THE CHARACTER OF ADMIRAL FARRAGUT.
The brilliant and victorious career which has secured for Farragut a
leading place among the successful naval commanders of all time was of
brief duration, and began at an age when men generally are thinking
rather of relaxing their efforts than of undertaking new and
extraordinary labors. The two great leaders of the United States armies
during the civil war--Grant and Sherman--were not over forty-five when
the return of peace released them from their cares; while Nelson and
Napoleon were but a year older than these when Trafalgar and Waterloo
terminated their long careers. Farragut was nearly sixty-one at the time
of passing the Mississippi forts, and his command of the Western Gulf
Squadron lasted not quite three years, or rather less than the ordinary
duration of a naval cruise in times of peace. Though not unprecedented,
the display of activity and of sustained energy made by him at such an
advanced period of life is unusual; and the severity of the strain upon
the mental and physical powers at that age is evidenced by the
prostration of Farragut himself, a man of exceptional vigor of body and
of a mental tone which did not increase his burdens by an imaginative
exaggeration of difficulties. He never committed the error, against
which Napoleon cautioned his generals, "_de se faire un tableau_." On
the other hand, the study of his operations shows that, while always
sanguine and ready to take great risks for the sake of accomplishing a
great result, he had a clear appreciation of the conditions necessary to
success and did not confound the impracticable with the merely
hazardous. Of this, his reluctance to ascend the Mississippi in 1862,
and his insistence in 1864 upon the necessity of ironclads, despite his
instinctive dislike to that class of vessel, before undertaking the
entrance to Mobile Bay, are conspicuous illustrations; and must be
carefully kept in view by any one desirous of adequately appreciating
his military character.
As in the case of Nelson, there is a disposition to attribute Farragut's
successes simply to dash--to going straight at the enemy regardless of
method and of consequences. In the case of the great British admiral the
tendency of this view, which has been reproduced in successive
biographies down to the latest, is to sink one of the first of naval
commanders beneath the level of the pugilist, who in his fighting does
not disdain science, to that of the game-cock; and it is doubtless to be
attributed to the emphasis he himself laid upon that direct, rapid, and
vigorous action without which no military operations, however wisely
planned, can succeed. In the want of this, rather than of great
professional acquirements, will be most frequently found the difference
between the successful and the unsuccessful general; and consequently
Nelson, who had seen so much of failure arising from slowness and
over-caution, placed, and rightly placed, more stress upon vigor and
rapidity, in which most are found deficient, than upon the methods which
many understand, however ill they may apply them. Like the distinguished
Frenchman, Suffren, who is said to have stigmatized tactics as "the veil
of timidity," yet illustrated in his headlong dashes the leading
principles of all sound tactics, Nelson carefully planned the chief
outlines of operations, in the execution of which he manifested the
extremes of daring and of unyielding firmness. There was in him no
failure to comprehend that right direction, as well as vigor and weight,
is necessary to a blow that would tell; but experience had taught him
that the average man wants to be much too sure of success before
venturing to move, and hence the insistence upon that one among the
features of his military character which to the superficial observer has
gradually obscured all others. Vigor even to desperateness of action
both Nelson and Farragut on occasion showed--recklessness never. Neither
fought as one who beateth the air; and while for neither can be claimed
an entire exemption from mistakes, the great outlines of their action
can safely challenge hostile criticism.
While, however, both in their respective spheres illustrated the great
leading principles of war, the circumstances under which they were
called to practice them were too diverse to permit any close comparison,
or parallel, to be instituted between their actions. Nelson, for the
most part, shone upon the battle-field--by his tactical combinations, by
the rapidity and boldness with which he carried out plans previously
laid, or, on occasion, by the astonishing _coup d'oeil_ and daring
with which, in unforeseen crises, he snatched and secured escaping
victory. Farragut in actual battle showed that careful adaptation of
means to ends which has a just claim to be considered tactical science;
but his great merit was in the clearness with which he recognized the
decisive point of a campaign, or of a particular operation, and threw
upon it the force under his direction. Nelson acted chiefly against
ships, against forces of a type essentially the same as his own, and
accessible in all parts to his attack, because belonging to the same
element; he might therefore hope to overcome them by the superior
quality of his crews or by his better tactical dispositions. Farragut
contended with fortifications, whose military powers, offensive and
defensive, were essentially different from those of a fleet. Their
endurance so greatly exceeded that of his ships as to exclude any hope
of reducing them by direct attack; and their advantages of position,
deliberately chosen and difficult of approach, could not be outweighed
by any tactical arrangement open to him to adopt. He was therefore
compelled to seek their fall by indirect means, by turning and isolating
them, by acting against their communications--a conception not tactical,
but strategic.
It is not meant to imply that the military talents of either admiral
were confined to the particular field ascribed to him, but simply that
in general they were led by circumstances to illustrate that chiefly.
Nelson in his fine campaign in the Baltic evinced his profound
intuitions in the science of strategy; and Farragut, as has been said,
showed no mean tactical ability in the provisions made for his several
battles. The dispositions to be adopted were with him the subject of
very careful consideration; and before Mobile he spent hours with his
flag lieutenant studying, by the aid of little wooden models, the
different positions in which the ships might be placed. Afterward he had
the squadron get under way several times to practice keeping close
order, and changing formation and course.
Like all men who have achieved eminence, the secret of Admiral
Farragut's success is to be found in natural aptitudes carefully
improved, and in a corresponding opportunity for action. How much he was
indebted to the latter, is evident from the fact that he had passed his
sixtieth year before his great qualities were manifested to the world.
He was fortunate also, as was Nelson, in the conditions which he was
called to meet. Great as were the difficulties confronting each, and
brilliantly as they rose to the demand made upon their energies, it may
safely be said that more perfect preparation upon the part of their
enemies would either have detracted from the completeness of their
victories; or else, by imposing greater deliberation and more methodical
execution, would have robbed their exploits of that thunderbolt
character which imparts such dramatic brilliancy to the Nile and
Trafalgar, to New Orleans and Mobile Bay. A modern torpedo line would
not leave the gap by which Farragut first meant to profit, nor would it
be crossed with the impunity he found; nor could Nelson in his day,
without courting destruction, have used against a thoroughly efficient
enemy the tactics that admirably suited the conditions in Aboukir Bay
and off Cape Trafalgar. But these considerations do not diminish the
credit of either admiral, though they help to explain the fullness of
their success, and justify proceedings which under different
circumstances would be unjustifiable. Rather, it may be said that, in
the adaptation of their measures to the conditions opposed to them, what
would otherwise invite condemnation as rashness, demands recognition as
genius.
For Farragut had a natural genius for war, to which scarcely any opening
had been offered before the unexpected calamity of the great civil
strife burst upon the country. In estimating his military character and
rightly apportioning the credit due to his great achievements, much
stress must be laid upon the constant effort for professional
improvement made by him from his early life. "Without the opportunity
and the environment which enabled him to develop himself," writes one
who knew him for over forty years, "Farragut might have gone to his rest
comparatively unknown; yet among his comrades and contemporaries in the
navy he would have been recognized as no ordinary man, no merely routine
naval officer, who kept his watch and passed through life as easily as
he could." "He told me," writes another, who first met him after his
flag was flying, "that there are comparatively few men from whom one
could not learn something, and that a naval officer should always be
adding to his knowledge; it might enable him to be more useful some day;
that it was hard to say what a naval officer might not have to do." Even
after the war, when his reputation was at its height, in visiting
European ports he never for a moment lost sight of this duty of
professional acquirement. Not a harbor was visited that he did not
observe critically its chances for defense by sea or land. "Who knows,"
said he, "but that my services may be needed here some day?" "Ah, Mr.
Tucker," said Earl St. Vincent to his secretary when planning an attack
upon Brest, "had Captain Jervis[Z] surveyed Brest when he visited it in
1774, in 1800 Lord St. Vincent would not have been in want of his
information."
[Footnote Z: Captain Jervis and Earl St. Vincent were the same
officer under different appellations.]
