Navy Medal of Honor Recipient Henry Schutes-- Part 3: For Action at Fort McAllister

Nearly a year later, on February27, 1863, Henry Schutes again found himself in the midst of a battle, this time on the Big Ogeechee River just south of Savannah, Georgia.  The USS Wissahickon was in this action as well.  This attack ended in the destruction of the blockade runner Rattlesnake which was under protection of the guns of Fort McAllister.

A shot from the fort penetrated the Wissahickon's hull below the waterline and entered the ship's powder magazine where the ammunition and gunpowder were kept.  Shutes' Medal of Honor citation said that his prompt action saved the ship.

An 1890 Philadelphia Inquirer article said that Schutes had shut himself inside the magazine to drown it in water to keep the dangerous items from exploding, even though this might mean he would die.

--Old B-Runner

James N. Thurston, CSMC

In the last post, I wrote that Nelson Tift had involvement with the construction of the CSS Atlanta and noticed that the Confederate officer above him on the list had been captured on that ship.

From Register of Officers of the Confederate Navy 1861-1865.

JAMES THURSTON

Born in South Carolina.  Appointed from South Carolina.  Second lieutenant Confederate  Marine Corps, September 20, 1861.  First lieutenant Marine Corps, July 4, 1862.

Served in C.S. Army, 1861.  Charleston Station, 1861.  Savannah Station, 1861-1863.

C.S.S. Atlanta; captured by  the U.S.S. Weehawken, June 17, 1863; escaped  August 19, 1863, from Fort Warren; recaptured; paroled  September 28, 1864; exchanged at Cox Wharf, Virginia, October 18, 1864.

Drewry's Bluff, Virginia,  1864.

--Old B-Runner

Not Likely the CSS Georgia-- Part 2: The CSS Georgia and HMS Rose

The CSS Georgia was a Confederate ironclad built in 1862, that saw little action during the Civil War, essentially an ironclad floating battery anchored by Fort Jackson to impede the Union fleet from sailing up the river.

It was scuttled by Confederate forces in 1864 after Savannah fell to the Union army under Major General William T. Sherman.  The wreck was discovered and marked in1968 after it was struck by a dredge, and recovery efforts got underway in earnest  in 2015, during the early stages of  the Savannah Harbor deepening project.  I wrote about this at length back then.  Just hit the label CSS Georgia ironclad to see those posts.

The extra care in dredging by the sites of Fort Jackson and the CSS Georgia comes about because of the possibility of dangerous parts of the ship sliding further into the river bed.  But experts believe the cannons and anchor might date to an even earlier age, possibly as far back as the 1770s and the American Revolution.

The cannons, anchor and timber will be further analyzed by the Corps of Engineers and divers will be sent down to place the items in a more  specific historical context.

Historic records indicate that there are several historic shipwrecks in that vicinity, but there is a good possibility that it might be the HMS Rose, but that can't be verified until after further research.

--Old B-R'er

Most Likely Not From the CSS Georgia-- Part 1: An Anchor, Some Cannons and a Timber

From the April 13, 2021, Waterways Journal Weekly  "Dredge contractor turns up cannons, anchor while working in the Savannah River" by Frank McCormack.

A dredge contractor working on the Savannah Harbor  Expansion Project they are used to dredging up lots of sand as they deepen the harbor from 42 to 47 feet.

But in February, the crew of the ship turned up items of far more archaeological significance while working in the vicinity of Fort Jackson, a 19th century fort built in the years leading up to the War of 1812, located just a few miles east of Savannah.

The crew brought up several cannons, an anchor and a timber, all likely to date from well before the Civil War.

Since the dredge site was so close to the proximity of where the CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad, sank in the closing days of the war, extra screening was being enforced,  This process is intended to identify  potential discarded  military munitions  or unexploded ordnance  that might have migrated from the CSS Georgia site into the channel over the past 150 years.

--Old B-Runner

Enslaved Workers Left Marks on Fort Pulaski-- Part 2: The Process of Brickmaking

Continued from February 12, 2021.

Fort Pulaski is on Cockspur Island, about 15 miles from downtown Savannah and was considered "a technical and architectural marvel of its time."  Of course, that was before the advent of rifled cannons which quickly proved that bricks were now obsolescent  with new military technology.

Built in the 19th century, it was occupied by both Confederate and Union troops during the war.  It later served a s a spot on the Underground Railroad for slaves escaping to their freedom. Fort Pulaski was also the site of a "fifty day siege and two-day artillery battle" that marked the first use of rifled artillery in U.S. military history" according to the site's website.

Most of the bricks used in Fort Pulaski were made locally by slaves, both men, women and their children, who "spent each day laboring to make bricks for a fort built to protect the port made rich from their labor."

