Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of Rebellion, Series I, Volume 16 by United States Department of the Navy

Author:United States Department of the Navy
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Official Records, Civil War
Publisher: United States Department of the Navy
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

See Series I, volume 5, p. 759.

t The position of the Huntsville was also given by Captain McKean

Page 571

GULF BLOCKADU~G SQUAD1~O1~. 571

Report of captain Adams, U S. Navy, commanding U. S. ship Sabine, on arrival off Portsmouth, N H

U. S. FRIGATE SABINE, Qif Portsmouth, N H, JIdy 4, 1861.

SIR: I have the honor to report the arrival of this ship from the anchorage off Fort Pickens, which place she left on the 15th ultimo. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, II. A. ADAMS, Captain. Hon. GIDEON WELLES, Srecretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C.

General report of Lieutenant Porter, U S. Navy, commanding US. 1Sr. Powhatan, in South West Pass, lllississippi River.

U. S. S. POWIIATAN, South West Pass, iuifississippi River, July 4, 1861.

SIR: In accordance with your instructions I enclose requisitions for stores, etc., for five months, not knowing how long this ship will remain out on this station. She was sent here for a particular purpose, and there being a proba- bility that she might be destroyed in the attempt to enter I~en4acola Harbor~ I tbok no more stores than were absolutely necessary to get out there; infact, she is destitute of everything. We can not raise a tack, scarcely a nail to repair any damages with. We have not an ounce of paint on board, nor whitewash. The ship is actually going to ruin for want of her wood being covered. It is now over a year since she had any paint put on her. We could not repair a boat for want of a plank, and our machinery having broken down, brought to my notice that there was no rope in the ship to make sheets, bowlines, braces, halyards, etc. I beg leave to observe that four days after the ship was ordered to sea she was outside of Sandy Hook, steering south. She was all stripped when ordered, and everything was put on board, including provisions, ordnance, and 800 tons of coal in thetime I have mentioned above; of course there was confusion. It would be charity for some ship to divide her stores with us until such time as we could have them sent out. We are on an important service, and might fail for want of some very small matter. Captain Adams approved a requisition of mine for some articles to be purchased in Havana~ I received a letter from the consul at Havana informing me that the articles have been sent over in the schooner Nonpareil, and delivered to the quartermaster at Pensacola. Will you do me the favor, sir, to have them sent to us by the first op- portunity. At present our machinery is broken down, but I am lying close up to the bar, and nothing can get in or out without running over us. I shall be ready to steam up in about ten days. The enemy are beginning to make some demonstrations; the Sumter has come down within 10 miles of us, but, owing to the current, has been beyond the reach of our boats.

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