The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year, 1861-1865, vols. 1-5. New York: Appleton & Co., 1868.

United States Naval Operations, 1862

NAVY, U. S., Operations of. 1862 The operations of the navy during the year 1862 comprise the history of several distinct squadrons. 1. The North Atlantic squadron, guarding the Virginia and North Carolina coasts, was in charge of Rear Admiral L. M. Goldsborough until September 5, when he was relieved at his own request by Acting Rear Admiral S. P. Lee. 2. The South Atlantic squadron, blockading the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia and the N. E. coast of Florida, was commanded by Rear Admiral S. F. Dupont. 3. The Gulf squadron was divided in February into the Eastern Gulf squadron successively under Flag-Officer McKean, and Acting Rear Admirals Lardner and Bailey, extending from Cape Canaveral, on the E. coast of Florida, to Pensacola; and 4, the Western Gulf squadron, under Rear Admiral Farragut. 5. The Western flotilla, on the Mississippi, was until May 9 under command of Rear Admiral A. H. Foote, who was relieved by Commodore O. H. Davis; and since October 15 has been commanded by Acting Rear Admiral D. D. Porter. 6. The Potomac flotilla was under Commodore Harwood. 7. The James river flotilla was under Commodore Wilkes.

1. North Atlantic Squadron.—Early in January a joint naval and military expedition for operation in the waters of North Carolina sailed from Hampton Roads under the command of Flag-Officer L. M. Goldsborough, and General Burnside. (See ARMY OPERATIONS). The naval force, consisting of 17 light-draught vessels with an armament of 48 guns, most of them of heavy caliber, arrived at Hatteras Inlet, January 13. The battle of Roanoke Island took place on the 7th and 8th of February, the fleet commencing it by a spirited attack on the Confederate batteries and vessels, and covering the landing of the troops on the second day. At the close of the engagement the Confederate naval forces retired to Elizabeth City, pursued by the Federal flotilla under Commander S. 0. Rowan, who discovered his enemy on the morning of the 10th, drawn up under a battery of four guns. Disregarding their lire, Commander Rowan pushed steadily on until within three fourths of a mile, when he delivered a volley and dashed ahead. The Confederates fled before this unexpected onset; the battery was demolished; and their whole fleet was captured or destroyed.

Flag-Officer Goldsborough having been recalled to Hampton Roads, the naval forces which accompanied General Burnside to Newbern were placed under Commander Rowan. The joint expedition reached the place of landing at Slocum's Creek March 12th, and in the battle of the 14th and the occupation of Washington, D. C., on the 21st, the navy took an active part.

The engagement between the Monitor and Merrimac in Hampton Roads, March 8, was narrated in the "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1861.

At the battle of West Point, May 7, the gunboats Wachusett, Maratanza, and Sebago were assigned to assist General Franklin.

On the 8th of May the iron-clad vessels Monitor, Naugatuck, and four others shelled Sewall's Point near Norfolk, mainly with the view of ascertaining the practicability of landing troops there; the Merrimac or Virginia steamed out to engage them, but neither side seemed anxious to open an engagement, and both soon after retired. On the 10th Norfolk surrendered to General Wool, and Commodore Tatnall, then in command of the Merrimac, proceeded to lighten his ship with the intention of taking her up the James river; but after sho had been so much lightened as to be rendered unfit for action, the pilots declared there was not sufficient water to carry her beyond the Jamestown Flats, up to which point the shore on both sides was in possession of the Federal army. In this dilemma sho was run ashore on Craney Island and set on fire, and on the morning of the 11th blew up.

The James river was now open for Commodore Goldsborough's gunboats, and on the 15th Commander John Rodgers was ordered to proceed with the Galena, Monitor, Aroostook, Port Royal, and Naugatuck, to Richmond, and shell the city to a surrender. They met with no artificial obstructions until they reached Ward's or Drury's Bluff, about 8 miles from Richmond, where they encountered a heavy battery and two separate barriers formed of piles and steamboats and sail vessels. The banks of the river were lined with sharpshooters who effectually prevented any attempt to remove the obstructions. The Galena ran within about 600 yards of the battery, and opened fire; the Monitor attempted to pass ahead of her, but was obliged to retire several hundred yards as her guns could not be elevated enough for effective service: the wooden vessels were ordered to keep in the rear. The Naugatuck was disabled by the bursting of her 100-lb. Parrott gun, and after an engagement of over three hours the flotilla, having exhausted their ammunition, were forced to retire without having produced much effect upon the battery. The Monitor was struck several times, but entirely uninjured. The Galena was not so fortunate; thirteen shot penetrated her iron sides, starting the knees, planks, and timbers, and killing several men by the splinters. One shell exploded in the steerage, but most of the balls, after breaking through the iron, stuck in the wood. Commander Morris, of the Port Royal, was wounded, and 13 men were killed and 11 wounded on the Galena, and 2 wounded on the Naugatuck.

On November 23 the gunboat Ellis, Lieut. W. P. Cushing, captured the town of Onslow on New River Inlet, N. C., destroying extensive salt works, and securing three schooners and 10 whale boats. On the way back, when 3 miles from the mouth of the river, the Ellis ran aground and the enemy opened fire on her. Despairing of saving the gunboat, Lieut. Cushing transferred the crew to one of his prizes, and blew up the Ellis on the 24th.

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2. South Atlantic Squadron. — The beginning of the year found Com. Dupont's squadron actively employed in examining the waters and islands on the South Carolina and Georgia coasts, preparatory to their military occupation. On the first of January a combined attack was made by land and water upon a Confederate post at Port Royal ferry, S. O, the naval forces, consisting of 3 gunboats, 2 tugs, and 4 armed boats from the Wabash, being under the direction of Commander C. R. P. Rodgers. (See ARMY OPERATIONS.)

On January 27 a fleet of two gunboats, 4 armed steamers, and 2 armed launches under Fleet Captain C. H. Davis, accompanied by 2,400 men on transports commanded by Brigadier General Wright, made a reconnoissance of Little Tybee river and the adjacent waters, with a view of preparing for the cutting off communication between Fort Pulaski and Savannah and the ultimate capture of the fort. While on this duty they were attacked by 5 Confederate vessels under Commodore Tatnall, which they repulsed after a half hour's fight, two of the enemy being driven back to Savannah, and the others running under the guns of the fort.

An expedition under Flag-Officer Dupont and Brigadier-General Wright, designed for the reoccupation of the principal points on the E. coast of Florida, sailed from Port Royal on the 28th of February, and captured Fort Clinch, St. Mary's, and Fernandina, March 2 and 3; Brunswick, Georgia, March 7; Jacksonville, Florida, and St. Augustine, March 12, meeting with no resistance at any of these points. (See ARMY OPERATIONS.)

