re: 150 years ago this day...

Thursday, 27 October 1864

The CSS Albermarle, one of the last warships built by the Confederacy, had caused instant terror in the hearts of the US Navy on Virginia's Roanoke and James River. Lieutenant William Cushing and 14 crewmen set forth on a steam cutter, with a launch in tow, up the Roanoke to deal with their foe once and for all. In rain and darkness they were able to approach within 20 yards before being detected. The scene now lit by a huge shore bonfire, Cushing and his ship were shot at both from ram and shore. Worse, they could now see the ship was surrounded by a protective boom of logs. He circled to build up speed, crashed over the boom, and personally lowered and set off the torpedo spar. The ramship fired simultaneously and both ships exploded. Cushing, ordering an abandon ship tried to get his wounded friend John Woodman to shore but failed. All but one other were killed or captured.

Full report: A boat expedition commanded by William Barker Cushing destroyed CSS Albemarle at Plymouth, on the Roanoke River, North Carolina. Cushing reported to Rear Admiral Porter on 30 October: "I have the honor to report that the Rebel ironclad Albemarle is at the bottom of the Roanoke River." In July, Cushing, only 21 years old, bad been sent to Washington by Rear Admiral Lee to discuss with the Navy Department his plans for sinking the Confederate ram. He proposed at that time two plans, one involving a boarding party to travel overland and attack with India rubber boats, and the other calling for two steam launches to approach the ram's moorings on the river. Both plans envisaged the capture of the ram, since Cushing wanted to destroy her only if it became necessary. Secretary Welles assented to the plan, and gave the daring Lieutenant permission to proceed to New York to procure the necessary boats.

Cushing decided upon two thirty-foot steam picket launches, each fitted with a fourteen-foot spar and a torpedo, and mounting a twelve-pounder howitzer in the bow. Moving south by the inland water route, one of the picket boats was lost to the Confederates, but the other arrived in the sounds of North Carolina on 24 October. As Cushing later reported: "Here I, for the first time, disclosed to my officers and men our object and told them that they were at liberty to go or not as they pleased. These, seven in number, all volunteered." The imaginative attack seemed at first doomed to failure. Cushing departed the night of 26 October, but grounded at the mouth of Roanoke River, and spent most of the hours of darkness freeing his small craft. The attempt was postponed until 27 October.

That night was dark and foul. Cushing was accompanied by fourteen men, an additional seven having been recruited from the blockading squadron. Among them were his old companion, Acting Master's Mate William L. Howorth, and that veteran of Roanoke reconnaissance patrols, Acting Master's Mate John Woodman. Towed behind the torpedo boat was a cutter from USS Shamrock whose duty, as Cushing described it,"...was to dash aboard the Southfield at the first hail and prevent any rocket from being ignited." Southfield had been captured by Confederates in an earlier action with Albemarle and was sunk in the Roanoke a mile below the ironclad's berth. With the steam engine's throb muffled by a heavy tarp, the expedition moved out to cover the eight miles between Albemarle Sound and Plymouth, keeping close to the bank and anticipating discovery at any moment. Cushing's renowned good fortune held, however, and he succeeded in passing within twenty feet of Southfield without being challenged. The lieutenant still hoped to board Albemarle and "take her alive" but as he steamed up to the ram, an alert picket saw the dim form of the boat and challenged. Cushing instantly changed his plan: "...just as I was sheering in close to the wharf a hail came sharp and quick from the ironclad, in an instant repeated. I at once directed the cutter to cast off and go down to capture the guard left in our rear, and ordering all steam, went at the dark mountain of iron in front of us. A heavy fire at once opened upon us, not only from the ship, but from the men stationed on the shore, but this did not disable us and we neared them rapidly." A large fire now blazed up on shore and Cushing discovered a large boom of protective logs surrounding the Confederate ship. Amid the mounting fire, he coolly turned the boat around in order to run at the obstructions at full speed. "As I turned the whole back of my coat was torn out by buck shot and the sole of my shoe was carried away. The fire was very severe. In the lull of the firing the Captain hailed us, again demanding what boat it was. All my men gave comical answer and mine was a dose of canister which I sent amongst them from the howitzer, buzzing and singing against the iron ribs and into the mass of men standing firelit upon the shore." According to the recollections of Acting Ensign Thomas Gay, later captured, Cushing shouted: "Leave the ram or I'll blow you to pieces!" No response being heard, Cushing ran through the hail of fire at full speed, his boat lurching over the log barrier. "The torpedo boom was lowered and by a vigorous pull I succeeded in diving the torpedo under the overhang and exploding it at the same time that the Albemarle's gun was fired. A shot seemed to go chasing through my boat, and a dense mass of water rushed in from the torpedo, filling the launch and completely disabling her."

