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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 10/6/14 at 9:22 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 10/6/14 at 9:22 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 7 October 1864
Second only to Captain Raphael Semmes' CSS Alabama in fame was her sister ship, the Confederate commerce raider CSS Florida. Both built in Liverpool, they had gone their separate ways and after taking 37 prizes in her career, Florida pulled into Bahia, Brazil for resupply and refueling. Close on her heels was Commander Napoleon Collins and the USS Wachusett, who had been seeking them for months. Collins sent a message to Florida’s captain, Lieutenant Charles Morris, daring him to come out of the neutral harbor and fight. Morris declined, and Brazilian authorities ordered both ships to maintain the peace in Brazilian waters. Collins ignored this, steamed in and rammed Florida while Morris and most of her crew were ashore. Damaged but not sinking, Florida was surrendered after both ships exchanged cannon fire. This infuriated the Brazilians, who turned their harbor guns on the Wachusett as she steamed away with Florida in tow to Hampton Roads, Va.
Another report: The USS Wachusett, under Commander Napoleon Collins, illegally captured the CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Manigault Morris, in Bahia Harbor, Brazil, and towed her out to sea. Collins, who had been scouring the sea lanes for the Confederate raider for many months, saw her enter Bahia on 4 October and anchored close by the next morning. Collins offered to meet Morris outside the harbor in a ship duel, but the Confederate captain wisely declined. The Brazilian authorities, recognizing the explosiveness of the situation, exacted promises from both Lieutenant Morris and the U.S. Consul, Thomas Wilson, that no attacks would be made in Brazilian waters. Collins was not to allow the elusive Florida to escape, however, and plans were laid to attack her shortly after midnight on the 7th. At 3 a.m. he slipped his cable, steamed past the Brazilian gunboat anchored between his ship and Florida, and rammed the famous raider on her starboard quarter. After a brief exchange of cannon fire, Lieutenant Porter, commanding the Florida in Morris's absence, surrendered the ship. By this time the harbor was alive, and as Wachusett towed her long-sought prize to sea, the coastal fort opened fire on her.
Collins' actions, though cheered in the North where the Florida was a household name because of her continued "depredations", were in violation of international law, and prompt disavowal of them was made by Secretary of State William Henry Seward. The Florida was taken to Hampton Roads, arriving there on 12 November. She was ordered returned to the Brazilian Government, but before she could be made ready for sea she mysteriously sank. Commander Collins was court-martialed and ordered to be dismissed from the naval service. At the trial, the dauntless captain admitted his actions had violated international law, offering in his defense only the following statement: "I respectfully request that it may be entered on the records of the court as my defense that the capture of the Florida was for the public good."
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles concurred, especially in view of the vast damage done by the CSS Florida to Union commerce, and, restored Collins to his command. The furor over the capture, however, did not die down. At length, to further satisfy Brazil, a 21-gun salute as an "amende honorable" was fired by USS Nipsic in Bahia Harbor, 23 July 1866.
The USS Aster, Acting Master Samuel Hall in charge, chased the blockade runner Annie ashore at New Inlet, North Carolina, under the guns of Fort Fisher, but the 285-ton wooden steamer ran aground herself and was destroyed to prevent capture. The USS Niphon, piloted by Acting Master Kemble, rescued Hall and his men and, under a hail of fire from Confederate batteries, towed out USS Berberry, which had become disabled trying to pull Aster off the shoal.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederates continued their Missouri invasion, fighting near the state capital of Jefferson City. They also skirmished at Moreau Creek and around Tyler's Mills in Big River, Missouri.
Union soldiers and Native Americans clashed at Elk Creek, in the Nebraska Territory.
A Confederate attempt to regain ground that had been lost around Richmond, Virginia, is thwarted when Union troops turn back General Robert E. Lee's assault at the Battle of Darbytown.
In the summer of 1864, the campaign between Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant ground to a halt at Petersburg, 25 miles south of Richmond. The two great armies settled into trenches for a siege, and the lines soon extended all the way back to Richmond. Grant periodically attacked portions of the Rebel defenses but was not successful. On September 29, Union forces captured part of Richmond's outer defense at the Battle of New Market Heights. Although Richmond was still safely in Confederate hands, Lee was concerned about the new position of the Yankee troops.