The capture of Fort Pulaski, in which the naval forces participated, being a purely military operation, has been described elsewhere.

On April 29 Lieutenant Rhind, with the steamer E. B. Hale, captured and destroyed a battery near the junction of the Dawho, Pow Pow, and South Edisto rivers.

On May 13 the Confederate steam tug Planter, an armed despatch and transportation steamer attached to the engineer department at Charleston under Brigadier-General Ripley, was brought out by her pilot, Robert Small, a very intelligent slave, and surrendered to the blockading squadron. She had on board 8 men, 5 women, and 3 children, all negroes, and was armed with a 32-pounder pivot gun, and a 24pounder howitzer, besides which she had 4 large guns, one of them belonging to Fort Sumter, which she was to have transported that morning to the new fort on the middle ground. At 4 o'clock in the morning, while the captain was on shore, she left her wharf with Palmetto and Confederate flags flying, passed the forts, saluting as usual by blowing her steam whistle, and after getting out of reach of the last gun, hauled down the Confederate flags and hoisted a white one. The steamer, from her excellent machinery and light draught, proved a valuable acquisition to the blockaders.

On the 19th, Flag-Officer Dupont, having been led to believe, chiefly by the information given by Robert Small, that the Confederates were erecting batteries on Stono Inlet, caused a reconnoissance to be made which established the truth of the report. The inlet was immediately occupied by the gunboats and an important base thus secured for future operations against Charleston.

The military forces sent to occupy Jacksonville, Florida, after its capture in March were afterward withdrawn, and a battery was planted by the Confederates on St. John's river, some distance below the town, which caused considerable annoyance to the gunboats employed on the inside blockade of the river. Commander Steedman and General Brannan accordingly moved on the 30th of September with a joint naval and land force, silenced and occupied the battery, capturing 9 guns, and afterward ascended the river as far as Lake Beresford, a distance of 230 miles, and captured a transport steamer.

The same officers had charge of a joint expedition, October 21-23, to destroy the railroad bridges near Pocotaligo, South Carolina (See Army Operations.)

3. Gulf Squadron and Eastern Gulf Squadron. — In the early part of January, Flag-Officer McKeon sent the steamer Hatteras, Commander Emmons, to Cedar Keys, where about the 10th she captured or destroyed a quantity of artillery and military stores, and several schooners, the place being an important depot of the enemy.

In the latter part of March Commander Stellwagen of the Mercedita arrived off Appalachicola with that vessel and the Sagamore, and organized a boat expedition, the immediate object of which was the capture of a number of vessels understood to be at or above that city. The place, however, had already been evacuated by the Confederate troops, and the expedition met with no resistance. The inhabitants received the sailors favorably and raised the United States flag. Several vessels were brought out and others were destroyed.

On the night of April 6th a boat expedition from the bark Pursuit, under Acting Master Elnathan Lewis, surprised and captured at St. Andrew's the Confederate steamer Florida, of 500 tons, with 200 bales of cotton on board, and brought her safely out.

On the 4th of October a boat expedition from the steamer Somerset proceeded to the main land near Cedar Keys for the purpose of destroying some salt works, but was fired upon from a house on which a white flag was flying, and compelled to return without thoroughly accomplishing their purpose. On the 6th a stronger force, consisting of 4 boats from the Somerset and 4 from the gunboat Tahoma, landed at the same place, completing the destruction and dispersing a small guerilla force.

4. Western Gulf Squadron.—Captain David G. Farragut sailed from Hampton Roads in the Page 631 steamer Hartford on the 3d of February, to assume the duties of flag-officer of the Western Gulf blockading squadron. In addition to the ordinary duties of the blockade, he was specially charged with the reduction of the defences guarding the approaches to New Orleans. "There will be attached to your squadron," said the Secretary of the Navy in his letter of instructions, "a fleet of bomb vessels, and armed steamers enough to manage them, all under command of Commander D. D. Porter, who will be directed to report to you. * * * When these formidable mortars arrive, and you are completely ready, yon will collect such vessels as can be spared from the blockade and proceed up the Mississippi river, and reduce the defences which guard the approaches to New Orleans, when you will appear off that city and take possession of it under the guns of your squadron, and hoist the American flag therein, keeping possession until troops can be sent to you. If the Mississippi expedition from Cairo shall not have descended the river, you will take advantage of the panic to push a strong force up the river to take all their defences in the rear."

Captain Farragut arrived at Ship Island on the 20th, having been detained for some time at Key West, and immediately began to organize his squadron for the important duty which had been assigned to him. There are two routes by which New Orleans may be approached by water, one through Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain, and the other directly up the Mississippi river; but the former, on account of the shallowness of the water, is impracticable for any but vessels of very light draft. The Confederates had consequently devoted their labors chiefly to the fortification of the Mississippi. Some 75 miles below the city, and about 25 miles from the "passes" or mouths of the river, they had possession of two strong works constructed many years before by the U. S. Government, Fort St. Philip on the left, or N. bank, and Fort Jackson on the right. Their united armament was 126 guns, many of them of the very largest caliber. Starting opposite Fort Jackson and extending to a point a quarter of a mile below Fort St. Philip, a stout chain cable was stretched across the stream (here 700 yards wide), supported by a raft of logs and 8 hulks securely moored. Adjoining Fort Jackson was a water battery. Under cover of the forts was a fleet of 13 gunboats, the powerful iron-clad battery Louisiana, and the iron-clad ram Manassas, the naval forces being commanded by Commodore G. N. Hollins. Between New Orleans and the forts several earthworks, well armed, commanded the channel. "Our only fear," said the press of New Orleans of April 5, "is that the Northern invaders may not appear. We have made such extensive preparations to receive them that it were vexatious if their invincible armada escapes the fate we have in store for it."

To reduce these formidable defences, Captain Farragut was able to collect the following vessels: steam sloops Hartford, 24 guns (flag ship), Richmond, 26, Pensacola, 24, Brooklyn, 2i, Mississippi, 12, Iroquois, 9, Oneida, 9, sailing sloop of war Portsmouth, 17, gunboats Varuna, 12, Cayuga, 6, and Winona, Katahdin, Itasca, Kineo, Wissahickon, Pinola, Kennebeck, and Sciota, 4 each. The frigate Colorado, 48, could not pass over the bar, and the entrance of some of the other large ships was only effected with the expenditure of much time and labor. The mortar fleet comprised 20 schooners, each mounting one large mortar and 2 small guns. They were accompanied by the steamers Harriet Lane, 4, the flag ship of Commander Porter, Miami, 7, Westfield 6, Clifton, 6, and Owasco, 5. Some of these were merely armed tugs, intended principally to serve the purpose of towing the bomb vessels into position. Including the coast-survey steamer Sachem, the number of vessels under Captain Farragut's command was therefore 46, and their aggregate armament, counting boat howitzers placed in the main tops, was about 800 guns and mortars. There were no iron-clads in the fleet.

