The Attack on the Mailboat Fawn-- Part 1: Grab the Money and Run

From "The Blue and Gray:  The Patriotic American Magazine Vol. 2: by Frank P. O'Brien.

He reported that during his scouting trips around Chowan Sound and Elizabeth City, he found that there were two mailboats making regular semi-weekly trips between Roanoke Island and Norfolk and that on a certain day the U.S. paymaster would go to Roanoke Island from Norfolk on the mailboat Fawn.

"I returned to Plymouth and reported the information, which was perfectly reliable,  to Captain James [John] Maffitt, of 'Florida' fame, who was soon after the engagement of May 5 (when the CSS Albemarle attacked the Union fleet off Plymouth, N.C.), had relieved  Captain Cooke of the command of the 'Albemarle."

"Captain Maffitt organized a  a crew to carry out my idea of capturing the boat.  Master's Mate James H. Long was placed in command, but on the eve of leaving he was  ordered not to go, as he had but recently recovered from a severe spell of sickness.  

"Mr. Shelley, sailing-master, took his place."

So, evidently an aim was to get the paymaster funds.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Albemarle-- Part 8: Cushing Does Her In

The Albemarle's mere presence kept it a threat throughout the rest of the summer and fall.  That is, until October 28, 1864, when Union Lieutenant William Cushing led a daring early morning raid that sank the Albemarle in eight feet of water using a spar torpedo on the front of a launch.

Three days later, without the threat of the Albemarle, Union forces recaptured Plymouth.

Elliott didn't witness his prize creation's demise, though.  He was back at Edward's Ferry constructing another ironclad (that wasn't completed before the war ended).

In 1867, the U.S. Navy refloated the Albemarle and towed it to the Norfolk (Virginia) Navy Yard.  It was deemed useless and sold for scrap, fetching a mere $2,500.

One of her 6.4-inch Brooke rifled cannons is on display at the Headquarters of the Commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command at Norfolk, Virginia, naval base.  Her smokestack is on display at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.    Her bell is on display at  the Port o' Plymouth Museum in Plymouth, North Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

USS New York (LPD-21)-- Part 4: Christening and a Salute to the WTC

Dotty England, the ship's sponsor and wife of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England,  smashed the traditional champagne bottle on the ship's bow and christened the ship New York.    Gordon R. England had been Secretary of the Navy when the request for the ship's name had come to him and approved it.

Gordon R. England was also there for the christening along with other dignitaries including Louisiana  Congressman William J. Jefferson, members of the New York City Police Department, members of the New York City Fire department,  and family members of victims of the 9/11 attacks.

The champagne bottle did not break the first time it was struck against the hull of the New York, but the second attempt was successful.

The ship was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 21 August 2009 at New Orleans.  She set sail for Norfolk, Virginia, on 13 October 2009.  On 2 November 2009 the ship passed the World Trade Center site for the first time and gave the site a 21-gun salute.

USCSS Robert J. Walker-- Part 4: Some More Facts and Loss

TYPE OF SHIP:  Survey ship

LENGTH:  133 feet

BEAM:  31 feet

DRAFT:  9 feet 3 inches

PROPULSION:   steam engine, sidewheel

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LOSS

Early on the morning of  21 June 1860, the Robert J. Walker had completed her most recent  hydrographic survey work and was bound from Norfolk, Virginia, to New York City in rough seas and a crew of 72 and the wife of the executive officer aboard.  At 02:20, a commercial schooner , identified as the  Fanny by the Robert J. walker's crew, collided with her.

The Walker sank  in less than 30 minutes off the coast of New Jersey about 12 nautical miles southeast of the Absecon  Inlet Light, with a loss of 20 men.

--Old B-Runner

John Julius Guthrie, Jr.-- Part 2: Service in Western Waters, Capture and Exchanged

Ordered to the New Orleans naval station, he was promoted to the rank of acting master  on October 21 and sent aboard the General Polk.

In March, he transferred to the floating battery New Orleans, under the command of his father at Island No. 10.  (So John J. Guthrie commanded the ship and had his two sons with him as well.)

After the fall of Island No. 10 on April 8,  Guthrie was captured and sent to the Union POW camp at Johnson's Island in Lake Erie.

Exchanged in October, he served at the Richmond and Wilmington naval stations and finished the war at Montgomery, Alabama.

After the war, he returned to Norfolk County, Virginia, and farmed.

