USS Montgomery-- Part 12: The Spanish-American War and WW I

During the Spanish-American War, she cruised near Cuba and Haiti in April 1898 and in May joined the blockade of Havana.  On May 5, she took two prizes and shelled Spanish forts a week later.

After decommissioning and recommissioning in  1908, the Montgomery operated as a  torpedo experimental ship and from1914-1918, was a Maryland Naval Militia ship.

Renamed the Anniston  14 March 1918, she patrolled and escorted off the U.S. Atlantic Coast during World War I.

Decommissioned at Charleston on 16 May 1918 and sold 14 November 1919.

--Old B-Runner

USS Emma-- Part 4: Looking for Jefferson Davis and Decommissioning

On 26 April 1865, the Emma sailed from Fort Caswell, North Carolina,  with an urgent message from General  William Tecumseh Sherman to Rear Admiral  John A. Dahlgren, commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which warned  the admiral that Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet, not yet located, might try to make an escape by way of Florida to Cuba.

The Emma went as far as Key West on this cruise then returned to patrol the Carolina coast until 24 August, when she arrived  at Boston, Massachusetts.

  The Emma was decommissioned in Boston 30 August 1865 and sold 1 November 1865.

She was placed back in service as a  merchant steamer and operated as the SS Gaspe from 1866 until her sinking  near Miquelon Island  on 14 June 1872.  The island is near the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

--Old B-Runner

Caleb Cushing and the Virginius Affair

From Wikipedia.

The Virginius  Affair was a diplomatic dispute which took place from October 1873 to February 1875 between the United States, United Kingdom and Spain (then in control of Cuba) during the Ten Years' War.

The Virginius was a fast American ship hired by Cuban insurrectionists seeking to break away from Spanish control with the intention of landing men and supplies in Ciba.  It was captured by the Spanish who wanted to try the men on board (many of whom were Americans) as pirates and execute them.

And, that is what they did and 53 met their deaths before the British intervened and stopped the executions.

Throughout the situation, there was talk of the United States declaring war on Spain.  Finally the U.S. consul to Spain, Caleb Cushing  (January 6, 1874 to April 9, 1877), defused the tensions by negotiating  $80,000 in reparations to be paid to the executed Americans' families.

The incident prevented a possible war between the two countries and started a resurgence in the U.S. Navy whose fleet was actually inferior to that of Spain at the time.

--Old B-Runner

Fort Zachary Taylor-- Part 3: Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II

The East Gulf Blockading Squadron captured more than 300 Confederate blockade runners during the war and continually harassed salt-making facilities along the coast.  The cargoes were taken to key West and put up for auction.

The end of the Civil War did not end the fort's history.

In 1898, the USS Maine sailed from Key West to Havana Harbor, Cuba, where, on February 15, at 9:40 p.m., a mysterious explosion wrecked the vessel, killing three quarters of its crew, propelling the United States into Cuba's war with Spain for independence.

During World Wars I and II, Fort Taylor remained on active duty.  Radar and 5-inch anti-aircraft guns were added to the fort's defenses during World War II.  With the end of this war, Fort Taylor's use ended.  From 1947 and for almost a quarter century the fort was used as a naval savage yard.

--Old B-R'er

 

Confederate Naval Officers: Joseph Fry

From the Naval War Records:  Confederate Naval Officers.

Born in Florida.  Appointed from Florida.

Resigned as lieutenant U.S. Navy, February 1, 1861.

First Lieutenant   March 26, 1861

First lieutenant October 23, 1862, to rank from October 2, 1862.

First lieutenant Provisional Navy, June 2, 1864 to rank from January 6, 1864

Served on CSS Ivy 1862, CSS Maurepas, Mississippi River, 1862.  Wounded

Special Service 1863-64

Surrendered May 4, 1865, Mobile, Alabama; paroled May 10, 1865.

Killed November 7, 1873, at Santiago, Cuba.

