It would have been interesting to know what Cushing's men's "comical answer" was.
According to the recollections of Acting Ensign Thomas Gay, later captured, Cushing shouted: "Leave the ram, or I'll blow you to pieces!" No response was heard and Cushing ran through the hail of fire at full speed, his boat lurching over the log barrier.
"The torpedo boom was lowered and by a vigorous pull I succeeded in in diving the torpedo under the overhang and exploding it at the same time that the Albemarle's gun was fired. A shot seemed to go chasing through my boat, and a dense mass of water rushed in from the torpedo, filling the launch and completely disabling her."
The overhang mentioned was where the iron sides of the Albemarle hung over the wooden hull. Exactly where you would want to set off a torpedo.
--Old B-R'er
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