. The naval history of the Civil War . was equal to the occasion. Late in theafternoon of the 0th this fleet of vessels en-tered Albemarle Sound in search of theenemy, and soon after sighted the smokeof two steamers, which were seen to beheading for Pasquotank River. Chase wasgiven and an attempt made to cut them off,but without success, and the Confederatesescaped over the bar and then up the Union fleet was then anchored for thenight, ten miles distant from Fort Cobb. Commander Rowan knew very little aboutthe condition of affairs up the river, whetherthere were any batteries, torpe
. The naval history of the Civil War . was equal to the occasion. Late in theafternoon of the 0th this fleet of vessels en-tered Albemarle Sound in search of theenemy, and soon after sighted the smokeof two steamers, which were seen to beheading for Pasquotank River. Chase wasgiven and an attempt made to cut them off,but without success, and the Confederatesescaped over the bar and then up the Union fleet was then anchored for thenight, ten miles distant from Fort Cobb. Commander Rowan knew very little aboutthe condition of affairs up the river, whetherthere were any batteries, torpedoes or ob-structions, but he well knew that if therewere any forts the Confederate gun-boatswould naturally seek their protection andrely on their aid in any encounter thatmight follow with the Federal forces. The ■nocoHW58 soin sao >o SOCO TlWCDSO c> S3 -o o SO o > o CO CO >a 00 2 ~ 2 to « SO oo 10CO c S3OMSO o 3 >•zo o Tl o 2 SO> co. ;ii5) 116 THE NAVAL HISTORY enemy could select their point of attack ordefence, and the Union commander wasobliged to advance against them withouthaving the slightest idea of the strength oftheir position. The little steamers under Rowans com-mand were certainly the frailest vesselsthat had ever been improvised for meetingthe stern hazards of war. They carriedheavy guns, however, and the gallant spiritswho manned them were determined to win,no matter what the risks. Commander Rowans plan was to avoid aprotracted combat, and to bring the enemyto close quarters as soon as possible, for thereason that his ammunition was reduced to20 rounds for each gun in the fleet (owingto the battle of Roanoke Island). He madesignal for the commanders of vessels tocome on board the flagship, and after con-ferring with them in regard to the propermeasures to be adopted he gave them theirfinal orders. It was naturally expected that the Con-federate fleet would take position behindthe battery at Cobbs Poi
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectunitedstatesnavy
