USA > Connecticut > Biographical encyclopaedia of Connecticut and Rhode Island of the nineteenth century > Part 34
USA > Rhode Island > Biographical encyclopaedia of Connecticut and Rhode Island of the nineteenth century > Part 34
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In December, 1852, Lieutenant Foote was promoted to the rank of commander, and on March 9th, 1854, was made executive-officer to the Naval Asylum in Phila- delphia. On Junc 20th, 1855, he served on the "Naval Efficiency Board" at Washington, in association with many other distinguished commanders, and on April 5th, 1856, was appointed to the Portsmouth, and ordered to the East India station. At Whampoa, in China, and also at Canton, he organized companies of men, and established fortified posts for the protection of American life and property. The Chinese failed to appreciate his efforts properly, and fired upon his boat while returning from Canton to the San Jacinto at Whampoa. The outrageous insult was speedily avenged by the capturc and destruction of the " Barricr Forts" in the Canton River. The fiery bravery and military skill of Commander Foote, as exem- plified on that occasion, received the loudest praises of the English and the French. The ship of Sir Michael Seymour, the British Admiral, and also his Commodore's vessel, manncd the rigging, and gave three rousing cheers for the Portsmouth, while the bands struck up " Hail ! Columbia" and "Yankee Doodle"-a compliment rarely paid to our ships by rival nations. Commander Foote's prompt and vigorous action produced most salutary results, and paved the way for the advantageous treaties afterward negotiated by Mr. Reed and Mr. Burlingame. It was also honored by thc cordial approval of the American Government, and of the British civil and naval officials. The destruction of the " Barrier Forts" was completed in ten working days. The Sabbath of course intervened, and in one of his dispatches to the Commodore, Footc- wrote : "We don't work, of course, to-day. I have preached aboard and in the fort." A truc Cromwellian Ironside, he could pray, and preach, and fight too-when occasion required-with a downright sincerity and vigor that never failed to secure profound respect.
Lcaving China, the Portsmouth next visited Siam, where Foote called upon the missionaries in state, in order that the natives might be induced to pay them more respect. In Siam his visit proved to be beneficent to all parties, native and forcign. In Japan he dcalt as cnergctically and justly with the natives as he had done in other lands, and with equally benign results. When, on June 13th, 1858, he cast anchor in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he had sailcd, since leaving the United States, no less than forty-nine thousand miles, and had left behind him, in
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every place at which he had touched, memories that commanded profound respect, and in some instances added genuine gratitude.
After a few months' rest he was appointed to the command of the United States Navy Yard at Brooklyn, N. Y., October 20th, 1858. His thoughts were much engrossed with benevolent, religious, and political matters germane to the pub- lic welfare. He established and carried out, as in former years at the Boston and Philadelphia Navy Yards, a regular system of religious instruction and of mission- schools among the operatives of the yard, and of the neglected outlying districts. In the religious revival of 1859-60, on board the receiving-ship North Carolina, he was an active and joyous participant, and was immediately instrumental in the conversion of many. He was also noted as a rigid disciplinarian, a friend of the friendless, an advocate of education, and an incorruptible and most devoted patriot
The times were portentous. Political agitations were rife. Threats of secession were numerous and sincere. High officials were basely treacherous. When Presi- dent Lincoln was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1860, the epoch was one of deepest gloom. Ships of war were either out of commission, or had been ordered to distant parts of the world, and with the exception of the store-ship Relief, of 2 guns, the steam-frigate Brooklyn, of 25 guns, which had just before arrived at Norfolk, after a three years' cruise, was the only armed vessel on the Atlantic coast, and, moreover, drew too much water to enter Southern harbors, or to operate efficiently in the earliest scenes of the war. The Secretary of the Navy reported 259 desertions and dismissions of officers from the Navy alone during the follow- ing year. The Republic seemed to be on the edge of destructive rocks, and the shots fired at Sumter on the 13th of April presaged utter disruption and ruin. The nation needed all the skill and valor of her true sons, and foremost among them all appeared the gallant and heroic Foote. His worth and capacity were fully recognized. In the hour of need the Government gladly turned to him, and to men like him. He was commissioned Captain on June 29th, 1861, and on August 30th, was directed to assume command of naval operations in the Western waters.
