In obedience to your order, a.s.signing me to the command of this ship, I will return by the first conveyance to England, where the joint energies of Commander Bullock and myself will be directed to the preparation of the ship for sea. I will take with me Lieutenant Kell, Surgeon Galt, and First Lieutenant of Marines Howell--Mr. Howell and Lieutenant Stribling having reached Na.s.sau a few days before me, in the British steamer _Bahama_, laden with arms, clothing, and stores for the Confederacy. At the earnest entreaty of Lieutenant-Commanding Maffitt, I have consented to permit Lieutenant Stribling to remain with him, as his first lieutenant on board the _Oreto_ (_Florida_)--the officers detailed for that vessel not yet having arrived. Mr. Stribling"s place on board the _Alabama_ will be supplied by Midshipman Armstrong, promoted, whom I will recall from Gibraltar, where I left him in charge of the _Sumter_. It will, doubtless, be a matter of some delicacy, and tact, to get the _Alabama_ safely out of British waters, without suspicion, as Mr.
Adams, the Northern Envoy, and his numerous satellites in the shape of consuls and paid agents, are exceedingly vigilant in their espionage.
We cannot, of course, think of arming her in a British port; this must be done at some concerted rendezvous, to which her battery, and a large portion of her crew must be sent, in a neutral merchant-vessel. The _Alabama_ will be a fine ship, quite equal to encounter any of the enemy"s steam-sloops, of the cla.s.s of the _Iroquois_, _Tuscarora_, and _Dacotah_, and I shall feel much more independent in her, upon the high seas, than I did in the little _Sumter_.
I think well of your suggestion of the East Indies, as a cruising ground, and I hope to be in the track of the enemy"s commerce, in those seas, as early as October or November next; when I shall, doubtless, be able to lay other rich "burnt offerings" upon the altar of our country"s liberties.
Lieutenant Sinclair having informed me that you said, in a conversation with him, that I might dispose of the _Sumter_, either by laying her up, or selling her, as my judgment might approve, I will, unless I receive contrary orders from you, dispose of her by sale, upon my arrival in Europe. As the war is likely to continue for two or three years yet, it would be a useless expense to keep a vessel so comparatively worthless, so long at her anchors. I will cause to be sent to the _Alabama_, the _Sumter"s_ chronometers, and other nautical instruments and charts, and the remainder of her officers and crew.
In conclusion, permit me to thank you for this new proof of your confidence, and for your kind intention to nominate me as one of the "Captains," under the new navy bill. I trust I shall prove myself worthy of these marks of your approbation.
I was delayed several very anxious weeks in Na.s.sau, waiting for an opportunity to return to Europe. The _Alabama_, I knew, was nearly ready for sea, and it was all-important that she should be gotten out of British waters, as speedily as possible, because of the espionage to which I have referred. But there was no European-bound vessel in Na.s.sau, and I was forced to wait. Lieutenant Sinclair having had a pa.s.sage offered him, in an English steamer of war, as far as Halifax, availed himself of the invitation, intending to take the mail-steamer from Halifax for England.
As he would probably arrive a week or two in advance of myself, I wrote to Captain Bullock by him, informing him of my having been appointed to the command of the _Alabama_, and requesting him to hurry that ship off to her rendezvous, without waiting for me. I could join her at her rendezvous. As the reader will hereafter see, this was done.
I pa.s.sed the time of my enforced delay at Na.s.sau, as comfortably as possible. The hotel was s.p.a.cious and airy, and the sea-breeze being pretty constant, we did not suffer much from the heat. I amused myself, watching from my windows, with the aid of an excellent gla.s.s, the movements of the blockade-runners. One of these vessels went out, and another returned, every two or three days; the returning vessel always bringing us late newspapers from the Confederacy. The fare of the hotel was excellent, particularly the fish and fruits, and the landlord was accommodating and obliging. With Maffitt, Kell, Galt, Stribling, and other Confederate officers, and some very pretty and musical Confederate ladies, whose husbands and brothers were engaged in the business of running the blockade, the time would have pa.s.sed pleasantly enough, but for the anxiety which I felt about my future movements.