--Old B-Runner

John Julius Guthrie Obituary-- Part 2

Early in his life, he entered the United States navy, and when the war broke out, cast his fortunes with the Confederacy.

He at one time commanded the Advance, owned by North Carolina, and used in running the blockade.  he was also in command, at Halifax,  in this State,  when the Confederate and North Carolina authorities were building vessels there on the Roanoke.

At other times  during the war, he commanded at Eufaula, Alabama,  and at other points in the South.

A more gallant officer and purer man  never walked the deck of a ship.  His untimely end  is a great loss to  the United States signal service, and is deeply lamented  by the citizens of Norfolk and Portsmouth, if we may judge from the expressions contained in   their newspapers.

--Old B-R'er

A Rebel Captured Last Slave Ship for Union, John J. Guthrie-- Part 1: Quite a Story

From the June 7, 1996, Virginian-Pilot (Va.) by Alan Flanders.

The exceptional  events surround John Julius Guthrie's life should place him high on the list of national heroes.

One of the strangest ironies of his life  started out on routine patrol duty on the USS Saratoga off the west coast of Africa on April 21, 1861.  (Remember, Confederates fired on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, effectively starting the shooting part of the Civil War.  Of course, there was no way the Saratoga's crew could have known about it back then.)

The U.S. Navy had been active in the suppression of slavery for the past twenty years.  While political debate over the legality of slavery heated up back home, Commander Alfred Taylor, commanding officer of the Saratoga, and his executive officer, John Julius Guthrie, of Portsmouth, Virginia,  were on the lookout for merchantmen engaged in the slave trade.

Guthrie was no doubt justifiably proud of his ship as she had refitted at Gosport (Navy Yard, Norfolk by Portsmouth, Va.) before departing for Africa from Philadelphia and carried  a number of local men as part of her crew.

Just at the mouth of the Congo River, a report reached the Saratoga that a large ship loaded with slaves was hidden up the river.  It was soon learned that the ship was none other than the Nightingale.  Despite her name, she was the most notorious slaver of them all.

As second in command, Guthrie was chosen to handpick a boarding party and  sail inland and capture the slaver.

--Old B-Runner

A Black Woman from Norfolk Stole Plans for CSS Virginia for the Union

From the February 24, 2020, Virginia-Pilot "A black woman from Norfolk stole Confederate ship plans for the Union" by Katherine Haffner.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles long remembered the service Mary Louvestre "rendered  under extreme peril in the winter 1861-'62."

At the time, the Confederacy was building an ironclad, the CSS Virginia, out of the the former USS Merrimack.  Confederates were very careful about keeping this secret.  The Union was extremely anxious to get information on it.

"It was whilst we were in this state of anxiety, with but vague  and indefinite information, that this colored woman, Mary (Louvestre), came to the Navy Department and requested to see me alone," Welles wrote a decade later.

Louvestre, of Norfolk, brought him a paper  written by a mechanic who was working on the Virginia.  Her information corroborated other information they had on the ship's progress.

Welles now knew that he had to complete the USS Monitor as soon as possible.

Welles wrote in his letter that he'd always remember Mary Louvestre's "zeal and fidelity."  Very little else is known about her, even the correct spelling of her name.

--Old B-Runner

Two Confederate Cannons That Once Were At Raleigh Now At Fort Fisher-- Part 1

From June 30, 2020, WUNC 91.5 NPR  "Confederate cannons removed from Raleigh now at Fort Fisher"  by Mitch Northam and AP.

Two Civil War cannons that were at a Confederate monument in Raleigh are now at Fort Fisher.  They arrived Friday after being removed from the state Capitol grounds by the N.C. governor  The two 32-pounder naval cannons were stationed at the base of the monument had been "vandalized" along with the rest of the 75-foot tall monument accompanied by two statues of a Confederate infantryman and cavalryman.

These two statues were pulled down June 19 (and one was even LYNCHED).  The next day, the governor ordered all three monuments removed.

According to  the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, a plaque on the cannons says  they were captured by Confederates when they took the U.S. Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia and were then used at Fort Caswell at the mouth of the Cape Fear River's Old Inlet.

They were dismounted when Confederates evacuated the fort and blew it up in 1865 after the fall of Fort Fisher.

