ARRANGEMENT OF THE FLEET. 97 led, followed by the Vanderbilt towing the Great Republic; the Ocean Queen, towing the Zenas Coffin; succeeded by the Potomac, Winfield Scott, Union, Oriental, Cahawba, R. B. Forbes, O. M. Pettit, and Vixen. At the right the Empire City led, followed by the Ericsson, Florida, Philadelphia, Roanoke, Matanzas, Ben Deford, two ferry boats, the Daniel Webster, the Augusta, Ariel, Peerless, Mayflower, Mercury, and Os ceola. the movement, the huge transport fleet left Annapolis for the place of rendezvous at Hampton Roads. The fleet sailed early to accomplish the voyage by daylight, the removal of the various buoys and lights by the rebels in the Chesapeake rendering it unsafe to proceed by night. The day becoming obscured, and a heavy gale blowing, it was not till the next morning that the vessels arrived opposite Fortress Monroe to join the vast and imposing gathering of frigates, gunboats, and other vessels of war The fleet, following as far as pracalready assembled there, with an im- ticable this programme, in which due mense train of provision transports, care was taken to distribute the armed among which towered the formidable vessels for the security of the transports, Wabash, Minnesota, Roanoke, Vandalia, presented a grand appearance as it left and other familiar ships of the old navy. the Capes of Virginia. There were, of A week was now passed in various course, some irregularities even at the preparations incidental to so extensive start, and it could hardly be expected an enterprise, in connection with the that the symmetrical arrangement could drill and equipment of the several de- be long pursued on the Atlantic, in the partments, when, at dawn on Tuesday, region of Hatteras, in the month of Septhe 29th of October, the expected gun tember. The space occupied by the from the Wabash gave the signal of get- fleet is described in extent from the ting under way. At five the anchors eastern to the western limits, and from were weighed throughout the fleet, and north to south, as about twelve miles in half an hour after the flag-ship steamed either direction-a splendid spectacle, as out in advance, and the vast armada the huge area was filled with the diversiwas in motion. The morning was one fied craft, from the stately frigate and monof the fairest of the season at Hampton ster steamers, through the various gradaRoads, with not a cloud in the bright tions of naval architecture to the humble blue sky, and scarcely a breeze ruffling ferry boat. In addition to the fifty vesthe surface of the water. The fleet, in sels of the fleet, including the transports, general accordance with a preconcerted Commodore Dupont had despatched the arrangement, was formed in three parallel day before twenty-five coal vessels, unlines corresponding to the military divi- der convoy of the Vandalia, to rendezsions, the flag-ship Wabash leading the vous off Savannah, not wishing, as he van in the centre, flanked on either side says, to give the true point. The real by a squadron of gunboats, the Curlew, place of destination, Port Royal, was Isaac Smith, Pawnee, Ottawa, Unadilla, not known through the fleet till it was Seneca, Pembina, R. B. Forbes, and Pen- well at sea. It appears from the report guin. The Baltic, towing the Ocean Ex- of Commodore Dupont, that some other press, led the column on the left, support-point was first thought of, and that the ed by the Pocahontas; the Illinois, towing the Golden Eagle, followed with the Locust Point, Star of the South, Parkersburg, Belvidere, the Alabama, Coatzacoalcos, Marion, Governor, and Mohican. At the head of the central line the Atlantic one chosen was adopted at the suggestion and by the decision of that officer. "After mature deliberation," says he, addressing Secretary Welles, "aided by the professional knowledge and great intelligence of the Assistant Secretary, Scott in the Mexican war, was brevetted land regiments, a battalion of Volunteer Captain for gallant and meritorious con- Engineers under Colonel Serrell, and a duct at Contreras and Cherubusco, and battery of six rifled cannon, formerly Major for his gallantry before the city of Sherman's, now commanded by Captain Mexico. After the war he was engaged Hamilton. upon the United States Coast Survey, and The fleet of transport and merchant subsequently was at the head of the ships for carrying the troops with the Government Survey of the Northern various supplies of ammunition, equiprailway route to the Pacific, in which he ments, cavalry horses, and quartermaswas associated with General, then Cap- ter's stores, numbered some thirty-five tain, McClellan. In 1853 he was ap- vessels, including not a few of the most pointed Governor of Washington Terri- distinguished in the United States Mertory, and in 1857 represented