Civil War Navy Books by William N. Still

From GoodReads site.

Iron Afloat:  The Story of  the Confederate Armorclads

Confederate Shipbuilding

The Confederate Navy:  The Ships, Men and Organization

Ironclad  Captains:  Commanding Officers of the USS Monitor

Raiders and Blockaders

Monitor Builders:  A Historical  Study of the Principal Firms and Individuals Involved inthe Construction of the USS Monitor.

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Books he coauthored:

Two Years on the Alabama

Admiral of the New Empire:    The Life and Career of George Dewey. (Dewey was a navalofficer during the war and at Fort Fisher.

Captain  James Carlin:  Anglo-American Blockade Runner

Quite a Lengthy List.  --Old B-Runner

Fort Randall and Cushing-- Part 2: A Daring Raid...of Course

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

See the Remains of the Monitor-- Part 2: Just the Facts

THE USS MONITOR:  

DESIGNED:  By Theodore  Timby and John Ericcson

BUILT:   Early 1862

FIRST:     The Union's first ironclad warship

The USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship built for the Union Navy.  She fought the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia at the Battle of Hampton Roads.   The CSS Virginia engaged the Monitor after she had already destroyed the sail frigates USS Cumberland and USS Congress the day before.  She had also run aground the steam frigate USS Minnesota.

FOUGHT:  The CSS Virginia

CSS VIRGINIA FATE:    Scuttled and blown up by her crew to prevent capture.

USS MONITOR FATE:  Foundered in rough seas.

BATTLE:  Battle of Hampton Roads'

--Old B-Runner

160 Years After Sinking, NOAA Scientists Plan to Survey USS Monitor-- Part 2: Just in the Nick of Time

The USS Monitor was the United States' first ironclad warship.  She made history at the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 before meeting her demise in a winter storm at the end of that year.

The story of the Monitor  can be traced back to 1861, when Virginia seceded from  the United States during the Civil War.  As Union forces retreated from Gosport Navy Yard in Virginia, they burned one of the most powerful wooden warships in the Navy, the USS Merrimack to prevent her falling into Confederate hands.

The Confederates, desperate to build a Navy that could challenge the superiority of they enemy raised the Merrimack and converted her into an ironclad-- the CSS Virginia.

This threat prompted the U.S. to produce the Monitor in less than 100 days.  The ship launched  on January  30, 1862, and less than two months later, the Monitor met the Virginia on March 9, 1862, during the Battle of Hampton Roads.

And it was a good thing the Monitor took so little time to launch because it arrived just in the nick of time to prevent the Virginia from destroying the Union fleet on the second day of battle.  The battle between the two ironclads ended in a draw, neither ship could hurt the other.

--Old B-Runner

Shipwreck of the CSS Louisiana-- Part 1

From Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks.

CSS LOUISIANA

Confederate

Two-paddlewheel ironclad, 1,400 tons.  Length 264 feet, beam 62 feet, 4 engines (from steamer Ingomar).

Complement of 200 to 300 men with two rifled 7-inch guns, three 9-inch guns and four 8-inch shell guns, and seven rifled 32-pounders.

Construction began at New Orleans in mid-October 1861 but was not completed because of lack of raw materials.  Used as a floating battery.

Supposed to have cost about $1 million to build.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Louisiana-- Part 5: The Battle

Because she was the Louisiana was tied to the Mississippi River bank, she couldn't fire  her stern or port guns.  Her exact role in the ensuing firefight between the forts and fleet is not known.  Confederate General Duncan stated that she may have fired as few as twelve shots.

Testimony form the Union side says she exchanged shots with at least one of the attacking ships, the USS Brooklyn (misidentified as the USS Hartford in Confederate reports).  Three shots from the Louisiana went all the way through the Union ship.  The Brooklyn's return broadside bounced harmlessly off the Louisiana's iron sides.

