Ralph Chandler, USN-- Part 3: Civil War and Post-War Service

From 1855 to 1859, he was involved in coast survey and the survey of the Parana River and was serving on the sloop Vandalia when the Civil War began.  He was on her at the Battle of Port Royal in November 1861.  The next year he was assigned to the steam-sloop San Jacinto of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Chandler was present at the engagement of the Sewell's Point batteries and the capture of Norfolk.  On 25 July 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant-commander and commanded the screw steamer USS Huntsville in the East Gulf Blockading Squadron.  Later he was transferred to command the USS Maumee in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and fought at Fort Fisher  and the capture of Wilmington.

For two years after the war, he commanded the steamer USS Don and was on ordnance duty at  the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1868.  The next year he commanded the USS Tallapoosa.  Promoted to captain in  1874 and commodore in 1884 and served as commandant of Brooklyn Navy Yard.

On 6 October 1886, he was commissioned as read admiral and ordered to relieve Rear Admiral John L. Davis (also at Fort Fisher) in command of the Asiatic Squadron.  He died of apoplexy in Hong Kong February 9, 1889, and is buried there.

--Old B-Runner

March 28, 1864: Sailors Baling Cotton

MARCH 28TH, 1864:  The versatility of Union gunboat crews was continually tested.  Crewmen from the USS Benton, Lieutenant Commander Greer, had hone ashore on the 27th near Fort De Russy (Louisiana) and taken some 13 bales of cotton from an abandoned plantation.

They returned this date, Greer reported, and "got 18 bales from the same place, which they baled themselves, using an old awning for the purpose."

More Prize Money for Everyone.  --Old B-Runner

Ralph Chandler, USN-- Part 2: Among the First At USNA

From Wikipedia.

RALPH CHANDLER  (23 August  1829-- 9 February 1889)

Was a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy .  He saw action in the Mexican War and the Civil War and later served as commander of the U.S. Asiatic Squadron.

Born in Batavia, New York and  joined the Navy as a midshipman  17 September 1845 and was sent to the Naval Academy.  (The USNA was established October  10, 1845, so he would have been one of the very first classes to attend it.)

After graduation, he was assigned to the USS Independence, flagship of the U.S. Pacific Squadron where he took part in operations during the Mexican War and was involved in two engagements near Mazatlan.

Then he served on the sloop Vincennes 1849-1850 and  promoted to Passed midshipman in 1851.  Then, a tour of duty  at the Naval Academy in 1852 and service aboard the sloop St. Louis in the Mediterranean Sea until 1855 when he was promoted to master and then lieutenant.

--Old B-Runner

Ralph Chandler, USN: Commanded USS Maumee At Fort Fisher

I found out that he commanded the USS Maumee at Fort Fisher.

From Find-A-Grave

Ralph Chandler

Born 3 August 1829 in Batavia, New York
Died 11 February 1889 in Hong Kong

Buried Hong Kong Cemetery.

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral.  Served in the Mexican War and Civil War and was at Fort Fisher commanding the USS Maumee.

Died in 1889 while in command of the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Fleet.

--Old B-Runner

USS Maumee-- Part 2: Wilmington and Richmond

The USS Maumee was launched at New York Navy Yard  2 July 1863, and commissioned September 29, 1864, under command of Lt.Cmdr. Ralph Chandler.

It sailed to Norfolk, Va., October 2 and jointed the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.  On the 26th, she got underway searching for the Confederate raider CSS Tallahassee as far north as Halifax, Nova Scotia.  By 8 November, she was back in Norfolk preparing for  the attack on Fort Fisher, which guarded the port of Wilmington, N.C..

ATTACKS ON FORT FISHER

The first attempt to take the fort December 24-25, 1864, was unsuccessful, but the fleet (and Maumee) returned January 13-15, 1865, and this time succeeded.

On February 15, the Maumee was ordered into the Cape Fear River to support Union movement toward Wilmington.  When that port city fell, the Maumee was ordered to the James River and after Richmond fell, the Maumee was one of the vessels operating off that city.

After the war, she went to Philadelphia and was decommissioned 17 June 1865 and sold 15 December.

