Back to Greenville, N.C.-- Part 2: Another Account of the Action

Continuing with the capture of Greenville, N.C. in November 1862.

Another report dated November 8, 1862 from Acting. Lt. R.T. Renshaw to Commodore H.K. Davenport, Senior Officers Sounds of North Carolina.

He also reported on the expedition to Rose Bay

The howitzer of the USS Louisiana and sailors under Acting master's Mate McKeever were sent in an Army transport to Rose Bay, N.C. and captured a schooner.

He also sent  John L. Lay and Asst Paymaster Williams to Greenville with 20 men.  The paymaster was along to care for wounded men.  This force was partly armed with Sharps rifles.

They proceeded up the Tar River in the steamer North State with the mission to destroy a boat reported to be under construction above Greenville.

The North State grounded 2-3 miles below Greenville and the force went ashore to continue.  They entered Greenville and captured 6 horses and 3 mules which they turned over to the Army.

"Mr. Lay ascertains that Chief Engineer Quinana, formerly of our service, is superintending the building of two vessels at Tarboro, to be ironclad, one about 50 feet long."

--Old B-Runner

That Confederate Ironclad at Tarboro, NC

I first wrote aboout this on April 5th of this year.

On Saturday night, in Mt. Airy (Mayberry), NC, I ran into a brother from another mother now living in Rocky Mount, but originally from Tarboro. He was also a big Civil War nut as well as World War II and we had a great time talking about those two subjects out in the gazebo of the Mayberry Motor Inn on the Andy Griffith Parkway, old US-52 bypass.

We talked about the 11th NC Infantry regiment of which he is a reenactor and Wilmington and one thing after another. His poor wife (they were there celebrating their 7th anniversary) had to have been really bored. He was surprised about my knowledge of the 11th NC and its colonel, Collett Leventhorpe, but I have wrtten a lot about them in my Saw the Elephant Civil War blog in the past week.

Talk turned to Tarboro and its role, then I remembered writing about a Confederate ironclad being destroyed on the stocks by a Union raid in July, 1863. He also knew of the ship and we got to talking about what the name of it might have been had it gotten nearer to completion. Neither of us felt it would be named the CSS Tar, for the river it was being built on, like the CSS Neuse.

We decided most likely it would have been the CSS Pamlico for the sound the Tar River empties into (like the CSS Albemarle)at the coast.

Hey, Pamlico Has a Better Ring Than Tar. --Old B-R'er

The Mysterious Ironclad at Tarboro Gets Destroyed

In today's Naval Hapening 150 years ago, on April 6th, Flag Officer Lynch, CSN, listed ironclads building in NC as of this date: North Carolina, Raleigh, Neuse, Albemarle and an unnamed one at Tarboro.  I was aware of the first four, but not the one at Tarboro, so did some research.

This first mention was from The Civil War Naval Chronology.

From the Learn NC site--   Union raid under Gen. Edward Potter reached Tarboro July 20th (1863) and destroyed a Confederate ironclad under construction as well as various military and civilian property.

From web.cortland site--  There was an improvised shipyard across the river from Tarboro where the Confederate Navy was building an ironclad gunboat similar to the CSS Virginia.

Potter's Raid on Tarboro captured and burned the steamboats General Hill and Governor Moreland and burned the partially built framework of an ironclad.  This ended Confederate efforts to build an ironclad to  protect the Tar-Pamlico region.

From the NC PurpleHeart site--  At Lt. Gilbert Elliott's boatyard, Potter's men destroyed what would have been an ironclad gunboat and also a smaller gunboat.

At a later time, there was an unsuccessful attack on Elliott's ironclad at Scotland Neck. the CSS Albemarle.

I have to wonder what the Tarboro's name would be"  Perhaps the Tar or Pamlico, considering the names given to the two other non-Wilmington ironclads.

Here Comes the CSS Pamlico?  --Old B-Runner