Albemarle, a gaping hole in her port quarter, began to sink rapidly. Lieutenant Warley, commanding her reported: "The water gained on us so fast that all exertions were fruitless, and the vessel went down in a few moments, merely leaving her shield and smokestack out." Cushing found his own boat sinking but, refusing to surrender in the midst of the enemy, ordered his men to save themselves and started to swim for shore. Although he had exploded the torpedo virtually staring down the muzzle of Albemarle's gun, he was miraculously unharmed. Making for shore, he tried to save the gallant John Woodman, who was unable to swim any longer, but Woodman sank. Cushing finally pulled himself half onto the bank and lay exhausted until morning. Finding himself near a Confederate picket station, he managed to seize a skiff and rowed the eight miles downstream to Albemarle Sound. There he was picked up by USS Valley City.

When news of the young lieutenant's feat reached the squadron, rockets were set off, and all hands called to "cheer ship". Elated, Porter said that Lieutenant Cushing had "displayed a heroic enterprise seldom equaled and never excelled..."He has shown an absolute disregard of death or danger, and will no doubt be suitably rewarded by the Government, which reward he well deserves." The Admiral's enthusiasm was well founded, for the destruction of Albemarle paved the way for the capture of Plymouth and firm control of the entire Roanoke River area. It also released ships that had been guarding against the ram for other blockade duties. Congress commended Cushing for his bravery and enterprise, and promoted him to Lieutenant Commander. Edward J. Houghton, the only other man to escape death or capture, was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Friday, 28 October 1864

It clearly seemed to be the end of the line for Confederate General Sterling "Old Pap" Price. Trying desperately to get his remaining men and supply wagons to the safety of Arkansas, he was set upon today by the Union forces of General Samuel Ryan Curtis. They attacked this morning and although the Southerners fought fiercely, Curtis' already much larger force got reinforcements in and compelled General Joseph Orville Shelby’s cavalry to withdraw. It looked like curtains as night fell. Price was saved by a telegram from the War Department in Washington, DC, ordering most of Curtis’ troops back to their stations with General William Starke Rosecrans, commanding the Department of Missouri in St. Louis. By the time Curtis got the mess straightened out with General Henry Wager Halleck, "Old Pap" had managed to slip away yet again.

Second report: Following up the Battle of Westport on 25 October, Federals under James Blunt defeated Joseph Shelby’s Confederate detachment at Newtonia, Missouri. General Samuel R. Curtis, the overall commander of Federal forces in Missouri, prepared to destroy the entire Confederate force under overall command of General Sterling Price.

The USS General Thomas, piloted by Acting Master Gilbert Morton, engaged Confederate batteries near Decatur, Alabama, on the Tennessee River. The paddle-wheeler General Thomas sustained damage but passed the batteries, rounded to and, with Army gunboat Stone River, poured such a withering crossfire into the emplacements that the Southerners abandoned them. Brigadier General Robert Granger, commanding Union troops in the area, described the action: "It was impossible for men to withstand this attack. They deserted their guns, a portion of them retreating to their main line, while many of them rushed down the bank and sought the protection of the trees at the waters edge. The guns of the boats, double-shotted with canister, were turned upon them at a distance of scarcely 300 yards, and poured in a terrible fire." As the Confederates under General John Bell Hood neared the Tennessee River in their campaign to divert General William T. Sherman by invading Tennessee, patrolling Union gunboats, invaluable not only in guarding against river crossings, but also in collecting vital information about troop movements, were attacked by mobile field batteries with increasing frequency and intensity.

General Hood’s Confederate Army of Tennessee continued moving west across northern Alabama in preparation for invading Tennessee. Hood hoped that invading Tennessee would draw Federals under General William T. Sherman out of Atlanta. However, Sherman learned of Hood’s westward movement and began returning his pursuing troops to Atlanta. General George Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland, stationed at Nashville, was assigned to confront Hood.

Captain Alexander M. Pennock, temporarily in command of the Mississippi Squadron, issued an order stressing: "The enemy must not be allowed to cross the [Mississippi] River. Officers in command will develop their utmost vigilance and activity, and take every precaution to prevent such a movement. Vessels must be kept in motion night and day." The inability of major Confederate forces to cross the Mississippi from the West in the face of patrolling Union gunboats illustrated the vast importance of Union naval control of the river, and was a major factor in the developing Tennessee campaign.