Raleigh's Loss Is Fort Fisher's Gain.  At Least One Good Thing Happening in All This Sad Mess.   --Old B-Runner

March 2, 1865: The USS Bat to the Carry the President to Meet With Grant

MARCH 2ND, 1865:  Because of difficulties in communications, small, fast warships (often captured blockade runners) were in great demand for courier service.  This date, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote President Lincoln from Norfolk:  "General Grant would like to see you and I shall be in Washington to-morrow morning with this vessel, the Bat,  in which you can leave in the afternoon.

"She is a regular armed man-of-war, and the fastest vessel on the river.  I think it would be best for you to use her."

The Bat was a long, low sidewheeler which Commander Bulloch, CSN, had built in England to run the blockade.  She fell victim in October 1864 to the concentrated blockade off Wilmington, N.C. as she made her first run with supplies for the Confederate Government.

Bought by the Navy from the Boston Prize Court for $150,000, she was commissioned in mid-December 1864 and was in great demand because of her high speed.

--Old B-Runner

Talking About the CSS Richmond

From the December 27, 2019, Augusta Free Press "CSS Richmond steams into Pamplin Park."

Pamplin Historical  Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier will welcome speakers Bill Walldrop and Mike Nusbaum Thursday, January 2 at 7 p.m..  They will be speaking before the Petersburg Civil War Round Table about the Confederate ironclad CSS Richmond.

They are divers and underwater archaeologists who have explored the remains of shipwrecks from the American Revolution and Civil War.  Both faced risks while exploring the wreck of the CSS Richmond in the James River by Richmond.

Ironclads revolutionized naval warfare and the CSS Richmond followed the famous CSS Virginia as a Confederate warship.    It was designed by naval architect John L. Porter and was launched May 6, 1862, and immediately had to leave Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, for its namesake city, Richmond before Federal forces occupied that navy yard.

It was completed at Richmond and joined the Confederate Navy's James River Squadron where it saw action in 1864 and 1865.  The Union breakthrough at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, caused the evacuation of that city and Richmond.  The fate of the Richmond was sealed the next day when she and the other Confederate ships were burned and sunk to prevent capture.

The two speakers have an hour-long video on the internet about their efforts with the CSS Richmond.

I would sure like to be at this meeting.

Well Worth Watching.  --Old B-Runner

William Henry Ward, CSN-- Part 1: Former U.S. Navy Officer, Two-Time Prisoner at Fort Warren

In my October 29 post I wrote that he was in command of the CSS Olustee (CSS Tallahassee) when he eluded blockaders off Wilmington, N.C. and went on a commerce destroying mission along the Atlantic coast.

From the North Carolina Civil War Sailors Project site.

In 1861, resided in Norfolk, Virginia.    He had previous service in the U.S. Navy and was arrested for disloyalty and sent to Fort Fort Lafayette, New York August 31, 1861, and then to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, until paroled and exchanged in January 1862.

An official Navy document has him being appointed as an acting sailing master in the Confederate Navy on October 21, 1861, at Tallahassee, Florida,  and was ordered to report to New Orleans  and report to Captain George N. Hollins for duty.

Served aboard the CSS Louisiana and appointed lieutenant March 13, 1862.  He was captured on the Mississippi River April 1862 and sent as a prisoner to Fort Warren again.

Same Old, Same Old.  --Old B-R'er

CDR. Arthur Sinclair, CSN-- Part 1: His Father Was a U.S. Navy Officer 1798-1831

From Find-A-Grave.

Birth:  29 November 1810 in Norfolk, Virginia

Death:  14 January 1865 in Fylde Burrough Lancashire, England

Buried:  Fleetwood Cemetery, Wyre Burrough, Lancashire, England

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

His father was Arthur Sinclair,  Commodore, U.S. Navy.

Born:  28 February 1780,  Mecklenburg County, Virginia

Died:  7 February 1831, Norfolk, Virginia

Buried:  Cedar Grove Cenglemetery, Norfolk, Virginia.

Entered U,S, Navy service as a midshipman on November 15, 1798.  became captain on July 28, 1813.

Served in the Quasi War with France, the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.

--Old B-R'er

The Blockade Runner Lelia That Didn't-- Part 6: Sinclair's Burial

Richard Taylor added that Federal forces had since occupied Norfolk, Virginia, and had  "ejected Mrs. Sinclair and her family from their home with great barbarity."

