Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Naval War in Real Time: Allocating the Cannons

APRIL 24, 1863, 150 Years Ago.

The Confederacy had to continually allocate and spread its limited number of troops and guns to fight off Union attacks from the sea.  This was shown in the exchange of letters between General Beauregard at Charleston and Secretary of War J.A. Seddon. 

This date, Beauregard wrote requesting Whitwort guns (long-range and extremely accurate), "one to place on Morris island, to cover at long range the bar and enable us to get guns off the Keokuk, also to keep the enemy from replacing buoys and surveying [the] bar, the other to place on Sullivan's Island to cover vessels running the blockade [which] frequently run ashore."

The next day, Seddon replied, "I regret to be unable to spare the guns for the object mentioned. The claims of Wilmington and the Mississippi are now paramount."

Well, If You Don't Ask...  You Won't Get.  --Old B-R'er

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