* -^. "V. 'T.^x^ .«• ^^, - <."""" o > .-?»•' o "^^^ ^^ "^ ^ . ' A, o •7- .^5^1^ '' ,o'^ .■^ o. ■\.v<' •^O "■ -^o '-^^- o^ 'V"^B»' ^■-../ ;V«|5.:, s..' ,;;^<. -^.^z ^jrm A- - • - v '^ .^^" ^ -^^ ....... / '^ -^ ^:^#:' / \ -^/y -^ ''■• ... ... ■ ,^- A . . t' aN ''v. -a . . ■!' A> •■!^ ^ .0^ < • " ■ < o \0 ^. x« V 0' o o -1- .0' 0' ,'*.• ,^-\ ^«> /^v ■•rift- /^s. ^#i?- Z-^. ■^^- J-\'-^ « o _ -V A .'A >X' ^S C-, . -v >; -T< r" ^>^ -r. ,0' -^..o^ ■p'? v^^ .s'-'-^ > O ' . . 1 "* ■^o y^ 'Ci, ^o •.^2ii<>' . ' \''m •'l* ^ V ^^ o_ o ■■■/■ S' -o >"* •'/". • ^ ■;y^ .» \~- -f, .V. I; .■\ '.V -i" ''' ' . - • . ' ■^, vV-*:. A ,0^ ,'^_,7:>,-^, • .4 o^ :>:?ai^e:;' ,C^~ <. .\'-^ V. ^^ ^>-o^ ■ ■ ■ ■ ,0 ,0- ^-.; .0' •/- x'^ -^C^ -7' -c-f-T'' ,> ^•^,- 'o> •^^ .0' \l.* x^ 0: , V ^ ,^\'^ •. •^v .-f ^O. ,\' >^' -^ A^^^. -y^. V- ' ° " " \"'' <> V ■u 4. ,0' -^ .&' %. .0' '^, -0' •=V a' AV -^ - . . . • , • *:< ,v' «' T9 •?'. o ,0^ ^y \. ,x '' ^:^^-: "^-^ v^\ ' ' . \. 0^ .0' ,H '5^ •>^^-'-^, .,■^ ■^.. .0 \. ,.'?-'■ ':<. A' vV^. ^\ ■"<.. vV-^. c ./■'\ '■->^3^^'\'^"'^. "^^r^viv" /^x --K^tj^f/ .^-^" ^•>f^ xt-J:ii^ >^^-* C >\.-.'. -N' V^' -V".l-' ■ / / BLUE JACKETS OV '6l A HISTORY OF THE NAVY IN THE WAR OF SECESSION BY WILLIS J. ABBOT I17T// ILLUSTRATIONS PRINCIPALLY BY W. C. JACKSON NEW YORK DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY 1886 CopvRKaiT, iSSfi, Bv DODD, MEAD, AND Cd.MI'AXV. ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY RANI), AVERY, AND COMPANY, ' DOSTON, MASS. >INKINC. Ill'- rilK "AI.AHAMA." CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE The OpENiNr, of the Conflict. — The Navies of the Contestants. — Dix's Famous Despatch. — The River-Gunboats i CHAPTER H. Fort Sumter bombarded. — Attempt of the ".Star of the West" to re-enforce Anderson. — The N.\v.\l Expedition to Fort Sumter. — The Rescue of the Fkicvpe "Constitution." — Burning the Norfolk Navy- Yard . . . . io CHAPTER HI. Difficulties of the Confederates in getting a Navy. — Exploit of the " French Lady." — Naval Skirmishing on the Potomac. — The Cruise of the "Sumter," 25 CHAPTER IV. The Potomac Flotilla. — Capture of Alexandria. — Actions at Matthias Point. — Bo.mbardment of the Hatteras Forts 37 CHAPTER V. The "Trent" Affair. — Operations in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. — Destruc TION OF the Confederate Fleet 53 iv CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. I'ACiK Rkiiik-i'ion ok Nkwrf.rn. — Exploits of Lieut. Cushing. — Destruction of the K.\m " Al.llEMAUI.E " 70 CHAPTER VH. The liLOCKADF.-RUNNEKS. — NASSAU AND WILMINGTON. — WORK OF THE CRUISERS. . 90 CHAPTER Vni. DuroNT's Kxi'EDnTON TO HiLTON HEAD AND PoRT RoVAL. — THE FlERY CIRCLE . . II4 CHAPTER IX. The First Ironclad Vessels in History. — The "Merrim.ac" sinks the "Cumber- land," AND DESTROYS THE "CONGRESS." — DUEL liETWEEN THE "MONITOR" AND "Merrimac" 1-9 CHAPTER X. The Navy in the Inland Waters. — The Mississirrr .Squadron. — Sweeping the Tennessee River 155 CHAPTER XI. Famous Confederate Privateers, — the "Alabama," the "Shenandoah," the "Nashville" iSo CHAPTER XII. Work of the (Julf Squadron. — The Fight at the Passes of the Mississippi. — Destruction of the SciiooNEii "Judah." — The Blockade of G.'vlveston, and Capture of the "Harriet Lane" 206 CHAPTER XIII. The Capture of New Orleans. — Farragut's Fleet passes Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson 211J CONTENTS. \' CHAPTER XIV. PAGE .\LONG THE Mississippi. — Forts Jackson and .St. Piui.ir surrendek. — The 1?.\tti,e AT St. Charles. — The Ram "Arkansas." — Bombardmeni- and Capture of Pdrt Hudson 243 CHAPTER XV. On to Vicksburo. — Bombardment ov the Confederate .Stronghold. — Porter's Cruise in the Forests 254 CHAPTER XVI. ViCKSIiURG SURRENDERS, AND THE MISSISSIPPI IS OPENED. — NaVAL EVENTS ALONG THE Gulf Coast 279 CHAPTER XVII. Operations about Charleston. — The Bombardment, the Siege, and the Capture, 293 CHAPTER XVIII. The Battle of Mobile Bay 303 CHAPTER XIX. The Fall of Fort Fisher. — The Navy ends its Work 313 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Sinking ok the "Alabama" ........ Fi-outispiccc The "Hartford," Farragut's Flagship. ....... 2 Dki'artltre ok a Naval E.xrEDirioN from Port Royal ..... 4 Fort Moultrie . . . . . . . . . . .11 Anderson's Command occupying Fort Sumter ...... 12 Major Robert Anderson .......... 14 Fort Sumter under Fire ......... iG Destruction of Norfolk Navy-Yard ...... . . 22 The " French Lady ".......... 27 Blockading the Mouth of the Mississiiti . . . . - - • 3' Flag of the Confederacy . • . . . . . . . -38 Naval Patrol on the Potomac ......... 44 The Fleet off Hatteras ......... 48 Attack on the H.\tteras Forts ......... 50 Shores of Albemarle Sound ......... 57 Contrabands escaping to Fleet . . . ' • - • ■ Cj Flag of South Carolina ......... 73 Destruction of the " Albemarle " . . • . . • • ■ 8" Nassau: the Haunt of Blockade-Runners. ...... 94 CorroN Ships at Nassau .......••• 9*^ Blockade-Runner in North Carolina Sounds . . . . . .101 Pursuing a Blockade-Runner .......•• 105 P'oRTRESS Monroe. . . . . . . • • • .118 DuPont's Expedition off C.\pe Uatperas ....... 120 VIII ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE The Oi'iCiN'iNi; t'.u.v .......... 124 The Fic.HT at Hilton Head ......... 126 " Merrimac " AND "Cumberland" ........ 141 Hattle ok the ".Monitor" and "Mekri.mac" . . . . . . .147 Handling a Gun . . . . . . . . . . .150 A River Gunboat . . . . . . . . . . .158 Mortar-Bo.\ts at Island Xo. 10 ........ 171 Looting a Prize ........... 185 Rescue ov Capt. Semmes ......... 195 The End of a Privateer .......... 198 The "Nashville" burning a Prize ........ 200 "Shenandoah" burning Whalers . . . . . . .204 Fort Pensacola ........... 209 Destruction of the Schooner "Judah" . . . . . . .211 Capture of the "Harriet Lane" ........ 216 LeveE; AT New Orleans before the War . . . . . . .221 Fire-Raft at Forts of the Mississippi ....... 227 Breaking the Chain .......... 231 Ram "Tennessee" at Mobile Bay ........ 233 New Orleans on Approach of Fleet ........ 239 The ".\rkansas" under Fire ......... 250 Porter's Flotilla on the Red River ........ 264 Dummy Gunbo.at passing Forts on the Mississippi ..... 272 Passing the Vicksburg Batteries ........ 277 Manning the Yards .......... 2S3 Bailey's Dam on the Red River ......... 2SS Cutting out a Blockade-Runner ........ 296 Charleston bombarded .......... 299 War-Ships off Charleston Harbor ........ 301 Fi(;in- at Mobile Bay .......... 310 Charge of Sailors ap Hilton Head ....... 316 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. CHAPTER I. THE OPENING OK THE CONFLICT. — THE NAVIES OF THE CONTESTANTS. - DIX'S FAMOU.S DESPATCH. — THE RIVER GUNBO.VfS. HE Story of the na\-al operations of the civil war is a record of wonderful energy and inventive skill in improvising and building war-vessels, vigilance and courage in liuudling them, and des- perate bravery and dash displayed by officers and seamen in the great engagements in which vessels of either side took part. Yet of the irhmense 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 ckiring 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 si.xty-iiine \-esseks-of-war, of which twenty-seven were laid up for repairs, or, sailors would say, "out of commission." C_)f the forty-two vessels in commission, tweiU\-si.\ were HLUE-JACKE'1'S OF '6i. absent on missinns to the Mast 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 man\' months of precious time before they could reach the shores of the THE "HARTFORD," F.^RKAGUT'S FLAGSHIP. 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 Jime, 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, BLUK-JACKP:rS OF '6i. but almost useless in that day when steam had become known as the only means of propelling vessels-of-war. 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 a"-e 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 si.\ 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 in- vention. When President Lincoln began his term of office, he appointed Gideon Welles of Connecticut Secretarj' 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 P'ort 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 Wash- ington, politicians were intriguing. The loyalty of no man could be re- garded as certain. Officers of the army and navy were daily resigning, and hastening to [nit 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 DEPARTURE OF A NAVAL EXPEDITION FROM PORT ROYAL, BLUE-JACKI-yrS OF '6 1. 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 even went so far as to deliver to the State authorities the United States 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. Di.K 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. All revenue cutters, though officered by navy officers, are under the general command of the Secretary of the Treasury. John A. Di.x, 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. Bresh- wood refused, and instantly Di.\ 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 inter- fere 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 Auierican flag, shoot him on the spot." This desjiatch was inter- cepted by the Confederates, and the cutter was surrendered. But Di.x'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 ]5Ui: 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 ofificers in all grades. The condition of the South as regards the nav\- was even worse. The BLLE-JACKE TS OF 'ai. 