, 1861-12-06


| Tor temporary service made by The Department
! since the present difficulties commenced.
>. Orders were given in April and May to cn-
| hst I, l33 additional non-commi5sioncd officers
and priv;'tcs in the Marine corps to meet the
/ requirements Of the service. A general re-
| turn shows the actual strength Of tnr corps.
| ashore and allnat, to have been ut that time
tWofhous;lnd nine hundred and sixty-iour
/ SINKING VESSELS.
One method OF blockading the ports Of the
insursent States, and intcrdicting communlca-
ton rs well as to prevent the c.5rcss OF prIya-
I tcrrs which sought to deprcdatc on our com
nefce, Las been that Of sinking. in lie clan-
| neis vessels laden with stone. The first move
nlcnt III this direction was on the North Caro-
ma coast, where there arc numerous inlcts to
;a4henarlc and Pam]ico sounds, and other III
! terror waters, which afforded facilities for
| Gliding the blockade, and also to tic priya-
tceEs For this purpose class of small YES
| sels were purchased in Baltimore, some Of
which lave been placed in Ocracoke inlet.
| Another and Elrgcr dcscrlption Of vessels
| were bought IN the Eastern market, most Of
them such rs were formerly employed in the
whale fisheries. These were sent 10 obstrurt
1he channels Of Charleston harbor and The
! savannah river, and this, if e1fectually done,
| WILL prove the most economical and satisfac-
| tory method Of interdictin.s commerce at
| those points.
VESSELS CAPTURED.
Since the Institution Of tho blockade one
hundred and fty-three vessels 1Elye been cap
| tured sailing under various flags, most Of
| which Ncrc attempting to violate the block
| ade. With few exceptions, these vessels were
| III such condition, when seized, as 10 author
| lze their being sent at once to the courts for
| adjudication and condemnation as prizes
| Appended TO this report is List Of tic YES
| scls which have been captured
TIE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
A naval force, auxiliary to aud connected
| With flfr IN fhn
| and It's tributaries has been organized, and is
| under the command Of Flag Officer Andrew
T.. Foote. WHO is rendering efficient service III
The steamers which have l,ccn huilt or .,ur-
chased for this service by the War Depart
Hcnt arc Of q formidable character, and man
ned by class Of superior scamcn and West
eTn boatnlen, who, in the preliminary slzir-
! mishcs already, have done goud service. and
| will, am confident, acIuit themselves with
| credit in the future. Reports arc appended
exhibiting some Of the operations Of this
| command rs auxiliary to the military move
| mcnts Oh the Mississippi.
| PURSUIT OF PRIyATEERs.
| It was natural that apprchcnsions should
| prevail in regard to armed cruisers commits
stoned expressly by the rebel leaders TO dep
rebate upon our eun,'ncrce. Tho robbery Of
| merchants and others engaged in peaceful and
lawful pursuits 1,y pirtical cruisers is not i'll
consistent with the general conduct of those
| who h:lvc violated Law and moral obligations
to gr1tify inordinate ambition. Our extended
commerce presented Inducements for piratiea1
warfare, yet hu1 few Of our1nisguided country
1nen laHe prostituted themselves to the pur-
poses Of plumber, though thereto invited, and
these few fElyc licen in constant flight to escape
The a'enslng power Of our >igi1ant naval for
| ccs. Such of these cruisers as eludcd the
blockade and capture were soon wrecked,
| the steamer Sumter, which, by some fatality,
was permitted to pass the Brooklyn, then block
aiding one Of the passes Of the Mississippi, and
after brief and feeble chase by the latter, was
| allowed IN proceed OIL her pirsltic;ll voyage.
All investigation Of this whole occurrence was
ordered " the Department. Soon the Niagara
and tue Powhatan, from the Gulf squadron,
followed i'll vigorous pursuit-tllc latter,
| though long in commission, and with defective
| boilers and machinery, under her energetic
commander, tracking the piratical craft as fa1
as MaEtnhan. The Keystone Slate, Ricll-
1nond- 1roquois and San Jacinto were also in
search OF her at different points and periods,
Although plfatical rover, without license
from any recognized or acknowledged govern
nvnt, and avtwedls engaged in thc robbcr,
| and plulnler Of our citizens, I regret to say
| this vessel has been received, and her wants
supplied ay:ainst the rcmonst rance OF our con
: sus, by. public authorities, in many foreign
) | rcrts where her character was we'll known
KErE1, EM1ssAK1Es-
= Captain Charles Wilkes in command Of ths
. San Jacinto. while searching in the West In
| dies far the Sumter, received information thai
| | James 1t. Mason and John S1idell, disloya
citizens and leading conspiIators, were will
their suite to embark from uayana in the Enr
e lish steamer Trent, their way to Europe tc
| promote the c;,uSr Of tllr insurgents Cruis
ing in the Bahama Channel, lie Intercepted thu
e Trent on the eth OF November, and took from
hcr these dangerous men, whom he brought
to the United States. His vessel having beer
l ordered to rent for service at CharlestoWn, til.
p ! prisoners were retained OIL boar>l aud conveyed
!, | to Fort Warren, where they were committed
j TO the custody Of Col. Dimnlick, in commant
a ftl1t fortress.
= The prompt and decisive action Of CAPTAIN
i Wilkes OIL this OCCASION mrritcd and received
the emphatic approval Of the Department, ant
lfa too generous forhcarancc was exhibited by
him in not capturing the vessel which had
these rcbc1 cmfssarics on board, it may, in
view of the special circumstances, and Of its
t patriotic motives. DC excused; but it must b,
no means 1c permitted to constitute preccdea
hereafter for te treatment Of aay case Of si,nlla,
inJTaction .f neufra' obligations BY foreign res
/ Stsetga9ed IN commerce or the carrying trade
G THE NAVAL FORCE AND ITS INCREASE
s THIS brief review Of tue principal opera
tions OF the navy, under tie new and cxtraor
n binary demands that were made upon its eff
l. cheney, naturally introduces iii exposition o
the measures adopted in conformity with th,
J legislative policy IT Congress TO increase it,
t. available force. The measures which wert
adopted by thu Department i'll advance Of th'
special session in July, for augmenting tn,
1t navy, and the recommendations and sugges
J. tons which had thu honor at that time t,
submit, received the sanction and approval 0
Il Congress. Immediate action had been ren
# dcrcd necessary in consequence Of event
that had been rrcciritated upon the country
u and for which no legislative provision ha'
le been made Only 1ccblc force Of men an
;. vessels, scarcely sufficient for ordinary polio
y operations, was at that time available On th
Is Atlantic coast. In order that the condition
Of the navy OIL the 4th Of March may BIZ right
~ understood, it will be well to state the DC
G sition and character OF each Of the vessels 4
" that date. The home squadron consisted Q
twelve vessels, and Of these only four were i
T. Northern ports and available for service, viz
&c Name Ciase. No. Of guns Where station,
.c Pawnee.. Screw eloop, At Mashinyto o1
~ Crusader. Steamer, 8 At New York
s. Mohawk. Steamer, Do.
,o | Supply. .StoreshiQ, DO.