St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-01-08
The Blowing Up of the Albemarle.
HOW CUSHING. THE BOY HERO, LED
FOLORN HOPE IN THE GREAT WAX.

The destruction Of tn" rebel ram Al
htmarlr in the North Carolina waters
during the var of secession. W;S one of
the most desperate and remarkable en-
t,rpIi~r~ at that contest. Ii Wa> also
th,. crow ming achievement of the brave
ConurImdrr Cushing. WiIy recently dicoi
at the insane hospital at I>hiu"tnu.
and who was barely % wears old at the
time OF this great exploit. In The autumn
of l-Gl. The affair l. thus dr~cIincd
i'll the Army and Navy Journals: The
AlhcmaIir VAS IN irnm-Clad uf tjcmrI-
duuS strength. which had uhrad, de
tcltcd the Whul, federal fleet. sunk The.
>"uthicld. cNplndcd the huilrr of the
Sa>>acue. engaged nine foes ut once
without danger to herself. forced the
surrender of Il brigade. and the thau-
unumcut of the whole region Of the
Roanoke 10y the federal forces. The
government having No iIou-clads capl-
bile of crossing IiattcrlS lal and en-
r"untcriug her. all it> operations III that
section were rendered practically Use
less 10y the AlhrmLllc'S presence there.
and the expense of the squadron meccS-
sarN to keep watch upon her move
mcntS Was something enormous.
In this emergency Lieut.. Gushing
submitted two plans to Admiral Lee tuI
/ the rams destruction. The admiral
/ approved of one of them. and sent H.
/ protector to Washington Ia lay il before
/ the secretary of the navy. and the lat
/ ter. though at hISt IL little doubtful ot
its merits, finally authorized him To pro
cure the means to carry it into cNrcu-
I ti"n: and he Immediately purchased il
New York two open launches. cacl
about 30 feet long. fitted with Il small
engine and propelled 10y Il screw. carry
ing Il howitzer, and provided with &;
long boom that swung 10y IL hinge. whicl
could be raised or lowered at will. ant
which had IL torpedo i'll the groove a
its further extremity. These boat
were taken down through the canals t,
the Chesapeake. one of them being los
on the way, and the other reaching the
sounds at last through cuts and creek
and an intinitude to tolls. hndranccS
and ruSes. Joining the fleet. which lay
at the month of the river. the lieuten
ant disclosed his object to his ,nen, rs
surlng them that they not only mus
not expect, but they must not hope t.
return, for death was almost inevitable
aud then called for volunteers. The,
all stood 10y him, aud six others pres
emily joined them-Assistant PaNmaSte
Frank Swan and Mr.. Howarth. who ha,
often accompanied him on his mos
: reckless adventures, being of the mum
Der. The Albemarle lay moored at tn
: Plymouth wharf, eight miles up th'
river, both banks of which We're line,
with batteries, and held by sever;l
! thousand soldiers. while. ut some dis
tance up, that portion of the wreck q
the Southtield which still lay abov
water WAS occupied by picket guard
whose duty ii was to throw up rocket
t on the first alarm. for, unknown to tn
attacking party, rumOI of the imtende
r endeavOr had in some mysterious wa
already reached the Plymouth authori
: ties. and every provision had been mad
! for their reception.
However. on the night of the 27th q
: October the little launch entered th
Roanoke river, her engine AT low pres
sure, to make the least noise possible
left behind all instructions. paSse
f within thirty feet of the unsuspiciou
picket on the Southtield. and ap
. preached the wharf where the ram la
il vast black mass in the darkness
Greatly emboldened by this success, tn
lieutenant for Il moment resolved t
: change his plan. and, knowing the tow
: perfectly, to put in shore and trust t
the effect of night surprise, with Whlc
he was SO well acquainted, overpowe
. those on board, get her into the streaI
5 before the forts could be aroused, an
5 fight the batteries with her on her wa
4 down. But just as he was about t
=. carry his sudden plan into execution,
: cry from the ram rang out sharply o
{: the night, repeated on every side, foI
e lowed by the instantaneous booming {