File:The naval history of the United States (1896) (14597808259).jpg

Identifier: navalhistoryofun02abbo (find matches)
Title: The naval history of the United States
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Abbot, Willis J. (Willis John), 1863-1934
Subjects: United States -- History, Naval To 1900
Publisher: New York, Dodd, Mead and company
Contributing Library: University of Massachusetts, Boston
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Boston

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ways filled with water. In these two forts were stationed troops made up of the finest youngmen of New Orleans. For them it was a gay station. Far removed fromthe fighting on the frontier, and within an easy journey of their homes,they frolicked away the first year of the war. Every week gay parties ofpleasure-seekers from New Orleans would come down ; and the proud de-fenders would take their friends to the frowning bastions, and point out howeasily they could blow the enemys fleet out of water if the ships ever camewithin range of those heavy guns. But the ships did not come within rangeof the guns for many months. They contented themselves with lying atthe Head of the Passes, and stopping all intercourse with the outer world,until New Orleans began to get shabby and ragged and hungry, and thepleasure-parties came less often to the forts, and the gay young soldierssaw their uniforms getting old and tattered, but knew not where to get thecloth to replace them. BLUE-JACKETS OF 61. 733
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In the city no rumble of commerce was heard on the streets. Grassgrew on the deserted levee, where in times of peace the brown and white 734 BLUE-JACKETS OF *6i. cotton-bales were piled by the thousand, waiting for strong black hands toseize and swing them upon the decks of the trim Liverpool packets, thatlay three or four deep along the river front. The huge gray custom-housethat stood at the foot of Canal Street no longer resounded with the rapidtread of sea-captains or busy merchants. From the pipes of the cotton-presses, the rush of the escaping steam, as the ruthless press squeezedthe great bale into one-third its original size, was no longer heard. Mostof the great towering steamboats that came rushing down the river withstores of cotton or sugar had long since been cut down into squat, power-ful gunboats, or were tied up idly to the bank. Across the river, in theship-yards of Algiers, there seemed a little more life ; for there workmenwere busy changing peaceful merchant vessel

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