guns. Captain Tatnall afterward used the
"Toey-Wan" to tow up and bring into action the British reserves. His
action was a clear violation of the treaty and the neutrality law. He
received but slight punishment, however, and gained great popularity
in Great Britain.

At Eaya, in the Feejee Islands, in 1858, a sharp conflict took place
between the natives and forty men under Lieutenant Caldwell, who had
been sent to destroy the principal village as retribution for the
murder of two American citizens. The natives were sent fleeing inland.
The Secretary of the Navy said of the affair, "The gallantry,
coolness, and bravery displayed by officers and men was in the highest
degree commendable." A somewhat similar episode occurred in the
vicinity of Kisembo, on the west coast of Africa, in 1860. The natives
threatened the property and lives of American citizens, and would
undoubtedly have put their threats into effect had it not been for the
presence and prompt action of Commander Brent of the sloop-of-war
"Marion." When an insurrection occurred in the neighborhood of Panama,
in July, 1860, Commander Porter landed a body of marines and sailors
from his ship, the "St. Mary's," which was then stationed on the
western coast of Mexico. The governor gave up the city of Panama to
the joint occupancy of the forces of the "St. Mary's" and the British
ship-of-war "Clio," and tranquillity was quickly restored.

PART III

BLUE-JACKETS OF '61.

CHAPTER I.

THE OPENING OF THE CONFLICT. -- THE NAVIES OF THE CONTESTANTS. --
DIX'S FAMOUS DESPATCH. -- THE RIVER GUNBOATS.

The story of the naval operations of the civil war is a record of
wonderful energy and inventive skill in improvising and building
war-vessels, vigilance and courage in handling them, and desperate
bravery and dash displayed by officers and seamen in the great
engagements in which vessels of either side took part. Yet of the
immense body of literature dealing with the war, the greater part is
given to telling the story of the great armies of the North and South.
The details of the great land battles are familiar to many who have
but a vague idea of the service done by the "blue jackets" of the
North, and the daring deeds performed by the navies of both sides.

When the first mutterings of the storm of war began to be heard, the
United States Government had at its disposal sixty-nine
vessels-of-war, of which twenty-seven were laid up for