Nearly three weeks were consumed in getting all the ships of the squadron over the bars at the mouths of the Mississippi. Captain Farragut found the depth considerably less than it had been laid down on the official maps; no doubt for the reason that the daily passing of large ships, before the port was blockaded, had kept the channel open. On the 28th of March Fleet Captain H. H. Bell made a reconnoissance with two gunboats from the head of the passes up toward the forts. He found the left bank quite clear of trees and bushes, but on the west side a thick wood extended about 4 miles below Fort Jackson. By the 8th of April the Mississippi and Pensacola were over the bar, and the mortar boats were moving up toward their appointed stations. On the 13th a detachment from the coast survey party set out under protection of the Owasco, and spent 8 days in making a minute boat survey of the river and banks, much of the time under fire, and marking the positions which the mortar vessels were to occupy. On the 18th two divisions of Commander Porter's flotilla were moored under the lee of the wood on the right bank of the river, screened from observation by the thick growth of trees interwoven with vines; the masts and rigging were dressed off with bushes, which were renewed as often as they were blown away. The head vessel was 2,850 yards from Fort Jackson and 3,680 from Fort St. Philip. The remaining division, composed of 6 vessels, was stationed under the opposite bank, the nearest being 8,680 yards from Fort Jackson. There was nothing on this side to screen them from observation, but their hulls were covered with reeds and willows.

The bombardment opened on the 18th, the mortar vessels taking the lead, and the gunboats

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Map of Fort Jackson

Page 633 running up occasionally to draw the enemy's fire when the mortars required relief. Each boat having its precise distance from the forts marked out by the surveyors, the firing was remarkably accurate. At the given signal they opened in order, each one throwing a shell every ten minutes. Fort Jackson was the principal object of attack. On the first day the citadel was set on fire and burned until two o'clock the next morning, all the clothing and commissary stores in the fort being destroyed, and great suffering caused by the intense heat. During the night the firing ceased on both sides. Two of the mortar vessels had been injured by the enemy's fire and were accordingly moved to another position. On the 19th the mortar schooner Maria J. Carleton was sunk by a rifle shell passing down through her deck, magazine, and bottom, but nearly all her stores and arms were saved. One or two men were wounded, but very little other damage was done except to the masts and rigging of some of the schooners. On the other hand the officers' quarters in Fort Jackson were set on fire and entirely consumed, the artillerists were driven from the parapet guns, and the batteries were silenced every time the shells were concentrated on any one point. The fuzes being bad, however, a great many exploded prematurely in the air. Commander Porter accordingly gave up timing them and put in full-length fuzes, to burst after they had entered the ground. The soil being wet and soft, the shells penetrated 18 or 20 feet into the ground, and then exploded with an effect like an earthquake. The levee was broken in more than 100 places, and the water rushing into the fort flooded the parade ground and casemates. On the night of the 20th an expedition was sent up under Commander Bell to break the obstructions across the river. With the gunboats Pinola, Lieut.-Com. Crosby, and Itasca, Lieut.-Com. Caldwell, he made for the hulks, under a heavy fire, while all the mortars opened at once upon the forts to distract the enemy's attention. Petards were arranged to blow up the boom by means of a galvanic current, but they failed to ignite. Lieutenant Caldwell however, boarding one of the hulks, managed to slip the chain, and thereby made an opening sufficiently large for the fleet to pass. His vessel was swept ashore by the current, which was running with great violence, but the Pinola got her off after about half an hour's labor in full sight of the forts, the terrible fire of the mortar fleet being probably the only thing that saved the two boats from destruction. The bombardment continued with undiminished vigor for 3 days longer, with little damage to the squadron. Almost every night the Confederates sent down fire rafts, but Captain Farragut easily avoided them, and had them towed ashore.

