Page:Brief Sketch of Work of Matthew Fontaine Maury 1861-65.pdf/11

 four oars. Each of the others manned by an officer and four men carried a magazine with thirty fathoms of rope attached. These magazines were oak casks of powder with a fuse in each. Two joined by the rope were stretching across the ebb-tide and when directly ahead of the ships were let go, and floating down the rope caught across the cable, the torpedo would drift and the ship strain the trigger, ignite the fuse and explode. "The night was still, calm, clear, lovely." Thatcher's comet was flaming in the sky. We steered by it, pulling in the plane of its splendid train. All the noise and turmoil of the enemy's camp and fleet was hushed. They had no guard boats of any kind, and as with muffled oars we neared them we heard seven bells strike. After putting the torpedoes under one ship the boats that carried them went back, and Captain Maury with the other two, planted the other torpedoes. They then rowed away and waited, but the explosion did not come and the enemy never knew of the attempt. Lieut. R. D. Minor, one of his skilful and daring assistants, commanded the second expedition which he thus describes attached.

C.S.S. Patrick Henry,
 * Mulberry Point, October 11th, 1861

Sir—Owing to an unexpected delay in the completion of the magazine I was unable to leave Richmond before the morning of the 9th, and did not reach this ship until yesterday about 8 A. M. When I laid your plan of the intended attack on the United States ships at anchor off Newport News, before Commander Tucker, who who with Lieutenant Powell, the executive officer, placed every facility at my disposal for carrying it into execution.