Brickmaking was a tedious process that involved  mixing soil and water that was then stomped into clay before the mixture was packed into wooden molds.  Sticks and other debris had to be removed by hand, and the still wet brick removed and then set out to dry for days.

--Old B-Runner

Enslaved Workers Left Marks on Fort Pulaski-- Part 1

From the Feb. 9, 2021, Kansas City Star "Enslaved workers left their marks in the bricks of Civil War-era fort, Georgia photos show" by Tanasia Kenney

Nearly 25 million brocks were used to construct Savannah, Georgia's Fort Pulaski which was mostly built by black enslaved workers.

Photos shared  by the Fort Pulaski National Monument on Monday show bricks with fingerprints and handprints still embedded in them all these years later (and, after that bombardment back during the war).

It took 18 years to complete Fort Pulaski and none other than Robert E. Lee touted it was impregnable.  However, the stories of those enslaved workers have never been told.  However, there is a part of that story in Casemate 16.

--Old B-Runner

March 3, 1865: Clearing the Cape Fear River of Torpedoes and Obstructions-- Part 1

MARCH 3RD, 1865:  General Sherman's large army, marching parallel to the coast from Columbia, South Carolina, in order to keep sea support  near at hand, steadily approached Fayetteville, North Carolina.  The Navy continued  to clear the Cape Fear River of torpedoes and obstructions so as to provide him a base at Wilmington for sea supply comparable to Savannah.

As the river was cleared, light draft gunboats bumped up the river to be ready to open communications.

--Old B-Runner

December 3, 1864: Defending Savannah

DECEMBER 3RD, 1864:  As Union pressure on Savannah increased, the Confederate squadron under Captain W.W. Hunter, CSN, played an increasing role in the defense of the city and the important railway above it.

This date, Hunter wrote Lieutenant Joel S. Kennard, CSS Macon:  "The Charleston and Savannah Railway bridge at Savannah River is a very important point to defend, and, should it become necessary, endeavor to be in position there to defend it.

"In order to do so, and also to patrol the Savannah River, watch carefully the state of the river, and to not be caught aground or be cut off from the position at the bridge."

--Old B-Runner

August 1-4, Crashing A Meeting in Georgia-- Part 3

The admiral later reported to Secretary Welles of the prisoners:  "It is hoped that under the old flag the deliberations may be of a more beneficial tendency, as the parties are now relieved of their proposed responsibility of a coast guard."

Colonel Gaulden, not to be outdone, published an explanatory letter in the Savannah Republican adding a challenge to the observant naval captain:  "As the Captain seems to be a reader of your paper, I take the opportunity to make my compliments to him and to say that when he calls to see me again I shall be at home, and will try to give him a more respectful reception."

All This Seems A Bit Cushing To Me.  --Old B-Runner

August 1-4, 1864: Crashing A Meeting in Georgia-- Part 2

Rear Admiral Dahlgren, amused at the circumstances of the expedition and pleased at the results, reported to the men of his squadron (SABS):  "Captain Colvocoresses having been favored with a sight of the notice in a Savannah paper, and feeling considerable interest in the object of the meeting, concluded that he would attend it also, which he did, with a number of United States citizens serving at the time on board the USS Saratoga as officers, seamen, and marines....

"When the appointed time arrived, Mr. Miller [Boatswain Philip J. Miller] set fire to the bridge [outside the town] and at the signal the main body rushed out and joined the meeting....  Captain Colvocoresses then read to the meeting from the newspaper the order of Bolonel Gaulden [CSA} for their assembling, and regretting that the colonel had failed to attend, he invited the meeting to accompany him, which they did, and arrived safely on board the Saratoga, where they met daily under the United States flag."

Meeting Really Interrupted.  --Old Secesh

May 21, 1864: Ironclad USS Atlanta Opens Fire on Confederate Cavalry

MAY 21ST, 1864:  Gunfire from the ironclad steamer USS Atlanta, Acting Lieutenant Thomas J. Woodward, and the USS Dawn, Acting Lieutenant  John W. Simmons, dispersed Confederate cavalry attacking Fort Powhatan on the James River, Virginia.

Dawn, a wooden steamer, remained above the fort during the night to prevent another attack.

The USS Atlanta was the former CSS Atlanta captured by the Union Navy  17 June 1863 near Savannah.    Seeing such a clearly Confederate ironclad firing at them must have been quite disconcerting to the Confederate cavalry.

--Old B-Runner

USS Bermuda-- Part 2: As A Blockade Runner

The Bermuda was an iron-hulled steamer built in 1861 in England to make money on the huge profits that could be made running the blockade.  It was eventually sold to Messrs.  A.S. Henckle and George Alfred Trenholme of Charleston, S.C..

