On the night of Oct. 27, Cushing led a launch and a cutter, containing a total of 28 men, on the mission to sink the Albemarle. Soon after they began steaming up the Roanoke River, a cold rain began to fall, drenching the men. Mile after mile, the two ships slowly made their way upriver without being spotted. But, as they began to near their objective, a barking dog alerted sentries on shore who challenged the shadowy shapes on the river. Cushing then discovered a barrier of logs that had been positioned in a semi-circle around the Albemarle as protection against torpedo attack.

In the momentary silence that followed, Cushing heard cries ordering him to surrender. Cushing defiantly replied, “Never! I’ll be damned first!” He then pulled off his sword, revolver, tattered coat, and what remained of his shoes, called for his men to save themselves, then dived into the cold water of the Roanoke and headed for the opposite bank.

But Cushing was not to be denied. Having gotten this close, he was determined to successfully finish the mission. Cushing ordered the launch to go to full speed. The accelerating launch circled down the river to gain momentum and then raced for the ram. Cushing’s plan was for the launch to smash over the barrier. Even though it would then be impossible for the craft to later break free, Cushing calculated that the launch would get him close enough to place the torpedo under the Albemarle and trigger it.

As the launch surged toward its quarry, Confederate guards began shooting. Cushing patiently crouched on the bow, holding the torpedo’s ropes and lanyard. A buckshot blast ripped open the back of his coat. A rifle bullet tore away the sole of his left shoe. Suddenly, there was a grinding lurch as the launch hit and slid over the logs. Cushing, holding the torpedo’s control ropes and trigger lanyard, watched the mechanized boom holding the torpedo descend below the waterline. Cushing was only 10 feet away from the muzzle of one of the ram’s cannons and could hear the voices of the Albemarle’s crew. Cushing learned he had 20 seconds to detonate the torpedo before the cannon would fire. Despite the imminent danger, and the bullets that tore at his clothing, he carefully pulled the delicate trigger. The cannon fired at almost the same instant that the torpedo exploded. Fortunately for Cushing, because the cannon could not be depressed low enough, the shell landed harmlessly in the river.

In the momentary silence that followed, Cushing heard cries ordering him to surrender. Cushing defiantly replied, “Never! I’ll be damned first!” He then pulled off his sword, revolver, tattered coat, and what remained of his shoes, called for his men to save themselves, then dived into the cold water of the Roanoke and headed for the opposite bank. A strong swimmer, Cushing was soon able to get beyond the circle of light cast by a large bonfire nearby. Cushing narrowly escaped detection by a search party on a boat, but his plight was far from over.

Even Rear Adm. David Porter acknowledged that Cushing “would undertake the most desperate adventures, where it seemed impossible for him to escape death or capture, yet he always managed to get off with credit to himself and loss to the enemy.”

Meanwhile, on the ram, Confederate captain A. F. Warley of the Albemarle later wrote, “I heard a report as of an unshotted gun, and a piece of wood fell at my feet. Calling the carpenter, I told him a torpedo had been exploded, and ordered him to examine and report to me. … He soon reported ‘a hole in her bottom big enough to drive a wagon in.’” Warley turned his efforts to the Union sailors from the launch. His men “brought back all those who had been in the launch except the gallant captain and three of her crew.” By this time, the Albemarle was resting on the bottom of the Roanoke, submerged in 8 feet of water. Warley observed in admiration of Cushing and his mission, “a more gallant thing was not done during the war.”