SS6 SOLDIERS AND SAILORS tenderly cared for. This request was granted, and the Metacomet despatched with them. The admiral had stationed himself " in an elevated position in the main rig- ging, near the top," a place of great peril, but one which enabled him to see much better than if he had been on deck, the progress of the battle ; and from thence he witnessed, and testified with great gratification to the admirable con- duct of the men at their guns, throughout the fleet ; and, in this connection, gives utterance to a sentiment which shows most conclusively his sympathy and tenderness : " Although," he says, " no doubt their hearts sickened, as mine did, when their shipmates were struck down beside them, yet there was not a mo- ment's hesitation to lay their comrades aside and spring again to their deadly work." It is said that at the moment of the collision between the Hartford and Lackawanna, when the men called to each other to save the admiral, Farragut, finding the ship would float at least long enough to serve his purpose, and think- ing of that only, called out to his fleet-captain, " Go on with speed ! Ram her again ! " The results of this victory were the destruction of the rebel fleet ; the capture of the armored ship Tennessee, and of 230 rebel officers and men ; the abandon- ment on the next day of Fort Powell, with 1 8 guns ; the surrender on the 8th of Fort Gaines, with 56 officers, 818 men, and 26 guns ; and on August 23d, after a further bombardment of twenty-four hours, of Fort Morgan, with 60 guns and 600 prisoners. By these captures the port of Mobile was hermetically sealed against blockade-runners, and a serious blow given to the rebel cause. Rear-admiral Farragut remained in command of the West Gulf squadron till November, 1 864, when he requested leave of absence, and was called to Wash- ington for consultation in regard to future naval operations. Soon after the opening of Congress, a resolution of thanks to him for his brilliant victory at Mobile was passed, and the rank of vice-admiral, corresponding to that of lieuten- ant-general in the army, was created, and on January i, 1865, David Glascoe Far- ragut promoted to it. This appointment made him the virtual chief commander of the naval forces of the United States. The West Gulf blockading squadron, during all the time Admiral Farragut was in command of it, had had more fighting and less prizes than any other blockading squadron on the coast ; and while Admirals Dupont, Lee, Porter, and Dahlgren had accumulated immense fortunes by their shares of prize-money, Ad- miral Farragut had received little beyond his regular pay. The merchants of New York, understanding this, and recognizing the great services he had ren- dered to commerce and to the nation, subscribed the sum of fifty thousand dollars, which was presented to him in United States 7.30 Treasury notes, in January, 1865, in testimony of their appreciation of his ability and success as a naval com- mander. Until 1 866 the rank of vice-admiral was the highest known in the navy In July of that year the office of admiral was specially created and bestowed on Farragut. He saw no further important service, but died quietly at Portsmouth, N. H., August 14, 1870.
