Yankee Hall on the Tar River in N.C.

The Union force stopped at Yankee Hall on its way back from capturing Greenville, N.C..

Yankee Hall is a plantation by the Tar River built in the late 1700s.  Today it hosts wedding and parties.

From History of Yankee Hall by Roger Kammerer.

Also known as Pactolus Landing and Perkins Wharf.  Located on the north side of the Tar River, 10 miles east of Greenville.

Reports from July 1862 had it that the Union gunboat Picket and other artillery launches made a reconnaissance up the Tar River and at Yankee Hall fired a shell into the house that nearly took its roof off.  At the time, four or five Confederates were inside the house with their horses tied up in front.  reportedly they scattered in great confusion.

During the war, it was a rendezvous for Confederate pickets and bore distinct marks of shot and shell endured from Yankee encampments in the yard and patrol boats coming up the river.

A Yankee Hall in North Carolina.  --Old B-R'er

Some More On the Army Gunboat Picket-- Part 2: Artifacts Recovered

The shipwreck has shifted over the years due to hurricanes and now points northward.  Many divers have brought up many artifacts.  Many artifacts were damaged or destroyed many years ago when the Tar River by Washington, N.C., was dredged.  Most of those items were plates and other breakable items.

Artifacts like muskets, bayonets, ship's compass, a brass megaphone type horn, cleats, bullets, etc. have been recovered.

When the ship exploded, the heat must have been extremely intense as the compass is partially melted in a couple of places.

The Picket was also at the Battle of Tranter's Creek in North Carolina on June 5, 1862.  Its captain Sylvester D. Nicholl also commanded there.

--Old B-Runner

Some More On the U.S. Army Gunboat Picket-- Part 1: Wreck Can Be Seen At Really Low Tide

From the Roots Web Civil War.

Cornell University has the Making of America Project which has several pages on the gunboat Picket.

A person wrote to the person making the inquiry on this site with more information.

The Picket is in the Tar River on the western side of the Highway 17 Bridge crossing from Chocowinity, N.C., to Washington, N.C..  The bridge is the separation point between the Pamlico and Tar rivers.  On days when the tide is way out, you can see a portion of the wreck.

It is well-marked to keep boats from hitting it.

--Old B-R'er

U.S. Army Gunboat Picket: Blew Up Off Washington, N.C.

In yesterday's post, I wrote about the Battle of Washington, N.C., where Union forces came under a surprise attack by Confederates on September 6, 1862.  I have written about the ship before.  Just hit the label for Picket (t) US Army gunboat.

From the Encyclopedia North Carolina.

ARMY GUNBOAT PICKET

The ship fought in the sounds and rivers of North Carolina until it sank in the Tar River off the town of Washington on September 6, 1862.  It was originally a civilian ship purchased by the Union to assist in General Burnside's Expedition against Roanoke Island.

There was a larger side-wheel steamer named Picket which often gets confused for this one.

It was oine of seven vessels described as a motley fleet in the expedition.  Burnside's officers and men even had some concerns as to these ships' seaworthiness.  To show his confidence in then, Gen. Burnside used the Picket, which was the smallest ship, as his flagship.

The Picket proved a great choice because of its shallow draft and did a fine job covering troop landings at Roanoke, New Bern and Fort Macon.On 6 September 1862, the Picket and gunboat USS Louisiana were in the Tar River off Washington, N.C., when Confederates launched a surprise attack on the town.  Both ships went into action.

The Picket got off one shot before it exploded and sank in the river, killing its captain, Sylvester D. Nicholl, along with 18 crewmen and 6 wounded.

--Old B-Runner

September 6, 1862: Confederate Surprise Attack On Washington, N.C.

SEPTEMBER 6TH, 1862:  The USS Louisiana, Acting Lt. Richard Y. Renshaw, joined with Union troops in repelling a Confederate attack on Washington, North Carolina.

Lajor General John G. Foster reported that the Louisiana "rendered most efficient aid, throwing her shells with great precision, and clearing the streets, through which her guns had range."

U.S. Army gunboat Picket was destroyed by an accidental magazine explosion during the engagement.

The USS Louisiana later was the powder vessel that blew up off Fort Fisher before the first attack on the fort in 1864.

More Army-Navy Cooperation.  --Old B-Runner

The Sinking of the Picket-- Part 2

Originally, the occupation of Washington, NC, went well, but the next day, September 6, 1862, Confederate forces counter-attacked.  Gunboats opened fire to support ground troops.

