The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-04-15
THE CONFEDERATE NAVY
Haxr II Acc0MPLfsHED DUGfNG
INN CiyfI UzR.
a Very Interesting Paper Read Before II.
y. Leo Camp by Mr.. Nisrinlu~ Newton.
Its Superiority Over the Enemy.

numerous episodes during the late war.
Alr. Newton responded with the prompt
ness Of a gallant soldier and selected as
Lis subject the Confederate navy and It's
noble deeds.
lie succeeded In giving in the most
condensed form a statement OF the many
noble deeds executed by men who offered
their lives 10 The cause OF the ConiedeIa-
cy and selected the navy as their field
II operation.
The following is copy OF the paper
read by Mr.. Newton:
tu greeting you tonight. the mind by
that law which induces contrast leaps
the zap OF thirty wears. and bodies forth
in memory that gallant host which lived
in days that tried mems souls. and linked
heart Ito hear; with hooks Of steel"
Men OF bOundless devotion. uncalcu-
latiug sacrifice. magnificent heroisni. unc-
0ualed endurance. whose names. whose
deeds deeply ctchcd upon the scroll Of
fame. shall live upon the lips OF men.
shall be- Hspcd by the tongues OF the
babes Of your land. so long as the Eng
lish speech shall be voiced upon this
planet As comrades as survivors or
This host that laid down life itself IN
defence of your sacred soil. IN dcience
az the cause of civil liberty. you 1 salute
with
Honor and reverence. and the good
rcpute
That follows faithful service as its fruit.
address you this evening upon branch
OF your military service the more con-
spicuOus, perhaps. Ia It's absence from
your councils. handicapped from Begin
ming to end Of your struggle by lack
Of the material development OF one sec
ton. and oVershadowed by your ever
memorable prowess I'm the field "fhe
Navy Of the Confederate States.
That navy s-that IL may be made
an important factor-an efficient coadju-
tor 10 the success of an army in the
held let the service OF the United states
navy in the late war fully attest.
Mcclellan in the hour of his defeat,
before Richmond made Harfison's Land
ing the goal of his flight, to place his
shattered and demoraized forces under
the guns OF the navy on the James.
The United States navy conveyed the
Federal army TO its attack upon Fort
Henry. in February. lS62-rendered SER
vice so effective that capitulatiOn was
made TO il before the army was in pc
siuon-and a few days later was its left
wing at Fort Donelson. contributing ma
tefial aid Ina its reduction.
The Mississippi with its vast supplies
SOD essential TO our armics) was ia our
control from Cairo 10 the Gulf, until
F1ote from the North. and tarragut
nom the South. broke It's barriers, and
logan that system of segregation which
90 pitilessly sapped your vital forces.
The presence Of the navy at Savannah.
and the seaboard gave BIRTH in the brain
off Sherman. TO that relentless March to
The Sea. which shook. for time, even,
the morale Of the army Of Northern Nir-
einia.
Grant ia his wilderness Campaign,
foiled al every point in his direct road
10 Richmond. sat down before Peters
burg. his right wing in touch with the
navy on The James. ana that he be not
shom Of this assistance. INSTRUCTED the
river AGAINST the descent of your gun
boats.
The brief career Of the Merrimac in
Hampton Roads delayed the advance Of
Mcclellan on the Peuinsula-gave you
the much needed time to put the defences
0r Richmond in Order-evoked the memo
f4ble telegram to Fox assistant secretary
or navy. "Cau / rely upon the Monitor
.. keep the Merrmac in check, so that
IAN make Fort Monroe a base Of opera
lions" end as late as the 18th of March
fVe. the lamentation Of General Barnard.
bis chief of engineers: 1.-THE possibility
of the Mcrnmac appearing again. para
ives the movement of this army by
whatsoever route IS auopteu.
IMPORTANCE or BLocEADTs.
The rigid blockade Of your ports frt~-
the Chesapeake Bay TO the Rio Grande.
cut Oft the Confederacy from the markets
of the world: deprived YOU of clothing,
shoes. tools. ammunition and munitions
of war-threW you back upon the unde-
vel0ped resources OF an agricultural peo-
pie: added ten-fold 10 the hardships Of
your troops i'm the field restricted your
captures upon the high seas and con-
trlbuted i'm material. if not ina equal por
ton, TO your final overthrow ON land.
The navy of your common country.
which at the beginning OF hosulities,
numbered some ninety war ships Of va
rious classes fell into the hands OF the
Tederals and by December, 1861. was
AUGMENTED by superior facilities to 26i
vessels mounting 2,5J7 guns, With 1900
seamen.
OF the ten navy yards. the property
of your common country, eight were
located I'm the Northern States and but
TWO. Norfoll, and Pensacola. were IN the
South. The Pensacola yard was one
merely for shelter and repair. From that
at Norfolk came the guns ana ammuni-
ton that did service In the whole South,
anoat and ashore. the first years of the
war.
The number Of officers in the navy of
the nation was 1.56S. Of these, 61 were
credited TO the South, but were not by
that fact necessarily. southern born.
Of these latter, 32i resigned. and cast
their lives and fortunes with that of
your country.
To the future historian. Of this tragic
epoch. "who shall naught eXtenuate,
naught set down in malice" perpleNins
rhapter OF his book Will be the one, in
which he shall endeavor 10 give an ac-
count Of the ways and means by which
your people. void Of manufacturing IN
dustries. void Of skilled and efficient ar
usans. void OF material for construction,
equipped and maintained in the field for
four long years. the most effective mill
tary service known I'm modern times.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE SOUTH.
Prof Solely Of the United states Navy
IN his book "The Blockade and The
Cruisers" says:
Great as was the task before The
United States government in preparing
for naval war. 1t was as nothing 10
that of the Confederacy. The latter had
at It's disposal a small number Of trained
officers. imbued with the same ideas,
and brought up in the same school as
their opponents. Some OF these like
buchanan. Semmes. Brown. Mafht. and
Brooke, were men Of extraordinary pro-
frreto,o1 oualfffeS. hut rNqcDf ia It's ofH-