Some More On the Jabez Snow and CSS Alabama-- Part 2

The South Atlantic Expeditionary Raid is referred to as the most devastating of the Alabama's seven raids with the capture or burning of dozens of Union ships.

The first victim of the cruise took place February 3 when the Palmetto was burned.

The Jabez Snow was the 22nd of a total of 29 ships captured, burned or bonded.

Great days for the Alabama when it captured two ships in one day were Feb. 2, April 15, May 3, May 25 and June 4.  On March 23, the Alabama had three victims.

The last ship was the Express on July 6, 1863, which was burned off the coast of Brazil.

--Old B-Runner

CSS Alabama's Victims in May 1863

May was described as one of the worst months for the Alabama as far as ships captured and burned.

3 May--  Captured and burned bark Union Jack and the ship Sea Lark off Brazil.

The Alabama then went several weeks with no apprehended Union ships.

25 May--  Burned the ship Gildersleeve and bonded the Justina off Bahia.  The crew of the Gildersleeve was put on the Justina.

29 May--  The Jabez Snow with coal from Cardiff to Montevideo.  Captured and burned in the South Atlantic.

--Old B-Runner

Some More on the Jabez Snow and the CSS Alabama-- Part 1

At the csa-dixie site there is a complete list of all ships attacked by the CSS Alabama arranged alphabetically.

Wikipedia says the destruction of the Jabez Snow was part of the CSS Alabama's South Atlantic Expeditionary Raid which commenced shortly after the Alabama left Haiti and the Caribbean Sea and cruised south to Brazil.  The cruise lasted from February 6, 1863,  and ended in July.

Most of this raid took place off the coast of Brazil and ended when the Alabama headed for east for Africa and the Indian Ocean.

--Old B-Runner

May 29, 1863: CSS Alabama Captures the Jabez Snow

MAY 29TH, 1863:  The CSS Alabama, Captain Semmes, captured and burned the Jabez Snow in the South Atlantic, bound from Cardiff to Montevideo, Uruguay, with cargo of coal.

That Is What A Commerce Raider Is Supposed To Do.  --Old B-Runner

Herbert E. Valentine-- Part 1: In the 23rd Massachusetts

From Civil War Day By Day, UNC Library.

Herbert E. Valentine was a private in Company F of the 23rd Massachusetts, U.S. Army 1861-1864 which operated in eastern Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.  He enlisted 5 October 1861 at Salem, Massachusetts.  On 18 October he was mustered in at Lynfield, Massachusetts (Camp Edwin M. Stanton).

He served as a clerk and occasionally drew military maps.  His art work appears to be done for personal use.

In January 1864, he was at Getty's Station near Portsmouth.  In May 1864, his regiment sailed up the James River to City Point and took part in the Siege of Petersburg.

--Old B-Runner

Navy Drawings of Private Herbert E. Valentine

From the Civil War Day By Day by the UNC Library.

13 October 1862:  Drawing of USS Steamer Allison By Herbert E. Valentine.

He also has drawings of the Monitor USS Weehawken and the Gunboat Princess Royal.  There are also 6 other drawings pertaining to operations of the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry along the coast of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

You can see all three ships by going  to Herbert. Valentine: Civil War Day By Day.

The Weehawken drawing, however is mislabeled 27 April 1863 Drawing of the USS Steamer Allison.

The Gunboat  Princess Royal is on 5 April 1863

The Allison is actually 13 October 1862.

--Old B-Runner

U.S. Army Steamer Allison

I have been unable to find out any information on the Army steamer Allison which captured a ship off New Bern yesterday other than a drawing of it.

From Civil War Day By Day, University of N.C. Library.

13 October 1862:  Drawing of USS Steamer Allison by Herbert E. Valentine.

You can view it by typing in the above.

--Old B-Runner

N.C. Timeline, May 1863: Action at Gun Swamp Today in 1863

MAY 22--  Action at Gum Swamp  5th, 25th, 27th and 46th Massachusetts,  3rd Cavalry, Battery H 3rd Light Artillery, New York,  58th Pennsylvania.  Union losses: 2 killed, 5 wounded, 1 missing.

MAY 22--  Chase of a blockade runner by USS Penobscott under guns of Fort Fisher.

MAY 23--  Action at Batchelder's Creek  46th Massachusetts, 58th Pennsylvania.

