Served on:
C.S.R.S. (Confederate States Receiving Ship) United States 11861
CSS Curlew 1861-62
CSS Virginia; participated in the Battle of Hampton Roads, Va., March 8-9, 1862
Drewry's Bluff, Va. 1862
CSS Steamers Richmond and Patrick Henry, James River Squadron 1862-63
CSS Savannah, Savannah Squadron, 1863-64
CSS Albemarle, 1864
Blockade Runner Owl, 1865
Old B-R'er
A couple posts ago I wrote that Henry Discher had gotten excited and accidentally fired his revolver alerting the Union crew on the mailboat Fawn that something was afoot.
Here's his service record according to the Register of Confederate Navy Officers:
HENRY DISCHER
Appointed from Missouri. Third Assistant Engineer Provisional Navy, June 2, 1864.
Serve on:
CSS Richmond, James River Squadron, 1864
CSS Albemarle, 1864
Confederate steamers Virginia No. 2 and Torpedo, James River Squadron, 1865.
Paroled April 23, 1865, Burkesville, Virginia.
--Old B-Runner
"My plan was to go to the draw-bridge on the road leading to Windsor, in Bertie County, capture the draw-bridge keeper, force him to respond to the signal of the 'Fawn' as she approached, and when, within a short distance to close the bridge.
"Orders were given to the men that at a given signal, which was to be the firing of a pistol, the men who were concealed in the bushes on both sides of the canal were to rush forward and board the vessel.
"This was easily done, as in many places along the bank a man could step from he shore to the boat.
"Everything was carried out until the opening of the bridge. Engineer Disher [Henry Discher]was detailed from the 'Albemarle' to take charge of the prize when captured. His orders were to run her from the canal into Pasquotant River, thence to the Sound, across the Roanoke River, thence to Plymouth.
"Engineer Disher [Discher], becoming greatly excited, discharged his pistol too soon. This gave the alarm and precipitated the attack.
--Old B-R'er
From "The Blue and Gray: The Patriotic American Magazine Vol. 2: by Frank P. O'Brien.
He reported that during his scouting trips around Chowan Sound and Elizabeth City, he found that there were two mailboats making regular semi-weekly trips between Roanoke Island and Norfolk and that on a certain day the U.S. paymaster would go to Roanoke Island from Norfolk on the mailboat Fawn.
"I returned to Plymouth and reported the information, which was perfectly reliable, to Captain James [John] Maffitt, of 'Florida' fame, who was soon after the engagement of May 5 (when the CSS Albemarle attacked the Union fleet off Plymouth, N.C.), had relieved Captain Cooke of the command of the 'Albemarle."
"Captain Maffitt organized a a crew to carry out my idea of capturing the boat. Master's Mate James H. Long was placed in command, but on the eve of leaving he was ordered not to go, as he had but recently recovered from a severe spell of sickness.
"Mr. Shelley, sailing-master, took his place."
So, evidently an aim was to get the paymaster funds.
--Old B-Runner
I wrote about the Confederate Navy service of James B. Hopkins in the last post.
From the "Civil War on the Outer Banks" by Fred M. Mallison.
James Hopkins was stationed on the CSS Albemarle, commanded by John Newland Maffitt, in 1864. Maffitt organized a party of his crew under the command of Pilot James B. Hopkins to capture or destroy the federal mail boat that regularly traveled the the Dismal Swamp Canal.
Hopkins' venture was successful.
On the night of September 9 they captured the mailboat Fawn, her crew, passengers, and cargo and burned the vessel.
Hopkins withdrew with twenty-nine prisoners, including a colonel and two majors.
--Old B-Runner
From Register of Confederate Naval Officers.
JAMES H. HOOD
Born in Canada. Chief Engineer, October21, 1861.
Served on the C.S. Cruiser Nashville 1861-1862.
*******************************
JAMES B. HOPKINS
Acting Master, pilot. December 5, 1863. Pilot First Class, February 1, 1864
Served on the CSS Beaufort, Richmond Station 1861-62. CSS Arctic, Wilmington Station, 1863.
CSS Albemarle, 1864
Commanded expedition that destroyed U.S. mailboat Fawn on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, September 9, 1864.
--Old B-Runner
There sure are a lot of Navy Medal of Honor recipients buried at this cemetery. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Philadelphia Navy Yard being there.
John Lafferty, USS Wyalusing, versus CSS Albemarle. Also received a second medal of Honor in Peru.
Nicholas Lear, USS New Ironsides, Fort Fisher
Thomas G. Lyons, USS Pensacola, Battle of New Orleans
James Martin II, USMC, USS Richmond, Battle of Mobile Bay
Matthew McClelland, USS Richmond, Battle of Port Hudson
John Smith, USS Richmond, Battle of Mobile Bay
William Thompson, USS Mohican, Battle of Port Royal
Alexander Truett, USS Richmond, Battle of Mobile Bay
John Williams, USS Pawnee, Mathias Point, Va.
