Lieutenant Worden never fully recovered from the injuries received in his fight with the _Merrimac_. As soon as he was able to take an active command he asked the privilege of doing so. In charge of the _Montauk_, of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, he destroyed, while under a heavy fire, the Confederate steamer _Nashville_ and participated in the unsuccessful attack upon Charleston. He received the thanks of Congress and was promoted to be a commander for his services with the _Monitor_. From 1870 to 1874 he was superintendent of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, becoming commodore in 1868, rear admiral in 1872 and was retired in 1886. It was said that he never was without pain from the injuries received in the battle with the _Merrimac_ until his death, October 18, 1897. CHAPTER XXIV. Two Worthy Sons--William D. Porter--The Career of Admiral David Dixon Porter. The reader will not forget the exploits of Captain David Porter, in command of the _Essex_ in the War of 1812. Contrary to the rule that great men never have great sons, Captain Porter left two boys who possessed the same remarkable qualities as himself and one of whom became more famous than his gallant father. The eldest of his sons was William D., who was born in New Orleans in 1809, but was educated in the North and was appointed to the navy when fourteen years old. He was placed in command of a cumbrous ironclad constructed from a ferryboat at the beginning of the war and named the _Essex_, in honor of the famous cruiser with which his father played havoc with the shipping of Great Britain in the Pacific. In the attack on Fort Henry, in February, 1862, the _Essex_, while doing effective service, had her boiler pierced by a shot from the enemy, with appalling consequences. Porter was scalded and knocked senseless and twenty-nine officers and men were disabled or killed by the escaping steam. Later, when he had fully recovered, he was placed in command of the _Essex_, which was repaired and greatly improved. The Confederates had completed a more terrible ironclad than the _Merrimac_, which they named the _Arkansas_. Manned by brave officers and crew, it came down the Yazoo into the Mississippi, and, secure in her fancied invulnerability, challenged the whole Union fleet which was assisting in the siege of Vicksburg. In the furious engagement that followed Captain Porter, with the _Essex_, succeeded in destroying the ironclad. He rendered his country other valuable service, but his health gave way, and, while in the East for medical attendance, he died in the City of New York at the age of fifty-three.