On the 23d Commander Porter succeeded in breaking a heavy rifled gun on Fort St. Philip, which had been annoying him seriously for some time. With this single exception the 6 days' bombardment had not diminished the fire of the forts in any perceptible degree. On the 23d orders were issued to the fleet to prepare for attacking and passing the forts. The mortars were to continue the bombardment while this movement was in progress, and to try to drive the garrisons from their guns. The five steamers of Porter's flotilla, assisted by the Portsmouth, were assigned the duty of enfilading the water battery of six guns, and the barbette of guns which commanded the approach to the forts. The rest of the ships and gunboats were to push on past the forts, engage the Confederate fleet, and if victorious proceed to New Orleans, leaving the final reduction of the forts to Commander Porter and the land forces under General Butler. Flag-Officer Farragut now separated his gunboats into two divisions, of six boats each, the first under Captain Theodorus Bailey, his second in command, and the second under Fleet Captain H. H. Bell. The first division of ships comprised the flag ship Hartford, Commander Wainwright; Brooklyn, Captain Craven; and Richmond, Commander Alden. The second was composed of the Pensacola, Captain Morris, and Mississippi, Commander Melancton Smith. "Every vessel," says Captain Farragut, " was as well prepared as the ingenuity of her commander and officers could suggest, both for the preservation of life and of the vessel, and perhaps there is not on record such a display of ingenuity as has been evinced in this little squadron. The first was by the engineer of the Richmond, Mr. Moore, by suggesting that the sheet cables be stopped up and down on the sides in the line of the engines, which was immediately adopted by all the vessels. Then each commander made his own arrangements for stopping the shot from penetrating the boilers or machinery that might come in forward or abaft, by hammocks, coal, bags of ashes, bags of sand, clothes-bags, and in fact every device imaginable. The bulwarks were lined with hammocks by 6ome, with splinter nettings made with ropes by others. Some rubbed their vessels over with mud, to make their ships less visible, and some whitewashed their decks, to make things more visible by night during the fight." On the night of the 23d Lieut. Caldwell made a second visit to the obstructions, and ascertained that the passage was still clear. He was discovered and fired upon by the enemy, who had chosen that time to send down some of their fire rafts, and had lighted fires on the shore near the chain. At two o'clock on the morning of the 24th the signal was given to get under way, and the whole squadron moved up the river in two columns, Captain Bailey in the Cayuga leading the right, composed of the 1st division of gunboats and the second division of ships, and the Hartford, with Captain Farragut, taking the post of honor on the left. On passing the barrier chain the right column attacked Fort St. Philip, and the left Fort Jackson. They were discovered some time before they reached the barrier, and both Page 634 forts opened upon them a hot fire, to which the squadron at first could only reply with their bow guns. As soon as their broadsides were brought within range the engagement became general. "The flames," said Commander Porter, "seemed to be literally eating the vessels up." In attempting to avoid afire raft the Hartford grounded on a shoal, and in this position was set on fire, the flames bursting through the porta and running up the rigging; but, with great exertion, they were extinguished, and the ship's guns, which had meanwhile been worked without interruption, were now brought to bear upon Fort St. Philip, and that work was almost completely silenced. In the mean time, the Brooklyn and some other vessels, owing to the darkness and smoke, became entangled in the barrier, and were exposed to a raking fire from the forts for a few minutes, but managed to extricate themselves, and the Brooklyn, finding herself unexpectedly close abreast of Fort St. Philip, poured in such a storm of grape and canister that the garrison were seen, by the flash of the bursting shrapnell, running from their guns. Before the squadron had fairly passed the forts, the Confederate fleet of gunboats and rams appeared, and took part in the fight. They wore first encountered by Captain Bailey in the Cayuga, who was considerably in advance of the rest, at a moment when no supporting ship was in sight. By skilful steering he frustrated their attempts to board and butt, and had forced three to surrender, when the Oneida, Commander Lee, and Varuna, Captain Boggs, have in sight. The Oneida, discovering a Confederate gunboat crossing her bows, ran into her with a full head of steam, and cut her down, leaving her to drift down the stream with the current. The Varuna, after passing the forts, and destroying or driving ashore a gunboat and three transports, found herself, about daylight, completely surrounded by the enemy. The Governor Moore, iron-clad about the bow, first attacked her, butting her twice, and sending a raking fire along her port gangway, killing four and wounding nine of the crew; but Captain Boggs, by a few well-directed shells, drove her off, partially disabled. While still engaged with her, another Confederate steamer, iron-clad, with a prow under water, struck the Varuna in the port gangway, doing considerable damage. She backed off for another blow, and struck again in the same place, crushing in the side; "but by going ahead fast," says Captain Boggs, "the conenssion drew her bow around, and I was able, with the port guns, to give her, while close alongside, five eight-inch shells abaft her armor. This settled her and drove her ashore in flames. Finding the Varna sinking, I ran her into the bank, let go the anchor, and tied up to the trees. During all this time, the guns were actively at work crippling the Morgan (Governor Moore), which was making feeble efforts to get up steam. The fire was kept np until the water was over the puntrucks, when I turned my attention to getting the wounded and crew out of the vessel." Just at this moment the Oneida came up, took off some of the men from the Varuna, and completed the destruction of the Governor Moore, which was run ashore and set on fire by the crew, part of whom afterward surrendered to Commander Lee. Three of the gunboats were obliged to put back, one having been disabled early in the action, and the others caught in the barrier chain and delayed until the day had broken and the rest of the fleet had gone past the forts. "Within two hours from the commencement of the fight, nearly the whole Confederate fleet was captured or destroyed, and the victory was secured; but, "just as the scene appeared to be closing," writes Captain Farragut, "the ram Manassas was seen coming under full speed to attack us. I directed Captain Smith, in the Mississippi, to turn and run her down. The order was instantly obeyed by the Mississippi turning and going at her at full speed. Just as we expected to see the ram annihilated, when within fifty yards of each other, she put her helm hard a-port, dodged the Mississippi, and ran ashore. The Mississippi poured two broadsides into her, and sent her drifting down the river a total wreck." As she came into the midst of Porter's flotilla, several of the mortar boats and steamers opened fire upon her; "but I soon discovered," writes Porter, "that the Manassas could harm no one again, and I ordered the vessels to save their shot. She was beginning to emit smoke from her ports, or holes, and was discovered to be on fire and sinking. Her pipes were all twisted and riddled with shot, and her hull was also well cut up. She had evidently been used up by the squadron as they passed along. I tried to save her as a curiosity, by getting a hawser around her and securing her to the bank, but just after doing so she faintly exploded. Her only gun went off, and emitting flames through her bow port, like some huge animal, she gave a plunge and disappeared under the water." About 5 o'clock the Cayuga came upon the camp of the Chalmette regiment, Colonel Szymanski, on the right bank of the river. Casting anchor, Captain Bailey opened upon it with canister, and obliged the whole force to surrender, with their arms, camp equipage, &c. Soon afterward, the signal was given to cease action, and 12 vessels dropped anchor above and out of range of the forts, and began to prepare for further operations. Two of the gunboats were immediately sent ahead to cut the telegraph wires in various places, and one was sent, by way of the Quarantine bayou, to communicate with Commander Porter and General Butler. With his nine remaining vessels, Captain Farragut then proceeded up to Now Orleans, meeting on the way abundant evidence of the panic which prevailed in that city. "Cotton-loaded ships, on fire, came floating down, and working Page 635 implements of every kind, such as are used in shipyards." "I never witnessed such vandalism in my life," he writes to the Secretary of the Navy, "as the destruction of property; all the shipping, steamboats, &c., were set on fire and consumed." The squadron reached the English Turn about 10.30 a. m. on the 25th, and soon descried the new earthwork forts on the old lines on both shores, some 6 or 7 miles below the city; these were known as the Chalmette batteries. The fleet formed, as before, in two lines, each taking its own work, but Captain Bailey, with the Cayuga, was far in advance, not having noticed the signal for close order, and sustained alone a cross fire for about 20 minutes, at the end of which time the Hartford ranged up ahead, and gave the batteries a broadside of shells, shrapnell, and grape, the first discharge driving the men on the right bank from their guns. The Pensacola, the Brooklyn, and then the rest of the fleet, came up in quick succession, and in about 15 or 20 minutes "the forts were silenced, and those who could run were running in every direction." From this point no obstacles were encountered, except burning steamers, cotton ships, fire rafts, and the like, and at one o'clock p. m. the squadron anchored in front of New Orleans.

A terrible and melancholy spectacle was presented to the victors. The whole levee, for miles, was wrapped in smoke from the burning gun carriages and cotton which the authorities had ordered to be consumed. In the river were many hulls of burning ships, and the utmost ingenuity was required to avoid them. As the squadron neared the levee the sailors gave a cheer which was answered by some persons in the crowd on shore. Pistol shots were immediately fired at these latter by the excited multitude, and several persons were wounded. After a delay of half an hour or so, Captain Bailey was sent ashore to demand the surrender of the city. He was received by the mob with the most violent demonstrations, but under escort of a number of citizens proceeded unmolested to the mayor's office, the mob at his heels contenting itself with furiously assaulting citizens suspected of sympathy with the Federal Union. On reaching the City Hall, Captain Bailey demanded the surrender of the city, and the display of the United States flag over the custom house, post office, mint, and city hall. The mayor replied that he had no authority, the city being under military control, and a messenger was accordingly sent for General Mansfield Lovell, the commander of the department. General Lovell informed Captain Bailey that he had already evacuated the city, and would now turn over the control to the municipal authorities, leaving them free to act as they saw fit. It was then arranged that Captain Bailey should return to his fleet, and await the action of the common council. To the demand to haul down the flag of Louisiana from the City Hall the mayor gave an unqualified refusal. The common council was already in session, and the mayor at once sent in a message, recommending that an answer be returned to Captain Farragut, representing that the city being incapable of offering any resistance yielded to physical force alone, without giving up its allegiance to the Confederate Government; that the custom house, post office, and mint were the property of the Confederate Government, and the municipal authorities had no control over them; and that all acts involving a transfer of authority must be performed by the invading forces themselves. The sentiments expressed in this message were unanimously adopted by the council, and on the next day the following correspondence was opened between Captain Farragut and the mayor:

