James Henry Rochelle

“ The frigate Congress, early in the action, had been run aground, with a white flag flying. Tucker, as soon as he saw that the Congress had shown a white flag, gave orders that no shot should be fired at her from the Patrick Henry, and he steadily refused to let any gun be aimed at her, notwithstanding that the Confederate gunboats Raleigh, Teaser and Beaufort had attempted to take possession of the surrendered vessel, and had been driven off by a heavy artillery and infantry fire from the Federal troops on the beach. ”

“ At Borja the navigation of the Upper Amazon ends; the river in its whole course from Laracocha to Borja, a distance of 500 miles, is a mountain torrent, impracticable for navigation even by canoes. The length of the Amazon, from its source at Laracocha to the Atlantic ocean, is 3160 miles, but the distance from the Atlantic to the source of the Ucayali is still greater. It usually takes a steamer 69 steaming hours to ascend the river from Iquitos to Borja, and 35 steaming hours to descend from Borja to Iquitos. ”

“ The officers and crew very rarely went on shore, the steamer being kept always with banked fires, prepared to repel an attack, which might have been made at any moment, the Federal batteries at Newport News and the vessels stationed there, the frigate Savannah, sloop Cumberland, and steamer Louisiana, being about fourteen miles distant.
To relieve the monotony of the irksome duty on which the Patrick Henry was employed, Tucker determined to take her down the river, feel of the enemy, and warn him of what might be expected if boat expeditions should attempt to ascend the river. ”

“ Richmond was evacuated by the Confederate Army and Government on the night of the 2d of April, 1865. Strange to relate, Tucker received no orders to retire with his command, and he held his post steadily until, early on the morning of the 3d, the Confederate iron-clads in James river were burnt by their own commanders. When he knew the troops were marching out of Richmond and saw the Confederate iron-clads burning in the river, Tucker thought it was not only justifiable but necessary for him to act without orders, and he retired with his command from Drewry's Bluff. ”

“ When a steamer on the Upper Amazon runs aground, it is almost always in consequence either of the ignorance of the pilot or of the unskillful handling of the vessel. To get aground when the water is falling endangers the detention of the vessel until she is floated off by the next rise of the river, which may not occur for months; getting aground when the water is rising usually necessitates a delay of only a few hours, as the rising water soon floats the vessel off. ”

“ Up to Rochelle Isla, named after the senior member of the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission, navigation is clear and unobstructed for any steamer that can ascend the Pachitea; that is, for any steamer not drawing more than nine feet of water. Beyond this island the navigation of the river becomes much more difficult, though not altogether impracticable. The River Trinidad, so named on account of its having been discovered on Trinity Sunday, empties itself into the Pichis ten miles above Rochelle Isla ”

“ They are brave, cunning and treacherous, and are only surpassed by the Campas in their hatred of the white man. The Campas inhabit the spurs and hills at the foot of the eastern Cordilleras, where the Ucayali and Pichis rivers have their origin. They are a fierce, proud and numerous tribe, and are held in great fear by their lowland neighbors. They permit no strangers, especially no whites, to enter their country, and the members of the expedition under Tucker were the first white men who ever ascended the Pichis into the regions of this warlike tribe. ”

“ Soon after the evacuation of Norfolk, whilst the Confederate forces were retiring from the Peninsula to the lines around Richmond, a Federal squadron, consisting of the Monitor, Galena, Naugatuck, Aroostook and Port Royal, entered James river. The Monitor alone could with ease and without serious injury to herself have destroyed in fight all the Confederate vessels in James river, and no course was open to Tucker but to take his squadron up the river and make a stand at the place below Richmond best adapted for defense. ”

“ The occasion of these preparations was the expectation of being soon engaged in the attack which it was understood that the Confederate iron-clad Virginia was about to make on the Federal batteries and men-of-war at Newport News. No care or preparation could make the Patrick Henry as well fitted for war as a vessel of the same size built especially for the military marine service; but the best that could be done to make her efficient was done, and not without success, as the part the vessel took in the closely following battle of Hampton Roads conclusively demonstrates. ”

“ Lieutenant Commanding Pendergrast, of the Congress, reported that "the Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson (Jamestown) , rebel steamers, approached us from up the James river, [36] firing with precision and doing us great damage," and Captain Van Brunt, of the Minnesota, reported that the Patrick Henry and Jamestown "took their positions on my port bow and stern and their fire did most damage in killing and wounding men, insomuch as they fired with rifled guns." ”

“ The eight-inch solid-shot gun was the most effective gun on board, and did good service both at the battle of Hampton Roads and the repulse of the Federal squadron at Drewry's Bluff. The captain of this gun was an excellent seaman-gunner named Smith, who was afterwards [27] promoted to be a boatswain in the C.S. Navy. A few weeks before the battle of Hampton Roads two of the medium 32-pounders were exchanged for two six-inch guns, banded and rifled, a gun much used in the Confederate Navy, and effective, though far inferior to the six-inch rifled guns of the present day. ”

