USS George Mangham-- Part 3: At Vicksburg and Back East

The USS George Mangham departed from the Mississippi River on 27 April 1862 and spent the next month cruising off Pensacola, Florida.  Commander David Porter again assembled his mortar fleet at Pensacola and sailed 3 June to support the Union movement up the Mississippi River, arriving off Vicksburg, Mississippi,  20 June.

She assisted in the passage of the batteries there.  Supported strongly by the mortar bombardment, Farragut  steamed past the formidable  Confederate works  28 June to join with Commodore Chales H. Davis further up the river.

The Mangham then returned downriver, engaging Confederate artillery on the riverbanks from time to time.  After passing Grand Gulf, Mississippi, she arrived at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 12 July.

From there, she proceeded to Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she moored 30 July.  Remaining at Hampton Roads until 29 August, the George Mangham first proceeded to to Baltimore, Maryland, then served as a guard ship on the Potomac River at Piney Point, Maryland.

--Old B-Runner

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

The Fall of Grand Gulf, Mississippi

In the last post, I wrote about Gideon Welles and President Lincoln receiving news of the capture of Grand Gulf on May 8, 1863.  Some more information about it.

From Wikipedia.

The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought April 29, 1863.  Then, i had to wonder why Washington, D.C., didn't get the news until May 8?

The fact is that the Union forces lost the battle on April 29.

Rear Admiral David D. Porter took seven ironclads in to attack Grand Gulf, downriver from Vicksburg.  The Confederates withstood a horrendous bombardment and prevented Federal infantry from landing.

The two major Confederate fortifications were earthen Fort Cobun and Fort Wade.  Union troops were from Major General Jogn A. McClernand's XIII Corps.  Porter's ironclads were the USS Benton, Lafayette, Tuscumbia, Carondelet, Louisville, Mound City and Pittsburg.  The Tuscumbia was put out of action.

The Union fleet withdrew, but after dark ran by the Confederate fortifications.  They landed troops and several days later, the Confederates evacuated Grand Gulf.

--Old B-Runner

May 8, 1863: Lincoln and Welles Receive News of the Fall of Grand Gulf

MAY 8TH, 1863:  Secretary Welles received Rear Admiral Porter's dispatch regarding the fall of Grand Gulf and informed President Lincoln.  "The news," wrote Welles, "was highly gratifying to the President, who had not heard of it until I met him at the Cabinet-meeting."

--Old B-R'er

May 16, 1862: Grand Gulf Shelled

MAY 16TH, 1862:  The Union naval squadron under Commander S.P. Lee in the USS Oneida, advancing up the Mississippi River toward Vicksburg, shelled Grand Gulf, Mississippi.

--Old B-Runner

Shenandoah and Rattler

DECEMBER 29TH, 1864:  The CSS Shenandoah captured and destroyed the bark Delphine in the Indian Ocean with cargo of rice.  Delphine was the ship's last capture of the year and ninth prize in eight weeks.

DECEMBER 30TH, 1864:  The USS Rattler parted her cables in a heavy gale, ran ashore, struck a snag and sank in the Mississippi River near Grand Gulf.  Most of the supplies and armament were saved but the small paddle-wheel ship had to be abandoned and later was burned by the Confederates.

--Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: May 8th to 10th, 1863

MAY 8TH

Secretary Welles tells President Lincoln of the fall of Grand Gulf, Mississippi, who had not heard of it yet.

Union mortar flotilla supported by USS Richmond opens fire on Port Hudson, Mississippi.

MAY 9TH

USS Aroostook captured Sea Lion bound from Mobile to Havana with a cargo of cotton.

MAY 10TH

The USS Mound City engages a Confederate battery near Warrenton and sets it afire.  "Thus ended a fort in the space of an hour which had taken the rebels five months to build, working day and night."

Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: May 2nd to 5th, 1863

MAY 2ND-9TH

Union gunboats under Lt.Cmdr. Selfridge fought guerrilla activity in the Greenville, Mississippi area.


MAY 3RD

Porter once again moved against Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf, only to find them already abandoned.  Grant had his force behind defenders.

That evening Porter rendezvoused with Farragut's fleet at the mouth of the Red River.  He received supplies and then headed up that river to Alexandria, Louisiana, which he took possession of May 7th.

CSS Alabama captured and burned the Union Jack and Sea Lark off Brazil.


MAY 4TH

Farragut says he will return to New Orleans.


MAY 5TH

Union General Dix requests Naval support for his operations along Virginia's York River which he received.

Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: April 29th-30th, 1863

APRIL 29TH

Admiral Porter's gunboats engaged Confederate fortifications at Grand Gulf in a five and a half hour battle.  They managed to silence the lower batteries but not the upper ones.  Porter admitted his ships were cut up by Confederate fire, but, "We are now in a position to make a landing where the general [Grant] pleases."


APRIL 29-MAY 1ST

Union Army-Navy feign an attack on Confederate batteries at Haynes' Bluff on the Yazoo River to prevent Confederates there from sending support to Grand Gulf.  On the 30th, the USS Choctaw was hit 53 times.



APRIL 30- MAY 1ST

Grant ferries troops across the Mississippi at Bruinsburg to start his campaign of isolating Vicksburg from reinforcements.

