December 30, 1864: Porter Demands Butler's Removal for Another Attack on Fort Fisher

DECEMBER 30TH, 1864:  Determined to take Wilmington  and close the South's last important harbor but dissatisfied with General Butler's leadership, Rear Admiral Porter strongly urged the general's removal  from command.

General Grant wrote Porter:  "Please hold on where you are  for a few days and I will endeavor to be back again with an increased force and without the former commander."

Ships of Porter's squadron kept up a steady bombardment of Fort Fisher to restrict the construction of new works and repair of the damaged faces of the fort.

--Old B-Runner

Talking About the CSS Richmond

From the December 27, 2019, Augusta Free Press "CSS Richmond steams into Pamplin Park."

Pamplin Historical  Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier will welcome speakers Bill Walldrop and Mike Nusbaum Thursday, January 2 at 7 p.m..  They will be speaking before the Petersburg Civil War Round Table about the Confederate ironclad CSS Richmond.

They are divers and underwater archaeologists who have explored the remains of shipwrecks from the American Revolution and Civil War.  Both faced risks while exploring the wreck of the CSS Richmond in the James River by Richmond.

Ironclads revolutionized naval warfare and the CSS Richmond followed the famous CSS Virginia as a Confederate warship.    It was designed by naval architect John L. Porter and was launched May 6, 1862, and immediately had to leave Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, for its namesake city, Richmond before Federal forces occupied that navy yard.

It was completed at Richmond and joined the Confederate Navy's James River Squadron where it saw action in 1864 and 1865.  The Union breakthrough at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, caused the evacuation of that city and Richmond.  The fate of the Richmond was sealed the next day when she and the other Confederate ships were burned and sunk to prevent capture.

The two speakers have an hour-long video on the internet about their efforts with the CSS Richmond.

I would sure like to be at this meeting.

Well Worth Watching.  --Old B-Runner

Dec. 23-24, 1864-- Part 2: Explosion of Powder Ship USS Louisiana

Fort Fisher and its garrison, however,  were not measurably affected, although the blast was heard many miles away.  In fact, Colonel Lamb, the fort's commander, wrote in his diary:  "A blockader got aground near the fort, set fire to herself, and blew up."

It remained for the massed gunfire from ships of Porter's huge fleet, the largest ever assembled up to that time under the American flag, to cover the landings of troops and reduce the fort.

On paper, the powder ship experiment seemed to be a good idea.  Porter certainly thought it might come to something as I believe I heard somewhere that he had his ships remove themselves quite a bit further out to sea from where they usually would have been stationed for fear of destruction.

But, I also have to wonder why he picked then to explode the ship when U.S. troops were not in the vicinity for a landing.  I'm thinking he was hoping that if the venture worked, he could get the credit for capturing Fort Fisher.

One Just Has To Wonder.  --Old B-Runner

December 23-24, 1864-- Part 1: Powder Ship USS Louisiana Blown Up Off Fort Fisher

DECEMBER 23-24TH, 1864:  After many days of delay because of heavy weather. the powder ship USS Louisiana, Commander Rhind, towed by the USS Wilderness late at night, was anchored and blown up 250 yards off Fort Fisher, North Carolina.

After Rhind and his gallant crew set the fuses and a backup fire at the stern, they escaped by small boats to the Wilderness.  Rear Admiral Porter and General Butler, who was awaiting in Beaufort, N.C., to land his troops the next morning and storm Fort Fisher, placed great hope in the exploding powder ship, hope that Dahlgren, as an ordnance expert, no doubt disdained its success.

The clock mechanism failed to ignite the powder at the appointed time, 1:18 am, and after agonizing minutes waiting, the fire set by Rhind  in the stern of the Louisiana reached the powder and a tremendous explosion occurred.

Big Boom!  --Old B-Runner

CSS Tallahassee-- Part 2: Built for Chinese Opium Trade, Became a Blockade Runner

From Wikipedia.

The CSS Tallahassee was a twin screw iron steamer  and cruiser in the Confederate Navy, purchased in 1864, and used for commerce raiding off the U.S. Atlantic coast.  She later operated under the name of CSS Olustee and CSS Chameleon.

It was named after the capital of Florida and was built on the River Thames by J & W Dudgeon of Cubitt Town , London, for London, Chatham & Dover Railway Co. to the design of T.E. Symonds, ostensibly for the China opium trade.

She was previously the blockade runner Atalanta and made the Dover-Calais English Channel crossing in 77 minutes on an even keel.  The ship made several runs between Bermuda and Wilmington, N.C., as the Atalanta before the Confederacy bought her.

I am unable to find any information on a blockade runner named Atalanta.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Tallahassee-- Part 1: Ship of Many Names and Careers

From Wikipedia.

The CSS Tallahassee was a twin screw steamer (blockade runner) and cruiser used in the Confederate Navy.

It originally was the blockade runner Atalanta and then purchased by the Confederate Navy and renamed the CSS Tallahassee and became a cruiser preying on Northern shipping.

Late it became the CSS Olustee and went for a crusier under Lt. William Henry Ward and lastly, became a blockade runner again, this time named CSS Chameleon.

Chameleon was definitely a good name for the ship.

--Old B-Runner

William Henry Ward, USN

As I mentioned earlier, William Henry Ward was in the U.S. Navy until the Civil War.

From the Naval Historical Center U.S. Navy & Marine Corps Officers 1775-1900.

Midshipman  17 February 1849

Passed Midshipman   12 June 1855

Master  16 September 1855

Lieutenant  9 September 1856

Dismissed 16 July 1861

I was unable to learn anything more about his U.S. Navy service.

After this, he joined the Confederate Navy.

--Old B-Runner

December 16-17, 1864: Torpedoes Deactivated at New Inlet, N.C.in Preparation for Fort Fisher Attack

DECEMBER 16TH-17TH, 1864:    Acting Master Charles A. Pettit,  USS Monticello, performed a dangerous reconnaissance  off New Inlet, North Carolina,  removing several Confederate torpedoes and their firing apparatus near the base of Fort Caswell.

Pettit's expedition  was part of the Union navy's extensive preparations for the bombardment and assault on Fort Fisher and the defenses of Wilmington, planned for late December.

I believe this should have been listed as being at Fort Fisher which is by New Inlet.  Fort Caswell is by Old Inlet.

--Old B-Runner

William Henry Ward Grave

From CS Navy.org. 

His grave is located in Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina.

Sadly, in an unmarked grave  Lot 31,  Square 36.

Service:

CSS Louisiana
Ponchartrain
Richmond
CSS Palmetto State
CSS Tallahassee
CSS Chickamauga

Died 17 April 1920

--Old B-Runner

William Henry Ward-- Part 4: After the War Served in Egypt

In the service of the Khedive of Egypt, 870, as lieutenant colonel of Marines, on a pay rate of 1,066 francs.

Served in the Egyptian Army for nearly ten years.

Returned to the United States about 1882

Died at Norfolk, Virginia,  April 15, 1892.

--Old B-Runner

William Henry Ward, CSN-- Part 3: A Prisoner Three Times

Ward's vessel, the CSS Chickamauga was destroyed after the capture of Fort Fisher as an obstruction in the Cape Fear River.

After that, he returned to the Richmond Station once more and took command of the guns below Drewry's Bluff.

He was captured during the Confederate retreat at the Battle of Saylor's Creek, Virginia, on April 6, 1865 and sent to Johnson's Island, Ohio, and released after taking the Oath of Allegiance.

But. His Service Wasn't Over.  --Old B-Runner

William Henry Ward, CSN-- Part 2 Ironclad and Cruiser Duty

Captured at New Orleans in April 1862 and sent to Fort Warren as a prisoner for the second time in two years.

Exchanged after two months and proceeded to the Richmond Station for service aboard the CSS Richmond.

Applied for more active service and sent to Charleston Station to report for duty on the CSS Palmetto State in 1863.

Returned to the Richmond Station and shortly afterwards was sent to the Wilmington Station.

Next served as executive officer under Lt. John Taylor Wood on the cruiser CSS Tallahassee in 1864.

Subsequently transferred to the command of the cruiser CSS Chickamauga, December 1864.

--Old B-Runner

December 11, 1864: Confederates Have a New Secret Weapon

DECEMBER 11TH, 1864:  Commander George H. Preble, commanding the Naval Brigade fighting ashore with the forces of Major General Foster up the Broad River, South Carolina, reported to Rear Admiral Dahlgren concerning a unique "explosive ball" used by the Confederate forces against his skirmishers.

"It is a conical ball in shape, like an ordinary rifle bullet.  The pointed end is charged with fulminate.  The base of the ball separates from the conical end, and has a leaden  standard or plunger.  The explosion of the charge drives the base up, so as to flatten a thin disk of metal between it and the ball, the leaden plunger is driven against the fulminate, and it explodes the ball....

"It seems to me that the use of such a missile is an unnecessary addition to the barbarities of war."

Quite a confusing explanation but sure sounds like something to avoid.

--Old B-Runner

William Henry Ward, CSN-- Part 1: Former U.S. Navy Officer, Two-Time Prisoner at Fort Warren

In my October 29 post I wrote that he was in command of the CSS Olustee (CSS Tallahassee) when he eluded blockaders off Wilmington, N.C. and went on a commerce destroying mission along the Atlantic coast.

From the North Carolina Civil War Sailors Project site.

In 1861, resided in Norfolk, Virginia.    He had previous service in the U.S. Navy and was arrested for disloyalty and sent to Fort Fort Lafayette, New York August 31, 1861, and then to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, until paroled and exchanged in January 1862.

An official Navy document has him being appointed as an acting sailing master in the Confederate Navy on October 21, 1861, at Tallahassee, Florida,  and was ordered to report to New Orleans  and report to Captain George N. Hollins for duty.

Served aboard the CSS Louisiana and appointed lieutenant March 13, 1862.  He was captured on the Mississippi River April 1862 and sent as a prisoner to Fort Warren again.

Same Old, Same Old.  --Old B-R'er

Butler's Powder Ship, the USS Louisiana- Part 6: Explosion Was a Failure, But Fort Fisher Later Captured

In the last post on Dec. 6, we saw that the explosion of the gun powder-laden USS Louisiana did not have the hoped for result of literally knocking the huge Confederate Fort Fisher down.  No damage was done, other than at least some of the garrison being awakened.

Later that day, the huge Union fleet, the largest collection of American warships ever assembled up until that time, opened the largest-ever bombardment on the fort which continued for two days before the attack on the fort was aborted.

Three weeks later, the fleet returned and another huge three-day bombardment ensued before Union army troops captured the fort.

In 1994, state underwater archaeologists and students from East Carolina University conducted a survey off  Fort Fisher .  Many Civil War wrecks were mapped, but none of those remains could be associated with the Louisiana.

--Old B-Runner

Marine Corps Honors Oldest Pearl Harbor Survivor John Campbell, 99, in Solana Beach, California

From December 6, CBS 8 News.

A Pearl Harbor Day luncheon commemoration was held at the La Vida retirement home.

He knows he is one of the few surviving members of that day still alive and that number gets smaller every year.  The exact number of survivors is not known, but the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper estimates the number at seven.  I imagine that number is how many in the San Diego area.