“ In youth he was an eminently handsome man and in maturer years his presence was imposing. Sailors and Indians are fond of giving personally descriptive names to those with whom they are thrown in contact; when Tucker was a lieutenant he was called "Handsome Jack" by the men-before-the-mast, and the warriors of the savage tribes that wander about the head waters of the Amazon knew him as the "Apo," the meaning of the word being "High Chief." ”

“ Puerto del Mairo is 45 miles distant from the large city of Huanaco, which has constant communication and trade with Lima. At present the route between Huanaco and Puerto del Mairo is only a footpath through the forest, but it is probable that a good road for pack-mules could be constructed at little expense, and that a railway is not impracticable.
PICHIS RIVER.
The Pichis is a branch of the Pachitea river. The Cashibos and Campas Indians inhabiting its banks are warlike tribes and fiercely oppose all attempts to examine their country. ”

“ Projected Expedition Against Manila — Cessation of Hostilities — Tucker Retires From the Command of the Fleet, and Is Appointed President of the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission of the Amazon — Crosses the Andes and Reaches the Amazon — Explores the Yavari River — Ordered to the United States to Superintend the Building of an Exploring Steamer — Returns to the Amazon With Steamer Tambo. ”

“ On her return to Norfolk harbor, the Virginia was accompanied by the Patrick Henry and the other vessels of the Confederate squadron. The Confederate wooden steamers had taken no part in the action between the Virginia and the Monitor, except to fire an occasional shot at the Monitor, as she passed, at very long range; no wooden vessel could have floated a quarter of an hour in an engagement at close quarters with either of the two iron-clads. ”

“ Capture of Tobasco — Commands United States Bomb-Brig Stromboli — Made a Commander — Commands United States Receiving Ship Pennsylvania — Ordnance Officer at the Norfolk Navy Yard — Resigns on the Secession of Virginia
During the first years of the present century John Tucker, of the Island of Bermuda, came to Virginia, where resided many of his kinsmen, a branch of the Tucker family having settled in Virginia prior to the War of the Revolution. ”

“ The family has produced a number of gifted men who have been honorably prominent in the political and social life of the State, but no member of it has been more distinguished or more esteemed than the subject of the present sketch. ”

“ The plantain is the native substitute for bread, but wheat flour is used by the mercantile and official classes; there is a steady demand for Baltimore and Richmond flour, which brands are supposed, probably with reason, to stand the climate better than flour manufactured elsewhere. ”

“ This is the usual and average current to be met with, but it increases or diminishes with the rise and fall of the river and, also, with the narrowing or broadening of the channel.
PILOTS.
In order to prevent running upon sand-bars, which are constantly forming and shifting and frequently changing the bed of the channel, the services of experienced pilots are indispensable to the safe navigation of the Upper Amazon and its tributaries. It is not difficult to obtain such pilots, and they are frequently expert hunters and fishermen as well as pilots. ”

“ The naval guns were manned by the crews of the Patrick Henry, Jamestown and Virginia—the crew of the Virginia arriving at the bluff soon after she had been destroyed by Flag Officer Tatnall, to prevent her from falling into the hands of the enemy. It is not always possible for a sea captain to preserve the vessel he commands ”

“ The boat attack on Fort Sumter, made by the Federals on September 8th, 1863, was easily repulsed, and the Charleston squadron materially aided in the repulse.
A battalion of sailors from the recruits on board the receiving-ship Indian Chief, under the command [50] of Lieutenant Commanding William Galliard Dozier, was detached by Tucker to co-operate with the army on James' Island in August, 1864. This battalion rendered good service, and upon its return to the squadron was kept organized and ready to respond whenever a call for assistance was made upon the Navy by the Army. ”

“ The Confederate squadron consisted of only two vessels, both iron-clads, the Palmetto State and Chicora, which received no damage whatever during the engagement, either to their hulls, machinery, or crew, whilst several of the ten Federal wooden vessels were seriously injured, though none of them were sunk, their escape from capture or destruction being due to the swiftness of their flight. [48] Their loss was twenty-five killed and twenty-two wounded. ”

“ The Manila expedition having been abandoned, and the Spanish fleet which had been employed on the Pacific coast having returned home, Tucker requested permission to visit Lima, in order that he might lay before General Prado, President of the Republic, a plan for making an exploration and survey of the Peruvian or Upper Amazon River and its tributaries. ”

“ A half a dozen armored vessels, built expressly for being forced through obstructions and by batteries, could have passed Drewry's Bluff and captured Richmond, but the force with which the attempt was actually made was neither [44] well adapted for the undertaking nor sufficiently strong for success.
The Galena's loss was thirteen killed and eleven wounded, and one officer and two men were wounded on board the other Federal vessels. On the Confederate side the loss, including the battalion of Artillery, as well as the force of sailors, was eleven killed and nine wounded. ”

“ It is, perhaps, to be regretted that time did not allow of an examination of the other affluents of the Usayali trending towards San Ramon and Tarmo.
On his return to Iquitos, Tucker was again dispatched to the United States to procure another and smaller exploring steamer. During his absence Captain James Henry Rochelle was directed by the Government at Lima to take charge of the Hydrographical Commission as its acting president. ”