. Abraham Lincoln and the battles of the Civil War . and, tapering off to a4-inch edge, formed the ram. The work of putting on the armor wasprosecuted for some time under the most dis-heartening circumstances, on account of thedifliculty of drilling holes in the iron intendedfor her armor. But one small engine and drillcould be had, and it required, at the best,twenty minutes to drill an inch and a ([uarterhole through the plates, and it looked asif we would never accomj)lish the task. But• necessity is the mother of invention, andone of my associates in the enterprise, PeterE. Smith, of Scotl
. Abraham Lincoln and the battles of the Civil War . and, tapering off to a4-inch edge, formed the ram. The work of putting on the armor wasprosecuted for some time under the most dis-heartening circumstances, on account of thedifliculty of drilling holes in the iron intendedfor her armor. But one small engine and drillcould be had, and it required, at the best,twenty minutes to drill an inch and a ([uarterhole through the plates, and it looked asif we would never accomj)lish the task. But• necessity is the mother of invention, andone of my associates in the enterprise, PeterE. Smith, of Scotland Neck. North Carolina,invented and made a twist-drill with which thework of drilling a hole could lie done in fourminutes, the drill cutting out the iron in shav-ings instead of fine powder. For many reasons it was thought judiciousto remove the boat to the town of Halifax,about twenty miles up tlie river, and the workof conijiletion, ])utting in her machinery, ar-mament, etc., was done at that point, although 422 THE CAREER OF THE CAPTAIN J. \V. COOKE, C. S. X. the actual finishing touches were not givenuntil a tew days before going into action atPlymouth. Forges were erected on her decks, and black-smiths and carpenters were kept hard atwork as she floated down the river to herdestination. Captain James W. Cooke, of the Confed-erate Xavy, was detailed by the departmentto watch the construction of the vessel and totake command when she went into commis-sion. He made every effort to hasten the com-pletion of the boat. He was a bold and gallantofficer, and in the battles in which he subse-quently engaged he proved himself a him it was said that he would fight apowder magazine with a coal of fire, and ifsuch a necessity could by any possibility haveexisted he would, doubtless, have been equalto the occasion. In the spring of 1864 it had been decidedat headquarters that an attempt should bemade to recapture the town of Hoke was placed in
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