--Old B-Runner

USS Maumee-- Part 1: At Fort Fisher

I wrote about the USS Maumee (AO-2) in both my Cooter's History Thing and Tattooed On Your Soul:  World War II blogs today.  This ship was commanded by William Victor Tomb during World War I and accomplished the first-ever successful mid-ocean refueling of destroyers.  The ship also fought in World War II.

William Victor Tomb was the son of James H. Tomb, who commanded the CSS David in its torpedo attack on the USS Memphis March 6, 1864.  I have written many posts about him in this blog.

While looking up the Maumee, I saw that there was a Civil War ship named that as well.  AND, it was at Fort Fisher, right up my alley.

The USS Maumee was 190 feet long,  29 foot beam, steam powered screw propeller and mounted seven guns:

one 100-pdr. Parrott rifle
one 30-pdr. Parrott rifle
four  24-pdr. guns
one  12-pdr. rifle

--Old B-Runner

Confirmation of James H. Tomb's Sons-- Part 2:

Papers of James Hamilton Tomb (died after 1900) of Florida include his memoirs of the Civil War  when he was a chief engineering officer in the Confederate Navy; correspondence(partly in Portuguese) while a Brazilian  navy officer, 1866-1867, and recollections and drawings of a torpedo which sank a Brazilian  warship; and  post war correspondence about Civil War naval actions with former Confederate and Union navy officers and other interested persons.

The Civil war papers especially concern Confederate torpedoes and the submarines used  in the attempt to break the Charleston blockade.

Other papers include various records of naval service of his sons, captains William Victor Tomb (died 1941) and James Harvey Tomb (died 1946), including a diary, 1917-1918, of W.T. Tomb while on convoy duty  in the Atlantic during World War I.

O.K.  We have Confirmation.  Both Were the Sons of  James Hamilton Tomb.  --Old B-Runner

March 20, 1864: CSS Alabama Not Being Chased Now: "Chasing the Alabama" Doesn't Pay Off

MARCH 20TH, 1864:  Arriving off Capetown, South Africa, Captain Semmes, CSS Alabama, noted that there were no Union cruisers in the vicinity, though he was well aware that many had been dispatched from Northern ports to capture him.

He recalled later:  "That huge old coal-box, the Vanderbilt, having thought it was useless to pursue us farther, had turned back, and was now probably  doing a more profitable business, by picking up blockade-runners on the American coast.  This operation paid -- the Captain might grow rich upon it.  Chasing the Alabama did not."

--Old B-Runner

Confirmation on James H. Tomb's Sons? --Part 1

I sure spent a lot of time looking to see if there was a family connection between James H. Tomb, James Harvey Tomb and William Victor Tomb.  I did find one source at Wikiversity that said William Victor Tomb's father was James Hamilton Tomb.  He also had a brother who became a naval officer.  Could that be James Harvey Tomb?

I kept looking and then came across a site detailing some of the holdings of the University of North Carolina.  In it was:

COLLECTION NUMBER: 00723
COLLECTION TITLE:  JAMES HAMILTON TOMB PAPERS, 1855-1936

It takes up .5 linear feet of space and contains approximately 350 items.

James Hamilton Tomb was the chief engineer in the Confederate and Brazilian  navies and an officer  of the Norfolk and Western Railroad.  The collection contains the papers of two generations of naval officers.

Two generations.  That would be a confirmation for William Victor Tomb, but what about James Harvey Tomb?  He would also be the second generation.

--Still Looking.  --Old B-Runner

James Tomb's Sons? William Victor Tomb

The other Tomb who was found was William Victor Tomb.

From Wikiversity.

He became a Navy officer and commanded a ship around the age of 40 and commanded the USS Maumee during World War I.  His ship became the first one to refuel another ship at sea which enabled six U.S. Navy destroyers to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to Ireland after the U.S. entry in the war without stopping in a port to refuel.

He also wrote observations on convoy duty in a diary.

Most importantly to me, anyway, as far as my question about his being a son of James H. Tomb, the article says that William was his son.

"James Hamilton Tomb, William's father,  was the chief engineer of the Confederate and Brazilian  navies as well as an officer of the Norfolk and Western Railroad.  His father's history of being a well-established and international naval commander during the Civil War and with Brazil, is most likely what led William Victor Tomb  and his brother  to becoming naval commanders as well."

