as he passed the Hartford, he was on top of the turret waving his hat
and dancing around with delight and excitement."--"The ironclads," said
Perkins, "were ordered to follow inside the fleet, between fleet and
fort. I had orders to be reserve force and remain with wooden vessels
after passing obstructions. Our course was between a certain buoy and
the shore. This passage was known to be free from torpedoes, and was
left for the blockade runners. All the vessels had orders to keep
between that buoy and the shore, but in other respects the ironclads had
separate orders from the wooden vessels. In the confusion resulting from
the destruction of the Tecumseh and the movements of the Brooklyn, the
monitors received _no_ orders and followed in the line of the other
vessels." Be it said in passing, that Perkins had no pilot, and at sight
of the Tecumseh's doom, one of the men in the pilot-house fainted,
leaving only Perkins and one man to steer the vessel until the vigorous
methods applied brought the man to, and freshened his pluck! The
pilot-house was abaft the forward turret, not on top, as in the case of
the Tecumseh class, and was entered through a trap-door which was kept
open during the fight, for the vessel being unfinished, there was no way
of opening it from inside when closed.

"I pushed forward as rapidly as possible, but my ship anyway was
stationed last of the ironclads, as I was youngest in command. We fired
at the fort to keep down its fire till the wooden ships had passed. When
the Tennessee passed, it was on my port side; she then steamed toward
Fort Morgan. Some of our vessels anchored, others kept under weigh, and
when the Tennessee approached the fleet again, she was at once attacked
by the wooden vessels, but they made no impression upon her. An order
was now brought to the ironclads by Fleet-Surgeon Palmer for them to
attack the ram, but as they stood for her, she seemed again to move as
if retiring toward the fort, but the Chickasaw overtook her, and after a