J.R.M. Mullany at Battle of Mobile Bay-- Part 4: The End of the Battle

The fight for Mobile Bay was soon over at this point.  With the USS Oneida and USS Galena out of action,  the rest of Farragut's fleet took the CSS Gaines and CSS Salma out of action and then concentrated on the Confederate ironclad CSS Tennessee.  

Ramming the ship failed to stop it, but the concentrated fore of the heavy guns of the three remaining monitors eventually put  the Tennessee out of action and a gravely wounded Buchanan was forced to surrender.

The USS Galena finished out her days quietly.  After three months of duty with the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and four months of repairs,  it returned to  river duty in the Eastern Theater, where its career had begun as an ironclad.

In 1872, a decade after her launch in Mystic, Connecticut, the ironclad-turned-gunboat  was broken up at Norfolk Navy Yard.

--Old B-Runner

J.R.M. Mullany at Battle of Mobile Bay-- Part 3: A Regular Pounding

Weighing the risk of remaining where they were under fire of Fort Morgan or proceeding and taking chances with the Confederate torpedoes (Mines), Farragut too the lead, supposedly uttered his famous quote, "Damn the torpedoes!  Full speed ahead.'  The USS Hartford surged ahead and the other ships in his line followed.

At the rear of the column, Commander J.R.M. Mullany's USS Oneida was the ship on the Fort Morgan side of the USS Galena.  As it was now the closest ship, the fort turned its fire on it.  It suffered severe damage to its steering gear and several fires broke out below decks.

The two ships were almost out of range of the fort, when a 7-inch rifle shell passed through the  chain armor on the ship's side and exploded in the starboard boiler at the water line.  Nearly all of the  below decks were scalded to death by escaping steam.

Within an hour the Oneida had lost  the use of at least two of its guns and a shot from the CSS Tennessee knocked out a third and severely wounded  Mullany.

Fortunately at this stage of the battle, Farragut's ironclads had driven the Tennessee back and saved both the Oneida and Galena from further mauling.

Commander Clark Wells of the Galena used his powerful  800-hp engine to move the much heavier Oneida to deeper and safer waters.

--Old B-Runner

J.R.M. Mullany at the Battle of Mobile Bay-- Part 1: USS Oneida Lashed to Former Ironclad USS Galena

From 290 Foundation  USS Galena.

The USS Oneida was lashed to the USS Galena when Farragut's fleet passed by Fort Morgan, guarding Mobile Bay.

In May 1864, the Galen joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and joined Admiral Farragut's long-delayed attempt to capture Mobile, Alabama.  Farragut gathered a fleet of eighteen ships, including four of the  latest ironclads to run the gauntlet of defending fire.

Among the Monitors were  the Tecumseh and Manhattan with their massive  15-inch Dahlgren cannons and the USS Winnebago and Chickasaw, each carrying four 11-inch Dahlgrens.

The USS Galena was now captained by  Lt. Cmdr.  Clark H. Wells.  The Galena had been one of the Union Navy's three original ironclads, but had not  worked out and had had its iron removed, so now was a wooden ship.

On August 5, 1864,   Farragut's ironclads led the advance toward Fort Morgan.  Beyond the fort,  Confederate Admiral  Franklin Buchanan's small defending fleet, including the ironclad CSS Tennessee and gunboats Gaines, Morgan and Selma.

Trailing closely behind the monitors, just to port, were Farragut's seven largest wooden warships, each with a smaller gunboat lashed to its port side.  The Galena was lashed to the port side of the USS Oneida, away from Fort Morgan.

--Old B-Runner

J.R.M. Mullany, USN--Part 2: Commanding the USS Bienville and USS Oneida

Prior to the Civil War, Mullany served at sea in almost every part of the globe.

From January until March, 1861, he served on the frigate USS Sabine in the protection of Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida.  In April and May of that year, he was in command of the gunboat USS Wyandotte and occupied a position in Pensacola in the rear of Fort Pickens, which was at the time under serious threat of attack.  He also assisted in re-enforcing the fort on April 12, 1861.

He was commissioned commander, 18 October 1861, and assigned to the USS Bienville in the North Atlantic and  West Gulf Squadrons where he remained until April 1862 until May 1865.  Much of that

When Farragut proposed to attack Mobile Bay, Mullany volunteered his services, but Farragut did not consider the Bienville as fit to engage the forts, he was given the command of the steamer USS Oneida. time, he was under threat of enemy fire.

The Oneida was lashed to the former ironclad USS Galena on the side toward Fort Morgan and at the end of the line of ships passing that fort on 5 August 1864.  As such, it was exposed to a very destructive fire from the fort,

Later, the Oneida engaged the Confederate ram CSS Tennessee which was able to rake the wooden ship with its cannons, causing even more damage.

--Old B-Runner

Some More on Charles V. Gridley-- Part 2: Service at the Battle of Mobile Bay

During the Battle of Mobile Bay, Gridley was placed  all of the way forward on the USS Oneida, where he could watch the channel for  mines and gave steering directions to   the ship's commander,  Cmdr.  J.R.M. Mullany.  During the action,  the Oneida had eight men killed and thirty wounded, including its commander.

Though a shell hit close to Gridley, he was unscathed.

The Oneida was lashed to the USS Galena and in the rear of the line of battle and came under fire of both Fort Morgan and the Confederate ram CSS Tennessee.  One shot in particular did heavy damage to the Oneida and wounded its commander in several places, causing the amputation of his left arm.

