Feb. 3, 1865-- Part 1-- Plans to Take Wilmington

FEBRUARY 3, 1865:  To speed the collapse of the faltering Confederacy, another giant thrust gathered from the sea off Wilmington.  During the lull between the planned spring assault on Richmond when the road conditions improved, General Grant came down to confer with Rear Admiral Porter, his old Vicksburg partner.

Grant had spent several hours on board Porter's flagship Malvern on Janaury 28 where plans took shape for the push into North Carolina up the Cape Fear River as Sherman marched inland parallel to the coast.

When Grant returned to Virginia, he quickly dispatched General Schofield by sea with an army which, with the big guns of the fleet, would be large enough to push on to Wilmington.

--Old B-Runner

Fort Fisher's Beat the Heat Lecture Series 2019-- Part 2

As I said in the previous post, sadly, this series is over for the year, but looking forward to it being resumed next year.  And, don't forget, either January 11 or 18, will be the 155th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, which is always a big one.  They have an anniversary re-enactment every year, but every fifth year it is a  big one.

Anyway, recapping this past year's lectures:

JULY 13--  Running the Blockade:  The Technology and the Men of the Lifeline by Chris Fonvielle

JULY 20--  The Federal Point Lighthouses by Becky Sawyer

JULY 27--  Tending to the Soldiers:  Wilmington's Civil War Hospitals by Wade Sokoloski.

AUGUST 3--  Timothy O'Sullivan and the Photographing of Fort Fisher by Harry Taylor

AUGUST 10--  Attempting to Stop Sherman: The Battle of River's Bridge by Jim Steele.

So, How Long Until June 2019?  --Old Secesh

What's Happening At the Fort: Fort Fisher's Final Beat the Heat-- The Battle of River's Bridge, S.C.

Fort Fisher is presenting its final 2019 Kids Activity this Friday, August 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..  This week's topic is Civil War Communications using the Wig-Wag System with flags.

Fort Fisher will be presenting its final Beat the Heat lecture of the season on Saturday, August 10 at 2 p.m. in the Spencer Theater at the fort.  This week's topic is "Attempting to Stop Sherman:  The Battle of River's Bridge, South Carolina."  This was an attempt to stop his march to Columbia, S.C..  Site manager Jim Steele will lead the discussion.

Fort Fisher is located at

1610 Fort Fisher Boulevard, South
Kure Beach, N.C.
Telephone  910-251-7340

Come On In, Get Out of the Heat.  --Old B-Runner

Talking About Gen. J.D. Cox, Schofield's Move to Wilmington and Sherman's Carolinas Campaign

Over in my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog this past week, I have been writing about Gen. Schofield's 23rd Corps moving from Tennessee to D.C. and Wilmington, a man very involved in the Wilmington Campaign, Gen. John D. Cox.

And also what the move and man had to do with Sherman's Carolina Campaign.

Also, that when Cox's division landed at Fort Fisher several weeks after it fell, it resembled a farmer's pumpkin patch as those shells rusted.

These were all events leading up to Wilmington's fall and Joe Johnston surrendering at Bennett Place near Durham, N.C..

This was a big part of the Fort Fisher/Wilmington Campaigns, but I wrote about them in connection with the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group's meeting in February.

--Old B-Runner

USS Republic Engages Wheeler's Cavalry on the Cape Fear River

MARCH 24TH, 1865:  The USS Republic was dispatched up the Cape Fear River from Wilmington to check reports that detachments of General Wheeler's cavalry were operating in the area.  About six miles up the river a cavalry squad was driven away with gunfire.

They then landed a reconnoitering party.  It was learned that the mounted Confederates had broken into small squads and were plundering the countryside.

They also made contact with a rear guard detachment of General Sherman's army en route to Fayetteville.

--Old B-R'er

Overland Naval Unit Delivers Army Dispatches to Fayetteville

MARCH 12TH, 1865:  At the request of Brigadier General Schofield, Acting Master H. Walton Grinnell, leading a detachment of four sailors, succeeded in delivering important Army dispatches to General Sherman near Fayetteville.  Grinnell and his men began their trip on the 4th in a dugout from Wilmington.

About 12 miles up the Cape Fear River, after passing through Confederate pickets undetected, the men left the boat and commenced a tedious and difficult march toward Fayetteville.

