Fort Clifton and Army Gunboat Brewster-- Part 2: A 32-Pound Solid Shot

The fort's garrison, commanded by  Captain S. Taylor Martin,  of the Virginia Artillery, receive special commendation from Major General  George E. Pickett, the commander of the Petersburg  defenses.

Fort Clifton was evacuated on April 2, 1865, one week before Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

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The Perry Adams Antiques offered a  Confederate 32 lb. solid shot excavated at Fort Clifton, Va., on the Appomattox River north of Petersburg for $175.

According to the site,  this was excavated by a long-time  relic hunter near Fort Clifton, now a city park in Colonial Heights, Virginia.

The fort was designed by the famed  Confederate engineer Captain Charles H. Dimmock and completed in early 1864.  Its purpose was to stop Union incursions along the Appomattox River.

--Old B-Runner

USS Nantucket, Monitor-- Part 2: A Long Career After the War

On September  15, 1863, the Nantucket captured the  British steamer Jupiter at sea.  (Monitors were fairly slow.  I'd sure like to know how that happened.)

The Nantucket again fought the Charleston forts on May  14, 1864 and remained on blockade duty until the end of the war.

Decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on June 24, 1865, she remained in ordinary for a decade.  Renamed the Medusa  15 June 1869, she took back the name Nantucket 10 August 1869.  (A lot of U.S. ships changed their names during that period.  Again, I wonder why?)

Transferred to the Portsmouth Navy Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, in 1875, the Nantucket was twice briefly recommissioned 29 July to 12 December 1882 and 16 June to 6 October 1884, and operated along the northern east coast of the U.S..

Sher again lay in ordinary in New York until turned over to the North Carolina Naval Militia in 1895.  During the Spanish-American War the ship was stationed at Port Royal, South Carolina.

After being condemned as no longer fit for service, the Nantucket was sold at auction in Washington, D.C., on 14 November 1900.  A total of five bids were received for the vessel, with the winning bid of $13,111 made by Thomas Butler & Co. of Boston.  

The auction was said to have drawn a lot of interest because of the historic nature of the vessel.

--Old B-Runner

Wilmington, N.C.--Part 1: Original Painting Sold for $75,000

From the Summer 2019 Civil War Monitor magazine.

I originally started this on July 22, 2019, so it has been a long while since I got around to continuing with it.

The magazine also featured a two-page spread of a painting on the 2nd Battle of Fort Fisher by Thomas.F. Laycock.

I can't find out a lot about him other than he also had a painting of the USS Maine which sank in Havana Harbor and was one of the reasons for the Spanish-American War.  He lived from 1840 to 1898.

I did find that the original painting of the Fort Fisher battle sold at auction by Christie's in New York in 2017 for $75,000.

--Old B-R'er

USS Prairie Bird-- Part 3: Rescuing R.M. Runyan Survivors and Other Operations

The Prairie Bird was assigned to the 6th District of the Mississippi Squadron for most of the remainder of the war and operated between Vicksburg and the Arkansas River.

On July 21 she seized the steamer Union for violation of revenue laws and "giving aid and comfort to the enemy."

On July 23, she rescued 350 of 500 passengers aboard the R.M. Runyan which sank off Skipwith's Landing, and on August  11 she engaged an enemy battery at Gaines Landing, Arkansas, in support of operations there.  In December, the Prairie Bird joined other Union vessels and army units to cut Confederate communications in Mississippi and on the 31st  assisted in the blowing up of a railroad bridge over the Big Black River.

Remaining with the 6th District until March 1865 then it was to Mound City until decommissioned in July.  On 17 August, the Prairie Bird was sold at public auction to Henry Morton.

--Old B-Runner

USS Gem of the Sea Correspondence Book-- Part 7: Maurice Clifford Young Collection

The correspondence book of the USS Gem of the Sea was from the collection of M. Clifford (Cliff) and Lynne B. Young Confederate Blockade Runner Collection.

Now, this sounds like a collection of material I'd be interested in knowing more about so I did some further research.

He died so that is why his collection is up for sale.

Obituary from the Boston (Mass.) Globe.

MAURICE CLIFFORD YOUNG

Died September 21, 2015.  Was a Naval Intelligence Officer in two wars.  Bronze Star recipient.  Very athletic.  Played football at Harvard and set many other athletic records.

--Old B-Runner

USS Gem of the Sea Correspondence Book-- Part 1: At Auction

From Cowan's Auctions  Civil War Correspondence Notebook of the USS Gem of the Sea.

Eight-by 12.5-ich book with brown marbleized boards with reinforced buckram binding, 179 of 192 pages filled.

