Pirates, Revolution and Ironclads, Georgia's Maritime Past-- Part 1

From the October 2, 2017, Connect (Ga,) Statesboro "Pirates, revolution and ironclads.  Exploring Georgia's maritime past" by Kenley Alligood.

Georgia has a long naval history going all the way back to the Spanish explorers in the 16th century.  And, Georgia was the only colony to pay King George III's Stamp Act as 60 ships sat idle at Savannah.

During the Revolutionary War several British warships sank off the Georgia coast including the HMS Defiance at the mouth of the Savannah River after a violent storm in 1780.

The William Scarbrough House, home of the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, was home to the owner of the Savannah, the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic.

--Old B-Runner

Charles William MacCord, Engineer on USS Monitor Construction

From the October 27, 2017, The Stute (Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey).

Robert Thurston was the first professor of Engineering at the school.  And Charles William MacCord was another early one.  He was one of the engineers on the USS Monitor, a ship that had a huge impact on naval architecture.

--Old B-Runner

MCCWRT Discussion Group Meets Saturday: Topic Joint Army-Navy Expeditions

This Saturday, October 28, 2017, the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group will meet at 10 a.m. at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois.  It is located at the intersection of US-14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street.

This is an oft-overlooked aspect of the Civil War so it should be quite interesting to see what people come up with to discuss.

--Old B-Runner

Meanwhile, At the Real CSS Neuse

Also taking place on Saturday, October 21, 2017, in Kinston, the CSS Neuse Interpretive Center is honoring the anniversary of the Confederate States Navy Department awarding the contract for the Neuse's construction to Howard and Ellis of New Bern for the construction of the ship.

The contract was signed October 17, 1862.

The Interpretive Center (where the actual hull of the CSS Neuse is located) has designated October 21 as "Shipbuilding Saturday" and admission to enter the center is free.

Paul Fontenoy will discuss shipbuilding techniques of the 19th century and Danny Nye will demonstrate how ship hulls were caulked.

Old B-R'er

Breakfast On the Boat: CSS Neuse II

From the Kinston (NC) Free Press  ":Breakfast on the boat will kick off fun-filled Saturday"  by Mike Parker.

In a cooperative effort between Mother Earth Brewing and the CSS Neuse II Foundation, a breakfast will be held on the full-size replica of the CSS Neuse on Saturday, October 21.

For $7 you get scrambled eggs, bacon, link sausage, grits, biscuits and drink.

It is one of the fundraisers for the CSS Neuse II Foundation to help pay for the insurance, costs, utilities and upkeep on the full-size replica, the only one of a Confederate ironclad in the United States.

The Neuse was the sister ship of the more famous CSS Albemarle.

--Old B-Runner

One Last Thing on the Capture of the Revere

The Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks says that a schooner named the Revere, nationality unknown, burned off Beaufort and sank on September 10, 1862.

Wonder What That Is All About.  --Old B-Runner

October 24, 1862: Mounted Sailors Fight Confederates in Arkansas

OCTOBER 24TH, 1862:  Sailors on horseback -- a landing party from the USS Baron De Kalb, Captain John A. Winslow,  debarked at Hopefield, Arkansas, to engage a small Confederate scouting party.

Mounting horses, which were procured, as Captain Winslow reported, "by impressement," the Baron De Kalb sailors engaged in a nine mile running fight which ended with the capture of the Confederate group.

I thought the Baron de Kalb's commander's name sounded familiar.  Winslow later commanded the USS Kearsarge when it sank the CSS Alabama.

--Old B-Runner

Capture of the Revere-- Part 6: Was It Running the Blockade?

The Revere was off course for a vessel sailing from Nassau to Baltimore as the captain claimed.

He had the captain, Henry Gage, open a package in his hold marked Harness which was found to contain soldier haversacks.  Another trunk was opened and found to contain shoes, thread, matches, tea, starch, stationery and other items worth of running the blockade.  These were all things getting scarce in the Confederacy at the time.

The captain even admitted that this was the second time he was captured.  The first time he spent seen months detained in New York.

Had he been in command of the Revere when it was captured in 1861?

Braine sent Acting master Brown in charge of a prize crew to New York for adjudication.

--Old B-Runner

Capture of the Revere-- Part 5: Too Many Coincidences To Believe Otherwise.

So, let's see, we have an English schooner in both instances.  And, it was based in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Could this be the same ship captured twice?   And both times in the process of making a run through the blockade and both times off the coast of North Carolina.

Did it get captured in 1861 and sold in prize court and then became a blockade runner again?

I'd say so.

Highly Probable.

But As They Say in the Infomercials, "But Wait, There's More."  --Old B-Runner

Capture of Blockade Runner Revere October 11, 1862-- Part 4

Report of Lt.-Cmdr. Daniel L. Braine, of the USS Monticello, on the capture of the English schooner Revere on Oct. 11, 1862.

