CSS/USS Diana-- Part 5: Retaken By Confederates and At the Battle of Fort Bisland, Louisiana

The Diana was then towed up the Teche, the Diana was repaired and taken into the Confederate  River Fleet on April 5, 1863, to support the troops at Camp Bisland in Louisiana.  On April 11, under Lieutenant  Nettles of the Velverde Battery (who showed great skill in commanding his gunboat), the Diana's guns helped drive Union troops back on Bayou Teche and away from the vulnerable Camp Bisland.

Nettles' command of the Diana, however, proved to be very short.  Taken suddenly ill with  fever, he was relieved  on 13 April 1863 by Captain Oliver Semmes (Hmmmn, Semmes, I wonder) of the Artillery Unit.

The day he took command, thousands of Union troops moved in with their own gunboat support and launched a violent attack on Bayou Teche and Camp Bisland (also called Fort Bisland).  This engagement lasted until sundown.

I'd never heard of this Semmes fellow or Fort/Camp Bisland.  Perhaps some more research will be necessary.

--Old B-Runner

CSS/USS Diana-- Part 4: Captured By Union at New Orleans and Recaptured a Year Later

The Diana was reported to have escaped when the Union Navy under Admiral Farragut ran past forts Jackson and St. Philip on April 24, 1862, but was captured by the USS Cayuga on April 27th.

It was then used by Union forces at New Orleans on May 5 as a troop transport.  Then the Diana was assigned  to assist Federal ships at Berwick Bay before being sent to Grand Lake around March 28, 1863 to make a reconnaissance down the Atchafalaya River with two companies of infantry aboard
to Bayou Teche near Pattersonville.

Confederate shore batteries weer lying in ambush, however, and laid down a murderous fire from both artillery and sharpshooters.  The Diana had her tiller ropes shot away and her engine disabled.  This major damage caused the Diana to drift ashore where she was surrendered.

Also captured by the jubilant Confederates were 58 men from the 12th Connecticut and 20 from the 160th New York Infantry.

The Diana's commander, Acting Master T.L.  Peterson along with five other men were killed, and three  others were wounded in the two-hour action.

--Old B-Runner

CSS/USS Diana-- Part 3: Built in Pennsylvania, Ended Up In Texas

From the 290 Foundation  "CSS Diana"

The Diana was initially built  as a side-wheel steamer at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on the Monongahela River in 1858.  Subsequently, along with steamers Bayou City and Neptune No. 2, she was offered for charter or sale at Galveston, Texas, in September 1861 by the Houston Navigation Company.

She remained listed as  a steamer of that company on 19 December 1861 when taking the seized Federal life boat Francis in tow for San Jacinto, Texas.  Under Captain Blakmen, she was tasked to carry the crew of the CSS General Rusk from Houston to Galveston on 20th January 1862.

Both the Diana and Bayou City were eventually fitted out as semi ironclads, increasing their displacements from 239 tons to 245 tons respectively before being used as gunboats by the Texas Marine Department for the defense of Galveston Bay.

One-inch of iron protected the Diana's bow and much of her deck was protected by tightly-packed cotton bales  She was fitted with five Parrott guns, also mounted on the forward deck.

The one picture I saw of the Diana with cannons, showed one aft and one forward.

--Old B-Runner

CSS/USS Diana-- Part 2: Captured at New Orleans, Then Recaptured in Louisiana

The Diana, a sidewheel merchant steamer was captured by the U.S. Navy  17 April 1862 at New Orleans, Louisiana, and turned over  on 7 May  to General Benjamin Butler, the Union Army commander in New Orleans.  She was used by the Union Army as a transport until November 1862, then returned to naval service, Acting Master Weeks in command.

During her short career in the U.S. Navy, the Diana assisted in the capture of two vessels with sugar and molasses on board on 6 December 1862.  Later, it took part in an attack on Confederate forces  in Bayou Teche, Louisiana, and the destruction of  the CSS J.A. Cotton 14 January 1863.

For the remainder of her Union service,the Diana assisted other Union gunboats and Army detachments in Berwick Bay, Louisiana,, until 28 March 1863, when she was recaptured by the Confederates while on a reconnaissance of Grand Lake and Atchafalaya River in Louisiana.

I know that it was at Galveston when it helped John N. Maffitt and his CSS Owl escape.

