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1721575
REYNOLCG oiSlORlCAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01192 9566
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
in 2010 witii funding from
Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/confederatemilit12inevan
'
confed^erate Military History
<i*^
A LIBRARY OF CONFEDERATE STATES HISTORY, IN TWELVE VOLUMES, WRITTEN BY DISTIN- GUISHED PvIEN OF THE SOUTH, AND EDITED BY GEN. CLEMENT A. EVANS OF GEORGIA
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Atlanta, Ga.
Confederate Publishing Company
1899
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17:^1575
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CAPT. WILLIAM HARWAR PARKER.
TitF. Cum KDERATE STATES NavY ...«.,,, i . j ,.,,,, I- II 5
Ci I A PTI>R I. Personnel of the Confederate Navy — Injustice of tl!o Fffk-ral Naval Secretary — Sacrifices of the Confederate Naval Uiiiccrs 3
CHAPTER II. The Genesis of the Confederate Navy— Or(;an- i/.ation of the Navj' Department — Assignment of Oflicers — ICarly Operations in Virginia Waters 8
CHAPTER III. Hollins' Attack on the United States Vessels at the "Head of the Passes" — Hatteras Inlet — Hilton Head — Battle of Roanoke Island — Elizabeth City 15
CHAPTER IV. The James River Squadron— Evacuation of the Norfolk Navy Yard by the Federals — Construction of the Merrimac — Officers of the Merrimac — The Patrick Henry, Jamestown, Teaser, Beaufort and Raleigh 28
CHAPTER V. Battle of Hampton Pvoads — Sinking of the Cumberland — Destruction of the Congress — The Work of the Wooden Gunboats 36
CHAPTER VI. Battle of the Merrimac and the Monitor— The Monitor Declines a Renewal of Combat — Evacuation of Norfolk — Destruction of the Merrimac — Battle of Drewry's Bluff 47
CHAPTER VII. The Mississippi River Fleet— Defenses of New Orleans— Farragut Runs the River Forts — Part of the Navy m the Combat 55
CHAPTER VIII. The Ram Arkansas— Her Completion on the
Yazoo River — Her Daring Dash through the Federal Fleet 63
CHAPTER IX. The Ironclads Palmetto State and Chicora— Their Fight off Charleston— Attack on Fort Sumter— Tor- pedo Expeditions — The Ram Atlanta 67
CHAPTER X. Capture of the Satellite and Reliance— Torpedo Attack on the U. S. Ironclad New Ironsides — Capture or the r. S. S. Underwriter— Torpedo Attack on the U. S. S. Min- nesota— Capture of the U. S. S. Waterwitch 74
CHAPTER XI. The Ram Albemarle— Her Battles and Vic- tories—Wreck of the Raleigh 81
CHAPTER XII. Defense of Mobile Bay— The Ram Tennes- see— Her Gallant Battle with Farragut's Fleet — First Attack on Fort Fisher 86
CHAPTER XIII. Operations on the James River, 1S64-65— Attempted Expedition against City Point — The Naval Bri- gade—The Ram Webb 92
in
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IV CONTENTS.
PAGE.
CHAPTER XIV. The Confederate Naval Academy — The Corps of Instructors— Splendid Service or the Midshipmen- Character of the Young Omcers 06
CHAPTER XV. The Cruisers— Their Status in War. . ' . ' ' ' ' ' 99
CHAPTER XVI. Conclusion— The Confederate States Iron- clad Fleet — ^Memorable Achievements 107
APPENDIX. Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Navy of the Confederate States of America, to January i, 1S64 _' jjq
J. WILLIAM JONES, D. D.
The M0R.A.LE OF THE Confederate Armies 117-193
Enthusiasm of All Classes for the Southern Cause— Colic ::jo Students in the Front— Great Campaigns and Valorous Achievements— Humanity toward tiiu Enemy— Religio:: in the Camp— Incidents of Personal Hcioism— The Veteran in Civil Life Ho
BRIG.-GEN. CLEMENT A. EVANS.
An Outline of the Cunixi>er.a.te ^Iilitarv History. . .195-265
LIEUT.-GEN. STEPHEN D. LEE.
The South since the War 267-56S
DOCUMENTAL AND STATISTICAL APPENDIX, Wq- Constitution of the Confederate States, 371— Members of the Provisional and Regular Congresses of the Confederate States, 3S4— Chronological List of Engagements by Stales, 389 — Statistics, 499 — Index, 513 — Illustrations .' ,' 547
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
facing page
Barron, Samuel 112
Brooke, John M ] ] * j j2
Brown, I. N \\\ no
BrciiA.vAN, Franklin ' * no
CooKE, J. W [ 112
Flags, Confederate 359
Hollins, George N 112
Ingraham, D. N * . 112
Jones, J. William 117
vEE, SlEI'IIEN D * 267
Maffitt, j. N ' 112
Parker, Willi.v.m PI i
Semmes, Raihaei 112
T.\ttnall, Josiah 112
Tuc KLR. John R * 112
Wood, John T ' " ' 112
WILLIAM H. PARKER
the : THE CONFEDERATE STATES NAVY
BY
u:.;;. j , CAPT. WILLIAM HARWAR PARKER,
Author of Naval Tactics, Naval Light Artillery, Recollections of a Naval /• Officer, Familiar Tall<s on Astronomy, Etc., Etc., Etc.