Maffitt, in particular, was the life of our household. He knew everybody, and everybody knew him, and he pa.s.sed in and out of all the rooms, _sans ceremonie_, at all hours. Being a jaunty, handsome fellow, young enough, in appearance, to pa.s.s for the elder brother of his son, a midshipman who was to go with me to the _Alabama_, he was a great favorite with the ladies. He was equally at home, with men or women, it being all the same to him, whether he was wanted to play a game of billiards, take a hand at whist, or join in a duet with a young lady--except that he had the good taste always to prefer the lady. Social, gay, and convivial, he was much courted and flattered, and there was scarcely ever a dining or an evening party, at which he was not present. But this was the mere outside glitter of the metal. Beneath all this _bagatelle_ and _dolce far niente_, Maffitt was a remarkable man. At the first blast of war, like a true Southerner--he was a North Carolinian by birth--he relinquished a fine property in the city of Washington, which was afterward confiscated by the enemy, resigned his commission in the Federal Navy, and came South, to tender his services to his native State. Unlike many other naval men, he had the capacity to understand the nature of the Government under which he lived, and the honesty to give his allegiance, in a cross-fire of allegiances, where his judgment told him it was due.
He was a perfect master of his profession, not only in its practical, but in its more scientific branches, and could handle his ship like a toy.
Brave, cool, and full of resource, he was equal to any and every emergency that could present itself in a sailor"s life. He made a brilliant cruise in the _Florida_, and became more famous as a skilful blockade-runner than any other man in the war. This man, whose character I have not at all overdrawn, was pursued by the Yankee, after his resignation, with a vindictiveness and malignity peculiarly Puritan--to his honor be it said.
With Maury, Buchanan, and other men of that stamp, who have been denounced with equal bitterness, his fame will survive the filth thrown upon it by a people who seem to be incapable of understanding or appreciating n.o.ble qualities in an enemy, and devoid of any other standard by which to try men"s characters, than their own sectional prejudices. We should rather pity than contemn men who have shown, both during and since the war, so little magnanimity as our late enemies have done. The savage is full of prejudices, because he is full of ignorance. His intellectual horizon is necessarily limited; he sees but little, and judges only by what he sees.
His own little world is _the_ world, and he tries all the rest of mankind by that standard. Cruel in war, he is revengeful and implacable in peace.
Better things are ordinarily expected of civilized men. Education and civilization generally dispel these savage traits. They refine and soften men, and implant in their bosoms the n.o.ble virtues of generosity and magnanimity. The New England Puritan seems to have been, so far as we may judge him by the traits which have been developed in him during and since the war, an exception to this rule. With all his pretensions to learning, and amid all the appliances of civilization by which he has surrounded himself, he is still the same old Plymouth Rock man, that his ancestor was, three centuries ago. He is the same gloomy, saturnine fanatic; he has the same impatience of other men"s opinions, and is the same vindictive tyrant that he was when he expelled Roger Williams from his dominions. The c.o.c.katrice"s egg has hatched a savage, in short, that refuses to be civilized.
The _Oreto_ was in court whilst I was in Na.s.sau; the Attorney-General of the colony having libelled her for a breach of the British Foreign Enlistment Act. After a long and tedious trial, during which it was proved that she had left England unarmed, and unprovided with a warlike crew, she was released, very much to the gratification of my friend, Maffitt, who had been anxiously awaiting the result of the trial. This energetic officer throwing himself and Stribling on board of her, with such other officers and men as he could gather on short notice, ran the blockade of the enemy"s cruisers, the following night, and the next morning found himself on the high seas, with just five firemen, and fourteen deck hands!
His hope was to get his armament on board, and after otherwise preparing his ship for sea, to recruit his crew from the neutral sailors always to be found on board the enemy"s merchant-ships.
Arriving at Green Key, the rendezvous, which had been concerted between himself, and our agent at Na.s.sau, Mr. J. B. Lafitte, he was joined by a schooner, on board which his battery and stores had been shipped, and forthwith set himself at work to arm and equip his ship. So short-handed was he, that he was obliged to strip off his own coat, and in company with his officers and men, a.s.sist at the stay-tackles, in hoisting in his heavy guns. The work was especially laborious, under the ardent rays of an August sun, but they toiled on, and at the end of five days of incessant labor, which well-nigh exhausted all their energies, they were enabled to dismiss their tender, and steam out upon the ocean, and put their ship in commission. The English flag, which the _Oreto_ had worn, was hauled down, and amid the cheers of the crews of the two vessels, the Confederate States flag was hoisted to the peak of the _Florida_.
