xt7pnv996j31 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7pnv996j31/data/mets.xml Optic, Oliver, 1822-1897. 1894  books b92-167-30116751 English Lee and Shepard, : Boston : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Juvenile fiction. Victorious union  / by Oliver Optic [pseud.] text Victorious union  / by Oliver Optic [pseud.] 1894 2002 true xt7pnv996j31 section xt7pnv996j31 


















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     The Blue and /te Gray Series






A VICTORIOUS UNION







                         or

                OLIVER OPTIC
AUTHOR OF " THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" " YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD, FIRST
AND SECOND SERIES "  THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES" " THE WOODVILLE
  STORIES" " THE STARRY FLAG SERIES " ' THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES"
     THE ONWARD AND tUPWARD SERIES  _IHE YACHT-CLUB SERIES"
     "THE LAKE SHORE SERIES A " THE RISERDALE STORIES Ad THE
     BOAT-BUILDER SERIES " TAKEN BY THIE ENEMY' " WITHIN
        THE ENEMY'S LINES" "ON THE BLOCKADE" " STAND
        BY THE UNION " FI(GHTING FOR THE RIGHT" "A
           MISSING MILLION " A MILLIONAIRE AT
           SIXTEEN ' ' A YOUNG KNIGHT-ERRANTY
              AdSTRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD ETC.











                    BOSTON

     LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS
                10 MILK STREET
                       1894

 


































COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY LEE AND SIIEPARD



          All Rights Reserved



          A VICTORIOUS UNION























  Trpc-SrrrxNe AND ELE4TROTYIPING BY
      C. J. PwXZS  SON, BOSTON

 1. J. PABKIULL  CO., PUITZES, BOSTON

 


























                  Co Mg gritibt


         FRANK L. HARRIS

VWHO CAME FROM THE COLD OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS, WHERE HE
    WAS A MEMBER OF THE HAYES EXPEDITION, AN) WVENT
       INTO THE HEAT OF THE WAR OF THE REBEL-
          LION, SERVING AS A NAVAL OFFICER
            UNTIL THE END OF THE STRIFE,

  Tb WHOM I AM GREATLY INDEBTED FOR MUCH VALUABLE
        INFORMATION RELATING TO HIS PROFESSION,

                    Ebis 733ok

            IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED.

 This page in the original text is blank.

 










PREFACE



  "1 A VICTORIOUS UNION" is the sixth and last of
"The Blue and the Gray Series." While the
volume is not intended to be a connected histor-
ical narrative of the particular period of the War
of the Rebellion in which its scenes are laid, the
incidents accurately conform to the facts, and
especially to the spirit, of the eventful years in
which they are placed, as recorded in the chroni-
cles of the great struggle, and as they exist in the
memory of the writer. It is more than thirty years
since the war began, and thousands upon thousands
of the active participants in the strife as soldiers
and sailors, including nearly all the great commani-
ders, have passed on to their eternal reward.
Thousands upon thousands of men and women
have been born and reached their maturity since
the most tremendous war of modern times ended
in A Victorious Union. The knowledge of the
stirring events of those four years of conflict, and
                        5

 



PREFACE



of the patriotic spirit which inspired and under-
laid them, has come, or will come, to at least one-
half the population of this vast nation of sixty-five
imillions from the printed page or through the lis-
ten ing ear. The other moiety, more or less, either
as children or adults, lived in the period of action,
saw the gathering battalions, and heard or read the
daily reports from the ensanguined battle-fields.
  In some of the States that remained loyal to
the Union throughout the long struggle, a military
parade had been regarded by many as something
very much in the nature of a circus display, as
"fuss and feathers,.' such as tickled the vanity of
both officer and private. Military organizations,
except in our small regular artny, were disparaged
and ridiculed. When the war came, the Northern
people were unprepared for it to a very great
degree. The change of public opinion was as
sudden as the mighty event was precipitate. Then
the soldier became the most prominent and hon-
ored member of the community, and existing mili-
tary bodies became the nucleus of the armies that
were to fight the battles of the Republic.
  During the last thirty years the military spirit
has been kept alive as a constituent element of



