CHAPTER VII.

GEORGE DEWEY IN THE CIVIL WAR.

Four Years in the Naval Academy at Annapolis-Incidents of Cadet LifeA Cruise on the European Station-Rapid Promotion for the Young Officer-Outbreak of the Rebellion-Executive Officer of the "Mississippi"-Bravery of Dewey When His Vessel Was Destroyed-Mentioned in Official Reports-Service With Farragut-At the Taking of Fort Fisher-What Admiral Porter Thought-The End of the War.

There has been no period in the career of George Dewey in which he has failed to make his mark. As a boy in Vermont, just as it was in Manila bay, he was distinctly ready for any emergency. So it was during the intervening years. At the Annapolis Naval Academy he made a distinct impress by his clear individuality, and prepared the way for the distinctions he won in the war between the states.

Dewey entered the naval academy in 1854 at the age of seventeen. His active, energetic life had brought him strength, endurance and medium height. He needed not to retire before any of his classmates in outdoor exercises.

By this time the line was clearly defined in the Naval Academy at Annapolis between boys of the North and of the South, just as it was at the Military Academy at West Point. Young Dewey was prompt to let

his position be understood, and equally prompt about getting into trouble. The Southern faction discovered in him an uncompromising spirit, and a concerted effort was made to provoke a quarrel. The effort was successful beyond contemplation. Dewey accepted the appellation of "Yankee" without a word, for he was proud of it, but "dough face" failed to appeal to him, and other things more galling followed.

George Dewey Challenged to a Duel.

Finally the Vermont cadet waited one day for his tormentor as he was coming from the mess-room, knocked him down, and punished him dexterously. Not long afterward an inkstand was thrown at his head

in the reading-room and another decisive victory for the "Yankee" followed fast. Hot Southern blood, however, was not willing to drop the matter at that point. The antagonist sent a challenge to Dewey, suggesting that he would prefer pistols at close range and that the duel must be to the death. The challenge was accepted promptly, principals and seconds were at the designated place of meeting, and they had actually paced off the distance and were ready to place the boys in position when some of their classmates, in alarm, informed the officers of the academy, who interfered in haste.

These quarrels passed, the breaches were healed, and even in the times of partisan heat before the war Dewey became one of the most popular members of the class.

What the Naval Academy Did for Dewey.

When the Naval Academy class of 1858 was graduated fourteen received diplomas out of sixty-five boys who had begun the course together. Of the fourteen, George Dewey, then not twenty-one years old, stood fifth in rank. He had not proved himself an exceptional student, but in seamanship and other technical branches he excelled. Although the school had been organized officially less than ten years when he entered it, and under its improved form less than five, its curriculum was excellent and the midshipmen of that day were taught not only how to hand, reef and steer, but also the higher branches of mathematics, the modern languages and, of course, gunnery and navigation. The student was required to stand upon his own merits. No favoritism was shown and no one but himself was to blame if he could not pass. Discipline was rigid. A high sense of honor was inculcated. It is no surprise that such men as Dewey come out of such ancestry and such environment.

First Cruise After Graduation.

The young midshipman's first cruise after graduation was aboard the old steam frigate "Wabash," under the command of Captain Barron of Virginia, who afterwards went with his state in the war and served in the Confederate navy. The "Wabash" was on the European station, most of the time in the Mediterranean, and Dewey saw those southern shores to good advantage. He made a visit to Jerusalem, cutting there

an olive-wood cane, which he sent to his grandfather in Vermont. It is related that the old gentleman died with that cane by his side, his last words being a message of affection to the grandson who had sent it to him.

In 1860 Dewey returned to Annapolis for his final examination. The two years had been fruitful of valuable experience. This time he led his fellows, a standing which, combined with his former one, gave him a final rating of third in his class and the rank of Passed Midshipman. He obtained a furlough and journeyed to his home in Vermont to visit his father before beginning another cruise.

A Period of Rapid Promotion.

In February, 1861, he received his first commission. Owing to the resignation of many Southern officers he was promoted to the grade of Master, a title no longer in use, corresponding to that of a lieutenant of the junior grade in the modern navy. Resting here in the old homestead at Montpelier, the news came to him that civil war had begun. His furlough was at an end.

Six days after Fort Sumter was fired on, April 18, 1861, Dewey received his commission as lieutenant and was assigned to duty aboard the "Mississippi," then lying in Boston harbor, a steamer of twelve guns, commanded by Captain Melancton Smith. In the organization of the United States Navy for the Civil War she was made a part of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, under command of Captain David G. Farragut, and on January 20, 1862, the fleet sailed for the Gulf of Mexico, for the purpose of capturing the Confederate stronghold, the City of New Orleans.

