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 ^xi^A ^olu-nteer's I^eminiscenxes of JPjfe in. the INerth. 
 si^tlantic Blockading Squadron, 1S62='5," 
 
 PREPARED BY COMPANION 
 Acting Master 
 
 FRANCIS P. B. SANDS, 
 
 Late U. S Navy, 
 
 AND 
 READ AT THE STATED MEETING OF APRIL 4, 1894. 
 
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 in 2013 
 
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 X862-5. 
 
 To look back through one's memories of the days of the great 
 Rebellion, and to call up personal experiences of those times of 
 trial, privation, and danger, supplies a never-failing store of rec- 
 ollections, upon which the participants in the stirring scenes of 
 that war period of our country's history naturally delight to 
 dwell. 
 
 My own association with those who served their country then 
 was limited to the jurisdiction of the North Atlantic Blockading 
 Squadron, from October, 1S62, to the fall of Fort Fisher, in 
 January, 1865, the squadron being commanded by Acting Rear- 
 Admiral vS. P. Lee, who was succeeded by Admiral David D. 
 Porter in 1S64. 
 
 I had a somewhat varied service, being attached, as an Acting 
 Ensign, at first to the sloop of war Dacotah; then as confiden- 
 tial aid to Admiral Lee, on the flag-ship Minnesota; afterwards 
 on the U. S. S. Fort Jackson ; and later still on the U. S. S. 
 Gettysburg, under Lieut. Roswell H. Lamson, my father, Rear- 
 Admiral Benjamin F. Sands, being the Divisional Commander 
 of all the vessels blockading the entrances to Cape Fear river 
 during the greater part of that period. 
 
 Although a youngster then, and onlv a volunteer, still, 
 through the warm personal friendships I had made with many 
 of my shipmates of the regular Navy, I was able to slip into 
 
4 
 
 many stirring affairs with them, and so found no monotony in 
 the life on that blockaded coast. 
 
 To those who never served upon the blockade, the severity of 
 the task imposed upon the officers and men engaged in conduct- 
 ing it is not apparent. 
 
 The necessity for a close blockade arose from the disposition 
 shown by foreign sympathizers with the Confederacy, and by 
 some domestic speculators, to afford aid and comfort to the 
 enemy. 
 
 Had the Federal Government been unable to prevent ingress 
 and egress of supplies and arms through the seaports of the 
 Southern States, England would have very soon granted bellig- 
 erent rights to the Confederacy. 
 
 The English journals, and even the debates in Parliament, 
 were full of declarations that, with so extensive a coast, with 
 its numerous inlets and harbors, and with its dangerous shoals, 
 anything more than a paper blockade would be impossible ; but 
 in this case the apparently impossible was undertaken ; and, 
 with a great variety of improvised gunboats, hastily armed and 
 fitted with such equipment as was available, every inlet and port 
 on the Southern coast was closed to commerce. The capacity 
 and skill of the Government and private shipyards were taxed to 
 the uttermost, and our improvised Navy rapidly grew in num- 
 bers and efficiency. 
 
 Many of the officers of the regular Navy had been, prior to 
 1S61, long engaged in surveying the whole line of our Southern 
 coast. They were familiar with all of its shoals and currents ; 
 and, by reason of their experience in that service, a lee-shore had 
 no terrors for them. I do not remember a single instance, during 
 the three years of my service off the entrances of Cape Fear 
 river, that our blockaders were driven from their post of duty 
 by even the severest southeast gales. With the lead-line our 
 
officers could follow the line of the coast in the dark ; and their 
 skill, boldness, and vigilance taught them soon what was needed 
 for a close blockade. 
 
 The vessels, which, in the daytime, were anchored near to the 
 senior officer, would, at night, be assigned to stations according 
 to their draught, size, and speed. The smaller vessels formed 
 the inner line, close to the shore ; the heavier vessels in the 
 deeper water, further out ; but all so located, each in reference 
 to its neighbors, as to make a continuous chain of blockaders in 
 front of and covering the several entrances to the port. The 
 station of each vessel was known to the others ; each had its dis- 
 tinguishing lights, to be shown when needed. A code of signals 
 was perfected, by which a blockader could be distinguished 
 from a "blockade-runner;" and, in safe weather, boats were 
 sent into the inner channels at night, to watch for attempts 
 to break the line of blockade from within. 
 
 All night long, and every night during those years of service, 
 were officers and crews kept in a state of constant watchfulness. 
 In the silent hours of the night, eves and ears were strained, not 
 merely to detect violators of the blockade, but to keep each ves- 
 sel in its own station and to avoid collision with our own ves- 
 sels, and the confusion that might come from failure to give the 
 signal to distinguish a friend from an enemy. 
 
 Several times did it occur that failure to show the signal-light 
 promptly brought a shell from a fellow-blockader ; and wdiilst 
 explanations were being made a wily blockade-runner would 
 slip through, to our disgust and disappointment. 
 
 Daily, as the dusk came on, all the vessels would get under 
 way and, as the darkness increased, each would gradually move 
 in towards its especial night-station. 
 
 Following their movements, our Captain, weighing anchor, 
 would steam slowly in, all the watch on deck, the guns ready 
 
for action, and eyes, watchful eyes, noting everything around 
 us. 
 
 Darkness profound would soon wrap all things from sight ; 
 the haze upon the water would shut the shore-line from us, 
 although we were steadily nearing it. 
 
