May 11, 1862: CSS Virginia Blown Up

MAY 11TH, 1862:  The CSS Virginia was blown up by her crew off Craney Island to avoid capture.  The fall of Norfolk to Union forces denied the Virginia her base, and when it was discovered that she drew too much water to be brought up the James River, Flag Officer Tattnall ordered the celebrated ironclad's destruction.

"This perished the Virginia," Tattnall wrote, "and with her many highflown hopes of naval supremacy and success."

For the Union, the end of the Virginia not only removed the formidable threat to the large base at Fort Monroe, but gave Flag Officer Goldsborough's fleet free passage up the James River as far as Drewry's Bluff, a factor which was to save the Peninsular Campaign from probable disaster.

I think it is too bad that the Virginia did not attack the Union fleet or fortifications, maybe make a dash up the Potomac to Washington, D.C., in one last hurrah.  Better to go down fighting than just meekly blowing it up.. Had Franklin Buchanan still been in command, I think he would have taken this action.

--Pld B-Runner

March 25, 1862: Flag Officer Tattnall to Relieve Buchanan on CSS Virginia

MARCH 25TH 1862:  Confederate Secretary of the Navy Mallory ordered Flag Officer Tattnall to relieve the injured Flag Officer Buchanan and "take command of the naval defenses of the waters of Virginia and hoist your flag on board the Virginia."

--Old B-Runner

The CSS Virginia Attacks the Union Fleet: "Wholly Unlike Any Ship That Ever Floated"

The day was the Virginia's but it was not without loss.

Part of her ram was wrenched off and left imbedded in the side of the stricken Cumberland, and Buchanan received a wound in the thigh which necessitated his turning over command to Lt. Catesby ap R, Jones.

Secretary of the Navy Mallory wrote President Davis of the action:  "The conduct of the Officers and men of the squadron ... reflects unfading honor upon themselves and the Navy.  The report will be read with deep interest, and its details will not fail to rouse the ardor and nerve the arms of our gallant seamen."

It will be remembered that the Virginia was a novelty in naval architecture, wholly unlike any ship that ever floated; that her heaviest guns were equal novelties in ordnance; that her motive power and obedience to her helm were untried, and her officers and crew strangers, comparatively, to the ship and to each other; and yet, under all these disadvantages, the dashing courage and consummate professional ability of Flag Officer Buchanan and his associates achieved the most remarkable victory which naval annals record."

This great victory, coming on the heals of the disasters of the last six weeks both on the Atlantic and especially in the west, couldn't have come at a better time.

But....

Quite An Impressive First Day.  --Old B-R'er

March 8, 1862: The CSS Virginia Attacks the Union Fleet at Hampton Roads, Virginia-- Part 1

MARCH 8TH, 1862:  The ironclad CSS Virginia, Captain Franklin Buchanan, destroyed the wooden blockading ships USS Congress and USS Cumberland in Hampton Roads.  The Virginia, without trials or under way-training, headed directly at the Union squadron.

She opened the engagement when less than a mile distant from the Cumberland and the firing became general from blockaders and shore batteries.  The Virginia rammed the Cumberland below the waterline and she sank rapidly, "gallantly fighting her guns," Buchanan reported in tribute to her brave crew, "as long as they were above water."

Buchanan next turned his ship's attention to the USS Congress, hard aground, and set her afire with hot shot and incendiary shell.

--Old B-Runner

February 24, 1862: Buchanan Takes Command of James River Naval Forces-- Part 1

FEBRUARY 24TH, 1862:  Captain Buchanan, CSN, ordered to command the James River, Virginia, naval defenses, and to fly his flag on board the CSS Virginia; the squadron consisted of the CSS Virginia, and the small gunboats CSS Patrick Henry, Jamestown, Teaser, Raleigh and Beaufort.

In his orders to Buchanan, Seretary of the Navy Mallory added:  "The Virginia is a novelty in naval construction, is untried, and her powers unknown; and hence the department will not give specific orders as to her attack on the enemy.

"Her powers as a ram are regarded as very formidable, and it is hoped you will be able to test them.  Like the bayonet charge of infantry, this mode of attack, while the most destructive, will commend itself to you in the present scarcity of ammunition.

Use the CSS Virginia At Your Discretion.  --Old B-Runner

February 17, 1862: CSS Virginia Commissioned, Foote Moves On Clarksville

FEBRUARY 17TH, 1862:  The ironclad CSS Virginia (ex USS Merrimack) commissioned.  Captain Franklin Buchanan commanding.

