Another of Charles Mallory's Brothers Was Brigadier General in U.S. Army: John Skinner Mallory

From Find-A-Grave.

JOHN SKINNER MALLORY

BORN: 1 November 1857, Hampton City, Virginia

DIED:  2 February 1932, aged 74, Lexington, Virginia

BURIED:  Saint Johns  Church Cemetery, Hampton, Virginia. 

Brigadier  General, U.S. Army.

--Old Secesh

Another Mallory Dies at Sea

I have already written about Charles K. Mallory dying in the boiler explosion of the CSS Chattahoochee and of his brother Stephenson Blount Mallory dying of yellow fever while in the service of the U.S. Navy in 1878.

There was yet another brother, Francis Mallory, born April 22, 1850, who attended William and Mary College, and, being of a roving disposition went to sea and as a mate on the brig Chattanooga, of Baltimore, lost his life in a hurricane bear St. Thomas, West Indies, April 4th, 1874, while attempting to get from the shore to his ship.

He died unmarried.

--Old B-Runner

Charles K. Mallory, CSN-- Part 2: His death on the CSS Chatahoochee

Captain Parker of the Confederate States Navy also had this to say about young midshipman Mallory:  "After serving with me in three engagements, he was ordered to the gunboat Chattahoochee, at Columbus, Georgia, and lost his life by the explosion of her boiler.

"He was from Hampton and was an honor to his birthplace.  Had he lived and had the opportunity he would have become a great naval officer."

After the explosion, young Mallory, although badly  injured, swam ashore, but died after in the Ladies' Hospital, Columbus, June 2d, 1863, at age of eighteen and a half.  

He was, of course, unmarried.

--Old B-R'er

Charles K. Mallory, CSN: Received Surrender of the USS Congress at Battle of Hampton Roads

From the Virginia Historical Magazine "Funeral of Charles K. Mallory"  the father of Charles K. Mallory who died in the boiler explosion of the CSS Chattahoochee.

Born November 21, 1844.  At the outbreak of the Civil War he was appointed a midshipman in the Confederate States Navy and served as such until his death.

He participated  in the naval engagements at Hampton Roads, serving on the  gunboat  CSS Beaufort.  When the USS Congress hoisted the white flag of surrender, he, with Midshipman Foreman and a boat crew, were sent to take charge of her.

He brought back to the Beaufort the sword of the commander of the Congress, Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith, who had been killed.  This sword was afterwards sent through the lines by Commodore Tattnall, with Mallory's consent to Admiral Smith, the father of Lt. Richard Smith.

--Old B-Runner

The Mallory Family Had Ties to the Sea: Charles' Brother Stephen

A letter to the William and Mary College Quarterly from John S. Mallory, brother of Charles K. Mallory, written in 1925.

Stephen Blount Mallory was born at Hampton, Virginia, June 15, 1856.  In 1872, as a result of a competitive examination he was appointed a Cadet Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy after taking a short preparatory course at William and Mary College.

Upon graduation in 1876 from the Academy, he was appointed midshipman in the U.S. Navy and served as such until his untimely death of yellow fever in 1878, contracted while his ship, the USS Plymouth, lay in the harbor of Frederiksted, St. Croix, (Santa Cruz), Danish West Indies, now the Virgin Islands of the United States.

He was buried in the cemetery of St. Paul's Church (Anglican), Frederiksted, where his remains still are.  He had the reputation of being a very efficient and popular young officer.  He died unmarried.

--Old B-Runner

Charles K. Mallory on the CSS Chattahoochee

From "Navy Gray:  Engineering in the Confederate Navy on the Chattahoochee River and Apalachicola Rivers" by Maxine T. Turner.

A picture of him is on page 89 with caption:

"Midshipman Charles King Mallory.  "Young Mallory" was a great favorite among the Chattahoochee's officers and men.  The first to board the USS Congress after the CSS Virginia had defeated her, he was transferred with Catesby ap  R. Jones to the CSS Chattahoochee.

The account of his death following the boiler explosion on May 27, 1863, combined bravery and pathos.

His family had his remains sent home to Virginia and interred at St. John's, Hampton.

--Old B-R'er

Some More on Charles K. Mallory

From Register of Officers in the Confederate States Navy 1861-1865.

CHARLES K. MALLORY,  jr.

Born in Virginia.  Appointed from Virginia.

Acting midshipman, June 12, 1861.  Died June 1, 1863,  from the effect of a boiler explosion.  (CSS Chattahoochee)

Served on the C.S.R.S. United States, 1861.  CSS Beaufort, 1861-1862; participated in the Battle of Roanoke Island, February 7-8, 1862, and the Battle of Hampton Roads, Va., March 8-9, 1862; commended for gallant conduct.  (He was still a member of the crew of the CSS Beaufort at this battle.)

CSS Chattahoochee 1862-1863.

--Old B-R'er

Some More on Charles K. Mallory: A Benjamin Butler Connection?

Midshipman Charles Mallory was the son and namesake of Charles K. Mallory, a lawyer, plantation owner and militia colonel of Hampton, Virginia.  In May 1861, three of the senior Mallory slaves, Frank Baker, Sheppard Mallory and James Townsend, escaped to Union lines.

Their return was demanded of the Union commander in the area, General Benjamin Butler, under the terms of the Fugitive Slave Act.

Butler refused stating that since Virginia had claimed independence the Act did not apply.  And, because Virginia was at war with the United States, the runaway slaves, legally being "chattel property" were now "contraband of war."

So, that's where all that comes from.

