John J. Guthrie-- Part 4: After the War

At the conclusion of the war, Guthrie moved to Portsmouth, Virginia,  where, later in the year, he became  the first Confederate States Navy  officer who had resigned from the U.S. Navy, to be pardoned by President Andrew Johnson and had his "disabilities" restored by act of Congress.  (I'm not exactly sure what the "disabilities" here means.)

President U.S. Grant appointed Guthrie paymaster and superintendent of the Life Saving Service's lifesaving stations between  Cape Henry and Cape Hatteras.

He died a hero when he was drowned while attempting  to rescue crewmen from  the steamer USS Huron, which had run aground off Nag's Head, North Carolina.

By a strange twist of fate, the wreck and his death occurred near the spot where  Guthrie's maternal grandfather, Captain William MacDaniel, had perished  years before.

--Old B-Runner

Who'd Have Figured a Rebel Captured Last Slave Ship-- Part 6: John J. Guidry Gave His Life Trying to Save Crew of USS Huron.

 Returning to Gosport, John J. Guidry accepted a commission as a captain in the Confederate Navy and served until the end of the war.

But, his career was still not at end when the war ended and the Confederacy surrendered.  He was appointed  by President Grant to be general superintendent of the life-saving stations along the North Carolina and Virginia coasts in 1875.

For the next two years, he became a pioneer in  in building the life-saving  stations into one of the finest in the world.

Almost as if by destiny had a hand in it,  the USS Huron became stranded  off Kitty Hawk on November  25, 1877.  Fighting to save the lives of his former enemies, and before that, his former shipmates,  Captain John Julius Guidry drowned in the effort to save them.

No doubt history has a place for this swashbuckling young naval officer who was Matthew Fontaine Maury's assistant, historian of Brazil, a "rebel" naval officer who captured the last slave ship for the Union, and was a hero  in the fight to save the USS Huron.

--Old B-Runner

John Julius Guthrie Obituary-- Part 1

From the Newspapers.com site.

Clipped from the December 1, 1877, Raleigh News.

CAPT. J.J. GUTHRIE

The Norfolk  Landmark says  of Capt. J.J. Guthrie who was lost on the wreck of the Huron:

He was a native of North Carolina, having been born at Raleigh; and had a sword of honor voted him by that State in recognition of an act of conspicuous  gallantry performed in the China Seas.  He had served with  credit and distinction in the navies of the Union and of the Confederacy, and recently had entered  on the discharge of his duties in connection with the Life Saving Service with generous enthusiasm.

The Landmark is mistaken as to the nativity of Capt. Guthrie.  John Julius Guthrie  was the son of Dr. John  Guthrie, of Washington, N.C.,  where he was born about the year 1814,  and was therefore in his 63rd year at the time of his death.

His father died when he was quite a boy,  and he came to this city  with his widowed mother, who is buried here in the old cemetery.  He was placed under the care of  Rev. Dr.  William McPheeters, and went to school to this distinguished preacher and educator  at the Raleigh Academy.

--Old B-Runner

May 1, 1862: Capturing Blockade Runners

MAY 1ST, 1862:  The USS Hatteras, Commander Emmons, captured schooner Magnolia near Berwick Bay, Louisiana, with cargo of cotton.

**  The USS Jamestown, Commander Green, captured British blockade runner Intended off the coast of North Carolina with a cargo of salt, coffee and medicines.

**   The USS Huron, Lt. Downes, captured schooner Albert off Charleston.

--Old B-Runner

Fort Anderson and East Bank Defenses Attacked on Cape Fear River

FEBRUARY 10TH, 1865:  The USS Shawmut, Lt.Cmdr. J.G. Walker, engaged Confederate batteries on the east bank of the Cape Fear River while the USS Huron, Lt.Cmdr. Thomas O. Selfridge (Yep, that Thomas O. Selfridge who had come east with Porter), bombarded Fort Anderson on the west bank.

Fleet attacks were building up preliminary to full naval support of General Schofield's advance on Wilmington.

Schofield planned to outflank Confederate General Hoke's defensive line at Sugar Loaf by marching from Fort Fisher up the beach, and with the aid of pontoons to be landed by the navy on the coast side, cross Myrtle Sound to the mainland of the peninsula behind Southern lines.

The navy, in the meanwhile, would keep Hoke's men in their defensive trenches by bombardment from the Cape Fear River and along the sea coast.

--Old B-Runner

150 Years Ago-- January 1-3, 1864

JANUARY 1, 1864:

The USS Huron sank blockade-running schooner Sylvanus in Doboy Sound, Georgia with cargo of salt, liquor and cordage. Now, that's what I call alcohol abuse.

JANUARY 2ND, 1864:

Major General Hurlburt, Army commander at Memphis, wired Secretary Welles: "The Tennessee at Mobile will be ready for sea in twenty days. She is a dangerous craft. Buchanan thinks more so than the Merrimack...."    And Buchanan would know, having been on both ships.

JANUARY 3RD, 1864:

Union ships discovered steamer Bendigo aground at Lockwood's Folly Inlet, SC. Boat crews discovered it had been partially burned and had seven feet of water in the hold and was destroyed by gunfire.

Old B-Runner