I'll be writing about this man in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

His Brother Also A Navy Officer?  Could That Be James Harvey Tomb?  --Old B-Runner

What About James Harvey Tomb and William Victor Tomb?

While looking for information on James Hamilton Tomb (and it is not easy to find, let me tell you) I came across the names of two other men involved with the sea and the Navy named Tomb.  One was James Harvey Tomb and the other William Victor Tomb.  Were they his sons?

They were both born in the 1870s, which fit the timing of James H. Tomb, but at Find-A-Grave site, there was only a daughter who died at age three listed for his children.  Was this an oversight?

James Harvey Tomb (1876-1946) was in the U.S. Navy and the Merchant Marine.  He graduated from the USNA and commanded destroyers in the years leading up to World War I and during the war commanded the USS Aroostook laying mines in the North Sea Mine Barrage.

He retired from the Navy in 1925 and later was superintendent of the New York  State Merchant Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for a while during World War II.

The Wikipedia article does not mention his childhood.

I'll be writing about him in more detail in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

Was He A Son of James Hamilton Tomb?  --Old B-Runner

James H. Tomb's Grave-- Part 2: Served in Brazilian Navy

James Hamilton Tomb (surname also known as Tombs) , born Florida, 1839

Declined appointment  as engineer in the U.S. Navy, April 23, 1861

Appointed 3rd Assistant Engineer, CSN

Captured on the Mississippi River, April 1862

Confined Fort Warren, Boston Harbor

1st Assistant Engineer commanding CSS David (described as a cigar torpedo steamer), 1864

Appointed Chief Engineer, Provisional Navy , January 7, 1864,  to rank from October 5, 1863

Attempted unsuccessfully, to destroy the USS Memphis, off Charleston, South Carolina, March 5, 1864

Served in the Brazilian Navy, 1866-1867

Also served, postwar, on the Norfolk and Western Railroad.

Died 1929, buried Evergreen Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida.

Impressive List Here.  --Old B-Runner

James H. Tomb's Grave-- Part 1: Buried With His Wife and Daughter

From Find-A-Grave  James Hamilton Tomb

Birth 1839

Death:  1929  (aged 89-90)

Burial:  Evergreen Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida.

His three-year-old daughter Belle (1879-1882) and wife Sarah J.  (1854-1880) are also buried there.
Their gravestones are visible near the CSN David monument (previous post) and there is a third gravestone which may be that of James Hamilton Tomb.

--Old B-Runner

Tomb's Monument to the Men of the David

From HMdb  "Confederate Torpedo Boat David"

I am fairly sure that James H. Tomb had this monument built.  Also, that his grave as well as that of his wife and young child are located by this monument.

Inscription:

TOMB
In Memory of my
shipmates of the
CONFEDERATE
TORPEDO BOAT DAVID

Charleston, S.C. Oct. 5 , 1863
Lieut. W.T. Glassell,  C.S.N.
Pilot W.J. Cannon,  C.S.N.
Fireman  Jas. Sullivan, C.S.N.
Chief Engineer
James Hamilton Tomb

Erected 1905
The date is the one in which the David launched its unsuccessful attack on the USS New Ironsides.

Located near the entrance of Evergreen Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida.

March 12, 1864: Union Expedition Up the St. John's River in Florida

MARCH 12, 1864:  The USS Columbia, Acting Ensign Francis W. Sanborn, supporting an Army movement up the St. John's River, Florida, captured the Confederate river steamer General Sumter.

Acting Master John C. Champion, commanding a launch from the USS Pawnee which was in company with tug Columbine, took command of the prize, and the two vessels pushed up the St. John's River, reaching Lake Monroe on the 14th.

That afternoon the naval force captured steamer Hattie at Deep Creek.  The expedition continued for the next few days, destroying a Southern sugar refinery and proceeding to Palatka, where the Army was taking up a fortified position,

--Old B-Runner

So, How's Your Hearing After "Bang-Clang" Day?