 The master-at-arms would report all lights out, excepting the 
 covered lanterns kept ready at hand for signalling, and the lights 
 in the hooded binnacles. 
 
 The word is passed for silence throughout the ship, and a hand 
 in the chains on either side, from time to time, in whispered 
 tones announced the decreasing depth as we drew in towards the 
 bar. 
 
 The messenger boy would quietly report to the officer of the 
 deck the half hours as they passed away ; and in the perfect 
 silence that existed would come the sentry's call on Fort Cas- 
 well announcing the hour and that all was well. 
 
 It was such hours as these that would wear and fatigue the 
 watcher. 
 
 The ear and eye would be kept constantly on the strain ; and 
 the necessity which existed for being ready for instant action, 
 equal to any demand that might suddenly come requiring 
 promptness, decision, and a thorough knowledge of duty, not 
 knowing the quarter from which the call would be made, kept us 
 all on the alert and in a state of suspense and never-flagging 
 excitement. 
 
 We were never conscious, at the time, of the weariness grow- 
 ing upon us, which made our eves close in sleep, heavy and 
 profound, when the coming of the "•relief permitted us, after 
 passing the orders of the night, to slip into our bunks. 
 
 We might be sleeping quietly and restfully, when a rocket 
 fired tells by its course that a blockade-runner is approaching in 
 a given direction. 
 
7 
 
 Sleep is gone at once. "All hands on deck!" is the word 
 quickly passed, and soon every gun is reported manned and 
 ready for action ! 
 
 Steam is run up, and we follow to intercept the chase. 
 Rocket follows rocket, a gun is heard, and the " artful dodger" 
 is hedged in at last, and either captured or run upon the beach 
 and destroyed. 
 
 Well do I remember the many nights of boat service with 
 Lieut. Sullivan D. Ames, of the Dacota//, when, as night and 
 the darkness fell and the vessels of the blockading fleet would 
 get under way for their several night-posts of duty and watch- 
 fulness to intercept incoming blockade-runners, a few armed 
 cutters would slowly pull in toward the bar, with rockets and 
 hidden slow-matches, i*eady to signal the attempt of any cotton- 
 laden steamers to escape from the mouth of the river, where we 
 had seen them at anchor during the day. 
 
 How exciting it was, to feel our boat gliding shoreward, with 
 muffled oars, under the guns of Fort Caswell — sometimes 
 going in so close to the beach as to hear the chatting of the 
 sentries on watch, knowing the wdiile that any chance noise 
 with us would bring a volley from shore. All night long we 
 patrolled to and fro ; and as the morning came we would with- 
 draw to meet our vessels as they came into the day-stations, and 
 then snatch a few hours' sleep before taking up the drills of the 
 day, which were never omitted. 
 
 Well do I remember the exciting chases after blockade- 
 runners, the capture of the steamers Little Ada, Blenheim, 
 and Armstrong, stored with drugs, liquors, and stores for the 
 rebels; and of the beautiful steel blockade-runner Lillian, with 
 a heavy cargo of cotton, outward bound. How fast she was ! 
 But the Gettysburg was just from the Norfolk dry-dock, where 
 her bottom had been scraped and painted and then covered 
 
with grease, which the officers of the ward-room mess paid for 
 in the hope that it would bring a good return, as it did ; and I 
 felt as proud as William Tell when the shot I fired from our 
 thirty-pounder Parrott gun knocked a hole in the side of the 
 Lillian at the water-line abreast her foremast, and she surren- 
 dered. 
 
 The Gettysburg was a converted blockade-runner, and very 
 fast, and Lieutenant Lamson, her commander, being allowed to 
 cruise off shore, we would take up a station at a point near the 
 inner edge of the Gulf Stream, where it was most likely that 
 any escaping blockade-runner from Wilmington would be at 
 daybreak, on the course to Bermuda. 
 
 There^ just before dawn, while the turning wheels kept the 
 vessel slowly moving in a circle, the officer of the deck would 
 go aloft in a boatswain's chair, and with powerful glasses would 
 carefully scan the whole horizon from the moment the dawn 
 made its clear-cut line distinct against the v sky. What a thrill of 
 delight ran through me on seeing what was apparently a cloud 
 lengthen out into a trail of smoke that told of a passing steamer. 
 The word was quickly passed below, our vessel's bow was 
 turned to a course to intercept the stranger ; the Captain was 
 called ; and, as doubt became certainty, and a blockade-runner 
 was known to be ahead, all hands down to the powder-boy were 
 on the jump, and the firemen, stripped to the waist, shoved pitch 
 pine and rosin into the furnaces, to increase the head of steam 
 and the speed of our vessel. 
 
 How we would apostrophize ( !) our luck when we could see 
 the chase outstrip us, and gradually disappear with the twilight 
 after a long day of strain and varying emotions, leaving us to 
 solace ourselves by a return trip over the course we followed, to 
 load up our decks with derelict cotton, sacrificed by the Captain 
 of the chase to make sure her escape from our clutches ; and 
 this experience was many times repeated. 
 
9 
 
 Blockade-running was gradually reduced to a science. In the 
 early days of the war, as the records show, sailing vessels were 
 often caught attempting to carry their cai-goes through ; but as 
 the months grew into years the English ship-builders sent out 
 from their shipyards those fast steamers which so often baffled 
 all the skill and watchfulness of our officers. 
 