"It was a Sunday morning," Mr. Campbell said.  "It's a mystery, all day and all night.  What is this?  What happened?  What is going on?  But we knew they were real bullets.  One guy on each side of me got wounded."

He has written a memoir "The Campbells Are Coming."

--GreGen

Pearl Harbor Commemoration to Continue, Despite Death of Last Survivor in Inland Northwest

From the December 6, 2019, Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) "Pearl Harbor commemoration to continue in Inland Northwest despite deaths of aging survivors" by Kip Hill.

The death of Ray Garland, 96, the last surviving survivor in April this year will not stop the commemoration of the event.

The Lilac City Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association living in the Spokane  and north Idaho area once numbered near 100 members.  They would travel to schools, churches, bookstores to talk about their experiences.

For years, Vina Mikkelsen, 88, has been organizing these commemorations on behalf of her husband Denis, a U.S. navy radioman at Pearl Harbor on the USS West Virginia, who died in 2013.

And They Go On.  --GreGen

It's a Christmas Open House at the Fort: Fort Fisher

From the Friends of Fort Fisher.

This Saturday, December 7 (don't forget Pearl Harbor day.) at the fort.


10 a.m. to 3p.m.

9 a.m.--  Visitors Center opens.
10 a.m.--  Make and take an ornament--  kids craft

10 a.m.--  Music and story telling with John Golden.
11:30 a.m.--  Cannon firing

12 noon--  Music by Masonboro Quintet
1 p.m.--  Cannon firing

1:30 p.m.--  Fort Fisher Assistant Site Manager John Mosely will present the history of Santa Claus.
2:30--  Cannon firing

All Day--  Discounts and specials in the gift shop.  EVERYTHING'S on SALE!!!

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.--  Refreshments courtesy of the Fort Fisher United Daughters of the Confederacy.

As usual, too far away for me to attend.

--Old B-Runner

Butler's Powder Ship, the USS Louisiana-- Part 5: The Effort to Blow Up

Once off Fort Fisher, the USS Wilderness took up the tow .

Commander Alexander Rhind and a volunteer crew prepared to attack.  The Wilderness towed the Louisiana toward Fort Fisher, but were turned back by heavy swells.  Worsening weather caused the attack fleet to be unable to leave Beaufort so the first attack was called off.

The final attempt was made December 23, 1864, when the Wilderness brought the Louisiana in as close as it could to Fort Fisher late in the evening.  The Louisiana had been set up with a series of fuses to explode her, but, just in case, Rhind and his men set a fire aft, then escaped in small boats to the Wilderness.

Then came an anxious wait until 1:18 24 December, when the fuses were set to blow.  The effort had failed.  But wait!!!  The small fire they had set aft managed to burn its way fore to the powder and the Louisiana finally blew up.

Unfortunately, the whole effort failed.  No damage was done to the fort, where the garrison thought a blockade runner had run aground and blown up.


--A Failure, But a Good Idea.  --Old B-Runner

Butler's Powdership, the USS Louisiana-- Part 4: "Blowing Up" Fort Fisher

With the impending fall of Charleston, S.C., Wilmington, N.C. became the port to which foreign weapons and trade could proceed and it became the target of General Butler and Admiral Porter.  They had a plan to try to blow up a ship full of explosives with enough force to knock the bug sand fort over.

Wilmington was guarded by the huge sand fort named Fort Fisher.

O 26 November 1864, contrary to the beliefs from naval ordnance experts that it wouldn't work, the USS Louisiana was designated as the ship to carry all that powder and in early December, she proceeded to Hampton Roads  to be partially stripped and made to look like a blockade runner and then was laden with explosives.

She left Hampton Roads on December 13, towed by the USS Sassacus and went to Beaufort, N.C.,  where the loading of powder was completed and five days later, arrived off Fort Fisher.

--Old B-Runner

December 3, 1864: Defending Savannah

DECEMBER 3RD, 1864:  As Union pressure on Savannah increased, the Confederate squadron under Captain W.W. Hunter, CSN, played an increasing role in the defense of the city and the important railway above it.

This date, Hunter wrote Lieutenant Joel S. Kennard, CSS Macon:  "The Charleston and Savannah Railway bridge at Savannah River is a very important point to defend, and, should it become necessary, endeavor to be in position there to defend it.

"In order to do so, and also to patrol the Savannah River, watch carefully the state of the river, and to not be caught aground or be cut off from the position at the bridge."

--Old B-Runner

Butler's Steamship Greyhound: The End

Admiral Porter described the Greyhound in his memoirs as deserving "her name, for she was a long, lean-looking craft and the fastest steamer on the river."

But it was not the fastest steamer for much longer.

Porter continued in his memoirs and wrote about her last voyage, a few miles below Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, "a torpedo" blew out the engine room and set the ship afire, the admiral, general, their staffs and crew  barely escaping as the Greyhound was "wrapped in flames from one end to another" in a final"grand spectacle."

Some Southern saboteurs had planted one or more torpedoes in the bunkers disguised as chunks of coal, which the stokers dutifully shoveled into the fires.

Very Sneaky.  --Old B-Runner

Butler's Steamer Greyhound, the Belle, "Captain Henry" and the Admiral

The USS Connecticut's crew also recognized "Captain Henry"as being a former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, now lieutenant in the Confederate Navy, George Henry Bier.

The Connecticut sent the Greyhound to Boston with a prize crew under the command of Acting Ensign Samuel Harding, Jr., USN.  However, Lt. Biel was able to get Harding tohelp him escape from Boston to Canada.  For this, Harding was dismissed from the Navy in disgrace, but was later able to get to England where he married Belle Boyd.  (Makes you wonder about this arrangement.)

The Greyhound and its cargo was assessed at $484,000 in prize money which no doubt pleased the Connecticut's crew.  That was a lot of prize money.

Some sources believe that this was the ship that became General Butler's headquarters on the James River in late fall 1864.  On her, Butler visited Admiral Porter at Dutch Gap.  The Greyhound was faster than the admiral's USS Malvern at the time and they went to Fortress Monroe to consult with Assistant Secretary Gustavus V. Fox.

--Old B-Runner

Was Butler's Greyhound Steamer a Former Confederate Blockade Runner or a Different Ship?

There seems to be some confusion as to whether ship this was Butler's headquarters.

From the Naval History and Heritage Command.

GREYHOUND  (Scstmr)  Screw Steamer.

The Greyhound was a three-masted propeller known as a "fast sailor" and noticeable on account of her red streak painted  along her light lead-colored hull; she was built in Liverpool in 1863.  Whether Henry Lafone, Confederate agent in Nassau, managed her for the government or owned part of her is not known, but it is known that she did carry cargo for the Confederate government. and is assumed to have acted as a public vessel.

She left Liverpool for the Confederacy on 5 January 864 on her maiden voyage and .  Commanded by "Captain Henry", actually Lt. George Henry Bier, CSN, on 9 May 1864, she ran out of Wilmington, N.C. with 820 bales of cotton, 35 tons of tobacco and 25 casks of turpentine , presumably to pay for more Confederate ships of her type being built in Britain.

She was captured the next day by the USS Connecticut and became celebrated because one of its passengers was a mysterious "Mrs. Lewis." She turned out to be the famed Confederate spy Belle Boys and her servant.

Quite the Catch of the Day.  --Old B-Runner

Nov. 27, 1864: A Coal Torpedo Destroys Butler's Headquarters-- Part 2

As Admiral Porter later described the incident:  "We had left Bermuda Hundred five or six miles behind us when suddenly an explosion forward startled us, and in a moment large volumes of smoke poured out of the out of the engine-room."

The admiral went on to marvel at the ingenuity which nearly cost him his wife:  "In devices for blowing up vessels the Confederates were far ahead of us, putting Yankee ingenuity to shame."

This device was suspected of being the cause of several unexplained explosions during the war.

--Old B-Runner

November 27, 1864: Explosion and Fire Destroys General Butler's Headquarters Steamer Greyhound-- Part 1

NOVEMBER 27TH, 1864:  An explosion and fire destroyed General Butler's headquarters steamer Greyhound, on the James River, Virginia, and narrowly missed killing Butler, Major General Schenck and Rear Admiral Porter who were on board for a conference on the the upcoming Fort Fisher expedition.

Because of the nature of the explosion, it is likely that one of the deadly Confederate coal torpedoes was responsible and had been planted in the Greyhound's boiler.

"The furnace door blew open," recalled Butler, "and scattered coals throughout the room."

The so-called "coal torpedo" was a finely turned piece of cast iron containing ten pounds of powder and made  to closely resemble a lump of coal, and was capable of being used with devastating effect.

--Old B-Runer

USS Louisiana-- Part 3: More Action in North Carolina

The commander of Union troops in the area, Major General John G. Foster reported that the ship "had rendered most efficient aid, throwing her shells with great precision, and clearing the streets, through which her guns had range."

She captured the schooner Alice L. Webb at Rose Bay, North Carolina, 5 November 1862,, and then joined the Army-Navy expedition which captured Greenville, North Carolina,  four days later.

On 20 may 1863, one of the Louisiana's boat crews under Acting Master's Mate Charles W. Fisher, captured a still-unrigged schooner in the Tar River, south of Washington, N.C.  The prize was named for the Louisiana's commander, Richard T. Renshaw and taken into the Navy as an ordnance hulk.

Then came  service the Louisiana was probably the most noted for, when she became Gen. Butler's famed "Powder Boat."

--Old B-Runner

USS Louisiana-- Part 2: Action in Virginia and North Carolina

On 13 September 1861, the Louisiana and USS Savannah engaged the CSS Patrick Henry off Newport News, Virginia, but shot from both sides fell short.  Two of the Louisiana's boats destroyed a schooner fitting out as a privateer in the battle of Cockle Creek near Chincoteague Inlet 5 October and two days later she captured he schooner S.T. Carrison with a cargo of wood ear Wallops Island.

Chincoteague Island  was lost to the Confederacy as a base on 14 October when Lt. Arthur  Murray of the Louisiana witnessed the Oath of Allegiance to the United States to citizens of the island.  The Louisiana's boats later surprised and burned three Confederate boats at Chincoteague Inlet 28 and 29 October.

SERVICE IN NORTH CAROLINA

On 2 January 1862, the ship was ordered to Hatteras Inlet to participate in the attacks on the Carolina Sounds.  For the next three years, she patrolled, supported Army troops and made many raids along the sounds and rivers flowing into them.

--Old B-Runner

The USS Louisiana's Navy Service-- Part 1: Civilian Ship Acquired By U.S. Navy

From Wikipedia.

I wrote about this ship being ordered November 20, 1864, to report to Beaufort, N.C., and then to Hampton Roads for conversion into Butler's Powder Ship for use in blowing up Fort Fisher, North Carolina.  I was always under the opinion the Louisiana was an older ship.  It wasn't.

It was built by Harlan and Hollingsworth, in 1860, in Wilmington, Delaware.  Its first owners were S. & J.M. Flanagan of Philadelphia.  Acquired by U.S. Navy at Philadelphia on 10 July 1861 and commissioned in August 1861 with Lieutenant Arthur Murray in command.

