USS Montgomery-- Part 2: Capturing Blockade Runners, the Tacony and Fort Fisher

Remaining in the Gulf of Mexico during 1861, the Montgomery captured or destroyed a half dozen blockade runners, mainly sailing vessels.  

Following her return to the Atlantic in 1863, she took part in the search for the Confederate raider Tacony in June.  Later assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, in June helped destroy the blockade runners Bendigo and Dare.

The next month, she captured the steamer Pet and in October took the Bat..  She also participated in the two attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina during December 1864 and January 1865  This finally eliminated the nearby city of Wilmington as a blockade running port.

For the remainder of the war, the Montgomery served along the Carolina coast and participated in the operations on the Cape Fear River which led to the capture of Wilmington in February 1865.

Decommissioned in June 1865 and sold in August, the Montgomery retained her name when she reentered commercial service in 1866.  She was active for nearly eleven more years, until she was sunk due to a collision with the schooner Seminole on January 7,  1877, off Cape May, New Jersey.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Archer: Read's Third Raider

From Wikipedia.

The CSS Archer was originally a fishing schooner captured by the Confederate cruiser Tacony commanded by Lt. Charles W. Read, who converted her into a raider.

The Tacony captured the Archer on June  25, 1863, off the coast of New England.  Knowing that the Union was on the hunt or his ship, the Tacony, Read transferred his men and armaments from the Tacony to the Archer.  (The same as he had done with the Clarence).

Read then decoded to try to capture the U.S. Revenue Cutter Caleb  Cushing on his way down the New England coast.  On June 27, 1863, the Archer sailed into Portland, Maine's harbor and docked, disguising itself as a fishing schooner.

That night, Read and his crew boarded the Caleb Cushing and took it over.  They confined the crew below deck.  The Archer and Cushing then sailed out of the harbor as day was dawning.  When the disappearance of the Cushing was noticed, ships went out in pursuit.

--Old B-Runner

Lt. Charles Read's Great Adventure from the Clarence to the Tacony to the Archer

 All this started when I wrote about the Edward H. Faucon was ordered to take his ship, the USS Montgomery, and search for the Confederate raider Tacony which was capturing Union ships off New England.

That had started when the CSS Florida, under John Newland Maffitt had captured the American ship Clarence and set  Charles W. Read up as a raider.  Read had captured several ships before he captured the Tacony and then decided that was a better ship for his purposes and transferred his men and armament to that vessel.

He had captured several more ships  when he captured the Archer and again decided that ship would be better suited and once again transferred his men and armament.

So, this was his third ship.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Clarence

In the last post I mentioned that Charles Read had captured the Tacony while in command of the CSS Clarence.  Deciding the Tacony to be a better ship than the Clarence, he transferred to that ship and continued.

From Wikipedia.

The CSS Clarence, also known as the Coquette , was originally a brig from  Baltimore that was captured by the CSS Florida which converted it into a raider.  It was transporting a cargo of coffee from Brazil when the Florida, under the command of John Newland Maffitt, captured it off the coast of Brazil.

Lt. Charles W. Read was placed in command of the Clarence and enough of the Florida's sailors were transferred to the new ship to man it.

Read suggested that with the ship's papers that he might be able to enter the Chesapeake Bay and sail into Hampton Roads, Virginia, and perhaps capture or destroy a Union gunboat.  Maffitt armed the Clarence with one cannon.

On its brief career as a Confederate raider, the Clarence captured a number of ships.  The Whistling Wind, Kate Stewart, Mary Alvina and Mary Schindler were burned.  The Alfred H. Partridge was bonded.

The Clarence's final capture was the bark Tacony on June 12, 1863, which being a better ship for commerce raiding, the crew and armament of the Clarence were transferred to the Tacony and the Clarence destroyed.

--Old B-Runner

Edward H. Faucon Ordered to Search for Confederate Raider Tacony in 1863

From Official records War of the Rebellion Navy Operations of the Cruisers Union, Page 286.

Boston Navy Yard Commandant ordered Edward H. Faucon to take  his USS Montgomery out to look for and capture the Confederate raider Tacony June 16, 1863.

He was to search for the bark Tacony and to cruise off the Nantucket  Shoals from Little Georges Shoals to Block Island.  he was to engage and capture the Tacony if found and bring it to a Union port.  While searching for the Tacony, he was to speak to all vessels he met and gather as much information as he could.

Faucon was to cruise as long as his coal held up. or 14 days.

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

From Wikipedia.