 Taking that time of night when it was the darkest, just before 
 dawn, the low-hulled, lead-colored steamers would steal along 
 the mist-hidden shores ; and, though often detected, they would 
 by bold dashes escape in under the protection of the Fort. The 
 beach from the Frying Pan Shoals to Masonboro Inlet was 
 strewn with wrecks of those driven- ashore by our fleet, over 
 sixty steamers having been captured or destroyed by the vessels 
 of the blockading fleet off Cape Fear river, with a much larger 
 number of sailing craft, barks, brigs, and schooners, which were 
 trying to steal into the smaller inlets on the North Carolina 
 coast. 
 
 Some idea of the magnitude and importance of the task of 
 thus blockading the southern coasts from Cape Henry to Galves- 
 ton, and of its efficiency, may be gathered from the records, 
 which show that during the war 1,151 blockade-runners of all 
 kinds were captured and sold after condemnation, whose aggre- 
 gate value was $24,500,000: and that 31^ blockade-runners, of 
 the estimated value of $7,000,000, were destroyed whilst 
 attempting to force the blockade. 
 
 That the cargoes of these blockade-runners did not always 
 come from England we know ; and I recall one boat attack on a 
 rebel battery of two Whitworth guns, guarding the wreck of 
 the Hebe which had been driven ashore by the U. S. S. Nifihon 
 near Masonboro Inlet. Whilst our boat crews, after we had 
 driven the rebels from their works, were engaged in dismount- 
 ing the guns for transportation to the flag-ship, we opened some 
 
IO 
 
 of the bales that had formed a part of the cargo, and found that 
 thev were U. S. Army blankets which had been shipped south 
 from Boston via Bermuda, thus showing that some thrifty citi- 
 zen was filling his pockets and giving comfort to the enemy. 
 
 It must not be thought that our work on the blockade was 
 confined to watching for or chasing blockade-runners. There 
 were occasional dashes into the enemy's lines on shore, such as 
 Cushing's attempt in the Ellis, when,- although he lost his ves- 
 sel in attempting to return through the inlet, he destroyed much 
 rebel property and escaped in a schooner he had cut out. 
 
 Again, there was the destruction of the extensiye salt-works, 
 near Masonboro Inlet, in April. 1S64. by the boat crews from 
 the Fort Jackson and the Nifthon — an expedition which broke 
 up the main supply of salt for the Confederate forces in the 
 State of Xorth Carolina. Fifty wagons were burned, all the 
 salt-pans and boilers were blown up by our shells exploded under 
 them, and our boats withdrew in safety, taking off some fifty 
 conscripts, who were apparently very much gratified at being 
 taken away from Rebel Army service. 
 
 An amusing incident, a sequel to the attack on the salt-works, 
 grew out of the fact that one of the prisoners, one Carter, had 
 been married only six or seven months, and his young wife, a 
 comely woman of about nineteen years of age, insisted that she 
 would not leave her husband, and followed the party to embark 
 in the boats. Owing to the shoal water, the boats were some 
 little distance from the shore, and the men simply waded out 
 and took their seats. The young woman, however, did not wish 
 to tuck up her skirts to take to the water, so an old salt, coxs- 
 wain of one of the boats, stooped down, and, making her put 
 her arms around his neck, took her pick-a-back, and striding 
 out to his boat, backed around and unloaded her safe and dry. 
 
 On reaching the Fort Jackson the men became much inter- 
 
• II 
 
 ested in the young couple, who had nothing but the clothing they 
 stood in. The boatswain gave up his stateroom to them that 
 they might have privacy and comfort, and thev were given mess 
 privileges and comforts and attention from all hands forward, 
 which astonished them. Thev had no idea that the hated 
 Yankee sailors could be so gentle and considerate. But the 
 climax was reached when, after a week or ten days on board 
 the old Fort Jackson, they arrived at Norfolk and our con- 
 scripts were mustered on deck to be sent ashore. 
 
 Inquiries put to the young husband had elicited the fact that 
 he and his wife had no means of support, and the crew of the 
 Fort Jackson therefore made up a purse of nearlv three hun- 
 dred dollars to be presented to them before they left us, and the 
 boatswain-mate, as spokesman for the men, stepped forward to 
 say "good-bye" to the young wife, and putting the purse in 
 her hands, told her that the men wished her happiness, and felt 
 sure that the contents of the purse would make it easier for her 
 husband and herself to begin life again. 
 
 The young woman, with tears in her eyes, thanked him, saying 
 that she scarcely knew how to testify to her gratitude for all 
 their kindness, and that she could not carry the names of all the 
 men in mind, as she would like to do ; but, to show her 
 remembrance of the whole ship's crew, she naively added that 
 (if it was a boy) she would name her son Fort Jackson Carter 
 — a comprehensive compliment, received by the crew with 
 applause; and as she went over the side "the coming events 
 cast their shadows before.'' 
 
 The daily life of officers and men upon the blockade during 
 the rebellion must not be judged of by what one may know of 
 routine duty on the ordinary battle-ships. 
 
 Their main value was that they stood there the protectors of 
 the smaller gunboats, the converted blockade-runners and mer- 
 
12 
 
 chant steamers, which were but lightly armed, and not at all of 
 sufficient strength to successfully cope with such rebel cruisers as 
 the Alabama, the Tallahassee, the Sumter, or the Chick- 
 ajnauga, nor with the ironclad North Carolina from within 
 Cape Fear river. 
 
