great progress could
+be made in the task of crushing the powerful insurrection until
+telling blows had been struck at the Confederate control of the inland
+waterways. When the attention of the war department was turned in that
+direction, they found but little to encourage them in the prospect.
+Along the thousands of miles of the banks of the Mississippi and its
+tributaries, there was not one gun mounted belonging to the United
+States, not one earthwork over which floated the starry flag of the
+Union. The Confederate positions on this great chain of waterways
+were, as we have seen, of great strength. To attack them, the armies
+of the North must first fight their way through whole States populated
+by enemies. Obviously, the war department alone could not complete so
+gigantic a task, and the services of the navy were called into
+requisition. So energetically did the navy department prosecute its
+task, that, by the end of the war, over one hundred Federal
+war-vessels floated on those streams, on which, three years before, no
+craft dared sail under the American flag. It was a strange navy in
+looks, but in actions it showed itself worthy of the service in which
+it was enlisted.
+
+Many of the steamers built for the river marine were wooden gunboats,
+hastily remodelled from the hulks of old craft. They were seldom
+plated with iron, and their machinery was feebly protected by coal
+bunkers, while their oaken sides were barely thick enough to stop a
+musket-ball. But the true iron-clad war-vessel made its appearance on
+the rivers even before it was to be seen in the ocean squadrons.
+
+It was as early in the war as July, 1861, that the
+quarter-master-general advertised for bids for the construction of
+iron-clad gunboats for service on the Mississippi and tributary
+rivers. The contract was given to James B. Eads, an engineer, who
+during the war performed much valuable service for the United States
+Government, and who in later years has made himself a world-wide fame
+by the construction of the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi
+River, by which the bar at the mouth of the great stream is swept away
+by the mighty rush of the pent-up waters. Mr. Eads was instructed to
+build seven iron-clad gunboats with all possible expedition. They were
+to be plated two and a half inches thick, and, though of six hundred
+tons burden, were not to draw more than six feet of water. They were
+to carry thirteen heavy guns each.
+
+[Illustration: A River-Gunboat.]
+
+These river-gunboats, like the little "Monitor," had none of the grace
+and grandeur of the old style of sailing-frigate, in which Paul Jones
+fought so well for his country. The tapering masts of the mighty
+frigate, the spidery cordage by which the blue-jackets climbed to
+loosen the snowy sheets of canvas--these gave way in the gunboat to a
+single slender flagstaff for signalling, and two towering smoke-stacks
+anchored to the deck by heavy iron cables, and belching forth the
+black smoke from roaring fires of pitch-pine or soft coal. Instead of
+the gracefully curved black sides, with two rows of ports, from which
+peeped the muzzles of great cannon, the gunboat's sides above water
+sloped like the roof of a house, and huge iron shutters hid the cannon
+from view. Inside, all was dark and stuffy, making battle-lanterns
+necessary even in daylight fights. The broad white gun-deck, scrubbed
+to a gleaming white by hollystone and limejuice, on which the
+salt-water sailors gathered for their mess or drill, was replaced by a
+cramped room, with the roof hardly high enough to let the jolly tars
+skylark beneath without banging their skulls against some projecting
+beam. Truly it may be said, that, if the great civil war made naval
+architecture more powerful, it also robbed the war-vessels of all
+their beauty.
+
+It is hard to appreciate now the immense difficulty experienced in
+getting those first seven river-gunboats built by the appointed time.
+The war had just begun, and a people accustomed to peace had not yet
+found out that those not actually at the seat of war could continue
+their usual course of life unmolested. Rolling-mills, machine-shops,
+founderies, saw-mills, and shipyards were all idle. Working-men were
+enlisting, or going to the Far West, away from the storm of war that
+was expected to sweep up the Mississippi Valley. The timber for the
+ships was still standing in the forests. The engines that were to
+drive the vessels against the enemy were yet to be built. Capt. Eads's
+contract called for the completion of the seven vessels in sixty-five
+days, and he went at his work with a will. His success showed that not
+all the great services done for a nation in time of war come from the
+army or navy. Within two weeks four thousand men were at work getting
+the gunboats ready. Some were in Michigan felling timber, some in the
+founderies and machine-shops of Pittsburg, and others in the shipyards
+at St. Louis, where the hulls of the vessels were on the stocks. Day
+and night, weekdays and Sundays, the work went on; and in forty-five
+days the first vessel was completed, and christened the "St. Louis."
+The others followed within the appointed time. Before the autumn of
+1861, the river navy of the United States numbered nearly a score of
+vessels, while nearly forty mortar-boats were in process of
+construction. Of this flotilla, Capt. A. H. Foote, an able naval
+officer, was put in command, and directed to co-operate with the land
+forces in all movements.
+
+The first service to which the gunboats were assigned was mainly
+reconnoitring expeditions before the front of the advancing Union
+armies. They were stationed at the junction of the Ohio and
+Mississippi Rivers; and the country about Cairo was occupied by a
+large body of Union troops under the command of Gen. Grant, then a
+young officer little known. The opening fight of the river campaign
+was little more than a skirmish; but it proved the superiority of the
+gunboats over a land-force for the purpose of opening the river. One
+bright day in September, the "Lexington" and "Conestoga" were ordered
+to proceed down the river eight or ten miles, and dislodge a
+Confederate battery that had taken a position on Lucas Point. The two
+vessels steamed cautiously down the stream, without encountering any
+resistance until within easy range of the battery, when the
+Confederates opened with sixteen cannon. The shot and shells fell all
+about the vessels; but neither was hit, showing that the Confederate
+gunners were not yet used to firing at a moving mark. But the fire of
+the gunboats was admirably directed; the shells falling among the
+Confederates, dismounting the guns, and driving the gunners from their
+pieces. It was too hot a spot for any man to hold; and a cavalry corps
+quickly attached their horses to the guns, and drew them down the
+river to the shelter of the Confederate works at Columbus. Then the
+defeated party sent up the gunboat "Yankee" to attack the two victors,
+but this vessel was quickly disposed of. She opened fire at long
+range, but without success. The first shot from the "Conestoga" struck
+the water a few feet from the "Yankee," and, ricochetting, plunged
+into her hull. The discomfited vessel immediately put about, and
+started down stream, followed by a heavy fire from the two Northern
+ships. Just as she was passing out of range, an eight-inch shell from
+the "Lexington" struck her starboard wheel-house, and shattered the
+paddle-wheel, totally disabling the vessel, so that she drifted
+sidelong to her anchorage like a wounded duck.
+
+On the return of the Northern vessels up the river, they first
+encountered the form of warfare that proved the most perilous for the
+sailors of the river navy. Confederate sharp-shooters lined the banks,
+perched in the trees, or hidden in the long, marshy grass; and any
+unwary tar who showed his head above the bulwarks was made a target
+for several long rifles in the hands of practised shots.
+
+The next active service performed by the gunboats was at the battle of
+Belmont, directly opposite the Confederate batteries at Columbus. The
+Union troops, landing in force, had driven the Confederates from their
+camp, and were engaged in securing the spoils, when the gunners at
+Columbus, seeing that the camp was in the hands of the enemy, turned
+their heavy guns on it, and soon drove out the Yankees. The
+Confederates had rallied in the woods, and now came pouring out, in
+the hope of cutting off the Union retreat to the boats. On all sides
+the dark gray columns could be seen marching out of the woods, and
+pouring down upon the retreating army of the North. Batteries were
+wheeling into position, and staff-officers in travelling carriages
+were dashing to and fro carrying orders. It seemed a black day for
+the three or four thousand Unionists who were making for their
+transports with all possible speed. But now was the time for the
+gunboats to take a hand in the fight. Three of them dropped into
+position, and began a deadly fire upon the Confederate line. The huge
+shells ploughed their way through whole platoons of men. Bursting,
+they would mow down soldiers like saplings before a cyclone. One shell
+exploded directly beneath an officer's carriage, and threw horses,
+carriage, and men high in the air. The Confederates hastened to get
+their field-batteries into position, and replied to the deadly fire
+from the ships, but to no avail. Their light artillery was of no
+effect upon the plated sides of the gunboats, and they saw their
+cannon dismounted or shattered by the solid shot from the big guns of
+the iron-clads. They fought bravely, but the conflict was unequal. It
+was sheer madness for any body of men, with muskets and light
+artillery, to stand against the fire of the gunboats. The gunboats
+saved the day. The retreat of the Union army was unchecked; and,
+covered by the war-vessels, the transports returned safely to Cairo.
+
+On the Tennessee River, near the northern boundary of Tennessee, the
+Confederates had thrown up certain earthworks to which they gave the
+name of Fort Henry. This, with Fort Donelson, situated near by, formed
+the principal Confederate strongholds in Tennessee. Gen. Grant
+determined to strike a heavy blow by capturing these two forts; and
+Commodore Foote, with his seven gunboats, was ordered to co-operate
+with the land-forces in the expedition. They started from Cairo on
+Feb. 2, 1862. When a few miles below the fort, the troops were landed
+and ordered to proceed up the back country, and attack the fort in the
+rear, while Foote should engage it from the river with his gunboats.
+While the troops were being landed, Gen. Grant boarded the "Essex,"
+and went up the river to get a view of the fort they were about to
+attack. Had it been completed in accordance with the plans of the
+engineers, it would have been most formidable. Time, however, had been
+short, and the earthworks were far from being completed. There were
+many points on the river or on the opposite bank, from which a
+well-directed artillery fire would make them untenable. The
+Confederate commander, Gen. Tilghman, fully appreciated this fact,
+and, at the approach of the gunboats, had sent four-fifths of his
+garrison across the country to Fort Donelson, being determined to
+sacrifice as few men as possible in the defence of so untenable a
+position. While Grant and Foote were examining the works through their
+field-glasses, the sullen boom of a great gun came over the waters,
+and a heavy rifled shot crashed through the stateroom of Capt. Porter
+on the "Essex." The two commanders concluded that the Confederate
+gunners, though new to war, understood something of artillery
+practice; and the "Essex" was accordingly taken down the river, out of
+range.
+
+The following night was chill and rainy; and the Union forces,
+bivouacking on shore, grumbled loudly over their discomforts. The
+morning dawned dark; but soon the sun came out, and the preparations
+for battle were begun. The troops were first despatched on their
+cross-country march; and, as they departed, Commodore Foote remarked
+coolly, that his gunboats would have reduced the fort before the land
+forces came within five miles of it. This proved to be the fact.
+
+The gunboats formed in line of battle, and advanced up the river. The
+four iron-clads led, steaming abreast. About a mile in the rear, came
+the three wooden vessels. The fort was soon in range; but both parties
+seemed anxious for a determined conflict, and no shot was fired on
+either side as the gunboats came sullenly on. How different must have
+been the feelings of the two combatants! Tilghman, with his handful of
+men, hardly able to work eight of the eleven guns mounted in his fort,
+and knowing that his defeat was a mere question of time; Foote, with
+his iron-clads and supporting gunboats, his seventy-two guns, and his
+knowledge that six thousand men were marching upon the rear of the
+Confederate works. On the one side, all was absolute certainty of
+defeat; on the other, calm confidence of victory.
+
+When the flotilla was within a third of a mile of the fort, the fire
+began. The gunners on the ships could see the muzzles of the
+Confederate guns, the piles of shells and cannon-balls, and the men at
+their work. The firing on both sides was deliberate and deadly. The
+Confederates were new to the work, but they proved themselves good
+marksmen. The first shot was fired from the shore, and, missing the
+"Essex" by but a few feet, plumped into the water, so near the next
+ship in line as to throw water over her decks. Within five minutes,
+the "Essex" and the "Cincinnati" were both hit. The armor of the
+gunboats proved no match for the shots of the Confederates, and in
+many cases it was penetrated. In some instances, shells, entering
+through the portholes, did deadly damage.
+
+On the shore, the shells from the gunboats were doing terrible work.
+Banks of solid earth, eight feet thick, were blown away by the
+terrible explosions. One, bursting in front of a ten-inch columbiad,
+filled that powerful gun with mud almost to the muzzle, disabling it
+for the remainder of the fight. A shot from the "Essex" struck the
+muzzle of a great gun, ripped off a splinter of iron three feet long,
+and crushed a gunner to pulp. The gun was just about to be fired, and
+burst, killing or wounding every man of the crew. At the same moment a
+shell crashed through the side of the "Essex," killing men right and
+left: took off the head of a sailor standing by Capt. Porter, wounded
+the captain, and plunged into the boiler. In an instant the ship was
+filled with scalding steam. The men in the pilot-house were
+suffocated. Twenty men and officers were killed or scalded. The ship
+was disabled, and drifted out of the fight. While withdrawing, she
+received two more shots, making twenty in all that had fallen to her
+share in this hot engagement. But by this time the fort was very
+thoroughly knocked to pieces. The big twenty-four pounder was
+dismounted, and five of its crew killed. Gun after gun was keeled
+over, and man after man carried bleeding to the bomb-proofs, until
+Gen. Tilghman himself dropped coat and sword, and pulled away at a gun
+by the side of his soldiers. Receiving ten shots while they could only
+fire one, this little band held out for two long hours; and only when
+the crew of the last remaining piece threw themselves exhausted on the
+ground, did the flag come fluttering down. Gen. Tilghman went to the
+fleet and surrendered the fort to Commodore Foote, and Grant's army
+came up more than an hour after the battle was over. To the navy
+belongs the honor of taking Fort Henry, while to Gen. Tilghman and his
+plucky soldiers belongs the honor of making one of the most desperate
+fights under the most unfavorable circumstances recorded in the
+history of the civil war.
+
+The fall of Fort Henry opened the way for the Union advance to Fort
+Donelson, and marked the first step of the United States Government
+toward regaining control of the Mississippi. It broke the northern
+battle-line of the Confederacy, and never again was that line
+re-established.
+
+With Fort Henry fallen, and Gen. Tilghman and his little garrison
+prisoners on the Union gunboats, Grant's soldier-boys and Foote's
+blue-jackets began active preparations for continuing the conquest of
+Tennessee by the capture of Fort Donelson. No time was lost. The very
+night that the stars and stripes were first hoisted over the bastion
+of Fort Henry saw three of Foote's gunboats steaming up the river on a
+reconnoitring expedition. Before them the Confederates fled in every
+direction. After several hours' advance, they came to a heavy
+railroad-bridge spanning the river, and effectually preventing further
+progress. Beyond the bridge were several Confederate steamers, black
+with men, and heavily laden with valuable military stores. With all
+steam on, they were dashing up stream, and rapidly leaving the
+gunboats behind. Enraged at seeing such valuable prizes slipping
+through their hands, the Union gunners sent shell after shell
+shrieking after the flying boats, but to no avail. A party was hastily
+landed for the purpose of swinging the draw of the bridge, but found
+the machinery broken, and the ways on which the bridge swung twisted
+and bent out of shape. An hour's hard work with axes and crowbars, and
+the draw was swung far enough to let pass the "Conestoga" and the
+"Lexington." They dashed forward like greyhounds slipped from the
+leash; and, after several hours' hard steaming, a smoke over the
+tree-tops told that the Confederate fugitives were not far ahead. Soon
+a bend in the river was passed; and there, within easy range, were two
+of the flying steamers. A commotion was visible on board, and boat
+after boat was seen to put off, and make for the shore; on reaching
+which the crews immediately plunged into the woods, and were out of
+sight before the gunboats could get within range. Soon light blue
+smoke curling from the windows of the steamers told that they had been
+fired; and as the last boats left each vessel, she ceased her onward
+course, and drifted, abandoned and helpless, down the stream. When
+within about a thousand yards of the two gunboats, the deserted
+steamers blew up with such force, that, even at that great distance,
+the glass was shattered in the "Conestoga," and her woodwork seriously
+damaged.
+
+The two gunboats leisurely continued their excursion into the heart of
+the enemy's country. Little or no danger was to be feared. At that
+time, the Confederates had not learned to plant torpedoes in their
+rivers, to blow the enemy's vessels into fragments. There was no
+artillery stationed in that section to check their progress, and the
+only resistance found was an occasional rifle-shot from some concealed
+sharp-shooter in the bushes on the shore. On the 7th of February the
+gunboats reached Cerro Gordo, Tenn.; and here they made a valuable
+capture. The Confederates had been at work for weeks converting the
+steamer "Eastport" into an iron-clad ram; and, as the Union vessels
+came up, they found her almost completed, and absolutely without
+defence. Besides the new vessel, there was in the shipyard a large
+quantity of lumber and ship-timber, which was of the greatest value to
+the builders of the river navy. The two gunboats promptly captured all
+this property; and waiting until the "Tyler," which had been detained
+at the drawbridge, came up, they left her in charge, and continued
+their raid into the enemy's country. Little incident occurred until
+they reached the head of navigation of the river, where they found all
+the Confederate vessels which had been flying before them for two
+days. These were burned, and the two gunboats started back down the
+river, stopping for the "Eastport" on the way. The captured vessel was
+afterwards completed, and served the cause of the Union for two years,
+when she was blown up on the Red River.
+
+When the raiding expedition reached Cairo, the officers found Foote
+getting his squadron together for the attack on Fort Donelson. This
+fortification was one strongly relied upon by the Confederates for the
+maintenance of their northern line of battle. It was on the bank of
+the Cumberland River, nearly opposite the site of Fort Henry on the
+Tennessee. A garrison of at least fifteen thousand men manned the
+works, and were commanded by no less than three generals; and the fact
+that there were _three_ generals in command had much to do with the
+fall of the fort. Its strength was rather on its river-front. Here the
+river winds about between abrupt hillsides, and on the front of one of
+these hills stood Fort Donelson. The water-batteries were made up of
+heavy guns, so mounted as to command the river for miles. On the
+landward side were heavy earthworks, abatis, and sharp pointed
+_chevaux-de-frise_.
+
+Against this fortification marched Grant with an army of eighteen
+thousand men, and Foote with his flotilla of gunboats. The Sunday
+before the start, Foote, who was a descendant of the old Puritans, and
+ever as ready to pray as to fight, attended church in a little
+meeting-house at Cairo. The clergyman did not appear on time; and the
+congregation waited, until many, growing weary, were leaving the
+church. Then the bluff old sailor rose in his pew, and, marching to
+the pulpit, delivered a stirring sermon, offering thanks for the
+victories of the Union arms, and imploring divine aid in the coming
+struggles. The next day he was on his way to hurl shot and shell at
+the men in the trenches of Fort Donelson.
+
+While the capture of Fort Henry was a feather in the caps of the
+sailor-boys of the North, Fort Donelson must be credited to the valor
+of the soldiers. Against the heavy wall of the water-batteries, the
+guns of Foote's little flotilla pounded away in vain, while the heavy
+shells from the Confederate cannon did dreadful work on the thinly
+armored gunboats. It was on the 13th of April that the assault was
+opened by the "Carondelet." This vessel had reached the scene of
+action before the rest of the flotilla, and by order of the army
+commander tested the strength of the fort by a day's cannonade. She
+stationed herself about a mile from the batteries, at a spot where she
+would be somewhat protected by a jutting point, and began a deliberate
+cannonade with her bow-guns. One hundred and thirty shots went
+whizzing from her batteries against the front of the Confederate
+batteries, without doing any serious damage. Then came an iron ball
+weighing one hundred and twenty pounds, fired from a heavy gun, which
+burst through one of her portholes, and scattered men bleeding and
+mangled in every direction over the gun-deck. She withdrew a short
+distance for repairs, but soon returned, and continued the fire the
+remainder of the day. When evening fell, she had sent one hundred and
+eighty shells at the fort, with the result of killing one man. This
+was not promising.
+
+The next day the attack was taken up by all the gunboats. The distance
+chosen this time was four hundred yards, and the fight was kept up
+most stubbornly. It was St. Valentine's Day; and as the swarthy
+sailors, stripped to the waist, begrimed with powder, and stained with
+blood, rammed huge iron balls down the muzzles of the guns, they said
+with grim pleasantry, "There's a valentine for the gray-coats." And
+right speedily did the gray-coats return the gift. Shot and shell from
+the batteries came in volleys against the sides of the gunboats. In
+the fort the condition of affairs was not serious. The shells chiefly
+fell in the soft earth of the hilltop above, and embedded themselves
+harmlessly in the mud. One of the gunners after the fight said: "We
+were more bothered by flying mud than any thing else. A shell bursting
+up there would throw out great clots of clay, that blocked up the
+touch-holes of our guns, spoiled the priming of our shells, and
+plastered up the faces of our men. Of course, now and then a bit of
+shell would knock some poor fellow over; but, though we were all green
+hands at war, we expected to see lots more blood and carnage than the
+Yankee gunboats dealt out to us."
+
+The gunboats, however, had put themselves in a hot place. Twenty heavy
+guns on the hillside high above were hurling solid shot down on the
+little fleet. The sailors stuck to their work well; and though the
+vessels were in a fair way of being riddled, they succeeded in driving
+the enemy from his lower battery. But the upper battery was
+impregnable; and the gunners there, having got the correct range, were
+shooting with unpleasant precision. Two of the vessels were disabled
+by being struck in the steering-chains. On the "Carondelet" a piece
+burst, hurling its crew bleeding on the deck. No vessel escaped with
+less than twenty wounds, while the flagship was hit fifty-nine times.
+Commodore Foote was wounded in the foot by a heavy splinter; a wound
+from which he never fully recovered, and which for some years debarred
+him from service afloat.
+
+That afternoon's bombardment showed clearly that Fort Donelson could
+never be taken by the navy. When Foote ordered his gunboats to cease
+firing and drop back out of position, the Confederates swarmed back
+into the lower battery that they had abandoned; and, after a few
+hours' work, the fort was as strong as before the fight. It was the
+first case in the history of the war in which the navy had failed to
+reduce the fortifications against which it had been ordered. The
+Hatteras forts, the works at Roanoke Island and at Hilton Head, Fort
+Henry--all had fallen before the cannon of the Union sailors; and
+Foote may well be pardoned if he yielded to Gen. Grant with great
+reluctance the honor of reducing Fort Donelson. For two days Grant's
+army invested the fort, and kept up a constant cannonade; then the
+defenders, despairing of escape, and seeing no use of further
+prolonging the defence, surrendered.
+
+The capture of Fort Donelson was an important success for the Union
+arms. In addition to the large number of prisoners, and the great
+quantity of munitions of war captured, the destruction of the fort
+left the Cumberland River open to the passage of the Union gunboats,
+and the Confederate battle-line was moved back yet another point. But
+now was to come a most heroic test of the power of the river-navy and
+the army of the North.
+
+Some sixty miles below Cairo, the rushing, tawny current of the mighty
+Mississippi turns suddenly northward, sweeping back, apparently,
+toward its source, in a great bend eight or ten miles long. At the
+point where the swift current sweeps around the bend, is a low-lying
+island, about a mile long and half a mile wide. This is known as
+Island No. 10; and at the opening of the war, it was supposed to hold
+the key to the navigation of the Mississippi River. Here the
+Confederates had thrown up powerful earthworks, the heavy guns in
+which effectually commanded the river, both up and down stream. The
+works were protected against a land bombardment by the fact that the
+only tenable bit of land, New Madrid, was held by Confederate troops.
+The shores of the Mississippi about Island No. 10 present the
+dreariest appearance imaginable. The Missouri shore is low and swampy.
+In 1811 an earthquake-shock rent the land asunder. Great tracts were
+sunk beneath the water-level of the river. Trees were thrown down, and
+lie rotting in the black and miasmatic water. Other portions of the
+land were thrown up, rugged, and covered with rank vegetation, making
+hills that serve only as places of refuge for water-moccasons and
+other noxious reptiles. Around this dreary waste of mud and water, the
+river rushes in an abrupt bend, making a peninsula ten miles long and
+three wide. Below this peninsula is New Madrid, a little village in
+the least settled part of Missouri; here the Confederates had
+established an army-post, and thrown up strong intrenchments. It was
+not, however, upon the intrenchments that they relied, but rather upon
+the impassable morasses by which they were surrounded on every side.
+In New Madrid were posted five or six thousand men; a small fleet of
+Confederate gunboats lay in the stream off the village; and higher up
+the river was Island No. 10, with its frowning bastions and rows of
+heavy siege-guns, prepared to beat back all advances of the Union
+troops.
+
+[Illustration: Mortar Boats at Island No. 10.]
+
+In planning for the attack of this stronghold, the first difficulty
+found by Commodore Foote lay in the fact that his gunboats were above
+the batteries. In fighting down stream in that manner, the ships must
+be kept at long range: for, should a shot from the enemy injure the
+engine or boiler of a gunboat, the vessel is doomed; for the rapid
+current will rush her down under the enemy's guns, and her capture is
+certain. But the peril of running the batteries so as to carry on the
+fight from below seemed too great to be ventured upon; and besides,
+even with Island No. 10 passed, there would still be the batteries of
+New Madrid to cope with, and the gunboats of the Confederates to
+take the ships in the rear. So it was determined that the navy should
+begin a bombardment of the Confederate works, while the army under
+Gen. Pope should attend to New Madrid. Accordingly, on March 15, the
+whiz of a rifled shell from the flagship "Benton" announced to the
+Confederates that the North wanted the Mississippi opened for travel.
+
+In this engagement use was made for the first time of a new style of
+vessel known as mortar-boats, which in later conflicts on the rivers
+did great service. These boats were simple floats, heavily built, and
+calculated to stand the most terrible shocks. On the float was raised
+a sort of sheet-iron fort or wall, about five feet high; and in the
+centre stood one thirteen-inch mortar. The mortar is the earliest of
+all forms of cannon, and was in use in Europe in 1435. Its name is
+derived from its resemblance to an ordinary druggist's mortar. The
+great thirteen-inch mortars used in the civil war weighed seventeen
+thousand pounds, and threw a shell thirteen inches in diameter. These
+shells were so heavy that it took two men to bring them up to the
+cannon's mouth. In the river-service, the mortar-boats were moored to
+the bank, and a derrick was set up in such a position that the shells
+could be hoisted up, and let fall into the yawning iron pot below.
+Foote had fourteen of these monsters pounding away at the
+Confederates, and the roar was deafening.
+
+A correspondent of the "Chicago Times," who was with the fleet at the
+time of the bombardment, thus describes the manner of using these
+immense cannon: "The operation of firing the mortars, which was
+conducted when we were near by, is rather stunning. The charge is from
+fifteen to twenty-two pounds. The shell weighs two hundred and thirty
+pounds. For a familiar illustration, it is about the size of a large
+soup-plate. So your readers may imagine, when they sit down to dinner,
+the emotions they would experience if they happened to see a ball of
+iron of those dimensions coming toward them at the rate of a thousand
+miles a minute. The boat is moored alongside the shore, so as to
+withstand the shock firmly, and the men go ashore when the mortar is
+fired. A pull of the string does the work, and the whole vicinity is
+shaken with the concussion. The report is deafening, and the most
+enthusiastic person gets enough of it with two or three discharges.
+There is no sound from the shell at this point of observation, and no
+indication to mark the course it is taking; but in a few seconds the
+attentive observer with a good glass will see the cloud of smoke that
+follows its explosion, and then the report comes back with a dull
+boom. If it has done execution, the enemy may be seen carrying off
+their killed and wounded."
+
+And so from mortar-boats and gunboats, the iron hail was poured upon
+the little island, but without effect. When Foote with his flotilla
+first opened fire, he thought that the Confederate works would be
+swept away in a day or two. His ordnance was the heaviest ever seen on
+the Mississippi, and in number his guns were enough to have battered
+down a mountain. But his days grew to weeks, and still the flag of the
+Confederacy floated above Island No. 10. The men on the mortar-boats
+were giving way under the tremendous shocks of the explosions. Many
+were rendered deaf for days at a time. The jar of the explosions
+brought to the surface of the river hundreds of old logs and roots
+that had lain rotting in the soft ooze of the bottom. When all the
+mortars were engaged, the surface of the river was covered with foam
+and bubbles; and men by the thousand went about with their ears
+stuffed with tow, to protect them against the sound. Yet, after weeks
+of such firing, Gen. Beauregard telegraphed to Richmond, that the
+Yankees had "thrown three thousand shells, and burned fifty tons of
+gunpowder," without injuring his batteries in the least.
+
+The Confederates remained passive in their trenches. They had no guns
+that would carry far enough to reply to Foote's mortars, and they did
+not wish to waste powder. It was galling to stand fire without
+replying; but, fortunately for them, the fire was not very deadly, and
+but few were injured. When, however, a shell did fall within the
+works, it made work enough to repair damages, as by its explosion a
+hole as large as a small house would be torn in the ground. But for
+every one that fell within the batteries, twenty fell outside. Some
+strange freaks are recorded of the shells. One fell on a cannon,
+around which eight or ten men were lying. The gun-carriage was blown
+to pieces, but not a man was hurt. Another fell full on the head of a
+man who was walking about distributing rations, and not so much as a
+button from his uniform was ever found.
+
+But while the navy was thus playing at bowls with great guns, the army
+had marched through the interior, captured New Madrid, and obtained a
+foothold below Island No. 10. Thus the Confederates were surrounded;
+and the very impassability of the land, that had been an advantage to
+them, now told against them, for it cut off all hope of
+re-enforcements. Gen. Pope's position was such that he could not get
+at the island, nor secure a commanding position, without aid from the
+navy. He begged Foote to try to run the batteries; but the commodore
+replied, that the risk was greater than the prospective gain, and
+continued his cannonade. Then a new idea was broached. By cutting a
+canal through the bayous, swamps, and woods of the peninsula, the
+lighter vessels could be taken by the fort without risk, and Foote
+would then dare the dangers of a dash by in the gunboats. Every one
+said that such a canal was impossible; but the men of the North were
+given to doing impossible things in those days, and while Foote's
+mortar-boats continued their thunder, fifteen hundred men were set to
+work cutting a way through the noisome swamps. A channel forty feet
+wide must be made. First gangs of men with axes and saws, working in
+three feet of water, went ahead, cutting down the rank vegetation. As
+fast as a little space was cleared, a small steamer went in, and with
+dredge and steam-capstan hauled out the obstructions. In some places
+the surveyed channel was so filled with drift-wood, fallen trees, and
+tangled roots, that the labor of a thousand men for a day seemed to
+make no impression. When the canal was pretty well blocked out, the
+levee was cut; and the rush of the waters from the great river
+undermined trees, and piled up new obstacles for the steamers to tow
+away. Amid the foulest vapors the men worked, and more than a thousand
+were sent to the hospital with chills and fever, and rheumatism. The
+most venomous snakes lurked in the dark recesses of the swamp; on
+cypress-stumps or floating logs the deadly water-moccason lay
+stretched out, ready to bite without warning. Wherever there was a bit
+of dry ground, the workers were sure to hear the rattle of the
+rattlesnake. Sometimes whole nests of these reptiles would be
+uncovered.
+
+The work was continued day and night. When the failing daylight ceased
+to make its way through the thickly intwined branches of trees and
+climbing vines, great torches would be lighted, and by their fitful
+glare the soldiers and sailors worked on in the water and mud. The
+light glared from the furnaces of the steamers, lighting up the
+half-naked forms of the stokers. Now and then some dry vine or tree
+would catch a spark from a torch, and in an instant would be
+transformed into a pillar of fire. After eight days of work the canal
+was finished, and was found to be of sufficient depth for the passage
+of the transports. And now Commodore Foote saw that the time had come
+when he must attempt to run his gunboats past the forts, be the danger
+what it might.
+
+On April 1, Foote ordered a reconnoissance of the batteries, and this
+order evoked one of the most daring deeds in the history of the war.
+The night was pitchy dark, and heavy clouds were driven across the sky
+by a strong, damp wind, that told of a coming storm. In five boats a
+party of fifty sailors and fifty soldiers put off from the fleet,
+prepared to go down and beard the Confederate lion in his den. Hardly
+had they started on their perilous expedition, when the rain began
+falling in sheets, and now and again flashes of lightning made the
+dark shores visible for an instant, then the black night hid every
+thing again from view. It was midnight, and the fierceness of the wind
+added to the terror of the moment. On the banks, the great
+forest-trees were bending and groaning before the blast, while the
+broad surface of the river was lashed into foaming billows. Under
+cover of the darkness the little band passed rapidly down the river;
+past the shore-batteries and past the Confederate picket-boats, they
+sped unseen. When they were within a few feet of the shore, a flash of
+lightning revealed them for just an instant to the sentries. Then all
+was black, save for the quick flashes of the sentries' guns as they
+gave the alarm and fell back. The Federals landed rapidly, and drove
+the confused Confederates from the battery. Then began the work of
+spiking the guns. Every fifth man carried a number of rat-tail files,
+which were to be driven into the vents of the cannon, and then broken
+off. While the raiders were engaged in this work, the Confederates
+rallied, and soon drove back the blue-jackets to their boats, with a
+slight loss in killed and captured. How many guns they had disabled,
+it is hard to say. In the excitement and glory of successful
+adventure, the reports were much exaggerated. Histories of that date
+depict the men as calmly spiking _every_ gun, and then retiring
+deliberately. One writer claims that only one gun was spiked. However,
+testimony from Confederates on duty in the batteries goes to show that
+four guns were totally disabled. But the true value of the adventure
+to the Union forces was the dash and valor it disclosed, and the
+encouragement the people received from its success.
+
+The next day after this successful exploit, a gunboat, the
+"Carondelet," was made ready to try the dash past the batteries of
+Island No. 10. Again the weather was favorable to the plans of the
+Federals, for the night was as dark and wild as the one before. The
+day had been clear, and the night opened with so bright a moon that
+for a time it was thought that the project would have to be abandoned;
+but toward ten o'clock a heavy thunder-storm came up, and soon the
+black sky, the wildly waving tree-tops, and the sheets of rain
+scudding across the river, gave promise of a suitable night.
+
+All day the sailors on the "Carondelet" had been working busily,
+getting their vessel in trim for the trip. Heavy planks were laid
+along the deck, to ward off plunging shot. Chain cables were coiled
+about all weak points, cord-wood was piled around the boilers, and the
+pilot-house was wrapped round and about with heavy hawsers. On the
+side toward the battery was tied a large barge, piled high with
+cotton-bales. When the time for starting drew nigh, all lights were
+extinguished. The guns were run in, and the ports closed. The sailors,
+heavily armed, were sent to their stations. Muskets, revolvers, and
+sabres were in the racks. Down in the boiler-room the stokers were
+throwing coal upon the roaring fires; and in the engine-room the
+engineer stood with his hand on the throttle, waiting for the signal
+to get under way.
+
+Towards eleven o'clock the time seemed propitious for starting. The
+storm was at its height, and the roll of the thunder would drown the
+beat of the steamer's paddles. The word was given; and the
+"Carondelet," with her two protecting barges, passed out of sight of
+the flotilla, and down towards the cannon of the enemy. For the first
+half-mile all went well. The vessel sped along silently and unseen.
+The men on the gun-deck, unable to see about, sat breathlessly,
+expecting that at any moment a cannon-ball might come crashing through
+the side into their midst. Suddenly from the towering smoke-stacks,
+burst out sheets of flame five feet high, caused by the burning soot
+inside, and lighting up the river all about. Quickly extinguished,
+they quickly broke out again; and now from the camp of the alarmed
+enemy came the roll of the drum, and the ringing notes of the bugle
+sounding the alarm. A gunboat was bearing down on the works, and the
+Confederates sprang to their guns with a will. The men on the
+"Carondelet" knew what to expect, and soon it came. Five signal
+rockets rushed up into the sky, and in an instant thereafter came the
+roar of a great gun from one of the batteries. Then all joined in, and
+the din became terrible. With volley after volley the Confederates
+hurled cannon-balls, shells, musket, and even pistol-bullets at the
+flying ship, that could only be seen an instant at a time by the
+fitful flashes of the lightning. On the "Carondelet" all was still as
+death. The men knew the deadly peril they were in, and realized how
+impossible it was for them to make any fight. In the black night,
+threading the crooked and ever-changing channel of the Mississippi
+River, it was impossible to go more than half-speed. In the bow men
+were stationed casting the lead, and calling out the soundings to the
+brave old Capt. Hoel, who stood on the upper deck unprotected from the
+storm of bullets, and repeated the soundings to Capt. Walker. So
+through the darkness, through the storm of shot and shell, the
+"Carondelet" kept on her way. Past the land-batteries, past the rows
+of cannon on the island, and past the formidable floating battery, she
+swept uninjured. Heavy and continuous as was the fire of the
+Confederates, it was mainly without aim. The hay-barge was hit three
+times, but not a scar was on the gunboat when she stopped before the
+water-front of New Madrid after twenty minutes' run through that
+dreadful fire.
+
+And now the roar of the great guns had died away, and the men on the
+vessels of the flotilla up the river were all anxiety to know what had
+been the fate of their gallant comrades on the "Carondelet." All the
+time the battle raged, the decks of the ships at anchor were crowded
+with sailors looking eagerly down the river, and trying to make out by
+the blinding flashes of the cannon the dark form of a gunboat speeding
+by the hostile camp. Now all is silent; the roar of battle is over,
+the flash of gunpowder no more lights up the night. But what has
+become of the gallant men who braved that tempest of steel and iron?
+Are they floating down the troubled waters beneath the wreck of their
+vessel? It was a moment of suspense. After a few minutes' silence,
+there comes through the strangely quiet air the deep boom of a heavy
+gun. It had been agreed, that, if the "Carondelet" made the passage of
+the batteries safely, she should fire six heavy guns. The old tars on
+the decks say softly to themselves, "One." Then comes another, and a
+third, and still more, until suddenly a ringing cheer goes up from the
+flotilla, louder than the thunder itself. Men dance for joy; grizzled
+tars fall into each other's arms, sing, shout, cry. An answering
+salute goes booming back, rockets scud up into the clouds; and
+Commodore Foote, with a heart too full for talking, goes down into his
+cabin to be alone.
+
+That night's work by the "Carondelet" terminated Confederate domain on
+Island No. 10. The next night another gunboat came down, and the two
+set to work carrying the troops across the river, protecting
+artillerymen engaged in erecting batteries, and generally completing
+the investment of the island. In two days every loop-hole of escape
+for the Confederates is closed,--gunboats above and below them,
+batteries peering down from every bluff, and regiments of infantry,
+all prepared to move upon the works. They made one or two ineffectual
+but plucky attempts to ward off capture. One private soldier swam
+ashore, skulked past the Union pickets, and made his way to one of the
+Union mortar-boats. He succeeded in getting to the mortar, and
+successfully spiked it, thus terminating its usefulness. A second
+Confederate succeeded in reaching the deck of the mortar-boat, but
+while making his way across the deck tripped and fell. The rat-tail
+file he was carrying was driven into his side, making a wound from
+which he died in two hours. A third man, reckless of life, set out in
+a canoe to blow up a gunboat. He carried with him a fifty-pound keg of
+gunpowder, which he proposed to strap on the rudder-post of the
+vessel. He succeeded in getting under the stern of the vessel; but the
+gleam of his lighted match alarmed the sentry, who fired, hitting him
+in the shoulder. The Confederate went overboard, and managed to get
+ashore; while his keg of powder, with the fuse lighted, went drifting
+down stream. Soon it exploded, throwing up an immense column of water,
+and showing that it would have sent the stoutest vessel to the bottom
+had it been properly placed.
+
+But such struggles as these could not long avert the impending
+disaster. The Confederates were hemmed in on every side. It was true
+that they had a strong position, and could make a desperate
+resistance; but they were separated from their friends, and their
+final downfall was but a question of time. Appreciating this fact,
+they surrendered two days after the "Carondelet" had passed the
+batteries; and Foote made his second step (this time one of sixty
+miles) toward the conquest of the Mississippi.
+
+To-day nothing remains of the once extensive island, save a small
+sand-bank in the middle of the great river. The rushing current of the
+Father of Waters has done its work, and Island No. 10 is now a mere
+tradition.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+     FAMOUS CONFEDERATE PRIVATEERS. -- THE "ALABAMA," THE
+     "SHENANDOAH," THE "NASHVILLE."
+
+
+Let us now desert, for a time, the progress of the Union forces down
+the Mississippi River, and turn our attention toward the true home of
+the sailors,--the blue waters of the ocean. We have heard much, from
+many sources, of the exploits of the Confederate commerce-destroyers,
+privateers, or, as the Union authorities and the historians of the war
+period loved to call them, the "Rebel pirates." In the course of this
+narrative we have already dealt with the career of the "Sumter," one
+of the earliest of these vessels. A glance at the career of the most
+famous of all the Confederate cruisers, the "Alabama," will be
+interesting.
+
+This vessel was built in England, ostensibly as a merchant-vessel,
+although her heavy decks and sides, and her small hatchways, might
+have warned the English officials that she was intended for purposes
+of war. Before she was finished, however, the customs-house people
+began to suspect her character; and goaded on by the frequent
+complaints of the United States minister, that a war-vessel was being
+built for the Confederates, they determined to seize her. But
+customs-house officials do things slowly; and, while they were getting
+ready for the seizure, Capt. Semmes, who had taken command of the new
+ship, duped them, and got his vessel safely out of English waters.
+Private detectives and long-shore customs officers had been visiting
+the ship daily on visits of examination; but, by the aid of champagne
+and jolly good-fellowship, their inexperienced eyes were easily
+blinded to the manifest preparations for a warlike cruise. But finally
+came a retired naval officer who was not to be humbugged. A sailor on
+board thus tells the story of his visit: "He was evidently a naval
+officer, alert and resolute, and soon silenced the officer's
+explanations. He looked at the hatchways, shot-racks, and magazines;
+and, surveying the hammock-hooks on the berth-deck, said, 'You'll have
+a large crew for a merchant-steamer.' We had taken on board some heavy
+oak plank, that lay on the main deck; the officer remarked that they
+were for anchor-stocks, and was shortly answered, 'Wouldn't make bad
+gun-platforms, sir,' which, indeed, was just what they were intended
+for. With a 'Good-morning, sir,' our visitor mounted the side and was
+gone." This visit alarmed the Confederates; and immediate preparations
+were made to run the ship, which still went by the name of the "No.
