and were everywhere
regarded as having rendered an invaluable service to the country.
The modesty and heroism of Worden secured him an unbounded share
of popular admiration and respect.

In the ensuing month of April the navy performed another great
service by the capture of New Orleans. The fleet was in command
of Captain Farragut, and successfully passed the fortifications
which had been erected by the National Government to prevent a
foreign foe from entering the Mississippi. New Orleans made no
resistance to the approach of the fleet, and General B. F. Butler,
in command of the Department of the Gulf, established his headquarters
in the city. The importance of this conquest to the Union cause
could hardly be estimated. It enabled the government to embarrass
the trans-Mississippi States in their support of the rebel army,
and thus inflicted a heavy blow upon the fortunes of the Confederacy.
New Orleans in the control of the National Government was easy to
defend, and it afforded a base of offensive operations in so many
directions that no amount of vigilance could anticipate the attacks
that might be made by the Union forces.

Viewed in connection with the effective work of Flag-officer Foote
in supporting General Grant in the Henry and Donelson campaign,
and of Gouldsborough in supporting Burnside on the coast of North
Carolina, these later and greater achievements of the navy served
to raise that branch of the service in popular esteem. Besides
the intrinsic merit which attached to the victories, they had all
the advantage of a genuine surprise to the public. Little had been
expected from the navy in a contest where the field of operation
seemed so restricted. But now the people saw that the most important
post thus far wrenched from the Confederacy had been taken by the
navy, and that it was effectively sustaining and strengthening the
army at all points. It was no longer regarded as a mere blockading
force, but was menacing the coast of the Confederate States,
penetrating their rivers, and neutralizing the strength of thousands
of Rebel soldiers who were withdrawn from armies in the field to
man the fortifications rendered necessary by this unexpected form
of attack. These facts made a deep impression of Congress. Since
the close of the second war with Great Britain the navy had enjoyed
no opportunity for distinction. The war with Mexico was wholly a
contest on land, and for a period of forty-five y