--Old B-Runner

USS Nita-- Part 2: Three Prizes and the Salt Works

On the morning of February 24, 1864, Lt. Smith, who had been alerted by Union agents in Cuba, spotted the steamer Nan Nan, loaded with cotton attempting to slip out to sea from the Suwanee River.  The Nita gave immediate chase, running aground twice in the shallow waters, but forced the Nan Nan to throw her cotton overboard.

It ran ashore and was burned by her crew.

The Nita's next prize was on 11 April when she  captured the schooner Three Brothers at the mouth of the Homosassa River after a chase of three hours.  The Three Brothers had been attempting to slip into the river carrying supplies from Havana.

The third and final ship the Nita captured was 24 October when two of her boats boarded the abandoned and burning schooner Unknown in Clearwater Harbor.  They were able to put the fire out and took it to Key West for adjudication.

On 12 November, the Nita and USS Hendrick Hudson steamed into Tampa Bay and made a reconnaissance  and landed a party of sailors at Rocky Point to destroy a Confederate salt works, but were driven off by Southern cavalry.  On 3 December, the Nita and four other Union ships returned and destroyed the salt works.

In 1865, the Nita continued patrolling west Florida's coast  until decommissioned in Key West 3 May 1865 and sold at public auction.

The History of a Lesser-Known Ship.  --Old B-Runner

USS Fulton (1837)-- Part 4: Destroyed At Pensacola, Fla. in 1862

From October 1858 to May 1859, the Fulton joined operations commanded by Commodore W.B. Shubrick during negotiations to improve relations with Paraguay, and sailed the La Plata, Parana and Paraguay rivers.

It was out of commission at Norfolk, Virginia, from 7 May 1859 to 30 July 1859,  the Fulton cruised off Cuba to suppress the slave trade, then laid up in Pensacola, Florida, in mid-October 1859.

The Fulton was captured by Confederates when they took the Pensacola Navy Yard on 12 January 1861, and was considered for use in the Confederate Navy, but was never fitted out.  She was destroyed by the Confederates when they evacuated Pensacola on 10 May 1862.

I have written about the first USS Fulton in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog and the third and fourth ones in my Cooter's History Thing blog.  This USS Fulton  was the second one.  I will write about the fifth USS Fulton in my World War II blog eventually.

--Olf B-Runner

March 29, 1863: Capturing Blockade-Runners

MARCH 29TH, 1862:  The USS R.R. Cuyler, Lt. F. Winslow, captured blockade-running schooner Grace E. Baker off the coast of Cuba.

**  A boat under the command of Acting Master's Mate Henry Eason from the USS Restless, captured schooner Lydia and Mary with a large cargo of rice for Charleston, and destroyed an unnamed schooner in the Santee River, South Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

CSS General Rusk-- Part 2: Became a Blockade-Runner

It was transferred from the Texas Marine Department in 1861 and placed under the British flag to operate as a blockade-runner.  renamed as the SS Blanche, it ran aground near Mariano, Cuba, while attempting to escape from the USS Montgomery.

Then, it was destroyed by fire after attempts to refloat her failed.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago: Cuba Releases CSS Sumter's Prizes

JULY 19TH, 1861:  The Captain-General of Cuba released all the vessels brought into Cuban ports by the CSS Sumter.  See the July 6th entry for names.  This set the precedent for no nation allowing Confederate raiders to bring in captures.

JULY 20TH, 1861:  The USS Mount Vernon, Commander Oliver O. Glisson, seized the sloop Wild Pigeon on the Rappahannock River in Virginia.

**  The USS Albatross, Commander George A. Prentiss, recaptured the Enchantress off Hatteras Inlet.  The Enchantress had been captured by the privateer Jefferson Davis on July 6.

--Old B-Runner

155 Years Ago: Semmes Has Captured Seven Union Ships

JULY 6TH, 1861:  The CSS Sumter, Commander Semmes, arrived at Cienfuegos, Cuba, with seven U.S. vessels taken as prizes--  Cuba, Machias, Ben Dunning, Albert Adams, Naiad, West Wind and Lewis Kilham.

