Marines at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher-- Part 3: Six Received Medals of Honor

The book said that another 180 Marines aided the Army in their attack on the land face of the fort.

A number of Marines distinguished themselves during the attack.  Six received a Medal of Honor in the action.

Orderly Sergeant Isaac N. Fry and Sgt. Richard Binder received the honor for the manner in which they commanded their ship's guns.  Corporal Andrew J. Tomlin, of the USS Wabash, shouldered a wounded comrade and carried him to safety during the land attack.

Corporal John Rannahan and Pfcs John Shivers from the USS Minnesota, advanced further than any other Marines with their detachment.  LtCdr. James H. Parker, commanding the shore party from that ship remarked:  "Thompson got nearer the fort than any one from our ship by a few yards.  They [all] deserve promotion and medals."

The Marine battalion sustained 15 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, and one officer and 45 men wounded during the action.

--Old B-Runner

Marines at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher-- Part 2: Digging Entrenchments with 'Our Noses and Toes'

Marine Corporal Henry B. Hallowell from the USS Juanita was part of the Naval Brigade and wrote:  "The guns from the fort poured grape and canister into us, cutting us to pieces.  A few managed to crawl to the base of the fort, others tried to retreat, but this was made impossible by a barrage being thrown over our heads from the fort to prevent retreating.

"We were in a pretty fix, with the fort raking our ranks from the front and shells exploding at our rear.  History states that we entrenched ourselves.  The only entrenching we did was hug the ground and dig with our noses and toes."

After prolonged exposure to withering musketry and cannon fire, the sailors carrying only "cutlasses, well sharpened, and ... revolvers" (as per Ad. Porter's orders) broke and ran, carrying the Marines with them.

--Old B-R'er

Marines at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher

From American Civil War Marines 1861-1865 by Ron Field.

This was the engagement where Sgt. Richard Binder received his Medal of Honor although he remained on the USS Ticonderoga and was not in the Naval Column.

The Naval Brigade, which attacked Fort Fisher along the beach while Army regiments  moved along the river side in their simultaneous attack of the fort.  It was under command of  Cmdr. Kidder R. Breese and consisted of 1600 sailors and 400 Marines.

Deployed as sharpshooters during the advance of the Naval Brigade, the Marines, under Captain Lucian L. Dawson, the senior officer of the squadron, were caught up in a generally disorganized assault in which the Army attack was delayed.  Hopelessly pinned down at the base of the defenses of the fort, a few Marines managed to to pass through a breech blown in the 9-foot palisades but were forced to fall back with heavy casualties.

--Old B-Runner

CSMC's Company E and USMC Medals of Honor at Fort Fisher

Company E of the Confederate States Marine Corps (CSMC) was formed in Savannah and served at that station.  After Savannah was evacuated in 1864, they moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and after that place was evacuated, moved to the Wilmington Station and took part in the defense of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher.

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MARINE RECIPIENTS of the MEDAL of HONOR at SECOND BATTLE of FORT FISHER

Rank / ship 

RICHARD BINDER--  sergeant, USS Ticonderoga

ISAAC N. FRY--  orderly sergeant USS Ticonderoga

JOHN RANAHAN--  corporal USS Minnesota

JOHN SHIVERS--  private, USS Minnesota

HENRY A. THOMPSON--  private USS Minnesota

The first two received theirs for operating cannons on the ship.  The last three received theirs while participating in the Naval Column attack on the fort.

--Old B. Runner

Fort Fisher Medal of Honor Recipient Gravesite Cleanup in New York

From the May 31, 2022, My Little Falls (Herkimer County, New York) "Veterans clean up Medal of Honor winner gravesite in Little Falls" by Dave Warner.

A group of Vietnam and Korean War veterans decided to spend part of their Memorial Day Weekend cleaning around the gravestone  of David L. Bass of Little Falls, who received  the Medal of Honor during the Civil War at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher.

Bass's citation reads, "On board the USS Minnesota in action  during the assault on Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865.  Landing on the beach with the assaulting party from his ship, Seaman Bass advanced to the top of a sand hill and partly through the breach in the palisade despite enemy fire which killed and wounded many officers and men.

"When more than two-thirds of the men became sized with panic and retreated on the run, he remained  with the party until dark, when it came safely away, bringing its wounded, its arms, and its colors."

