MAY 20TH, 1861: The USS Crusader, Lt. T.A. craven, captured the Neptune near Fort Taylor, Key West, Florida. The Crusader had been under the command of J.N. Maffitt before this and he had relinquished the command to join the Confederacy.
MAY 21ST, 1861: The USS Constellation, the oldest United States warship afloat, Captain John S. Nicholas, captured the slaver brig Triton at the mouth of the Congo River, Africa.
** The Confederate government guaranteed the right of patent for any invention beneficial to the war effort, reserving for the government the right to use it, and provided that, in addition to bounties otherwise provided, the government "will pay to any private armed vessel commissioned under said act 20 percentum on the value of each and every vessel of war belonging to the enemy that may be sunk or destroyed."
--Old B-Runner
Friday, May 20, 2016
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Ramping Up to Save the USS Monitor Turret-- Part 1: Removing the Metal Shields
From the May 4, 2016, Daily Press (Hampton Roads, Va.) "USS Monitor gun turret: Ramping up to save a landmark artifact" by Mark St. John Erickson.
One thing I can say for sure is that Mr. Erickson sure gets all the good reporting stories.
There are ramped up efforts underway to raise funds to preserve the famous gun turret of the USS Monitor. I was disappointed that the rest of the ship was unrecoverable, but at least this artifact, which set the level for naval armaments even to this day, was saved.
The huge container the turret sits in is now drained during weekdays while work is done on marine concretions both inside and out. This time, in addition, a series of 20-inch wide metal shields in the turret's interior will be removed to remove the concretions and look for artifacts lodged behind them from the ship's sinking.
These shields were put in place to protect the Monitor's gun crew from metal fasteners blown off by the impact of enemy ordnance.
--Old B-Runner
One thing I can say for sure is that Mr. Erickson sure gets all the good reporting stories.
There are ramped up efforts underway to raise funds to preserve the famous gun turret of the USS Monitor. I was disappointed that the rest of the ship was unrecoverable, but at least this artifact, which set the level for naval armaments even to this day, was saved.
The huge container the turret sits in is now drained during weekdays while work is done on marine concretions both inside and out. This time, in addition, a series of 20-inch wide metal shields in the turret's interior will be removed to remove the concretions and look for artifacts lodged behind them from the ship's sinking.
These shields were put in place to protect the Monitor's gun crew from metal fasteners blown off by the impact of enemy ordnance.
--Old B-Runner
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Sponson
I had to look it up.
The definition is to extend a watercraft hull dimension at or below the waterline to increase floatation or add lift when underway.
So, the Fry had a hull extension at or below the waterline.
--Old B-R'er
The definition is to extend a watercraft hull dimension at or below the waterline to increase floatation or add lift when underway.
So, the Fry had a hull extension at or below the waterline.
--Old B-R'er
Further Work at the Wreck of the Agnes E. Fry Blockade-Runner
From the May 11, 2016, BBC News "new image of Clyde-built ship used in America's Civil War" by Steven McKenzie.
There is now a sonar mosaic of the Agnes E. Fry blockade-runner. The article contains this.
There is also a North Carolina Department of Cultural resources of a deck light and what looks like the handle of a homemade knife recovered from the wreck.
Specialist divers from the Charlotte Fire department and sonar experts from Nautilus Marine Group assisted in the mosaic.
The Agnes E. Fry was launched with the name Fox and ran aground 27 December 1864 while attempting to run into Wilmington, North Carolina. Since this was between the two attacks on Fort Fisher, it is doubted that much in the way of salvage was done at the time.
The mosaic photo of the wreck includes two possible sponsons, boiler fragments, decklight (recovered) broken hull plating and frames and I-beam frames, smoke stack sections and outer hull plating.
--So, What Is a Sponson? --Old B-Runner
There is now a sonar mosaic of the Agnes E. Fry blockade-runner. The article contains this.
There is also a North Carolina Department of Cultural resources of a deck light and what looks like the handle of a homemade knife recovered from the wreck.
Specialist divers from the Charlotte Fire department and sonar experts from Nautilus Marine Group assisted in the mosaic.