the Terri- cantile service. The steamships Atlantic tory in Congress. Associated with the under Captain Oliver Eldridge, the headSouthern democracy in the late canvass quarters of this division, and the Baltic, for the Presidency, he was chairman of Captain Joseph Comstock, of the New the National Executive Committee. This, York and Liverpool Collins' Line, carhowever, did not hinder a prompt ex- ried each a full New Hampshire regipression by him of loyalty to the Gov-ment, and were laden with vast quantities ernment, on the outbreak of the rebel- of stores. These vessels bore also a lion. He offered his services to the Government and entered the army with the appointment of Colonel of the 79th New York Highland regiment of Volunteers, as the successor of Colonel Cameron, on the death of that officer at Bull Run. His appointment of BrigadierGeneral of Volunteers was dated 28th of September, 1861. His brigade in the expedition consisted of the 8th Michigan, 50th Pennsylvania, the Round-Head Pennsylvania, and 79th New York regi-ple resources of the well-furnished Am ments. Brigadier-General Horatio G. Wright, the commander of the Third Brigade, a native of Connecticut, graduated at West Point second in his class, in 1841, when he was appointed 2d Lieutenant of Engineers. For the three following years he was Acting Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Engineering, in the Military Academy, was made 1st Lieutenant in 1848, Captain of Engineers in 1855, attained the rank of Major in the Engineer corps in August, 1861, and the next month was appointed BrigadierGeneral of Volunteers. His brigade in the expedition was composed of the 6th and 7th Connecticut, the 9th Maine, the 4th New Hampshire, the 3d Rhode Is number of rifled cannon, surf boats to land troops, a launch to take ashore the heavy guns, and the frames of houses, bricks for building, etc. The fast sailing Vanderbilt, the Ericsson, Empire City, Daniel Webster, Ocean Queen, and the New York Ship Great Republic of 3350 tons, which had been employed in similar service by the British Government in the Crimean war, were among the vessels of this fleet, which fully represented the am erican Mercantile Marine. Bringing up the rear in this naval inventory, were a half-dozen ferry boats, such as are employed in the harbor of New York, capacious, admirably constructed vessels of their class, of the lightest draft, admirably adapted for the transportation and landing of troops in peaceful waters, but little fitted to breast the stormy waves of the Atlantic in a tempestuous season. The total tonnage of the transport steamers, it was calculated, amounted to 32, 391 tons, and of the Great Republic and other sailing vessels, 7,151 tons. On the 21st of October the embarkation of the troops having been completed, and the weather, which had been foggy for the last few days, permitting ARRANGEMENT OF THE FLEET. the movement, the huge transport fleet left Annapolis for the place of rendezvous at Hampton Roads. The fleet sailed early to accomplish the voyage by daylight, the removal of the various buoys and lights by the rebels in the Chesapeake rendering it unsafe to proceed by night. The day becoming obscured, and a heavy gale blowing, it was not till the next morning that the vessels arrived opposite Fortress Monroe to join the vast and imposing gathering of frigates, gunboats, and other vessels of war already assembled there, with an immense train of provision transports, among which towered the formidable Wabash, Minnesota, Roanoke, Vandalia, and other familiar ships of the old navy. A week was now passed in various preparations incidental to so extensive an enterprise, in connection with the drill and equipment of the several departments, when, at dawn on Tuesday, the 29th of October, the expected gun from the Wabash gave the signal of getting under way. At five the anchors were weighed throughout the fleet, and half an hour after the flag-ship steamed out in advance, and the vast armada was in motion. The morning was one of the fairest of the season at Hampton Roads, with not a cloud in the bright blue sky, and scarcely a breeze ruffling the surface of the water. The fleet, in general accordance with a preconcerted arrangement, was formed in three parallel lines corresponding to the military divisions, the flag-ship Wabash leading the van in the centre, flanked on either side by a squadron of gunboats, the Curlew, Isaac Smith, Pawnee, Ottawa, Unadilla, Seneca, Pembina, R. B. Forbes, and Penguin. The Baltic, towing the Ocean Express, led the column on the left, supported by the Pocahontas; the Illinois, towing the Golden Eagle, followed with the Locust Point, Star of the South, Parkersburg, Belvidere, the Alabama, Coatzacoalcos, Marion, Governor, and Mohican. At the head