Bass was born  on February 3, 1842 in Ireland, and died in Little Falls on October 14,  1886, buried just south of  the Holy Trinity Cemetery.

--Old B-Runner

Robley Evans, USN, Sees a Surgeon After Fort Fisher: 'I Mean to Begin Shooting'

From Life Explores "The Civil War in the Front Lines:  From Fort Sumter to Appomattox."  One of hose magazine/books you see so often these days in the magazine section of stores.

In 1865, 18-year-old Robley Evans, a Northern seaman, was shot through both knees at the Battle of Fort Fisher while making a ground assault with a brigade of naval volunteers.

Days later, the young ensign found himself in a federal military hospital facing a drunken surgeon who insisted Evans undergo a double amputation of his legs.

After being told he had no choice, the young sailor reached under his pillow and produced a loaded Colt revolver, :I told him that there were six loads in it," Evans recalled, " and that if he or anyone else entered my door with anything that looked like a case of instruments, I mean to begin shooting."

Evans kept his legs and later recovered.  His case was unique.

Most soldiers who faced amputation died soon afterward.  The state of medical care during the war was enough to make wounded men like Evans resort to desperate measures.

--Old B-Runner

January 15, 1865: The Fall of Fort Fisher-- Part 1: The Naval Column Comes Under Heavy Fire

JANUARY 15TH, 1865:  Porter's fleet reopened their terrific bombardment while Union troops readied for an attack on the western end of Fort Fisher's land face by the river.  Meanwhile, sailors and Marines landed to the north of the fort and advanced along the beach in preparation to attack the northeast part of the fort by the ocean.

At 3 pm on the 15th, the signal to cease firing was sent to the fleet, and the soldiers, sailors and Marines ashore charged the Confederate fortifications.  Because the Army advanced through a wooded area while the Naval Brigade dashed across an open beach, the defenders opened a concentrated fire at point-blank range on the naval attack, "ploughing lanes in the ranks.'

Leading the assault, Lieutenant Samuel W. Preston, one of the Union's ablest young naval officers, and Lieutenant Benjamin H. Porter (no relation to the admiral), commanding officer of the flagship USS Malvern, were among those killed.

Unchecked, however, this assaulting force under the command of Lieutenant Commander K. Randolph Breese pressed forward.

There is a whole lot more about the attack and fall of Fort Fisher that I will write about the next several weeks.

The End of Fort Fisher.  --Old B-Runner

January 14, 1865-- Part 2: The CSS Chickamauga and a Two-Pronged Attack

JANUARY 14TH, 1865:  During the day, the CSS Chickamauga fired on recently landed Union troops from her position in the Cape Fear River, but on the 15th the USS Monticello, Lieutenant Commander William B. Cushing, drove the former Confederate raider out of range.

On the evening of the 14th, General Terry visited Porter on his flagship, the USS Malvern, and the two planned the timing of the next day's operations.  The fleet would maintain its bombardment until the moment of attack in mid-afternoon.

Then, half of the 8,000 soldiers would assault the land face at the western end of the fort (by the Cape Fear River) and the 2,000 sailors and Marines from the ships would attack the "northeast bastion" where the fort's land face joined the sea face by the ocean.

The remaining troops would hold the defensive line to the north in case of a possible attack from Bragg in Wilmington.

--Old B-R'er

The Wounded of the USS Pawtuxet at Fort Fisher

From ORN.  Report of Acting Assistant Surgeon Henry Johnson to Cmdr. Spotts regarding sailors from the Pawtuxet wounded in the Naval Column attack on Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865.

WOUNDED:

Walter Creswick, landsman.  musket ball in calf of right leg.  Slight wound.

Auguste Flint, seaman.  Wounded slightly in face.

--Old B-R'er

Fort Fisher, My Take

The fall of Fort Fisher was really the death knell of the Confederacy, even though the cause was essentially lost starting in July 1863 and picking up speed through 1864 and to this late date.

I have to believe that General Bragg should have done something to save the fort, especially with the landings above the fort.  But, that was just Bragg being Bragg..  Too bad the Confederates didn't just let Whiting continue to command the District.  My thought is that he would have done something more.

And, i have to wonder why Porter was so keen to have the Naval Column attack the fort, despite their lack of training.  It is my thought that he was hoping to have his sailors capture the fort before the Army as that would make him even more famous, perhaps as much as Farragut..

