Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-13
TALE ABOUT COCHLAN
Figured in Daring Enterprise
During Civil War.
TOLD By A COMPANION
Midnight Expedition Up Guarded
River Under Enemy's Guns.
CHAINS CUT TO OPEN PASSAGE
Commander Plat, Retired Naval
officer, Pays Tribute to Courage
of Dead Comrade.
CHAINS CUT TO OPEN PASSAGE


| telling it: nothing was magnified beyond
| its real proportions, and no claim was
laid to a great accomplishment 1t was
just an affectionate testimony to a brave
man by one who knew him in his youth
| gers of civil war.
! The incident occurred during Dahlgren' S
| time. when Sherman was on his famous
march to the sea. Every effort was made
by the Federal forces to effect junction
! with ShermanS army. The ocean and it's
estuaries had been carefully sounded and
| explored to guard against Instructions to
| the ships and avoid their determination
| by hidden mines
Tale Of Daring Deed.
Capt. Balch, afterward a rear admiral,
with his flagship. the Pawnee, was with
the mosquito fleet off the coast of
Charleston. He had carefully explored
the depths of Port Royal sound, and.
wishing to probe still farther, sent for
Robert Platt, who narrates the story,
then attached to the United States coast
and geodetic survey and now retired
commander of the United States navy,
! who had sounded and charted the Allan
| tic coast from Maine to the Gulf Of Mex
erous depths than any man living.
! ''Platt.'' said the captain, Il have sent
! for you because l want to find out more
about what the Johnnies are doing and
have done up on Tullifnney river. I am
| inclined to believe they have been busy
up there lately. and unless we discover
| how there may be a reckoning later on.
| We'll. captain said Plat, I'm take a
beat and some boys and explore
He did, ard after two days and a night
/ of creeping in and out here and there
along the line of the river he discovered
a mud fo,t we'll manned. with guns
enough to make trouble for any of the
/ little fleet of federal gunboats that dared
! up that way.
| He found more. To obstruct the pas
| sage OF the river and practically ground
| the little boats until they could be shot
| to sInithereens the ConfederateS had
| sunk piles either side of the river
right under the very nose of their guns
and strung across 1t great heavy chains.
AS the means of detecting such traps
were not as efficient in those days as they
are today, and as the small boats. for
the most part equipped with howitzers
only. made their Sorties during the night.
when the darkness made it difficult to de-
tect such distractions. those heavy chains
were quite sufficient to tie up the daring
little fleet and pile it in confusion while
the heavier guns; of the fort did the rest
Plat Proposes Plan.
| Platt slowly and cautiously worked his
way " tHt l. q ISt w Ill luIi III
formation Of the situation fer Admiral
| Balch.
What are we going to do about it,
| the admiral asked I'VE must get up that
river"
"There's only one thing to do. admiral,
| replied Plat: I'VE must cut the chains.
Yes. and be blown into eternity doing
it, blurted out the admiral
Well said Plat. give ME a couple
of men and nervy officer to help out
and We'll run up the river with muffied
oars and we'll cut those chains OF know
| the reason why
| admiral. then ensign. Joe Coghlan was
the officer" said bluff old Commander
| Piatt "Ah, he was one of the nerviest,
braves. most loyal men l ever knew. Yes.
| he was young" continued the gray-faired
veteran. but he had the priceless cour-
! age of youth and the rare discretion Of
age.
Slowly we worked our way from the
head of Port Royal sound. three miles up
that tortuous river Tullifnney. There
| were times. my boy. when we had to no d
! our very breath. so close were we To the
| shore. We could hear the tread of the
| sentres. even hear them they breathed
| heavily or sighed-fOr those were the days
| when signs were common. my friend.
/ I'VE reached the spot where the chains
| lay buried in the water. IT makes my
blood creep even now to think of the dan
ger we We're in. One shot from one of
| those nasty guns in that fort would have
| sent us all to Davy Jones' and it would
| not have required more than one little in
discreet action Or unnecessary noise to
| have started that shot on its way.
Coghlan Cool in Danger.
Dear old Joe was cool as a cucum-
Der. He seemed to know just what was to
be done without the telling. Quietly and
cool,y we set to work and before the
! gray light of dawn crept into the skies the
| chain lay harmless in the river bed. Back
i again to our ship we worked our way, and
when we reached her Joe turned to me
and gave just heavy sigh.
| .'.There was a lot of hell in that job
J Platt' said he, if the Johnnies had only
| found it out
And there was. Admiral Balch report
| ed the result of the expedition to Admiral
Dahlgren. We were complimented. But
| know that the satisfaction of having
helped saw that bunch of chains under
water brought more joy to dear old Joe $
heart than al the compliments of the
universe.
HE was that kind of man. And there
were many of them in those old DAYS
too-men who did not stop to count the
glory of deed but only to get the re-
! suits they were after to win out i'm the
great battle before them"
Part of the little fleet steamed up the
river the next day. The Pluto, notwith-
| Stdn0lnS the VI the cDa1n, was
blown to pieces. But the Pawnee. follow
/ ing with one shot from her nine-incll
gun soon put the fort out of commission.
| We landed and did the rest.
Il lost sight of Zoe for years" contin-
while sitting in the Ebbitt House. in this
| city, I noticed a gentleman walking up
and down, apparently closely observing
| me. Finally he came over to where sat
"'Platt. old fellow, isn't that YOU? he
exclaimed.
"Yes, it was I, and he was dear old Joe
Mia bay covered with glory, but the same
| old Joe.
.,rhe nation lost hero when he died
| lived and his bravery was all the more
valuable to his country because it was
tempered with a cool head and cautious
bearing at all times
Commander Platt's Career.
Commander Robert Plat, U.SN., re-
tired, who told the foregoing story, lives
with his only daughter in modest, COM
Portable home at All B street northeast.
i'm this city. He entered the service of
the United States coast and geodetic sur
| vey in 1853 and has surveyed and charted
the waters of the Atlantic along the en-
| tire coast.
He served with Dallas, Bache, PIERCE.
Patterson and other' men famous in the
service and because of his intimate
knowledge Of the American waters OF
the Atlantic and the eminent service rem
dered by him during the civil war he was