The conflict between the Merrimac and the Monitor, which ended in the vic- tory of the " Yankee cheese-box," as the latter was designated by the rebels, wrought a complete revolution in naval architecture. An invulnerable host of mail-clad vessels soon swarmed in the Atlantic waters, and it was resolved to make a similar fact apparent in the Western rivers. General Fremont was convinced of the need of a flect of gun-boats to co-operate with the army, and to command the Mississippi and its tributaries. When that flect was finally constructed, under the successive com- mand of Rodgers and Foote, and especially of the latter, who brought it to perfec- tion, and carried it into operation, it consisted of twelve gun-boats, seven of them
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iron-elad, able to resist all exeept the heaviest solid shot, and costing about $89,000 each. The boats were built very wide in proportion to their length, so that on the smooth river waters they possessed great steadiness when discharging their heavy guns. The names of the boats, the Benton, Essex, Mound City, Cineinnati, Louisville, Car- ondelet, St. Louis, Cairo, Pittsburgh, Lexington, Conestoga, and Taylor, will be for ever memorable in the annals of the American Navy.
The preparation of those unique vessels was Captain Foote's first eare. They speedily beeame the terror of secession and rebellion on the Mississippi, Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers. Their ereation was justly regarded by the energetie and experi- eneed hero as the greatest achievement of his life. Fighting with them he looked upon as an altogether seeondary matter.
The first serviee in which they were engaged was at the fight of Lueas's Bend, some miles below Cairo. Before five o'eloek in the afternoon they had sileneed the enemy's batteries, and driven his forees out of reach, and that without any damage to themselves. Gradually feeling its way to more important results, the flotilla greatly weakened the rebel, and correspondingly strengthened the Union, eause. Captain Foote never aeted until fully ready ; but when he did aet it was invariably with all the foree and resources at his command. Had his energies been untram- melled by ill-defined association with the military generals in command of the army, he would doubtless have inflieted his deathful blows upon the foes of the nation at a mueh earlier day. His zeal, wisdom, and manifold abilities, however, triumphed over every obstaele, and won him a naval renown unsurpassed by that of any pre- deeessor, contemporary, or suceessor.
On the 13th of November, 1861, he received the official rank of flag-officer, but before that date he was the regularly appointed commander-in-chief of the Western waters. As flag-officer, his rank corresponded with that of major-general in the army. His eommand was independent, and yet his movements were largely under the direction of the military authorities. This anomalous position caused him great annoyance, which rose to sueh a height under the administration of General Hal- loek, that at one time he solieited transference to a separate naval command. But his request was not eoneeded, because the Government had unlimited confidenee in his ability and adaptation to the work assigned. Sinking all personal grievances, he devoted himself, like a true patriot, to the task before him, and accomplished it so successfully as to earn an indisputable title to the admiration and gratitude of his country.
On the 7th of November, 1861, the gunboats performed signal service at the battle of Belmont, eovering with accurate fire the retreat of the national troops, and thus preventing them from being almost, if not entirely, cut to pieces. On the 6th
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of February, 1862, he co-operated with General Grant in the assault upon Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. The state of the roads would not allow the army to come up in time for the fight; and when it did arrive, nothing was left for it to do, except to take possession of the fort which the fleet had already captured. The impetuosity of the sailors had carried all before it. " A few minutes before the surrender," writes the Confederate historian Pollard, "the scene in and around the fort exhibited a spectacle of fierce grandeur." " The black sides of five or six gun- boats, belching fire at every port-hole," and pouring a storm of shot and shell upon the devoted stronghold, soon compelled General Tilghman, the rebel commander, to raise the white flag. He remarked: " It is vain to fight longer. Our gunners are disabled-our guns dismounted. We can't hold out five minutes longer." As soon as the sign of surrender was hoisted, the gunboats came alongside the fort, and took possession of it, their crews giving three cheers for the Union.
