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

Follow-Up On the Last Post, CSS Florida Destroys the Commonwealth

In the last post, I wrote about the CSS Florida, under Lt. Maffitt, capturing and destroying the ship Commonwealth off Brazil.

From Wikipedia.

The CSS Florida had run out of Mobile Bay on January 16, 1863.  It then coaled in Nassau then spent six months off the coasts of North and South America making calls at neutral ports, making captures and eluding a large Federal squadron pursuing her.  It was during this period when she captured the Commonwealth.

From Ahoy  Mac's Log.

The Florida was chased by four Union ships:  USS Wachusett, Santiago de Cuba, San Jacinto and Sonoma.  they were under the overall command of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes.  Charles Wilkes had commanded the USS San Jacinto in the famed Trent Affair.

The Commonwealth was a 1,300 ton clipper ship of New York.  She was put to the torch.  Its cargo had been insured for $370,000.

--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 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

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

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