ed Confederacy from equipping a very
large fleet of iron-clads. At the outbreak of the war, the Tredegar
Iron Works at Richmond was the only place in the South where iron
plates of a size suitable for plating vessels could be rolled. The
demand was of course far in excess of the facilities of the factory,
and many were the make-shifts that shipbuilders were forced to. Some
vessels were plated only about the centre, so as to protect the boiler
and engines. Others bore such a thin coat of iron that they were
derisively called "tin-clads" by the sailors, who insisted that a
Yankee can-opener was all that was necessary to rip the vessel up.
Sometimes, when even a little iron was unattainable, bales of cotton
were piled up around the sides, like breastworks, for the protection
of men and engines. The vessel which captured the United States ship
"Harriet Lane," at Galveston, was thus provided; and the defence
proved very valuable. One great objection to the cotton-bale bulwarks
was the very inflammable nature of the material, since a red-hot shot
from the enemy, or a bit of blazing wadding from a gun, would set it
smouldering with a dense black smoke that drove the men from their
guns until the bales could be thrown overboard; thus extinguishing the
fire, but exposing the men to the fire of the enemy.

One of the most striking features of the war of secession was the
manner in which private citizens hastened to contribute towards the
public defence. This was so no less in naval than in military circles.
Perhaps the greatest gift ever made by a citizen to his Government was
the gift by "Commodore" Vanderbilt to the United States of a
magnificently equipped ship-of-war, which was named "The Vanderbilt"
in honor of her donor, and did efficient service in maintaining the
blockade on the Atlantic coast. Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the present
owner of the "New-York Herald," put his yacht at the service of the
Government, and was himself commissioned a lieutenant in the revenue
service.

CHAPTER II.

FORT SUMTER BOMBARDED. -- ATTEMPT OF THE "STAR OF THE WEST" TO
RE-ENFORCE ANDERSON. -- THE NAVAL EXPEDITION TO FORT SUMTER. --
THE RESCUE OF THE FRIGATE "CONSTITUTION." -- BURNING THE NORFOLK
NAVY-YARD.

[Illustration: Fort Moultrie.]

The first purely warlike event of the civil war was the bombardment
and capture of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, by the troops of the
State of South Carolina. At the