 The lack of speed in the frigates and sloops of war precluded 
 attempts by them at chasing; but they were efficient in guarding 
 the blockade from any attempts at breaking it by force that 
 might be made. 
 
 The honors and laurels of the war were awarded to those who 
 achieved "'battle records," and it generally happened that those 
 who had been zcorking and xvatching and ivaiting and longing 
 and planning for these opportunities for distinction — those who 
 had been undergoing and faithfully discharging for years the 
 tedious duties of maintaining the blockade by night and 
 day (knowing the while that the years of such labors would 
 count as nothing in comparison with a brilliant dash or a spirited 
 combat for a few hours) — were superseded by officers whose 
 service, before that, had been where they were spared the trying 
 and wearing work on the outside blockade. 
 
 This long-continued and wearisome blockade service, though 
 not estimated in the general distribution of laurels that came 
 after the war, was such as to cause those who had to perform it 
 to long for the excitement and the change that would come with 
 actual engagement with the enemy ; and we welcomed and 
 dared the shot and shell and grape of Fort Fisher, as ending 
 the tedious blockade service, and as giving us a chance for hon- 
 ors, which we all longed for as evidences in the future of suc- 
 cess in our efforts at performing naval service when the country 
 needed us. 
 
 Having, from month to month, watched and noted and 
 sketched the growth of the sand-bag- defences on Federal Point 
 
13 
 
 until the completion of the heavy and very extensive line of 
 works from Mound Battery to and including the main works of 
 Fort Fisher, it is with reluctance that I refrain from giving a 
 detailed narrative of my recollections in connection with the 
 attack, made by the combined forces of the Army and Navy, 
 which resulted in its capture on the 15th day of January, iS6^. 
 
 The limits of this sketch, however, do not permit of more 
 than a brief outline from the store of my memories of those days, 
 and from the journal jottings I have preserved. 
 
 A graphic writer could draw a most interesting picture of the 
 great fleet of Admiral Porter, anchored in two lines, some 
 twelve miles to the eastward of New Inlet, on the 2 2d and 23d of 
 December, 1S64, riding out the heavy gale that swept up from 
 the southwest. 
 
 How anxiously we watched the green seas rolling over the 
 decks of the monitors, and through the night looking for their 
 lights for assurances of their safety ! 
 
 How eagerly through the night of the 23d we waited and 
 watched for the explosion of Captain Rhind's powder-boat, 
 which was to have levelled the sand forts on Federal Point, and 
 did not ! 
 
 How majestic was the movement of the ironclads and the 
 other men-of-war, as they swept, in line of battle, into their 
 several stations at 12.30 P. M. on the 24th, every vessel having 
 its target on shore assigned to it by the Admiral in the plan of 
 bombardment: and then, following the first shot from the New 
 Ironsides, came that roar from the fleet and fort, as shot and 
 shell went hurtling to their marks from the guns of forty-four 
 vessels, responded to from the heavy batteries on shore. 
 
 All that night and next day was the grand and terrific bom- 
 bardment continued ; and then came the reaction and disappoint- 
 ment following the withdrawal of the troops by General Butler, 
 
14 
 
 and the knowledge that the word ••fiasco'' would be written 
 down as the end of this costly expedition. 
 
 To the perseverance and insistence of Admiral Porter, and to 
 the confidence with which he had inspired Secretary Welles, 
 which secured the co-operation of General Grant in the care- 
 fully prepared plans of the Admiral, the country is indebted for 
 the second and successful attack upon Fort Fishe'r. 
 
 Within three weeks 1'iom the date of that •"fiasco" the fleet 
 was again in front of Xew Inlet. 
 
 From a great flotilla of transports Grant's regiments, under 
 the command of General Terry, were landed near Half Moon 
 Battery, our smaller blockaders haying cleared the beach with 
 their Parrott guns; and soon a line of intrenchments was thrown 
 up across the neck, as a protection against the possible attack by 
 General Hoke upon our rear, and preparations for the attack 
 upon the Fort were rapidly made by the energetic officers com- 
 manding our troops ashore. 
 
 On the morning of January i^, iS6^. from even - vessel hay- 
 ing men to spare, started boats loaded down with marines and 
 sailors, in all about two thousand in number, armed with revol- 
 vers and cutlasses and some few with carbines, and they were 
 landed out of gunshot from the Fort. 
 
 We were formed in four divisions, the leading one to form the 
 skirmish line, composed of the marines, under Captain Dawson ; 
 the next under Lieut. Commander C. H. Cushman, the third 
 under Lieut. Commander James Parker, and the fourth under 
 Lieut. Commander T. 0. Selfridge. 
 
 The Fleet Captain, Lieut. Commander K. R. Breese, repre- 
 senting the Admiral, was in command of the whole force, 
 Parker having waived his seniority for the day. 
 
 It was about 2 P. M. before the Admiral's landing instructions 
 were read to the officers by Captain Breese, and then the ma- 
 
rines were hastened forward to take positions close to the Fort. 
 and keep the parapet clear for our advance. 
 
 The Army was massed out of sight across the neck of land 
 near the river, and. under Generals Ames and Curtis, was reach 
 to move when the signal agreed upon should he given. 
 