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CHAPTER I.
PERSONNEL OF THE CONFEDERATE NAVY— INJUSTICE OF THE FEDERAL NAVAL SECRETARY— SACRIFICES OF THE CONFEDERATE NAVAL OFFICERS.
ON the nth day of March, 1861, the delegates from the seceded States, in session at Montgomery, Ala. , adopted the ' ' Constitution for the provisional government of the Confederate States of America," and this Constitution, as well as the one afterward adopted as "the permanent Constitution of the Confederate States," empowered Congress to "provide and maintain a navy," and made the President commander-in-chief of the army and navy.
South Carolina seceded December 20, i860, and was followed by Mississippi, January 9, 1861; Florida, Jan- uary 10, 1861; Alabama, January 11, 1861; Georgia, Jan- uary 19, 1861; Louisiana, January 26, 1861, and Texas, Februar)^ i, 1861.
As the different States seceded, many of the officers of -the United States navy belonging to those States resigned their commissions and offered their services to the Confederacy. Although many of these officers were informed by Mr. Gideon Welles, the secretary of the United States navy, that their names were "dropped from the rolls," and up to the present time they are marked on the official documents as "dismissed," yet, as a matter of fact, when they resigned their commissions. the President could not, in accordance with the custom of the navy, do otherwise than accept them. The right of an officer to resign has never been disputed, unless the.- officer is at the time under arrest and liable to charges. Many examples could be cited to establish this point;
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4 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
but it is not necessary, as the Congress of the United States passed in 1861 an act to the effect that officers resigning would not be considered out of the service until their resignations were accepted by the President. This act is as follows :
Any commissioned officer of the navy or marine corps who, 'having tendered his resignation, quits his post or proper duties without leave, and with intent to remain permanently absent therefrom, prior to due notice of the acceptance of such resignation, shall be deemed and punished as a deserter. Passed August 5, 1861.
The necessity for passing such an act proves the point just stated. Before 1S61 the waiting for an acceptance of a resignation was simply an act of courtesy.
The Southern army officers were better treated. All resignations from the army were accept :;d. But many navy officers, in consequence of this spiteful and illegal action on the part of Secretary Welles, are now mr.rked on the official list as "dismissed" — not a pleasant thing for their descendants to contemplate — for which no atone- ment can ever be made these officers. It is only one of the many sacrifices of the Confederate nav}^ The Naval Academy Association of Alumni, with a higher sense of honor and justice than Mr. Welles manifested, ignorec this action of his in dismissing officers. It cordially admits these officers to membership, though officers legally dismissed are not admitted.
According to Col. J. Thomas Scharf's valuable history of the Confederate States navy, the statistics show that by June 3, 1861, of 671 officers from the South, 321 had resigned and 350 still remained in the United States navy. As the war progressed, however, many more Southern officers resigned.
Whatever has been said or written since that time of the action of the Southern officers, it is unquestionably true that it was the -general belief of the vSouthern officers in the navy in 1S61, that allegiance was due the State, and
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CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY. 5
that when that State seceded, she withdrew her army and navy officers. It was, indeed, rather a matter of surprise to the better classes, even at the North, when a Southern officer failed to resign and join his friends and relatives at home. This action on the part of the naval officers who resigned must, and eventually will, stand forth as one of the most sublime instances in history of abnegation and devotion to principle.
In spite of all the censures in the Northern papers at that time and since, such as the talk of "bad faith, ingratitude, and treason," the fact remains that these officers — educated by their States, not at a royal or imperial academy, but at a United States academy — recog- nizing the right of a State to secede, heroically threw up their commissions, and offered their services to the States that claimed them. This sacrifice on the part of the Southern naval officers has never been properly appreciated. While at the close of the war the statesman returned to the Senate, the lawyer to his briefs, the doctor to his practice, the merchant to his desk, and the laborer to his vocation, the naval officer was utterly cast adrift. He had lost his profession, which was that of arms. The army officer was in the same category. Here it may be as well to explain to the general reader (too apt to confound the naval officer with the mere seaman) that the profession of a naval officer is precisely that of an army officer. They are both military men. So far as the profession goes, there is no diflerence be- tween a lieutenant in the navy, and a lieutenant of dra- goons. One maneuvers and fights on shipboard, the other on horseback.