The call to quarters had just been made on the Picket when a tremendous explosion in the powder magazine tore the ship apart, killing 19 of the 24 man crew.  The remaining five, all injured, were rescued by nearby gunboats.

The bodies of the 4 Sag Harbor men were not recovered.  The writer's ancestor, Quartermaster William H. Chester, 22, was among the Sag Harbor dead.  Also killed from Sag Harbor:  Captain Sylvester D. Nichols, 42; Quartermaster Jeremiah Lodowick Hedges, 23; and Seaman Henry B. Howell, 22.

Captain Nicholls was a well-respected and successful whaling skipper.

A plaque was placed July 2012 in Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor, for William Chester, but his remains are still on the Picket.  It reads: William H. Chester, Quartermaster, 1st Marine Artillery, GAR, NY.  Killed by an explosion during hostile action on board the USS Pickett at Washington, North Carolina Sept. 6, 1862."

I'm not sure what the Marine Artillery was and not sure why the GAR would be on the plaque.  If that refers to the Grand Army of the Republic,, that was formed until after the war.

Still a Lot of Confusion About the Facts Concerning the Battle and Picket, or Was It Pickett?  --Old B-Runner

The Sinking of the Picket-- Part 1

From the Sag Harbor (NY) Express.

Even though I came across no notice of the 150th anniversary in the Washington, NC, newspaper or any in NC for that matter, I did find mention of the battle and loss of the Picket from a New York newspaper.

It turns out that four of the dead on the Picket were Sag Harbor men, including the captain.

One hundred and fifty years ago, four gave all for the cause.

Earlier in 1862, General Burnside boarded the small Union Army gunboat Picket while crossing the dangerous Hatteras bar into Pamlico Sound in February 1862.

The ship was lost September 6, 1862, during another Burnside expedition into the Confederacy.

The USS Picket was just 45 feet long with a 10-foot beam  It had been fitted out as a gunboat for the US Marine Artillery and actually was an iron barge.  It carried just a 12-pdr. cannon.  It is believed that there were a lot of Sag Harbor boys on it as well as 25 in the whole expedition fleet.

In early September, transports and gunboats entered the Pamlico River and proceeded to Washington.

More to Come.  --Old B-Runner

Yet Some More on the Army Gunboat Picket(t)

The New York Times writing about the Union victory at New Bern, NC, in March 1862, mentions that the Picket had captured two boats loaded with grain.  Commander of the Picket was Captain J. Poynton Ivies and Acting Master James W. Weeks.

The Picket had been continuously employed since Dec. 16th and during that time only had 15 hours to clean ts boilers.

Perhaps it was a boiler explosion which caused it to sink.

Old B-Runner

The 150th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Army Gunboat Picket(t)

I doubt that anyone else is observing this event, but here goes with some more information I found on this ship.

From the August 8, 1984, Washington (NC) Daily News.

The wreck of the Picket(t) lies in 15 feet of water on the south side of the Tar River near the US-17 bridge.  People in town would like to find a place to house the items that have been brought up from the ship.

The Picket(t) was a 200-ton boat mounting one 30-pdr Parrott gun and two other light guns.

On the morning of September 6, 1862, Confederate infantry supported by cavalry and artillery attacked Washington.  The USS Louisiana and Picket(t) helped turn the enemy back.  But, for unknown reasons, there was an explosion and the Picket(t) went down.  A captain and 19 crew members were aboard.

Plans call for divers to investigate the wreck and focus on two area:  a grid plan to see what there is and the stern area as there is some disagreement as to whether the ship was a sidewheeler or propeller driven.

And, I Found a Little More.  --Old B-Runner

Army Gunboat Picket (t)

Since tomorrow is the 150th anniversary of the loss of the US Army gunboat Picket (or Pickett), I decided to see if there was any other information on it.

I am not familiar with the Army having gunboats as well.

I came across two articles from the Washington (NC) Daily News in the CircamEast website.

FROM THE SEPTEMBER 26, 1979 WASHINGTON DAILY NEWS.

The US Army gunboat Pickett is still reportedly at the bottom of the Tar River covered with silt and sand and there is a feasibility study to see if it can be raised.  It is located west of the Washington City Bridge.

It was originally named either the Philadelphia or J.W. Winslow and was a river boat converted into a gunboat by the US Army.

The article suggests a boiler explosion caused the ship to sink.  Some 500 artifacts have been recovered including rifles and cannonballs.

More to Come Tomorrow,  --Old B-R'er