connected themselves with Mexico and France as to have
caused the most serious embarrassment. It became absolutely
necessary to the success of the Government that the rebels'
northern line of defenses should be broken through, and that the
Mississippi should be opened to its mouth.

At first, and before the nature of the work was fully understood,
the whole was placed under the direction of the War Department, as
it was thought the few armed transports which would be needed would
be a mere appendage of the army. The idea of a formidable river
navy of a hundred powerful steamers did not in the beginning enter
into the minds of any.

It was soon seen, however, that an entirely new description of
craft was needed for this work. It was clear that the river boats,
which had been built for the common purposes of freight and
passage, were not capable of resisting the fire of heavy artillery,
and that the batteries of the rebels could not be captured nor even
passed by them. They could not even be safely employed alone in the
transportation of troops, for they could be sunk or crippled by the
field batteries that could be moved from point to point. The
question of iron-clads was proposed, but with only the ocean
iron-clads as a guide, who should conceive the proper form of an
armored boat which could navigate our rivers and compete
successfully with the heavy guns, rifled as well as smooth-bore, of
the fortifications. It was by no means easy to solve this problem,
but it was absolutely necessary that the attempt should be made....
These forts could only be reduced by the aid of gunboats, and
these were almost literally to be created.

There was in the Cabinet of President Lincoln at this time a western
man, intimately acquainted with the steamboat interest of the
Mississippi. This was Edward Bates, the Attorney-General of the United
States. He was an old friend of Mr. Eads, and felt assured that in case
of war the services of that gentleman would be of the greatest value to
the country. When it was found that hostilities could not be avoided, he
mentioned the name of Mr. Eads to the Cabinet, and strongly urged that
his services should be secured at the earliest possible moment. On the
17th of April, 1861, three days after Fort Sumter had fallen, he wrote
to Mr. Eads, who was living in comfortabl