Recovery of the Monitor's Turret-- Part 3: Who Were the Two Remains Found in the Turret?

As archaeologists examined the contents of the turret after it had been landed on the Wotan, they discovered a second skeleton, but removing it did not begin until the turret arrived at the Mariners' Museum for conservation.  The remains of the two sailors were transferred to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Agency (JPAA)  at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in hopes that they could be identified.

Only sixteen members of the Monitor's crew that were not rescued by the USS Rhode Island and forensic anthropologists at the JPAA were able to rule out the three missing black crewmen based on the shape of the femurs and skulls.    Among the most promising of the remaining 13 were crew members Jacob Nicklis, Robert Williams and William Bryan.  

But, a decade passed and no definite confirmation could be made.  On March 8, 2013, their remains were buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

--Old B-Runner

Recovery of the Monitor's Turret-- Part 2: Forty-One Days of Real Hard Work

The divers prepared the turret roof (which was at the bottom now because it had overturned when the ship sank) by excavating under the turret and placed steel beams and angle irons to reinforce it for its move t a lifting platform for the second stage of recovery.

A large eight-legged lifting frame, nicknamed "The Spider," was carefully maneuvered over the turret to move it onto the platform and the entire contraption and turret would be lifted by a crane aboard the Wotan vessel.

The divers discovered one skeleton in the turret on 26 July before the lift and spent a week carefully chipping about half of it free of the concreted debris; the other half was inaccessible because it was underneath the rear of one of the cannons.

With Tropical Storm  Cristobal closing in on the recovery team and time and money running out, the team made the decision to raise the turret on 5 August 2002.  After 41 days of work, the turret  broke the surface of the Atlantic Ocean at 5:30 pm to the cheers of everyone  aboard the Wotan and other nearby recovery ships.

--Old B-MonitorTurret

Recovery of the USS Monitor's Turret-- Part 1

I wrote about the GE Monitor top refrigerator in the last post (so-named because of its resemblance to the turret of the USS Monitor) and the death of  Phillip Carson Lee, who participated in the raising of the real turret in the post before that.

From Wikipedia  "Recovery."

The 2002 dive season was dedicated to the difficult task of trying to raise the 120 long-ton turret of the USS Monitor since the recovery of the whole ship was impossible because of deterioration.    This was the part Phillip Carson Lee participated in.  

Around 160 divers were assembled to remove  parts of the hull, including the armor belt, that lay on top of the turret.  (The turret had fallen off upside down as the ship sank and the hull had landed on top of it.)  They used chisels, exothermic cutting torches and 20,000 psi hydroblasters.  They removed as much  of the debris from inside the turret as possible to reduce the weight to be lifted.

This debris was mostly in the form of concreted coal as one of the ship's coal bunkers had ruptured and dumped much of its contents into the turret.

--Old B-Runner

Some More Information on the GE Monitor Top Refrigerators

Since I have been writing about monitors a lot lately.

A couple posts ago, I wrote about the unique (well, to me) refrigerator dating to the 1920s and 1930s.  It received its name because of the unique compressor on top of it that resembles you-know-what.

Since this is a historical appliance, I am writing about it in my Cooter's History Thing blog.  You can get to it by going to the My Blogs List section to the right of this and clicking on it.

--Old B-Runner

Death of Phillip Carson Lee: Participated in the USS Monitor Expedition

From September Legacy.

Funeral services for  Phillip Carson Lee , who passed away September 22, 2021,  were held September 29 at First Baptist Church of Picayune, Mississippi.

As a child, he found a niche n the Mississippi tug boat industry and became a captain.  He was proud to be a part of such companies as Tidewater, Gulf  Fleet, Delta Towing and American Offshore.

The highlight of his career was working alongside NOAA, the Naval Systems Command and the Mobile  Diving and Salvage  Unit  Two and the Wotan barge as support for the Monitor Expedition 2002 in their effort to recover the gun turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor.

A Life Well-Lived.  

Anybody Remember a Monitor Refrigerator?