Steamer, 295 tons, 143.2 feet long, 27.3 beam, , 85 complement, armament: one 18-pdr. smoothbore Dahlgren, one 32-pdr. gun, one 12-pdr. Dahlgren rifle.

Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and until January 1862, it operated along the Virginia coast.  It also participated in the Battle of Roanoke Island on February 7-8, 1862 and the Battle of Elizabeth City on Feb. 10.

--Old B-Runner

November 20, 1864: USS Louisiana to Become the Fort Fisher Powder Vessel

NOVEMBER 20TH, 1864:  Rear Admiral Porter directed Commander Macomb to send the USS Louisiana to Beaufort, North Carolina.  The Louisiana was to become the powder ship with which Admiral Porter and General Butler hoped to level Fort Fisher and obviate the necessity of direct attack.

Early in December she was taken to Hampton Roads, where she was partially stripped and loaded with explosives.

They made the Louisiana look more like a blockade runner to cover its real intention while getting up as close as possible to the fort before exploding.

--Old B-Runner

USS Hendrick Hudson-- Part 2: Duty Off St. George's Sound

The CSS Florida blockade runner was captured by the USS Pursuit while attempting to run the blockade at St. Andrews Bay, Florida (present day Panama City) 6 April 1862.  Taken to Philadelphia Navy Yard for adjudication, where she was condemned and purchased by the U.S. Navy Department from the prize court on 30 December  1862 in Philadelphia.  Commander was Acting Master John E. Giddings.

The ship was assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, and 3 January 1863, arrived and proceeded to her station off East Pass, St. George's Sound, Florida.  On station by February 1st, the Hudson began her many long arduous months of tedious blockade duty working to seal off the many small inlets and passes along Florida's west coast.

The Hendrick Hudson remained off St.George's Sound until August 1863, capturing the schooner Margaret on Feb. 1 and schooner Teresa on April 16.

After that, she went to Boston for repairs and refitting.  On return, she took up a new station  off the mouth of the Suwanee River, Florida, on December 28.

--Old B-Runner

USS Hendrick Hudson (former Blockade Runner CSS Florida)-- Part 1: Built in New York

From Wikipedia.

Earlier this week, I wrote about this ship and the USS Nita making a recon mission into Tampa Bay, Florida on November 12, 1864, and failing to destroy a Confederate salt work.

USS HENDRICK HUDSON

Was a schooner-rigged screw steamer:  460 tons, 171 feet long, 29.11 foot beam, , 11 knots, armament: four 8-inch guns, two 20-pounder cannons.

It was built as the Florida in Greenpoint, New York, in 1859.    Taken into CSN service in 1862 as the CSS Florida.  Not to be confused with the Confederate raider CSS Florida.

--Old B-Runner

USS Nita-- Part 2: Three Prizes and the Salt Works

On the morning of February 24, 1864, Lt. Smith, who had been alerted by Union agents in Cuba, spotted the steamer Nan Nan, loaded with cotton attempting to slip out to sea from the Suwanee River.  The Nita gave immediate chase, running aground twice in the shallow waters, but forced the Nan Nan to throw her cotton overboard.

It ran ashore and was burned by her crew.

The Nita's next prize was on 11 April when she  captured the schooner Three Brothers at the mouth of the Homosassa River after a chase of three hours.  The Three Brothers had been attempting to slip into the river carrying supplies from Havana.

The third and final ship the Nita captured was 24 October when two of her boats boarded the abandoned and burning schooner Unknown in Clearwater Harbor.  They were able to put the fire out and took it to Key West for adjudication.

On 12 November, the Nita and USS Hendrick Hudson steamed into Tampa Bay and made a reconnaissance  and landed a party of sailors at Rocky Point to destroy a Confederate salt works, but were driven off by Southern cavalry.  On 3 December, the Nita and four other Union ships returned and destroyed the salt works.

In 1865, the Nita continued patrolling west Florida's coast  until decommissioned in Key West 3 May 1865 and sold at public auction.

The History of a Lesser-Known Ship.  --Old B-Runner

USS Nita-- Part 1: Former Blockade Runner

Yesterday, I wrote about this ship and the USS Hendrick Hudson attacking a Confederate salt work near Tampa, Florida.

From Wikipedia.

The USS Nita was a captured Confederate steamer built in Mobile, Alabama in 1856 and captured carrying food and medicine from Havana.

It was 210 tons, 145 feet long, 22.4 foot beam, with 5 foot draft which made it a good choice for operating in shallow water.  Crew of 46 with armament of one  12-pounder howitzer and two 12-pounder smoothbores.

After being condemned in prize court, the U.S. Navy bought her  10 September 1863. and commissioned 8 January 1864, with Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Robert B. Smith in command.  It was assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and operated for the remainder of the war primarily between the mouth of the Suwanee River and the Anclote Keys.

--Old B-Runner

November 12, 1864: Attempt to Destroy Salt Works in Florida Fails

From the Civil War Naval Chronology.

NOVEMBER 12, 1864:  A boat expedition from the USS Hendrick Hudson, Acting Lieutenant Charles H. Rockwell, and USS Nita, Acting Lieutenant Robert B. Smith, attempted to destroy Confederate  salt works while on a reconnaissance near Tamp Bay, Florida, but the sailors were driven back to their boats by Southern cavalry.

--Old B-Runner

In Honor of Veterans Day: My Experience at the USS Constitution

The last two days I have been writing about five places you can visit to appreciate the service of our veterans in my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog.

One of them was the USS Constitution and I visited it, well went to it, but did not board it.

We were on a trip along the New England Coast from Boston through Maine and decided to go to this historic ship and tour it.  That is one beautiful ship.  All that rigging and tall masts.  We are fortunate that this ship was preserved for future generations.  And, I especially like the fact that it is still manned by active duty Navy personnel and is the oldest still-commissioned warship in the world, still capable of sailing under its own power.

And, it was still commissioned during the Civil War.

Sadly, however, the line was way too long and we just enjoyed looking at it.

Maybe, another time.

So, I Didn't Get To Go On It, But Saw It.  Beautiful Ship.  --Old B-Runner

N.C. Timeline, November 1864: Reoccupying Washington, N.C. and Blockade Runner Escapes Into Wilmington

NOVEMBER:    Federal re-occupation of Washington, North Carolina.

NOVEMBER 23--  Entrance of blockade runner Little Hattie into New Inlet.

--Old B-Runner

Arthur Sinclair, CSN-- Part 2: Former Officer in U.S. Navy

Arthur Sinclair, CSN, lost his life when the blockade runner Lelia sank off Liverpool on her maiden voyage to Nassau and before running the blockade into Wilmington, North Carolina.  I have been writing about the unfortunate sinking of this ship in this blog.

From Find a Grave.

Arthur Sinclair was an officer in the U.S. Navy before resigning to join the Confederate Navy.  He joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 13 on 4 March 1823 as a midshipman.  His commission as a lieutenant came on  3 March 1835 and commander on 14 September 1855.

He was involved in the expedition of Japan (under Commodore Matthew Perry) which tried to open the country;s ports to American commerce.  He commanded the USS Supply which carried gifts to the Japanese in friendship and to show what American industry could produce.

--Old B-Runner

CDR. Arthur Sinclair, CSN-- Part 1: His Father Was a U.S. Navy Officer 1798-1831

From Find-A-Grave.

Birth:  29 November 1810 in Norfolk, Virginia

Death:  14 January 1865 in Fylde Burrough Lancashire, England

Buried:  Fleetwood Cemetery, Wyre Burrough, Lancashire, England

********************************

His father was Arthur Sinclair,  Commodore, U.S. Navy.

Born:  28 February 1780,  Mecklenburg County, Virginia

Died:  7 February 1831, Norfolk, Virginia

Buried:  Cedar Grove Cenglemetery, Norfolk, Virginia.

Entered U,S, Navy service as a midshipman on November 15, 1798.  became captain on July 28, 1813.

Served in the Quasi War with France, the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.

--Old B-R'er

The Blockade Runner Lelia That Didn't-- Part 6: Sinclair's Burial

Richard Taylor added that Federal forces had since occupied Norfolk, Virginia, and had  "ejected Mrs. Sinclair and her family from their home with great barbarity."

Captain Sinclair had lost his previous ship near Bermuda in 1864 before his voyage on the ill-fated Lelia and was said by Taylor to have been at the siege of Vicksburg.  His funeral took place on third June 1865 in Fleetwood and was attended by his two sons, Arthur Jnr and Terry.

His gravestone bears the inscription, "Sacred to the memory of Captain Arthur Sinclair of Norfolk Virginia who perished in the wreck of the Lelia--  January 14th, 1865.  Not lost but gone before."

In addition to Sinclair, Thomas Miller, Captain Skinner, Mr. Robson, J.B. Cropper an all the officers of the Lelia drowned--  only 12 were saved.

At the subsequent inquiry,  it was recorded that the Lelia was a well found ship but the fact that her four boats were without oarlocks contributed to the large loss of life..

--Old B-Runner

The Blockade Runner Lelia That Didn't-- Part 5" "Profits From His Exploits"

Continued from  the October 18, 2019, blog entry.  This from "When Liverpool was Dixie:The Sad Voyage of the Lelia The Blockade Runner that didn't."

An inquest as to the cause of the sinking was held at Fleetwood on June 2, 1865 at the Steamer Hotel.

In attendance were Richard Taylor, former Paymaster of the CSS Florida, the Confederate warship built at Millers yard.  Taylor was living in Liverpool at the time, following his release by federal authorities after being captured on board the Florida  when she was rammed in the port of Bahia, Brazil -- a violation of International Law.

He informed the committee that he identified the body for the police from the watch, clothing and accompanying documents that related to a 1300 pound deposit with Crenshaw and Company of Liverpool.

In a subsequent interview with a reporter of the Fleetwood Chronicle, Taylor said that Sinclair had left instructions, in the event of his death or capture, that 100 pounds be paid from this sum to each of his sons, the remainder to his wife.

According to Taylor, Sinclair had run the blockade successfully from Nassau to Wilmington on several occasions and this deposit was  presumably  profits from his exploits.

--Old B-Runner

November 5, 1864: Cushing the Gallant

NOVEMBER 5TH, 1864:  In general order No. 34 to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Rear Admiral Porter wrote:  "The gallant exploits of Lieutenant Cushing previous to this affair will form a bright page in the history of the war, but they have all been eclipsed by the destruction of the Albemarle.

"The spirit evinced by this officer is what I wish to see pervading this squadron....Opportunity will be offered to all those who have the energy and skill to undertake like enterprises."

He's So Proud of Cushing.  --Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Annie-- Part 2: Facing the Hurricane

"I made a second voyage through the blockade in the Annie, passing within a cable length of two of the Federal fleet, who failed to observe us.

We again loaded the Annie in Nassau and cleared for Wilmington, but fell in with a hurricane shortly afterwards and were obliged to heave to for about forty hours, during which we lost our reckoning, and failing to get observations for three days, waited until the gale subsided and then anchored the ship in smooth water, by kedge, until the captain succeeded in getting an observation of the North Star, by which he worked out his position, we then shaped our course straight for the blockade fleet off Fort Fisher.

