erates were driven out of the
fort. Then the fleet opened upon them, and they fled for dear life
while a sailor sprang to the flagstaff and pulled down the Confederate
flag. Fort Fisher had fallen. It was a noble victory, and formed a
fitting climax to the work of the navy throughout that great war.

With the fall of Fort Fisher, the navy ceased to be a prominent factor
in the war. Its work was done. Along the seacoast, and inland as far
as navigable rivers extended, the ships of the North had carried the
starry banner; and the sailor-boys of the North had defended it. And
their opponents, whether on sea or shore, had shown themselves
courageous and dashing, and worthy to be numbered as men of the same
nation as those who proved the victors. And who can doubt, that,
should the need arise, the sons of these men will show that they have
in their veins the blood that animated the Blue-Jackets of '61?

PART IV

BLUE JACKETS IN TIMES OF PEACE

CHAPTER I.

POLICE SERVICE ON THE HIGH SEAS. -- WAR SERVICE IN ASIATIC PORTS.
-- LOSSES BY THE PERILS OF THE DEEP. -- A BRUSH WITH THE PIRATES.
-- ADMIRAL RODGERS AT COREA. -- SERVICES IN ARCTIC WATERS. -- THE
DISASTER AT SAMOA. -- THE ATTACK ON THE "BALTIMORE'S" MEN AT
VALPARAISO. -- LOSS OF THE "KEARSARGE." -- THE NAVAL REVIEW.

The years immediately following the civil war were particularly quiet
and uneventful for the navy. The department was chiefly engaged in the
work of reducing the forces and adapting the navy to the changed
conditions. At the termination of the war an immense naval armament
had been developed, and the navy had assumed a magnitude which made
the United States foremost among the naval powers. This force was
gradually reduced to a peace standard. The volunteers were discharged
and retired from service. The large number of captured and purchased
vessels were disposed of. The home squadrons were withdrawn, and
squadrons established abroad. The ships in foreign stations displayed
an unprecedented energy and activity, visiting, in 1866, nearly every
large port in the world, including several in China which had never
before been entered by an American man-of-war. The reception of
Rear-Admiral Bell in his flagship, the "Hartford," by the Japanese,
was manifestly more hospitable than that given to any other nation.
Admiral Farragut was made commander of the European squadron in 1867,
and he was received with distinguis