A number of the men by this time, were unwell. Their sickness was attributed to the severity of the labor they had undergone, in the excessive heats that were prevailing. The Captain"s steward died, and was buried on the afternoon on which the ship was commissioned. At sunset of that day, Captain Maffitt called Lieutenant Stribling into his cabin, and imparted to him the startling intelligence that the yellow fever was on board! The sick, now constantly increasing in number, were separated from the well, and the quarter-deck became a hospital. There being no surgeon on board, Maffitt was compelled to a.s.sume the duties of this officer, in addition to his own, already onerous. He devoted himself with untiring zeal to the welfare of his stricken crew, without intermission, by night or by day. On the fifth day after leaving Green Key, the _Florida_ found herself off the little island of Anguila. By this time the epidemic had reduced her working crew to one fireman, and four deck hands.
It was now no longer possible to keep the sea, and Maffitt evading the blockade of the enemy--a happy chance having drawn them off in chase--ran his ship into the port of Cardenas, in the island of Cuba. Here he was received kindly by the authorities and citizens, but as the yellow fever was epidemic on sh.o.r.e, no medical aid could be obtained. Stribling was now dispatched to Havana for a surgeon, and to ship a few men, if possible.
Helpless and sad, the suffering little crew awaited his return. One by one, the officers were attacked by the disease, until Maffitt was left almost alone, to nurse, and administer remedies to the patients. But things were not yet at their worst. On the 13th of August, Maffitt was himself attacked. On the afternoon of that day he sent for his clerk, and when the young gentleman had entered his cabin, said to him: "I"ve written directions in regard to the sick, and certain orders in relation to the vessel; also some private letters, which you will please take charge of."
Upon the clerk"s asking him why this was done, he informed him that "he had all the symptoms of yellow fever, and as he was already much broken down, he might not survive the attack." He had made all the necessary preparations for his own treatment, giving minute written directions to those around him how to proceed, and immediately betook himself to his bed--the fever already flushing his cheeks, and parching his veins. There was now, indeed, nothing but wailing and woe on board the little _Florida_.
In two or three days Stribling returned from Havana, bringing with him twelve men; and on the day after his return, Dr. Barrett, of Georgia, hearing of their helpless condition, volunteered his services, and became surgeon of the ship. On the 22d, young Laurens, the captain"s son--whilst his father was unconscious--breathed his last; black vomit having a.s.sailed him, in twenty-four hours after he had been taken down with the fever; so virulent had the disease now become. He was a fine, brave, promising lad, greatly beloved, and deeply regretted by all. On the 23d, the Third a.s.sistant Engineer died. The sick were now sent to the hospital on sh.o.r.e, and nearly all of them died. Dr. Gilliard, surgeon of a Spanish gun-boat in the harbor, now visited the Captain, and was exceedingly kind to him. On the 24th, a consultation of physicians was held, and it was decided that Maffitt"s case was hopeless. But it so happened that the disease just then had reached its crisis, and a favorable change had taken place. The patient had not spoken for three days, and greatly to the surprise of all present, after one of the physicians had given his opinion, he opened his eyes, now beaming with intelligence, and said in a languid voice: "You are all mistaken--I have got too much to do, and have no time to die."
He convalesced from that moment. On the 28th, Major Helm, our agent in Havana, telegraphed that, for certain reasons, the Captain-General desired that the _Florida_ would come round to Havana, and remain until the health of her crew should be restored. The Captain-General probably feared that in an undefended port like Cardenas, some violence might be committed upon the _Florida_ by the Federal cruisers, in violation of Spanish neutrality.
Accordingly, on the 30th the _Florida_ got under way, and proceeded for Havana, where she arrived the next day. The reader naturally wonders, no doubt, where the Federal cruisers were, all this time. Maffitt remained here only a day, finding it impossible, owing to the stringent orders of neutrality that were being enforced, to do anything in the way of increasing his crew, or refitting his ship. Getting his ship under way, again on the 1st of September, he now resolved to run into Mobile. At two P. M. on the 4th of that month Fort Morgan was made, when it was found that three of the enemy"s cruisers lay between the _Florida_ and the bar.
