Cruisin' With the USS Montgomery-- Part 1: Who Fought the Civil War?

From my presentation "RoadTrippin' Through History:  The Continuing Saga of the USS Montgomery" that I gave January 19, 2023.

Some of this is written in this blog and other parts are in my Cooter's History Thing and Tattooed on Your Soul: World War II blog.  I am putting it all together in this one now.

I am a history nut.  I love my history and have loved it since I was a young lad of seven in 2nd grade and my dad took me to a Civil War fort in North Carolina called  Fort Fisher.  We were living in North Carolina at the time (I lived there for most of my first ten years).  I did not know anything about the Civil War.

My dad explained to me that the war was fought between the North and the South.  I told him, "Then we were for the North."  He said we weren't.  But, how could that be?  I knew we lived in North Carolina and that South Carolina was right by us.  As such, the Civil War must have been between North and South  Carolina.

Dad said no.  Those weren't the two sides.

I had paid attention at school in geography class and knew there was a South America and we lived in North America.  As such, then we would still be for the North.

Dad said no.

Now, you had a confused young man.  When I got back to school, I checked out a kid's book "The Civil War" by Fletcher Pratt from the library and read and reread several times and started getting an idea about this war.

Well, as they say, the rest is history.  In the 2nd grade I knew I wanted to be a teacher so I could teach history.  And, I was for 33 years.   See what Dad and Fletcher Pratt started.

And Fort Fisher Is Still My Favorite Civil War Battle.  --Old B-Runner

Civil War Navy Books by William N. Still

From GoodReads site.

Iron Afloat:  The Story of  the Confederate Armorclads

Confederate Shipbuilding

The Confederate Navy:  The Ships, Men and Organization

Ironclad  Captains:  Commanding Officers of the USS Monitor

Raiders and Blockaders

Monitor Builders:  A Historical  Study of the Principal Firms and Individuals Involved inthe Construction of the USS Monitor.

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Books he coauthored:

Two Years on the Alabama

Admiral of the New Empire:    The Life and Career of George Dewey. (Dewey was a navalofficer during the war and at Fort Fisher.

Captain  James Carlin:  Anglo-American Blockade Runner

Quite a Lengthy List.  --Old B-Runner

Death of Noted Civil War Navy Author William Still-- Part 2

While at East Carolina University, he founded and served as  the Director of  the Maritime  History and Nautical Archaeology Program.  

He was also instrumental in numerous  underwater  archaeological projects such as  those on the USS Monitor, CSS Alabama and Confederate submarine Hunley.

"Doc,"  as he was often known to his graduate students, was a mentor, advisor and friend.

When he retired from East Carolina in 1994, he and his wife relocated to Hawaii.

He authored or co-wrote dozens of books and publications focused on naval history from the Civil War to World War II.

Up until two weeks before his death, he was  actively researching and writing the last installation of his series for the Secretary of the Navy that began with  "Crisis at Sea and Victory Without Peace," focused on U.S. naval forces withdrawal following World War I.

Mr. Still was the recipient of many honors in the book field

He and his wife returned to Greenville, N.C., in 2008, but continued spending winter months in Hawaii and summer in North Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

Death of Noted Civil War Navy Author William N. Still, Jr.-- Part 1

From the Daily Reflector mewspaper, Greenville, North Carolina.

One of the best Civil War Navy authors died January 8, 2023.  I have his "Iron Afloat" book and enjoyed reading it.  Plus, he taught at East Carolina University, a school near and dear to me as both my parents graduated from there and have a scholarship.  Also, two of my cousins are ECU graduates.

DR. WILLIAM NORWOOD "BILL" STILL JR.

(1932-2023)

Passed away peacefully  surrounded by family on January 8.

He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and got his bachelors degree from Mississippi College and doctorate from the University of Alabama.  He spent two years in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain.

He began his teaching career at the Mississippi State College for Women and moved to Greenville, North Carolina,  in 1968 to be a history professor at East Carolina College (now University).

--Old B-Runner

There Is a Book "Defending South Carolina's Coast' by Rick Simmons

I came across a book written about the Fort Randall, Fort Ward area by Rick Simmons titled "Defending  South Carolina's Coast:  The Civil War from Georgetown to Little River."  It is an Arcadia book and Simmons, an area native, relates the often overlooked stories of the Upper South Carolina Coast during the war.  (Obviously a whole lot has been written about the Charleston area.)

