d in having opportunities for distinction
thrown in his way by the war. Stevens, being an old ironclad captain,
took the command of the Winnebago, which was vacant.

[35] This was said in the hearing of Lieutenant-Commander (now Captain)
Kimberley, the executive officer of the Hartford. Commodore Foxhall A.
Parker (Battle of Mobile Bay) mentions that Farragut had written in a
note-book after the engagement: "Had Buchanan remained under the fort,
I should have attacked him _as soon as it became dark_ with the three
monitors." The statements are easily reconciled, the latter
representing the second thought.

[36] Lieutenant-Commander Perkins and the executive officer of the
Chickasaw, Volunteer Lieutenant William Hamilton, were going North from
other ships on leave of absence, the latter on sick leave, but had
offered their services for the battle. The fire of the Chickasaw was
the most damaging to the Tennessee. In her engagement with the ram she
fired fifty-two XI-inch solid shot, almost all into the stern, where
the greatest injury was done. The Metacomet went to Pensacola that
night under a flag of truce with the wounded from the fleet and the
Tennessee, and was taken out by the pilot of the latter. He asked
Captain Jouett who commanded the monitor that got under the ram's
stern, adding: "D----n him! he stuck to us like a leech; we could not
get away from him. It was he who cut away the steering gear, jammed the
stern port shutters, and wounded Admiral Buchanan."

[37] It is not easy to fix the exact times of particular occurrences
from the notes taken in the heat of action by different observers, with
watches not necessarily running together; yet a certain measure of
duration of the exciting events between 7 and 10 A.M. in this battle
seems desirable. From a careful comparison of the logs and reports the
following table of times has been compiled:

Fort Morgan opened 7.07 A.M.
Brooklyn opened with bow guns 7.10 A.M.
Fleet generally with bow guns 7.15 A.M.
Fleet generally with broadside guns 7.30-7.50 A.M.
Tecumseh sunk 7.45 A.M.
Hartford took the lead 7.52 A.M.
Hartford casts off Metacomet 8.05 A.M.

At this time the rest of the fleet were about a mile astern of the
flag-ship, crossing the lines of torpedoes, and the Tennessee turned to
attack them.

Tennessee passed rear ship (Oneida)