Maffitt was a.s.sisted on deck, being too weak yet to move without a.s.sistance. Having determined that his ship should not fall into the hands of the enemy, he had made suitable preparations for blowing her up, if it should become necessary. He now hoisted the English ensign and pennant, and stood boldly on. His very boldness staggered the enemy. He must certainly be, they thought, an English gunboat. The _Oneida_, the flag-ship of Commander Preble, the commanding officer of the blockading squadron, attempted to throw herself in the _Florida"s_ path, first having hailed her and commanded her to stop. But the latter held on her course so determinedly, that the former, to prevent being run down, was obliged to stop, herself, and reverse her engine.
Preble, now undeceived as to the possibility of the _Florida"s_ being an Englishman, opened fire upon her, as did the other two ships. The _Oneida"s_ broadside, delivered from a distance of a few yards only, cut away the _Florida"s_ hammocks, smashed her boats, and shattered some of her spars. The three enemy"s vessels now grouped themselves around the daring little craft, and fired broadside after broadside at her, during the chase which ensued. One eleven-inch sh.e.l.l entering the _Florida"s_ side, only a few inches above the water-line, pa.s.sed entirely through her, before the fuse had time to explode it. If the enemy had been a little farther off, the _Florida_ must have been torn in pieces by the explosion.
Another sh.e.l.l entered the cabin. The fore-topmast and fore-gaff were shot away. In short, when it is recollected that she was nearly two hours under this tremendous fire, the wonder is that she escaped with a whole spar, or a whole timber.
Maffitt, meantime, had not cast loose a gun. He had no crew with which to man his battery. What few sailors he had, he had sent below, except only the man at the wheel, that they might be less exposed. But they were not safe, even here, for the sh.e.l.l which we have described as pa.s.sing through the ship, took off one man"s head, and seven others were wounded by splinters. My ex-lieutenant of the _Sumter_, Stribling, merited, on this occasion, the praise I have bestowed on him, in drawing his portrait. He is described by an eye-witness to have been as cool and self-possessed, as if there had been no enemy within a hundred miles of him. To make a long story short, the gallant little _Florida_ finally escaped her pursuers, and, in a shattered condition, ran in and anch.o.r.ed near Fort Morgan. As the reader may suppose, her English flag was exchanged for her own stars and bars, as soon as the enemy opened upon her. This was the most daring and gallant running of a blockade that occurred during a war so fruitful of daring and gallant acts. After repairing and refitting his vessel, my gallant friend dashed again through the enemy"s fleet, now much increased in numbers, and commenced that career on the high seas, which has rendered his name one of the notable ones of the war. He lighted the seas with a track of fire, wherever he pa.s.sed, and sent consternation and alarm among the enemy"s shipping. A correspondent of a Northern paper, writing from Havana, thus speaks of Maffitt and his craft:--
"The rebel man-of-war, privateer or pirate _Florida_, otherwise known as the _Oreto_, has safely arrived in this port, although she was chased up to the very walls of the Moro Castle by the Mobile blockading squadron, nine in number. The chase was a most exciting one, but, unfortunately, without the result so much to be desired.
"It appears that the pirate Maffitt came out of the port of Mobile with as much impudence as he entered it. The steamer seems to have been well punished with shot and sh.e.l.l from the Federal ships, and it is reported that she lost her first lieutenant, and sixteen men killed by a sh.e.l.l from one of the men-of-war.
"From reliable information, I am enabled to state, or, rather, I am convinced, that this vessel will sail for the East Indies in a few days. Our Government had better look out for her advent in those waters. Captain Maffitt is no ordinary character. He is vigorous, energetic, bold, quick, and dashing, and the sooner he is caught and hung, the better will it be for the interests of our commercial community. He is decidedly popular here, and you can scarcely imagine the anxiety evinced to get a glance at him."
We may return now to the movements of the writer. After long waiting at Na.s.sau, the _Bahama_, the steamer in which Stribling and Howell had come over from Hamburg, was ready to return, and I embarked on board of her, with my staff, and after a pa.s.sage of some three weeks, landed in Liverpool, just in time to find that the bird had flown. The _Alabama_ had steamed a few days before, for her rendezvous, where, in due time, we will follow her.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
A BRIEF RESUME OF THE HISTORY OF THE WAR, BETWEEN THE COMMISSIONING OF THE SUMTER AND THE COMMISSIONING OF THE ALABAMA--SECRETARY MALLORY, AND THE DIFFICULTIES BY WHICH HE WAS SURROUNDED--THE REORGANIZATION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES NAVY.