As a base of operations for  more than three thousand  troops early in the war and the site of more than a dozen forts, almost every inch of  the coast was effected by  and hotly contested during the Civil War.

From the skirmishes at Fort Randall in Little River to repeated Union naval bombardments of Murrells Inlet to the unrealized  potential of the massive  fortifications at Battery White and the sinking of the USS Harvest Moon in Winyah Bay, the region's colorful Civil War history is unfolded here at last.

This book would also contain information about John Collins,the USS George Mangham and USS Fernanandina which I have been writing about a lot lately.

I Just Might Have to Get Me a Copy.  --Old B-Runner

Theodore Walcott Dickes, Great Great Grandson of Thedore Timby-- Part 2

They had many dear friends among their neighbors.  He loved to sail.  He was a great reader and late in life began a writing career.  In 2005, he published "Virginia - Who Is She" a memoir of his wife.

He was at work on a non-fiction  work on the life of his ancestor Theodore Timby, inventor and writer, who created the revolving turret design on the Civil War era "Monitor" battleship.  (Well, ironclad.  But revolving turrets were used on U.S. warships and around the world from the Civil War to even the current ships.)

Theodore was a beautiful, caring man who gave unconditional  love and support to his wife and children, always.  He showed great generosity and respect to everyone he met.  On his final holiday in Venice, standing tall and white-haired on a balcony above the Grand Canal, passing tourists on the canal waved at  at what they took to be a count at home on his terrace.

His urn will be placed next to his wife Virginia's at Riverside Cemetery in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.  May they rest together in peace forever.

Theodore's family and friends  will be invited to a  graveside ceremony in May.

It is too bad he didn't get a chance to finish the book on Theodore Timby.

Published in the Hartford (CT.) Courant on April 4, 2010.

Richard Triebe's Book 'From Fort Fisher to Elmira'-- Part 2: Why Did 46% of Fort Fisher Confederates Die Within Five Months

A Confederate prisoners touching letter to his wife caused historian Richard H. Triebe to launch an investigation as to what happened to the Confederates captured at Fort Fisher and sent north

His research  provided the answers he sought, but it also uncovered an even  greater mystery.  Of the 1,173 Fort Fisher Confederates sent to Elmira Prison Camp 46% would be dead from disease in five months.

Obviously something was wrong with figures like that.  But what was it?

Join the author as he explores that causes that led to such a high death rate.   Find out what was  responsible for creating such a dangerous prison environment.

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The Confederates called Elmira Prison Camp "Hellmira" and for good reason.  Was all the suffering intentional?

--Old B-Runner

Richard Triebe's Book 'Fort Fisher to Elmira: The Fatal Journey of More Than Five Hundred Confederate Soldiers'-- Part 1

Review in Amazon.

Fort Fisher to Elmira contains a dramatic description of both battles of Fort Fisher.  The fort fell to Union forces in January of 1865 and closed the port of Wilmington, North Carolina, to blockade running.  The importance of this loss cannot be overstated.  General Robert E. Lee no longer had an open supply line to feed and equip the Army of Northern Virginia.

His prophetic words when he heard Fort Fisher was under attack were, "Wilmington must be held!  If it falls, the Army of Northern Virginia can no longer protect Richmond."

Barely three months later his words came true  and the Confederacy was forced to surrender.

--B-Runner

Talking About the Union Blockade-- Part 2: Has Written Three Books on Civil War Navy History

Robert M. Browning has published  "From Cape Charles to the Cape Fear" which chronicles the establishment of the crucial blockade from the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay to the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina.   This stretch included the important sites of   the inland waters of the Chesapeake Bay, the James river (going to Richmond) and the North Carolina Sounds.

He has also published  "Success Was All That Was Expected,"  a history of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron that blockaded the coast of the Confederacy  from the Cape Fear River to Florida.  This story covers  the harrowing engagements between ships and forts, daring amphibious assaults and the evolution of submarine warfare in the form of the H.L. Hunley.

Yet another Browning book is "Lincoln's Trident" about the blockade in the Gulf of Mexico.

Obviously, Mr. Browning knows his naval history.

The meeting will be at 7 pm, Thursday, October 14 in Room 226 at the Harbor United Methodist Church at 4853 Masonboro Loop Road, Wilmington.

Another one I'd love to be at, but I'm over 1100 miles away and don't do Zoom.