Near Whiteville, Grinnell impressed horses and led a daring dash through Confederate lines.  Shortly thereafter he made contact with the rear scouts of General Sherman's forces, successfully completing what Grinnell termed "this rather novel naval scout."

Naval support, no matter what form it took, was essential to Sherman's movements.

Also on MARCH 12, 1865:   The USS Quaker City captured the British blockade-running schooner R.H. Vermilyea in the Gulf of Mexico with a cargo of  coffee, clothes, rum, tobacco and shoes.

I Wonder If Uncle Billy Thanked Them?  --Old B-Runner

U.S. Navy Ships Rendezvous With Sherman at Fayetteville, N.C.

MARCH 11-12TH, 1865:  Lt.Cmdr. George W. Young, senior officer present off Wilmington, led a naval force consisting of  the USS Eolus and boat crews from the USS Maratanza, Lenapee and Nyack up the Cape Fear River to Fayetteville where they rendezvoused with General Sherman's army.

The expedition had been undertaken at the request of Major General Terry, who, Young reported,  had said on the morning of the 11th 'that he was about an expedition up the North West Branch [of the Cape Fear River]  for the purpose of clearing the way to Fayetteville, and wished to have one of the gunboats, as a support, to follow."

The expedition was halted for the night at devil's Bend because of "the circuitous nature of the river", but resumed the next morning and arrived at Fayetteville on the evening of the 12th.

In addition to opening communication between Union forces on the coast, the naval units arrived in time to protect the general's flank while he crossed the river.

Another Objective Accomplished.  --Old B-R'er

Clearing the Cape Fear River to Fayetteville

MARCH 10TH, 1865:  Lt.Cmdr. Young reported to Porter progress in clearing the Cape Fear River for the support of Sherman's army now near Fayetteville.  Only small ships or steam launches could provide upriver service.  "The gate obstructions are all clear, so that three or four vessels can pass abreast.

"The obstructions on the line of the two sunken steamers, where the buoy flags were planted, it will be necessary to take great pains to raise carefully.  We have succeeded in destroying some four torpedoes which were found lodged in the logs of the obstructions."

One of Young's gunboats had noted that upriver "the stream is very narrow and tortuous, with a strong current.  Finding that I could not make the turns without using hawsers, and then fouling paddle boxes and smokestack in the branches of large trees, I concluded to return.

"The people, white and black, whom I questioned, state that the Chickamauga is sunk across the stream at Indian Wells, with a chain just below..  Her two guns are on a bluff on the western bank of the river."

Operating conditions in these shallow rivers, often enveloped in forests and swamps, had many similarities with those encountered in South Vietnam by the U.S. Navy.

--Old B-R'er

New Bern, N.C. As a Union Base

MARCH 10TH, 1865:  The federals had long held New Bern, North Carolina, 80 air miles from Wilmington (but there times that by water), near where the Neuse River abruptly narrows from from a main arm of Pamlico Sound.  The city was the gateway for another supply route to the sea for General Sherman as he marched north to join Grant.

This date, at the request of the Army, a small naval force got underway up the river to cut a pontoon bridge the Confederates were reportedly building below Kinston.

--Old B-Runner

Occupying Georgetown, South Carolina

FEBRUARY 28TH, 1965:  Rear Admiral Dahlgren issued instructions to Captain Stellwagen, USS Pawnee, on operations in vicinity of Georgetown, S.C., coordinated with General Sherman's march north:  "I leave here for Charleston, and you remain the senior officer.  The only object in occupying the place, as I do, is to facilitate communication with General Sherman, if he desires it here, or by the Santee.

"When the Chenango and Sonomo arrive, station one in each river by the town to assist the force ashore; one vessel should be near the fort and one at the light-house to look for communication with me.

"Keep up information from the Santee by courier over the Santee road or by water.  I leave you three tugs, the Sweet Brier, Catalpa and Clover with a dispatch boat.  Let parties be pushed out by land and water, to feel the rebel positions, and drive back his scouts and pickets."

--Old B-Runner

Navy Aiding Sherman's Carolinas Campaign

FEBRUARY 23-25, 1865:  In December the hips of the powerful Federal Navy, now in such numbers that they could attack anywhere along the coast when needed had made it possible for Sherman to march to the sea with confidence, since they gave him any part of the coast he chose as abase.

