The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-05-11

the legislation or the confederate
States in regard to officers OF the army
and navy who resigned from the United
States service was to the effect that they
should have the same rank in the Con-
federate service that they held in that
of the United States.
Army officers of merit, however, at
once found employment with higher
rank. in the Provisional Army-that tenn
pOrary army which was TO be disbanded
on the termination of hostilties; a lieu
tenant in the Confederate States army
frequently being a brigade general in the
Provisional Army Gen. Ramsour and
Fender for instance, were only very sub
ordinate officers in the Confederate
States army.
In the naval service there was no such
opening for meritorious officers. The
Confederacy could not organize navy of
sufficient strength TO cope with the
United States fleets, and the field for the
display of talent, genius and enterprise
by navy officers was very limited.
AT Drewry's Bluff. below Richmond, a
naval station was established, where
quite a number was assigned to duty,
and Lieutenant Waddell was stationed
there.
Others were employed in construction
and equipment of light vessels in rivers
and harbors. and in building iron clads
and rams: but generally the naval ser
vice offered but little opportunity of
doing effective work for the cause-or Of
| winning glory and renown.
Hard was the case of these excellent
| officers. who had to be comparatively
| idle and inactive for the want Of oppor-
tunity to fight North Carolina, never
slow when the time for action arrives. at
| the first mutterings of hostilities, had
purchased several small steamers at
| Norfolk, and after equippng them. had
| brought them into Albemarle Sound. One
| of these. the Winslow. commanded by
| Lieut. Thomas NJ. Crossan, lowered off
our coast and captured eight or ten
prizes. The Beaufort was commanded by
| Lieut. Duvall, the Raleigh by Lieut.. Joe
| w. Alexander, the Ellis by Commodore
w. T. Muse. A little later half a dozen
| other small vessels were added TO the
| fleet in the sound by the Confederate au-
thorities and these vessels disputed the
possession of our inland waters with the
Federal gunboats.
In February. 1862, under Commodore
| Lynch they made a fight in defence OF
| Roanoke Island, but two days later, in
| front of Elizabeth City the Federal feet
| overpowered them; and only the Beau
| fort. Raleigh and Appomattox escaped
destruction. The Federals then pos
sesed themselves of the sounds. A few
miles below Halifax at Edwards Ferry,
Gilbert Elliott, in 1863, built the ram AL
| bemarle under contract with the Confed-
crate Navy Department. Capt. James w.
| Cooke, a North Carolina navy officer,
supervised the construction. and as soon
/ as she was nearly completed about the
middle of April. 1864 a movement was
| made to drive the Federals out of that
| part of the State. so that the corn in
| that fertile region could be obtained for
| the army. The Albemarle dropped down
| the Roanoke river and engaged the Fed
eral feet at Plymouth. sinking one vessel,
disabling another, and driving off the
Others.
This opened the way for Gen. Hoke to
capture the town. fortnight later
| Capt. Cooke steamed out into the sound
| to drive the Federal gunboats entirely
| out OF our waters. After terrific con-
| fict with the enemy's fleet. which car
ried ffty-five heavy guns, during which
| the smokestack of the Albemarle was so
rddled that there was no draught to her
| furnaces, Capt. Cooke made the best of
| his way back to Plymouth. Notwith-
| standing unusual precautions were taken
against a night attack upon the ram, in
| October. 1864 w. B. Cushing a daring
young Federal navy officer, succeeded one
| dark night in approaching her and in ex-
ploding torpedo at her side, resulting
| in her destruction.
At Wilmington and elsewhere on our
| rivers at the South efforts were made to
| build rams and improvise gunboats, and
| these operations gave some employment
to navy officers. A few others were en-
gagged in operating such gunboats as
could be obtained abroad.
The part that sea power plays in war
| fare is not confined to giving battle to
| the enemy's cruisers Indeed the chief
value of supremacy on the seas is to re-
| strain the commercial relations of the
| enemy: to isolate his territory; to cut
off his supplies; to diminish his re-
| sources: to interrupt his commerce; tc
| distress his industries, and bring him to
| the point of preferring peace.
In every war between maritime nations
history has repeated itself in this re-
gard.
The Federal government. with this
purpose in view, established blockade
of our coast, and sought TO effectually
stifile our commercial dealings with the
outer world.
On the other hand the Confederates
sought to obtain needed supplies abroad
and to harrass the commerce of the enc
my Neither side, however, utilized its
opportunities fully. Each committed the
error of combining it's operations too ex-
clusively to its land forces. In no other
great war was the element of sea power
so little regarded. The Federal govern
ment had supreme domination of the sea
but failed TO capture and occupy the
Confederate seaports-and even failed to
maintain an effective blockade.
In like manner the Conhderates made
the fatal error of neglectng to transport
to foreign countries the great cottor
crop OF 1861, which would have estab-
lished our finances on a substantial,
basis and would probably have averted
those embarrassments that later imper-
illed our success The government was