The capture of Fort Henry was a brilliant success, and was also prophetic of the eventual triumph of the Union arms. That post was the key of the rebel possessions in the West. Its downfall emboldened both army and navy in the sub- sequent attack upon Fort Donelson. The desperate battles of Pittsburgh, Shiloh, and Corinth were logical and necessary consequences. In the assault, Foote displayed the same qualities as in the destruction of the Chinese " Barrier Forts." Cool, scrupu- lous, cautious preparation was followed by rapid, close, concentrated, and desperate · fighting. The ancient scourge of the West Indian pirates had calculated every chance and every mishap; and when the moment for the death-grapple came, he threw away all care and fear, and fought with a fury that no fortitude could withstand.
On the first Sunday after the capture of Fort Henry, Flag-Officer Foote gave another proof of his signal loyalty to the Great Captain of his salvation He went to attend divine worship in the Presbyterian church at Cairo, "and found a full congregation assembled, but no preacher present. With his promptitude for business, seeing that no one else took the lead in the emergency, he went to the deacons and endeavored to persuade them to conduct the service. Failing in this, he him- self mounted the pulpit, read the Scriptures, made a prayer, and preached a short discourse from the words, "Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God ; believe also in me." When the sermon, which was listened to attentively by a delighted audience, was concluded, an army chaplain, who had in the meantime entered the house, stepped up to the commodore and expressed himself greatly pleased with the discourse. The commodore replied pleasantly (in no sharp terms of rebuke, as it was represented), that the chaplain should have come forward and taken his place."-Hoppin's Life of Admiral Foote, p. 218. The gallant flag-officer
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was ever ready to show his faith by his works, but why he should have decided that he would never again attempt lay preaching we can only conjecture. He was certainly entitled to respectful hearing from all, and the universal testimony was that his discourses were excellent. He may have been influenced to some extent by the opinions, and even by the commendations, of friends like Commodore Smith, who wrote as follows: "I hardly know for which vocation to award you the meed of greatest praise, as a first-rate flag-offieer, or as a 'preacher'-no matter which, as you are in high estimation in both."
The siege and capture of Fort Donelson followed next. Floyd wrote to Richmond from that fortress, " Have no fear about us. The place is impregnable; the enemy can never take it." The " enemy" did take it, however, and in the taking Foote's sub- lime daring and indomitable spirit shone with their wonted lustre. Twenty-five thou- sand troops garrisoned the beleaguered place, which was fortified with consummate skill, and defended by numerous and powerful batteries of artillery. Foote steamed up in his usual bold manner, to within three or four hundred yards of their mouths, and opened a rapid, precise, and destructive fire. The shot and shell from the fleet ploughed into the lower batteries, dismounting guns and driving away the gunners, while the heavy cannon of the fort played incessantly upon the sides and decks of the boats. In the height of the combat Pillow telegraphed to Governor Harris : " The Federal gun-boats are destroying us. For God's sake send us all the help you can immediately. I don't care for the land force of the enemy. They can't hurt us, if you ean keep those iron hell-hounds in eheck."
Just at the eritieal moment, when success seemed sure, casualties occurred to several of the armored vessels which disabled them, so that they drifted helplessly down the stream. The remainder were forced to withdraw. Foote, it is said, wept like a child over his disappointment. The effort had not, however, been in vain. It aided Grant to capture the stronghold, with its army of fifteen thousand men, and an immense amount of military stores.
The worst injury to the national cause at Fort Donelson was the wounds inflicted on the heroic Foote. Writing to his wife from Cairo, February 16th, he says : "I was slightly wounded, once at a gun and onee in the pilot-house. It was by a piece of spent shot once, and a splinter once, but only slightly, on my left arm and left foot, which puts me on crutches for a few days; but I will be running about in less than a week." In this representation he unintentionally underrated the magnitude of his own hurts. Enfeebled by exhausting labor and responsibility, he had lost much of his recuperative power, and ultimately lost his life from the effects of his wounds. He had a severe headache in the action, but fought it with cool, unflinching determination. - Officers and men reposed unbounded confidence in him,
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and were reminded by him that " not unto us," but to the Great Disposer of events, all glory is due.
Burning the Tennessee Iron Works, six miles from Dover, on the 19th of February, the Commodore took possession of Clarksville on the 20th, dictated the conduct to be pursued by the inhabitants, and prepared to carry the Union flag into Nashville and East Tennessee. The latter design was left unexecuted, in defer- ence to the positive commands of General Halleck, who thus deprived Foote of the opportunity of winning still grander fame. His old friend, Commodore Smith, sympathized in his chagrin, and strove to console him by stating, among other things, that " Gregory says you pray like a saint and fight like a devil." Further consolation was drawn from the enthusiasm of the citizens of New Haven, who warmly congratulated him on his success, and who presented Mrs. Foote with a flag.