It was not merely in the acquisition of knowledge, commonly so called,
that this practice contributed to prepare Farragut for his great mission
as a naval commander-in-chief, but also in the discipline of character
and in the development of natural capacities admirably suited for that
position. It should not be overlooked that before the war, and now again
in our own day, the idea of professional improvement in the United
States Navy has fastened for its fitting subject upon the development of
the material of war, to the comparative exclusion of the study of naval
warfare. This naturally results from the national policy, which does not
propose to put afloat a fleet in the proper sense of the word; and whose
ideal is a number, more or less small, of cruisers neither fitted nor
intended for combined action. Under these circumstances, the details of
the internal economy of the single ship usurp in the professional mind
an undue proportion of the attention which, in a rightly constituted
navy, might far better be applied to the study of naval tactics, in the
higher sense of that word, and of naval campaigns. Farragut could not
but feel the influence of this tendency, so strongly marked in the
service to which he belonged; the more so, as it is a thoroughly good
tendency when not pushed to an exclusive extent. But here the habit of
study, and stretching in every direction his interest in matters
professional, stood him in good stead, and prepared him unconsciously
for destinies that could not have been foreseen. The custom of reading
had made him familiar with the biography and history of his profession,
the school to which the great Napoleon recommended all who would fit
themselves for high military command; and of which a recent
distinguished authority has said that it may be questioned whether a
formulated art of war can be said to exist, except as the embodiment of
the practice of great captains illustrated in their campaigns.
From these, with his great natural aptitudes for war, Farragut quickly
assimilated its leading principles, which he afterward so signally
illustrated in act and embodied in maxims of his own that have already
been quoted. He did not employ the terminology of the art, which, though
possibly pedantic in sound, is invaluable for purposes of discussion;
but he expressed its leading principles in pithy, homely phrases of his
own, which showed how accurate his grasp of it was. "If once you get in
a soldier's rear, he is gone," was probably in part a bit of
good-natured chaff at the sister profession; but it sums up in a few
words the significance and strategic importance of his course in passing
the batteries of the river forts, of Port Hudson and of Mobile, and
brings those brilliant actions into strict conformity with the soundest
principles of war. The phrases, whose frequent repetition shows how deep
a hold they had taken upon him--"The more you hurt the enemy the less he
will hurt you"--"The _best_ protection against the enemy's fire is a
well-directed fire from our own guns"--sum up one of the profoundest of
all military truths, easily confessed but with difficulty lived up to,
and which in these days of armor protection needs to be diligently
recalled as a qualifying consideration. It is, in fact, a restatement of
the oft-admitted, readily-forgotten maxim that offense is the best
defense. "I believe in celerity," said he, when announcing his
determination soon to pass the Mississippi forts; and good reason had he
to congratulate himself that this faith showed itself in his works below
New Orleans, and to lament before Mobile the failure of his Government
to observe the maxim which all acknowledge. "Five minutes," said Nelson,
"may make the difference between victory and defeat." "False
(circuitous) routes and lost moments," wrote Napoleon, "are the
determining elements of naval campaigns." All admit the value of time;
but with what apathetic deliberation is often watched the flight of
hours which are measuring the race between two enemies!
The personal character of Admiral Farragut afforded the firm natural
foundation upon which alone a great military character can be built; for
while no toleration should be shown to the absurd belief that military
eminence leaps fully grown into the arena, like Minerva from the head of
Jupiter--that, unlike every other kind of perfection, it grows wild and
owes nothing to care, to arduous study, to constant preparation--it is
still true that it can be developed only upon great natural aptitudes.
The distinction conveyed by a phrase of Jomini, applied to Carnot, the
great war minister of the French Revolution, is one that it is well for
military and naval officers to bear constantly in mind. "Carnot," he
says, although a soldier by profession, "was rather a man with a natural
genius for war than an accomplished (_instruit_) officer;" and to the
lack of that studious preparation which marked Napoleon he attributes
the mistakes which characterized some of Carnot's projects, although as
a whole his career showed profound intuitions in the conduct of war. It
is open to many able men to be accomplished and valuable officers; a few
only--how few, the annals of the past show--receive the rare natural
gifts which in their perfect combination make the great captain the
highest manifestation of power attainable by human faculties.
The acquirements of the accomplished officer may enable him to see the
right thing to be done under given conditions, and yet fail to lift him
to the height of due performance. It is in the strength of purpose, in
the power of rapid decision, of instant action, and, if need be, of
strenuous endurance through a period of danger or of responsibility,
when the terrifying alternatives of war are vibrating in the balance,
that the power of a great captain mainly lies. It is in the courage to
apply knowledge under conditions of exceptional danger; not merely to
see the true direction for effort to take, but to dare to follow it,
accepting all the risks and all the chances inseparable from war, facing
all that defeat means in order thereby to secure victory if it may be
had. It was upon these inborn moral qualities that reposed the conduct
which led Farragut to fame. He had a clear eye for the true key of a
military situation, a quick and accurate perception of the right thing
to do at a critical moment, a firm grip upon the leading principles of
war; but he might have had all these and yet miserably failed. He was a
man of most determined will and character, ready to tread down or fight
through any obstacles which stood in the path he saw fit to follow. Of
this a conspicuous instance was given in the firmness with which he
withstood the secession clamor of Norfolk, his outspoken defense of the
unpopular Government measures, and the promptitude with which he left
the place, sundering so many associations at the call of duty; and to
this exhibition of strength of purpose, through the impression made upon
Mr. Fox, was largely due his selection for command in the Gulf.
One of the greatest of naval commanders, whose experience of men
extended through an unusually long and varied career--Earl St.
Vincent--has declared that the true test of a man's courage is his power
to bear responsibility; and Farragut's fearlessness of responsibility in
order to accomplish necessary ends, while yet captain of a single ship,
was the subject of admiring comment among his subordinates, who are not
usually prone to recognize that quality in their commanders. "I have as
much pleasure in running into port in a gale of wind," he wrote, "as
ever a boy did in a feat of skill." The same characteristic was markedly
shown under the weight of far greater issues in his determination to
pass the river forts, in spite of remonstrances from his most able
lieutenant, of cautious suggestions from other commanding officers, and
with only the ambiguous instructions of the Navy Department to justify
his action. It was not that the objections raised were trivial. They
were of the most weighty and valid character, and in disregarding them
Farragut showed not only the admirable insight which fastened upon the
true military solution, but also the courage which dared to accept on
his sole responsibility the immense risks of disaster which had to be
taken.
The same moral force showed itself again, in combination with the most
rapid decision and strength of purpose, when his ship was nearly thrown
on shore under the batteries of Port Hudson; and yet more in the highest
degree at that supreme moment of his life when, headed off from the path
he had himself laid down, he led his fleet across the torpedo line in
Mobile Bay. To the same quality must also be attributed the resolution
to take his ships above Port Hudson, without orders, at the critical
period of the campaign of 1863; and it is to be regretted in the
interest of his renown that the merit of that fine decision, both in its
military correctness and in the responsibility assumed, has not been
more adequately appreciated. For the power to take these momentous
decisions, Farragut was indebted to nature. He indeed justified them and
his general course of action by good and sufficient reasons, but the
reasons carried instant conviction to him because they struck a kindred
chord in his breast. Speaking on one occasion of his gallant and
accomplished fleet captain, Percival Drayton, he said: "Drayton does not
know fear, and would fight the devil himself, but he believes in acting
as if the enemy can never be caught unprepared; whereas I believe in
judging him by ourselves, and my motto in action," he continued, quoting
the celebrated words of Danton, "is, 'L'audace, et encore de l'audace,
et toujours de l'audace.'"
With all his fearlessness and determination, severity was not one of
Admiral Farragut's characteristics. He was easily approachable,
entering readily into conversation with all; and added much to the
labors of his position as commanding officer by his great patience in
listening to matters to which a subordinate might have attended. "His
kindness was what most impressed me," says one officer who was a very
young man when first reporting to him for duty. Another, who as a
midshipman saw much of him, writes: "He had a winning smile and a most
charming manner, and was jovial and talkative. If any officer or man had
not spontaneous enthusiasm, he certainly infused it into him." Captain
Drayton, who had many opportunities of observing, once said of him: "I
did not believe any man could be great if he did not know how to say
'No,' but I see he can; for certainly here is a great man, and he is too
kind-hearted to say 'No' in some cases where it should be said."