First entry dated  New York, USS bark Gem of the Sea, October 20, 1861.

This book contains all correspondence by Lieutenant Irvin B. Baxter, commanding the ship, to  to Flag Officer Du Pont, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, commanders of other ships, prize commissioners (and he sure had a lot of that) and other officials until January 19, 1864.

Cowan  estimate for the book:  $800 to $1200.

Price gotten, including Buyer's Premium, $840.

--Old B-Runner

Out of My Price Range: $75,000 for Fort Fisher Painting

From Christie's September Sampling.

Christie's Auction House in new York sold the "Bombardment of Fort Fisher" painting by Thomas F. Laycock for 78.2% above its estimate, for a whopping $75,000.  It is an 1888 oil on canvas and they had estimated it would bring between $7,000 and $10,000.

It is signed and dated and the canvas measures 36 1/4 inches by 72 inches.  The  Union fleet is shown bombarding the fort.

Thomas F. Laycock (1810-1898) also made a famous painting of the USS Maine.

--Old B-R'er

Rare Confederate Naval Sword Donated to Goodwill-- Part 1

From the September 14, 2016, Roanoke Times "rare Confederate naval sword, donated to Goodwill, on the auction block" by Matt Chittum.

This sword could bring thousands of dollars for the organization.  Farmer Auctions in Salem expect it to go for between $8,000 to $12,000 at auction on Thursday.

As of Wednesday there was an online bid of $7,000.

The sword was found in a donation of goods and there are only twenty of these naval swords known to be in existence today.  Appraisers are convinced of its authenticity.

--Old B-Runner

William Turner, USN

In my Saw the Elephant Civil War blog today, I wrote about the auction of "Cotton" Reynolds' huge Civil War collection in August of this year.  One of the items was the footlocker of Captain William Turner, USN. which was loaded with items.  It went for $4,700.

I have been unable to find any information on the man's service, but it was bought by Mayo Cameron who plans to exhibit it in his museum in North Carolina.

There is a Cameron Art Museum located in Wilmington, so perhaps that is its destination.

--Old B-Runner

Blockade-Runner Rouen Sold at Auction

From the August 25, 1964, New York Times.

The Rouen was captured off Wilmington July 2, 1864. and sold in Boston, Massachusetts on Wednesday, August 24, 1864.

"The following captured blockade-runners were sold here to-day at auction:  The Little Ada was bought by the Government fir $35,000; the Rouen sold for $30,500, and the Boston for $18,500."

--Old B-Runner

At Auction: Photos of Naval Leaders

Back in 2010, e-Bay had a pair of steel engravings from 1866 of Admirals David D. Porter and A.H. Foote.  They were done by Johnson Fry & Company of New York from a painting commissioned by Alonzo Chappal.

One was showing the officer on the deck of an ironclad (not a Monitor). 

Opening bid was $49.99.

Old B-Runner

Spend a Night in the Monitor's Turret

From the Nov. 23, 2012, Richmond (Va) Times-Dispatch :Auction offers macabre U.S.S. Monitor opportunity."

Now, you and up to five of your closest friends can have the experience of as lifetime and spend the night of December 30-Dec. 31st in the turret of said ship, exactly 150 years to the day the ship sank.

The Mariner's Museum  and Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in Newport News, Virginia, is having an e-Bay auction with bids opening at $1,000 and with an undisclosed reserve price.  Funds raised will help go to the preservation of the turret which alone costs some $2,000 a day.

The famous USS Monitor sank between midnight December 30th and 1 AM December 31st.  Sixteen of the 52-man crew died that night.  Two of those skeletons were found in the turret after it was raised. 

The two Dahlgrean guns in the turret have been removed for conservation.  The successful bidder also receive lodging near the museum as well as food and entertainment at the museum.as well as time in the 20-foot diameter turret.

Calling All My Friends.  --Old B-Runner

Lincoln's Blockade Order To Be Auctioned-- Part 1

From the Nov. 21, 2012, Goldsboro, (NC) News-Argus by AP.

A document signed by Abraham Lincoln that ordered a Union blockade of all Confederate ports, marking the official beginning of the Civil War is being offered for sale.

The Raab Collection out of Philadelphia is selling it and calles it one of the most important documents in American history and with an asking price of $900,000.  The proclamation is dated April 19th, 1861, just one week after the firing on Fort Sumter.

After the war had ended, in 1865, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an opinion, ascribed the document as the official beginning of the war.  Nathan Raab of the company said, "This action was bold and with great risk.  Lincoln was aware that blockading the ports was an act of war."

More to Come.  --Old B-Runner