but her hard service had taken a toll on "augusta" and had been especially hard on her engines. on 5 august, lieutenant daniel ammen — who had recently participated in a survey of the ship — felt that repairing her might well cost more than constructing a new ship. instead of repairing her, he suggested that her bow be reinforced so that she could be used as a ram to destroy , a southern ironclad ram at savannah. this recommendation was not followed — probably because the union navy still needed more warships for blockade duty, and because "augusta".had established a wide reputation for her outstanding sea-keeping ability. instead, on 27 august, du pont sent her north for repairs. in his orders to parrott, du pont — now an acting rear admiral — expressed his "... very sincere approbation and appreciation of the services rendered by "augusta" on this station. he went on to point out that "... no vessel has seen more outside blockade service and has been less in port, and whose fires have been so seldom drawn."