Now, Dahlgren's warships provided the general with unlimited logistic support, rapid reinforcement and the defensive line of their massed guns to fall back on if he were defeated.  Easy and speeding his progress to the North, the fleet, therefore, helped to bring the war more quickly to an end.

From Savannah to Wilmington the whole Southern seacoast--with its irreplaceable defenses heavy coastal cannon that could not be moved, and superior means of communication--swiftly fell.

Although it was not clear to General Lee at the time--the accelerated speed with which soldiers were able to move inevitably forecast the frustration of his plan to send part of his veterans to join the Confederates in North Carolina in an attempt to crush Sherman while still holding the Petersburg-Richmond line with the remainder.

Just getting Worse and Worse.  --Old B-R'er

Union Attack on Bull's Bay, S.C.-- Part 1

FEBRUARY 16-17TH, 1865:  Ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, including the USS Pawnee, Sonoma, Ottawa, Winona, Potomska, Wando, J.S. Chambers, and boats and launches from these vessels supported the amphibious Army landing at Bull's Bay, S.C..  This was a diversionary movement in the major thrust to take Charleston and was designed to contain Confederate strength away from General Sherman.

Such diversions had been Sherman's plan from the outset as he took full advantage of the North's control of the sea while his army marched across the land.

A naval landing party from the fleet joined the troops of Brigadier general Edward E. Potter in driving the Confederates from their positions at Bull's Bay and driving them toward Andersonville and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

Plans Being Made for Evacuation of Charleston, S.C.

FEBRUARY 13TH, 1865:  General Sherman's on-rushing army approached the Congaree River, S.C..  The soldiers would cross it on the 14th, heading for Columbia.  With the fall of Columbia assured and with the supply route to Augusta, Georgia, already cut, General Hardee sped up his preparations to evacuate Charleston and to take the troops he had brought with him from Savannah to North Carolina where he planned to join Generals Johnston and Beauregard.

Since Charleston would have be abandoned and the Confederate naval squadron there scuttled, Commodore John R. Tucker, detached 300 men and officers from the CSS Chicora, Palmetto State and Charleston, as well as the Navy Yard, and dispatched them, under the command of Lt. James H. Rochelle, to assist in the final defense of Wilmington.

The naval detachment was assigned to Major General Robert F. Hoke's division which held the defensive line across the peninsula between Fort Fisher and Wilmington.

Things getting Mighty Sad for the Confederate Cause.  --Old B-Runner

Action in South Carolina

FEBRUARY 9TH, 1865:  The USS Pawnee, Sonoma and Daffodil engaged Confederate batteries on Togodo Creek, near the North Edisto River, South Carolina.  The Pawnee took ten hits and the other ships two each, but the naval bombardment successfully silence the Southern emplacements.

The action was one of several attacks along the coast that helped clear the way and keep the South's defenses disrupted while General Sherman's Army advanced northward.  With assurance of aid from the sea when needed, Sherman could travel light and fast.

On this date he was marching toward Orangeburg, on the north side of the Edisto River, and would capture it on the 12th.

--Old B-R'er

Naval Cooperation With Sherman on His New March-- Part 1

FEBRUARY 7TH, 1865:  Well on his way toward Columbia, General Sherman advised Rear Admiral Dahlgren of the possibilities of having to turn back to the coast:  "We are on the railroad at Midway [S.C.], and will break 50 miles from Edisto toward Augusta and then cross toward Columbia.  Weather is bad and the country full of water.

"This cause may force me to turn toward Charleston.  I have ordered Foster to order Hatch up to the Edisto about Jacksonboro and Willstown; also to make the lodgment about Bull's Bay.  Watch Charleston closely.  I think Jeff Davis will direct it to be abandoned, lest he lose the garrison as well as guns.

"We are all well, and the enemy retreats before us.  Send word to New Berne that you have heard from me, and the probabilities are that high waters may force me to the coast before I reach North Carolina, but to keep Wilmington busy."

--Old B-Runner

Grant and Porter Plan the End of the Confederacy Off Wilmington

FEBRUARY 3RD, 1865:  To speed the collapse of the faltering South, another giant thrust gathered from the sea off Wilmington, North Carolina.  During a lull in the planned spring assault on Richmond when the roads improved, General Grant came down to confer with Rear Admiral Porter, his old Vicksburg comrade.