From the Santa Barbara (California) Independent  " 'Museum' on West Valerio" by Betsy J. Green.

There is am old home at 230 W. Velerio  Street in Santa Barbara which is like a walk back into time.  It was built in 1912 for $1,500.

So, you might just be asking what exactly does this have to do with anything regarding the Civil War Navy?

Well, it is full of old stuff.

Owners Robert Sponsel and Patricia Chidlaw have it looking like a museum, but it isn't.

One of the most interesting objects in the house  is a 1930s GE refrigerator.  These were commonly nicknamed "Monitor" refrigerators because the round compressor located on top of it resembled the gun turret of the USS Monitor of Civil War fame.

I Don't Remember It.  

But, Sure Beat the Old Ice Box.  --Old B-Compressor

Cannonballs Found Along the Coast in Alabama-- Part 2: Perdido Key

Following Hurricane Ida, military munitions were found  on the beaches of Perdido Key.

At this time, no more cannonballs have been found.  The GUIS stresses that the cannonballs are considered cultural artifacts and are protected by law (in case metal detector hunters  decide to come try to find some).  It is illegal to harm, deface, damage or remove these items.

Of course, if these cannonballs were detonated that means they were live and would definitely keep me from messing with them.

National Park Service archaeologists are preparing to travel to the site and conduct investigations.

The site will remain closed until it is deemed to be safe.

"Anywhere in the park you can come across munitions of some kind or another.  A flair, a mine.  Something that doesn't look quite right,"  Echolls said.  "We advise the public to leave them alone;  notify us or the area's emergency services personnel."

No Playing With Those Old Cannonballs!!   --Old B-Runner

Cannonballs Found Along Coast in Alabama-- Part 1

From the CBS 42 News: Alabama News:  "194 Civil War-era  cannonballs discovered, destroyed at Gulf Islands National Seashore" by Aspen Popowski.

The Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) closed on September 29 after cannonballs were found on Perdido Key.  Parts of Perdido Key also were closed and marked with signs.

"The park continues to monitor the area for newly discovered munitions and will secure the site(s) should any be found in the future," said Darrell Echols, GUIS Superintendent.  "Our goal is to ensure that the area is safe for visitors and staff, and that cultural resources are protected."

More than 190 cannonballs were detonated in September with aid from federal agencies.

"These are Civil War-era cannonballs, and what's unclear is whether they are Union or Confederate, whether they were  associated with Fort McRee or another type of facility," Echolls said.

--Old B-Runner

Naming Commission Still Undecided What to do With Confederate-Named Navy Ships-- Part 2

The two ships under consideration for renaming are the USNS Maury (T-AGS-66) and USS Chancellorsville (CG-62).

The Maury is an oceanographic survey ship named after Matthew  Fontaine Maury, who laid the foundation for modern oceanography and is considered o have written the first  oceanographic textbook.  He resigned form the U.S. Navy and joined the Confederate States Navy.  The Maury was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2016.

The Chancellorsville is a guided missile cruiser named after the Battle of Chancellorsville which was a Confederate victory in 1863.  Confederate forces there were under the command of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

The Chancellorsville was commissioned in 1989, and contains minie balls and shell fragments from the battle in its hull.  A painting of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson hangs in the ship's wardroom as of 2016, and will also be considered for Confederadication.

While visiting the U.S. M.A. at West Point, the commission noted a painting of Lee there that showed him in a U.S. uniform while he was superintendent of that institution.  That picture an remain, but any of him in Confederate uniform will have to be removed.

--Old B-Runner

Naming Commission Still Undecided How to Handle Ships with Confederate Ties

From the September 30, 2021, USNI News by Heather Mongilio.

The full name of this commission to rename any and everything Confederate is a whopper.  It is:  

The Commission on Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States.

It goes by the shorthand name "The Naming Commission."

Right now, they are busy visiting the military bases named after Confederate leaders, but there is the possibility  that two ships will also fall under the axe as for their names.

