The North Carolina Floating Battery Sunk by a Confederate Torpedo

Same source as the last post.

FLOATING BATTERY

Length 20 feet, beam 20 feet, height 8 feet, armor 1.5 foot iron, with six inch oak on two sides.  Armed with six guns on three sides.

Anchored eight miles above Plymouth on the Roanoke River in 2.5-3 fathoms with 2-3 foot of casemate above water.

Was sunk by a floating Confederate torpedo and burned on April 8, 1865, by a launch from the USS Iosco and a cutter from the USS Mattabesett.

Located at Gray's Fisher.  Was removed in 1873 under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Marion One of Five Confederate Ships Sunk by Mines

From Civil War Talk  "Vessels sunk by mines (torpedoes) during ACW."

When you think of ships being sunk by torpedoes during the war, you naturally think most often they were Union ships.  But, this forum entry gave the names of five Confederate ships which also met a similar fate:

CSS Etiwan

CSS Marion

CSS A.H. Schultz

William Allison

and a floating battery in North Carolina on the Roanoke River

--Old B-Runner

CSS Marion Sunk By Torpedo in Charleston Harbor-- Part 2

Continued from October 22.

The Marion sank after drifting onto a torpedo it had previously placed, and the bottom of her hull was blown out.

The Marion sank in just thirty seconds on the night of April 6, 1863, off Charleston in 30 feet of water at the mouth of the Ashley River neat the  mouth of Wappoo Creek.

Captain John Floyer was killed, and the ship's machinery destroyed.

--Old B-Runner

Henry Walton Grinnell Was Buried at ANC

In researching this man, I read that he had been buried at Arlington Cemetery, which, of course, led me to think Arlington National Cemetery, but when I went to that site, I couldn't find his name, so maybe it was another Arlington cemetery somewhere else.

Then, in the last post, I actually saw the words National Cemetery at Arlington.  But, again, I went to the site and couldn't find his name.

I finally went to my old standby for where folks are buried, Find A Grave, and typed in Arlington National Cemetery.  Once there, I typed in his name...and there he was.

He is listed

LIEUT HENRY WALTON GRINNELL

BIRTH: 19 Nov 1843

DEATH:  2 Sep 1920 (age 76)

BURIAL:  Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia   Section 3, Site 4202

So, He Was.  --Old B-Runner

Henry Walton Grinnell, Even More-- Part 2: The Mikado's 'Yankee Admiral'

Catholic Builders of the Nation (1923)  says that he was a convert to the Catholic Church and that he was buried in the National Cemetery at Arlington.

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"Catalog of Alpha Delta Phi Society" says he was a member of that from Manhattan in 1863.

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In "Lincoln's Bold Lion:  The Life and Times of Martin Davis Hardin" (2015) says that among the general's social circle in St. Augustine, Florida, was Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, the hero of the naval battle of Santiago in the Spanish-American War and one Henry Walton Grinnell.

The book described Grinnell as "probably one of the most colorful of Hardin's military coterie in St. Augustine."  Furthermore Grinnell was "famed as the Mikado's 'Yankee Admiral' for his service aboard a Japanese battleship during the 1895 Battle of Yalu  in the Sino-Japanese War, which ended in the destruction of  the antiquated Chinese  armada.

"The scion of a wealthy family had also served with Admiral David Farragut during the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay.  In 1904, the old sailor married a young lady  less than half his age."

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The Official U.S. Navy Register for September 1867 shows Grinnell as serving on board the USS Oneida.

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Served as an honorary pallbearer at the funeral of Chrysostom P. Donahue.  (I haven't been able to find out anything else about this man.)

--Old B-Runner

Lt. Cmdr. George W. Young, USN

Continued from March 3, 2020.

In the last post, I mentioned his name and he was in charge of the naval cleanup operations on the Cape Fear River after the fall of Wilmington on February 22, 1865.

I haven't been able to find out too much more about him.

I saw that he was in command of the USS Maratanza  at both battles of Fort Fisher.

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From U.S. Navy & Marine Corps Officer 1790-1900.

Midshipman  19 October 1941

Passed Midshipman  10 August 1847

Master  14 September 1855

Lieutenant  15 September 1855

Lieutenant Commander  16 July 1862

Commander  25 July 1866

Died 30 August 1867

--Old B-Runner

Henry Walton Grinnell: Even More-- Part 1: About That Wilmington Expedition

From the "Howland Heirs:  Being a Story of a Family and a Fortune"  Published 1919.