In person, Admiral Farragut was not above the medium size--about five
feet six and a half inches high, upright in carriage, well-proportioned,
alert and graceful in his movements. In early and middle life he was
rather slight than heavy in frame; and it was not until the war, with
the prolonged physical inactivity entailed by the river and blockade
service, that he took on flesh. Up to that time his weight was not over
one hundred and fifty pounds. He was very expert in all physical
exercises, and retained his activity to the verge of old age. Even after
his fiftieth year it was no unusual thing for him to call up some of the
crew of the ship under his command and have a bout with the
single-sticks. He felt great confidence in his mastery of his sword,
which he invariably wore ashore; and when returning to the wharves at
night, through low parts of a town where there was danger of
molestation, he relied upon it to defend himself. "Any one wearing a
sword," he used to say, "ought to be ashamed not to be proficient in its
use."
For many years it was his habit on his birthday to go through certain
physical exercises, or, as he worded it to a young officer of the fleet
shortly before passing the river forts, to take a handspring; until he
failed in doing this he should not, he said, feel that he was growing
old. This practice he did not discontinue till after he was sixty. A
junior officer of the Hartford writes: "When some of us youngsters were
going through some gymnastic exercises (which he encouraged), he
smilingly took hold of his left foot, by the toe of the shoe, with his
right hand, and hopped his right foot through the bight without letting
go." The lightness with which he clambered up the rigging of the
flag-ship when entering Mobile Bay, and again over the side to see the
extent of injury inflicted by the collision with the Lackawanna,
sufficiently prove that up to the age of sixty-three he was capable of
showing upon occasion the agility of a young man. This bodily vigor
powerfully supported the energy of his mind, and carried him from
daylight to dark, and from vessel to vessel of his fleet, in seasons of
emergency, to see for himself that necessary work was being done without
slackness; illustrating the saying attributed to Wellington, that a
general was not too old when he could visit the outposts in person and
on horseback.
The features of the admiral can best be realized from the admirable
frontispiece. As a young man he had the sallow, swarthy complexion
usually associated with his Spanish blood. His hair at the same period
was dark brown, becoming in middle life almost black. In his later years
he was partially bald--a misfortune attributed by him to the sunstroke
from which he suffered in Tunis, and which he to some extent concealed
by the arrangement of the hair. The contour of the face was oval, the
cheek-bones rather prominent, until the cheeks filled out as he became
fleshier during the war; the eyes hazel, nose aquiline, lips small and
compressed. At no time could he have been called handsome; but his face
always possessed the attraction given by animation of expression and by
the ready sympathy which vividly reflected his emotions, easily stirred
by whatever excited his amusement, anger, or sorrow. To conceal his
feelings was to him always difficult, and, when deeply moved,
impossible. The old quartermaster who lashed him in the rigging at
Mobile Bay told afterward how the admiral came on deck again as the poor
fellows who had been killed were being laid out on the port side of the
quarter-deck. "It was the only time I ever saw the old gentleman cry,"
he said, "but the tears came in his eyes like a little child." A casual
but close observer, who visited him on board the flag-ship in New
Orleans, wrote thus: "His manners are mild and prepossessing, but there
is nothing striking in his presence, and the most astute physiognomist
would scarcely suspect the heroic qualities that lay concealed beneath
so simple and unpretending an exterior; unless, indeed, one might chance
to see him, as we did shortly afterward, just on receipt of the news
from Galveston, or again on the eve of battle at Port Hudson. On such
occasions the flashing eye and passionate energy of his manner revealed
the spirit of the ancient vikings."
Throughout his life, from the time that as a lad still in his teens he
showed to Mr. Folsom his eagerness to learn, Farragut was ever diligent
in the work of self-improvement, both professional and general. His eyes
were weak from youth, but he to some extent remedied this disability by
employing readers in the different ships on board which he sailed; and
to the day of his death he always had some book on hand. Having an
excellent memory, he thus accumulated a great deal of information
besides that gained from observation and intercourse with the world.
Hobart Pasha, a British officer in the Turkish Navy and an accomplished
seaman, wrote: "Admiral Farragut, with whom I had many conversations,
was one of the most intelligent naval officers of my acquaintance." He
loved an argument, and, though always good-tempered in it, was tenacious
of his own convictions when he thought the facts bore out his way of
interpreting their significance. When told by a phrenologist that he had
an unusual amount of self-esteem, he replied: "It is true, I have; I
have full confidence in myself and in my judgment"--a trait of supreme
importance to a man called to high command. But against the defects of
this quality he was guarded by the openness of mind which results from
the effort to improve and to keep abreast of the times in which one
lives.
Farragut was naturally conservative, as seamen generally tend to be; but
while averse to sudden changes, and prone to look with some distrust
upon new and untried weapons of war, he did not refuse them, nor did
they find in him that prejudice which forbids a fair trial and rejects
reasonable proof. Of ironclads and rifled guns, both which in his day
were still in their infancy, he at times spoke disparagingly; but his
objection appears to have arisen not from a doubt of their efficacy--the
one for protection, the other for length of range--but from an opinion
as to their effect upon the spirit of the service. In this there is an
element of truth as well as of prejudice; for the natural tendency of
the extreme effort for protection undoubtedly is to obscure the
fundamental truth, which he constantly preached, that the best
protection is to injure the enemy. Nor was his instinct more at fault in
recognizing that the rage for material advance, though a good thing,
carries with it the countervailing disposition to rely upon perfected
material rather than upon accomplished warriors to decide the issue of
battle. To express a fear such as Farragut's, that a particular
development of the material of war would injure the tone of the service,
sounds to some as the mere echo of Lever's commissary, who reasoned that
the abolition of pig-tails would sap the military spirit of the
nation--only that, and nothing more. It was, on the contrary, the
accurate intuition of a born master of war, who feels, even without
reasoning, that men are always prone to rely upon instruments rather
than upon living agents--to think the armor greater than the man.
The self-confidence which Farragut exhibited in his military
undertakings was not only a natural trait; it rested also upon a
reasonable conviction of his mastery of his profession, resulting from
long years of exclusive and sustained devotion. He did not carry the
same feeling into other matters with which he had no familiarity; and he
was jealously careful not to hazard the good name, which was the honor
of his country as well as of himself, by attaching it to enterprises
whose character he did not understand, or to duties for which he did not
feel fitted. Accordingly, he refused a request made to him to allow his
name to be used as director of a company, accompanied by an intimation
that stock representing one hundred thousand dollars had been placed in
his name on the books. "I have determined," he replied, "to decline
entering into any business which I have neither the time nor perhaps the
ability to attend to." In like manner he refused to allow his name to be
proposed for nomination as a presidential candidate. "My entire life has
been spent in the navy; by a steady perseverance and devotion to it I
have been favored with success in my profession, and to risk that
reputation by entering a new career at my advanced age, and that career
one of which I have little or no knowledge, is more than any one has a
right to expect of me."
Farragut was essentially and unaffectedly a religious man. The
thoughtfulness and care with which he prepared for his greater
undertakings, the courage and fixed determination to succeed with which
he went into battle, were tempered and graced by a profound submission
to the Almighty will. Though not obtruded on the public, his home
letters evince how constantly the sense of this dependence was present
to his thoughts; and he has left on record that, in the moment of
greatest danger to his career, his spirit turned instinctively to God
before gathering up its energies into that sublime impulse, whose
lustre, as the years go by, will more and more outshine his other deeds
as the crowning glory of them all--when the fiery admiral rallied his
staggered column, and led it past the hostile guns and the lost Tecumseh
into the harbor of Mobile.
INDEX.
Anecdotes of Admiral Farragut, 11, 12, 22, 26, 35, 45-49, 58, 92,
112, 124, 168-170, 267, 281, 286, 288, 292, 297, 306, 313,
318, 319, 321, 322, 323, 325;
lashed in rigging at Mobile, 272;
visit to Ciudadela, his father's birthplace, 300.
Arkansas, Confederate ironclad, description of, 189;
dash through United States fleet at Vicksburg, 191;
destruction of, 193.
Bailey, Captain Theodorus, U. S. N., leads the fleet at the passage of
Mississippi forts, 149, 151-155;
demands surrender of New Orleans, 168 _et seq._
Banks, General Nathaniel P., relieves Butler in command in the
Southwest, 201;
movement in support of Farragut's passage of Port Hudson, 211;
operations west of the Mississippi, 229, 232;
Port Hudson surrenders to, 235.
