John M. Batten

“ The following morning, Wednesday, May 24, at 5:30 o'clock, I was relieved by Acting Assistant Surgeon L. W. Loring, and ordered North on a two months leave of absence; and now I am to say farewell to the officers and crew of the Valley City, with whom I have shared their dangers, their sorrows and their joys, and the old ship I am also to leave, which has buoyed us so safely over the short and rugged waves of the waters of North Carolina, amidst the torpedoes, the sharpshooters, and the artillery of the enemy. This is certainly an occasion of joy, yet mingled with sadness. ”

“ I took passage from Norfolk in the Louisiana, and arrived at Fortress Monroe at 31⁄2 p.m. We passed by the wreck of the rebel iron-clad Merrimac. At 5 p.m. the Louisiana got under weigh for Baltimore, where she arrived Monday, May 29, at 6 o'clock a.m.; and then I went by way of Philadelphia home, where I arrived about noon of May 30, 1865.
The atmosphere never seemed to me more salubrious than at this time; the grass never appeared greener, the flowers never seemed to exhale more fragrance, and the people never seemed kinder. ”

“ Without interruption, the squadron at 9 o'clock the same night arrived at Jamesville, a small town above Plymouth some twelve miles, when the signal to anchor was made from the flag-ship. The night being dark, and the river flowing rapidly in its narrow and tortuous channel, it was thought best to proceed no further until daylight. The Wyalusing had just let go her anchor a few yards above the town, when two loud reports were heard astern, and dense volumes of smoke and steam were seen to envelop the Otsego. ”

“ One of them offered Commander Macomb and Lieutenant Commander English a large amount of gold, which he had on his person, to release him; but like Paulding and Van Wert of old, the patriotism of the sailor chiefs revolted at the attempt to bribe them, and an order to place the rebel in closer confinement was the only result of the proposition. Corruption has been little known in this war among our naval officers; and though many of them are far from wealthy, their honor and good name are more precious in their eyes than millions of dishonorable wealth. ”

“ LIVING ON THE ENEMY.
The fleet anchored off several of the plantations along the river, and the men were allowed to regale themselves with fresh provisions and other luxurious articles that were contraband of war. All articles of military value were taken or destroyed, and a quantity of cotton pressed into the service as bulwarks against the sharpshooters who lined the banks of the stream. Mr. Speller, a rich planter, owning a place called Speller's Landing, was arrested and sent to Plymouth. ”

“ It was an explosion of a hundred-pound torpedo under the bottom of the Minnesota, which had been borne thither by a torpedo-boat manned by Confederates from somewhere up the James river. The officers and men on deck, in the gloom of the night, were discussing in a subdued but excited tone the possibility of capturing the torpedo-boat; but, owing to the fires in the picket-boats to the Minnesota being out, nothing could be done till the steam in them was raised; and in the meantime the torpedo-boat was allowed to return up the James river. ”

“ Captain J. A. J. Brooks was a North Carolinian by birth, and was acquainted with the waters and people of North Carolina. He was a full-sized man of fine figure, 35 years of age, brown piercing eyes, light hair, and in general appearance a fine-looking officer. He was brave, and ever on the alert. Many nights whilst the Valley City was laying at the mouth of Roanoke river watching for the rebel ram Albemarle, I found Captain Brooks at all hours on deck—I often wondered when he slept. In battle he was cool and brave. ”

“ The current of the river was so strong, and the bend under the rebel batteries so sharp, that the Valley City whirled round like a water-wheel, first striking the bow against the shore, and then the stern. I was fearful we might be boarded. An attempt was also made to fell trees on the fleet whilst passing. After the Valley City had passed safely by the rebel batteries, she came to anchor, trained her guns on the enemy, and in conjunction with the remainder of the fleet above the bend of the river, kept up a rapid fire whilst a second vessel passed ”

