tug's attention—and that of the other warships within the sounds—was concentrated upon the Confederate ironclad. Then, suddenly, on the night of October 27, Lt. William B. Cushing put an end to that menace by his courageous ascent of the Roanoke River in Picket Launch No. 1 to destroy Albemarle by exploding a spar torpedo against her hull. His daring feat freed Union naval forces in the sounds to undertake operations that would strengthen their hold on North Carolina and cleared the way for Bazely's most notable achievement, her participation in the Union expedition that recaptured Plymouth, North Carolina. Before the attack upon that Southern position, Comdr. William H. Macomb, the senior naval officer in the sounds, had a tug lashed to each of the principal warships to assure her propulsion in the event her own engine became disabled. Bazely was tied to Shamrock; and her new commanding officer, Acting Ensign Mark D. Ames, was praised for working and fighting his ship admirably and was recommended for promotion. Besides taking the town, the expedition captured "22 cannon, 200 stand of arms, 37 prisoners, and all the enemy's flags." About the time Bazely and her sister tugs -- Picket Boat No. 1 through Picket Boat No. 6—joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and six somewhat smaller craft also appeared on the squadron's list of vessels under similar names: Picket Launch No. 1 through Picket Launch No. 6. The profound confusion that resulted from this likeness in nomenclature prompted the Navy sometime between November 1 and December 5, 1864 to rename the former J. E. Bazely and her sisters for the first six letters of the Greek alphabet Alpha through Zeta. Thus Picket Boat No. 2, alias Bazely and Tug No. 2, became Beta. Nevertheless, she did not get the opportunity to carry this new name for long, if at all. More weighty matters than name changes seemed to be occupying the leaders of the Navy in the North Carolina sounds. Besides consolidating the Union position in the wake of Albemarle's destruction, Comdr. Macomb, the senior naval officer in the area, felt concern over the report of another Confederate ironclad rumored under construction up the Roanoke River at Halifax, North Carolina. On the afternoon of December 9, an expedition under his command started to move farther up the Roanoke from Plymouth to capture Rainbow Bluff and to destroy the reported ram. That evening,