Lee sent two divisions under Generals Charles Field and Robert Hoke to move around the end of the Union line. Lee hoped that the Federal flank could be turned and the Confederates could regain the defensive works lost the week before. On the morning of October 7, the Confederates moved down Darbytown Road and around the Union right flank and attacked 1,700 cavalrymen. The assault sent the Yankees into a quick retreat. The Confederates captured eight cannons and drove the Union troops into the breastworks of General Alfred Terry. Alerted to the advancing Confederates, Terry summoned reinforcements to his position. By the time the Confederates worked their way through the thick foliage, they faced a strong Union force. Lee ordered an attack anyway. Brigades advanced one at a time, and the Yankee artillery tore the lines apart. By the afternoon, the Confederates withdrew to their original position. They lost 700 men while the Yankees lost only 400, and no ground was gained. Lee did not make another attempt to regain the lost works and focused instead on setting up defenses closer to Richmond. Brigadier General John Gregg, CSA, is mortally wounded in the action while attempting to push back the Federal troops on the Darbytown Road.
Another battle occurred at Dallas, Georgia, with Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederates against Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Federals, as Hood begins to move his army toward Alabama.
Federal operations began in Montgomery County, Maryland, in the vicinity of Sandy Springs, Barnesville, Middlebrook and Mechanicsville against a small roving band of Confederate partisan guerrillas in the area.
Sporadic skirmishes broke out between the forces of Generals Jubal Early and Philip Sheridan on the Black Road near Strasburg and at Columbia Furnace, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley.
Second only to Captain Raphael Semmes' CSS Alabama in fame was her sister ship, the Confederate commerce raider CSS Florida. Both built in Liverpool, they had gone their separate ways and after taking 37 prizes in her career, Florida pulled into Bahia, Brazil for resupply and refueling. Close on her heels was Commander Napoleon Collins and the USS Wachusett, who had been seeking them for months. Collins sent a message to Florida’s captain, Lieutenant Charles Morris, daring him to come out of the neutral harbor and fight. Morris declined, and Brazilian authorities ordered both ships to maintain the peace in Brazilian waters. Collins ignored this, steamed in and rammed Florida while Morris and most of her crew were ashore. Damaged but not sinking, Florida was surrendered after both ships exchanged cannon fire. This infuriated the Brazilians, who turned their harbor guns on the Wachusett as she steamed away with Florida in tow to Hampton Roads, Va.
Another report: The USS Wachusett, under Commander Napoleon Collins, illegally captured the CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Manigault Morris, in Bahia Harbor, Brazil, and towed her out to sea. Collins, who had been scouring the sea lanes for the Confederate raider for many months, saw her enter Bahia on 4 October and anchored close by the next morning. Collins offered to meet Morris outside the harbor in a ship duel, but the Confederate captain wisely declined. The Brazilian authorities, recognizing the explosiveness of the situation, exacted promises from both Lieutenant Morris and the U.S. Consul, Thomas Wilson, that no attacks would be made in Brazilian waters. Collins was not to allow the elusive Florida to escape, however, and plans were laid to attack her shortly after midnight on the 7th. At 3 a.m. he slipped his cable, steamed past the Brazilian gunboat anchored between his ship and Florida, and rammed the famous raider on her starboard quarter. After a brief exchange of cannon fire, Lieutenant Porter, commanding the Florida in Morris's absence, surrendered the ship. By this time the harbor was alive, and as Wachusett towed her long-sought prize to sea, the coastal fort opened fire on her.
Collins' actions, though cheered in the North where the Florida was a household name because of her continued "depredations", were in violation of international law, and prompt disavowal of them was made by Secretary of State William Henry Seward. The Florida was taken to Hampton Roads, arriving there on 12 November. She was ordered returned to the Brazilian Government, but before she could be made ready for sea she mysteriously sank. Commander Collins was court-martialed and ordered to be dismissed from the naval service. At the trial, the dauntless captain admitted his actions had violated international law, offering in his defense only the following statement: "I respectfully request that it may be entered on the records of the court as my defense that the capture of the Florida was for the public good."
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles concurred, especially in view of the vast damage done by the CSS Florida to Union commerce, and, restored Collins to his command. The furor over the capture, however, did not die down. At length, to further satisfy Brazil, a 21-gun salute as an "amende honorable" was fired by USS Nipsic in Bahia Harbor, 23 July 1866.
The USS Aster, Acting Master Samuel Hall in charge, chased the blockade runner Annie ashore at New Inlet, North Carolina, under the guns of Fort Fisher, but the 285-ton wooden steamer ran aground herself and was destroyed to prevent capture. The USS Niphon, piloted by Acting Master Kemble, rescued Hall and his men and, under a hail of fire from Confederate batteries, towed out USS Berberry, which had become disabled trying to pull Aster off the shoal.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederates continued their Missouri invasion, fighting near the state capital of Jefferson City. They also skirmished at Moreau Creek and around Tyler's Mills in Big River, Missouri.
