

NAVY, -TT. S., OPERATIONS OF. 



679 



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being unclosed. Having a full supply of coal 

 and ammunition on board, and lying low in the 

 water, it was supposed she was put out of trim 

 by shipping a sea in her hold through the 

 open hatches, and before the pumps could 

 be got to work, careened over and went 



own. From the evidence given before the 

 urt of enquiry ordered by Admiral Dahl- 

 en, however, it would appear that the cause 

 her foundering was a rupture between the 

 overhang and the hull of the vessel, produced, 

 as in the case of the Monitor, by the incessant 

 pounding of the overhang against the waves as 

 " e vessel rose and fell in a heavy sea. She 



,y in twenty feet of water, and measures have 

 been taken to raise both her and the Keokuk. 



3. Eastern Gulf Squadron. The cruising 

 ground of this squadron comprised the coast 

 of Florida, from Cape Canaveral to Pensacola, 

 and as no important military operations were 

 conducted on this line during the year, the ves- 

 sels were employed almost exclusively in 

 blockading duties, and by their vigilance suc- 

 ceeded in capturing upward of a hundred 

 prizes. Among the incidents which relieved 

 the monotony of this 'service were several boat 

 expeditions for the purpose of destroying salt 

 works, or cutting out or destroying vessels. 



'ne of these was sent, in the middle of Decem- 

 r to West Bay, where the Confederate Gov- 

 ernment had extensive salt works producing 400 

 bushels daily. At this place 27 buildings, 23 



;rge boilers, and 200 kettles were destroyed, 

 gether with 5,000 bushels of salt, and store 

 nouses containing three months' provisions, the 

 whole estimated at half a million dollars. From 

 this point the expedition proceeded down the 

 bay, destroying private salt works, which lined 

 each side for a distance of seven miles, to the 

 number of 118 different establishments, aver- 

 aging 2 boilers and 2 kettles to each. 507 

 kettles were dug up and rendered useless, and 

 over 200 buildings were destroyed. The en- 

 tire damage to the enemy is estimated at 

 $3,000,000. 



4. Western Gulf Squadron. The proper sta- 

 tion of this squadron is along the Gulf coast 

 " om Pensacola to the Rio Grande, but owing 



military movements, in Mississippi and 

 uisiana, Kear-Admiral Farragut was obliged 

 employ many of his vessels in the Missis- 

 sippi and Eed rivers, in 'active cooperation 

 with the land forces. For the same reason he 

 gave his chief attention to this portion of his 

 squadron, leaving the blockade of the coast to 

 his subordinates. The inland operations of the 

 navy, having been for the most part intimately 

 connected with those of the army, have been 

 treated under that head, and it will be neces- 

 sary to give here but a brief outline of what 

 was done. 



In the latter part of January, the army of 

 General Grant and the Mississippi Flotilla un- 

 der Rear- Admiral Porter commenced the siege 

 of Vicksburg, and, for the purpose of hasten- 

 ing the reduction of that place, Admiral Farra- 



gut was ordered to move up the river and open 

 communications with Grant and Porter, who 

 were operating above Vicksburg. On the 

 night of March 14th he passed the batteries of 

 Port Hudson, with his own ship (the Hartford) 

 and the Albatross, the remainder of his fleet 

 being driven back, and the Mississippi destroy- 

 ed. He then succeeded in approaching to 

 within a short distance below Vicksburg, and 

 communicating across the Peninsula with the 

 Union commanders, after which he blockaded 

 the Red river for several weeks, effectually in- 

 tercepting the supplies from Texas destined for 

 Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Having been re- 

 lieved from this duty early in May by Admiral 

 Porter, who had run the batteries at Vicksburg 

 with a portion of his fleet, he returned to New 

 Orleans by way of the Atchafalaya, and, until 

 the surrender of Port Hudson, directed the 

 naval operations against that place. He then 

 turned over the entire control of the "Western 

 waters, above New Orleans, to Admiral Porter. 

 (See ARMY OPERATIONS.) 



The capture of the U. S. gunboat Hatteras, 

 by the privateer Alabama, is related under 

 the head of OPERATIONS OF THE CONFEDERATE 

 NAVY (vol. II. of this work, p. 604) ; and that 

 of the Harriet Lane under TEXAS (vol. II., pp. 

 774-775). 



On Jan. 21st, the bark Morning Light and 

 the schooner Velocity, of the blockading fleet 

 off Sabine Pass, were captured during a dead 

 calm by two cotton-fortified steamers. The 

 gunboats Cayuga and New London subsequent- 

 ly pursued and overtook the Morning Light 

 near the entrance of the pass, but found her in 

 flames. She was totally destroyed, but the ene- 

 my were unable to secure her guns. The com- 

 manding general, Magruder, immediately issued 

 a proclamation stating that, as the port of Sabine 

 Pass had " ceased to be actually blockaded, by 

 the capture of the enemy's fleet near the same," 

 friendly nations were invited to resume com- 

 mercial intercourse with it, until an actual 

 blockade should be reestablished with the usual 

 notice required by the law of nations. To this 

 Commodore Bell, commanding the U. S. fleet 

 on the coast, replied by a counter-proclamation, 

 warning all concerned that Sabine Pass, as well 

 as the whole coast of Texas, was under an ac- 

 tual blockade, and that merchant vessels ap- 

 pearing off any part of the coast, or attempting 

 to pass out of a port, would be seized as lawful 

 prizes. 



On the morning of September 8th the light- 

 draught gunboats Clifton, Sachem, Granite 

 City, and Arizona crossed the bar of Sabine 

 I^ass, convoying a fleet of transports on which 

 were 4,000 troops under General Franklin. 

 Somewhat later in the day the Clifton and 

 Sachem engaged a six-gun battery on shore, 

 but, getting aground and becoming disabled, 

 were compelled to surrender. The remaining 

 gunboats and other transports succeeded, with 

 some difficulty, in retiring. (See ARMY OPER- 

 ATIONS.) 



