can be brought to bear. Use short fuses for the shell and shrapnel, and, as soon as within three or four hundred yards, give them grape. It is understood that heretofore we have fired too high; but with grape-shot it is necessary to elevate a little above the object, as grape will dribble from the muzzle of the gun.

"If one or more of the vessels be disabled, their partners must carry them through, if possible; but if they cannot, then the next astern must render the required assistance. But as the admiral contemplates moving with the flood-tide, it will only require sufficient power to keep the crippled vessels in the channel.

"Vessels that can, must place guns upon the poop and top-gallant forecastle, and in the top on the starboard side. Should the enemy fire grape, they will remove the men from the top-gallant forecastle and poop to the guns below, until out of grape range.

"The howitzers must keep up a constant fire from the time they can reach with shrapnel until out of its range.

Selma

"D. G. FARRAGUT,

"Rear-Admiral, Commanding W. G. B. Squadron."

Middle Ground

MOBILE

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Brooklyn

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Tennessee-

The city of Mobile is situated at the head of Mobile Bay, about thirty miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Dauphin's Island closes the mouth of the bay, with the exception of a narrow strait on each side. The western strait is inaccessible by vessels of any considerable size, as it affords a channel but five feet deep. The eastern strait furnishes twenty feet of water. Two strong forts guard this main entrance to the bay. Fort Morgan is at the end of a long, low, sandy point opposite Dauphin Island, and about four miles distant from it. Upon the island, opposite Fort Morgan, is Fort Gaines. About a mile beyond Fort Gaines is Fort Powell and some water-batteries. The rebels had blockaded the whole passage between Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island with tiers of piles, chains, and torpedoes. A channel about fifteen hundred yards in width was left, through which their blockade-runners could pass directly under the guns of the fort.

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Metacomit

Port Royal

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Winnebago

Lackawanna

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Monongahela

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It was not until the 5th of August that the Union fleet was ready for its perilous enterprise. Soon after sunrise the fleet moved up the bay, in the order prescribed. There were fourteen wooden gunboats and four iron-clad monitors. Under the guns of Fort Morgan the rebel fleet was lying, with guns shotted, and eager for the conflict. About seven

o'clock the leading vessels of the line came within reach of the rebel shot. Fort Morgan and the rebel fleet simultaneously opened fire. The rear ships rapidly closed up, and replied first with the rifled bow-guns and then with broadsides. Admiral Farragut had caused himself to be lashed in the main-top of the flag-ship Hartford, from which spot he had a perfect view of the conflict. He communicated his orders through speaking

tubes.

At forty minutes past seven, the leading monitor, Tecumseh, struck a torpedo. There was a terrible explosion. The ill-fated ship instantly sank, carrying down with her the gallant Craven, her commander, and all but ten of her crew. The few who were saved were rescued by a boat which pushed off from the Metacomet, in the midst of the thick storm of shot and shell. The whole fleet was rushing at full speed to pass the rebel forts, receiving and emitting a terrific fire. The Brooklyn led, as she had four chase-guns and an ingenious arrangement for picking up torpedoes. The Octorara was lashed on her port side, and the iron-clad Tecumseh was slightly ahead, but between the Brooklyn and the fort. The terrible fate of the Tecumseh caused a momentary delay of the Brooklyn, when the flag-ship Hartford, with the Metacomet lashed to her port side, and the monitor Manhattan on her starboard bow, dashed ahead. The peril was extreme, not only from the fire of the fort and the rebel iron-clad fleet upon the wooden gunboats, but also from the sunken torpedoes, with which the channel was filled. But as the Union fleet swept by the fort, they poured in such a terrific broadside fire of grape and canister, as soon to drive nearly all the cannoniers from their guns. It required but about half an hour to sweep by the reach of the shot of the fort.

It was ten minues before eight o'clock when the Hartford, having passed the fort, was assailed most ferociously by the rebel ram Tennessee. This was an iron-clad, of such immense strength and power that the rebels trusted that this vessel alone would make short work with our whole wooden fleet. At the same time the rebel gunboats Morgan, Gaines, and Selma, which were directly ahead, opened upon the Hartford a broadside raking fire. The Metacomet was immediately cast off, and dashed forward in pursuit of the Selma. Captain Jewett, her commander, whose conduct secured the admiral's warmest commendation, in half an hour had the Selma as a prize, while the Morgan and the Gaines were driven under the protection of the guns of the fort. The Gaines was so injured that she had to be run ashore. The Morgan did not dare again to venture out, but in the night escaped to Mobile.

