two at a time, making bricks and mortar fly in all directions, then
moving ahead or astern a little to get a fresh place. He stayed there
till nearly noon, when he hauled off to cool his guns and give his men
some refreshment. In the afternoon, he took his ship in again, and
turret after turret was emptied at the poor fort."

Perkins sent home the flag that had flown over the fort during the
bombardment he obtained it in this wise: "The sailors from this ship,"
said he, "hauled down the flag, and one of them seized it and hid it in
his bosom; there was not much left of it; it was riddled and torn. He
brought it to me, declaring that no one had a right to it but the
captain of the Chickasaw. I hardly knew what to do about it, but the man
seemed so earnest I could not refuse to take it from him."

The bay was now sealed to blockade runners, and Mobile, measured as to
its commercial importance to the Confederacy, might as well have been
located among the mountains of northern Alabama as on the Gulf; and
owing to strategic reasons, operations for its immediate reduction came
to a halt. But on the twenty-seventh of March, 1865, the land and naval
forces began a joint movement against the defences surrounding the city,
and on the twelfth of April the Union forces were in full possession. In
these last operations, which cost the loss of two light draught
ironclads, a gunboat, and several other smaller vessels by torpedoes, we
may know that the Chickasaw was never in the background.

In July, Perkins was relieved from the command and ordered home. He had
volunteered for the Mobile fight but had been detained on board the
Chickasaw nearly thirteen months.

On his arrival home, he was overwhelmed with congratulations upon his