At that time, and subsequently, it was the custom for the Flag Ship of the blockading squadron to carry a large light, and, this being the only one visible, served the purpose of guiding the blockade runners until they get the bearing of the Mound Light...."

This was his last voyage on the Annie.

Thanks Blockaders, For That Light.--Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Annie-- Part 1

This ship had quite an active October 1864, when it was almost captured running into Wilmington and captured at the end of the month on its way out of that port.  This was the ship the USS Aster was chasing when it ran aground and was lost, that the USS Berberry was trying to pull off when it to ran aground before being rescued by the USS Niphon.  I have been writing about these ships the last several weeks.

On October 31, 1864, the Annie was captured by the USS Niphon and Wilderness.

The following pilot shipped aboard the Annie several times through the blockade at Wilmington.

From James William Craig, A Veteran Cape Fear River Pilot."

After successfully piloting several runners into and out of Wilmington, he was ordered to go to Nassau in the blockade runner Fanny, (former Orion), and report to Captain Watters in the blockade runner Annie.

"I remember we left [Wilmington] in the Fanny on a Saturday night and arrived in Nassau before daylight of Tuesday morning, where I found the Annie loaded and ready for sea and waiting for me.  We accordingly left about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and arrived without incident inside the Cape Fear Bar on the Friday night following."

More Adventures in the Annie Next.  --Old B-Runner

USS Berberry-- Part 5: Continued Operations in North Carolina Waters

Repairs were finished by November 1864 and the Berberry departed Norfolk on the 23rd and headed back to the waters off New Inlet, arriving ion the 26th.  That night her guns persuaded a blockade runner to give up its attempt to escape to sea.

Early in December, illness forced Ensign Milton Griffith (who had commanded the Berberry ever since commissioning) to request relief and Ensign Robert W. Browntree took command of the tug on December 4.    On the 10th, a bad storm forced the Berberry to Beaufort, N.C. for repairs.

Mid-month, the ship was in the Sounds of N.C. where she served the rest of the year.

On January 3, 1865, Acting Ensign Peter C. Asserson took command and returned to blockade duty off New Inlet.   She operated there until February 26.  She then returned to Beaufort and operated in the sounds until the collapse of the Confederacy.

On 29 May, it left N.C. waters and returned to Hampton Roads the following day. Then on to New York where she was decommissioned at New York Navy Yard on June 10 and sold at public auction two days later.

She was redocumented as the tug Rescue and  served through the turn of the century before being purchase by a foreign interest in 1902.

Quite a Busy Service.  --Old B-Runner

USS Berberry-- Part 4: The USS Niphon Rescues the Stricken Berberry

As she moved away from the stricken Aster, the Berberry ran across the hawser that had been used in the attempt to draw the ship off the shoals and it got all tangled in the propellers.  The Berberry's commander then had his men raise all the awnings, blankets and other large pieces of cloth as jury-rigged  "sails to drift the Berberry off shore."  meanwhile, he burned Costan signal lights to call for help.

When the USS Niphon saw the lights it had been preparing to launch boats to board the stranded blockade runner Annie that the Aster had been chasing.  They immediately abandoned that project and  and headed for the Berberry to lend aid.

About this time, the Aster burst into flame, illuminating both Union ships and Confederate batteries opened fire on them.  Despite this, the Niphon was able to pull the Berberry off.  The berberry was leaking so badly, however, that she had to go to Norfolk for repairs.

--Old B-Runner

USS Berberry-- Part 3: Aiding the Stranded USS Aster

Shortly after midnight on October 8, 1864, while the Berberry was on station northeast of the Mound Light (at Fort Fisher's Mound Battery), observers reported an approaching boat.  The Berberry hailed the stranger and ordered her alongside.  She proved to be from the USS Aster, another tug on blockade duty, that had run aground on the Carolina Shoals while chasing a blockade runner attempting to enter New Inlet.

Assistance was requested.

The Berberry quickly steamed to the Aster, near New Inlet.  She took a hawser from the Aster and attempted to pull her free.  However, the hawser parted and the Aster was still stuck.  Several more attempts were made before the falling tide halted the effort.

The Berberry then attempted to go alongside the Aster to take off her crew and it took some twenty minutes of difficult maneuvering  to work into a suitable position.  She took all on board except the captain, executive officer and pilot who remained on board  to destroy the vessel if it looked like it was going to fall into Confederate hands.

During this operation, the Berberry thumped "...heavily on the bottom."

And Then?  --Old B-Runner

Future USS Delaware (SSN-791) Accepted By U.S. Navy

From the Oct. 29, 2019, Maritime Executive "Future USS Delaware delivered to the U.S. Navy."

It is the Navy's 18th Virginia-Class nuclear submarine.  Construction on it began in 2013 and it is scheduled for commissioning April 4, 2020.  This is the last of what is called the Block II Virginia-Class submarines.  It is the last of this group.  There will be a Block III group next.

Virginia Class submarines are built to operate in deep waters doing anti-submarine, anti-surface, strike warfare, special operations, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, irregular warfare and  mine warfare missions.

It is the seventh ship to bear the name of "The First State."  The first one served in the American revolution, the second one in the Quasi War with France.  The third was burned to prevent her falling into the hands of Confederates and the fourth one served blockade duties during the Civil War.

Little is known about the fifth Delaware, other than it was a screw steamer which had another name before being changed to Delaware on May 15, 1869.  The sixth Delaware was a battleship commissioned April 4, 1910, that served in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

During World War I, she provided convoy protection and participated in Allied naval exercises before being decommissioned in 1923.

Welcome Aboard USS Delaware.  --Old B-Runner

October 29, 1864: CSS Olustee (Former CSS Tallahassee) Goes on a Commerce Destroying Cruise From Wilmington

OCTOBER 29TH, 1864:  The CSS Olustee, formerly the CSS Tallahassee, Lieutenant William H.Ward, eluded the blockaders off Wilmington, North Carolina.

He returned to Wilmington on November 7 after a brief, but successful cruise, having destroyed the bark Empress Theresa,schooners  A.J. Bird, E.F. Lewis, and Vapor, ship  Arcole and brig T.D. Wagner, during the first three days of November.

The day before the Olustee slipped out of Wilmington, October 28, the CSS Chickamauga, Lt.  John Wilkinson, also eluded blockaders off Wilmington and set out to sea as  a commerce raider

That same day, the USS Calypso and USS Eolus captured British blockade running steamer Lady Sterling at sea off Wilmington with a cargo of cotton and tobacco.

--Old B-Runner

USS Berberry-- Part 2: Chasing That Runner

The USS Berberry and USS Aster, being tugs and shallower draft, often were placed the closest to shore in order to detect and capture blockade runner.

At 21:45 the following , a lookout on the Berberry sighted a long, low, two-stacked steamer standing out from New Inlet.  Giving chase, Acting Ensign Milton Griffith reported that the blockade runner " "...stood for us withing 400 yards; then to the southward."  The Berberry attempted to get in between her and the bar.

While this was going on, the Berberry opened fore on her and sent up "...rockets in the direction in which she was steering."

Despite the fact that fellow blockaders Niphon and Daylight joined in the chase, the runner's superior speed enabled her  to steam out of sight of her pursuers, and apparently made her way out to open sea.

You Wins Some and Loses Some.  --Old B-Runner

Just In Time for Halloween: Cape Fear Unearthed, the Ghost of Gen. Whiting

From the Oct. 24, 2019, Wilmington(N.C.) Star-News  "Cape Fear Unearthed:  The Ghost of the general" by Hunter Ingram.

Major William H.C. Whiting is the latest subject , who was wounded at Fort Fisher and later died in a Union prison, of the latest episode of the Cape Fear Unearthed podcast.

His legacy is forever tied up with the rise and fall of North Carolina's Fort Fisher, famed protector of the port of Wilmington and a haven for blockade runners during the war.  Whiting was a headstrong soldier who seemed to have as many enemies as friends during the war.  One notable enemy was Jefferson Davis.

He graduated first in his West Point class and became an engineer of note, both in the Charleston defenses and later those of Wilmington, including Fort Fisher.

Wounded and captured at Fort Fisher when it fell, he recovered from the wound but died of another disease while a prisoner in New York.  This was hundreds of miles from Fort Fisher but even death did not stop him from returning to Fort Fisher to be its eternal watcher.

It has been reported that the ghost of Gen. Whiting still walks the grounds of Fort Fisher.  This week's Cape Fear Uncovered's podcast is about the apparition.

Like, Boo!!!  --OldB-ScaredOrGoHome

USS Berberry-- Part 1: Part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron Off Fort Fisher

From Wikipedia.

The USS Berberry, like the USS Aster, was a steam powered tugboat acquired by the Union Navy which purchased the ship 13 August 1864,  Its original name was Columbia, but was renamed USS Berberry and placed in commission at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 12 September 1864.

(99 feet long, 20 foot beam, 35 crew members, Armament:  two 12-pdr. smoothbore and two 24-pdr. smoothbore guns.)

Departed Philadelphia September 29 and reached Beaufort, N.C., on October for duty with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and took up station off New Inlet, North Carolina.

At 3:00 in the morning October 4, while cruising off the Mound Light (in Fort Fisher), the Berberry discovered a steamer making for New Inlet and gave chase, firing two shots but it escaped into New Inlet.

--Old B-Runner

The USS Niphon's Involvement in the Loss of the USS Aster

From Wikipedia.

The USS Niphon was a ship to be feared by blockade runners.  Click on the label USS Niphon below to see how much she was involved in captures.  It is an impressive list.

The USS Aster ran aground and was lost chasing the blockade runner Annie on October 7.  The Niphon came to her aid.  The Niphon then assisted in the capture of the Annie when she ran out od Wilmington on October 31.

On October 1, 1864, the Niphon ran the blockade runner Condor aground, now a N.C. State Dive Spot, and this shipwreck was where famed Congederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow drowned.

Then on October 7 the Niphon rescued the crew of the USS Aster under the guns of Fort Fisher.  It was able to tow the USS Berberry after it had become disabled trying to tow the Aster off the shoals.

On the last day of October, the Niphon and USS Wilderness captured the Annie on her way out.

A Busy October.  --Old B-Runner

October 22, 1864: In Case the Albemarle Comes Out Again-- Part 2

"Even if half your vessels are sunk you must pursue this course."

Porter added:  "I have directed Lieutenant Cushing to go down in a steam launch, and if possible destroy this ram with torpedoes.  I have no great confidence in his success, but you will afford him all the assistance in your power, and keep boats ready to pick him up in case of failure."

Of course,we all know how that action ended.

That Cushing Guy.  --Old B-Rer

October 22, 1864-- Part 1: In Case the Albemarle Attacks Again

OCTOBER 22TH, 1864:  Rear Admiral Porter, in a confidential letter to Commander Macomb, commanding naval forces in Albemarle Sound, set down instructions for engaging the CSS Albemarle, should the ram again come out to challenge Union control of the Sounds:

"There is but one chance for wooden vessels in attacking an ironclad.  You will, in case she comes out, make a dash at her with every vessel you have, and 'lay her on board', using cannister to fire into her ports, while the ram strikes her steering apparatus and disables her.

