Feb. 18, 1865: Charleston Sailors Find Way to Wilmington a Hard Road to Hoe

FEBRUARY 18TH, 1865:  Upon orders to evacuate Charleston, Commodore John R. Tucker scuttled the ironclads Palmetto State, Charleston and Chicora, took charge of the remaining sailors in the area, and set out by train for Wilmington to join the naval detachment that had previously proceeded there under Lieutenant Rochelle.

Tucker's detachment got as far as  Whiteville, about 50 miles west of Wilmington, where he learned that Union troops had cut the rail line between the two cities and that the evacuation of Wilmington was imminent.

After unsuccessfully trying to obtain rail transportation for his detachment, which he pointed out was "unused to marching,"  Tucker set out across country on a 125 mile march to Fayetteville, North Carolina.

--Old B-R'er

Feb. 13, 1865-- Part 2: Confederate Naval Detachment Evacuates Charleston for Wilmington's Defense

Since Charleston was to be evacuated and the naval squadron there scuttled, there was no need for the crews  anymore.  Commodore John R. Tucker detached 300 men and officers from the CSS Chicora, Palmettos State and Charleston, as well as men from the Navy Yard.

They were placed under the command of Lieutenant  James H. Rochelle, to assist in the final defense of Wilmington.

The naval detachment was assigned to Major General Robert F. Hoke's division which held the defensive line across the peninsula between Fort Fisher and Wilmington.

--Old B-R'er

So What Became of Acting Master's Mate William H. Kitching?

Two days ago I mentioned that he was captured in a picket boat from the USS Nipsic on Feb. 26, 1864, and held on the CSS Charleston in Charleston Harbor.

What happened to him after that?

On March 28, 1864, Gen. Benjamin F. Butler wrote from Fort Monroe to Robert Ould, Confederate Agent of Prisoner Exchange.

"Sir, Will you please inform me as to the whereabouts and present condition of William H. Kitching, who was taken prisoner while in command of a picket boat, from the U.S. gun-boat Nipsic, on the night of the 26th February, last, near Charleston, S.C?"

I couldn't find a reply.

Elsewhere in the U.S. Navy  Register of officers I found his name, with his joining on 28 March 1863 and resignation on 22 April 1865.

Other than that, I can find nothing about him.

He Evidently Survived His Ordeal.  --Old B-Runner

February 26, 1864: Union Picket Boat Captured at Charleston Harbor

FEBRUARY 26TH, 1864:  While on night picket duty at Charleston Harbor, a boat commanded by Acting Master's Mate William H. Kitching, Jr., from the USS Nipsic, was captured by a Confederate cutter from the CSS Palmetto State.

The Union boat encountered her captors in a thick fog and was unable to withdraw rapidly enough against the flood tide to escape.  Kitching and his five crew members were taken prisoner and confined initially aboard the CSS Charleston near Fort Sumter.

Small Actions, But Always Vigilant.  --Old B-Runner

Alexander M. DeBree, CSN-- Part 15: Treble-Banded Brooke Rifles

From Seacoast Artillery.

Three treble-banded Brooke guns produced at Tredegar Works in Richmond.  One, No. 1597, cast on June 13, 1862, installed on the CSS Richmond in November 1862.  Before that, it was successfully tested by its designer John M. Brooke and Lt. Alexander DeBree.

It appears that the other two were shipped to Charleston, South Carolina.  No. 1706, cast Dec. 6, 1962 was destined for the CSS Charleston but probably diverted by General Beauregard for harbor defense.

--Old B-R'er

Charleston Evacuated-- Part 1: Destruction of Confederate Ironclads

FEBRUARY 17-18TH, 1865:  Charleston, South Carolina, was evacuated by Confederate troops after having endured 567 days of continuous attack by land and sea.  The long siege witnessed some of the most heroic fighting of the war, including the sinking of the USS Housatonic by the valiant, hand-powered submarine H.L. Hunley on 17 February 1864 (one year before Charleston's evacuation).

