The Washington herald., 1914-10-28
CIVIL WAR DAY BY DAY
Fifty Years Ago
October 2 S6- Confederate Was Sunk Plymouth
c. BY Torpedo Exploded Beneath Its Hull by Lieut
Cushing, u NThe Most Gallant Personal Exploit
Annals Of the War

Fifty years ago today the Confederate
ram Albemarle was sunk at Plymouth. \,
c.. by a torpedo exploded under her hull
by Lieut.. William B. Gushing. L. s. n.
Cushing's destruction of this ship. one
of the few formidable ironclads produced
by the Confederates, was the most gal
liant personal exploit in the naval annals
OF the war. 1t Is recalled today by thou
sands Of persons who can remember dis
tinctly few II any other incidents of naval
operations in the great struggle for the
Union. The reason for this fact is to be
found in the universal appeal Of personal
bravery, whatever its setting.
''Impossibilities are for the timid," said
Gushing. He was the very opposite of
timid at all times. The measure of his
achievements through bravery is had by
the record OF his destruction, with the
aid OF a boats crew OF gallant seamen,
Of a ship that had defied the Federal
navy for months, and had enabled the
Confederates to hold a large section Of
the North Carolina coast. Farragut's s
great feet accomplished no more in sub
DUNG the Confederate ram Tennessee
in fierce and heavy battle in the Bay OF
Mobile on August ), 1864, than Cushing
accomplished with his torpedo in a few
minutes on the night of October Is.
The mere secret planting OF a torpedo Is
not an act calling for conspicuous gal
lantry. but In Cushing's case the work
was done under a hot fire. while the
operation under such conditions OF the
mechanism employed called for a rare
display OF GOODNESS. single halting
movement or a single false move would
have defeated the object sought. Even
the admiration Of the rams commander
was won by Cushings bravery, for that
officer afterwards wrote: "A more gallant
thing was not done in the war"
Boats Specially Equipped.
In the naval records preserved by the
government and in graphic paper writ
ten by Lieut.. Gushing all the essential
facts regarding this great exploit are
preserved.
The AlbemarIe had long been a thorn
in Federal flesh. Having been built on
the Roanoke River, below Weldon, she
had come down stream on April IS. had
sunk the Federal gunboat Ssuthfield in
front Of Plymouth on April 49, and on
May had engaged a feet of seven Fed
eral steamers in Albemarle Sound, doing
much damage.
The Federals had lost Plymouth as a
result OF the rams appearance, and had
been obliged to keep a large naval force
in nearby waters to blockade the iron
monster in the Roanoke River. As the
waters of the Sound were shallow. no
ordinary ironclad could enter them to
engage the AIbemarle, and the Federal
government had been obliged to order the
of light-draft monitors for
the purpose. These vessels were not yet
completed when Lieut. Gushing proposed
a plan for blowing up the ram as she
lay at Plymouth.
Cushing, at that time in command OF
the Gunboat Monticello, on duty in Abe
marie Sound, was ordered to Washington
TO explain his plan, and there received
to go ahead and to secure the
equipment he required for the work pro-
posed.
Proceeding to New York he secured two
small steam craft rated as launches. that
ere being built for picket service These
were about forty-five feet long and about
nine feet wide. A pole fourteen feet long
was fitted by an iron universal joint to