Dewey again on the great river, and this time his craft ran aground directly in front of the Port Hudson battery and had to be abandoned. The task of getting the sailors off in safety under a galling fire was a perilous one, but the brave lieutenant commander remained aboard until no one but his captain and himself were left.
After the loss of the Mississippi, the future admiral was assigned to one of Farragut's gunboats, and fought at Donaldsonville, and from there he took part in the bombardment of Fort Fisher, acting as lieutenant on the Colorado, and it was here that he aided so vigorously in a rush in shore to silence a part of the enemy's works that he gained a special mention for bravery.
It was in 1870 that he received his first command as captain of the Narragansett. He was now a married man, having one son; and two years later the one great cloud of his life came, in the loss of his beloved wife. From the Narragansett the captain was transferred to serve on the United States Lighthouse Board, an exacting office which he filled to the satisfaction of all. From here he went to the Asiatic Squadron, and received full command of the Dolphin, one of the first vessels