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 bv sailors from the sea-faring villages of Xew England. At the time the war broke out, there was hardly a ship-yard 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 Confederacv 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 net-work of rivers that make up the water-ways of the Mississippi Valley, the South was not so deficient as in ships of the sea-going class. The long, crescent-shaped levee at Xew 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 tr:insports 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 lightl)- 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 st.alwart, black, half-naked bodies of the negro stokers, bending before the BLUi;-jACKi:r.s ok '6i. 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 escajie- pipes, and the occasional hursts of music from the open cabin doors. One who for the first time looks on one of these leviathans of the Mississiiipi, pursuing its stately course at night, does not wonder at the frightenetl 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 anel fuinaccs are hid from \ie\v, 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 gro- tesqueness 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 bv dancing pleasure-parties, would shake the whole frail structure to pieces. Yet the ingenuity born of necessitv, 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 cither 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 8 BLUI'l-JACKETS OF '6i. 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 co\-er 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 Baily'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. Th6 admiral stood in the gun-room 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 ])oint 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 }-our 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 authori- ties of the newly organized Confederacy from equijjping a very large fleet of iron-clads. At the outbreak of the war, the Tredegar Iron Works at ISLUK-TACKKTS OI'' Y,i. 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 ship-buiklers were forced to. Some x'cssels 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 protec- tion of men and engines. The vessel which captured the United States ship " Harriet Lane," at Galveston, was thus provided ; and the defence ]iroved verv 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, woidd 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 the Rebellion 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 equi]3ped ship-of-war, which was named "The Vanderbilt" in honor of her ilonor, and did efficient service in maintaining the bluckade 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 commis- sioned a lieutenant in tlie revenue service. CJ ^^-B-^l^-i^^; >*^ 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. !j ^>^ a ^. HE first purely warlike event of the civil wnr was the bombard- ment 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, l-'ort 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 troojis in the most \Tilnerabie 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 i)osition was a weak one, but could get no orders from headquarters. P'inally he decided to assume the responsi- bility of evacuating Fort Moultrie and occupying I'ort Simiter. To-day it hardly seems as though he could have thought of doing otherwise, but BLUE-JACKKIS OF '6i. 1 1 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 FORT ^rOUI.TRIE. into effect. His little corps of truops was drawn up at midnight on the parade, and for the first time informeel 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. BLUK-IACKKTS OF '61. A small fleet of row-boats carried the li-onps 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 mox'ement 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 peo|ile 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 Goyernment, and the Southern leaders, rushed for the tclegraijli-wires ; and the news soon sped oyer 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 driye 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 Goyern- ment 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 proyisioning 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 sh(jt 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 Lrminer who stood in a casemate 14 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 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, sure- ly, we can return thai !" but still the answer was, " Be patient." When the " Star of the West," confessing defeat, turned and fled from the har- bor, 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. 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 prejjaring the vessels for sea, great care was taken to keep their destination secret, so that no warning should reach the Confederates, MAJOR ROBERT ANDERSON. -ii; f ".'% "' ^ ^.■^ fi> m FORT SUMTER UNDER FIRE. BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. I 7 who were lyiiiL; 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 b\' 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. Notwith- standing 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 tlie fire from the circle of batteries about the doomed fort in Charleston Harbiir began immediately. When the fleet arrived at its ilestination, the bombardment was well under way. To attempt to laml troops or stores under the withering fire concentrated upon the fort, would have been mad- ness. 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 liad failed, it is true ; but the Government had made its first decisive move, and public sympathy and confidence were excited. 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 Anna]3olis, 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 1 8 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. of considerable strength, the "Constitution" — or " Okl 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 imder 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 o\'erboard, and, with the "Maryland" as tug, the stately frigat* 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-\jessels 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 BLUK-JACKKTS OF '6i. 1 9 possessions. In the great yard was government property amounting to more tlian twenty millions of dollars. Machine-shops, foundries, (hvellings for officers, and a massive granite dry-doctc 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 l}ing some of the most formidable vessels of the United States na\'y, including the steam fi'igate " 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 ujion 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 i6th 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 desjjerate. There seemed to be no chance of getting the vessels beyond the obstruc- tions. 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 iiroperty in the yard. Any assistance must come from the outside ; the beleaguered could but jiassively await the course of events. j9^seven o'clock on the night of April 21, the United States steamer "Pawnee," which had been lying under the guns of Fortress Monroe, 20 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 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 w^ent down at twelve o'clock, the jjreparations 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 litthi way out in the stream BLUE-TACKF:TS of '6i. 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 shivers 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 ' Pennsyh'ania,' 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 F"riday. " I need not try to picture the scene of the grand conflagration that now burst like the day of jutlgment on the startled citizens of Norfolk, Ports- mouth, 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 ^ffry motion showed their sympathy with the crackling, crashing war of destruction beneath. "Put 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 slie 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 BI.UK-IACKETS OF '6i. spread through the country round about. The ' Pennsylvania ' burned like a volcano for five hours anil a half before her mainmast fell. I stood watch- ing the proud but perishing old leviathan as this emblem of her majesty was about to comedown. 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 jDCople 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 tiavy-yard when the troops from the shijjs 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 CONFEPERATES IN GETTING A XAVV. — EXPLOIT OF THE "FRENCH LADY." — NAVAL SKIRMISHING ON THE P0TOM.\C.