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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 10/8/14 at 4:48 am to BadLeroyDawg
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.
1
Posted on 10/8/14 at 9:14 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 9 October 1864
The campaign to run the Confederate cavalry force of General Jubal Early out of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia continued apace today. General Phillip Sheridan delegated the job to a couple of soldiers reasonably well-known in their own right: Wesley Merritt and George Armstrong Custer. Under overall command of General Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, they attacked and then pursued men under Confederate Confederate Major General Thomas Rosser and Brigadier General Lunsford Lomax for several miles, capturing some 300 prisoners. Federal losses for the day were reported as only 9 killed and 48 wounded. The pursuit continued.
Full report: Confederate General Jubal Early's force had been operating in and around the Shenandoah area for four months. Early's summer campaign caught the attention of Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant, who was laying siege to Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. Grant was determined to neutralize Early and secure the Shenandoah for the North. He dispatched one of his best generals, Philip Sheridan, to pursue the Rebels there.
Sheridan took command in August 1864 but spent over a month gathering his force before moving against Early. He quickly turned the tables on the Confederates, scoring major victories at Winchester and Fisher's Hill in September. Early's battered force sought refuge in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, while Sheridan began systematically destroying the Shenandoah's rich agricultural resources. Sheridan used his cavalry, under the command of General Alfred Torbert, to guard the foot soldiers as they burned farms and mills and slaughtered livestock. Confederate cavalry chief General Thomas Rosser nipped at the heels of the marauding Yankee force, but Torbert refused to allow his generals, George Custer and Wesley Merritt, to counterattack. He insisted they continue to stick close to the Union infantry. Sheridan heard of this and demanded that Torbert attack.
At dawn on October 9, Custer and Merritt and their respective forces attacked the two wings of the Confederate cavalry. Merritt's 3,500 Yankees overwhelmed General Lunsford Lomax's 1,500 troopers, but Custer had more difficulty. His 2,500 men faced 3,000 men under the command of Rosser, who was, coincidentally, a close friend of Custer's at West Point before the war. Custer observed that the Rebels were protected by the high bank of Tom's Creek, so he sent three of his regiments around Rosser's flank. Both groups of Confederates broke in retreat. The Yankees pursued the defeated Confederates for over 20 miles, a flight called the Woodstock Races. The chase ended only when the Confederates reached the safety of Early's infantry.
The Yankees captured 350 men, 11 artillery pieces, and all of the cavalry's wagons and ambulances. Nine Union troopers were killed, and 48 were wounded. It was the most complete victory of Union cavalry in the eastern theater during the entire War.
A Confederate battery near Freeman's Wharf, Mobile Bay, opened fire on the side-wheeler USS Sebago, under Lieutenant Commander Fitzhugh, which was guarding the approaches to Mobile. "There was no evidence of earthworks when these guns were fired," Fitzhugh reported; "they were so masked as to make them difficult to be seen." Sebago returned the Confederate fire for an hour, sustaining five casualties.
There were several skirmishes near Van Wert, Georgia, over a two day period, as well as at Bayou Sara, Louisiana.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederate expeditionary force continued fighting at Boonville, California, and Russellville, Missouri. All three towns were captured by the Southerners.
Federals scout in Saint Francois County, Missouri, and skirmish with partisan guerrillas.
The campaign to run the Confederate cavalry force of General Jubal Early out of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia continued apace today. General Phillip Sheridan delegated the job to a couple of soldiers reasonably well-known in their own right: Wesley Merritt and George Armstrong Custer. Under overall command of General Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, they attacked and then pursued men under Confederate Confederate Major General Thomas Rosser and Brigadier General Lunsford Lomax for several miles, capturing some 300 prisoners. Federal losses for the day were reported as only 9 killed and 48 wounded. The pursuit continued.
Full report: Confederate General Jubal Early's force had been operating in and around the Shenandoah area for four months. Early's summer campaign caught the attention of Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant, who was laying siege to Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. Grant was determined to neutralize Early and secure the Shenandoah for the North. He dispatched one of his best generals, Philip Sheridan, to pursue the Rebels there.
Sheridan took command in August 1864 but spent over a month gathering his force before moving against Early. He quickly turned the tables on the Confederates, scoring major victories at Winchester and Fisher's Hill in September. Early's battered force sought refuge in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, while Sheridan began systematically destroying the Shenandoah's rich agricultural resources. Sheridan used his cavalry, under the command of General Alfred Torbert, to guard the foot soldiers as they burned farms and mills and slaughtered livestock. Confederate cavalry chief General Thomas Rosser nipped at the heels of the marauding Yankee force, but Torbert refused to allow his generals, George Custer and Wesley Merritt, to counterattack. He insisted they continue to stick close to the Union infantry. Sheridan heard of this and demanded that Torbert attack.
At dawn on October 9, Custer and Merritt and their respective forces attacked the two wings of the Confederate cavalry. Merritt's 3,500 Yankees overwhelmed General Lunsford Lomax's 1,500 troopers, but Custer had more difficulty. His 2,500 men faced 3,000 men under the command of Rosser, who was, coincidentally, a close friend of Custer's at West Point before the war. Custer observed that the Rebels were protected by the high bank of Tom's Creek, so he sent three of his regiments around Rosser's flank. Both groups of Confederates broke in retreat. The Yankees pursued the defeated Confederates for over 20 miles, a flight called the Woodstock Races. The chase ended only when the Confederates reached the safety of Early's infantry.
The Yankees captured 350 men, 11 artillery pieces, and all of the cavalry's wagons and ambulances. Nine Union troopers were killed, and 48 were wounded. It was the most complete victory of Union cavalry in the eastern theater during the entire War.
A Confederate battery near Freeman's Wharf, Mobile Bay, opened fire on the side-wheeler USS Sebago, under Lieutenant Commander Fitzhugh, which was guarding the approaches to Mobile. "There was no evidence of earthworks when these guns were fired," Fitzhugh reported; "they were so masked as to make them difficult to be seen." Sebago returned the Confederate fire for an hour, sustaining five casualties.
There were several skirmishes near Van Wert, Georgia, over a two day period, as well as at Bayou Sara, Louisiana.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederate expeditionary force continued fighting at Boonville, California, and Russellville, Missouri. All three towns were captured by the Southerners.
Federals scout in Saint Francois County, Missouri, and skirmish with partisan guerrillas.
This post was edited on 10/9/14 at 5:07 am
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