They are:

USNS Maury  (T-AGS-66)

USS Chancellorsville  (CG-62)

--Old B-Runner

How Fort Fisher Came To Be on Pleasure Island-- Part 3

However, locals hated the name, finding it somewhat sleazy. The residents of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach especially were unwilling to give up their individual community names.

The town of Carolina Beach even went so far as to  put the name of "Pleasure Island" on a ballot and have a vote on it.  Carolina Beach voted overwhelmingly against it.

However, the Chamber and some others continue to use the name Pleasure Island for the area as being convenient to describe the resort area.

Our society, the federal Point Historical Society Association continues to use the historical name  for the area which includes everything north of Snow's Cut to Monkey Junction to Fort Fisher, including Myrtle Grove, Masonboro, The Cape, Seabreeze, Carolina Beach, (Wilmington Beach and Hanby Beach were incorporated into the towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach in the 1990s) Kure Beach and Fort Fisher.

--Old B-Runner

How Fort Fisher Came to Be on Pleasure Island-- Part 2

In the late 1800s communities were developed on the lower Federal Point peninsula (between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean).  They were the communities/beach resorts of Carolina Beach, Wilmington Beach, Hanby Beach, Kure Beach (first called Fort Fisher Sea Beach as it was right by Fort Fisher).

In 1930, Snow's cut was made across the Federal Point peninsula which, in effect, turned the peninsula south of the cut (which is by where the bridge is) into an island.  Snow's Cut was a part of the Intercoastal Waterway.  After that, the area began to grow and the communities began tom merge their identities.  

In particular, Wilmington Beach and Hanby Beach began losing their identity.

In the 1970s,  the local Chamber of Commerce, local realtors and some local businessmen decided they needed a single name for all the communities on the new "island" for promotional purposes.  They came up with "Pleasure Island."  The state of North Carolina even adopted it into the official state map for a year or two.

So, It Was a Promotional Thing.  --Old B-Runner

How Fort Fisher Came to Be in Pleasure Island (and Federal and Confederate Point)

From the October 3, 2021, Wilmington (North Carolina) Star-News "What's the story behind the 'Pleasure Island' name?"

Anyone visiting Fort Fisher might see it advertised as being on Pleasure Island or Federal Point.

QUESTION:  When and how did Pleasure Island get its name?  I assume it was just called Federal Point then.

ANSWER:   Rebecca Taylor, manager of the Federal Point History Center explains it this way.

 James Sprunt, long-time historian of the lower Cape Fear River area, says Federal Point was named  in honor of the new Federal Constitution adopted in 1788.  During the Civil War, the name obviously was changed to Confederate Point after North Carolina seceded from the United States.  The name was changed back to Federal Point after the war.

But, what does that have to do with Pleasure Island as a name for the area?

Continued.  --Old B-Runner

Confederate Shipbuilding in England

From the September 19, 2021, Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) ) "Confederate ships topic for BRCWRT" by George Morris.

Patrick Martin spoke  about Confederate ships made in England before the Baton Rouge Civil War Round Table on August 19.

Martin noted that at the beginning of the Civil War,  the Confederacy  did not have a Navy of facilities to construct and equip warships.  Confederate states did not have the industrial base of the North, so shipbuilding was undertaken on a much smaller scale.

Early in the war, Union General Winfield Scott drew up a strategy known as the Anaconda Plan to restrict  water access to Southern ports, which would  deny the Confederacy   of needed supplies.

This would be the blockade of the Southern coast.

Confederate Navy Secretary Stephen Mallory immediately embarked in a program that involved foreign shipyards to build ocean-going ships  to draw the Union Navy away from the South and disrupt international commerce going to the North.

Three commerce raiders were built for the Confederacy  in Liverpool, England.  The most famous of these was the CSS Alabama commanded by Captain, later Admiral, Raphael Semmes, which sank 64 Union vessels until it was sunk by the USS Kearsarge in the English Channel.

Semmes was rescued from the channel by a yacht and taken to England where he was received as a hero.

The other two ships were the CSS Florida and CSS Shenandoah.