Anyway.  --Old B-R'er

Porter Orders a Naval Assault Column on Fort Fisher

JANUARY 4TH, 1865:  Rear Admiral Porter, laying meticulous plans for the second Fort Fisher attack, ordered each of his ship commanders to "detail as many of his men as he can spare from the guns as a landing party."

Armed with cutlasses and revolvers, the sailors and Marines were to hit the beach when the assault signal was made "and board the fort in a seaman-like way.  The marines will form in the rear and cover the sailors.  While the soldiers are going over the parapets  in front, the sailors will take the sea face of Fort Fisher."

I always believed this to be an attempt by Porter to cut into the glory of the capture of the fort.  He probably should have seen if he could have gotten Dahlgren's Naval Brigade which had experience with land operations.

--Old B-Runner

"Fighting Bob" Evans At Fort Fisher-- Part 3

As he neared the broken wooden palisade fence,  a sharpshooter wounded him in the left leg, about three inches above the knee.  (Lamb had instructed his best shots to aim at the Union officers.)  Another officer helped Evans bandage the wound and he got up again and led his men to that palisade.  Approaching the base of the parapet, another shot struck him in the right knee, causing it to bleed profusely.

Unable to stand, he began bandaging himself again when another shot entered the soul of his shoe and took off the rip of one of his toes and wrenched his ankle.  This so enraged Evans that he rolled over to face his antagonist, standing just 35-yards away and shot him in the throat, causing him to fall down the parapet and land near the young ensign.

Many of Evans' men and officers lay dead and wounded around him.  A Marine from his ship, Private Wasmouth, rescued Evans and eventually dragged him to a place of safety.  Another sharpshooter's bullet hit the Marine and caused him to bleed to death at the feet of the man he had just saved.

The rest of the column turned and began running to safety.  The Confederates stood up and started cheering only to be appalled by U.S. flags flying on the western parapets.  With Confederate attention focused on the northeast bastion, the Army had entered the fort.  Much fighting continued, but this was the turning point of the battle and the fort fell.

So, "Fighting Bob"  was sure fighting earlier in his career.

One Brave Young Officer.  --Old B-Runner 

"Fighting Bob" Evans at Fort Fisher-- Part 2

Thirty-three year old Lt. Cmdr. Kidder Randolph Breese, Porter's Fleet Captain, was appointed to lead the Naval assault and to coordinate with the Army's attack.  The force moved to within 1200 yards of the fort and the fleet set off its whistles to signal the attack.

The fort's commander, Col. William Lamb, led his men to the defense of the northeast bastion while the fleet continued its heavy fire until the sailors and Marines were withing 600 yards.  Ensign Robley Evans was assigned to lead his ship's contingent.  At 500 yards, the Confederates opened fire on the column, causing the men at the front to drop on their stomachs in the sand.

Naval and Marine officers rose and called on their men to follow on.  At 300 yards, another volley was let upon them.  Eighteen-year old Evans led his men along the beach at the head of his men.  He pulled his hat down over his eyes so as not to see the flash of guns from the top of the parapet and then he was wounded in the chest, but shortly realized he could continue on as it was a flesh wound.

Getting Hot Out There.  --Old B-Runner

A Walk Around Fort Fisher-- Part 4

I mentioned the plaque located at Big Daddy's Seafood Restaurant in Kure Beach which said this is where Union forces landed in the attacks on Fort Fisher.  The guide said that that information was incorrect.  The Navy Column landed at where Big Daddy's is today.  The Army landed farther north at what is today Carolina Beach.
Located near the front of the Fort Fisher Visitors Center and  Museum is a new Modern Greece blockade-runner display.  Along with the history of the ship, there are other artifacts recovered from the wreck back in 1962, the 100th anniversary of its sinking.

In addition, there is a plate from the blockade-runner Kate which brought yellow fever to Wilmington in August 1862.

Of interest were examples of two types of coal burned in the steamers.  One was bituminous, rather soft and dull, and the other anthracite, a shiny hard coal.  Anthracite was by far the preferred coal to burn when running the blockade as it was essentially smokeless.and the runners did not want blockaders spotting their smoke and giving chase.

I Could Have Spent Lots More Time at Fort Fisher, But Sister Julie Was Not Enjoying It At All.  --Old B-Runner