iver, from Jamesville to Poplar point, a distance of
thirty miles, was dredged for torpedoes. In all, in the river between
these two points, the dredging party took up and exploded eighty
torpedoes. From Jamesville on, the Valley City took the lead, having
previously rigged a torpedo-fender on her bow. The river was dredged by
means of six boats' crews, each two of which were paired, rowing about
twenty feet apart, with a chain suspended between them, dragging along
the bottom of the river. Each torpedo was anchored at the bottom of the
river by means of a rope, one end of which was tied to the torpedo, the
other end to a staple fastened in the centre of the surface of a
hemisphere of iron six inches in diameter, resting at the bottom of the
river. The rope was sufficiently long to float the torpedo just beneath
the surface of the water. The torpedoes were made of tin, each about
eighteen inches long and ten inches in diameter, and divided into two
separate apartments, one for air, the other for powder. Through the
centre of each torpedo, running longitudinally, there was an iron bar
placed, extending beyond each end. On the upper end there was a spring
trigger, which was held by a light iron cross bar, ingeniously attached
to the longitudinal bar, so arranged that from the lightest touch it
would fall off, letting the trigger fall on the upper part of the
torpedo, striking a percussion cap immediately underneath it in the
powder chamber, thus exploding the torpedo.

The boats were protected as much as possible by the Valley City
following close after, watching the banks of the river on either side.
There were dykes on each side of the river, behind which in the
undergrowth the rebels often lurked. To obviate this, Commander W. H.
Macomb ordered the marines to march a short distance ahead of the
dredge-boats on either side of the river; but notwithstanding this
precaution, the men in the dredge-boats were fired into, and several
were either wounded or killed by the sharpshooters. Sometimes the
marines ashore would be driven back. The farther up the river we
proceeded, the more numerous the rebels became, and the more our
difficulties increased. The men in the dredge-boats did not consider
the place a very safe one by any means, and often went into the boats
with many forebodings. It was not a desirable place either on the
Valley City, for there was a constant dread of torpedoes below and
sharpshooters above.

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