Oh, Well.  --Old B-Runner

Fort Jackson Mutiny-- Part 5: The Facts According to Pierson

H-Net Review of Michael Pierson's book Mutiny at Fort Jackson: The Untold Story of the Fall of New Orleans" by Judith Gentry.

Again, I have not found any articles on the Confederate mutiny other than Pierson's book.

These are some points his book made:

**  Joblessness and poverty coerced poorer immigrants to volunteer their service in the Confederate military. This had nothing to do with their love of the Confederacy.

**  By September, the "Mob" of New Orleans had coerced military-age men to join local units of the state militia.

**  In the emergency of February and March 1862, when Farragut's ships entered the lower Mississippi River, several of the militia units were organized  into units of the Confederate army and placed on ships that carried them down the river to Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

**  Pierson argues that the importance of the mutiny at Fort Jackson has been underestimated.

**  Farragut's run past the forts and appearance at New Orleans on April 25 did not result in the occupation of New Orleans right away.

--Old B-Runner

Joseph Ryder Lewis Jr. Park-- Part 5: The Importance of Fort Fisher and Wilmington to the Confederacy

Local historian, author of many books about the local Civil War history and historical preservation society member Chris E. Fonvielle Jr. said the park  includes some of the most intact and substantial Sugar Loaf  earthworks still existing.

The Sugar Loaf Line of earthworks  came into play as the Union closed in on taking Fort Fisher and eventually Wilmington, one of the South's last remaining seaports for supplies in the waning years of the war.

"When the seriousness of the threat to Wilmington became real, General William Whiting (Commander of the Department of the Cape Fear) decided to build this auxiliary line north of Fort Fisher so there would be troops ready to contest any landing by Federal troops," Fonvielle said.

Fighting that occurred along the Sugar Loaf Line would lead directly to the fall of Wilmington in February 1865 and featured the involvement of the United States Colored Troops.

--Old B-Runner

Big To Do at the Fort This Weekend-- Part 4: Activity Schedule for Sunday, Jan. 19

9:00 AM--  Visitors center opens.

**  Free guided tour of the fort.

**  Music bu the Huckleberry Brothers in E. Gehrig Spencer Theater and throughout the day in the Living History Area.

10:00 AM--  Battle Scenario around Shepherd's Battery. There will be several hundred re-enactors recreating the Second Battle of Fort Fisher.

11:30 AM--  Remarks by Rod Gragg  "My Friend, the Enemy."

12:00 PM--  Free guided tour of the fort.

**  Torpedo demonstration in Living History Area.

12:30  PM--  Artillery demonstration at Shepherd's Battery

**  Above the Scenes Tour, requires a ticket; limited to 25 persons.

**  Junior Reserves   Signal Flags" in the Living History Area.

More Coming Today.  --Old B-Runner

Beat the Heat at Fort Fisher This Saturday: "Welcoming Sherman"

This Saturday afternoon, the annual Fort Fisher "Beat the Heat" lectures will continue at 2 p.m. at the Fort Fisher State Historic Site at Kure Beach.  This week's topic is "Welcoming Sherman:  Wilmington and the Cape Fear" and will be given by Wade Sokolosky, a retired career army officer.

With the fall of Wilmington on February 22, 1865, Federal forces were able to use the city and Cape Fear River as a much-needed supply base.  He will discuss the U.S. Navy and Army's use of the river to support Sherman's troops in Fayetteville.

He will have copies of his book on the Battle of Wyse Fork on sale and signed by the author.

Wish It was Closer.  --Old B-R'er

Bennett W. Green-- Part 7: Also An Author

Bennett Green wrote the books "How Newport News Got Its Name."   It was first published in 1899.

He also wrote "Word-Book of Virginia Folk Speech."

They have been reissued.

Born 1835.  Died 1913.

--Old B-Runner

Michael Hardy to Speak at Fort Fisher's "Beat the Heat" Lecture Series This Saturday

Historian Michael C. Hardy, author of "North Carolina in the Civil War" and other Civil War books, will give a lecture at 2 p.m. Saturday July 29 at the Fort Fisher Museum's E. Gehrig Spencer Theatre.

His topic will be "North Carolina's Twisted History in the Civil War."

This program, like the concurrent one on North Carolina's Junior Reserves which occurs outside the whole weekend are sponsored by the Friends of Fort Fisher, New Hanover County, and the towns of Kure Beach and Carolina Beach.

--Old B-Runner

Beat the Heat With "Picturing Fort Fisher" on June 10

From the Friends of Fort Fisher.