--Old B-Runner

ESPN Man's Ancestors Captured at Fort Fisher

From the June 10, 2020, ESPN  by Ryan McGee.

In a very hateful column about the Confederate flag and NASCAR, he had some interesting stuff to say nonetheless.

In the process of defending his anti-flag stance, he related some of his family's history.  And, of course, as soon as I saw the words Fort Fisher, well, he had my interest.

His family owned slaves and two of his ancestors were captured defending Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865.  His great-great-great grandfather and uncle were sent to  the Elmira Prison Camp, aka "Hell-Mira." in New York.

They were fortunate enough to survive and when the war ended walked 600 miles home to Rockingham, North Carolina.

His family still owns the former plantation house where his ancestors had slaves.

--Old B-Runner

CSS/USS Diana-- Part 1 Served Both Navies

From Wikipedia.  Listed under USS Diana, which it was for a short time.

Not much is known about this ship in regards to any general characteristics other than she was a sidewheel steam propelled vessel.

Laid down and launched are not known.  In service for Union Navy November 1862.  Out of service 28 March 1863.

Captured:  By Union forces  27 April 1862.  Fate:  recaptured by Confederate forces, 28 March 1863.

The USS Diana (1862) was a captured Confederate steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy in prize court and then began a career as a blockader for awhile.

--Old B-Runner

Road Tripping Through Civil War Naval History: From the CSS Owl, to Maffitt to the CSS Diana

This all started earlier this month when I had a blog entry featuring the blockade runner Owl, which had a picture of the ship running through the blockade at Wilmington, N.C..  It was a great picture, and I am currently using it at the top of this blog.  If anyone knows who painted this, please let me know so I can credit that person.

Then, I started my road trip with a confusing entry in Wikipedia on this ship, which I found out was actually owned by the Confederate government so correctly was the CSS Owl.  It didn't enter the war until near the end, but at the time was the best designed ship available to do the job it was supposed to do.

And, it was commanded at the end by a person I really admire, John Newland Maffitt.

The ship ran into Wilmington near the end and was headed there when news came that Fort Fisher had fallen.  Maffitt then tried to run into Charleston, S.C., Florida and finally Galveston.  It was helped out of a really tight place on that final run in by the CSS Diana, a ship I had never heard of before.  This ship will be my next area of research.  (And, I found out it was a Confederate ship, then a Union ship and went back to being a Confederate ship.  How's that for interest?)

After running out of that place, Maffitt sailed to England and turned the Owl over to authorities there.

So, Let's Go Road Tripping Through Some Civil War Naval History.  --Old B-Runner

June 16, 1865: The CSS Shenandoah Is Still Cruising in the Pacific, Unaware the War Is Over

JUNE 16TH, 1865:  For two days the CSS Shenandoah had sailed  northward in a fog that fortunately lifted partly just in time to enable her to miss running aground as she passed west of the Aleutians.

Three days later, half way across the world, Commander Bulloch wrote to Lieutenant Waddell, ordering him to desist from further destruction of United States property upon the high seas and all offensive  operations against U.S. citizens.

Of course, these were orders that would not be delivered for many weeks even under the best of conditions.  Therefore, American whalers were destined to suffer disastrous blows.

--Old B-R'er

On Maffitt's Final Run Through the Blockade-- Part 2: It Was Grand Theater

By this late date in the war, with all other Confederate ports closed, there were sixteen Union blockaders off Galveston.  Regardless, Maffitt ran that gauntlet, taking heavy fire.  he was so hard pressed, that at the entrance to the harbor, he ran aground on Bird Island Shoals.

Under heavy fire, Maffitt attempted to free the Owl.  The scene became grand outdoor theater as the people of Galveston heard the cannon fire and ascended the steps to their house tops to view the action.

A small Confederate fleet consisting of two gunboats and four transports wasn't much help, but one of the gunboats, the CSS Diana, with a volunteer crew under Captain James H. McGarvey, steamed out into the spray of shot and shell to assist the Owl.

There they found Maffitt "at his exposed post on the bridge of the steamer, calmly directing his men and displaying... the greatest bravery."

With the aid of the Diana, the Owl was soon floated and towed  out of danger to the rejoicing of the housetop audience.

