NAVY, U. S., OPERATIONS OF. 



volunteered for the service, and passing several 

 miles of the enemy's pickets unobserved, arrived 

 within twenty yards of the Albemarle before 

 being hailed by her lookouts. The torpedo 

 boat was then steered under a full head of steam 

 direct for the ram, which lay at her wharf at 

 Plymouth, protected by a raft of logs extending 

 outwards about thirty feet. Upon the alarm 

 being given by the lookout, a confused fire of 

 musketry was opened by the rebels, which had 

 little effect. "Passing her closely," says Lieut. 

 Gushing, " we made a complete circle, so as to 

 strike her fairly, and went into her bows on. 

 By this time the enemy's fire was very severe, 

 but a dose of canister at short range served to 

 moderate their zeal and disturb their aim. In 

 a moment we had struck the logs, just abreast 

 of the quarter-port, breasting them in some feet, 

 and our bows resting on them. The torpedo 

 boom was then lowered, and by a vigorous pull 

 I succeeded in driving the torpedo under the 

 overhang, and exploded it at the same time the 

 Albemarle's gun was fired. A shot seemed to 

 go crashing through my boat, and a dense mass 

 of water rushed in from the torpedo, filling the 

 launch and completely disabling her. The en- 

 emy then continued to fire at fifteen feet range 

 and demanded our surrender, which I twice* 

 refused, ordering the men to save themselves, 

 and removing my own coat and shoes. Spring- 

 ing into the river, I swam with others into the 

 middle of the stream, the rebels failing to hit 

 us." Lieut. Gushing succeeded in reaching the 

 opposite shore, and during the next day made 

 his way by stealth through the surrounding 

 swamps to a creek some distance below Ply- 

 mouth, where he found a skiff belonging to a 

 rebel picket, in which he effected his escape to 

 the fleet. Only one other of his party succeed- 

 ed in escaping, the rest being either captured, 

 killed, or drowned. The Albemarle was com- 

 pletely submerged by the explosion of the tor- 

 pedo, and so remained long subsequent to the 

 evacuation of Plymouth by the rebels. This 

 daring feat excited the admiration of the rebel 

 no less than of the Federal authorities, and 

 obtained for Lieut. Gushing the thanks of Con- 

 gress, and promotion to the next highest grade 

 in the service. The main rebel defence of Ply- 

 mouth being thus removed, Commander Ma- 

 comb, the senior naval officer in the Sounds, 

 availed himself of Lieut. Cushing's success to 

 reestablish the Federal supremacy of the lower 

 Roanoke. With the vessels under his command 

 he immediately pushed up the river to Plymouth, 

 drove the rebels from their rifle-pits and batter- 

 ies, and on Oct. 31st retook the town, capturing 

 a few prisoners, beside cannon, small arms, and 

 ammunition. Thenceforth during the year the 

 Federal forces held undisturbed possession of 

 the Sounds. 



For some time previous to May, 1864, the 

 James River had been left almost exclusively to 

 Ihe enemy, who availed themselves of this cir- 

 cumstance to place torpedoes in the channel 

 and otherwise obstruct its navigation. With 



the movement of Gen. Butler's forces up the 

 river on May 5th, for the purpose of cooperating 

 in the grand campaign of Gen. Grant against 

 Richmond, commenced a long series of naval 

 operations, which, though of considerable im- 

 portance, are so intimately connected with the 

 military campaign in that quarter, as to form a 

 subordinate part of the operations of the army. 

 Hence a very brief outline of what was accom- 

 plished by this division of the North Atlantic 

 squadron is all that it is necessary to give here. 

 The land forces were safely convoyed up the 

 river to their landing places at City Point and 

 Bermuda Hundred, with no disaster to the fleet 

 beyond the destruction by torpedoes of two 

 small paddle-wheel gunboats, the Commodore 

 Jones and the Shawsheen. Military operations 

 having commenced near Petersburg, five iron- 

 clads, including the captured vessel Atlanta, 

 were stationed some distance above City Point 

 to watch the rebel iron-clads and rams in the 

 upper James, and if possible engage them in 

 action, while the smaller vessels of the fleet 

 were busily occupied in dragging the river for 

 torpedoes, in -assailing moving batteries or 

 bodies of the enemy along the shore, or in 

 minor expeditions. During the attack upon 

 the colored garrison at Wilson's wharf, a por- 

 tion of the fleet rendered good service in repel- 

 ling the enemy. In June, much to the disap- 

 pointment of Admiral Lee, who earnestly de- 

 sired a brush with the enemy, obstructions were 

 sunk in the channel at Trent's Reach, for the 

 purpose of protecting, from any sudden attack 

 by the rebel fleet, the numerous transports 

 collected at City Point, the security of which 

 was deemed of too great importance to the 

 army to permit their defence to be intrusted to 

 the navy alone. During most of the summer 

 and autumn, the iron-clads had frequent com- 

 bats with the enemy's vessels and the powerful 

 batteries at Hewlett's, the advantages from 

 which, owing to the difficult navigation of the 

 river, could never be pushed to any definite 

 result. 



The complex yet comprehensive plan which 

 the Government adopted in the spring of 1864, 

 for the overthrow of the rebel power, provided 

 for the capture of the remaining seaports, 

 through which munitions of war and pecuniary 

 aid were received by the Confederacy. Tvil- 

 mington, from the facility which it afforded for 

 blockade-running, and its easy communication 

 with Richmond, became early in the sum- 

 mer a prominent object of attack ; and to guard 

 against any doubtful issue in such an undertak- 

 ing, preparations commenced early in the sum- 

 mer to equip a squadron, which, while amply 

 able to overcome all resistance, should also 

 represent the commanding position assumed 

 within three years by the United States among 

 the great naval powers of the world. The 

 naval department had on several previous oc- 

 casions offered to close the port of Wilmington, 

 with the aid of a cooperating land force ; but, 

 in view of the failure at Charleston in 186S, 



