On A Rising Tide
A Tale Of Running The Civil War Blockade
by
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Just then, the sea ahead of the blockade-runner erupted into a foaming spout of water. "Hard to starboard!" McKay barked at the quartermaster, as the spray crashed onto the bridge. McKay brushed past boatswain Gallagher, shouting to the mate on the foredeck, "Mr. Taylor, keep me informed of our depth! I don''t want it to go below fifteen feet!" The young man, still gazing in fear at the frothy water where the cannon balls had fallen, glanced nervously at the bridge. "Aye-aye, sir!" The boatswain shook his head in amazement as Captain McKay coolly went about issuing orders while his world was exploding all about him. The next spread of shots burst in the water where the ship would have been if she hadn''t turned. The warship continued to swing around, exposing her cannon, which gleamed in the night like formidable teeth. "Quartermaster, I want you to turn hard to port when I give the signal." McKay leveled his telescope, studying the Federal gun crews as they loaded their cannon for another broadside. The men ran out the carronades, then awaited the gunnery officer’s command to fire. This was the signal McKay was waiting for. "Now! Hard aport!" McKay shouted, motioning quickly with his arm. The quartermaster spun the spoked wheel until it became a blur, causing the ship to lean sharply into the turn. The warship''s thunderous broadside illuminated a rolling cloud of gun smoke. Cannonballs arced toward the Atlantis, one cutting some cordage aloft, while the others splashed into the sea around them. Every gun on the Federal warship’s port side fired but one. The crew of a rifled pivot gun near the bow watched to see where the shots fell, then rushed to turn the elevation screw to adjust the range. These men were crack shots and worked independent of the other cannons. The gunner yanked the lanyard and the friction primer ignited the cannon’s gunpowder with a deafening roar, hurling its deadly missile toward the Atlantis. The exploding shell tore away most of the blockade-runner’s paddle wheel box. Despite the tangle of wreckage, the paddles continued to churn the water, thumping into loose boards and knocking them out of the way.
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About the Book
Blockade runner Captain Wade McKay and the crew of the Atlantis battle the death choke of the Union naval blockade of
Knowing that the fall of
About the Author
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