So, the little-known Diana played a role on the last attempt by a Confederate blockade runner to enter a Confederate port.

--Old B-Runner

On Maffitt's Final Run Through the Blockade Into Galveston

From the 290 Foundation, taken from "High Seas Confederate:  The Life and Times of John N. Maffitt" by Royce Shingleton.

Now near the end of his Confederate naval career, he steamed to Havana where he planned the wars's last active blockade running attempt with a run to Galveston, Texas.

This port had seen a rather limited importance as point of entry and exit from the Confederacy.  It was a long way from Havana, requiring much extra coal for the run, had a rather shallow entrance and was poorly defended.  Any run into that port would require an extended stay because very little cotton was stored there.

Not to mention the distance anything brought in would have to travel to get to the rest of the Confederacy.

Even with all these obstacles, John Newland Maffitt took his chances and started off in his CSS Owl for this destination.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Owl-- Part 5: The End of the Confederacy

On this last trip to Wilmington, the Owl was almost captured by a federal cruiser and had to jettison valuable mail as well as sustained 12 casualties.

When Maffitt tried to run into Galveston in May 1865, he grounded on Bird Island Shoals at the entrance to the harbor, within easy cannon range of sixteen blockaders.   Captain James H. MacGarvey, CSN, , of the CSS Diana, just barely got the Owl off in time before the Union ships got the range and Maffitt got into the port.

He later also successfully ran out of it.

There is some evidence that during the Owl's last  two runs through the blockade that it was doing so under the name of Foam.

With the end of the war and no more ports to run into, Maffitt took the Owl/Foam to Liverpool and delivered it to the firm of Fraser, Trenholm & Company and deciding to stay in England, Maffitt took the British Board of Trade examinations and  commanded British ships going between that island and South America.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Owl-- Part 4: Cruising in the Owl

The Owl was in Bermuda with a cargo of cotton October 24-29, as the U.S. consul duly reported.  On December 5, Mallory instructed Maffitt to pick up the crew of his former ship, the CSS Florida, in Bermuda.

After this, there seems to be some confusion in the article as to when things happened chronologically, so I will just write what it says until I can do some more research on it.

A letter to Mallory from Maffitt that was captured along with Assistant Paymaster Talley, CSN, by the USS Forest Rose on May 7, 1865, bears an endorsement from the Union ship's commander, Lieutenant A.N. Gould, USN:  "It shows that Maffitt has been landing on the Florida coast with the Owl.

U.S. Consul William Thomas Minor at Havana, Cuba, reported on May 20 that Maffitt was to leave there in a day or two for Galveston, Texas.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Owl, Blockade Runner-- Part 3: J.N. Maffitt Takes Command

The Owl needed a new captain and that man turned out to be none other than the famed "Prince of privateers,"  John Newland Maffitt who was detached from command of the CSS Albemarle at Plymouth, N.C.,  on or about September 9, 1864.  He had also commanded the famous Confederate commerce raider CSS Florida.

Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory telegraphed Maffitt on September 19, warning him:  "It is of the first importance that our steamers should not fall into enemy hands... these vessels, lightly armed, now constitute the fleetest  and most efficient part of the blockading fleet off Wilmington."

As such, Maffitt was to take no passengers aboard as a rule, and Assistant PaymasterAdam Tredwell, CSN, would deliver "5,000 pounds in sterling bills before sailing," Mallory concluded.

How Better to Catch a Blockade Runner But With a Former Blockade Runner?  --Old B-Runner

June 9, 1865: Two New Squadrons Formed of the Four Blockading Ones As War Winds Down

JUNE 9TH, 1865:  Secretary Welles ordered the East Gulf and West Gulf Squadrons to be combined and redesignated the Gulf Squadron.  He directed Rear Admiral H.K. Thatcher to relieve Rear Admiral C.K. Stribling and assume command of the newly formed  Squadron with headquarters  at Pensacola.

Welles also directed that the North and South Atlantic squadrons be combined and redesignated the Atlantic Squadron.  At the same time, he ordered Rear Admiral Dahlgren to return to Washington, D.C., and Rear Admiral William Radford to assume command of the new squadron.

Dahlgren recorded in his diary on June 17:  "And so ends a command of two years of one of the largest fleets ever assembled under American colors -- as many as 96 at one time."