6

 




PREFACE



patriotism itself. The love of country has been
diligently fostered and nurtured in the young,
and public opinion has been voiced and ener-
gized in the statutes of many  States, and in
the educational machinery of many municipalities.
Over vast numbers of schoolhouses in our land
floats the American flag, the symbol of the Union
and the principles that underlie it.
  The flag, the banner now of a reunited nation,
means something more than the sentiment of
loyalty to the Union as the home of freedom; for
it itnplies the duty of defending the honor of that
flag, the representative idea of all we hold dear in
Fatherland. In the East and the West a consider-
able proportion of the high schools make military
tactics a part of their educational course. Com-
panies, battalions, and regiments of young men in
their teens parade the streets of some of our cities,
showing in what manner the military spirit is kept
alive, and, at the same time, how the flag floating
over our educational institutions, which means so
much more than ever before to our people, is to be
defended and perpetuated in the future.
  The author of the six volumes of " The Blue
and the Gray Series," as well as of "The Army



7

 




PREFACE



and Navy Series," the latter begun in the heat of
the war thirty years ago, earnestly believes in keep-
bicg active in the minds of the young the spirit of
patriotism. In the present volume, as in those
which have preceded it, he has endeavored to
present to his readers, not only a hero who is
brave, skilful, and ready to give his life for his
country, but one who is unselfishly patriotic; one
who is not fighting for promotion and prize-money,
but to save the Union in whose integrity and ne-
cessity he believes as the safeguard and substance
of American liberty.
  Peace has reigned in our land for nearly thirty
years, and the asperities of a relentless war have
been supplanted by better and more brotherly
relations between the North and the South. The
writer would not print a word that would disturb
these improving conditions; and if he has-erred at
all in picturing the intercourse between Americans
as enemies, he has made sure to do so in the inter-
ests of justice and magnanimity on both sides.
  In the series of which this volume is the last,
the author has confined his narrative of adven-
tures to the navy. It has been suggested to him
that another series, relating exclusively to inci-



8

 




                   PREFACE                   9

dents in the army, should follow. After forty
years of labor in this particular field, and having
already exhausted the threescore and ten of human
life, he cannot be assured that he will live long
enough to complete such a series, though still in
excellent health; but he intends to make a begin-
ning of the work as soon as other engagements
will permit.
                        WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
  DORCHESTER, MARCH 16, 1893.

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               CONTENTS



                                          PAGE
                 CHAPTER I.
THE MISSION TO MOBILE POINT .15

                 CHAPTER Il.
THE DEPARTUI;E OF TIIE EXPEDITION .  .  .  . 26

                 CHAPTER III.
A BivoUAC NEAR FoRT MORGAN.   .   .   .    37

                CHAPTER IV.
THE REVELATIONS OF TlIF REVELLERS  .  .  . 4S

                 CHAPTER V.
IN THE VICINITY OF THE CONFEDERATE FORT .  . 59

                CHAPTER VI.
CAPTAIN SULLENDINE OF TIllE WEST WIND.  .  . 70

                CHALPTER VII.
A POWERFUL ALLY OF THE BELLEVITERS .  .  . 81

               CHAPTER: VIII.
ON BOARD OF THE COTTON SCHOONER .  .  .  . 92

                CHAPTER IX.
T1 m DEPARTURE OF TH1E TALLAHATCHIIE  .  .  . 103
                     11

 






12                CONTENTS

                                          PAGE
                 CHAPTER X.
THE CASTING OFF OF THE TOWLINE.   .  .   . 114

                 CHAPTER XI.
A HAPPY RETURN TO THE BELLEVITE.  .  .   . 125

                CHAPTER XII.
A LIVELY CHASE TO THE SOUTH-WEST .  .  .  . 136

                CHAPTER XIII..
THE FIRST SHOT OF BLUMENHOFF.              147

                CHAPTER XIV.
THE PROGRESS OF THE ACTION.   .  .   .   . 158

                CHAPTER XV.
A FLANK MOVEM1ENT UNDERTAKEN  .   .  .   . 169

                CHAPTER XVI.
THE LIEUTENANT'S DARING EXPLOIT           180

               CHAPTER XVII.
A MAGNANIMOUS ENEMY.   .  .   .  .   .   . 191

               CHAPTER XVIII.
THE REIGN OF CHRISTIANITY..   .  .   .   . 202

                CHAPTER XIX.
COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD OF GLENFIELD.  .  . 213

