Charles K. Mallory at the Battle of Hampton Roads

The commander of the CSS Beaufort, Lt. William Harwar Parker in his book "Recollections of a Naval Officer 1841-1865" wrote this about the Battle of Hampton Roads and the surrender of the USS Congress after it was destroyed by the CSS Virginia:

As the Congress hoisted a large white flag to its main masthead "Midshipman Mallory, in charge of our bow gun, waved his cap and exclaimed:  'I'll swear on the Bible that we fired the last gun!' "

Parker then ordered Midshipmen Mallory and Foreman to push off with a crew of three to go to the Congress and take possession  and bring her commander on board the Beaufort.

As they approached the stricken ship, a Marine on the gangway leveled his piece at them and threatened to fire, "but Mallory told him he was ordered to board the vessel, and he was bound to do it.

They pulled alongside the Congress, boarded t and Midshipman Foreman hauled down the colors and brought them to me."

--Old B-Runner

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

CAM's 60th Anniversary & First USCT Park-- Part 2: Naming the Battle

Said Chris Fonvielle after his research and excavating of the grounds of the Cameron Art Museum (CAM) in Wilmington, N.C., "It convinced me that a firefight had taken place there, but I found no documentary evidence to support the archaeological record."

He began focusing his studies on the battle, piecing together information and eventually giving it a new name.

"Scarce Confederate correspondence from the battleground was postmarked Cross-Roads and Forks Road, as an intersection of the Federal Point Road.  A byroad  that ran towards the Cape Fear River stood about where you enter the Cameron Art Museum's parking lot today," he explained.  "I thought the Battle of Forks Road had a nicer ring to it."

Fonvielle wrote about his discoveries in 2007's "Last Stand at Wilmington:  The Battle of Forks Road."

His research has caused CAM staff for years to embrace the story.  They have hosted living history days with reenactors, but this next step, starting a park devotedb to the United States Colored Troops (USCT) takes the story even further.

--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.

Theodore Timby-- Part 4: A Writer, Inventor and John Ericsson

During his later years, as a resident of  Brooklyn, New York,  he occupied himself with literary avocations, publishing several small volumes of  poems and essays, including "Bridging the  Skies" (1883),  "Beyond" (1886), "Stellar Worlds and Other Didactic Literature" (1896) and "Lighted Lore for Gentle Folk" (1902).

He died in Brooklyn, New York, on November 9, 1909, and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C..

ACHIEVEMENTS

He is credited as the inventor of the revolving gun turret that was used on the USS Monitor.

He also patented a wide variety of other inventions such as a door sash, water wheel, paper cutter, needle case and a globe clock that was sold in such numbers that some can be seen today at auctions.

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The Washington Post stated in 1909, shortly after Timby's death,  that "John Ericsson has for years monipolized all of the credit for inventing and building the Monitor, but as a matter of fact he was joint inventor with  Theodore Timby."

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In 1844, he married  Charlotte M. Ware.

His father was George  W. Timby and mother was  Sarah (Johnson) Timby.

--Old B-Runner

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

Fort Jackson Mutiny-- Part 4: An Immigrant Thing

The mutineers were soldiers primarily recruited from New Orleans'  large German and Irish immigrant populations.  Pierson shows that  the new nation (the Confederacy)  had done nothing to encourage poor white men to feel they had aa place of honor in the new  Southern Republic.

He  argues that the mutineers actively  sought to help the Union cause.  In a major reassessment of the Union administration of New Orleans that followed, Pierson  demonstrates that Union general Benjamin Butler enjoyed the support of  many white Unionists in the city.

Pierson adds  an urban working-class element to debates over the effects of  white Unionists in Confederate states.  With the personal stories o soldiers appearing throughout the book, "Mutiny at Fort Jackson" presents the Civil War from a different perspective, revealing the complexities of New Orleans society and the Confederate experience.

--Old B-Runner

Fort Jackson Mutiny-- Part 3: So, Why Was There a Mutiny?

I was unable to find an article in Wikipedia about the Confederate mutiny.

This is from a review of the book "Mutiny at Fort Jackson:  The Untold Story of the Fall of New Orleans" by Michael  D. Pierson from Good Reads.

New Orleans was the largest city -- and one of the richest -- in the Confederacy. protected in part by Fort Jackson. which was 65 miles down the Mississippi River from it.

On April 27, 1862, Confederate soldiers at Fort Jackson rose up against their commanding officers.  Farragut's fleet had already run past Fort Jackson and its sister fort, Fort St. Philip, so New Orleans was essentially now defenseless.  New Orleans fell soon afterwards.

Although the Fort Jackson mutiny marked a critical turning point in the Union's campaign to regain control of  this vital Confederate financial and industrial center, it has received surprisingly little attention from historians.  Michael Pierson examines newly uncovered archival sources to determine why the soldiers rebelled at  such a decisive moment.

(Well, my own idea is that defending Fort Jackson after the Union fleet had passed it was kind of like closing the barn door after the horses got out.  Pretty much a waste of time.)