After the war, England was made to pay damages by the ships built for the Confederacy.

--Old B-Runner

Talking About the Union Blockade-- Part 2: Has Written Three Books on Civil War Navy History

Robert M. Browning has published  "From Cape Charles to the Cape Fear" which chronicles the establishment of the crucial blockade from the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay to the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina.   This stretch included the important sites of   the inland waters of the Chesapeake Bay, the James river (going to Richmond) and the North Carolina Sounds.

He has also published  "Success Was All That Was Expected,"  a history of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron that blockaded the coast of the Confederacy  from the Cape Fear River to Florida.  This story covers  the harrowing engagements between ships and forts, daring amphibious assaults and the evolution of submarine warfare in the form of the H.L. Hunley.

Yet another Browning book is "Lincoln's Trident" about the blockade in the Gulf of Mexico.

Obviously, Mr. Browning knows his naval history.

The meeting will be at 7 pm, Thursday, October 14 in Room 226 at the Harbor United Methodist Church at 4853 Masonboro Loop Road, Wilmington.

Another one I'd love to be at, but I'm over 1100 miles away and don't do Zoom.

Oh, Well.  --Old B-Runner

Talking About the Union Blockade-- Part 1: Cape Fear Civil War Round Table

From the October 3, 2021, Wilmington (North Carolina) Star-News "Wilmington's Cape Fear Civil War Round Table, discuss the Union blockade: by Cheryl M. Whitaker.

Robert M. Browning, Jr., will be the guest speaker at the Cape Fear Civil War Round Table Thursday, October 14 at the Harbor United  Methodist Church.  His topic will be the Union blockade during the Civil War.

He is the retired historian of the Coast Guard and an acknowledged expert on the blockade.  His topic will be "How Did Naval Power Contribute to the Winning of the War."

Abraham Lincoln  proclaimed a blockade on  the 3,500 miles of Confederate coastline on April 19, 1861, soon after the fall of Fort Sumter.

The role of the U.S. Navy in the war was crucial to Union victory.  When the blockade was declared, there were only three  warships ready for duty to maintain that blockade, but by the end of the war, the Navy had grown in size to671 ships of all sizes and types from the revolutionary new monitor ironclads to small shallow draft wooden gunboats.

--Old B-Runner

About the Confederate Navy

From the October 3, 2021, Advocate (Louisiana) "Mark  K. Vogl spoke about the Confederate Navy when the Baton Rouge Civil War Round Table met  Sept. 23."

At the beginning of the war, the South did not have a Navy.  In February 1861, the Confederacy had  only 14 ships that were seaworthy  while the North already had an organized Navy with 90 functional ships.

The overwhelming industrial capacity of the North made it clear that the South could not produce as many ships, so Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory relied on technological innovation and ship-building assistance from foreign countries to make the Confederacy competitive.

His strategy centered on commerce raiding with innovative ships like the CSS Alabama, which used both sail and steam; the use of powerful rifled  naval guns, which were devastating against wooden ships; development of ironclad  ships of war, like the CSS Virginia; and the use of innovative mines, torpedoes, submarines, like the H.L. Hunley.

Vogl said that against incredible odds, the commerce raiders damaged the Union economy and forced the North to reassign blockading ships to hunt down the elusive raiders.

However, their successes were short-lived because of the North's ability to out-produce similar ships.   Vogl said the small, but innovative Confederate Navy was a valuable resource for the South.  It helped protect Confederate harbors and keep them open as well as interrupting seagoing Northern commerce.  Those ports they helped keep open provided much-needed supplies coming in from abroad.

--Old B-Runner

Confederate Submarine Attraction in South Carolina Reopens-- Part 2

The Hunley sank a Union blockading ship, the USS Housatonic by ramming it with a torpedo attached to a spar at the front of the ship.  A half-century would pass before another submarine would sink and enemy warship during World War I.

Unfortunately for the Hunley, it sank to the bottom itself while returning from the attack on the Housatonic.  All eight men aboard died.