                CHAPTER XX.
A VERY MELANCHOLY CONFEDERATE .  .   .   . 224

                CHAPTER XXI.
CAPTAIN SULLENDINE BECOMES VIOLENT .  .  . 225

 






                 CONTENTS                  13

                                          PAGE
                CHAPTER XXII.
THE DISPOSITION OF THE Two PRIZES.  .  .   . 246

               CHAPTER XXIII.
THE WELCOME HOME AT BONNYDALE .   .  .   . 257

                CHAPTER XXIV.
LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER CHRISTOPLIER PASSFORD  . 268

                CHAPTER XXV.
THE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF THE ST. REGIS  .  . 279

               CHAPTER XXVI.
THE ST. REGIS IN COMMISSION.  .   .  .   . 290

               CHAPTER XXVII.
CAPTAIN PASSFORD ALONE IN HIS GLORY .  .  . 301

               CHAPTER XXVIII.
OFF THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA.  .  .   . 312

               CHAPTER XXIX.
THE FIRST PRIZE OF THE ST. REGIS  .  .  .  . 323

               CHAPTER XXX.
ANOTHER SAILING CONTEST INAUGURATED .  .  . 334

               CHAPTER XXXI.
A VICTORIOUS UNION .   .   .  .   .  .   . 345

 This page in the original text is blank.


 











      A VICTORIOUS UNION



                CHAPTER I

         THE: MISSION TO MOBILE POINT

  "I ALMOST wish you were the second or the third
lieutenant of the Bellevite, instead of the executive
officer, Christy," said Captain Breaker, the com-
mander of the steamer, as they were seated together
one day on the quarter-deck.
  "iDo I fail in the discharge of my duty in my
present position, Captain" asked Christy. very
much astonished, not to say startled, at the remark
of the commander.
  "Not in the slightest degree, my dear boy!"
returned Captain Breaker with very decided em-
phasis. "' You have served in your present capa-
city for four months ; and if you were fifty years
old, and had twenty years of naval experience be-
hind you, it would be hardly possible for you to
                      15

 



A VICTORIOUS UNION



be more correct and dignified in the performance
of the details of your office."
  "' I thank you, Captain, for the partial view you
take of what I have done," added Christy, taking
off his cap and bowing to his superior.
  "Well, you ought to be a good officer in any
situation, my dear fellow," continued the comman-
der. "I doubt if there is another officer in the
navy who has enjoyed the advantages you have
had in preparing himself for the duties of his pro-
fession. You were brought up, so to say, on board
of the Bellevite. You were a good selolar in the
first place. Without including myself, you have
had excellent teachers in every department of
science and philosophy, among whom your father
was one of the wisest. Poor Dashington was one
of the best seamen that ever trod a deck; and he
took especial delight in showing you how to make
every knot and splice, as well as in instructing
you in the higher details of practical seamanship.
Blowitt and myself assisted him, and old Boxie,
who gave his life to his country, was more than a
grandfather to you."
  "' I have certainly been very grateful to you and
to them for all they did for me," replied Clhristy



16

 




THE MISSION TO MOBILE POINT



with a sad expression on his handsome face as the
commander recalled the three shipmates of both of
them who slept in heroes' graves.
  " Perhaps the brilliant genius of our engine-room
did quite as much for you as any other person,
though not many years your senior."
  "Paul Vapoor is my friend and crony; and if he
had been my professor in a college he could have
done no more for me. I assure you, Captain, that
I keep alive my gratitude to all mny instructors,
including some you have not mentioned."
  ,,I was only explaining why you are what you
ought to be, for you have had very exceptional
opportunities, better by far than any other officer
in the service. But it is altogether to your credit
that you have used those opportunities wisely and
well."
  "I should have been a blockhead if I had not."
  "That is very true ; but the mournful wrecks of
wasted opportunities strew the tracks of many,
many young men. I think you can look back upon
as few of them as any one within my knowledge,"
said the commander, bestowing a look of genuine
affection upon his chief officer. "' More than once,
even before wve entered upon this terrible wvar, I



