Chapter C: S. S. Patrick Henry,

Mulberry Point, October 11th, 1861.

Sir,--Owing to an unexpected delay in the completion of the magazine I was unable to leave Richmond before the morning of the 9th, and did not reach this ship until yesterday about 8 A.M. when I laid your plan of the intended attack on the United States ships at anchor off Newport News before Commander Tucker, who with Lieutenant Powell, the executive officer, placed every facility at my disposal for carrying it into execution. Acting Master Thomas L. Dornin and Midshipman Alexander M. Mason, having volunteered to accompany me, the evening was passed in preparing the magazine and in explaining in detail to the officers the manner of handling and working them. In filling the tanks I found that I would have 392 pounds to operate with, instead of 400, which I had calculated upon; and to insure them from sinking I had some cork attached to the buoys, which subsequently proved of great advantage. The day was a stormy one, with a fresh breeze from the northward with rain and mist well suited for our operations against the enemy. About sunset Commander Tucker got underway from his anchorage off this place, and with lights shaded steamed slowly down the river on a strong ebbtide till the ships were seen ahead of us, when we came to within a mile and a half of the point, dropping the anchor with a hawser bent on to it to prevent noise from the rattling of the chains. The boats were then lowered, the magazines carefully slung, buoys bent on at intervals of seven feet, and when all was ready the crews armed with cutlasses took their places, and were cautioned in a few words by me to keep silent and obey implicitly the officers. Acting Master Dornin with Midshipman Mason took the left side of the channel, while I took the right with Mr. Edward Moore as boatswain of the ship to pilot me. Pulling down the river some 600 or 700 yards the boats were then allowed to drift with the rapid ebbtide, while the end of the cork line was passed over to Mr. Dornin, and the line tightened by the boats pulling in opposite directions. The buoys were then thrown overboard, the guard lines on the triggers cut, the levers fitted and pinned, the trip line made fast to the bight at the end of the lever, the safety screws removed, the magazine carefully lowered in the water, where they were well supported by the buoys, the slack line (three fathoms of which was kept in hand for safety) thrown overboard, and all set adrift within 800 yards of the ship, and 400 yards of the battery on the bluff above the point. So near were we that voices were heard on the shore and Mr. Moore reported a boat about 100 yards off, which, however, I did not see, being too much engaged in preparing the magazine for its service. Pulling back a short distance and hearing no explosion we returned to the ship which we found cleared for action and ready to cover us in event of being attacked, and the boats had just been hoisted up when signal lights were observed flashing in the vicinity of the point with considerable rapidity, indicating a suspicion on the part of the enemy that an attack of some kind was intended. Leaving our anchorage, we steamed rapidly up the river and took up our former position off this place about 12:30 at night. On going to the crosstrees this morning two ships were seen at anchor off the point, and later in the day when seen from Warwick River, where Commander Tucker and I went to get a better view of them, they were apparently unharmed, and I concluded that the magazine could not have fouled them, though planted fairly and in good drifting distances and with an interval between of some 200 feet, perhaps somewhat less as the line became entangled slightly while playing out.

I have thus minutely described to you, sir, the whole operation, believing, as its originator, it would be interesting to you, and, perhaps, serve as a guide in the further prosecution of this mode of warfare.

I beg leave to return my sincere thanks to Commander Tucker, Lieutenant Powell and other officers and men of the "Patrick Henry," for their hearty co-operation, and I particularly desire to call your attention to the coolness and bravery of acting Master Dornin and Midshipman Mason, and the boat crews associated on duty with me.

I am, sir respectfully your obedient servant,

R. D. MINOR,

Lieutenant C. S. Navy.

Commander M. F. Maury, C. S. Navy,

Fredericksburg, Va.

The torpedoes used by Captain Maury in his attack upon the "Minnesota," at Fortress Monroe, and by Lieutenant Minor upon the "Congress," off Newport News, were as follows: They were in pairs connected by a span 500 feet long. The span was floated on the surface by corks, and the torpedo, containing 200 pounds of powder, also floated at a depth of twenty feet. Empty barregas, painted lead color, so as not readily to be seen, serving for the purpose.