Captain Sinclair had lost his previous ship near Bermuda in 1864 before his voyage on the ill-fated Lelia and was said by Taylor to have been at the siege of Vicksburg.  His funeral took place on third June 1865 in Fleetwood and was attended by his two sons, Arthur Jnr and Terry.

His gravestone bears the inscription, "Sacred to the memory of Captain Arthur Sinclair of Norfolk Virginia who perished in the wreck of the Lelia--  January 14th, 1865.  Not lost but gone before."

In addition to Sinclair, Thomas Miller, Captain Skinner, Mr. Robson, J.B. Cropper an all the officers of the Lelia drowned--  only 12 were saved.

At the subsequent inquiry,  it was recorded that the Lelia was a well found ship but the fact that her four boats were without oarlocks contributed to the large loss of life..

--Old B-Runner

N.C. Events, July 1864: Blockade Runners Captured and Expeditions

JULY 2--  Capture of steamer Rouen.

JULY 9--  Capture of steamer Little Ada.

JULY 18-31--  Expedition from New Bern to Manning's Neck.

JULY 27 to August 4--  Expedition from Norfolk, Virginia, into North Carolina.

JULY 28-29--  Joint expedition in Chowan River.

--Old B-R'er

Jacob Zeilen, USMC Commandant-- Part 1: Long Career

From Wikipedia.

In yesterday's post on The USMC after the Civil War, I mentioned its Commandant Jacob Zeilen.  I had never heard of him, so more research was necessary.

July 16, 1806-November 18, 1880.  (He died on tomorrow's date.)

Jacob Zeilen was the Marine Corps' first non-brevet brigadier general and 7th Commandant from 1864-1876.  he attended the USMA at West Point from 1822-1825 but dropped out due to low grades.

He was commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the Marines on October 1, 1831, and served ashore and on the USS Erie, USS Columbus and USS Congress.  During the Mexican War he commanded the Marine Detachment on the Congress and was brevetted to major for gallantry at San Gabriel River, Los Angeles and the Battle of La Mesa.

After the war, he was stationed at Norfolk and New York and accompanied Commodore Matthew C. Perry on the famous opening of Japan expedition.

May 10, 1862: Norfolk and Norfolk Navy Yard Captured

MAY 10TH, 1862:  The Norfolk Navy Yard was set afire before being evacuated by Confederate forces in a general withdrawal up the peninsula to defend Richmond.

Union troops under Major General Wool crossed Hampton Roads from Fort Monroe, landed at Ocean View, and captured Norfolk.

A Blow to the South.  --Old B-Runner

May 9, 1862: Lincoln Still Directing Activity in Virginia

MAY 9TH, 1862:  President Lincoln himself, after talking to pilots and studying charts, reconnoitered to the eastward of Sewell's Point and found a suitably unfortified landing site near Willoughby Point.  The troops embarked in transports at night.

The next morning they landed near the site selected by the President.  The president, still aboard his command ship, the Miami, ordered the USS Monitor to reconnoiter Sewell's Point to learn if the batteries were still manned.

When he found the works abandoned, President Lincoln ordered Major General Wool's troops to march on Norfolk, where they arrived late on the afternoon of the 10th.

--Old B-R'er

Lincoln Writes to Flag Officer L.M. Goldsborough

MAY 8TH, 1862:  Two days later, President Lincoln wrote Flag Officer Goldsborough:  "I send you this copy of your report of yesterday for the purpose of saying to you in writing that you are quite right in supposing the movement made by you and therein reported was made in accordance with my wishes verbally expressed to you in advance.

"I avail myself of the occasion to thank you for your courtesy and all your conduct, so far as known to me, during my brief visit here."

Lincoln was acting in his role as commander-in-chief in this instance and took personal command.

--Old B-Runner

Sewell's Point, Va., Shelled-- Part 2: A Plan to Attack the CSS Virginia

Whatever rumors President Lincoln had received about the Confederates abandoning Norfolk were now confirmed; a tug deserted from Norfolk and brought news that the evacuation was well underway and that the CSS Virginia and her accompanying small gunboats planned to proceed up the James River or York River.

It was planned that when the Virginia came out, as she had on the 7th, the Union fleet would retire with the USS Monitor in the rear hoping to draw the powerful but under-engined warship into deep water where she might be rammed by high speed steamers.

The bombardment showed that the defenses at Sewell's Point were reduced, but still powerful.

The Virginia came out, but not far enough to be rammed.

--More to Come.  --Old B-Runner