William Williams, USS Lehigh, Charleston, S.C.
Sure a lot of Navy, Marine Medals of Honor buried in this cemetery.
--Ol B-R'er
At the onset of the war, recognizing the importance of defending the inlet and the village of Little River, Confederates ordered the construction of an earthen fort on Thomas Randall's land overlooking the inlet.
The fort, actually more of a battery, consisted of a moat aprroximately ten feet wide and five feet deep. It had a parapet and a blockhouse from which defenders could fire with protection.
Captain Thomas Dagget, commander of the Waccamaw Light Artillery onstalled two six-inch cannons at Fort Randall. (He also commanded Fort Ward, believed to have been at nearby Murrells Inlet.
According to Union naval records, there was considerable blockade running done at the Little River Inlet. The blockade runners brought in valuable war supplies and left with locally-produced cargo such as resin, turpentine, cotton and lumber.
In January, 1863, Union naval officer Lt. William Barker Cushing made a daring raid on Fort Randall.
Well, that answers that question.
William Barker Cushing it was. Of course, in 1864, he achieved even bigger acclaim for sinking the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle.
--Old B-Runner
The Albemarle's mere presence kept it a threat throughout the rest of the summer and fall. That is, until October 28, 1864, when Union Lieutenant William Cushing led a daring early morning raid that sank the Albemarle in eight feet of water using a spar torpedo on the front of a launch.
Three days later, without the threat of the Albemarle, Union forces recaptured Plymouth.
Elliott didn't witness his prize creation's demise, though. He was back at Edward's Ferry constructing another ironclad (that wasn't completed before the war ended).
In 1867, the U.S. Navy refloated the Albemarle and towed it to the Norfolk (Virginia) Navy Yard. It was deemed useless and sold for scrap, fetching a mere $2,500.
One of her 6.4-inch Brooke rifled cannons is on display at the Headquarters of the Commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command at Norfolk, Virginia, naval base. Her smokestack is on display at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Her bell is on display at the Port o' Plymouth Museum in Plymouth, North Carolina.
--Old B-Runner
Recalled Elliott, "Captain Cooke ran the ram close to the southern shore, and then, suddenly turning toward the middle of the stream, and going with the current... dashed the prow of the Albemarle into the Southfield, making an opening large enough to carry her to the bottom...."
Cooke then turned his attention to the USS Miami, whose point-blank fire proved ineffectual against the Albemarle's armor. After an attempt to board the ironclad was beaten back, the Miami fled downriver.
But, when dawn broke the next day, there was no sign of Hoke. Elliott and a team of volunteers soon found the Confederates bivouacked along a creek near the river's mouth, about 12 miles away, and with the general, devised a battle plan in which the Albemarle would shell the Union defenses while Hoke launched an infantry attack on them.
By 10 a.m., the attack was over and Plymouth was in Confederate hands.
The fearsome ram would enjoy one more moment of glory. On the afternoon of May 5, 1864, Cooke's vessel sortied into Albemarle Sound and engaged the entire Union flotilla. All attempts to sink the Albemarle failed, and at nightfall both sides retired.
--Old B-Runner
So, Robert Hoke's force is at Plymouth and his expected help from the Albemarle isn't. A series on infantry attacks on April 18, 1864, had limited success, but Union naval gunfire from the river inflicted heavy losses on the Confederates. The battle continued well into the night before Hoke called a halt.
The Albemarle reached Plymouth the following day after being delayed by both mechanical problems and sunken Union boats. During a longboat reconnaissance conducted on the 18th, with the help of volunteers, Elliott took measurements and found that his ship could make its way over the Union hulls safely.
On its approach to Plymouth, the Albemarle's iron plating easily withstood the artillery fire from the Union forts. "[T] those on board," Elliott wrote, "the noise made by the shot and shell as they struck the boat sounded no louder than pebbles thrown against an empty barrel."
As the Albemarle came abreast of Plymouth, the USS Miami and USS Southfield were spotted steaming up from the sound. In an effort to trap the Confederate ship between them, the two ships were linked by an iron chain.
--Old B-Runner
In the spring of 1864, Confederate General Robert E. Lee began looking for ways to regain initiative in the war in the Confederate heartland as well as reduce the building pressure from the Army of the Potomac against Petersburg and Richmond. He detached North Carolina native Robert F. Hoke to launch an offensive against Plymouth, North Carolina.
The Union garrison there was well-protected by forts, defensive positions and a formidable flotilla of ships. An important aspect of this venture would be the assistance of the CSS Albemarle.
Hoke met with Captain James Wallace Cooke, CSN, and found that the ram was still being fitted out. The ram wasn't on the prow yet, the shop lacked a capable crew and it had not even had its "shakedown" cruise yet.
Not to be stopped, Hoke promised mechanics to work on the ship and sailors from his infantry. Cooke agreed to join the planned attack by April 17,1864.