The Agnes E. Fry was launched with the name Fox and ran aground 27 December 1864 while attempting to run into Wilmington, North Carolina. Since this was between the two attacks on Fort Fisher, it is doubted that much in the way of salvage was done at the time.
The mosaic photo of the wreck includes two possible sponsons, boiler fragments, decklight (recovered) broken hull plating and frames and I-beam frames, smoke stack sections and outer hull plating.
--So, What Is a Sponson? --Old B-Runner
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Keep the Fort Fisher Dam Rock Solid
From the May 5, 2016, Wilmington (N.C.) Star- News "Editorial: Keep Fort Fisher dam rock solid."
Photograph accompanying it: "A massive engineering feat of the 1800s, also known as the New Inlet Dam, 'The Rocks' constitute a gigantic breakwater, or rock jetty, at the tip of federal Point. The rocks extend from the mainland and beyond Zeke's Island for more than three miles."
Senator Michael lee, R-New Hanover County, proposed removing a section of the 130-year-old dam which was built to close New Inlet into the Cape Fear River which was formed by a storm in 1761. This was the favored entrance to the Cape Fear River and Wilmington by blockade-runners during the Civil War and protected by the guns of Fort Fisher.
Lee wants the southern section, called the Swash Defense Dam removed to recreate the natural flow.
The Army Corps of Engineers, who built it, is not sure exactly why Lee wants it removed, nor is the Wilmington Star-News, concluding, "We're still puzzled by Lee's request, and we're not alone in our puzzlement."
I, myself, don't want it removed. I have walked on it many times.
--Old B-R'er
Photograph accompanying it: "A massive engineering feat of the 1800s, also known as the New Inlet Dam, 'The Rocks' constitute a gigantic breakwater, or rock jetty, at the tip of federal Point. The rocks extend from the mainland and beyond Zeke's Island for more than three miles."
Senator Michael lee, R-New Hanover County, proposed removing a section of the 130-year-old dam which was built to close New Inlet into the Cape Fear River which was formed by a storm in 1761. This was the favored entrance to the Cape Fear River and Wilmington by blockade-runners during the Civil War and protected by the guns of Fort Fisher.
Lee wants the southern section, called the Swash Defense Dam removed to recreate the natural flow.
The Army Corps of Engineers, who built it, is not sure exactly why Lee wants it removed, nor is the Wilmington Star-News, concluding, "We're still puzzled by Lee's request, and we're not alone in our puzzlement."
I, myself, don't want it removed. I have walked on it many times.
--Old B-R'er
155 Years Ago: Confederate Privateer Lady Davis Commissioned
MAY 17TH, 1861: The USS Minnesota, Flag Officer Stringham, captured the bark Star en route Richmond to Bremen.
MAY 18TH, 1861: Confederate schooner Savannah, Captain Thomas H. Baker, was commissioned by President Davis as "a private armed vessel in the service of the Confederate States on the high seas against the United States of America, their vessels, goods, and effects, and those of her citizens during the pendency of the war now existing between te said Confederate States and the said United States."
In other words, the first Confederate privateer.
--Old B-Runner
MAY 18TH, 1861: Confederate schooner Savannah, Captain Thomas H. Baker, was commissioned by President Davis as "a private armed vessel in the service of the Confederate States on the high seas against the United States of America, their vessels, goods, and effects, and those of her citizens during the pendency of the war now existing between te said Confederate States and the said United States."
In other words, the first Confederate privateer.
--Old B-Runner
Monday, May 16, 2016
Conservation of USS Monitor Turret Contines
From the May 5, 2016, Archaeology.
Conservators at the USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum in Hampton Roads, Virginia, have begun removing marine concretion from the surface of the Monitor's turret which has been soaking in a 90,000 gallon treatment tank for five years.
They will also remove the metal shields that line the interior of the turret and look for small artifacts that may have become trapped there when the ship sank.
Most of the shields are in delicate condition "but there are still four or five of them that are mostly intact --all on the starboard side of the turret where most of the artifacts have been found. So we believe there's a pretty good chance that there are more of them waiting to be exposed," said senior conservator William H. Hoffman.
So far, they have recovered a bone-handled knife, a silver table spoon, a monkey wrench, a glass tube for a steam engine gauge and a cartridge for a naval carbine behind the shields.
