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“ [339] what is the state of the tide; look at the nautical almanac and find out.” Turning again to the captain of the vessel, I asked: “Captain, what depth of water have we under us?”

“I don't know.”

“Well,” said I, “get your dipsy [deep sea] lead and come forward with me. We seem to have struck forward.”

We went forward together and met the mate, and upon sounding found that we were in fourteen feet of water. We were on a sandbank which seemed to me to be quite a round bank just above the foremast. The vessel drew eighteen feet of water.

As I went aft, three or four of the officers and some of the men gathered about me and said: “General, this captain is a secessionist, and he got us ashore here on purpose; he is a Baltimorean.” A very deep and savage murmur began to circulate among the men, for the matter seemed to have been talked over. Fearing trouble, I stepped to the quarter deck, called the adjutant, and ordered the best drilled company I had to be paraded on the quarter deck. Lieutenant Fiske, afterwards General, a most steadfast officer, was put in command. The men were instructed that they should load their muskets with ball cartridges. Then, turning to a squad of the men who had followed me aft, I said: “Men, we are in considerable peril on board this vessel. There must be the most perfect order, and I think we can get out of it. Lieutenant Fiske, fire upon any man that attempts to leave this vessel without orders. Adjutant, order every officer to put on his side arms and revolver. Orderly, hand me mine.”

The men had just scattered forward when Lieutenant Fiske came aft and said: “General, the water is rising very fast in the forward hold, which is my compartment. My men's berths are all being flooded.”

I ordered the mate aft and said to him: “What is the matter in the fore hold?”

“ Nothing,” said he, “except that when the captain ordered the anchor to be let go the ship forged around on to a fluke of the anchor and it has gone through the side, making a hole about five inches square.”

“Very well,” I said, “she has got water-tight compartments.” I turned to the captain and said: “Do you know whether the valves that close all the water-tight compartments are in order?”

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