[311]
 |
| A sight for the old-time sailor — a gun-crew on the deck of the flagship “Wabash” Here is a sight that will please every old-time sailor — a gun-crew on the old “Wabash” under the eyes of Admiral Du Pont himself, who stands with his hand on the sail. No finer sweep of deck or better-lined broadside guns were ever seen than those of the U. S. S. “Wabash,” the finest type of any vessel of her class afloat at the outbreak of the Civil War. Everything about her marked the pride which her officers must take in having everything “ship-shape and Bristol fashion.” She was at all times fit for inspection by a visiting monarch. The “Wabash” threw the heaviest broadside of any vessel in the Federal fleet. Her crew were practically picked men, almost all old sailors who had been graduated from the navy of sailing days. The engines of this magnificent frigate were merely auxiliary; she yet depended upon her towering canvas when on a cruise. Her armament was almost identically that of the “Minnesota,” although her tonnage was some-what less. She mounted two 10-inch smooth-bores, twenty-eight 9-inch guns on her gundeck, fourteen 8-inch on her spar deck, and two 12-pounders. At the time this picture was taken she was flagship of the South Atlantic squadron, flying the broad pennant of Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont. |
