The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-02-12

weight due to its exertions in the anal sue
cesses of the Federal Generals-have been
but little noticed as compared to the din
and shock of the great battles with which
the New World rang. Yet nothing is more
surprising in this great contest-no mill
tary, political, or financial success has
more completely defed expectation, propf-
ecy, and precedent-than the work
wrought by this arm of the Union forces.
and wrought by it in the very process of
creation out of actual nonentity."
UNPARALLELED NAVAL ACHIEVEMENTS.
Dupont, whirling his vessels around the
battle-ellipse at Port Royal, and battering
into submissive ruins in four hours such
earthwOrks as stood siege of months
from the foremost engineers of the Old
World at Sebastopol; Foote, resistlessly
sweeping up and down the Mississippi and
its tributaries with his motley fleet of
unique craft, making havoc with his foes
on shore and stream six days in the week,
and on the seventh standing IN some
riverside church, or on his quar-
ter-deck, the earnest and eloquent preacher
of the gospel of Christ; Farragut, even by
British critics confessed the first seaman
Of the age" moving his mighty fleet at
New Orleans through the grim gantlet of
commanding forts at dead of night by the
light of flashing guns and blazing RATS,
bursting through river-booms, scattering
hostile gunboats, sinking armored rams,
eluding burning barges, and silencing
shore batteries, to bring the Crescent City
in surrender at his lieutenant's feet; or
again, as he stood in the Hartford's rig
ging at Mobile Bay, handling his squad
ron of monitors in cavalry tactics against
the leviathan Tennessee and its attendant
minor sea monsters; David D. Porter, in
all his brilliant service from the relief of
beleaguered Fort Pickens in the very
opening scenes of the war down to his
| magnificent fight at Fort Fisher as clos
ing act of the bloody drama; Jack" Rod
gers, in his lightning-like destruction of the
supposed invincible Atlanta, in presence
of the gaily bedecked feet of merry-mak-
ing civilians from Savannah, with his SUBJ
sequent hearty offer to his complaining
prisoner to take back his huge irOnclad
and try the fight over again if one thrash
ing were not enough for him; young Cush-
ing-Phil Sheridan of the seas-rading
audaciously through the enemy's lines to
destroy single-handed the dreaded ram AL
benarle under the guns and watch of a
vigilant and strong-armed foe, and per-
forming half-score of similar feats of
daring, either of which might have made
| worldwide hero of that beardless boy;
Morris. going down with the grand old
Cumberland, sinking but not surrendering,
! firing his farewell broadside of defiance as
| his vessel settled calmly into her grave of
glory. with the dear old flag still flying at
her peak; Worden, coming up in the puny
"cheese-box" Monitor, like the stripping
David to beard and vanquish the defiant
Goliath of the deep; Boggs, selling Sc
dearly the life of ''the vessel Varuna" al
the Mississippi's mouth-Samson-lik car.
rying with him to destruction the Philis.
tine host of gunboats; Winslow, fighting
the decisive nautical duel with the repre-.
sentative freebooter of the seas, in the
presence of its scowling seconds, the lib
originating aristocracies of England and
france; aye, and plain John Davis, the
Valley City gunner, throwing his body
across the open barrel of powder to pro
tect the magazine from fire in the waters
OF North Carolina; and Frisbie, Gunner's
Mate on the Pinola, when the berth decl
was ON fire, closing the magazine agains,
the flames, himself remaining inside; thes,
starred names, with the countless host O,
their gallant fellows, famous or unknown
who dared and endured and suffered in tn,
long months of dreary watching alon:
3,OOO miles of enlarged coast; in the per
ilous scouts of huge launches or of swift
nylng gigs within the enemy's closest har
Dor defense, and in the ever-present dan
ger from submerged torpedoes, or sud
denly descending rams, or coast and oceaI
storms; or who went down in momen
to sailors living grave, as in the origina
Monitor, the Housatonic, the Weehawken
and the Tecumseh-are not they worthy O
ever-fresh remembrance among the mobiles
and bravest defenders of our Republic
Shall they not be borne always grateful,
in mind, for what they did and for VIVA
they were, while heroism and unselfish de
votion to country are held in honor b,
those who reap the fruits of their patriot,
daring2
LIEUT.. BENJAMIN Il. PORTER.
As hearty tribute Of respect for tn
ability and worth of the many officers O
our navy whom have known personally
l wish TO tell of four of these-of widei,
different characteristics, yet each one tn,
representative Of a class-with whom
was brought into somewhat intimate rela
tons in Southern prison, or in actiy,
service on the Southern coast.
First there was Lieut.. BENJAMIN 81
= Porter-"Ben Porter" as he was common