The CSS Tacony was a bark ship captured by the Confederate raider CSS Clarence, commanded by Lt. Charles W. Read on June 12, 1863.  Since it was a better ship for   commerce raiding, Read and crew transferred to the Tacony and destroyed the Clarence.

In its brief career as a raider, the Tacony captured 14 ships.  The final one was  the schooner Archer on June 25, 1863, and it was decided this was a better ship for commerce raiding and Read again transferred to another ship and the Tacony was burned.

Armament of the Tacony was one  6-pounder boat howitzer.  Read had 20 men with him.

Just Looking for That Really Good Commerce Raider.  --Old B-Runner

USS Montgomery-- Part 4: Service in the Gulf, Chasing Cruisers and Fort Fisher

 Further prizes in 1862 were the Blanche which was chased a shore  at Havana on 7 October; Confederate steamer CSS Caroline, taken off Mobile, Alabama  28 October and the sloop William E. Chester, taken  20 November.

She continued to blockade off Mobile into 1863, then joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron searching for the Confederate cruiser Tacony off Nantucket Shoals in June and Confederate cruiser Florida in the same area in July.   In August, the Montgomery joined the blockaders off Wilmington, North Carolina where she remained for the remainder of the year.

Among her 1864 operations off Wilmington were the capture of the blockade runner Pet  on 11 February; destruction of the  steamer Dove on 7 June;  seizure of the Bat off the Western Bar 11 October.  Other ships in the blockading squadron also were involved in these actions.

In December 1864 and January she took part in both attacks on Fort Fisher under the command of Lieutenant Edward H. Faucon in the first and under Lt. Thomas C. Dunn in the second.

In February, the Montgomery  patrolled off the Cape Fear River, engaging the Half Moon Battery on the 11th, then was involved in a coastal  patrol from Wilmington to Georgetown, South Carolina, 24 February.

Decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 20 June 1865, she was sold at public auction 10 August 1865, redocumented  1 April 1866, and was in merchant service into 1877.

--Old B-Runner

June 4, 1864: Gloucester Asks for Fishing Fleet Protection

All of these dates in Civil War naval history are from the "Civil War Naval Chronology 1861-1865" book.

JUNE 4TH, 1864:  The success of the CSS Tacony against shipping off the New England coast the previous year (20-27 June 1863) prompted a committee from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to address a request to Secretary Welles:  "In behalf of the citizens and businessmen of this town interested in the fishing business, to ask your attention to the necessity of some protection for our fishing fleet the coming season...

"It is necessary that a steamer, properly armed, should be detailed for the special service of cruising in the Gulf of St. Lawrence until the close of the fishing season,"

Welles ordered the USS Ticonderoga, Captain Charles Steedman, on this duty.

--Old B-Runner

USS Iron Age-- Part 1: Looked for the CSS Tacony

From Wikipedia.

144 feet long, 25-foot beam, 424 ons, steamship, screw propeller,  Mounted three 30-pdr. Dahlgren rifles and six 8-inch Dahlgren guns.

Built Kennebunk, Maine and purchased by the Navy in Boston, Massachusetts, 28 April 1863. Commissioned  25 June 1863 with Lt.Cmdr. E.E. Stone in command.

Afterwards, searched for Confederate commerce raider CSS Tacony, but stopped when they found it had been burned and its crew captured.  returned to Boston 7 July 1862 and spent the rest of the summer in New England waters protecting Union commerce, fisheries and the coast.

--Old B-R'er

CSS Tallahassee Having a Field Day Off New Jersey

AUGUST 10-11TH, 1864:  Cruising within 80 miles of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, the CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, took seven prizes, including schooners Sarah A. Boyce and Carrol, brigs Richards and Carrie Estelle, pilot boats James Funk (No.22) and William Bell (No. 24) and bark Bay State.

All were scuttled and burned except the Carrol, which was bonded for $10,000 and sent to New York with the passengers and crews of the other ships.

Rear Admiral Henry Paulding, Commandant of the New York Navy Yard, immediately wired Secretary Welles" "Pirate off Sandy Hook, capturing and burning."

By evening, Paulding had three ships in pursuit of the Tallahassee.  Welles, hoping to prevent another cruise similar to the June 1863 raid by Lt, Charles Read of the CSS Tacony, telegraphed naval commanders at Hampton Roads, Philadelphia and Boston to begin a large-scale search for Wood.