But there was this difference: The Southern officers of the United States army who came vSouth were raised to high rank; young lieutenants, and even cadets, attained the rank of major or brigadier-general, and the close of the war left them with a national reputation. Far other- wise was it with the Southern naval officers. Men who,
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6 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
like Rousseau, Forrest and Tatnall, had commanded squadrons, could now only aspire to command a few converted river steamers; while commanders and lieu- tenants of many years' service were risking their reputa- tions in command of canal boats. They came out of the war with the rank they had first, for there were few pro- motions. Under the circumstances, this was unavoid- able; but it should be borne in mind by the present gen- eration.
These officers with unparalleled devotion cast their lot with their people. No class of men had less to do with bringing the war about, and no men suffered more; At the close of the war they had literally lost all save honor — and there was much honor. But the coming of peace found these gentlemen unknown, and almost unhonored. Yet they have stood shoulder to shoulder since the war with nothing but their "wants, infirmities and scars to reward them;" they have felt the "cold hand of poverty without a murmur, and have seen the insolence of wealth without a sigh," and not one of them has cried, Peccavi!
Some of the Southern officers were at the beginning of the war in command of United States vessels on foreign stations. Upon being ordered home, they honorably car- ried their ships to Northern ports, and then, throwing up their commissions, joined the South. And what was be- fore the Confederate naval officer? A nation with abso- lutely no navy, and with almost no facilities for building one! Professor Soley, assistant secretary of the navy under President Harrison, well says in his work, "The Blockade and the Ci*uisers:"
Except its officers, the Confederate government had nothing in the shape of a navy. It had not a single ship of war. It had no abundant fleet of merchant vessels in its ports from which to draw reserves. It had no seamen, for its people were not given to seafaring pursuits. Its only shipyards were Norfolk and Pensacola. Norfolk, with its immense supplies of ordnance and equipment was indeed valuable ; but though the 300 Dahlgren guns
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CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY. 7
captured in the yard were a permanent acquisition, the yard itself was lost when the war was one-fourth over. The South was without any large force of skilled mechan- ics, and such as it had were early summoned to the army. There were only three rolling-mills in the country, two of which were in Tennessee; and the third, in Alabama, was unfitted for heavy work. There were hardly any machine shops that were prepared to supply the best kind of workmanship ; and in the beginning the only foundry capable of casting heavy guns was the Tredegar iron works [at Richmond, Va.], which, under the direction of Commander Brooke, was employed to its fullest capacity. Most deplorable of all deficiencies, there were no raw materials except the timber that was standing in the forests. Under these circumstances no general plan of naval policy on a large scale could be carried out, and the conflict on the Southern side became a species of par- tisan, desultory warfare.
In spite of all these difficulties, so plainly stated by Professor Soley, we shall see that the Southern navy was nevertheless built ; and, incredible as it now appears, the South constructed during the war a fleet of ironclad ves- sels which, had they been assembled in Chesapeake bay, could have defied the navy of any nation in Europe. They were not seagoing vessels; but in smooth water the navy of Great Britain, at that time, could not have suc- cessfully coped with them.
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CHAPTER 11.
THE GENESIS OF THE CONFEDERATE NAVY— ORGANI- ZATION OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT— ASSIGNMENT OF OFFICERS— EARLY OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA WATERS.
A'
f;,^t TT"^ ^^^ different States seceded from the Union, each sovereignty made efforts to provide for a navy, and conferred rank upon its officers. A few rev- enue cutters and merchant steamers were seized and con- verted into men-of-war. Thus, at the beginning, each State had its own navy. At Charleston several naval officers assisted in the capture of Fort Sumter; notably, Capt. H. J. Hartstene, in command of a picket boat, and Lieut. J. R. Hamilton, in command of a floating batter}'. General Beauregard mentioned the assistance rendered by these officers; also the services of Dr. A. C. L}Tich, late of the United States na\y. Mention is also made of Lieut. W. G. Dozier, and the armed steamers Gordon, Lady Da\'is and General Clinch. The keels of two fine ironclads, the Palmetto State and the Chicora, were laid, and Commodore Duncan X. Ingraham was put in com- mand of the naval forces.
Upon the secession of Virginia, April 17, 1861, a con- vention was entered into between that State and the Con- federate States of America, after which the seat of the Confederate government was removed to Richmond, and the Congress assembled there July 20th ; from which time properly commences the history of the Confederate nav>'. The nav>' department was organized with Stephen R. Mallory, secretary of the navy ; Commodore Samuel Bar- ron, chief of the bureau of orders and detail ; Commander George Minor, chief of ordnance and hydrography; Pay-
8
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CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY. 9
master John DeBree, chief of provisions and clothing; Surg. W. A. W. Spottswood, bureau of medicine and furgcry; Edward M. Tidball, chief clerk. The Confed- erate government conferred commissions and warrants upon ofTicers in accordance with their relative rank in the United States na\'}% and a more regular and satisfactory course of administration was entered upon.