--Old B-Runner

The Mutiny at Fort Jackson in 1862-- Part 2

What causes troops or sailors to mutiny?  There is always a big story behind that event, but in the case of Fort Jackson, guarding the Mississippi River approach to New Orleans, there is very little written about it, which is surprising.  Until I read that a mutiny had occurred in the Wikipedia articles on Fort Jackson, i  was completely unaware of it.

Then, I learned that the following year, there was another mutiny staged, this time by Union troops.

Is it something about the location of the fort that caused not one, but two mutinies?

However, now there is a book on it "Mutiny at Fort Jackson" by Michael  Pierson.  It is UNC Press, 2009, hardcover, 246 pages and $30 cost.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Marion Sunk By a Torpedo in Charleston Harbor-- Part 1: Blown Up By Torpedo It Had Placed in Harbor

On May 1, I wrote about Major John Johnson's corrections from his book on "The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Fort Sumter and Adjacent Islands."

One of the corrections dealt with the sinking of the Confederate transport Marion where he said "The Confederate transport Marion was sunk by a torpedo while placing them in the Ashley River (Charleston Harbor) on April 6, 1863."

From "The Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks" by W. Craig Gaines.

CSS MARION

Confederate.  Sidewheel transport steamer, 258 tons.  Length 132 feet, beam 30 feet, depth 7 feet 2 inches.

Built in 1850 in Charleston, S.C.

Drifted onto a torpedo it had earlier positioned, and the bottom of its hull blew out.

Oops.  Kind of Embarrassing To Get Blown Up By Your Own Torpedo.   --Old B-Runner

Major John Johnson Describes the Charleston Confederate Ironclads

From his book "The Defense of Charleston Harbor."  Pages 33-35

Two ironclad steamers were built in Charleston along the general plan of the the CSS Virginia with slanting casemate sides by the end of 1862.  They were intended for harbor defense.

The first launched was the CSS Palmetto State with iron plating four inches thick.It had an 80-pdr. rifle forward, a 60-pdr rifle aft and one 8-inch shell gun on each broadside.

The next was the Chicora, armed with six guns, two 9-inch  smoothbore and four 60-pdr. rifles.

Both were well built, but their steam power insufficient for the speed required of rams and their engines were constantly needing to be repaired.  Their crews numbered between 120 and 150.

--Old B-Runner

New Book on the Role of USCT at the Battle of Forks Road, Wilmington, N.C.-- Part 2: The Victory here Was One for the USCT

Author Chris Fonvielle says that the Battle of Forks Road was the victory of the USCT since those two brigades bore the brunt of the fighting and had made the assault on the Confederate trenches and as a result, had suffered the most casualties.

Fonvielle told the story at length in his 1997 book, "The Wilmington Campaign:  Last Rays of Departing Hope.  His "Glory at Wilmington" is a smaller book aimed at general readers, not hardcore Civil War readers.  This new book is issued by Starburst Press, an imprint of Daniel  Ray Norris' SlapDash Publishing and has plenty of maps and lively period illustrations.

One interesting point Mr. Fonvielle made in this book was the case of  two brothers who fought on opposite sides in the war and were at the Wilmington Campaign.  They were Jacob and Lewis Horne who grew up in the Wilmington area, not too far from today's Monkey Junction.  (If you're from Wilmington, you'd know where this area was and why it hot this name.)

Lewis was with the local Confederate Wilmington Horse Artillery  and as they were rushing north to avoid capture, he was able to stop by his mother's and tell her goodbye.  The next day, Jacob, who was a scout for General Terry's Union forces, detoured to also visit Mom.

A Family Reunion of Sorts.   --Old B-Runner

New Book on the Role of USCT at the Battle of Forks Road, Wilmington, N.C., 1865-- Part 1

From the July 25, 2020, Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "Writer dives into 'Glory at Wilmington'by Ben Steelman.

Wilmington native, former UNC-W professor and historian Chris Fonvielle tells the story of U.S. Colored Troops (USCT)role at this battle in the Wilmington area.  I doubt there is anyone who knows more about the Civil War in the Wilmington area during the war than Chris Fonvielle.

The Battle of Forks Road was nowhere as big of a battle as Gettysburg, Shiloh or Bentonville, but it did have ramifications on the fall of Wilmington, North Carolina.

The Battle of Forks Road, just south of Wilmington back then, is also sometimes referred to as Jumpin' Run, after the nearby Jumpin' Run Creek.

It was the Confederate last stand before the fall of Wilmington.  When Confederate General Robert F. Hoke withdrew his troops from those trenches before dawn on February 22, 1865, the fall of the city was set.  Later on during that day, George Washington's birthday, Union General Alfred H. Terry led his troops into the city.

Bringing up the rear of his column were two brigades of United States Colored Troops, black volunteers.  Many had been slaves just a short time earlier and many were from Wilmington and the surrounding area.

The victory at Forks Road was largely to their honor.

--Old B-Runner