Charles K. Mallory on the CSS Chattahoochee

From "Navy Gray:  Engineering in the Confederate Navy on the Chattahoochee River and Apalachicola Rivers" by Maxine T. Turner.

A picture of him is on page 89 with caption:

"Midshipman Charles King Mallory.  "Young Mallory" was a great favorite among the Chattahoochee's officers and men.  The first to board the USS Congress after the CSS Virginia had defeated her, he was transferred with Catesby ap  R. Jones to the CSS Chattahoochee.

The account of his death following the boiler explosion on May 27, 1863, combined bravery and pathos.

His family had his remains sent home to Virginia and interred at St. John's, Hampton.

--Old B-R'er

May 12, 1862: CSS Virginia's Crew to Establish Battery at Drewry's Bluff

MAY 12TH, 1862:  Officers and crew of the CSS Virginia were ordered to report to Commander Farrand to establish a battery below Drewry's Bluff on the left bank of the James River to prevent the ascent of Union gunboats.

The battery was to be organized and commanded by Lt. Catesby ap R. Jones.

--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

Archaeologists Recover Three Cannons from the Pee Dee River-- Part 3: Great Grandson in Attendance

By 1994 the CSS Pee Dee Research and Recovery Team had seven families supporting it.

The first two were located by diver Bob Butler.  The third cannon was located by property owners Glenn Duffon and Rufus Duffon., who took advantage of low water level one day to venture into the river with a metal detector.

A man named Catesby Jones from Selma, Alabama, was on hand for the cannon retrieval.  The Brooke cannons were cast in Selma and his great grandfather, Catesby ap R Jones, had been in command of the naval foundry there when the Brooke cannons were cast.  More famously, Catesby ap R Jones had commanded the ironclad CSS Virginia ion its famous battle with the USS Monitor in 1862

The Brooke rifle serial numbers were #46 and #53.  The captured Dahlgren gun was serial number #513.  The Dahlgren was forged in Pennsylvania and captured from the USS Smithfield after it was sunk by the CSS Albemarle.

--Old B-Runner

Civil War Cannons Raised From the Pee Dee River-- Part 5: A "Jones"Connection

Unfortunately, the CSS Pee Dee had a very short-lived career.  On completion, it steamed upstream to fire on Sherman's troops crossing the river.  It may or may not have fired on enemy troops.  It then returned to Mars Bluff where it was burned and scuttled after the cannons and other items were thrown overboard.

The ship could also have been an ocean-going commerce raider.

To Catesby Jones, 90, of Selma, Alabama, and a World War II veteran, this was a very special day and he was in attendance when the cannons were brought to the surface.  His great-great grandfather was Catesby ap Jones, who was in command of the foundry and Navy yard in Selma, Alabama, when the two Brooke rifled cannons were made.

The cannons will now be taken to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, S.C. where they will be preserved.  The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is there also.  After completion, the cannons will go on display at the new U.S. department of veterans Affairs building in Florence.

--Old B-R'er

A New Confederate Weapon: Torpedo Boat Saint Patrick

JUNE 16TH, 1864:

Commander Catesby ap R. Jones, commandant of the Confederate Naval Gun Foundry and ordnance Works at Selma, Alabama, wrote General Dabney H. Maury at Mobile that the submersible torpedo boat Saint Patrick, built by John P. Halligan, would be launched "in a few days."  

He added:  "It combines a number of ingenious contrivances, which, if experiments show that they will answer the purposes expected, will render the boat very formidable.  It is propelled by steam (the engine is very compact), though under water by hand.

"There are also arrangements for raising or descending at will, for attaching  the torpedo to the bottom of vessels, etc.  Its first field of operation will be Mobile Bay, and I hope you may soon have evidence of its success."

Although the Confederacy hoped to take the Saint Patrick against the Union forces off Mobile as the submarine H.L. Hunley had operated earlier in the year off Charleston, but delay after delay made it not until January 1865 that the ship was operational.

Another Thing for Farragut to Worry About.  --Old B-Runner

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: 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 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

Naval Happening 150 Years Ago: June 1st, 1863-- Part 2

"Assume that she makes the average four voyages and is lost on the fifth with her cargo, the account would stand thus: Four voyages, profit at $119,000 each, is $476,000, deduct the cost of the steamer, $100,000, and cargo, $100,000, equal $200,000, leaves as profit on four voyages, $276,000.

This estimate of profits is far less, it is not half as great as the figures made by those engaged in the business."

A good look at the business of blockade-running.


The Confederate Navy department assumes complete control of the Selma, Alabama, Iron works and place it under Commander Catesby ap Jones.  It became a foundry where Naval guns were cast.  Between June 1863 and April 1864, nearly 200 guns were cast there, most of them 6.4-inch and 7-inch Brooke Rifles.

Old B-Runner

It Was Monitor Vs. the Virginia-- Part 1

When the Monitor arrived on the scene that night, its commander Worden was charged primarily with the protection of the USS Minnesota.  Jones at first thought the Monitor to be a  boiler being towed from the Minnesota. 

Once he determined it was this new Union ship he'd been hearing about, Jones fired first, the shot missing and hitting the Minnesota.

To her disadvantage, the Virginia only had shell ammunition, not armor-piercing which would have been much helpful against the Union ship.  As for the Monitor, its guns had only the 15-pound powder charges, not enough to penetrate armor.

The battle ceased when a chance shot from the Virginia hit the Monitor's pilot house, exploded and temporarily blinded Worden.  After that, the Monitor withdrew.

A Lucky Shot.  --Old B-R'er

The CSS Virginia Attacks the Federal Fleet

Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones had directed most of the conversion of the USS Merrimack into the CSS Virginia and was very disappointed when he was not chosen to command her. Sec. of Navy Mallory wanted the more aggressive Franklin Buchanan for that job.

The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough planned to catch the Virginia in a crossfire.  That plan broke down when four of his wooden ships ran aground, one intentionally,  when the Confederate ironclad finally appeared.

On the day of the battle, Goldsborough was absent

The USS Congress was raised September 1865 and taken to Norfolk Navy Yard and later sold.  Cloth from its sails were later sewn into a flag in her honor.

A Commander Should be With His Ship in a Fight.  --Old B-Runner

Going Back to the Battle of the Ironclads: Catesby ap Roger Jones, CSN

Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones had directed the conversion of the USS Merrimack into the CSS Virginia and was very disappointed when he was not given command of the Virginia instead of Franklin Buchanan.

I have often wondered what the "ap" in his name was all about. Turns out that is is Welsh for "son of." His mother was a cousin of Robert E. Lee.

After commanding the Virginia in her historic battle with the Monitor, he was sent to Drewry's Bluff, guarding the approach to Richmond on the James River. From there, he went on to command the CSS Chattahoochee during her construction at Saffold, Georgia.

His final Civil War posting was at the Selma, Alabama, in charge of the important Ordnance Works which manufactured guns for the Confederacy. The ironclad CSS Tennessee was also built in Selma so I'm sure he kept an eye on that.

After the war, he was shot and killed June 20, 1877, by another man as a result of a feud between their two sons. Jones is buried in Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Alabama.

Quite a Life for Mr. ap. --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