 At last we started forward towards the north or land face of 
 the Fort. and. when about a quarter of a mile from it. we passed 
 over a line of breastworks which had been thrown up for the 
 protection of our men. 
 
 From a small sally-port midway on that north front, fire was 
 opened upon us from a Napoleon gun, as our men were wheeled 
 to the left and marched quickly to the beach, along which we 
 were then run at double-quick until well under fire from the 
 Fort, when our whole force was ordered to lav down on the 
 slope of the beach, behind a crest of sand hills, there to rest and 
 await the signal for the assault. 
 
 During all this time, and it seemed interminable, a terrible 
 rain of shell from the monitors, anchored close to the beach, was 
 being poured upon the guns of the Fort, their line of tire being 
 directly over our column, and many were wounded there by 
 fragments of shell which now and then exploded prematurely 
 overhead. 
 
 It was about 3 o'clock when the two shrill whistles from the 
 flag-ship Malvern told us the time had come, and the whole 
 command, springing up to our feet, with a cheer started on a run 
 towards the Fort at the word of command from Captain Breese 
 as he charged down on the right flank, and near him was 
 Parker with his long talma overcoat covering his uniform, as he 
 pressed forward at the head of our division. 
 
 Lieut. Lamson, our Captain, kept the Gettysburg s men well 
 together as wc charged ; and. as the whole force drew near to 
 the line of palisades which ran from the northeast angle of the 
 
i6 
 
 Fort down to the high-water mark, the firing from the fleet 
 ceased, and the rebels swarmed on the sea front of the Fort, 
 which was about iS or 20 feet high, and sent a hail- storm of 
 bullets over the palisades, through our ranks. 
 
 The head of the column, on reaching the palisades, for some 
 reason failed to go around them ; a few only went beyond them, 
 but could not remain, and the main body of officers and men in 
 front were checked by the enemy's fire, and, turning to the right, 
 charged up close to the palisades at the northeast angle of the 
 Fort, where all hands lay down again, out of breath from our 
 run. We were a broad solid bank of blue-jackets stretched 
 there, silently receiving the heavy fire from the enemy on the 
 parapet, and waiting for the next move. 
 
 I lost sight of my Captain as I reached the palisades, and, 
 looking around for him, saw Captain Breese walk back from the 
 head of the column, some fifty feet off to my right, and heard 
 him order the men to rise up and charge on the Fort, and he 
 started to lead them on, but a panic seemed to strike upon the 
 men back of us, and, quicker than it takes to tell it, the whole 
 force in our rear were wildly flying down the beach. 
 
 I found that there was no place of shelter under the palisades 
 left for our men, and we joined the retreating column, every 
 man of the Gettysburg aiding in carrying off the wounded, 
 who were falling around us under the grape and canister poured 
 after us from the heavy guns on the Mound Battery. I did not 
 know that my Captain had been wounded, until the next morning, 
 when I learned that twenty per cent, of our men were killed or 
 wounded. 
 
 Col. Lockwood, of General Ames' Staff, in an article published 
 in the November number of the United Service Journal \ pur 
 ports to give an accurate narrative of the capture of Fort Fisher. 
 
 In commenting upon the part taken by the Navy in that 
 
x 7 
 
 assault, after setting out in extenso and indulging in a natural 
 criticism of the general order from the Admiral which was read 
 to us by Captain Breese on the beach, and after complimenting 
 the gallantry and daring of the officers and men of the Naval 
 assaulting party, giving us credit for the good results that came 
 from the assault, Col. Lockwood tells of our retreat down the 
 beach, and adds : " Strange as it may appear^ no attempt was 
 made to rally them to renew their effort to board the Fort in 
 seamanlike manner." 
 
 Now, he was possibly kept so busy by General Ames that he 
 did not see all that transpired on the beach. He was mistaken 
 in that statement ; for, after seeing the last wounded man re- 
 moved from the temporary field-hospital, a volunteer officer 
 from the Gettysburg did rally a force of men and march back, 
 with the intention of joining and aiding those officers and men 
 who, being packed close under the shelter of the angle of the 
 palisades, had their retreat cut off by the hail of bullets from the 
 parapet above them. 
 
 We were soon again under fire and made a rush forward to 
 some sand hillocks close to the slope of the beach near the Fort, 
 and found that Ensign J. H. Sands, of the Shenandoah, and 
 Mr. Carlisle Porter, the Admiral's Secretary (now a Captain in 
 the U.S. Marine Corps), with some sailors supplied with shovels, 
 were already at that point working their way towards the Fort, 
 with the same object in view. 
 
 Whilst resting after our rapid run forward, Lieut. Wm. B. 
 Cushing, who had seen our flags flying, joined us. He stated 
 that he had just come from General Terry, who had requested 
 him to bring us back to relieve his men (at the earthworks in the 
 rear) , who were needed to reinforce the troops then entering the 
 Fort from the river side. 
 
 As he (Cushing) was the ranking officer, we had to give up 
 
i8 
 
 our intended advance, and forming our men, still under fire, we 
 leisurely marched down the beach, with flags flying, to the posts 
 assigned us, and there we were kept on watch until dawn the 
 the next morning. 
 
 My recollection of this is particularly vivid, since in conse- 
 quence of Cushing's verbal report that night to the Admiral 
 of what I had tried to do, it was my good fortune to receive 
 my promotion a few days afterwards. 
 
