May. The Union army took up a position upon the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, thereby cutting off southern communication with Memphis, and securing control of an additional section of the Mississippi River.

-

572. Island No. 10 and Fort Pillow. The same day on which Grant defeated Beauregard at Shiloh, April 7th, General Pope, assisted by Commodore Foote, captured Island No. 10, taking more than five thousand prisoners. When Corinth had been evacuated by the Confederates, Fort Pillow was abandoned, and the Union army now held the country from Memphis nearly to Chattanooga. Various other engagements took place during the summer and fall, including those at Perryville, Iuka, Corinth, and Nashville.

573. The Battle of Stone River. - Just at the close of the year two great armies met before Murfreesboro in Tennessee. For several days the carnage was frightful. The Union forces were commanded by General Rosecrans, and the Confederates by General Bragg. At first Bragg had the advantage, but Generals Thomas, Sheridan, and Hazen manifested great skill and firmness, and the day was saved for the Union cause. 'Bragg retreated, and the nation had gained another great victory.

David Glasgow Farragut, "the greatest naval commander the world has ever seen,' was born in Tennessee, July 5th, 1801. His childhood was spent among the exciting scenes of frontier life, and before he reached the age of ten years he received a midshipman's commission in the United States navy. He had a varied experience in the War of 1812, though he

was not fourteen years old when the war ended. After this he continued in the navy for some time, and received a lieutenant's commission in 1825.

When the Civil War broke out, Farragut found himself between two fires, -his love for the South and his love for his country. In April, 1861, he hastily left his home at Norfolk, Virginia, and in December received a commission to sail for New Orleans. His action in running the forts, and his success in capturing the city, stand unrivalled in the history of naval warfare. December 23d, 1864, the grade of vice-admiral was created, and Farragut was at once appointed to this position. This rank he held until the grade of admiral was created, July 25th, 1866. Admiral Farragut died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 14th, 1870.

574. New Orleans. Early in 1862 Commodore Farragut had been sent to Ship Island, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, with a strong force of soldiers and a complete naval outfit. The Confederates had fortified the lower Mississippi, and prepared many obstructions to its navigation. They had numerous forts, iron-clads, and fire-rafts, and had obstructed the channel with iron chains. At length Commodore Farragut determined to sail past all these obstructions, and, selecting a dark night, he forced his way up the river. He boldly ran past their

forts, defeated and destroyed their fleet of rams, and approached New Orleans. The Confederates had abandoned the city.

General Benjamin F. Butler, in command of the land forces, took possession of the city on the 28th of April.

New Orleans

SHIP ISLAND

GULF OF MEXICO

Pensacola

Ft.Pickens

GULF STATES

SCALE OF MILES

20 40 60 80 Too

boats, kept the

river open above

Vicksburg. This prevented easy communication between the Confederates beyond the river and those on the eastern side. After the capture of New Orleans, Farragut, with his fleet, steamed up the river from New Orleans to Memphis, and returned, running the gauntlet of the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg and Port Hudson.

CHAPTER LXXIII.

THE WAR IN THE EAST.

576. The "Trent" Affair. - Late in 1861 the Confederate government commissioned two former United States senators - Mr. Mason and Mr. Slidell - as commissioners to London and Paris. They succeeded in sailing past the blockade, and reached Havana. At that port they embarked on an English mail steamer named the "Trent." Captain Charles Wilkes, commanding the United States steamship "San Jacinto," then at Havana, gave chase to the British steamer,

overhauled her, brought her to, went on board, and carried away the commissioners, November 8th, 1861. This act caused great excitement in England, and for a time there seemed to be serious danger of war between Great Britain and the United States. The American government had always strongly objected to the right which English war vessels had often claimed and exercised to search neutral vessels. It was not, therefore, inconsistent for the United States to disavow the act of Captain Wilkes, who had clearly gone beyond his authority; and our government, without censuring him, admitted that he had overstepped his powers, and gave up the commissioners to England. 577. The Position of Great Britain and France. Both England and France were at one time desirous of recognizing the independence of the Confederacy. They were, however, restrained from taking this step; but they both declared the Confederate States a belligerent power, entitled to make war and have war vessels. This gave to the Confederate vessels the right to take refuge in foreign harbors, and soon. English ship-builders and merchants began to build cruisers for parties in the interest of the Confederate government. These vessels were often manned principally by British sailors, but they were commanded by Confederate officers.