--Old B-R'er

Naval Happenings June 20th to 24th, 1863: A Command Change

JUNE 23-30TH

Union Navy and Army gunboats escorted and covered Army landing at White House on Pamunkey River in Virginia.  This place was later used as a supply base for Grant in the Overland Campaign and Petersburg.


JUNE 24TH

Rear Admiral Dahlgren detached from duty at Washington Navy Yard and Chief of Bureau of Ordnance and ordered to relieve Rear Admiral Du Pont in command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.  originally this post slated for Rear Admiral Foote, but he had a relapse of his wound suffered at Fort Donaldson..

CSS Tacony, Lt. Read, captured the ship Shatemuc and bonded it.  Then captured fishing schooner Archer.  Read reported he was about out of ammunition and intended to switch command over to Archer and burn the Tacony as many Union ships were looking for it.  The next morning he did so and set off for the New England coast.

USS Sumpter collided with transport steamer General Meigs in heavy mist near Hampton Roads and sank.

Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: June 22nd to 23rd, 1863

JUNE 22ND

CSS Tacony, Lt. Charles Read, captured schooners Florence, Marengo E. Ann, Choate and Ripple off New England.  He burned all but the Florence, bonding it and placing 75 prisoners on it.  A pretty good day's work.  Read was getting to be a real big thorn in the Union's side.


JUNE 23RD

CSS Tacorny, under you-know-who, captured and burned schooners Ada and Wanderer off New England coast.

Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: June 18th to 20th,1863

JUNE 18TH

Farragut's ships drove off Confederates getting ready to attack Donalsonville, Louisiana, which would have cut off supplies going from New Orleans to General Banks' Army besieging Port Hudson.

Union ships on the Mississippi return from expedition where 60-70 watercraft were destroyed which might have been used to transport Confederate troops.


JUNE 19TH

Mallory writes Bulloch in Liverpool asking him to quickly purchase" a very fast steamer suitable for blockade running between Nassau, Bermuda, Charleston and Wilmington.  A capacity for stowing from 600 to 1,000 bales of cotton upon not over 10 feet of draft would be desirable."


JUNE 20TH

Heavy combined Army-Navy bombardment of Vicksburg, lasted for six hours.

CSS Alabama captured bark Conrad and commissioned it as cruiser CSS Tuscaloosa.

CSS Tacony captured two ships and burned them.

USS Santiago de Cuba seized blockade-running British steamer Victory in the Bahamas after a long chase.  The runner was from Wilmington with a cargo of cotton, tobacco and turpentine.

USS Florida captured  schooner Hattie off Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina (Cape Fear River).

Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: June 14th to 15th,1863-- Charles Read Is a Thorn in Union Side

JUNE 14TH

Lincoln authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to use his revenue cutters (which were armed) to cooperate with the Navy to go after the Confederate commerce raiders operating off the U.S. coast.  Much of this was related to Lt. Charle Read's continued success along the northern coast.

Farragut writes Welles that he is still cooperating with the Army and doesn't think Vicksburg can hold out much longer than June 22nd. (A bit off on the estimate.)

CSS Florida captured ship Red Gauntlet in the West Indies.

CSS Georgia captured and bonded the bark J.W. Seaver.


JUNE 15TH

CSS Atlanta got underway in the early evening and passed over the obstructions in the lower Wilmington River, preparing to attack Union ships in Wassaw Sound, Georgia.

CSS Tacony, Lt. Read, captured and burned the brig Umpire off Virginia coast.  A large force was sent to find Read.  Welles noted in his diary "None of our vessels have succeeded in capturing the Rebel pirate Tacony which has committed great ravages along the coast.".

Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: June 12th to 13th,1863: Lt. Read Has a Big Day!

JUNE 12TH

The CSS Clarence, Lt. Read, captured bark Tacony off Cape Hatteras and shortly afterwards, the schooner M.A. Shindler.  Read transferred his command to the Tacony, considering it a better ship.  In the process, he captured another schooner, the Kate Stewart which he bonded.  He then sank the Clarence and Shindler.

Right after that, he captured the brig Arabella and bonded it.

Thus ending the brief career of the CSS Clarence.  In one week, it hadcaptured six prizes, sinking three, bonding two and the sixth became the CSS Tacony and set out on its own cruise.

JUNE 13TH

CSS Georgia captured bark Good Hope and burned it the next day.


JUNE 13-15TH

Confederate guerrillas attacked two Union ships near Eunice, Arkansas.  In retaliation, the town was destroyed.  On the 15th, they destroyed the town of Gaines for a similar attack.

Old B-Runner