opened. The rain fell in torrents day and night, and the country became
a sea of mud and water. Bridges had to be laid to connect different
portions of the army, and all offensive movements were for a while out
of the question. The delay gave Lee time to form his troops into a
compact mass, so that when the Unionists were ready to attack, it was so
evident that another Fredericksburg massacre would follow that the plan
was abandoned.

In truth, Lee felt so strong that he was disposed to advance himself,
but was dissuaded by the belief that some blunder of the Union commander
would give him a better opportunity, but Meade was too wise to do so. On
the 1st of December he returned to his old quarters on the Rapidan. The
weather had become extremely cold, and both armies went into winter
quarters.

The principal military movements of this year have now been described,
but it remains to tell of the operations on the seacoast and of the
leading military raids.

PRIVATEERING.

The Confederates displayed great activity and ingenuity in the
construction of ironclads and in running the blockade. Their vessels
continually dodged in and out of a few of the leading ports, the
principal one being Wilmington, North Carolina. The profits in a single
cargo of a blockade-runner were so enormous that the owners were
enriched by several successful voyages, while a single one would
reimburse them for the loss of their ship. Under such circumstances it
was no wonder that they took desperate chances, and firms were organized
who paid liberal salaries to the officers of vessels, who advertised
among their friends the regular dates of their departure, and, the worst
of it was, they were very regular in keeping them.

The _Alabama_ and other privateers were busy on the ocean, and the
Confederates strained every nerve to send others to sea. The _Nashville_
was a fine steamer that was in the Ogeechee River, Georgia, waiting for
a chance to slip out and join the commerce destroyers. She had a
valuable cargo of cotton, and the Federal cruisers were alert to prevent
her escape. They would have gone up the river after her, but there were
too many torpedoes waiting for them, and the guns of Fort McAllister
were too powerful.

Captain Worden, of the old _Monitor_, was now in command of the
_Montauk_, and he was delighted on the night of February 27th to observe
the _Nashville_ lying stuck fast in shallow water above Fort McAllister.
The opport