--Old B-Runner

CSS Owl, Blockade-Runner-- Part 2: Running the Blockade Into Wilmington

The Owl was built in Liverpool, England, (Home of the Beatles) by shipbuilder Jones Quiggen and launched n June 21, 1864.  She was built specifically to run the blockade.

The CSS Owl was more fortunate than her sister ship, the CSS Bat which followed her closely.  The Owl succeeded in running into Wilmington, N.C.,  sometime in September 1864, despite the Union Navy having information on her and its destination.  United States Consul Mortimer Melville Jackson described her as having "a large, valuable cargo."

The Owl then cleared port, supposedly going to Nassau in the Bahamas, but actually to Wilmington.  She ran through the blockade successfully.  After loading cotton, the Owl escaped Wilmington on October 3, 1864, despite her masts being visible before running out.  However, not without damage and injuries.  Her captain and several crew men were wounded when nine shots found their mark.

--Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Owl-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Launched:  June 21, 1864

Commissioned:  1864

Decommissioned:   1865

Fate:  Delivered to British agents in Liverpool

Displacement:  771 tons

Length:  230 feet

Beam:  26 feet

Draft:  7.6 feet

Propulsion:  steam engine

Speed:  14-16 knots  (one very fast ship for its time)

--Old B-Runner

Blockade Runner Owl

From the May 26, 2020  Wilmington (NC) Star-News "Photos:  Past vessels along the Cape Fear River."

Picture 46 of 82

A painting of Captain John Newland Maffitt's  Owl running the blockade into Wilmington.

John Morris, head of the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch at Fort Fisher will be speaking  June 30, 2018, from 3 pm to 4 pm at the Wrightsville Beach (NC) Museum about American Civil War vessels lost in the area.

A collection of artifacts from the blockade runner Modern Greece will be available for guest inspection and handling.

North Carolina  is home to more Civil War shipwrecks than any other state.

Also, Photo 61 of 82 shows a map of the blockade runner Condor which is now a Heritage Dive Site.  Photo 62 is an underwater photo of the Condor.  Also photo 76 shows an oblique view of the Condor.

--Old B-Runner

June 1-4, 1865: Attacking Apalachicola

JUNE 1-4TH, 1865:  Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Green, in the USS Itasca,  commanded the naval units in the combined Army-Navy movement to occupy Apalachicola, Florida.

Brigadier general Alexander Asboth, commanding the expedition, commended Green highly for his "nautical skill and efficiency, as well as his friendly willingness to aid" which the general reported, "materially contributed to the successful" execution of the mission.

--Old B-Runner

Confederate Fortifications at New Topsail Inlet

From Stopping Points

TOPSAIL BATTERY

U.S. 17, HAMPSTEAD, N.C.

I have passed the marker often I I drove from Wilmington to Topsail Island, North Carolina, where my mom had a townhouse at Topsail Beach.

Text from the marker:

Confederate breastworks were constructed in this vicinity in 1862 to protect Wilmington from an attack from the north  and for coastal defense.

The attack from the north would have been a Union attack from  occupied New Bern and coastal defense would have been a Union landing on the coast and attack on Wilmington from there.

The marker is on the east side of U.S. 17 as you enter Hampstead.  I imagine there is water nearby, but you can't see it for the overgrowth.

--Old B-Runner

Action at New Topsail Inlet on August 22, 1863-- Part 2: Cushing's At It Again

AUGUST 22ND, 1863:  Boat crew from the USS Shokokon, Lieutenant Cushing, destroyed schooner Alexander Cooper in New Topsail Inlet, North Carolina.

"This was,"  Rear Admiral S.P. Lee wrote, "a handsome affair, showing skill and gallantry."

Ten days earlier, Cushing had sighted the blockade runner while he was on a reconnaissance of the inlet.  "This schooner," he said, "I determined to destroy, and as it was so well guarded I concluded to use strategy."

The evening of the 22nd, he sent two boats' crews ashore under the command of Acting Ensign Joseph E. Cony.  The men landed, shouldered a dingy, and carried it across a neck of land to the inlet.

Thus the assault took place from behind the Confederate works with marked success.  In addition to burning the Alexander Cooper, Cony destroyed extensive salt works in the vicinity and took three prisoners back to the Shokokon.

Very Sneaky Mr. Cushing.  --Old B-Runner