17

 




A VICTORIOUS UNION



have told your father how happy he ought to be in
having such a son as you are."
  " Come, come, Captain Breaker, you are praising
me ! " exclaimed Christy impatiently.
  "1 I am speaking only the simple truth, and I have
very rarely said as much as I say now. It was when
you asked me if you had failed in the discharge of
the duties of your present position that I was led
into this line of remark; and I am sure you will
not be spoiled by honest and just praise," replied
the captain.
  "s Then, to go back to the point where you began,
why do you almost wish that I were second or third
lieutenant, instead of executive officer, of the Belle-
vite, Captain  " continued Christy, rising from his
seat, and Lxing an earnest gaze upon the face of the
commander, for he was very sensitive, and he could
not help feeling that he had been lacking in some-
thing that would make him a better executive
officer than he was.
  " Mr. Ballard, the second lieutenant, and Mr.
Walbrook, the third, are gentlemen of the highest
grade, and excellent officers; but they are both
somewhat wanting in dash and cool impetuos-
ity."



18

 




THE MISSION TO MOBILE POINT



  "'Cool impetuosity' is very good, Captain,"
added Christy with a laugh.
  "i But that is precisely what I mean, my boy, and
no two words could express the idea any better.
You cannot carry an enemy by boarding with the
same precision you man the yards on a ceremonious
occasion, or as a regiment of soldiers go on dress
parade. It requires vim, dash, spirit. The officers
named have this quality in a very considerable
degree, yet not enough of it. But what they lack
more is ingenuity, fertility in expedients, and the
expansive view wbich enables them to take advan-
tage promptly of circumstances. You never lose
your head, Christy."
  ";I never knew the gentlemen named to lose
their heads, and I have always regarded them as
model officers," replied the first lieutenant.
  ", And so they are: you are quite right, my dear
boy; but it is possible for them to be all you say,
and yet, like the young man of great possessions in
the Scripture, to lack one thing. I should not dare
to exchange my second and third lieutenants for
any others if I had the opportunity."
  " I confess that I do not understand you yet,
Captain."



19

 




A VICTORIOUS UNION



  The commander rose from his seat, stretched
himself, and then looked about the deck. Taking
his camp-stool in his hand he calried it over to the
port side of the quarter-deck, and planted it close
to the bulwarks. The second lieutenant was the
officer of the deck, and was pacing the planks on
the starboard side, while the lookouts in the fore-
top and on the top-gallant forecastle were attend-
ing closely to their duty, doubtless with a vision
of more prize money floating through their
brains.
  The Bellevite, with the fires banked in the fur-
naces, was at anchor off the entrance to Mobile Bay,
about two miles east of Sand Island Lighthouse,
and the same distance south of the narrow neck of
land on the western extremity of which Fort Morgan
is located. Her commander had chosen this position
for a purpose; for several weeks before, while the
Bellevite was absent on a special mission, a remark-
ably fast steamer called the Trafalgar had run the
blockade inward.
  Captain Passford, Senior, through his agents in
England, had some information in regard to this
vessel, which he had sent to Captain Breaker. Un-
like most of the blockade-runners built for this par-



20

 