The CSS Chickamauga, commanded by Lieutenant John Wilkinson, sortied from Wilmington Harbor, eluded the blockading vessels off the bar, and put to sea as a commerce raider.

The USS Calypso, under Acting Master Frederick D. Stuart, and the USS Eolus, Acting Master William O. Lundt in charge, captured the blockade running British steamer Lady Sterling at sea off Wilmington with a cargo of cotton and tobacco.

In combination with movements against the Boydton Plank Road at Petersburg, Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler attacked the Richmond defenses along Darbytown Road with the X Corps. The XVIII Corps marched north to Fair Oaks where it was soundly repulsed by Major General Charles W. Field's Confederate division. The Southern forces counterattacked, taking some 600 prisoners. The Richmond defenses remained intact. Of Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant's offensives north of the James River, this was repulsed most easily. Union casualties were 1,603, Confederates fewer than 100.

Another account: The Second Battle of Fair Oaks, in Henrico County, Virginia, commenced this morning as Union forces withdraw after failing to breach the Confederate defenses around Richmond. The assault was actually a diversion to draw attention from a larger Union offensive around Petersburg, Virginia.

Fair Oaks, the scene of one of the Seven Days Battles in June 1862, was located on the defensive perimeter around the Confederate capital of Richmond. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army constructed five lines of trenches that stretched 25 miles south to Petersburg. For five months, Lee's troops had been under siege by the forces of Union General Hiram U. Grant. The monotony of the siege was suspended only periodically by a Union attempt to break Lee's lines. One such attack came yesterday at Hatcher's Run, southwest of Petersburg, on 27 October. At the same time, Grant ordered an attack at Fair Oaks, about 24 miles from the assault at Hatcher's Run.

The Richmond defenses were formidable, so any direct assault was unlikely to succeed. By attacking at Fair Oaks, Grant hoped to prevent Lee from shifting any troops along the Richmond-Petersburg line to reinforce the lines at Hatcher's Run. Troops from Union General Benjamin Butler's Tenth Corps moved north of the James River and conducted a two-pronged offensive against Richmond on October 27. Confederate General James Longstreet, in charge of the Richmond section of the Confederate defenses, skillfully positioned troops to thwart the Yankees. Union General Godfrey Weitzel, commander of part of the attack, enjoyed some initial success but could not significantly penetrate the Rebel trenches. On October 28, Weitzel determined that he had accomplished all he could and withdrew his troops.

Some 1,600 Union men were killed, wounded, or captured during the attack, while the Confederates lost some 100 troops. The planned diversion did not work--at the far end of the defenses, the Yankees failed to move around the end of the Confederate line at Hatcher's Run.

Sunday, 30 October 1864

Nathan Bedford Forrest was a cavalry officer, but he was also a commander of considerable cunning and creativity. This explains how he came to be fighting a naval battle today. On the Tennessee River near Fort Henry, Forrest was trying to get his men across the river, but was being hampered in the effort by Union gunboats. In characteristically direct fashion, Forrest set up a battery of guns and started firing. Acting Master John L. Bryant of the USS Undine heard the firing and steamed off to investigate, whereupon the guns were turned upon her. Other vessels likewise came to either investigate or assist, and by the end of the day were all under new management. Two of the ships captured were troop transports, so there was no more trouble crossing the river.

Second report: Confederate batteries on the Tennessee River near Johnsonville, Tennessee, fired on and captured the USS Undine, under Acting Master Bryant, and the transports Venus and Cheeseman, after a sharp engagement. Undine had convoyed transport Anna to a point below Sandy Island, and was returning upstream when the sound of artillery was heard further down the Tennessee. Bryant came about to investigate, and near Paris Landing was attacked by a battery of several guns and volleys of musketry. While Undine was fiercely engaging the Confederates, transport Venus steamed down the river, and notwithstanding Bryant's warning passed by the batteries and joined him in the engagement. About twenty minutes later, another transport, Cheeseman, also came down river, and was immediately disabled and captured. Undine continued to fire on the batteries for nearly three hours, when her ammunition was nearly exhausted and her engine disabled. Unable to resist further, Bryant hauled down his flag but, when this was not observed by the Confederates and firing continued, he unsuccessfully attempted to destroy his vessel. Undine was taken intact, as well as the two transports, which could be put to good service in ferrying troops across the Tennessee River. The attacking Southern troops, operating in territory long under Union control, were part of General Nathan B. Forrest's cavalry, who were attempting to cross the Tennessee River and join forces with General Hood for the large-scale Confederate assault on Tennessee. By this drive into Tennessee, Hood and Forrest hoped to sever General Sherman's supply lines, forcing him to abandon the March across Georgia.

