Marines in the Civil War Quiz-- Part 1

The McHenry (Illinois) County Civil War Round Table discussion group met earlier today and discussed the role played by both the U.S. and Confederate Marines during the Civil War.

TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT MARINES IN THE WAR  (Answers below)

1.  Of interest, the commandant of the CSMC (Confederate States Marine Corps) Lloyd J. Beall, was born in what state?

2.  Also of interest, how did he become an officer in the military?  

3.  Where were the headquarters and training grounds of the CSMC?

4.  What was the strength of the CSMC?

5.  How was the CSMC organized?

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ANSWERS

1.  Rhode Island

2.  Graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  (He served in the U.S. Army untikl the Civil War.)

3.  At first at Gosport Navy Yard, Virginia.  After its fall, at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia (on the James River near Richmond.)

4.  45 officers and 1,026 enlisted.

5.  Into lettered companies.

--Old B-Runner

John Julius Guthrie Biography-- Part 1: A Varied Early Career

From "Civil War Biographies from the Western Waters" by Myron J. Smith, Jr..

JOHN JULIUS GUTHRIE

(1814, Washington, N.C.-- November  24, 1877, Nags Head, N.C.; CSN)

Appointed  a USMA cadet in 1833, but preferring the life of a sailor, Guthrie resigned from West Point and was appointed a midshipman on February 26, 1834.  He achieved the rank of lieutenant by the 1850s.

Active at sea, the Mexican War veteran participated in the Allied attack on the Chinese barrier forts at Canton (Second Opium War) in November 1856, where he hauled down the Chinese flag, which he presented to the state of North Carolina in 1858.  (I wasn't able to find out if that Chinese flag was still in North Carolina.)

While on patrol off the Congo River in Africa in 1861, he led a boarding party from the USS Saratoga in the capture of the slaver Nightingale, with 900 slaves aboard.

--Old B-Runner

Rear Admiral Andrew Hull Foote-- Part 1: No Grog For You!!

From Wikipedia.

September 12, 1806 to June 26, 1863.

As a child was not a good student but showed interest in going to sea.  His father had him appointed to the USMA at West Point, but after just six months, he left and became a midshipman in the U.S. Navy.

From 1822 to 1843, he served in the Caribbean, Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean.

Served on the USS Grumpus and while on the USS John Adams, circumnavigated the globe.  While on the USS Cumberland, he started a temperance group and became a big reason why the daily grog ration ceased in the U.S. Navy,

--Old B-Runner

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.

Union General Thomas West Sherman

From Wikipedia.

On the 15th, I mentioned this Union general's name in connection with Port Royal, S.C., and with the last name Sherman, I wanted to find out more about him.

1813-1879.

Served in the Seminole Wars, Mexican War and Civil War.  Graduated from the USMA in 1836 and then immediately served in the Seminole War.

Appointed to command the ground forces of the Port Royal Expedition in 1861.  Later transferred to the Western Theater and at the Siege of Corinth.  Commanded defenses of New Orleans and badly wounded in the attack on Port Hudson May 27, 1863.

The wound necessitated the amputation of his right leg.  It was thought he would die from it, but recovered and was on administrative duty the rest of the war.

--Old B-Runner

Capt. John Milton Brannan, U.S. Army-- Part 1: USMA Class of 1841, Fought in Mexican War

From Wikipedia.

(July 1, 1816 to December 16, 1892)

Career military officer.  Fought in the Mexican War and became a general in the Civil War.  Commanded the department of Key West.  His first wife was the daughter of Colonel Ichabod Crane.  It is thought his was the name that Washington Irving gave to his "Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  Brannan's wife met a mysterious death in New York.

John Brannan was US Military Academy at West Point Class of 1841, where he graduated 23rd out of 52 cadets.  He was then assigned to the 1st U.S. Artillery.

During the Mexican War he was at the battles of Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, La Hoya, Contreras and Churubusco.  In the fight for Mexico City he was seriously wounded.

--Old B-Runner

Wilmington's General W.H.C. Whiting-- Part 1: Best Academic Record at West Point Until MacArthur

From the Nov. 19, 2013, WWAY (Wilmington, NC) 3 ABC "Marking History: W.H.C. Whiting" by Tim Buckley.

It is always great to get the Civil War out there in the news and this article included the video of the report. Worth checking out.

Whiting was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1824 and was a West Point graduate in Engineering in 1845, with the best academic record until Douglas MacArthur 60 years later.

While at various postings, he married a girl from Southport, NC, (then Smithville) at the mouth of the Cape Fear River which connects Wilmington to the Atlantic Ocean.

More to Come. --Old B-Runner