Saturday, December 24, 2016

155 Years Ago, December 24, 1861: Help With the Confederate Ironclads

DECEMBER 24TH, 1861:  The USS Gem of the Sea, Lt. Irvin B. Baxter, captured and destroyed the British blockade runner Prince of Wales off Georgetown, South Carolina.

**  Confederate Secretary of Navy Mallory wrote Major General Leonidas Polk, commanding troops at Columbus, Kentucky, requesting furlough of troops to assist in construction of ironclad gunboats at Memphis.

Mallory commented:  "One of them at Columbus would have enabled you to complete the annihilation of the enemy."

--Old B-Runner

No comments:

Post a Comment