Spotted a sail at 8 a.m. and gave chase for one and a half hours.  Captured the English schooner Revere, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, 25 days out of Nassau.

The captain and two mates claimed they had just come on board the ship the day she sailed and had no idea what the cargo was.

The cargo was suspicious:  800 sacks if salt, a 100 barrels of pork and other items needed in the Confederacy.

He found the name of the Revere on a list given of vessels intending to run the blockade.

Obviously Going to Run the Blockade.  --Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Revere-- Part 3: Report of the 1861 Capture

  Report of the September 10, 1861 capture.

Report of Cmdr. Parker, U.S. Navy, commanding the USS Cambridge.

"I have the honor to report that I have this day captured the English schooner Revere, of Yarmouth, from Beaufort bound to Key West laden with salt and herring and that I have ordered her to Boston, with an officer and prize crew in charge."

--Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Revere-- Part 2: Had Arrived in Halifax After Running Blockade

On August 3, 1861, it was reported from Halifax that the Revere had arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, after running the blockade off Beaufort, N.C..

Tracking the Revere.  --Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Revere: Was the 1862 One the Same One Captured in 1861?

Two posts ago,  I mentioned the USS Monticello capturing an English schooner named the Revere running the blockade off Frying Pan Shoals, N.C.

I looked up some more information and found that the USS Cambridge had captured an English schooner named the Revere off Beaufort, North Carolina, on September 10, 1862.

Could This Be the One and the Same?  --Old B-Runner

World War II Comes to Fort Fisher This Weekend-- Part 2

Military and civilian re-enactors will be at the site and will set up displays of the fort's World War II airstrip.

Three historians will discuss the role of Fort Fisher and Southeast North Carolina during the war.

Fort Fisher Assistant Site Manager John Mosely will discuss Fort Fisher's role and relate stories of training there.

Historian and author Cliff Tyndall will present Camp Davis and its appearance in a 1943 movie.  Camp Davis was a huge military training installation located a short distance north of Wilmington, B.C..

Krystal Lee, a historian and educator will present the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free to the public with the support of New Hanover County, Town of Carolina Beach, Town of Kure Beach and the Friends of Fort Fisher (to which I belong).

I'd Sure Love to Be There, But Will Be Out on Route 66.  --Old B-Runner

World War II Comes to Fort Fisher This Weekend-- Part 1

From the Friends of Fort Fisher Powder Magazine Fall 2017, newsletter  "Fort Fisher to host WW II program Oct. 14 to honor site's anti-aircraft training role."

Eighty years after the two attacks on the fort during the Civil War, the United States Army returned to Fort Fisher.  The fort was expanded to meet World War II training needs for anti-aircraft guns.  Thousands of soldiers trained there and many women (WASPs) flew planes pulling targets.

When the fort was closed at the end of 1944, the anti-aircraft base there covered 1,200 acres and the site had been changed forever.

Bunkers had been constructed (and the famous Fort Fisher Hermit lived in one by where the Fort Fisher Aquarium is located today) and several of the fort's traverses had been leveled for the airfield.

Those days will come alive this weekend.

--Old B-R'er

October 11, 1862: USS Monticello Captures Blockade Runner Revere

OCTOBER 11TH, 1862:  The USS Monticello, Lt. Cmdr. Braine, captured blockade running British schooner Revere off Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina.

Frying Pan Shoals is off the mouth of the Cape Fear River that goes to Wilmington, N.C..

--Old B-Runner

The Connection Between Elmira Prison and Fort Fisher

From the September 17, 2017, Elmira (NY) Star Gazette "Your Opinion:  Connection between Elmira and Kure Beach, N.C." by Tom Fagart.

What do Elmira, N.Y., and Kure Beach, N.C., have in common?  That would be Elmira Prison Camp and Fort Fisher. Plus, the two have two organizations: The Friends of Elmira Civil War Prison Camp and the Friends of Fort Fisher (to which I belong).

After Fort Fisher was captured January 15, 1865, 1,121 Confederate artillerymen were sent to Elmira Prison Camp, arriving January 30 and February 1, 1865.  The prison was knee deep in snow at the time.  The Confederates had neither coats or blankets.

Within five months, 518 of them had died and are buried in C Section of the Woodland National Cemetery.

The Friends of Elmira Civil War Prison are in the process of rebuilding the barracks, improving the grounds and even more importantly, preserving the history of it.

--Old B-Runner

Depot Key-- Part 7: A Storm and a Refuge

Not only did the rise of Tampa as a transportation hub hurt the Cedar Keys (and Depot Key, now named Atsena-Otie Key), but weather activity as well.

On September 29, 1896, a storm with 125 mph winds sent a 10-foot-high surge over the Cedar Keys, killing more than 100.  That essentially ended the town on Atsena Otie.