Some more on Mr. Grinnell.  Until this year, I had never heard of him, but, he definitely lived an interesting life.

This short account of his life includes him receiving "honorable mention from the Navy Department for carrying dispatches from his ship through the Confederate line, undercover of darkness."  This is the very first of my many posts about this man and what started this thread.  This is the first I've come across that story since then.

This is when he delivered dispatches from the Union forces in Wilmington, North Carolina to William T. Sherman's Army at Fayetteville, North Carolina, and it was through enemy lines.  A very daring attempt.

It also says he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on June 23, 1862, and became a mate and within the same year raised to the rank of acting ensign.  Two years later, he was master of his own ship.

As far as his service in the Japanese Navy, it says he "helped build up the Navy which subsequently riddle the Russian fleet.  This would be the Russo-Japanese War in 1905.  He also was a reason japan was able to so soundly defeat the Chinese fleet in the Sino-Japanese War.

When the book was written, Grinnell was residing in St,. Augustine, Florida.  He had two wives.  The first was Louisa I. Platt, whom he married in 1874.  The second was Florence G. Roche, who he married in 1910.  She was the daughter of poet James Jeffrey Roche.

--Old B-Runner

That Darn Cat-- Part 4: A Great Story Regardless

Continued from March 10 post.  To see the first three posts, click on the cats label below.

The Daily Press reports that David Albert, superintendent of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, hopes the cannons will be ready for display within two or three years; 13 News Now, however, cites an estimate suggesting closer to ten years.

The Monitor's turret sank upside down, filling the cannons with coal from the engine.  So when  conservators began boring into the cannon barrels last week, the majority of the materials recovered were black water and chunks of coal-colored marine concretions.

A preliminary search of the cannon barrels in 2005 showed no sign of cat  remains, and last week's borings yielded a similar  result.  The only artifact found of interest so far is a single metal bolt.

Laurie King, an assistant conservator at the museum says she loves the cat story, regardless of its veracity.

"Even if it turns out to be not true, I really like Butts and the fact that he had such an imagination, and felt like, 'No one's going to know the difference," says King.  "I don't think he ever would have imagined that we could bring it up a hundred and fifty years later.  It's wonderful to be able to do this archaeology to confirm or deny  stories and oral histories that have been passed down for generations."

--Old B-Runner

CSS Marion Sunk By a Torpedo in Charleston Harbor-- Part 1: Blown Up By Torpedo It Had Placed in Harbor

On May 1, I wrote about Major John Johnson's corrections from his book on "The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Fort Sumter and Adjacent Islands."

One of the corrections dealt with the sinking of the Confederate transport Marion where he said "The Confederate transport Marion was sunk by a torpedo while placing them in the Ashley River (Charleston Harbor) on April 6, 1863."

From "The Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks" by W. Craig Gaines.

CSS MARION

Confederate.  Sidewheel transport steamer, 258 tons.  Length 132 feet, beam 30 feet, depth 7 feet 2 inches.

Built in 1850 in Charleston, S.C.

Drifted onto a torpedo it had earlier positioned, and the bottom of its hull blew out.

Oops.  Kind of Embarrassing To Get Blown Up By Your Own Torpedo.   --Old B-Runner

A Black Woman from Norfolk Stole Plans for CSS Virginia for the Union

From the February 24, 2020, Virginia-Pilot "A black woman from Norfolk stole Confederate ship plans for the Union" by Katherine Haffner.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles long remembered the service Mary Louvestre "rendered  under extreme peril in the winter 1861-'62."

At the time, the Confederacy was building an ironclad, the CSS Virginia, out of the the former USS Merrimack.  Confederates were very careful about keeping this secret.  The Union was extremely anxious to get information on it.

"It was whilst we were in this state of anxiety, with but vague  and indefinite information, that this colored woman, Mary (Louvestre), came to the Navy Department and requested to see me alone," Welles wrote a decade later.

Louvestre, of Norfolk, brought him a paper  written by a mechanic who was working on the Virginia.  Her information corroborated other information they had on the ship's progress.

Welles now knew that he had to complete the USS Monitor as soon as possible.

Welles wrote in his letter that he'd always remember Mary Louvestre's "zeal and fidelity."  Very little else is known about her, even the correct spelling of her name.

