DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT . 383 men, who were taken on board the Oneida and other gunboats of the fleet. Sev- eral of the gunboats were considerably injured, but none of them lost except the Varuna. The Itasca, Winona, and Kennebec were disabled and oblig-ed to fall back. Thirteen of the seventeen vessels composing Flag-officer Farragut's squadron V4;re able to pass in safety these forts, and had defeated a rebel fleet, destroying thirteen of their gunboats and rams, and the ironclad Manassas, and compelling the remainder to shelter themselves under the guns of the forts. The entire loss of the Union squadron was but 36 killed and 135 wounded. The gallant flag-officer now ascended the river, encountering slight opposi- tion from the Chalmette batteries, about three miles below New Orleans ; but they were silenced in twenty minutes, and at noon of April 25th, he lay in front of the city, and demanded its surrender. Four days later the forts were surrendered to Captain Porter, and General Butler came up the river to arrange for landing his troops, and taking possession of the conquered city. Meantime, Farragut had ascended the river above the city to Carrolton, where had been erected some strong works to oppose the progress of Flag-officer Foote, should he descend the river. These, on the approach of the gunboats, were abandoned., and their guns spiked. They were destroyed. New Orleans being safely in the possession of the Union forces. Flag-officer Farragut ascended the Mississippi, and on June 27th ran his vessels safely past the rebel batteries at Vicksburg, and communicated with Flag-officer Davis, then commanding the Mississippi squadron, and arranged for a joint attack upon Vicksburg. The attack failed, because the bluffs at Vicksburg were too high to be effectively bombarded by the. gunboats, and the capture of the city required the co-operation of a land force. He therefore repassed the batteries in safety on July 15th, and descending the river, made Pensacola the headquarters of his squadron. On July nth, the rank of rear-admiral, having been created in ac- cordance with the recommendation of a committee of Congress, Captain Far ragut was advanced to that rank, and placed first on the list for his meritorious conduct in the capture of New Orleans. He also received the thanks of both houses of Congress. In the autumn of 1862 he directed the naval attacks on Corpus Christi, Sabine Pass, and Galveston, which resulted in the capture of those points. In his duties as the commander of a blockading and guarding squadron, there was much of detail : attacks of guerillas along the river shores, to be parried and punished ; surprises of the weaker vessels of the squadron to be chastised and revenged ; expeditions against rebel towns on or near the coast, to be aided and sustained ; and careful lookout to be kept for blockade-runners, who sought their opportunities to slip into the ports of Mobile, Galveston, and Arkansas. These occupied much of his time during the autumn and winter of 1862-63. The admiral had long desired to attack the defences of Mobile, and thus effec- tually check the blockade-running, which it was impossible wholly to prevent while that port was left unmolested. But it was not until August 5, 1864, that the assault was finally made.
