It Was Murder, Not a Duel, the Death of William Andrews, CSN

From Confederate Navy Trivia by Terry Foenander.

***  At least one murder is known to have been committed on an officer of the Confederate Navy by a fellow officer.  On October 15, 1862, Acting Master's Mate Joseph Goodwin Hester fired three shots at his commanding officer, Master's Mate (Acting Midshipman)  William Andrews of Georgia, with a pistol, aboard the CSS Sumter, while that vessel was anchored  off Gibraltar.

Andrews died almost instantly, and, after an inquest was held, his remains were laid to rest on October 17, at Gibraltar, attended by members of the Sumter as well as several officers of the One Hundredth Canada Regiment, stationed at the rock.

Hester was under suspicion by Andrews of pilfering  articles from the vessel,  but after arrest for  the murder, Hester tried to vindicate his crime by claiming that Andrews had intended to commit treason by delivering the vessel into the hands of the US authorities.

However, the crew of the Sumter in a letter to the Confederate commissioner in London, James M. Mason, noted that the claim was without foundation, and that Andrews was beloved and respected by all who knew him, especially his crew.

Hester was held by British authorities at Gibraltar, and, after some correspondence with the Confederate authorities, the British sent him aboard the Shannon, to Bermuda, where it was hoped he would be brought through the blockade, for trial in the Confederate States.

However, permission was denied, and he was permitted to go free in Bermuda.

So, That's the Story.  --Old B-Runner

RoadTrippin' with Theo Timby-- Part 5: Stanton, Wilkes, a Confederate General and Spy

And, these are just a few of the notable burials in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C..

**  Joseph Bryant Smith (1826-1862)--  USN.  Acting commander of USS Congress and decapitated in the fight with the CSS Virginia.

**  Also, his father Josph Smith (1790-1877)   Rear Admiral.  In 1862 appointed  Chief of Bureau of Yards and Docks.  And his brother Albert Nathaniel Smith (1822-1866), Commander USN  Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting.

**  Edwin McMasters Stanton  (1814-1869)--  Lincoln's Secretary of War.

**  Abel Parker Upshur  ((1790-1844)--  Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of State under President Tyler.  Killed by explosion of cannon on the USS Princeton.  This ship used some of John Ericsson's inventions including the cannon that blew up.

**  Bettie Duval Webb  (1845-1891)--  Confederate spy.

**  Cadmus Wilcox  (1824-1890)--  Confederate general.

**  Charles Wilkes  (1798-1877)--  Union naval officer.  As commander of the USS San Jacinto, he stopped the British ship Trent and removed Confederate commissioners  Mason and Slidell.  Reburied at Arlington National Cemetery.

--Old B-Runner

January 30, 1862: Tennessee River Operations Begin, Mason and Slidell Arrive

JANUARY 30, 1862:  Major General Halleck ordered the combined operation to move up the Tennessee River, warned General Grant that the roads were quagmires, and directed that the movement of troops, munitions and supplies be convoyed by gunboats.

**  The USS Kingfisher, Acting Lt. Joseph P. Couthouy, captured blockade runner Teresita, bound from Havana to Matamoras.

**  Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell arrived at Southampton, England.

--Old B-R'er

155 Years Ago, January 1, 1862: Mason and Slidell Leave Boston for England

JANUARY 1ST, 1862:  Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell left Boston for England.'

They first went to Provincetown, Massachusetts where they boarded the HMS Rinaldo.

War With England Averted  --Old B-R'er

155 Years Ago, December 27, 1861: Du Pont Weighs In On the Trent Affair

DECEMBER 27TH, 1861:  Flag Officer Du Pont wrote regarding the "Trent Affair" as it had become known as:  "I hope now that our politicians will begin to learn, that something is necessary to be a 'great universal Yankee nation etc' than politics and party.

"We should have armies and navies and have those appurtenances which enable a nation to defend itself and not be compelled to submit to humiliation [releasing Nason and Slidell] ...Thirty ships like the Wabash would have spared us this without firing a gun, with an ironclad frigate or two."

No Doubt He Was Upset Upon the Confederate Commissioners' Release.  --Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, November 15, 1861: Slidell and Mason Disembark

NOVEMBER 15TH, 1861:  Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell disembarked from the USS San Jacinto, Captain Wilkes, at Fort Monroe.

**  The USS Dale, Commander Yard, captured British schooner Mabel, east of Jacksonville.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, November 8, 1861: The Trent Affair

NOVEMBER 8TH, 1861:  The USS San Jacinto, Captain Wilkes, stopped the British mail steamer Trent in Old Bahama Channel and removed Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell.

The action sparked a serious international incident.

--Old B-R'er

155 Years Ago, October 12, 1861:Mason and Slidell Run the Blockade

OCTOBER 12TH, 1861:  The Confederate ship Theodora ran the blockade at Charleston with Mason and Slidell, Commissioners to England and France respectively, on board.