By act of Congress, April 21, 1862, the navy was to consist of 4 admirals, 10 captains, 31 commanders, 100 first lieutenants, 25 second lieutenants, 20 masters in line of promotion, 12 paymasters, 40 assistant paymasters, 22 surgeons, 15 passed assistant surgeons, 30 assistant sur- geons, 1 engineer-in-chief, and 12 engineers. But the Con- federate navy register attached (see Appendix) gives the personnel of the navy on January i, 1864.
Commodore Lawrence Rousseau was put in command of the naval forces at New Orleans; Commodore Josiah Tattnall, at Savannah; Commodore French Forrest, at Norfolk ; Commodore Duncan N. Ingraham, at Charles- ton, and Capt. Victor Randolph, at Mobile. Commodores Rousseau, Forrest and Tattnall were veterans of the war of 181 2, and the last two had served with much dis- tinction in the war wnth Mexico. The name of Tattnall is a household word among all English-speaking people on account of his chivalry in Eastern waters while com- manding the East India squadron. Commodore Forrest, who had in 1S56-5S commanded the Brazil squadron, threw up his commission when his native State (Vir- ginia), seceded, and joined the South with the enthusiasm of a boy. His reward was small.
The secretar>' of the navy, Mr. Mallor}% immediately turned his attention to the building of a na\y. He entered into innumerable contracts, and gunboats were built on the Pamunkey, York, Tombigbee, Pedee and otlier rivers; but as these boats were mostly burned before completion, it is not necessary to enumerate them.
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10 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
The want of proper boilers and engines would have ren- dered them very inefficient at best.
The amount of work done was marvelous. "Before the war but seven steam war vessels had been built in the States forming the Confederacy, and the engines of only two of these had been contracted for in these States. All the labor or materials requisite to complete and equip a war vessel could not be commanded at any one point of the Confederacy." This was the report of a committee appointed by Congress, August 27, 1S62. This committee further found that the navy department "had erected a powder-mill which supplies all the powder required by our nav}^; two engine, boiler and machine shops, and five ordnance workshops. It has established eighteen yards for building war vessels, and a rope-walk, making all cordage from a rope-yarn to a 9-inch cable, and cap- able of turning out 8,000 yards per month. ... Of ves- sels not ironclad and converted to war vessels, there were 44. The department has built and completed as war vessels, 1 2 ; partially constructed and destroyed to save from the enemy, 10; now under construction, 9; ironclad vessels now in commission, 12; completed and destroyed or lost by capture, 4 ; iu progress of construction and in various stages of forwardness, 23. " It had also one iron- clad floating battery, presented to the Confederate States by the ladies of Georgia, and one ironclad ram turned over by the State of Alabama.
The navy had afloat in November, 1S61, the Sumter, the McRae, the Patrick Henry, the Jamestown, the Reso- lute, the Calhoun, the Ivy, the Lady Davis, the Jackson, the Tuscarora, the Virginia, the Manassas, and some twenty privateers.* There were still others, of which a correct list cannot be given on account of the loss of offi- cial documents. It will be remembered that on the sounds of North Carolina alone, we had the Seabird, the Curlew, the Ellis, the Beaufort, the Appomattox, the *Scharfs History of the Confederate States Navy, p. 47.
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CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY. 11
Raleigh, the Fanny and the Forrest. At Savannah were the Savannah, the Sampson, the Lady Davis and the Huntress; at New Orleans, the Bienville and others..
Upon the secession of Virginia, followed in May by Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina, olKcers who had resigned from the United States navy were report- ing in large numbers at the navy department, but as there were no ships ready for them, they were sent to the difTereut batteries on the York, James, Potomac and Kappahannock rivers in Virginia, and to many other bat- teries on the Mississippi and other rivers. As a rule, ofiicers were at first detailed to do service in the States that claimed them. In Virginia we find, at Aquia creek, Commodore Lynch, Captain Thorburn, and Lieuts. John Wilkinson and Charles C. Simms; on the Rappahannock, Lieut. H. H. Lewis; on the Potomac, Commanders Frederick Chatard and Hartstene, and Lieuts. William L. Maury and C. W, Read; on the James, Commodore Hol- lins, Commanders Cocke and R. L. Page, and Lieutenants Pcgram, Harrison and Catesby Jones; at Sewell's point and batteries near Norfolk, Capt. Arthur Sinclair, Com- manders Mcintosh and Pinkney, Lieuts. Robert Carter and Pembroke Jones; on the York, Commanders T. J. Page and W. C. Whittle, and Lieut. William Whittle. Lieut. Charles M. Fauntleroy was sent with two medium 32. pounders to Harper's Ferr>'. As the guns at these batteries were necessarily manned by soldiers, these owicers occupied rather doubtful positions, and in many cases were mere drillmasters.