In 1929, President Herbert Hoover established the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge.

--Old B-Runner

Depot Key-- Part 6: After the Civil War

In 1865, Eberhard Faber built a saw mill on Atsena Otie Key for his pencils.  Then, the Eagle Pencil Company did likewise on Way Key.

The Town of Cedar Keys was incorporated in 1869.

Early in his career, naturalist John Muir walked 1,000 miles from Louisville, Kentucky to Cedar Key in just two months.  He caught malaria while working at a saw mill in Cedar Key, but recovered and went to Cuba in 1868.  He wrote about Cedar Key in his memoir, "A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf."

Starting in 1886, Tampa, with its better rail connections took shipping away from Cedar Key which started an economic decline.

--Old Cedar-Runner

Depot Key-- Part 5: In the Civil War

During the Civil War, Confederate agents extinguished the light at Seahorse Key and removed the sperm oil supply.

The USS Hatteras raided Cedar Keys in June 1862 and burned several ships laden with cotton and turpentine and then destroyed the railroad's rolling stock and buildings in Way Key,  Most of the Confederate troops who had been guarding the area had left for Fernandina because of an anticipated Federal attack on that place.

Cedar Key became an important source of salt for the Confederacy.  In October 1862, (see previous post) Union ships raided and destroyed 60 kettles on Salt Key capable of producing 150 bushels of salt a day.

Union forces occupied Cedar Key in 1864 and remained until the end of the war.

--Old B-Runner

Depot Key-- Part 4: Development and "Pencil" Mills

Several people received permits to settle Depot Key, Way Key and Scale Key.  Augustus Steele received a permit for Depot Key and renamed it Atsena Otie Key.  The City of Atsena Otie was chartered in 1859.  It became an important port for lumber and naval stores.

By 1850, there were two mills producing cedar "slats" for Northern pencil factories and Congress appropriated funds to build a lighthouse on Seahorse Key which was completed in 1854.

In 1860, Cedar Key became the western terminal of the Florida Rail Road connecting Fernandina on the east coast of the state.  David Levy Yulee, U.S. Senator and president of the Florida Rail Road acquired most of Way Key to house the railroad terminal facilities.

A town was platted for Way Key and the Parsons and Hale's General Store, still standing and now the Island Hotel, was built in the same year.

--Old B-R'er

Depot Key-- Part 3: End of the Second Seminole War and Open for Settlement

On October 4, 1842, a huge hurricane hit the Cedar Keys with a 27-foot surge that completely destroyed Cantonment Morgan and did much damage to Depot Key.

Colonel William J. Worth declared the Second Seminole War over in August 1842 and Depot Ket was abandoned.

In 1842, Congress enacted the Armed Occupation Act to increase white settlement in Florida as a way to force the Seminoles out.  With the military's abandonment of Depot Key, the Cedar Keys became available for settlement.

--Old B-Runner

Depot Key-- Part 2: The Second Seminole War

In 1840, General Walker Keith Armistead, who had succeeded Zachary Taylor in command of U.S. troops in the Second Seminole War, ordered the construction of a hospital on what became known as Depot Key (the place's name may reflect the establishment of a depot there by the Florida militia General Leigh Read.)

The primary U.S. Army depot in the Second Seminole War was at Palatka, Florida.  Depot Key was the headquarters of the U.S. Army in Florida, although the headquarters was wherever the commander was.

Cantonment Morgan was established on nearby Seahorse Key by 1841 and used a s a troop deployment station and holding station for Seminoles who had been captured, or who had surrendered, before they were sent west.

--Old B-Runner

Depot Key is Atsena Otie Key, Florida, Today-- Part 1: Second Seminole War

From Wikipedia.

In the last post I mentioned the Union attack on Confederate salt works at Depot Key in Florida.  Depot Key is now Atsena Otie Key and a part of the Cedar Keys area on the Gulf of Mexico southwest of Gainesville, near the state's panhandle in Levy County.  Population in 2010 was 702.

It is in a cluster of islands referred to as the Cedar Keys, the most developed one of which is Way Key.

It's being called Depot Key dates to the Second Seminole War.  During it, the U.S. Army established Fort No. 4 on the mainland by the Cedar Keys.  In 1840, General Zachary Taylor, commander of American troops in the war, requested that the Cedar Keys be reserved for military use for the duration of the war and that Seahorse Key permanently be reserved for a lighthouse.

--B-Runner

October 4, 1862: Attack on Salt Works at Depot Key, Fla.

OCTOBER 4TH, 1862:  The USS  Somerset, Lt-Cmdr. English, attacked Confederate salt works at Depot Key, Florida.  The landing party from the Somerset was augmented by a strong force from the USS Tahoma, Cmdr. John C. Howell, and the salt works were destroyed.