Semmes appointed a Cuban agent for custody of the prizes, expressing to the Governor there that he had entered that port "with the expectation that Spain will extend to cruisers of the Confederate States the same friendly reception that in similar circumstances she would extend to the cruisers of the enemy...."

--Old B-Runner

Captain Joseph Fry, Cmdr. of B-R Agnes E, Fry-- Part 4: In 1873 Assumes Command of the Virginius

After the Civil War, Joseph Fry was involved in several business adventures, some meeting with success and others were failures.  In 1873, he was offered command of the Virginius by General Quesada, an agent of the Cuban Revolution going on against Spain.

The Virginius was originally named the Virgin, built in Scotland in 1864 as a blockade-runner.  It made several successful trips between Havana and Mobile before being shut up in Mobile Harbor by the Union fleet after it ran past Fort Morgan.  The Confederates used her as a dispatch and transport ship for the remainder of the war.

After the surrender, it became a Revenue Service cutter, but proved unsatisfactory because of its great consumption of coal so it was sold at auction.

--Old B-R'er

150 Years Ago: Former CSS Stonewall Arrives at Washington Naval Yard

NOVEMBER 23RD, 1865:  Since I won't have the Civil War Naval Chronology book with me the next several weeks, I am going ahead with 150 years ago.

The former Confederate ram Stonewall arrived at the Washington Navy Yard under her own power, escorted by the USS Rhode Island and Hornet.  Commander Alexander Murray, commanding the Rhode Island, had taken possession of the ship in Havana after reimbursing Spanish authorities for all expenses incurred during her detention.

The reimbursement totaled $18,000 which included $16,000 which the Governor General of Cuba had given to Captain T,J. Page, CSN, to pay off his officers and crew, and an additional $2,000 for tug services, dock fees and preservation expenses.

The Stonewall was subsequently sold to Japan and used in her naval service.

--Old B-R'er

Gustavus H. Scott-- Part 4: Fleet Exercise and Retirement

During the Virginius Affair crisis, the United States had ordered that not only the North Atlantic Squadron sail to Key West, Florida, but also the South Atlantic and European squadrons.  All had arrived by 4 February 1874, but by then the crisis was over.

With all those ships gathered in one point, it was decided to hold the first multi-ship, open-ocean tactical exercise in U.S. Navy history.  To avoid problems with who ranked who, Scott was ordered to take his flagship, the USS Worchester on a special cruise to Cuba and the Winward Islands to assess and report on the conditions after the Virginius Affair.

Scott turned over command of the North Atlantic Squadron to Rear Admiral J.R.M. Mullany on 13 June 1874 and retired the same day, having reached mandatory retirement age of 62.

The admiral lived in Washngton, D.C., after that and died 23 March 1882.  He was first buried at Washington's  Oak Hill Cemetery, but in 1896, his remains were exhumed and reburied at Arlington National Cemetery.

--Old B-R'er

Gustavus H. Scott-- Part 3: Postwar Command

Member of the examining board for the admission of volunteer officers to the regular Navy in 1868.  Promoted to commodore 10 February 1869.  Lighthouse inspector 1869-1871.  Promoted to rear admiral 14 February 1873 and given command of the North Atlantic Squadron in May of that year.

He was in command of the North Atlantic Squadron when the Virginius Affair took place in Cuba in November 1873.  The A Spanish warship captured the American sidewheeler SS Virginius which had been hired by Cuban insurrectionists against Spanish rule to bring men and war material to Cuba during the Ten Years' War.

The ship and crew were brought to Santiago de Cuba where they were found guilty of piracy and sentenced to death by firing squad.  Fifty-three were executed before British and American warships arrived and threatened to bombard unless the executions ceased.  They did.