The first act of Flag-officer Farragut upon reaching the mouth of the Mississippi river was to dispatch his chief-of-staff, Captain Bell, up the river with two gunboats on a scouting expedition. After a careful study of the enemy's position, Captain Bell reported that the approach to the city was strongly fortified and that a dangerous and difficult undertaking was before them.

The Defenses of New Orleans.

The United States government had in former years erected two forts about thirty miles above the head of the passes-Jackson on the right

or south bank, and St. Philip a little further up the stream on the left. Fort St. Philip was originally built by the Spaniards, but was remodeled and repaired by our government in 1812-15, and again in 1841 and following years. Fort Jackson, the more formidable of the two, was built in 1824-32. The Confederate government took possession of these forts immediately after the commencement of the war and put them in thorough repair. When the Federal fleet arrived they found that a Confederate squadron of fifteen vessels, under Commodore J. K. Mitchell, was gathered just above the forts, and along the river banks were ranged 200 sharpshooters to give the forts warning of the Federal's movements, and pick off men whenever opportunity offered. Large hulks were moored in line across the river, with heavy chains extending from one to the other. Rafts of logs were also used, and the passage between the forts was entirely closed.

Facing a Difficult Task.

The task that lay before Farragut and his fleet was to break through these obstructions, pass up the channel of the river between the forts, conquer the Confederate fleet, steam up to New Orleans, and demand the surrender of the city. Great difficulty was experienced in the very first step of the work in getting some of the boats through the passes. In fact, the "Colorado," which drew twenty-two feet of water, could not be taken in at all, as there was but fifteen feet on the bar, and the "Mississippi," after being lightened in every possible manner, was dragged over by tug-boats through a foot of mud.

On the afternoon of April 17, the mortar-boats were placed in posi tion and opened fire on the forts. The bombardment continued with little interruption for six days, when Farragut decided that the condition of affairs warranted an attempt to pass the forts. According to signal, on the morning of April 24, at 2 o'clock, the Federal fleet got under way. The enemy opened fire as soon as the head of the column of advancing vessels came within range, but one by one they ran the gauntlet.

Confederate Resistance to the Assault.

Above the forts the Confederate gunboats were massed, and they brought a rapid and heavy fire to bear upon the attacking fleet, but they

being overmatched were easily disposed of. One hour and ten minutes after weighing anchor the vessels had passed the forts and Farragut was on his way to New Orleans. As the fleet was nearing quarantine, some distance above the forts, the "Manassas," an iron-clad ram in the Confederate service was seen coming up the river in pursuit. Captain Smith was ordered to turn the "Mississippi" and run her down. The order was instantly obeyed, and the "Mississippi" started at full speed. It seemed certain that the ram would be annihilated by the shock of the contact, but when the "Mississippi" was within fifty yards of her she suddenly shifted her helm and dodged the blow. However, the maneuver resulted in disaster in another form, for she ran ashore, where Captain Smith's gunners poured two broadsides into her and sent her drifting down the river, a total wreck.

Thus was accomplished one of the greatest feats in the history of naval warfare. Farragut started with seventeen wooden vessels against the swift current of a stream but little more than half a mile wide, between two powerful earthworks that had been prepared for his coming, his course impeded by burning rafts, and meeting the enemy's fleet of fifteen vessels, two of them iron-clad, he either captured or destroyed them all. And all this with the actual loss of but one of his own squad

ron.

Preparing to Attack New Orleans.

On the morning of April 25, the fleet arrived at a point less than three miles below the City of New Orleans. Here was Jackson's old battle-ground of January 8, 1815, and here Farragut's right-of-way was dis puted by the Chalmette batteries. These works-on both sides of the river-mounted twenty heavy guns, and were prepared to receive the approaching vessels. However, they were silenced in short order, and at last the City of the Crescent was fairly under Federal guns. The haven had been reached at a cost to the fleet of thirty-seven men killed and 147 wounded. From this point resistance ceased, and about noon the fleet anchored off the city, which the retreat of the Confederate forces under General Lovell had left defenseless in the hands of the civil authorities. Meanwhile Lieutenant-Commander John Gurst had been sent to Fort Jackson under a flag of truce, to demand from its commander the immediate surrender of the forts and the remnants of the Confederate navy