U. S. FLAG SHIP HARTFORD, OFF NEW ORLEANS,                                       April 26,1862.

To His Excellency the Mayor of New Orleans:

SIR: Upon my arrival before your city I had the honor to send to your honor Captain Bailey, U. S. N., second in command of the expedition, to demand of you the surrender of New Orleans to me as the representative of the Government of the United States. Captain Bailey reported the result of on interview with yourself and the military authorities. It must occur to your honor that it is not within the province of a naval officer to assume the duties of a military commandant. I come here to reduce New Orleans to obedience to the lows of and to vindicate the offended majesty of the Government of the United States.

The rights of persons and property shall be secured. I therefore demand of you, as its representative, the unqualified surrender of the city, and that the emblem of the sovereignty of the United States be hoisted over the City Hall, Mints, and Custom House by meridian this day; and that oil flogs and other emblems of sovereignty other than those of the United States be removed from all the public buildings at that hour.

I further particularly request that you shall exercise your authority to quell disturbances, restore order, and call upon oil the good people of New Orleans to return at once to their vocations, end I particularly demand that no person shall be molested in person or property for sentiments of loyalty to their Government.

I shall speedily and severely punish any person or persons who shall commit such outrages as were witnessed yesterday, by armed men firing upon helpless women" and children for giving expression to their pleasure at witnessing the old flag.

                I am, very respectfully,

                              D. G. FARRAGUT,

      Flag-Officer Western Gulf Squadron.

         U. S. FLAG SHIP HARTFORD, AT ANCHOR OFF THE  

                           CITY OF NEW ORLEANS,   April 26,1862.

To his Honor the Mayor of New Orleans:

Your honor will please give directions thot no flog but that of the United States will be permitted to fly in the presence of this fleet, so long as it has the power to prevent it; and as oil displays of that kind may be the cause of bloodshed, I have to request that you will give this communication as general a circulation as possible.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant

                                                  D. G. FARRAGUT,

       Flag-Officer Western Gulf Blockading Squadron.

MAYOR'S OFFICE, CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. CITY HALL,

                                                                    April 28,1862.

To Flag-Officer D. G. Farragut, U. S. Flag Ship Hartford:

SIR: In pursuance of a resolution which we thought proper to take, out of regard for the lives of the women and children who still crowd the metropolis, General Page 636 Lovell has evacuated it with his troops, and restored back to me the administration of its government and the custody of its honor.

I have, in council with the City Fathers, considered the demand you made of me yesterday of an unconditional surrender of the city, coupled with a requisition to hoist the flag of the United States on the public edifices and haul down the flag that still floats upon the breeze from the dome of this hall.

It becomes my duty to transmit to you an answer which is the universal sentiment of my constituents, no less than the promptings of my own heart on this sad and solemn occasion.

The city is without the means of defence, and is utterly destitute of the force and material that might enable it to resist the overpowering armament displayed in sight of it.

I am no military man, and possess no authority beyond that of executing the municipal laws of the city of New Orleans. It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to lead an army to the field, if I had one at command, and I know still less how to surrender an undefended place, held as this is at the mercies of your gunners and your mortars.

To surrender such a place were an idle and unmeaning ceremony. The city is yours by the power of brutal force, not by my choice or the consent of the inhabitants. It is for you to determine the fate that awaits her. As to hoisting any flag not of our own adoption or allegiance, let me say to you that the man lives not in our midst whose hand and heart would not be paralyzed at the mere thought of such an act; nor could I find in my entire constituency so desperate and wretched a renegade as would dare to profane with his hand the sacred emblem of our aspirations.

Sir, you have manifested sentiments which would become one engaged in a better cause than that to which you have devoted your sword. I doubt not that they spring from a noble though deluded nature, and I know how to appreciate the emotions which inspired them. You have a gallant people to administrate during your occupancy of this city—-a people sensitive to all that can in the least affect their dignity and self-respect.

Pray, sir, do not fail to regard their susceptibilities. The obligations which I shall assume in their name will be religiously complied with. You may trust their honor, though you might not count on their submission to unmerited wrongs.

In conclusion, I beg you to understand that the people of New Orleans, while unable to resist your force, do not allow themselves to be insulted by the interference of such as have rendered themselves odious and contemptible by their dastardly desertion of our cause in the mighty struggle in which we are engaged, or such as might remind them too forcibly that they are the conquered and you the conquerors. Peace and order may be preserved without resort to measures which I could not at this moment prevent.

Your occupying the city does not transfer allegiance from the government of their choice to one which they have deliberately repudiated, and that they yield the obedience which the conqueror has a right to extort from the conquered.    Yours, respectfully,

                                                         JOHN F. MONROE, Mayor.

U. S. FLAG SHIP HARTFORD, AT ANCHOR OFF THE CITY

     OF NEW ORLEANS, April 28,1862.

To His Honor the Mayor and City Council of the City of New Orleans:

Your communication of the 26th instant has been received, together with that of the City Council.

I deeply regret to see both by their contents, and the continued display of the flag of Louisiana on the court house, a determination on the part of the city authorities not to haul it down. Moreover, when my officers and men were sent on shore to communicate with the authorities, and to hoist the United States flag on the Custom House, with the strictest order not to use their arms unless assailed, they were insulted in the grossest manner, and the flag which had been hoisted by my orders on the Mint was pulled down and dragged through the streets.

All of which goes to show that the fire of this fleet may be drawn upon the city at any moment, and in such an event the levee would, in all probability, be cut by the shells, and an amount of distress ensue to the innocent population, which I have heretofore endeavored to assure you that I desire by all means to avoid.

The election, therefore, is with you. But it becomes my duty to notify you to remove the women and children from the city within forty-eight hours, if I rightly understood your determination.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

                  (Signed)                      D. G. FARRAGUT,

              Flag-Officer, Western Gulf Blockading Squadron.

                                            CITY HALL, April 28, 1862.