**  Flag Officer Foote informed Secretary of Navy Welles:  "I leave immediately with the view of proceeding to Clarksville with eight mortar boats and two ironclad boats, with the Conestoga, wooden boat, as the river is rapidly falling.

"The other ironclad boats are badly cut up and require extensive repairs.  I have sent one of the boats already since my return and ordered a second to follow me, which, with eight mortars, hope to carry Clarksville."

--Old B-R'er

February 10, 1862: The Merrimack Needs a Crew

FEBRUARY 10TH, 1862:  Captain Buchanan reported that the Merrimack (CSS Virginia) had not yet received her crew, "not withstanding all my efforts to procure them from the Army."  The shortage of trained seamen restricted the Confederacy's efforts to build naval strength.

The Union navy also had a problem getting seamen as evidenced by Foote's efforts on the western waters.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago: Buchanan Resigns, Dahlgren Takes Over

APRIL 22ND, 1861:  Captain Franklin Buchanan, Commandant of Washington Navy Yard, submitted his resignation and was relieved by Commander John A. Dahlgren; Buchanan joined the Confederate Navy and was promoted to Admiral, CSN, on 26 August 1862.

Dahlgren spurred the buildup of Union ordnance and operation of ships for the defense of Washington and the Potomac River.  Of the ships (primarily chartered commercial steamers) assigned to Dahlgren's command at the Navy Yard, Welles reported:  "For several months...the Navy, without aid, succeeded, more effectively than could have been expected, in keeping open for commercial purposes, and restricting, to a great extent, communications between the opposite shores [Potomac]."

--Old B-R'er

Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSN-- Part 2

Continued from Dec. 1st, 2015.

Franklin Buchanan commanded the CSS Virginia on the first day of battle at Hampton Roads, Virginia, but was wounded and Catesby ap Jones commanded the ship in its battle against the USS Monitor.

He was promoted to admiral and the ranking officer in the Confederate Navy and sent to Mobile to command the fleet there.  he oversaw construction of the ironclad CSS Tennessee and fought Union Admiral Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Fort Fisher's formidable Battery Buchanan was named after him.

After the war, he served briefly as president of the Agricultural College of Maryland and the manager of an insurance company.

Admiral Franklin is described as "a champion of unsurpassed ability and bravery" and "a man of heroic mould, and one whose acts will be the theme of historians, and whose character will be the study and admiration of coming years."

--Old B-Runner

Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSN-- Part 1

From The Star Democrat "Newspeak vs. The 'Talbot Boys' by Philip Carey Foster.

Recounting Marylanders fighting for the Confederacy.

Franklin Buchanan joined the U.S. Navy shortly after the War of 1812 and served as a midshipman on a ship commanded by Commodore Perry.  He volunteered for service in the Mexican War and participated in the capture of Vera Cruz.  Later he served as second in command for Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan and is believed to be the first American officer ever to set foot on Japanese soil.

He became persuaded that the Navy needed a school like the Army had at West Point to properly train officers which led to the establishment of the Naval Academy.   As such, he served as its first superintendent, overseeing the development of both its academic and military aspects.

Maryland was ambivalent about which side it was on at the outbreak of the Civil War, but he resigned after the Baltimore Massacre, but soon afterward tried to recall it.

--Old B-R'er

150 Years Ago-- February 7-8th: How to Fight a Monitor

FEBRUARY 7TH:

Confederate steamer St. Mary's, trapped in McGirt's Creek, above Jacksonville, Florida, by the USS Norwich was sunk with cargo of cotton to prevent it falling into Union hands.

FEBRAURY 8TH:

Commander Catesby ap R. Jones, commanding the Confederate Naval Gun Factory at Selma, Alabama, wrote Adnmiral Franklin Buchanan in Mobile of the fighting qualities of the Union monitors: "The revolving turret enables the monitor class to bring their guns to bear without reference to the movements or turning of the vessel. You who fought the Virginia know well how to appreciate that great advantage. You doubtless recollect how often I reported to you that we could not bring one of her ten guns to bear.

In fighting that class, it is very important to prevent the turret from revolving, which I think may be done either with the VII-inch or 6.4-inch rifles or 64 pounder, providing their projectiles strike the turret at or near its base where it joins the deck....