And now came the conflict with the Tennessee. This rebel ram, which maintained a fight with nearly half our entire fleet, proved herself one of the most formidable craft ever constructed. Her length was one hundred and eighty feet; her armor consisted of five inches of solid iron, composed of two-and-a-half-inch plates, eight inches wide, crossing each other, and bolted with one-and-three-quarter-inch bolts. This was backed by two feet of solid oak. To add to her butting power as a ram, her bows had six inches of iron plating and three feet of solid oak support. Her gunroom occupied two-thirds of her length. It was constructed with a flat

top, composed of two-and-a-half by eight-inch iron bars, crossed and bolted together, forming a lattice above the gunners, which shielded them from shot and shell, yet affording them ventilation. She had two ports on either side, closed by iron shutters turning upon a pivot.

In the action which ensued, one of these shutters was destroyed. It is an interesting evidence of the coolness of our gunners, that ten shot struck in close contiguity to this port, which was early discovered to be the vulnerable point of attack. Through this port the fragment of a shell entered, which wounded Admiral Buchanan. Nearly fifty shot struck the Tennessee, but not one penetrated her armor. A fifteen-inch shell from the Manhattan made a deep indentation in her ribs of steel, but the tremendous missile either bounded back or was crumbled to powder. The ram was armed with six, seven, and eight-inch rifled guns, of the Brooks pattern-weapons of great effectiveness. In addition to this armament, she was provided with an iron prow for ramming. Two years had been de voted to the building of this formidable instrument of destruction. Her commander, Admiral Buchanan, claimed that her impregnability was such, that she was able to destroy a whole fleet. Such was the formidable antagonist which came rushing down at her utmost speed to butt in the side of the wooden flag-ship Hartford.

Admiral Farragut immediately signalled the monitors and several of the wooden gunboats to attack the ram, not only with their guns, but bows on at full speed, to crush in her coat of mail. Then commenced one of the fiercest and most extraordinary naval combats on record. The Monongahela, Commander Strong, was the first vessel that struck her. But instead of injuring her adversary, the Monongahela tore off her own iron prow and cutwater. The Lackawanna, Captain Marchand, then dashed down at full speed, striking fairly the sides of her adversary. The monster ram seemed scarcely to notice the blow, but the Lackawanna cut and crushed her own stem to the plank ends, for a distance of three feet above the water's edge. The flag-ship IIartford then came down in majestic strength. The Tennessce shifted her helm, the blow of the Hartford glancing harmless. But as the flag-ship rasped along the sides of the Tennessee, with the muzzles of her guns almost touching her adversary, she poured in upon the rebel a whole broadside of nine-inch solid shot. They apparently produced about as much impression as so many peas from the pop-gun of a school-boy. The iron-clad monitors were cumbrous and worked slowly, but as they hurled against the sides of their adversary their fifteen-inch shot, these tremendous missiles caused the ram to shiver and groan, though still its rhinoceros hide was not pierced. And now the Hartford collects her strength for another plunge. It was a sublime volcanic scene of sulphurous clouds, with rush, and flash, and roara hundred guns emitting their thunders, and the bay lashed into foam by shot and shell. The parapet of the fort was crowded with spectators, gazing upon the wondrous spectacle-a single ship contending against a whole fleet.

As the Hartford bore down again at the top of her speed upon the ram, the Lackawanna unfortunately ran into the flag-ship just forward of

the mizen-mast, cutting her down to within two feet of the water's edge. The two ships were speedily disentangled, and bore down upon the foe. The battering and pounding which the ram had received had deranged the shutters of her ports, so that three of them could not be opened. One had been blown away, and the fire which penetrated the port was so terrific that the gunners could not work their piece. Thus for some time the Tennessee, while hammered by rams and pounded by shot, had not fired a gun. She was now indeed sore beset. The monitor Chickasaw was under her stern, assailing her with an incessant fire from her ponderous cannon. The Ossipee, Monongahela, and Lackawanna were bearing down to strike her simultaneous and crashing blows. Her smoke-stack had been shot away; her port-shutters were jammed; her only remaining available gun was silenced. No longer could the rebel maintain the unequal contest, and at ten o'clock she ran up the white flag. Thus the struggle for the possession of Mobile Bay, having lasted two and a half hours, terminated in the entire triumph of the Union army. The rebel flag still floated over the parapets of Fort Morgan, but the rebel fleet was destroyed, and we had obtained such vantage ground as to render the speedy fall of the fort quite certain.