The general had spent several hours on board the flagship USS Malvern on 28 January where plans took shape for the push into North Carolina up the Cape Fear River as Sherman marched inland parallel to the coast.

When Grant returned to Virginia he quickly dispatched general Schofield and his 23rd Corps by sea with an army which, with the big guns of the fleet, would be large enough to push on to Wilmington.

This date, Porter, in the USS Shawmut, was preparing for this campaign, engaged Fort Anderson to test the strength of the Confederate defenses on the west bank of the Cape Fear River.

--Old B-Runner

General Hatch Requests Naval Assistance During Sherman's March

FEBRUARY 3RD, 1865:  Brigadier General John P. Hatch, one of Sherman's subordinates, turned to Dahlgren for naval assistance:  "If you can spare a tug or two launches, to cruise the upper Broad River during the stay of this command near here [Pocotaglio, South Carolina], it would be of service to us.

"Night before last three of our boats were stolen, and I fear some scamps in the vicinity of Boyd's Neck or Bee's Creek are preparing to capture some of our transports."

Those Confederate Scamps.  --Old B-R'er

CSS Macon and CSS Sampson Ordered to Give Up Ammunition at Augusta, Georgia

FEBRUARY 3RD, 1865:  Flag Officer William W. Hunter reported to the Confederate Navy department that he was ordering the CSS Macon and CSS Sampson to turn over their ammunition to the Confederate Army at Augusta.  The shallow upper Savannah River mad eit impossible made it impossible to use the vessels effectively in the defense of the city against the threatened attack by General Sherman's army which was working its way northward from Savannah.

Sherman had spent January in Savannah preparing for his march to North Carolina and insuring that he would have the necessary support from the sea coast.  After preparatory combined operations, in which Rear Admiral Dahlgren lost the USS Dai Ching to gunfire and subjected other gunboats to the threat of the ever-present torpedoes in shallow river and coastal waters, Sherman crossed the Savannah River at Savannah and on February 1, continued his march.

When Savannah had fallen, Hunter had brought the Macon and Sampson upriver with difficulty, determined to fight them as long as possible.  Now, however, he had run out of navigable water.

--Old B-R'er

Sherman Commences His March Through the Carolinas: Support of the Navy

JANUARY 24TH, 1865:  Major General W.T. Sherman commenced his march north from Savannah while the ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron operated in the rivers in the proximity of his army.  These naval operations served to protect Sherman's army and simultaneously forced Confederate commanders to spread thin their remaining forces.

Rear Admiral Dahlgren reported to Secretary Welles the deployment of naval vessels supporting the advance of Sherman's men: "I have the Dai Ching and a tug on the Combahee to assist the move at the ferry.  The Sonoma is in the North Edisto, and the Pawnee leaves at early light with a tug to the Ashepoo, where a battery and obstructions are reported.

"The orders of all is to drive in the rebel pickets and knock down his batteries where they can be reached.  The Tuscorora, Mingoe, State of Georgia, and Nipsic are at Georgetown with orders to prevent erection there of any batteries.

"The Pontiac is in the Savannah River at Purysburg, advancing with General Sherman's extreme left.  The demonstration desired by General Sherman at Charleston may be said to be begun by the collection there of so many ironclads.

--Old B-Runner

Sherman Want Dahlgren's Cooperation

JANUARY 17TH, 1865:  Delayed in departure from Savannah, General Sherman wrote Rear Admiral Dahlgren: "When we are known to be in rear of Charleston, about Branchville and Orangeburg, it will be well to watch if the enemy lets go of Charleston, in which case Foster will occupy it, otherwise the feint should be about Bull's Bay.

"We will need no cover about Port Royal; nothing but the usual guard ships.  I think that you will concur with me that, in anticipation of the movement of my army to the rear of the coast, it will be unwise to subject your ships to the heavy artillery of the enemy or to his sunken torpedoes.

"I will instruct Foster, when he knows I have got near Branchville, to make a landing of a small force at Bull's Bay, to threaten, and it may be occupy, the road from Mount Pleasant to Georgetown.  This will make the enemy believe I design to turn down against Charleston and give me a good offing for Wilmington.

"I will write you again fully on the eve of starting in person."

So, Sherman had no plans to attack Charleston from the rear.

--Old B-Runner