On land the Confederates might be invincible or almost so, but the waters of the rivers and the sea upheld the Union cause.
The fleet steamed on at an even pace.

Foote, the commodore who had daringly reconnoitered Fort Henry from a single gunboat in the Tennessee, managed everything with alertness and skill.

The transports were in the center of the stream.

The armed and armored vessels kept on the flanks.
The river, a vast yellow sheet, sometimes turning gray under the gray, wintry skies, seemed alone save for themselves.

Not a single canoe or skiff disturbed its surface.