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thy of the country? Take the matter into consideration, and write me as soon as you conveniently can on the subject.

"The hard fighting at Richmond has not given us all we wished. The loss on both sides has been very severe.

"Hoping to hear from you soon, I am very truly your friend,

"Commodore Foote, New Haven, Conn."

"GIDEON WELLES.

"WASHINGTON, July 5, 1862.

"MY DEAR FOOTE,-I have yours of the 2d instant. I have no time to write. I am sad at our reverse at Richmond. The gun-boat came to the rescue, after all. I fear if we do not capture Richmond in twenty days, we shall have more trouble than we bargained for or expected.

"The Secretary has invited you to the Bureau of Equipment. I hope you will take it—but you can have any thing you want. How Congress cut at the Navy pay, while nothing is said of the respect the Army receives over the Navy. I am getting old and useless, besides am troubled with vertigo. Regards to madam.

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"FLAG-OFFICER A. H. FOOTE, U. S. N., New Haven, Conn.:

"MY DEAR SIR,-Now that the 'Line Bill' has passed at least one of the Houses of Congress, I may hope soon to escape the annoyance of writing so awkward a title before your name.

"I have missed you so much in this meeting of the two fleets, an event so strange in all its historical bearings. Though not here, your works are here to represent you. The Benton, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Carondelet, with the provision and ordnance boats and six mortar-boats, left Memphis on the 29th, arriving here on the 1st inst. The Conestoga has since come down from White River. This is our force. At this point, some five or six miles above Vicksburg, we found Flag-Officer Farragut's fleet, which had run the blockade some three days before—or, rather, eight vessels of his fleet-his flag flying on board the Hartford. You may suppose there was great cheering at the 'meeting.' The lower fleet has vessels of the class of the Richmond, Iroquois, and Winona, all beautiful specimens of their class. How great the contrast of the two forces! We found the officers discouraged about the place they had passed, and all of the opinion that nothing could be done except with the aid of a land

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force. The batteries are on bluffs, much scattered, and covered by a large army. These bluffs do not rise abruptly, but with a slope such that the batteries, placed at some distance from the river, sweep the slope and river shores. The fleet had suffered considerable loss, and had inflicted little or no injury; and the question is asked, ' For what purpose did the fleet come above the batteries?' The flotilla already controlled the river above. I shall surprise you very much by telling you that the 'New Orleans fleet' is 'at sixes and sevens.' Farragut's system seems to be embraced in the order to Captain Preble: Follow the Kennebec, and fire at any thing you see.' His vessels can not attack down stream any better than ours, and can not fire ahead; they must, therefore, again run the gauntlet, and, turning below, attack again batteries made stronger than when the fleet came up. There is a great deal of gossip among the officers. Captain Craven has differed with the flag-officer, and, after failing to get by the batteries the other day, has demanded leave, and has actually gone home. There are criminations and recriminations. I am happy to inform you that our flotilla manifests its lessons under your hands, and has no outside gossip in return for the abundance offered by the lower fleet. It is presumed that the fleet will not linger here, but will run back to below the batteries very soon. One thousand negroes are working hard upon a canal across the point here (one and a quarter miles long), which, if successful, will leave Vicksburg some four or five miles from the river. Commodore Porter is shelling the batteries and town from below, and Maynadier from above. We are soon to go up the Yazoo to destroy the Arkansas and clear the river out. It is expected that a large land force will reach here from above. The Lexington is in White River. Colonel Fitch has some 3000 or 4000 men, but will have to retire, the river being too low for navigation. Nothing of the Essex yet. The Eastport will be ready in time-if enough be given. The Sumter is on the way down, and the Bragg leaves Cairo to-day. The St. Louis and Mound City are at Memphis, and the Cairo at Fort Pillow. The Pittsburg is at Cairo for repairs. Commodore Davis desires me to give you his best love, and to say that he gladly accepts your proposition about the mess. I have some ration-money belonging to you; as soon as it is settled with Henriques, I will forward it to you. I have written at length, but I hope not to tire you. I am most anxious to hear from you, and learn how the change has effected you, and how your recovery progresses, as are all in the flotilla.