In reference to the relative rank of navy and army oflicers, General Lee addressed the following order to the officers at Gloucester Point for the regulation of all mixed commands:
As there are no sailors in the service, it is impossible to serve river batteries by them, and artillery companies must perform this duty. Naval officers from their expe- rience and familiarity with the peculiar duties connected
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12 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
with naval batteries, their management, construction, etc., are eminently fitted for the command of such bat- teries, and are most appropriately placed in command of them. In a war such as this, unanimity and hearty co- operation should be the rule. Petty jealousies about slight shades of relative command and bickering about trivial matters are entirely out of place and highly improper, and when carried so far as to interfere with the effectiveness of a command, become both criminal and contemptible. Within the ordinary limits of a letter it is impossible to provide for every contingency that may arise in a com- mand which is not centered in a single individual. It is therefore hoped that mutual concessions will be made, and that the good of the service will be the only aim of all.
In some cases, army rank was conferred upon naval offi- cers in command of batteries ; but in this anomalous state of affairs, jealousies were constantly arising, and the navy men were only too glad to be assigned to duty afloat.
At the navT' department the work of preparing for the manufacture of ordnance, powder and naval supplies was ver>' heavy, and most diligently pursued. Lieut. Rob- ert D. Minor was conspicuous in this duty, as was also Commander John M. Brooke, whose banded guns proved so efficient. Indeed, all the navy officers were most en- thusiastic in turning their hands to any work to help the cause. Commodore M. F. :Maury, who had been a mem- ber of the governor's advisory board, organized the naval submarine battery service. Upon his departure for England he turned it over to Lieut. Hunter Davidson, an energetic, gallant officer, who, by his skillful manage- ment of torpedoes in the James river, contributed largely to the defense of Richmond. Engineer Alphonse Jack- son established a powder-mill; Commander John M. Brooke devised a machine for making percussion caps ; Lieut D. P. McCorkle manufactured at Atlanta gun carriages, etc. ; later in the war, Commander Catesby Jones established a foundr>' for casting heavy guns, at
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COXFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY, 13
Sclm.i, Ala., and Chief Engineer H. A. Ramsay had t!i.ir;;cof an establishment at Charlotte, N. C, for heavy r>r^".ii}^ and making gun carriages and naval equipments of -aW kinds.
On M;iy 31 and June i, 1861, several vessels belonging to l5:c Potomac flotilla, imder Commander Ward, U. S. N., car.::"nadcd tlic batter)' at Aquia creek, under Commo- dc>rr W. F. Lynch, but with no particular result. The object of the enemy, probably, was to develop the Con- fcdrr.itc defenses. Commodore Lynch mentioned favor- ably Commanders R. D. Thorbum and J W. Cooke and Lieut. C. C. Simms. On June 27th, Commander Ward was killed on board his vessel, the Freeborn, off Mathias point on the Potomac river. Lieutenant Chaplin, U. S. N. , Lirulcd with a handful of sailors and attempted to throw up a breastwork. He was soon driven back, but he exhibited extraordinary courage in taking on his back one of his men who could not swim, and swimming to his Ktat. Batteries were at once constructed by the Confed- erates at Mathias point and Evansport, and put under the char};:c of Commander Frederick Chatard. As the river •it M tiliias point is but one mile and a half wide, the b.iiiery almost blockaded the Potomac river, and consid- erably annoyed, successively, the United States steamers P<<a}ir)!Uas, Seminole and Pensacola. Commander Ch.ilard was assisted by Commander H. J. Hartstene and Lieut. C. W. Read, and others whose names are unob- t..;:;.;:;le.
The batteries on the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers were evacuated when the army retired from ^Llnassas; those on the York when the army fell back on Richmond, and those on the Elizabeth when the Confed- erates evacuated Norfolk.
The steamer St. Nicholas, plying between Baltimore and Washington, having been taken possession of by CommtKlore IloUins and Col. Richard Thomas, June 29, \-<(>\, was taken to Coan river, and there boarded by
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14 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
Lieutenants Lewis, Simms and Minor, and fifteen sail- ors from the Confederate steamer Patrick Henry. Rol- lins went first in search of the U. S. S. Pawnee, hoping to take her by surprise. Foiled in this, he cruised in Ches- apeake bay, and captured the schooner T^Iargaret, the brig Monticello and the schooner Mary Pierce, which prizes he carried to Fredericksburg. Soon after this exploit Commodore Hollins was ordered to command the naval forces at New Orleans.
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CHAPTER in.
HOLLINS" ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES VESSELS AT THE "HEAD OF THE PASSES"— HATTERAS IN- LKT-HILTOX HEAD— BATTLE OF ROANOKE ISL- AND-ELIZABETH CITY.