--Old B-Runner

Raleigh Cannons Now at Fort Fisher

 From the June 29, 2020, Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "Confederate cannons removed from Raleigh now at Fort Fisher" by Hunter Ingram.

These were removed from the North Carolina State Capitol grounds by orders of Governor Roy Cooper after they were vandalized (hate crime), earlier in June.  The 1895 monument to Confederate military was built in 1895.

The two cannons are now at Fort Fisher and are on display by the fort's mounds where they will remain.  (See picture)

Fort Fisher is ramping up for a new $23 million visitors center and grounds which will greatly provide opportunity to display these cannons.

We can always use more cannons.  Definitely could have used more cannons on January 15, 1865.

Raleigh's Loss Is Fort Fisher's Gain.  --Old B-Runner

Some More on Henry Walton Grinnell-- Part 2: Service With Japan, Ecuador and Spanish-American War

Now in the service of Japan, Grinnell was almost immediately appointed inspector-general of the Navy and given the rank of rear-admiral where he served in that capacity from 1868-1870.

In 1872-1873, he was naval advisor to the South American Republic of Ecuador.  He was still serving Japan as well, but also made various trips back to the United States.  His efforts resulted in well-trained Japanese sailors who defeated China in the Sino-Japanese War where he saw active service at the Battle of Yalu, the decisive naval battle of the conflict.

After the war, he was honorably discharged as a vice-admiral and received a substantial gratuity.

Returning to his homeland, he found the United States at war with Spain and reentered the U.S. Navy as a volunteer lieutenant. and served on the USS Iowa until peace was declared.

Thereafter, he lived in retirement in Puntarassa, Florida, (by Fort Myers) and Boston.

He died in St. Augustine, Florida, and is buried at Arlington.  (I don't know if this is Arlington National Cemetery or some other cemetery named Arlington.)

--Old B-Runner

Some More on Henry Walton Grinnell-- Part 1: Distinguished Service in U.S. Navy During the War, Then, On to the Japanese Navy

From prabook.

Was born in New York on November 19, 1943.  He spent three years (1858-1861) at the New York Free Academy (later the College of the City of New York) and then entered the U.S. Navy where he was appointed a mate in June 1862.  Then acting ensign in November 1862 and acting master 1864 and acting volunteer lieutenant in 1865.

While on board the USS Monongahela in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, he took part in the Battles of New Orleans and Mobile.  On November 18,1863, he distinguished himself while commanding a landing party that helped army units ashore.

After the war, while serving on the USS Susquehanna of the Asiatic Squadron, he declined appointment as an ensign in the regular navy and was honorably discharged July 25, 1868.

He accepted instead, a commission as a captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy and began training seamen at the Heigo Naval School.

--Old B-Runner

Henry Walton Grinnell-- Part 5: Imperial Japanese Navy and Spanish-American War

In the China-Japanese War he saw active service in the Battle of Yalu River, the decisive naval engagement of that war.  When he was honorably discharged at the end of the war, as vice admiral, he received a substantial gratuity.

He was married  in 1874, in Sydney, Australia, to  Louise I.S. Pratt.  He married his second wife in June 1910, Florence G. Roche, of Boston, Massachusetts.

Returning to the United States he found his country at war with Spain and re-entered the Navy as a volunteer lieutenant and served on the USS Iowa until peace was declared.

Thereafter, he lived in retirement in Puntarassa, Florida, and Boston.

He died in St. Augustine, Florida, and is buried at Arlington.

--Old B-Runner

Henry Walton Grinnell-- Part 4: In the Japanese Imperial Navy and Adviser to Ecuador's Navy

After the war, he served on the USS Susquehanna of the Asiatic Squadron, where he declined appointment as an ensign in the regular U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged July 25, 1868.

He accepted instead, a commission as a captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy and began to train seamen at the Heigo Naval School.  Almost immediately, he was appointed Inspector General with the rank of rear admiral and served in that capacity from 1868-1870.

In 1872-1873, he was naval adviser to the Republic of Ecuador.  During the following years, although he did not devote his entire attention to the Japanese Navy as his many trips to the United States show,  he retained his commission and helped to develop the seamanship that defeated China in  the war.

--Old B-Runner

Henry Walton Grinnell-- Part 3: Served on USS Monongahela

From PraBook.

Henry Walton Grinnell was born  in New York on November 19, 1843, the son of Henry and Sarah Minturn Grinnell.

