 Complete the following phrase:  When communication was cut off with Washington at the start of the Civil War, Du Pont took the initiative of sending a fleet to the Chesapeake Bay to protect the landing of Union troops at Annapolis, Maryland. In June 1861 he was made president of a board in Washington formed to develop a plan of naval operations against the Confederacy. He was appointed flag officer serving aboard the steam frigate as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, leading from Norfolk, Virginia, the largest fleet ever commanded by an American officer at that time. On November 7, Du Pont led a successful 