of the central line the Atlantic 97 led, followed by the Vanderbilt towing the Great Republic; the Ocean Queen, towing the Zenas Coffin; succeeded by the Potomac, Winfield Scott, Union, Oriental, Cahawba, R. B. Forbes, O. M. Pettit, and Vixen. At the right the Empire City led, followed by the Ericsson, Florida, Philadelphia, Roanoke, Matanzas, Ben Deford, two ferry boats, the Daniel Webster, the Augusta, Ariel, Peerless, Mayflower, Mercury, and Os ceola. The fleet, following as far as prac ticable this programme, in which due care was taken to distribute the armed vessels for the security of the transports, presented a grand appearance as it left the Capes of Virginia. There were, of course, some irregularities even at the start, and it could hardly be expected that the symmetrical arrangement could be long pursued on the Atlantic, in the region of Hatteras, in the month of September. The space occupied by the fleet is described in extent from the eastern to the western limits, and from north to south, as about twelve miles in either direction-a splendid spectacle, as the huge area was filled with the diversified craft, from the stately frigate and monster steamers, through the various gradations of naval architecture to the humble ferry boat. In addition to the fifty vessels of the fleet, including the transports, Commodore Dupont had despatched the day before twenty-five coal vessels, under convoy of the Vandalia, to rendezvous off Savannah, not wishing, as he says, to give the true point. The real place of destination, Port Royal, was not known through the fleet till it was well at sea. It appears from the report of Commodore Dupont, that some other point was first thought of, and that the one chosen was adopted at the suggestion and by the decision of that officer. "After mature deliberation," says he, addressing Secretary Welles, "aided by the professional knowledge and great intelligence of the Assistant Secretary, Mr. Fox, and upon taking into consideration the magnitude to which the joint naval and military expedition had been extended, to which you have called my attention, I came to the conclusion that the original intention of the department, if first carried out, would fall short of the expectations of the country, and of the capabilities of the expedition; while Port Royal, I thought, would meet both in a high degree. I therefore submitted to Brigadier-General Sherman, commanding the military part of the expedition, this modification of our earliest matured plans, and had the satisfaction to receive his full concurrence, though he and the commanders of brigades very justly laid great stress on the necessity, if possible, of getting this frigate, (the Wabash,) into the harbor of Port Royal." The fleet kept well together during the first day, and at night were mostly in sight of one another, the signal and other lights brilliantly animating the scene. The wind from the southwest freshened before morning, and the effects of the increasing sea began to be seen in the scattering of the vessels and the test of their ocean qualities. Thursday was a fair day, with a change of wind to the northwest, and considerable progress was made along the coast. The landsmen of course experienced the novel inconveniences of the agitated ocean, aggravated by their crowded ranks, the encumbered decks, and the entire novelty, to most of them, of their position. The dreaded Hatteras, however, had been passed the previous evening, and no less than thirty-eight vessels could be counted in the forenoon, companions of her way, from the deck of the Atlantic.* Friday, the fourth day of the voyage, was fair during the greater part of the day, but in the evening a severe storm set in from the southeast, which continued during the night-a night which will Atlanti: Correspondence of the N. Y. Tribune, Noy ember 14, 1861. be long remembered by the thousands in the expedition for its fearful hardships and hazards, and the actual disasters suffered by many of the vessels of the expedition. So entire was the dispersion of the fleet, that on Saturday morning but a single sail was visible from the deck of the Wabash. The Vanderbilt, in another quarter, had in sight only the Great Republic, from which she had been obliged to separate, cutting the towing hawser at ten o'clock the previous night. The scattering of the fleet rendering the communication of directions by signals no longer possible; the sealed orders, with which each vessel was provided, were opened, and the place of rendezvous ascertained by those on board to be Port Royal-a point which all were not destined to reach. The transport steamer Governor, Captain C. L. Litchfield, a boat built to run between Bangor and Boston, carrying a marine battalion of about three hundred and fifty men commanded