Salt at this time was among the most critical "strategic materials" in the Confederacy.

This action at Depot Key was one of the innumerable such landing and raiding operations all along the far-flung Confederate coastline which, often lacking dramatic appeal, nonetheless exacted ceaseless activity and untiring effort, and were instrumental in bringing the Confederacy to defeat.

--Old B-R'er

Lumbee Hero Subject of Panel Discussion

From the September 19, 2017, Robesonian.

Robeson County, North Carolina.

There will be a panel discussion on Henry Berry Lowrie put on by the UNC-Pembroke on Thursday.  Historian William McKee has written a book on Lowrie "To Die Game:  The Story of the Lowrie Band, Indian Guerrillas of the Reconstruction."

Another panel member, James Martinez of UNC-Pembroke wrote "Confederate Slave Impressment In the Upper South."  This covers the origins of the Lowrie War as Lumbee Indians were being forced to work on Fort Fisher.

Henry Berry Lowrie and his band left a deadly trail through Robeson County.

--Old B-Runner

Events in North Carolina, October 1862: Action Near Fort Caswell

OCTOBER--  Confederate saltworks at Bogue and Currituck Inlets destroyed.

OCTOBER 11--  Action at Cape Fear River.  Engagement with battery at Fort Caswell.

OCTOBER  21--Reconnaissance in New Topsail Inlet.  destruction of schooner Adelaide.

OCTOBER 22--  Capture of British brig Robert Bruce.

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 2--   Naval expedition to Hamilton

--Old B-Runner

Capture of Blockade Runner Sunbeam-- Part 4: Confusing Lights Seen

The Sunbeam was a bark rigged ship with much canvas and resembles an English gunboat "when first seen."  It is a sailing vessel with steam as an auxiliary and can speed along at 13 knots using canvas alone.

The crew said they spotted land last night but became confused by lights it saw which most likely were between the State of Georgia and the Mystic to the mail steamer Massachusetts which had arrived from New York.

Apparently, the Sunbeam threw over 3 guns.  Its cargo consisted of gun powder and army stores.

The letter was sent to the Honorable Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

--Old B-Runner

Capture of Blockade Runner Sunbeam on Sept. 28, 1862-- Part 3

Cmdr. Armstrong of the USS State of Georgia mentioned that the USS Mystic was present at the capture (important as this means the Mystic will receive a share of the prize money).

He was sending along the Sunbeam's logbook and all papers found on the ship (important for finding that the ship was running the blockade so subject to being sold).

There was a large number of persons on the Sunbeam.  They took off John Kidd, fireman; William Caldwell, fireman; Francis Pather, fireman and John McClelland, James Frazer and George Gregg, all seamen.  These six will be sent to New York as soon as possible..

They left on board the master, 2 mates, 2 passengers, 2 engineers and six crew members.

The master of the Sunbeam claims he ran in while in distress, but his choosing early daylight is a typical blockade runner ploy.  He was aware of his position and had steamed west by north and had gotten his fires up at 8 p.m. in preparation to run in.

--Old B-R'er

Capture of Blockade Runner Sunbeam, September 28, 1862-- Part 1

Letter from Cmdr. Armstrong of the USS State of Georgia to adjudication judge in New York City concerning the capture of the Sunbeam.  From ORN.

At daylight, a sail was seen near Smith's Island, a chase was given by the USS State of Georgia and USS Mystic.  The ship proved to be a steamer.  The U.S. colors were on the Union ships and the steamer had English colors.  The ship continued running in, even after a gun was fired to her leeward.

The steamer came within range of Fort Fisher's guns, which opened fire on the Union ships.

More shots fired and the Sunbeam was captured about a mile and a half from Fort Fisher.

The steamer proved to be the Sunbeam, which the U.S. consul in Liverpool had warned would try to run the blockade back on August 6 and that it would be carrying gunpowder and muskets for the Confederate government.

--Old B-R'er

About the Destruction of the Schooner Sept. 26 and Capture of the Sunbeam Sept. 28

On September 26, I wrote about the USS State of Georgia and USS Mystic chasing a blockade running schooner ashore near Fort Fisher and then in the last post, I wrote that the British steamer Sunbeam had also been captured in the area.

It turns out that the same two ships were also involved with the capture of the Sunbeam.

In the ORN, Cmdr. Armstrong of the USS State of Georgia reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles on the two actions.

The capture of the Sunbeam took place along with the USS Mystic.  The blockade runner was now being sent to New York in charge of Acting Master Charles Folsom and a prize crew for adjudication.

He also mentioned that on September 26th, a schooner had endeavored to run the blockade off New Inlet, had been chased ashore under the guns of a battery.  The Mystic and State of Georgia ran in and shelled the camp of the rebels and the battery and effectually destroyed the schooner.

But, No prize Money With the Schooner.  Too Bad.  --Old B-Runner