Before this work was completed he was promoted to the rank of captain. This was, at that time, the highest rank in the United States navy.
In July, 1858, Captain Farragut returned home. He was given, at once, the command of the Brooklyn. It had been ten years since he had been on a war vessel, and he found many changes. His ship had steam power as well as sails. It was one of the first steam war vessels built for the navy.
The arrangement of the guns was the same as in the old sailing sloops. But they were much larger, and of different shape. Explosive shells were used instead of solid cannon balls.
The Brooklyn cruised for two years in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. While on this cruise, Captain Farragut again visited New Orleans, for he wished to see his brother who was on duty at the naval station there. A sorrowful welcome awaited him, however, for his brother had died just before his arrival. The captain sadly returned to his ship, and soon afterward sailed home to Norfolk.
VII.—The Question of Allegiance.
In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, the United States navy had but ninety vessels of all kinds. Twenty-one of these were not fit for service. Only eleven of those in commission were in American waters. The rest, which were scattered all over the world, were recalled at once.
Some of those in far away ports were commanded by southern captains, and it would take them several months to reach America.
It was feared that they would take their vessels into southern ports, and turn them over to the Confederate government. These fears, however, were groundless, for all the vessels were safely brought into northern ports. With few exceptions, all the naval officers were loyal to the United States.
Of all these naval officers, none was more loyal than Captain Farragut. In his home in Virginia, he had watched the growing troubles with a sad heart. He was a southerner by birth, and his most tender ties were in Virginia. It was there that he had spent many years with the Porter family, and there he had numerous friends. It was there, also, that he had married and made his home.
He knew that, should war break out, he would be called upon to choose between his friends in the South, and his government in the North.