During the night, Forts Moultrie, Sumter, Johnson, Beauregard and Castle Pinckney were abandoned as the Confederates marched northward to join the beleaguered forces of General Lee.

The Southern ironclads Palmetto State, Chicora and Charleston were fired and blown up prior to the withdrawal, but the CSS Columbia, the largest of the ironclads at Charleston, was found aground and abandoned near Fort Moultrie and was eventually salvaged.

--Old B-Runner

Plans Being Made for Evacuation of Charleston, S.C.

FEBRUARY 13TH, 1865:  General Sherman's on-rushing army approached the Congaree River, S.C..  The soldiers would cross it on the 14th, heading for Columbia.  With the fall of Columbia assured and with the supply route to Augusta, Georgia, already cut, General Hardee sped up his preparations to evacuate Charleston and to take the troops he had brought with him from Savannah to North Carolina where he planned to join Generals Johnston and Beauregard.

Since Charleston would have be abandoned and the Confederate naval squadron there scuttled, Commodore John R. Tucker, detached 300 men and officers from the CSS Chicora, Palmetto State and Charleston, as well as the Navy Yard, and dispatched them, under the command of Lt. James H. Rochelle, to assist in the final defense of Wilmington.

The naval detachment was assigned to Major General Robert F. Hoke's division which held the defensive line across the peninsula between Fort Fisher and Wilmington.

Things getting Mighty Sad for the Confederate Cause.  --Old B-Runner

Dangerous Charleston Night Picket Duty

FEBRUARY 26TH, 1864:

While on night picket duty at Charleston Harbor, a boat from the USS Nipsic was captured by a Confederate cutter from the CSS Palmetto State. The Union boat encountered her captors in a thick fog and was unable to get away rowing against the the flod tide to escape.

The six men aboard were held captive initially aboard the CSS Charleston near Fort Sumter.

--Old B-R'er

150 Years Ago: November 2-3, 1863-- Operations at Fort Sumter

NOVEMBER 2-3RD.

Lt. Cmdr. Greenleaf Gilley of the USS Catskill reported on Confederate operations at Fort Sumter to meet any Union attempts to breech the obstructions between Forts Sumter and Moultrie as the furious Union bombardment of Fort Sumter continued.

He reported: "Two boats under sail were seen moving from Sumter towards Sullivan's Island. About 11 p.m. a balloon with two lights attached arose from Sumter and floated toward Fort Johnson.... At midnight a steamer left Sumter and moved toward Fort Johnson.

At sunrise...observed the three rams [CSS Charleson, Chicora and Palmetto State] and the sidewheel steamer anchored in line of battle ahead from Johnson toward Charleston, and each with its torpedo topped up forward of the bows."

Being Vigilant, Very Vigilant. --Old B-Runnee

Confederate Naval Officer Isaac Newton Brown

From the July 13, 2012, Corsicana (Tx) Daily Sun "Saturday ceremony to honor Confederate officer."

Isaac Newton Brown, a career U.S. Navy sailor and later a Confederate naval officer, is buried at Corsicana's Oakwood Cemetery.

On Saturday, July 14th, the Sons of Confederate veterans, Order of Confederate Grays and United Daughters of the Confederacy gathered to honor his memory and the and 150th anniversary of his victorious fight with the Union Navy at Vicksburg.

Union Admiral Farragut almost took Vicksburg a year before General Grant did.  Lieutenant Brown commanded the powerful ironclad CSS Arkansas.  Earlier, he had been od\rdered to finish the ship on the banks of the Yazoo River.

Still unfinished, on July 15, 1862, Lt. Brown took a makeshift crew and no trial run, to the Mississippi River and fought off 30 Union ships to get through to Vicksburg.  Farragut's inability to defeat the Arkansas caused him to withdraw July 24th.

As a result, Brown was promoted to commander and later received the Confederate Medal of Honor.  Later, he commanded the ironclad CSS Charleston.

After the war, Isaac Brown came to Corsicana when his stepson moved there.  He remained in town until his death September 1, 1889.

A Confederate Hero.  --Old B-Runner