THE MISSION TO MOBILE POINT



ticular service, she had been constructed in the
most substantial manner for an English millionaire,
who had insisted that she should be built as strong
as the best of steel could make her, for he intended
to make a voyage around the world in her.
  Unfortunately for the owner of the Trafalgar,
who was alineal descendant of a titled commander
in that great naval battle, he fell from his horse in
a fox chase, and was killed before the steamer was
fully completed. His heir had no taste for the sea,
and the steamer was sold at a price far beyond her
cost; and the purchaser had succeeded in gettiug
her into Mobile Bay with a valuable cargo. She
was of about eight hundred tons burden, and it was
said that she could steam twenty knots an hour.
She was believed to be the equal of the Alabama
and the Shenandoah.   The Bellevite had been
especially notified not to allow the Trafalgar to
escape. She had recently had her bottom cleaned,
and her engine put in perfect order for the service
expected of her, for she was the fastest vessel on the
blockade.
  When Captain Breaker had assured himself that
he was out of hearing of the officer of the deck, he
invited Christy to take a seat at his side. He spoke



21

 




A vrCTORTOUS UNION



in a low tone, and wias especially careful that no
officer should hear himi.
  " Perhaps I meddle with what does not conlcern
me, Christy; but I cannot help having ideas of
mv own," said the commander, when lie was satis-
fied that no one but the executive officer could
hear him. " There is Fort Morgan, with Fort
Gaines three miles from it on the other side of the
channel. Mobile Point, as it is called at this end
of the neck. extends many miles to the eastward.
It is less than two miles wide where it is broadest,
and not over a quarter of a mile near IPilot Town."
  "I have stud ied the lay of the land very care-
fully, for I have had some ideas of my own," added
Christy, as the commander paused.
  "If Fort Morgan. had been Fort Sumter, with
bad memories clinging to it, an effort would have
been made to capture it, either by bombardment'by
the navy, or by regular approaches on the part of
the army," continued Captain Breaker.  ' They
are still pounding away at Fort Sumter, because
there would be a moral in it, capture and the
reduction of Charleston, for the war began there.
Such an event would send a wave of rejoicing
through the North, though it would be of less real



22

 




THE MISSION TO MOBILE POINT



consequence than the opening of Mobile Bay and
the cleaning out of the city of Mobile. Except
Wilmington, it is the most pestilent resort for
1)lockade-runners on the entire coast."
  " Then you think Fort Morgan can be reduced
from the land side  " asked Christy, deeply inter-
ested in the conversation.
  ";I have little doubt of it; and while I believe
Farragut will resort to his favorite plan of running
by the forts here, as he has done by those of the
Mississippi, the army will be planted in the rear of
both these forts. As we have lain here for months,
I have studied the situation, and I want to know
something more about the land on the east of
Mobile Point."
  "' I should say that it would be easy enough to
obtain all the information you desire in regard to
it," suggested Christy.
  "There is an unwritten tradition that the com-
mander must not leave his ship to engage in any
duty of an active character, and I cannot explore
the vicinity of the fort myself."
  "But you have plenty of officers for such duty."
  "' I have no doubt there are pickets, and perhaps
a camp beyond the rising ground, and the explora-



23

 




A VICTORIOUS UNION



tion would be difficult and dangerous. The two
officers I have mentioned before lack the dash and
ingenuity such an enterprise requires; and a blun-
der might involve me in difficulty, for I have no
orders to obtain the information I desire."
  "6The officers named are prudent men within
reasonable limits."
  "4 They are; but I would give up My idea rather
than trust either of them with this duty," replied
Captain Breaker very decidedly. "But I have a
further and nearer object in this exploration; in
fact, examining the ground would be only second-
ary."
  " What is the real object, Captain  " asked the
first lieutenant, his curiosity fully awakened.
  '- I feel that it will be necessary to use extraor-
dinary efforts to capture the Trafalgar, for no
steamer of her alleged speed has ever run into or
out of Mobile Bay. After I informed the flag-
officer in regard to her, which your father's infor-
mation enabled me to do, the Bellevite was es-
pecially charged with the duty of capturing her,
if she li:il to chase her all over the world."
  "I have not much doubt that you will do it,
Captain."



24

 




        THE MISSION TO MOBILE POINT          25

  "I mean to do so if possible. Now these block-
ade-runners usually anchor near the lower fleet,
or under the guns of the fort in five fathoms of
water. Sometimes they remain there two or three
days, waiting for a favorable opportunity to run
out. Perhaps the Trafalgar is there now. I wish
to know about it."
  "I infer that you consider me fitted for this
duty, Captain Breaker," said Christy earnestly.
  " For that reason only I almost wished you were
second or third lieutenant, rather than first," re-
plied the commander with some earnestness in his
manner.
  There was no unwritten tradition that the first
lieutenant should not be sent on any duty.