**  Confederate privateer Sallie captured American brig Granada in the Atlantic Ocean

**  USS Dale, Commander Edward M. Yard, captured schooner Specie east of Jacksonville, bound for Havana with a large cargo of rice.

**  Warning was given that Confederates had lined the James River with powerful submarine batteries (mines).

--Old B-R'er

155 Years Ago: Davis Appoints Slidell and Mason As Commissioners to Europe

AUGUST 24TH, 1861:  President Jefferson Davis appointed James M. Mason as Special Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and John Slidell, Special Commissioner to France.

And, we all know what happened on their way to Europe.

--Old B-Runner

Some of the Imprisoned at Fort Warren-- Part 1: Baltimore's Mayor and Mason and Slidell

In my last post, I mentioned that Robert Renwick had collected the signatures of Baltimore men and Confederates imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.  One of the men was none other than our Alexander M. DeBree.

Of the 124 signatures he gathered were the names of Baltimore's mayor, George William Brown and Confederate agents John Mason and James Slidell.  Maryland had been placed under martial law by the Lincoln administration for its Southern sympathies.  Mason and Slidell had been removed illegally from the British ship Trent, setting off the Trent Affair.

Also there were naval officers, many of whom who had refused to take an Oath of Allegiance to the United States after their vessels returned to port in the North.

Among them were Flag Officer Samuel Barron Sr., Commodores William Ward and Willaim Glassell (a pioneer in submarine warfare).

--Old B-Runner

Loss of the USS San Jacinto

JANUARY 1ST, 1865:  The USS San Jacinto, Captain Richard W. Meade, ran on a reef at Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, in the Bahamas.  She was found to be seriously bilged and was abandoned without loss of life.

Meade was able to salvage the armament, ammunition, rigging, cables and much of the ship's copper.

At an earlier period of the war, the USS San Jacinto had gained fame when her commanding officer, Captain Charles Wilkes, stopped the British ship Trent and removed Confederate commissioners James Mason and John Slidell.

--Old B-R'er

Blockade-Runner Nassau (Gordon, Theodora)-- Part 1

I started this thread back on October 13, 2011, on my Civil War Blog, Saw the Elephant. It was in connection with the capture of Confederate commissioners Slidell and Mason, an event that nearly started a war between the United States and England which would have been extremely beneficial to the Confederacy.

Going back to October 12, 1861, James Mason and John Slidell were wanting to go to England from Charleston, SC. They considered chartering the Nashville which could have taken them directly to England, but word of their plans got to the Union blockade and they decided to go on a different ship.

They found the fast, 500-ton sidewheeler Gordon that had already run the blockade several times. However, it was not big enough to take them all the way to England so would have to go to Havana and then take a British ship to England. If a Union ship were then to capture them from a neutral ship (like England) then the Confederacy would automatically be recognized as a belligerant nation.

Being Belligerant. --Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: Jan. 30-Feb.1, 1862

Finally Getting Caught Up On This.


JANUARY 30TH

USS Monitor launched at Greenpoint (Brooklyn) New York.  The Assistant Secretary of the Navy wired inventor John Ericsson, "I congratulate you and trust she will be a success.  Hurry her for sea, as the Merrimack is nearly ready at Norfolk, and we wish to send here here."

General Halleck orders the combines Navy-Army expedition up the Tennessee River against Fort Henry.

USS Conestoga and USS Lexington reconnoiter Fort Henry.

Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell arrive in Southampton, England.


JANUARY 31ST

The British sent out two questions to European countries about the sinking of the Stone Fleet and whether the blockade was effective.  Surprisingly, the European nations considered the Stone Fleet an outrage and that the blockade was ineffective.


FEBRUARY 1ST

Flag Officer Foote reports that he is leaving with four ironclads for Fort Henry.  No new news on the mortar boats.  Thirty-two men have shipped from the Army to his gunboats in the past two days.

Go You Little Monitor, Go.  --Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: Jan 1 to 4th

JANUARY 1ST  USS Yankee and Anacostia engage Confederate batteries at Cockpit Point on the Potomac River, which is still partially blockaded on the south bank.  Attacks by the Potomac Flotilla eventually forced Confederate withdrawal.

Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell left Boston headed for England.

JANUARY 2nd-  Five US ships ordered to Hatteras Inlet and efforts were being made to ready other ships for a joint attack on North Carolina's Roanoke Island, the key to Albemarle Sound.

Flag Officer Foote is trying to get crews aboard the Eads ironclads which have been delayed beyond his contract time.

JANUARY 5th--  Flag Officer Goldsborough writes General Burnside (these two were the joint commanders of the attack coming up on Roanoke Island) that the sooner he sends his first troops, the better.

Let's Giddy-Up and Go.  --Old B-Runner