+290," out of the British waters the next day. To disarm suspicion, a
+large party of ladies and gentlemen were invited aboard; and the ship
+started down the Mersey, ostensibly on her trial trip, with the sounds
+of music and popping corks ringing from her decks. But peaceful and
+merry as the start seemed, it was the beginning of a voyage that was
+destined to bring ruin to hundreds of American merchants, and leave
+many a good United States vessel a smoking ruin on the breast of the
+ocean. When she was a short distance down the river, two tugs were
+seen putting off from the shore; and in a moment the astonished guests
+were requested to leave the ship, and betake themselves homeward in
+the tugs. It is unnecessary to follow the voyage of the "No. 290" to
+Nassau, and detail the way in which cannon, ammunition, and naval
+stores were sent out from Portsmouth in a second vessel, and
+transferred to her just outside of Nassau. It is enough to say that on
+a bright, clear Sunday morning, in the latter part of August, 1862,
+Capt. Rafael Semmes, late of the Confederate cruiser "Sumter," a
+gentleman of middle height, wearing a uniform of gray and gold, his
+dark mustache waxed to such sharp points that one would think him a
+Frenchman rather than a Southerner, stood on the quarter-deck of the
+"No. 290," with his crew mustered before him, reading out his
+commission from Jefferson Davis, as commander of the Confederate
+States' steam-sloop "Alabama." As he read, an old master's-mate,
+standing at the peak-halyards, begins pulling at the ropes. The
+British ensign, carried through the ship's anonymous days, comes
+fluttering down, and in its place runs up the white naval ensign of
+the Confederacy, with the starry Southern cross in the red field of
+the corner. Then the reading is ended. Boom! goes the starboard
+forecastle-gun. The band bursts forth with the stirring notes of
+Dixie; and the sailors, after three ringing cheers, crowd forward to
+wait for further developments. Soon the sailors are summoned aft
+again, and Capt. Semmes addresses them. He tells them that, as the
+"Alabama" is to be a ship-of-war, they are released from their
+shipping contracts, but are invited to ship under the new plan. He
+briefly details the purpose of the cruise. The "Alabama" is to be a
+bird of passage, flitting from port to port, and hovering about the
+highways of travel, to lie in wait for the merchant-vessels of the
+North. Armed vessels she will avoid as much as possible, confining her
+warfare to the helpless merchantmen. It is hardly a glorious
+programme, but it seems to bear the promise of prize-money; and before
+the day is over Capt. Semmes has shipped a crew of eighty men, and
+with these the "Alabama" begins her cruise. The remainder of the
+sailors are sent ashore, and the "Alabama" starts off under sail, in
+search of her first capture.
+
+Let us look for a moment at this vessel, perhaps the most famous of
+all cruisers. She was a fast screw-steamer, of a little more than a
+thousand tons' burden. Her screw was so arranged that it could be
+hoisted out of the water; and, as the saving of coal was a matter of
+necessity, the "Alabama" did most of her cruising under sail. Her hull
+was of wood, with no iron plating, and her battery consisted of but
+eight light guns: two facts which made it necessary that she should
+avoid any conflicts with the powerful ships of the United States navy.
+Her lines were beautifully fine; and, as she sped swiftly through the
+water, Capt. Semmes felt that his vessel could escape the Northern
+cruisers as easily as she could overhaul the lumbering merchantmen.
+The crew was a turbulent one, picked up in the streets of Liverpool,
+and made up of men of all nationalities. Terrific rows would arise in
+the forecastle, and differences between the sailors were often settled
+by square stand-up fights. The petty officers seldom interfered; one
+old boatswain remarking, when he heard the noise of blows in the
+forecastle, "Blast them, let 'em slug one another's heads off; it will
+keep 'em out of mischief." And it generally did, for the combatants
+were usually fast friends the next day.
+
+As soon as the new ship was cleaned up, and put in order, drill began.
+The men were all green; and hard, steady work at the guns, and with
+the cutlasses, was necessary to fit them for service. The decks
+resounded with "right," "left," "head protect," "right overcut." The
+men were slow in learning; but the officers were Southerners, devoted
+to their cause, and were tireless in getting the crew into shape.
+
+After several days of cruising and drill, a vessel was sighted which
+was unmistakably American. One of the sailors tells the story of her
+capture graphically. "On the morning of the 5th of September the cry
+of 'ship ahoy!' from the masthead brought all hands on deck. Sure
+enough, about two miles to the leeward of us was a fine barque, at
+once pronounced a 'spouter' (whaler), and an American. In order to
+save coal,--of which very essential article we had about three hundred
+tons aboard,--we never used our screw unless absolutely necessary. We
+were on the starboard tack, and with the fresh breeze soon came
+alongside. We had the American flag set, and the chase showed the
+stars and stripes. A gun was fired; and, as we came within hail, we
+gave the order, 'Back your mainsail; I'll send a boat on board of
+you.'
+
+"'Cutter away,' and the boat came down from the davits, and we pulled
+for our first prize. It soon became a vain thing, and tiresome; but
+this our first essay was a novelty, and we made the stretches buckle
+with our impatience to get aboard. The bowman hooked on to the chains,
+and we went up the side like cats. When we got aft, the captain asked
+in a dazed sort of manner, 'Why--why--what does this mean?' The
+master, Fullam, replied, 'You are prize to the Confederate steamer
+"Alabama," Capt. Semmes commanding. I'll trouble you for your papers.'
+Now, this man had been four years out, and had no doubt heard of the
+trouble at home; but he couldn't realize this, and he stared, and
+said, 'Confederate government--Alabama--why, that's a State,' and then
+was sternly told to get his papers. We were ordered to put the crew in
+irons, and they, too, seemed utterly dumbfounded; and one poor fellow
+said to me, 'Must I lose all my clothes?' I answered, 'Yes,' but
+advised him to put on all he could, and if he had any money to slip it
+in his boot. 'Money! I h'aint seen a dollar for three years; but I'm
+obliged to ye all the same.'"
+
+Then, after searching the vessel for valuables, the captives were
+taken back to the "Alabama," while one boat's-crew remained behind to
+fire the vessel.
+
+"She was loaded with oil," writes sailor Haywood; "and, when it
+caught, a high column of dense black smoke poured out of the
+hatchways, and spread in vast involutions to the leeward. Soon the red
+forked flames began to climb her masts, and her spars glowed with
+light; with a crash her mainmast fell, carrying the foremast with it,
+and sending a shower of sparks high in the air; her stout sides seemed
+to burst open; and what was a stately ship was now a blackened hulk,
+the rising sea breaking in white-caps over it, and at last, with a
+surge and wallow, sinking out of sight." Alone, by one of the
+lee-ports, the ruined American captain stood, looking sadly upon the
+end of all his long four years' labor. For this he had borne the icy
+hardships of the Arctic seas. The long, dreary four years of
+separation from wife and home had been lightened by the thought, that
+by a prosperous voyage he might bring home enough money to stay always
+in the little shingled cottage in the narrow street of some New
+England fishing-village; but now all that was over. When he should
+arrive home he would be penniless, with nothing but the clothes on his
+back, and all because of a war of the very existence of which he knew
+nothing. It was hard to bear, but war brings nothing but affliction.
+
+After this capture, the "Alabama" had a lively season for several
+weeks, capturing often two or three vessels a day. Generally they met
+with no resistance; but occasionally the blood of some old sea-dog
+would boil, and he would do the best in his power to injure his
+captors. A story of one such incident was thus told by one of the
+"Alabama's" crew:--
+
+[Illustration: Looting a Prize.]
+
+"When we ran around in search of whalers, we came upon a Yankee
+skipper who didn't know what surrender meant. We were just well to the
+west of the stormy cape, when one morning after breakfast we raised a
+whaler. He was headed up the coast, and about noon we overhauled him.
+He paid no attention to the first shot, and it was only when the
+second one hulled him that he came into the wind. It was then seen
+that he had fifteen or sixteen men aboard, and that all were armed
+with muskets, and meant to defend the ship. The lieutenant was sent
+off with his boat; but no sooner was he within fair musket-range, than
+the whaler opened on him, killing one man, and wounding two, at the
+first volley. The officer pushed ahead, and demanded a surrender;
+but he got another volley, and the reply that the whaler 'would go to
+the bottom before he would surrender to a Rebel!'
+
+"The boat was recalled, and our gunners were instructed to hull the
+whaler with solid shot. We approached him within rifle-range, and
+opened fire. Every one of the balls plumped through his side at and
+above the water-line, and he answered with his muskets, severely
+wounding two men. He was repeatedly hailed to surrender, but in reply
+he encouraged his men to maintain their fire. We soon had the sea
+pouring into his starboard side through a dozen holes; and when it was
+seen that he would soon go down, we ceased firing, and again demanded
+his surrender. I can remember just how he looked as he sprang upon the
+rail,--tall, gaunt, hair flying, and eyes blazing,--and shouted in
+reply,--
+
+"'The 'Ben Scott' don't surrender! Come and take us--if you can.'
+
+"Five minutes later his craft settled down, bow first. We lowered the
+boats to save his crew, and, strangely enough, not a man was lost.
+When we brought them aboard, the Yankee skipper walked up to Semmes,
+bareheaded, barefooted, and coatless, and said,--
+
+"'If I'd only have had one old cannon aboard, we'd have licked ye out
+of yer butes! Here we are, and what are ye going to do with us?'
+
+"He was voted a jolly good fellow, and the crew were better treated
+than any other ever forced aboard. In order to give them their
+liberty, the very next capture we made was bonded, and they were put
+aboard to sail for home."
+
+But now the decks of the "Alabama" were getting rather uncomfortably
+crowded with prisoners, and it became necessary to put into some port
+where they could be landed. Accordingly the ship was headed for
+Martinique, and soon lay anchored in the harbor of that place, where
+she began coaling. While she lay there, a Yankee schooner put into the
+port, and was about to drop anchor near the dangerous cruiser, when
+some one gave the skipper a hint; and, with a startled "b'gosh," he
+got his sails up, and scudded out to sea. The "Alabama" lay in port
+some days. The first set of the sailors who received permission to go
+ashore proceeded to get drunk, and raised so great a disturbance, that
+thereafter they were obliged to look on the tropical prospect from the
+deck of the vessel. The next day a United States war-vessel was seen
+standing into the harbor, and Capt. Semmes immediately began to make
+preparations to fight her. But as she came nearer she proved to be
+the "San Jacinto," a vessel mounting fourteen heavy guns, and
+altogether too powerful for the "Alabama." So thinking discretion the
+better part of valor, the Confederate ship remained safe in the
+neutral harbor. The "San Jacinto" quietly remained outside, thinking
+that at last the fox was caught. But that same night, with all lights
+extinguished, and running under full steam, the "Alabama" slipped
+right under the broadside of her enemy, getting clean away, so quietly
+that the "San Jacinto" remained for four days guarding the empty trap,
+while the "Alabama" was off again on another voyage of destruction,
+and the tuneful souls in the forecastle were roaring out the chorus,--
+
+  "Oh, our jolly privateer
+    Has left old England's shore!
+  Lord, send us lots of prizes,
+    But no Yankee man-of-war."
+
+Soon after leaving Martinique, the "Alabama" made a capture which
+embarrassed the captain not a little by its size. It was Sunday (which
+Capt. Semmes calls in his journal "the 'Alabama's' lucky day"), when a
+bit of smoke was seen far off on the horizon, foretelling the approach
+of a steamer. Now was the time for a big haul; and the "Alabama's"
+canvas was furled, and her steam-gear put in running order. The two
+vessels approached each other rapidly; and soon the stranger came near
+enough for those on the "Alabama" to make out her huge walking-beam,
+see-sawing up and down amidships. The bright colors of ladies' dresses
+were visible; and some stacks of muskets, and groups of blue-uniformed
+men, forward, told of the presence of troops. The "Alabama" came up
+swiftly, her men at the guns, and the United States flag flying from
+the peak,--a rather dishonorable ruse habitually practised by Capt.
+Semmes. In a moment the stranger showed the stars and stripes, and
+then the "Alabama" ran up the white ensign of the Confederacy, and
+fired a blank cartridge. But the stranger had no thought of
+surrendering, and crowded on all steam and fled. The "Alabama" was no
+match for her in speed, so a more peremptory summons was sent in the
+shape of a shell that cut the steamer's foremast in two. This hint was
+sufficient. The huge paddles ceased revolving, and a boat's-crew from
+the "Alabama" went aboard to take possession. The prize proved to be
+the mail steamer "Ariel," with five hundred passengers, besides a
+hundred and forty marines and a number of army and navy officers. Now
+Capt. Semmes had an elephant on his hands, and what to do with that
+immense number of people he could not imagine. Clearly the steamer
+could not be burned like other captures. For two days Capt. Semmes
+kept the prize near him, debating what was to be done, and then
+released her; exacting from all the military and naval officers their
+paroles that they would not take up arms against the Confederacy.
+
+After this exploit the "Alabama" went into port for a few days, and
+then headed into the Gulf of Mexico. Here she steamed about, capturing
+and burning a few United States merchantmen, until on the 11th of
+January she found herself off the port of Galveston, where a strong
+blockading fleet was stationed. And here she fought her first battle.
+
+About four o'clock of a clear afternoon, the lookout in the cross
+trees of the United States sloop-of-war "Hatteras," stationed off the
+port of Galveston, hailed the officer of the deck, and reported a
+steamer standing up and down outside. The stranger was watched closely
+through marine glasses, and finally decided to be a blockade-runner
+trying to make the port; and the "Hatteras" immediately set out in
+pursuit. This was just what Capt. Semmes desired. He knew that the
+ships stationed off Galveston were not heavily armed, and he felt sure
+that if he could entice one away from the rest of the fleet he would
+be able to send her to the bottom. Accordingly he steamed away slowly,
+letting the "Hatteras" gain on him, but at the same time drawing her
+out of the reach of any aid from her consorts. When about twenty miles
+away from the fleet, the "Alabama" slowed down and finally stopped
+altogether, waiting for the "Hatteras" to come up. The latter vessel
+came within two hundred yards, and hailed, "What ship's that?"--"Her
+Majesty's ship 'Petrel,'" answered Semmes, pursuing the course of
+deception that brings so much discredit on his otherwise dashing
+career. The captain of the "Hatteras" answered that he would send a
+boat aboard; but, before the boat touched the water, a second hail
+announced, "We are the Confederate ship 'Alabama,'" and in an instant
+a heavy broadside crashed into the "Hatteras." Every one of the shots
+took effect; and one big fellow from the one hundred and five pounder
+rifle peeled off six feet of iron plating from the side of the
+"Hatteras," and lodged in the hold. Dazed by this unexpected fire, but
+plucky as ever, the blue-jackets sprang to their guns and returned
+the fire. The two ships were so close together that a good shot with a
+revolver could have picked off his man every time, and the sailors
+hurled taunts at each other between the volleys. Not a shot missed the
+"Hatteras:" in five minutes she was riddled with holes, and on fire,
+and a minute or two later the engineer came up coolly and reported,
+"Engine's disabled, sir;" followed quickly by the carpenter, who
+remarked, "Ship's making water fast; can't float more than ten
+minutes, sir." There was nothing for it but surrender, and the flag
+came down amid frantic yells from the "Alabama" sailors. Semmes got
+out his boats with wonderful rapidity, and picked up all the men on
+the "Hatteras;" and the defeated vessel sank in ten minutes. One of
+the strange things about this battle was the small number of men
+injured. Nothing but shells were fired, and they searched every part
+of the vessels; yet when the fight was over the "Alabama" had but one
+man wounded, while the "Hatteras" had two men killed and three
+wounded. The shells played some strange pranks in their course. One
+ripped up a long furrow in the deck of the "Alabama," and knocked two
+men high in the air without disabling them. Another struck a gun full
+in the mouth, tore off one side of it, and shoved it back ten feet,
+without injuring any of the crew. One man who was knocked overboard by
+the concussion was back again and serving his gun in two minutes. A
+shell exploded in the coal of the "Hatteras," and sent the stuff
+flying all about the vessel, without injuring a man.
+
+With her prisoners stowed away in all available places about her
+decks, the "Alabama" headed for Jamaica, and cast anchor in the harbor
+of Port Royal. There were several English men-of-war there, and the
+officers of the victorious ship were lionized and feasted to their
+hearts' content. The prisoners were landed, the "Alabama's" wounds
+were bound up, and she was made ready for another cruise.
+
+[Illustration: Sinking of the "Alabama."]
+
+After five days in port, she set out again on her wanderings about the
+world. Week after week she patrolled the waters in all parts of the
+globe where ships were likely to be met. Sometimes she would go a
+fortnight without a capture, and then the men in the forecastle would
+grow turbulent and restive under the long idleness. Every bit of
+brass-work was polished hour after hour, and the officers were at
+their wits' end to devise means for "teasing-time." The men made
+sword-knots and chafing-gear enough to last the whole navy, and
+then looked longingly at the captain's mustache, as the only thing
+left in which a "Turk's head" could be tied. Music enlivened the hours
+for a time; but the fiddler was soon voted a bore, and silenced by
+some one pouring a pint of molasses into the _f_-holes of his
+instrument. The enraged musician completed the job by breaking it over
+the head of the joker. After several weeks, they put into Cape Town.
+Here the practical joker of the crew made himself famous by utterly
+routing an inquisitive old lady, who asked, "What do you do with your
+prisoners?" The grizzled old tar dropped his voice to a confidential
+whisper, and, with a look of the utmost frankness, replied, "We biles
+'em, mum. We tried a roast, but there ain't a hounce of meat on one o'
+them Yankee carkages. Yes, mum, we biles 'em." The startled old lady
+gasped out, "Good lordy," and fled from the ship.
+
+Putting out from Cape Town, the "Alabama" continued her weary round of
+cruising. Many vessels were captured, and most of them were burned.
+One Yankee captain proved too much for Semmes, as his story will show.
+His ship was chased by the "Alabama" in heavy weather all day, and
+occasionally fired upon. When the steamer was abeam, "she closed up
+with us," the captain says, "as near as safety would permit, and,
+hailing us, asked where we were bound, and demanded the surrender of
+the ship to the Confederate Government. I answered through my trumpet,
+'Come and take me.' Conversation being too straining for the lungs
+amid the howling of the wind and rolling of the huge billows, and the
+proximity of the vessels too dangerous, we separated a little, and had
+recourse to blackboards to carry on our conversation. Semmes asked
+where we were bound. I answered, without a blush, 'Melbourne,'
+thinking that possibly he might try to intercept me if he knew that I
+was to pass through the Straits of Sunda. Then he had the cheek to
+order me to 'haul down your flag and surrender, escape or no
+escape,'--on a kind of parole, I suppose he meant. I wrote on the
+board: 'First capture, then parole,' This answer vexed him, I am sure,
+for he immediately wrote: 'Surrender, or I will sink you.' I wrote:
+'That would be murder, not battle.'--'Call it what you will, I will do
+it,' he wrote. 'Attempt it, and by the living God, I will run you
+down, and we will sink together,' I wrote in reply. I knew his threat
+was vain; for in that heavy sea, rolling his rails under, he did not
+dare to free his guns, which were already double lashed. They would
+have carried away their tackles, and gone through the bulwarks
+overboard. Conscious that he had made empty threats, we said no more,
+but doggedly kept on our course. Sail was still further reduced on
+both vessels, as the wind kept increasing and was now blowing a gale.
+We were now gradually and surely drawing ahead of the steamer. It was
+growing dark. Rejoicing at my fortunate escape, I gave the valiant
+Semmes a parting shot by hoisting the signal 'Good-by.' Dipping the
+star-spangled banner as a salute, I hauled it down, and the steamer
+was soon lost to sight in the darkness.... I never saw her after our
+escape; but, indirectly, she forced me to sell my ship in China soon
+after."
+
+But we cannot follow the "Alabama" in her career about the world. A
+full account of her captures would fill volumes; and in this narrative
+we must pass hastily by the time that she spent scouring the ocean,
+dodging United States men-of-war, and burning Northern merchantmen,
+until, on the 11th of June, she entered the harbor of Cherbourg,
+France, and had hardly dropped anchor when the United States
+man-of-war "Kearsarge" appeared outside, and calmly settled down to
+wait for the Confederate to come out and fight. Capt. Semmes seemed
+perfectly ready for the conflict, and began getting his ship in shape
+for the battle. The men, too, said that they had had a "plum-pudding
+voyage" of it so far, and they were perfectly ready for a fight. The
+forecastle poet was set to work, and soon ground out a song, of which
+the refrain was,--
+
+  "We're homeward bound, we're homeward bound!
+   And soon shall stand on English ground;
+   But, ere our native land we see,
+   We first must fight the 'Kearsargee.'"
+
+This was the last song made on board the "Alabama," and the poet was
+never more seen after the fight with the "Kearsargee."
+
+[Illustration: Rescue of Capt. Semmes.]
+
+The "Kearsarge" had hardly hove in sight when Capt. Semmes began
+taking in coal, and ordered the yards sent down from aloft, and the
+ship put in trim for action. Outside the breakwater, the "Kearsarge"
+was doing the same thing. In armament, the two vessels were nearly
+equal; the "Alabama" having eight guns to the "Kearsarge's" seven, but
+the guns of the latter vessel were heavier and of greater range. In
+the matter of speed, the "Kearsarge" had a slight advantage. The great
+advantage which the "Kearsarge" had was gained by the forethought of
+her commander, who had chains hung down her sides, protecting the
+boilers and machinery. Semmes might easily have done the same thing
+had the idea occurred to him.
+
+It was on Sunday, June 19, that the "Alabama" started out to the duel
+that was to end in her destruction. Though Sunday was Capt. Semmes's
+lucky day, his luck this time seemed to have deserted him. The
+"Alabama" was accompanied in her outward voyage by a large French
+iron-clad frigate. The broad breakwater was black with people waiting
+to see the fight. The news had spread as far as Paris, and throngs had
+come down by special trains to view the great naval duel. A purple
+haze hung over the placid water, through which could be seen the
+"Kearsarge," with her colors flying defiantly, steaming slowly ahead,
+and ready for the "Alabama" to come up. Small steamers on every side
+followed the "Alabama," as near the scene of conflict as they dared.
+One English yacht, the "Deerhound," with her owner's family aboard,
+hung close to the combatants during the fight. No duel of the age of
+chivalry had a more eager throng of spectators.
+
+Now the "Alabama" has passed the three-mile line, and is on the open
+sea. The big French iron-clad stops; the pilot-boats, with no liking
+for cannon-balls, stop too. The "Deerhound" goes out a mile or so
+farther, and the "Alabama" advances alone to meet the antagonist that
+is waiting quietly for her coming. The moment of conflict is at hand;
+and Capt. Semmes, mustering his men on the deck, addresses them
+briefly, and sends them to their quarters; and now, with guns shotted,
+and lanyards taut, and ready for the pull, the "Alabama" rushes toward
+her enemy. When within a distance of a mile, the first broadside was
+let fly, without avail. The "Kearsarge," more cool and prudent, waits
+yet awhile; and, when the first shot does go whizzing from her big
+Dahlgren guns, it strikes the "Alabama," and makes her quiver all
+over. Clearly it won't do to fight at long range; and Capt. Semmes
+determines to close in on his more powerful antagonist, and even try
+to carry her by boarding, as in the glorious days of Paul Jones. But
+the wary Winslow of the "Kearsarge" will have none of that; and he
+keeps his ship at a good distance, all the time pouring great shot
+into the sides of the "Alabama." Now the two vessels begin circling
+around each other in mighty circles, each trying to get in a raking
+position. The men on the "Alabama" began to find that their gunpowder
+was bad and caky; while at the same moment one of the officers saw two
+big solid shot strike the "Kearsarge" amidships, and fall back into
+the water, revealing the heretofore unsuspected armor. This was
+discouraging. Then came a big shot that knocked over the pivot-gun,
+and killed half its crew. One sailor saw a shot come in a port, glide
+along the gun, and strike the man at the breach full in the breast,
+killing him instantly.
+
+The "Kearsarge," too, was receiving some pretty heavy blows, but her
+iron armor protected her vulnerable parts. One shell lodged in her
+sternpost, but failed to explode. Had it burst, the "Kearsarge's"
+fighting would have been over.
+
+After an hour the officers of the "Alabama" began coming to Capt.
+Semmes with grave faces, and reporting serious accidents. At last the
+first lieutenant reported the ship sinking, and the order was given to
+strike the flag. She was sinking rapidly, and the time had come for
+every man to save himself. The "Kearsarge" was shamefully slow in
+getting out her boats; and finally when the "Alabama," throwing her
+bow high in the air, went down with a rush, she carried most of her
+wounded with her, and left the living struggling in the water. Capt.
+Semmes was picked up by a boat from the yacht "Deerhound," and was
+carried in that craft to England away from capture. For so escaping,
+he has been harshly criticised by many people; but there seems to be
+no valid reason why he should refuse the opportunity so offered him.
+Certain it is, that, had he not reached the "Deerhound," he would have
+been drowned; for none of the boats of the "Kearsarge" were near him
+when he was struggling in the water.
+
+So ended the career of the "Alabama." Her life had been a short one,
+and her career not the most glorious imaginable; but she had fulfilled
+the purpose for which she was intended. She had captured sixty-four
+merchant-vessels, kept a large number of men-of-war busy in chasing
+her from one end of the world to the other, and inflicted on American
+commerce an almost irreparable injury.
+
+Although the "Alabama" was by all means the most noted and the most
+successful of all the Confederate cruisers, there were others that
+entered upon the career of privateering, and followed it for a while
+with varying degrees of success. Some were captured revenue-cutters,
+which the Confederates armed with a single heavy gun, and turned loose
+on the ocean in search of Yankee schooners. Others were merely tugs
+or pilot-boats. Generally their careers were short. In one instance a
+fine privateer, from which the Confederates expected great things,
+attempted to capture a United States man-of-war, under the delusion
+that it was a merchant-vessel. The captain of the man-of-war saw the
+mistake under which the Confederate labored, and allowed the privateer
+to come up within short range, when, with a sudden broadside, he sent
+her to the bottom, abruptly terminating her career as a commerce
+destroyer. Some quite formidable iron-clad cruisers were built abroad;
+but in most cases all the diplomacy of the Confederate agents proved
+unavailing to prevent the confiscation of the ships by the neutral
+governments in whose territory they were built. Two iron-clad rams
+built at Liverpool, ostensibly for private parties, but really for the
+Confederate Government, were seized by the British authorities. Six
+splendid vessels were built in France, but only one succeeded in
+getting away to join the Confederate service. This one was a ram with
+armored sides, and was named the "Stonewall." The war was nearly over
+when she was put in commission, and her services for the Confederacy
+amounted to nothing. She made one short cruise, during which she fell
+in with two United States men-of-war, that avoided a fight with her on
+account of her superior strength. At the end of her cruise the war was
+over, and she was sold to the Mikado of Japan, whose flag she now
+carries.
+
+[Illustration: The End of a Privateer.]
+
+The "Nashville" was an old side-wheel passenger-steamer, of which the
+Confederates had made a privateer. Her career was a short one. She
+made one trip to England as a blockade-runner, and on her return
+voyage she burned three or four United States merchantmen. She then
+put into the Great Ogeechee River, where she was blockaded by three
+Union men-of-war. The Confederates protected her by filling the river
+with torpedoes, and anchoring the ship at a point where the guns of a
+strong fort could beat back all assailants. Here she lay for several
+weeks, while the men on the blockaders were fuming at the thought that
+they were to be kept idle, like cats watching a rat-hole. At last
+Capt. Worden, who was there with his redoubtable monitor "Montauk,"
+determined to destroy the privateer, despite the torpedoes and the big
+guns of the fort. He accordingly began a movement up the river,
+picking his way slowly through the obstructions. The fort began a
+lively cannonade; but Worden soon found that he had nothing to fear
+from that quarter, as the guns were not heavy enough to injure the
+iron sides of the little monitor. But, as he went up the river, the
+"Nashville" took the alarm and fled before him; and it seemed that the
+most the Union fleet could do would be to keep her from coming down
+again, for with her light draught she could keep well out of range of
+the monitor's guns. But one morning Worden perceived a strange
+commotion on the "Nashville;" and, looking carefully through his
+glass, he saw that she was aground. Now was his time; and at once he
+pushed forward to a point twelve hundred yards from her, and directly
+under the guns of Fort MacAllister. From this point he began a
+deliberate fire upon the doomed privateer. The great guns of the fort
+were roaring away, and their shells came crashing against the sides of
+the "Montauk;" but to this Worden paid no heed. It was splendid long
+distance practice for his gunners; and, when they got the range, not a
+shot missed the stranded Confederate vessel. From his pilot-house
+Worden could see the crew of the "Nashville" escaping in boats,
+leaping into the water over the sides,--doing anything to escape from
+that terribly destructive fire. All the time the great fifteen-inch
+shells were dropping into the vessel with fearful precision. By and by
+a heavy fog fell upon the scene; but the gunners on the "Montauk" knew
+where their enemy was, and kept up their steady fire, though they
+could see nothing. When the fog lifted, they saw the "Nashville" a
+mass of flames; and in a moment she blew up, covering the placid
+surface of the river with blackened fragments. Then the "Montauk"
+returned to her consorts, well satisfied with her day's work.
+
+[Illustration: The "Nashville" burning a Prize.]
+
+The last of the Confederate privateers to ravage the ocean was the
+"Shenandoah," originally an English merchant-vessel engaged in the
+East India trade. She was large, fast, and strongly built; and the
+astute agent of the Confederacy knew, when he saw her lying in a
+Liverpool dock, that she was just calculated for a privateer. She was
+purchased by private parties, and set sail, carrying a large stock of
+coal and provisions, but no arms. By a strange coincidence, a second
+vessel left Liverpool the same day, carrying several mysterious
+gentlemen, who afterwards proved to be Confederate naval officers. The
+cargo of this second vessel consisted almost entirely of remarkably
+heavy cases marked "machinery." The two vessels, once out of English
+waters, showed great fondness for each other, and proceeded together
+to a deserted, barren island near Madeira. Here they anchored side by
+side; and the mysterious gentlemen, now resplendent in the gray and
+gold uniform of the Confederacy, stepped aboard the "Shenandoah." Then
+the cases were hoisted out of the hold of the smaller vessel; and,
+when the "machinery" was mounted on the gun-deck of the "Shenandoah,"
+it proved to be a number of very fine steel-rifled cannon. Then the
+crew was mustered on the gun-deck, and informed that they were manning
+the new Confederate ship "Shenandoah;" and with a cheer the flag was
+hoisted at the peak, and the newly created ship-of-war started off in
+search of merchantmen to make bonfires of. From Madeira the cruiser
+made for the Southern Ocean,--a fresh field not yet ravaged by any
+Confederate vessel. This made the hunting all the better for the
+"Shenandoah," and she burned vessels right and left merrily. In the
+spring of 1865, she put into the harbor of Melbourne, Australia, where
+her officers were lavishly entertained by the citizens. Thence she
+proceeded to the northward, spending some time in the Indian Ocean,
+and skirting the Asiatic coast, until she reached Behrings Straits.
+Here she lay in wait for returning whalers, who in that season were
+apt to congregate in Behrings Sea in great numbers, ready for the long
+voyage around Cape Horn to their home ports on the New England coast.
+Capt. Waddell was not disappointed in his expectations, for he reached
+the straits just as the returning whalers were coming out in a body.
+One day he captured eleven in a bunch. With one-third his crew
+standing at the guns ready to fire upon any vessel that should attempt
+to get up sail, Waddell kept the rest of his men rowing from ship to
+ship, taking off the crews. Finally all the prisoners were put aboard
+three of the whalers, and the eight empty ships were set afire. It was
+a grand spectacle. On every side were the towering icebergs, whose
+glassy sides reflected the lurid glare from the burning ships. Great
+black volumes of smoke arose from the blazing oil into the clear blue
+northern sky. The ruined men crowded upon the three whalers saw the
+fruits of their years of labor thus destroyed in an afternoon, and
+heaped curses upon the heads of the men who had thus robbed them. What
+wonder if, in the face of such apparently wanton destruction as this,
+they overlooked the niceties of the law of war, and called their
+captors pirates! Yet for the men of the "Shenandoah" it was no
+pleasant duty to thus cruise about the world, burning and destroying
+private property, and doing warfare only against unarmed people. More
+than one has left on record his complaint of the utter unpleasantness
+of the duty; but all felt that they were aiding the cause for which
+their brothers at home were fighting, and so they went on in their
+work of destruction.
+
+For two months more Waddell continued his depredations in the northern
+seas. Many a stout bark from New London or New Bedford fell a prey to
+his zeal for a cause that was even then lost. For the Confederacy had
+fallen. The last volley of the war had been discharged three months
+before. Of this Capt. Waddell was ignorant, and his warlike operations
+did not end until the captain of a British bark told him of the
+surrender of Lee and Johnston, and the end of the war. To continue his
+depredations longer would be piracy: so Capt. Waddell hauled down his
+Confederate flag, and heading for Liverpool surrendered his ship to
+the British authorities, by whom it was promptly transferred to the
+United States. So ended the last of the Confederate privateers.
+
+[Illustration: "Shenandoah" burning Whalers.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+     WORK OF THE GULF SQUADRON. -- THE FIGHT AT THE PASSES OF THE
+     MISSISSIPPI. -- DESTRUCTION OF THE SCHOONER "JUDAH." -- THE
+     BLOCKADE OF GALVESTON, AND CAPTURE OF THE "HARRIET LANE."
+
+
+The naval forces of the United States during the war may be roughly
+classified as the Atlantic fleets, the river navy, and the Gulf
+squadron. The vessels comprising the latter detachment enjoyed some
+light service during the opening months of the war; but, as the time
+went on, the blue-jackets of the Gulf squadron found that they had no
+reason to congratulate themselves on securing an easy berth. Their
+blockading duty was not so arduous as that of their brothers along the
+rugged Atlantic coast; but they were harassed continually by
+Confederate rams, which would make a dash into the fleet, strike heavy
+blows, and then fly up some convenient river far into the territory of
+the Confederacy. One such attack was made upon the squadron blockading
+the Mississippi in October, 1861.
+
+Some eighty miles below New Orleans, the Mississippi divides into
+three great channels, which flow at wide angles from each other into
+the Gulf of Mexico. These streams flow between low marshy banks hardly
+higher than the muddy surface of the river, covered with thick growths
+of willows, and infested with reptiles and poisonous insects. The
+point from which these three streams diverge is known as the "Head of
+the Passes," and it was here that the blockading squadron of four
+vessels was stationed. The ships swung idly at their moorings for
+weeks. The pestilential vapors from the surrounding marshes were
+rapidly putting all the crews in the sick bay, while the clouds of
+gnats and mosquitoes that hung about made Jack's life a wretched one.
+They did not even have the pleasurable excitement of occasionally
+chasing a blockade-runner, for the wary merchants of New Orleans knew
+that there was absolutely no hope of running a vessel out through a
+river so effectually blockaded. And so the sailors idled away their
+time, smoking, singing, dancing to the music of a doleful fiddle,
+boxing with home-made canvas gloves that left big spots of black and
+blue where they struck, and generally wishing that "Johnny Reb" would
+show himself so that they might have some excitement, even if it did
+cost a few lives.
+
+But while the blue-jackets at the mouth of the river were spending
+their time thus idly, the people in the beleaguered city higher up
+were vastly enraged at being thus cooped up, and were laying plans to
+drive their jailers away. Occasionally they would take a small fleet
+of flat boats, bind them together, and heap them high with tar, pitch,
+and light wood. Then the whole would be towed down the river, set on
+fire, and drifted down upon the fleet. The light of the great fire
+could be seen far off, and the warships would get up steam and dodge
+the roaring mass of flames as it came surging down on the swift
+current. So many trials of this sort failed, that finally the people
+of the Crescent City gave up this plan in disgust.
+
+Their next plan seemed for a time successful. It was at four o'clock
+one October morning that the watch on the sloop-of-war "Richmond"
+suddenly saw a huge dark mass so close to the ship that it seemed
+fairly to have sprung from the water, and sweeping down rapidly. The
+alarm was quickly given, and the crew beat to quarters. Over the water
+from the other ships, now fully alarmed, came the roll of the drums
+beating the men to their guns. The dark object came on swiftly, and
+the word was passed from man to man, "It's a Confederate ram." And
+indeed it was the ram "Manassas," which the Confederates had been hard
+at work building in the New Orleans shipyards, and on which they
+relied to drive the blockading squadron from the river. As she came
+rushing towards the "Richmond," two great lights higher up the river
+told of fire-rafts bearing down upon the fleet, and by the fitful
+glare three smaller gunboats were seen coming to the assistance of the
+"Manassas." Clearly the Confederates were attacking in force.
+
+The first volley from the fleet rattled harmlessly from the iron-clad
+sides of the "Manassas;" and, not heeding it, she swept on and plunged
+into the side of the "Richmond." The great iron prow cut deep into the
+wooden sides of the Union vessel. Heavy oaken timbers were splintered
+like laths, and the men were violently hurled to the deck. As the ram
+drew away, the blue-jackets sprang to their guns and gave her a
+volley. Some of the shots must have penetrated her armor, for she
+became unmanageable. But the darkness prevented the officers of the
+"Richmond" from seeing how much damage they had done, and they did not
+follow up their advantage. The strange panic that the sight of a ram
+so often brought upon sailors of the old school fell on the officers
+of this squadron, and they began hastily getting their ships out of
+the river. By this time four more Confederate steamers had come to the
+aid of the ram, and were cannonading the Northern fleet at long range.
+In their hurried attempt to escape, the "Richmond" and the "Vincennes"
+had run aground. The captain of the latter vessel, fearing capture,
+determined to fire his vessel and escape with his crew to the
+"Richmond." Accordingly he laid a slow-match to the magazine, lighted
+it, and then, wrapping his ship's colors about his waist in the most
+theatrical manner, abandoned his ship. But the plan was not altogether
+a success. As he left the ship, he was followed by a grizzled old
+sailor, who had seen too much fighting to believe in blowing up his
+own ship; and, when he saw the smoking slow-match, he hastily broke
+off the lighted end, and without saying a word threw it into the
+water. No one observed the action, and the crew of the "Vincennes"
+watched mournfully for their good ship to go up in a cloud of smoke
+and flame. After they had watched nearly an hour, they concluded
+something was wrong, and returned to their old quarters. By this time
+the enemy had given up the conflict, and the United States navy was
+one ship ahead for the old sailor's act of insubordination. The
+Confederate flotilla returned to New Orleans, and reported that they
+had driven the blockaders away. There was great rejoicing in the city:
+windows were illuminated, and receptions were tendered to the officers
+of the Confederate fleet. But, while the rejoicing was still going on,
+the Union ships came quietly back to their old position, and the great
+river was as securely closed as ever.
+
+[Illustration: Fort Pensacola.]
+
+About a month before the fight with the "Manassas," the blue-jackets
+of the North scored for themselves a brilliant success in the harbor
+of Pensacola. The frigate "Colorado" was lying outside the harbor of
+that city, within clear view of the city front. For some weeks the
+sailors had been greatly interested in watching the activity of people
+on shore around a small schooner that was lying in a basin near the
+navy-yard. With a harbor so thoroughly blockaded as was that of
+Pensacola, there seemed really no need of new vessels; and the haste
+of the Confederates seemed inexplicable, until they saw through their
+glasses men at work mounting a heavy pivot-gun amidships. That made it
+clear that another privateer was being fitted out to ravage the seas
+and burn all vessels flying the United States flag. The gallant tars
+of the "Colorado" determined to go in and burn the privateer before
+she should have a chance to escape. It was an undertaking of great
+peril. The schooner was near the navy-yard, where one thousand men
+were ready to spring to her assistance at the first alarm. On the dock
+fronting the navy-yard were mounted a ten-inch columbiad and a
+twelve-pounder field-piece, so placed as to command the deck of the
+schooner and the wharf to which she was moored. Fort Pensacola, not
+far distant, was full of Confederate troops. But the Union sailors
+thought that the destruction of the privateer was of enough importance
+to warrant the risk, and they determined to try the adventure.
+
+[Illustration: Destruction of the Schooner "Judah."]
+
+Accordingly, on the first dark night, four boats, containing one
+hundred officers, sailors, and marines, put off from the side of the
+"Colorado," and headed for the town. All was done with the most
+perfect silence. The tholes of the oars were wrapped in cloth to
+deaden their rattle in the rowlocks. No lights were carried. Not a
+word was spoken after the officers in muffled tones had given the
+order, "Give way." Through the darkness of the night the heavy boats
+glide on. Every man aboard has his work laid out for him, and each
+knows what he is to do. While the main body are to be engaged in
+beating back the guards, some are to spike the guns, and others to
+fire the schooner in several places. When within a hundred yards of
+the schooner, they are discovered by the sentry. As his ringing hail
+comes over the water, the sailors make no reply, but bend to the oars,
+and the boats fairly leap toward the wharf. Bang! goes the sentry's
+rifle; and the men in the hold of the schooner come rushing up just as
+the two boats dash against her side, and the sailors spring like cats
+over the bulwarks. One man was found guarding the guns on the wharf,
+and was shot down. Little time is needed to spike the guns, and then
+those on the wharf turn in to help their comrades on the schooner.
+Here the fighting is sharp and hand to hand. Nearly a hundred men are
+crowded on the deck, and deal pistol-shots and cutlass-blows right and
+left. Several of the crew of the schooner have climbed into the tops,
+and from that point of vantage pour down on the attacking party a
+murderous fire. Horrid yells go up from the enraged combatants, and
+the roar of the musketry is deafening. The crew of the schooner are
+forced backward, step by step, until at last they are driven off the
+vessel altogether, and stand on the wharf delivering a rapid fire. The
+men from the navy-yard are beginning to pour down to the wharf to take
+a hand in the fight. But now a column of smoke begins to arise from
+the open companionway; and the blue-jackets see that their work is
+done, and tumble over the side into their boats. It is high time for
+them to leave, for the Confederates are on the wharf in overwhelming
+force. As they stand there, crowded together, the retiring sailors
+open on them with canister from two howitzers in the boats. Six
+rounds of this sort of firing sends the Confederates looking for
+shelter; and the sailors pull off through the darkness to their ship,
+there to watch the burning vessel, until, with a sudden burst of
+flame, she is blown to pieces.
+
+Considering the dashing nature of this exploit, the loss of life was
+wonderfully small. Lieut. Blake, who commanded one of the boats, was
+saved by one of those strange accidents so common in war. As he was
+going over the side of the "Colorado," some one handed him a metal
+flask filled with brandy, to be used for the wounded. He dropped it
+into the lower pocket of his overcoat, but, finding it uncomfortable
+there, changed it to the side pocket of his coat, immediately over his
+heart. When the boats touched the side of the schooner, Blake was one
+of the first to spring into the chains and clamber aboard. Just as he
+was springing over the gunwale, a Confederate sailor pointed a pistol
+at his heart, and fired it just as Blake cut him down with a savage
+cutlass-stroke. The bullet sped true to its mark, but struck the
+flask, and had just enough force to perforate it, without doing any
+injury to the lieutenant.
+
+The first death in the fight was a sad one. A marine, the first man to
+board the schooner, lost his distinguishing white cap in his leap. His
+comrades followed fast behind him, and, seeing that he wore no cap,
+took him for one of the enemy, and plunged their bayonets deep in his
+breast, killing him instantly. He was known to his comrades as John
+Smith, but on searching his bag letters were found proving that this
+was not his own name. One from his mother begged him to return home,
+and give up his roving life. He proved to be a well-educated young
+man, who through fear of some disgrace had enlisted in the marines to
+hide himself from the world.
+
+[Illustration: Capture of the "Harriet Lane."]
+
+Another dashing event occurred on the Gulf Coast some months later,
+although in this instance the Confederates were the assailants and the
+victors. Galveston had for some time been in the hands of the Union
+forces, and was occupied by three regiments of United States troops.