 




A VICTORIOUS UNION



                CHAPTER II

     THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION

  THE conversation between the captain and the
executive officer of the Bellevite was continued
till they were called to supper; but a decision had
been reached. On important occasions, as when
several boats were ordered upon an expedition, it
was not unusual to send the first lieutenant in
command. Though only a single whaleboat would
be required for the enterprise in which the com-
mander was so deeply interested, its importance
appeared to justify the selection of the executive
officer to conduct it; and Christy was directed to
suit himself.
  Of course the expedition was to be sent out at
night, for the cover of the darkness was necessary
to render it effectual. In the afternoon the wind
had come around to the south-west, and already
a slight fog had obscured the Sand Island Light-
house. It promised to be such a night as a block-
ade-runner would select for getting to sea.



26

 




THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION  27



  Christy was especially warned that the principal
business of his expedition was to obtain informa-
tion in regard to the Trafalgar, though it was
probable that a new name had been given to her
for the service in which she was to be engaged.
The examination of the surroundings of the fort,
the captain strongly impressed upon his mind, was
entirely subsidiary to the discovery of the intend-
ing blockade-runner.  In fact, the commander
seemed to have serious doubts as to whether it
was proper for him even to reconnoitre without
special orders for the use of the arma.
  It was several months that Christy had been on
board of the Bellevite in his present capacity, and
he had become very well acquainted with all the
petty officers and seamen of the ship's company,
now composed of one hundred and twenty men.
After he had finished his supper he walked about
the spar-deck to refresh his memory by a sight at
all of the men, and selected those 'who were to
take part in his enterprise.
  One of the first persons he encountered in his
promenade was the third assistant engineer, Charles
Graines, whom he had known as a boy, before the
war. He was not only a machinist, but a sailor,

 



A VICTORIOUS UNION



having served in both capacities, though now only
twenty-five years of age.  Through his father
Christy had procured his appointment as an engi-
neer, and his assignment to the Bellevite. The
young man was exceedingly grateful to him for
this service, and entirely devoted to him.
  Paul Vapoor, the chief engineer, spoke of
Graines in the highest terms, not only in his offi-
cial capacity, but as a high-toned, patriotic, and
thoroughly reliable man. The moment the execu-
tive officer put his eye on the assistant engineer,
he decided that Graines should be his right-hand
man. As a matter of precaution the proposed ex-
pedition was to be a profound secret, for there
were white men and negroes about the deck who
had been picked up in various ways, and were
retained till they could be disposed of. They
could not be trusted, and doubtless some of them
were Confederates at heart, if not engaged in
secret missions.
  Christy invited Graines to the ward room for
a conference. There were several officers there,
and they retired to the stateroom of the first lieu-
tenant, which is the forward one on the starboard
side. The plan, as it had been matured in the



28

 




THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION  29



mind of the one appointed to carry it out, was
fully explained, and the engineer was delighted to
be chosen to take part in its execution. The selec-
tion of the seamen to compose the expedition was
not an easy matter, though every sailor on board
would have volunteered for such duty if the
opportunity had been presented to him.
  Graines was not so familiar with the merits of
the seamen as he was with those of the men in the
engineer department. It became necessary for the
executive officer to take another walk on the spar-
deck, in order to revive his recollection of the men;
and he soon returned to the stateroom with a
complete list of those he had selected. The engi-
neer suggested an oiler by the name of Weeks as
a most excellent mali; and Christy accepted him,
completing the number from  those of his own
choice. Seated at his desk, he wrote out the names
of the ten men chosen.
  "Of course if we should be caught on shore in
our ordinary uniforms it would be all night with
us," said Christy, as he completed the writing out
of the list. "I believe you have never seen the
inside of a Confederate prison, Mr. Graines."
  "Never; though I came pretty near it once

