“The ship was first set on fire in the forward storeroom, but three shots came through below her water-line and put out the flames.  She was then set afire in four places aft, and when the flames were well under way, so as to make her destruction certain, Captain Smith and his first lieutenant (George Dewey) left the ship, all the officers and crew having been landed before.

“The Mississippi was soon ablaze fore and aft, and as she was now relieved of a great deal of weight—­by the removal of her crew and the destruction of her upper works—­she floated off the bank and drifted down the river, much to the danger of the Union vessels below.  But she passed without doing them any injury, and at 5:30 o’clock blew up and went to the bottom.”

When the time came for the crew to save themselves as best they could, all sprang overboard and struck out for shore.  A little way from the blazing steamer a poor sailor was struggling hard to save himself, but one arm was palsied from a wound, and he must have drowned but for Dewey, who swam powerfully to him, helped him to a floating piece of wreckage and towed him safely to land.

The lieutenant was now transferred to one of the gunboats of Admiral Farragut’s squadron and engaged in patrol duty between Cairo and Vicksburg.

[Illustration:  GUNBOATS PASSING BEFORE VICKSBURG.]

The latter surrendered to General Grant July 4, 1863, and the river was opened from its source to the Gulf.  Early in 1864 the lieutenant was made executive officer of the gunboat Agawam, and when attached to the North Atlantic squadron, took part in the attack on Fort Fisher, one of the strongest of forts, which, standing at the entrance of Cape Fear river, was so efficient a protection to Wilmington that the city became the chief port in the Confederacy for blockade runners.  Indeed, its blockade was a nullity, despite the most determined efforts of the Union fleet to keep it closed.  The Confederate cruisers advertised their regular days for departure, and they ran upon schedule time, even women and children taking passage upon the swift steamers with scarcely a fear that they would not be able to steam in and out of the river whenever the navigators of the craft chose to do so.

The first attempt against Fort Fisher was in the latter part of December, 1864, but, though the fleet was numerous and powerful, and the greatest gallantry was displayed, the attack was unsuccessful.  General Butler, in command of the land troops, after a careful examination of the Confederate works, pronounced capture impossible and refused to sacrifice his men in a useless attack.  Nevertheless the attempt was renewed January 12, when General Alfred Terry had charge of the land forces.  The garrison made one of the bravest defences of the whole war, and the hand-to-hand fight was of the most furious character.  It lasted for five hours, when the fort was obliged to surrender,