+In the harbor lay three men-of-war, whose cannon kept the town in
+subjection. It had been rumored for some time that the Confederates
+were planning to recapture the city, and accordingly the most vigilant
+lookout was kept from all the ships. On the 1st of January, 1863, at
+half-past one A.M., as the lookout on the "Harriet Lane" was thinking
+of the new year just ushered in, and wondering whether before the
+end of that year he could see again his cosey Northern home and wife
+and friends, he saw far up the river a cloud of black smoke, that rose
+high in the air, and blotted from sight the shining winter stars. He
+rubbed his eyes, and looked again. There was no mistake: the smoke was
+there, and rapidly moving toward him. Clearly it was a steamer coming
+down the river; but whether an armed enemy or a blockade-runner, he
+could not say. He gave the alarm; and in a moment the roll of the
+drums made the sailors below spring from their hammocks, and, hastily
+throwing on their clothes, rush on deck. The drums beat to quarters,
+and the crew were soon at their guns. Over the water came the roll of
+the drums from the other ships, and from the troops on shore, now all
+aroused and in arms. For thirty hours the Federals had been expecting
+this attack, and now they were fully prepared for it.
+
+The attacking vessels came nearer, and the men on the Union ships
+strained their eyes to see by the faint starlight what manner of craft
+they had to meet. They proved to be two large river-steamships, piled
+high with cotton-bales, crowded with armed men, and provided with a
+few field pieces. Clearly they were only dangerous at close quarters,
+and the "Lane" at once began a rapid fire to beat them back. But the
+bad light spoiled her gunners' aim, and she determined to rush upon
+the enemy, and run him down. The Confederate captain managed his helm
+skilfully, and the "Lane" struck only a glancing blow. Then, in her
+turn, the "Lane" was rammed by the Confederate steamer, which plunged
+into her with a crash and a shock which seemed almost to lift the
+ships out of water. The two vessels drifted apart, the "Lane" hardly
+injured, but the Confederate with a gaping wound in his bow which sent
+him to the bottom in fifteen minutes. But now the other Confederate
+came bearing down under a full head of steam, and crashed into the
+"Lane." Evidently the Confederates wanted to fight in the old style;
+for they threw out grappling-irons, lashed the two ships side to side,
+and began pouring on to the deck of the Federal ship for a
+hand-to-hand conflict. Cries of anger and pain, pistol-shots, cutlass
+blows, and occasional roars from the howitzers rose on the night air,
+and were answered by the sounds of battle from the shore, where the
+Confederates had attacked the slender Union garrison. The sinking
+steamer took up a position near the "Lane," and poured broadside after
+broadside upon the struggling Union ship. But where were the other
+three Union vessels all this time? It seemed as though their
+commanders had lost all their coolness; for they ran their vessels
+here and there, now trying to do something to help their friends on
+shore, now making an ineffectual attempt to aid the "Harriet Lane."
+But on board that vessel matters were going badly for the Federals.
+The Confederates in great numbers kept pouring over the bulwarks, and
+were rapidly driving the crew from the deck. Capt. Wainwright lay dead
+at the door of the cabin. Across his body stood his young son, his
+eyes blazing, his hair waving in the wind. He held in his right hand a
+huge revolver, which he was firing without aim into the tossing mass
+of struggling men before him, while he called on his dead father to
+rise and help him. A stray bullet cut off two of his fingers, and the
+pain was too much for the little hero only ten years old; and,
+dropping the pistol, he burst into tears, crying, "Do you want to kill
+me?" The blue-jackets began to look anxiously for help toward the
+other vessels. But, even while they looked, they saw all hope of help
+cut off; for with a crash and a burst of flame the "Westfield" blew
+up. It turned out later, that, finding his ship aground, the captain
+of the "Westfield" had determined to abandon her, and fire the
+magazine; but in fixing his train he made a fatal error, and the ship
+blew up, hurling captain and crew into the air. The men on the
+"Harriet Lane" saw that all hope was gone, and surrendered their ship.
+When the captains of the two remaining gunboats saw the stars and
+stripes fall from the peak, they turned their vessels' prows toward
+the sea, and scudded out of danger of capture. At the same moment,
+cheers from the gray-coats on shore told that the Confederates had
+been successful both by land and sea, and the stars and bars once more
+floated over Galveston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+     THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS. -- FARRAGUT'S FLEET PASSES FORT ST.
+     PHILIP AND FORT JACKSON.
+
+
+While Commodore Foote, with his flotilla of gunboats and mortar-boats,
+was working his way down the Mississippi River, making occasional
+dashes into the broad streams that flow from either side into the
+father of waters, Admiral Farragut, with his fleet of tall-sparred,
+ocean-going men-of-war, was laying his plans for an expedition
+up-stream. But Farragut's first obstacle lay very near the mouth of
+the broad, tawny river that flows for a thousand miles through the
+centre of the United States. New Orleans, the greatest city of the
+Confederacy, stands on the river's bank, only ninety miles from the
+blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Confederate authorities knew
+the value of this great city to their cause, and were careful not to
+let it go unprotected. Long before any thought of civil war disturbed
+the minds of the people of the United States, the Federal Government
+had built below the Crescent City two forts, that peered at each other
+across the swift, turbid tide of the Mississippi River. Fort St.
+Philip and Fort Jackson they were called, the latter being named in
+honor of the stubborn old military hero who beat back the British
+soldiers at the close of the war of 1812 on the glorious field of
+Chalmette near New Orleans. Fort Jackson was a huge star of stone and
+mortar. In its massive walls were great cavernous bomb-proofs in which
+the soldiers were secure from bursting shells. It stood back about a
+hundred yards from the levee, and its casemates just rose above the
+huge dike that keeps the Mississippi in its proper channel. When the
+river was high from the spring floods of the north, a steamer floating
+on its swift tide towered high above the bastions of the fort. In the
+casemates and on the parapets were mounted seventy-five guns of all
+calibres. By its peculiar shape and situation on a jutting point of
+land, the fort was able to bring its guns to bear upon the river in
+three directions.
+
+When the storm of civil war burst upon the country, the Confederates
+of New Orleans were prompt to seize this and Fort St. Philip, that
+stood on the other side of the river. They found Fort Jackson in the
+state of general decay into which most army posts fall in times of
+peace, and they set at work at once to strengthen it. All over the
+parapet, bomb-proofs, and weak points, bags of sand were piled five or
+six feet deep, making the strongest defence known in war. Steamers
+plied up and down the river, bringing provision, ammunition, and new
+cannon, and soon the fort was ready to stand the most determined
+siege. Fort St. Philip, across the river, though not so imposing a
+military work, was more powerful. It was built of masonry, and heavily
+sodded over all points exposed to fire. It was more irregular in shape
+than Fort Jackson, and with its guns seemed to command every point on
+the river. Both were amply protected from storming by wide, deep moats
+always filled with water.
+
+In these two forts were stationed troops made up of the finest young
+men of New Orleans. For them it was a gay station. Far removed from
+the fighting on the frontier, and within an easy journey of their
+homes, they frolicked away the first year of the war. Every week gay
+parties of pleasure-seekers from New Orleans would come down; and the
+proud defenders would take their friends to the frowning bastions, and
+point out how easily they could blow the enemy's fleet out of water if
+the ships ever came within range of those heavy guns. But the ships
+did not come within range of the guns for many months. They contented
+themselves with lying at the Head of the Passes, and stopping all
+intercourse with the outer world, until New Orleans began to get
+shabby and ragged and hungry, and the pleasure-parties came less often
+to the forts, and the gay young soldiers saw their uniforms getting
+old and tattered, but knew not where to get the cloth to replace them.
+
+[Illustration: Levee at New Orleans before the War.]
+
+In the city no rumble of commerce was heard on the streets. Grass grew
+on the deserted levee, where in times of peace the brown and white
+cotton-bales were piled by the thousand, waiting for strong black
+hands to seize and swing them upon the decks of the trim Liverpool
+packets, that lay three or four deep along the river front. The huge
+gray custom-house that stood at the foot of Canal Street no longer
+resounded with the rapid tread of sea-captains or busy merchants. From
+the pipes of the cotton-presses, the rush of the escaping steam, as
+the ruthless press squeezed the great bale into one-third its original
+size, was no longer heard. Most of the great towering steamboats that
+came rushing down the river with stores of cotton or sugar had long
+since been cut down into squat, powerful gunboats, or were tied up
+idly to the bank. Across the river, in the shipyards of Algiers, there
+seemed a little more life; for there workmen were busy changing
+peaceful merchant vessels into gunboats and rams, that were, the
+people fondly hoped, to drive away the men-of-war at the river's mouth
+and save the city from starvation. From time to time the streets of
+the city resounded with the notes of drum and fife, as one after the
+other the militia companies went off to the front and the fighting.
+Then the time came when none were left save the "Confederate Guards,"
+old gray-haired men, judges, bankers, merchants, gentlemen of every
+degree, too old for active service at the front, but too young not to
+burn for the grasp of a gun or sword while they knew that their sons
+and grandsons were fighting on the bloodstained soil of Virginia and
+Tennessee.
+
+But, while the city was gradually falling into desolation and decay,
+preparations were being made by the Federal navy for its capture. On
+the 2d of February, 1862, Admiral Farragut sailed from Hampton Roads
+in his stanch frigate the "Hartford," to take command of a naval
+expedition intended to capture New Orleans. The place of rendezvous
+was Ship Island, a sandy island in the Gulf of Mexico. Here he
+organized his squadron, and started for his post in the Mississippi,
+below the forts. The first obstacle was found at the mouth of the
+river, where the heavy war-vessels were unable to make their way over
+the bar. Nearly two weeks were occupied in the work of lightening
+these ships until they were able to pass. The frigate "Colorado" was
+unable to get over at all. The "Pensacola" was dragged through the mud
+by the sheer strength of other vessels of the expedition. While they
+were tugging at her, a huge hawser snapped with a report like a
+cannon, and the flying ends killed two men and seriously wounded five
+others. But at last the fleet was safely past all obstacles, and
+Admiral Farragut found himself well established in the lower
+Mississippi, with a force of twenty-five men-of-war, and twenty
+mortar-schooners; one of the most powerful armadas ever despatched
+against an enemy. Farragut lost no time in getting his ships prepared
+for the baptism of fire which was sure to come. While he was
+diligently at work on his preparations, he was visited by some French
+and English naval officers, who had carefully examined the defences of
+the Confederates, and came to warn him that to attack the forts with
+wooden vessels, such as made up his fleet, was sheer madness, and
+would only result in defeat. "You may be right," answered the brave
+old sailor, "but I was sent here to make the attempt. I came here to
+reduce or pass the forts, and to take New Orleans, _and I shall try it
+on_." The foreigners remarked that he was going to certain
+destruction, and politely withdrew.
+
+In the mean time, the tars on the mortar-fleet were working
+industriously to get their ships in fighting-trim. The topmasts were
+stripped of their sails, and lowered; the loose and standing rigging
+strapped to the masts; the spars, forebooms, and gaffs unshipped, and
+secured to the outside of the vessels to avert the danger from
+splinters, which, in naval actions, is often greater than from the
+shots themselves. From the main-deck every thing was removed that
+could obstruct the easy handling of the tremendous mortars; and the
+men were drilled to skill and alertness in firing the huge engines of
+death. The work was hastened on the mortar-schooners, because the plan
+was to rush them into position, and let them harass the Confederates
+with a steady bombardment, while the ships-of-war were preparing for
+their part in the coming fight.
+
+The mortar-fleet was under command of Admiral Porter, an able and
+energetic officer. He soon had his ships ready, and began moving them
+into position along the banks of the river, out of sight of the forts.
+To further conceal them from the gunners in the forts, he had the
+masts and rigging wrapped with green foliage; so that, lying against
+the dense thickets of willows that skirt that part of the river, they
+were invisible. Other boats that were in more exposed positions had
+their hulls covered with grass and reeds, so that they seemed a part
+of the swamp that bordered the river. After the line of fire had been
+obtained by a careful mathematical survey, Porter got all his
+mortar-boats into position, and began his bombardment. The gunners on
+the mortar-boats could not see the forts; but the range had been
+calculated for them, and they merely fired mechanically. A lookout,
+perched on the masthead, could see over the low willow-forest, and
+watch the course of the shells as they rushed high into the air, and
+then, falling with a graceful curve, plunged into the forts. The
+firing was begun on the 16th of April, and was kept up with a will.
+The twenty huge mortars keeping up a constant fire, made a deafening
+roar that shook the earth, and could be heard far up the river at New
+Orleans, where the people poured out into the streets, and gayly
+predicted defeat for any enemy who should attack "the boys in the
+forts." The forts were not slow in returning the fire; but as the
+mortar-vessels were hidden, and did not offer very large marks, their
+fire was rather ineffective. Parties of Confederates, old
+swamp-hunters, and skilled riflemen, stole down through the dense
+thickets, to pick off the crews of the mortar-schooners. They managed
+to kill a few gunners in this way, but were soon driven away by the
+point-blank fire of the supporting gunboats. But all this time the
+shells were falling thick and fast, driving the soldiers to the
+bomb-proofs, and tearing to pieces every thing unprotected. One shell
+set fire to some wooden structures that stood on the parade-ground in
+Fort Jackson; and, as the smoke and flames rose in the air, the
+gunners down the river thought that the fort was burning, and cheered
+and fired with renewed vigor. The shells that burst upon the levee
+soon cut great trenches in it, so that the mighty Mississippi broke
+through with a rush, and flooded the country all about. But the forts
+seemed as strong and unconquered as ever.
+
+While the soldiers were crowded together in the bomb-proofs to escape
+the flying bits of shell, the sailors on the little fleet of
+Confederate vessels anchored above them were busily engaged in getting
+ready a fire-raft which was to float down the river, and make havoc
+among the vessels of the Union fleet. Two such rafts were prepared;
+one of which, an immense affair, carrying cords of blazing pine-wood,
+was sent down in the early morning at a time when the vessels were
+utterly unprepared to defend themselves. Luckily it grounded on a
+sandbar, and burned and crackled away harmlessly until it was
+consumed. This warned Commander Porter of the danger in which his
+mortar-vessels were of a second attack of the same nature; and
+accordingly he put in readiness one hundred and fifty small boats
+with picked crews, and well supplied with axes and grapnels, whose
+duty it was to grapple any future rafts, and tow them into a harmless
+position. They did not have long to wait. At sundown that night,
+Commander Porter reviewed his little squadron of row-boats as they lay
+drawn up in line along the low marshy shores of the mighty river. The
+sun sank a glowing red ball beneath the line at which the blue waters
+of the gulf and the blue arch of heaven seemed to meet. The long
+southern twilight gradually deepened into a black, moonless night. The
+cries of frogs and seabirds, and the little flashes of the fireflies,
+were silenced and blotted out by the incessant roar and flash of the
+tremendous mortars that kept up their deadly work. Suddenly in the
+distance the sky grows red and lurid. "The fort is burning!" cry the
+men at the guns; but from the masthead comes the response, "No, the
+fire is on the river. It is another fire-raft." The alarm was
+instantly given to all the vessels of the fleet. Bright colored
+signal-lights blazed on the decks, and the dark, slender cordage stood
+out against the brilliant red and green fires that flickered strangely
+upon the dark wooded banks of the river. Rockets rushed high into the
+air, and, bursting, let fall a shower of party-colored lights that
+told the watchers far down the river that danger was to be expected.
+Then the signal-lights went out, and all was dark and silent save
+where the lurid glare of the great mass of fire could be seen floating
+in the great curves of the tortuous river toward the crowded ships. It
+was a time of intense suspense. The little flotilla of fire-boats,
+organized by Commander Porter that day, was on the alert; and the
+blue-jackets bent to their oars with a will, and soon had their boats
+ranged along a bend far above the fleet. Here they waited to catch the
+fiery monster, and save the ships. The danger came nearer fast.
+Rapidly the flames increased in volume, until the whole surrounding
+region was lighted up by the glare; while from the floating fire, a
+huge black column of smoke arose, and blended with the clouds that
+glowed as though they themselves were on fire. When the raft came into
+view around a point, it was seen to be too big for the boats to handle
+unaided, and two gunboats slipped their cables, and started for the
+thing of terror. From every side the row-boats dashed at the raft.
+Some grappled it, and the sailors tugged lustily at their oars,
+seeking to drag the mass of flames toward the shore. Then the
+"Westfield," under full head of steam, dashed furiously against the
+raft, crashing in the timbers and sending great clouds of sparks
+flying high in the air. From her hose-pipes she poured floods of water
+on the crackling, roaring, blazing mass; while all the time, with her
+powerful engines, she was pushing it toward the shore.
+
+In the mean time, the sailors from the fleet of small boats were
+swarming upon the raft wherever they could find a foothold free from
+flame. Some carrying buckets dashed water upon the flames, some with
+axes cut loose flaming timbers, and let them float harmlessly down the
+river. It was a fight in which all the men were on one side; but it
+was a grand sight, and was eagerly watched by those on the imperilled
+vessels. The immediate arena of the conflict was bright as day, but
+all around was gloom. At last the pluck and determination of the men
+triumph over the flames. The raft, flaming, smouldering, broken, is
+towed out of the channel, and left to end its life in fitful flashes
+on a sandy point. The returning boats are greeted with cheers, and
+soon darkness and silence fall upon the scene. The mortars cease their
+thunderous work for the night; and ere long the only sounds heard are
+the rush of the mighty waters, or the faint cry of the night birds in
+the forest. The sentinel pacing the deck peers in vain through the
+gloom. War gives way for a time to rest.
+
+[Illustration: Fire-raft at Forts of the Mississippi.]
+
+Hardly had the gray dawn begun to appear, when the roll of the drums
+on the decks of the ships was heard; and, soon after, the roar of the
+opening gun was heard from one of the mortar-schooners. Again the
+bombardment was opened. The twenty boats in the mortar-fleet were
+divided into three divisions, each of which fired for two hours in
+succession, and then stopped for a time to allow the great cannon to
+cool. Thus a continuous bombardment was kept up, and the soldiers in
+the forts were given no time to repair the damages caused by the
+bursting shells. Every mortar was fired once in five minutes; so that
+one shell was hurled towards the fort about every minute, while
+sometimes three shells would be seen sweeping with majestic curves
+through the air at the same time. The shells weighed two hundred and
+fifteen pounds; and when they were hurled into the air by the
+explosion of twenty pounds of powder, the boat bearing the mortar was
+driven down into the water six or eight inches, and the light railings
+and woodwork of buildings at the Balize, thirty miles away, were
+shattered by the concussion. The shells rose high in the air, with an
+unearthly shriek, and after a curve of a mile and a half fell into
+or near the forts, and, bursting, threw their deadly fragments in all
+directions. Day after day, and night after night, this went on. If the
+men on the mortar-schooners showed bravery and endurance in keeping up
+so exhausting a fire so steadily, what shall we say for the men in the
+forts who bore up against it so nobly? Before noon of the first day of
+the bombardment, the soldiers of Fort Jackson saw their barracks
+burned, with their clothing, bedding, and several days' rations.
+Shells were pouring in upon them from vessels that they could not see.
+The smooth-bore guns mounted in the embrasures would hardly send a
+shot to the nearest of the hostile gunboats. Then the river broke
+through its banks, and half the fort was transformed into a morass. An
+officer in Fort Jackson said, after the surrender, that in two hours
+over one hundred shells had fallen upon the parade-ground of that
+work, tearing it up terribly. For six days this terrible fire was
+endured; and during the latter half of the bombardment the water stood
+knee deep on the gun-platforms, and the gunners worked at their guns
+until their shoes, soaked for days and days, fairly fell from their
+feet. For bed and bedding they had the wet earth, for rations raw meat
+and mouldy bread. If there were glory and victory for the Union
+sailors, let there at least be honor and credit granted the soldiers
+of the gray for the dogged courage with which they bore the terrible
+bombardment from Porter's flotilla.
+
+While the mortars were pounding away through those six long days and
+nights, Farragut was getting ready to take his ships past the forts.
+Union scouts and spies had travelled over every foot of land and water
+about the forts; and the exact strength of the Confederates, and the
+difficulties to be overcome, were clearly known to the Federal
+admiral. One of the chief obstructions was a chain of rafts and old
+hulks that stretched across the channel by which the fleet would be
+obliged to ascend the river. Under cover of a tremendous fire from all
+the mortars, two gunboats were sent up to remove this obstruction. The
+night was dark and favorable to the enterprise, and the vessels
+reached the chain before they were discovered. Then, under a fierce
+cannonade from the forts, Lieut. Caldwell put off in a row-boat from
+his vessel, boarded one of the hulks, and managed to break the chain.
+The string of hulks was quickly swept ashore by the swift current, and
+the channel was open for the ascent of the Union fleet.
+
+[Illustration: Breaking the Chain.]
+
+On the 23d of April, Farragut determined that his fleet should make
+the attempt to get past the forts the following day. He knew that
+the enemy must be exhausted with the terrible strain of Porter's
+bombardment, and he felt that the opportunity had arrived for him to
+make a successful dash for the upper river. The fleet was all prepared
+for a desperate struggle. Many of the captains had daubed the sides of
+their vessels with the river mud, that they might be less prominent
+marks for the Confederate gunners. The chain cables of all the vessels
+were coiled about vulnerable parts, or draped over the sides amidships
+to protect the boilers. Knowing that it was to be a night action, the
+gun-decks had been whitewashed; so that even by the dim, uncertain
+light of the battle lanterns, the gunners could see plainly all
+objects about them. Hammocks and nettings were stretched above the
+decks to catch flying splinters from the spars overhead. Late at night
+the admiral in his longboat was pulled from ship to ship to view the
+preparations made, and see that each captain fully understood his
+orders.
+
+It was two o'clock on the morning of the 24th of April, when the
+Confederates on the parapets of their forts might have heard the
+shrill notes of fifes, the steady tramp of men, the sharp clicking of
+capstans, and the grating of chain cables passing through the
+hawse-holes on the ships below. Indeed, it is probable that these
+sounds were heard at the forts, and were understood, for the
+Confederates were on the alert when the ships came steaming up the
+river.
+
+They formed in a stately line of battle, headed by the "Cayuga." As
+they came up the stream, the gunners in the forts could see the
+mastheads over the low willow thickets that bordered the banks of the
+stream. The line of obstructions was reached and passed, and then the
+whole furious fire of both forts fell upon the advancing ships.
+Gallantly they kept on their way, firing thunderous broadsides from
+each side. And, while the ships were under the direct fire of the
+forts, the enemy's fleet came dashing down the river to dispute the
+way. This was more to the taste of Farragut and his boys in blue. They
+were tired of fighting stone walls. In the van of the Confederate
+squadron was the ram "Manassas," that had created such a panic among
+the blockading squadron a month before. She plunged desperately into
+the fight. The great frigate "Brooklyn" was a prominent vessel in the
+Union line, and at her the ram dashed. The bold hearts on the grand
+old frigate did not seek to avoid the conflict, and the two vessels
+rushed together. The ram struck the "Brooklyn" a glancing blow; and
+the shot from her one gun was returned by a hail of cannon-balls from
+the frigate's tremendous broadside, many of which broke through the
+iron plating. Nothing daunted, the ram backed off and rushed at the
+frigate again. This time she struck full on the frigate's side. The
+shock was terrible. Men on the gun-deck of the ram were hurled to the
+deck, with the blood streaming from their nostrils. The frigate keeled
+over farther and farther, until all thought that she would be borne
+beneath the water by the pressure of the ram. All the time the
+spiteful bow-gun of the iron monster was hurling its bolts into her
+hull. But the blow of the ram had done no damage, for she had struck
+one of the coils of chain that had been hung down the "Brooklyn's"
+side. The two vessels slowly swung apart; and, after a final broadside
+from the "Brooklyn," the "Manassas" drifted away in the pitchy
+darkness to seek for new adversaries. She was not long in finding one;
+for as the gray dawn was breaking she suddenly found herself under the
+very bows of the "Mississippi," which was bearing down upon her and
+seemed sure to run her down. The captain of the "Manassas" was an able
+steersman, and neatly dodged the blow; but in this quick movement he
+ran his vessel ashore, and she lay there under the guns of the
+"Mississippi," and unable to bring any of her own guns to bear. The
+captain of the frigate was not slow in taking advantage of this chance
+to be revenged for all the trouble she had given the Union fleet; and
+he took up a good position, and pounded away with his heavy guns at
+the iron monster. The heavy shots crashed through the iron plating and
+came plunging in the portholes, seeking every nook and cranny about
+the vessel. It was too much for men to stand, and the crew of the
+"Manassas" fled to the woods; while their vessel was soon set on fire
+with red-hot shots, and blew up with a tremendous report soon after.
+
+[Illustration: Ram "Tennessee" at Mobile Bay.]
+
+In the mean time, the ships of the Union fleet were doing daring work,
+and meeting a determined resistance. The flagship "Hartford" was met
+by a tug which pushed a huge burning fire-raft against her sides.
+There the flaming thing lay right up against the portholes, the flames
+catching the tarred rigging, and running up the masts. Farragut walked
+his quarter-deck as coolly as though the ship was on parade. "Don't
+flinch from that fire, boys," he sang out, as the flames rushed in the
+portholes, and drove the men from their guns. "There's a hotter fire
+than that 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." But
+the tug did get away, after all; and no one can feel sorry that men
+plucky enough to take an unarmed tug into a terrible fight of frigates
+and iron-clads should escape with their lives. The men on the
+"Hartford" fought the flames with hose and buckets, and at last got
+rid of their dangerous neighbor. Then they saw a steamer crowded with
+men rushing toward the flagship without firing a shot, and evidently
+intending to board. Capt. Broome, with a crew of marines, was working
+a bow-gun on the "Hartford." Carefully he trained the huge piece upon
+the approaching steamer. He stepped back, stooped for a last glance
+along the sights, then with a quick pull of the lanyard the great gun
+went off with a roar, followed instantly by a louder explosion from
+the attacking steamer. When the smoke cleared away, all looked eagerly
+for the enemy; but she had vanished as if by magic. That single shot,
+striking her magazine, had blown her up with all on board.
+
+Much of the hardest fighting was done by the smaller vessels on either
+side. The little Confederate "cotton-clad" "Governor Moore" made a
+desperate fight, dashing through the Union fleet, taking and giving
+broadsides in every direction. The Union vessel "Varuna" also did
+daring work, and naturally these two ships met in desperate conflict.
+After exchanging broadsides, the "Governor Moore" rammed her
+adversary, and, while bearing down on her, received a severe raking
+fire from the "Varuna." The "Governor Moore" was in such a position
+that none of her guns could be brought to bear; but her captain
+suddenly depressed the muzzle of his bow-gun, and sent a shot crashing
+through _his own_ deck and side, and deep into the hull of the
+"Varuna." The vessels soon parted, but the "Varuna" had received her
+death-wound, and sank in shallow water. The "Governor Moore" kept on
+her way, but was knocked to pieces by the fire from the heavy guns of
+the frigates shortly after.
+
+And so the battle raged for five hours. To recount in full the deeds
+of valor done, would be to tell the story of each ship engaged, and
+would require volumes. Witnesses who saw the fight from the start were
+deeply impressed by the majesty of the scene. It was like a grand
+panorama. "From almost perfect silence,--the steamers moving through
+the water like phantom ships,--one incessant roar of heavy cannon
+commenced, the Confederate forts and gunboats opening together on the
+head of our line as it came within range. The Union vessels returned
+the fire as they came up, and soon the hundred and seventy guns of our
+fleet joined in the thunder which seemed to shake the very earth. A
+lurid glare was thrown over the scene by the burning rafts; and, as
+the bombshells crossed each other and exploded in the air, it seemed
+as if a battle were taking place in the heavens as well as on the
+earth. It all ended as suddenly as it commenced."
+
+While this gigantic contest was going on in the river abreast of the
+forts, the people of New Orleans were thronging the streets, listening
+to the unceasing roar of the great guns, and discussing, with pale
+faces and anxious hearts, the outcome of the fight. "Farragut can
+never pass our forts. His wooden ships will be blown to pieces by
+their fire, or dashed into atoms by the 'Manassas,'" people said. But
+many listened in silence: they had husbands, sons, or brothers in that
+fearful fight, and who could tell that they would return alive? By and
+by the firing ceased. Only an occasional shot broke the stillness of
+the morning. Then came the suspense. Had the fleet been beaten back,
+or was it above the forts, and even now sullenly steaming up to the
+city? Everybody rushed for the housetops to look to the southward,
+over the low land through which the Mississippi winds. An hour's
+waiting, and they see curls of smoke rising above the trees, then
+slender dark lines moving along above the tree-tops. "Are they our
+ships?" every one cries; and no one answers until the dark lines are
+seen to be crossed by others at right angles. They are masts with
+yard-arms, masts of seagoing vessels, the masts of the invader's
+fleet. A cry of grief, of fear, of rage, goes up from the housetops.
+"To the levee!" cry the men, and soon the streets resound with the
+rush of many feet toward the river. "The river is crooked, and its
+current swift. It will be hours before the Yankees can arrive: let us
+burn, destroy, that they may find no booty." Let one who was in the
+sorrowful city that terrible April day tell the story. "I went to the
+river-side. There, until far into the night, I saw hundreds of drays
+carrying cotton out of the presses and yards to the wharves, where it
+was fired. The glare of those sinuous miles of flame set men and women
+weeping and wailing thirty miles away, on the farther shore of Lake
+Pontchartrain. But the next day was the day of terrors. During the
+night, fear, wrath, and sense of betrayal, had run through the people
+as the fire had run through the cotton. You have seen, perhaps, a
+family fleeing, with lamentations and wringing of hands, out of a
+burning house; multiply it by thousands upon thousands: that was New
+Orleans, though the houses were not burning. The firemen were out; but
+they cast fire on the waters, putting the torch to the empty ships and
+cutting them loose to float down the river.
+
+[Illustration: New Orleans on Approach of Fleet.]
+
+"Whoever could go was going. The great mass that had no place to go
+to, or means to go with, was beside itself. 'Betrayed! betrayed!' it
+cried, and ran in throngs from street to street, seeking some vent,
+some victim for its wrath. I saw a crowd catch a poor fellow at the
+corner of Magazine and Common Streets, whose crime was that he looked
+like a stranger and might be a spy. He was the palest living man I
+ever saw. They swung him to a neighboring lamp-post; but the Foreign
+Legion was patrolling the town in strong squads, and one of its
+lieutenants, all green and gold, leaped with drawn sword, cut the
+rope, and saved the man. This was one occurrence; there were many like
+it. I stood in the rear door of our store, Canal Street, soon after
+re-opening it. The junior of the firm was within. I called him to look
+toward the river. The masts of the cutter 'Washington' were slowly
+tipping, declining, sinking--down she went. The gunboat moored next
+her began to smoke all over and then to blaze. My employers lifted up
+their heels and left the city, left their goods and their affairs in
+the hands of one mere lad--no stranger would have thought I had
+reached fourteen--and one big German porter. I closed the doors, sent
+the porter to his place in the Foreign Legion, and ran to the levee to
+see the sights.
+
+"What a gathering!--the riff-raff of the wharves, the town, the
+gutters. Such women! such wrecks of women! and all the juvenile
+rag-tag. The lower steamboat-landing, well covered with sugar, rice,
+and molasses, was being rifled. The men smashed; the women scooped up
+the smashings. The river was overflowing the top of the levee. A
+rain-storm began to threaten. 'Are the Yankee ships in sight?' I asked
+of an idler. He pointed out the tops of their naked masts as they
+showed up across the huge bend of the river. They were engaging the
+batteries at Camp Chalmette, the old field of Jackson's renown.
+Presently that was over. Ah, me! I see them now as they come slowly
+round Slaughterhouse Point, into full view: silent, so grim and
+terrible, black with men, heavy with deadly portent, the long banished
+stars and stripes flying against the frowning sky. Oh for the
+'Mississippi,' the 'Mississippi!' Just then she came down upon them.
+But how? Drifting helplessly, a mass of flames.
+
+"The crowds on the levee howled and screamed with rage. The swarming
+decks answered never a word; but one old tar on the 'Hartford,'
+standing with lanyard in hand, beside a great pivot-gun, so plain to
+view that you could see him smile, silently patted its big black
+breech and blandly grinned."
+
+As the masts of the fleet came up the river, a young man stepped out
+upon the roof of the City Hall, and swiftly hoisted the flag of the
+State of Louisiana. When the ships came up, two officers were sent
+ashore to demand the surrender of the city; and shoulder to shoulder
+the two old sailors marched through a howling, cursing mob to the City
+Hall. The mayor refused to surrender the city, saying that Farragut
+already had captured it. The officers went back to their ships, and
+the flag still floated. Two days later the officers, with a hundred
+sailors and marines, returned and demanded that the flag be hauled
+down. No one in the city would tear it down, and the Federals went up
+to the roof to lower it themselves. The street and surrounding
+housetops were crowded with a hostile people, all armed. No one could
+tell that the fall of the flag would not be followed by a volley from
+the undisciplined populace. The marines in front of the building stood
+grouped about two loaded howitzers that bore upon the darkly muttering
+crowd. Violence was in the air. As the two officers rose to go to the
+roof, the mayor, a young Creole, left the room and descended the
+stairs. Quietly he stepped out into the street, and without a word
+stood before one of the howitzers, his arms folded, eying the gunner,
+who stood with lanyard in hand, ready to fire at the word of command.
+The flag fell slowly from the staff. Not a sound arose from the crowd.
+All were watching the mayor, who stood coldly looking on death. The
+Federal officers came down carrying the flag. A few sharp commands,
+and the marines tramped away down the street, with the howitzers
+clanking behind them. The crowd cheered for Mayor Monroe and
+dispersed, and New Orleans became again a city of the United States.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+     ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI. -- FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP SURRENDER.
+     -- THE BATTLE AT ST. CHARLES. -- THE RAM "ARKANSAS." --
+     BOMBARDMENT AND CAPTURE OF PORT HUDSON.
+
+
+While New Orleans was thus excited over the capture of the city, the
+soldiers in the forts below were debating as to the course they should
+adopt. They had not surrendered; and although the great bastions were
+pounded out of shape by the heavy guns of the fleet, yet they were
+still formidable defences, giving perfect security to the men in the
+bomb-proofs. But their case was hopeless: for Farragut was at New
+Orleans, and could cut off their supplies; while Porter, with his
+mortar-boats, was below them, putting escape out of the question.
+Every now and then a big shell would drop on the parade, and its
+flying pieces would remind the garrison that their enemies were
+getting impatient. After waiting a day or two, Porter sent a
+lieutenant with a flag of truce to the fort, calling upon the
+Confederate commander to surrender the two forts and the shattered
+remnant of the Confederate navy. He complimented the Confederates upon
+their gallant defence, but warned them, that, should they refuse to
+surrender, he would recommence his bombardment with new vigor. The
+Confederates refused to surrender until they heard from New Orleans;
+and the next day the monotonous thunder of the heavy mortars began
+again, and again the heavy shells began falling thick and fast upon
+the forts. Wearily the gray-coated soldiers settled down to continue
+what they felt must be a useless defence. The officers did their best
+to inspirit the men; but all knew that a surrender must come before
+long, and at last the men mutinously left their guns, and said they
+would fight no longer. They had borne without flinching a terrible
+bombardment, and now they felt that to fight longer would be a foolish
+sacrifice of life. Many left the forts, and plunged into the woods to
+escape the terrible shells. Gen. Duncan saw that all was lost, and on
+the night of the 28th of April sent an officer to the fleet announcing
+the surrender. On the following day Porter proceeded up-stream with
+his squadron, and anchored off the fort. A boat, manned by six trim
+sailors in dress uniforms, put off, and soon returned, bringing the
+commander of the defeated forces and two or three officers. They were
+received on the "Harriet Lane," and Commodore Porter had made great
+preparations for the meeting. The crews of all the vessels were
+dressed in snow-white mustering-suits, and the officers in
+brass-buttoned blue coats and white trousers. The decks were scrubbed,
+and all traces of the fight cleared away. As the Confederate officers
+came up to the fleet, one of them, a former lieutenant in the Union
+navy, said, "Look at the old navy. I feel proud when I see them. There
+are no half-breeds there: they are the simon-pure." As the
+Confederates came over the side, Porter stood, with his officers,
+ready to receive them. The greatest politeness was observed on either
+side; and Porter writes, "Their bearing was that of men who had gained
+a victory, instead of undergoing defeat." While the papers of
+capitulation were being signed, a message came from the deck that the
+huge Confederate iron-clad "Louisiana" was drifting down upon them, a
+mass of flames, and there was great danger that she would blow up in
+the midst of the Union fleet. "This is sharp practice, gentlemen,"
+said Porter, "and some of us will perhaps be blown up; but I know what
+to do. If you can stand what is coming, we can; but I will make it
+lively for those people if anybody in the flotilla is injured."
+
+"I told Lieut. Wainwright to hail the steamer next him," writes Capt.
+Porter, "and tell her captain to pass the word for the others to veer
+out all their riding-chains to the bitter end, and stand by to sheer
+clear of the burning iron-clad as she drifted down. I then sat down to
+the table, and said, 'Gentlemen, we will proceed to sign the
+capitulation.' I handed the paper to Gen. Duncan, and looked at the
+Confederate officers to see how they would behave under the
+circumstances of a great iron-clad dropping down on them, all in
+flames, with twenty thousand pounds of powder in her magazines. For
+myself, I hoped the fire would not reach the powder until the ship had
+drifted some distance below us. My greatest fear was that she would
+run foul of some of the steamers.
+
+"While I was thinking this over, the officers were sitting as coolly
+as if at tea-table among their friends.
+
+"Just then there was a stir on deck, a kind of swaying of the vessel
+to and fro, a rumbling in the air, then an explosion which seemed to
+shake the heavens. The 'Harriet Lane' was thrown two streaks over, and
+every thing in the cabin was jostled from side to side; but not a man
+left his seat, or showed any intention of doing so.
+
+"I was glad that I had signed before the explosion took place, as I
+would not have liked to have my autograph look shaky."
+
+The destruction of the "Louisiana" was a bit of trickery on the part
+of the Confederate naval officers, which Farragut punished by sending
+them North as close prisoners, while the army officers were granted
+freedom under parole. So ended the Confederate control over the mouth
+of the Mississippi; and Porter, after waiting long enough to see a
+blue-coat garrison in Forts St. Philip and Jackson, started up the
+river to rejoin his chief in New Orleans.
+
+But, on reaching the city, he found that the energetic admiral had
+already started out to clear the river of the Confederate batteries
+that lined it on either side as far up as Vicksburg. This was a
+service of no little danger, and one bringing but little satisfaction;
+for no sooner had the gunboats left one point, from which by hard
+firing they had driven the Confederates, than the latter would return
+in force, build up again their shattered earthworks, mount new guns,
+and be once more ready for battle. But more powerful than these little
+one or two gun-batteries were the Confederate works at Port Hudson,
+the destruction of which was absolutely necessary for further Union
+successes on the great river. Between Port Hudson and Vicksburg, the
+river was completely under the control of the Confederates; and it was
+a powerful gunboat that could hope to navigate that stretch of water
+unharmed. Farragut determined to attack Port Hudson, and set the 14th
+of March, 1863, as the date for the action.
+
+Port Hudson batteries were perched on a high bluff that overlooks one
+of those abrupt curves around which the current of the Mississippi
+River sweeps with such terrific force. The heavy guns bore down upon a
+point at which the ships would almost inevitably be swept out of their
+course by the swift stream, and where the river was filled with
+treacherous shifting shoals. Naval officers all agreed that to pass
+those batteries was a more difficult task than had been the passage of
+the forts below New Orleans; yet Farragut, eager to get at the
+stronghold of the foe in Vicksburg, determined to make the attempt.
+The mortar-vessels were stationed below to drive the enemy from his
+guns with well-directed bombs; while the fleet, led by the stanch old
+"Hartford," should make a bold dash up the river.
+
+Night fell upon the scene; and the ships weighed anchor, and started
+upon their perilous voyage. To the side of each man-of-war was bound a
+gunboat to tow the great vessel out of danger in case of disaster.
+Silently the long string of vessels swept upward towards the
+batteries; but, as the "Hartford" came into range, the watchful
+Confederates gave the alarm, and the nearest battery at once opened
+fire. Then from Porter's mortar-schooners far down the river came an
+answering roar; and, as ship after ship came up into range, she opened
+with shot and shell upon the works. On the dark river-banks great
+alarm fires were kindled, lighting up the water with a lurid glare,
+and making the ships clearly visible to the Confederate gunners. But
+soon the smoke of battle settled down over all; and gunners, whether
+on shore or on the ships, fired at random. The "Hartford" led the way,
+and picked out the course; and the other vessels followed carefully in
+her wake. In the mizzen-top of the flagship was stationed a cool old
+river pilot, who had guided many a huge river steamer, freighted with
+precious lives, through the mazy channels of the Mississippi. There,
+high above the battle-smoke, heedless of the grape-shot and bits of
+flying shell whistling around him, he stood at his post, calmly giving
+his orders through a speaking-tube that led to the wheel-room. Now and
+then the admiral on the deck below would call up, asking about the
+pilot's safety, and was always answered with a cheery hail. But though
+the "Hartford" went by the batteries, heedless of the storm and lead
+poured upon her, she found herself alone, when, after firing a last
+gun, she swept into the clear air and tranquil water out of range of
+the enemy's guns. She waited some time for the other ships to come up,
+while all on board watched eagerly, save those who lay moaning on the
+surgeon's tables in the cock-pit below. The night wore on, and all on
+board were consumed with anxiety for the fate of the vessels that had
+dropped behind. The lookout in the tops reported that he could see far
+down the river a bright red light that could only be caused by a
+burning vessel. It proved to be the steamer "Mississippi," that had
+grounded under the guns of the batteries, and had been fired and
+abandoned by her crew. But of this the admiral knew nothing; and when,
+after an hour or two he heard the dull, heavy boom of an explosion, he
+went sadly to his cabin, fearing that the lives of many valiant
+sailors had been sacrificed. There was no way to communicate with the
+fleet below, and it was not until days afterward that the admiral
+learned how his fleet had been beaten back by the heavy guns of the
+Confederates and the swift current of the river. The "Richmond"
+grounded at a point within easy range of the batteries, and her crew
+fought desperately while shell after shell went crashing through her
+hull. They saw the other vessels of the fleet go drifting by helpless
+in the mighty current of the river, but they faltered not in their
+brave defence until they saw their ship a wreck and in flames. Then
+leaving their dead comrades with the "Richmond" for a funeral pyre,
+they escaped to the shore, and threaded their way through miles of
+morasses and dense thickets until they came to the mortar-boats, where
+they found refuge and rest. And so that first attack on Port Hudson
+ended with Farragut above the batteries, and his ships, below. It had
+only served to prove, that, safe in their heavy earthworks, the
+Confederates could defy any attack by ships alone. This fact was clear
+to the Union authorities, and they began massing troops about the
+hostile works. Two months later, Porter's mortar-boats, the frigates
+and gunboats, and the batteries and muskets of an immense body of
+troops, opened on the works. While the heavy fire was being kept up,
+the Union armies were closing in, digging trenches, and surrounding
+the Confederates on all sides. The firing came to be short-range work
+and very deadly. "To show you what cool and desperate fighting it
+was," says a Confederate, "I had at least twenty-five shots at
+Federals not two hundred feet away. In one instance I fired upon a
+lieutenant who was urging on his men. I wounded him in his left arm.
