up the
river Parana. "As he met with many obstacles in his course," notes
Farragut, "the Argentine admiral, Brown, was enabled to overtake him.
Garibaldi ran his vessel into a creek and made a most desperate
resistance; fought until he had expended everything in the way of
ammunition, then landed his crew and set his vessel on fire." On the
17th of October a grand ball was given in honor of this success, which
Commander Farragut attended; as he did all the other gayeties during his
stay in Buenos Ayres.

The Decatur had already been long on the station when Farragut assumed
command, and the time had now arrived for her to return home. After
leaving Buenos Ayres she made short stops at Montevideo, Rio Janeiro,
Maranham, and Para, the latter being the seaport of the Amazon River. On
the 18th of February, 1843, she arrived in Norfolk, and Farragut was
relieved. His health being delicate at this time, he spent the following
summer at Fauquier Springs, Virginia.

From the mountains he returned in the autumn to Norfolk; and there on
the 26th of December, 1843, he married Miss Virginia Loyall, the eldest
daughter of Mr. William Loyall, a well-known and respected citizen of
Norfolk.

In April, 1844, Commander Farragut was ordered as executive officer to
the receiving ship at Norfolk, the Pennsylvania, of one hundred and
twenty guns; which, in the days of sailing ships, was by far the largest
vessel the United States ever had, and one of the largest in the world.
Some time later he was transferred to the navy yard at the same place,
on which duty he was employed when the war with Mexico arose.

As soon as the already existing difficulties with that country began to
wear an ominous outlook, Farragut wrote to the Navy Department, asking
for service in the Gulf. In his application he stated the qualifications
he thought he possessed, from his knowledge and close study of the
ground, and from his acquaintance with the Spanish language. He
instanced particularly the occasions on which he had been employed in
that neighborhood, and the close study he had been privileged to make on
the spot during Admiral Baudin's operations. Although the Secretary of
the Navy at that time was the able and enlightened Mr. George Bancroft,
this letter received no reply; and a second, sent after the beginning of
the war, was barely acknowledged without any action being taken. After
Mr. Bancroft left the Department, Farragut renewed his application,