Only three aboard the Louisiana were killed, all in exposed positions, including her commander Charles F McIntosh.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Louisiana-- Part 3: Problems While Under Construction

Construction on the ship was delayed by several things.  First was the lack of materials, particularly iron.  Always scarce in the Confederacy, its procurement was made even more difficult by the blockade and by army demands on the overstrained Confederate railway system.

The blockade also caused problems in transporting the needed white oak from Florida.

Labor troubles led to a strike that lasted for a week.  Even more labor shortages were caused by demands from the local militias which called workers away for drills and even parades.

Competition for skilled workmen with the builders of the CSS Mississippi, an ironclad being built on an adjacent shipyard by  Nelson and Asa Tift, also slowed construction. Finally an agreement was reached whereby the work on the Mississippi would not continue until the Louisiana was completed.

All these things led to the Louisiana  not being ready to be launched until February 6, 1862, nearly four months after the ship's keel was laid.

--Old B-Runner

March 9, 1862: It's the USS Monitor vs. CSS Virginia-- Part 2: Neither Ship Survived the Year

Neither ship, however, survived 1862.

The Virginia was destroyed on May 11, 1862,  when her new commander, flag officer Josiah Tattnall, ordered her scuttled  and blown up to prevent her from being captured.

The Monitor remained in Hampton Roads until December 29, 2862, when she began a  journey south to  help with war efforts.  Off the coast of Cape Hatteras, a storm began to rock the ironclad, flooding her engines and causing massive leaks.

The crew signaled for help, but the ship was lost.  When she went down, 16 of her crew of 62 also lost their lives.

In 1974, an expedition confirmed her shipwreck location and she was designated a marine sanctuary on January 30, 1975.

--Old B-Runner

March 9, 1862: It's the USS Monitor vs. the CSS Virginia

We recently had the anniversary of this battle which turned naval architecture in its ear back all thos years ago.

From the March 9, 2022, We Are the Mighty  "Today in military history:   The Battle of the Ironclads."

Formerly known as the United States steam frigate USS Merrimack, the ironclad Virginia was built from the wreck of the U.S. ship.  When the Lincoln government learned what the Confederates were up to, they started their own ironclad building program and the USS Monitor was one of them.

On the day before, March 8, the CSS Virginia had attacked the wooden ships of the Union Navy in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and had an easy go of it, sinking two ships.

The Monitor arrived just in the nick of time during the night of March 8-9 and the next morning they two ships clashed in a battle that changed the world.  Both ships hit each other with shells, but neither could hurt the other one.

In addition to being covered with iron, the Monitor also had the first gun turret where cannons could change direction of fire without turning the ship.  Even today warships have a turret.

The battle changed naval warfare forever.

--Old B-Runner

The CSS Neuse and Me

The CSS Neuse is the only remaining commissioned Confederate ironclad above the water.  It was part of a new Confederate technology to combat the superior manpower and  firepower of the Union Navy.  Learn about the technological advances and warfare in eastern North Carolina at the CSS Neuse Interpretive Center.

The Confederate Navy launched the Neuse in an attempt to gain control of the lower Neuse River and New Bern, North Carolina.  But, ultimately, they had to destroy the ship to prevent it from being captured in the remaining days of the war.

I got to see them recovering the hull of the Neuse from where it was sunk in Kinston, North Carolina, back when I was 12 in 1963.  My grandfather took my brother and me to the site.  I was already a big Civil War buff at the time and this just made me more so.

I visited the hull of the Neuse on several occasions while it was housed under the covered site by the river and also once in its new home in the building which was much-needed as it was breaking apart out in the elements.

Of course, as they were trying to get it off the Neuse River bottom, they had an earthen dam built around it.  All it looked like was a bunch of wood in a hull shape.  It was too bad that the casemate wasn't still there as well.  But, it was a real piece of history to me.

So, the Neuse and I Go Way Back.  --Old B-Runner

'Heirlooms, Antiques, and Militaria' program at CSS Neuse

From the Neuse News, Kinston, North Carolina.