+He fired at me with his revolver, and sent a bullet through my cap.
+Next time I hit him in the hip, and he fell;, but, while I was
+reloading, he raised himself up, and shot the man next to me through
+the head. The officer was so close to me that I could tell the color
+of his eyes, and detect a small scar on his face."
+
+This sort of work continued for weeks, with occasional charges by the
+Federals. Farragut's fleet kept up its bombardment, but did little
+damage. One of the Confederate soldiers said, some time after the war,
+"One can get used to almost any thing. After the first two or three
+days, we took the bombardment as part of the regular routine. Pieces
+of shell were continually flying about, and it was the regular thing
+for a bomb to drop down among us at intervals. I have seen them come
+down within fifty feet of a sentinel, and throw up a wagon-load of
+dirt, without his even turning his head. We had but few men hurt by
+the artillery-fire. I do not believe we averaged one man hit for every
+thousand pounds of metal thrown. I remember that one day I counted
+thirteen shells and bombs hurled at the spot where I was posted before
+we had a man hurt, and he was only slightly wounded." Naturally, such
+work as this could not drive the Confederates from their trenches; and
+the fleet soon concluded to leave the army to capture Port Hudson,
+while the ships steamed on up the river toward Vicksburg. The army
+kept up the siege for weeks, until the Confederates, hearing of the
+fall of Vicksburg, surrendered.
+
+While the Union fleet was thus fighting its way up to Vicksburg, the
+Confederates were working away at a great ram that they were building
+in a secluded spot far up the Yazoo River. Work on the ram was being
+pushed with the greatest energy; and the Union sailors, in their ships
+on the Mississippi, listened daily to the stories of escaping negroes,
+and wondered when the big ship would come down and give them a tussle.
+The crew of the ram were no less impatient for the fray; for they were
+tired of being hidden away up a little river, plagued by mosquitoes
+and gnats. The dark shades of the heavy forests were seldom brightened
+by a ray of sun. The stream was full of alligators, that lay lazily on
+the banks all day, and bellowed dismally all night. The chirp of a
+bird was rarely heard. In its place were the discordant screams of
+cranes, or hisses of the moccasins or cotton-mouths. When at last the
+carpenters' clatter had ceased, and the ram, ready for action, lay in
+the little river, the crew were mustered on the deck, and told that
+the new boat had been built to clear the Union vessels from the
+Mississippi, and that purpose should be carried out. No white flag was
+to flutter from that flagstaff; and she should sink with all her crew
+before she would surrender. Any sailor who feared to enter upon such a
+service might leave the ship at once. No one left; and the "Arkansas"
+started down the river to look for an enemy. She was not long in
+finding one. At the mouth of the Yazoo floated three Union
+gunboats,--the "Carondelet," the "Tyler," and the "Queen of the West."
+As the ram came down into sight, her men heard the roll of the drums
+on the decks of the hostile vessels. The gunboats quickly opened fire,
+which was as promptly returned by the "Arkansas;" and, as she came
+swiftly rushing down the stream, the three vessels fled before her.
+The men on the ram were all new recruits, and made awkward work of the
+firing; but as she came to close quarters she sent her shells crashing
+into the Union ships, while the shot she received in return rattled
+harmlessly off her steel-mailed sides. The "Carondelet" was the first
+vessel to come to grief. She had hardly fired four shots when a heavy
+solid shot crashed through her side, and rattled against the most
+delicate part of the engine. She was helpless at once; and hardly had
+this damage been reported when a second shot came with a burst into an
+open port, killed five men, and broke its way out the other side. In
+ten minutes her decks were slippery with blood, and thick strewn with
+wounded and dead men. The current of the river drifted her upon a
+sandbar; and she lay there helplessly, now and again answering the
+galling fire of her foe with a feeble shot. Pouring in a last
+broadside, the "Arkansas" steamed past her, and, disregarding the
+other two vessels, headed for Vicksburg, where she knew her aid was
+sorely needed.
+
+The news of her coming preceded her; and, when she came within sight
+of the steeples of the city, at least ten thousand people were
+watching her progress, and wondering whether she could pass by the
+Federal batteries and through the Federal fleet. The Federal fleet was
+all ready for her, and prepared such a gauntlet for the "Arkansas" as
+had never been run by any vessel. As she came within range, every
+Union gun that could be brought to bear opened; and shot and shell
+rained from shore-batteries and marine guns upon the tough hide of the
+ram. As she sped by the vessels, they gave her their broadsides, and
+the effect was tremendous. As the huge iron balls struck the ship, she
+keeled far over; and to her crew inside, it seemed as though she was
+being lifted bodily out of the water. Not a shot broke through the
+armor; but the terrible concussions knocked men down, and made blood
+come pouring from their nostrils. For new men, her crew fought well
+and bravely; though two fell flat on their faces, afraid to lift their
+heads, lest they be taken off by a shell.
+
+[Illustration: The "Arkansas" under Fire.]
+
+When it was seen that the "Arkansas" was likely to pass through the
+lines unscathed, the Federals tried to blockade her way; but she
+deviated not an inch from her path. The vessel that stood before her
+had to move aside, or take the chances of a blow from her terrible
+iron beak. She came straight to the centre of the fleet before opening
+fire; and when her portholes were opened, and the big guns peered out,
+they found plenty of targets. Her first volley knocked a gunboat to
+pieces; and in another minute she had crashed into the side of a Union
+ram, sending that unlucky craft ashore for repairs. But the storm of
+solid shot was too much for her; and she was forced to seek shelter
+under the bluffs, where the heavy guns of the Confederate
+shore-batteries compelled the Union ships to keep a respectful
+distance. Here she lay for several weeks, beating off every assault of
+the Federals, and making a valuable addition to the defences of the
+city. But, in an evil hour, the Confederate authorities decided to
+send her down the river to recapture Baton Rouge. When her journey was
+but half completed, she was pounced upon by several United States
+vessels, with the "Essex" in the lead. Her engines breaking down, she
+drifted upon a sand-bank; and the attacking ships pounded her at their
+leisure, until, with the fire bursting from her portholes, she was
+abandoned by her crew, and blazed away until her career was ended by
+the explosion of her magazine. She had given the Federal fleet some
+hard tussles, but beyond that had done nothing of the work the
+Confederates so fondly hoped of her.
+
+While the flotilla of gunboats, led by the "Essex," were planning for
+the destruction of the "Arkansas," a small naval expedition,
+consisting of three gunboats, was threading its way up the narrow
+channel of the White River in search of some Confederate batteries
+said to be on the banks. Within twelve hours from the start, the
+sailors learned from a ragged negro, whom they captured on the shore,
+that the Confederates had powerful batteries only five miles farther
+up, and that the river channel was obstructed by sunken vessels.
+Anchor was cast for the night; and in the morning the troops
+accompanying the expedition were landed, and plunged into the forest
+with the plan of taking the fort by a rush from the rear. The gunboats
+began a slow advance up the river, throwing shells into the woods
+ahead of them. The blue-jackets kept carefully under cover; for,
+though they could see no foe, yet the constant singing of
+rifle-bullets about the ships proved that somewhere in those bushes
+were concealed sharp-shooters whose powder was good and whose aim was
+true. The "Mound City" was leading the gunboats, and had advanced
+within six hundred yards of the enemy's guns, when a single shot,
+fired from a masked battery high up the bluffs, rang out sharply amid
+the rattle of small-arms. It was the first cannon-shot fired by the
+Confederates in that engagement, and it was probably the most horribly
+deadly shot fired in the war. It entered the port-casemate forward,
+killed three men standing at the gun, and plunged into the boiler. In
+an instant the scalding steam came hissing out, filling the ship from
+stem to stern, and horribly scalding every one upon the gun-deck. The
+deck was covered with writhing forms, and screams of agony rang out
+above the harsh noise of the escaping steam and the roar of battle
+outside. Many were blown overboard; more crawled out of the portholes,
+and dropped into the river to escape the scalding steam, and
+struggling in the water were killed by rifle-balls or the fragments of
+the shells that were bursting all around. The helpless gunboat turned
+round and round in the stream, and drifted away, carrying a crew of
+dead and dying men. So great was the horror of the scene, that one of
+the officers, himself unhurt, who saw his comrades thus tortured all
+about him, went insane.
+
+While this scene was going on before the fort, the Union troops had
+come up behind it, and with a cheer rushed over the breastworks, and
+drove the garrison to surrender. The Confederate banner fell from the
+staff, and the stars and stripes went up in its place. But how great
+was the price that the Federals had to pay for that victory! That
+night, with muffled drums, and arms reversed, the blue-jackets carried
+to the grave fifty-nine of their comrades, who twelve hours before
+were active men. With three volleys of musketry the simple rites over
+the sailors' graves were ended; and those who were left alive, only
+said with a sigh, "It is the fortune of war."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+     ON TO VICKSBURG. -- BOMBARDMENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STRONGHOLD. --
+     PORTER'S CRUISE IN THE FORESTS.
+
+
+While the smaller gunboats were thus making dashes into the enemy's
+country, destroying batteries and unfinished war-vessels, and burning
+salt-works, the heavier vessels of the fleet were being massed about
+Vicksburg, and were preparing to aid the army in reducing that city to
+subjection. We need not describe the way in which Gen. Grant had been
+rushing his troops toward that point, how for weeks his engineers had
+been planning trenches and approaches to the Confederate works, until
+toward the middle part of June, 1863, the people in that city found
+themselves hemmed in by a huge girdle of trenches, batteries, and
+military camps. Gen. Pemberton, with his army of Confederate soldiers,
+had been forced backward from point after point, until at last he
+found himself in Vicksburg, with the prospect of a long siege before
+him, and no way to get past the inexorable lines of blue that
+surrounded him. It is true that he had a wonderfully strong position,
+and many were the tongues that said Vicksburg could never be taken.
+But though stronger than Sebastopol, stronger than the Rock of
+Gibraltar, Vicksburg was destined to fall before that mighty army that
+encircled it, and was slowly starving the city into subjection.
+
+But the Union soldiers, looking from their camps toward the
+Confederate citadel, saw that they had before them some severe work
+before that flag that flaunted over the city should be replaced by the
+stars and stripes. The city stands on a towering bluff high above the
+eastern bank of the Mississippi River. On that frowning height the
+busy hands of Pemberton's soldiers had reared mighty batteries, that
+commanded the Mississippi for miles up and down stream. To think of
+carrying the works by assault, was madness. Sherman had tried, and was
+beaten back with terrible loss. Then Grant, with nearly twenty
+thousand men, and with the co-operation of the river-flotilla, came
+upon the stage, and determined to take the city though it kept him at
+bay for months.
+
+All imaginable plans were tried to get the army below the city; for
+Grant's command had come down from Cairo, and were at the northern and
+most impregnable side of the enemy's works. As at Island No. 10, a
+sharp bend in the river made a long peninsula right under the
+Confederates' guns. Grant, remembering the plan adopted before, set to
+work to cut a canal through the peninsula, so that the gunboats and
+transports might get below the forts. Twelve hundred negroes worked
+with a will upon this ditch for weeks. Then came a terrible
+rain-storm: the swollen, muddy torrent of the river broke in upon the
+unfinished canal, and that work was wasted. Then a new plan was
+suggested, this time by Commodore David Porter, who all through the
+war showed the greatest delight in taking his big gunboats into
+ditches where nothing larger than a frog or musk-rat could hope to
+navigate, and then bringing them out again safe after all.
+
+The country back of Vicksburg was fairly honeycombed with shallow
+lakes, creeks, and those sluggish black streams called in the South
+bayous. Porter had been looking over this aqueous territory for some
+time, and had sent one of his lieutenants off in a steam-launch to see
+what could be done in that network of ditches. When the explorer
+returned, he brought cheering news. He was confident that, with tugs
+and gangs of axemen clearing the way, the gunboats could be taken up
+the Yazoo River, then into a wide bayou, and finally through a maze of
+small waterways, until they should reach the Mississippi again below
+the Vicksburg batteries. Then the transports could follow, the troops
+could march down the other side of the river, be met by the
+transports, ferried across, and take Vicksburg on the flank. It was a
+beautiful plan; and Porter went to Grant with it, full of enthusiasm.
+
+Gen. Grant considered the matter for some time, but finally gave his
+consent, and detailed a number of blue-coated soldiers to aid Porter's
+blue-jackets in the work. They first cut the levees, and let the
+mighty tide of the Mississippi sweep in, filling the bayous to the
+brim, and flooding all the country round about. Then the gunboats
+plunged in, and were borne along on the rushing tide until they
+brought up, all standing, against the trunks of trees, or had their
+smoke-stacks caught by overhanging branches.
+
+Then came the tug of war; and the axemen were called to the front, and
+set to work. They chopped their way along for some distance; the rapid
+current from the river banging the vessels against the trees and
+stumps, until all the standing rigging and light cabins were swept
+away. After a good deal of work they saw before them a broad river,
+wide enough for two vessels to steam abreast. Soon they drifted out
+into it, and the commanding officer sang out cheerily, "On to
+Vicksburg, boys, and no more trees to saw." And so they steamed on,
+thinking how neatly they should take the "gray-coats" in the rear,
+when suddenly a bend in the river showed them, just ahead, a fort in
+the middle of the river, with the channel blocked on either side. That
+was a surprise. The works were new, and the water was still muddy
+about the sunken steamers. Clearly the wily Pemberton had heard of
+this inland naval expedition, and was determined to check it
+effectually.
+
+The gunboats backed water, and crowded in confused groups. The gunners
+in the fort took hurried aim, and pulled the lanyards of their cannon,
+forgetting that those pieces were not loaded. It was hard to tell
+which party was the more excited at the unexpected meeting. This gave
+the blue-jackets a chance to collect their thoughts, and in a minute
+or two the gunboats opened fire; but they were soon convinced that the
+fort was too much for them, and they turned and crawled back through
+the woods to the fleet above Vicksburg. Pemberton scored one point for
+successful strategy.
+
+But, even while this expedition was working its way back to the
+station of the vessels on the Mississippi, Porter was starting another
+through a second chain of water-courses that he had discovered. This
+time he was so sure of getting into the rear of Vicksburg, that he
+took four of his big iron-clads, and two light mortar-boats built
+especially for work in the woods. Gen. Sherman, with a strong
+army-force, marched overland, keeping up with the gunboats. Admiral
+Porter, in his Memoirs, gives a graphic picture of this expedition.
+Back of Vicksburg the country is low, and intersected in every
+direction by narrow, tortuous bayous, lined on either side by gloomy
+morasses or majestic forests. Into these little-known water-courses
+Porter boldly led his ponderous iron-clads; while Sherman, with a
+detachment of troops, advanced along the shore, keeping as near the
+flotilla as possible. Seldom have naval vessels been detailed upon so
+strange a service. For days they steamed on under the spreading
+branches of trees, that often spanned the bayous in a mighty arch
+overhead, shutting out all sunlight. For a time this navigation of
+placid, shady waterways was pleasant enough; but, as they penetrated
+farther into the interior, the jackies sighed for the blue waters of
+the ocean, or even for the turbid current of the Mississippi. The
+heavy foliage that gave so grateful a shade also harbored all sorts of
+animals; and coons, rats, mice, and wildcats, that had been driven to
+the trees for shelter during the prevailing high water, peered down
+upon the sailors, and often dropped sociably down upon the decks of
+the vessels gliding beneath.
+
+At some portions of the voyage the flotilla seemed to be steaming
+through the primeval forest. The bayou was but a few feet wider than
+the gunboats, and its banks were lined by gnarled and knotted old
+veterans of the forest,--live oaks, sycamore, and tupelo gum trees
+that had stood in majestic dignity on the banks of the dark and sullen
+stream for centuries. Sometimes majestic vistas would open; broad
+avenues carpeted with velvet turf, and walled in by the massive tree
+trunks, extending from the banks of the stream far back into the
+country. Again, the stately forests would be replaced by fields of
+waving corn or rice, with the tops of a row of negro cabins or the
+columned front of a planter's house showing in the distance. Then, as
+the flotilla steamed on, this fair prospect would disappear, and be
+replaced by noisome cypress brakes, hung thick with the funereal
+Spanish moss, and harboring beneath the black water many a noxious
+reptile.
+
+So through the ever-changing scenery the gunboats moved along, making
+but little progress, but meeting with no serious obstacle, until one
+morning there appeared on a bit of high ground, some yards in advance
+of the leading gunboat, an army officer mounted on an old white horse.
+It was Gen. Sherman, and his troops were in camp near by. He greeted
+the naval forces cheerily, and, rallying Porter on the amphibious
+service into which his gunboats had been forced, warned him that he
+would soon have not a smokestack standing, nor a boat left at the
+davits.
+
+"So much the better," said the undaunted admiral. "All I want is an
+engine, guns, and a hull to float them. As to boats, they are very
+much in the way."
+
+A short time only was spent in consultation, and then Sherman with his
+forces left the bayou and plunged into the interior, first warning
+Porter that he would have a hard time getting any farther, even if the
+enemy did not come down and surround him. But Porter was not the man
+to abandon the advance, so long as there was water enough to float his
+gunboats. Besides, he had gained some ideas regarding navigation in
+the forests, that enabled him to move his fleet forward with more
+celerity than at first. When a tree blocked the course of the
+iron-clads, they no longer stopped to clear it away by work with the
+axes; but, clapping on all steam, the powerful rams dashed at the
+woody obstruction, and with repeated blows soon knocked it out of the
+way.
+
+Soon after leaving Sherman, Porter saw that the difficulties he had
+thus far met and conquered were as nothing to those which he had yet
+to encounter. The comparatively broad stream up which he had been
+steaming came to an end, and his further progress must be through
+Cypress Bayou, a canal just forty-six feet wide..[??-second period a
+smudge?] The broadest gunboat was forty-two feet wide, and to enter
+that narrow stream made retreat out of the question: there could be no
+turning round to fly. The levees rose on either side of the narrow
+canal high above the decks of the iron-clads, so that the cannon could
+not be sufficiently elevated to do effective work in case of an
+attack. But there were nine feet of water in the great ditch; and that
+was enough for Porter, who pressed boldly on.
+
+The country into which the combined military and naval expedition was
+advancing was in truth the granary of Vicksburg. On all other sides of
+the beleaguered city, the Federal lines were drawn so closely that the
+wagons laden with farm produce could not hope to pass. But here, back
+of the city, and far from the camps of Grant's legions, the work of
+raising produce for the gallant people of Vicksburg was prosecuted
+with the most untiring vigor. The sight, then, of the advancing
+gunboats aroused the greatest consternation. From the deck of his
+vessel Porter could see the people striving to save their property
+from the advancing enemy. Great droves of cattle were being driven
+away far into the interior; negroes were skurrying in all directions,
+driving poultry and pigs to the safe concealment of the forest; wagons
+groaning under the weight of farm and garden produce could be seen
+disappearing in the distance. What the inhabitants could not save they
+destroyed, in order that it might not profit the invaders. A short
+distance from the mouth of the bayou "were six thousand bales of
+cotton piled up on opposite sides of the stream, ready to be taken
+aboard a steamer when the war should end. As the gunboats advanced
+slowly, making little headway against the two-knot current of the
+bayou, Porter saw two men, carrying lighted pine-knots, dash up to the
+cotton, and begin to set it afire. The admiral looked on in disgust.
+"'What fools these mortals be!'" said he to an officer standing at his
+side; "but I suppose those men have a right to burn their own cotton,
+especially as we have no way of preventing them."
+
+"I can send a howitzer shell at them, sir," said the officer, "and
+drive them away."
+
+But to this Porter demurred, saying that he had no desire to kill the
+men, and that they might do as they liked with their own. Accordingly
+the officers quietly watched the vandals, until, after twenty minutes'
+work, the cotton was blazing, and a dense mass of smoke cut off all
+vision ahead, and rose high in the air. Then Porter began to suspect
+that he had made a mistake. The difficulties of navigation in the
+bayou were great enough, without having smoke and fire added to them.
+Yet to wait for the cotton to burn up might cause a serious delay. On
+the high bank of the bayou stood a negro begging the sailors to take
+him aboard.
+
+"Hallo, there, Sambo!" sung out Porter, "how long will it take this
+cotton to burn up?"
+
+"Two day, massa," responded the contraband; "p'raps tree."
+
+That ended the debate. "Ring the bell to go ahead fast," said the
+admiral to the pilot; and away went the flotilla at full speed,
+plunging into the smoke and fire. It was a hot experience for the
+sailors. The heavy iron-clads made but slow progress, and were
+scorched and blistered with the heat. The ports were all shut down,
+and the crews called to fire-quarters, buckets in hand. To remain on
+deck, was impossible. Porter and his captain made the trial, but had
+hardly entered the smoke when the scorching heat drove both into the
+shelter of an iron-covered deck-house. The pilot standing at the wheel
+seized a flag, and, wrapping it about his face and body, was able to
+stay at his post. As the flames grew hotter, the sailors below opened
+the main hatch, and, thrusting up a hose, deluged the deck with floods
+of water. So, without a man in sight, the huge iron ship moved along
+between the walls of flame. Suddenly came an enormous crash. The
+gunboat shivered, and for a moment stood still; then, gathering
+headway, moved on again, though with much ominous grating beneath her
+keel. Soon after she passed out of the smoke and heat, and all hands
+rushed on deck for a whiff of the fresh, cool air. Their first thought
+was of the cause of the collision; and, looking eagerly astern, they
+saw a heavy bridge, about fifty feet of which had been demolished by
+the tremendous power of the ram. This gave Porter a hint as to the
+force he had at his command; and thereafter bridges were rammed as a
+matter of course whenever they impeded the progress of the iron-clads.
+The astonishment of the people along the shore may well be imagined.
+
+The great and formidable obstacles that stood in the path of the
+squadron were, as a rule, overcome by the exertion of the great powers
+of the steam-driven, iron-plated vessels; but at last there came a
+check, that, though it seemed at first insignificant, terminated the
+sylvan manoeuvres of the iron-clad navy. After running the gantlet of
+the burning cotton, butting down trees, and smashing through bridges,
+the column entered a stretch of smooth water that seemed to promise
+fair and unobstructed sailing. But toward the end of this expanse of
+water a kind of green scum was evident, extending right across the
+bayou, from bank to bank. Porter's keen eye caught sight of this; and,
+turning to one of the negroes who had taken refuge on the gunboat, he
+asked what it was. "It's nuffin' but willows, sah," he replied. "When
+de water's out of de bayou, den we cuts de willows to make baskets
+with. You kin go troo dat like a eel."
+
+Satisfied with this explanation, the admiral ordered the tug which
+led the column to go ahead. Under a full head of steam, the tug
+dashed into the willows, but began to slow up, until, after going
+about thirty yards, she stopped, unable to go forward or back.
+Undaunted by this unexpected resistance, Porter cried out that the
+"Cincinnati" would push the tug along; and the heavy gunboat,
+withdrawing a short distance to gain headway, hurled herself forward,
+and dashed into the willows with a force that would have carried her
+through any bridge ever built. But the old fable of the lion bound
+down by the silken net was here re-enacted. The gunboat did not even
+reach the tug. The slender willow-shoots trailed along the sides,
+caught in the rough ends of the iron overhang, and held the vessel
+immovable. Abandoning the attempt to advance, the gunboat strove to
+back out, but to no avail. Then hooks were rigged over the side to
+break away the withes, and men slung in ropes alongside vigorously
+wielded sharp cutlasses and saws; but still the willows retained their
+grip. Matters were now getting serious; and, to add to Porter's
+perplexity, reports came in that Confederate troops were coming down
+upon him. Then he began to lose confidence in his iron-clads, and wish
+right heartily for Sherman and his soldiers, of whose whereabouts he
+could gain no knowledge. The enemy did not leave him long in doubts as
+to their intention, and soon began a vigorous fire of shells from the
+woods. Porter stopped that promptly by manning his mortars and firing
+a few shells at a range measured by the sound of the enemy's cannon.
+The immediate silence of the hostile batteries proved the accuracy of
+the admiral's calculations, and gave him time to devise means for
+escaping from his perilous position.
+
+How to do it without aid from Sherman's troops, was a difficult
+question; and in his perplexity he exclaimed aloud, "Why don't Sherman
+come on? I'd give ten dollars to get a telegram to him." The admiral
+was standing at the moment on the bank of the bayou, near a group of
+negroes; and an athletic-looking contraband stepped forward, and,
+announcing himself as a "telegram-wire," offered to carry the note "to
+kingdum kum for half a dollar." After sharply cross-questioning the
+volunteer, Porter wrote on a scrap of paper, "DEAR SHERMAN,--Hurry up,
+for Heaven's sake. I never knew how helpless an iron-clad could be,
+steaming around through the woods without an army to back her."
+
+"Where will you carry this?" asked Porter, handing the despatch to the
+negro.
+
+[Illustration: Porter's Flotilla on the Red River.]
+
+"In my calabash kiver, massa," responded the messenger with a grin;
+and, stowing the paper away in his woolly hair, he darted away.
+
+The telegram being thus despatched, Porter again turned his attention
+to the willows; and, a fortunate rise in the water having occurred, he
+was able to extricate his vessels and begin his retreat down the
+bayou. He was somewhat perplexed by the silence of the Confederates,
+from whom he had heard nothing since his mortars silenced their masked
+batteries. The conundrum was solved by the sound of wood-chopping in
+the forests ahead, and the discovery shortly after of two heavy logs
+lying athwart the bayou, and stopping the progress of the vessels. An
+hour's hard work with axe and saw removed this obstruction; and the
+tug, slipping through first, shot ahead to prevent any more
+tree-felling. The loud reports of her howitzer soon carried back to
+the fleet the news that she had come up with the enemy, and was
+disputing with them the right to the bayou.
+
+The difficulties of the retreat were no less great than those of the
+advance, with the intermittent attacks of the enemy added. The work of
+removing heavy, soggy logs, half submerged beneath the black waters of
+the bayou, clearing away standing trees, and breaking up and removing
+Red-river rafts, wearied the sailors, and left them little spirit to
+meet the enemy's attacks. The faint sounds of wood-chopping in the
+distance told too well of the additional impediments yet in store for
+the adventurous mariners. Scouts sent out reported that the enemy had
+impressed great gangs of negroes, and were forcing them to do the work
+of felling the trees that were to hem in Uncle Sam's gunboats, for the
+benefit of the C.S.A. But the plans of the Confederates to this end
+were easily defeated. Porter had not only many willing arms at his
+command, but the powerful aid of steam. When the gunboats came to a
+tree lying across the bayou, a landing party went ashore and fastened
+large pulleys to a tree on the bank. Then a rope was passed through
+the block; and one end having been made fast to the fallen tree, the
+other was taken aboard a gunboat. The word was then given, "Back the
+iron-clad hard;" and the fallen monarch of the forest was soon dragged
+across the bayou and out of the way So expert did the jackies become
+in this work, that they were soon able to clear away the trees faster
+than the enemy could fell them. The tug then went ahead, and for a
+time put an end to further tree-chopping, and captured several of the
+negro axemen.
+
+From the captured contrabands Porter learned that the attempt to cut
+off his retreat was directed by the military authorities at Vicksburg.
+This was a startling revelation. He had thought that the Confederates
+were in entire ignorance of his movement; and now it turned out that
+the wily Pemberton had kept a sharp lookout on the marauding gunboats,
+and was shrewdly planning for their capture. While Porter was
+pondering over this new discovery, a party of scouts came in, bringing
+in four captured Confederates, two of whom were commissioned officers.
+The commanding officer, a mere boy, was somewhat chagrined at being
+captured, but felt confident that his friends would recapture him
+shortly. Porter politely asked him to take a glass of wine and some
+supper.
+
+"I don't care if I do," responded the youngster; "and I have the less
+compunction in taking it, as it belongs to us anyhow. In two hours you
+will be surrounded and bagged. You can't escape. How in the Devil's
+name you ever got here, is a wonder to me."
+
+Porter smiled pleasantly, and, helping his guests lavishly, proceeded
+to question them on the numbers and position of the Confederate
+troops. He learned that a large body of troops had been sent out to
+surround the iron-clads, and were even then closing in upon the
+intruders. The danger was imminent, but Porter showed no trepidation.
+
+"How far off are your troops?" he asked.
+
+"About four miles. They will bag you at daylight," was the confident
+response.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," said the admiral, "Gen. Sherman is now surrounding
+your forces with ten thousand men, and will capture them all before
+daylight." And so saying the admiral went on deck, leaving his
+captives lost in wonder; for the information carried to the Vicksburg
+authorities had made no mention of troops.
+
+Though Porter had put on so bold a front before his captives, he
+really felt much anxiety for the fate of his iron-clads. He could hear
+nothing from Sherman, who might be thirty miles away for all he knew.
+Accordingly he retraced his course for a few miles, to throw the enemy
+off the scent, and the next day began again his descent of the bayou,
+bumping along stern foremost amid snags and standing trees. The enemy
+soon gave evidence that he was on the watch, and opened fire with his
+artillery from the rear. At this one gunboat steamed back and silenced
+the artillery for a time, after which she rejoined her fellows.
+Sharp-shooters in the thickets along the levee then began to grow
+troublesome; and the whistle of the rifle-balls, with an occasional
+_ping_ as one struck the smokestack, warned the sailors that the deck
+of a gunboat in a narrow canal was no safe place in time of war. The
+high levees on either side of the bayou made it impossible to use the
+guns properly: so Porter turned them into mortars, and, by using very
+small charges of powder, pitched shells up into the air, dropping them
+into the bushes back of the levee. This somewhat checked the fire of
+the sharp-shooters, but the decks were still dangerous places to
+frequent. A rifle-ball struck Lieut. Wells in the head as he stood
+talking to Porter; and he fell, apparently dead, upon the deck. The
+admiral beckoned an officer to come and bear away the body; but the
+newcomer was also hit, and fell across the body of the first. Porter
+concluded that the locality was getting rather hot, and gladly stepped
+behind a heavy plate of sheet-iron, which an old quarter-master
+brought him with the remark, "There, sir, stand behind that. They've
+fired at you long enough."
+
+From behind his shield, Porter looked out anxiously at the forces by
+which he was beleaguered. He could see clearly that the Confederates
+were increasing in numbers; and, when at last he saw a long gray
+column come sweeping out of the woods, his heart failed him, and for a
+moment he thought that the fate of his flotilla was sealed. But at
+that very moment deliverance was at hand. The Confederates were seen
+to fall into confusion, waver, and give way before a thin blue
+line,--the advance guard of Sherman's troops. The negro
+"telegram-wire" had proved faithful, and Sherman had come on to the
+rescue.
+
+That ended the difficulties of the flotilla. The enemy, once brought
+face to face with Sherman's men, departed abruptly; and soon the
+doughty general, mounted on an old gray horse, came riding down to the
+edge of the bayou, for a word with Porter. Seeing the admiral on the
+deck of his gunboat, he shouted out, "Hallo! Porter, what did you get
+into such an ugly scrape for? So much for you navy fellows getting out
+of your element. Better send for the soldiers always. My boys will put
+you through. Here's your little nigger. He came through all right, and
+I started at once. Your gunboats are enough to scare the crows: they
+look as if you had got a terrible hammering."
+
+Somewhat crestfallen, Porter remarked, that he "never knew what
+helpless things iron-clads could become when they got in a ditch, and
+had no soldiers about." As Sherman declined to come aboard, Porter
+went below to look after his two prisoners.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," said he, as he entered the cabin, "you were right.
+We are surrounded by troops."
+
+The two Confederates were greatly exultant, but assured Porter that
+they would see that he was kindly treated when taken into Vicksburg.
+
+"To Vicksburg!" said he with mock amazement. "Who said any thing of
+Vicksburg?"
+
+"Why, of course you'll be taken there as a prisoner, now that our men
+have surrounded you."
+
+"Oh, you are mistaken there!" responded Porter. "The troops by whom I
+am surrounded are Sherman's boys, six thousand strong." And at this
+news the chagrined captives subsided, and began to consider the
+prospects of a trip to the North, and incarceration in one of the
+military prisons.
+
+Sherman's army soon came up in force, and went into camp along the
+road that skirted the levee. As night fell, the scene took on a wild
+and picturesque air. In the narrow bayou lay the gunboats, strung out
+in single file along a line of half a mile. They bore many signs of
+the hard knocks they had received in their excursion through the
+woods. Boats, davits, steam-pipes, and every thing breakable that rose
+above the level of the deck, had been swept away by the overhanging
+boughs, or dashed to pieces by falling trees. The smoke-stacks and
+wheel-houses were riddled by the bullets of the Confederate
+sharp-shooters. The decks were covered with rubbish of all kinds, and
+here and there was a fissure that told of the bursting of some
+Confederate shell. The paint was blistered, and peeling off, from the
+effects of the cotton-fire through which the fleet had dashed.
+
+On the shore blazed the camp-fires of Sherman's troops; and about the
+huge flaming piles the weary soldiers threw themselves down to catch a
+moment's rest, while the company cooks prepared the evening meal. Many
+of the idle soldiers strolled down to the edge of the bayou, and,
+forming a line along the levee, began chaffing the sailors on the
+ludicrous failure of their attempt to perform naval evolutions in a
+swamp.
+
+"What's gone with your boats, Jack?" sung out one tall fellow in
+cavalry garb. "Been in dry-dock for repairs?"
+
+"How do you like playing mud-turtle?" said another. "Better stick to
+salt water after this."
+
+"Don't go bush-whacking again, unless you have the soldiers with you.
+You look as if your mothers didn't know you were out." And at this a
+yell of approval went up all along the line, while the badgered
+sailors growled and tried to make sharp retorts to the stinging
+ridicule of the landsmen.
+
+So ended this memorable gunboat expedition. It is unparalleled in the
+history of warfare. The feats performed by the unwieldy iron-clads in
+the narrow bayous gained for them, from Lincoln, the title of
+"web-footed" gunboats. They had traversed shallow and tortuous
+channels; they had cleared their path of trees, snags, and even
+bridges; they had run the gantlet of flaming cotton-bales and
+Confederate bullets. After meeting and overcoming so many obstacles,
+their final stoppage by a thicket of pitiful willow-shoots irritated
+the blue-jackets and their commander extremely. Porter had penetrated
+so far into the Yazoo country, that he could see how great damage
+could be inflicted upon the Confederates, if the expedition could but
+be carried out successfully. He had definite information to the
+effect, that, at Yazoo City, the Confederates had a thriving shipyard,
+at which they were pressing forward the construction of steam-rams
+with which to sweep the Mississippi. To reach that point and destroy
+the vessels, would have been a service thoroughly in accord with his
+tastes; but the willows held him back. However, he was able to console
+himself with the thought that the rams were not likely to do the
+Confederates any immediate service; for a truthful contraband, brought
+in by the Union scouts, informed the admiral that "dey has no bottom
+in, no sides to 'em, an' no top on to 'em, sah; an' dere injines is in
+Richmon'."
+
+When the dangers encountered by the gunboats during this expedition
+are considered, the damage sustained seems surprisingly small. Had the
+Confederates acted promptly and vigorously, the intruders would never
+have escaped from the swamps into which their temerity had led them. A
+few torpedoes, judiciously planted in the muddy bed of the bayou,
+would have effectively prevented any farther advance. More than once
+the Confederates posted their artillery within effective range, and
+opened a rapid and well-directed fire upon the gunboats, but erred in
+using explosive shells instead of solid shot. "They were evidently
+greenhorns," wrote Porter, exulting over his narrow escape, "and
+failed to understand that we were iron-clad, and did not mind
+_bursting_-shell. If they had used solid shot, they might have hurt
+us." The infantry forces of the enemy were ample to have given the
+marauding gunboats a vast deal of trouble, if the Confederate officers
+had been enterprising, and had seized upon the opportunities afforded
+them. Night after night the flotilla lay tied up in the centre of a
+narrow bayou, with the levees towering so high above the gunboats'
+ports, that the cannon were useless. At such a time, a determined
+assault by a body of hostile infantry could hardly have been resisted.
+Such an attack was the danger which Porter most feared throughout the
+expedition, and he nightly made preparations for a desperate
+resistance. The widest part of the bayou was chosen for the anchorage,
+in order that a strip of water at least four feet wide might separate
+the gunboats from the shore. The sides of the iron-clads were then
+greased, and the guns loaded with grape, and elevated as much as
+possible. Landing parties with howitzers were sent ashore, and posted
+so as to enfilade any attacking force; scouts were sent out in all
+directions; and the crews of the gunboats slept at their quarters all
+night, ready for action at the first alarm. But it is doubtful whether
+even these elaborate precautions could have saved the flotilla, had
+the Confederates brought one regiment to the assault. However, the
+enemy let the golden moment pass; and, after suffering the agonies of
+suspense for several days, Porter at last saw his gunboats safely
+anchored by the side of Sherman's protecting regiments.
+
+Sherman and Porter held a consultation that night, and concluded that
+it was useless to try to get around Vicksburg by hauling the gunboats
+through the woods; and the following morning the flotilla started back
+to the Union headquarters on the Mississippi.
+
+Gen. Grant was beginning to get impatient. Weeks had passed away, and
+there were still no gunboats or transports below the Vicksburg
+batteries to aid him in carrying out his military plans. He held a
+long consultation with Porter, the outcome of which was that the
+admiral decided to run his gunboats and transports right through the
+fire of the Confederate guns.
+
+[Illustration: Dummy Gunboat passing Forts on the Mississippi.]
+
+But, before sending a vessel through, Porter thought that he would
+test the accuracy of the Confederate gunners by giving them a dummy
+to fire at. He took a large flat boat, and built it up with logs and
+lumber until it looked like a powerful ram. Two huge wheel-houses
+towered amidships, on each of which was painted, in great, staring
+letters, "Deluded Rebels, cave in." From the open ports, the muzzles
+of what appeared to be heavy rifles protruded; though the guns that
+seemed so formidable were really only logs of wood. Two high
+smoke-stacks, built of empty pork-barrels, rose from the centre of
+this strange craft; and at the bottom of each stack was an iron pot,
+in which was a heap of tar and oakum that sent forth volumes of black
+smoke when lighted. One dark night the fires in this sham monster were
+lighted, and she was towed down to the Confederate batteries, and set
+drifting down the river. She was quickly discovered, and the batteries
+on the bluffs opened on her with a roar. There was nothing about the
+dummy to be hurt, however; and it was impossible to sink her. So she
+sailed majestically through the plunging hail of solid shot, and past
+the terrible batteries that were thought to be a match for any thing
+afloat. The Confederates in the trenches looked at each other in
+astonishment and dismay. Word was sent to Gen. Pemberton that a
+powerful Yankee iron-clad had passed the batteries unhurt, and was
+speeding down the stream. The General's first thought was of a
+gunboat, the "Indianola," lately captured from the Federals, and now
+being converted into an iron-clad ram. She must be saved from
+recapture, even if it should be necessary to destroy her. Word was
+hurriedly sent down the river that a formidable ram was bearing down
+upon the "Indianola;" and, if the latter vessel was not in condition
+to do battle, she should be blown up. Accordingly, while the dummy
+ram, caught in an eddy of the river, was whirling helplessly around
+just below Vicksburg, the Confederates put the torch to their new
+war-vessel, and she was soon a heap of ashes. Porter's little joke was
+a good one for the United States.
+
+But all the time that the Union navy was making these futile attempts
+to get the better of the wily general who held the fort at Vicksburg,
+a constant bombardment of the city was kept up. From gunboats and land
+batteries, shells were hurled into the streets of the town, tearing
+down houses, killing men, women, and children, and driving the
+inhabitants to their cellars, or to deep caves dug in the hills. The
+fire from the Union gunboats was most destructive, for they could drop
+down to an advantageous point, shell the city until tired, then steam
+back into safety again.
+
+Cave-digging in the city became a regular business; and caves brought
+from twenty to fifty dollars, according to their size. They generally
+consisted of two or three rooms, and people lived in them quite
+cheerfully during the time that the iron hail was falling in the
+city's streets.
+
+A Northern woman, who was pent up in Vicksburg during the siege, tells
+graphically the story of the bombardment:--
+
+"For many nights we have had but little sleep, because the Federal
+gunboats have been running past the batteries. The uproar when this is
+happening is phenomenal. The first night the thundering artillery
+burst the bars of sleep, we thought it an attack by the river. To get
+into garments, and rush up-stairs, was the work of a moment. From the
+upper gallery we have a fine view of the river; and soon a red glare
+lit up the scene, and showed a small boat, towing two large barges,
+gliding by. The Confederates had set fire to a house near the bank.
+Another night, eight boats ran by, throwing a shower of shot; and two
+burning houses made the river clear as day. One of the batteries has a
+remarkable gun they call 'whistling Dick,' because of the screeching,
+whistling sound it gives; and certainly it does sound like a tortured
+thing. Added to all this is the indescribable Confederate yell, which
+is a soul-harrowing sound to hear. I have gained respect for the
+mechanism of the human ear, which stands it all without injury. The
+streets are seldom quiet at night: even the dragging about of cannon
+makes a din in these echoing gullies. The other night we were on the
+gallery till the last of the eight boats got by. Next day a friend
+said to H----, 'It was a wonder you didn't have your heads taken off
+last night. I passed, and saw them stretched over the gallery; and
+grape-shot were whizzing up the street just on a level with you.' The
+double roar of batteries and boats was so great, we never noticed the
+whizzing. Yesterday the 'Cincinnati' attempted to go by in daylight,
+but was disabled and sunk. It was a pitiful sight: we could not see
+the _finale_, though we saw her rendered helpless.
+
+[Illustration: Passing the Vicksburg Batteries.]
+
+"Since that day the regular siege has continued. We are utterly cut
+off from the world, surrounded by a circle of fire. Would it be wise,
+like the scorpion, to sting ourselves to death? The fiery shower of
+shells goes on day and night. H----'s occupation, of course, is gone,
+his office closed. Every man has to carry a pass in his pocket. People
+do nothing but eat what they can get, sleep when they can, and dodge
+the shells. There are three intervals when the shelling
+stops,--either for the guns to cool, or for the gunners' meals, I
+suppose,--about eight in the morning, the same in the evening, and at
+noon. In that time we have to both prepare and eat ours. Clothing
+cannot be washed, or any thing else done. On the 19th and 22d, when
+the assaults were made on the lines, I watched the soldiers cooking on
+the green opposite. The half-spent balls, coming all the way from
+those lines, were flying so thick that they were obliged to dodge at
+every turn. At all the caves I could see from my high perch, people
+were sitting, eating their poor suppers at the cave doors, ready to
+plunge in again. As the first shell again flew, they dived; and not a
+human being was visible. The sharp crackle of the musketry-firing was
+a strong contrast to the scream of the bombs. I think all the dogs and
+cats must be killed or starved: we don't see any more pitiful animals
+prowling around.... The cellar is so damp and musty, the bedding has
+to be carried out and laid in the sun every day, with the forecast
+that it may be demolished at any moment. The confinement is dreadful.