— THE CRUISE OF THE "SUMTER." HP2 disparity of maritinij^. importance between the North and the South, and the consequent difficulties to be overcome by the latter in getting a navy, liave been already alluded to. As it has been stated, in river-steamers aixl 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 submis- sion, — swift cruisers to prey on the commerce of the cnem\-, and powerful linc-of-battle ships, which, by successfully cojaing with the vessels of the United States on the high seas, should secure for the Confederacy recog- nition, and possibly assistance, from the great powers of Europe. But how to get these without ship-yards, ship-builders, or seamen, was a task that bafHed the ingenuity of the best minds in the Soutli. 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 uni\'ersally recognized law of nations, to the effect that no neutral nation shall sell vessels or munitions ol war to belliger- ents. It is true that this agent, Capt. Bulloch, did succeed in secur- 26 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. ing 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. 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 l^altimore, 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. Shtirtly before the signal to cast off was given, a car- riage was driven down the wharf, and a lady, heavily veiled, alighted, as- sisted by two gentlemen. The gentlemen stated that she was a Fi-eiich 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 0]iened, 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. Tiiey 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 th command of Capt. ■HIE ••IKl.NCIl l.ADV. BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 29 Thomas (the " French lady " ), the \essel proceeded to l<'redericksburj,s where she, and three bri_i;s 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 " i\Iary Washington" was ordered by Lieut. Carmichael, the officer of poliee, 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 m 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. 30 BLUP:-JACKETS of '6i. 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, drojiping 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 fore-castle, 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 news- papers of the time. The advantage gained by either side was small, and the only effect was to keep the war sentiment at fever-heat. 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 \-ear, 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. blue-jack1':ts ok 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.'" y\ny one of these vessels could liave 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 BLOCKAMINIJ '1 HE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI. open sea. For two nmnths \v(jrkmen 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 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 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 mast- head 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, BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 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, si.\ 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 skijiper 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 \isit 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 34 BLUE-JACKETS OF '61. the rowlocks, as the boats plied to and fro between the two ships, trans- porting 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 spaiks 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 \-essel, and sail away indifferently, witli hardly a glance at their terrible handiwork. The " Sumter " continued on her cruise, with varying fortunes. Some- times 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 di'ills 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;" BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 35 and the boartling officer, on examining the log-book, fomid an entry made by her captain on the day of leavnig Pernambuco : " We have a tight, fast vessel, and we don't care for Jeff Davis." The luilucky captain had holloaed long before he was out of the wood. The "Joseph Park" was the last j)rize 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 look-out in the cross-trees, "Sail ho-o-o-o ! " would bring the jackies tumbling up from the forecastle, and set the officers peering an.xiously 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 iisher'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 escapeil through the cunning of Semmes. Lying in the harbor near the "Sumter" were two Yankee schooners, whose cap- tains 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 slmuld 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. Xe\er- theless, he determined to dare all, and one black night slipped his cables, and with all lights out, and running-gear mufifled, glided swiftl}- 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 main-top 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 o 6 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 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 successfull)' hum- bugged the enemy, the " Sumter " proceeded leisurely on her course to the southward, leaving the "Iroquois" steaming furiously in the opposite direc- tion. "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 Govern- ment 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 ALEXAXDRTA. — ACTIONS AT MATTHIAS POINT.— BOMBARDMENT OF THE H.ATTERAS FORTS. 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 dri\-ing down to the shore, select :m advantageous .spot, and begin an afternoon's target practice at the hostile camp ; but tlie 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. 37 38 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. Abraham Lincoln at this time illustrated the existing condition of affairs, by one of those stories which have made him celebrated as a racontejir. 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 look-out for a fight. Next door to us lived a neigh- bor 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 specu- lations 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 re- strained, was too much to be borne by the people of the \illage ; and a FLAG OF THE CONFEDF,R.\CV. BLUE-JACREIS OF '6i. 39 plot was concocted for bringing about a fight. One night two pickets were surreptitiuii.sl\- removcil from the fence, leaving an oldening of ample size to peririit a dog to jiass. In the morning our dog was sunning him- self 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 jjcrformance 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 eves 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; spiaing 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." While the armies of the two contestants were thus idlv resting upon their arms, the navy was obliged to discharge duties, which, while they brought some danger, did not gain glory for cither officers or men. The joys of Washington society were not for the na\al officers. The applicant for promotion, who, when asked bv an e-\aminer, "Where is the post of a colonel when his regiment is drawn up for battle.''" responded promptly, " In Washington," had been ser\'ing 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 jirevcnting 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 imijossible to prevent boats laden with contraband goods, or conveying the bearers of secret despatches, slipping across the river from the northern 40 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. side, and running into the concealment afforded by the irregularity of the Virginia shore-line. ]Cven at this early period of the war, the vigorous blockade of the Confederate sea-ports, 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 Di.xon'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 fif- teen 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 jiart of May, 1861, the Federal Government deter- mined 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 occupa- tion landed, it proved to be liUsworth's famous Zouave Regiment, made up largely of the firemen and " Bowery boys " of New York City. Ellsworth, KLUi:-JACKETS OF '6i. 41 while marching through the streets at the head of his commaiul, saw a Confederate flag floating from a mast on toji of a dwelling. With twD 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, cjuickly 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 excite- ment 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 jierformed 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 42 lil.L'E-JACKKTS OF '61. tons and two guns), engaged the batteries at Ac|uia Creek, and pounded away with their pygmy guns for two hours, without doing any visible damage. Two da)'s 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 guerillas, 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 partv, commanded by Lieut. Chniilin, 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, dri\'ing 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 captuie. 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 L^nion arms. On the i6th of August the " Resolute " and the " Reliance " were ordered to' make a reconnoisance 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 \'irginia 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 BLUE-JACKirrs OF '6 1. 43 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 enemv, soon driving them away. The two uninjured men in the boat succeeded in getting her away with her load of dead and dving. 