Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 37.djvu/58

 50, met an officer of the United States Navy at Panama and after enquiring after his brother William, said: "Had I known Buck Murdaugh was in that fort I'd have aimed my gun to fire over it." The United States officer was on one of the opposing fleet.

He missed the command of the Shenandoah, the vessel referred to in Capt. Bulloch's letter, owing to his absence from England at the time of her completion, and it was feared the vessel could not have been gotten out if held in port a day longer than was necessary.

Capt. Murdaugh conceived a plan of carrying the war into the enemy's country by making an attack on some of the ports on the Northern Lakes.

Of this plan Lieut. Minor, of the Confederate States navy, has this to say in a letter to Admiral Buchanan:

"Early in February of last year Lieut. William H. Murdaugh, of the navy, conceived the plan of a raid on the Northern Lakes, based on the capture by surprise of the U. S. S. Michigan, the only man-of-war on those waters, and on mentioning his views to Lieut. Robert Carter and myself I need not tell you how cordially we entered into them, and endeavored by every means in our power to carry them into execution; but it was only after repeated efforts that the government was induced to take any active part in promoting the expedition, though Mr. Mallory, the Secretary of the Navy, was in favor of it from the inception of the plan, but money, or rather the want of it, seemed to be the cause of delay, which, however, being provided to the amount of $25,000, we, together with Lieut. Walter R. Butt, one of our wardroom mess on board the old Merrimac, were at last ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to proceed on the duty assigned us, when suddenly the order was changed, it having been decided in cabinet council that our operations on the lakes might embarrass our relations with England and thus prevent the completion of ironclads and other vessels building for us in the private shipyards of that country.

"With this expedition thus broken up, Murdaugh, disheartened, sought other duty, and he, Carter and Butt were ordered