THE DESTRUCTION OF THE "ALBEMARLE

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having been long enough in the water to have become slimy — in whichcase my boat, under full headway, would bump up against them and slipover into the pen with the ram. This was my only chance of success, andonce over the obstruction my boat would never get out again. As I turned,the whole back of my coat was torn out by buckshot, and the sole of myshoe was carried away. The fire was very severe.

In a lull of the firing, the captain hailed us, again demanding what boat itwas. All my men gave comical answers, and mine was a dose of canisterfrom the howitzer. In another instant we had struck the logs and wereover, with headway nearly gone, slowly forging up under the enemy’s quarter-port. Ten feet from us the muzzle of a rifle gun looked into our faces, andevery word of command on board was distinctly heard.

My clothing was perforated with bullets as I stood in the bow, the heel-jigger in my right hand and the exploding-line in the left. We were nearenough then, and I ordered the boom lowered until the forward motion of thelaunch carried the torpedo under the ram’s overhang. A strong pull of thedetaching-line, a moment’s waiting for the torpedo to rise under the hull, andI hauled in the left hand, just cut by a bullet.A

The explosion took place at the same instant that 100 pounds of grape, at10 feet range, crashed among us, and the dense mass of water thrown out bythe torpedo came down with choking weight upon us.

Twice refusing to surrender, I commanded the men to save themselves; and,throwing off sword, revolver, shoes, and coat, struck out from my disabledand sinking boat into the river. It was cold, long after the frosts, and thewater chilled the blood, while the whole surface of the stream was plowed upby grape and musketry, and my nearest friends, the fleet, were twelve milesaway; but anything was better than to fall into rebel hands, so I swam forthe opposite shore. As I neared it a man [Samuel Higgins, fireman], oneof my crew, gave a great gurgling yell and went down.

The rebels were out in boats, picking up my men; and one of the boats,attracted by the sound, pulled in my direction. I heard my own name

■fe In considering the merits of Cushing’s success■with this exceedingly complicated instrument, itmust he remembered that nothing short of theutmost care in preparation could keep its mechan-ism in working order; that in making ready touse it, it was necessary to keep the end of the sparelevated until the boat had surmounted the boomof logs, and to judge accurately the distance inorder to stop the boat’s headway at the right point;that the spar had then to be lowered with the sameprecision of judgment; that the detaching lanyardhad then to be pulled firmly, but without a jerk;that, finally, the position of the torpedo under theknuckle of the ram had to be calculated to a nicety,and that by a very gentle strain on a line sometwenty-five or thirty feet long the trigger-pin had tobe withdrawn. When it is reflected that Cushinghad attached to his person four separate lines,viz., the detaching lanyard, the trigger-line, andtwo lines to direct the movements of the boat, oneof which was fastened to the wrist and the other

to the ankle of the engineer; that he was alsodirecting the adjustment of the spar by the hal-liard; that the management of all these lines,requiring as much exactness and delicacy of touchas a surgical operation, where a single error intheir employment, even a pull too much or too lit-tle, would render the whole expedition abortive,was carried out directly in front of the muzzleof a 100-pounder rifle, under a fire of musketryso hot that several bullets passed through hisclothing, and carried out with perfect success,it is safe to say that the naval history of theworld affords no other example of such marvelouscoolness and professional skill as were shown byCushing in the destruction of the Albemarle .— J.R. Soley.

Lieutenant Cushing was a brother of LieutenantAlonzo H. Cushing , 4th U. S. Artillery, a WestPoint officer, who was killed at Gettysburg (seeVol. III., p. 390) at the age of twenty-two, havingthere displayed the greatest gallantry.— Editors.