It must be granted that they were of good conscience. There was not a sordid thought in their minds--not one. Indeed, most of them felt that they were making the greatest of sacrifices for the sake of principle. But, if the writer may express his thoughts without offence, no patriot can now read of the glorious achievements of the men who in other days fought afloat for the honor of the nation, without feeling inexpressibly shocked at the thought that any man of the navy should have been found willing under any circumstances to strike at the gridiron flag. There is not a little interest in considering the actual numbers of the men who left the navy to take part with the Southern States. Before South Carolina passed her ordinance of secession there were 1,563 officers, commissioned and warrant, on the naval register. Of these, 677 were from Southern States; but 350 of these Southern-born men remained true to the flag, while 321 resigned to enter the Confederate navy. Of thirty-eight Southern captains, sixteen resigned; of sixty-four Southern commanders, thirty-four resigned; of 151 Southern lieutenants, seventy-six resigned; of 128 Southern acting midshipmen, 106 resigned. And that is to say that so demoralized had the navy become under the influence of quarrelling politicians that more than one-fifth of all the officers were ready to forsake their allegiance. CHAPTER II BLOCKADING THE SOUTHERN PORTS LINCOLN’S PROCLAMATION--IT WAS SOMETHING OF A TASK TO CLOSE 185 INLETS AND PATROL 11,953 MILES OF SEA-BEACHES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE FORCE OF SHIPS IN HAND--ONE MERCHANT’S NOTION OF THE EFFICIENCY OF THIRTY SAILING VESSELS--GATHERING AND BUILDING BLOCKADERS--INCENTIVES AND FAVORING CIRCUMSTANCES FOR BLOCKADE-RUNNERS--WHEN PERJURY FAILED AND UNCLE SAM WAS ABLE TO STRIKE WITHOUT WAITING FOR ACT OF CONGRESS--WHEN BLOCKADE-RUNNERS CAME TO NEW YORK AND YANKEE SMOKELESS COAL WAS IN DEMAND. The story of the actual work done by the navy in this last war for the preservation of the life of the nation begins when a blockade of the ports of the seceded States was ordered. Two proclamations were issued to provide for this measure. The first was issued on April 19, 1861, which, as the reader will remember, was six days after the capture of Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, by the secessionists. It covered all the ports of the South except those of Virginia and Texas; but on the 27th of the same month, these two States having also joined the Confederacy, their ports were included by a second proclamation. Because, from a naval point of view, that was the most important proclamation issued by a President of the United States since the War of 1812, its words shall be given literally. [Illustration: The Blockaded Coast. _From “The Navy in the Civil War.”_]