 Whilst examining the captured Fort early on the next morn- 
 ing, my attention was called to an electric battery in the case- 
 mate at the northeast angle of the Fort, and going to the slope 
 on the outside I found where the small rope of copper wires 
 leading from the battery had been cut in two by a shell from the 
 fleet, and I have now amongst my souvenirs of that day a por- 
 tion of that wire showing where it was cut. which I preserve as 
 a reminder of the propinquity of " Kingdom Come " for all 
 hands of us then, because the wires led to a number of torpedoes 
 hidden under the sand over which our column had been massed 
 for many minutes during our charge. 
 
 Col. Lamb, the Confederate Commander, told me, a few days 
 since, " that he did not know the true cause of the failure of the 
 torpedoes to explode, as he had given the timely order for it, 
 and he had deemed the German electrician in charge of the bat- 
 tery a traitor for failing to blow us up, and intended to have him 
 shot." 
 
 This reference that I have made to mv friend Cushing, whose 
 numerous deeds of daring enlivened our service on the blockade, 
 and have been so frequently written up, leads me to add here a 
 short recital of an act of daring, planned and successfully car- 
 ried out by an old shipmate while we were serving together on 
 the Admiral's Staff, and with it to end mv sketches. 
 
 The interests of the service to-day require that the recollec- 
 
19 
 
 tions of the gallant deeds and the noble characters of those who 
 formed a part of it in the past should not be permitted to fade 
 away. The memory of their merits, their deeds, their noble 
 ti-aits, should be perpetuated for the instruction, the admiration, 
 and emulation of those who have succeeded them, in order that 
 all mav learn to point with pride to the worthy records of those 
 who have brought honor upon the service. 
 
 A sketch of the naval career of Lieutenant Roswell H. Lam- 
 son will form a fittting companion piece to that of his friend, 
 William B. dishing, since these two gallant young officers 
 often fought side by side : and, without a shadow of jealousy, 
 were continually vying with each other to see which would win 
 the greater success in action ; and each, with a generosity 
 always found allied with true courage, ever had words of praise 
 for the gallantry of the other. 
 
 Roswell H. Lamson entered the Naval Academy in Sep- 
 tember, 1S5S; and graduated second in his class, which was 
 led bv the brave Preston, who fell at his side whilst nobly lead- 
 ing in the assault by the Naval Brigade on Fort Fisher, on the 
 15th of January, iS6^, where Lamson himself was severely 
 wounded. 
 
 He was of studious habits, devoted to his profession, and most 
 faithful in the discharge of every duty. His associations and 
 experience prior to entering the Academy, having been among 
 those much older than himself, and amidst scenes that called 
 upon him, boy though he was, to perform the duties of a man, 
 well prepared him for the stirring events that met him at the 
 threshold of his career. 
 
 At the age of fourteen he had crossed the plains with his 
 father to Oregon, and that exciting border life trained him early 
 to habits of observation and gifted him with prudence ; whilst 
 the association with those brave men, the pioneers of civilization 
 
20 
 
 in the great Northwest, gained him manliness and self-reliance, 
 which qualities were strengthened at the Academy by the zeal 
 with which, as a student, he prepared himself for his professional 
 career. 
 
 I first met him when we were attached ' to the Staff of Rear- 
 Admiral Lee, commanding the North Atlantic Blockading 
 Squadron, Lieut. Lamson being the flag-lieutenant, and our 
 duties bringing us into intimate association, he soon became 
 endeared to me for his noble qualities of mind and heart. 
 
 Accui'ate and thorough in every performance of his duty, 
 possessing great vigor of mind and energy, he had won the entire 
 confidence of his superiors ; his amiability and frank bonhomie, 
 his courtliness and many accomplishments, had gained him the 
 affection of his messmates ; whilst his resolute daring, and his 
 fearlessness manifested in numerous actions, secured to him the 
 devotion of those who served under him. 
 
 It was most gratifying to me to witness the trust reposed in 
 him by the Admiral ; to observe the weight given to his opinions 
 by officers so much older than himself, who seemed to appreciate 
 his sterling qualities, his sound judgment, and his bold courage. 
 
 The records of the Navv Department, for those years of the 
 war. bear frequent testimony to the efficiency of his services as 
 an officer, and to the credit his conduct reflected on the Navy. 
 
 His friend Cushing surpassed him only in the result of that 
 daring endeavor which, in the destruction of the rebel ram 
 Albemarle, made secure the Federal control in the sounds of 
 North Carolina. 
 
 One gallant enterprise, in which the names of Cushing and 
 Lamson were in a measure united, although the greater glory 
 from it was won by the latter, will, I am sure, prove interesting 
 to the reader, and instructive, I think, in showing to the junior 
 officers of the service that all the opportunities for distinction 
 
21 
 
 and honor are not monopolized by their seniors, but that energy 
 activity, valor, and ability will always find occasion to force 
 recognition. It will teach that unselfishness, devotion to duty, 
 and hearty co-operation by officers with each other will ever in- 
 sm-e the best interests of the service and will nurture an esprit de 
 corps, without which the efficiency of the service will be weak 
 indeed ; for we have seen, and with i-egret, that there are those 
 in the service who think that their honor is not tarnished by 
 their unworthy efforts to detract from, or by being silent as to, 
 and thus belittling, the brilliant records and gallant acts of their 
 brother officers who do not rely for advancement upon the 
 strength and efficacy of a political pull, which often, however, 
 succeeds better than modest merit. 
 
