Part 17 (1/2)

All the vessels of this expedition were to meet at s.h.i.+ps Island, about one hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi. When Captain Farragut arrived there on February 20th, he found only a part of his fleet awaiting him. The other vessels arrived one by one.

This was the most powerful squadron that had ever been under an American commander. It consisted of steam sloops, gunboats, and mortar boats, forty-eight vessels in all.

An army of fifteen thousand men was at hand to a.s.sist Captain Farragut.

This army had been brought from the North on transports, and was under the command of General Benjamin F. Butler.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HARTFORD.]

In the channel, at the mouth of the Mississippi, were heavy mud banks, made of deposits brought down by the stream. To take the large vessels over this bar was Captain Farragut's first great task. The water was so shallow that the keels of the s.h.i.+ps would sometimes stick in the mud, and then it was with the greatest of difficulty that they could be hauled off.

It was the 18th of April before all the vessels were in the river and ready to attack the forts; and in the meanwhile, a great naval battle had been fought in other waters.

The Confederates had captured the Norfolk navy yard, and with it the United States vessel _Merrimac_, which was there at the time. They removed the masts of this vessel, and then fitted her with an iron prow, and built sloping sides over the deck, covering them with iron rails laid closely together side by side.

Five of the best Northern war vessels lay in the bay outside of the harbor.

On March 8th, 1862, the _Merrimac_ attacked this fleet. She drove her iron prow straight through the side of the _c.u.mberland_. This vessel sank almost immediately, and but few of the men were saved.

Then the _Merrimac_ attacked the _Congress_, drove her ash.o.r.e, and set her on fire with red hot shot. Meanwhile, broadside after broadside had been fired at the _Merrimac_; but the shot bounded harmlessly from her sloping iron sides.

Night came on, and before attempting to destroy the other three s.h.i.+ps, the black monster waited for the daylight.

There was consternation all through the North. How could a stop be made to this fearful work of the _Merrimac_? There was no telling what she might do on the morrow.

That same night there steamed into Chesapeake Bay a queer looking little vessel which had been built by a famous mechanic, Captain John Ericsson.

She was named the _Monitor_. She had a low, flat deck, pointed at both ends. In the center was a round, revolving turret. The vessel was completely plated over with iron, and in the turret were two enormous guns, larger than any that had ever been used before.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CONFEDERATE FLAG.]

On the morning of March 9th, when the _Merrimac_ steamed out to finish her work of destruction, a stupendous cannon ball came thundering against her black side. As the turret of the little _Monitor_ swung round, there came another and another,--such a battering as never s.h.i.+p's side had felt before that day.

The broadsides returned by the _Merrimac_ fell harmlessly on the flat deck and iron turret of the _Monitor_.

This battle lasted for nearly three hours. Neither vessel was injured to any extent. Finally the _Merrimac_ withdrew, leaving the _Monitor_ in possession of the bay.

In one respect, this was the most wonderful battle ever fought upon the water. It showed to all the nations of the world that new navies must be built. In one day all the war-s.h.i.+ps in the world had become old-fas.h.i.+oned. The days for wooden war vessels were over.

Let us now return to Captain Farragut. As I have said, by the 18th of April he had succeeded in taking all his vessels over the bar of the Mississippi. But still greater difficulties were ahead of him.

Before he could capture New Orleans, he must pa.s.s the two forts, Jackson and St. Philip, on opposite banks of the river. First of all, however, he must break through a barricade which was below the forts. This reached from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e, and was made of old hulks of vessels and cypress logs, fastened together with huge iron chains.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP OF THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI.]

Should the barricade be broken and the forts pa.s.sed, there was still a Confederate fleet to be overcome. This consisted of fifteen s.h.i.+ps, gunboats, and steam rams similar to the _Merrimac_. They were drawn up across the river above the forts. Captain Farragut was not discouraged by any of these things, but began at once to carry out his plans.

All along the banks of the river were thick woods. The forts themselves were almost hidden by the trees. Captain Farragut stationed his mortar boats close to the banks, below the chain barricade; and, in order that they might be better hidden from the forts, large branches of trees had been tied to the tops of the masts.

This mortar flotilla was commanded by Captain Porter. The mortars could throw thirteen-inch sh.e.l.ls for a distance of two miles.