 



A VICTORIOUS UNION



while I was an oiler on board of the Hatteras,"
replied the engineer.
  "You have been fortunate, and I hope you will
come out of this excursion as well. I spent a
short time in a Confederate lock-up; but I did not
like the arrangements, and I took leave of it one
night. It was in Mobile, and I don't care to be
sent up there again. Therefore we must clothe
ourselves iu the worst garments we can find; and
I carry a suit for just this purpose, though I have
not had occasion to use it lately."
  " I have to wear old clothes when at work on
the machinery, and I have a plentiful supply on
hand," added Graines. " Perhaps I could help out
some of the others."
  "1 All the seamen have old clothes, and they will
need no assistance in arranging their wardrobes.
Now, Mr. Graines, it will excite remark if I in-
struct the ten men we have selected, and I must
leave that part of the work to you," continued
Christy. "' But all the instruction you need give
them is in regard to their dress, and require thene
to be at the main chains on the starboard side at
ten o'clock to-night precisely."
  "As I have plenty of time I will take the men,



30

 




THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION  31



one at a time, to my room in the steerage, and
illstrnet them," replied the engineer.
  "' You can tell each one to send in the next one
wanted. Above all, make them promise not to
speak to any person whatever in regard to the
expedition," said the executive officer as his com-
panion retired.
  Mr. Graines lost no time in discharging the
important duty assigned to him. Christy reported
to the commanider, as soon as he found an oppor-
tunity to speak to hini privately, what progress he
had made in carryin, oat the duty assigned to him.
Captain Breaker looked over the list of the men
selected, and gave it his hearty approbation. He
was a manl of elevated moral and religious charac-
ter; he had always exercised a sort of fatherly
supervision over his ship's company, and lie was
better acquainted with those under his command
than most commanders.
  "It looks as though it was going to be a good
night for blockade-runners, Mr. Passford," said
Captain Breaker, as he looked over to wiindward
and saw the banks of fog, not yet very dense, roll-
ing up from the open gulf.
  " It is not known, I suppose, whether or not the

 




A VICTORIOUS IUNION



Trafalgar has come down from Mobile " inquired
Christy.
  "I have been unable to obtain any definite in-
formation; but a negro who came off from the
shore yesterday assured me there was a black
steamer at anchor between the Middle Ground and
Alobile Point. That is all the information I have
been able to obtain, though I have examined all
w1ho came on board during the last week. It is
certainly time for the Trafalgar to come out, as the
Confederates are in great haste to re-enforce -the
Alabama, the Shenandoah, and other cruisers; for
these vessels have made a tremendous impression
upon our mercantile marine. She has been in port
long enough to rebuild her already, and I am con-
fident she must be ready for service."
  ",If I don't find her ready to come out to-night,
would it not be well to repeat my visit to the shore
until we learn something   about her" asked
Christy.
  "That is my purpose," replied the commander.
  "I should like to have the scope of my powers
as the officer of this expedition a little more def-
i:iitely defined, Captain Breaker," continued the
first lieutenant.



32

 




THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION  33



   "I thought I had full! instructed you, Christy,"
answered the commander with a smile.
   " Am I to confine myself solely to the two points
assigned to me  "
  "I don't understand what you have in your
mind, my boy."
  "' I have nothing in my mind, Captain. I have
not laid out any plan of operations outside of the
instructions you have given me, sir; and I do not
purpose to do so. If I had the intention to do any-
thing but the duty assigned to me, I should as-
suredly inform you of it, and obtain your orders."
  "I know you would, my dear boy."
  "But if I see an opportunity to do anything for
the benefit of my country "-
  "' Such as the capture of a sloop of war," inter-
posed the commander with a suggestive laugh.
"When you were sent to look out for a small
steamer, simply to obtain information in regard to
her, in Pensacola Bay, you went on your mission,
and brought out the Teaser, which afterwards be-
came the Bronx, and rendered very valuable ser-
vice to the country under your command."
  "I could not very well help doing so when I
saw my opportunity," replied Chr