Success only stimulated the wounded lion to greater exertion and daring. His dispatch to his navy on February 21st closed with the words : "The gun-boats and mortar-boats must leave immediately for Cairo, to be prepared instantly for service. Hasten ! hasten ! 'bear a hand' to follow me."
Fort Columbus, called the "Gibraltar of the West" by the rebels, was next reconnoitred by the flotilla, and was soon afterward abandoned as untenable. Foote then expected to clear away all forts and barriers placed by the enemy on the great " Father of Waters." He declared that he intended to descend the Mississippi to its mouth, and made adequate preparations accordingly. He began the work, which
was finished by Farragut, aided by Grant, at Vicksburg. Island No. 10 was the first objective point of attack, and toward it Foote's flotilla of seven iron-clad gun-boats and ten mortar-boats moved down the river on the morning of March 14th. On that very day his son, William L., a manly and promising boy of thirteen years, unexpectedly departed this life at his home in New Haven. The bereaved father received the telegram of his son's death in the thick of the battle. The iron entered his soul " May God support us," he telegraphed to his wife in reply. "The shock stuns me in midst of fight. Thy will be done to us and ours." Five days subsequently he and his men received the thanks of Congress and the American people for their gallantry and unwavering devotion to the cause of their country. This doubt- less was grateful to his wounded spirit, which was soothed by balm of praise from a higher source than the National Legislature. No private griefs were allowed to divert his mind from the immediate duty before him. He prepared for assault on Island No. 10 as he had previously done for assault on Forts Henry and Donelson. " When the object of running the blockade becomes adequate to the risk, I shall not hesitate to do it," he wrote to his old friend, the Hon. Gideon Welles, Sec-
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retary of the Navy. It did not become necessary for him to take the risk, for what he did there-aided by the army on land-obliged the enemy to decamp, and the prize dropped into his waiting hand. On the 7th of April, Island No. 10 surren- dered to the gun-boats. The number of prisoners amounted to 7273; of cannon and mortars to 123; besides 7000 small arms, an immense quantity of ammunition, hundreds of horses, mules, and wagons, and four steamers afloat.
This vietory, so pregnant with beneficent results, was a fitting elose to the active militant career of Flag-Officer Foote. His wounds grew more dangerous and painful, his sufferings were intense, and rest was urgently demanded. But one minor encounter intervened between that of Island No. 10 and release from active duty. It was that at Fort Pillow on April 14th. "This engagement took place on Sunday morning, and when the hour for reading the service came, the Commodore suggested that the firing should cease, and the crew be mustered for a brief space. He himself read the service ; and, after a short extemporaneous prayer, he set forth in elear and concise terms to the men that duty to one's country often called them to do as they were doing, something entirely opposed to the usual proper manner of observing the sacred day, and the reasons for this. The men listened attentively, as they always did, to his remarks, and then they were piped down to their work at the batteries. Several shells burst over the ship during this remarkable service." Life, p. 295. Fort Pillow fell before Foote resigned command of the flotilla. He was not present at its fall, for he had left his vessels under the temporary command of Commodore Charles H. Davis, on the 9th of May.
Leaving the seene of action on the Mississippi, Commodore Foote went at onee to the home of his brother, the Hon. John A. Foote, in Cleveland, Ohio. There he was joined by his wife, and there he hoped to enjoy quiet and rest-at the same time exereising a general supervision over the fleet, and receiving the reports of his officers. The citizens of Cleveland delightedly tendered him a public reception and the hospitalities of their city. Secretary Welles was willing to grant him temporary, but not permanent, release from duty. He wished that the shattered hero might reeover health and strength, and then resume his command. Commodore Smith, his good old friend, on the other hand, bluntly advised him to give up his command entirely, and not " die in harness." Reports of brilliant naval victories, achieved by vessels of his flotilla, continuously reached and exhilarated him. But the days of his personal mili- taney were ended. Yet siek and weak as he was, he wrote much and often, until he had secured positions and commands for his faithful and efficient friends and subordi- nates. His weakness inereased apace. Debilitated and emaciated, "he was but a shadow of himself," and was obliged to keep his bed for the greater part of the time. At length, after a surgical examination, he submitted to the decision of the
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Navy Department whether he should resume command of the gun-boats, receive three months leave of absence, or be detached altogether from his command in order that he might try the effects of salt air on his seriously impaired constitution. On the 17th of June, the latter alternative was chosen, and Commodore Foote was relieved from command at his own request.