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 cokl blood. 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 Ouantico 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 beniling 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 44 i',i,ri;-iACRi:rs of •6i. invasion of the Confederates was abandoned, owing to the loss of their schooner. All through the war this luitiring 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 lc;rions of SP3% NAV.-\L PATROL O.N 'rHE POTOMAC. 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 % BLUK-J-\('KI'"I>! Ol" Y,i. 45 Hampton Roads, were chafmi;- under the enforced itliencss. I'^-en tlie occasional artillery duels with which their army l:)rethren whiled away the time were denied to the wistful blue-jackets. Heyontl an occasional chase, generally useless, after a fleet l)lockade-runnei-, the sailors had absolutely no emi^loyment. At last, liowevei-, the oi)[jortunit}- came. Tlie first great nawal expedition of the war was set under way. • I'rom Cape Meni-y, at the mouth of the James River, the cotist of Virginia and North Carolina sweeps grandly out to the eastward, like a mammoth bow, with its lower end at Beaufort, twf) hundred miles soutii. Along this coast-line tlie great surges of mighty ocean, rolling witli unbroken course from the far-off shore of luu'ope, 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 ex[janse of sand stands a lighthouse, towering soHtary above the surrounding plain of sea and sand. No inviting beacon giving n(jtice to the weary mariner of safe haven is this steady light tliat pieix'es the darkness night after night. It tells of treacherous shoals and roaring breakers ; of the loss of many a good shi]), 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, liad 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 46 BLUE-JACKETS OF '61. 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 :;helter 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-ofificcr Stringham that the Confederates had .two batteries, — one of ten, the other of five guns, — known as Fort Hatteras and Fort Cl;;rk. With these two forts the Confederates claimed that they could control the entrance to Albemarle Sound. As soon as this information was received, an expedition for the destruc- tion of these forts was organized. It was necessarily chiefly naval, although a land force under Gen. Butler went with the fleet. On Aug. 25, 1S61, 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 flag-ship "Minnesota" waved the signal-flags, changing constantly as different orders were sent to the commanders ot the other war-ships. 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 saildrs did not know. TMK 1 l.KKT oil- llATTERAS. BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 49 The sqiiiclron which sailed from Huniplon Roads consisted of the war- vessels " Minnesota," "Wabash," " I'awncc," " Monticello," and " llairiet Lane;" the transports " Georye Peabody " and "Adelaiile;" and the tui;- " Fanny." Soon after rounding Cape Henry, the vessels became separated ; and when the other \-essels reached Hatteras, on the J/th, the " !\Iinnesota" and "Wabash" were nowhere to be seen. y\s these wci-e the most powerful frigates of the fleet, great fears were felt for the success of the <;xpedition ; but at last they ap[)eared on the horizon. A place for landing was selected, and the vessels withdrew into the offing t(} sjiend the night. It was determined to begin the attack early the ne.xt day. The morning dawnetl 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 life-boats 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 bv the " Wabash," and the cannonading was at once taken up by the rest of the fieet. The vessels were [ilaced so that a whole broatlside could be discharged at once. Thousands of pounds o[ iron balls ■were thrown into the forts. Under cover of the cannonading, the disem- barkation of the troops began. But the opposition of the Rebels was not the only difficulty to be met. During the time consumed in getting ready to land, hea\'y banks ol clouds had been crawling up from the horizon, and the solt 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, th.e great rollers were breaking in torrents of foam. The first life-boats that attempted the landing were swamped, and the soldiers reached the lanil wet antl chilled through. The surf-boats were stove in. The barges, which had been relied upon to land men in large numbers, pro\-ed unmanageable, and were towed away bv the " Harriet Lane." When the attempt to land the trooi)s 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 fopts, and the issue of the battle dei)ended upon the great gims of the navy. iii.ii;-j.\cKi:is oi' '6i. 51 By this time llic gunners on tlic ships had calculated the exact range, and were firing with fearful effect. Broadside followed broadside, with the regularity of machinery. It was war williont its horrors for ll-.c blue-jackets, since bad marksmanship or poor |)owder prevented the Con- federate gunners doing any damage. On the gun-deck of the sui^erb frigate " Minnesota," the jackics were working their guns as coolly as though they were on tlrill. 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 scpiare. It was madness to try to work the gims. 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 I""ort Hatteras. As a ruse, to check the bombardment of the ships, the flags on both forts were hauled down. This was, of coLU'se, taken as a token of surrender; and as the cannonading sto])[K'd,,' 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 trf)ops 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. I'"or a time the " Monti- cello " w^as in a dangerous position. In ^ 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 Con- federate gunners from their guns. The sailors worked untiringly, and seemed enraged -hy the deceit practised by the enemy. One mrui, while 52 BLUE-JACKKTS OF '6i. sponging out a gun, preparatory to reloading it, dropped liis sponge over- board. Quick as thouglit 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, anil 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. CIIAI'TI'.R V. ■Jill'; •■IKliNl" AI'IAIK. -(Jl'ICKAl ION'S IN A l.lll'.M ARM'. AND I'A.MI.ICt) SOUNDS. - UKSTKUCTION Ol'' ■line I ONM'.UKKAIK I'l.l'.i; 1. ARLY in the war an event occurred vviiic.h lor a lime seemed likely to briii^' I'jijfland to the aid of the C'oiifederates. The Confederate (iovernment had appointed as di|)lomatic Oomniis- sioners t(; lOn^iand two gentlemen, Messrs. Mason and Slideli. They had escaped from Mobile on a fleet blockade-runner, ruid reached Havana, where they remained a week waitiiij:^ for the reLjular JCnglish packet to convey them to Liverpool. While in Havana they were lavishly entertained by the c<;lony of Confederate sym])athizers there; and feelinj^- perfectly safe, now that they were outside the jurisdiction of the United States, they made no attemjot to conceal their offu i.il character, and boasted (;f the errand u|)on which they were sent. The United States fiigate ".San Jacinto," which was one of the many vessels kejit rushing alxjiit the high seas in search of the jjrivateer "Sumter," happened to l)e in the harbor of Havana at this time. She was commanded by Cajit. Wilkes, an officer who hatl made an exhaustive .study of international law, ijarticularly as bearing u]xjn the right of a war-vessel to search a vessel belonging to a neutral nation. Capt. Wilkes, knowing that l)y ca])turing the Confederate commissioners, he could win for himself 53 54 lil,UK-|ACKl';i"S OK Y>T. the applause of the entire Xnrth, delermined to make the attempt. By a stud)' ol his books bearing on international law, he manaj^ed to convince himself that he was justified in stoppiny; the liritish 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 ]5ritish mail-steamer "Trent." Slie was intercepted in the liahama 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 ol neutrality. Then came a more peremptory summons in the shape of a solid shot across the bows ; and, as the incredulous cajitain of the "Trent" still continued his course, a si.\-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, aiul demanded the immediate surreiulei- of the two commissioners. The captain protested, pointed to the flag with the cross of St. George waving above his head, and in\-oked 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." ICx'cry 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 e.xcitcd, and jn'otested loudly. Every thing pos- sible was dt)ne by the people of the "Trent" to put themselves on JiLLi;-j.\(:i<.i;Ts oi- v,,. 55 rociiril as formally [jrotesting. Nevertheless, the coinmissioiiers were taken awa)', carried to New "V'ork, and from there sent into confinement at l-'ort Warren. When the news of this f^reat achievement became known, Wilkes was made the lion of the hour. Unthinking ])eo[)Ie met and jnissed 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 i^enerally eulogized, liven the Secretary of the Navy, who should have reco;^nized 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 cajitured 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 dis- avowed the responsibility for Wilkes's action. Letters were written to the United States minister in I'jigland, Charles I'"rancis Adams, alluding to the proceeding as one for which Capt. Wilkes as an individual was alone respon- sible. 