This past Saturday, March 9, marked the 157th anniversary of the second day of the Battle of Hampton Roads, also known as the Battle of the Ironclads or Battle Between the Monitor and Merrimac(k) (Virginia).  It was the day the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia clashed, the first time two ironclad ships had ever fought each other/

You can only imagine the noise inside the Monitor's turret or the casemate of the Virginia.  That as well as the smoke, the smells and those horrible clangs whenever a cannonball or shell struck home.  What had to be going through the minds of both crews?

This day marked the end of wooden navies everywhere.  It was also a major change in naval architecture as ships after that came to resemble variations of the Monitor.

A Lot of Innovation With That Ship.

Did You Say Something.  --Old B-Runner

Today Is Bang-Clang Day, Go Out and Get Banged

According to several holiday/observation sites, I  just learned earlier this week that March 9 is Bang-Clang Day.  This commemorates the second day of the Battle of Hampton Roads, when the USS Monitor squared off against the CSS Virginia (sometimes called the CSS Merrimack).

The two ships would fire their guns, "Bang" and then the shells would simply bounce off one another, "Clang."

Hey, You Sank My Battleship!!!  --Old B-R'er

Talking About Gen. J.D. Cox, Schofield's Move to Wilmington and Sherman's Carolinas Campaign

Over in my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog this past week, I have been writing about Gen. Schofield's 23rd Corps moving from Tennessee to D.C. and Wilmington, a man very involved in the Wilmington Campaign, Gen. John D. Cox.

And also what the move and man had to do with Sherman's Carolina Campaign.

Also, that when Cox's division landed at Fort Fisher several weeks after it fell, it resembled a farmer's pumpkin patch as those shells rusted.

These were all events leading up to Wilmington's fall and Joe Johnston surrendering at Bennett Place near Durham, N.C..

This was a big part of the Fort Fisher/Wilmington Campaigns, but I wrote about them in connection with the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group's meeting in February.

--Old B-Runner

James H. Tomb, CSN-- Part 3: Civil War and Brazilian ServiceService

From Google Books for Tomb's "Engineer in Gray."

You can get an idea of the ships and operations Tomb was involved with by the chapters in his Table of Contents:

CSS Jackson
CSS McRae
Prison Life at Fort Warren

CSS Chicora
CSS David
CSS Juno

More Torpedo Attacks
CSS Leesburg  (I am unable to find anymore information on this ship or the CSS Juno.
Badly used Up

The Cause Is Lost
Various Ocial Documents, Parts A & B  (I believe Ocial is a misprint)
To South America

Loss of the Rio de Janeiro
Adios South America
Appendix A:  Submarines and  Torpedo Boats
Torpedo Service in the Harbor

--Old B-Runner

James Hamilton Tomb, CSN-- Part 2: Service in Charleston Harbor

James Tomb was at the forefront of naval weapon technology of the period.  he quickly amassed  not only the knowledge required of a steam engineer, but also the courage and capacity to assume important positions of command.

Within days of his commissioning, he was on his way to his first assignment-- first class engineer on the CSS Jackson at New Orleans, Louisiana, a point of great strategic importance.

This is where he began his memoirs  "Engineer in Gray."

The memoirs are a first-person narrative.  The editor intersperses that with explanatory comments.  The editor also fills in the life of Tomb before and after his Confederate service.  Three appendices also include documents by Tomb "Submarines and Torpedo Boats, C.S.N.,"  written in 1914 for the Confederate Veteran  Magazine, a private manuscript Tomb wrote for his family describing in detail his experience with the torpedo boat  David and submarine H.L. Hunley, and "Reminiscences of Torpedo Service in Charleston Harbor," published in 1877 in the Southern Historical Society Papers.

There is also a bibliography and many rare photographs.

Sounds Like a Book I'd Like to Have.  --Old Torp-Runner

James Hamilton Tomb, CSN-- Part 1: In the Confederate and Brazilian Navies

In the last post I wrote about James Tomb's attack on the USS Memphis on this date 155 years ago.  I'd never heard of him so did some further research.  There wasn't an article in Wikipedia on him.  He was an interesting character.

From the Google Books site.  He wrote a book about his service titles "Engineer in Gray:  Memoirs of Chief Engineer  James H. Tomb, CSN."