The CSS Shenandoah, a 1160-ton screw steam cruiser launched at Glasgow, Scotland, in August 1863 as the civilian steamer Sea King--commanded by Lieutenant James I. Waddell--captured and scuttled the bark Alina due south of the Azores and due west of Dakar. The Alina, a new bark on her maiden voyage, was Shenandoah's first prize. She carried a cargo of railroad iron. Waddell wrote: "It was fortunate my first capture could be scuttled, for the steamer's position was good and a bonfire would have given alarm to all Yankees within 30 miles, and then, too, a cruiser might have been in the neighborhood, which would have [been] attracted by the red glare of the sky and interfered with our fun...we were forced to destroy our prizes because we were not allowed to take them into a neutral port [for] adjudication."

Advance units of John Bell Hood’s Confederates reached Tuscumbia and Florence, Alabama. William T. Sherman stopped pursuing Hood, saying, “Damn him! If he will go to the Ohio River, I’ll give him rations. Let him go north, my business is down south.” Sherman tried convincing the Lincoln administration to approve his plan to march through Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean. President Abraham Lincoln, however, was reluctant because failure could cost him re-election next month.

The CSS Olustee, formerly the commerce raider Tallahassee, ran the Federal blockade at Wilmington, North Carolina, and took six prizes during the first week of November.

Just read this entire thread. My mind is blown

Couldn't you have just posted a link or two?

The midget wrestling did make me laugh tho

Monday, 31 October 1864

Any parent who has ever fooled an insubordinate child into following by turning one’s back and walking away from the brat, will understand the move General John Bell Hood engaged in today. Arriving in Tuscumbia, Alabama, he began to vigorously fortify the place and send reinforcements across the Tennessee River to the town of Florence, who also gave every appearance of preparing to be attacked by General William Tecumseh Sherman. It was well known to one and all that Sherman, having taken Atlanta long since, was gearing up for a large-scale march, most probably a campaign of destruction heading for the coast. Hood’s last chance to deter or at least delay Sherman was to sucker him into chasing Hood’s own army. Sherman, however, was not buying this plan. He was already headed back for Atlanta.

The CSS Chickamauga, commanded by Lieutenant John Wilkinson, captured and burned off the northeast coast of the United States the ship Emma L. Hall, with a cargo of sugar and molasses, and the ship Shooting Star, with a cargo of coal. Wilkinson transferred the passengers of Shooting Star to a passing vessel, Albion Lincoln, which headed directly for New York to spread the alarm. Wilkinson later wrote of the transfer of prisoners: "In truth, I was relieved from an awkward dilemma by the opportune capture of the Albion Lincoln for there was absolutely no place for a female aboard the Chickamauga. I do not doubt, however, that the redoubtable Mrs. Drinkwater [wife of Shooting Star's Master] would have accommodated herself to the circumstances by turning me out of my own cabin. Heavens! what a tongue she wielded! The young officers of the Chickamauga relieved each other in boat duty to and fro and she routed every one of them ignominiously."

The USS Katahdin, Lieutenant Commander John Irwin in charge, captured the British blockade runner Albert Edward off Galveston with a cargo of cotton.

The USS Wilderness, under Acting Master Henry Arey, and the USS Niphon, piloted by Acting Master Edmund Kemble, seized the blockade running British steamer Annie off New Inlet, North Carolina, with a cargo of tobacco, cotton, and turpentine. Concerned by reports that the two Captains had failed to signal other patrolling ships in the vicinity during the chase of Annie in order to obtain a larger share of the prize money, Rear Admiral David D. Porter wrote: "This war is not being conducted for the benefit of officers or to enrich them by the capture of prizes, and every commander is deficient in the high moral character which has always been inherent in the Navy who for a moment consults his private interests in preference to the public good, hesitates to destroy what is the property of the enemy, or attempts to benefit himself at the expense of others...Honor and glory should be the watchword of the Navy, and not profit."

Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates arrived at Fort Heiman and organized captured Federal gunboats into a makeshift Confederate “navy” to attack Federal shipping on the Tennessee River.

A Federal naval squadron of seven ships commanded by William H. Macomb captured Plymouth, North Carolina on the Roanoke River after dueling with shore batteries.

By Presidential Proclamation, also known as Executive Order, Nevada became the 36th state. Nevada was rushed into statehood mainly because voters were mostly Republicans who could deliver electoral votes to President Lincoln in next month’s election. Nevada became known as the “Battle State” for gaining statehood during the war.

I was raised in the battlefield. On Burning bush road. Where were you?