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. Sympathiz- ing with the South as they undoubtedly did, it needed but this insult to the ]5ritish flag to rouse the war sjiirit 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 ])ress 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 tliis 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 Jiritain were acceded to, and the commissioners proceeded on their way. The last note of the diplomatic correspondence 56 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. was a courteous letter ivom President Lincoln to the British minister, offer- ing to allow the British troops c// ro//h- for Canada to land at Portland, Me., and thus avoid the Ioul;' 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 'ftgain 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 knov.'ii as Pamlico and Albemarle, and which are jirotected from the tin-bulence of the Atlantic by the long ridge of sand which terminates at Cape Hatteras. Wliile the cajDture 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 ciuite 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 \ast facilities given them for constructing, at their leisure, powerful iron-clads in some of the North Carolina ship-yards ; 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 authori- ties 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 ffeet." In fitting out this expedition two very conflicting requirements were fol- 58 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. lowed. 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. 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 assem- bled 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 reputa- tion ; 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 situa- tion 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 s BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. ^B 59 * 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 sa\-ed, 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 practi- cal 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 dei)artmcnt 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 smoke-stack broke its moorings and fell over. I-"inally 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 " Grajoe-shot," lived for days on the hay and oats, soaked with sea-water though they were. For two days this gale continued. The out-look for the fleet seemed hopeless. The inner bar of the harbor was absolutely impassable, l^etween 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 ■% % 6o ^^ RI.U?:-JACKK'rs OK '6i. sea was such tliat 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 twilling 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 w-altz 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 [icrfectly 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 w^ave lifted her up and dropped her heavily on the sharp iron, a hole was stove in her bottom, sinking her so cjuickly 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 stoix-s valued at two hundred thousand dollars. Unable to enter the inlet, she tiaed 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 b\' hour the ship drifted nearer and nearer to the tumbling mass of mighlv 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 heljiless 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 loecame 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 coidd be given her. For a boat to venture into that seethinsf caldron of breakers would have been throwing / BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. ^ 61 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 fur lack of food, the crew lashed themselves to the bulwarks and rigging; and so, drenched by the icy spray, and chilled through by the wintl, 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, |ilunging into the trough, it would be lost from the view of the an.sious watchers. All went well until the boat reached the outermost line of the breakers, when suddenly a towering wave, rushing resistlessly along, broke directly o\'er the stern, swamping the boat, and drowning seven of the crew. Again the last hope seemed lost to the e.xhausted 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. lie 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 Inisy in towing them off. Scarcely would one be safely afloat, than another would "bring up all standing" on some new \ 62 BLUE-JACKETS OF '61. • : shoal. Two weeks elaiised 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 escap- ing 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 ofificcrs, was informed as to the e.\act destination of the expedition. Now as the signal to get under way blew out from the foremast of the flag-ship, 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 insignifi- , / cant 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 flag-ship " Philadel- phia" 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 CONTRAEiAXDS ESCAI'ING 10 FLEEl . BLUE-JACKI-yrS OF '6 1. 65 made for the squadron to fnrni in a circle about the flag-ship. 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 £;leamed 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 flag-ship. 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, pilunging 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 burn- ing 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. 66 BLUE-JACKpyrS OF '6i. The bombardment was continued for some hours after nightfall. A night bombardment is a stirring scene. The jiassionate 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 e.\i)losioii 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. lught gunboats were sent to tear away the obstructions in the channel ; and there beneath the guns of the enem\''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 abo\-e 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 cr_v of Zoii, c:ou, zoii! 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 Da\'is, gunner's mate on board the "Valley City." , A shell entered the magazine of that shiji, and exploded, setting the wood-work 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. As soon as the stars and stripes were hoisted on the flagstaffs of the forts, the Confederate fleet, which had been mauitaining a desultory fire. RLl'K-I ACRirrs ()|- Y)!. fled up the sound, after setting fire to one schooner which had become liope- lessly crippled in the battle. She ])la/ed away l.ir i>n into the night, and finally, when the flames reached her magazine, blew up with a tremendous report, seeming like a final inxuhintary salute paid by Ihe delealed enem\' to the prowess of the Union arms. When fpiiet fnially settled down upon the scene, and Gen. Burnside and Cnniniander Goldsborough counted u]) tlieir gains, they tountl that six forts, twent)'-live hundred ])risoners, and forty-two great guns had fallen into the liands of the victors. Tiie Union loss was fi)rty killed and two hundred wounded. The next da\' was Sunday. It was considered highly important that the success of the day before should be vigorously followed up; and an exjjedi- tion of fourteen vessels, under Cajit. Rowan, was ordered to follow the retreating Confederate fleet and destroy it. The flying squadron was chased as far as Elizabeth City on the Pasc]uotauk River. Here night over- took 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 thoroughl)' impregnable had they considered the forts at Roanoke Island, that they had made absolutely no prei)arations for defence; and now they found their homes upon the eve of capture. The \-ictorious army had not }'et had an opportunity to show the merciful way in which the inhabitants' of captured cities were treated throughout the war ; and the good ].)eople of I^^lizabeth City may be excused for fearing, that, witli 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 j^er gun were left to each vessel. It was accordingly ortlered that no long-distance firing should be 68 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. clone ; 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 flag- ship, "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 Govern- ment, 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 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 69 their assistance. Tlie "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. Fortu- nately 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 ui? 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 blulf 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 XEWBERN. — EXPLOITS OF I.IF.UT. CUSHINC — DESTRUCTION OF THE RAM "ALUEMARLE" 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 rix'crs emptying into the sounds. Over a month passed in comparative inaction, as the ships were awaiting supplies and ]iarticularly ammunition. When finally the transports from New York arrived, and the magazines of the war-vessels were filled with shot and shell and gun- powder, 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 insignifi- cant ; 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 I2th 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 70 HI.UK-IACKi:rs ()!