Barnard, Major J. G., U. S. Engineers, opinion as to effect of passing
Mississippi forts, 121.
Battles:
Essex with Phoebe and Cherub, 38-44;
passage of New Orleans forts, 149 _et seq._;
passage of batteries at Vicksburg, 187, 192;
Port Hudson, 211 _et seq._;
Mobile Bay, 269 _et seq._
Baudin, French admiral, sketch of, 77;
attack on Vera Cruz by, 79-83.
Bell, Commodore Henry H., U. S. N., fleet captain to Farragut
in 1862, 132, 140;
breaking barrier below river forts, 132;
extract from journal of, 140;
hoists U. S. flag over New Orleans, 171;
at Galveston, 202;
at Rio Grande, 240.
Blair, Montgomery, account of interview with Farragut concerning
New Orleans expedition, 124.
Boggs, Commander Charles S., U. S. N., commands Varuna at passage of
Mississippi forts, 163, 164.
Brooklyn, U. S. steamer, Farragut commands, 1858-'60, in Gulf, 103-105.
Buchanan, Franklin, Confederate admiral, at Mobile, 244, 279, 281-288.
Butler, General Benjamin F., commands New Orleans
expedition, 164, 179, 291.
Caldwell, Lieut. C. H. B., U. S. N., commands Itasca in
Mississippi River, 132, 162;
daring action in breaking chain below forts, 133, 150;
commands ironclad Essex at Port Hudson, 220.
Craven, Commander Tunis A. M., U. S. N., commands monitor
Tecumseh at Mobile, 268;
eagerness to engage Tennessee, and consequent error, 273, 274;
goes down with his ship, 275.
Drayton, Captain Percival, U. S. N., Farragut's chief of staff
at Mobile, 98, 250, 269, 270, 272, 278, 281, 282, 292, 319, 320.
Essex, U. S. frigate, building of, 14;
armament, 15;
history of, 16;
cruise under Porter, 17-44;
capture of, by Phoebe and Cherub, 44;
fate of, 50.
Essex, U. S. ironclad, 192, 193, 211, 220, 232.
Essex Junior, prize to Essex, and equipped as a tender to her, 25;
mentioned, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36;
conveys to the United States the survivors of the action, 49, 50.
Farragut, Admiral David G.:
family history, 1-6, 300;
birth, 4;
appointed midshipman, 8;
joins frigate Essex, 11;
cruise in Essex, 11-50;
first battle, between Essex and two British ships, 38-44;
returns to United States, 49;
service in Mediterranean, 1815-'20, 53-62;
returns to United States, 62;
serves in Mosquito fleet in West Indies, 1823, 63-67;
first marriage, 67;
promoted to lieutenant, 71;
Brazil station, 1828-'34, 71-74;
witnesses French attack on Vera Cruz, 1838, 75-88;
death of first wife, 88;
promoted to commander, 89;
Brazil station again, 1841, 90-94;
second marriage, 94;
Mexican war, 94-97;
ordnance duties, 97-98;
commandant Mare Island yard, 99-101;
promoted to captain, 101;
commands Brooklyn in Gulf, 1858-'60, 101-105;
question of secession, 107-112;
abandons his home in Norfolk and settles in New York, 112;
chosen to command New Orleans expedition, 122-125;
appointed to command West Gulf squadron, December, 1861, 125;
assumes command at Ship Island, 127;
operations below Mississippi forts, 127-149;
passage of the forts, 149-165;
surrender of New Orleans, 166-176;
operations above New Orleans, 1862, 177-195;
promoted to rear-admiral, 197;
blockade operations, 1862-'63, 196-204;
operations above New Orleans, 1863, 203-235;
passage of batteries at Port Hudson, 211-216;
effect of this passage, 222-229;
relinquishes to Porter command above New Orleans, 235;
return North, Aug., 1863, 235;
resumes command in Gulf, Jan., 1864, 243;
blockade duties, 249-254;
battle of Mobile Bay, 268-289;
final return North, 293;
enthusiastic reception in New York, 294;
promoted to vice-admiral, 295;
temporary service in James River, 296;
promoted to admiral, 298;
commands European station, 298-304;
visit to his father's birthplace in Minorca, 299-304;
return to United States, 304;
declining health, 305;
death and obsequies, 306;
monuments of, 307;
analysis of character, 308-326.
Military characteristics:
Personal courage, 44-46, 61, 62, 161, 277, 317-319;
moral courage in assuming responsibility, 26, 60, 124-126, 135,
137-140, 144, 147, 222, 223, 276-280, 318;
hopefulness, 124, 252, 277;
strategic insight, 137, 138, 141 _et seq_., 147, 172, 178-185,
200, 207, 208, 231, 238, 311, 315;
tactical skill, 149, 150, 154, 217-220, 239, 260-263, 311;
self-reliance, 323;
comparison with Nelson, 309-312.
Personal characteristics:
Appearance and bodily strength, 51, 60, 320-322;
gratefulness, 5, 52, 60, 67;
self-improvement, 51, 57-59, 69, 71, 87, 97, 313-315, 323;
habits of observation, 57, 69, 75, 83-88, 94, 98, 99, 124, 313, 314;
thoughtfulness and decision, 54, 70, 106 _et seq_., 113, 123, 124,
139-141, 147, 208, 211, 216, 239, 260, 264, 277;
family relations, 65, 74, 88, 107-109, 227, 265-268;
kindliness, 320, 322;
religious feelings, 252, 266, 277, 292, 325.
See also "Anecdotes."
Farragut, George, father of Admiral Farragut:
birth, 1;
history, 2-5;
death, 6.
Florida, Confederate ship of war (first called Oreto), runs blockade
into Mobile, 197;
escapes, 203;
effect on Farragut, 204.
Folsom, Chaplain Charles, U. S. Navy, influence on Farragut's
early life, 57-60.
Fox, Gustavus V., assistant secretary of the navy, 1861-'65, 118;
relations to New Orleans expedition, 118-124, 318;
urges Farragut to ascend the Mississippi, 183.
Gaines, Fort, defense of Mobile Bay, 247, 259, 268;
surrender of, 290.
Garibaldi, services in war between Argentine and Uruguay, 93.
Granger, United States General, commands at siege of Forts Gaines
and Morgan, 268, 290, 291.
Grant, General Ulysses S, analogy between his turning the position
of Vicksburg and Farragut's turning the Mississippi
forts, 135-138 (and note, 137);
anxieties of, in 1862, 198;
connection between his command and Farragut's, 198, 199;
takes the line of the Mississippi, 205;
takes chief command at Vicksburg, 206;
responsibility assumed in cutting loose from his base
before Vicksburg, 223;
opinion as to importance of Farragut's passage of Port
Hudson, 224, 226;
begins turning movement against Vicksburg, 229;
views as to Red River expedition and Mobile, 1864, 245, 246;
statesmanlike regard to political conditions in military
operations, 137 (note), 251;
present at Farragut's funeral, 306.
Harrison, Lieutenant N. B., commands Cayuga, leading fleet at
passage of Mississippi forts, 159.
Hartford, U. S. steamer, Farragut's flag-ship, description of, 126.
Hillyar, James, British naval captain, commands Phoebe in battle
with Essex, 38-44;
disregard of neutral rights, 32, 39, 40;
relations with Porter, etc., 33-37.
Incident: Farragut being lashed in rigging at Mobile, 272.
Indianola, U. S. iron-clad, capture of, and effect upon Farragut's
movements, 209-211, 224.
Jackson, Fort, defense of New Orleans, mentioned, 65;
description of, 119, 127, 258;
surrender of, 171;
causes of the fall of, 141-147.
Jenkins, Rear-Admiral Thornton A., chief of staff to Farragut, 1863,
203, 208, 211, 234;
commands Richmond at battle of Mobile, 268, 269.
Jouett, Lieutenant-Commander James E. (now Rear-Admiral), commands
Metacomet at battle of Mobile Bay, 271, 272, 278;
captures Confederate gunboat Selma, 280.
Kennon, Beverley, Lieutenant, Confederate navy, commands Governor Moore
at New Orleans and sinks U. S. steamer Varuna, 158, 159, 163.