Union soldiers and Native Americans clashed at Elk Creek, in the Nebraska Territory.
A Confederate attempt to regain ground that had been lost around Richmond, Virginia, is thwarted when Union troops turn back General Robert E. Lee's assault at the Battle of Darbytown.
In the summer of 1864, the campaign between Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant ground to a halt at Petersburg, 25 miles south of Richmond. The two great armies settled into trenches for a siege, and the lines soon extended all the way back to Richmond. Grant periodically attacked portions of the Rebel defenses but was not successful. On September 29, Union forces captured part of Richmond's outer defense at the Battle of New Market Heights. Although Richmond was still safely in Confederate hands, Lee was concerned about the new position of the Yankee troops.
Lee sent two divisions under Generals Charles Field and Robert Hoke to move around the end of the Union line. Lee hoped that the Federal flank could be turned and the Confederates could regain the defensive works lost the week before. On the morning of October 7, the Confederates moved down Darbytown Road and around the Union right flank and attacked 1,700 cavalrymen. The assault sent the Yankees into a quick retreat. The Confederates captured eight cannons and drove the Union troops into the breastworks of General Alfred Terry. Alerted to the advancing Confederates, Terry summoned reinforcements to his position. By the time the Confederates worked their way through the thick foliage, they faced a strong Union force. Lee ordered an attack anyway. Brigades advanced one at a time, and the Yankee artillery tore the lines apart. By the afternoon, the Confederates withdrew to their original position. They lost 700 men while the Yankees lost only 400, and no ground was gained. Lee did not make another attempt to regain the lost works and focused instead on setting up defenses closer to Richmond. Brigadier General John Gregg, CSA, is mortally wounded in the action while attempting to push back the Federal troops on the Darbytown Road.
Another battle occurred at Dallas, Georgia, with Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederates against Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Federals, as Hood begins to move his army toward Alabama.
Federal operations began in Montgomery County, Maryland, in the vicinity of Sandy Springs, Barnesville, Middlebrook and Mechanicsville against a small roving band of Confederate partisan guerrillas in the area.
Sporadic skirmishes broke out between the forces of Generals Jubal Early and Philip Sheridan on the Black Road near Strasburg and at Columbia Furnace, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley.
1
Posted on 10/8/14 at 4:48 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 8 October 1864
A lovely new steamship departed the docks of London today, the name Sea King painted on her stern and printed on her papers. Another vessel, the S.S. Laurel departed the same docks at the same time. They both just happened to be bound for Madeira Island in the mid-Atlantic. There some sleight-of-hand would take place. Passengers on the Laurel included Lt. James I. Waddell of the Confederate States Navy and a large number of seamen in the same employ. Cargo on the Laurel included a large number of un-mounted guns, gunpowder suitable for Navy cannons, and other provisions for a long sea voyage. In Madeira a swap would be made, with Waddell and his erstwhile co-passengers taking charge of the Sea King and mounting the cannons on her decks and stocking her with the provisions. The last act would be to change her name, and the last great Confederate commerce raider, Shenandoah, would be in business.
Second account: The steamer Sea King sailed from London under merchant captain G. H. Corbett to rendezvous with the S.S. Laurel at Madeira. Sea King carried a number of Confederate officers including Lieutenant William C. Whittle; Laurel put to sea later the same day carrying Lieutenant James I. Waddell, who, when the rendezvous was effected, would take command of Sea King and commission her as the CSS Shenandoah. Laurel also carried the armaments and supplies that would sustain Shenandoah on her long voyage as a Confederate raider. Commander Bulloch later reported Shenandoah's "safe departure" and "that the entire expedition is far away at sea, beyond the reach of interference of any United States authority in Europe..."
Steam Picket Boat No. 2, under Acting Ensign Andrew Stockholm, was captured by Confederate troops in Wicomico Bay, Virginia. The boat was one of two purchased by Lieutenant Cushing in New York for the expedition against the CSS Albemarle, and was en route in company with Picket Boat No. 1 to Fortress Monroe. Mechanical troubles forced No. 2 ashore for repairs, and while these were in progress, with No. 1 continuing ahead, Stockholm and his men were attacked by a body of guerrillas. He reported: "I immediately returned their fire, and fought them until I had expended my last cartridge, previous to which I had slipped my cable, and in trying to get out of the enemy's reach, grounded on a sand bar." Stockholm succeeded in burning the boat and destroying his supplies before he and his men were captured. Lieutenant Cushing was highly indignant at what he considered the unnecessary loss of one of his boats, and later wrote of it: "This was a great misfortune and I have never understood how so stupid a thing could have happened. I forget the name of the volunteer ensign to whose care it was intrusted, but am pleased to know that he was taken prisoner. I trust that his bed was not of down or his food that of princes while in rebel hands."