■• '6 1 waters of Pamlico Sound, and, turning into the Nensc Ri\-er, anchored about fifteen miles below the cit\-. Although the night belore the battle, and within sight of tlie white steeples of tlie menaceil city, all was c|uict and peaceful. The banks of the broad sti'eam were densely woodeil, 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 ancliored far out in the middle of the stream, so as to avoitl the deadly bullets of any lurking shari^-shooters. The look-outs 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 Hurnside expedition had hardly }'et 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 Newborn tlid 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 ; f(jr 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 con- cealed no ambuscade, as in the disastrous affair at Matthias Point. After two dozen shells had burst, mowing down ti'ees, and dri\-ing out frightened animals in plenty, but no sharp-shooters, the long boats put otf from the transports bearing the soldiers for the land attack. As soon as six or se\-en hundred were landed, thev formed in column, and moved rapidly up the beach. The others followed as r.ipidly 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 72 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. atom of resistance was made. The plans of the invaders seemed irresisti- ble. 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 ne.xt 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 flag-ship had to be carried by boat. The fleet proceeded up the river; and, when the fog lifted, the ramparts of Fort Di.xie — the one that had fired on them the night before — were visible. A vigorous bom- bardment was at once begun ; but the fort failed to reply, and a storm ing- 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 earth- work, 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. 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 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 7o 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, antl she went on with the rest of the fleet. Right under the guns of F"ort Thompson the second line of obstructions was encoun- tered. It consisted of a line of sunken vessels closely massed, and a citcval-dc-frisc 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, broad- side to Fort Thompson, the}' opened a vigorous cannonade upon that work. The condition of the garrison of the fort w a s desperate. The troops that had marched up the beach abreast of tlie vessels began a vig- orous attack on the land- ward face of the fort, while the vessels in the river kej3t up a vigorous fire on the water-front. i FLAG OF .SOUTH CAROLIX.\, 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 cit)-. The war-ships sped uji the river after three Confederate steamers that were 74 ELUK-JACKi:i\S OF '6i. 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, effectuall)' cut oH 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 \'ictory 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. \V. B. Gushing 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 three wonderful exhibitions of daring by which this vouno; 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. Gushing 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 joinijig 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 • 1 ULUl'l-jACRiri'S Ol'- '6[. 75 of New River Inlet on the North Carolina eoast, not far fmni the favorite port of the blockade-runners, Wilmington. The duties of a blockading man-of-war are monotonous, at best. Lying at anchdr off the mouth of the blockaded harbor, or steaming slow])' up and down for days together, the crew grow discontented ; and the officers are at their wits' eiul to tlevise constant occupation to dispel the turbulence which idleness always arouses among sailors. Inaction is the great enemy of discipline on board shij), 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 kccyt three or four jackies polishing an hour or two e\'ery day ; and petty officers have been known to go around secretly, and deface some of the snowy wood-work 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 [jolish on the flided. Matters were now becoming very serious. The runaway would doubtless give the alarm everywhere. Immediate flight was imperative. The men had been away lV(!m the boat for some hours, and were famished. Footl must be had. But how to get it .' Cushing's solution ol the problem was characteristic, llaxing captiu'cd 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 irom the trim blue uniform of a Yankee naval officer to the slouchy jeans jumper aiul overalls of a North Carolina "cracker" was somewhat amusing, but the disguise was complete. Mounting the cajitured horse, Mowarth rode off in the character of a "poor-white" farmer come in to do his marketing. He chatted freel_\' 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 [jrejiared to return. lunbarking with his prisoners, he pulled up to the " Raleigh," and foiuid that she woidd not need his attentions, as she was already a total wreck. Then he began the descent of the ri\er. When a little wa)- down the ])risoners were set atlrilt, with neither sails nor oars in order that the\' .might not report the occurrence too soon. The blue- jackets continued tlieir pull down the ri\er. Just as thes' reached the mnuth the monn shone out, and a tpiick hail came from a guard-boat. Cushing made no answer, but in a low voice urged his men on, intending to attack the enemv. But in an instant more three boats came out of the shadow, and at the same instant live apjieared on the other sitle. One opening seemed left for the beleaguereil boat to dash through. At it they Went, but a schooner hlletl with troops suddenly ajjpeared blockatling this last e.xit. It looked as though all was up, and those in the boat saw- betore them the clieerful prospect of execution as spies. But Cushing's pluck and ^2 RI.UK-IACKI-ri'S OF '6i. self-possession, which had never yet failed, still stood bv him. He resorted to strategy, and, like the hunted fox, threw his pursuers off the track by doubling. Me 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 da\'its of the " iMonticello," 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 Gushing 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 t(j 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 Pl\niouth. h'ull descriptions of this N'essel were in the hands L>f the Union officers; and tlicy saw clearh' that, should she be completed, no vessel of the sound squadron, nor jierhaps the entire squadi-on, would be able to do battle against her successfully. The river was loo shallow for the war-\-essels to go up to the point where the ram was being built, and the channel at Hattcras Inlet was not dee]) enough for iron-clads to be brought in to compete with the eneniv when finished. The na\'al authorities repeatedly urged the arniv 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 \'er\- differenl state of affairs. In April, 1S64, the ram was completed, and named the "Albemarle." Her first work was to co-operate with ten thousand Con- federate troops in the re-capture of Plymouth, which was accomplishetl with very little difficulty. Lieut. Flusser was at Plymouth with four small KLl'M-jAtKI'lS OK Y>i. gunboats, and remained bravely at his ]io.st as he saw tlic powerful ram bearing clown upon him. It was half-past three in the morning, and the cliill, gra_\- dawn was just bieaking over the earth. Alxne tlie river hung a mist, through whieh the great bod)' of the ram eould he seen coming doggedly down to the conflict. The "Miami " and " Soulhfield " were lashed together ; and, at the order ol Commander hdusser, the\' started to meet the iron-clad, firing qiiickl}' and with gooil aim. The " Albetiiarle " came on silently, distlaining to fire a gun. With a ciash she stiuek the " Miami " a glancing blow on the poitdoow, gouging off two great [blanks. Sliding past the wounded craft, she plunged intd the " Southfield, ' ciushing completely through her side, so that she began to settle at once. The lashings between the gunboats ])arted, and the " Southfield " sank rapidly, cari'ving pait of her crew with her. As the "Albemarle" crashed into the two vessels, she firetl her bow-gun several times, killing and wounding many of the Union sailors and Lieut. I'dusser. When she turned and made a second dash for the "Miami," the latter fied down the stream, knowing that to dare the ])ower df the enemy was meie madness. The " Albemarle " steamed back to Plymouth, and by her aid the town was easily re-captured by the Confederates. The squadron in the sounds was now in a state of the greatest an.xiet)'. At anv moment the impregnable monster might descend the i"i\'er .nid destro\- the frail wooden gunboats at her leisure. Preparations were made for a desperate battle when the time should come. Captains were instructed to biang their shijis to close quarters with the enemy ; to endeavor to throw powder or shells down her sira)ke-stack. Ex'ery possible means by which a wooden steamer might cope with an iron-clad was provided. On the 5th (if May the ram put in an appeai'ance, steaming down the river. Deliberately she approached within eas\- range, then let ll\' a shot at the " Mattabesett " which knocked her launch to pieces and wounded several men. The " I\Iattabesett " ran up to within one huntireil and fiftv N'ards of the "Albemarle," and gave her a broadside of solid shut from nine-inch Dahlgrens anil one luuKlreil-pouiuler rifles. When these 84 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i 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 ])owtler down the ram's smoking chimneys. It was a moment of intense excite- ment. 