At 2 p.m., Saturday, June 10, 2017, Dr. Chris Fonvielle, Jr., will have a presentation "Picturing Fort Fisher: The 1865 Timothy O'Sullivan Photographs" at the Fort Fisher Museum's Spencer Auditorium in Kure Beach, North Carolina.

Dr. Fonvielle is a Cape Fear Civil War historian and author of several books on the war, including one on the O'Sullivan photographs.

He will also be available to sign copies of his books.

This is part of a summer-long series of talks during Fort Fisher's "Beat the Heat" lecture series.

Sure Wish I Could Be There.--Old B-R'er

Six Reasons to Visit Fort Fisher This Weekend-- Part 3: Big Guns, Experts and Descendants

4.   LOTS OF BIG GUNS:

In addition to the scores of Civil War-era rifles, artillery crews will fire several cannons including a recently refurbished replica of a rifled and banded 32-pounder.

5.  MEET THE EXPERTS:

Nationally respected author Rod Gragg ("Confederate Goliath:  the Battle of Fort Fisher") will deliver the keynote address at 11 a.m. followed by local historian and author Richard Triebe at 2:30 p.m..

6.  ALL IN THE FAMILY:

If you can trace your family heritage back that far, Fort Fisher descendants are invited to gather for a reunion 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Courtyard Carolina Beach Oceanfront Marriott.  Noted Fort fisher expert Chris Fonvielle will speak.

--Sure Woulda liked To have Been there.  --Old B-Runner

2017 Friends of Fort Fisher Descendants Reunion and Annual Meeting This Sauturday

The 2017 Friends of Fort Fisher (to which I belong) Descendants Reunion and Annual Meeting will be held this Saturday, January 14, at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel at Carolina Beach, North Carolina, as a prelude to the events I mentioned in the previous post at the Fort Fisher State Historic Site in nearby Kure Beach.

Dr. Chris E. Fonvielle, author of many Fort Fisher books, will speak at 8:45 a.m. at the hotel's Cape Fear Room.

Then, several Fort Fisher descendants will speak about their ancestor's military service.

Again, I sure wish I could be there.  And, this year i will be closer than ever before, about 50 miles away at Topsial Beach, N.C.. where my family will be moving items out of my mom's beach condo in preparation to sell it.

Well, Maybe Next Year.  --Old B-R'er

152nd Second Battle of Fort Fisher to Be Commemorated This Saturday

From the January 2, 2017, Port City Daily "Watch cannons fire and listen to historians during the 152nd anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher."

This to be held Saturday, January 14, 2017, at the Fort Fisher State Historic Site and will feature a lot of living.  The program is "Desperate Bravery and Brilliant Valor: the 152nd Commemoration of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher" and will be from 10 to 4 p.m.  Artillery units will conduct drills and periodic firing of the fort's 32-pdr and 12-pdr Napoleon and Parrott Rifle cannons.

There will be  guided tours, kids activities and period photography by Harry Taylor who will have his 1860s traveling wet plate photography studio on site.

In addition, noted Fort Fisher scholars and authors Rod Gragg, author of "Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher" will be the keynote speaker at 11 a.m..  Then, at 2:30 p.m., historian and author Richard Triebe will speak.  Both will sell and autograph their books afterwards.

Sure Wish I Could Be There.  --Old B-Runner

Fort Fisher Commemorates 149th Anniversary-- Part 2

A new exhibit will also be opened that day titled "An Eminent Work of Justice and Charity." It contains a Jewett Patent Leg, one of only three known to exist. Civil War surgeons performed huge numbers of amputations which left many soldiers with just one leg. These were of great help and a great improvement over prior ones.

Civil War authors will also be on hand to talk about their books and sign autographs. In conjunction with the exhibit, Ansley Wegner, author of "Phantom Pain: North Carolina's Artificial Limb Program for Confederate Veterans," will also be there. Richard Triebe's new book concerns the fate of North Carolina troops captured at the battle and sent to the infamous Elmira prison in New York (often referred to as "Helmira" for its horrible conditions. His book is titled "From Fort Fisher to Elmira and Fort Fisher: A Roster 1864-1865."

Author Michael Hardy, who writes extensively about North Carolina in the war will also be there.

I was, however, surprised to see that Chris Fonvielle, noted Fort Fisher and Wilmington author and who just published a new book "Faces of Fort Fisher: 1861-1864" was not listed as attending.

Old B-R'er