Kimberley, Lieutenant-Commander Lewis A. (now Rear-Admiral), executive
officer of Farragut's flag-ship, 281.
Lovell, Mansfield, Confederate general, opinion as to cause of fall
of Mississippi forts, 145.
Manassas, Confederate ram, description of, 156;
part at battle of New Orleans, 157, 159.
Mare Island, Farragut's command of, 1854-'58, 99-101;
visit to, 304.
Matamoras, Mexican port, importance to blockade-running, 207, 240.
McClellan, General George B., relations to New Orleans
expedition, 120, 121.
Minorca, Island of, birthplace of George Farragut, 1;
Farragut's visits to, 56, 57, 300;
enthusiastic reception given to Admiral Farragut, 300-304.
Mississippi River, importance of, in civil war, 115-117, 199, 200,
207, 222, 223, 237, 238.
Mobile, Farragut's wish to attack, in 1862, 185;
blockade of, 196, 197, 203, 204, 249, 250;
importance of, 241, 242;
description of approaches to, from the sea, and defenses of, 246-248,
258, 259, 260, 264, 265;
battle of Mobile Bay, 269-289.
Monitors, description of, 255.
Morgan, Fort, defense of Mobile Bay, 247, 258, 259, 271, 290;
surrender of, 290.
Mosquito fleet, origin and service of, 63-66.
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, mentioned, 77, 136, 143, 308,
309, 315, 317.
Napoleon, Louis, Emperor of the French: Purpose to recognize
Confederacy, 173;
effect upon, of fall of New Orleans, 175, 176;
Farragut dines with, 298.
Navy, United States, inadequate strength of, at different
periods, 6, 13, 86, 101, 116, 117, 314;
consequent bad results, 6-8, 11, 13, 14, 16, 19, 50, 102, 223,
242, 314;
reasons for partial successes of 1812, and delayed action
in 1861, 101, 102;
character and importance of services, in civil war, 135-137,
142, 146, 171-176, 180-182, 199, 206, 207, 222-225, 231
(and note), 233-235, 238, 242, 244, 291.
Nelson, Horatio, British Admiral, mentioned, 70, 160, 240 (and
note), 266, 308;
military character contrasted with that of Farragut, 309-312.
New Orleans, expedition against, 115-176; defenses of, 127-129,
131, 136, 145, 146, 165;
scenes at surrender of, 166-172;
effect of fall of, 172-176;
Confederate demonstrations against, 1863, 233.
Oreto, see FLORIDA.
Pemberton, Confederate general, opinion as to effect of Farragut's
passage by Port Hudson, 224, 225.
Pensacola, evacuated by Confederates, 196;
importance to navy as base of operations, 196, 249, 268.
Perkins, Lieutenant-Commander George H., U. S. N., account of Cayuga
at passage of Mississippi forts, 151-155, 159;
accompanies Captain Bailey to demand surrender of New Orleans, 169;
commands Chickasaw at Mobile, 276, 285, 287, 288.
Porter, Captain David, U. S. N., commands naval station at
New Orleans, 4;
adopts David Farragut, 5;
commands frigate Essex, 11-44;
professional character, 31, 55;
battle with Phoebe and Cherub, 38-44;
navy commissioner, 63;
commands Mosquito fleet, 63-66;
court-martialed, 66;
leaves navy, 66;
Minister to Constantinople, 67;
death, 67.
Porter, Admiral David D., U. S. N., commanding mortar flotilla,
121-123, 130, 152, 171, 186, 188;
opinion on passing the Mississippi forts, 138, 139;
commanding Mississippi squadron, 206, 209, 210, 226, 229, 230, 231;
opinion on Farragut's dash past Port Hudson, 223, 224;
takes over from Farragut command of Mississippi above New
Orleans, 235;
Red River expedition, 254;
harmonious co-operation with Grant, 206, 291.
Port Hudson, position of, 195;
importance of, to Confederates, 199, 201, 207, 209, 222-225,
232, 233;
armament of, 211; passage of, by Farragut, 211-216;
surrender of, 235.
Queen of the West, U. S. ram, capture of, and effect on Farragut's
movements, 209-211.
Red River expedition, purpose of, 253;
militarily erroneous, 245, 246;
disastrous termination, 254;
consequences, 246.
River-defense fleet, Confederate, description of, 156, 158.
Rosas, Argentine Dictator, 72, 74, 91, 92.
St. Philip, Fort, defense of New Orleans, 119, 128, 148, 153, 258;
surrender of, 171, causes of fall of, 141-147.
San Juan de Ulloa, Mexican fort, description of, 79;
French attack on, 80;
Farragut's opinion as to attack on, by U. S. Navy in 1846, 95.
Sherman, General W. T., difference of opinion with Grant, 137
(and note);
attack on Vicksburg, 205;
raid upon Meridian, 253.
Smith, Martin L., Confederate general, opinion as to cause of fall
of Mississippi forts, 145.
Szymanski, Confederate colonel, opinion as to effect of Farragut's
passage of the Mississippi forts, 146.
Tecumseh, U. S. monitor, sunk at Mobile, 256, 268, 271, 273, 274, 275.
Tennessee, Confederate iron-clad, description of, 248, 256-258;
part taken by, in battle of Mobile Bay, 265, 273, 274, 275, 279-288.
Texas, importance of, to Confederacy, 207, 209, 237.
Varuna, U. S. steamer, sunk at passage of Mississippi forts, 163.
Vera Cruz, French attack on, 75-83;
Farragut's report on, 83-88.
Vicksburg, Farragut's first advance against, 181, 182;
his reluctance to a second advance, 182-184;
second advance, 186;
situation of, 186;
Farragut passes batteries, 187;
return below, 192;
importance of Vicksburg to Confederacy, 180, 187, 194, 195, 233;
Farragut's third advance to, 226;
surrender of, 235.
Warley, A. F., Lieut., Confederate navy, commands Manassas at battle
of New Orleans, 157, 158.
Watson, Lieut. John C., (now captain), U. S. N., Farragut's
flag-lieutenant, 1862-'65, 161, 260, 272.
Welles, Gideon, Secretary of the Navy, 1861-'69, 117;
connection with New Orleans expedition, 119, 120, 121, 125, 126;
impressions of Farragut, 124;
urges Farragut up the Mississippi, 177, 181;
letter of, 222 (note).
Wolseley, Lord, views as to the cause of reduction of Mississippi
forts criticised, 142-147.
THE END.
* * * * *
D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
_MEMOIRS ILLUSTRATING THE HISTORY OF NAPOLEON I, from 1802 to 1815._ By
Baron CLAUDE-FRANÇOIS DE MÉNEVAL, Private Secretary to Napoleon. Edited
by his Grandson, Baron NAPOLEON JOSEPH DE MÉNEVAL. With Portraits and
Autograph Letters. In three volumes. 8vo. Cloth, $6.00.
"The Baron de Méneval knew Napoleon as few knew him. He was his
confidential secretary and intimate friend.... Students and
historians who wish to form a trustworthy estimate of Napoleon can
not afford to neglect this testimony by one of his most intimate
associates."--_London News._
"These Memoirs, by the private secretary of Napoleon, are a
valuable and important contribution to the history of the
Napoleonic period, and necessarily they throw new and interesting
light on the personality and real sentiments of the emperor. If
Napoleon anywhere took off the mask, it was in the seclusion of
his private cabinet. The Memoirs have been republished almost as
they were written, by Baron de Méneval's grandson, with the
addition of some supplementary documents."--_London Times._
"Méneval has brought the living Napoleon clearly before us in a
portrait, flattering, no doubt, but essentially true to nature;
and he has shown us what the emperor really was--at the head of
his armies, in his Council of State, as the ruler of France, as
the lord of the continent--above all, in the round of his daily
life, and in the circle of family and home."--_London Academy._
"Neither the editor nor translator of Méneval's Memoirs has
miscalculated his deep interest--an interest which does not depend
on literary style but on the substance of what is related. Whoever
reads this volume will wait with impatience for the
remainder."--_N. Y. Tribune._
"The work will take rank with the most important of memoirs
relating to the period. Its great value arises largely from its
author's transparent veracity. Méneval was one of those men who
could not consciously tell anything but the truth. He was
constitutionally unfitted for lying.... The book is extremely
interesting, and it is as important as it is interesting."--_N. Y.