If the turret is prevented from revolving, the vessel is less than efficient than one with the same guns having the ordinary ports, as the monitor's ports are so small that the guns can not be trained except by the helm." Of course, besides revolving, the two cannons in the turret were extremely powerful.

Buchanan commanded the CSS Virginia in its epic battle with the USS Monitor on the first day. Catesby ap R. Jones took command on the second day's fight after Buchanan was wounded.

--Old B-Runner

150 Years Ago-- January 1-3, 1864

JANUARY 1, 1864:

The USS Huron sank blockade-running schooner Sylvanus in Doboy Sound, Georgia with cargo of salt, liquor and cordage. Now, that's what I call alcohol abuse.

JANUARY 2ND, 1864:

Major General Hurlburt, Army commander at Memphis, wired Secretary Welles: "The Tennessee at Mobile will be ready for sea in twenty days. She is a dangerous craft. Buchanan thinks more so than the Merrimack...."    And Buchanan would know, having been on both ships.

JANUARY 3RD, 1864:

Union ships discovered steamer Bendigo aground at Lockwood's Folly Inlet, SC. Boat crews discovered it had been partially burned and had seven feet of water in the hold and was destroyed by gunfire.

Old B-Runner

150 Years Ago: December 24-25, 1863: Jone's Throws Hat In, CSS Alabama

DECEMBER 24TH:

Commander Catesby C. ap R. Jones replied to Admiral Buchanan that the guns for the CSS Tennessee would be sent from Selma Gun Foundry "as soon as they are ready." He exclaimed that there had been an accidental explosion which destroyed several cannon molds.

He continued that work at his factory there was dangerous and tossed in his hat to command the Tennessee.

**  The CSS Alabama captured and burned the Texan Star in the Strait of Malacca.

DECEMBER 25, 1863:

Confederate batteries on John's Island attack USS Marblehead near Legareville, SC, in the Stono River. The USS Pawnee and mortar schooner C.P. Williams assisted and forced the enemy to withdraw.

**  USS Daylight and Howquah transported troops from Beaufort, NC, to Bear Inlet where they destroyed four extensive salt works.

--Old B-Runner

Progress on the CSS Tennessee and Acquiring Confederate Sailors

DECEMBER 15TH:

Admiral Buchanan wrote Commander Catesby ap. R. Jones about the CSS Tennessee: "The Tennessee willl carry a battery of two 7-inch Brooke guns and four broadside, 6.4 or 9 inch.... There is a great scarcity of officers and I know not where I'll get them. I have sent the names of 400 men who wish to be transferred from the Army to the Navy, and have received only about twenty."

Jones replied, "Strange that the Army disregard the law requiring the transfer of men.

--Old B-R'er

150 Years Ago-- December 2, 1863: Confederate Operations at Mobile Bay

DECEMBER 2ND:

Rear Admiral Porter reports that his gunboats have achieved great success operating along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. His ships had covered Sherman's corps' crossing of the river that led to the great success at Chattanooga.

The Mississippi Squadron continues to patrol the rivers and restricting Confederate movements who continue to attempt to build batteries along the banks.

**  Commodore H.H. Bell, acting commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron reports on Confederate naval activity in Mobile Bay. The CSS Gaines and Morgan mounted ten guns, the CSS Selma four as did the nearly completed ironclad CSS Nashville. All were sidewheelers.

Ironclad rams CSS Baltic, Huntsville and Tennessee all mounted four guns. The Tennessee was Admiral Buchanan's flagship and was "strong and fast." The CSS Gunnison was fitted as a torpedo boat with 150 pounds of powder and another screw steamer was reported as fitting out, though a fire had destroyed its upper works.

Busy Confeds. --Old B-R'er

150 Year Ago: September 1st, 1863: Regulations for Blockade-Runners

SEPTEMBER 1ST:

 Major General Whiting at Wilmington, issued regulations for blockade-runners. The specific instructions were intended to prevent Union spies in town from gaining information of use.

**  Commander Catesby ap R. Jones, commanding the the Confederate naval gun foundry and ordnance works at Selma, Alabama, ordered a small quantity of munitions to Admiral Franklin Buchanan for the defense of Mobile.

Munitions were becoming increasingly scarce with most on hand being shipped to Charleston.

--Old B-R'er

USS Germantown: Scuttled at Norfolk

This ship had a very short US career in the war and a fairly short CS one as well.  Probably the only ship to be sunk twice.

Launched in 1847, this sloop of war was first commanded by Franklin Buchanan, who earned much fame as a Confederate Naval officer.