He spent three years at (1858-1861) at the New York Free Academy (later  the College of the City of Nerw York).

After the three years there, he entered the U.S. Navy.  Appointed Mate June 1862;  acting ensign November 1862; acting master 1864; and acting volunteer lieutenant , 1865.

On board the USS Monongahela of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, he took part in the Battles of New Orleans and Mobile Bay.  On November 18, 1863, he distinguished himself by his command of a landing party which materially aided the army.

--Old B-Runner

You Can Now Cruise the Delaware River to View Historic Forts Along the New Jersey Coast

From the September 7, 2020, NJ.com.

Fort Delaware State Park will start offering Delaware River cruises starting this Friday, September 11.

Fort Delaware, which is on Pea Patch Island  is in the middle of the river, about half way between Fort DuPont in Delaware and Fort Mott in Pennsville, New Jersey.  Fort Delaware once house Confederate prisoners during the Civil War.

Friday cruises are slated for Sept. 11, 18 and 25, include one-hour trips at 4:30 and 5:45 pm for $15 and 90-minute sunset tours at 7 pm for $25.

The cruises depart the Fort Delaware ticket office in Delaware City, travel around the southern end of Pea Patch Island and head toward Fort Mott before returning.  Two park staffers will be on board to highlight points of interest along the way.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a maximum of 24 visitors will be allowed on board to ensure social distancing and masks are required.

Well, too late for this year.  Maybe next year.

--Old B-Runner

Henry Walton Grinnell-- Part 2: Veteran of Civil War, Spanish-American War and the Japanese Navy

From Wikipedia.

November 19, 1843-September 2, 1920.    Known as Walton Grinnell.  Naval veteran of Civil War and Spanish-American War.

He became a rear admiral  and Inspector-General of the Imperial Japanese Navy and served at the Battle of Yalu River in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

Walter Grinnell's older sister,  Sylvia, born in 181830, married William Fitzherbert Ruxton, who became an admiral in the British Navy.

Their father, Henry Grinnell, was partner in Grinnell, Minturn & Co.  owners of the Swallowtail  shipping line which included  the Flying Cloud in 1851, the fastest clipper ship in the world.  He financed an expedition to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin who was lost searching for the Northwest Passage and Grinnell Peninsula on Devon Island is named after him.

--Old B-Runner

H. Walton Grinnell, USN-- Part 1

Continued from March 22, 2020.

This man led a small detachment of sailors for the first hookup between Wilmington and General Sherman's Army in March 1865.  It was a very dangerous expedition.

From U.S. Navy & Marine Corps Officers  1775-1900.

MATE--  23 June 1862

ACTING ENSIGN--    11 November 1862

ACTING MASTER--  6 January 1864

ACTING VOLUNTEER LIEUTENANT--  3 May 1865

ENSIGN-- 12 March 1868 but did not accept

Honorably Discharged--  25  July 1868

LIEUTENANT  (Spanish American War)--  4 May 1898

Honorably Discharged--  10 January 1899

--Old B-Runner

Officers on USS Mackinaw, January 1, 1865

Naval History and Heritage Command.

The ship was in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Rear Admiral David D. Porter.

MACKINAW (3rd rate)

COMMANDER:  J.C. Beaumont

ACTING MASTER:  A.J. Louch

ACTING ENSIGNS:  William H. Penfield, J.T. Blanchard, Joseph Estes

ACTING ASSISTANT SURGEON:  Joseph T. Cottrell

ACTING ASSISTANT PAYMASTER:  Wm. T. Whittmore

ACTING MASTER'S MATES:  John A. Thomas, Solomon Barstow, Ed K. Green

ENGINEERS:

FIRST ASSISTANT:  Jefferson Young
SECOND ASSISTANT:  Daniel A. Sawyer
THIRD ASSISTANTS:  R.W. Milligan, Sylvanus McIntyre
ACTING THIRD ASSISTANTS:  Patrick Hagan, J.W. Reed

ACTING GUNNER:  Thomas Keer

This was the ship John S. Griscom was on when he was killed when the 100-pdr. Parrot exploded December 24, 1864, during the First Battle of Fort Fisher.

--Old B-Runner

Grant Planning for Second Attack on Fort Fisher and Explains How Butler Got Command of the First Attack

From Official Records War of the Rebellion Vol. XLVI, Prt II.