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 flv a pmulerous bolt. It crashed through the side oi 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 \ain 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 shius, 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 RLUK-JAC'KKTS OF '61. 85 River, feeling sure that at her own pleasure she could go into the sounds, and complete the destruction of the fleet. Lieut. Gushing-, then twenty-one years old, begged permission io attempt to destroy her. The authority was gladly granted by the navy department, and Gushing 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. Gushing, 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 [irivilege of going on this perilous expedition, by offering their month's i)ay 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 pre\"ent any boat approaching unseen. She was surrounded by a boom, or "water-fence," of floating logs, al)out 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 fool- hardy. Yet Gushing's record for dash and courage, and his enthusiasm, inspired his comrades with confidence; and they set out feeling certain of success. G)n the night of the 27th of October, the daring band, in their pygmy steamer, steamed rapidly up the river. No word was spoken aboanl. The machinery was oiled until it ran noiselessly ; anil 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," 86 BLUE-TAC'KK'IS (;F '61. they were unchallenged, although the\- 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 cjuick hails came from the sentries .on the wharf and the " Albemarle's " decks. Hut the light on the shore aided the adventurers bv 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 rarn 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. Gushing, 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. Gushing, 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 e.vploded under the hull of the "Albemarle," just as a b.undred-iiound shot crashed through the bottom of his boat. In a second the launch had dis- appeared ; her crew were struggling in the waves, or lying dead beneath them, and the "Albemarle" with a mortal wound was sinking to the bottom. Gushing 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 expedi- tions. Woodman was almost exhausted. Gushing supported him as long- as he was able, but was forced to lea\-e 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 Gonfederate officers who passed say that tiie " 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 UKSlKLClluX (>!• lHh " AI.I;K.\I Ak l.l-.. t Bl.LIE-|A(Ki;iS OF '6i. .S9 \ some hours, until ho found a nL'j;ro 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 adventine of the war. CHAPTER VII. THE BLOCKADE-RUNNERS. — NASSAU AND WILMINGTON. - WORK OF THE CRUISERS. HILE it is undeniably true that the naval battles of tlie civil war were in many cases unimportant as compared with the gigantic operations of the mighty armies in Virginia and Ten- nessee, 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 ener- getically 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 ]iroduced by the people of the revolted States could be obtained at their markets. Their whole territory was in a state of siege, surrounded bv 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 fore at the command of the P"ederals. It is a rule of warfare, that " blockades, C)0 IlLUF. -JACKETS OF '6i. 9I 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 nf l)lockade, and then cajiture 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 \'igilant 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. I-'rom its situation, the many entrances to its harlDor, and other natural advantages, it was the most difficult of all the Southern ports t(j keep guarded. With the rest of the Confederate poi'ts, 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 ]iort 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 nm the blockade. Anfl 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 1S61, 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 alerl to break the blockade by destroying the ships with torpedoes. Iron-clad 92 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i rams were built on the banks of the rivers, and sent down to sink and de- stroy the vessels whose watchfulness meant starvation to the Confederacy. The "Albemarle" and the " Merrimac " were notable instances of this course of attack. ]^ut 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 ser\-ice of our great na\-al war, the war of 1S12, 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. Rut 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 1S12 huiulieds of miles from her post. In the earlier years of the war the blockade-runners were mainly all sailing-vessels, schooners, and brigs, that were easily captured. lUit when the supplies of the South became exhausted, and the merchants of Eng- land began building ships especially lor this purpose, the dut}- of the blockading scjuadron became e.xciting and often very profitable. The business assumed such proportions that half the ship-yards 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 abandonetl, 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. / BLUK-J.U' Kin's OF '6 1. 93 Of these neutral points which served as way-stations for the blockailo- runners, there were four on or near our coast, — the Bermiula Islands, which He about seven hundred miles east of Charleston ; Nassau, which is off the coast of Florida, and a little more than five hundred miles south- east of Charleston ; Havana ; and the little Mexican town of Malanioras on the Rio Grande, opposite Brownsville, Texas. The Bermudas were to some extent used, hut their distance from the coast made them incon- venient as compared with Nassau or Matamoras. Their chief trade was with Wilmington, wliich became a favorite port during the latter yecu^s of the war. Ha\-ana was popular for a time, and at first sight would appear to be admirably placed for a blockade-runners' rendezvous. 13ut, though the coast of P^lorida was but one hundretl 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 moiitli. Goods once landed could be shi]iped in barges and lighters across the river in absolute safety, since heavy batteries prevented the cruisers of the gulf-scpiadron from entering the river. As a result of this trade, Matamoras became a thriving place. Hundreds of vessels lav in its harbor, where now it is unusual to see fi\'e at a time. For four years its streets were crowded with liea\y freight vans, while stores and hotels reaped a rich harvest from the sailors of the vessels engaged in the contra- band traffic. Now it is as quiet and sleepy a little town as can he 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. 94 KLUK-JACKI'.IS Ol'' Y,i. Furthermore, Great Britain was undoubtedly in sympathy with the Con- federates ; and so far from prolubiting the efforts of her citizens to keep up trade with the blockaded ports, she encouraged and aided them in ever)- way in her power. And aside from lier mere sympathy with the struggles NASSAU: THE HAUNT OF THE ELOCKADE-RUNNERS. of the voung Confederacy, England had a most powerful incentive to break down the blockade. In Manchester the huge cotton-mills, employing thou- sands 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, i;Lri:-jAtKi;r.s of ■6i. 95 wduld be worth its weight in gold. It was small wonder that the nierehants of England set to work deliberately to fit out blockade-runners, that Ihcv might again get their mills running, and their people fed. The years of the war were lively times for the little town of Nassau. Hardly had the proclamation ol 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' ren- dezvous. Its harbor and the surrounding waters were deep enough for merchant-vessels, but too shallow to allow mucli cruising about by war- ships of hea\'y armament. It was within a few hours' running of three Con- federate ports, and it was protected b\' 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 work- men of the Clyde ship-yards 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-bo.xes 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 stonc's-throw of the most watchful lookout on a man-of-war. They burned great ciuantities 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 90 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. the IcN'Ccs at New Orleans, or at the wharves in Aloljile, wheic they are nsed as excursion-steamers or for tug-boats. They were always the merest COTTON SHIPS AT NASSAU. 