--Old B-TurretRunner
Conservators at the USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum in Hampton Roads, Virginia, have begun removing marine concretion from the surface of the Monitor's turret which has been soaking in a 90,000 gallon treatment tank for five years.
They will also remove the metal shields that line the interior of the turret and look for small artifacts that may have become trapped there when the ship sank.
Most of the shields are in delicate condition "but there are still four or five of them that are mostly intact --all on the starboard side of the turret where most of the artifacts have been found. So we believe there's a pretty good chance that there are more of them waiting to be exposed," said senior conservator William H. Hoffman.
So far, they have recovered a bone-handled knife, a silver table spoon, a monkey wrench, a glass tube for a steam engine gauge and a cartridge for a naval carbine behind the shields.
--Old B-TurretRunner
155 Years Ago Naval Forces on Western Rivers Established--Part 2
Under John Rodgers, three river steamers were purchased at Cincinnati. Rodgers, overcoming no little difficulty in obtaining and training crews, getting guns and other equipment, converted the steamers to gunboats USS Tyler, Lexington and Conestoga.
These three gunboats, as stated by Alfred Thayer Mahan, were of inestimable service "in keeping alive the attachment to the Union where it existed."
--Old B-R'er
These three gunboats, as stated by Alfred Thayer Mahan, were of inestimable service "in keeping alive the attachment to the Union where it existed."
--Old B-R'er
155 Years Ago: Naval Forces on Western Rivers Established-- Part 1
MAY 16TH, 1861: Commander John Rodgers ordered to report to the War Department to establish naval forces on the western rivers under the command of General John C. Fremont. The importance of controlling the Mississippi and its tributaries which pierced the interior in every direction was recognized immediately by the U.S. Government.
This control was not only militarily strategic but was a vital factor in keeping the northwestern states in the Union.
--Old B-Runner
This control was not only militarily strategic but was a vital factor in keeping the northwestern states in the Union.
--Old B-Runner
Friday, May 13, 2016
155 Years Ago: Watching Out for Privateers
MAY 15TH, 1861: Secretary of Navy Weklles appointed Lt. Thomas M. Brasher to command the USS Bainbridge and ordered him to proceed to Aspinwall, New Granada (Panama), to protect California steamers against "vessels sailing under pretended letters of marque issued by the insurrectionary States."
California steamers transported large amounts of gold from Aspinwall to New York. Confederate ships were constantly on the alert for these vessels as the blockade tightened and the need for specie became increasingly desperate.
--Old B-R'er
California steamers transported large amounts of gold from Aspinwall to New York. Confederate ships were constantly on the alert for these vessels as the blockade tightened and the need for specie became increasingly desperate.
--Old B-R'er
155 Years Ago: Queen Victoria Claims British Neutrality
MAY 13TH, 1861: Queen Victoria proclaimed British neutrality and forbade British subjects to endeavor to break the blockade "lawfully and effectually established."
MAY 14TH, 1861: The USS Minnesota, Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham, captured schooners Mary Willis, Delaware Farmer and Emily Ann at Hampton Roads laden with tobacco for Baltimore.
Argo, bound for Bremen from Richmond, captured on the same date.
--Old B-Runner
MAY 14TH, 1861: The USS Minnesota, Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham, captured schooners Mary Willis, Delaware Farmer and Emily Ann at Hampton Roads laden with tobacco for Baltimore.
Argo, bound for Bremen from Richmond, captured on the same date.
--Old B-Runner
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Carolina Beach State Park Should Go National
From the April 12, 2016, Dallas Morning News "5 state parks that should go national" by Diana Lambdin Meyer.
Our own Carolina Beach State Park was mentioned as becoming a national park instead of just a state park.
CAROLINA BEACH STATE PARK, North Carolina. Contains 760 acres plus another 600 acres of Fort Fisher State Historic Site. It is suggested that the two be joined and renamed the Cape Fear National Park
The idea was broached before, but didn't get far.
Carolina Beach State Park is one of the few places in the world where you can find Venus Flytrap plants hat were once found throughout the South. It also contains Sugar loaf, a large sandhill which was once a Confederate camp during the Civil War.
