companions--constituted the elements of the problem which he had to
solve to get his fleet safely past the obstacles into the bay. Although
not disposed to lay as much stress as others upon the torpedoes, which
were then but an imperfectly developed weapon, prudence dictated to him
the necessity of passing between them and the fort; and this was
fortunately in accordance with the sound policy which dictates that
wooden vessels engaging permanent works, less liable than themselves to
penetration, should get as close as possible to the enemy, whose fire
they may then beat down by the rapidity of their own. There were certain
black buoys floating across the channel, between the piles and Fort
Morgan, and it was understood that these marked the position of the
torpedoes. The admiral's flag-lieutenant, Lieutenant (now Captain) John
C. Watson, had examined these buoys in several nightly reconnaissances;
but, although he had not been able to discover any of the mines, the
assurances of their existence could not be disregarded. His examination
doubtless had some effect upon the admiral's instant determination, in
the unforeseen emergency that arose during the action, to pass over the
spot where the hidden dangers were said to lie; but in the dispositions
for battle the order was given for the fleet to pass eastward of the
easternmost buoy, where no torpedoes would be found.

The closeness of this approach, however, and the fact that the line of
the channel led in at right angles to the entrance, had the disadvantage
of obstructing the fire of the broadside wooden vessels, in which the
offensive strength of the fleet, outside the monitors, consisted. The
guns of those ships, being disposed along the sides, were for the most
part able to bear only upon an enemy abreast of them, with a small
additional angle of train toward ahead or astern. It was not, therefore,
until nearly up with the fort that these numerous cannon would come into
play, and exercise that preponderating effect which had driven off the
gunners at Forts St. Philip and Jackson. This inconvenience results from
the construction of such ships, and can only be overcome by a movement
of the helm causing the ship to diverge from her course; a resort which
led a witty Frenchman to say that a ship-of-war so situated is like a
shark, that can only bite by turning on its back. The remedy, however
applicable under certain circumstances and in the case of a single ship,
caus