To Flag-Officer D. G. Farragut, United States Flag Ship Hartford:

Your communication of this morning is the first intimation I ever had that it was by your strict orders that the United States flag was attempted to be hoisted upon certain of our public edifices, by officers sent on. shore to communicate with the authorities. The officers who approached me in your name disclosed no such orders and intimated no such design on your part, nor would I have for a moment entertained the remotest suspicion that they could have been invested with power to enter on such an errand while the negotiations for a surrender between you and the city authorities were still pending. The interference of any force under your command, as long as those negotiations were not brought to a close, could not be viewed by us otherwise than as a flagrant violation of those courtesies, if not of the absolute rights, which" prevail between belligerents under such circumstances. My views and sentiments with reference to such conduct remain unchanged. You now renew the demand made in your former communication, and you insist on their being complied with unconditionally, under a threat of bombardment within forty-eight hours; and you notify me to remove the women and children from the city, that they may be protected from your shells.

Sir, you cannot but know that there is no possible exit from this city for a population which still exceeds in number one hundred and forty thousand, and you must therefore be aware of the utter inanity of such a notification. Our women and children cannot escape from your shells, if it be your pleasure to murder them on a question of mere etiquette. But if they could, there are but few among them who would consent to desert their families and their homes, and the graves of their relatives, in so awful a moment. They would bravely stand the sight of your shells tearing up the graves of those who are so dear to them, and would deem that they died not ingloriously by the side of the tombs erected by their piety to the memory of departed relatives.

You are not satisfied with the possession of an undefended city, opposing no resistance to your guns, because of its bearing its hard fate with something of manliness and dignity, and you wish to humble and disgrace us by the performance of an act against which our natures rebel. This satisfaction you cannot expect to obtain at our hands.

We will stand your bombardment, unarmed and undefended as we are. The civilized world will consign to indelible infamy the heart that will conceive the deed and the hand that will dare to consummate it. Respectfully,

                                                              JOHN T. MONROE,

                                                Mayor of the City of New Orleans.

UNITED STATES FLAG SHIP HARTFORD, AT ANCHOR  OFF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, April 29, 1862.

To His Honor the Mayor of the City of New Orleans:

SIR: The Forts St. Philip and Jackson having surrendered, and all the military defences of the city being either captured or abandoned, you arc required, as the sole representative of any supposed authority in the city, to haul down and suppress every ensign and Page 637 symbol of Government, whether State or Confederate, except that of the United States. I am now about to raise the flag of the United States upon the Custom House, and you will see that it is respected with all the civil power of the city.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

                                                      D. G. FARRAGUT,

                  Flag-Officer, Western Gulf Blockading Squadron.

UNITED STATES FLAG SHIP HARTFORD, AT ANCHOR

OFF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, April 30,1862. 

GENTLEMEN: I informed you in my communication of the 28th of April, that your determination, as I understood it, was not to haul down the flag of Louisiana on the City Hall, and that my officers and men were treated with rudeness when they landed, even with a flag of truce, to communicate with the authorities, Ac, and, if such was to be the determined course of the people, the fire of the vessels might at any moment be drawn upon the city. This you have thought proper to construe into a determination on my part to murder your women and children, and mode your letter so offensive that it will terminate our intercourse; and so soon as General Butler arrives with bis forces I shall turn over the charge of the city to him and assume my naval duties. Very respectfully, &c,

                                                       D. G. FARRAGUT,

                 Flag-Officer Western Gulf Blockading Squadron.

His Honor the Mayor and City Council of New Orleans.

Captain Farragut then seized all the steamboats which had not been destroyed,—among them the famous Tennessee, for which the blockaders had long been watching—and sent them down to Quarantine for General Butler's forces. There were several iron-clad rams building, at the time of the capture of the city, the principal one of which, the Mississippi, soon came floating by in flames. Another was sunk in front of the custom house, and there were others at Algiers, opposite New Orleans, just begun.

"I next went above the city eight miles, to Carrolton," writes Captain Farragut, "where I learned there were two other forts; but the panic had gone before me. I found the guns spiked, and the gun carriages in flames. The first work, on the right, reaches from the Mississippi nearly over to Pontchartrain, and has 29 guns; the one on the left had 6 guns, from which Commander Lee took some 50 barrels of powder, and completed the destruction of the gun carriages, &c. A mile higher up there were two other earthworks, but not yet armed.

"We discovered here, fastened to the right bank of the river, one of the most Herculean labors I have ever seen—a raft and chain to extend across the river to prevent Foote's gunboats from descending. It is formed by placing three immense logs of not less than three or four feet in diameter, and some thirty feet long: to the centre one a 2-inch chain is attached, running lengthwise the raft; and the three logs and chain are then frapped together by chains from one half to one inch, three or four layers, and there are 90 of these lengths composing the raft. It is at least three quarters of a mile long. * * *

"I sent on shore and hoisted the American flag on the custom house, and hauled down the Louisiana State flag from the city hall, as the mayor had avowed that there was no man in New Orleans who dared haul it down; and my own convictions are that if such an individual could have been found he would have been assassinated."

