I8S4.]
��Captain George Hamilton Perkins, U.S.N.
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��shrouds of the flagship ; the httle boat putting off from the Metacomet, suddenly hghted up by its saucy en- sign, in the midst of the fiery chaos and thunderous roar of battle, to save the few souls struggling in the water from the ill-fated Tecumseh, calling forth admiration, alike from friend and foe, at the intrepidity of its mission ; the dash of the enemy's powerful ram Tennessee, clad in heaviest armor, down the Union line, endeavoring to stinke each vessel in turn ; the separa- tion of the coupled ships when beyond the reach of Morgan's guns, and the dash of the gunboats led by Jouett, of the Metacomet, like hounds released from the leash, at the enemy's flotilla ; the reappearance of leviathan Ten- nessee and the fierce tournament that ensued, with turtle-backed Chicka- saw following close under her stern with bulldog grip that knew no release ; the intrepid skill and des- perate valor never surpassed, with which the ram manoeuvred and with- stood the hammering and ramming of the wooden ships, the pounding and shattering of the ironclads, before she yielded to the inevitable fate that awaited her, — all conspired to form a scene of grand and dramatic circum- stance almost without parallel in naval warfare.
The youngest officer in command on that day, — the fifth of August, — so fatefiil to the fading fortunes of the Confederacy, so glorious to the re- ascendant star of Union, no one contri- buted more to its glories and success than Perkins of the Chickasaw ; and in any other service under the sun he would have received immediate promotion for what he did on that day. Had he been an Englishman, the honors of knighthood would have been conferred
��on him, as well as promotion, but as an American he still waits adequate recognition for deeds as brave as they were conspicuous and telling.
Said Mr. Eads, the builder, when he heard the results of the battle and the surpassing part oE the Chickasaw in it : " I would walk fifty miles to shake hands with the young man who com- manded her ! " And remembering the disparagement that had been put on the vessel and her sister ship, the Winne- bago, his enthusiasm knew no bounds, and he took pains to gather all the de- tails of the Chickasaw's brilliant work.
With the loss of the Tecumseh, the ironclad portion of the fleet was re- duced to the Manhattan, armed with two fifteen-inch guns, and the Chicka- saw and Winnebago of two eleven-inch guns each ; but one of the Manhattan's guns became disabled early in the action, by a bit of iron lodging in the vent, and the Winnebago's turrets would not turn, so that her guns could be pointed only by manoeuvring the vessel. But the Chickasaw, owing to Perkins's foresight and hard work, was in perfect condition, as illustrated in all her service on that eventful day, as well as on all subsequent occasions, until the capitulation of Mobile ended the drama of rebellion on the Southern seaboard.
The wooden ships, stripped as at New Orleans for the stern work in hand, numbered fourteen, and the number of guns carried by the fleet was one hundred and fifty-five, throw- ing, by added facihty of pivot and turret, ninety-two hundred and eight pounds of metal in broadside, from which thirteen hundred and twenty must be deducted through the early loss of the Tecumseh and the disabled gun of the Manhattan.
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