Part 8

"On the following day, October 29th, at 11 o'clock a.m., the fleet weighed anchor with every man at his post, and proceeded up Roanoke river, the Valley City leading, for the purpose of confirming the report of Captain Cushing that the Albemarle ram was sunk; and, if true, capturing Plymouth. This is a small town situated on the right bank of the Roanoke river, eight miles from its mouth, surrounded by swamps and large cypress trees as far as the eye can reach. One mile above Plymouth the waters of the Roanoke river divide, one forming the Cashie river, the other the Roanoke river. At about two thirds of the distance from the mouth of the Roanoke river to Plymouth, the Cashie river and the Roanoke river are connected by what is called Middle river, so that these rivers in their course at these points formed a figure resembling the capital letter A, the left line the Roanoke river, the right line the Cashie river, and the horizontal line the Middle river.

"The fleet steamed up Roanoke river. The day was beautiful, the birds were singing in the branches of the trees, the leaves of which were gently rustling, and the water could be heard dripping from the wheels of the fleet as they made their slow revolutions. All else was quiet. No man said a word. This was not strange, for we believed the river to be full of torpedoes and its banks lined with sharpshooters. We ascended further and further up the river till we came to Middle river, when the Valley City steamed through Middle and up the Cashie river. The remainder of the fleet steamed on up Roanoke river.

"After arriving at a point in the Cashie river opposite Plymouth, we heard heavy firing by the fleet, which continued an hour, and then suddenly ceased. We thought, of course, that Plymouth had been captured. At this point we picked up the other man who was with the expedition, and who escaped. The Valley City continued to ascend the Cashie river, and after encountering much difficulty on account of the narrowness and crookedness of the river, we arrived at the Roanoke river above Plymouth, where we could see the town, but we could see no fleet nor American flag. We concluded then that the Albemarle had not been sunk, but had driven the fleet back into the Sound. Of course, it was not a very happy feeling to fear the ram might prevent our retreat.

"After some delay, and an exchange of shot with the enemy at Plymouth, we descended the Cashie river to Albemarle Sound, where we arrived at 8 p.m., and found the fleet at the mouth of Roanoke river. They had ascended the Roanoke river till they came to some obstruction which placed them at a disadvantage to the enemy; they then descended the river.

"Commodore Macomb was now convinced that the ram Albemarle was sunk. The Valley City was now detached to convey Captain Cushing to Fortress Monroe. We weighed anchor at 12:30 a.m., October 30th, and proceeded through Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, and into the Atlantic Ocean, and arrived at Fortress Monroe at 7 a.m., November 1. A fleet of about one hundred vessels was stationed there, preparatory to making an onslaught on Wilmington. Captain Wm. B. Cushing was received on board the flagship with a salute of twenty-one guns, and, of course, was almost worshiped for his heroic achievement. It was at Fortress Monroe I first saw the United States steamer Kearsarge, of Commodore Winslow and Alabama fame. My attention was directed to her by hearing an old sailor say, 'Does she not sit like a duck on water?' And truly she did.

"Captain Cushing is now dead. He certainly was one of the bravest men that ever trod the decks of a man-of-war. Peace to his ashes! Commodore Macomb is also dead; he died in your city of Brotherly Love, while taking a bath. We all loved him. God bless him."

Published in the New York Herald, Thursday, November 3, 1864.

THE RAM ALBEMARLE.

DESTRUCTION OF THE FAMOUS REBEL IRON-CLAD--THE RAM SUNK BY A TORPEDO--DESTRUCTION OF THE TORPEDO BOAT--TERRIBLE MUSKETRY FIRE--ESCAPE OF LIEUTENANT CUSHING--HIS ADVENTURES IN THE SWAMP--FULL AND INTERESTING DETAILS OF HIS BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENT--THE CASUALTIES--ETC., ETC., ETC.

LIEUTENANT CUSHING'S OFFICIAL REPORT.

WASHINGTON, November 2, 1864.

Admiral Porter has communicated to the Secretary of the Navy the following interesting particulars from Lieutenant Cushing, in regard to the sinking of the rebel ram Albemarle:

"ALBEMARLE SOUND, October 30, 1864.

"Sir: I have the honor to report that the rebel ram Albemarle is at the bottom of Roanoke river.

"On the night of the 27th, having prepared my steam launch, I proceeded towards Plymouth with thirteen officers and men, partly volunteers from the squadron.

"The distance from the mouth of the river to the ram was about eight miles, the stream averaging in width some two hundred yards, and lined with the enemy's pickets.

"A mile below the town was the wreck of the Southfield, surrounded by some schooners, and it was understood that a gun was mounted there to command the bend. I therefore took one of the Shamrock's cutters in tow, with orders to cast off and board at that point in case we were hailed.

"Our boat succeeded in passing the pickets, and even the Southfield within twenty yards, without discovery, and we were not hailed until by the lookouts on the ram.

"The cutter was then cut off and ordered below, while we made for our enemy under a full head of steam. The rebels sprang their rattle, rang the bell and commenced firing, at the same time repeating their hail, and seeming much confused.

"The light of the fire ashore showed me the iron-clad made fast to the wharf, with logs around her, about thirty feet from her side. Passing her closely, we made a complete circle, so as to strike her fairly, and went into her bows on.

"By this time the enemy's fire was very severe, but a dose of canister at short range seemed to moderate their zeal and disturb their aim.

"Paymaster Swann, of the Otsego, was wounded near me, but how many more I know not. Three bullets struck my clothing, and the air seemed full of them.

"In a moment we had struck the logs just abreast of the quarter post, breaking them in some feet, our bows resting on them. The torpedo boom was then lowered, and by a vigorous pull I succeeded in diving the torpedo under the over-hang and exploding it.

"At the same time the Albemarle's guns were fired. A shot seemed to go crashing through my boat, and a dense mass of water rolled in from the torpedo, filling the launch, and completely disabling her.

"The enemy then continued their fire at fifteen feet range, and demanded our surrender, which I twice refused, ordering the men to save themselves, and removing my overcoat and shoes. Springing into the river, I swam with others into the middle of the stream, the rebels failing to hit us.

"The most of our party were captured; some were drowned, and only one escaped besides myself, and he in another direction.

"Acting Master's mate, Woodman, of the Commodore Hull, met me in the water half a mile below the town, and I assisted him as best I could, but failed to get him ashore. Completely exhausted, I managed to reach the shore, but was too weak to crawl out of the water until just at daylight, when I managed to creep into the swamp close to the fort.

"While hiding close to the path, the Albemarle's officers passed, and I judged from their conversation that the ram was destroyed. Some hours traveling in the swamp served to bring me out well below the town, when I sent a negro in to gain information, and found that the ram was truly sunk. Proceeding through another swamp, I came to a creek, and captured a skiff belonging to a picket of the enemy, and with this, by eleven o'clock the next night, I made my way out to the Valley City.