Fort Fisher State Historic Site is a well-preserved Civil War fort.
North Carolina State Parks are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
--Old B-Runner
Our own Carolina Beach State Park was mentioned as becoming a national park instead of just a state park.
CAROLINA BEACH STATE PARK, North Carolina. Contains 760 acres plus another 600 acres of Fort Fisher State Historic Site. It is suggested that the two be joined and renamed the Cape Fear National Park
The idea was broached before, but didn't get far.
Carolina Beach State Park is one of the few places in the world where you can find Venus Flytrap plants hat were once found throughout the South. It also contains Sugar loaf, a large sandhill which was once a Confederate camp during the Civil War.
Fort Fisher State Historic Site is a well-preserved Civil War fort.
North Carolina State Parks are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
--Old B-Runner
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
155 Years Ago: USS Pawnee Ordered to Alexandria, Va.
MAY 11TH, 1861: The USS Pawnee, Commander Rowan, ordered by Commander Dahlgren to proceed from Washington Navy Yard to Alexandria, Virginia. to protect vessels in the vicinity from attack by Confederate forces.
MAY 12TH, 1861: USS Niagara, Captain McKean, captured blockade-runner General Parkhill, en route from Liverpool to Charleston.
--Old B-Runner
MAY 12TH, 1861: USS Niagara, Captain McKean, captured blockade-runner General Parkhill, en route from Liverpool to Charleston.
--Old B-Runner
North Carolina's Underwater Archaeology Unit-- Part 4: Polyethyne Glycol
Continued from May 5, 2016.
The position of all artifacts must be carefully recorded, and, once recovered, the artifacts should be stored in water until they reach the preservation laboratory. A variety of methods are employed to stabilize artifacts recovered from an underwater environment, depending on the composition of the material and whether it came from fresh or slat water.
Waterlogged organic materials, such as wood, are normally preserved by replacing the water with a bulking agent such as polyethyne glycol (PEG) or sugar. Ferrous metals are ordinarily stabilized through electrolytic reduction. For large objects, like cannons, the process can take several years to complete.
--Old B-R'er
The position of all artifacts must be carefully recorded, and, once recovered, the artifacts should be stored in water until they reach the preservation laboratory. A variety of methods are employed to stabilize artifacts recovered from an underwater environment, depending on the composition of the material and whether it came from fresh or slat water.
Waterlogged organic materials, such as wood, are normally preserved by replacing the water with a bulking agent such as polyethyne glycol (PEG) or sugar. Ferrous metals are ordinarily stabilized through electrolytic reduction. For large objects, like cannons, the process can take several years to complete.
--Old B-R'er
155 Years Ago: May Mallory Wants Commerce Raiders
MAY 10TH, 1861: Confederate Secretary of Navy Mallory farsightedly wrote the Committee on Naval Affairs of Congress regarding proposals for new warships: "I regard the possession of an iron-armored ship as a matter of the first necessity. Such a vessel at this time could traverse the entire coast of the United States, prevent all blockades, and encounter, with a fair prospect of success, their entire Navy.
"If to cope with them upon the sea we follow their example and build wooden ships, we shall have to construct several at one time; for one or two ships would fall an easy prey to their comparatively numerous steam frigates.
"But inequality of numbers may be compensated by invulnerability; and thus not only does economy but naval success dictate the wisdom and expediency of fighting with iron against wood, without regard to first cost. Naval engagements between wooden frigates, as they are now built and armed will prove to be the forlorn hopes of the sea, simply contests in which the question, not of victory, but of who shall go to the bottom first, is to be solved."
--Old B-Runner
"If to cope with them upon the sea we follow their example and build wooden ships, we shall have to construct several at one time; for one or two ships would fall an easy prey to their comparatively numerous steam frigates.
"But inequality of numbers may be compensated by invulnerability; and thus not only does economy but naval success dictate the wisdom and expediency of fighting with iron against wood, without regard to first cost. Naval engagements between wooden frigates, as they are now built and armed will prove to be the forlorn hopes of the sea, simply contests in which the question, not of victory, but of who shall go to the bottom first, is to be solved."
--Old B-Runner
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