Times._
"Few memorists have given us a more minute account of Napoleon....
No lover of Napoleon, no admirer of his wonderful genius, can fail
to read these interesting and important volumes which have been
waited for for years._"--N. Y. World._
"The book will be hailed with delight by the collectors of
Napoleonic literature, as it covers much ground wholly unexplored
by the great majority of the biographers of
Napoleon."--_Providence Journal._
"Méneval made excellent use of the rare opportunity he enjoyed of
studying closely and at close range the personality of the supreme
genius in human history."--_Philadelphia Press._
"Of all the memoirs illustrating the history of the first
Napoleon--and their number is almost past counting--there is
probably not one which will be found of more value to the
judicious historian, or of more interest to the general reader,
than these.... Méneval, whose Memoirs were written nearly fifty
years ago, had nothing either to gain or to lose; his work, from
the first page to the last, impresses the reader with a deep
respect for the author's talent, as well as his absolute honesty
and loyalty."--_N. Y. Independent._
"These Memoirs constitute an important contribution to the
understanding of Napoleon's character. They are evidently written
in good faith, and, as the writer had remarkable opportunities of
observation, they must be accepted as authentic testimony to the
existence in Napoleon of gentle, humane, sympathetic, and amiable
qualities, with which he has not been often credited."--_N. Y.
Sun._
* * * * *
_GERMANY AND THE GERMANS._ By WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON, author of "German
Socialism and Ferdinand Lassalle," "Prince Bismarck and State
Socialism," etc. 2 vols., 8vo. Cloth, $6.00.
"This excellent work--a literary monument of intelligent and
conscientious labor--deals with every phase and aspect of state
and political activity, public and private, in the
Fatherland.... Teems with entertaining anecdotes and
introspective _aperçus_ of character."--_London Telegraph._
"With Mr. Dawson's two volumes before him, the ordinary reader
may well dispense with the perusal of previous authorities....
His work, on the whole, is comprehensive, conscientious, and
eminently fair."--_London Chronicle._
"Mr. Dawson has made a remarkably close and discriminating study
of German life and institutions at the present day, and the
results of his observations are set forth in a most interesting
manner."--_Brooklyn Times._
"There is scarcely any phase of German national life unnoticed
in his comprehensive survey.... Mr. Dawson has endeavored to
write from the view-point of a sincere yet candid well-wisher,
of an unprejudiced observer, who, even when he is unable to
approve, speaks his mind in soberness and kindness."--_New York
Sun._
"There is much in German character to admire; much in Germany's
life and institutions from which Americans may learn. William
Harbutt Dawson has succeeded in making this fact clearer, and
his work will go far to help Americans and Germans to know each
other better and to respect each other more.... It is a
remarkable and a fascinating work."--_Chicago Evening Post._
"One of the very best works on this subject which has been
published up to date."--_New York Herald._
_A HISTORY OF GERMANY, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day._ By
BAYARD TAYLOR. With an Additional Chapter by MARIE HANSEN-TAYLOR. With
Portrait and Maps. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.
"There is, perhaps, no work of equal size in any language which
gives a better view of the tortuous course of German history.
Now that the story of a race is to be in good earnest a story of
a nation as well, it begins, as every one, whether German or
foreign, sees, to furnish unexpected and wonderful lessons. But
these can only be understood in the light of the past. Taylor
could end his work with the birth of the Empire, but the
additional narrative merely foreshadows the events of the
future. It may be that all the doings of the past ages on German
soil are but the introduction of what is to come. That is
certainly the thought which grows upon one as he peruses this
volume."--_New York Tribune._
"When one considers the confused, complicated, and sporadic
elements of German history, it seems scarcely possible to
present a clear, continuous narrative. Yet this is what Bayard
Taylor did. He omitted no episode of importance, and yet managed
to preserve a main line of connection from century to century
throughout the narrative."--_Philadelphia Ledger._
"A most excellent short history of Germany.... Mrs. Taylor has
done well the work she reluctantly consented to undertake. Her
story is not only clearly told, but told in a style that is
quite consistent with that of the work which she completes....
As a matter of course the history excels in its literary style.
Mr. Taylor could not have written an entertaining book. This
book arouses interest in its opening chapter and maintains it to
the very end."--_New York Times._
"Probably the best work of its kind adapted for school purposes
that can be had in English."--_Boston Herald._
_THE TRUE LIFE OF CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD F. BURTON._ Written by his niece,
GEORGIANA M. STISTED, with the authority and approval of the Burton
family. 12mo. Cloth, with Portrait, $2.00.
"Miss Stisted has given us a thoroughly good biography. Though a
great admirer of her uncle, she does not conceal his weaknesses,
but writes, in the main, soberly and impartially with excellent
judgment. She has compressed a great deal into a small volume,
not confusing us with too much detail, and yet describing many
picturesque incidents and scenes. Her book is interesting from
beginning to end. Short as it is, we get from it a satisfactory
idea of the story and personality of one of the most
extraordinary men of his time."--_The Nation._
"The book has not a dull line in it. Detail, anecdote, comment,
and criticism are so nicely adjusted that the story never
flags."--_Chicago Evening Post._
"A very interesting biography of a very remarkable man."--_New
York Mail and Express._
_THE EARLY CORRESPONDENCE OF HANS VON BÜLOW._ Edited by his Widow.
Selected and translated by CONSTANCE BACHE. With Portraits. 8vo. Cloth,
$4.50.
"The book is valuable in furnishing an excellent insight into
the musical history of the period, and to the astonishing
standard which the musician had to attain before even
recognition was assured by the extremely critical music-loving
class of that time."--_San Francisco Argonaut._
"As a mere story the book is extremely interesting, while as a
psychological as well as a musical study the early life of Hans
von Bülow, as mirrored forth in these letters, is of no small
import."--_New York Mail and Express._
"This volume introduces the Von Bülow not known to the present
generation. The letters are free, spontaneous, and unstudied,
exhibiting the musician struggling to make what he knew to be in
him recognized by the public."--_London Daily Chronicle._
_GUSTAVE FLAUBERT, as seen in his Works and Correspondence._ By JOHN
CHARLES TARVER. With Portrait. 8vo. Buckram, $4.00.
"It is surprising that this extremely interesting correspondence
has not been Englished before."--_London Athenæum._
"This handsome volume is welcome.... It merits a cordial
reception if for no other reason than to make a large section of
the English public more intimately acquainted with the foremost
champion of art for art's sake.... The letters are admirably
translated, and in the main the book is written with skill and
_verve_."--_London Academy._
_THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1789-1894._ By JOHN FISKE, CARL
SCHURZ, WILLIAM E. RUSSELL, DANIEL C. GILMAN, WILLIAM WALTER PHELPS,
ROBERT C. WINTHROP, GEORGE BANCROFT, JOHN HAY, and Others. Edited by
Gen. JAMES GRANT WILSON. With 23 Steel Portraits, facsimile Letters, and
other Illustrations. 8vo. Cloth, $3.50.
"A book which every one should read over and over again.... We
have carefully run through it, and laid it down with the feeling
that some such book ought to find its way into every
household."--_New York Herald._
"A monumental volume, which no American who cares for the memory
of the public men of his country can afford to be
without."--_New York Mail and Express._
"Just the sort of book that the American who wishes to fix in
his mind the varying phases of his country's history as it is
woven on the warp of the administrations will find most useful.
Everything is presented in a clear-cut way, and no pleasanter
excursions into history can be found than a study of 'The
Presidents of the United States.'"--_Philadelphia Press._
"A valuable addition to both our biographical and historical
literature, and meets a want long recognized."--_Boston
Advertiser._
"So scholarly and entertaining a presidential biography has
never before appeared in this country.... It is bound to become
the standard of its kind."--_Binghamton Herald._
"It is precisely the book which ought to have a very wide sale
in this country--a book which one needs to own rather than to
read and lay aside. No common-school library or collection of
books for young readers should be without it."--_The Churchman._
"General Wilson has performed a public service in presenting
this volume to the public in so attractive a shape. It is full
of incentive to ambitious youth; it abounds in encouragement to
every patriotic heart."--_Charleston News and Courier._
"There is an added value to this volume because of the fact that
the story of the life of each occupant of the White House was
written by one who made a special study of him and his times....