*^I^I1E first naval encounter occurred at the mouth of the Mississippi river on the 12th of October, 1861. At this time the United States ships Richmond, Vincennes, Preble, and the small steamer Water Witch, commanded respectively by Capt. John Pope, Command- ers Robert Hardy, and Henry French and Lieut Francis Winslow, were lying at the "head of the passes." The Confederate squadron, under Commodore Hollins, con- sisted of the ram Manassas (Lieutenant Warley), the McRae (Lieutenant Huger), the Ivy (Lieutenant Fry), iho Tuscarora, the Calhoun, the Jackson, and the tugboat Watson. A little before 4 a. m. Warley rammed the Kichmond with the Manassas, but without damaging her v.-riuusly. Fire rafts were sent down by Lieutenant Avcrctt, of the Watson, and these, with the "ramming," O-'Uiplclcly demoralized the enemy. The captains of ihc Richmond, Vincennes and Preble were panic-stricken and retreated with their vessels down the river. The br.ivc commander of the Water Witch (Winslow), how- ever, kept his head and his post. In attempting to pass the bar the Richmond and Vincennes grounded, and the captain of the latter vessel actually deserted his ship with his crew, first laying and lighting a train to the ina^^izine. It was said that as the men of the Vincennes were leaving the ship, an old quarter-gunner, with more ncr\'e than his commander, brushed aside the train, and thus saved the ship. Winslow, after attempting in vain to
15
16 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
prevent tlie vessels from leaving the river, finally pre- vailed upon Commander Hardy to return to his ship. Francis Winslow was an accomplished naval officer. He died early in the war, or we should have heard more of him.
A-s soon as day broke, the Confederate vessels followed the United States vessels, exchanged a few shots at long range, and returned to New Orleans. Why they did not prosecute their success has never been explained. It was a lost opportunity. Lieutenant Averett, a very gal- lant, cool-headed officer, says: "The expedition was a complete success so far as opening the way to the sea from New Orleans was its object, but the officers of the McRae were greatly disappointed when it was discov- ered that her machinery was so defective as, in the judgment of Flag-Officer Hollins, to render the steamer unfit for sea service." Lieut. C. W. Read, who was pres- ent on the McRae, in a letter to the Southern Historical Society magazine, says in relation to the morning's trans- actions :
On arriving at extreme range we fired a few shots, all of which fell short. One of the enemy's shells falling near the Ivy, which had ventured nearer than the other boats, signal was made to "withdraw from action," and we steamed gallantly up the river.
We shall hear more of this same Lieutenant Read. He was, in the writer's opinion, one of the greatest naval officers the South produced He had his. counterpart in young Cushing, of the United States na\T. Lieutenant Read" mentions the McRae, Manassas, Iv>', Calhoun and tugboats Tuscarora and Watson as being present on this occasion, but does not give the names of all the captains, nor does Colonel Scharf in his histor>'.
Soon after the secession of North Carolina, steps were taken to defend the entrances to Pamlico and Albemarle sounds, and batteries were constructed at Hatteras, Ocracoke and Oregon inlets. On the 26th of August.
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CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY. 17
,.^61, an expedition, consisting of the United States &tc.im frigates Minnesota, Susquehanna and Wabash, and t-u-amers Pawnee, Monticello and Harriet Lane, the whole under the command of Flag-Officer Stringham, t^i'.lcd from Hampton Roads to attack the batteries at H.iiicras. A Land force of about 900 men, under Gen. U F. Hutlcr, accompanied the expedition. On the after- m^jri of the 26th, the vessels anchored off the inlet, and en the 27th the bombardment commenced. The enemy I.mdcd a force of 315 men, and soon took possession of a Mn.\ll fort near the main one. The garrison at these forts consisted of one regiment, the Seventh North Car- olina volunteers. On the aSth Commodore Samuel Bar- ron arrived on the steamer Winslow,and at the earnest so- licitation of Colonel Martin landed with his aides, Lieuten- ;iuts Murdaugh and Sharp, and assumed supreme com- n>,.ind — an unwise proceeding on his part, as events afterward proved. The bombardment was renewed on Ihc morning of the 29th, when the fort surrendered.
The defense of Hatteras was not much to the credit of ll»c Confederates. They should have captured the small •force l.-mded on the 27th. Indeed, those who landed expected it. But this was early in the war, and our men were not accustomed to the fire of heav}' shot and shell. They afterward learned to treat the fire of ships with ir.'hffcrcncc, Lieut. William H. Murdaugh, of the navy, w.vs badly wounded on the morning of the 29th, but his fri-iKls buccceded in carrying him off to the steamer W-.nslow. He was spoken of in high terms by his com- rades in the fort, and he deserved their praise. The Confederate steamers Winslow (Capt. Arthur Sinclair) nnd Ellis (Commander W. B. Muse) were present at this r.:T.iir but could render no assistance. They took off the }:;in-ison at Ocracoke inlet, together with the women and chil'lren of the village, and returned the first to New I'vrn and the others to Washington on the Pamlico r-vcr. Oregon inlet was also abandoned and the guns III a
;:)■■'»< , /•> (jc,
18 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
removed to Roanoke island, which the Confederates were now fortifying to protect the approaches to Norfolk.