 In the month of April, 1S63, the Confederates south of the 
 James river seemed to awaken to unwonted activity. A large 
 force, under the command of Major-General French, had nearly 
 surrounded Suffolk, Virginia, and were advancing their left 
 flank upon the Nansemond river, with a view to crossing that 
 stream, taking our Army in the rear, and, after capturing 
 Suffolk, to drive Major-General Peck back upon Norfolk, which 
 would be thus seriously threatened. 
 
 Admiral Lee was called upon for aid, with the request that 
 he would check the enemy's advance on the line of the Nanse- 
 mond. His flag-ship, the frigate Minnesota, was then anchored 
 off Newport News, Va., and Lieutenants Cushing and Lamson 
 were summoned into the presence of the Admiral, who ex- 
 plained to the young men the gravity of the situation, and told 
 them he looked to them to represent fitly the Navy. 
 
 A few tugs and ferry-boats of light draft, lightly sheathed in 
 boiler-iron, a protection only against leaden bullets, were hastily 
 gathered and ordered to the front, being the only craft that could 
 be used in the shallow waters of the stream. 
 
22 
 
 To Lamson was assigned the protection of the Upper Nanse- 
 mond, and to dishing that portion of the stream below the 
 Western Branch. 
 
 Taking a detail of men from the flag-ship to work his 
 howitzers on the Mount Washington, Lamson steamed off, 
 followed by a couple of tugs, and headed for his station, 
 soon followed by the gallant Cushing in the Commodore Barney, 
 with tugs to assist in patrolling the stream below Western Branch, 
 at which point a row of piling across the stream was the dividing 
 line of their little commands. 
 
 I will not tell of the activity shown by Cushing on his station ; 
 nor of his dashing reconnoissances, even into the enemy's line, 
 nor of his skill, for my sketch would be too greatly lengthened. 
 
 For several days after reaching their stations they were 
 annoved only by occasional shots from sharpshooters on picket ; 
 but on the 14th of April, whilst Lamson was steaming down 
 past Hillspoint, near Western Branch, convoying a small army 
 transport, the Mount Washington suddenly met a sharp fire 
 from a heavy masked battery which had been thrown up during 
 the night, the enemy's shot penetrating her boiler and entirely 
 disabling her. 
 
 The Stepping Stones, a small ferry-boat, was ordered up to 
 take her in tow, and when just above the obstructions at the 
 bar, near Western Branch, a terrific fire was opened on her 
 from ten guns — six in an earthwork thrown up on a point com- 
 manding the channel, and four concealed in the adjacent woods. 
 
 The hawser between the two vessels was cut by a shot, and 
 the Mount Washington drifted ashore, in front of the battery, 
 and lay at the mercy of the enemy. Then shone forth the hero 
 in her young commander. Lamson ordered the Stepping 
 Stones alongside, and the engineers, firemen, and all, except 
 the detachment from the Minnesota, were sent off and ordered 
 
23 
 
 down stream out of range, whilst he remained, with his handful 
 of men, to save his vessel if he could. The enemy kept up an 
 incessant hail of shot upon the frail vessel from their batteries, 
 and their riflemen riddled her from stem to stern. 
 
 Was Lamson idle? Not he. His purpose was to save the 
 ship. He ordered his men to take his boat and run out a line 
 from the bow to a pile in the stream, that he might haul the 
 vessel into the channel. 
 
 The open deck was swept by bullets, and the men shrank 
 back at first from the danger, when brave Lamson, knowing the 
 force of example, sprang forward with revolver in hand, and 
 then facing them said, " Obev my orders and come, or I fire !" 
 In an instant his men were around him, the boat was manned 
 and the line run out. The battery kept up its fire on the boat, 
 strangelv missing it, but a chance shot carried off the head of 
 the pile as the line was being thrown over it, and the boat was 
 forced to i - etire. 
 
 Lamson had one of his howitzers hoisted to the open hurri- 
 cane-deck of the old steamer, and taking his master's mate, 
 Birtwistle, and two seamen with him, sent the rest of the men 
 below into safetv, and then mounting the hurricane-deck he, 
 from between the paddle-boxes, fought the enemy with shell 
 and shrapnel under a terrific fire. 
 
 Finally his flag-staff was shot away, when these brave fellows 
 rushed aft, hauled up the staff by the halliards, and, running the 
 flag to the truck, expended the halliards in lashing the staff to the 
 the stump. 
 
 Never will a greater tribute to valor and daring be given than 
 that young hero then received. No sooner had the stars and 
 stripes filled out to the breeze than the rebel firing ceased, and 
 their whole force, leaping to their earthworks, gave him three 
 rousing cheers, in which the Union forces on our side of the 
 
24 
 
 stream, who were witnesses of the heroic act, joined with 
 enthusiasm ! The Stepping Stones was permitted to tow off 
 the disabled steamer, which was so riddled in the hull and 
 machinery as to preclude a statement of the amount of damage 
 done her. 
 
 But Gushing and Lamson had been sent there to pi'otect the 
 army's flank, and they allowed themselves no respite from their 
 arduous task. Cushing had gallantly fought the battery which 
 had so roughly handled his friend, and when the two came 
 together the}' at once matured plans for their future operations. 
 On the turning of the tide Lamson, taking command of the 
 Stepping Stones, ran the fire of the battery again and reached 
 his station without taking time to report the action he had been 
 in. Cushing, however, in his despatch to the Admiral, sent 
 down with the disabled steamer, paid fitting tribute to his friend, 
 saying, ii It is only necessary to look at the Mount Washing- 
 ton to see with what desperate gallantry Lient. Lamson 
 fought his vessel." 
 