--Old B-Runner

Still Looking for Davis

APRIL 28TH, 1865:  Secretary Welles directed Rear Admiral Thatcher of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron:  "Lieutenant General Grant telegraphs to the War Department under the date 26th instant, from Raleigh, N.C., that Jeff Davis, with his Cabinet, passed into South Carolina, with the intentions, no doubt, of getting out of the country, either via Cuba or across the Mississippi.

"All the vigilance and available means at your command should be brought to bear to prevent the escape of those leaders of the rebellion."

--Old B-R'er

Steamer Roanoke Seized by Confederates

SEPTEMBER 29, 1864:  The steamer Roanoke, bound for New York from Havana, was captured by Confederates under Acting Master John C. Braine, CSN, just off the Cuban coast.  Braine's actions caused the Richmond government concern and embarrassment, since the expedition was organized and carried out from the neutral port of Havana. (This was the second Union ship seized by Braine in like manner.)

The resourceful and audacious Braine had outlined his plan to Secretary Mallory earlier in the year, and the secretary had given his approval, with the stipulation that neutral rights were to be strictly observed.  With that understanding, Braine was commissioned a temporary acting master.

Instead of boarding the vessel as a passenger in New York, however, he chose to capture her in Havana.  With a small group of Confederates, he was able to overcome the ship's officers and take over the ship, steering her for Bermuda.

After attempting to smuggle supplies and coal from  Bermuda, unsuccessfully, he determined that the fine steamer could not be taken through the blockade to the Confederacy and the Roanoke was burned off Bermuda.

Braine was held by the British but subsequently released, and was to be heard from again.

Wait and See.  --Old B-Runner

The USS Montgomery

From Wikipedia.

Last week, I wrote about some October action off Cuba that almost caused a war with Spain involving the USS Montgomery and its commander, Charles S. Hunter. 

I'd never heard of the ship, so looked it up.  It was a wooden screw steamer built in 1858 and purchased by the Navy and commissioned May 27, 1861 with Cmdr. O.S. Glisson in command.

From June to November it was off Apalachicola, Florida before going to the Wilmington, NC, blockade where it had a running fight with the CSS Tallahassee.  In January 1862, it joined the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and then the West Gulf one where it captured several blockade-runners.

In April 1862, it freed American citizens being held in Mexico and in late April captured the British schooner Will o- the Wisp by the Rio Grande River.

Then, October 7th came the capture and destruction of the Blanche, also known as the General Rusk in Cuban waters.  Oct. 28th it captured the CSS Carolina.

Then, in 1863, it joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and searched for the CSS Tacony which was cruising off Nantucket before joining the Wilmington blockade again in August.  It made a career of capturing blockade-runners: Feb. 11, 1864, it captured Pet, the Dove June 7, the Bendigo aground at Wilmington Bar June 13th and the Bat October 11th.

It participated in both battles of Fort Fisher.  After the fall of Fort Fisher, it was in the Cape Fear River and engaged Half Moon Battery February 11th.

The Montgomery was sold in August 1865 and was in the merchant service until 1877.

Must Have Been Quite the Fast Ship and a Happy Crew with All That Prize Money.  --Old B-R'er

The Cuban Missile Crisis Had a Counterpart in the Civil War-- Part 2

The blockade-runner General Rusk, though in Spanish waters was boarded and captured.  Somehow a fire broke out and destroyed the vessel.

Commander Charles S. Hunter of the USS Montgomery thought he had clear orders from Farragut to end the Rusk's blockade-running days and he was extremely proud of his accomplishment.  He boasted of it and went on to capture two more runners.

What he didn't know was that the Spanish government was enraged and even went so far as to threaten war if something wasn't done, something the Lincoln administration definitely didn't want at this point.  The good commander was court-martialed and Secretary of State Seward was forced to issue a formal apology and pay $300,000.

Hunter was cleared of military misconduct at the court martial, but guilty of violating neutral waters and removed from service.

Oh Well.  --Old B-Runner