The Noose Tightens on Vicksburg.  --Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: April 26th to 28th,1863-- Getting Ready for Grand Gulf

APRIL 26TH

USS Lexington joined the ram fleet under Brigadier General Alfred W. Ellet to engage and disperse Confederate cavalry at the mouth of the Duck River, Tennessee.  There we go again, Navy ships under Army control along with the Ellet family.

CSS Alabama captured and burned the ship Dorcas Prince east of Natal, Brazil, with cargo of coal.  Surprising Semmes wouldn't have turned it into a tender.  Steamers were always needing coal.

USS De Soto captures another ship in Gulf of Mexico.  (See April 24th)


APRIL 27TH

Admiral Porter issues general order for attack on Grand Gulf.  Confederates have four places where guns are placed and he wants all four engaged at same time.  The ironclad gunboats go in first, firing bow guns at first battery.

Boat crews from USS Monticello and Matthew Vassar boarded and destroyed British blockade-runner Golden Liner in Murrell's Inlet, SC.

USS Preble accidentally destroyed by fire while at anchor off Pensacola, Florida.


APRIL 28TH

US tug Lily, attempting to cross the bow of the USS Choctaw at anchor in the Yazoo River, was swept by current into Choctaw's ram and sunk.

Old B-Runner

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: April 21st to 22nd, 1863

APRIL 21ST

Mallory wrote Commander Bullock:  "The recent repulse of the enemy before Charleston will show the world that we have not been idle with regard to ordnance and that the enemy's ironclads suffered severely."

Rear Admiral Dahlgren wrote in his private journal that Welles was not satisfied with Du Pont's efforts at Charleston and thought he gave up too soon.  Dahlgren defended Du Pont's actions. 

From what I read, Du Pont would have lost more ironclads had he continued the engagement.


Porter reconnoitered the Confederate defenses at Grand Gulf and found they were rapidly strengthening.


Confederate batteries at Vicksburg opened fire on Union Army steamers attempting a night time passage past the city.  One was sunk, one disabled, one badly damaged, but rest got through.


Farragut's fleet passed Port Hudson. He lost the USS Mississippi in the effort.  The smoke from the battle was so thick he had to send the pilots up the masts to see.


APRIL 22nd


The USS Mount Vernon captured the schooner St. George off New Inlet, NC, with cargo of salt and rum.

Farragut writes Fox about his ideas on the naval uniform of officers and wants them to stop changing the uniform every few weeks.

So, A Little House-Keeping.  --Old B-R'er

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: March 16th to 19th,1863

Due to an upcoming trip the rest of the month, I will be trying to get ahead on these Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago posts.  I don't take that huge Civil War Naval Chronology book with me.

MARCH 16TH

Attack on Fort Pemberton renewed.  USS Chillicothe badly damaged.  The next day the expedition fell back and no more major attacks made on the fort.

General Grant orders General Sherman's troops to cooperate with Porter's expedition through Steele's Bayou.


MARCH 18th

The USS Wissahickon seized and destroyed the steamer Georgiana attempting to run into Charleston with a valuable cargo, including rifled guns.  It was said to be pierced for 14 guns and thought to be intended for commerce raiding.

Welles wrote Du Pont that he would rather have had her captured (probably for use as a blockader), but was glad it was no longer a threat.


MARCH 19TH

Farragut, in the USS Hartford, had managed to run past Port Hudson and began operations north of the stronghold as far as the mouth of the Red River.  Engaged the batteries at Grand Gulf on this date.

Porter says the Steele's Bayou had reached to within one and a half miles of Rolling Fork, Mississippi., saying, "No one would believe that anything in the shape of a vessel could get through Black Bayou, or anywhere beyond."

Confederates were felling trees into the river and sharpshooters were all along the banks.

Du Pont wrote of problems with his monitors saying the Montauk had been damaged heavily by the mine at Fort McAllister.  "I think these monitors are wonderful conceptions, but, oh, the errors of details, which would have been corrected if these men of genius could be induced to pay attention to the people who are to use their tools and inventions."

Old B-R'er

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago: May 15th to May 18th,1862-- Attack on Drury's Bluff

As I write about these events, using that fantastic book "Civil War Naval Chronology," a must-have for any naval library on the war, it becomes apparent that regardless of the Union Army's failures to destroy the Confederacy, the opposite was true of the Naval forces.  It was nothing short of dismemberment.


MAY 15TH

The James River Flotilla, including the USS Monitor, Galena, Aroostook, Port Royal and Naugatuck, under Cmdr. J. Rogers engaged Confederate batteries at Drury's Bluff, Virginia, on the James River, just eight miles from Richmond.  For his role in the action, Corporal John B. Mackie, a Marine on the Galena, received the first Medal of Honor issued to a Marine.

During the action, the Galena was heavily damaged, proving the ineffectiveness of this early ironclad prototype.  Rogers stated at the time that had the fleet been supported by troops, Drury's Bluff would have fallen and Richmond captured.


MAY 16TH

Union naval squadron under Cmdr. S.P. Lee in USS Oneida, advancing north on the Mississippi River toward Vicksburg, shells Grand Gulf, Mississippi..


MAY 17TH

Joint Army-Navy expedition ascends the Pamunkey River in Virginia to 25-miles above White House.  Confederates burned  17 vessels to prevent capture.  The river here was so narrow, Union ships had to return stern-first for several miles.


MAY 18th

Union forces submit a demand for Vicksburg's surrender which Confederates promptly refuse, setting off a year-long Army-Navy land and water assault on the fortress.

Old B-Runner