With a force of roughly 10,000 men, Hoke showed up at Plymouth on time. But, the Albemarle was not there.
--Old B-Runner
The finished Albemarle was 152 feet long and with a 45-foot beam. "The depth from gun-deck to keel was 9 feet," Elliott noted, "and when launched she drew 6 and one half feet of water, but after being ironed and completed her draught was about 8 feet."
The ram's iron plates were seven inches wide and two inches thick and its 18-foot wooden oak prow was covered with two inches of iron plating as well (all the better for ramming).
The armament consisted of two 6.4-inch rifled Brooke guns mounted on pivot carriages, each gun able to work three gunports. Propelled by two 200-hp steam engines, its top speed would be four knots.
--Old B-Ram
The project to build the Albemarle was also beset by administrative issues. Questions over contract terms cropped up, especially after William F. Lynch, North Carolina's ranking naval officer got involved. In October 1863, he assumed overall supervision of construction, and, fearing that Edwards Ferry was too vulnerable to Union cavalry raids, ordered the unfinished ironclad towed upstream to Halifax.
"For many reasons it was thought judicious to remove the boat to ...Halifax," Elliott later wrote, "and there the work of completion, putting in her machinery, armament, etc., was done...."
While dragging the hull from the cornfield on a bluff to the river below, the hull was bent, "but to our great gratification did not...spring a leak." Once the hull was straightened out, it was hauled 22 miles up the Roanoke River to Halifax where it awaited its iron plates.
--Old B-Runner
Elliott believed it would be necessary to build his ironclad away from the Union fleet, so it was built on Peter Smith's Edwards Ferry plantation. It was built on the Roanoke River on dry land. Elliott wrote "The river rises and falls and it was necessary to locate the yard on ground sufficiently free from overflow, to admit the uninterrupted work for at least twelve months."
John L. Porter, the man responsible for converting the USS Merrimac into the CSS Virginia in 1861, prepared the vessel's plans and specifications and joined Elliott at Edwards Ferry to supervise construction. They were soon joined by Captain James Wallace Cooke, the ironclad's designated commander.
Everything in the cornfield shipyard was makeshift, but plantation owner Smith became a willing partner in the enterprise and had three portable lumber mills constructed to cut the sturdy yellow pine timber for the ship's hull. Construction by a team of white carpenters and slaves from nearby plantations continued night and day in spite of the stifling heat and humidity you get in North Carolina summers.
For many months there was a fear that the 376-ton ship would never launch since the iron needed for its plating was so scarce in the South. Elliott finally obtained 700 tons of iron from abandoned railroad tracks in February 1864.
--Old B-Runner
From the January 2020 America's Civil War magazine "Infernal Machine" by Gordon Berg.
The rumors had begun drifting in to the North Carolina river port of Plymouth that something was going on up the Roanoke River from them and it did not bode well. It was something dangerous, especially to a sizeable Union fleet and some 3,000 soldiers guarding the place.
What it was, was something out of the mind if a young engineer-inventor named Gilbert Elliott. His "infernal machine" was taking place and would be named the CSS Albemarle. And, he had created a makeshift shipyard in the middle of a cornfield on Peter Smith's Edwards Ferry plantation.
His maternal grandfather, Charles Grice, owned a shipyard in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, but growing up, Gilbert had leaned toward a law career, but when the war broke out he enlisted in the 17th N.C. regiment and was captured at Cape Hatteras Inlet in December 1861. After exchange, he was assigned to the James River Drewry's Bluff battery near Richmond.
To pass the time, he began sketching designs for warships and on a whim sent them to the Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory. Mallory had three warship construction contracts to give and Elliott got one.
--Old B-Runner
The previous commander of the CSS Arkansas, William McBlair? and John Guthrie were detached from the Arkansas and ordered to the east.
Following his removal from the CSS Arkansas project at Yazoo City (Greenwood, Ms.) Guthrie served at the Richmond and Wilmington naval stations.
On February 4, 1863, he was posted to Chattahoochee, Florida, and commanded the CSS Chattahoochee. Following the boiler explosion aboard on May 27, 1863, he commanded the initial voyage of the North Carolina state-owned blockade runner A.D. Vance (also known as the Advance) in February 1864.
Guthrie was then sent to superintend the Halifax, North Carolina, Navy Yard, where he assisted with the material requirements of then famed ironclad CSS Albemarle.
After the loss of the Albemarle to William Cushing's famed "torpedo," he returned to blockade running. On March 23, 1865, he was appointed military aide to North Carolina governor Zebulon B. Vance.
--Old B-R'er
From the Naval War Records: Officers in the Confederate States Navy, 1898.
Born in North Carolina, Appointed from North Carolina.
Assistant Surgeon for war March 11, 1862
Assistant Surgeon for War January 7, 1864
Assistant Surgeon Provisional Navy June 2, 1864
Served on the CSS Raleigh 1863-64
Served CSS Albemarle 1864
--Old B-Runner
