Saturday, June 1, finds us not yet ready for sea. The tanks have all been taken on board and stowed; the gun carriages for the 32’s will be finished on Monday. The circles for the 8 -inch have been laid down and the fighting bolts are ready for placing. On Monday I shall throw the crew on board, and by Thursday next I shall without doubt be ready for sea. In the meantime both the practicable passes are blockaded, the one by the Brooklyn and the other by the Powhatan, but fortune will favor us and we shall run by.
Extracts from the journal of Commander Semmes, C.S. Navy, commanding C.S.S. Sumter
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