Many theories have been advance over the years as to what happened to cause the Hunley to sink.  Some think perhaps it was too close to the explosion and that they were knocked unconscious or perhaps miscalculated how long their oxygen will hold while submerged.

Scientists hope to determine the cause of the ship's sinking when the entire vessel's exterior and interior is cleaned of the sea buildup in the next several years.

The Hunley was raised from the sea floor in 2000.  Scientists have spent seventeen years collecting human remains (all aboard were found) and restoring the vessel.

--Old B-R'er

Confederate Submarine Attraction in SC Reopens

From the June 19, 2021, U.S. News & World Report  from AP.

The doors to a Confederate submarine on display in North Charleston, South Carolina, fully opened yesterday after being shut down by the you-know-what.

The grand opening of the Hunley, the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship, will be marked with the launch Saturday of a new visitor experience that uses "cutting edge digital animation, live footage and a light show to tell the submarine's story according to officials at the site.

"We were  able to greatly enhance our  visitor experience while we had to keep our doors closed," said Friends of the Hunley Executive Director Kellen Butler.

The Hunley and her 7,500 square feet of associated exhibits are in a conservation laboratory.  The operating hours are  Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm.  Preplanned school and group tours are  available during the week.

--Old B-Runner

Death of Col. Charles Fisher and First Battle of Manassas-- Part 4

Fort Fisher was named for this man.

From the July 24, 1861, Wilmington (NC) Daily Journal.

"We are pained  to see the death of Col. Fisher confirmed by the Raleigh Register."

"The Register says that it learns the 11th  Regiment, commanded by  Col. Kirkwood, the 13th by Col. Hoke, the 6th by Col. Fisher and the 5th by  Col. McRae, were engaged in the battle.

"We  have made enquiry at Richmond, relative to our friends now in Virginia, but the wires are so much engaged that we will not  be able to receive an answer before late this afternoon -- if before  to-morrow morning."

--Old B-Runner

Death of Col. Charles F. Fisher-- Part 3

Fort Fisher was named for this man who was killed at the Battle of First Bull Run/Battle of Manassas.

From the July 24, 1861, Wilmington Daily Journal.

News from July 23, 1861, Richmond Dispatch.

"The body of Col. Fisher, of the North Carolina Sixth Regiment,  who passed through here a few days ago at the head of a splendid command, was brought down by train last night; also, three others,  whose names we did not learn."

--Old Secesh

Death of Col. Charles F. Fisher at Manassas-- Part 2

Continued from June 6, 2021.

Fort Fisher, North Carolina, was named after Col. Charles F. Fisher who was killed at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas).

"We fear that the reported death of Col. Fisher, of the Sixth North Carolina State Troops, is only too true.   A better or braver man was not on the field.

"If Mr. Fisher had had the choice of his own death, it seems to us , knowing the man as we do, that he  would have asked  for no more glorious end than that which he has met.

"He now rests well and quietly.    He occupies the grave of a Christian, a gentleman, a soldier and a patriot.  It is all that he asked for."

--Old B-Runner

Cmdr. Mullany Turns Temporary Command of USS Bienville Over to Lt. Howison

I wrote about J.R.M. Mullany in connection to commanding the USS Oneida at the battle of Mobile Bay  several months ago.  He had been in command of the USS Bienville, but had requested that Farragut assign him to the command of a ship that was to take part in the battle.

From Digital Alabama.

ORDER OF COMMANDER MULLANY TO LIEUTENANT  HOWISON, U.S. NAVY TO ASSUME TEMPORARY COMMAND OF THE U.S.S. BIENVILLE.

U.S.S.Bienville

Off Mobile Bar, Ala., August 3, 1864,

SIR:

Agreeably to  instructions received by me from the admiral.

commanding, you will assume command of this ship, for the present, in my temporary absence.

I am, respectively, your obedient servant,

J.R.M. Mullany,

Commander

Lieutenant H.L. Howison, Executive Officer, U.S.S. Bienville, off Mobile Bar.

--Old B-Runner