An admirable history for the young."--_Chicago Times._
"Such a work as this can not fail to appeal to the pride of
patriotic Americans."--_Chicago Dial._
"These names are in themselves sufficient to guarantee adequacy
of treatment and interest in the presentation, and it is safe to
say that such succinct biographies of the complete portrait
gallery of our Presidents, written with such unquestioned
ability, have never before been published."--_Hartford Courant._
"A book well worth owning, for reading and for reference.... A
complete record of the most important events in our history
during the past one hundred and five years."--_The Outlook._
* * * * *
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES.
NOW READY.
_THE BEGINNINGS OF ART._ By ERNST GROSSE, Professor of Philosophy in the
University of Freiburg. A new volume in the Anthropological Series,
edited by Professor FREDERICK STARR. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75.
This is an inquiry into the laws which control the life and
development of art, and into the relations existing between it
and certain forms of civilization. The origin of an artistic
activity should be sought among the most primitive peoples, like
the native Australians, the Mincopies of the Andaman Islands,
the Botocudos of South America, and the Eskimos; and with these
alone the author studies his subject. Their arts are regarded as
a social phenomenon and a social function, and are classified as
arts of rest and arts of motion. The arts of rest comprise
decoration, first of the body by scarification, painting,
tattooing, and dress; and then of implements--painting and
sculpture; while the arts of motion are the dance (a living
sculpture), poetry or song, with rhythm, and music.
_WOMAN'S SHARE IN PRIMITIVE CULTURE._ By OTIS TUFTON MASON, A. M.,
Curator of the Department of Ethnology in the United States National
Museum. With numerous Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75.
"A most interesting _résumé_ of the revelations which science
has made concerning the habits of human beings in primitive
times, and especially as to the place, the duties, and the
customs of women."--_Philadelphia Inquirer._
_THE PYGMIES._ By A. DE QUATREFAGES, late Professor of Anthropology at
the Museum of Natural History, Paris. With numerous Illustrations. 12mo.
Cloth, $1.75.
"Probably no one was better equipped to illustrate the general
subject than Quatrefages. While constantly occupied upon the
anatomical and osseous phases of his subject, he was none the
less well acquainted with what literature and history had to say
concerning the pygmies.... This book ought to be in every
divinity school in which man as well as God is studied, and from
which missionaries go out to convert the human being of reality
and not the man of rhetoric and text-books."--_Boston Literary
World._
_THE BEGINNINGS OF WRITING._ By W. J. HOFFMAN, M. D. With numerous
Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75.
This interesting book gives a most attractive account of the
rude methods employed by primitive man for recording his deeds.
The earliest writing consists of pictographs which were traced
on stone, wood, bone, skins, and various paperlike substances.
Dr. Hoffman shows how the several classes of symbols used in
these records are to be interpreted, and traces the growth of
conventional signs up to syllabaries and alphabets--the two
classes of signs employed by modern peoples.
IN PREPARATION.
_THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS._ By Dr. SCHMELTZ.
_THE ZUÑI._ By FRANK HAMILTON CUSHING.
_THE AZTECS._ By Mrs. ZELIA NUTTALL.
* * * * *
_HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES_, from the Revolution to the
Civil War. By JOHN BACH McMASTER. To be completed in six volumes. Vols.
I, II, III, and IV now ready. 8vo. Cloth, gilt top, $2.50 each.
"... Prof. McMaster has told us what no other historians have
told.... The skill, the animation, the brightness, the force,
and the charm with which he arrays the facts before us are such
that we can hardly conceive of more interesting reading for an
American citizen who cares to know the nature of those causes
which have made not only him but his environment and the
opportunities life has given him what they are."--_N. Y. Times._
[Illustration: JOHN BACH McMASTER.]
"Those who can read between the lines may discover in these
pages constant evidences of care and skill and faithful labor,
of which the old-time superficial essayists, compiling library
notes on dates and striking events, had no conception; but to
the general reader the fluent narrative gives no hint of the
conscientious labors, far-reaching, world-wide, vast and yet
microscopically minute, that give the strength and value which
are felt rather than seen. This is due to the art of
presentation. The author's position as a scientific workman we
may accept on the abundant testimony of the experts who know the
solid worth of his work; his skill as a literary artist we can
all appreciate, the charm of his style being
self-evident."--_Philadelphia Telegraph._
"The third volume contains the brilliantly written and
fascinating story of the progress and doings of the people of
this country from the era of the Louisiana purchase to the
opening scenes of the second war with Great Britain--say a
period of ten years. In every page of the book the reader finds
that fascinating flow of narrative, that clear and lucid style,
and that penetrating power of thought and judgment which
distinguished the previous volumes."--_Columbus State Journal._
"Prof. McMaster has more than fulfilled the promises made in his
first volumes, and his work is constantly growing better and
more valuable as he brings it nearer to our own time. His style
is clear, simple, and idiomatic, and there is just enough of the
critical spirit in the narrative to guide the reader."--_Boston
Herald._
"Take it all in all, the History promises to be the ideal
American history. Not so much given to dates and battles and
great events as in the fact that it is like a great panorama of
the people, revealing their inner life and action. It contains,
with all its sober facts, the spice of personalities and
incidents, which relieves every page from dullness."--_Chicago
Inter-Ocean._
"History written in this picturesque style will tempt the most
heedless to read. Prof. McMaster is more than a stylist; he is a
student, and his History abounds in evidences of research in
quarters not before discovered by the historian."--_Chicago
Tribune._
"A History _sui generis_ which has made and will keep its own
place in our literature."--_New York Evening Post._
"His style is vigorous and his treatment candid and
impartial."--_New York Tribune._
* * * * *
_THE BEGINNERS OF A NATION._ A History of the Source and Rise of the
Earliest English Settlements in America, with Special Reference to the
Life and Character of the People. The first volume in A History of Life
in the United States. By EDWARD EGGLESTON. Small 8vo. Cloth, gilt top,
uncut, with Maps, $1.50.
"Few works on the period which it covers can compare with this
in point of mere literary attractiveness, and we fancy that many
to whom its scholarly value will not appeal will read the volume
with interest and delight."--_New York Evening Post._
"Written with a firm grasp of the theme, inspired by ample
knowledge, and made attractive by a vigorous and resonant style,
the book will receive much attention. It is a great theme the
author has taken up, and he grasps it with the confidence of a
master."--_New York Times._
"Mr. Eggleston's 'Beginners' is unique. No similar historical
study has, to our knowledge, ever been done in the same way. Mr.
Eggleston is a reliable reporter of facts; but he is also an
exceedingly keen critic. He writes history without the effort to
merge the critic in the historian. His sense of humor is never
dormant. He renders some of the dullest passages in colonial
annals actually amusing by his witty treatment of them. He finds
a laugh for his readers where most of his predecessors have
found yawns. And with all this he does not sacrifice the dignity
of history for an instant."--_Boston Saturday Evening Gazette._
"The delightful style, the clear flow of the narrative, the
philosophical tone, and the able analysis of men and events will
commend Mr. Eggleston's work to earnest
students."--_Philadelphia Public Ledger._
"The work is worthy of careful reading, not only because of the
author's ability as a literary artist, but because of his
conspicuous proficiency in interpreting the causes of and
changes in American life and character."--_Boston Journal._
"It is noticeable that Mr. Eggleston has followed no beaten
track, but has drawn his own conclusions as to the early period,
and they differ from the generally received version not a
little. The book is stimulating and will prove of great value to
the student of history."--_Minneapolis Journal._
"A very interesting as well as a valuable book.... A distinct
advance upon most that has been written, particularly of the
settlement of New England."--_Newark Advertiser._
"One of the most important books of the year. It is a work of
art as well as of historical science, and its distinctive
purpose is to give an insight into the real life and character
of people.... The author's style is charming, and the history is
fully as interesting as a novel."--_Brooklyn Standard-Union._
"The value of Mr. Eggleston's work is in that it is really a
history of 'life,' not merely a record of events.... The
comprehensive purpose of his volume has been excellently
performed. The book is eminently readable."--_Philadelphia
Times._
* * * * *
YOUNG HEROES OF OUR NAVY.