On the 25th of June he and his wife arrived in New Haven, and were greeted -as they had been all along the route-with every token of public respect. His personal appearance at the time is thus described by his biographer : " His coun- tenance was indeed a fine one ; his forehead was broad and full, and his large, bright black eyes, restless and piercing, took in all things at a glance; his firm-shut mouth had a grip and strength that showed the invincible will of the man. His stature was of medium size, but square-built and compact. He was always very neatly dressed, carrying his professional notions in this respect to a nicety. He had a sailor-like alertness of step, and his motions were quick and nervous; yet - his address was exceedingly suave and gentle. He gave the impression of a man of active brain and of great energy, though held well in restraint. At one time he had a hobby that he had weak eyes, and he wore large green goggles, giving his naval friends much amusement. He was, in fact, quite apt to ride hobbies ; and these ' charming foibles,' as one of his friends calls them, made him a most fascinat- ing man to all who knew him and loved him." Life, p. 332.
Those who saw him, when he first returned from the West, "were struck by the excessive pallor of his face, the unnatural brilliancy of his eyes, and the stern- ness of his expression. It seemed as if he had passed through a fiery ordeal, and had not yet escaped the sense of its tremendous pressure. He had come home with a work unfulfilled. He had come with a prophet's burden on him to arouse the country to greater exertions for its salvation." His mind was preoccupied by this great purpose, and took but little note of public invitations, honors, and ovations ; except as they quickened public sentiment, strengthened love for the National Union, and spurred up to greater sacrifices for the suppression of the Rebellion, and the salvation of the country.
In July, 1862, on the cordial recommendation of the martyr President Abraham Lincoln, the thanks of both Houses of Congress were tendered to Flag-Officer Foote for his eminent services and gallantry. On the 22d of July he was made chief of the " Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting," but did not repair at once to his post in Washington, hoping to reach better physical condition by good care and nursing. On the 8th of July he presided at one of the great enlistment meetings held in New Haven, and was received, as he entered upon the stage, with prolonged and vocif- crous cheering. At the close of his brief address, he expressed his belief in the
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justice of the Union cause, and his firm reliance upon Divine Providence for ulti- mate success. His letters to similar and subsequent meetings were "weighty," full of fire and spirit, and stirred the heart of the country like the blast of a clarion. At the Commencement Day of Yale College, July 30th, he was the cynosure of all eyes. After a speech from the Hon. W. W. Ellsworth on the public exigencies. Professor Thacher quoted the Latin phrase, Ex pede Herculem, which the audience translated by loud cries of " Foote." In his responsive speech he spoke of the advantages of college life, and urged every educated young man to devote himself, at that critical hour, to the service of his country. On the same day he officially received the appointment-dated July 16-of Rear-Admiral on the Active List. He then stood on the highest pinnacle of his profession, honored and unenvied, because he had climbed thereto by regular steps, filling every subordinate position with laborious dili- gence, sterling worth, and noble patriotic deeds. Congratulatory letters poured in upon him from all quarters. Those from his professional associates and companions in arms were particularly noticeable for their warmth and excellent spirit.
In the month of May, 1862, he was presented with a valuable sword, which cost $3500, by a number of Brooklyn (N. Y.) gentlemen, in the Athenaeum of that great city. The sword was ornamented with devices having reference to the exploits of the hero in various parts of the world. The presence of many distinguished naval officers graced the brilliant assemblage of citizens who had gathered to witness the presenta- tion. His eyes flashed with electric fire as he raised the beautiful weapon, and wielded it, saying : "I will draw this sword in defence of the Union and the Con- stitution and the country." The audience caught the spirit of the speaker, and broke forth into fervent demonstrations of applause.
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