James Hamilton Tomb  (1839 to 1929)

Devoted almost 12 years of his early life to wartime naval service.  First, he was with the Confederate Navy in the American Civil War and then with the Marinha do Brasil (Brazilian Navy) in the War of the Triple Alliance.

He was a steam engineer by profession and became a  torpedo expert by circumstance.

--Old B-Runner

March 6, 1864: Tomb's David Attacks USS Memphis in S.C.

All of these 155 Years Ago are from Civil War Naval Chronology.

MARCH 6, 1864:  A Confederate "David" torpedo boat commanded by First Assistant Engineer James Hamilton Tomb, CSN, attacked the USS Memphis, Acting Master Robert O. Patterson, in the North Edisto River near Charleston.

The "David" was spotted some 50 yards to port and a heavy volley of musket fire directed at her, but Tomb held his small craft on course.  The spar torpedo containing 95 pounds of powder was thrust squarely against the Memphis' port quarter, about eight feet below the waterline, but failed to explode.

Tomb turned away and renewed the attack on the starboard quarter.  Again, the torpedo struck home, but this time only a glancing blow because the Memphis was now underway.  The two vessels collided, damaging the "David", and Tomb withdrew under heavy fire.

The faulty torpedo had prevented the brave Tomb from adding an 800-ton iron steamer to a growing list of victims.

--Old B-Runner

Lumbee Tribe Votes Money to Fort Fisher State Historic Site

From the February 21, 2019, Robesonian  "Tribe votes to live-stream meetings" by Nancy McCleary.

Council members were asked to endorse the $23 million expansion of Fort Fisher State Historic Site. Lumbee Indians were forced to help build the fort, along with slaves and free blacks as well as the fort's garrison in 1862.

The fort is hoping to get an additional $7.5 million added to the work.

See previous two posts.

--Old B-R'er

Bill Seeks $7.5 Million for Fort Fisher-- Part 2: Reconstructing Mounds

The new visitors center will have more space for exhibits, a larger auditorium and space for classrooms and storage facilities.

Fort Fisher's new visitors center already has received $5 million in the 2017-1018 budget to begin with and this $7.5 million will be placed in the project reserve account.  The total could reach $20 million if this bill is approved.

(Not sure of the math here.  I'm also not sure of the 900,000 visitors as I believe they are counting ones from the very popular Fort Fisher Recreation area.)

The design work has already been funded for $400,000.

The Friends of Fort Fisher, a very active group, is on the hook for an additional $2 million for increased and improved exhibits.

HB 44 also provides for the reconstruction of two or three mounds that were leveled for the construction of the World War II air field.  (It was used for planes pulling anti-aircraft targets for training.)  The Friends of Fort Fisher is also expected to fund cannons for these.

The bill has passed the first reading in the House and referred to committee.

--Old B-Runner

Bill Seeks $7.5 Million for Fort Fisher-- Part 1: New 20,000 Square Foot Visitor Center

From the February 16, 2019, Winston-Salem (NC) Journal  "Bill seeks $7.5 million for final piece of Fort Fisher project. (Tribune News Service)

The bill was introduced last week by New Hanover County Representative Ted Davis (R-New Hanover).  Also Representative Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) sponsor.

It is House Bill 44 and provides $7.5 million for a new visitors center and $500,000 on the grounds of the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch (on the grounds of Fort Fisher).

The new visitors center will be 20,000 square feet and will include improvements to the parking lot and expanded earthworks.  Fort Fisher is the most heavily attended state historic site.  In the 2017-2018 fiscal year some 900,000 visitors came to the fort.

--Old B-R'er

Pictures of the 154th Anniversary Fort Fisher

The Wilmington (NC) Star-News has a large number of photographs taken from the 154th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher which was held on January 12, 2019.  The actual battle took place Jan. 13-15, 1865.

Twenty-four color photographs.  Several were of the 117th New York Infantry re-enactors, plus the 3rd N.C. Junior Reserves (under the age of 18)  Also,  Company F, 10th North Carolina Artillery, (Andrews Battery).

Everyone was wearing heavy coats as it must have been cold out there.

Search   Photos: 154th  anniversary Battle of Fort Fisher  to view them.

I am hoping to be there for the 155th anniversary next January.  Every five years it is an even bigger event.

--Old B-Runner