sign of submitting to be bullied, his
authority would instantly have fallen from him. Boy as he was, David
realized this, and, calling one of the crew to him, explained what had
taken place, and repeated his order. With a hearty "Aye, aye, sir!" the
sailor flew to the ropes, while the plucky midshipman called down to
the captain that "if he came on deck with his pistols, he would be
thrown overboard."

David's victory was complete. During the remainder of the voyage none
dared dispute his authority. Indeed his coolness and promptitude had
won for him the lasting admiration of the crew.

III. "FARRAGUT IS THE MAN"

The great turning point which placed Farragut at the head of the
American navy was reached in 1861, when Virginia seceded from the
Union, and he had to choose between the cause of the North and that of
the South. He dearly loved his native South, and said, "God forbid that
I should have to raise my hand against her," but he determined, come
what would, to "stick to the flag."

So it came about that when, in order to secure the control of the
Mississippi, the national government resolved upon the capture of New
Orleans, Farragut was chosen to lead the undertaking. Several officers,
noted for their loyalty, good judgment, and daring, were suggested, but
the Secretary of the Navy said, "Farragut is the man."

The opportunity for which all his previous noble life and brilliant
services had been a preparation came to him when he was sixty-one years
old. The command laid upon him was "the certain capture of the city of
New Orleans." "The department and the country," so ran his
instructions, "require of you success. ... If successful, you open the
way to the sea for the great West, never again to be closed. The
rebellion will be riven in the center, and the flag, to which you have
been so faithful, will recover its supremacy in every state."

On January 9, 1862, Farragut was appointed to the command of the
western gulf blockading squadron. "On February 2," says the National
Cyclopedia of American Biograph, "he sailed on the steam sloop Hartford
from Hampton Roads, arriving at the appointed rendezvous, Ship Island,
in sixteen days. His fleet, consisting of six war steamers, sixteen
gunboats, twenty-one mortar vessels, under the command of Commodore
David D. Porter, and five supply ships, was the largest that had ever
sailed under the American flag. Yet the task assigned him, the passing
of the forts bel