The ship was 150 feet long with a 36-foot beam and 210 crew.  Powered by sails and mounted four 8-inch and eighteen 32-pdr. cannons.

It served in the Mexican War and in the African Squadron, charged with intercepting slave ships.

It had been overhauled completely and waiting to go to sea at Gosport Navy Yard in Virginia when it was scuttled April 20, 1861.

The Confederates later raised it in June and fitted the ship out as a floating battery to protect Craney Island and Norfolk.  It was sunk as an obstruction in the Elizabeth River May 10, 1862, when Norfolk was being abandoned.  The US Navy raised it April 22, 1863, and the hulk sold at auction in Norfolk February 8, 1864.

Sink Me Once, Shame On You.  --Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: August 24 to August 26th, 1862: It's Admiral Buchanan to You

AUGUST 24TH

USS Isaac N. Seymour ran aground aground and sank in the Neuse River, NC.

USS Henry Andrew wrecked after grounding in a storm 15 miles south of Cape Henry, Va.  Blockading duty could be risky as these last two show.

USS Stars and Stripes (how's that for the name of a Union ship?) captured British ship Mary Elizabeth, attempting to run the blockade into Wilmington with a cargo of salt and fruit.


AUGUST 25TH

Log entry of USS Benton for the day shows how busy the ships on western waters were: "At 7 [am] sent a boat ashore, which destroyed seven skiffs and one batteau.  At 11:40 came to at Bolivar Landing [Mississippi].  At 11:45 General Woods landing troops; opened fire upon the enemy.  We opened fire with out bow and starboard guns in protecting the landing of the troops...fired a number of shots in the direction of the rebel force."


AUGUST 26TH

Captain Franklin Buchanan promoted to admiral in the Confederate Navy " for gallant and meritorious conduct in attacking the enemy's fleet in Hampton Roads and destroying the frigate Congress, sloop of war Cumberland.

Old B-Runner

Monitor Vs. Virginia Facts

From the March 7th New American.

**When the CSS Virginia attacked the USS Congress, again, it became a brother versus brother war. Franklin Buchanan, commanding the Confederate ironclad was attacking a ship commanded by McKean Buchanan, his brother. (Elsewhere, I find that J. McKean Buchanan was the paymaster of the USS Congress, but did not get hurt in the action.)

**During the battle with the CSS Virginia, the Monitor fired shells with a 15-pound charge instead of the 30-pound that 11-inch Dahlgren guns could fire. Instead of bouncing off the sides of the Virginia, it is likely that the shells might have penetrated.

**The Union ended up building about 60 ironclads, nearly all variations of the Monitor.

**Sixteen sailors died when the Monitor sank Dec. 31, 1862. A plaque was dedicated to the Monitor;s crew March 7th at the US Navy Memorial Foundation at the Navy memorial in Washington, D.C..

** The reconstructed faces of the two Monitor crew members were carefully delivered by UPS in custom-made, shock-proof containers especially made in Chicago for the delivery.

Just In case You Didn't Know. --Old B-R'er

Naval Events of 150 Years Ago, March 8, 1862: The CSS Virginia Attacks

The year 1862 had not been a good one to Confederate hopes so far. Forts Henry and Donelson has been taken, opening the center of the Confederate west. Nashville, Tennessee, and Columbus, Kentucky, had fallen as a result.

Union forces were getting ready to attack Island No. 10 on the Mississippi. Another Federal fleet was getting ready to attack New Orleans.

On the Atlantic, things were also bad. Roanoke Island had fallen, opening the way for Union incursions along the North Carolina Sounds deep inland.

Fort Clinch, Florida had fallen along with Amelia Island.

And, then, came today and a brief fling with glory.

MARCH 8TH

The ironclad CSS Virginia under Captain Buchanan destroyed the Union ships USS Congress and Cumberland in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The Virginia had not had sea trials or training and headed straight for the Union fleet.

First, the Virginia attacked the Cumberland, ramming that ship which sank rapidly, firing its guns as it went down.

Then, the Virginia turned to attack the Congress, which had run aground and set her ablaze with hot shot and incendiary shell.

However, the Confederate ship's ram broke off in the Cumberland and Buchanan was wounded and had to turn over command to Lt. Catesby ap R. Jones.

The Virginia withdrew, planning on returning the next day to destroy the USS Minnesota and any other Union ships it could engage.

And, We Know What Happened Next. --Old B-Runner