The operations of Commander Porter below the forts were as follows: As soon as Captain Farragut was ready to proceed, the five steamers attached to the mortar flotilla moved up and took position under the batteries, the leading vessel 500 yards off, and the others closing up as the fire commenced. As soon as the Hartford, Brooklyn, and Richmond passed they opened with shrapnell on the water battery and forts, having received the fire ten or fifteen minutes before replying to it. As the fire was high and they were close in shore, nearer the forts than the enemy supposed, they occupied, as it turned out, a safer position than the vessels farther out, there being only one killed and one wounded on board the Harriet Lane, while the other steamers remained untouched. The mortars meanwhile poured n heavy fire upon Fort Jackson. In one hour and ten minutes from weighing anchor, the fleet had passed the forts, and Commander Porter, having accomplished his part, hung out the signal to retire, and sent Lieutenant Commanding Guest with a flag of truce to demand the surrender of the forts. The flag was fired upon and put back, but a boat soon came down with an apology and received the summons, to which Lieut.-Colonel Higgins, commanding the forts, replied that until he received official information of the fall of New Orleans no proposition for a surrender could be for a moment entertained. Giving the men one day to rest, Commander Porter resumed the bombardment on the 26th, but there was no response. Learning that the formidable iron-clad battery Louisiana, mounting 16 heavy guns, had escaped Captain Farragut, and with three Confederate steamers which the flotilla had also left behind them, was about to make an attack upon the mortar boats, he sent the schooners, which would have been almost defenceless against such an adversary, down the river to refit and prepare for sea, six of them having orders to pass around to the rear of Fort Jackson to prevent supplies from getting in, and two being sent to the rear of Fort St. Philip to assist in landing troops. Three of them drifted over to the mouth of Barataria Bay, and received the surrender of Fort Livingston. On the 27th, the possession of the forts being an urgent necessity, Commander Porter renewed the demand, offering honorable terms, the officers to retain their side arms, and both officers and men to be paroled, private property to be respected, the arms and munitions of war and public property to be surrendered, and no damage to be done by the garrison to the defences. These terms were accepted the next day, partly, no doubt, in consequence of the landing of General Butler at Quarantine in the rear of Fort St. Philip, which entirely cut off reinforcements ; and partly, according to Commander Page 638 Porter, on account of disaffection in the garrison. Two hundred and fifty in fact of the garrison of Fort Jackson, after spiking the guns bearing up the river, surrendered themselves to General Butler's pickets on the night of the 28th, averring that they had been impressed and would fight no longer. While the capitulation was being drawn up, the Confederate naval officers towed the ram Louisiana to a point above the forts, and having set her on fire, turned her adrift, with guns shotted, in the expectation that she would explode in the midst of the fleet. The final catastrophe, however, took place sooner than they had hoped. Just as the battery got abreast of Fort St. Philip it blew up with a tremendous noise, and sunk immediately. The only injury was to a Confederate soldier in the fort, who was killed by one of the fragments. As soon as the capitulation was completed, the Harriet Lane turned her attention to the three Confederate steamers which were lying about half a mile above. One of them had already been scuttled; the others surrendered without resistance, and 14 officers, 7 engineers, the crews of the steamers, and 300 men and two companies of marine artillery belonging to the Louisiana became prisoners of war. The men were released on parole; the officers, in consequence of their conduct in setting fire to the battery, and attempting to destroy the fleet while a capitulation was in progress, were sent to the North as close prisoners. General Phelps now arrived, and Porter turned over to him the forts, guns, and captured property. The loss of the Confederates during the bombardment was 14 killed aud 39 wounded. The casualties in the fleet were, during the six days' bombardment, 2 killed and 24 wounded; during the passing of the forts and the engagement with the Chalmette batteries, 37 killed, and 147 wounded; on board the mortar boats, 1 killed and 6 wounded; total, 40 killed, and 177 wounded. Fort St. Philip was very little injured, only one of the mortars having fired upon it, because its fate evidently depended upon that of Fort Jackson. The latter was described by Commander Porter after the surrender as " a perfect wreck." Over 1,800 shells fell inside the work proper, 170 in the water battery, and by the estimate of the soldiers, about 3,000 in the ditches around the works. All the buildings in and near the fort were burnt; the ramparts wore severely damaged on every side, and particularly on the north, but had been repaired with sand bags which were constantly sent down from New Orleans during the bombardment; the walls of the citadel were cracked in many places very badly; the casemates were cracked from end to end, several of them showing wide fissures in the roofs and sides, and their floors were three inches under water. Still there is little question that, but for the interruption of their communications with New Orleans, these works could have held out much longer, the extent of the damage being far from proportionate to the time and powder expended in the bombardment. If the formidable 13-inch mortars did not fully answer the expectations which had been formed of them, this fact must be attributed first to the softness of the soil which allowed the shells to sink 20 feet, by measurement, before they exploded, and secondly to the difficulty of getting accurate range: the forts rose but little above the surrounding bushes, and the vessels which were moored behind the wood often had to fire almost at random ; the mortars could only be pointed from sights fixed to the mast heads, and the most curious expedients were resorted to for obtaining correct firing.

After the conquered forts and city had been occupied by the military forces, Commander Porter was ordered to repair to Ship Island. The Portsmouth, the Pensacola, and one gunboat were stationed at New Orleans; seven vessels were sent up the river under command of Captain Craven, "to keep up the panic;" and the smaller steamers, under command of Captain Lee, were ordered to ascend as far as Vicksburg.

Commander James S. Palmer arrived off Baton Rouge with the Iroquois, May 7, and demanded the surrender of the town and all property belonging to the Confederate Government, promising to respect the rights and property of private citizens, but requiring that the United States flag should be hoisted on the arsenal. The mayor, while admitting that the city was without the means of resistance, refused to surrender or to hoist the flag. Com. Palmer accordingly landed a force and took possession of the arsenal, and Flag-Officer Farragut arriving soon afterward took measures to secure proper respect for the national ensign, and to cause all other flags to be suppressed.

On the 12th the Iroquois anchored off Natchez in company with several other vessels, and Commander Palmer sent on shore a demand for surrender which the people at the wharf refused to receive. He then made dispositions for landing an armed force, but was met at the shore by a deputation from the common council with an apology for the previous refusal. The mayor sent a reply to the summons similar to that given by the mayor of Baton Rouge, but he issued a proclamation urging the citizens to commit no act to provoke the displeasure of the United States forces. As Natchez however had never been occupied as a military position, Commander Palmer deferred taking formal possession of it.

Commander S. P. Lee with the advance of the squadron arrived near Vicksburg, May 18, and in reply to his demand for surrender received a defiant refusal. He then gave 24 hours for the removal of women and children, after which time he declared he should consult his own judgment as to the propriety of immediately opening fire. Flag-Officer Farragut arrived a few days afterward, accompanied by a column of troops under General Williams. Subsequently Page 639 an additional naval and military force was brought up, including Porter's mortar fleet, and the latter opened the bombardment on the night of June 26-27, directing their fire partly against the town and partly against some formidable batteries on the heights. On the morning of the 27th the Owasco, Lieut. Guest, ran up abreast of the town and threw in some incendiary shells, which failed to explode. At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 28th the squadron made a move to pass the batteries, the mortar fleet supporting them as at the battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. The Hartford and several other vessels succeeded in passing the range of batteries, which extended full 3 miles, and did this too in the face of a strong current, but as there was not a sufficient land force to cooperate in the attack, no substantial benefit resulted from the movement. The enemy were several times driven from their batteries, but returned to their guns as soon as the ships had passed. Forming a junction with the western gunboat flotilla of Flag-Officer C. H. Davis, Farragut concerted with that officer and General Williams an expedition up the Yazoo river, consisting of the gunboats Carondelet and Tyler and the ram Queen of the "West, strengthened by sharpshooters from the army. They started on the morning of July 15, and near the mouth of the river encountered the Confederate ram Arkansas. A severe fight ensued, in which both the Carondelet and the Tyler were partially disabled, and the Arkansas then entered the Mississippi and passing boldly through the surprised fleets of Farragut and Davis, took refuge under the guns of Vicksburg. Farragut now determined to repass the batteries, for the double purpose of supporting the rest of his squadron and destroying the Arkansas in passing; to assist in which Flag-Officer Davis added to his force the ram Sumter, Lieutenant Commanding Erben. Toward evening Davis opened a bombardment, for the purpose of covering the movement, and Captain Farragut succeeded in getting below Vicksburg again with little loss of life, but his designs against the Arkansas were defeated by the darkness of the night. On the 22d Commander W. D. Porter with the iron-clad gunboat Essex, and Lieut.-Colonel Ellet, with the ram Queen of the "West, made another attempt to destroy the Confederate vessel, but the attack though executed with great gallantry under the fire of the batteries did not succeed. The Essex ran down to Farragut's fleet, and Farragut having been instructed by the navy department to drop down the river before the water got too low, it was arranged that Commander W. D. Porter should remain below Vicksburg with the Essex and Sumter.

