While on the Subject of Shipwrecks-- Part 3

 5.  SHIPWRECKS ARE SOMETIMES DRAPED WITH  "GHOST NETS"

Shipwrecks can snag nets of passing fishing boats.  Many times, these "ghost nets" help to discover long lost wrecks.

In 1994, for example, the fishing boat Mistake threw down a trawling net on the Gulf of Mexico and it  became ensnared on the Spanish warship El  Cazador.  It sank in 1783 full of silver coins and its final resting place remained a mystery until then when the crew of the Mystery began pulling up shiny bits of metal and rocks in the nets.

The recovered treasure included a large topaz stone and  approximately 37,500 pounds of silver

6.  SHIPWRECKS CAN BE DANGEROUS EVEN DECADES AFTER THEY SINK

Shipwrecks are abandoned vessels, and therefore  are considered very a problematic type of marine debris.  Even decades after a ship sinks, new dangers can arise as tanks holding supplies and fuel degrade.

When the tank barge Argo sank in Lake Erie in 1937, it was carrying about 100,000 gallons of crude oil and 100,000 gallons of benzol.  When the ship was discovered in 2015, it turned into a large  and complicated remediation project.

All divers to wreck sites should familiarize themselves with state and federal laws pertaining to shipwrecks before approaching a site.

--Old B-Runner

While on the Subject of Shipwrecks-- Part 2

4.  A SHIPWRECK CAN LINGER FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY

The iconic Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was built to withstand intense naval battles when it was launched in 1862.  But its design -- advanced for its time--  was still not enough to help the vessel withstand the tracherous winter storms off the coast of North Carolina on New Year's Eve that same year.

The resulting shipwreck has been intensely researched since it was rediscovered in 1973.  In 2002, the Monitor's turret was recovered in a joint U.S. Navy and NOAA mission, it still held the skeletal remains of two of the 16 men who lost their lives on the vessel 140 years earlier.

--Old B-Runner

While On the Subject of Shipwrecks-- Part 1

From the October 28, 2022,  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) "Six surprising shipwreck facts."

Shipwrecks can have a big impact on ocean science.  Here are six ways:

1.  SHIPWRECKS CAN SERVE AS "UNDERWATER SKYSCRAPERS."

The area around them have much higher fish abundance.

2.  SHIPWRECKS OFTEN OCCUR IN LARGE LAKES

The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Michigan protects 36 known shipwrecks and 59 suspected ones.  The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron is home to 100 known shipwrecks.

3.  THERE MAY BE AS MANY AS 10,000 SHIPWRECKS IN NORTH AMERICA

The NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (OCS) uses high-tech surveying methods to reveal shipwrecks.  There are now approximately 10,000 wrecked vessels  within our nation's waterways.

--Old B-Runner

Was the Wreck of Robert Small's Planter Found at Cape Romain?-- Part 3: Capturing the Planter

Robert Smalls was born a slave in the Beaufort area, but far from being a field hand, he became a  river pilot in Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1850s.  He was later conscripted by the Confederates  to serve as the pilot on the Planter.

He took the Planter early on the morning of May 13, 1862, after the Confederate officers on the ship left the ship for a night on the town.  

He steamed upriver to pick up family and friends, then turned around and slipped past five Confederate batteries in Charleston Harbor to reach the Union blockading ships.

Taking Quite the Chance.

Old B-Runner

Was the Wreck of Robert Small's Planter Found at Cape Romain?-- Part 2

Bruce Terrell, a maritime archaeologist and historian,  said scientists used old maps and newspaper accounts to identify the general area where the Planter was thought to have been wrecked by a storm in 1876, eleven years after the war ended.

Using a magnetometer, an instrument that can detect metal beneath the ground, they found a number of objects seeming to correspond to the wreck.  The report said more studies  will be needed before the wreck is positively identified.

The Planter, built in 1860, wrecked when the storm came up as it was trying to tow a grounded schooner  to sea at Cape Romain.  In the following days, many items on board were salvaged.