Well, its too late now, but glad to see the CSS Neuse doing things to keep in the public eye and increase attendance.

This past Saturday, August 28, from 10 am to 4 pm you can learn about those old things grandpa and grandma left you at the CSS Neuse Interpretive Center in Kinston.

This will be handled by the site's  staff members and friends who have a variety of historical interests.  they are well-versed in firearms from the 18thcenturythrough World War II.

They even say that is they don't know what it is, they will check their reference works and online resources.  They can also give you tips on how to best restore and preserve the items.  In addition, they are always looking for items from Eastern North Carolina during the war.

The CSS Neuse is the only remaining  commissioned Confederate ironclad above water.  It was part of a new technology that the Confederacy used to combat the superior manpower and firepower of the Union Navy.

The shop's hull remains.

The CSS Neuse Center is a part of the Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

--Old B-Runner

Big Civil War Naval Cannon Destroyed in Michigan-- Part 2: At the First Battle of the Ironclads and Both Battles of Fort Fisher

This cannon was on board the Union steam frigate USS Minnesota and had been used to defend the wooden ship against the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia in 1862 and the following day was used at the battle between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, the world's first battle between ironclads.  This battle spelled the end of wooden sailing navies.

According to a local newspaper, it also fired the last shot at the Virginia prior to the arrival of the USS Monitor.

Later in the war, the USS Minnesota performed blockade duties and was at both battles of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, which up until then and for many years afterwards, was the largest assemblage of warships and largest bombardment ever by the U.S. Navy up to that time.

So, this cannon had some history to it.

--Old B-Runner

February 6, 1865: About a New Ironclad at Wilmington, N.C.

FEBRUARY 6TH, 1865:  Secretary Mallory wrote General Braxton Bragg at Wilmington, North Carolina that Chief Naval Constructor John L. Porter had advised him that a new Confederate vessel could be completed within 90 days.

Machinery for the ship was available at Columbus, Georgia, but Mallory sought assurance that Wilmington would be held long enough for the machinery to be transported and the ship built so that it could get into action.

On the 8th, Bragg replied:  "This place will be held so long as our means enable us.  There is no indication of any movement against it, and our means of defense are improving."

However, Rear Admiral Porter and General Grant had other plans; Wilmington would be evacuated exactly two weeks later.

That ship Mallory was talking about was most likely the CSS Wilmington, which was destroyed on the stocks with the fall of Wilmington.

--Old B-Runner

August 6, 1864, a Good Day for the Confederate Navy (Especially After August 5)

August 6, 1864 turned  out to be a very good day for the Confederate Navy what with the CSS Tallahassee slipping out of Wilmington, N.C. and starting a two cruise off the Union's coast and destroying much shipping.

Also, the long-awaited appearance of the ram CSS Albemarle took place at the mouth of the the Roanoke River in North Carolina which threw Union forces into fear.

This, of course, taking place one day after the Confederate loss at the Battle of Mobile Bay and the loss of the ironclad CSS Tennessee and the other ships of the fleet.

From Bad to Good.   --Old B-Runner

N.C. Events, August 1864: CSS Tallahassee and CSS Albemarle

From the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Timeline.

  WEST means it took place in the western part of the state, otherwise in the eastern.

AUGUST  1-3   Pursuit of Confederate forces from Athens, Tennessee, into North Carolina (WEST).

AUGUST 2--   Skirmish at Murphy  (WEST).

AUGUST 6--  The CSS Tallahassee runs out of Cape Fear River and begins a successful two week commerce raid on Union shipping all the way to New England.

AUGUST 6-7--  Appearance of CSS Albemarle at mouth of the Roanoke River.

Two Confederate Warships Make Appearances.

So August 6 Was A Good Day For The Confederacy And A Very Good Day For the Confederate Navy.  --Old B-R'er

USS Atlanta-- Part 2: Service on the James River

The newly commissioned USS Atlanta was sent to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and spent most of her time stationed on the James River where she supported operations against  Richmond and defended against forays by the Confederate ironclads.