Although, as before remarked, I design only to write a history of my own proceedings, during the late war, yet it will be necessary, to enable the reader to understand these proceedings correctly, to run a mere thread of the general history of the war along parallel with them. I have done this up to the date of commissioning the _Sumter_. It will now be necessary to take up the thread again, and bring it down to the commissioning of the _Alabama_. I shall do this very briefly, barely enumerating the princ.i.p.al military events, without attempting to describe them, and glancing very cursorily at the naval events.
We ran the blockade of the Mississippi, in the _Sumter_, as has been seen, on the 30th of June, 1861. In July of that year, the first great battle of Mana.s.sas was fought, to which allusion has already been made. This battle gave us great prestige in Europe, and contributed very much to the respect with which the little _Sumter_ had been received by foreign powers. A long military pause now ensued. The enemy had been so astonished and staggered by this blow, that it took him some time to recover from its effects. He, however, turned it to useful account, and set himself at work with great patience, and diligence, at the same time, to collect and thoroughly drill new troops. The victory, on the other hand, had an unfavorable effect upon our own people, in giving them an undue impression of their superiority over their enemy, and lulling them into supineness.
During the summer of 1861, two naval expeditions were fitted out, by the enemy, and sent to operate against our coast. The first of these expeditions, under command of Commodore Stringham, captured two hastily constructed, and imperfect earth-works at Hatteras Inlet on the coast of North Carolina, and made a lodgement on Pamlico Sound. The capture of these works, is no otherwise remarkable, in a naval point of view, than for the circ.u.mstance that a Confederate States naval officer fell into the hands of the enemy, for the first time during the war. Commodore Samuel Barron, of the Confederate States Navy, commanded the forts, and surrendered, after a gallant resistance, to the overwhelming force which a.s.saulted him, on condition that he should be treated _as a prisoner of war_. The battle of Mana.s.sas had occurred to humble the pride, and appeal to the fears of the enemy, and the condition named by Barron was readily a.s.sented to. The other naval expedition, under command of Commodore Dupont, captured Port Royal, in South Carolina as mentioned in a former page. The "_Trent_ Affair," already described, came off in November, 1861, and Commodore Hollins" attack upon the enemy"s fleet at the mouths of the Mississippi, in which he gave him such a scare, occurred, as already related, in October of the same year. This brings us to the close of the first year of the war.
The year 1862 was big with events, which we will, for the most part, merely string on our thread. The Confederates, in the beginning of the year, occupied a position at Bowling Green, in Kentucky, which was seemingly a strong position, with railroad communication, in their rear, with all parts of the South, but they could not hold it, for the simple reason, that the enemy, having command of the western rivers by means of his superior naval force, penetrated into their rear, and thus compelled a retreat. When the enemy, by means of his gun-boats, could send armies up the c.u.mberland and Tennessee Rivers, to the heart of Tennessee and Alabama, it was folly to think of holding Bowling Green, with our limited forces. Our army fell back to Nashville, and even abandoned that city, after the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, which were captured by the Federal forces, in February, 1862.
The evacuation of all these points, one after another, and afterward the loss of Island No. 10, on the Mississippi, and New Madrid, were serious blows for us. But our disasters did not end here. The battle of Shiloh followed, in which we were defeated, and compelled to retreat, after we had, to all appearance, gained a victory almost complete on the first day of the fight. Naval disasters accompanied, or followed our disasters upon the land. Early in 1862, a naval expedition of the enemy, under the command of Commodore Goldsborough, entered Pamlico Sound, and captured Roanoke Island. Commodore Lynch, of the Confederate States Navy, with six or seven small, ill-armed gunboats, which had been improvised from light and frail river steamers, a.s.sisted in the defence of the island, but was obliged to withdraw before the superior forces of the enemy. The enemy, pursuing his advantages, followed Lynch"s retreating fleet to Elizabeth City, in North Carolina, where he captured or destroyed it.
The enemy was now not only in possession of the western waters--Vicksburg and Port Hudson alone obstructing his free navigation of the Mississippi as far down as New Orleans--but Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, in North Carolina, and the bay of Port Royal in South Carolina and Georgia, were open to him. To complete the circle of our disasters, New Orleans was captured by Farragut and Porter, in April--the small Confederate fleet under Commodore John K. Mitch.e.l.l, making a gallant but disastrous defence, in which it was totally destroyed, with great loss of life of both officers and men.
