essels, as
well as to inspire confidence and give satisfaction to their respective
commands.

The appointment of Captain David G. Farragut as flag officer of the
squadron, was acknowledged as a judicious one. He was popular in his
fleet, and has realized the expectations of the country. His personal
bravery was demonstrated during the hazardous passage of the
forts--while his ship was enveloped in flames, kindled from an opposing
fire raft--by his dashing attack on the Chalmette forts near New
Orleans, and his speedy reduction of the city.

The choice of a suitable commander for the mortar flotilla was less
difficult, inasmuch as this little fleet was a creation of the officer
who was chosen as its leader. David D. Porter, for gallantry and
ingenuity, for theoretical and practical seamanship, and for general
popularity among the officers of his own rank and date, has no superior
in the navy, and his appointment to this command was truly fortunate.

The squadron, after having rendezvoused at Key West and Ship Island,
arrived without any material detention, at the South West Pass of the
Mississippi. A want of acquaintance with the changes in the bar,
occasioned probably by the sinking of four or five rafts, flatboats, and
an old dry dock by the enemy, resulted in some delays, but the whole
squadron at length, with the exception of the frigate Colorado, got
safely over, and anchored twelve miles up the river at the head of the
passes.

The efficiency of mortars, elevated permanently at forty-five degrees,
depends chiefly upon an accurate knowledge of the distance to the object
to be fired upon. This distance determines the quantity of powder
necessary for the discharge, and the length of the fuses to be employed.
Captain Porter understood the impossibility of judging and estimating
distances and bearings correctly, particularly when the objects are for
the most part hidden from view, as was the case with the forts on the
wooded and crooked Mississippi, and had therefore requested of the
department the aid of a party from the U. S. coast survey, and the writer
of these notes had been detailed by Prof. A. D. Bache, the
superintendent of that work. One acting assistant, two sub-assistants,
and one aid were attached to the party, and the steam gunboat Sachem was
placed at their disposal. This vessel arrived in the Mississippi on the
11th of April. Captain Porter at once requested Mr. Gerdes to furnish a
reliable survey of