+To sit and listen as if waiting for death in a horrible manner, would
+drive me insane. I don't know what others do, but we read when I am
+not scribbling in this. H---- borrowed somewhere a lot of Dickens's
+novels, and we re-read them by the dim light in the cellar. When the
+shelling abates, H---- goes to walk about a little, or get the 'Daily
+Citizen,' which is still issuing a tiny sheet at twenty-five and fifty
+cents a copy. It is, of course, but a rehash of speculations which
+amuses a half-hour. To-day he heard, while out, that expert swimmers
+are crossing the Mississippi on logs at night, to bring and carry news
+to Johnston. I am so tired of corn-bread, which I never liked, that I
+eat it with tears in my eyes. We are lucky to get a quart of milk
+daily from a family near, who have a cow they hourly expect to be
+killed. I send five dollars to market each morning, and it buys a
+small piece of mule-meat. Rice and milk is my main food: I can't eat
+the mule-meat. We boil the rice, and eat it cold, with milk, for
+supper. Martha runs the gauntlet to buy the meat and milk once a day
+in a perfect terror. The shells seem to have many different names. I
+hear the soldiers say, 'That's a mortar-shell. There goes a Parrott.
+That's a rifle-shell.' They are all equally terrible. A pair of
+chimney-swallows have built in the parlor chimney. The concussion of
+the house often sends down parts of their nest, which they patiently
+pick up and re-ascend with."
+
+Grant's impassable lines about the beleaguered city soon made
+starvation more to be feared than even the terrible shells from the
+cannon of the gunboats. Necessaries of all sorts became woefully
+scarce in Vicksburg. Five dollars could purchase only a little bit of
+mule's flesh, hardly enough for a meal for two people. Flour was not
+to be had at any price. Bread was made of coarse corn-meal or grated
+peas. The ammunition of the soldiers in the trenches soon began to
+give out, and the utmost economy was exercised. Many of the soldiers
+were armed with muskets that required caps, and it was not many days
+before caps were at a great premium. They were generally smuggled into
+the city through the Union lines by fleet-footed carriers, who ran a
+long gauntlet of Union pickets. Many were shot down in the attempt,
+but more succeeded. One man who brought in sixteen thousand caps, was
+nine days travelling thirteen miles, and was fired on more than twenty
+times.
+
+But, though Grant could have starved the city into subjection by
+simply sitting and waiting, he grew tired of this, and determined to
+force matters to an issue. The first thing to be done was to get the
+gunboats and transports past the batteries. The transports were put
+into shape to stand a cannonade by having their weaker parts covered
+with cotton-bales; and on one dark night in June, the flotilla started
+down the river, with the iron-clad gunboats in advance. Admiral Porter
+led in the "Benton." At eleven o'clock the fleet got under way; and,
+as the "Benton" came abreast of the first batteries, the alarm was
+given in the Confederate camp, and a fierce cannonade began. Huge
+fires were lighted on the shores to light up the river, and make the
+gunboats visible to the Confederate cannoneers. The warships swung
+grandly around the bend, responding with rapid broadsides to the fire
+of the forts. All the vessels were hit once or oftener. The heavy
+smoke that accompanies such fierce cannonading hung over the river,
+cutting off all view of the surroundings from the sailors. The eddying
+currents of the river caught the steamers, swinging them now this way,
+now that, until the perplexed pilots knew not which way their vessels
+were headed. The blue-jackets at the guns worked away cheerily,
+knowing that enemies were on every side of them, and that, no matter
+which way their missiles sped, an enemy was to be found. More than one
+vessel turned completely around; and once, when the rising breeze
+cleared away the smoke, the pilot of the "Benton" found that he was
+taking his ship up-stream again, and was in imminent danger of
+running down a friendly gunboat. But they all passed on without
+receiving any severe injuries, and at five o'clock in the morning lay
+anchored far below the city, ready to begin the attack upon the
+Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf, which were called "the key to
+Vicksburg."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+     VICKSBURG SURRENDERS, AND THE MISSISSIPPI IS OPENED. -- NAVAL
+     EVENTS ALONG THE GULF COAST.
+
+
+The first grand step toward the capture of Vicksburg was made when the
+river-flotilla followed Porter down the Mississippi, and past the guns
+of the Confederate batteries. Grant, with his army, had followed along
+the western bank of the great river; and we now find him ready to
+cross the river, and move upon the Vicksburg batteries from the south.
+But, before this could be done, the Confederate works at Grand Gulf
+must be silenced; and it again happened that the navy was to be the
+chief factor in the contest. For this new battle all the blue-jackets
+were ready and anxious. Admiral Porter says that "when daylight broke,
+after the passage of the fleet, I was besieged by the commanding
+officers of the gunboats, who came to tell me of their mishaps; but,
+when I intimated that I intended to leave at Carthage any vessel that
+could not stand the hammering they would be subject to at Grand Gulf,
+they suddenly discovered that no damage had been done to their
+vessels, which, if any thing, were better prepared for action than
+when they started out!"
+
+The Confederate works at Grand Gulf mounted eighteen guns; and, as
+they stood upon high bluffs overlooking the river, they were most
+formidable. It was decided by the Federals that the navy alone should
+undertake the task of reducing the fortifications,--a decision that
+was of benefit to the Confederates, for their strongest position was
+along the river-front. Four of the guns held a raking position up and
+down the long stretch of muddy water that swirled and eddied by with a
+current of seven miles an hour.
+
+While the fort had the advantage of position, the gunboats were much
+stronger in their armament; and the contest was looked forward to as
+one bound to be desperate. The position of every gun in the batteries,
+and the size of the garrison, were well known to every commander of a
+Union vessel; and they made the most careful preparations for the
+assault.
+
+The Confederates knew that the result of that day's battle would
+decide the ownership of Vicksburg, and they were prepared to offer the
+most desperate resistance. The orders at every battery were to use
+shell alone; and the men were instructed to fire carefully, and only
+after taking deadly aim. In a high tree just outside the fort a
+lookout was stationed; and at early daylight, on the morning of the
+29th of April, 1863, he signalled that the fleet of gunboats was
+bearing down upon the works.
+
+Men who were in the fort that morning saw a strange panorama. The
+stillness was most profound on the shore and on the river. The boats
+moved slowly and grandly down, not a man in sight, and with no sign of
+life. The trees up the river were black with Federal spectators; and
+the chirp of birds was all about the men who stood waiting beside the
+huge cannon.
+
+Porter went at his work with a vim which made the forest tremble and
+the river bubble. For the first few minutes the Confederates were
+appalled by the fierceness of the fire, which stands on record as the
+fastest in the war; but, when the forts did get down to their work,
+they went in with a roar that almost deafened the Federal soldiers
+three miles away. Great shells burst over the gunboats, or, falling
+into the water close by their sides, threw up columns of water that
+deluged the decks. The vessels found the greatest difficulty in
+getting good positions for the swift-eddying current. One moment they
+were bow on, the next headed down stream, or up, or whirling around in
+circles. Of course this greatly hurt the aim of the gunners, but it
+likewise made the vessels poor targets for the Confederates.
+
+Three gunboats--the "Benton," "Tuscumbia," and "Lafayette"-- engaged
+the upper battery; and nowhere in naval history is found the record of
+faster firing than was done by these ships. Their huge shells tore
+away at the walls of earth, throwing up tons of dirt with each
+explosion, but not seeming to affect the strength of the fort at all.
+Not a shot entered an embrasure, though many came near it. One of the
+Confederate artillerists said after the fight,--
+
+"There was not one single minute in all that five hours in which I did
+not expect death. We all worked away as if in a nightmare, and we all
+felt that any moment might be our last. The 'Benton' fired repeatedly
+at my gun; and as many as twenty of her shells struck the opening,
+tearing holes in the parapet ten feet back. Twenty times we were
+almost buried out of sight under the clouds of dirt, and the loose
+earth was knee deep around our gun when the fight closed. Not one of
+us was hit hard enough to draw blood, and yet we all felt ten years
+older for that five hours' work. I sighted the gun, and saw fourteen
+of my shot hit the 'Benton,' and six plunge into another."
+
+The gunboats fought in a way that showed desperate determination. The
+first gun from the "Lafayette" was answered by a shell which crashed
+through her side and exploded in a wardroom, knocking every thing into
+chips. Three times the carpenter came up and reported to the captain
+that the ship was sinking; and each time the reply was, "Very well,
+sir: keep right on firing until the guns are under water." When the
+ship came out of the fight, she counted up fifty scars.
+
+The long-range firing that was carried on at first did not satisfy the
+"Mound City." One particular gunner on the Confederate works seemed to
+cherish a spite against her; and every time the flame leaped from the
+muzzle of his gun, a solid shot banged against the gunboat's side.
+This was not to be tamely borne; and the "Mound City" rushed up so
+close to the bank that her bow stirred up the mud, and from that
+position opened fast and furiously upon the forts with grape and
+canister. A hail of rifle-bullets fell upon her decks; but she stuck
+to her post, and succeeded in driving the enemy to the bomb-proofs.
+
+But, with all their pluck and rapid firing, the gunners of the fleet
+were making no impression on the works. Gen. Grant, who was watching
+the engagement from a tug in mid-stream, saw this, and determined to
+rush his soldiers past the fort in transports, while the navy engaged
+the enemy's guns. This was done quickly, and towards night the ships
+returned to their post up the river, leaving the Confederates in
+possession of the batteries. But the great point had been gained; and
+Grant's army was moving on Vicksburg, with nothing to interfere with
+its besieging operations.
+
+Then began that series of attacks and repulses, of building trenches,
+paralleling, and advancing steadily, until the lines of the Federals
+and the Confederates were so close together that the men used to shout
+jokes and taunts over the breastworks. All the Confederates were known
+as "Johnnies," and all Union soldiers as "Yanks." Often "Johnny" would
+call out, "Well, Yank, when are you coming into town?" Sometimes the
+answer was, "We propose to celebrate the Fourth of July there." The
+"Johnnies" did not believe this; but it was true, nevertheless, for on
+July 4 Grant's victorious army marched into Vicksburg. A day or two
+later the Confederate works at Port Hudson and Grand Gulf were
+surrendered to the Federals, and the Mississippi was again open for
+commerce throughout its length.
+
+When the fall of Vicksburg had thus left the river clear, Admiral
+Porter was ordered to take his fleet up the Red River, and clear away
+any Confederate works that he might find on the banks of that stream.
+Gen. A. J. Smith, with a strong body of troops, accompanied him; while
+Gen. Banks was to march his troops overland from Texas, and join the
+expedition at Shreveport. For several days the gunboats pressed
+forward up the crooked stream, meeting with no opposition, save from
+the sharp-shooters who lined the banks on either side, and kept up a
+constant fire of small-arms.
+
+Shreveport was reached in safety; and, after a short halt, the
+flotilla started again on their voyage up the river. They had
+proceeded but a short distance when a courier came galloping down the
+river's bank, waving a despatch, which he handed to Admiral Porter.
+
+[Illustration: Manning the Yards.]
+
+"The despatch read, 'Gen. Banks badly defeated; return,' Here was a
+dilemma to be placed in,--a victorious army between us and our own
+forces; a long, winding, shallow river wherein the vessels were
+continually grounding; a long string of empty transports, with many
+doubtful captains, who were constantly making excuses to lie by or to
+land (in other words, who were trying to put their vessels into the
+power of the Confederates); and a thousand points on the river where
+we could be attacked with great advantage by the enemy; and the
+banks lined with sharp-shooters, by whom every incautious soldier who
+showed himself was shot."
+
+But, though the admiral clearly saw all the dangers he was exposed to,
+and which he recounts in the foregoing paragraph, he did not propose
+to return, but pressed forward. He soon reached the scene of battle,
+and with the big guns of his boats covered the retreat of the troops;
+then, having done all there was to be done, started down the river.
+
+But now came the great trouble of the whole expedition. Those Southern
+rivers are accustomed in summer to fall rapidly until they become mere
+dry ditches, with a narrow rivulet, hardly deep enough to float a
+row-boat, flowing down the centre. This was the summer season, and the
+Red River was falling fast. The banks swarmed with gray-coated
+soldiery, anxious to be on hand to capture the ships. At Grand Ecore
+the "Eastport" became unmanageable, and was blown up. The fleet
+continued on its way quietly, until a serious obstacle was met.
+Admiral Porter writes:--
+
+"One of the 'Cricket's' guns was mounted on the upper deck forward, to
+command the banks; and a crew of six men were kept stationed at it,
+ready to fire at any thing hostile.
+
+"We went along at a moderate pace, to keep within supporting distance
+of each other. I was sitting on the upper deck, reading, with one eye
+on the book and the other on the bushes, when I saw men's heads, and
+sang out to the commanding officer, Gorringe, 'Give those fellows in
+the bushes a two-second shell.' A moment after the shell burst in the
+midst of the people on the bank.
+
+"'Give them another dose,' I said, when, to my astonishment, there
+came on board a shower of projectiles that fairly made the little
+'Cricket' stagger. Nineteen shells burst on board our vessel at the
+first volley. It was the gun-battery of which our prisoner had told
+us. We were going along at this time about six knots an hour; and,
+before we could fire another gun, we were right under the battery and
+turning the point, presenting the 'Cricket's' stern to the enemy. They
+gave us nine shells when we were not more than twenty yards distant
+from the bank, all of which burst inside of us; and, as the vessel's
+stern was presented, they poured in ten more shots, which raked us
+fore and aft.
+
+"Then came the roar of three thousand muskets, which seemed to strike
+every spot in the vessel. Fortunately her sides were musket-proof.
+
+"The 'Cricket' stopped. I had been expecting it. How, thought I, could
+all these shells go through a vessel without disabling the machinery?
+The Rebels gave three cheers, and let us drift on: they were
+determined to have the whole of us. They opened their guns on the two
+pump-boats, and sunk them at the first discharge. The poor negroes
+that could swim tried to reach the shore; but the musketeers picked
+off those that were in the water or clinging to the wrecks. It was a
+dreadful spectacle to witness, with no power to prevent it; but it
+turned out to be the salvation of the 'Cricket.' All this took place
+in less than five minutes.
+
+"The moment the 'Cricket' received the first discharge of artillery, I
+went on deck to the pilot-house, saluted by a volley of musketry as I
+passed along; and, as I opened the pilot-house door, I saw that the
+pilot, Mr. Drening, had his head cut open by a piece of shell, and the
+blood was streaming down his cheeks. He still held on to the wheel. 'I
+am all right, sir,' he said: 'I won't give up the wheel.'
+
+"Gorringe was perfectly cool, and was ringing the engine-room bell to
+go ahead. In front of the wheel-house, the bodies of the men who
+manned the howitzer were piled up. A shell had struck the gun, and,
+exploding, had killed all the crew,--a glorious death for them."
+
+Porter now found himself in a bad fix. His guns could not be elevated
+enough to bear on the batteries that stood on the crest of the high
+bluffs. There was nothing to do but to run by at the best possible
+rate of speed. Suddenly the engine stopped, and the vessel floated
+helplessly down the stream. Porter rushed below to discover the
+trouble. In the engine-room stood the engineer leaning heavily against
+the throttle. Porter shouted at him, but received no reply; then,
+putting his hand on the man's shoulder, found him dead. The admiral
+threw the body aside, pulled open the throttle, and the "Cricket"
+glided along past the batteries to a safe refuge down-stream. The
+other ships came down safely, although more or less cut up; and the
+flotilla continued its retreat down the stream. For a day or two all
+went smoothly as a holiday excursion; then came a sudden reverse,
+that, for a time, seemed to make certain the loss of the entire fleet.
+At Alexandria the Red-river bottom is full of great rocks that make it
+impassable except at the highest water. When Porter's gunboats
+arrived, they found themselves caught in a trap from which there
+seemed to be no hope of escape. The army was encamped along the banks
+of the river, and the soldiers began again their jokes upon Porter's
+habit of taking gunboats for an overland journey. The army generals
+began to get impatient, and advised Porter to blow up his ships, as
+the troops must soon march on and leave him. Porter was sick in bed,
+but this suggestion aroused him. "Burn my gunboats!" he cried,
+springing to his feet. "Never! I'll wait here for high water if I have
+to wait two years." And, indeed, it began to look as though he would
+be forced to wait nearly that long.
+
+[Illustration: Bailey's Dam on the Red River.]
+
+In this time of suspense, there arose a man equal to the emergency. A
+certain Lieut-Col. Bailey, who had been a Wisconsin lumberman, came to
+Porter, and suggested that a dam should be built to raise the water
+fourteen feet above the falls. Porter jumped at the suggestion, and
+eight thousand men were set to work.
+
+"It will take too much time to enter into the details of this truly
+wonderful work," writes Admiral Porter. "Suffice it to say that the
+dam had nearly reached completion in eight days' working-time, and the
+water had risen sufficiently on the upper falls to allow the 'Fort
+Hindman,' 'Osage,' and 'Neosho' to get down and be ready to pass the
+dam. In another day it would have been high enough to enable all the
+other vessels to pass the upper falls. Unfortunately, on the morning
+of the 9th instant the pressure of water became so great that it swept
+away two of the stone barges which swung in below the dam on one side.
+Seeing this unfortunate accident, I jumped on a horse, and rode up to
+where the upper vessels were anchored, and ordered the 'Lexington' to
+pass the upper falls if possible, and immediately attempt to go
+through the dam. I thought I might be able to save the four vessels
+below, not knowing whether the persons employed on the work would ever
+have the heart to renew their enterprise.
+
+"The 'Lexington' succeeded in getting over the upper falls just in
+time, the water rapidly falling as she was passing over. She then
+steered directly for the opening in the dam, through which the water
+was rushing so furiously that it seemed as if nothing but destruction
+awaited her. Thousands of beating hearts looked on, anxious for the
+result. The silence was so great as the 'Lexington' approached the
+dam, that a pin might almost be heard to fall. She entered the gap
+with a full head of steam on, pitched down the roaring torrent, made
+two or three spasmodic rolls, hung for a moment on the rocks below,
+was then swept into deep water by the current, and rounded to safely
+into the bank. Thirty thousand voices rose in one deafening cheer, and
+universal joy seemed to pervade the face of every man present."
+
+After the dam was repaired, the rest of the fleet passed down safely.
+
+With the escape of the Red-river flotilla, the career of Admiral
+Porter on the rivers ended. Indeed, there was but little work for the
+river navy remaining. The Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland
+Rivers were opened; and the Confederate works on the smaller streams
+were unimportant, and could be left to fall with the fall of the
+Confederacy, which was near at hand. There was work for fighting
+sea-captains along the Atlantic coast, and thither Admiral Porter was
+ordered. He will re-appear at the bombardment of Fort Fisher.
+
+An event which caused the greatest excitement in naval circles at this
+time, and which for courage and dash has probably never been equalled
+in the history of the world, was the run of the Confederate privateer
+"Florida" past the United States fleet blockading the harbor of
+Mobile. The "Florida" was originally a merchant-ship, known as the
+"Oreto;" and under that name she sailed from Liverpool, carrying a
+peaceful cargo, and manned by sailors who had no idea that any thing
+beyond a peaceable voyage was planned. She was commanded by an English
+sea-captain; and, although the United States consul at Liverpool
+looked on her with some suspicion, yet he could find no pretext upon
+which to oppose her departure.
+
+Hardly had the ship passed the mouth of the Mersey, when her course
+was shaped for Nassau, the haven of privateers and blockade-runners.
+At Nassau several officers of the Confederate navy were living; and
+from the anxiety with which they scanned the horizon day after day,
+through their telescopes, it would seem that they were watching for
+some friendly craft. The "Oreto" arrived safely at Nassau; and a young
+gentleman who had come with her made all possible haste ashore, and
+delivered to the watchful gentlemen in the town certain letters, which
+made them first look with the greatest satisfaction at the newly
+arrived ship, and then begin again their outlook for vessels. The
+letters were from Capt. Bulloch, the agent in London of the
+Confederacy; and by them he notified his brother naval officers that
+he delivered to them the "Oreto," an admirably built ship, suited for
+an armed cruiser. "It has been impossible to get the regular battery
+intended for her on board," wrote Capt. Bulloch; "but I have sent out
+four seven-inch rifled guns, with all necessary equipments, in the
+steamship 'Bahama,' bound for Nassau."
+
+So here were the naval officers and their ship, but the guns were yet
+to come; and, when they did come, some shrewd planning would be
+necessary to get the guns mounted without alarming the British
+authorities. By the time the "Bahama" arrived, the plans were all
+made. As the steamer came up to the dock, a small schooner slipped
+alongside, and eight or ten heavy cases were transferred from the
+larger vessel's hold to the deck of the coaster. Then the little
+vessel sailed over to Green Cay, a desert island about sixty miles
+from Nassau, where she was soon joined by the "Oreto." There the work
+of changing the peaceful merchantman "Oreto" into the war-cruiser
+"Florida" began.
+
+The work of transferring the armament, and mounting the guns, was very
+laborious. The hot sun of August at the equator poured down upon
+them. Exposure and general discomforts told heavily upon them; and
+before long the yellow-fever, that most terrible scourge of the West
+Indies, broke out among the men. There was no surgeon on board, and
+the care of the sick fell upon Capt. Maffitt. Two United States
+men-of-war were hunting through the West Indies for the vessel they
+knew was fitting out somewhere amid the coral reefs and sandy,
+desolate keys. But Maffitt kept up his courage, and before long found
+himself at sea, with a good stanch ship and crew, that, though
+short-handed, was made up of the very best material. But he had hardly
+cut loose from civilization, and started out upon his cruise, when he
+discovered, that, in the worry and haste of his departure, he had put
+to sea without rammers or sponges for his guns. He was in a desperate
+plight. Had the smallest United States man-of-war met the "Florida,"
+the Confederate could not have offered the slightest resistance. She
+could not have even fired a gun. Capt. Maffitt ran his vessel into
+Havana in the hopes of being allowed to refit there; but the fortunes
+of the Confederacy were waning fast, and all nations feared to give it
+aid or comfort. Seeing no hope, Maffitt determined to dare all things,
+and make a dash for Mobile through the very centre of the
+blockading-fleet.
+
+When the "Florida" put out from the harbor of Havana, only four or
+five men were able to be on deck. The rest, with her commander, were
+below, deathly sick with yellow-fever. Under the command of a young
+lieutenant, her course was laid for Mobile; and in a few hours the
+smoke of the blockading-vessels could be seen rising on the clear air.
+An English ensign was hoisted, and the fleet ship dashed towards the
+men-o'-war that lay in wait. A blank cartridge was fired to warn her
+away, but she paid no heed. Then came a solid shot that ploughed up
+the water before her bow. As this evoked no response, the whole fleet
+opened fire with shot and shell. "Had they depressed their guns but a
+little," said Maffitt afterwards, "the career of the 'Florida' would
+have ended then and there." But, as it was, she sped on, with no signs
+of damage save the flying ends of cut cordage. She could not respond
+to the fire, for but three men remained on her deck. So, silently and
+grimly, she rushed through the fleet, and finally passed the last
+frigate. Quarter of an hour later she anchored under the guns of Fort
+Morgan. She had received eight shots in her hull, and her masts were
+chipped by dozens of fragments of shell. After refitting, the
+"Florida" waited nearly a month for a chance to get out again. Finally
+the moment arrived; and she made her escape, though chased for four
+hours by the blockaders. Once on the open sea, she began the regular
+career of Confederate cruisers, burned unarmed ships, and avoided
+war-vessels, until she was run down in a neutral port by a Union
+man-of-war, whose commander acted in utter defiance of all the rules
+of modern warfare. In the career of the "Florida," after her escape
+from Mobile, there was nothing of moment; and her capture, treacherous
+as it was, brought more discredit upon the Northern arms than did her
+depredations work injury to the Northern merchant-marine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+     OPERATIONS ABOUT CHARLESTON. -- THE BOMBARDMENT, THE SIEGE, AND
+     THE CAPTURE.
+
+
+We have now reached the period at which the rapid decline in the
+prospects of the Confederacy had become apparent, not only to its
+enemies, but to its friends. Throughout the South the stars and bars
+floated over only three strongholds of any importance,--Charleston,
+Mobile, and Wilmington. One after the other these were destined to
+fall, and their final overthrow was to be the work of the navy. It was
+no easy task in any one of the three instances to dislodge the
+Confederates from their positions; for though beaten in the Middle
+States, driven from the Mississippi, and with their very citadel at
+Vicksburg in the hands of the Federals, they still fought with a
+courage and desperation that for a long time baffled the attacks of
+the Unionists.
+
+From the very opening of the war, Charleston Harbor had been the scene
+of naval hostilities. The Confederates, looking upon their mouldering
+wharves, and vessels tugging idly at their chains, then looking out to
+sea past Fort Sumter, could see the ships of the blockading-squadron
+maintaining the watchful guard that was slowly reducing the city to
+penury. What wonder that the blood of the good people of Charleston
+boiled, and that they built, and hurled against their hated enemy,
+weird naval monsters, shapeless torpedo-boats running beneath the
+water, or huge rams that might even batter in the heavy walls of Fort
+Sumter!
+
+One attack so made was successful to a certain extent. It was in
+February, 1864, that an inventive genius in the beleaguered city
+brought out a steam torpedo-boat. The craft was about twenty-five feet
+long, shaped like a cigar, built of boiler iron, and propelled by a
+screw. She had no smokestack, and her deck barely rose above the
+surface of the water. Running out from her bow was a stout spar
+fifteen feet long, bearing at its end a huge torpedo charged with two
+hundred pounds of powder. Just before nine o'clock one night, the
+lookout on the deck of the frigate "Housatonic" saw this strange
+object approaching the ship. It was a bright night, with no sea on. As
+yet torpedoes were hardly known, so the lookout took it for a large
+fish, and simply watched with interest its playful movements. Not
+until it came so close that no guns could be brought to bear, did any
+suspicion of danger enter the lookout's mind. Then there was the roll
+of the alarm-drums; while the men rushed to the side, and poured a
+fierce fire from small-arms on the mysterious object. The "Housatonic"
+started her engines, and tried to escape; but, before any headway
+could be gained, the launch dashed alongside, and a slight jar was
+felt. Then, with a tremendous roar, a huge column of water was thrown
+high in air, washing away men and boats from the deck of the warship.
+A hole large enough to drive a horse through was rent in the hull of
+the ship. Great beams were broken in twain, the heaviest guns were
+dismounted, and men were hurled fifty feet into the air. In five
+minutes the ship had gone to the bottom, and boats from other vessels
+were picking up the crew. The launch escaped in the excitement.
+
+The Union sailor-boys did not let the Confederates outdo them in dash
+and pluck. One of the cleverest bits of work in the whole war was done
+by four boat-crews from two men-of-war on the Charleston station. Word
+had been brought to the blockaders, that, far up a little deep and
+narrow creek, a large steamship was loading with cotton, expecting to
+reach the ocean through the labyrinth of inlets that fairly honeycomb
+the South Carolina coast. Should she once get into that network of
+waterways, it would require a whole fleet to catch her; for there was
+no telling at what point she might emerge.
+
+It was at once determined to try to capture her as she lay at her
+deck, and four boats' crews of picked men were sent out on the
+expedition. It was early evening when they set out; and all through
+the dark night they pulled away, threading the mazes of the tidal
+inlets. Just as the eastern horizon was beginning to grow gray with
+the coming dawn, they came in sight of their destination. Sure enough,
+there on the bank of the river was a little Southern village, changed
+into a prosperous town by the blockade-runners that had evidently been
+making this place a harbor for some time.
+
+All was dark and silent as the grave. Confident in their fancied
+security, the blockade-runners had all turned in, leaving no one on
+guard. The steamer was loaded, and ready to sail in the morning; and
+the thin wreaths of smoke rising from her smokestack told that the
+fires were up. Stealthily the sailors pulled alongside, and clambered
+on deck. Without a word they stole below, put the crew under guards,
+and rushed into the engine-room, where they found the engineer dozing
+on his stool. He was ordered to get under way at once; and, though he
+looked rather dazed, he obeyed the order. And in fifteen minutes the
+steamer was speeding down-stream, leaving the old town still asleep.
+
+One man alone of all the townspeople had seen the capture. A negro,
+hiding behind a pile of lumber on the dock, had watched the whole
+affair, and, as if struck dumb with astonishment, failed to give the
+alarm until the steamer was out of sight down the winding stream. The
+blue-jackets took their capture safely out of the enemy's lines, and
+the next day it was sent to New York as a prize.
+
+While the navy was keeping the port of Charleston sealed, and every
+now and then beating back the improvised gunboats that the
+Confederates sent out in the forlorn hope of breaking through the
+blockade, the armies of the North were closing in upon the doomed
+city. All the North cried aloud for the capture of Charleston. It was
+the city which fired the first gun of the war. Let it be reduced! On
+every available point of land a Union battery was built. Far out in
+the swamps back of the city, where it was thought no living thing save
+reptiles could exist, the soldiers of the North had raised a battery,
+mounting one two-hundred-pound gun. When a young lieutenant was
+ordered to build this battery, he looked the ground over, and reported
+the thing impossible. "There is no such word as impossible," sternly
+answered the colonel. "Set to work, and call for whatever you need to
+secure success."
+
+[Illustration: Cutting out a Blockade-Runner.]
+
+The next day the lieutenant, who was a bit of a wag, made a
+requisition on the quarter-master for one hundred men eighteen feet
+high, to wade through mud sixteen feet deep. Pleasantry is not
+appreciated in war; and the officer was arrested, but soon secured his
+release, and built the battery with men of ordinary height.
+
+[Illustration: War-ships off Charleston Harbor.]
+
+In April, 1862, Admiral Du Pont had lined his iron-clads and monitors
+up before the beetling walls of Fort Sumter, and had hurled solid shot
+for hours, with only the effect of breaking away sharp corners and
+projecting edges of the fort, but leaving it still as powerful a work
+of defence as ever. The little monitors exposed to the terrible fire
+from the guns of Sumter were fairly riddled; and, when the signal was
+finally made to withdraw from the action, the humblest sailor knew
+that Charleston would only fall after a siege as protracted and
+wearisome as that of Vicksburg.
+
+The investment of Charleston lasted from the date of that first attack
+upon Fort Sumter until 1865. From time to time the war-vessels would
+throw a few shells into the city, as a reminder to the inhabitants
+that they were under surveillance. Early in the siege the Swamp Angel,
+as the big gun back in the swamp was called, began sending hourly
+messages, in the form of two-hundred-pound shells, into the city. In
+one quarter, where the shells fell thickest, a severe fire was
+started, which raged fiercely, driving people from their homes, and
+reducing whole blocks to ashes; while the deadly shells aided in the
+work of destruction. But the life of the Swamp Angel, whose shells
+were the most destructive, was but short; for, after a few days' work,
+it burst, scattering the sand-bags, of which the battery was built,
+far and wide over the swamp.
+
+The officers of the army, who were bringing their troops nearer and
+nearer to the city, expected the iron-clad vessels to steam boldly up
+the harbor, and compel a surrender of the city; but the naval officers
+dared not, owing to the torpedoes with which the channel was thickly
+planted. If Sumter could only be captured, the torpedoes could be
+searched out and easily removed; and, with this thought in mind, a
+number of bold sailors fitted out an expedition to attack the fort.
+Thirty boats, filled with armed men, made their way to the base of the
+shattered walls of the fort. As they came up, not a sign of life was
+to be seen about the huge black monster that had so long kept the
+iron-clads at bay. Rapidly and silently the men swarmed from their
+boats, and, led by three brave officers, began the ascent of the
+sloping walls. "The Johnnies are asleep," they whispered to each
+other: "we have the fort this time." But the Johnnies were wide awake,
+and waiting behind those grim bastions until the proper moment should
+arrive. Higher and higher climbed the blue-jackets; and they were just
+about to spring over the last barrier, when there rose before them a
+wall of men and a deadly fire of musketry, and a storm of
+hand-grenades cut their ranks to pieces. Around the corner of the fort
+steamed a small gunboat, which opened fire on the assailants. The
+carnage was terrible; and the sailors were driven back to their
+boats, leaving two hundred dead and wounded, and three stands of
+colors, as trophies for the garrison.
+
+[Illustration: Charleston bombarded.]
+
+After that grapple with the giant fortress, the Federals did not again
+try to come to close quarters; but, keeping at a distance, maintained
+a steady fire upon the fort, which drove its defenders from the guns,
+and enabled the Union troops to throw up batteries upon all the
+neighboring islands. The fleet then remained on blockading-service
+until Feb. 18, 1865, when the Confederates evacuated the city, and
+left the fort to the victorious Federals. Five years after the date
+when Major Anderson with his little band of soldiers had marched out
+of Sumter, leaving the fort to the enemy, the same gallant officer
+returned, and with his own hand hoisted the same tattered flag over
+the almost ruined fortress, amid salvos of artillery and the cheers of
+a victorious army and navy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+     THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY.
+
+
+The last two actions of the United States navy in the civil war were
+destined to be the grandest successes of a long record of daring and
+successful exploits. Farragut at Mobile, and Porter at Fort Fisher,
+added to their wondrous careers the cap-sheaves of two victories
+wrested from apparently unconquerable adversaries.
+
+It was on a bright August morning in 1864 that Admiral Farragut stood
+on the deck of his stanch frigate the "Hartford," that had borne him
+through so many desperate battles. Around the flagship were clustered
+the vessels of the Gulf squadron. There was the battered old
+"Brooklyn," scarred with the wounds of a dozen fights; the "Richmond"
+and the "Itasca," that received their baptism of fire at the fight
+below New Orleans. In all there were fourteen wooden vessels and four
+iron-clad monitors assembled in front of the strongest combination of
+harbor defences that warships ever yet dared attack. Yet Farragut was
+there that bright summer morning to enter that bay, and batter the
+forts of the enemy into subjection. To capture the city was not his
+purpose,--that he left to the army,--but the harbor forts and the
+great ram "Tennessee" must strike their colors to the navy.
+
+Before arranging for the attack, the admiral made a reconnoissance,
+the results of which are thus told by one of his officers: "On the
+afternoon of the day of our arrival, Admiral Farragut, with the
+commanding officers of the different vessels, made a reconnoissance on
+the steam-tender 'Cowslip,' running inside of Sand Island, where the
+monitors were anchored, and near enough to get a good view of both
+forts. On the left, some two miles distant, was Fort Gaines, a small
+brick-and-earth work, mounting a few heavy guns, but too far away from
+the ship-channel to cause much uneasiness to the fleet. Fort Morgan
+was on the right, one of the strongest of the old stone forts, and
+greatly strengthened by immense piles of sand-bags covering every
+portion of the exposed front. The fort was well equipped with three
+tiers of heavy guns, some of them of the best English make, imported
+by the Confederates. In addition, there was in front a battery of
+eleven powerful guns, at the water's edge on the beach. All the guns,
+of both fort and water battery, were within point-blank range of the
+only channel through which the fleet could pass. The Rebels considered
+the works impregnable, but they did not depend solely upon them. Just
+around the point of land, behind Fort Morgan, we could see that
+afternoon three saucy-looking gunboats and the famous ram 'Tennessee.'
+The latter was then considered the strongest and most powerful
+iron-clad ever put afloat; looking like a great turtle, with sloping
+sides covered with iron plates six inches in thickness, thoroughly
+riveted together, and having a formidable iron beak projecting under
+the water. Her armament consisted of six heavy guns of English make,
+sending a solid shot weighing one hundred and ten pounds,--a small
+affair compared with the heavy guns of the present time, but
+irresistible then against every thing but the turrets of the monitors.
+In addition to these means of resistance, the narrow channel in front
+of the fort had been lined with torpedoes. These were under the water,
+anchored to the bottom, and were chiefly in the shape of beer-kegs
+filled with powder, from the sides of which projected numerous little
+tubes containing fulminate, which it was expected would be exploded by
+contact with the passing vessels.
+
+"Except for what Farragut had already accomplished on the Mississippi,
+it would have been considered a foolhardy experiment for wooden
+vessels to attempt to pass so close to one of the strongest forts on
+the coast; but when to the forts were added the knowledge of the
+strength of the ram, and the supposed deadly character of the
+torpedoes, it may be imagined that the coming event impressed the
+person taking his first glimpse of naval warfare as decidedly
+hazardous and unpleasant. So daring an attempt was never made in any
+country but this, and was never successfully made by any commander
+except Farragut, who in this, as in his previous exploits in passing
+the forts of the Mississippi, proved himself the greatest naval
+commander the world has ever seen. It was the confidence reposed in
+him, the recollection that he had never failed in any of his attempts,
+and his manifest faith in the success of the projected movement, that
+inspired all around him."
+
+When the reconnoissance was completed, the admiral called a council of
+his captains in the wardroom of the "Hartford," and announced that the
+attack would be made early the following morning. The council over,
+each commander returned to his ship, there to make ready for the dread
+business of the morrow. The same writer whom we have before quoted
+tells how the night before a battle is spent by brave men not afraid
+of death:--
+
+"At sunset the last order had been issued. Every commanding officer
+knew his duty, and unusual quiet prevailed in the fleet. The waters of
+the Gulf rested for a time from their customary tumult, a gentle
+breeze relieved the midsummer heat, and the evening closed upon us as
+peacefully as if we had been on board a yachting squadron at Newport.
+During the early part of the night, the stillness was almost
+oppressive. The officers of the 'Hartford' gathered around the
+capacious wardroom table, writing what they knew might be their last
+letters to loved ones far away, or giving to friends messages and
+instructions in case of death. There were no signs of fear; but, like
+brave and intelligent men, they recognized the stern possibilities of
+the morrow, and acted accordingly.
+
+"But this occupied but little time; and then, business over, there
+followed an hour of unrestrained jollity. Many an old story was
+retold, and ancient conundrum repeated. Old officers forgot for the
+moment their customary dignity, and it was evident that all were
+exhilarated and stimulated by the knowledge of the coming struggle.
+Capt. Heywood of the marines proposed a final 'walk-around;' Tyson
+solemnly requested information as to 'Which would you rather do or go
+by Fort Morgan?' and all agreed they would prefer to 'do.' La Rue
+Adams repeated the benediction with which the French instructor at the
+naval academy was wont to greet his boys as they were going into
+examination: 'Vell, fellows, I hope ve vill do as vell as I hope ve
+vill do.' Finally, Chief Engineer Williamson suggested an adjournment
+to the forecastle for a last smoke, and the smoking club went forward;
+but somehow smoke had lost its customary flavor, and, after a few
+whiffs, all hands turned in, to enjoy what sleep would come."
+
+When the morning dawned, the men were called to quarters, and the
+advance upon the forts was begun at once. It was a foggy morning, and
+the ships looked like phantom vessels as they moved forward in line of
+battle, with the "Brooklyn" in the van. Second came the "Hartford,"
+with the admiral high up in the rigging, where he could overlook the
+whole scene.
+
+"Nearly every man had his watch in his hand, and waited for the first
+shot. To us, ignorant of every thing going on above, every minute
+seemed an hour; and there was a feeling of great relief when the boom
+of the first gun was heard. This was from the monitor 'Tecumseh,' at
+forty-seven minutes past six o'clock. Presently one or two of our
+forward guns opened, and we could hear the distant sound of the guns
+of the fort in reply. Soon the cannon-balls began to crash through the
+deck above us, and then the thunder of our whole broadside of twelve
+Dahlgren guns kept the vessel in a quiver. But as yet no wounded were
+sent down, and we knew we were still at comparatively long range. In
+the intense excitement of the occasion, it seemed that hours had
+passed; but it was just twenty minutes from the time we went below
+when an officer shouted down the hatchway: 'Send up an army
+signal-officer immediately: the 'Brooklyn' is signalling.' In a moment
+the writer was on deck, where he found the situation as follows: The
+'Brooklyn,' directly in front of us, had stopped, and was backing and
+signalling; the tide was with us, setting strongly through the
+channel, and the stopping of the 'Brooklyn' threatened to bring the
+whole fleet into collision and confusion; the advance vessels of the
+line were trying to back to prevent a catastrophe, but were apparently
+not able to overcome the force of the current; and there was danger
+not only of collision, but of being drifted on shore."
+
+While the fleet was thus embarrassed and hampered, the gunners in the
+forts were pouring in their shot thick and fast. On the decks of the
+ships the most terrible scenes of death were visible. Along the port
+side the bodies of the dead were ranged in long rows, while the
+wounded were carried below, until the surgeon's room was filled to
+its last corner. One poor fellow on the "Hartford" lost both legs by a
+cannon-ball, and, falling, threw up both arms just in time to have
+them carried away also. Strange to say, he recovered from these
+fearful wounds.
+
+Just as the fight was at its hottest, and the vessels were nearing the
+line, the passage of which meant victory, there went up a cry from the
+whole fleet, "The 'Tecumseh!' Look at the 'Tecumseh!'" All eyes were
+turned on the monitor, and every one saw that she was sinking. She
+staggered for a moment, and went down with a rush, carrying her brave
+commander and over a hundred of her crew. A few escaped, the last of
+whom was the pilot. As the pilot was rushing for the hatchway that led
+to the open air and to life, he met at the foot of a narrow ladder
+Commander Craven. Craven stepped back, saying gravely, "After you,
+pilot;" and the pilot passed out. "There was nothing after me," said
+he, in relating the story afterwards; "for as I sprang out of the
+hatchway the water rushed in, carrying all behind me to the bottom."
+
+This terrible sight made the ships stop for a moment in some
+confusion; but Farragut signalled sternly from his flagship, "Go on,"
+and all advanced again. As the fight grew fiercer, the admiral grew
+tired of being on the second ship in the line, and ordered the
+"Hartford" to forge ahead.
+
+"On board a war steamer the engines are directed by the tap of a bell,
+the wires connected with which lead to the quarter-deck. One stroke of
+the bell means 'go ahead;' two, 'stop;' three, 'back;' and four, 'go
+ahead as fast as possible.' Leaning down through the shrouds to the
+officer on deck at the bell-pull, the admiral shouted, 'Four bells,
+_eight bells_, SIXTEEN BELLS! Give her all the steam you've got!' The
+order was instantly transmitted, and the old ship seemed imbued with
+the admiral's spirit; and running past the "Brooklyn" and the
+monitors, regardless of fort, ram, gunboats, and the unseen foe
+beneath, dashed ahead, all alone, save for her gallant consort, the
+'Metacomet.'"
+
+[Illustration: Fight at Mobile Bay.]
+
+But by this time the fleet was well abreast of the forts, and now,
+pouring out broadside after broadside, they swept along past the
+terrible ramparts. The Confederate gunboats had found the fight too
+hot for them, and had fled for shelter, with the exception of the
+dreaded "Tennessee," which seemed to be holding itself in reserve. It
+was but a short time before the vessels were safely past the fort, and
+out of range, floating on the smooth waters of the inner bay. Then
+the crews were piped to breakfast, and all hands began to recount
+their narrow escapes.
+
+But the end was not yet, for the ram "Tennessee" was now ready to try
+her mettle with the fleet. Lieut. Kinney of the "Hartford" tells
+graphically the story of the desperate fight that the ram carried on
+alone against the whole attacking flotilla.