On the 29th of October, 1S61, a formidable force con- sisting of sixteen United States steam frigates and gun- boats, under Flag-Officer Dupont, and 12,000 soldiers. under Gen. Thomas W. Sherman, sailed from Hampton Roads for Port Royal, S. C. Commodore Tattnall, who had moved to its vicinity through the sounds from Savan- nah with his squadron of river boats — consisting of the Savannah (flagship), Capt. J. N. Maffit, with Capt. R. L. Page as fleet-captain; the Resolute, Lieut J. Pembroke Jones; the Sampson, Lieut. J. Kennard, and the Lady Davis, Lieut. John Rutledge — exchanged shots with the United States vessels upon their arrival ofiE the forts, with slight results. The forts were captured on the 7th of November after a feeble resistance, and Tatnall's vessels were very useful in removing the soldiers to Sa- vannah. They could not, of course, pretend to cope with the enemy's fleet. The brunt of the attack of Dupont's fleet was sustained by Fort Walker, on Hilton Head. The garrison of Fort Beauregard, at Bay Point, retired as
i^ soon as it appeared that Fort "Walker was taken. Hilton Head and Port Royal, like Hatteras inlet, remained in possession of the enemy until the close of the war. After the fall of Hatteras the enemy made no attempt to take possession of Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, though two or three gunboats would have been sufficient for the purpose.
The Confederate States vessels under Commodore Lynch — consisting of the Seabird, Capt. Patrick McCar- rick (flagship) ; the Curlew, Commander T. T. Hunter; the Ellis, Commander James W. Cooke ; the Appomat- tox, Lieut. C. C. Simms; the Beaufort, Lieut. Wm. H. Parker; the Raleigh, Lieut. J. W. Alexander; the Fanny
: (captured by Commodore Lynch, October i, i86i), Lieu- tenant Tayloe, and the Forrest, Lieut. J. L. Hoole — moved about these waters from Roanoke island to New Bern on
81
cox FEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY. 19
•*.c Ncuso river, and occasionally fired a shot or two at \\< {k^'X and vessels at Hatteras. Of these vessels the Sc^bird and Curlew were sidewheel river steamboats; t?.c others were "converted" canal boats, of perhaps 'j sjich iron or less, about loo feet long and 17 feet iTani. The decks of these vessels were strengthened. The Sciibird had a smooth-bore 32-pounder mounted for- \< Afd. .ind a 30-pounder Parrott gun aft. The other ves- *<•!< were armed with a 53-cwt. rifled and banded 32- jv'undcr, mounted forward. The crew of each vessel r,'.:nibcrcd from 35 to 40 officers and men. In addition was ihc schooner Black Warrior, Lieutenant Harris, carrying iwo 3J-pounder smooth-bores. The magazines, engines ;*r.d b<jilers of all these vessels were above the water line and without any protection whatever.
In January, 1862, the United States navy department crj^janizcd an expedition for the purpose of completely CKntrolling the waters of the sounds. This fleet, under n.-i^'-Olhcer L. M. Goldsborough, composed of seventeen vessels, and accompanied by an army of 12,000 men, under General Burnside, arrived off Hatteras on the 12th day of that month. Commodore Lynch assembled his t:;;ire squadron at Roanoke island, correctly anticipating an attack upon its defenses. Roanoke island is in Croatan sound, between Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. It was j^arrisoncd by two Xorth Carolina regiments under Cv^loncls Shaw and Jordan. Colonel Scharf, in his history «'f the Confederate navy, well says: "With the military Cficnse of Roanoke island this work has no proper con- nection except to express the opinion that gi'eater want of {'reparation was nowhere else shown in all the war; that a more inadequate force was nowhere else entrusted with the defense of an important position." Gen. Henry A. Wise, who had lately been put in command of all the ^jrccs, fully represented this to the authorities at Rich- mond.