John Ericsson.

578. The "Merrimac."- Early in the war the Confederates had taken possession of the navy-yard at Norfolk. At this navy-yard was a large United States frigate called the "Merrimac." This vessel the Confederates had turned into a new style of craft called an iron-clad ram, which they re-named the "Virginia." All that appeared above the water's edge was encased with heavy iron, so that all sorts of shot and shell would glance off and do her no harm. March 8th, 1862, this new iron-clad, being all ready, steamed out from Norfolk into Hampton Roads, where the United States had a fine fleet of war vessels lying at anchor. They opened fire upon this strange craft, but the shot bounded

harmlessly from her iron roof. She attacked the "Cumberland " with terrific energy, and in a few moments so seriously injured her that she sank. Turning her attention to the "Congress," she disabled this frigate, when darkness put an end to the conflict, and she retired to Norfolk. Great consternation seized the whole North. At once it appeared as though nothing could stop the "Merrimac" from sailing to the Northern cities, bombarding them and destroying their shipping, or from going south and breaking the blockade at all points. It was a day of fear and trembling.

579. The "Monitor." But relief was nearer at hand than any one knew. For some time past Captain John Ericsson, a native of Sweden, had been at work in New York, building an iron-clad on a new principle. He called it the "Monitor." It was a small craft compared with the huge "Merrimac," and carried but two guns, which were placed in a revolving turret. The deck of the vessel was flat, and scarcely appeared above the water's edge. The Confederates called this singular craft "a Yankee cheese-box on a raft." Providentially it came about that this new sea monster arrived at Hampton Roads that very evening after the "Merrimac" had put into Norfolk.

580. The Battle between the Iron-Clads. The next day, March 9th, 1862, the "Merrimac" again sailed out to finish her work. As she appeared, the little "Monitor" placed herself between the wooden frigates and their huge enemy. The great giant and the little giant began firing at each other. The "Merrimac " ran, full speed, against the "Monitor," giving her a tremendous shock, but inflicting no serious damage. Five times the huge ram tried to sink the small iron-clad. The strange contest continued for four hours, and apparently neither vessel had injured. the other. It had, however, become clear to the managers of the "Merrimac" that they could do nothing with their new antagonist. She was shot proof, and shell proof, and bomb proof. She could not be sunk, and, being smaller, she could move much easier and quicker than the "Merrimac." Consequently, the Confederate nondescript steamed back again to Norfolk, from which place she never again sailed. Later she was destroyed by the Confederates themselves. This contest of a few hours changed all modern methods of naval warfare. after wooden vessels play no part in naval conflicts.

John Ericsson was brought up in Sweden, in the midst of mining and railroad machinery. When he was twenty-three years of age, in 1826, he went to England to introduce a new engine which he had invented. He came to the United States in 1839, and at once on his arrival in this country he furnished designs to the United States navy department for the warship "Princeton," the first vessel which had its propelling machinery below the water line, out of the reach of hostile shot. This vessel was properly regarded as the pioneer of modern naval construction. He designed and built the "Monitor," in Greenpoint, New York, in 1861, for the United States government. She was built and launched, with steam machinery complete, in one hundred days. It was this haste in her building which brought her to Hampton Roads in season to attack the "Merrimac." "But for the victory of the 'Monitor,' the result of the war might have been changed and European interference attempted." Soon after her contest with the "Merrimac," a fleet of was quickly built which defeated several iron-clad batteries. Many honors were bestowed on Ericsson for his inventions. He died in New York City, March 8th, 1889. In 1867, a huge monument, quarried in one piece from the neighboring granite mines, was set up in front of his birthplace, bearing the inscription in the Swedish language, "John Ericsson was born here, 31st July, 1803."

monitors Here

During

the second and third years of the war Virginia was the great battle-ground. Here was almost constant fighting, including several distinct campaigns. The first of these was McClellan's campaign on the peninsula.

582. The Peninsular Campaign. - The Battle of Bull Run ( 559) had ended the first attempt to march the Union armies overland from Washington toward Richmond. Its result was so disastrous that McClellan conceived an essentially different plan for his