That would have been interesting had the USS Atlanta had come to battle one of the Confederate ironclads.

On May 21, 1864, the Atlanta and gunboat Dawn fired on and dispersed Confederate cavalry attacking Fort Powhatan, as I wrote about yesterday.

In February 1865, she was deployed further upriver after the Battle of Trent's Reach to better blockade  the Confederate ironclads at Richmond.

After the war ended, the Atlanta was decommissioned in Philadelphia June 21, 1865, and placed in reserve at League Island.

--Old B-Runner

May 1864 Happenings in North Carolina-- Part 1: The Ironclads CSS Albemarle and CSS Raleigh Attack

From the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Timeline.All events in weastern part of the stae unless you see (WEST).

MAY  4--  Skirmish on Trent Road,

MAY 4-6--  Operations about New Bern, and in Albemarle Sound.

MAY 5--  Skirmish at Croatan.

MAY 5--  Engagement at  in Roanoke River with CSS Albemarle.   Casualties on both sides, roughly 88.

MAY 5--   Skirmish on south  side of the Trent River.

MAY  6--  Capture of British steamer Young Republic.

MAY 6-7--  Attack on Union blockaders off New Inlet by ironclad ram CSS Raleigh.

May 7--  Ironclad ram CSS Raleigh ran aground inside New Inlet and was destroyed by Confederates.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Missouri, A Timeline-- Part 5: Iron From Railroads, Engines From Riverboat, Guns from USS Indianola

APRIL 29--  Lt. Jonathan H. Carter reported to Mallory that the armoring of the CSS Missouri below the knuckle was almost completed and her boilers installed.  Also the iron cladding of the casemate will begin at once and her engines installed as rapidly as possible.

At this time, Carter had given up trying to obtain iron plate and  now planned on using t-rails seized from the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas Railroad and from the Southern Pacific  Railroad Company.  The engines were to be from a riverboat slated to be sunk in the Red River as an obstruction.  The engines had been overhauled and would be reassembled aboard the ironclad.

Finally, Carter reported that Lt. General Edmund Kirby Smith had promised to send two Dahlgren guns captured on the USS Indianola to Shreveport.

Making Slow Progress.  --Old B-R'er

Kinston's CSS Neuse Museum to Host a Scouts Night

From the June 14, 2018, WNCT, Channel 9, (Greenville, N.C.)  "Kinston's CSS Neuse museum to hold special night just for scouts" by Nicole Neuman.

On June 23 the museum will host "Scout Night at the Museum."  This will be open to Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and is inspired by the popular movies "Night At the Museum."

Check-in will be 5:45 to 6:15 at the museum at North Queen Street then they will go over to the nearby CSS Neuse II replica on Heritage Street.  Dinner will be on the boat and then a tour will be given.

Then, the group will go back to the museum for activities.

Great idea To get Young Folks Interested In the Civil War.  --Old B-R'er

CSS Missouri, A Timeline-- Part 3: Confederate Army Seized Cannons Intended for the CSS Missouri

FEBRUARY 28, 1863--  Carter still unable to obtain iron plate for the Caddo (CSS Missouri), Carter writes to Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas Railroad:  "It is sometimes necessary to take public property for public use without the consent of the owner....  It is my wish to obtain the iron with your consent, but if that is refused, I shall certainly use the iron, if needed...."

MARCH 12, 1863--  Naval inspection officer Lt. Robert S. Minor, reported to Mallory that the heavy guns intended for the ironclad at Shreveport had been seized by Hen. John C. Pemberton to be used in the defenses of Vicksburg.

APRIL 1, 1863--  Carter again wrote to Mallory requesting naval guns and said that the army had seized the guns intended for the Caddo for the defense of Grand Gulf, Mississippi.  He also urged that the construction of the second ironclad at Shreveport be started as soon as possible.

--Old B-R'er