“ On a reconnoissance by the Valley City, to within a mile of Plymouth, it was discovered that the enemy had sunk the schooners which were engaged in attempting to raise the Southfield, directly across the channel, thus temporarily blockading the river. Although the town was in sight, not a trace could be seen of the rebel ram; and it is proved in other ways, beyond a doubt, that she lies in thirty feet of water, from which it will be impossible to raise her again. ”

“ On Saturday, May 7, 1864, the Valley City got under weigh, and proceeded to Newbern, where she arrived at 9 a.m. of the 8th. James W. Sands, John Maddock and myself, attended church.
Newbern is a beautiful town on the right bank of the Neuse river. Just below Newbern the Neuse river receives the Trent river as a tributary. The houses of the place were brick and also frame. They stood back from the street, with yards in front of them, in which choice flowers grew and bloomed. The streets are at right angles. ”

“ The nights are dark and foggy, and the rebel musketeers and sharpshooters frequently come up under cover of the darkness behind the dykes, and give us a wholesome dose from their rifles; but they are soon hurled back again by a dose of grape from our guns. During the nights, to prevent floating torpedoes coming down the river, small boats or skiffs that we had captured from the enemy were tied in line across the river above the fleet. ”

“ While hiding close to the path, the Albemarle's officers passed, and I judged from their conversation that the ram was destroyed. Some hours traveling in the swamp served to bring me out well below the town, when I sent a negro in to gain information, and found that the ram was truly sunk. Proceeding through another swamp, I came to a creek, and captured a skiff belonging to a picket of the enemy, and with this, by eleven o'clock the next night, I made my way out to the Valley City. ”

“ The 21st and 22d were passed in shelling the batteries on Poplar Point, and endeavoring to drag the river for torpedoes, that were now thicker than ever. As fast as our boats would leave the ships to commence dragging, the rebels would open on them, wounding and killing the men. A new battery opened on the Valley City, inflicting serious damage on her. The other ships, with their hundred-pounder rifles, drove the rebels off repeatedly, but only to return whenever our fire slackened. ”

“ Sometimes the marines ashore would be driven back. The farther up the river we proceeded, the more numerous the rebels became, and the more our difficulties increased. The men in the dredge-boats did not consider the place a very safe one by any means, and often went into the boats with many forebodings. It was not a desirable place either on the Valley City, for there was a constant dread of torpedoes below and sharpshooters above. ”

“ It was plain that we could no longer do without a land force to drive the fellows off and clear the way for our dragging boats. Every moment the rebels thickened in the woods; the trees and bushes were alive with sharpshooters; batteries were discovered in process of erection in our rear; and in a word, the position of the squadron was critical.
THE FLEET WITHDRAWS TO JAMESVILLE.
Commander Macomb again sent a despatch to the colonel commanding the land forces, begging him to press forward without delay. The reply was that the army would advance when transportation permitted. ”

“ I told him where I had got it.
"Why," said he, "I would not take any money for a copy of those prescriptions. I consider them very valuable, and would not for any consideration let my best friend have a copy of them."
I told him that I believed it to be very wrong not to let prescriptions which have been found valuable in disease, be known. After reprimanding me for re-copying the prescriptions, he cooled down, and became very affable. ”

“ An old sailor sitting near by where I was standing, upon seeing the ceiling broken above my head, said, "Don't be alarmed; lightning nor shells never strike twice in the same place." Another shell went crashing through the ward-room, down through an old family Bible (which Acting Ensign Milton Webster had captured ashore) , and then out of the ward-room through a passage-way in which some negroes off the Otsego were lying concealed, killing them, and then exploding in the river. ”

“ A Bible captured near Windsor, North Carolina, during the expedition up Roanoke river, on the night of December 16th, 1864, by Ensign Milton Webster, on a marauding expedition, is over a hundred years old, as is shown by its title-page: "Edinburgh: Printed by Alexander Kincaid, his Majesty's Printer, MDCCLXIX." The book originally belonged to W. A. Turner, of Windsor, North Carolina, as that name appears in gilt upon one of the corners of the Bible; and on a page in the book appears the following record:
"David Turner and Elizabeth Armistead were married Tuesday, August 16, 1785. ”