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 BLUK-JACRKTS OF '6i. 97 thence to the mainland, to join the armies of the Confederacy. The Con- federate agents on the island were always on tlie lookout for such adven- turers, and were e\-er ready to aid them. Sometimes, too, returning agents of the Confederacy from h'-uropc wnuld make the run through th.e hlockading-fleet ; so that the blockade-runners were seldom without two or three passengers, [loor though their accommodations might be. For the \-oyage from Nassau to Wilmington, three Inmdred dollars passage money was charged, or more than fifty cents a mile. To guard against treachery, passage could only be obtainetl through the Confederate consul, who care- fully investigated the proofs of each apjjlicant'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 hlled the streets of Nassau, and nothing but good wishes were to be heard on every side. Perhaps from a house on the hill-side, 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 sHjjs out, and starts on her stealthy voyage. On leaving the harbor, a cjuick run of fifteen or twenty miles would be taken along the coast, to tr\' the machinery. Great care would be taken to keep within British waters, lest some watchful gun- boat should seize the prize thus earl)- in her career. When every thing proved in good working tiim, the little vessel's ])row would be turned northward, and the perilous voyage begun. For the first day, little danger was to be e.xpected, 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 gantlet of the F'ederal gS IJLLlH-^'-'l'il'^l'^ "l*' '^i- 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 ^^egan 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 machiner)-. 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 ditl not know whether we were safely through the lines, or whether we had been brought to inider the guns of a hostile ship, for we could distinguish nothing what- ever 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, wdiich lighted up cheerfully the low-lying shores and earthworks bristling with artillery, while from a port 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 gantlet of the war-ships, steamed leisurely up to the whar\-es 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 BLLIIi-JACKETS OF '6i. 99 bought eagerly b\' the people, hungering for tidings of something else than the interminable war. The sailors of the steamer, on being paiil off, rambled about the sti'eets ol tlie cit)', speinling theii' monev 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 thousaml. lUit the risk of capture, with the confiscation of all property, and some months' iniprisonmenl in a Federal fortress, rather marred the attractiveness of the nefarious trade. The profits of a successful voyage to the owner of the shi|) and cargo were enormous. One of the steamers, specially built for the trade, at large cost, has been known to pay for herself full\- in one vox'age. 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 ot 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. L'p to the end of 1S63 the Federal Secretary of the Navy reported 1,045 vessels cajitured, 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 ol smuggling carried on between tlie ports of the North and the blockaded ports. The patriotism of the N(n-thern merchant was not alwavs so great as lo prevent his embarking in the traffic which he saw enriching his l-Inglish com])etitor. IMany of the schooners captured started from Northern jioi-ts and worked their way along the coast until that chain of inlets, sounds, and ba\'ous was reached, which borders the coast south of Chesapeake Bav. 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 Nortli Carolina. The chase of one of these little vessels was a dreary duty to the officers of the block- ading-ships. The fugiti\'es were fast cli|)i>ers of the models that made Maine ship-builders famous, until the inauguration of steam-na\igation lOO BLUE-TACKETS OF '6i. made a gracefully modelled hull immaterial as compared with powerful machinery. Even when the great, lumbering war-ship 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 percejitible. 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 fhe 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 an.xiously. 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 r.lA)CKAriF,-krNNK.U in mirth CAKDl.INA SllUNTlS. BLUE-JACKIiTS OF '6i. 101; range. Mere running before the wind wcn'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 wa)- rejoicing. 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 RepubHc " 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, ami she swung to beneath the jirotecting 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 ofificers on the gunboat could see the decks of the "Young Republic" piled high with brow^n bales of cotton, worth immense sums of money. They thought ot 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 I04 BLUE-JACKKTS OF '6i. 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 sjjcd through the water. The head- land 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 ever)' 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, si)urred 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 o\"er 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 bo.x 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. I'UK-UIN'; A r,l/KKAIt up her splen- did and deliberate, but ineffectual, fire, until she filled and sank, which she did in a very few minules. A small freight-steamer of the f|uarter- master's department, and some tugs and boats from the cam])-wharf, jnit .off to rescue the survivons, 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 134 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 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 HIA K-IACKKIS OF '6i. 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 pre- viously wounded was killed in the cock-pit where he iiad 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 a.xe-men 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. '36 BLUE-JACKETS OF '6i. 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 regi- ment 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 driyen 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 feci 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 BLUE-JACKEl'S Oh' '6i. 137 our ship and the shore. The yard ami stay-tackles were i^ot up, and the boats put into the water, as soon as possible ; the fire i^aininL;', 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 dam- aged ; 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 resi>ond, 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, buruetl 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 'Con- gress,' whose lurid glare was reflected in the river. The burning frigate four miles away seemed very much nearer. As the flames crept up the rig- ging, every mast, spar, and rope glittered against the dark sky in dazzling lines of fire. The hull, aground upon the shoal, was i>lainly visible ; antl upon its black surface each j^ort-hole seemed the mouth of a fiery furnace. 13S BLli:-[ACKErS OF '6r. 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 c\'cry headland of the bay. The masts and rigging were still standing, apparently intact, when about two o'clock in the morning a mon- strous 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 disap- peared; 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 port-holes 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 float- ing 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 cur- rent, 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, pis- tols, 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 15LUK-JACKETS OF '6i. 139 that the Cnnfcderates liad hcretofurc 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 " ]\Ierrimac " was a most powerful vessel, destined to annihi- late 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, how- ever, 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 shij^ in range, and a puff of smoke from the " Merrimae's " bow-gun warned the crew of the frigate that danger was coming. All held their breath an instant, until, with a clatter antl 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 C[uarter 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 anil 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 tliey had no thought of surrender. The fire of the "Cumberland" was receivetl silently by the "Merrimac;" and she came straight on, her sharj) prow cutting I40 KLUE-JACKKTS OF '6i. 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 tinjbers, 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 arftis 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 occupa- tion 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 set- tled down to the bottom, carrying half her crew with her, but keeping the stars and stripes still floating at the fore. KUJE-JACKETS OF '6i. 143 The destruction of the "Cumberland" being completed, the " Alerrimac" steamed over to the "Congress." This frigate fought well an