APRIL 19TH
A good day for the Charleston blockade as two blockade-runners captured carrying cotton while trying to slip out of the harbor.
APRIL 20TH
A joint Army-Navy attack captured a key Confederate position on the Nansemond River. Later that night, Confederates evacuate another key battery on the river and the attack on Suffolk, Virginia, was essentially over although there would be occasional skirmishes for the next two weeks.
Two of the Navy's rising stars, Lt. Cushing and Capt. Lamson, were cited for gallantry and meritorious service in the action.
Union ships reconnoiter down the Mississippi River from New Carthage to the Confederate stronghold at Grand Gulf in preparation for the Union attack. Confederates are seen rapidly fortifying the place. Porter wants to attack right away, but needs troops.
Union ships capture Fort Burton at Butte a la Rose, Louisiana. Third Assistant Engineer George W. Baird noted in his diary: "The fight was short, sharp and decisive. It was done after the style of Daddy Farragut: we rush in....We rushed right up to it and the four black vessels all firing made a savage appearance."
Admiral Porter examined the hulk of the USS Indianola, captured by the Confederates and later blown up and sunk below Vicksburg after the fake ironclad floated down past Vicksburg. Its hull and machinery seemed in good shape. Much of the iron casemate had been destroyed. Two guns were recovered and he thinks it could be raised and put into service again.
The CSS Oreto captured and bonded the Kate Dyer at sea, headed for Antwerp, Belgium.
A Lot Happening on the 20th. --Old B-Runner
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