+
+"We were just beginning to feel the re-action following such a season
+of extreme peril and excitement, when we were brought to our senses by
+the sharp, penetrating voice of executive officer Kimberly calling all
+hands to quarters; and a messenger-boy hurried down to us with the
+word, 'The ram is coming.' Every man hastened to his post, the writer
+to the quarter-deck, where the admiral and fleet-captain were
+standing. The cause of the new excitement was evident at once. The
+'Tennessee,' as if ashamed of her failure, had left the fort and was
+making at full speed directly for the "Hartford," being then perhaps a
+mile and a half distant. The spectacle was a grand one, and was viewed
+by the Rebel soldiers in both forts, who were now out of range of our
+guns, and lined the walls. Few audiences have ever witnessed so
+imposing a sight. The great ram came on for a single-handed contest
+with the fleet. She was believed to be invulnerable, and had powerful
+double engines by which she could be easily handled; while our
+monitors were so slow-gaited that they were unable to offer any
+serious obstacle to her approach. Farragut himself seemed to place his
+chief dependence on his wooden vessels. Doubtless the crowd of
+Confederate soldiers who watched the fight expected to see the
+'Tennessee' sink the Yankee vessels in detail, and the chances seemed
+in its favor....
+
+"Meanwhile, the general signal, 'Attack the enemy,' had gone up to the
+peak of the 'Hartford;' and there followed a general slipping of
+cables, and a friendly rivalry to see which could quickest meet the
+foe. The 'Monongahela,' with her artificial iron prow, was bravely in
+the lead, and struck the Rebel craft amidships at full speed, doing no
+damage to the ram, but having her own iron prow destroyed, and being
+otherwise injured. Next came the 'Lackawanna,' with a like result. The
+huge iron frame of the 'Tennessee' scarcely felt the shock, while the
+wooden bow of the Union ship was badly demoralized. For an instant the
+two vessels swung head and stern alongside of each other. In his
+official report, Capt. Marchand naively remarks:--
+
+"'A few of the enemy were seen through their ports, who were using
+_most opprobrious_ language. Our marines opened on them with muskets:
+even a spittoon and a holystone were thrown at them from our deck,
+which drove them away.'
+
+"The 'Tennessee' fired two shots through her bow, and then kept on for
+the 'Hartford.' The two flag-ships approached each other, bow to bow.
+The two admirals, Farragut and Buchanan, had entered our navy together
+as boys, and up to the outbreak of the war had been warm friends. But
+now each was hoping for the overthrow of the other; and, had Buchanan
+possessed the grit of Farragut, it is probable that moment would have
+witnessed the destruction of both vessels. For had the ram struck us
+square, as it came, bows on, it would have ploughed its way half
+through the 'Hartford;' and, as we sank, we should have carried it to
+the bottom, unable to extricate itself. But the Rebel admiral was not
+desirous of so much glory; and, just as the two vessels were meeting,
+the course of the 'Tennessee' was slightly changed, enough to strike
+us only a glancing blow on the port-bow, which left us uninjured,
+while the two vessels grated past each other. He tried to sink us with
+a broadside as he went by; but only one of his guns went off, the
+primers in all the others failing. That gun sent a shell that entered
+the berth-deck of the 'Hartford,' and killed five men."
+
+But by this time the unequal conflict was becoming too much even for a
+man of Buchanan's courage. The armor of the ram was penetrated in
+several places, and at last came a shot that almost fatally wounded
+her commander. With the controlling mind that guided her course gone,
+the ram was useless; and in a moment a white flag fluttered from the
+shattered stump of her flagstaff. And so closed the naval battle that
+effectually ended Confederate rule on the Gulf coast, and earned for
+Farragut his proudest laurels.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+     THE FALL OF FORT FISHER. -- THE NAVY ENDS ITS WORK.
+
+
+In noticing the work of the blockading-fleet, we have spoken of the
+fine harbor of Wilmington, and the powerful works that defended its
+entrance. This Confederate stronghold was known as Fort Fisher, and
+had been for a long time a cause of anxiety and worry to the Northern
+authorities. The war had gone past Fort Fisher. To the north and to
+the south of it, the country was under the sway of the Federal
+authorities; but there in North Carolina stood the formidable bastions
+over which floated, in defiance of the laws of the Union, the stars
+and bars of the rapidly dying Confederacy. With its connected
+batteries, Fort Fisher mounted seventy-five guns, and was stronger
+than the celebrated Malakoff at Sebastopol.
+
+To reduce this stronghold, a joint naval and military expedition was
+fitted out; and Gen. Butler was placed in command of the land forces,
+while Admiral Porter, torn from his beloved Western rivers, was given
+command of the fleet. Butler introduced a novel feature at the very
+opening of the siege. He procured an old steamer, and had her packed
+full of gunpowder. On a dark night this craft was towed close to the
+walls of the fort and set afire, in the hopes that she might, in
+blowing up, tear the works to pieces. But in this the projectors were
+disappointed; for the explosion, though a terrific one, did absolutely
+no harm to the Confederate works. When Porter finally did get into the
+fort, he asked a soldier what he thought of the attempt to blow them
+up. "It was a mighty mean trick," responded the Southerner
+satirically. "You woke us all up."
+
+After this fiasco had set all the world laughing, Butler retired
+voluntarily, and was succeeded by Gen. Terry; and on Christmas Eve of
+the year 1864 the fleet began the bombardment, although the land
+forces were not yet prepared for the assault. It was the grandest
+armada that was ever arrayed against any fortress. The thunder of
+nearly five hundred guns rent the air on that Christmas Eve, when
+carols were being sung in Christian churches throughout the world.
+Tremendous as was the cannonade, the earthworks were almost a match
+for it. The fort was not a mass of masonry that these enormous guns
+might batter down and crumble into rubbish, but a huge bank of earth
+in which the shells might harmlessly bury themselves. But five hundred
+cannon are more than a match for any fort, and so they soon proved to
+be in this instance. Earthworks, guns, and men alike went down before
+them. The iron-clads were stationed about three-quarters of a mile
+from the fort, a little farther out were the frigates and heavy
+sloops, and still beyond were the smaller vessels,--all firing to
+cover themselves; and all along the whole extended line there blazed
+one almost continuous sheet of flame, while the rolling thunder of the
+broadsides, and the defiant answering roar from the guns of the forts,
+shook earth and sea. Clouds of dust went up from the bastions of the
+fort, and mingled with the floating smoke above. Within the forts,
+there was a scene of the most terrible confusion: guns were
+overturned, piles of cannon-balls were knocked to pieces and scattered
+about, and two magazines were blown up and scattered fragments all
+over the parade. In one hour and a quarter all the gunners were driven
+to the bomb-proofs, and the forts were silenced, not returning a
+single shot.
+
+[Illustration: Charge of Sailors at Fort Fisher.]
+
+On Christmas morning Gen. Terry arrived with all his transports, and
+the attack was recommenced. Early in the morning the ships fell into
+position and began a slow fire, merely to cover the landing of the
+troops. Again the garrison was driven to the bomb-proofs; and, indeed,
+so entirely were they chased from their posts, that a Federal soldier
+went into the fort and brought off a Confederate flag without ever
+having been seen by the garrison. All the troops were landed; but
+for some reason the attack was deferred, much to the disgust of the
+officers of the fleet, who felt sure that the fort could be taken then
+by a dash. But the troops returned to their transports or went into
+camp, and it was not until weeks after that the assault was fairly
+made. In the mean time, the ships rode out the winter gales at their
+anchors, doing a little desultory firing to keep the garrison in a
+state of unrest.
+
+On the 14th of January the heavy bombardment began again, and again
+the troops were landed. By night it was seen that every gun on the
+face of the fort was disabled, and it was decided to storm the works
+the next day. Sixteen hundred sailors and four hundred marines were
+told off as the storming-party.
+
+Early in the morning the ships began a fierce cannonade, under cover
+of which the sailors and marines landed, and threw up light
+breastworks to cover them until the time should be ripe for the
+charge. The arrangements contemplated a fierce charge by the
+blue-jackets, armed with their cutlasses and revolvers; while the
+marines, remaining in the rifle-pits, should cover the advancing party
+with a hot fire of musketry. The soldiers from the army-camp were to
+charge the fort on the other side.
+
+At three o'clock came the signal that all was ready. The whistles of
+the ships rent the air; and the blue-jackets, with ringing cheers,
+dashed in a compact body up the beach. But in an instant the
+Confederate ramparts were black with men, and a furious fire of
+musketry rained down upon the sailors, who were helpless. The marines
+in the rifle-pits failed to do what was expected of them, and the
+sailors halted for a moment in surprise.
+
+As they stood, a most destructive fire rained down upon them; and the
+poor fellows, grasping their useless cutlasses, turned and fled down
+the beach, leaving great heaps of dead and wounded behind. Then the
+Confederates, thinking the day was theirs, sprang on the ramparts, and
+began a vigorous cheer just as the Union soldiers came pouring over
+the landward face of the fort. Then ensued a fierce hand-to-hand fight
+that lasted for hours. The blue-jackets, encouraged, rushed back to
+the fight, and now at close quarters swung their cutlasses with deadly
+effect, until step by step the Confederates were driven out of the
+fort. Then the fleet opened upon them, and they fled for dear life
+while a sailor sprang to the flagstaff and pulled down the Confederate
+flag. Fort Fisher had fallen. It was a noble victory, and formed a
+fitting climax to the work of the navy throughout that great war.
+
+With the fall of Fort Fisher, the navy ceased to be a prominent factor
+in the war. Its work was done. Along the seacoast, and inland as far
+as navigable rivers extended, the ships of the North had carried the
+starry banner; and the sailor-boys of the North had defended it. And
+their opponents, whether on sea or shore, had shown themselves
+courageous and dashing, and worthy to be numbered as men of the same
+nation as those who proved the victors. And who can doubt, that,
+should the need arise, the sons of these men will show that they have
+in their veins the blood that animated the Blue-Jackets of '61?
+
+
+
+
+PART IV
+
+
+
+
+BLUE JACKETS IN TIMES OF PEACE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     POLICE SERVICE ON THE HIGH SEAS. -- WAR SERVICE IN ASIATIC PORTS.
+     -- LOSSES BY THE PERILS OF THE DEEP. -- A BRUSH WITH THE PIRATES.
+     -- ADMIRAL RODGERS AT COREA. -- SERVICES IN ARCTIC WATERS. -- THE
+     DISASTER AT SAMOA. -- THE ATTACK ON THE "BALTIMORE'S" MEN AT
+     VALPARAISO. -- LOSS OF THE "KEARSARGE." -- THE NAVAL REVIEW.
+
+
+The years immediately following the civil war were particularly quiet
+and uneventful for the navy. The department was chiefly engaged in the
+work of reducing the forces and adapting the navy to the changed
+conditions. At the termination of the war an immense naval armament
+had been developed, and the navy had assumed a magnitude which made
+the United States foremost among the naval powers. This force was
+gradually reduced to a peace standard. The volunteers were discharged
+and retired from service. The large number of captured and purchased
+vessels were disposed of. The home squadrons were withdrawn, and
+squadrons established abroad. The ships in foreign stations displayed
+an unprecedented energy and activity, visiting, in 1866, nearly every
+large port in the world, including several in China which had never
+before been entered by an American man-of-war. The reception of
+Rear-Admiral Bell in his flagship, the "Hartford," by the Japanese,
+was manifestly more hospitable than that given to any other nation.
+Admiral Farragut was made commander of the European squadron in 1867,
+and he was received with distinguished attention by the sovereigns and
+dignitaries of Europe. The "Swatara," of the European squadron, was
+ordered, in November, 1866, to Civita Vecchia, a port in Italy, to
+bring to the United States John H. Surratt, who was charged with being
+implicated in the assassination of Lincoln. The fugitive was
+apprehended, but he escaped, and fled into the papal dominions. He was
+recaptured at Alexandria, and in February was delivered to the marshal
+of the District of Columbia.
+
+The Japanese made further advances of a friendly character toward the
+United States in 1867, when the "Shenandoah," of the Asiatic squadron,
+with the American minister aboard, arrived at the port of Hakodadi,
+and the first salute ever given in honor of a foreign minister was
+fired. Just previous to this, the Japanese government had expressed
+its willingness to open an additional port on the western coast to
+foreign trade, and Commodore Goldsborough, in command of the
+"Shenandoah," visited and made surveys of several harbors in which no
+foreign ship had ever before anchored.
+
+News was received by Rear-Admiral Bell, in the autumn of 1866, that
+the schooner "General Sherman" had been wrecked in the Ping Yang
+River, one of the streams of Corea, and that her officers, crew, and
+passengers had been murdered by the natives. The Rear-Admiral
+despatched one of the vessels of his squadron, the "Wachusett," to
+investigate the matter, and demand from the authorities that the
+survivors, if any, be delivered on board the "Wachusett." The King of
+Corea was communicated with, but without satisfactory results. It was
+found that there were no survivors of the schooner. A few months
+afterward information reached Rear-Admiral Bell that a similar outrage
+had been perpetrated on the southeast end of the island of Formosa. It
+was reported that the American bark "Rover" had been wrecked, and all
+on board murdered. Commander Febiger, with the "Ashuelot," found that
+the crime had been committed by a horde of savages, who, the
+authorities of the island said, were not obedient to their laws.
+Rear-Admiral Bell left Shanghai in June, with the "Wyoming" and
+"Hartford," with the intention of destroying, if possible, the
+lurking-places of the savages. On the 18th of June the vessels
+anchored half a mile from shore, and 181 officers, sailors, and
+marines were landed, under the command of Commander Belknap, of the
+"Hartford," and Lieutenant-Commander Alexander S. Mackenzie. As the
+company approached the hills the natives, dressed in clouts, with
+their bodies painted, and muskets glistening in the sun, descended to
+meet them, fighting from the long grass. After delivering their fire,
+they would retreat, and form ambuscades, into which the men from the
+ships frequently fell in charging after them. In one of these
+Lieutenant-Commander Mackenzie was mortally wounded. After fighting
+under the intensely hot sun for six hours, during which period several
+of the attacking party suffered sunstroke, they returned to their
+ships, the expedition having proved a failure.
+
+The navy performed a valuable maritime service in 1867, by locating and
+surveying a shoal which was reported to exist twenty miles west of
+Georges Shoal, and directly in the track of vessels bound to and from
+Europe. The shoal was found by Commander Chandler with the United States
+steamer "Don," and mariners were made cognizant of a danger which
+probably had been fatal to many vessels. In the same year the "Sacramento,"
+Captain Napoleon Collins, while on an important cruise, was wrecked on
+the reefs off the mouth of the Kothapalem River in the Bay of Bengal.
+The vessel proved a total wreck, but without loss of life. Those aboard
+effected thrilling escapes by means of rafts. The navy suffered another
+misfortune in 1868, in the drowning of Rear-Admiral Bell, commander of
+the Asiatic squadron, Lieutenant-Commander J. H. Reed, and ten of the
+crew of the Admiral's barge, which was upset in crossing the bar near
+Osaka, few days after the opening by the Japanese of that port and Hioto
+to foreigners. Another disaster occurred in 1869. Twenty-seven officers
+and men of the "Fredonia" were drowned at Arica, on the western coast of
+South America The "Fredonia" and "Wateree" were resting at anchor when a
+shock of earthquake was felt. The sea receded and left the former vessel
+on the bottom; a moment afterward the wave rolled back, breaking the
+ship into fragments. The "Wateree" was thrown upon the shore; its
+position was such that the expense of launching would have been greater
+than the worth of the vessel, and it was consequently sold. A year
+previous to its catastrophe, the "Monongahela," in the harbor of St.
+Croix, was swept from her moorings by the force of an earthquake, and
+carried by a wave over the warehouses into one of the streets of the
+town. Five of her crew were lost. The vessel, after an interval of some
+months, was relaunched.
+
+The Cuban rebellion, which began in 1868, occasioned activity on the
+part of some of the cruisers to prevent violations of the neutrality
+law and to protect the interests of American citizens. A company of
+Cuban filibusters, encamped on Gardiner's Island, near the eastern end
+of Long Island, were captured by Lieutenant Breese, in command of the
+revenue cutter "Mahoning," and fifty marines. The prisoners, to the
+number of one hundred and twenty-five, were taken to New York. On the
+island of Cuba some outrages were perpetrated upon American citizens
+by the Spanish authorities. Rear-Admiral Hoff, in command of the North
+Atlantic squadron, was ordered to Santiago de Cuba for the better
+protection of American interests, and no further aggressions occurred.
+
+Two disasters in the navy ushered in the year 1870. In the Bay of
+Yeddo, on January 24th, the steam-sloop "Oneida," just after leaving
+Yokohama for Hong Kong, was run into and sunk by the English steamer
+"Bombay," with the loss of twenty officers and ninety-six men. The tug
+"Marie" was sunk in the same month, with a loss of four men, in Long
+Island Sound. In October of the same year, Commander Sicard of the
+"Saginaw" determined to run to Ocean Island, a small island about a
+hundred miles west of the Midways, to rescue any sailors who might
+have been shipwrecked there. The "Saginaw" was herself wrecked on a
+reef off the perilous coast, but her men, after extreme exertions,
+landed safely on the shores of the uninhabited island. Here they lived
+for some months. They were rescued by a steamer from the Sandwich
+Islands, sent to their aid by the authorities of the islands, who had
+been informed of the accident by William Halford, one of the crew,
+who, with Lieutenant Talbot and three others, had volunteered to make
+the trip from Ocean Island to Honolulu, a distance of 1,500 miles, in
+an open boat. After thirty-one days of great danger and hardship, they
+arrived off one of the Hawaiian group of islands. In attempting to
+land, the boat was upset in the surf, and all but Halford were
+drowned.
+
+At various times during the years 1871 and 1872, the marines of the
+Brooklyn Navy Yard rendered very efficient aid to the revenue officers
+in quelling riots in Brooklyn which grew out of the raiding of illicit
+distilleries. In July, 1871, Captain Gilbert was killed and several
+men wounded by the rioters.
+
+[Illustration: Attack on a Corean Fort.]
+
+The steamer "Forward," bearing the San Salvador flag, landed 200
+desperadoes at Guaymas, Mexico, in June, 1870, and these outlaws took
+possession of the custom-house. They forced the foreign merchants
+to furnish them with funds and goods, and compelled the United States'
+consul to supply coal for their vessel, their purpose being to become
+pirates on a large scale. Commander Low, of the "Mohican," upon
+learning these facts, sailed from Mazatlan, and overtook the "Forward"
+while still in the Gulf of California. She was attacked in the harbor
+of Boca Teacapan by six boatloads of sailors and marines from the
+"Mohican," and was captured and burned.
+
+It seemed desirable, in 1871, that some arrangement should be made
+with the people of Corea whereby sailors wrecked upon these shores
+should have protection. With this end in view our Minister to China,
+accompanied by Rear-Admiral John Rodgers, with the "Colorado," the
+"Alaska," the "Benicia," the "Monocacy," and the "Palos," vessels of
+the Asiatic squadron, sailed to Corea, anchoring in the Sale River.
+The local authorities were assured that the visit was a perfectly
+peaceful one, and they in turn gave evidences of a peaceful spirit.
+But when a party engaged in making surveys and soundings for the
+safety of commerce had got beyond a point where they could be
+protected by the cruisers' guns, they were fired upon by the Coreans,
+and were forced to re-pass the Corean forts under a fierce cannonade.
+Admiral Rodgers and the minister determined that an explanation should
+be at once demanded. No answer having been received from the Coreans
+after an interval of ten days, it was decided that an attack should be
+made upon the forts from which the shots had been fired. A party of
+about 700 of the sailors and marines were landed, and after a march
+through mud which rose to their knees, the first fort was captured
+without serious resistance. The next day, other forts were easily
+taken, and preparations were made to attack the horseshoe-shaped
+citadel, which was defended by a garrison of a thousand Corean
+soldiers. A few shells from the vessels, judiciously planted among the
+Coreans, frightened and disconcerted them; but they made a stubborn
+fight until their ammunition gave out. The attacking party swarmed
+over the walls. Then ensued a desperate hand-to-hand fight The Coreans
+expected no quarter, and fought till all who had not fled had been
+killed or wounded. Lieutenant Hugh McKee, who was the first man to
+climb over the ramparts, fell with a mortal wound. Two hundred and
+forty-seven dead Coreans were counted within the works. Five forts and
+a large number of flags and cannon had been captured. The gallant
+conduct of the men of the navy made a deep impression on the people of
+the China coast and led to the increased consideration and safety of
+American citizens in those localities.
+
+On Saturday morning, November 26, 1877, occurred one of the most
+disastrous wrecks in the history of the navy. The steam sloop-of-war
+"Huron" struck the rocks near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, in a heavy
+gale and was wrecked, with the loss of nearly a hundred officers and
+men. The boats were washed from the davits and the thirty-four persons
+who were saved reached the shore by swimming. Ensign Lucien Young
+landed on the beach after desperate efforts, and spread the alarm. His
+sturdy activity resulted in the saving of several lives.
+
+The members of a naval exploring expedition, which had sailed in the
+"Polaris" for the Arctic regions in 1871, were rescued from boats and
+the floating ice in Baffin's Bay in 1873, the "Polaris" having been
+abandoned as a wreck.
+
+The United States steamer "Rodgers," commanded by Lieutenant Robert M.
+Berry, was detailed in 1881 to search for the exploring party
+organized by James Gordon Bennett and headed by Lieutenant-Commander
+DeLong, which had embarked in the "Jeannette" for the far north and
+had been last heard of in August, 1879. The "Rodgers" was burned and
+abandoned in St. Laurence Bay, Siberia, in November, 1881; but
+Lieutenant Berry continued his search on the coast. In the early
+spring he learned that one party from the "Jeannette," that of
+Chief-Engineer Melville, had been saved and was searching for the
+other two parties which had become separated from the first in a storm
+while attempting to escape from the Arctic seas in open boats after
+the "Jeannette" had been crushed and sunk by the ice. Lieutenant Berry
+soon afterward met Chief-Engineer Melville's party and learned that
+the bodies of Lieutenant DeLong and his companions had been found.
+Search for the other party which had been led by Lieutenant Chipp was
+continued, and the Navy Department fitted out another vessel, the
+"Alliance," to aid in the possible rescue. But Lieutenant Chipp and
+his men were never found.
+
+[Illustration: Wreck of United States War-Ships off Samoa.]
+
+During the massacres by Egyptian troops under Arabi Pasha in
+Alexandria, in 1882, when more than two hundred European residents
+were killed or wounded, the flagship "Lancaster," under Captain
+Gherardi, was in the harbor and afforded a place of refuge for large
+numbers of men, women, and children. A large body of marines with a
+detachment of naval artillery landed in the city and were of much
+service in restoring order.
+
+Another Arctic expedition was fitted out in the spring of 1883. Three
+vessels, the "Thetis," "Alert," and "Bear," left New York by order of
+the Navy Department to search for Lieutenant Greely and his party,
+comprising what is known as the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition. After a
+long voyage, in which the vessels were several times in imminent
+peril, they passed around Cape Sabine and found Lieutenant Greely and
+the seven survivors of his party. Their condition was so enfeebled
+that they could have lived only a little longer. On August 8th the
+relief squadron and the rescued party arrived in New York.
+
+An insurrection broke out in the United States of Colombia in the
+spring of 1885, during which the city of Aspinwall was in great part
+destroyed. The affair assumed such a serious aspect that the vessels
+of the North Atlantic squadron, under Rear Admiral Jouett, were
+ordered to Aspinwall, and in addition to the fleet, the Navy
+Department sent a force consisting of about seven hundred and fifty
+from New York, for the special purpose of operating on shore. Upon his
+arrival at Aspinwall, on April 10th, Rear-Admiral Jouett issued orders
+for the landing of a force to open the transit across the isthmus, and
+on the 12th, trains were run as usual. On April 28th, the insurgents
+capitulated, and shortly afterward the United States naval force was
+withdrawn.
+
+One of the most severe disasters that ever befell the United States
+Navy in time of peace occurred on the 16th of March, 1889, when,
+during a hurricane in the harbor of Apia, Samoa, the "Trenton" and
+"Vandalia" were totally wrecked, and the "Nipsic" was run on shore to
+save her from destruction. Five officers and forty-six men lost their
+lives in this catastrophe. Nothing that skill and experience could
+suggest was left undone to avert the disaster, but the vessels were
+equipped with old-fashioned engines, whose steam-power was not strong
+enough to withstand the fury of the gale. The value of high-pressure
+engines in war vessels was illustrated by the British ship "Calliope,"
+which was able to steam out to sea, and thus escaped destruction on
+the reefs. The "Trenton" and the "Vandalia," which had been two of the
+best of the old wooden fleet, were abandoned. The "Nipsic" sailed for
+the Sandwich Islands, where she was refitted for active service. The
+natives of Samoa displayed great heroism in their efforts to save the
+shipwrecked sailors, and were afterward rewarded by the United States
+government. Fifteen merchant vessels which were in the harbor were
+either sunk or run upon the shore, and the German naval vessels
+"Elber," "Adler," and "Olga" were wrecked, with the loss of many men.
+
+When the United States cruiser "Baltimore" was at anchor in the harbor
+off Valparaiso in October, 1891, shortly after the end of a Chilian
+rebellion, a number of the seamen were given liberty to go on shore.
+They were attacked by a mob in the streets of Valparaiso, and Petty
+Officer Charles Riggin was stabbed, and left to die. Another petty
+officer, Johnson, went to his assistance, and was attempting to carry
+him to an apothecary, when a squad of Chilian police, with fixed
+bayonets, came down the street. When at close quarters, they fired at
+Johnson. A shot passed through his clothes, and another entered
+Riggin's neck, inflicting a death-wound. Petty Officer Hamilton was
+dragged to jail dangerously wounded. As a result of the attack, two
+men, Riggin and Turnbull, died, and eighteen others were disabled by
+wounds. Thirty-six of the "Baltimore's" men were arrested, and treated
+by the Chilian police with extreme brutality. Investigation proved
+that all had been perfectly sober and well-behaved. The attack grew
+out of the bitter hostility of the Chilians toward the United
+States--a feeling largely due to false accusations in reference to the
+action of the navy during the Chilian revolution. The affair caused
+excitement and indignation in the United States, but was amicably
+settled.
+
+[Illustration: Wreck Of The "Kearsarge."]
+
+The most important assemblage of naval vessels ever seen in the waters
+of America took place in April, 1893, in celebration of the Columbian
+quadricentennial. Invitations had been sent to all the important
+maritime powers, and at the rendezvous in Hampton Roads, on April
+24th, the combined fleet, under the direction of Rear-Admiral
+Gherardi, of the United States Navy, comprised twelve men-of-war of
+the United States, four of England, three of France, two of Italy, two
+of Germany, two of Russia, three of Brazil, and one of Holland. At New
+York, the squadron was joined by one more Russian, three Spanish, one
+Argentine vessel, and the "Miantonomoh," of the United States Navy,
+making a combined fleet of thirty-five ships-of-war. The President, on
+board the "Dolphin," reviewed the fleet on April 27th, and the next
+day the armed battalions of the various nations, to the number of
+3,815 men, marched through the streets of New York, and were reviewed
+by the Governor of the State.
+
+The navy suffered a severe loss in 1894, in the wreck of the famous
+old man-of-war "Kearsarge," the conqueror of the "Alabama," which was
+wrecked February 2d on Roncador Reef, while on her way from Port au
+Prince to Bluefields, Nicaragua. Eight days later her men were rescued
+by the "City of Para."
+
+One of the conspicuous features of the pageants which attended the
+opening of the Kiel Canal, between the North and the Baltic seas, on
+June 19th, 1895, was the fleet of war-vessels which assembled in the
+harbor at Kiel. It was the most remarkable ever seen in any waters,
+numbering over a hundred of the finest vessels in existence. A number
+of these, headed by the flagship "New York," belonged to the new navy
+of the United States. These ships provoked the admiration of all the
+naval authorities present, and their effective strength was noted and
+commented upon all over Europe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     THE NAVAL MILITIA. -- A VOLUNTEER SERVICE WHICH IN TIME OF WAR
+     WILL BE EFFECTIVE. -- HOW BOYS ARE TRAINED FOR THE LIFE OF A
+     SAILOR. -- CONDITIONS OF ENLISTMENT IN THE VOLUNTEER BRANCH OF
+     THE SERVICE. -- THE WORK OF THE SEAGOING MILITIA IN SUMMER.
+
+
+The _personnel_ of a navy is quite as important as its vessels. It has
+been said that a ship is worth what her captain and crew are worth. It
+is certainly true that a man-of-war, of whatever power, would be
+useless or worse than useless if her officers and men did not
+understand her wonderfully complicated construction nor know how to
+handle her. The officers of the United States navy are given this
+important instruction at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and the rank
+and file of the men of the navy, those who fill the positions of
+seamen and petty officers, are trained at the station in Coaster's
+Island Harbor, near Newport, R.I., and in the training-ships when
+cruising.
+
+The training-station is designed to ensure the thorough efficiency of
+the corps of men enlisted in the service, and to provide for the
+manning of the vessels by American citizens instead of by foreigners.
+
+There was a time, and not a great while ago, when the gunners and
+crews of United States men-of-war were, with very few exceptions,
+aliens, who spoke the English language with difficulty, and who did
+not have, and could not be expected to have, any of the patriotic
+spirit which makes effective fighters in naval engagements. While this
+condition still exists to some extent, the growth of the apprentice
+system is bringing about a gradual change.
+
+As early as 1837 an attempt was made to establish a naval apprentice
+system. In that year Congress passed an act making it "lawful to
+enlist boys for the navy, not under thirteen nor over eighteen years
+of age, to serve until twenty-one." Within a few months several boys
+were received as apprentices aboard naval vessels. Six years later,
+however, the system was abandoned as a failure, owing to a false
+impression which had gained wide currency that the apprentices would
+receive commissions in the navy.
+
+Capt. S. B. Luce and the officers of the practice-ship "Macedonian"
+investigated the apprentice systems at Portsmouth and Plymouth,
+England, twenty years afterward, and made such favorable reports that
+Secretary Welles was induced to revive it in the United States navy.
+This was done, and during the civil war the system was in successful
+operation, but soon after the close of the war it was again abandoned.
+
+In the following years the want of intelligent seamen of American
+birth in the navy was greatly felt, and in 1875 Secretary of the Navy
+Robeson deemed it advisable to resume the enlistment of boys under the
+naval apprentice law, which was still in existence. As an experiment
+two hundred and fifty boys were enlisted and placed on the frigates
+"Minnesota" and "Constitution" and the sloops of war "Portsmouth" and
+"Saratoga," which were commissioned as training-ships. Since 1875 the
+training-station and vessels have been very important features of the
+naval establishment.
+
+The regulations governing the enlistment of boys are simple and few in
+number. The boys must be between the ages of fourteen and sixteen
+years, of robust form, intelligent, of perfectly sound and healthy
+constitution, free from all physical defect or malformation, and of
+good moral character. They must be able to read and write, although in
+special cases, when a boy shows general intelligence and is otherwise
+qualified, he may be enlisted notwithstanding the fact that his
+reading and writing are imperfect. Each boy presenting himself for
+enlistment must be accompanied by his father, mother, or, in case
+neither is living, by his legally appointed guardian, and must
+voluntarily sign an agreement to serve in the navy till twenty-one
+years of age. Upon enlistment the boys are rated as third-class
+apprentices, and are paid $9 a month. Deserving boys are rated
+second-class apprentices, and receive pay of $15 a month after they
+have completed their term of service on a cruising training-ship. If
+they have served a year on a cruising ship of war they are considered
+properly qualified apprentices, and receive $21 a month. As the
+apprentices become proficient and their services are required, they
+are transferred to the seagoing vessels. Upon the expiration of the
+enlistment of an apprentice he will, if recommended, receive an
+honorable discharge, and if he enlists again within three months, will
+be given pay for this period. The apprentices are under the immediate
+supervision of the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy Department, and
+applications for enlistment are made to the chief of that bureau at
+Washington, or to the officer commanding either the "Vermont," at the
+Brooklyn navy yard, or the "Richmond," stationed at the League Island
+yard, Philadelphia. These were the recruiting-ships, from which the
+boys were being sent to the training-station at Coaster's Island as
+soon as a squad of twenty were enlisted, at the period of this
+writing. Sometimes there have been more ships in this duty.
+
+There are usually about one hundred boys at the station at one time.
+They are taught to march, handle muskets, revolvers, broadswords, and
+cannon; they go aloft so as to get practice with the sails, and are
+also made familiar with the management of boats and oars and
+boathooks. Two hours a day are devoted to lessons, consisting of
+arithmetic, reading, writing, spelling, geography and grammar. Ample
+time is given for recreation, and innocent social pleasures are
+encouraged.
+
+There are two training-ships, besides the famous old ship
+"Constellation," which figured in the War of 1812, at the station
+devoted to the use of the boys, and every six months one of these
+appears at Coaster's Island, and receives the apprentices who have
+been at the station for half a year. The vessel then starts on a
+cruise to Europe if it is summer, and to the West Indies in the
+winter. Each boy remains aboard a year, only half of the crew being
+changed at a time. Practice aloft and the life in general aboard a
+sailing vessel give him a broad general foundation of knowledge of the
+sea and ships, upon which he can build the special training and
+instruction he afterward gets upon a regular man-of-war. When he is
+transferred, upon the expiration of his year on the training-ship, he
+begins the task of mastering the intricacies of a modern ship-of-war.
+Here he remains until his first term of service has expired. If he
+re-enlists and has shown aptitude for the service, he is sent to
+Washington navy yard for a course of six months' instruction in
+gunnery and special branches, such as electricity and torpedoes. He
+becomes a seaman gunner, with the billet and pay of a petty officer.
+
+A serious defect in the apprentice system, however, and one which
+makes it impossible to man the vessels altogether with well-trained
+American citizens, is the fact that the majority of the apprentices do
+not re-enlist after receiving their honorable discharge at the age of
+twenty-one, for the reason that the special training they have
+received enables them to secure better-paid places in civil life than
+are possible to them in the navy. In the government service, too, they
+cannot attain the rank of officers, as there is no such provision for
+the promotion of enlisted men in the navy as there is in the army.
+
+Secretary Tracy, in his report of 1889, forcibly called the attention
+of Congress to this condition. As a remedy he recommended that there
+be a statutory extension of the term of enlistment to twenty-four
+years of age. It was further recommended that the number of
+apprentices be increased from seven hundred and fifty to fifteen
+hundred, and that the course in the training-ships be extended by the
+formation of a special class for training in gunnery on board a ship
+devoted exclusively to this purpose. Congress has as yet taken no
+action upon these and numerous other recommendations which have been
+made for the improvement of the apprentice system, and they remain
+pertinent.
+
+The navy, however, in case of war, would not have to depend entirely
+upon apprentices and graduates of the training-station for its skilled
+seamen. The Naval Militia has become an organization that would render
+very efficient service if called upon by the government. It is
+composed of about three thousand highly intelligent and well-drilled
+young men, and has been organized in sixteen States. It bears the same
+relation to the navy that the National Guard does to the regular army,
+and is therefore wholly under State control; but it is subject to
+call, of course, by the federal government.
+
+The organization of the Naval Militia has been a growth of the last
+eight years, and is due in large measure to the reconstruction of the
+navy and the revival of activity and interest in naval affairs in the
+United States.
+
+It was seen that the new vessels of modern and intricate construction
+and appliances should, in case of war, be manned by men skilled in
+the use of these appliances. The apprentice system brought to the navy
+a supply of apprentices, but the number would be totally inadequate in
+a naval war. A naval reserve force was an urgent necessity.
+
+The first step toward meeting this necessity was made in 1887 by
+Senator Whitthorne, of Tennessee, who in that year introduced a bill
+"to create a naval reserve of auxiliary cruisers, officers, and men,
+from the mercantile marine of the United States." The measure did not
+pass, and the next year another was introduced by Senator Whitthorne,
+providing for the enrolment of a Naval Militia and the organization of
+naval reserve forces. According to this bill, it was to be lawful for
+States and Territories bordering on sea and lake coasts and navigable
+rivers to enroll and designate as the Naval Militia all seafaring men
+of whatever calling or occupation, and all men engaged in the
+navigation of the rivers, lakes, and other waters, or in the
+construction or management of ships and craft, together with
+ship-owners and their employees, yacht-owners, members of yacht clubs
+and other associations for aquatic sports, and all ex-officers and
+former enlisted men of the navy.
+
+The bill contemplated a naval reserve artillery and a naval reserve
+torpedo corps. It did not become a law, but formed a basis for
+legislation in several of the States shortly afterward, although the
+original plan, as shown in the proposed measure, was modified to the
+extent of making the Naval Militia a State organization and forming it
+of volunteers irrespective of occupation.
+
+Massachusetts was the pioneer among the States in the organization of
+the Naval Militia. In May, 1888, the legislature passed a bill
+authorizing the formation of "a naval battalion to be attached to the
+volunteer militia." This measure was prepared, with the assistance of
+others, by Lieutenant John C. Soley, a retired officer of the United
+States navy, and he was afterward energetic in putting it into
+successful operation.
+
+The next State to provide for a Naval Militia was Pennsylvania, whose
+legislature made the necessary law in 1889. On the same day the
+legislature of Rhode Island "established a naval battalion to be
+attached to the Rhode Island militia." In New York, in 1889, a State
+Naval Militia of three battalions of naval reserve artillery and a
+naval reserve torpedo corps, to consist of not less than four
+companies to a battalion, was established.
+
+[Illustration: Cruiser "Columbia" (Commerce Destroyer).]
+
+The practical work of the Naval Militia began in 1890, when the
+Massachusetts battalion drilled on the receiving-ship "Wabash," and
+the New York battalion on the receiving-ship "Minnesota."
+
+A very decided impetus was given to the movement in 1891 by the
+appropriation by Congress of $25,000 for arms and equipments for the
+Naval Militia, leaving the disbursement of the money to the discretion
+of the Secretary of the Navy. Within the year California, North
+Carolina, Texas, and Maryland joined the States having battalions of
+Naval Militia, and at its close the force numbered 1,149 men. Progress
+was made also in 1891 in the method of drilling and instructing the
+members of some of the battalions. Those of New York, Massachusetts,
+and Rhode Island spent several days aboard the vessels of the Squadron
+of Evolution, under the command of Rear-Admiral J. C. Walker, and were
+given practice with the guns and boats, and participated in the ship's
+routine duties.
+
+Further appropriations of $25,000 each for the Naval Militia were made
+in 1892 and 1893. The legislatures of Vermont and South Carolina
+provided for battalions of the Naval Militia in 1892, and those which
+had been authorized, but not yet organized, in Maryland and
+Pennsylvania, were formed. During the summer of 1892 the members of
+the North Carolina Naval Militia were drilled on board the "Newark."
+The "Wabash," the "Chicago," and the "Atlanta" were used for drills by
+the Massachusetts battalions, and those of New York received their
+instruction on the "New Hampshire," the "Chicago," and the "Atlanta."
+The California Naval Militia drilled on board the "Charleston."
+
+The Naval Militia was increased in 1893 by battalions formed in North
+Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, and Connecticut, under laws of
+these various legislatures of that year, and the force numbered 2,376
+officers and men. New Jersey and Virginia, in 1894, organized
+battalions of the Naval Militia, and in that year Congress passed an
+important act, empowering the Secretary of the Navy to lend
+temporarily to any State vessels "not suitable or required for the
+general service, together with such of her apparel, charts, books, and
+instruments of navigation as he may deem proper, said vessel to be
+used only by the regularly organized Naval Militia of the State for
+the purposes of drill and instruction." Even interior States, with no
+bodies of water other than rivers, have organized naval battalions. At
+Pittsburg the organization owns a small armored gunboat, of the sort
+that was so useful on inland waters in the civil war. This vessel was
+presented to the militia by a wealthy manufacturer. Few commands,
+however, are so fortunate. Most take advantage of the law authorizing
+the loan of government ships. Under this law the following vessels
+were lent: the "Minnesota" to Massachusetts, the "Wyandotte" to
+Connecticut, the "New Hampshire" to New York, the "Portsmouth" and the
+"Ajax" to New Jersey, the "St. Louis" to Pennsylvania, the "Dale" to
+Maryland, and the "Nantucket" to North Carolina. The other States have
+been compelled to get along without vessels, for the reason that there
+have been no others available.
+
+[Illustration: Torpedo Boat "Cushing."]
+
+During the summer of 1894 the Massachusetts brigade of the militia
+encamped for drill on Lovell's Island, Boston Harbor, and the monitor
+"Passaic" was lent to the State. There were also drills and
+target-practice on the "Miantonomoh" and the "Atlanta." The forces of
+Connecticut and Rhode Island received instruction on the "Miantonomoh"
+and the "Atlanta" respectively, and New York's battalion spent a week
+on board the "New York" and the "San Francisco" in Gardiner's Bay,
+Long Island. A part of the Pennsylvania force had target-practice at
+sea on board the "New York," and the North Carolina battalion received
+instruction on the "Montgomery."
+
+[Illustration: Armored Cruiser "New York."]
+
+The California division helped to man the "Olympia" for a week in
+1895, taking the places of the crew; the Maryland contingent had a
+week's cruise on the "Dale," and the First Naval Battalion of New York
+carried out a scheme of reconnoissance and distant boat work along the
+northern shore of Long Island, encamping on Shelter Island. The party
+was accompanied by the torpedo boat "Cushing." Most of the other
+battalions had their quota of drill and instruction.
+
+These details of the summer operations of the Naval Militia will
+convey an idea of the manner in which its members are being prepared
+for the emergencies of war. In addition to the summer work, there is
+drill in armories in the winter. This course of training, in
+conjunction with the intelligence and enthusiasm of the young men of
+the Naval Militia, who are of the best classes in this country, has
+made an organization which would doubtless be of very great value in
+time of war.
+
+The uniform of the Naval Militia consists of a blue cap, blouse, and
+trousers of blue trimmed with white braid. The working suit is of
+white duck with white canvas hat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     HOW THE NAVY HAS GROWN. -- THE COST AND CHARACTER OF OUR NEW
+     WHITE SHIPS OF WAR. -- OUR PERIOD OF NAVAL WEAKNESS AND OUR
+     ADVANCE TO A PLACE AMONG THE GREAT NAVAL POWERS. -- THE NEW
+     DEVICES OF NAVAL WARFARE. -- THE TORPEDO, THE DYNAMITE GUN, AND
+     THE MODERN RIFLE. -- ARMOR AND ITS POSSIBILITIES.
+
+
+At the close of the civil war the United States had one of the most
+formidable navies afloat. The necessities of the war had forced the
+Navy Department to the utmost exertion in increasing the number and
+power of the vessels of the fleets. This work of naval upbuilding and
+strengthening had been carried on, moreover, till Fort Fisher fell and
+hostile operations ceased. The result was that at the close of the war
+the United States had upon its hands a large number of ships-of-war
+for which it had no use. The Secretary of the Navy at once began to
+reduce the number, and secretaries succeeding him followed the same
+policy. Old vessels which had outlived their usefulness as cruisers
+were one by one taken out of commission and were not replaced. Thus
+the navy moved steadily on a downward plane. Through the seventies and
+into the eighties this retrogression continued. The lowest ebb was
+reached in 1882, when the entire naval force numbered only thirty-one
+vessels in commission, all but four of which were built entirely of
+wood. They were old-fashioned ships, which had been efficient in a
+past day, but were totally unfit to cope with the modern warships of
+foreign naval powers. Both their guns and engines were inferior. Their
+sole usefulness, in short, lay in displaying the national flag upon
+the seas and in the harbors of the commercial world in times of peace.