"We're not sure how much was left of the Planter because contemporary accounts indicate it was pretty well stripped down -- all the way to cushions and blankets and doors," Terrell said.  "It looks like the engines and paddlewheels were taken out."

The items buried in the sand could be boilers  because they would have corroded by the salt water and not much good after the Planter sank, Terrell added.

--Old B-Runner

Was Wreck of Robert Smalls' Planter Found Near Cape Romain?-- Part 1

From the November 28, 2015, Fox News "Wreck of Civil War ship commandeered by slave believed found off SC coast" AP.

Researchers say they think they have found  the wreck of the iconic Civil War vessel Planter.  This was the Confederate ammunition ship commandeered by the slave Robert Smalls, who steamed it out of Charleston Harbor and turned it over to the Union Navy.

Archaeologists woyj the National Marine Sanctuary Program said Tuesday that they have found what is believed to be the wreck of thye sidewheel steamer buried under 15 feet of sand just offshore of Cape Romain, northeast of Charleston.

They released a report of their findings on the anniversary of the day in 1862 (May 13) when Smalls took the vessel.

Smalls would return to Charleston a year later to pilot a Union ironclad in an attack on Fort Sumter.  After the war, he served in the South Carolina General Assembly, the U.S. Congress and as a federal customs inspector.

--Old B-Runner

Back to Cape Romain, SC: The Lighthouses

Continued from October 5.  From the Lighthouse Friends site.

The USS George Mangham was ordered to patrol off this point between Charleston and Georgetown, South Carolina.

There are two lighthouses standing guard at Capr Romain.

Funds for the first Cape Romain Lighthouse were made available through a $10,000  appropriationm passed on March 3, 1823.  The first site selected didn't pan out and another was picked.  However, work did not begin until 1826 and with the cost of $17,000 more.

It was constructed on Raccoon Key (also known as Lighthouse Island)  and is a traditional brick conical tower with a height of 65 feet.  It was finished in 1827 and its main function was to warn mariners of some treacherous shoals nine miles southeast of the lighthouse.

However, a weak signal made the light a failure, so a new one was constructed and put into service in 1858.  This one stood  150 feet tall with a first order Frensl lens

Three years after the new tower opened, Fort Sumter was fired upon just a few miles south.  Confederate forces extinguished the light and even destroyed the lens and lantern room to prevent Union forces from using it.

Following the war, it we reequipped and put back into service.

--Old B-Runner

USS Dawn: Operations in Georgia

From Civil War Shipwrecks.

An unknown Confederate schooner was set afire below  the Coffee Bluff Confederate battery in the Little Ogeechee River on November 7, 1862, as the USS Wissahickon and USS Dawn approached.

From Civil War Naval Chronology.

NOVEMBER 19, 1862

The USS Wissahicon, Lieutenant Commander John L. Davis, and USS Dawn, Acting Lieutenant John S. Barnes, engaged Fort McAllister, Georgia, on the Ogeechee River.  The Wissahickon was hit and temporarily  disabled in the exchange of fire.

Persistent and vigilant actions of this nature by the Union navy, pinned down Confederate  manpower that could have been used in land actions elsewhere.

The Wissahickon and Dawn at the time had the mission  of blockading the CSS Nashville in Ossabow Sound, Georgia, and preventing her from becoming another commerce raider like the CSS Alabama.

--Old B-Runner

USS Dawn-- Part 3: Operations of the James River and the Battle of Wilson's Wharf

The Dawn was out of commission at New York from 9 July to 2 December 1863 for repairs. She departed on 10 December to her new duties with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and cruised the James River from 14 December to 25 March 1865.  There, she performed picket duties and kept Confederate batteries from operating along the river.

On 24 May 1864 she played a major role in defending Wilson's Wharf, Virginia, near Charles City.  The garrison there  consisted of 1,100 United States Colored Troops (USCT) under the command of Bigadier General Edward A. Wild.  They were attacked by a 2,500 man force of Confederates under the command of Major Genral Fitzhugh Lee (nephew of Robert E. Lee).

