USS Merrimack

Today, the McHenry County Civil War Round Table will be hearing a presentation from Dave Noe on the USS Merrimack, the ship that became the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia.

Here are some facts about the USS Merrimack:

From Wikipedia.

The USS Merrimack is also sometimes called the USS Merramac and was a steam frigate (powered by a screw propreller).  One of six ordered in 1854.  The others were the  Wabash, Roanoke,  Niagara,  Minnesota and Colorado. (The Minnesota, Colorado and Wabash were at Fort Fisher.)   The Roanoke became an ironclad herself featuring three turrets.  The Niagara spent most of the Civil War in Europe.

The Merrimack was named after a river that starts in New Hampshire and flows to Merrimac, Massachusetts, on the Atlantic Ocean which causes the confusion in spelling.

It was launched by the Boston Navy Yard 15 June 1855. Commander was Captain  Garrett J. Pendergrast.

--Old B-Runner

Civil War Burials at Philadelphis'a Laurel Hill Cemetery-- Part 2

Alexander Biddle, Union officer

Samuel Crawford, Union general

Frank Furness, Union officer, Medal of Honor recipient, architect.

Alexander Henry, Philadelphia's Civil War mayor

John C. Pemperton, Confederate general

Garrett J. Pendergrast, Union naval officer

Charles Ferguson Smith, Union general

Isaac J. Wister, Union general

--Old B-R'er

155 Years Ago: US Navy Academy Moves from Annapolis to Newport, Rhode Island for Duration

APRIL 23RD, 1861:  USS Pawnee reached Washington where Commodore Paulding reported to the Navy Department on the loss of the Norfolk Navy Yard.  Pawnee's arrival strengthened the Capital's defenses at a very critical juncture.

APRIL 24TH, 1861:  USS Cumberland, Flag Officer Garrett Pendergrast, captured Confederate tug Young America and schooner George M. Smith with cargo of arms and ammunition at Hampton Roads.

**  USS Constitution, Lt. G.W. Rodgers, departed with midshipmen on board for New York and Newport, Rhode Island, under tow of USS R.R. Cuyler with Harriet Lane in company, to transfer the U.S. naval Academy.  It remained at Newport for the duration of the war for safety.

--Old B-R'er

The Grave of Garrett J. Pendergrast

From Find-A-Grave.

Garrett J. Pendergrast commanded the Union Navy in the early days of the war in southern Chesapeake Bay.  He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Section 1, Lot 106, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

His son, Commander Austin Pendergrast is also interred on the plot but there is no mention of him on the family obelisk monument there.  Austin Pendergrast was the one who surrendered the USS Congress and had another command of his, the USS Water Witch, captured by a Confederate raiding party.  Austin died in 1874. 

But, the monument does have an anchor.

Wikipedia refers to Garrett Pendergrast as being Austin's uncle.

A Naval Followup to the Battle of Gloucester, Virginia.

Old B-R'er

The Battle of Gloucester Point, Virginia-- Part 1: Flag Officer Garrett J.Pendergast

From Wikipedia.

The battle took place May 7, 1861, during the early days of the Civil War and was inconclusive.

Flag Officer Garrett J. Pendergast commanded the Union Navy during this battle.  He was the uncle of Lt. Cmdr Austin Pendergast who took command of the USS Congress as it was sinking after being attacked by the CSS Virginia the next year.  His surrender of the ship worked against him as far as further promotion after that.  His reputation was further sullied when he commanded the USS Water Witch and it was captured later in the war by a Confederate boarding party.

Flag Offiver Pendergast (1802-1862, commanded the USS Boston during the Mexican War and commanded the pride of the US Navy, the USS Merrimack when it was commissioned February 20, 1856.  At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was in command of the USS Cumberland (later sunk by the CSS Virginia as well).

Pendergast's fleet began seizing Confederate ships and privateers off Fort Monroe, capturing 16 in short order.

After Glouchester Point, he was made a commodore in July 1862 and assigned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard where he died November 7, 1862, of a paralytic stroke.

It's a Family Affair.  --Old B-Runner