His commanding officer was highly pleased with his actions and wrote:  "The conduct of Acting Ensign  C.V. Gridley is beyond all praise.  He had charge of the  master's division and assisted  in conning the ship from the topgallant forecastle."

Following the war, Gridley was detailed to transport a group of Confederate  prisoners to Texas who had accepted the option of going into exile in Mexico.  On arriving, it was found that the former Confederates would have no way of continuing south, as the bridges across the Rio Grande had been destroyed.  In spite of their being former enemies, Gridley did not abandon his passengers.  he took it upon himself to transport them  across to Mexico.

I am writing about him in my Cooter's History Thing blog right now and continuing with his service in the U.S. Navy after the Civil War.

--Old B-R'er

June 30, 1862-- Part 1: McClellan Withdrawing From the James River

JUNE 30TH, 1862:  Major General George B. McClellan, compelled to withdraw down the James River after his failer Peninsula Campaign to capture Richmond and dependent on the Navy for gunfire support and transportation, reported:  "I returned from Malvern to Haxall's, and ... went on board of Captain Rogers' gunboat USS Galena to confer with him in reference to the condition of our supply vessels and the state of things on the river.

"It was his opinion that it would be necessary for the army to fall back to a position below City Point, as the channel there was so near the southern shore that it would not be possible to bring up the transports should the enemy occupy it.

"Harrison's Landing was, in his opinion, the nearest suitable point.... Concurring in his opinion, I selected Harrison's Bar as the new position of the army."

--Old B-Runner

Union Ships Attack Drewry's Bluff

In the battle, the USS Galena was heavily damaged.

But, unsupported, Union Commander John Rodgers and his ships had penetrated the James River to within eight miles of Richmond before falling back.

Rodgers stated at this time that troops were needed to take Drewry's Bluff in the rear.

Had this been done, Richmond might well have fallen.

--Old B-R'er

May 15, 1862: Union Ships Move Against Drewry's Bluff

MAY 15TH, 1862:  The Union James River Flotilla, including the USS Monitor, Galena, Aroostook, Port Royal and Naugatuck, under Commander J. Rodgers, encountered obstructions sunk across the river and at close range hotly engaged sharpshooters and strong Confederate batteries, manned in part by sailors and Marines, at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia.

For his part in this action, Corporal John B. Mackie, a member of the Galena's Marine Guard, was cited for gallantry in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy Welles; in Department of the Navy General Order 17, issued on 10 July 1863, Mackie was awarded the first Medal of Honor authorized to a member of the Marine Corps.

--Old B-Runner

Lincoln Instructs Goldsborough Further: Send the USS Galena

MAY 8TH, 1862:  President Lincoln, still acting as Commander-In-Chief in the field, also directed Flag Officer Goldsborough:  "If you have tolerable confidence that you can successfully contend with te Merrimack without the help of the Galena and two accompanying gunboats, send the Galena and two gunboats up the James River at once" to support General McClellan.

This wise use of power afloat by the  President silenced two shore batteries and forced the gunboats CSS Jamestown and Patrick Henry to return up the James River.

--Old B-R'er

February 14, 1862: Obstructions and the USS Galena

FEBRUARY 14TH, 1862:  An armed boat from the USS Restless, Acting Lt. Edward Conroy, captured and destroyed sloop Edisto and schooners Wandoo, Elizabeth and Theodore Stoney off Bull's Bay, South Carolina.  All the ships carried heavy cargoes of rice for Charleston.

**  Confederate ships sank obstructions in the Cape Fear River near Fort Caswell, North Carolina, in an effort to block the channel.

**  The USS Galena, an experimental sea-going ironclad, was launched at Mystic, Connecticut.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago, September 16, 1861: Ironclad Board Recommends Construction of Three Ironclads

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 1861:  The Ironclad Board reported to Secretary of the Navy Welles:  "For river and harbor service we consider iron-clad vessels of light draught, of floating batteries thus shielded, as very important... Armored ships or batteries may be employed advantageously to pass fortifications on land for ulterior objects of attack, to run a blockade, or to reduce temporary batteries on the shores of the rivers and the approaches to our harbors."

The Board recommended construction of three ironclads (Monitor, Galena and New Ironsides).  These ships (especially the Monitor), and those that followed, revolutionized naval warfare.

So Came the Monitor--Old B-Runner

The Union's Short-Lived Ironclad: The USS Galena

From the Aug. 23rd Civil War Connections Blog "Short-Lived Ironclad" by Brian Whitenton.

I knew the Galena was not a very successful ironclad (one of the first three such ships the U.S. government paid to have built, the other two considerably more successful, the Monitor and New Ironsides), but did not know it eventually had its iron removed and served the rest of the war as a wooden steamer.

The USS Galena guarded McClellan's troopships during his withdrawal from Hampton Roads to Fredericksburg.  Later, the ship was mauled at Drewry's Bluff on the James River, exposing the shortcomings of its thin armor which provided practically no protection from enemy shot.  And, the iron was only on the sides, not the decks.  At this battle, Confederate gunners fired down on the Galena.

It remained on duty in Hampton Roads for most of the war.  In late 1863 it was retrofitted and had its armor removed and armament increased.

It was at the Battle of Mobile Bay in a supporting role at the rear of the fleet, so no "Damn the Torpedoes" for the Galena.

An Ironless Ironclad.  How Interesting.  --Old B-Runner