Page:Brief Sketch of Work of Matthew Fontaine Maury 1861-65.pdf/15

 found down the bay by the enemy. Spans, barrels, barregas and carried to Washington—thus the enemy forewarned, forestalled further attempts of this character by dropping the end of his lower studding sail boom in the water every night, and anchoring boats, or beams ahead.

To obtain insulated wire, of which the South had none, an agent was sent secretly to New York, but without success, and as there was neither factory nor material for its manufacture in the Confederacy, the difficulties of preparing electrical torpedoes, to which Captain Maury attached the most importance and greatly preferred, seemed insuperable, until by a remarkable piece of good fortune, in the following spring, it happened that the enemy, attempting to lay wire across Chesapeake Bay were forced to abandon the attempt and left their wire to the mercy of the waves, which cast it upon the beach near Norfolk, where, by the kindness of a friend, it was secured for Captain Maury's use. With part of this he connected his mines in James River, below the obstructions, with the shore stations, which afterward destroyed the "Commodore Barney," and later the "Commodore Jones," and with part enabled other Southern ports to be similarly protected.

Of his James River torpedoes. Captain Maury thus reported to the Secretary of the Navy:

Richmond, June 19th, 1862. Sir,—The James River is mined with fifteen tanks below the Iron Battery at Chaffin's Bluff. They are to be exploded by means of Electricity. Four of the tanks contain 160 pounds of powder, the eleven other hold 70 pounds. All are made of boiler plate.