The Republican journal., 1906-06-21
Joselyn and myself were members of a

was the pest SIX weeks ScnOollng
ever had, for by 1t learned to rely on
myself. This court was composed of
seven members. of which | was the
junior. and in Naval court martlals the
Junior is always called on to give his
opinion first. so that he shall not be in
tiuenced by his seuiors. | had to rely
on myself and render my verdict from
my own standpoint, with no knowledge
whatever as to what the verdict Of the
others was to be. | studied DeHart on
court martials much. for the court com
biped in foreuoonS only, preSumlng
that some of the officers took wine at
dinner and would not be in condition at
all times to render a sound verdict. l
soon found that in a majority of the
cases that came before us a majority
of the court was of my way of thinking,
and also found that in matters of that
kind | was a better man than | had
taken myself to be. This court adj
journed the first of February and the
Commodore Hull was relieved by the
gunboat Underwater and we were
ordered to take up our position IN the
Trent river below the town.
Having now been in the service for
about three years. without one days
leave of absence l applied for and OBJ
tanned thirty days leave in order to
visit my parents in Belfast. At that
time Belfast was on the outside: there
was no communication with II except
by stage via Augusta. | took an ocean
steamer from MoTehead City. \. C.. to
Fortress Monroe. and a steamer from
there to Baltimore. and failing to make
connections had to remain in New
York over Sunday, so that | was long
time i'll reaching my home, ana you
can Judge of my aStonishment when |
read in the paper the morning after
my arrival that the rebels had made a
night attack on the gunboat nder-
writer which had relieved Us but few
DAYS before that the captain and two
officers and several men had been XIII
ed and the steamer burned and that
the rebels all got away. This daring deed
was done inside our lines and within 500
yards of one Of our forts. The Con
federate who led this expedition was
Lieut.. John Taylor Wood of the Con
federate navy. grandson OF eX-PreSl-
dent, I. Taylor | do not know as |
care to speculate as to what the ieShit
would have been had We remained
there instead of being relieved by the
Inflated I Underwater, | know that we
ours was a bigger boat. higher out OF
water had boarding netting to keep
Of boardeIs. and kept better watch.
And | am OF the opinion that if the
HUH had been captured 1t would not
have been until some OF them had been
killed on the other side.
From that time on during the winter
ana early spring the rebels We're press
ing us hard on all sides. They were
occupying tile penlnsular between Ply
mouth on the Roanoke river and New
bern Oh the Neuse river. with head
quarters at Washington al the head
waters of the Plmlico river, the place
where we had been beleaguered, and
had defended SO we'll the spring before.
but which had been evacuated by us
since that time. Plymouth and New
bern were TO miles apart across country.
with Washington about midway be
tween. while for us to change from one
of these Notifications to the other 1t
was all water transportation and
distance of $50 miles, and the army
having but few transport steamers the
work of carrying troops from one place
to the other was extremely slow. Every
guubOat in the Sounds was called INTO
reQuiSition and they were continually
PLAYING battledore and ShuttlecOck be-
tween these two places. expecting
daily an attack on one or the other OF
both This was kept up tor nearly
mouth. To add to the excitement it
was rumored that two rebel Ir0nclad
rams We're being built on the upper wa
tiers of the Roanoke and the NeuSe
river and that they We're nearing com
pletIon and as soon as completed
simultaneous attack was 20 be made on
both places. One OF these rumorS
proved to he fake. for the rebels were
building no ram on the NeuSe river
But the other was no dream, as We
learned to our sorrow, for Oh the night
OF April 1 a. 1864, the rebel ram AIhe-
marie. built at Edwards Ferry, 12G
miles above Plymouth on the Roanoke,
made 4 night attack on our fleet. sink
ing one gunboat and driving the rest
out of the river. causing the death OF
Lieut. Commander Charles FIusser,
one of the bravest and most loyal Off
GERS that ever lived, and causing the uu-
conditional surrender of the land forces
the next day Here again had it not
have been for assistance Captain FluS-
ser was called upon to render the army
that night this sad affair might not
have occurred and the result would
have been victory for us, as Ftusser
had predicted.
This ram had been expected to make
the attack for several nights, and the
little feet commanded by FIusser were
auxiously awaiting it, The fleet was
composed of the following vessels: viz,
Miami, Lieut.. Commander Flusser;
Southtield, Acting Volunteer Lieut.
Charles A French; Ceres. Acting
Master H. H. Foster, and Whitehead,
Acting Ensign, &. W Barrett Capt.
Flusser had made his plan of attack on
the ram when she should appear. He
placed the two biggest boats, the
Miami and the Southfeld, abreast of
each other but spread 30 feet apart by
two spars of hard pine timber and when
the ram came in sight they were to go
ahead at full speed and get the ram be-
tween them and so tangled up with
them that if they sank she would sink
also. The Whitehead was sent up the
river to note and report her approach
and the Ceres was to be the tender to
the Two bigger vessels and do duty as
occasion required. Everything had
been arranged so far as the Navy was
concerned for the protection of its own,
and had not a change been made to go
to the assistance of the forts, which
were hard pressed, all would have been
well with it, as the last letters written
NV the Gallant FIuSSpr will show They