The stout resistance of the USCT soldiers and the Dawn turned the tide and the Confederates were driven back.  Wilson's Wharf and the soon to be completed Fort Pochahontas remained in Union hands for the duration of the war.

The Dawn was placed out of commission on 17 June 1865 at Portsmouth Navy Yard and later taken to Boston Navy yard and sold 1 November.

--Old B-Runner

USS Dawn-- Part 2: Potomac Flotilla and South Atlantic Blockading Squadron

The Dawn was assigned to duty with the Potomac Flotilla and sailed from New York May 11 and  took station at the mouth of the York River until September 24.  During that time, she captured three ships with contraband goods and passengers.  After repairs at the Washington Navy Yard,  she was sent to the Rappahannock River.

From  7 February to 27 April 1862 she had a new boiler installed at New York City, then stood out for Port Royal, South Carolina, for service in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.  

Arriving on station  14 May, she patrolled  the coastal and inland waters of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, frequently exchanging fire with enemy shore batteries and joining in  the attacks on Fort McAllister of 27 January- 1 February 1863.

She also  assisted in the capture of several blockade runners, inclusing the Confederate privateer Nashville with a valuable cargo of cotton.

--Old B-Runner

USS Dawn

From Wikipedia.

This is David Franklin's ship whom I have been writing about earlier this month.

It was a steam operated  vessel acquired by the Union Navy.  It was built in 1857 by Samuel Sneden of New York City; chartered on 26 April 1861 and purchased 12 October 1861.  Outfitted in  New York Navy Yard and commissioned on 9 May 1861.  Commander W. Chandler was in command.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Length:   154 feet

Beam:  28 feet

Draft:  12 feet

Speed:  8 knots

Complement:  60

Armament:  two 32-pounder guns

--Old B-Runner

Fort Fisher Hosting a World War II Living History Event Saturday, Oct. 15

Fort Fisher, of course, a major Civil War battlefield, also played an important role some 80 years later during World War II when it was used as an anti-aircraft gun training camp.  The use of planes to tow the targets resulted in the destruction of several mounds along the land face (behind the current visitors center).

For more information on the event, go to my October 13 Tattooed on Your Soul: World War II blog.  Just click on the spot in the My Blogs section to the right of this to take you there.

--Old Anti-Aircraft Guy

Black Navy Veteran David Franklin Gets Gravestone 100 Years Later-- Part 4

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was the nation's firts veteran's organization.  It was dissolved after the last member died in the 1950s.  Loran Bures belongs to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), the successor of the GAR.

Bures worked with Oakwood Hills owner  Corey Gaffney to confirm that Franklin was buried there and missing his tombstone.

The SUVCW  is considered by the Veterans Administration as being Franklin's legal next of kin and therefore, Bures was able to apply for a government headstone.  This is at no cost to the SUVCW or Bures.

Marking David Franklin's grave is also personal to Bures because his great-great grandfather, another Civil War veteran, is buried  just steps from Franklin's grave.     Both men were members of the Custer Post of the GAR in tacoma.

Thank You Mr. Bures and Mr. Gaffney.  --Old B-Runner

Black Navy Veteran David Franklin Finally Gets His Gravestone-- Part 3

Of interest, records show that David Franklin enlisted in the hospital corps of the 2nd Regiment of the Washington National Guard Infantry in 1906.  (Quite an elderly age to be doing that.)

According to census records, Franklin died March 16, 1920, at age 79 at home on South 4th Street.

His death certificate shows that he was a widower, but no other records have been found that he had a wife or children.  They are still looking for family descendants.

The discovery of  Franklin came about when Bures was trying to identify every single Union veteran buried in Pierce County.  He was aided by a 1939  survey conducted by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era New Deal agency aimed at employing people for government projects.

WPA workers created  biographical cards for all war veterans of Pierce County.  The original cards are stored in the Tacoma  Public Library.  About 75% of the 2,000 cards are of Civil War veterans.

--Old B-Runner

Black Navy Veteran Finally Gets Tombstone, David Franklin-- Part 2: Service on the USS Dawn

Not much is known about David Frankin's early life except that he was born free in New York in 1840.  He enlisted in the Union Navy on Nocvember 13, 1863 at age 23.

