Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1870-08-26
.fD.UIR.fL F.FRR.rGUT.

longcd TO an ancient Catalonan family.
He came to America in 1776, and joined
the army which achieved the independence
of the country, and added a new nation to
the world lie served throughout the war,
and rose to the rank of major. After the
restoration of peace he married Miss Eliza
beth Shine, a lady of North Carolina, but
of Scotch descent. Adopting the life ofa
farmer, he was one of thousands who re-
solved on finding new homes In the West;
and he settled at CampbelPs station, near
Knoxville, in Tennessee. There the fu-
ture conqueror Of New Orleans, David
Glascoe Farragut, was born. Major Far
ragut became weary of farming, and on
tered the federal navy, as sailing master.
His son inherited his taste for naval life,
and was made midshipman when he was
about ten years old. lie first went to sea
under his fathers intimate friend, David
Porter, and sailed with him again when he
went on his famous cruise in the Essex
frigate, not long after the breaking out of
the war of lS12-l5. He was on board that
vessel during her long service in the At
lantic and Pacific oceans, when she COM
mitted such deadly havoc on the enemy's
commerce. which caused the British Ad
miralty to send out a number of cruisers
to destroy her. Two of these cruisers, the
Phoebe frigate and cherub sloop, found the
Essex at Valparaiso, in the winter of 1914,
and blockaded her for six weeks, the Eng
lish commander, Capt. Hillyer, refusing to
fight the Essex with his single ship, though
she was the larger vessel Of the two, and
had the heavier armament and the greater
crew by sixty-five men. Capt. Porter
made an effort to get to sea, and left the
port but in going out his ship was seri-
ously damaged, and before he could regain
the port he was attacked by both cruisers,
and the Essex taken, after an action that
lasted two hours and a half, in which l55 of
her crew of 255 men were lost. The action
was most unfair one on the part of the
British and it was terrible initiation
into the business of war for a boy not thir
teen years old. Young Farragut went
through the whole of it, and was wounded,
though not severely. He was not to see
an ything like it again for almost half
century.
Mr.. Farragut was made lieutenant in
1921, when he was not quite twenty years
old. During the next twenty years he
served on the West Indian or Brazilian
station, in the home squadron, or at Nor
folk navy yard. He was commissioned
Commander in 1871, and again served on
the Brazilian station, that of the West In
dies, at Norfolk, in the home squadron,
a - L.
Post-Captain in 1855.
When the rebellion began he was living
at Norfolk and made no secret of his abb
horrence of the disloyal action of most of
the people of that place. He was told by
his infatuated neighbors that he would not
be allowed to remain in Norfolk if he gave
utterance to fAlSsentTments. "Very well" Z"
was his reply, 'dhen will go where 1 can
live and utter tltem.' He left Norfolk on
Nthe 18th of April. 1861. and. alter placing
his family i'm New York, hastened to
washington and rendered his services to
government; but government had no ship
to place under his command. He was
finally appointed to lead the fleet which
was to attack New Orleans, on the Goth of
January, 1862, and on the Sd of February
he sailed from Hampton Roads, having
selected the Hartford as his flagship. He
reached Ship Island on the Goth, and organ
lied the West Gulf blockading squadron !;
and he was engaged for almost two months
in preparing for his grand attack on New
Orleans. Active preparations began on
the 18th of April. After six days bonn
bardment he found that the forts below
New Orleans were not likely to yield !;
whereupon, instead of retiring, he deter
mined to break the great chain which the
rebels had stretched across the river, and
en- gage their powerful fleet that was assem-
bled above it. Accordingly, on the morn
ing of the oath of April, the fleet advanced,
the chain was broken, and battle Joined,
the forts helping the enemy by fire OF
tremendous weight. The action was one
| of the most singular combats ever known,
and may be said to have been the inaugu-
ration of that new naval warfare toward
which matters had been for some time
tending, but which definitely dates from
our civil contest The enemy had iron
clads and rams, but they were utterly de-
feated, losing fourteen of their eighteen
vessels. Forts and fleet had both been
vanquished The federal gunboat Naruna
was lost, but the splendid manner in which
Capt. Boggs bore himself showed that the
loss of his vessel was due to no want Of
courage or capacity on his Part. Three
others of the assailants were disabled and
obliged to fall back. With the rest of his
fleet Com. Farragut continued his course
and took possession of New Orleans on the
25th of April. Full as the history of thu
war is of noble and fruitful actions by thu
fleets and armies of the Republic, it will b'
admitted that this achievement stands a
their head, as well for the effect 1t had ol
the issue as for the skill and brewery an'
iron energy that characterized the plan an'
illustrated its execution.
Com, Farragut assembled the Mississippi
in continuance of operations, and passed
Vicksburg on the 9th of June, communi
eating with the commander of the Missss
ippi squadron, with whom an attack oI
Vicksburg was arranged. That attacl
proved unsuccessful, because there was M
land force to cooperate with the fleet. Re
turning to the Gulf, he made Pensacola hi
headquarters, and was for some time EN-
ployed in perfecting the blockade of tn
Gulf ports, and in directing the attack
that were made on Corpus Christi, Sabin
Pass and Galveston, all of which place
were taken. He was made Senior Rear
Admiral on the 1lth of July for the captur
of New Orleans--a well-deserved reward
and the bestowal of which was warmly ap
proved by the country.
In the spring of 1868, Farragut cooperat
ed with Grant in his movements agains
Vcksburg. The passing of the enemy
strong works at Port Hudson was repeti
tion of what had been done the previou
year at New Orleans. Only two of his yes
sells were able to get by them, the fiag-shi
and the Albatross. One vessel was de
stroyed and some others injured; but tn
two that effected the passage blockaded tn
mouth of Red river for several weeks, an
prevented the sending Of supplies theme
, to Vicksburg, and the fall of that place wa
finally due to famine. Subsequently, Fai