"You will see that every vessel is provided with proper grapnels, to hold on by while going alongside, and a boarding party will be appointed to lash the vessels together."

That Problem beginning With the Letter "A".  --Old B-Runner

Picture of the Capture of the Blockade Runner Annie, Oct. 31, 1864

From the New York City Library Digital Collections.

A drawing of the capture of this ship under fire from Union vessels, whose names are given:  How-quah, the Alabama's launch, Wilderness, Niphon, Kansas and Alabama.

Drawn in 1864 by Charles F. Ellmore.

--Old B-Runner

USS Aster, Steam Tugboat Lost Off New Inlet

Earlier this month, I wrote about the loss of the USS Aster to the Union blockading squadron off Wilmington, North Carolina on October 8, 1864.

From Wikipedia.

Originally the tugboat Alice and acquired by the U.S. Navy 25 July 1864. at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and placed in commission 12 August 1864.    It was ordered to duty with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Wilmington.  She joined that squadron but was soon in Norfolk, Virginia for repairs.

She arrived back off New Inlet on  7 October and almost immediately spied a blockade runner making for the entrance and gave chase to cut it off.  The blockade runner turned out to be the Anne, from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Just as the Aster was about to catch up with the Annie, it grounded on the Carolina Shoals.  Every effort was made to refloat the ship, but failed.  The USS Berberry came to her aide but was also unsuccessful.

The Aster's crew was transferred to the Berberry and the tug put to the torch causing it to blow up.

The Annie managed to slip into the Cape Fear River and make her way to Wilmington, but was captured on her way out on October 31.

--Old B-Runner

N.C. Timeline, October 1864-- Part 2: Sinking of CSS Albemarle By Cushing

OCTOBER 22--  Capture of Confederate steamer Hope.

OCTOBER 27--  Destruction of CSS Albemarle at Plymouth by William B. Cushing.

OCTOBER 28--   Capture of British steamer Lady Sterling

OCTOBER 29-31--  Union re-occupation of Plymouth.  Naval operations as well.

OCTOBER 31--  Capture of British steamer Annie.

--Old B-Runner

October 18, 1864, Navy Keeping Watch on Hood's Advance-- Part 2

As Hood approached Tuscumbia and his rendezvous with general Forrest's cavalry,  Union commanders became increasingly concerned with measures to keep the Confederates from crossing the Tennessee River in Alabama.

They relied heavily on Union gunboats of the Mississippi Squadron to accomplish this as well as to provide intelligence as to Confederate movements.

During the climatic campaign between the forces of Thomas and Hood, the close cooperation and support of naval forces played a key role.

--Old B-Runner

October 18, 1864: Navy Keeping A Watch on Hood's Advance on Tennessee-- Part 1

OCTOBER 18TH, 1864:  Major General Thomas, commanding Union forces in Tennessee, wired Major General Sherman concerning his plans for opposing General Hood's thrust into Tennessee:  "I have arranged with Lieutenant [Commander] Greer, commanding the gunboat fleet on the lower Tennessee, to patrol the river as far up as Eastport [Mississippi].

"Lieutenant Glassford, commanding between Bridgeport and Decatur [Alabama] patrols that portion of the river daily, and cooperates with me cordially."

--Old B-R'er

The Blockade Runner Lelia That Didn't-- Part 4: Arthur Sinclair's Body Identified By His Watch

The two boats from the Lelia still afloat made for the lightship Prince, some six miles away, but one was sunk when it struck the ship.    Only twelve survivors got aboard the lightship.  They were able to signal the tug boat Blazer, who, the next morning was able to alert the life boat crews and while going to the scene of the sinking towing Life Boat #1 was swamped and only four of the 11 on board survived.

It was another day before the Lelia's survivors could be gotten from the lightship.

On May 31st, the body of Commander Arthur Sinclair, CSN, was found by a fishing boat some ten miles out to sea.  "His skeletal remains were still clothed, even to his cravat held in place by a gold and agate pin.  His overcoat  was still buttoned up and he had retained his pocket watch in his breast pocket," reported the Fleetwood Chronicle.

Ironically, the watch had stopped at 4:10--  approximately the time that the Lelia sank and helped lead to the identification of the body.  Liverpool police determined it was the one he had bought in Liverpool for the considerable sum of 40 pounds.

The watch chain and ornaments were gifts to Sinclair from Mr. Robson, who also died that night.

--Old B-Runner

NC Timeline, October 1864-- Part 1: Loss of the Blockade Runner Condor and Rose O'Neal Greenhow

From the N.C. Civil War Sesquicentennial Timeline site.

OCTOBER 1--  Blockade runner Condor, inbound from Nova Scotia, ran aground off Fort Fisher with two prominent people aboard, James B. Holcumb (Confederate Commissioner to Great Britain, and Rose O'Neal Greenhow (Confederate spy).  She drowned in the surf when her boat overturned.

She is buried in Wilmington, with her death being listed as September 30.

The hulk of the Condor was later used as a target for Confederate gunners in the fort.

OCTOBER 8--  Union tug Aster ran aground and was lost off Carolina Shoals (Cape Fear River) while chasing a blockade runner.  The tug USS Berberry tried unsuccessfully to pull the Aster off.

(The Civil War Naval Chronology lists this as happening September 7, 1864.)

OCTOBER 10--  Capture of British steamer Bat.

OCTOBER  11-13--  Scout from Camp Palmer to Gum Swamp.

--Old B-R'er

Blockade Runner Lelia That Didn't-- Part 3: Huge Storm

Continued from earlier this month.

The Lelia was already low in the water because of her heavy cargo and the storm was getting worse.  This account of her last hours was put together from the few survivors of the sinking.

When the Lelia arrived off the Grand Orme, she had been running into the teeth of the storm for four hours.  Captain Skinner, fearing the weather would get worse and the more exposed run to decided to slow down and hoist the anchors inboard.

As the crew struggled to carry out the orders, a huge wave crashed into the ship, causing the pea of one of the anchors to crash through the deck.  Another huge wave crashed into the ship, washing away the iron of a scuttle and the ship began to fill with water.  With more waves crashing over the Lelia, the ship became unable to answer her helm.

By now the ship was helpless and drifting in the battering waves.  Her four boats were ordered to be lowered as confusion and panic set in.  Commander Sinclair,CSN, and the pilot were lowered in the first boat which was swamped as soon as hit the water.

The second and third boats were lowered and got away with about 30 men.  It is not known if the fourth boat got off before Captain Skinner was seen to go down with his ship.

--Old B-Runner

Here's a Book I Could Get Into: "Life in Jefferson Davis' Navy"

From Amazon.

"Life in Jefferson Davis' Navy" by Barbara B. Tomblin.  Hardcover $29.50.

Far too many people only consider the Civil War's land actions as the only significant aspect of the war, but I am definitely more the anything Navy kind of guy.

This full-length study acknowledges the service and lives of the sailors and officers of the Confederate Navy.  Barbara Tomblin addresses every aspect f their lives, from combat risks to everyday life.  She draws upon the diaries, letters, newspaper accounts and published works to put together their  story.

She relates the stories of those serving on gunboats, ironclads and ships on the rivers and coast and Mobile Bay as well as on the high seas on the Confederate raiders.

She even covers their experiences on prison camps.

Something I would be interested in reading.

-Old B-Runner

Rod Gragg Speaks About Fort Fisher at Pamplin History Park This Weekend

Rod Gragg, author of more than twenty books, including the first in depth look of the Battles of Fort Fisher, 1991's "Confederate Goliath" will be among the seven speakers at the 23rd annual presentation at the Pamplin History Park in Petersburg, Virginia, October 18-20.

He will speak on new perspectives of Fort Fisher.

The other presentations will be on the "Small Battles, Big Results" of the seminar theme.

Mr. Gragg  is of particular interest to me because until he came out with his book, I was gathering research to do my own book on Fort Fisher.  Why it took so long for a full book on this fort is beyond me.  It was way too important.  Once I saw Mr. Gragg's book, I knew I didn't have to write mine.  And besides that, he is a much better writer than I.

--Old B-Fisher

World War II at Fort Fisher This Past Weekend

On October 12, Saturday, Fort Fisher hosted  "World War II Experience Fort Fisher" on the grounds of the fort located in Kure Beach, North Carolina.

During World War II, the U.S. Army once again occupied the old fort as a part of Camp Davis, located a little ways to the north of it.  This was the main training base  for anti-aircraft gunners.  Several of the fort's mounds were torn down to construct an airstrip used by planes towing targets for the gunners.

Most of the planes were piloted by members of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs).

All sorts of re-enactors were there with exhibits and visitors were able to learn soldier experiences.

--Old B-Runner

Bridge Jumping Confederates Capture Vessel

 From the HMdb site Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal Military Supply Route.

I have been writing about the capture of U.S. Representative George Washington Julian near Coinjack, N.C.,  and while researching found this item of interest.

On May 16, 1863,  thirty Confederate partisans  from Pasquotank County jumped from the nearby Coinjack Bridge onto the side-wheel steamer Arrow and captured the crew then steered the vessel alongside the steamer Emily as if nothing had happened.

The partisans took both ships, flying the Stars and Stripes, up Albemarle Sound, Chowan River, and the Blackwater River to Franklin, Virginia,

En route,  they picked up five African Americans who hailed  them not knowing the crews were Confederates.  Now, that was embarrassing.

The exploit made headlines in the North Carolina newspapers.

--Old B-Runner

The Blockade Runner Lelia That Didn't-- Part 2: The Storm

On January 5, 1865, the Lelia sailed from the Mersey River with a 700 ton cargo of coal, iron and general merchandise and according to the Illustrated London News of 28 January, "would have taken a much more valuable  cargo in Bermuda to attempt to run  the blockade into Wilmington."

Her crew totalled  49, 20 of whom were engine room and several passengers which included Thomas Miller, a son of the builder and J.B. Cropper, a Liverpool merchant.    Also listed as passengers were a Mr. Robeson and Arthur Sinclair--  a commander in the Confederate Navy and a native of Virginia.

For this part of the journey, the Lelia was commanded by Captain Thomas Buxton Skinner.  Arthur Sinclair would take over for the run from Bermuda to Wilmington when the protection of the British flag would not have made her immune from Union blockading ships.

Soon after leaving the  Mersey, the winter weather turned nasty and as she headed for the Welsh coast the seas got worse.  Already running low because of her heavy cargo, the Lelia was in great danger.

--Old B-R'er

The Blockade Runner Lelia That Wasn't-- Part 1: Brand New and At Top of Her Craft

Last month I wrote about this ship whose wreck has now become a protected site and shows how Liverpool and England, although officially neutral, was very involved on the Confederate side during the Civil War.  This is a very complete account of her last voyage.

From the csa-dixie.com/liverpool-dixie/Lelia.htm.  When Liverpool was Dixie a tribute to Commander Dunwoody Bulloch Confederate States Navy.

THE SAD VOYAGE OF  THE LELIA THE BLOCKADE RUNNER THAT DIDN'T.

