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| On the deck of the “Agawam” The easy attitudes of the acting ensign, to the left of the gun, and the volunteer acting-master with him, do not suggest the storm through which the ship on which they stand, the Federal gunboat “Agawam,” passed in the spring of 1864. Their vessel was called upon to cooperate in Grant's great military movement that was to bring the war to a close. In February, Acting Rear-Admiral S. P. Lee, commanding the North Atlantic squadron, was ready to assist General Butler with gunboats in the James and York Rivers. The admiral himself remained with his main squadron at Fortress Monroe to convey Butler's expedition to Bermuda Hundred. After that general got himself bottled up and, despite the protests of Admiral Lee, had sunk obstructions in the James to prevent the Confederate gunboats from coming down, the “Virginia” and her consorts came down to reconnoiter the character of the obstructions. The “Agawam,” under Commander A. C. Rhind, was lying below Battery Dantzler, with several monitors. They were engaged by the fortification and by the Confederate gunboats concealed behind the Point. The Federal vessels promptly returned the fire and kept up the battle for six hours, inflicting considerable damage on the fort. |