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We see by this letter that there can be anger in celestial minds, and that our naval heroes, like those of the Homeric fleet, had their little bickerings and rivalries among themselves; but these letters from Foote's officers, and those that follow, prove how deep a hold their late commander had of their affections. They show how kind-hearted and great-hearted was the man who could call forth such expressions. He still led them in spirit; they still looked to him for encouragement and inspiration. There is a genuine ring of the heart in these letters; they are not servile flatteries of one who no longer controlled them, or from whom they expected to gain any thing. They came from real esteem and love, and from the grateful memory of long-continued kindness and friendship. It is not often that a military leader has such a profound personal relationship to those under him, which shows something more than a confidence in his ability or an admiration of his courage— it shows the possession in him of high moral qualities. We will give at this time but one other brief extract from the letters of his officers-from the brave Captain Gwin, who soon after was killed in a naval combat on the Mississippi:

"You may rest assured that the laurels won by the flotilla under your command will never be tarnished."

Those who saw Commodore Foote when he first returned from the West were struck by the excessive pallor of his face, the unnatural brilliancy of his eyes, and the sternness 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. While cheerful and gentle, and courteous far beyond his strength in seeing and entertaining his friends, it was evident that his mind was preoccupied with a great purpose; and this, combined with his ill-health

Thanks of Congress.

343

and constant suffering from his wound, produced a high-strung state of mind and body, which both awed and saddened those who knew and loved him best.

Public invitations, honors, and ovations began to pour in upon him, some of which will be noticed in the following chapter; but he declined most of them, or those of them which did not have a direct bearing upon popular sentiment, and the stirring up of the public mind to more devoted love of the Union and to greater sacrifices in carrying on the war.

In the beginning of July the President sent to the Senate and House of Representatives the following recommendation :

"I most cordially recommend that Captain Andrew H. Foote, of the U. S. Navy, receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his eminent services in organizing the flotilla on the Western waters, and for his gallantry at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Island No. Ten, and at various other places, while in command of the naval forces, embracing a period of nearly ten months. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

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This was acted upon in the following resolution:

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and the same are hereby tendered to Captain Andrew H. Foote, of the United States Navy, for his eminent services and gallantry at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Island No. Ten, while in command of the naval forces of the United States.

"SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby requested to transmit a certified copy of the foregoing resolution to Captain Foote.

"Approved July 16, 1862."

CHAPTER XXVI.

APPOINTED CHIEF OF BUREAU OF EQUIPMENT AND RECRUITING.SPEECHES AND LETTERS AT ENLISTMENT MEETINGS.

CORRESPONDENCE.-ALUMNI MEETING AT YALE

COLLEGE.-APPOINTED REAR ADMIRAL.

ON the 22d of July Commodore Foote was made Chief of the "Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting;" but he did not go at once to his post in Washington. His physical system was in a totally unstrung and wretched state, and he hoped by good nursing at home to be brought into a better condition for public service. The government, as will be seen by the following letter, was, under the circumstances, willing to wait for him:

“WASHINGTON, July 24, 1862.

"MY DEAR SIR,—I have yours of the 22d, and am glad to learn that you are so rapidly improving. Under the circumstances, I should advise that you should remain until the time specified by you-the 6th of August. We should be glad to have you here, but there is no sufficient reason to jeopard or retard your permanent cure. Until you come, the Construction Bureau will discharge the duties of Equipment as heretofore, and we will attend to Recruiting in the Department proper; so that you can remain satisfied and undisturbed. I shall be glad to have your counsel and advice on many matters, for concentrated wisdom and the results of many good minds strengthen measures and insure good action.

"How effective light-draft boats, which can not carry heavy armament, may be on the Western rivers, in low stages of the water and the banks high, is a question. They can do some service doubtless; but more, I apprehend, would be expected than they could perform. Instead of being incidental to land operations, the Navy is, from events, considered primary and indispensable to Army operations. They tell us the Navy took New Orleans; why can it not take Richmond? It overcame

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