exposed, aided in hauling down the flag of the Confederate ship, "Little
Rebel," and assisted in rescuing some of the wounded Confederates from
the sinking vessels.

He accepted an invitation from Captain Phelps of the Benton to accompany
him on shore when the city was surrendered, and saw the stars and strips
go up upon the flag-staff in the public square and over the Court House.

The Army of the Potamac was in front of Richmond, and he returned east
in season to chronicle the seven day's engagement on the Peninsular. The
constant exposure to malaria brought on sickness, which prevented his
being with the army in the engagement at the second Bull Run, but he was
on the field of Antietam throughout the entire contest, and wrote an
account which was published in the Baltimore _American_, of which
an enormous edition was disposed of in the army--and was commended for
its accuracy.

In October Mr. Coffin was once more in Kentucky, but did not reach the
army in season to see the battle of Perrysville. Comprehending the
situation of affairs there, that there could be no movement until the
entire army was re-organized under a new commander, he returned to
Virginia, accompanying the army in its march from the Potomac to
Fredericksburg, and witnessed that disastrous battle. A month later he
was with the fleet off Charleston and saw the attack on Sumter by the
Monitor, and the bombardment of Fort McAllister.

In April he was once more with the Army of the Potomac, arriving just as
the troops were getting back to their quarters after Chancellorsville to
hear the stories and collect an account of that battle.