+
+This condition of the navy was referred to by Secretary Chandler, in
+his report of 1882, as follows:
+
+"It is not the policy of the United States to maintain a large navy,
+but its reputation, honor, and prosperity require that such naval
+vessels as it possesses shall be the best which human ingenuity can
+devise and modern artificers construct. Our present vessels are not
+such and cannot be made such. They should be gradually replaced by
+iron or steel cruisers, and allowed to go out of commission."
+
+It may be of interest to add that in 1882 there was only one
+high-power cannon in the navy, while there were nearly nineteen
+hundred naval officers, making the proportion of fifty-nine officers
+for each ship, and one for every five seamen.
+
+As the result of Secretary Chandler's recommendations in his report of
+1882, three steel warships and an armed despatch-steamer were
+authorized by the next Congress. The building of these vessels, named
+the "Chicago," the "Boston," the "Atlanta," and the "Dolphin," may be
+regarded as the first movement toward the making of the new navy of
+the United States.
+
+While progress in naval construction has been so rapid that these
+ships are a long distance behind the war-vessels of to-day in power,
+they were then considered to be equal to any afloat in their
+respective classes. All are unarmored. The "Chicago," of forty-five
+hundred tons displacement and a speed of fourteen knots an hour, was
+an example of the largest and best unarmored fighting and cruising
+vessel then built, and, according to Secretary Chandler, had no
+superior in speed, endurance, and armament. In the "Boston" and
+"Atlanta," each of three thousand tons displacement and a speed of
+thirteen knots an hour, speed and endurance were supposed to have been
+given their greatest development, and their fighting power was
+increased by placing the battery on a central superstructure on the
+spar-deck and adopting a brig rig, so that the extremities would be
+clear for a fore and aft fire. The "Dolphin," of fifteen hundred tons
+displacement and a speed of fifteen knots, was designed as an
+auxiliary in naval operations, and it was expected that she would
+furnish a model for high-speed commerce-destroyers to be subsequently
+built. These vessels were constructed at an aggregate cost of over
+$2,400,000, in the shipyard of John Roach, of Chester, Pa. The
+"Dolphin" was launched in 1884.
+
+The Congress which authorized the building of the cruisers also
+directed that the double-turreted monitors, "Puritan," "Amphitrite,"
+"Terror," and "Monadnock," whose keels had been laid several years
+before, be completed. In accordance with this order they were launched
+in 1883.
+
+In order that the work of the reconstruction of the navy should be
+carried on as rapidly as possible, the secretary recommended, in 1883
+and 1884, that seven unarmored cruisers, in addition to the four then
+in the process of construction, be built. Congress adopted his
+suggestion to the extent of authorizing, in 1884, the construction of
+two unarmored cruisers, two gunboats, and two armored cruisers.
+
+The vessels with which the reconstruction of the navy began--namely
+the "Chicago," the "Boston," the "Atlanta," and the "Dolphin"--were
+completed about this time, and were in some measure disappointments.
+It was found that the "Dolphin" was better adapted for pleasure trips
+than for war service, because of the lack of protection against
+hostile fire. The engines had been so placed as to be exposed above
+water-line, which was condemned as a serious mistake in a war-vessel
+without armor-protection. It was realized, too, that the essential
+characteristic in an unarmored cruiser is great speed. The function
+she is expected to perform is to destroy commerce; and if she is
+slower than the merchant-vessels it is useless for her to go to sea;
+and if she is slower than the iron-clads, and consequently cannot
+escape from them, she could not long continue her service. The chief
+objection to the vessels was the lack of a speed equal to that of
+merchantmen and the cruisers of other countries. The type of protected
+cruiser with a maximum speed, in some cases as high as twenty knots,
+developed at this time as a result of the earlier experiments. The
+torpedo, too, was receiving constant attention, and money was freely
+spent for its improvement. It was found that vessels at anchor or
+under slow headway could be protected from torpedoes by being
+surrounded by a large net. This defence was generally adopted for
+armored vessels.
+
+A stride forward in naval construction in the United States marked the
+year 1887. Before that time a serious obstacle in the way of building
+up the navy was the lack in the country of manufactories necessary to
+the construction and armament of a modern war-vessel, namely, that of
+steel forgings for the heavier guns, of armor for iron-clad vessels,
+and of secondary batteries, which are an essential portion of the
+armament. It was important that the country should not be dependent
+upon foreigners for these necessary implements of warfare, because
+they are contraband in time of war, and consequently could not then be
+obtained abroad. Secretary of the Navy Whitney, who succeeded
+Secretary Chandler, stipulated, in his advertisements for bids for the
+contracts of making the armor for the ships under construction, that
+this armor should be of domestic manufacture. Correspondence was also
+opened with the leading steel manufacturers of the country, offering
+them inducements to take the matter up. Interest was awakened, and it
+was found upon investigation that armor could be made in the United
+States as advantageously as abroad. A contract was drawn up with the
+Bethlehem Iron Company, under which a plant for the production of
+armor and gun steel was erected at Bethlehem, Pa., which was designed
+to be second to none in the world. In the matter of the second
+batteries, the policy of insisting upon home manufacture was also
+pursued, with the desired result.
+
+Congress had authorized, in 1885, the construction of two additional
+cruisers and two gunboats. In 1886 there was further authorization of
+two armor-clad vessels, each of about six thousand tons, and each to
+cost, exclusive of armament, not more than $2,500,000. In 1887 the sum
+of $2,000,000 was appropriated for harbor and coast defence vessels.
+As a result of this reawakening on the part of Congress to the
+necessity of a respectable navy, and the manifestations of
+enlightenment in the form of substantial appropriations, Secretary
+Whitney was able to state in his report of 1888 that upon the
+completion of the ships under construction, the United States would
+rank second among the nations in the possession of unarmored cruisers
+or commerce-destroyers possessing the highest characteristics--namely,
+size of three thousand tons and upward and a speed of nineteen knots,
+and more. The vessels, inclusive of the monitors, completed and
+uncompleted, then composing the navy, were as follows: The "Dolphin,"
+"Boston," "Atlanta," "Chicago," whose keels were laid in 1883; the
+"Charleston" "Baltimore," "Newark," "Philadelphia," "San Francisco,"
+protected cruisers, whose keels were laid in 1887 and 1888; and the
+gunboats "Yorktown," "Petrel," "Concord," "Bennington," whose keels
+were laid in 1887 and 1888. In addition to these, there were under
+construction the dynamite cruiser "Vesuvius," with a guaranteed speed
+of twenty knots an hour, and a first-class torpedo-boat with a speed
+of twenty-three knots an hour. Besides these, five protected cruisers
+had been authorized, but were not yet in process of construction.
+
+[Illustration: Dynamite Cruiser "Vesuvius."]
+
+The "Baltimore," "Charlestown," "Yorktown," and "Petrel" were given
+their trial trips in 1889, and were accepted by the Navy Department.
+The trip of the "Baltimore," in particular, was a brilliant success.
+The horse-power proved to be in excess of the contract requirement,
+and her highest speed for one hour was 20.39 knots--this result being
+then unparalleled by any warship in the world of the "Baltimore's"
+displacement.
+
+When Benjamin F. Tracy became Secretary of the Navy, in 1889 he called
+attention to the fact that, while the United States had secured a
+number of excellent vessels of the cruiser type, it did not as yet
+possess an efficient navy. He pointed out that the country had two
+widely separated ocean frontiers to protect, and that there was only
+one way to protect them, namely, by two separate fleets of armored
+battle-ships. He said further that in addition to the battle-ships,
+the condition of the country required at least twenty vessels for
+coast and harbor defence, and, moreover, that the employment of these
+ships as floating fortresses demanded that they be equipped with the
+most powerful batteries and the heaviest of armor. It may be said
+parenthetically that eight vessels of this type, five of which were
+reconstructed monitors, were under construction or had been authorized
+at that time. Secretary Tracy recommended the authorization by the
+following Congress of eight armored battle-ships. He also said that
+the United States could not afford to neglect torpedo-boats, with
+which the foreign naval powers were well supplied, and he recommended
+that appropriations be made for the construction of at least five of
+these boats of the first and second class. The year before, the keel
+of the first of the battle-ships, the "Texas," had been laid in the
+navy-yard at Norfolk, Va., and in 1889 work was begun at the Brooklyn
+navy yard upon another vessel of the same class, the "Maine." These
+vessels are respectively of 6,314 and 6,648 tons displacement. The
+construction of a third battle-ship, which had been provided for, had
+not yet been begun.
+
+Secretary Tracy's recommendations reveal clearly the naval condition
+in 1889. Previous to that year the additions to the navy had consisted
+chiefly of cruisers of from three to four thousand tons, and of
+gunboats under two thousand tons; but, acting upon the secretary's
+report, Congress, on June 10, 1890, authorized, in addition to another
+armored cruiser, three seagoing coast-line battle-ships. These were an
+entirely new class of vessels in the United States navy, and their
+authorization marks another distinct step in its reconstruction.
+
+An appropriation was made in 1891 for an additional armored cruiser,
+designed to be a sister ship to the one provided for in 1890. It was
+the purpose to make these vessels more powerful than any of their type
+in the navy. Their tonnage was fixed at 7,500, and their maximum speed
+at twenty-two knots. They were to be given coal capacity that would
+enable them to cruise for great distances without recoaling. This, it
+will be seen, is an important advantage to a navy so destitute of
+coaling-stations abroad as that of the United States.
+
+The vessels under construction in 1891 were the monitors "Puritan,"
+"Amphitrite," "Monadnock," and "Terror," which had been begun in 1874,
+but had been neglected in subsequent years; the "Maine," the "Texas,"
+the coast-defence vessel "Monterey," which was launched in 1891; the
+"New York," "Cincinnati," "Raleigh," "Detroit," and a practice-ship,
+which had been authorized by the act of 1887; the harbor-defence ram
+"Katahdin;" and gunboats "5" and "6," authorized in 1889; the three
+battle-ships, "Indiana," "Massachusetts," and "Oregon," and the
+protected cruiser "No. 12," authorized by the act of 1890; and
+protected cruiser "No. 13," provided for in 1891.
+
+Three vessels, the "Newark," the "Concord," and the "Bennington," were
+given their trial trips in 1890. The behavior of the "Newark" proved
+her to be a valuable addition to the list of cruisers. The "Concord"
+and the "Bennington," vessels of the gunboat class, similar to the
+"Yorktown," also gave evidences of power and usefulness. They carry a
+comparatively heavy battery, while their light draught enables them to
+run into shallow rivers and bays, and thus perform services for which
+larger vessels are incapacitated.
+
+The subject of the organization of a naval militia or reserve had been
+discussed for some time before Secretary Tracy assumed his office. He
+forcibly urged the necessity of such an organization in his first and
+in following annual reports, until, in 1891, Congress appropriated
+$25,000 for arms for the militia. This was a decided impetus toward
+its development, and at the close of the year it existed in six
+States, an effective, well-drilled, and organized force of eleven
+hundred men.
+
+The year 1892 saw considerable progress in the development of the
+navy. Two important vessels, the "Iowa," a first-class, seagoing
+battle-ship of 11,296 tons displacement, and the "Brooklyn," an
+armored cruiser of 9,150 tons displacement, were provided for by
+Congress. The cruisers "Texas," "Columbia," "Olympia," "Raleigh," and
+"Cincinnati," and the gunboats "Machias" and "Castine" were launched.
+
+Secretary Tracy's administration of the affairs of the navy, which
+closed in 1892, was one of marked progress and development; and this
+development was not confined to ships alone. Experiments extending
+over a period of three years had resulted in the adopting of an armor
+of new composition, namely, nickel-steel, which had been found to be
+far superior to any before known. The manufacture of torpedoes had
+been domesticated. Since 1889 the heavy, rapid-firing guns had been
+developed and proved successful. The manufacture of armor-piercing
+shells, of which two firms in Europe had had the monopoly, was begun
+in this period under the care and encouragement of the Navy
+Department; and the shells turned out soon surpassed the foreign
+product. Through investigation and experiment conducted by its own
+agencies, the Navy Department succeeded in developing a smokeless
+powder, which gave better results than that made abroad. Careful and
+protracted experiments with high explosives were also carried on, with
+the result of developing an explosive that can be safely used in
+shells fired from high-power guns.
+
+In 1893, the first year of the administration of Secretary Herbert,
+the following vessels were launched: the armored battle-ships
+"Indiana" and "Massachusetts;" the protected cruiser "Minneapolis;"
+the unarmored and very rapid cruiser "Marblehead;" and the armed
+coast-defence ram "Katahdin." During the same year Congress authorized
+the construction of three new vessels, to be of the class known as
+light-draft protected gunboats. These are of about twelve hundred tons
+displacement, and are designed for river service in China and
+elsewhere. Several vessels, namely, the "Monterey," "Bancroft,"
+"Detroit," "New York," armored cruiser of 8,480 tons displacement, and
+the gunboat "Machias," were given their trial trips in 1893. The
+results were in each case satisfactory, and the vessels were added to
+the effective fleet of the navy.
+
+Before 1893 the United States had been behind the other important
+nations in the matter of small-arms equipment. The navy was still
+using the old-fashioned, large-calibre rifle, employing a charge of
+black powder, and effectively carrying only twelve hundred yards.
+Under Secretary Herbert's direction, a board of naval officers
+investigated the improved small arms in use in foreign navies, and
+made recommendations which resulted in the adoption of a small-calibre
+magazine rifle, in which is used smokeless powder, and which has an
+effective range of a mile and a half. A further advantage of the new
+rifle is that it employs cartridges of such a weight that no less than
+two hundred rounds can be carried by one man. The cartridges used in
+the old rifle were so heavy that one man could not carry more than
+fifty rounds.
+
+Secretary Herbert recommended in his report of 1893 that Congress
+authorize the construction of at least one new battle-ship and six
+torpedo-boats. He said that for the defence of ports the latter are
+more effective according to cost than any class of vessels. The
+knowledge of their existence alone will make an enemy chary about
+approaching within bombarding distance. The value of this boat is
+recognized by all naval powers, and they are being built abroad in
+great numbers. The next naval appropriation contained a provision
+authorizing the construction of three additional torpedo-boats of the
+general type of the "Ericsson," which was then ready for trial. The
+design for the new boat called for a speed of not less than
+twenty-four and one-half knots an hour. The battle-ships "Indiana,"
+"Texas," and "Oregon" underwent preliminary trial trips in 1894, and
+were accepted by the government in 1895. It is of interest to note
+that until these vessels were put in commission, the navy was still in
+the condition that existed when President Cleveland, in his first
+message to Congress in 1885, made the following statement: "We have
+not a single vessel that could keep the seas against a first-class
+vessel of any important power." It is true that vessels of size and
+power enough to hold their own against the battle-ships of other
+nations had been under construction for several years, but the United
+States was still without an available man-of-war of the first class
+until the "Indiana" and the "Oregon" joined the fleet.
+
+Considerable progress in naval affairs marked the year 1895. One of
+the important events was the adding to the commissioned fleet of the
+coast-defence monitor "Amphitrite," whose keel was laid in 1874. The
+work of remodelling her was begun in 1889, under the appropriation
+made by Congress in 1887. The "Amphitrite" is in some respects an
+old-fashioned type of vessel, but is nevertheless capable of important
+service. Her displacement is 3,990 tons. Her armor and armament are
+heavy, although not so powerful as that of the battle-ships. Her main
+advantage, as with all of the monitors, is that she presents a
+comparatively small target for the enemy's fire.
+
+[Illustration: United States Battle-Ship "Indiana."]
+
+Adopting the spirit of Secretary Herbert's recommendations in his
+report of 1894, Congress, in 1895, authorized the construction of two
+coast-line battle-ships of most formidable equipment and power,
+their cost not to exceed $4,000,000 each. Further provision was made
+for the building of twelve torpedo-boats. An interesting feature of
+the bill was the stipulation that one of the battle-ships shall bear
+the historic name "Kearsarge," after the famous old man-of-war that
+was wrecked in 1894 on Roncador Reef. According to the plans of the
+new ships, they resemble in a general way the "Indiana," although they
+are longer and broader and have a greater displacement, and their
+batteries are more powerful. A new feature in the arrangement of the
+guns was decided upon. The vessels will carry two turrets of two
+stories each. Many objections to this plan were advanced, but it was
+said that all are outweighed by the opportunity which the turrets give
+of concentrating an enormous quantity of shot on a given point. An
+estimate has been made that the "Kearsarge" will carry enough
+ammunition to kill or disable a million persons, and that she will be
+able to discharge it all within a period of five hours. Accommodations
+will be provided for five hundred and twenty officers and men. The
+"Kearsarge" and her sister ship, which will be called the "Kentucky,"
+will carry heavier armor and guns and a greater quantity of the latter
+than any foreign battle-ship in existence or in course of
+construction.
+
+The ram "Katahdin" was rejected by the government in 1895, because,
+upon her official trials, she did not fulfil the speed requirements.
+She made 16.011 knots, while the contract called for 17 knots.
+Congress was asked to purchase the vessel, and finally did so.
+
+The armored cruiser "Brooklyn," designed to be one of the fastest and
+most powerful vessels of her class afloat, was launched from Cramp's
+shipyard in Philadelphia in 1895. She is the sister ship to the "New
+York," which was put in commission in 1893. A matter of significance,
+as showing the rapid progress in the art of naval construction within
+a few years, was the taking out of commission in 1895 of the
+"Chicago," to be refitted with engines and boilers that will give her
+powers approaching those of the newer vessels. Two years will be
+required for this work, and when she is complete she will travel three
+knots an hour faster than heretofore, and in many respects will be
+substantially a new ship.
+
+The official trial trip of the battle-ship "Massachusetts," which
+occurred in 1896, was a source of gratification to the Navy Department
+and to all others who are anxious to see the United States take
+respectable rank among the naval powers. The primary business of a
+battle-ship is to fight; hence her guns and not her speed are of the
+first importance. Naval experts have agreed that the "Massachusetts"
+and her sister ships, the "Indiana" and the "Oregon," have larger and
+more effective batteries than any man-of-war afloat or in progress of
+construction. The "Massachusetts" has now proved, by steaming at the
+rate of 16.15 knots for four hours, with a maximum speed of 17.03
+knots, that she is superior to all other battle-ships in speed as well
+as in armament. Her performance is unparalleled in naval history, and
+makes her the foremost war-vessel of the world. The "Indiana" is a
+trifle slower. She steamed 15.61 knots for four hours, but under the
+disadvantage of a bottom that had never been cleaned. She would
+probably go half a knot faster with a clean bottom. As a
+representative specimen of the battle-ships which belong to the navy,
+a few details of the "Massachusetts'" armament may be of interest. She
+has thirty guns in all. The chief of these are four of thirteen-inch
+calibre, which are the largest in use in modern navies; a pair of them
+can be fired every three minutes. The eight-inch guns are next in
+size. There are four of them, and they can be fired every minute. In
+addition to these, there are two six-inch rifles, twenty six-pounders,
+and four one-pounders. The six-inch guns can be fired twice a minute,
+and the six-pounders twenty times in the same period. In a fight
+lasting thirty minutes, these guns would throw forty-one and a half
+tons of metal, of which forty-four thousand pounds would be the share
+of the thirteen-inch guns, thirty thousand pounds the share of the
+eight-inch, six thousand pounds of the six-inch, and thirty-six
+hundred pounds of the others. The total weight of the "Massachusetts'"
+broadside is 5,724 pounds, and of her head or astern fire 3,434
+pounds.
+
+Another of the monitors, the "Monadnock," was added to the navy in
+1896. She was launched in 1883, and was then practically left alone
+until the acts of 1885, 1886, and 1887 provided for her completion.
+She is now a formidable vessel, with heavy guns which can be made to
+bear on a point a small boat's length from the ship's side, or can
+bombard at a distance of six miles.
+
+While the successive Secretaries of the Navy, during the last fourteen
+years, have been chiefly active in increasing the number of
+ships-of-war, they have not altogether neglected defences on the
+coast. Some of the larger seacoast cities have succeeded in obtaining
+a part of the heavy gun and mortar batteries that would be necessary
+in repelling attacks without the aid of battle-ships. The cities of
+New York and San Francisco have now mounted and ready for action
+powerful pneumatic dynamite gun batteries, the most destructive
+engines of war in existence. Each of these guns is capable of hurling
+a projectile carrying five hundred pounds of the most powerful
+explosive known to man, and is able to destroy the strongest
+iron-clad. In the naval battle of Sinope in the Crimean War, a shell
+designed to explode on striking the object was used for the first
+time. When the high explosives, such as dynamite and gun-cotton,
+appeared, the idea suggested itself that they might be used in the
+shells with vastly greater effect than gunpowder, which had been
+employed. The objection, however was that these explosives are so
+sensitive that there was great danger of their exploding at the outset
+of the journey from the sudden shock of being hurled from the ordinary
+high-power guns and mortars. Captain Zalinski, of the United States
+Artillery, suggested a method of gun construction by which the shells
+could be projected by a steady pressure of compressed air instead of
+by the sudden force of powder gases. This system has been steadily
+improved until the pneumatic dynamite gun now works perfectly and is a
+marvel of destructiveness. The United States possesses six and Great
+Britain one of the seven dynamite guns that have thus far been
+manufactured for coast defence.
+
+The "Iowa," a battle-ship of the first class whose keel was laid in
+1893, was launched in March, 1895. She is the largest vessel of the
+navy now afloat, her displacement being 11,410 tons, which is over a
+thousand tons greater than that of the "Massachusetts," "Indiana," or
+"Oregon."
+
+It will be seen that progress toward the building of the new navy of
+the United States has been steady since the first move was made in
+1882. As a result of this development, the navy now consists, counting
+the vessels built and authorized by Congress, prior to 1896, the naval
+appropriations bill for that year still pending at this writing, of
+about seventy modern ships-of-war. These include eight battle-ships,
+six coast-defence steel-clads, two armored cruisers, one armored ram,
+thirteen protected cruisers, eighteen gunboats and unprotected
+cruisers, and about two dozen torpedo-boats. This fleet gives the
+United States sixth place in the list of naval powers, being outranked
+in number of vessels by England, France, Russia, Germany, or Italy, in
+the order named. A true idea of the comparative fighting strength of
+the United States navy is not conveyed, however, by its rank in the
+numerical strength of the fleet. The _personnel_ of the navy and the
+power of the individual ships must be considered. It is generally
+conceded that the United States has the finest fighting men and
+vessels in the world. These advantages would, in all probability,
+enable us to whip Germany or Italy in a series of naval contests;
+therefore, it is thought by naval critics that we really hold fourth
+position among the naval powers. England is still a long way ahead of
+us, the English navy now numbering nearly five hundred vessels, of
+which one hundred and twenty are armored cruisers. But, comparing the
+navies ship to ship, the United States fleet, so far as it goes, is
+superior even to that of Great Britain. The battle-ships, while
+somewhat smaller, are more effective fighters. The English navy has no
+armored cruisers as fast or as powerful as the "New York" and
+"Brooklyn;" and the commerce-destroyers, "Columbia" and "Minneapolis,"
+are the fastest vessels, either of war or peace, that have gone to
+sea.
+
+That this new navy of ours will ever have to meet so stern an ordeal
+as that through which the sailors of '61 went is wholly improbable. In
+multiplying the number and the effectiveness of fighting machines the
+nations of the world have seemingly lessened the likelihood of war.
+International disputes which once would have put the territory of all
+Europe ablaze are now settled by the peaceful devices of diplomacy.
+But behind the diplomat must be the gun, and it will be a sorry day
+for the United States when, if ever, the sense of security bred of an
+avowed national policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs shall
+lead this people to neglect the naval arm of the republic.
+
+
+
+
+PART V.
+
+
+
+
+THE NAVAL WAR WITH SPAIN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     THE STATE OF CUBA. -- PERTINACITY OF THE REVOLUTIONISTS. --
+     SPAIN'S SACRIFICES AND FAILURE. -- SPANISH BARBARITIES. -- THE
+     POLICY OF RECONCENTRATION. -- AMERICAN SYMPATHY AROUSED. -- THE
+     STRUGGLE IN CONGRESS. -- THE ASSASSINATION OF THE "MAINE." --
+     REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. -- THE ONWARD MARCH TO BATTLE.
+
+
+A short time after the inauguration of William McKinley as President
+of the United States in March, 1897, it became apparent that the
+disordered condition of Cuba under Spanish rule was destined
+inevitably to become an issue which the United States must help to
+settle. For two years a great part of the island had been in open and
+determined revolt against Spanish rule. Though the forces of the King
+had been able to hold the seaports, thus cutting off the insurgents
+from regular communication with the outer world and making impotent
+their efforts to secure recognition from foreign powers, the patriots
+under Maceo and Gomez held control of the interior, established a
+government of their own, enforced order, and levied taxes. Enormous
+sacrifices were made by the Spanish people to re-establish sovereignty
+in the island. More than 300,000 troops were sent thither to be
+cruelly cut down by plague and pestilence. A nation, long on the verge
+of bankruptcy, incurred uncomplainingly prodigious additional
+indebtedness to save for its boy king--Alphonso XIII. was at this time
+but twelve years old--its most precious possession in the west, the
+Pearl of the Antilles. Queen Isabella of Spain pawned her jewels that
+Columbus might have the means to press his voyage of discovery into
+unknown seas, but in the closing years of this century the people of
+Spain pawned their national assets, put even themselves and their
+posterity in pawn to hold for Spain the last relics of the empire
+which Columbus won for her.
+
+Though we were forced to draw the sword upon Spain in the cause of
+humanity and human liberty, the man of reason, and of a sense of
+justice, will not withhold from the people of that sorely chastened
+nation admiration for their loyalty and the sacrifices they made in
+their national cause.
+
+But the Spanish people were cruelly betrayed by their own rulers. The
+generals whom they sent to Cuba gave less thought to the suppression
+of the insurrection than to filling their own pockets. Out of the
+millions and millions of pesetas set aside by an already impoverished
+people for the needs of war, a great part was stolen by generals and
+by army contractors. The young conscripts, sent from Spain to a land
+where the air is pestilential to the unacclimated, were clothed and
+shod in shoddy; their food invited disease, and when they fell ill it
+was found that the greed of the generals had consumed the funds that
+should have provided sufficient hospital service. Comparatively few
+fell before the bullets or machetes of the insurgents--for, as we
+shall see, the revolutionists adopted the tactics of Fabius--but by
+thousands they succumbed to fevers of every kind. Death without glory
+was the hapless lot of the Spanish conscript.
+
+The Patriot generals, Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo, met this
+situation with consummate skill. The military problem which confronted
+them was one which chiefly demanded self-restraint. They were
+lamentably destitute of arms and munitions of war. Cartridges were a
+dearly prized acquisition, and it is worth noting, as an indication of
+the venality which corrupted the Spanish army, that a considerable
+share of the insurgent ammunition was obtained by direct traffic with
+the Spanish soldiers. But in the main the Patriots were armed with
+heterogeneous firearms and the machete--a heavy, sword-like knife,
+used, in peace, for cutting cane. The latter at close quarters was a
+formidable weapon, and the insurgents became singularly proficient in
+its use; developing a style of machete play almost as exact and
+scientific as the school of the rapier in ancient France.
+
+This disparity in weapons, however, made it imperative that the
+insurgents should avoid pitched battles with the invaders, who were
+armed with Mauser rifles, that do deadly work at two miles' distance.
+Accordingly, Gomez and Maceo confined themselves to harrying the
+Spanish army of occupation on every side and destroying all vestiges
+of Spanish authority outside the large towns. Warfare of this sort
+inevitably develops into the most cruel, the most barbarous of
+conflicts. So it was in this case. That Cuba might be made desolate,
+unable to pay anything toward the price of its own subjection, the
+insurgents relentlessly destroyed standing crops, burned great fields
+of standing sugar cane, destroyed mills, dynamited railroads, tore up
+roads, and demolished aqueducts. That the peaceful inhabitants--the
+pacificos--might not give aid or comfort to the revolutionists,
+General Weyler caused them to be driven from their farms and herded in
+the towns still under Spanish rule. There they stayed, in squalid huts
+or under thatched sheds, AND STARVED. Systematically, with devilish
+ingenuity, Spain planned to crush Cuba, not by fighting the
+revolutionists, but by starving women and children, old men and
+peaceful farm hands. It is estimated, and conservatively, that more
+than 500,000 people had been starved to death before the United States
+interfered.
+
+Indeed, it was upon the hapless pacificos that the horrors of war
+chiefly descended. They were ruined, but that was the least. Their
+property, the honor of their women, and their lives were held to be
+the legitimate spoil of any Spanish soldier, and the tacit
+legalization of loot, rapine, and murder was taken full advantage of.
+More inhuman even than the regular soldiery were the guerrillas,
+licensed free companions, who roamed the island ever in search of
+spoil. The deeds of these wretches beggar description, and so foul was
+the repute of their corps that prisoners from their number taken by
+the Cubans were instantly put to death. It is just to say here that
+the testimony of Americans who served with Gomez and Maceo proves that
+those leaders enforced humane and orderly conduct upon their
+followers. The death penalty was more than once imposed upon useful
+and brave soldiers, who had been guilty of outrage. Nothing could more
+vividly indicate the moral difference between the Cuban and the
+Spaniard than the contrast between their methods of prosecuting the
+war. Though outlawed, the Revolutionists observed with scrupulous
+exactness the rules of civilized warfare, while the Spaniards murdered
+helpless prisoners, even killing the wounded in their beds, had
+recourse to torture and to nameless mutilation, in order to wreak
+their hatred, and let loose a swarm of bandits and ruffians to prey
+upon the defenseless people of the island.
+
+Out of warfare such as this, waged on an island only a few hours' sail
+from our coast, and in which were heavy American interests, it was
+inevitable that invasion of American rights should proceed, and the
+wrath of the American people be awakened. Our citizens owned large
+plantations in Cuba, which were destroyed either by the Spaniards or
+the insurgents. Many Americans living in the island or visiting there,
+were arrested by the Spanish authorities, and one, at least, Dr. Ruiz,
+was murdered in Morro Castle, while another a newspaper correspondent,
+was cut to pieces by guerrillas. For Spanish outrages upon the lives
+or property of American citizens, claims aggregating $60,000,000 were
+on file with the United States Department of State before the
+declaration of war. The general sympathy of the American people with
+the insurgents, as well as the hope of profit, led to repeated efforts
+by our citizens to smuggle arms and munitions of war to the Cubans,
+and in time it became necessary to employ a great part of the United
+States navy in police duty on the high seas for the purpose of
+stopping the filibusters. This service in behalf of Spain was
+exceedingly repugnant to the American mind, and contributed greatly to
+the growing feeling of irritation toward Spain.
+
+History in coming ages, however, will relate, to the unending horror
+and glory of the American people, that humanitarian considerations,
+rather than regard for imperiled interests, brought the United States
+into a war which most emphatically their people did not desire. The
+great New York newspapers, day by day, printed circumstantial accounts
+of the frightful sufferings in Cuba. One journal secured a great
+number of photographs of scenes amid the starving reconcentrados,
+which, greatly enlarged, were publicly exhibited in all parts of the
+Union. These pictures, showing the frightful distortions of the human
+body as the result of long starvation, showing little children, mere
+skeletons, looking mutely down on the dead bodies of their parents,
+brought home to the mind of the people the state of life in a
+neighboring land as no writing, however brilliant, could. A cry went
+up from every part of the United States that a Christian duty was
+imposed upon our nation to interfere for the alleviation of such
+horrible suffering. Charity came to the rescue with free contributions
+of provisions, and Congress made a heavy appropriation of money for
+the relief of the Cubans. But everywhere the opinion grew that
+philanthropy alone could not right this great wrong, but that the
+strong hand of the United States must reach forth to pluck out the
+Spaniard from the land he ravaged. And when a number of Senators and
+Representatives in Congress made journeys to Cuba, and returning,
+described in formal addresses at the Capitol the scenes of starvation
+and misery, this opinion hardened into positive conviction.
+
+Then, almost as if planned by some all-knowing power, came a great and
+inexplicable disaster, which made American intervention inevitable and
+immediate.
+
+During the latter years of the Cleveland administration the
+representatives of American interests in Cuba urged that a United
+States ship-of-war should be permanently stationed in Havana harbor.
+The request was reasonable, the act in thorough accord with the custom
+of nations. But, fearing to offend Spain, President Cleveland avoided
+taking the step and President McKinley for months imitated him. In
+time this act, which in itself could have had no hostile significance,
+came to be regarded as an expression of hostility to Spain, and all
+the resources of Spanish diplomacy were exerted to prevent any
+American warship from entering Havana harbor. Ultimately, however, the
+pressure of public opinion compelled the Executive to provide for
+representation of American authority in the disordered island, and the
+battle-ship "Maine"--a sister ship to the "Iowa," a picture of which
+appears elsewhere in this volume--was sent to Havana.
+
+The night of February 15 the "Maine" lay quietly at her anchorage in
+the Havana harbor. Her great white hull, with lights shining
+brilliantly from the ports aft where the officers' quarters were,
+gleamed in the starlight. On the berth deck the men swung sleeping in
+their hammocks. The watch on deck breathed gratefully the cool evening
+air after the long tropic day. Captain Sigsbee was at work in his
+cabin, and the officers in the wardroom were chatting over their games
+or dozing over their books. The lights of the town and of the ancient
+fortress of Morro shone brightly through the purpling light. Not far
+away the Spanish man-of-war "Alfonso XIII." lay at her moorings, and
+an American merchantman, brightly lighted, was near. The scene was
+peaceful, quiet, beautiful. True, in the minds of many officers and
+men on the American warship there was a lurking and indefinable sense
+of danger. Their coming had been taken by the Spaniards in Havana as
+a hostile act. Though all the perfunctory requirements of
+international courtesy had been complied with, salutes interchanged,
+visits of ceremony paid and returned, there was yet in the Spanish
+greeting an ill-concealed tone of anger. In the cafes Spanish officers
+cursed the Yankees and boasted of their purpose to destroy them. On
+the streets American blue-jackets, on shore leave, were jostled,
+jeered, and insulted. Yet the ill-temper of the Spaniards, though
+apparent, was so ill defined that no apprehension of a positive attack
+was felt. As is the practice on men-of-war, however, the utmost
+vigilance was maintained. Only the employment of a boat patrol and the
+use of torpedo nettings were lacking to give the "Maine" the aspect of
+a ship in an enemy's harbor.
+
+Then came the disaster that shocked the world. A disaster in which it
+is impossible not to suspect the element of treachery. A disaster
+which if purely accidental, occurring to a hated ship in a port
+surrounded by men who were enemies at heart, was the most
+extraordinary coincidence in history. The story is brief. Not until
+this war is ended and the authority of the United States is employed
+to clear up the mystery, can the real narrative of the destruction of
+the "Maine" be told.
+
+This much we know: At about half-past nine those on the "Maine" who
+lived to tell the tale heard a sudden dull explosion, with a slight
+shock, then a prolonged, deep, furious roar, which shook the ship to
+its very vitals. The people on the other ships in the harbor saw the
+whole forward portion of the "Maine" suddenly become a flaming volcano
+belching forth fire, men, huge pieces of steel, and bursting shells.
+Portions of the ship's hull rained down on decks a thousand yards
+away. When the first fierce shock of the explosion was past, it was
+seen that the "Maine" was on fire and was rapidly sinking.
+
+How wonderful is the power of discipline upon the human mind! On the
+great battle-ship, with hundreds of its men blown to pieces or penned
+down by steel debris to be drowned in the rapidly rising waters, there
+was no panic. Captain Sigsbee, rushing from his cabin door, is met by
+the sergeant of marines who serves him as orderly. Not a detail of
+naval etiquette is lacking. Sergeant William Anthony salutes:
+
+"I have to report, sir, that the ship is blown up and is sinking," he
+says, as he would report a pilot boat in the offing.
+
+The captain reaches the deck to find his officers already at work, the
+men who have not been injured all at their stations. Boats are
+lowered and ply about the harbor to rescue survivors. Though the
+flames rage fiercely, and the part of the ship which they have not yet
+reached is full of high explosives, there is no panic. At the first
+alarm every man has done what years of drill and teaching have taught
+him to do. The after-magazines have been flooded, the boats' crews
+called away. Even preparations for a fight had been attempted.
+Lieutenant Jenkins, hearing the first explosion, sprang so quickly for
+his station at a forward gun that he was caught in the second
+explosion and slain. Though a bolt from heaven or a shock from hell
+had struck the "Maine," it brought death only--not fear nor panic.
+
+The work of rescuing survivors and caring for the wounded was pushed
+apace, for the ship sunk rapidly, until only her after-superstructure
+was above the water. Boats from the Spanish man-of-war joined in the
+work of mercy and her officers, as though conscious that the suspicion
+of treachery was first in every man's mind, exerted themselves in
+every way to show solicitude for the wounded and sorrow for the
+disaster. When all was done that could be done, and the roll of the
+ship's company was called, it was found that 266 brave Americans were
+lost in Havana harbor--a friendly port. Some lie there yet, penned
+down beneath the gnarled and scorched steel which formed the gallant
+"Maine"; others lie in lonely graves on the adjacent shore, where,
+before this war is ended, the American flag shall be raised above them
+to be their avenger and their monument.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It will be necessary to outline in only the most terse and condensed
+form the political and military events which succeeded the destruction
+of the "Maine" and led up to the declaration of war. The news of the
+great disaster was received at home with horror, speedily turning to
+anger. The Government, rightly desiring to proceed calmly and in
+accordance with regularly ascertained facts, strove to calm the public
+temper, but with little success. It gave out as Captain Sigsbee's
+first report of the disaster a cable message, which contained no
+charge of treachery, advised caution, and urged a suspension of
+judgment. But presently it became rumored about Washington that this
+dispatch was, in fact, sent under orders; that the captain's first
+report formally charged the Spaniards with blowing up the ship. In the
+newspapers the discussion raged and theories of the disaster were
+plentiful, but, after long weeks of careful study of the evidence, the
+Naval Board of Inquiry presented the following report:
+
+     When the "Maine" arrived at Havana, she was conducted by the
+     regular Government pilot to buoy No. 4, to which she was moored
+     in from five to six fathoms of water.
+
+     The state of discipline on board, and the condition of her
+     magazines, boilers, coal-bunkers, and storage compartments, are
+     passed in review, with the conclusion that excellent order
+     prevailed, and that no indication of any cause for an internal
+     explosion existed in any quarter.
+
+     At eight o'clock on the evening of February 15 everything had
+     been reported secure, and all was quiet. At 9.40 o'clock the
+     vessel was suddenly destroyed.
+
+     There were two distinct explosions, with a brief interval between
+     them. The first lifted the forward part of the ship very
+     perceptibly; the second, which was more open, prolonged, and of
+     greater volume, is attributed by the Court to the partial
+     explosion of two or more of the forward magazines.
+
+     The evidence of the divers establishes that the after-part of the
+     ship was practically intact, and sank in that condition a very
+     few minutes after the explosion. The forward part was completely
+     demolished.
+
+     Upon the evidence of a concurrent external cause the finding of
+     the Court is as follows:
+
+     At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and
+     one-half feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above
+     the keel when in its natural position, has been forced up so as
+     to be now about four feet above the surface of the water;
+     therefore, about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the
+     ship sunk uninjured.
+
+     The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the
+     after-wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet
+     in length (from frame 17 to frame 25), is doubled back upon
+     itself against the continuation of the same plating extending
+     forward.
+
+     At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel
+     bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside
+     bottom plates. This break is now about six feet below the surface
+     of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position.
+
+     In the opinion of the Court, this effect could have been produced
+     only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the
+     ship, at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the
+     ship.
+
+     The conclusions of the Court are:
+
+     That the loss of the "Maine" was not in any respect due to fault
+     or negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of
+     her crew.
+
+     That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine,
+     which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward
+     magazines; and,
+
+     That no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility
+     for the destruction of the "Maine" upon any person or persons.
+
+[Illustration: Partial View of the Wreck of the "Maine."]
+
+To-day, in the midst of war with Spain, we have no more definite, no
+more authoritative knowledge of the cause of this disaster than this.
+Spain, indeed, through her official commission, decided that the
+explosion was wholly internal, but the American people is not
+convinced. Battleships are not in the habit of blowing themselves up,
+and it is the expectation that the establishment of American authority
+in Cuba will be followed by the unraveling of this murderous plot.
+Undoubtedly an anecdote told of Captain Robley D. Evans (Fighting Bob)
+of the navy expresses the popular conviction:
+
+"The admiral in command of the United States fleet at Key West should
+have sailed for Havana on getting news of the 'Maine's' destruction,"
+said Evans. "He should have reduced the forts, seized the city,
+discovered the assassins, and hanged them."
+
+"But that would have been defiance of the orders of the Navy
+Department," responded his auditor, aghast.
+
+"Perhaps so," admitted Evans, "but the man who did it would have been
+the next President of the United States."
+
+While the "Maine" Court of Inquiry was in session measures looking
+toward war were rapidly taken. March 9, a bill, which had passed both
+houses of Congress without a dissenting voice, became a law,
+appropriating $50,000,000 to be expended for the national defense. Out
+of this sum the Navy Department bought two Brazilian cruisers building
+in England, which were rechristened the "New Orleans" and "Albany." A
+flotilla of yachts, seagoing tugs, and merchantmen was bought and
+refitted. The great American liners "St. Paul," "City of Paris," "City
+of New York," and "St. Louis" were chartered and made into auxiliary
+cruisers. All Europe was ransacked for purchasable warships and
+torpedo boats, with the result of proving that no nation, however
+rich, can equip itself with a navy in an emergency. Not one
+battle-ship was available for purchase, and only four cruisers, of
+doubtful quality. And while this work of preparation was going
+hurriedly on the country was drifting into war with what seemed at the
+time inexplicable slowness, but to the calmer backward glance of
+history will appear dangerously swift in the face of our great lack of
+preparation. What might be termed the milestones on the march to
+battle were these:
+
+_April 5._--Consul General Fitz Hugh Lee recalled from Havana.
+
+_April 11._--Message of the President on Cuba, recommending that we
+have power to intervene forcibly without "recognizing at this time the
+independence of the present insurgent government."
+
+_April 13._--The House passed a resolution directing the President to
+intervene in Cuba at once, and authorizing him to use the land and
+naval forces of the United States to stop the war.
+
+_April 16._--The Senate passed a joint resolution, as a substitute for
+the House resolution, declaring the island to be free, recognizing the
+republic, demanding relinquishment of authority in Cuba by Spain, and
+withdrawal of Spanish forces; directing the President to call out the
+militia in addition to regular land and naval forces, and, finally,
+disclaiming any intention to annex the island.