“ I journeyed to the Philadelphia and Baltimore railroad depot, located in the southern part of Philadelphia, Pa., and at 8 o'clock a.m. of a beautiful day I took the train for Baltimore, Md., arriving in that city at about noon of the same day. Having some time to view the city, I took advantage of the opportunity, and promenaded the principal thoroughfares. At 5 o'clock p.m., I took the steamer Louisiana for Fortress Monroe, and arrived there the next morning, and as soon thereafter as possible reported to Admiral Lee. ”

“ The man who guides or commands one of these small boats is known as the coxswain. A small boat is manned by seven to fifteen men, according to the size of the boat. The coxswain's command, if he wants to turn sharp to the left or port, is "Hold water port, give way strong starboard." If he wishes to turn sharp to the right or starboard, his command would be, "Hold water starboard, give way strong port." In rowing alongside of a vessel, when the boat had sufficient headway to carry it alongside, the coxswain commands the men to drop their oars. ”

“ The people were intelligent, but very much interested in the success of the Confederacy. This place was opened up by the fleet for the purpose of being a depot of supply for Sherman's army, and was intended to be the next point of landing after Sherman left Raleigh. In Murfreesborough there were about one thousand rebels, who gave us great annoyance till they were finally captured by the 3d New York cavalry. ”

“ Having made several reconnoissances up the Roanoke river, which gave him some valuable information, and having perfected his arrangements, on the night of the 27th ultimo he got under way from the squadron off the mouth of the river, and steamed boldly up stream. In the steam launch were Lieutenant Cushing, Paymaster T. H. Swann, a volunteer from the Otsego, Master's Mate W. L. Howorth, of the gunboat Monticello, and Third Assistant Engineer Stolsbury, in charge of the engine, with a crew of ten men, nearly all of whom volunteered for the service. ”

“ In the cemetery, in the western part of the town, are interred many of the early settlers of the place. The cemetery is very old, and the tombstones, many of them, present an ancient appearance. On the 9th I was ashore—on the 10th we left Newbern. The 11th we arrived off Maule's Point, and took on as a refugee Mrs. Forbes. The 12th raining, the Valley City took aboard some more refugees. On the 13th, 14th and 15th, nothing of note took place. The 16th we destroyed the guns at Hill's Point. The 17th, at 2:45 p.m., we proceeded to Newbern, where we arrived at 8:30 a.m. ”

“ His life has been one of adventure. Previous to the war he graduated at Oxford, in Butler county, in the same class with the gallant Joe Battle, who, with his brother, fell beside their father at Shiloh, while fighting under the flag of the Lost Cause. After graduating he went to Hamilton and read law with Judge Clark, who acquired some notoriety at Hamilton by his advocacy of the right of secession in 1860-61. When the war begun, Hasseltino determined to risk his fortunes with the Confederacy. ”

“ She was plated with iron, which completely protected her inmates from solid shot; she had two two-hundred-pounder Brooke's rifled guns on the inside of this iron encasement, and one port-hole to each of her four sides. She was very unwieldy, but in a body of water like the Albemarle or Pamlico Sound no wooden vessel could cope with her.
Friday, August 25.—I visited Edenton to-day for the first time. It is situated pleasantly on the bank of Edenton Bay, as it is called, but really Albemarle Sound. The people are kind, courteous, educated, and hospitable. ”

“ He is satisfied that a large number of lives must have been lost by the blowing up, as the Albemarle's guns were all manned. The Secretary of the Navy will recommend to Congress a vote of thanks, and he will be promoted to a Lieutenant Commander."
After landing Captain Wm. B. Cushing aboard the flag-ship of the fleet, the Valley City the same day, at 21⁄4 p.m., weighed anchor, and proceeded to Norfolk, Va., and from thence to the United States Navy Yard at Gosport, Va., and was put there on the dry dock for repairs. ”