On the 28th of July Farragut arrived at New Orleans, leaving the Katahdin and Kineo at Baton Rouge. On the 5th of August the Confederates made a vigorous land attack upon the latter place, which was repulsed after a severe contest. The gunboats were not able to assist until toward the close of the action, when they threw their shells directly into the midst of the enemy with great effect. The Arkansas had dropped down the river to take part in the attack, but was not brought into action, one of her engines having broken down. The next morning Porter who was then at Baton Rouge with the Essex, moved up to attack her, but before the fight had fairly begun her other engine gave way, and she was run ashore, abandoned, and set on fire by the crew. About an hour afterward she blew up. On the 11th Farragut sailed for Ship Island and Pensacola, which latter place, having been evacuated by the Confederates, was now made the depot of the Western Gulf squadron.

Commander W. D. Porter remained at Baton Rouge until August 23, when, the town having been evacuated by the Federal troops, he proceeded up the river to reconnoitre batteries reported to be erecting at Port Hudson, and thence ascended to Bayou Sara to obtain coal, where his boat's crew was fired upon by guerillas. Some of the buildings were thereupon burned, and a few days afterward, cs the firing was repeated, the rest of the place was destroyed. Afterward, a boat's crew from the Essex, sent ashore at Natchez to procure ice for the sick, was attacked by some 200 armed citizens, one of the sailors being killed, and an officer and 5 men wounded. Commander Porter immediately opened fire on the town, set a number of houses in flames, and continued the bombardment for an hour, after which the mayor surrendered. On her way down to New Orleans, the Essex had a brisk engagement, on September 7, with the Port Hudson batteries.

In the mean time, several vessels of Captain Farragut's squadron had been employed on the coast of Texas, where acting volunteer Lieutenant J. W. Kittredge, with the bark Arthur, the little steamer Sachem, and a launch, captured Corpus Christi, after several spirited engagements with the enemy's batteries, but was unable to hold the town, and was himself made prisoner, September 14, while on shore exploring.

On September 26, Acting Master Crocker, with the steamer Kensington and schooner Rachel Seaman, and Acting Master Pennington, with the mortar schooner Henry Janes, captured Sabine Pass, taking a battery of 4 guns without loss.

On the 4th of October, Commander "W. B. Renshaw, with the steamers Westfield, Harriet Lane, Owasco, and Clifton, and the mortar schooner Henry Janes, captured the defences of the harbor and city of Galveston without the loss of a man. The resistance was feeble: the first shell from the Owasco burst immediately over a heavy 10-inch Columbiad mounted on Fort Point, causing a panic in the fort, and depriving the defenders of their main reliance.

Toward the end of October, Lieutenant Commander T. McKean Buchanan, with the Page 640 steamers Calhoun, Estrella, Kinsman, and Diana, and the transport St. Mary's, having on board the 21st Indiana regiment, was sent to the Atchafalaya river, La., to cooperate with a land force under General Weitzel. On November 1, near Brashear City, he captured the Confederate despatch boat A. B. Seger, and the next day had an engagement with an iron-clad gunboat and some land batteries on the Bayou Teche. The batteries were silenced, but the gunboat, being behind a row of obstructions across the channel, escaped up the river. Lieutenant Commander Buchanan then returned to Brashear City to repair damages. On the 6th, the Kinsman discovered and burned two steamers in one of the small bayous in the neighborhood.

5. Westen Flotilla. — Nearly all the operations of this squadron, which was fitted out and, until October, was controlled by the War Department, have been mentioned in the article ARMY OPERATIONS, and the first attack on Vicksburg has been described in the account of Captain Farragut's movements. When the attempt to reduce Vicksburg was, for the time, abandoned, Flag-Officer Davis withdrew his fleet to the mouth of the Yazoo.

On June 13, a detachment from the squadron, under Commander Kilty, with the 40th Indiana regiment, under Colonel Fitch, left Memphis for White river, Arkansas (See ARMY OPERATIONS.)

Early in August, an expedition was concerted between Flag-Officer Davis and General Curtis, which moved up the Yazoo, and captured a battery of heavy guns, field pieces, munitions of war, &c, besides taking the Confederate transport Fairplay, loaded with 1,200 Enfield rifles, 4,000 new muskets, 4 field guns, mounted howitzers, small arms, a quantity of fixed ammunition, &c.

On the 26th of September, the ram Queen of the West and two transports having been fired into by the Confederates at Prentiss, Mississippi, the town was shelled and burned.

On December 13th the gunboat Cairo, while ascending the Yazoo, was blown up by a torpedo, and Bank in 15 minutes after the explosion. It is remarkable that none of the crew were killed, or even seriously hurt.

6. Potomac Flotilla. — The operations of this force, except in checking contraband traffic, were comparatively unimportant. On January 2, the gunboats Anacostia and Yankee had an engagement with the Confederate batteries at Cockpit Point, which they silenced.

After the evacuation of the Confederate batteries on the Potomac, in March, and the removal of General McClellan's army to the peninsula, the Rappahannock was added to the waters intrusted to this squadron; but, beyond a few skirmishes with batteries on the shores, the capture of some small craft, and an attack, on December 10, upon the Confederate batteries at Port Royal, below Fredericksburg, the flotilla had little opportunity for action.

7. James River Flotilla. — After the removal of General McClellan's army to the James river, a new squadron was organized (July 6) for operations on that stream, and intrusted to the command of Commodore Charles Wilkes, who, on August 28, shelled and destroyed City Point, from which place the Confederates had fired upon the U. S. transports in the river. The removal of the army to the Potomac rendered the flotilla no longer necessary in the James river, and it was accordingly disbanded, August 31.

The vessels thus placed at the disposal of the Government were then organized as a flying squadron, to cruise chiefly in the West Indies in search of ships engaged in running the blockade. Commodore Wilkes was retained in the command.

Several other vessels were engaged during the year in pursuit of the privateers Sumter and Alabama, the former of which after being tracked to Gibraltar, was there blockaded by a Federal gunboat so closely that her commander was obliged to sell her.

According to the annual report of the Secretary of the Navy, December 1, 1862, the blockading squadron had captured and reported to the department, since the date of the previous annual report, 390 vessels attempting to violate the blockade, a few of which were destroyed. Of the large number of prizes sent in for adjudication, in only 45 had the proceedings at that date been brought to a close. (The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1861, vol. 1. New York: Appleton & Co., 1868, pp. 629-640.)


Source: The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year, 1861-1865, vols. 1-5. New York: Appleton & Co., 1868.