--Old B-R'er

If You Want to Visit Fort Fisher, Better Do It Before April 16

From the April 9, 2024, NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

In the interest of safety and security, the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announced today that the Fort Fisher Historic Site will temporarily close to the public beginning Tuesday, April 16 as workers relocate exhibits, artifacts and staff offices to the site' new 20,000 square foot visitors center.

In addition, work will begin on the restoration of parts of the fort  which were demolished when the fort was used as an anti-aircraft training facility during World War II

This temporary closure refers to all parts of the fort west of US-421, including the museum, restrooms, tour trails around the mounds and parking lots.

The sites Battle Acre, east of US-421, will remain open.

Plans called for a phased reopening during the summer.

But, if you want to see the fort, you'd better get out there before this coming Tuesday.

--Old B-Runner

Confederate Midshipman Scalded to Death When Chattahoochee's Boiler Exploded: Charles K. Mallory

From the August 19, 2014, Civil War Talk Forum by Ernie Mac.

When I first saw the last name, I thought perhaps he might have been related to Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory but he wasn't.

Midshipman Charles K. Mallory was one of the casualties  of the CSS Chattahoochee, severely scalded in the explosion on May 27, 1863.  He died several days later (June 1) of his injuries.

Mallory was a native of Virginia who enlisted as a midshipman at the beginning of the war, serving aboard the CSS Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads.  He was one of two midshipman who boarded the USS Congress after that vessel struck her colors during the battle.

--Old B-Runner

Some More on the CSS Chattahoochee-- Part 3: In Fairly Good Shape

The wreck was relocated  using a proton precession magnetometer and wreck structure exposed on the bottom  surface was mapped.  A test excavation was carried out near the south end of the wreckage to facilitate assessing the nature and scope of the archaeological record and generate  data concerning the remaining wreck structure.

(Now, that was some last sentence.  Took me forever to type.)

Data recovered during the investigation contributed to a better understanding of the wreck and its scientific and educational value.

On the basis of this reconnaissance,  it is apparent that the remains of the CSS Chattahoochee contain a variety of artifacts associated with the use of the ship.  In addition, the remaining wreck structure survives in good condition below the turn of the bilge and could be raised, conserved, and displayed in conjunction with the stern of the warship presently on exhibit at the Confederate Naval Museum in Columbus.

--Old B-Runner

Some More on the CSS Chattahoochee-- Part 2: Half Recovered

From 1990 report "CSS Chattahoochee:  An Investigation  of the Remains of a Confederate Gunboat" by Gordon P. Watts and Wes Hall.

In the Spring of 1865, the Confederate gunboat CSS Chattahoochee  was scuttled and burned in the Chattahoochee River, just south of Columbus, Georgia.  During the Civil War Centennial the vessel's remains were relocated and the stern of the warship salvaged and preserved at the James W. Woodruff, Jr., Confederate Naval Museum  in Columbus.

In 1984, East Carolina University and the Naval Museum cosponsored an investigation designed to relocate the Chattahoochee, determine the amount of surviving hull structure, and assess the potential for additional research, recovery and exhibition.

--Old B-R'er

Some More on the CSS Chattahooche

From the June 6, 2023, Georgia Public Radio "Are sunken ships from the Civil War still lying in the Chattahoochee?  What a historian says"  by Kelby Hutchinson.

During the Battle of Columbus (Georgia) on April 16, 1865 (Lee had surrendered in Virginia on April 9), two Confederate warships were destroyed.  One was the ironclad CSS Jackson (also called the CSS Muscogee).  The other was the CSS Chattahoochee.

Part of the CSS Chattahoochee still remains at the bottom of its namesake river.  The bow end is still somewhere down below.  The National Civil War Naval Museum is in possession of the stern portion.  The ship was set on fire by its own crew to prevent it falling into enemy hands.

In 1984, East Carolina University and the Confederate Naval Museum (as the National Civil War Naval Museum was then known as) set out to locate the remains of the Chattahoochee, determine its condition and figure out its potential for research, recovery and exhibition.

That report in next post.

The CSS Chattahoochee, Certainly a Hard-Luck Ship.  --Old B-R'er

Confederate Navy Yard Saffold, Georgia-- Part 2

The 130-foot long CSS Chattahoochee was intended to be both a river boat and an ocean-going one.  It was Confederate hopes to sail it down the river and reopen the port of Apalachicola, Florida,  on the Gulf of Mexico.

However, the Chattahoochee turned out to be an unlucky ship.  One mishap after another befell her.

By far the worst took place on May 27, 1863, when her boilers exploded through crew error and inexperience.  Several were killed and others badly scalded.  This knocked the ship out of the rest of the war.

One of the guns on the ship was a IX-inch Dahlgren pivot gun.  The gun was lost and never recovered, even after the ship's hull was recovered near Fort Benning in 1963.

The Chattahoochee's hull is a part of a part of the Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus.  A replica was made of the IX-inch Dahlgren and has been loaned to the Early County Museum for display.

--Old B-R'er

The Confederate Navy Yard: Saffold, Georgia

From the January 2, 2024, Early County (Georgia) News  "The History of the Confederate Naval Yard" by Leah Taylor.

Confederate naval officers and John H. Warner selected this site because of its remote location and abundance of timber around it.  Another reason was that the landowner, David S. Johnson, was an avid Confederate.  He was chosen to run the shipyard.  This proved to be a poor choice because despite all the timber and a large work force of slaves, he had no experience with shipbuilding at all.

The deadline for building his warship, 120 days, came and went with no ship.  He gave in and began placing ads in local papers for experienced shipbuilders.  Eventually the ship was built and delivered ten months late, December 8, 1862.

That ship was the CSS Chattahoochee, taking its name from the river on which it was built.

--Old B-Runner