Let us turn now to a more pleasing picture; for all was not disaster for the Confederates, during the year 1862. In March of that year, the memorable naval engagement occurred in Hampton Roads, between the Confederate States iron-clad steamer _Virginia_, and the enemy"s fleet, resulting in the destruction, by the _Virginia_, of two of the enemy"s wooden frigates. Great consternation and alarm were produced in the enemy"s fleet, and at Fortress Monroe, by Admiral Buchanan and his armored ship, as well there might be, for the ship was perfectly invulnerable, and but for her great draught of water, might have destroyed or driven off the whole Federal fleet. Our people were greatly elated by this victory, coming as it did, in the midst of so many disasters. It attracted great attention in Europe, also, as being decisive of the fate of all the old-time wooden ships, which had, up to that period, composed the navies of the world. It so happened, that the Federals had completed the first of their Monitors, at this very time, and this little iron ship, arriving opportunely, engaged the _Virginia_ on the second day of the fight. Like her great antagonist, she, too, was invulnerable, and the result was a drawn battle. From this time onward, the enemy multiplied his armored ships very rapidly, and it is scarcely too much to say, that he is almost wholly indebted to them, for his success in the war.
Another very creditable affair for the Confederates came off on the 15th of May. In the interval between the fight of the _Virginia_, with the enemy"s fleet in Hampton Roads, and the day last named, Norfolk had been evacuated, and the _Virginia_, which had pa.s.sed under the command of Commodore Tatnall, was blown up. The consequence was that the James River was open to the navigation of the enemy. Taking advantage of this state of things, five of the enemy"s gunboats, two of which were iron-clad, ascended the river, with intent to reach, and sh.e.l.l Richmond, if practicable. They met with no serious obstruction, or any opposition, until they reached Drury"s Bluff. Here the river had been obstructed, and a Confederate earth-work erected. The earth-work was commanded by Captain Eben Farrand, of the Confederate States Navy, who had some sailors and marines under him. The Federal fleet having approached within 600 yards, opened fire upon the fort, which it kept up for the s.p.a.ce of three hours.
It was so roughly handled, however, by Farrand and his sailors, that at the end of that time, it was obliged to retire, with several of its vessels seriously damaged. No further attempt was made during the war, to reach Richmond by means of iron-clads; the dose which Farrand had given them was quite sufficient.
But the greatest of all the triumphs which crowned the Confederate arms during this year of 1862, were the celebrated campaigns of Stonewall Jackson, in the Shenandoah Valley, and the seven days" fighting before Richmond. I will barely string these events, as I pa.s.s along. Banks, Fremont, and Shields, of the enemy, were all operating in this valley, with forces greatly outnumbering those of Jackson. The latter, by a series of rapid and masterly movements, fell upon his enemies, one after the other, and defeated them all; Banks, in particular, who having been bred to civil life, was devoid of all military training, and apparently wanting, even, in that first and most common requisite of a soldier, courage, flying in disorder, and abandoning to his pursuer all the supplies and _materiel_ of a large and well-appointed army. Such frantic efforts did he make to escape from Jackson, that he marched thirty-five miles in a single day; pa.s.sing through the good old town of Winchester, which he had formerly occupied, with so many signs of trepidation and alarm, that the citizens received him and his troops, with shouts of derisive laughter!
The enemy, after his defeat at Mana.s.sas, put General McClellan in command of the Army of the Potomac, and the balance of the year 1861 was devoted, by this officer, to the collecting and drilling of troops. In the spring of 1862, he landed at Fortress Monroe, with a splendidly appointed army of 90,000 men, provided with 55 batteries of artillery, consisting of 350 field pieces. Magruder held him in check, for some time, with 11,000 men, which enabled the Confederate commanders to gather together their forces, for the defence of Richmond. He moved at length, was checked a while at Williamsburg, by Longstreet, but finally deployed his immense forces on the banks of the Chickahominy.
A series of battles now took place, commencing on the 30th of May, and extending through the month of June, which resulted in the raising of the siege, and the total rout and precipitate retreat of the Federal commander. I will barely enumerate these battles, as follows: Seven Pines; Mechanicsville and Beaver Dam; Gaines" Mills; Savage Station; Frazer"s Farm; and Malvern Hill;--names sufficient alone to cover the Confederate cause with immortal glory, in the minds of all true men, as the highest qualities of courage, endurance, patriotism, and self-sacrifice, that any men could be capable of, were exhibited on those fields, destined to become cla.s.sic in American annals.