 Lamson did not rest quiet, or content himself with simply pa- 
 trolling his beat. A longing grew up within him to give the 
 enemy a Roland for his Oliver ! He wanted that battery which 
 had pounded him so heavily, and wanted it badly. And soon 
 we find him begging the loan of a few companies of soldiers 
 from General George W. Gettv, who was commanding the 3d 
 Division, 9th Army Corps, then near Suffolk, who was filled 
 with admiration for his gallantry and skill, and willingly recog- 
 nized the soundness of his judgment. 
 
 Hiding the open decks of his ferry-boat, the Stepping Stones, 
 by means of hammock-cloths hanging from the awning ropes, 
 Lamson for two or three days kept steaming up and down the 
 river, as if watching for a chance to round the point and run the 
 battery, but would always retire on reaching a certain point, as 
 if afraid of their guns. 
 
25 
 
 The rebels were evidently watching for him, and, desiring to 
 repeat the dose they had given him before, had trained all of 
 their guns on one point in the channel, close to the battery, 
 where they felt sure a concentrated fire would riddle and sink 
 the vessel. 
 
 Having repeated his manoeuvres often enough, Lamson took 
 on board detachments from the Eighty-ninth New York, under 
 Lieut. Col. England, and from the Sth Connecticut Volunteers, 
 under Col. Ward, and, on the 20th of April, in the afternoon, 
 slowly steamed down the stream. His men were all ready, and 
 well instructed as to his plans. The rebel gunners could be seen, 
 lock-string in hand, ready to greet them should they pass the fatal 
 line of fire, but on reaching that point in the river which had 
 been fixed upon for his manoeuvre Lamson put the helm 
 a-starboard and ran his steamer's nose into the mud just above 
 the battery ; the hammocks were triced up, and gang-planks run 
 out. With a cheer the soldiers charged ashore and, on the run, 
 entered a ravine leading to the rear of the battery, General Getty, 
 under a heavy fire, directing their movements. Lamson at the 
 same time ran ashore his battery of howitzers, and rushed them 
 to the hill overlooking the rear of the enemy's works. Surprised, 
 the rebels barely had time to wheel one or two guns and fire into 
 the advancing column, when, the howitzers pouring into them an 
 answering volley of grape and canister, they threw up their 
 hands and surrendered. 
 
 Before night-fall one hundred and sixty-two prisoners and five 
 guns, with all their ammunition, were safely within our lines, 
 and the news of the victory had been despatched to the Admiral. 
 
 In three communications to the Admiral, now on the files 
 of the Department, did General Getty pay glowing tribute to the 
 gallantry, daring, and ability of this young Lieutenant, and to 
 his admiration for his skill, energy, and success in action, which 
 effectually checked the advance of the enemy in that direction. 
 
26 
 
 The Admiral crowned his repeated words of praise by a 
 request to the Secretary to permit Lieut. Lamson to retain the 
 sword he had so gallantly won from the commanding officer of 
 the enemy. 
 
 Such is a brief sketch of the naval career of my friend Roswell 
 H. Lamson. On many other occasions was he distinguished for 
 gallantry, and he was always glad to share his laurels with others 
 who would strive for them. A truly brave man himself, he 
 never envied the gallantry shown by others, whose success was 
 to him simply an incentive to greater energy and to a becoming 
 emulation of their deeds. 
 
 He was universally loved and admired by his brother officers, 
 and was well worthy of the congratulations of the Secretary of 
 the Navy, who wrote words to him that all young officers 
 should strive to merit for themselves, and which will form a 
 fitting close to my sketch. They were as follows ; 
 
 "Navy Department, 
 "Washington, D. C, May 4, i86j. 
 
 Sir : Your recent important and meritorious services on the 
 Upper Nansemond deserve the special commendation of the 
 Department. The ability displayed in the discharge of the 
 important and responsible duties which devolved on the naval 
 force during the late demonstration of the enemy reflected great 
 credit upon yourself and the officers and men under your com- 
 mand. Their zeal and courage in the hazardous position in 
 which they were placed have not failed to receive the approba- 
 tion of both naval and military authorities. General Getty, 
 with whom you were co-operating, has expressed his obligations 
 to you and your command for gallantry and energy displayed, 
 especially in the capture of the rebel battery on the Nansemond, 
 and for valuable assistance rendered to him during his opera- 
 tions in repelling the enemy ; and your immediate commanding 
 officer, Acting Rear- Admiral Lee, has reported, in terms of 
 admiration, your discretion and valor. 
 
 "The Department congratulates you on your success, and is 
 proud to see in the younger members of the corps such evi- 
 
27 
 
 dences of energy and gallantry, execution and ability, scarcely 
 surpassed by those of more age and experience. 
 "Very respectfully, etc., 
 
 "GIDEON WELLES, 
 
 " Secretary of tJic Navy." 
 "Lieutenant R. H. Lamson, 
 
 United States Navy." 
 
 FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR SANDS, 
 
 late Acting Master, U. S. Navy. 
 April 4, 1894. 
 
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