The span was connected with a trigger in the head of each barrel, so set and arranged that when the torpedo being let go in a tideway under the bows and athwart the hawser had fouled, they would be drifted alongside, and so drifted would tauten the span and set off the fuse, which was driven precisely as a ten second shot fuse, only it was calculated to burn fifty-four seconds, because it could not be known exactly in which part of the sweep alongside the strain would be sufficient to set off the trigger. That they did not explode was attributed to the fact that the fuse would not burn under a pressure of twenty feet of water, which conjecture was confirmed by after experiments, when it was found that the fuse would very surely at a depth of fifteen feet but never at twenty. Sometime after these torpedoes were found down the bay by the enemy. Spans, barrels, barregas and carried to Washington--thus the enemy forewarned, forestalled further attempts of this character by dropping the end of his lower studding sail boom in the water every night, and anchoring boats, or beams ahead.

To obtain insulated wire, of which the South had none, an agent was sent secretly to New York, but without success, and as there was neither factory nor material for its manufacture in the Confederacy, the difficulties of preparing electrical torpedoes, to which Captain Maury attached the most importance and greatly preferred, seemed insuperable, until by a remarkable piece of good fortune, in the following spring, it happened that the enemy, attempting to lay across Chesapeake Bay were forced to abandon the attempt and left their wire to the mercy of the waves, which cast it upon the beach near Norfolk, where, by the kindness of a friend, it was secured for Captain Maury's use. With part of this he connected his mines in James River, below the obstructions, with the shore stations, which afterward destroyed the "Commodore Barney," and later the "Commodore Jones," and with part enabled other Southern ports to be similarly protected.

Of his James River torpedoes, Captain Maury thus reported to the Secretary of the Navy:

Richmond, June 19th, 1862.

Sir,--The James River is mined with fifteen tanks below the Iron Battery at Chaffin's Bluff. They are to be exploded by means of Electricity. Four of the tanks contain 160 pounds of powder, the eleven other hold 70 pounds. All are made of boiler plate.

They are arranged in rows, as per diagram, those of each row being thirty feet apart. Each tank is contained in a water-tight wooden cask, capable of floating it, but anchored, and held below the surface from three to eight feet, according to the state of the tide. The anchor to each is an eighteen inch shell and a piece of kentledge so placed as to prevent the barrels from fouling the buoy ropes at the change of the tide. Each shell of a row is connected with the next one to it by a stout rope thirty feet long, and capable of lifting it in case the cask be carried away. The casks are water-tight, as are also the tanks, the electric cord entering and returning through the same head. The wire for the return current from the battery is passed from shell to shell and along the connecting rope, which lies at the bottom.

The wire that passes from cask to cask is stopped aslack to the buoy rope from the shell up to the cask to which it is securely seized, to prevent any strain upon that part which enters the cask. The return wire is stopped in like manner down the buoy ropes to the shell, and then along the span to the next shell. At 4 the two cords are rapped together, loaded with trace chains a fathom apart and carried ashore to the galvanic battery. For batteries we have 21 Wollastons, each trough containing 18 pairs of plates, zinc and wire, 10 x 12 inches. The first range is called 1: the second 2: the third 3, and the wires are so labelled. Thus all of each range are exploded at once.

Besides these there are two ranges of two tanks each, planted opposite the battery at Chaffin's Bluff. When they were planted it was not known that a battery was to be erected below. These four tanks contain about 6,000 pounds of powder. The great freshets of last month carried away the wires that were to operate the first pair. Lieut. Davidson, who, with the "Teaser" and her crew, has assisted me with the most hearty good will, has dragged for the tanks, but without success, they rest on the bottom. Could they be found it was my intention to raise the four, examine them and if in good condition, place them lower down.

Lieut. Wm. L. Maury, assisted by Acting Master W. F. Carter, and R. Rollins, was charged with the duty of proving the tanks and packing them in casks. There are eleven others, each containing 70 pounds of powder. When tested in the barrels and found ready for use, they will be held in reserve in case of accident to those already down. A larger number was not prepared for want of powder. There are a quantity of admirably insulated wires, a number of shells for anchor or torpedoes and a sufficient quantity of chains for the wires remaining. They will be put in the navy store for safe keeping.

The galvanic batteries, viz.: 21 Wollaston and one Cruickshank (the latter loaned by Dr. Maupin of the University of Virginia), with spare acids are at Chaffin's Bluff in charge of Acting Master Cheeney. He has also in pigs a sufficient quantity mixed to work the batteries, and ready to be poured in for use.

It is proper that I should mention to the department, in terms of commendation the ready and valuable assistance afforded by Dr. Morris, president of the Telegraph Company, and his assistants, especially Mr. Goldwell.

My duties in connection with those batteries being thus closed, I have the honor to await your further orders.

Respectfully, etc.,