Benson J. Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Civil War. Volume 3.

1 See page 172. The engraving of that medal, here given, is about one-third less, in size, than the original. On one side is a profile of General Grant, with his name on a segment of a circle, above; and below, the words, “Joint resolution of, Congress, December 17, 1863.” The whole is encircled in a wreath, the upper portion detached, composed of branches of the oak and olive, indicative of strength and peace, and the lower of the products of the country--Indian corn, sugar, cotton, tobacco, and wheat. On the obverse is the city of Vicksburg, at the left, and a mountain region, indicating Chattanooga, on the right. Over these, and embracing them and the space between, is a rainbow, on which sits the figure of a beautiful young girl, in a loose, white

Torpedo net.

dress — the impersonation of Peace--holding the horn of plenty in one hand, and the shield of the Republic in the other. Across the face of the latter, on a ribbon, is the name, “Fort Donelson.” Beneath is a group of military trophies. Around all, and forming a broad circle, is the Mississippi River, on which are gun-boats of different forms; and outside of the whole, at the edge of the medal, are thirteen stars.

2 When news reached the fleet in the James River, at nine o'clock in the morning, that Weitzel had entered Richmond, Captain Chandler left Dutch Gap with his fleet of torpedo hunters, on his perilous expedition, and worked so skillfully and rapidly, that he was at Richmond at five o'clock the same afternoon. The Sangamon and the tugs were protected by torpedo-nets, formed of ropes, weighted with pieces of iron or lead, and provided with hooks to catch the little mines, as delineated in the engraving. These were hung from spars placed athwart the bowsprit. The Sangamon, on the occasion under consideration, had similar protections along its sides, the nets being suspended from spars fastened to and projecting from the deck.

The torpedoes used by the confederates were various in form and construction, as several illustrations in

Percussion torpedo.

this work show. The most efficient ones were the galvanic and percussion. The former were provided with a wire connected with a galvanic battery on the shore, by which the mine might be exploded at any moment. The percussion or “sensitive” ones exploded by the act of forcible contact. Some of these were made in the form of a double cone, with percussion tubes arranged around the cylinder thus formed, at the point of contact of the bases of the cones, as seen in the illustration here given. Others were arranged as delineated on page 194. In the James River, at the time we are considering, the torpedoes were chiefly galvanic. Some were cylindrical, with one end conical; but a greater portion were pear-shaped. These were anchored in the channels or in shallow water, by means of a segment of a hollow iron sphere, called a “mushroom.,” which was attached to the buoyant mine by a chain. These were generally sunken opposite batteries, where the wires connected with bomb-proofs on shore. One of these, containing nearly a ton of powder, was planted in the center of the deep channel at Drewry's Bluff. On account of the depth of water, it was attached to a long rod, and that to the “mushroom” anchor, by a chain, as it was desirable to have the torpedo only the depth of a vessel below the surface.

In fishing for torpedoes, a net with hooks, like that which depended from the bows of vessels, was dragged as a fisherman's net is dragged; also, common grapnels--four-pronged anchors without a stock, fastened to long lines — were dragged after the boats, like trolling; and when a torpedo was caught, it was carefully hauled up to the surface, and towed ashore. When a nest of torpedoes were found, a little float was anchored above them, with a small National flag upon it, by which pilots of vessels might be warned of the presence of danger.

“The torpedo,” says Captain Chandler, in a letter to the author, descriptive of these “infernal machines,” “is destined to be the least expensive but most terrible engine of defense yet invented. No vessel can be so constructed as to resist its power; and the uncertainty of its locality would prevent the hostile fleet from approaching the supposed position. In all collisions between hostile powers, whether army against army, ship against ship, or ship against fort, more or less bravery has been, and is destined to be, displayed; but the uncertainty of the locality of the foe — the knowledge that a simple touch will lay your ship a helpless, sinking wreck upon the water, without even the satisfaction of firing one shot in return, calls for more courage than can be expressed ; and a short cruise among torpedoes will sober the most intrepid disposition.”