Admiral Buchanan, of the rebel ram, lost a leg, and eight or ten of his men were killed or wounded by the shot which entered through the one only open port-hole. Admiral Farragut, in his official report, in speaking of his officers who merited special commendation, says:—

"I must not omit to call the attention of the Department to the conduct of Acting Ensign Henry C. Nields, of the Metacomet, who had charge of the boat sent from that vessel when the Tecumseh sank. He took her in under one of the most galling fires I ever saw, and succeeded. in rescuing from death ten of her crew, within six hundred yards of the fort. The commanding officers of all the vessels who took part in the action deserve my warmest commendation. Our iron-clads, from their slow speed and bad steering, had some difficulty of getting into and maintaining their position in line as we passed the fort; and in the subsequent encounter, from the same cause, were not as effective as I could have desired. But I cannot give too much praise to Lieutenant-Commander Perkins, who, though he had orders from the Department to return North, volunteered to take command of the Chickasaw, and did his duty nobly. The Winnebago was commanded by Commander T. H. Stevens, who volunteered for that position. His vessel steers very badly, and neither of his turrets will work, which compelled him to turn his vessel every time to get a shot, so that he could not fire very often, but he did the best under the circumstances. The Manhattan appeared to work well, though she moved slowly. Commander Nicholson delivered his fire deliberately, and, as before stated, with one of his fifteen-inch shot broke through the armor of the Tennessee, with its wooden backing, though the shot itself did not enter the vessel. The Hartford was commanded by Captain Percival Drayton, who exhibited throughout that coolness and ability for which he has been long known to his brother officers. He is the fleet captain of my squadron, and one of more determined energy, untiring devotion to duty,

and zeal for the service, I do not think adorns any navy. Lieutenant J. Crittenden Watson has been brought to your notice in former dispatches. During the action he was on the poop, attending to the signals, and performed his duties, as might be expected, thoroughly. He is a scion worthy of the noble stock he sprang from. My secretary, Mr. McKinley, and Acting Ensign II. H. Brownell, were also on the poop, the latter taking notes of the action, a duty which he performed with coolness and accuracy. Two other acting ensigns of my staff, Mr. Bogert and Mr. Higginbotham, were on duty in the powder division, and exhibited zeal and ability. The latter, I regret to add, was severely wounded by a raking shot from the Tennessee, when we collided with that vessel, and died a few hours after. Mr. Higginbotham was a young married man, and has left a widow and one child, whom I commend to the kindness of the Department. Lieutenant A. R. Yates, of the Augusta, acted as an additional aid to me on board the Hartford, and was very efficient in the transmission of orders. The last of my staff to whom I would call the attention of the Department is not the least in importance. I mean Pilot Martin Freeman. He has been my great reliance in all difficulties in his line of duty. During the action. he was in the main-top, piloting the ships into the bay. He was cool and brave throughout, never losing his self-possession.

"Before closing this report there is one other officer of my squadron of whom I feel bound to speak: Captain T. A. Jenkins, of the Richmond, who was formerly my chief-of-staff. He is also the commanding officer of the second division of my squadron, and as such has shown ability, and the most untiring zeal. He carries out the spirit of one of Lord Collingwood's best sayings, 'not to be afraid of doing too much. Those who are so, seldom do enough.""

Three weeks passed away, during which preparations were being made for the capture of Fort Morgan, by the combined energies of a land force under General Granger and of the fleet. Early in the morning of the 22d of June, the bombardment began from the shore batteries, and from the fleet inside and outside the bay. For twenty-four hours a continuous fire was kept up of such sublime magnitude as deeply to impress even those accustomed to such scenes. At eight o'clock in the evening the citadel within the fort took fire. Cheered by these indications of success, the bombardment was pressed with redoubled energy. At six o'clock in the morning a loud explosion took place, and at half-past six the white flag was displayed on the fort. The terms of surrender were brief and deci sive. They were, "that the fort, its garrison, and all public property should be surrendered unconditionally, before two o'clock that day." General Richard L. Page, the rebel commander, assented to these terms. He, however, and his associate rebel officers, disgraced themselves by conduct to which men of honor would not have stooped. After the rebel officers had been assembled, at the time appointed for the surrender, it was found that they had employed the few preceding hours in spiking the guns, breaking the gun-carriages, and in destroying arms, ammunition, and provisions. General Page, and several of his officers, had no swords to deliver up. They had either thrown them into the sea, or otherwise dis