Following up the defeat of McClellan, by Johnston and Lee, Stonewall Jackson gained his splendid victory of the Second Mana.s.sas over Pope; defeating him with great loss, and driving him before him to the gates of Washington. Thus, notwithstanding our disasters in the West and South, an entirely new face had been put upon the war in Virginia. The enemy"s capital, instead of Richmond, was in danger, and McClellan was hastily withdrawn from Fortress Monroe, for its defence.
We must now pause, for we have brought the thread of the war down to the commissioning of the _Alabama_, and the reader will see with what forebodings, as well as hopes, we took the sea, in that ship. The war may be said now to have been at its height. Both the belligerents were thoroughly aroused, and a few blows, well struck, on the water, might be of great a.s.sistance. I resolved to attempt to strike these blows.
A few words, now, as to the _status_ of the Confederate States Navy. As remarked in the opening of these memoirs, the Confederate States had no navy at the beginning of the war, and the South being almost entirely agricultural, with few or no ships, and but little external commerce, except such as was conducted in Northern bottoms, had but very indifferent means of creating one. Whilst the North was one busy hive of manufacturing industry, with its ship-yards and work-shops, resounding, by night and by day, with the busy strokes of the hammer, the adze, and the caulking-iron; whilst its steam-mills and foundries were vomiting forth their thick smoke from their furnaces, and deafening the ears of their workmen by the din of the trip-hammer and the whirr of the lathe; and whilst foreign material of every description was flowing into open ports, the South had neither ship-yards nor work-shops, steam-mills nor foundries, except on the most limited scale, and all her ports were as good as hermetically sealed, so far as the introduction of the heavy materials of which she stood in need was concerned.
It will be seen what a difficult task the Secretary of the Navy had before him, and how unjust are many of the censures that were cast upon him, by persons unconversant with naval affairs. Indeed, it is rather a matter of surprise, that so much was accomplished with our limited means.
Work-shops and foundries were improvised, wherever it was possible to establish them; but the great difficulty was the want of the requisite heavy machinery. We had not the means, in the entire Confederacy, of turning out a complete steam-engine, of any size, and many of our naval disasters are attributable to this deficiency. Well-constructed steamers, that did credit to the Navy Department and its agents, were forced to put to sea, and to move about upon our sounds and harbors, with engines disproportioned to their size, and incapable of driving them at a speed greater than five miles the hour.
The casting of cannon, and the manufacture of small arms, were also undertaken by the Secretary, under the direction of skilful officers, and prosecuted to considerable efficiency. But it took time to accomplish all these things. Before a ship could be constructed, it was necessary to hunt up the requisite timber, and transport it considerable distances. Her armor, if she was to be armored, was to be rolled also at a distance, and transported over long lines of railroad, piecemeal; her cordage was to be picked up at one place, and her sails and hammocks at another. I speak knowingly on this subject, as I had had experience of many of the difficulties I mention, in fitting out the _Sumter_ in New Orleans. I was two months in preparing this small ship for sea, practising, all the while, every possible diligence and contrivance. The Secretary had other difficulties to contend with. By the time he had gotten many of his ship-yards well established, and ships well on their way to completion, the enemy would threaten the _locus in quo_, by land, and either compel him to attempt to remove everything movable, in great haste, and at great loss, or destroy it, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. Many fine ships were, in this way, burned on the very eve of completion.
It must be recollected, too, that in the early days of the war, we had no finances. These were to be improvised along with other things. I travelled to the North, on the mission which has been described in these pages, on money borrowed from a private banker. If we had had plenty of funds in the beginning of the war, it is possible that we might have accomplished more than we did, in Europe, in the matter of getting out ships to prey upon the enemy"s commerce--that is, in the way of purchase, for it soon became evident, from the experience we had had, in building the _Alabama_, and other ships contracted for by the Navy Department, that we could not rely upon constructing them. The neutral powers became too watchful, and were too much afraid of the Federal power. When the Government did put the Secretary in funds, several months had elapsed, the war had begun, the coast was blockaded, and all the nations of Europe were on the alert.