It was chartered to Frasier Trenholme & Co. in England, which served the Confederate government as uts financial and commercial agent there.

The Bermuda left England in August 1861.  It crossed the Atlantic under British colors and ran into Savannah, Georgia, with a million dollars worth of war material.  She loaded 2,000 bales of cotton on board when she left and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Liverpool, England.

--Old B-Runner

Pirates, Revolution and Ironclads, Georgia's Maritime Past-- Part 1

From the October 2, 2017, Connect (Ga,) Statesboro "Pirates, revolution and ironclads.  Exploring Georgia's maritime past" by Kenley Alligood.

Georgia has a long naval history going all the way back to the Spanish explorers in the 16th century.  And, Georgia was the only colony to pay King George III's Stamp Act as 60 ships sat idle at Savannah.

During the Revolutionary War several British warships sank off the Georgia coast including the HMS Defiance at the mouth of the Savannah River after a violent storm in 1780.

The William Scarbrough House, home of the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, was home to the owner of the Savannah, the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic.

--Old B-Runner

April 11, 1862: Fort Pulaski Surrenders

APRIL 11TH, 1862:  Fort Pulaski, Georgia, guarding Savannah, surrendered after enduring an intensive two-day bombardment by Union artillery.  Commander C.R.P. Rodgers and a detachment of sailors from the USS Wabash manned Battery Sigel on the second day of the engagement and "kept up[ a steady and well-directed fire until the fort hauled down its flag, at 2 p.m.."

The Navy's gunners' participation in the action was at the invitation of Major General David Hunter, commander of the Army forces, and demonstrated once again the closeness of cooperation achieved by the two services.

But, this was primarily an Army operation.

--Old B-Runner

February 22, 1862: Fort Pulaski Isolated and Farragut Takes Soundings

FEBRUARY 22ND, 1862:  Union naval vessels entered the Savannah River through Wall's Cut, isolating Fort Pulaski.

**  Flag officer Farragut ordered Coast Survey team to sound the Mississippi River passes and to mark the safest channel.

--Old B-Runner

February 15, 1862: Battle of Fort Donelson Continues, Confederate Ships Attack Union Forces Near Savannah

FEBRUARY 15TH, 1862:  The Battle of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, continues.

**  Four Confederate gunboats under Commodore Tattnall attacked Union batteries at Venus Point, on the Savannah River, Georgia, but were forced back to Savannah.  Tattnall was attempting to effect the passage of the steamer Ida from Fort Pulaski to Savannah.


--Old B-R'er

155 Years Ago, January 26-29, 1862-- Part 2: Action at Fort Pulaski

Though the exchange of fire was sharp, three of Tattnall's steamers made good their passage to the fort, the other two being unable to get through.

In his report of the reconnaissance operation, Captain Davis noted:  "As a demonstration the appearance of the naval and military forces in Wilmington and Wassaw Sound has had complete success.  Savannah was thrown into a state of great alarm, and all the energies of the place have been exerted to the utmost to increase its military defenses, for which purpose troops have been withdrawn from other places."

On the Confederate side, General Robert E. Lee commented:  "If the enemy succeeds in removing the obstacles [in Wall's Cut and Wilmington Narrows] there is nothing to prevent their reaching the Savannah River, and we have nothing afloat that contend with them."

--Old B-R'er

155 Years Ago, December 26, 1861: Action At Savannah

DECEMBER 26TH, 1861:  Confederate fleet, including the CSS Savannah, Commodore Tattnall, Resolute, Sampson, Ida and Barton, attacked Union blockading ships at the mouth of the Savannah River.  Before returning to his anchorage under the guns of Fort Pulaski, Tattnall forced the blockaders to move seaward temporarily.

**  USS Rhode Island, Lt. Trenchard, captured Confederate schooner Venus southeast of Sabine Pass, off the Louisiana coast.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, December 17, 1861: Seven "Stone Fleet" Ships Sunk

DECEMBER 17TH, 1861:  Seven "stone fleet" vessels sunk at the entrance of Savannah Harbor.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, December 5, 1861: Union Takes Wassaw Sound, Georgia

DECEMBER 5TH, 1861:  Flag Officer Du Pont regarding expedition to Wassaw Sound, Georgia, and plans for the use of the "stone fleet", wrote:  "Ottawa, Pembina, and Seneca penetrated into Wassaw ... the 'stone fleet'  are all at Savannah, and I hardly know what to do with them --- for with Wassaw that city is more effectively closed than a bottle with wire over the cork ....

"I am sending to [Captain James I.] Lardner to know if he can plant them on the Charleston bar ...  One good thing they [the 'stone fleet's appearance at Savannah] did, I have not a doubt they were taken for men-of-war, and led  to giving up the Wassaw defenses...."

Scare Me Once.  --Old B-Runner