James Russell Soley, Professor U. S. Navy, Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States Military History: Volume 7.1, The blockade and the cruisers
Clement Anselm Evans, Ed.

[8] the exercise of individual judgment. But confirmed habits are not easily shaken off; and the operations of the first two years show from time to time the persistence of oldtradi-tions. Nothing short of a complete upheaval of the service brought about the needful change; commanders became admirals by a single step; and junior officers became first-lieutenants of the ships in which they were serving as midshipmen. Finally, when the great leaders came into positions of active command, their encouragement and approval of individual enterprise gave to their juniors the opportunities of which the latter were only too eager to avail themselves.

It was another unfortunate feature of the situation, that while there was a superabundance of old officers, there was a deficiency in the junior grades. Below the lieutenants there were less than a hundred masters and midshipmen. These, together with a dozen of the younger lieutenants, were graduates of the Naval Academy; and their service during the war showed the value of their thorough training. To fill the gap at the foot of the list the three upper classes of acting midshipmen were ordered from the Academy into active service. Most of these were mere boys. They found themselves, with only the experience of two or three years at the Naval School, suddenly placed in positions of difficulty and responsibility. Many of them were lieutenants at nineteen; but no better work was done in the naval war than that which was placed in the hands of these lads from the Academy.

The deficiency of officers was increased by the resignation or dismissal of those who took side with the South. There were 322 of these of all grades and corps, and among them were several of marked ability. But even without the losses occasioned by retirement and by resignation, the number of