another of pontoniers. Julius Kroehl was proposed as the captain of the corps of pontoniers. However, Asboth's proposal was not accepted and the venture went no further. Locomotive No. 160 After the Union Army occupied Alexandria, Virginia in May 1861, military authorities requested the transfer of locomotives to that town in support of the upcoming campaign in northern Virginia. The Pennsylvania Railroad contributed six locomotives. These had to be ferried on a barge from Washington, DC, to Alexandria. In June 1861, Locomotive No. 160 and its tender fell into the Potomac River near Alexandria in 40 feet of water when a sudden squall caused the barge to shift its cargo. In early July 1861, Julius Kroehl, representing his firm of H&K, successfully recovered the locomotive and its tender. New Orleans Kroehl's first service for the Union was not as a soldier, but as a civilian contractor. On February 2, 1862, he received a contract to perform minesweeping in the Lower Mississippi River. His primary task was to remove the chain barrier stretching between Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. This was not successful, due to trying to move the bomb-vessel upstream against a strong current. After the fall of New Orleans, his services were dismissed on May 20, 1862 He provided a report to Navy Secretary Gideon Welles on submarine operations on June 2, 1862, after his return to New York City. James River and Cape Fear His services were still in demand. First, he demonstrated the use of electric torpedoes (mines) to be used in the James River. Later, both Admirals David Dixon Porter and Samuel P. Lee requested his services. He received a commission as an Acting Volunteer Lieutenant in the United States Navy on December 12, 1862. He was first assigned to Admiral Lee's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Wilmington, North Carolina. Attempts to use his torpedoes either to remove obstructions near Fort Caswell or supplement the blockade were stillborn. On January 1, 1863, he received orders to report to Admiral Porter for service in the Mississippi River Squadron. Mississippi River and the Vicksburg Campaign Kroehl served as a member of Admiral Porter's personal staff aboard the USS Black Hawk. His duties appear to be varied, responding to Porter's needs at the time: First, working with the U.S. Coast Survey in developing navigation charts of the Mississippi to support naval operations. Second, developing strategies to use torpedoes