T!:c defenses of Roanoke island consisted of three
20 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
forts. The upper one was at Weir's point and was called Fort Huger. It mounted some ten guns, smooth- bore and rifled. About 500 yards below was Fort Blanch- ard with four 32 -pounders. Still farther down, about two miles from Fort Huger, stood Fort Bartow, on Pork point. This fort was the only one engaged on the 7th, as the enemy did not come within range of the others. It mounted ten guns, eight of which were smooth-bore 32- pounders of 57 cwt., and two rifled 32-pounders of 53 cwt. On the opposite side of the channel was Fort Forrest, mounting seven 24-pounders, but it took no part in the defense. Fort Bartow was well commanded by Lieut. B: P. Loyall, of the navy. After manning the forts. Colonel Shaw, commanding on the island, had less than 1,000 men fit for duty. On Februar}' 6, 1862, the com- bined forces of Flag-Officer Goldsborough and General Burnside appeared off Roanoke island, and it being foggy, anchored near the ^Marshes, about five miles below Fort Bartow. Admiral Goldsborough 's squadron, or fleet, consisted of the Stars and Stripes, Lieut. Comdg. Reed Worden, 5 guns; Louisiana, Lieutenant Murray, 5 guns; Hetzel, Lieutenant Davenport, 2 guns; Underwriter, Lieutenant Jeffers, 4 guns; Delaware, Lieutenant Quackenbush, 3 guns ; Valley City, Lieutenant Chaplin, 5 guns; Southfield, Lieutenant Behm, 4 guns; Hunch- back, Lieutenant Calhoun, 4 guns; Morse, Master Hays. 2 guns; Whitehead, Master French, i gun; Seymour. Master Wells, 2 guns; Shawsheen, }*Iaster Woodward. 2 guns; Lockwood, Master Graves, 3 guns; Ceres, Master McDearmid, 2 guns; Putnam, Master Hotchkiss, i gun; Brinckner, Master Giddings, i gun, and Granite, Master's Mate Boomer, i gun. Besides these were the Commo- dore Perry, Lieutenant Commanding Flusser, and the Commodore Barney. These vessels, it is but fair to state, were merchant vessels and ferryboats "converted." They were armed with loo-poundcr, So-pounder and 32- poundcr rifled, and 9-inch, S-inch and 6-inch smooth-bore
OS
COS FEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY. 21
j,nsKs— some 54 heavy guns on 19 vessels; to oppose which Ci.'rmr.oilore Lynch had 8 small steamers, mounting in the aj,'^'rcgatc 9 guns. This fleet was accompanied by ni^ny transjwrts carrying the troops. Admiral Ammen, I'. S. N., says:* '*The army transports were 46 in num- ber, .armed with 47 guns of small caliber, and carried in rvunJ numbers 12,000 troops." The admiral also men- tions the gxinboats Picket, Huzzar, Pioneer, Vidette, K.-u'Ji^'cr, Lancer and Chasseur as participating in the Att.ick on Fort Bartow. These boats mounted, probably, one jfim each.
Captain Parker, commanding the Beaufort, gives the following account of the naval part of the defense, in "Recollections of a Naval Oi^cer, " page 227 : "It was at 9 o'clock on the morning of February 6, 1862, that the enemy's fleet made its appearance. The fleet was ac- ctjmpanicd by a large number of transports bearing the trcK^ps of General Burnside; and it was evidently his plan to silence our batteries, particularly the one at Pork jK;inl [Fort Bartow], and land the troops under the pro- lev-iion of the guns of the ships. The weather at the time iV.'- enemy made his appearance was cold, gloomy and l!-.rc.itening; and about 10 a. m. we observed that he Ji.td anchored below the Marshes. We had got under wcij^h and formed line abreast, in the rear of the obstruc- ti'jns, f and wc remained under weigh all day, as the wcailicr was too thick to see very far, and we did not V'.Ay;; ai v/hat moment the ships niiglit commence the attack.
"About 4 o'clock in the afternoon Captain Simms, in the Apjxjmattox, was sent down to reconnoiter. He went Very close to the enemy, but was not fired at. Flag-Offlcer Guldiborough says in his allusion to it: 'She met with no opjX)sition from us, simply because we were not unwill-
• "The Atlantic Coast," by Admiral D. Ammen, pap^e 177. f The channel was obstructed a little above Fort Bartow by piles. This did not amount to much and was easily passed by the enemy.
v;.' v)
22 CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
ing that she should accomplish her wishes. ' Simms gave a very correct report of the number of men-of-war in the fleet; it was not possible to count the transports. At sunset, as we saw no disposition on the part of the enemy to move, we anchored. We kept guard boats out during the night to avoid a surprise.
"At daylight on the 7th, the Appomattox was sent to Edenton, and, as she did not return till sunset, and the Warrior took no part in the action, this reduced our force on the water to 7 vessels and S guns. At 9 a. m. we ob- served the enemy to be under weigh and coming up, and we formed 'line abreast, ' in the rear of the obstructions. At 11:30 the fight commenced at long range. The ene- my's fire was aimed at Fort Bartow and our vessels, and we soon became warmly engaged. The commodore at first directed the vessels to fall back in the hope of drawing the enemy under the fire of Forts Huger, Blanch- ard and Forrest ; but as he did not attempt to advance, and evidently had no intention of passing the obstruc- tions, we took up our first position and kept it during the day. At 2 p. m. the firing was hot and heavy, and so continued till sunset. Our gunners had had no practice with rifled guns, and the firing was bad. It was entirely too rapid. Early in the fight the Forrest was disabled, and her gallant young captain. Lieutenant Hoole,