--Old B-Runner

May 22, 1863: Union Army Steamer Allison Destroys Confederate Ship

MAY 22, 1863:  Union Army steamer Allison destroyed schooner Sea Bird after seizing her cargo of coal near New Bern, North Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

USS Detroit/Canandaigua: Six Ships By the Name USS Detroit in the US Navy

I have been writing about this ship, and the five other ships by the name USS Detroit,  in my Cooter's History Thing blog the last several days.  There are also accounts of the first USS Detroit in my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog.

I have been writing about the very briefly-named USS Detroit under its usual name of USS Canandaigua (now that I don't have to look up the spelling anymore) since May 15.

Plus, there was a Spanish-American War USS Detroit which I am writing about in my Cooter's History Thing blog and the World War II USS Detroit (one of the few ships to get underway at Pearl Harbor) in my Tattooed On Your Soul World War II blog.

You can go to those sites by clicking on My Blog List to the right of this entry.

--Old B-R'er

Some More on the USS Canandaigua

**  Edward Gabriel Andre Barrett commanded the USS Canandaigua after the war.

**  Canadaigua is a town in New York.  County seat of Ontario County.  Near Lake Ontario and southeast of Rochester.  There is also a Lake Canandaigua.

**  The USS Canandaigua was a sloop of war that only held the name USS Detroit from May 15 to August 10, 1869.  The ship was a mis-naming during a massive renaming exercise by the U.S. Navy.

**  A new USS Detroit was christened and launched October 18, 2014.

--Old B-Runnert

USS Canandaigua-- Part 3: Rescued Crew of USS Housatonic

On February 17, 1864, the Canandaigua rescued 140 survivors of the USS Housatonic after it was sunk by the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley.

It arrived at Boston Navy Yard on March 26, 1865, and was decommissioned April 8.  Recommissioned after repairs on November 22, it was on European Station until February 1869, then began three years of extensive repairs at New York Navy Yard.

From may 15, 1869 to August 10, it was renamed USS Detroit, but then returned to its original name.

Its last cruise was 1872 to 1875 to the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico as part of the North Atlantic Station.

In 1875, it was decommissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia and remained in ordinary until broken up in 1884.

--Old B-R'er

USS Canandaigua-- Part 2: Capturing Blockade Runners in 1863

Its commander at commissioning in 1862 was Commander J. F. Green.

Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron on August 26, 1862, it captured the sloop Secesh on May 15, 1863 (the one I wrote about on Tuesday).  It later destroyed another blockade runner and assisted in the capture of a schooner and a steamer in the same area off Charleston, S.C..

It also took part in the attacks on positions in Charleston Harbor in 1863 and 1864.

--Old B-Runner

USS Canandaigua-- Part 1: Commissioned 1862, Served Until 1875.

From Wikipedia.

Sloop of War,  1395 tons, steam engine screw.  Commissioned August 1, 1862, decommissioned April 8, 1865, recommissioned November 22, 1865

Renamed USS Detroit May 15, 1869.  Renamed Canandaigua August 18, 1869.  decommissioned November 8, 1875.  Scrapped 1884.

228 feet long, 38.5 foot beam, 15 foot draft, 10 knots.

Armament:  two 11-inch smoothbore, one 8-inch smoothbore, two 20-pdr. rifles.

--Old B-Runner

Bennett Wood Green, CSN-- Part 1: Commission Taken By a Union Soldier

In my War of 1812 Not So Forgotten blog, I wrote about the 100th anniversary of Fort Eustis by Newport news, Virginia.  It was named for Abraham Eustis, a War of 1812 veteran and later first commander of Fort Monroe.

Fort Eustis was on the site of Confederate Fort Crawford, according to the article.  Fort Crawford was part of Confederate General John B. Magruder's Warwick Line to defend against McClellan's army in 1862.  I learned that the actual name of the Confederate fort was Fort Crafford.

One of the families that lived on Mulberry Island on the James River was the Green family.  Their son Bennett Wood Green became a surgeon in the Confederate Navy.  After the Confederates evacuated the Warwick line and Fort Crafford, abandoned homes were ransacked by Union soldiers.  One of them found Bennett Wood's commission in the Confederate Navy and took it as a souvenir.  However, it was returned to the family after the war.

Now, I need to find out about Bennett Green.

--Old B-R'er