The passage was to be made in the night, and Farragut—who had learned to perform every duty that is ever required on shipboard, except those of the surgeon—gave in his general orders minute instructions for every preparation, and suggested that the officers and crew of each vessel add any other precautions that their ingenuity might devise.
| Whitewashing the decks. |
Every man in the fleet was busy. In the forecastle of the Mississippi a group of sailors were making splinter nettings, criticising the arrangements for the attack, and speculating as to the result.
"What's Bill Ammon going to do with that white paint?" said one.
"He's going to paint the gun deck," answered a comrade.
"What! paint it white?"
"Yes, white."
"What's that for? To make us a better target for the reb gunners?"
"It's to make it so that we can see what we're about, and find things when we need them."