The steel paddle wheel steamer Lelia was built in the Toxteth Dock yard of William C. Miller & Co..  She was 640 gross tons and 252 feet long by 30 foot beam and drew 12'6" of water.  Her engines were by Fawcett Preston & Co., and were rated at  a nominal 300 h.p. and following her successful completion, plans were made  before Christmas for her maiden voyage.

With her owners no doubt looking forward to the large profits ahead, remembering the famous blockade runner Banshee that was built in Liverpool and, before its capture on 21 November 1863, had realized a 700% profit for her owners, Mr. William Gladstone and the Duke of Winchester among them.

--Old B-Runner

September 26, 1864: Don't Send the CSS Tallahassee and Chickamauga Out to Sea

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 1864:  Major General Whiting, C.S.A., Army commander in Wilmington, wrote Governor Vance of North Carolina requesting that the CSS Tallahassee and Chickamauga be retained at Wilmington for the defense of that port.

"The Confederate steamers Tallahassee and Chickamauga are now nearly ready for sea, and will leave this port for the purpose of operating against the enemy's commerce.  Should they leave on this service the few vessels they might destroy would be of little advantage to our cause, while it would excite the enemy to increase the number of the blockading squadron to such an extent as to render it almost impossible for vessels running the blockade to escape them."

Notwithstanding these objections and those of General Lee two days earlier, the raiders were sent to sea.

--Old B-R'er

USS Fulton (1837)-- Part 4: Destroyed At Pensacola, Fla. in 1862

From October 1858 to May 1859, the Fulton joined operations commanded by Commodore W.B. Shubrick during negotiations to improve relations with Paraguay, and sailed the La Plata, Parana and Paraguay rivers.

It was out of commission at Norfolk, Virginia, from 7 May 1859 to 30 July 1859,  the Fulton cruised off Cuba to suppress the slave trade, then laid up in Pensacola, Florida, in mid-October 1859.

The Fulton was captured by Confederates when they took the Pensacola Navy Yard on 12 January 1861, and was considered for use in the Confederate Navy, but was never fitted out.  She was destroyed by the Confederates when they evacuated Pensacola on 10 May 1862.

I have written about the first USS Fulton in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog and the third and fourth ones in my Cooter's History Thing blog.  This USS Fulton  was the second one.  I will write about the fifth USS Fulton in my World War II blog eventually.

--Olf B-Runner

USS Fulton (1837)-- Part 3: Busy Ship

During the next six years, other than periods of repair, the Fulton ranged from the Caribbean to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, transporting government officials, protecting merchant ships against search on the high seas.  From January to May 1855, the Fulton joined the search for the USS Albany which disappeared off the coast of Venezuela in 1854.  They didn't find the unfortunate ship or any survivors.

In 1857, it was in the expedition to Nicaragua to stop William Walker attempt to take over the country and the next year, the Fulton's commander arranged the release of five American merchant ships held in Tampico, Mexico, by revolutionary forces.

--Old B-Runner

USS Fulton (1837)-- Part 2: Lots of Rebuilds

After commissioning, the Fulton steamed up and down the Atlantic coast aiding ships in distress, testing ordnance and training officers in gunnery.  A big thrill for the ship was besting the British steamer SS Great Western in a speed contest off New York.

The Fulton was decommissioned  at New York 23 November 1842 and was in ordinary until 1851 when she was rebuilt and her machinery completely replaced.

The essentially new Fulton was launched 30 August 1851 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  However, to enable her to cruise in open waters that involved a rebuild.  Recommissioned in 1852 for duty in the Home Squadron and then went on a cruise to the West Indies.  After this rebuild she was commonly referred to as the Fulton III.

--Old B-Runner

N.C. Civil War Timeline for September 1864-- Part 2: Recons of Wilmington and Capture of Two Blockade Runners

SEPTEMBER 19--  Reconnaissance near Wilmington for the examination of its defenses.

SEPTEMBER 25--  Destruction of the blockade runner Lynx.

SEPTEMBER 27--  Reconnaissance near Wilmington for the examination of its defenses.

SEPTEMBER 29--  Destruction of English steamer Night Hawk.

SEPTEMBER 29--  Action  in Scuppernong River , engagement of USS Valley City with Confederate forces.

--Old B-Runner

September 19, 1864-- Part 2: The Plot Discovered

John Yates Beall and his 19 men came aboard the Philo Parsons as passengers, but soon seized the steamers and took it to Middle Bass Island, on the way from Detroit to Sandusky.  (I've been to Middle Bass Island many times in the past, but for drinking wine at Lonz's Winery on it and enjoying the rock bands.  I never knew this to be a Civil War spot.)

While there, Beall was approached by an unsuspecting steamer, the Island Queen,  which was quickly captured and burned.  He then landed the passengers and cargoes of the two ships and proceeded with his improvised warship to Sandusky.

Meanwhile, Commander J.C. Carter of the USS Michigan had discovered the plot and had Captain Charles Cole, one of the organizers  of Beall's escapade, arrested along with an assistant.    As Beall and his men approached Sandusky, the prearranged signals were not made.

Confronted with uncertain circumstances and overwhelming odds, Beall and his men reluctantly, but wisely abandoned their part of the plan and took the Philo Parsons to Sandwich, Canada, where she was stripped and burned.

The Confederates then dispersed.

Worth A Shot.  --Old B-Runner

September 19, 1864-- Part 1: John Yates Beall, CSN, Captures Two Steamers on Lake Erie

SEPTEMBER 19, 1864:  Confederates under Acting Master John Yates Beall captured and burned steamers Philo Parsons and Island Queen on Lake Erie.  Captain Charles H. Cole, CSA, a Confederate secret agent in the Lake Erie region, conceived the plan and received assistance from Jacob Thompson, Southern agent in Canada and the daring Beall.

The plan was for Cole to aid in the capture of the iron side wheeler USS Michigan, which was then guarding the Confederate prisoners (officers) on Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio, by befriending her officers and attempting to bribe them.

Beall was to approach on a captured steamer from the mouth of Sandusky Bay and board the Michigan, after which the prisoners would be released  and the whole force would then embark on a guerrilla expedition along the lake.

--Old B-R'er

USS Fulton (1837)-- Part 1: The Second USS Fulton

From Wikipedia.

I have been writing about the first USS Fulton (1815), formerly named Demologos, in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog, and saw that there was also a USS Fulton that had a role in the Civil War.  I had never heard of it, so thought I'd write about it here.

Evidently, I had written about another USS Fulton, but in regards to a USS Dick Fulton that served on the Mississippi River.  This USS Fulton is an entirely different ship.

The USS Fulton (1837) was a sidewheel steamer that was captured by Confederates in 1861 and destroyed by them  when they evacuated Pensacola, Florida, in 1862.  It was the second ship in the U.S. Navy to bear the name.  Laid down in 1835, launched in 1837, commissioned  13 December 1837, with Captain Matthew C. Perry in command (the brother of Oliver Hazard Perry and the man responsible to opening Japan).

She was often called the USS Fulton II as it was the second ship of that name.

Captured by Confederates  12 January 1861.  Destroyed by them 10 May 1862 on the evacuation of Pensacola.

--Old B-Runner

Capture of the Mail Boat Fawn By Confederates in N.C.

From the Navy and Marine Living History Association  Compendium of U.S. Marine actions  in the Civil War.

"SEPTEMBER 9, 1864:   Marines of the USS Shamrock and USS Chicopee under the command of Lieutenant Commander  Earl English, landed at Elizabeth City, North Carolina to search for those who had attacked the mail boat Fawn and killed seven persons on board.

"Failing to find those involved, they took seven prisoners back to the ships."

This was the ship from which U.S. Congressman George Washington Julian was captured, but quickly released.  I would have thought capturing a Congressman would have been a good bargaining chip in prisoner exchanges.

Oh Well.  --Old B-Runner

Some More on Rep. G.W. Julian

From the HMdb.org site.  This marker is part of the Civil War Trails effort to mark lesser known Civil War sites.  "The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal."

"U.S. Congressman George Washington Julian of Indiana, a Republican member of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, took the mail boat Fawn to Roanoke Island to find out whether sutlers there were price-gouging the soldiers to whom they sold goods.

"On February 9, 1864, on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, Confederates attacked the ship, killed or wounded 7 people, captured 29 passengers, including Julian and burned the Fawn.  Julian was soon released at Elizabeth City and continued to Roanoke Island."

The marker is located at Coinjack, N.C., in Currituck County.

--Old B-Runner

September 13, 1864: Clearing Out Those Pesky Mobile Bay Torpedoes

SEPTEMBER 13TH, 1864:  Rear Admiral Farragut's sailors continued to clear the main ship channel in Mobile Bay of torpedoes such as the one that sank the USS Tecumseh on 5 August.  He reported to Secretary Welles that 22 torpedoes had been raised.

He added:  "This part of the channel is now believed to be clear, for, though beyond doubt many more were originally anchored here, reports says they have sunk over one hundred to the bottom."

Despite the admiral's efforts, Union ships would be destroyed in the vicinity of Mobile Bay by torpedoes for months to come.

Damn the Torpedoes!!  --Old B-Runner

9-11 Disease Deaths Grow

Continued from my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog.

The average age of 9/11 First Responders is now about 55.  While many people face increased chances of cancer as they age, the rate among First Responders  is up to 30% higher than in the general population.

These numbers show the continued loss:

**  In 2017, 23 current or former members of the N.Y. City Police Department died of 9/11-related diseases.  That's the same number of NYPD members who died on September 11, 2001.

**  The NYFD lost a stunning 343 members on that day.  Since then line-of-duty deaths linked to 9/11 are approaching 180, now well over half of those lost that day

So many have died since the attacks that a new tablet had to be added to the Hall of Heroes at 1 Police Plaza to accommodate  all the names of the fallen.

"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?"-- Part 6

This was supposed to have been posted yesterday, but we lost internet access, so it will have to be todaye 18th anniversary of 9-11, or do you say 9/11?

************************

I'm just a singer of simple songs

I'm not a real political man

I watch CNN

But I'm not sure I can tell you

The difference in Iraq and Iran

But I know Jesus and I talk to God

And I remember this from when I was young

Faith, hope and love are good things He gave us

And the greatest is love.

***************************

Still Hard To Take.

Another Account of Representative Julian's Capture

From Google Books.  "Executing Daniel Bright:  Race, Loyalty, and Guerrilla Violence in Coastal Carolina Community, 1861-1865"  by Barton A. Myers.

Page 128

"Frustration in the Union Army and Navy  reached a peak in early September after Confederate troops from the ram CSS Albemarle, which was a serious threat in the region, burned the mail boat USS Fawn in the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal.

"The Confederates seized twenty-nine prisoners in the raid.    Aboard the ship was U.S. congressman George Washington Julian, the only congressman captured during the war by Confederates.  Julian, however, was quickly released at Elizabeth City by Confederates without explanation.

"Lieutenant Earl English of the U.S, Navy arrived at Elizabeth City to arrest the men responsible, but finding them gone, he took seven local  citizens hostage."

Well, It Would Have Been Confederate sailors or Marines from the CSS Albemarle.  --Old B-Runner

This Date, Capture of U.S. Rep. George Washington Julian-- Part 2

Continuing with what 5fish wrote:

They captured the mail boat Fawn at the Currituck  Bridge  which is in Coinjack.  He then gave a Google Books site to find what was written there, but that spot would not come up for me.