Confederate Flag Officer John K. Mitchell wrote Secretary Stephen R. Mallory regarding the enlistment of Union deserters for duty with the James River Squadron: "I beg that no more deserters from the enemy be sent to the squadron in future, for they are apt not only to desert themselves, but induce others to do so who might otherwise continue loyal. The fidelity of no man can be relied upon who has ever proved a traitor to any flag he has engaged to serve under. They form a dangerous element on board a ship." The difficulty of procuring qualified and competent officers and men to man the ships of the James River Squadron was to continue to the end of the War.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederate expeditionary force continued fighting near Jefferson City, as well as skirmished in Barry County, Missouri.
A large body of Union troops confiscate the Confederate mail and recapture several Union flags, near Saint Joseph, on the west side of the Mississippi River, Louisiana.
The Federal reconnaissance on the Vaughan and Squirrel Level Roads commenced near Petersburg, in the Richmond, Virginia, Campaign.
A lovely new steamship departed the docks of London today, the name Sea King painted on her stern and printed on her papers. Another vessel, the S.S. Laurel departed the same docks at the same time. They both just happened to be bound for Madeira Island in the mid-Atlantic. There some sleight-of-hand would take place. Passengers on the Laurel included Lt. James I. Waddell of the Confederate States Navy and a large number of seamen in the same employ. Cargo on the Laurel included a large number of un-mounted guns, gunpowder suitable for Navy cannons, and other provisions for a long sea voyage. In Madeira a swap would be made, with Waddell and his erstwhile co-passengers taking charge of the Sea King and mounting the cannons on her decks and stocking her with the provisions. The last act would be to change her name, and the last great Confederate commerce raider, Shenandoah, would be in business.
Second account: The steamer Sea King sailed from London under merchant captain G. H. Corbett to rendezvous with the S.S. Laurel at Madeira. Sea King carried a number of Confederate officers including Lieutenant William C. Whittle; Laurel put to sea later the same day carrying Lieutenant James I. Waddell, who, when the rendezvous was effected, would take command of Sea King and commission her as the CSS Shenandoah. Laurel also carried the armaments and supplies that would sustain Shenandoah on her long voyage as a Confederate raider. Commander Bulloch later reported Shenandoah's "safe departure" and "that the entire expedition is far away at sea, beyond the reach of interference of any United States authority in Europe..."
Steam Picket Boat No. 2, under Acting Ensign Andrew Stockholm, was captured by Confederate troops in Wicomico Bay, Virginia. The boat was one of two purchased by Lieutenant Cushing in New York for the expedition against the CSS Albemarle, and was en route in company with Picket Boat No. 1 to Fortress Monroe. Mechanical troubles forced No. 2 ashore for repairs, and while these were in progress, with No. 1 continuing ahead, Stockholm and his men were attacked by a body of guerrillas. He reported: "I immediately returned their fire, and fought them until I had expended my last cartridge, previous to which I had slipped my cable, and in trying to get out of the enemy's reach, grounded on a sand bar." Stockholm succeeded in burning the boat and destroying his supplies before he and his men were captured. Lieutenant Cushing was highly indignant at what he considered the unnecessary loss of one of his boats, and later wrote of it: "This was a great misfortune and I have never understood how so stupid a thing could have happened. I forget the name of the volunteer ensign to whose care it was intrusted, but am pleased to know that he was taken prisoner. I trust that his bed was not of down or his food that of princes while in rebel hands."
Confederate Flag Officer John K. Mitchell wrote Secretary Stephen R. Mallory regarding the enlistment of Union deserters for duty with the James River Squadron: "I beg that no more deserters from the enemy be sent to the squadron in future, for they are apt not only to desert themselves, but induce others to do so who might otherwise continue loyal. The fidelity of no man can be relied upon who has ever proved a traitor to any flag he has engaged to serve under. They form a dangerous element on board a ship." The difficulty of procuring qualified and competent officers and men to man the ships of the James River Squadron was to continue to the end of the War.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederate expeditionary force continued fighting near Jefferson City, as well as skirmished in Barry County, Missouri.
A large body of Union troops confiscate the Confederate mail and recapture several Union flags, near Saint Joseph, on the west side of the Mississippi River, Louisiana.
The Federal reconnaissance on the Vaughan and Squirrel Level Roads commenced near Petersburg, in the Richmond, Virginia, Campaign.
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