WILLIAM

See also:

• BARKER, EDMUND HENRY (1788–1839)

BARKER

See also:

• CUSHING, CALEB (1800-1879)
• WILLIAM BARKER CUSHING (1842–1874)

CUSHING (1842–1874)  , American naval officer, was born in Delafield, Wisconsin, on the 4th of November 1842 . He entered the Naval Academy from New York in 18J7, but resigned in March 1861 . When, however, the Civil War began, he volunteered into the navy, was rated acting master's mate, and became a midshipman in October 1861, and a lieutenant in July 1862, serving in the North Atlantic blockading squadron . The work of blockade, and of harassing the Confederates on the coast and the rivers of the Atlantic seaboard, called for much service in boats, and entailed a great deal of exposure . Cushing was distinguished by his readiness to volunteer, his indefatigability, and by his good fortune, the reward of vigilance and intelligence . The feat by which he will be remembered was the destruction of the Confederate ironclad " Albemarle " in the Roanoke river on the 27th of October in 1864 . The vessel had done much damage to the Federal naval forces, and her destruction was greatly desired . She was at anchor surrounded by baulks of timber, and a cordon of boats had been stationed to row guard against an expected Federal attack . Lieutenant Cushing undertook the attack on her with a steam launch carrying a spar-torpedo and towing an armed cutter . He eluded the Confederate lookout and reached the " Albemarle " unseen . When close to he' was detected, but he had time to drive the steam launch over the baulks and to explode the torpedo against the " Albemarle " with such success that a hole was made in her and she sank . Cushing's own launch was destroyed .

He and the few men with him were compelled to take to the

water; one was killed, another was drowned, Cushing and one other escaped, and the rest were captured . Cushing himself swam to the swamps on the river bank, and after wading among them for hours reached a Federal picket boat . For destroying the " Albemarle " he was thanked by Congress and was promoted to be lieutenant-commander . On the 15th of January 1865 he took a conspicuous part in the land attack on the sea-front wall of Fort Fisher . After the war he commanded the " Lancaster" (1866–1867) and the " Maumee " (1868–1869) in the Asiatic Squadron . In 1872 he was promoted commander at what was an exceptionally early age, but he died on the 17th of December 1874 of brain fever . He had suffered extreme pain for years before his death, and in fact broke down altogether under disease contracted in the discharge of his duty .