Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 12.djvu/22

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with naval batteries, their management, construction, etc., are eminently fitted for the command of such batteries, and are most appropriately placed in command of them. In a war such as this, unanimity and hearty cooperation should be the rule. Petty jealousies about slight shades of relative command and bickering about trivial matters are entirely out of place and highly improper, and when carried so far as to interfere with the effectiveness of a command, become both criminal and contemptible. Within the ordinary limits of a letter it is impossible to provide for every contingency that may arise in a command which is not centered in a single individual. It is therefore hoped that mutual concessions will be made, and that the good of the service will be the only aim of all.

In some cases, army rank was conferred upon naval officers in command of batteries; but in this anomalous state of affairs, jealousies were constantly arising, and the navy men were only too glad to be assigned to duty afloat.

At the navy department the work of preparing for the manufacture of ordnance, powder and naval supplies was very heavy, and most diligently pursued. Lieut. Robert D. Minor was conspicuous in this duty, as was also Commander John M. Brooke, whose banded guns proved so efficient. Indeed, all the navy officers were most enthusiastic in turning their hands to any work to help the cause. Commodore M. F. Maury, who had been a member of the governor's advisory board, organized the naval submarine battery service. Upon his departure for England he turned it over to Lieut. Hunter Davidson, an energetic, gallant officer, who, by his skillful management of torpedoes in the James river, contributed largely to the defense of Richmond. Engineer Alphonse Jackson established a powder-mill; Commander John M. Brooke devised a machine for making percussion caps; Lieut. D. P. McCorkle manufactured at Atlanta gun carriages, etc.; later in the war, Commander Catesby Jones established a foundry for casting heavy guns, at