No one knows why the Confederate sailors let Congressman Julian go after learning who he was.

Yea!! My mom's hometown had a Civil War moment!  Yea!!

Yea! Coinjack.

One reader wrote that perhaps the Congressman was released because of bribery or because the sailors did not want to get involved in  in a political mess by capturing a Union politician.

I would want to know why Maffitt sent them on the mission in the first place.  Did he know a Congressman was going to be on the Fawn?

--Old B-Runner

This Date September 8, 1864, A U.S. Congressman Captured By Confederates-- George Washington Julian-- Part 1

Two days ago I posted part of this month's North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial timeline  for 1864 and one of the items was the capture of this man.  I had never heard of him, but a quick look at his story in Wikipedia shows that he was quite a prominent figure in the Civil War.  I'll have to write about him in my Saw the Elephant blog.

However, I also did not know about the capture and have been doing research on it and can't find out much about it.

In Civil War Talk, I found a person had posted a forum entry "Coinjack, NC. had a Civil War Moment, Yea!" by 5fish on Feb. 15, 2010.

He wrote essentially what the timeline had said, which was as follows:

HEY! Hey!  My mom's hometown of Coinjack, NC. had a big moment during the Civil War on September 8, 1864.

September 8 --  The only capture of a United States Congressman  during the Civil War -- at Coinjack in Currituck County.  George Washington Julian was taken prisoner when  Capt. J.N. Maffitt ordered pilot  J.B. Hopkins to take a detail of twenty Confederate sailors yo the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and capture the mailboat Fawn.  Julian was subsequently released in Elizabeth City.

--Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Lelia-- Part 2: The Cargo May Be Well Preserved

The Daily Mail article was accompanied by several pictures

**  The first was a multi beam sonar image of the wreck as it is today.

**  A black and white illustration of the time showing the Lelia sinking and Liverpool Lifeboat No. 1.

**  Another picture of the wreck from a different angle.

**  Picture of a paddle wheel on the ship.

****************************

Wreckage still remaining:  one of the paddle wheels,  the engine and boiler rooms,  less well-preserved cargo areas,  and a steam winch.

The deck and all the structures on it hasn't survived and a lot of the hull remains buried in the seabed so there is the potential for a well-preserved cargo of British manufactured munitions and machinery destined for the Confederacy.

--Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Lelia-- Part 1: Built Specifically to Run the Blockade

From the August 29, 2019, London Daily Mail  "Wreck of the 19th century ship in Liverpool Bay built secretly to help slave -owning Confederate  forces in the US Civil War is granted special protection" by Jack Newman.

I am not sure why the English press made such a big deal about the Confederacy having slaves in their articles about the ship.

**  Was a purposefully-built ship to run the Union blockade.

**  Sank in a ferocious storm on its maiden voyage, January 14, 1865 with loss of 47 on board.  Now at bottom of Liverpool Bay.

**  Another seven lives lost when Liverpool No. 1 Lifeboat  sank while trying to  pick up Lelia survivors.

**  Built at Millers Shipyard in Toxteth, one of a small number of ships built in England in complicity with the Confederacy.  (Again, complicity as if that was a bad thing?)

**  Wreck discovered and identified in the 1990s when a bell marked "Lelia 1864" found.

**  Partially buried remains are 50 feet deep , 10 miles north west of Hilbre Point on the Wirral.

--Old B-Runner

N.C. Civil War Timeline for September 1864-- Part 1: Captures of Two Steamers and a U.S. Congressman

Taken from the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial site.

SEPTEMBER 4--  Capture of steamer Elsie.  Hit the Elsie label to find out more about this blockade runner.  I have quite a few  entries about it.)

SEPTEMBER  8--  The only capture  of a United States Congressman during the Civil War at Coinjack in Currituck County.

George Washington Julian was taken prisoner when Captain J.N. Maffitt ordered pilot J.B. Hopkins to take a detail of twenty Confederate sailors to the Albemarle and Chesapeake  Canal and capture the small mail boat Fawn.  Julian was subsequently released in Elizabeth City.

SEPTEMBER  10--  Capture of steamer A.D. Vance.

--Old B-Runner

September 3, 1864: 100-Gun Salutes and Thanksgiving for Union Victories

These are taken from the Civil War Naval Chronology.

SEPTEMBER 3RD, 1864:  President Lincoln ordered a 100-gun salute at the Washington Navy Yard  at noon on Monday, the 5th  of September, and upon receipt of the order, at each arsenal and navy yard in the United States "for the recent brilliant achievements of the fleet and land forces of the United States in the harbor of Mobile and the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan...."

The President also proclaimed that on the following Sunday, thanksgiving should be given for Rear Admiral Farragut's victory at Mobile and for the capture of Atlanta by General Sherman.

Theses events, said Lincoln, "call for devout acknowledgement to the Supreme Being in whose hands are the destinies of nations."

Good Times For the Union.  Not So Good for the Confederacy.  --Old B-Runner

Sunken Blockade Runner Lelia Gets Protected Status-- Part 3: Building Confederate Ships in Britain

The Confederacy had no navy to defeat the Union blockade.  They looked to Liverpool to build the blockade runners and cruisers they needed.

James Dunwoody Bullock (uncle of future U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt) a Confederate naval officer, was sent to Liverpool  in June 1861 with orders to  to obtain six  steam vessels suitable for use a commerce  destroyers and to purchase and transport arms.

Liverpool based  merchants and the foreign bankers of the Confederacy,  Fraser, Trenholm and Co., helped provide funds for the construction of the CSS Florida, the first foreign built  commerce raider.  This ship was built by William C. Miller  and Sons of Toxteth, who also built the Lelia.

Bulloch's second contract was with Laird's in Birkenhead who built the CSS Alabama, launched in 1862.

Another Liverpool shipyard, Jones, Quiggin and Co. built many ships for the Confederacy including five blockade runners, the first one being the Banshee, which became the first steel ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. in 1863.

--Old B-Runner

Movements of Blockade Runners December 1864

From the December 25, 1864, New York Times  "From Havana.; Movements of Blockade-Runners."

The steamer Corsica , from Havana via Nassau, arrived here this morning.

A Gen. LEE is reported by the Nassau Guardian to have left Nassau on the 15th inst., in the steamer Darien for Bermuda.

The blockade-runners Old Dominion, Wild Rover,  Little Hattie, Banshee and Agnes E. Fry had arrived from Wilmington; the Syren had arrived from Charleston; the Gen, Marmion and Kenilworth had returned in distress; and the Virginia, Hansa, Ella, Kate Gregg, Charlotte, Will O' the Wisp, Stormy, Petrel, Little Hattie, Syren and Star  had sailed  to run the blockade.

--Old B-Runner

Sunken Blockade Runner Lelia Gets Protected Status-- Part 2

The ship has been granted protection by the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport  on the advice of Historic England.

Recreational divers can still descend to the site, but they are not allowed to remove anything from the wreck.

The partially buried (there is a sonar photo of the remains accompanying the article) about 50 feet deep. 10 miles  north-west of Hibre Point on the Wirral.

Heritage minister Rebecca Pow said protecting  the site "helps us preserve an important story about Britain's role in the American Civil War."

--Old B-Runner

Sunken Blockade Runner Lelia Gets Protective Status-- Part 1

From August 30, 2019, BBC News  "US Civil War  steamship that sank in Liverpool gets protected status."

The steamship Lelia left Liverpool, England, in January 1865 on her maiden voyage bound for Bermuda and a run through the blockade but foundered in the bay in a huge storm.  Forty-seven crew members died, as did seven rescuers.

The ship now is at the bottom of Liverpool Bay and Historic England now says  the wreck is "significant as historical evidence."

It was built at Millers Shipyard in Toxteth, with the intention of running the American blockade into a Confederate port.  "The Lelia is one of a small group of British ships involved in British complicity in running guns and munitions to the confederates," said Duncan Wilson of Historic England.

Though the United Kingdom was officially neutral in the American conflict this ship is evidence that the country was not so neutral.

--Old B-Runner

Was There A Confederate Camp Near the Grainger's Pointe Neighborhood at Masonboro Sound?

From the September 24, 2012, Wilmington (NC) Star-News "My Reporter" by Gail Calloway.

The newspaper answers questions submitted by readers.

Becky Thatcher at Fort Fisher gives this information.

There was plenty of action around Masonboro Sound.  After the fall of Fort Fisher, Confederates were worried about the presence of Union troops on the lower Cape Fear River an a possible siege of Wilmington.

General Braxton Bragg ordered a line of breastworks built from just below Wilmington at Fort Meares, one of the river batteries, to Hewlett's Creek, near Masonboro Sound.  This gave Confederates a defensive line to fall back on in case Sugar Loaf (by present-day Carolina Beach) fell

The federals did attempt to land troops at Masonboro Sound but were unsuccessful.  There are some structures still standing that were there at the time.

--Old B-Runner

Confederate Troops Stationed By Masonboro Sound, N.C.-- Part 2

The largest Confederate  encampment in the general area was Camp Davis, located on the north side of Hewlett's Creek, above Masonboro.  Thousands of troops moved into and out of that camp with their regiments or battalions between 1861 and late 1864.  Most of the troops were North Carolinians, but also South Carolinian and Virginian.

Camp Davis was the largest Confederate  encampment between Fort Fisher and Wilmington's outer defenses at Virginia Creek, 25 miles north of the city.  Camp Davis was located about half way between  Fort Fisher and Virginia Creek.

A great fear of Confederate authorities was that Union forces would attack Wilmington by way of Masonboro, Wrightsville or Topsail Sounds.  They could use the major creeks like Whiskey, Hewlett's, Bradley, Pages, etc. to assault Wilmington from the east, thus bypassing the strong defenses, including Fort Fisher, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

Thus Confederate forces were deployed along the sound to contest  an enemy landing and delay their advance until reinforcements could arrive.

The reported Confederate battery that was shelled by the Niphon and Monticello in Tuesday's post would have been part of this defense system.

--Old B-Runner

Confederate Troops Stationed By Masonboro Sound-- Part 1

Since I wrote about action by Masonboro Inlet and Sound yesterday, here is some more information about the area.

From the November 12, 2012 Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "My Reporter:  How Many Troops were stationed in the Masonboro Sound area during the Civil Wart" by Si Cantwell.

According to Wilmington in the Civil War expert Chris Fonvielle, it is impossible to know exactly how many Confederates were stationed there.  Records do not exist to answer that.  Some itineraries for Confederate units do document stations in the Masonboro Sound area but do not tell how many soldier there were.

Two Confederate encampment sites have been located at Masonboro Sound.  One large early war one was Camp Hedrick at the headwaters of Hewlett's Creek and there was a small picket camp  at Grainger's Point.

There might have been others, but their locations have been long lost to time and present-day development.

--Old B-Runner

Union Commander of USS Kearsarge Born in Wilmington, North Carolina

While going through my RoadDog's RoadLog  Blog the other day, I found an entry on John Ancrum Winslow, a famous Civil War naval officer dated October 26, 2007.  Back in 2007 it was my early days of blogging and I only had four blogs at the end of the year.  I wouldn't have placed this there now.