From City Point, Va., January 2, 1865 -- 3 p.m.

Hon.E.M. Stanton
  Secretary of War

General Sheridan proposed sending another division of troops here, but I suspended his action.  Let him get them to Baltimore now as soon as possible, and all the infantry on vessels that can go to Wilmington ready for orders.  Should I send troops there I will send him with them.

I can not go myself so long as General Butler would be left in command.  I will state that the former expedition was put under Weitzel by order, and I never dreamed of Butler going until he stopped here on his way down the river.  The operations taking place within the geographical limits of his department, I did not like to order him back.

                                                                   U.S. Grant
                                                                      Lieutenant General

Blockade Runner Atalanta (CSS Tallahassee)

From Confederate Historical Association of Belgium "The Armed Blockade Runners of the Confederate Government"by Serge Noirsain.

The twin screw ferry, Atalanta was a very stable and fast steamer.  She was purchased by a John Wallace in St. George (Bermuda)  who used her to run the blockade off Wilmington, N.C.

While at anchorage in Wilmington, the ship was purchased for $125,000.  Work to fit her out as a commerce raider began on July 15, 1864, and she was ready to embark on her new career nine days later.

--Old B-Runner

Major John Johnson Describes the Charleston Confederate Ironclads

From his book "The Defense of Charleston Harbor."  Pages 33-35

Two ironclad steamers were built in Charleston along the general plan of the the CSS Virginia with slanting casemate sides by the end of 1862.  They were intended for harbor defense.

The first launched was the CSS Palmetto State with iron plating four inches thick.It had an 80-pdr. rifle forward, a 60-pdr rifle aft and one 8-inch shell gun on each broadside.

The next was the Chicora, armed with six guns, two 9-inch  smoothbore and four 60-pdr. rifles.

Both were well built, but their steam power insufficient for the speed required of rams and their engines were constantly needing to be repaired.  Their crews numbered between 120 and 150.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Tallahassee Victim Found

From the March 29, 2020, NewsDay  "Set of coordinates, determination, lead to shipwreck discovery" by Bill Bleyer.

It wasn't a storm that caused the 181-foot long sailing ship named the Adriatic to be sunk back 156 years ago, but a run-in with the Confederate raider CSS Tallahassee.

Now, with a lot of determination, a group of Long Island divers appear to have discovered the ship's final resting place, about thirty miles south of Montauk Point.

The six divers are shown holding artifacts from the ship, including an inkwell.

"Finding the wreck of the Adriatic is an amazing discovery," said  Harrison Hunt, a former  Nassau County museum supervisor and author of the 2015 Arcadia book "Long Island and the Civil War.  Long Islanders don't usually think of the Civil War coming so close to their shore.

To offset the North's superiority in naval ships, the south relied on ironclads and commerce raiders.  By far, the most famous one was the CSS Alabama.  But the Tallahassee did pretty well in her short career.

--Old B-Runner

Death of Fort Fisher Volunteer David Wayne Dickson, 80

From the September28, 2020, Port City Daily.

Mr. Dickson died at home on Thursday, September 24.

He was born in 1940 in Schenectady, New York and served in the U.S. Navy between1958  to 1960.  After a 30-year career, he retired to Wilmington, North Carolina, as he had been going there on vacation for many years.

Most importantly to me, anyway, was his time devoted to Fort Fisher where he gave over 2,000 hours and was chosen Volunteer of the Year in 2008 and 2011.

Being able to volunteer at Fort Fisher for as many hours as Mr. Dickson would be a dream for me.  This fort is very special to my life.

Upon further thought, the obituary might have been referring to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher as it says in lieu of flowers to make donations to that place.  But, that is built inside the former Fort Fisher, so either way.

He was a Fort Fisher guy.

Thanks.

Death of Fort Fisher's Paul Laird

I only had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Laird on a few occasions due to how far away from Wilmington that I live, but, his efforts with the Friends of Fort Fisher was a major reason why I joined and am still a member.  

As far as I know, his legacy, the friends of Fort Fisher, has to be one of the best support groups any historical site has.  He was anywhere and everywhere needed in that organization and always went much further than was needed in all things.  

One of the times I met, he gave me a Friends of FF hat which I value.

I am hoping that they name something in the new Fort Fisher Museum and Visitors Center after him.  He certainly is deserving of that honor.

Well Miss You, Mr. Laird.