+
+_April 19._--Senate resolution adopted by the House, with the proviso
+recognizing the republic of Cuba stricken out. Both houses agreed to
+the report in this form.
+
+_April 20._--Ultimatum to Spain, cabled at 11 A.M.--a formal demand
+that Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the
+island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and
+Cuban waters.
+
+President signed Cuban joint resolutions at 11.24.
+
+Senor Polo y Bernabe, the Spanish Minister, was notified. He at once
+requested his passports.
+
+_April 21._--General Woodford, the American Minister at Madrid, left
+Spain.
+
+The President directed the Secretary of the Navy to order the vessels
+of the North Atlantic squadron to proceed without delay to Cuban
+waters to blockade Havana and other ports of the island.
+
+_April 23._--President McKinley signed the proclamation calling for
+125,000 volunteers.
+
+_April 25._--Formal declaration of war recommended by the President,
+and a bill "declaring that war exists between the United States of
+America and the Kingdom of Spain," passed by both houses.
+
+And so the United States embarked on its first war with any European
+Power, save England--a war forced upon us by every consideration of
+humanity--a war which shall be of great advantage or of great harm to
+our Republic, according as its fruits are wisely or wrongly
+administered.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     THE OPENING DAYS OF THE WAR. -- THE FIRST BLOW STRUCK IN THE
+     PACIFIC. -- DEWEY AND HIS FLEET. -- THE BATTLE AT MANILA. -- AN
+     EYE-WITNESS' STORY. -- DELAY AND DOUBT IN THE EAST. -- DULL TIMES
+     FOR THE BLUE-JACKETS. -- THE DISCOVERY OF CERVERA. -- HOBSON'S
+     EXPLOIT. -- THE OUTLOOK.
+
+
+Strangely enough the first warlike stroke at Spain was not delivered
+in or about Cuba, where the quarrel arose, but in the other
+hemisphere, in the far-away waters of the Asiatic Pacific, where the
+American flag is almost a stranger and the power and wealth of the
+great American Republic are unknown. In the Philippine Islands Spain
+retains one of the colonies with which she once encircled the globe.
+More than 7,000,000 people--a peace-loving, kindly, intelligent
+race--are there ruled by the Spaniards, and as the rule was of the
+characteristic Spanish kind, with all the accompaniments of slaughter,
+dishonor, and extortion, the natives--as in Cuba--were in a chronic
+state of rebellion. One uprising, which had assumed very considerable
+proportions, was reported by the Spaniards as suppressed just before
+our declaration of war. That event, however, aroused the
+revolutionists again and, as we shall see, they were of the greatest
+service to us as allies.
+
+When war was declared an American squadron of six warships lay at Hong
+Kong. The vessels were the "Olympia," protected cruiser; "Raleigh,"
+"Baltimore," and "Boston," cruisers; "Concord" and "Petrel," gunboats,
+and the revenue cutter "McCulloch." Not a very powerful fleet--not a
+battle-ship nor even an armored cruiser among them--but the ships
+carried crews of as sturdy Yankee blue-jackets as ever trained a gun,
+and when the time came for daring an enemy's fire the little "Petrel"
+was as dashing and defiant as the stoutest of steel-clads could be. In
+command of the squadron was Admiral George Dewey, a Vermonter, who
+served with Farragut and had his baptism of fire at the forts below
+New Orleans. In time of peace the war record of a subaltern is quickly
+forgotten, and Dewey patiently climbed the ladder of promotion until
+1898 found him a commodore and in command of the Asiatic squadron,
+without anybody's remembering particularly that this officer in far
+Hong Kong had seen fighting and knew how to bear himself under fire.
+It is a significant fact that when he had won the first great victory
+of the war, and the newspapers were searching everywhere for stories
+illustrative of his character, it was discovered that he had chiefly
+impressed himself on the Washington mind by his excessive
+punctiliousness in matters of dress.
+
+Four days after the declaration of war there was a commotion on the
+ships of Dewey's squadron. The signal to weigh anchor flew from the
+foremast of the "Olympia," and everybody knew that the admiral had
+received fighting orders. For some days past the ships had been in
+their battle rigging. The white paint had been covered by a dull
+greenish-gray. All woodwork, railings, and unnecessary hamper had been
+stripped off and sent ashore. The officers' baggage was reduced to the
+barest necessities. Nothing was left anywhere on board which could be
+turned into a cloud of flying splinters by a shell, or which cumbered
+the decks to the inconvenience of the gunners. The warships which, in
+time of peace, were as bright and sparkling as a well-kept yacht, had
+put on the sullen, vicious air of war.
+
+Dewey's objective point when he set sail from the harbor of Hong Kong
+was the Asiatic squadron of Spain, under the command of Admiral
+Montojo. There was every reason to believe that he would find the
+enemy under the protecting guns of the forts that guarded the harbor
+of Manila. In themselves the Spanish ships were no match for the
+American fleet. Three good ships had Admiral Montojo--the "Reina
+Cristina," the "Castilla," and the "Don Antonio de Ulloa"; but his
+others were old-fashioned and lacking in modern armament. But should
+they take positions under the guns of the Spanish forts, at the end of
+a channel plentifully guarded by mines and torpedoes, the disparity in
+forces would disappear. As it occurred this was precisely what they
+did, giving Admiral Dewey opportunity to put into practice tactics
+which it seems he had studied for months in anticipation of exactly
+such an emergency.
+
+On the night of April 30 the American ships arrived at the entrance of
+Manila harbor, unseen by the sentries on the forts. It was known that
+Montojo was inside, and every light was extinguished and every noise
+hushed on the Yankee ships, for the admiral had planned a midnight
+entrance to the stronghold. The ships were stripped for action, boats
+covered with canvas, nettings spread to prevent splinters from flying,
+partitions removed, and ammunition hoists and bullet shields put up.
+At midnight the entrance to the harbor began, the ships steaming in
+single column at about six knots an hour, with the "Olympia" leading.
+Strangely enough not a single torpedo or mine in the channel was
+exploded, though the Spaniards discovered the advance of the ships and
+opened fire from the forts. The first shot in answer was fired by a
+gunner on the "Boston," without orders. He saw the flash of a gun on a
+shore battery and instantly fired his piece without altering its
+elevation. That dismantled a gun in the Spanish works and killed
+thirty men.
+
+For a few hours after passing the forts the wearied blue-jackets slept
+at their guns. With the approach of day came the signal from the
+flagship to prepare for action. In the gray dawn the Spanish fleet
+could be seen about two miles distant, at such a point that their fire
+could be re-enforced by the guns of the forts. A most graphic story of
+the action that followed, as seen from the view-point of "the man
+behind the gun," whom Captain Mahan eulogizes, is told by Chief Gunner
+Evans of the "Boston," from whose narrative I quote the following
+paragraphs:
+
+[Illustration: Dewey at Manila.]
+
+     "We were steaming very slowly, but increasing speed as the dawn
+     increased. In the gray daylight we could make out a line of ships
+     anchored in front of the city. Then we steamed ahead faster. The
+     ships ahead proved to be merchantmen, and at daylight we could
+     discern the Spanish fleet further down the bay, and then it was
+     'Full ahead!' The Spanish fleet did not advance to meet us, and
+     apparently made no move on the defensive. Possibly our audacity
+     had for the moment paralyzed them. But it was not for long. In
+     twenty minutes or so they opened a terrific cannonading at long
+     range. The batteries and forts around Manila opened fire at
+     the same time. Every man on the ship was now wide awake and at
+     his post. I knew that it would not be long before there would be
+     some hot work, and I served my men with a cup of coffee and a
+     piece of hardtack, and a little later gave them each a drink of
+     whisky and water.
+
+     "According to orders, we did not respond to the Spanish guns
+     until our ships came into position. Then the flagship opened
+     fire, and then I followed with two hours of cannonading which I
+     do not believe has ever been equaled in naval warfare. The shots
+     from the 'Olympia' were the prearranged signal for the other
+     ships to do the same.
+
+     "We soon discovered that the batteries of Cavite were very
+     heavily mounted, and the ordnance included several ten-inch guns,
+     and we were not long in finding out that the 'Don Antonio de
+     Ulloa' and the 'Reina Cristina,' the flagship, carried much
+     heavier guns than we thought. We began to fear that our ships had
+     met their match. As hot as the battle was, the heat of the sun
+     was equally so, and I had my men who were bringing up the
+     ammunition throw off every vestige of clothing except their
+     shoes.
+
+     "The Spanish guns had opened upon us at 5.10 A.M., and it was
+     fully 5.40 before we began to reply. But when we did, we made
+     every shot tell, for our gunners demonstrated that their
+     opponents were no match for them in accuracy, although the
+     Spaniards had every advantage and should have known the exact
+     range of every point in the harbor, while of the American fleet
+     not a single gunner had ever as much as been in the harbor
+     before.
+
+     "By 6.30 we had circled three times, and were starting for the
+     fourth when the Spanish admiral came out in the 'Reina Cristina'
+     and gallantly assailed us; but we made it hot for him. I don't
+     know how in the world he escaped with his life. While he was
+     standing on the bridge a shot from one of our ships--I think it
+     was the 'Concord'--blew the bridge clean over; in fact, shot it
+     right from under him, but the Admiral was apparently uninjured,
+     for a few minutes later I saw him walking the deck as calmly as
+     though he was on parade. It was getting too hot for him, and he
+     evidently saw that his ship was no match for us, and he turned to
+     get back to his fleet.
+
+     "Just as the 'Reina Cristina' swung around an eight-inch shell
+     from the port battery, which I was tending, struck her square
+     astern, and set her on fire. By this time other gunners had got
+     the range, and if ever a ship was riddled it was the 'Reina
+     Cristina.' I do not think it was fifteen minutes from the time
+     the shell from the 'Boston' struck her when she went down with,
+     it is said, over two hundred men. The Admiral, however, had
+     escaped in a small boat and made for the 'Isla de Cuba,' where he
+     again hoisted his flag.
+
+     "After we had circled five times, we withdrew. The smoke was so
+     dense that we could hardly distinguish friend from foe. Our men
+     had worked three long hours with scarcely a mouthful of food. I
+     had, however, kept my men well supplied with whisky and water. I
+     gave each a small drink about every twenty minutes.
+
+     "After we had withdrawn, and the clouds of smoke had lifted
+     enough so that we could see, Admiral Dewey signaled the ships to
+     report the number of killed and wounded. It would have done your
+     heart good to have heard the shouts and cheers that went up as
+     ship after ship ran up the signal to indicate that she had no
+     killed and none wounded worth reporting. It was one of the most
+     thrilling moments of the entire battle.
+
+     "It was a wise move on Admiral Dewey's part in withdrawing at
+     that moment, for our men were rapidly becoming exhausted. For my
+     own part I do not think I could have held out another half hour,
+     and neither could my men. We were not only wearied physically,
+     but the nervous strain was something awful. I called my men into
+     the gunroom and served each with a good stiff drink of whisky and
+     told them to take all the rest they could get. I went into the
+     chartroom, as it was about the coolest place on the ship, and
+     threw myself on the chart table. I was too nervous to sleep and
+     too exhausted to move. I just lay there sort of dazed.
+
+     "Soon after ten o'clock we advanced again, and the 'Baltimore'
+     opened the fight. As many of the Spanish ships had been disabled,
+     what we most feared now was the forts. The 'Baltimore' sailed
+     right into the very teeth of the guns, any one of which could
+     have annihilated her, and only bad marksmanship of the Spanish
+     gunners saved her from destruction, and she did not retreat until
+     she had practically silenced the fort.
+
+     "My ship, the 'Boston,' was perhaps struck oftener during the
+     battle than any of the American ships, but in every instance it
+     was small shot or shell, making a glancing blow that did no
+     particular harm. After the first hour or so of the battle, if we
+     had received a damaging shot, the chances are that we would have
+     all gone down, for out of all the ship's boats, only two were of
+     any value, the others having been shattered to pieces.
+
+     "We were circling in line with the other ships when the 'Isla de
+     Cuba' swung around to give us a broadside. The guns in the port
+     battery got the range on the 'Isla de Cuba,' and sent in a shot
+     that struck in amidships and made her tremble from stem to stern.
+     I was watching at the porthole at the time. The other guns of the
+     'Boston' followed the example of the port gunner, and for a few
+     minutes it seemed that the 'Isla de Cuba' was crumbling to pieces
+     like a falling building in an earthquake. We turned, and the
+     starboard guns did equally good work, and when the Spanish flag
+     came tumbling down we let out a yell that was heard around the
+     world, figuratively speaking, if not literally.
+
+     "I can never forget the scene after the battle. The forts were
+     smoking, and scattered all through the bay were the hulks of once
+     magnificent Spanish ships. Some were drifting helplessly about,
+     as though the men on board seemed not to know what to do and had
+     lost their heads entirely. Rigging was trailing in the water and
+     only remnants remained of the lifeboats. Over at one end of the
+     bay was the wreck of the once magnificent 'Reina Cristina.'
+     Further along were smoking hulks, and here and there could be
+     seen only the masts and rigging above water.
+
+     "To add to the horror of the scene, hundreds of corpses came
+     floating by, and it seemed as though the bay was full of dead
+     Spaniards, although I believe less than a thousand were killed. I
+     really think that the sight in the harbor that afternoon
+     impressed men more with the horrors of war than did anything
+     which occurred during the actual battle.
+
+     "During all the fight my men, except for a little while during
+     the interval for breakfast, were stripped to the bare skin and
+     wore only their shoes. The thermometer was over one hundred, and
+     to this was added the heat of the fire of the guns, until it made
+     one's blood fairly boil."
+
+The plan of action was for the fleet to revolve in a great circle or
+ellipse before the delivering their fire from starboard and port
+batteries alternately. The first shot from the "Olympia" was a
+250-pound shell, aimed at the Cavite fort, and discharged with a shout
+from all hands, "Remember the Maine!" After two hours' fighting the
+fleet withdrew for breakfast, returning to action in about two hours,
+and after the Spanish surrender the little "Petrel" was sent in to
+destroy, by boats' crews, the ships in the inner harbor.
+
+Commodore Dewey's official report of the action is a model of modesty
+and brevity. It came in these two cable messages:
+
+     MANILA, May 1.--Squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this
+     morning. Immediately engaged the enemy, and destroyed the
+     following Spanish vessels: "Reina Cristina," "Castilla," "Don
+     Antonio de Ulloa," "Isla de Luzon," "Isla de Cuba," "General
+     Lezo," "Marquis de Duero," "Cano," "Velasco," "Isla de Mindanao,"
+     a transport, and water battery at Cavite. The squadron is
+     uninjured, and only a few men are slightly wounded. Only means of
+     telegraphing is to American Consul at Hong Kong. I shall
+     communicate with him.
+
+                                        DEWEY.
+
+
+     CAVITE, May 4.--I have taken possession of naval station at
+     Cavite, on Philippine Islands. Have destroyed the fortifications
+     at bay entrance, paroling the garrison. I control bay completely,
+     and can take city at any time. The squadron is in excellent
+     health and spirits. Spanish loss not fully known but very heavy.
+     One hundred and fifty killed, including captain of "Reina
+     Cristina." I am assisting in protecting Spanish sick and wounded;
+     250 sick and wounded in hospital within our lines. Much
+     excitement at Manila. Will protect foreign residents.
+
+                                        DEWEY.
+
+It is little short of marvelous that no lives were lost on the
+American ships--though a month later Captain Gridley of the "Olympia"
+died from the effect of the concussion of his own guns. The vessels
+were handled with a daring amounting almost to bravado, yet so poor
+was the marksmanship of the Spaniards that little or no damage was
+suffered. It is to be kept in mind that, despite the disparity in the
+armament of the fleets, the Spanish works at Cavite mounted guns of
+twice the weight of any that Dewey's ships bore. Yet, when the action
+was over, the American vessels were practically uninjured, and
+perfectly capable of fulfilling the threat sent by Admiral Dewey,
+that if another shot was fired he would lay Manila in ashes.
+
+At the time these words are written, that threat alone keeps order in
+Manila bay. Dewey with his ships is there, holding the town at the
+muzzles of his guns and waiting for the re-enforcements of troops,
+which were dispatched to his aid from San Francisco almost a month
+after his victory--an unconscionable delay. Some 25,000 troops will be
+sent to his aid, and with the insurgents, who were greatly encouraged
+and strengthened by the American victory, will forever destroy Spain's
+power in the Philippines.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, where it
+was expected the fighting would come first and be most decisive, the
+war lagged languidly for weeks. For a few days the jackies found some
+excitement and some hope of profit in capturing unsuspecting Spanish
+merchantmen, but soon the dull and deadly monotony of the peaceful
+blockade settled down upon the fleet, and Sampson's men grilled grimly
+under a blazing sun by day and slept uneasily by their guns at night,
+week after week, without a touch of battle to vary the dull round. The
+Spanish ships "Vizcaya" and "Oquendo," which had been in the harbor of
+Havana when war was declared, had slipped away, and there was no enemy
+afloat in the neighborhood save puny gunboats and torpedo boats that
+clung close to the protecting guns of the fortresses. Blockading is
+the most trying duty the blue-jacket has to discharge. Destitute
+wholly of glory, the element of danger is still ever present in a form
+which is particularly trying to the nerves. Every night brought danger
+of an attack by torpedo boats. These swift and sinister craft might at
+any time dart out of Havana harbor, discharge their fatal bolt, and
+send a good ship to the bottom as speedily as went the "Maine." That
+the Spaniards at no time even seriously attempted a torpedo-boat
+attack on the blockading squadron seems to reflect on their courage.
+But what they lacked apparently in courage they made up in shrewdness.
+For weeks the best efforts of our board of strategy and our board of
+naval intelligence were baffled by the mysterious movements of the
+Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera. This squadron, which numbered
+among its vessels the powerful armored cruisers "Vizcaya," "Maria
+Teresa," "Cristobal Colon," and "Almirante Oquendo," was reported now
+at the Canaries, then at Cadiz, then dashing through the Suez Canal to
+overwhelm Dewey at Manila, then off the coast of New England,--whereat
+Boston and Portland were mightily alarmed,--then bound South to
+capture or destroy the "Oregon,"--which was painfully making the
+voyage around Cape Horn,--then at Martinique, and, in short, at every
+conceivable point of menace. As a result of these conflicting reports,
+two American fleets were reduced to impotence. The "flying squadron"
+of fast cruisers under Commodore Schley was kept for weeks at moorings
+in Hampton Roads ready to be dispatched for protection of our northern
+coasts, while the squadron of battle-ships under Admiral Sampson was
+made to steam hither and yon in the Caribbean Sea looking for an
+enemy's fleet which much of the time lay snugly on the other side of
+the Atlantic. Accordingly, up to June 15, the results of naval
+operations in West Indian waters were almost _nil_. Powder had been
+burned indeed as when, on April 27, the Spanish works at Matanzas were
+bombarded and silenced by the "New York," "Puritan," and "Cincinnati,"
+of Admiral Sampson's squadron, and on May 13 the works at San Juan,
+Porto Rico, were similarly tested. Deeds of conspicuous gallantry,
+too, were done, as when Ensign Worth Bagley lost his life while
+gallantly engaging Spanish gunboats and shore batteries with the
+torpedo boat "Winslow" at Cardenas. But these actions, though seized
+upon eagerly by a public hungry for war news, were inconclusive and
+trivial. The shore batteries were quickly repaired and strengthened,
+and the great object of capturing Havana seemed at the middle of June
+even further off than it had when war was declared.
+
+Nevertheless, May and June saw a marked progress in the work of
+preparation for active hostilities. The army was mobilized and a great
+camp established at Tampa, Fla. Schley's flying squadron, finally
+relieved from apprehension as to the course of the Spanish fleet, left
+Hampton Roads to increase the naval strength in West Indian waters.
+The great battle-ship "Oregon," after a record-beating voyage around
+Cape Horn, in which her machinery met and withstood every imaginable
+strain, arrived at the rendezvous. And finally it was definitely
+learned that Admiral Cervera, with Spain's principal effective fleet,
+was actually in West Indian waters, and had entered the port of
+Santiago de Cuba for coal and repairs. There he was trapped by an
+exploit which has conferred new glory on the United States Navy and
+has added a new name to the roster of dashing heroes like Somers and
+Gushing.
+
+The harbor of Santiago de Cuba is one of the most easily defended in
+the world. Steep hills rise abruptly from either side of the harbor's
+mouth, which is scarce half a mile wide, with a channel so narrow that
+two vessels could scarcely pass in it. Into the brow of the hills are
+built batteries which, with plunging shot, command the entrance
+completely. An abrupt turn in the interior shore line makes the whole
+inner bay invisible from without, so for days the officers and men of
+the United States blockading fleet outside were ignorant whether
+Cervera's entire fleet was cooped up within. To send in a boat to make
+a reconnoissance would have been suicidal, for the channel, difficult
+at all times, was blocked by mines and torpedoes. For this reason,
+too, there could be no repetition of Dewey's exploit at Manila.
+
+Accordingly, Admiral Sampson was confronted with a problem which
+seemed likely to tax the patience rather than the daring of his men.
+There seemed to be no opportunity for more exciting duty than a long
+blockade, unless the Spaniards should conclude to come out and
+fight--a most unlikely decision for them to reach. The forts, in all
+probability, could be reduced by the ships' cannon, but, even with
+that done, to enter the harbor in single file, so that the undisturbed
+fire of Cervera's fleet could be directed upon the Americans, ship by
+ship, as they entered the bay, would have been a most hazardous
+undertaking. The situation was not made more pleasing to the admiral
+by the fact that he was not sure of having all the Spanish ships in
+the trap. Some might not have entered Santiago, but might be at that
+very time devastating portions of the coast of the United States.
+
+While the admiral was considering the problem thus presented to him,
+there appeared at his cabin a young lieutenant, Richmond P. Hobson, a
+graduate of the Naval Academy in 1889. The scientific side of naval
+duty had always chiefly attracted this young man. Graduating at the
+head of his class, he studied naval construction for two years in
+British dockyards. Above all things a student, a contributor to
+magazines, a delver into mathematical and structural problems, this
+young officer outlined to the admiral an exploit of reckless daring
+and volunteered himself to perform it.
+
+[Illustration: The "Zealandia" leaving San Francisco with Troops for
+the Philippines. (Drawn, after a photograph, by William Ritschel.)]
+
+It was folly, urged Hobson, to keep the entire American fleet watching
+at the door to that harbor. The Spaniards, doing nothing and daring
+nothing themselves, were still reducing Admiral Sampson's powerful
+squadron to complete impotence. If the entrance to the harbor were
+obstructed one or two ships would serve to prevent the Spaniards from
+escaping, and the remainder of the American fleet would be released to
+take part in more vigorous warfare. By sinking a vessel, an old
+collier heavily laden, in the channel this could be accomplished, and
+Hobson volunteered to perform the feat. It was an invitation to almost
+certain death, for the fire of three batteries and part of the Spanish
+fleet, besides the explosion of the mines, must be braved before the
+narrow spot in which the ship was to be sunk could be reached. But
+Hobson thought he could do this, scuttle his ship, and escape with his
+men by swimming to a launch which should accompany him at a distance.
+
+"Do you really expect to escape alive?" asked one of the officers as
+he outlined his project.
+
+"Ah! that is another thing," replied the lieutenant. "I suppose the
+Estrella battery will fire down on us a bit, but the ships will throw
+their searchlights in the gunners' faces and they won't see much of
+us. Then, if we are torpedoed, we should even then be able to make the
+desired position in the channel. It won't be so easy to hit us, and I
+think the men should be able to swim to the dingey. I may jump before
+I am blown up, but I don't see that it makes much difference what I
+do. I have a fair chance of life either way. If our dingey gets shot
+to pieces, we shall then try to swim for the beach right under Morro
+Castle. We shall keep together at all hazards. Then we may be able to
+make our way alongside, and perhaps get back to the ship. We shall
+fight the sentries or a squad until the last, and we shall only
+surrender to overwhelming numbers."
+
+The plan being approved by the admiral, volunteers were asked from the
+fleet, by signal, to accompany Hobson. Practically the whole fleet
+responded. One man was wanted from each ship, but on the "Brooklyn"
+150 and on the "Texas" 140 pleaded to be taken. Finally these seven
+were selected:
+
+Osborn Deignan, a coxswain of the "Merrimac"; George F. Phillips, a
+machinist of the "Merrimac"; John Kelly, a water-tender of the
+"Merrimac"; George Charette, a gunner's mate on the flagship "New
+York"; Daniel Montague, a seaman of the cruiser "Brooklyn"; J. C.
+Murphy, a coxswain of the "Iowa"; Randolph Clausen, a coxswain of the
+"New York."
+
+To man the launch which was detailed to follow the "Merrimac "--the
+ship chosen--four men and Naval Cadet Joseph W. Powell were taken. In
+the end they, too, proved to be heroes.
+
+The steel steamer "Merrimac," loaded with 2,000 tons of coal, was then
+given to Hobson and prepared for sinking. An eye-witness, who followed
+the "Merrimac" as nearly as safety would permit, thus tells the story
+in the New York _Sun_:
+
+     "Cadet Powell and his crew saw the 'Merrimac' head straight for
+     Estrella Point, which is on the east side of the harbor, back of
+     the Morro. They knew that just before she reached that point the
+     engines were to be stopped and the momentum allowed to carry her
+     on. Then the flimsy wooden props holding the bonnets of her
+     sea-valves in place were to be kicked aside, the helm put hard to
+     starboard, and the starboard bower anchor let go. This would
+     steer the ship directly across the channel and check her headway.
+
+     "At the same time seven reduced eight-inch charges, containing
+     eighty pounds of brown powder in copper cases and protected by
+     pitch from water, were to be set off separately. These charges
+     were suspended about ten feet below the water-line at intervals
+     of thirty feet, and connected by a series of dry batteries. As
+     the ship steered across the channel the forward port powder
+     charge was to be exploded. Then, as the stern swung into
+     position, the anchor lashed on the starboard quarter was to be
+     let go and the other six charges exploded in succession. A
+     catamaran and lifeboat were slung aft on the starboard side ready
+     for the seven men to drop into them.
+
+     "The crew in the steam launch watched the course of the old
+     collier with eyes strained. The moon had sunk behind the horizon.
+     It was 3.20 o'clock. On, on the heroes went. Lieutenant Hobson
+     stood on the bridge of the old collier, dressed in full uniform.
+     The other six men were at their posts, clad in tights, to aid
+     their escape in case they had to swim a long distance.
+
+     "The watchers saw her head straight for Estrella Point, saw her
+     swing hard across the channel, apparently undiscovered, heard
+     five of the seven charges explode, and then began a screaming,
+     flashing, death-dealing fire from the Spanish ships and batteries
+     that hid the rest from view.
+
+     "The battery on Dead Man's Point, square in the center of the
+     harbor, opened the fire and soon directed its guns against the
+     launch. In the face of this hell, with ten-and twelve-inch guns
+     blazing at them at this short range, Cadet Powell and the crew of
+     his launch continued to search for the men of the 'Merrimac.'
+
+[Illustration: Morro Castle, Santiago De Cuba.]
+
+     "They saw then the guns of the 'Cristobal Colon,' Admiral
+     Cervera's flagship, and of the old cruiser 'Reina Mercedes,'
+     which had been considered gunless, trained on them and thundering
+     in their ears. "Still they searched with never as much as a
+     faint cry for help or the sign of a single arm raised in mute
+     appeal to guide them. Those on the battle-ship looking into the
+     mouth of the harbor saw only a sheet of flame which, with the
+     roar of the guns, lasted thirty-five minutes. By this time dawn
+     had tinged the land and sky with light, and the tiny launch could
+     be seen loitering by the shore. On the west side of the harbor,
+     in the center of the channel, just where Hobson had promised to
+     sink his vessel, could be seen the tops of the 'Merrimac's'
+     masts. The harbor was blocked."
+
+Hobson and his gallant men were not lost. A shot from one of the
+batteries destroyed the boat in which they had expected to reach the
+launch, but on a raft they escaped from their sinking vessel, only to
+be captured by the Spaniards. With sailor-like chivalry and hearty
+admiration for a gallant deed Admiral Cervera sent word to the fleet
+of their safety and offered to exchange them as soon as the necessary
+formalities could be complied with.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The closing words of this chapter must be penned just as the decisive
+action of the war seems to be at hand. Cervera is hemmed in at
+Santiago with a vastly superior force confronting him. The batteries
+at the harbor's mouth have been demolished by the fire of the fleet.
+At Caimanera, thirty miles away, the United States flag is flying on
+the shore and a battalion of United States marines--"soldiers and
+sailors, too"--are there installed and have twice beaten back the
+attack of Spaniards in double their number. On great transports
+General Shafter's army of 20,000 men is steaming from Key West to
+Caimanera, where the invasion of Cuba will begin. The order has gone
+forth to reduce Porto Rico, and by the time these words reach the
+reader, General Coppinger's army may be landed there. Fitzhugh Lee,
+the gallant, is held in reserve for Havana, where he served his
+country as Consul General during the trying days that led up to the
+war. Hesitation and doubt have vanished. The dreary days of delay are
+over. The end is near--the end of Spanish misrule in the West Indies.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     THE SPANISH FLEET MAKES A DASH FROM THE HARBOR. -- ITS TOTAL
+     DESTRUCTION. -- ADMIRAL CERVERA A PRISONER. -- GREAT SPANISH
+     LOSSES. -- AMERICAN FLEET LOSES BUT ONE MAN.
+
+
+When the event was least expected the Spaniards made a desperate dash
+from the harbor, seeking freedom but finding only death.
+
+July 3d the land forces of General Shafter were closing in on
+Santiago. There had been hard fighting for two days, in which both
+sides had shown dogged courage, but the Spaniards had been beaten back
+into the city, which the Americans almost completely invested. Though
+Shafter had but few heavy siege guns, many of the shells from his
+field artillery fell in the streets of the town and produced a panic
+there.
+
+Admiral Cervera had landed some of his rapid-fire guns in aid of
+General Linares, and his marines fought with the Spanish soldiers. But
+as the American advance continued he saw that he would be caught in a
+trap and ground to pieces between Shafter and Sampson. So he made up
+his mind to the desperate chance of slipping out and trying to run
+past the American squadron.
+
+[Illustration: The Protected Cruiser "Olympia," Admiral Dewey's
+Flagship.]
+
+[Illustration: Admiral George Dewey.]
+
+[Illustration: Acting Rear Admiral W. T. Sampson.]
+
+[Illustration: Rear-admiral Montgomery Sicard.]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore W. S. Schley.]
+
+[Illustration: Captain A. S. Barker, _Late of the "Oregon"; Now of the
+"Newark."_]
+
+[Illustration: Captain "Jack" Philip, _Of the Battle-Ship "Texas."_]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore J. Crittenden Watson. _Second in Command of
+the Gulf Squadron._]
+
+[Illustration: Ensign Worth Bagley Of The "Winslow." _The first
+American Officer killed by the Enemy._]
+
+[Illustration: Cadet George T. Pettengill. _Who fired the first Shot
+of the War._]
+
+[Illustration: Captain F. W. Dickins. _Chief of Bureau of
+Navigation._]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore John A. Howell. _Commanding inner Line of
+Coast Defenses._]
+
+[Illustration: Brig.-Gen. H. C. Hasbrouck. _Commandant of Fort
+Monroe._]
+
+[Illustration: Captain C. E. Clark. _Of the Battle-Ship "Oregon."_]
+
+[Illustration: Admiral F. M. Bunce. _Commandant of Brooklyn Navy
+Yard._]
+
+[Illustration: Bombardment of Spanish Ports and Fleet at Santiago De
+Cuba, July 6, 1898.]
+
+[Illustration: "Maria Teresa" and "Vizcaya" burning on the Beach near
+Santiago.]
+
+[Illustration: The Flagship "New York," followed by the "Vixen,"
+closing on the "Cristobal Colon," while the Latter was being run
+Ashore West of Santiago.]
+
+[Illustration: Effect of a single Spanish Shot on Upper Deck of the
+Battle-Ship "Texas".]
+
+[Illustration: _Part of Crew of "Texas"_ Band of the "Oregon" playing
+Funeral March after the Defeat of the "Colon".]
+
+[Illustration: Engineer Battalion unloading Tools at Siboney.]
+
+[Illustration: "St. Louis." A Transport. "Suwanee." "Vixen." Auxiliary
+Cruisers Protecting Landing.]
+
+[Illustration: Commodore Watson's Fleet for Service in Spanish
+Waters.]
+
+At 9.30 on the morning of the 3d the lookout on the "Texas" saw smoke
+rising above Morro Castle. Immediately after, the black prow of a
+warship appeared in the channel coming out at full speed. It was the
+"Almirante Oquendo." Instantly the "Texas" broke out with bunting
+signaling to all the vessels of the fleet that the Spaniards were
+coming out. On every side rung out the bugles and clattered gongs
+calling the crews of the American ships to quarters. Admiral Sampson
+with the "New York" was far away, and Commodore Schley with the
+"Brooklyn" commanded the fleet. The odds were not so greatly in favor
+of the Americans, for the Spaniards had four armored cruisers and two
+torpedo-boat destroyers, while the Americans had five battle-ships,
+one armored cruiser and a yacht. The superiority of the Spaniards in
+rapid-fire guns was very great.
+
+The "Brooklyn," thinly clad with armor, dashed first into the fray and
+was soon engaged with four armored vessels, each her superior; the
+"Iowa," "Texas" and "Oregon" rushed to her aid. It was soon apparent
+that the Spaniards were more intent on running than fighting.
+Nevertheless, they kept up a rapid fire, but showed the bad
+marksmanship which characterized Montojo's gunners at Manila. One
+shell from the "Oquendo" crashed through the pilot-house of the
+"Texas" just after Captain Philip had left it for the securer retreat
+of the conning tower, and one exploded in the smokestack. These were
+about the most effective shots aimed by the enemy.
+
+A correspondent of the New York "Journal" and the "Sun" stationed
+aboard the "Texas" sent the most graphic account of the battle which
+has at this date, July 6, been printed. Some extracts from it will
+give a clear account of the fighting:
+
+     "Almost before the leading ship was clear of the shadow of Morro
+     Castle the fight had begun. Admiral Cervera started it by a shell
+     from the 'Almirante Oquendo,' to which he had transferred his
+     flag. It struck none of the American vessels. In a twinkling the
+     big guns of the 'Texas' belched forth their thunder, which was
+     followed immediately by a heavy fire from our other ships. The
+     Spaniards turned to the westward under full steam, pouring a
+     constant fire on our ships, and evidently hoping to get away by
+     their superior speed.
+
+     "The 'Texas,' still heading in shore, kept up a hot exchange of
+     shots with the foremost ships, which gradually drew away to the
+     westward under the shadow of the hills. The third of the Spanish
+     vessels, the 'Vizcaya' or 'Infanta Maria Teresa,' was caught by
+     the 'Texas' in good fighting range, and it was she that engaged
+     the chief attention of the first battle-ship commissioned in the
+     American Navy. The 'Texas' steamed west with her adversary, and
+     as she could not catch her with speed she did with her shells.
+
+     "The din of the guns was so terrific that orders had to be yelled
+     close to the messengers' ears, and at times the smoke was so
+     thick that absolutely nothing could be seen. Once or twice the
+     12-inch guns in the turrets were swung across the ship and fired.
+     The concussion shook the great vessel as though she had been
+     struck by a great ball, and everything movable was splintered.
+     The men near the guns were thrown flat on their faces.
+
+     "Meanwhile the 'Oregon' had come in on the run. She passed the
+     'Texas' and chased after Commodore Schley, on the 'Brooklyn,' to
+     head off the foremost of the Spanish ships. The 'Iowa' also
+     turned her course westward, and kept up a hot fire on the running
+     enemy.
+
+     "At 10.10 o'clock the third of the Spanish ships, the one that
+     had been exchanging compliments with the 'Texas,' was seen to be
+     on fire and a mighty cheer went up from our ships. The Spaniard
+     headed for the shore and the 'Texas' turned her attention to the
+     one following. The 'Brooklyn' and 'Oregon,' after a few parting
+     shots, also left her contemptuously and made all steam and shell
+     after the foremost two of the Spanish ships, the 'Almirante
+     Oquendo' and the 'Cristobal Colon.'
+
+     "Just then the two torpedo-boat destroyers 'Pluton' and 'Furor'
+     were discovered. They had come out after the cruisers without
+     being seen, and were boldly heading west down the coast. 'All
+     small guns on the torpedo boats' was the order on the 'Texas,'
+     and in an instant a hail of shot was pouring all about them. A
+     6-pounder from the starboard battery of the 'Texas,' under Ensign
+     Gise, struck the foremost torpedo boat fairly in the boiler.
+
+     "A rending sound was heard above the roar of battle. A great
+     spout of black smoke shot up from that destroyer and she was out
+     of commission. The 'Iowa,' which was coming up fast, threw a few
+     complimentary shots at the second torpedo-boat destroyer and
+     passed on. The little 'Gloucester,' formerly a yacht, then sailed
+     in and finished the second boat."
+
+The "Gloucester" of which the correspondent speaks was in command of
+Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright, who had been the executive officer of
+the "Maine." For two months after the disaster to that vessel
+Wainwright lived on a United States ship in the harbor of Havana,
+refusing to set foot on shore until he could go "with a landing party
+of marines." In his attack on the torpedo-boat destroyers--vastly
+superior to his craft in weight and armament--he threw prudence to the
+winds and fought with a fierceness bred of bitter hatred for the Dons.
+His was the most stirring display of personal courage shown on a day
+when all were brave.
+
+To return to the correspondent's account:
+
+     "Gun for gun and shot for shot the running fight was kept up
+     between the Spanish cruisers and the four American vessels. At
+     10.30 o'clock the 'Infanta Maria Teresa' and 'Vizcaya' were
+     almost on the beach, and were evidently in distress. As the
+     'Texas' was firing at them a white flag was run up on the one
+     nearest her. 'Cease firing,' called Captain Philip, and a moment
+     later both the Spaniards were beached. Clouds of black smoke
+     arose from each, and bright flashes of flame could be seen
+     shining through the smoke. Boats were visible putting out from
+     the cruisers to the shore. The 'Iowa' waited to see that the two
+     warships were really out of the fight, and it did not take her
+     long to determine that they would never fight again. The Iowa'
+     herself had suffered some very hard knocks.
+
+     "The 'Brooklyn,' 'Oregon' and 'Texas' pushed ahead after the
+     'Colon' and 'Almirante Oquendo,' which were now running the race
+     of their lives along the coast. At 10.50 o'clock, when Admiral
+     Cervera's flagship, the 'Almirante Oquendo,' suddenly headed in
+     shore, she had the 'Brooklyn' and 'Oregon' abeam and the 'Texas'
+     astern. 'The Brooklyn' and 'Oregon' pushed on after the
+     'Cristobal Colon,' which was making fine time and which looked as
+     if she might escape, leaving the 'Texas' to finish the 'Almirante
+     Oquendo.' This work did not take long. The Spanish ship was
+     already burning. At 11.05 o'clock down came a yellow and red flag
+     at her stern. Just as the 'Texas' got abeam of her she was shaken
+     by a mighty explosion.
+
+     "The crew of the 'Texas' started to cheer. 'Don't cheer, because
+     the poor devils are dying,' called Captain Philip, and the
+     'Texas' left the 'Almirante Oquendo' to her fate to join in the
+     chase of the 'Cristobal Colon.'
+
+     "That ship in desperation was plowing the waters at a rate that
+     caused the fast 'Brooklyn' trouble. The 'Oregon' made great speed
+     for a battle-ship, and the 'Texas' made the effort of her life.
+     Never since her trial trip had she made such time.
+
+     "The 'Brooklyn' might have proved a match to the 'Cristobal
+     Colon' in speed, but she was not supposed to be her match in
+     strength.
+
+     "It would never do to allow even one of the Spanish ships to get
+     away. Straight into the west the strongest chase of modern times
+     took place. The 'Brooklyn' headed the pursuers. She stood well
+     out from the shore in order to try to cut off the 'Cristobal
+     Colon' at a point jutting out into the sea far ahead. The
+     'Oregon' kept a middle course about a mile from the cruiser. The
+     desperate Don ran close along the shore, and now and then he
+     threw a shell of defiance. The old 'Texas' kept well up in the
+     chase under forced draught for over two hours.
+
+     "The fleet Spaniard led the Americans a merry chase, but she had
+     no chance. The 'Brooklyn' gradually forged ahead, so that the
+     escape of the 'Cristobal Colon' was cut off at the point above
+     mentioned. The 'Oregon' was abeam of the 'Colon' then, and the
+     gallant Don gave it up.
+
+     "At 1.15 o'clock he headed for the shore, and five minutes later
+     down came the Spanish flag. None of our ships was then within a
+     mile of her, but her escape was cut off. The 'Texas,' 'Oregon'
+     and 'Brooklyn' closed in on her and stopped their engines a few
+     hundred yards away.
+
+     "Commodore Schley left the 'Brooklyn' in a small boat and went
+     aboard the 'Cristobal Colon' and received the surrender. Meantime
+     the 'New York,' with Admiral Sampson on board, and the 'Vixen'
+     were coming up on the run. Commodore Schley signaled to Admiral
+     Sampson; 'We have won a great victory; details will be
+     communicated.'
+
+     "Then for an hour after the surrender in that little cove under
+     the high hills was a general Fourth of July celebration, though a
+     little premature. Our ships cheered one another, the captains
+     indulged in compliments through the megaphones, and the 'Oregon'
+     got out its band, and the strains of the 'Star-Spangled Banner'
+     echoed over the lines of Spaniards drawn up on the deck of the
+     last of the Spanish fleet, and up over the lofty green-tipped
+     hills of the Cuban mountains.
+
+     "Commodore Schley, coming alongside the 'Texas' from the
+     'Cristobal Colon' in his gig, called out cheerily, 'It was a nice
+     fight, Jack, wasn't it?'
+
+     "The veterans of the 'Texas' lined up and gave three hearty
+     cheers and a tiger for their old commander-in-chief. Captain
+     Philip called all hands to the quarter-deck, and with bared head,
+     thanked God for the almost bloodless victory.
+
+     "'I want to make public acknowledgment here,' he said, 'that I
+     believe in God the Father Almighty. I want all you officers and
+     men to lift your hats and from your hearts offer silent thanks to
+     the Almighty.' "All hats were off. There was a moment or two of
+     absolute silence, and then the overwrought feelings of the ship's
+     company relieved themselves in three hearty cheers for their
+     beloved commander."
+
+By this victory the naval power of Spain was effectively and finally
+crushed. She lost four fine armored ships and two large destroyers. In
+killed, wounded and prisoners her loss exceeded eighteen hundred men,
+while but one American was slain. Among the prisoners was Admiral
+Cervera, whose dignified bearing in the presence of disaster won for
+him the high regard of the Americans, his foes. The value of the
+property lost to bankrupt Spain exceeded thirteen million dollars, and
+it is probable that before these words reach the reader the final
+price of Cervera's daring dash will be paid by the surrender of
+Santiago.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Naval History of the United States, by
+Willis J. Abbot
+
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