by Major John George Reynolds, and heavily laden with stores, after encountering hardships of great severity, foundered on Sunday. The steamer had kept up with the other vessels of the fleet near the flag-ship Wabash until Friday, the 1st of November. On the morning of that day she was separated from her companions by the rising gale, and in the afternoon began to suffer from the buffetings of the sea. The port and starboard hog braces, struck by a succession of heavy waves, were broken, requiring great exertions on the part of the officers and men of the battalion to support them. This injury was followed by the giving way of the brace chains holding the smoke stack, which was broken off some three feet above the hurricane deck, and went overboard, creating additional alarm for the safety of the vessel from conflagration. portion which remained, however, was sufficient for keeping up the fires. The engine which had hitherto worked well was presently partially disabled by the The tenant W. A. Nicholson, of the navy. She descried our signal of distress, which was ensign half-mast, union down, and stood for us. About ten o'clock we were hailed by the Smith, and given to understand that, if possible, we should all be taken on board. A boat was lowered from her, and we were enabled to take a hawser. This, through the carelessness of Captain Litchfield of the Governor, was soon cast off or unavoidably let go. The water was still gaining on us, the engines could be worked but little, and it appeared that our only hope of safety was gone. The Smith now stood off, but soon returned, and by one o'clock we had another hawser from her, and were again in tow. A sail, (the propel bursting of the steam pipe. This required the engine to be frequently stopped to increase the head of steam. The pumps of the engine, meanwhile, when it could be worked, were clearing the vessel of the water which was entering freely. About five in the afternoon, a steamer was discovered, supposed to be the Ocean Queen. "To attract attention," continues Major Reynolds, in his vivid report of the disastrous voyage, "we sent up rockets, which signal she answered. When our rockets (six in all) were gone, we kept up a fire of musketry for a long time, but the sea running high, and the wind being violent, she could render us no assistance. She continued on her course in sight, the greater part of the night. About three o'clock ler bark Young Rover,) which had been Saturday morning the packing around discovered on our starboard bow during the cylinder head blew out, rendering the morning, was soon within hailing the engine perfectly useless for some distance. The captain proffered all the time. The engine was finally put in assistance he could give, though at the running order, although it worked very time he could do nothing, owing to the slowly. The rudder chain was carried severity of the weather. The hawser away during the night. The water gain- from the Smith again parted, and we ed constantly on us, and the boat labor- were once more adrift. ed violently. At every lurch we appre- Rover now stood for us again, and the hended the hog-brace would be carried captain said he would stand by us till away, the effect of which would have the last, for which encouragement he rebeen to tear out the entire starboard ceived a heartfelt cheer from the men. side of the boat, collapse the boiler, and He also informed us a large frigate was carry away the wheel-house. Early in ahead, standing for us. He then stood the morning the rudder-head broke, the for the frigate, made signals of distress, engine was of very little use, the water and returned. The frigate soon came still gaining on us rapidly, and we en-into view, and hope once more cheered tirely at the mercy of the wind. It was the hearts of all aboard the transport. only by the untiring exertions of our men that we were kept afloat. Nearly one hundred of them were kept constantly pumping and baling, and the rest were holding fast the ropes which supported the hog-braces. "Toward morning the weather, which during the night had been dark and rainy, seemed to brighten, and the wind to lull. At daybreak two vessels were seen on our starboard bow, one of which proved to be the United States steamer, Isaac P. Smith, commanded by Lieu The Young "Between two and three o'clock the United States frigate Sabine (Captain Ringgold) was within hail, and the assurance given that all hands would be taken on board. After a little delay the Sabine came to anchor. We followed her example, and a hawser was passed to us. It was now late in the day, and there were no signs of an abatement of the gale. It was evident that whatever was to be done for our safety, must be done without delay. About eight or nine o'clock the Sabine had paid out enough |