_MIDSHIPMAN FARRAGUT._ By JAMES BARNES, author of "For King or Country,"
etc. Illustrated by Carlton T. Chapman. 12mo. Cloth, $1.00.
The adventures of Farragut's first years in the navy and the
brilliant cruise of the Essex under Captain Porter are pictured
by an author who has had exceptional advantages in the
preparation of his graphic and stirring story.
_DECATUR AND SOMERS._ By MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL, author of "Paul Jones,"
"Little Jarvis," etc. With 6 full-page Illustrations by J. O. Davidson
and Others. 12mo. Cloth, $1.00.
"The tale is exceedingly well told. It is full of interesting
incidents, and the interest is maintained throughout. It is in
every way a book which boys will enjoy, and which it will be
well for them to read."--_Milwaukee Journal._
_PAUL JONES._ By MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL. With 8 full-page Illustrations.
12mo. Cloth, $1.00.
"It is both romance and history, and will retain the attention
of either the boy or man who begins to read this account of the
most dashing sailor that ever wore a uniform."--_St. Louis
Republic._
"A concise, clear sketch of the ranking officer of the
Continental marine, who in his day played a large part and did
it so well as to command the applause of every patriotic
American. To forget the name of Paul Jones would be an act of
national ingratitude."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._
_MIDSHIPMAN PAULDING._ A true story of the War of 1812. By MOLLY ELLIOT
SEAWELL. With 6 full-page Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, $1.00.
"The story is told in a breezy, pleasant style that can not fail
to capture the fancy of young readers, and imparts much
historical knowledge at the same time, while the illustrations
will help the understanding of the events described. It is an
excellent book for boys, and even the girls will be interested
in it."--_Brooklyn Standard-Union._
_LITTLE JARVIS._ The story of the heroic midshipman of the frigate
"Constellation." By MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL. With 6 full-page
Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, $1.00.
"Not since Dr. Edward Everett Hale's classic, 'The Man without a
Country,' has there been published a more stirring lesson in
patriotism."--_Boston Beacon._
"It is what a boy would call 'a real boy's' book."--_Charleston
News and Courier._
_THE RISE AND GROWTH OF THE ENGLISH NATION._ With Special Reference to
Epochs and Crises. A History of and for the People. By W. H. S. AUBREY,
LL. D. In Three Volumes, 12mo. Cloth, $4.50.
"The merit of this work is intrinsic. It rests on the broad
intelligence and true philosophy of the method employed, and the
coherency and accuracy of the results reached. The scope of the
work is marvelous. Never was there more crowded into three small
volumes. But the saving of space is not by the sacrifice of
substance or of style. The broadest view of the facts and forces
embraced by the subject is exhibited with a clearness of
arrangement and a definiteness of application that render it
perceptible to the simplest apprehension."--_New York Mail and
Express._
"A useful and thorough piece of work. One of the best treatises
which the general reader can use."--_London Daily Chronicle._
"Conceived in a popular spirit, yet with strict regard to the
modern standards. The title is fully borne out. No want of color
in the descriptions."--_London Daily News._
"The plan laid down results in an admirable English
history."--_London Morning Post._
"Dr. Aubrey has supplied a want. His method is undoubtedly the
right one."-_Pall Mall Gazette._
"It is a distinct step forward in history writing; as far ahead
of Green as he was of Macaulay, though on a different line.
Green gives the picture of England at different times--Aubrey
goes deeper, showing the causes which led to the changes."--_New
York World._
"A work that will commend itself to the student of history, and
as a comprehensive and convenient reference book."--_The
Argonaut._
"Contains much that the ordinary reader can with difficulty find
elsewhere unless he has access to a library of special
works."--_Chicago Dial._
"Up to date in its narration of fact, and in its elucidation of
those great principles that underlie all vital and worthy
history.... The painstaking division, along with the admirably
complete index, will make it easy work for any student to get
definite views of any era, or any particular feature of it....
The work strikes one as being more comprehensive than many that
cover far more space."--_The Christian Intelligencer._
"One of the most elaborate and noteworthy of recent
contributions to historical literature."--_New Haven Register._
"As a popular history it possesses great merits, and in many
particulars is excelled by none. It is full, careful as to
dates, maintains a generally praiseworthy impartiality, and it
is interesting to read."--_Buffalo Express._
"These volumes are a surprise and in their way a marvel.... They
constitute an almost encyclopædia of English history, condensing
in a marvelous manner the facts and principles developed in the
history of the English nation.... The work is one of unsurpassed
value to the historical student or even the general reader, and
when more widely known will no doubt be appreciated as one of
the remarkable contributions to English history published in the
century."--_Chicago Universalist._
"In every page Dr. Aubrey writes with the far reaching relation
of contemporary incidents to the whole subject. The amount of
matter these three volumes contain is marvelous. The style in
which they are written is more than satisfactory.... The work is
one of unusual importance."--_Hartford Post._
* * * * *
STEPHEN CRANE'S BOOKS.
_THE THIRD VIOLET._ 12mo. Cloth, $1.00.
Mr. Crane's new novel is a fresh and delightful study of artist
life in the city and the country. The theme is worked out with
the author's characteristic originality and force, and with much
natural humor. In subject the book is altogether different from
any of its predecessors, and the author's marked success proves
his breadth and the versatility of his great talent.
_THE LITTLE REGIMENT, and Other Episodes of the American Civil War._
12mo. Cloth, $1.00.
"In 'The Little Regiment' we have again studies of the
volunteers waiting impatiently to fight and fighting, and the
impression of the contest as a private soldier hears, sees, and
feels it, is really wonderful. The reader has no privileges. He
must, it seems, take his place in the ranks, and stand in the
mud, wade in the river, fight, yell, swear, and sweat with the
men. He has some sort of feeling, when it is all over, that he
has been doing just these things. This sort of writing needs no
praise. It will make its way to the hearts of men without
praise."--_New York Times._
"Told with a _verve_ that brings a whiff of burning powder to
one's nostrils.... In some way he blazons the scene before our
eyes, and makes us feel the very impetus of bloody
war."--_Chicago Evening Post._
_MAGGIE: A GIRL OF THE STREETS._ 12mo. Cloth, 75 cents.
"By writing 'Maggie' Mr. Crane has made for himself a permanent
place in literature.... Zola himself scarcely has surpassed its
tremendous portrayal of throbbing, breathing, moving
life."--_New York Mail and Express._
"Mr. Crane's story should be read for the fidelity with which it
portrays a life that is potent on this island, along with the
best of us. It is a powerful portrayal, and, if somber and
repellent, none the less true, none the less freighted with
appeal to those who are able to assist in righting
wrongs."--_New York Times._
_THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE. An Episode of the American Civil War._ 12mo.
Cloth, $1.00.
"Never before have we had the seamy side of glorious war so well
depicted.... The action of the story throughout is splendid, and
all aglow with color, movement, and vim. The style is as keen
and bright as a sword-blade, and a Kipling has done nothing
better in this line."--_Chicago Evening Post._
"There is nothing in American fiction to compare with it.... Mr.
Crane has added to American literature something that has never
been done before, and that is, in its own peculiar way,
inimitable."--_Boston Beacon._
"A truer and completer picture of war than either Tolstoy or
Zola."--_London New Review._
New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
possible, including obsolete and variant spellings, and inconsistent
hyphenation. Obvious typographical errors in punctuation have been
fixed. Corrections [in brackets] in the text are noted below:
page 31: typo fixed
looking into the old town of Concepion[Concepción], between two
and three hundred miles from Valparaiso. In the
page 197: typo fixed
coast of Texas and Lousiana[Louisiana] were occupied by
detachments of vessels, as the surest way of enforcing
page 317: typo fixed
genius for war than an acccomplished[accomplished] (_instruit_)
officer;" and to the lack of that studious
page 331: typo fixed
Navy, United States, indequate[inadequate] strength of
Table of Contents and Chapter Titles that do not match were not changed:
page 196: THE BLOCKADE AND PORT HUDSON.
TOC says: THE BLOCKADE, AND THE PASSAGE OF PORT HUDSON, 1862-1863
page 237: MOBILE.
TOC says: MOBILE BAY FIGHT, 1864