The young  sailor was assigned to the USS Dawn as an officers' steward and cook.  The steamer Dawn  was 154-feet long and  had a crew of 63 with 3 officers.  Seventeen percent of the crew were Blacks.  It was a part of te North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and spent most of its time on the James River.

On May 24, 1864, about 2,500 Confederates attacked the Union supply depot at Wilson's Wharf, Virginia.  They were repulsed by two black regiments totalling 1,100 men, with the help of the USS Dawn's guns.  The Confederates lost 200 men and Union just 40.

Franklin was discharged from Union service on March 31, 1865.

What happened to him after the war is lost to hostory until he appears on the roster as a member of a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) camp in Tacoma, Washington.  An 1899 Tacoma city directory lists him as a  broiler at Donnelly Cafe, which was attched to the Hotel Donnelly.

--Old B-Runner

Black Civil War Naval Veteran Finally Gets Headstone in Tacoma, Washington-- Part 1: David Franklin

From the October 6, 2022, Stars and Stripes  by Craig Sailor, The News Tribune.

For the past century, a row of military graves in Tacoma's (Washington) Oakwood Hill Cemetery has had a conspicuous gap.  Only a patch of grass marked the final resting place of  David Franklin, Tacoma's only black naval veteran from the Civil War.

That changes this Saturday when a years-long effort speared by a Civil War historian will finally bring Franklin the white marble tombstone that was forgotten in 1920.

Historian Loran Bures' quest for that tombstone began in 2017 when he was researching Pierce County's Civil War veterans and found documents listing David Franklin and his burial at Oakwood Hill.  But when he visited the cemetery, he was unable to find his grave.

Using cemetery records, he founjd that the gap in that neat row of military graves was indeed Franklin's last resting place.

"As any veteran of the United States they should receive their proper burial honors," said Bures.  "That's what we're trying to rectify after 102 years."

So Proud of Mr. Bures for His Accomplishment.  --Old B-Runner

Cape Romain, South Carolina

The USS George Mangham was ordered to patril off Cape Romain.

Cape Romain, South Carolina, is located about half way between Charleston and Georgetown.  It is now part of the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, extending 22 miles along the state's coast.  The headquarters  and visitor center is located about 30 minutes by car from Charleston on US-17.

It is the site of two surviving lighthouses, the oldest one was the one John Collins was ordered to inspect.  Bulls Island is a part of it.

As they say, it hosts a plethora of wildlife.

Plethora?  --Old B-Runner

Some More on John Collins: Blockading Cape Romain, S.C.

From Official Records Navy (ORN).

On August 1, 1862, the mortar ships were at Hampton Roads and John Collins was listed as in command of the USS George Mangham.  So, evidently, he was back.

*******************

On April 2, 1864, the USS George Mangham, now part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, was ordered to proceed to Cape Romain, S.C., and blockade the main channel which ran by the lighthouse.

In addition, the ship was to anchor as near to the lighthouse as possible and to reconnoiter the island if the opportunity offered.

The commander of the Mangham at the time was none other than John Collins Jr.

--Old B-Runner

John Collins, Acting Master, USN-- Part 3: Enter John M. Richard(son)

I came across an article in the 2014  Quarterly Bulletin of the Boulder Genealogical Society about the naval service of John Marshall Richard(son), who also served on the USS George Mangham for part of the war.

He was appointed Acting Master's Mate and ordered to David D. Porter's mortar flotolla for the attacks on Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

On December 31, 1861, he was ordered to join the crew of the USS George Mangham.

This was while the ship was under the command of John Collins, Jr., but, on April 8, 1862, Lt. Commander Walter W. Queen of the schooner USS T. A. Ward and told that he was relieved of command of the Mangham and was to turn over all papers relating therefor to the executive officer of the ship, John M. Richards.

In the last post I said it was my belief that Collins had remained in command of the USS George Mangham for the whole war.

Shows what I know and don't.

--Olf Clueless