But, it was interesting.  The Waymarkers find and write about history markers, and there is a History On a Stick in Wilmington, N.C., referring to him being born there in 1811.  As the commander of the USS Kearsarge, his ship battled the famed commerce raider CSS Alabama off the coast of France in 1864 and was victorious, sinking the other ship, commanded by Raphael Semmes.

Of interest, Semmes and Winslow had shared a cabin during the Mexican War.

--Old B-Runner

August 27, 1864: Action At Masonboro Inlet, NC

AUGUST 27TH, 1864:  The USS Niphon, Acting Lieutenant Joseph B. Breck, and the USS Monticello, Acting Master Henry A Phelon, conducted an expedition up Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina, to silence a Confederate battery which was reported to have been erected in the vicinity.

The two screw steamers shelled the shoreline and a number of buildings at Masonboro; landing parties went ashore and captured a quantity of rifles, ammunition and foodstuffs.

--Old B-Runner

Wilmington, N.C.-- Part 4: Can't Miss Sites

The Salvo: Travels section of the Civil War Monitor magazine is a must-use source if you're visiting any of the places they have covered.

CAN'T MISS

CHRISTINE DIVORKY--  OAKDALE CEMETERY (520 N. 15th Street)  established 1856  There are sections for those who died in a yellow fever epidemic during the war, a Confederate Mound where 350 are buried.  Also the graves of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, W,H,C. Whiting and J.N. Maffitt.

BILL JAYNE--  FORT ANDERSON--  Just south of Wilmington.  Wilmington remained in Confederate hands for over a month after the fall of Fort Fisher.  Fort Anderson protected the southern approach to the city and is the home of some of the best-preserved Civil War earthworks in U.S..  Also ruins of colonial Brunswick Town, burned by the British in 1776.

ME--  BATTLESHIP NORTH CAROLINA--  After all I gave nickels and dimes as a schoolkid to save the ship for the state.

--Old B-Runner

Wilmington, N.C.-- Part 3: Our Experts

The Civil War Monitor enlisted two "experts" on the area to get the ideas.

They were Christine Divorky and Bill Jayne.

CHRISTINE DIVORKY

Executive director of Friends of Fort Fisher who has lived in the Wilmington area for 23 years.  Fort Fisher is fortunate to have one of the best Friends groups in the nation doing all sorts of things for the fort.

And, I am not saying this just because I am a member.  This fort had a huge impact on my life, a big reason I am a history nut and taught for 33 years (social studies of course).

BILL JAYNE

President of the Cape Fear Civil War Round Table.  A devoted student of the Civil War since 1970s, he has lived in the Wilmington area for a dozen years.

Well, Let's Find Out.  --Old B-Runner

Wilmington, N.C.--Part 2: The Best Of

Wilmington is one of my favorite towns anywhere, other than the traffic, which is a headache and for gosh sake, watch out for all those photo-enforced stoplights.  I hate photo-enforced stoplights.  But, Wilmington has all that history, the river front and, of course, my all-time favorite ship, the battleship USS North Carolina.

Anyway, the Civil War Monitor magazine asked two Wilmington experts to point out great places to go while in Wilmington and around it in such areas as

Can't Miss
Best Kept Secret
Best Family Activity

Best Civil War Spot
Best Eats
Best Sleep
Best Book

--We'll Find Out Soon.  --Old B-Runner

August 20, 1864: Close, But No Tallahassee

AUGUST 20TH, 1864:  The USS Pontoosuc, Lieutenant Commander Stevens, entered Halifax.  Stevens learned that the Tallahassee had sailed late the night before and that he had failed to intercept her by only seven hours.

The Pontoosuc departed immediately in pursuit.  based on information reported by by Consul Jackson, Stevens steamed north into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while Wood (the Tallahassee's commander) feeling that he did not have sufficient fuel to actively pursue his raids, had set course for Wilmington.

This date, the Tallahassee captured the brig Roan and burned her.  She was the last prize taken on this brief but most effective cruise.

--Old B-Runner

Wilmington, N.C.--Part 1: Original Painting Sold for $75,000

From the Summer 2019 Civil War Monitor magazine.

I originally started this on July 22, 2019, so it has been a long while since I got around to continuing with it.

The magazine also featured a two-page spread of a painting on the 2nd Battle of Fort Fisher by Thomas.F. Laycock.

I can't find out a lot about him other than he also had a painting of the USS Maine which sank in Havana Harbor and was one of the reasons for the Spanish-American War.  He lived from 1840 to 1898.

I did find that the original painting of the Fort Fisher battle sold at auction by Christie's in New York in 2017 for $75,000.

--Old B-R'er

Fort Fisher's Beat the Heat Lecture Series 2019-- Part 2

As I said in the previous post, sadly, this series is over for the year, but looking forward to it being resumed next year.  And, don't forget, either January 11 or 18, will be the 155th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, which is always a big one.  They have an anniversary re-enactment every year, but every fifth year it is a  big one.

Anyway, recapping this past year's lectures:

JULY 13--  Running the Blockade:  The Technology and the Men of the Lifeline by Chris Fonvielle

JULY 20--  The Federal Point Lighthouses by Becky Sawyer

JULY 27--  Tending to the Soldiers:  Wilmington's Civil War Hospitals by Wade Sokoloski.

AUGUST 3--  Timothy O'Sullivan and the Photographing of Fort Fisher by Harry Taylor

AUGUST 10--  Attempting to Stop Sherman: The Battle of River's Bridge by Jim Steele.

So, How Long Until June 2019?  --Old Secesh

Fort Fisher's Beat the Heat Lecture Series Now Over, But Hopefully Will Be Back Next Year

It can get mighty hot during the summer on Pleasure Island (Federal Point) but you can beat that heat by going inside at the fort, sitting in air conditioned comfort and learning something in the fort's summer "Beat the Heat" series.  Most of the lectures are about the Civil War and especially local history, but they can be about anything historical.

These were the the topics and speakers for this last year:

JUNE 15--  The 1781 Wilmington Campaign--  Rick Morrison

JUNE 22--  Feeding Lee's Army Through the Port  of Wilmington--  Michael C. Hardy

JUNE 29--  Imprisonment, Trial and Execution of the Lincoln Conspirators--  Mark Grim

JULY 6--  Silent Sentinels--  John Winecoff

--Old B-Runner

N.C. Events, August 1864: Loss of USS Violet and the End of Two Blockade Runners155

AUGUST 7--  Loss of the USS Violet

AUGUST  23--  Blockade Runner chased ashore near Fort Caswell by USS Vicksburg

AUGUST 24--  Capture of blockade runner Lillian

--Old B-Runner

August 13, 1864: CSS Tallahassee's Successful Cruise

AUGUST 13TH, 1864:  Reports of the CSS Tallhassee's destructive success created much alarm in northern seaports.

This date, John D. Jones, president of the Board of Underwriters (insurance), wired Secretary Welles from New York:  "Confederate steamer Tallahassee is reported cruising within sixty miles of this port.  She has already captured six vessels.  Will you please have the necessary measures taken, if not already done, to secure her capture?"

Half and hour after the receipt of this message, Welles replied:  "Three vessels left New York Navy Yard yesterday afternoon; more leave to-day.  Several vessels have leave Boston to-day and tomorrow.  Every vessel available has been ordered to search for pirate."

In addition this date, Captain C.K. Stribling, Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, dispatched three ships "in pursuit of the pirate."

However, the Tallahassee's Commander Wood, continued her "depredations," burning the schooner Lammot Fu Pont, cargo of coal, and the bark Glenavon.

The Tallahassee Having a Great Cruise.  --Old B-Runner

Charleston Lab Repairs CSS Pee Dee Cannons-- Part 3:

Dates and Sizes of the Pee Dee cannons:  10-12 foot cannons weighing between 12,000 to 16,000 pounds.  The Brooke cannons were so sophisticated for their time, much like today's cannons.

Each cannon underwent a four-year restoration process where they soaked for two years in a solution to remove corrosive salts then they had to be prepared for outside exhibition..

They will be mounted on replica carriages.

The restoration was paid for by a $200,000 grant from the Drs. Bruse and Lee Foundation in Florence.

The conservation team for the cannons consisted of Johanna Rivera,  Anna Funke, Gyllian Porteous, Virginia Terniscien and Flavia Pouti.

--Old B-Runner

Charleston Lab Restores CSS Pee Dee Cannons-- Part 2

The cannons were ready to be fired and while trying to make sure the shells did not pose a threat to explode, when they turned the key on a brass fuse it fizzled like soda.  A nine pound ball was loaded into the Dahlgren gun and the two Brooke cannons were loaded with forged grapeshot the size of billiard balls.  The grapeshot were restored and preserved.

The CSS Pee Dee was 150 feet long and had a crew of 90 and carried three cannons.  These cannons weighed nearly 20 tons altogether and were mounted on carriages along the length of the hull so they could be swung either way.

The Pee Dee had been built at the Confederate Navy Yard at Mars Bluff on the Pee Dee River.  This is also where the ship was scuttled.  The guns had been thrown overboard before the Pee Dee was scuttled.  They were recovered from the river at the site.

The Brooke cannons were of Confederate manufacture and were rifled.  The Dahlgren cannon was a smoothbore and was at one time in the Union Navy, but probably seized from a northern ship.

--Old B-Runner

Charleston Lab Restores CSS Pee Dee Cannons-- Part 1

From the May 28, 2018, Charleston (SC) Post and Courier  "Charleston lab restores Civil War cannons pulled from the Pee Dee River in SC" Bo Peterson.

A punderwater arhoto accompanies the article showing Nate Fulmer, an underwater archaeologist with the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, who helped recover the three cannons in 2015.  Also in the photo, Stephanie Crette, executive director of the Warren Lasch Conservation Center  in North Charleston.  They reveal the findings and all three cannons are restored and preserved for the future.

The CSS Pee Dee was ready to fight before being scuttled in 1865 in its namesake river near Florence as Union troops closed in.  Before being scuttled, the ship's three cannons were tossed overboard.  Those cannons will now be put on display outside the Veterans Affairs Office next to the Florence National Cemetery.

They were recovered in 2015 and since then there has been a four year effort by the Lasch Center to restore and preserve them.

The ship never saw action, but they found that her guns were all primed and powdered and ready to be fired.

--Old B-Runner

What's Happening At the Fort: Fort Fisher's Final Beat the Heat-- The Battle of River's Bridge, S.C.

Fort Fisher is presenting its final 2019 Kids Activity this Friday, August 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..  This week's topic is Civil War Communications using the Wig-Wag System with flags.

Fort Fisher will be presenting its final Beat the Heat lecture of the season on Saturday, August 10 at 2 p.m. in the Spencer Theater at the fort.  This week's topic is "Attempting to Stop Sherman:  The Battle of River's Bridge, South Carolina."  This was an attempt to stop his march to Columbia, S.C..  Site manager Jim Steele will lead the discussion.

Fort Fisher is located at

1610 Fort Fisher Boulevard, South
Kure Beach, N.C.
Telephone  910-251-7340

Come On In, Get Out of the Heat.  --Old B-Runner