The youngest officer in command on that day,--the fifth of August,--so
fateful to the fading fortunes of the Confederacy, so glorious to the
reascendant star of Union, no one contributed more to its glories and
success than Perkins of the Chickasaw; and in any other service under
the sun he would have received immediate promotion for what he did on
that day. Had he been an Englishman, the honors of knighthood would have
been conferred on him, as well as promotion, but as an American he still
waits adequate recognition for deeds as brave as they were conspicuous
and telling.

Said Mr. Eads, the builder, when he heard the results of the battle and
the surpassing part of the Chickasaw in it: "I would walk fifty miles to
shake hands with the young man who commanded her!" And remembering the
disparagement that had been put on the vessel and her sister ship, the
Winnebago, his enthusiasm knew no bounds, and he took pains to gather
all the details of the Chickasaw's brilliant work.

With the loss of the Tecumseh, the ironclad portion of the fleet was
reduced to the Manhattan, armed with two fifteen-inch guns, and the
Chickasaw and Winnebago of two eleven-inch guns each; but one of the
Manhattan's guns became disabled early in the action, by a bit of iron
lodging in the vent, and the Winnebago's turrets would not turn, so that
her guns could be pointed only by manoeuvring the vessel. But the
Chickasaw, owing to Perkins's foresight and hard work, was in perfect
condition, as illustrated in all her service on that eventful day, as
well as on all subsequent occasions, until the capitulation of Mobile
ended the drama of rebellion on the Southern seaboard.

The wooden ships, stripped as at New Orleans for the stern work in hand,