Marine Sgt. Christopher Nugent – Medal of Honor Recipient

We haven’t written much about the U.S. Marines on this blog. They certainly were an important part of the U.S. Navy in the Civil War. The Marines had been in existence since the Revolutionary War. Initially they mirrored the role of the Royal Marines in the British Navy; helping to defend the ship from enemy boarding parties, and providing shipboard security and suppressing mutiny. These two roles continued into the Civil War, but the Marines by now were beginning the transition into an amphibious landing force that could project power ashore. They were involved in numerous shore expeditionary actions, along with Navy seamen, in all of the blockading squadrons during the war.

The USS Ft. Henry, patrolling the Florida gulf coast between Tampa Bay and St. Marks, had a small detachment of U.S. Marines assigned to the ship’s complement. In early June 1863, ship’s boats from the Fort Henry captured the sloop Emma off Seahorse Key. Having need of an extra boat, Lt. Commander McCauley decided to keep the sloop instead of sending it to Key West as a prize. Marine Orderly Sgt. Christopher Nugent had the sloop repaired and fitted out to transport his marines, and on 15 June 1863, Sgt. Nugent and six marines from the Fort Henry’s guard undertook an expedition up the Crystal River. About six miles upriver, Nugent spotted a log breastworks. Landing with a party of four marines, Nugent and his men drove away the 11 Confederates manning the small fortification. Nugent was hit, but not injured, by a shot from the officer commanding the militia as they retreated. He ordered his marines to hold their fire due to the presence of a woman in the midst of the enemy troops as they retreated. The marines carried off the small arms found in the works and destroyed the other material found there which they could not remove.

After receiving McCauley’s report of these actions, Adm. Bailey of the East Gulf Squadron wrote to Sec. Welles:

“I would respectfully suggest whether the conduct of Orderly Sergeant Nugent does not bring him within that class of men who should receive the medal of honor authorized by Congress to be given to ‘such petty officers, seamen, and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by gallantry in action,’ etc.”

On 16 April 1864, Marine Sgt. Nugent was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Crystal River (now known as the “Congressional Medal of Honor”). Today is the 150^th Anniversary of his actions which earned this award. An article profiling Sgt. Nugent and his actions, written by my Ft. Henry shipmate Dave Ekardt, is on the Navy and Marine Living History "Webzine" at: http://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1862USMC_MoH.htm

Ironclads on the Georgia Coast - Battle of the Ironclads II

Artist's sketch of the battle of the CSS Atlanta and USS Weehawken. Source:  Naval History and Heritage Command.

On 17 June 1863, another “battle of the ironclads” was fought between the CSS Atlanta and the USS Weehawken and Nahant. This Monday marks the 150^th Anniversary of that engagement. In November 1861, the Confederate steamer Fingal ran the blockade into Savannah. Afterward she was refitted as a casemated ironclad and renamed CSS Atlanta. At the time, she was considered to be the fastest, most powerful ironclad yet built by the Confederacy. The Confederates believed she could whip any ship in the Union Navy fleet. Early on the morning of 17 June, the Atlanta came steaming down the Wilmington River. She was accompanied by two other steam gunboats. Capt. John Rogers of the USS Weehawken got steam up in his Passaic-class turreted ironclad. He headed towards the Confederate ship and when in range, ordered his guns to open fire. The sister ironclad USS Nahant, under Commander John Downes, came following behind the Weehawken.

The Confederate warship got off the first shot at a range of about 1½ miles, which missed the Weehawken and landed near the Nahant, doing no damage. Rogers ordered “open fire”. After only a few shots, the Union sailors saw the Confederate colors on the Atlanta hauled down and replaced by a white flag; she had surrendered ! The Nahant never got off a shot, intending to slip by the Weehawken, run alongside the Atlanta and slug it out gun-to-gun (a.k.a. the Monitor and the Virginia). Rogers had the Weehawken approach the Atlanta and called for a boat to be sent over to his ship. Confederate Navy Lieutenant Alexander arrived shortly afterward to confirm the surrender of the CSN ironclad, and shortly after her captain, William A. Webb, came on board to deliver his sword. Rogers sent a boarding party over under the command of Lt Cdr D. B. Harmony of the Nahant, along with one of his officers and an engineer to oversee operation of the captured ship’s engine room.

For reasons we may never know, it only took five shots from the Weehawken to disable the Atlanta. Rogers went over to inspect the damage after the fight, and reported that he found they had hit the Confederate ship four times. A XV-inch cored shot “broke in the armor and the wood backing, strewing the deck with splinters, prostrating about 40 men by the concussion and wounding several by broken pieces of armor and splinters.” Another hit from a XV-inch cored shot “struck the top of the pilot house, knocking it off, wounding two pilots, and stunning the men at the wheel.” Two shots from the Weehawken’s XI-inch Dahlgren did some damage to the armor on the overhang of the casemate and shattered a “stopper” (a shield?) protecting one of the gunports. 16 Confederate seamen were wounded in the engagement, at least one died. These were cared for by the Atlanta’s surgeon, assisted by U.S. Navy surgeons, and ultimately all officers and men of the Confederate vessel were sent to Port Royal as prisoners of war.

The Atlanta was well-armed, with two 6-inch rifles mounted in broadside and two 7-inch rifles mounted “in pivot” at the bow and stern so they could fire in three directions. Ammunition was described by Rogers as “a large supply”, and the ship could reportedly do 10 knots, which was very fast for a Confederate ironclad. The captured Confederate officers told Rogers that they believed they could take out both Union ironclads. The captured CSN vessel was renamed the USS Atlanta and turned into a Union ironclad.

CSS/USS Atlanta after her capture. Source:  Naval History and Heritage Command. 

Civil War Navy Special Edition Daybook-Sea Stories-Now Online

The next issue of The Daybook is now online.  This issue is our third "Special Edition" installment on the Navy's role in the American Civil War.  This issue took a different approach than most of Daybooks.  Inside the reader will find the Civil War at Sea unfiltered.  The participants of the war are going to speak to you directly without a historian interpreting the events.  All parts of the war at sea are covered.  From the shores of France where two cruisers battle it out, to the siege lines of Charleston, to the corner of the Confederacy where a lone blockade runner attempted to put to sea. 

Some of the articles one will find are March 9, 1862 log book entry of USS Monitor (which sums up the entire Battle of Hampton Roads in ten sentences); excerpts from the logs books U.S. Navy ironclads on the front lines; excerpts from an African American sailor serving in the U.S. Navy; the day the Navy took a dog and sheep into custody; letters to home from a grief stricken officer; and Admiral David Dixon Porter's surreal conversation with a plantation overseer.

If you would like a print copy of the Daybook, head on over to the Hampton Roads Naval Historical Foundation's page and become a member!

Loss of the CSS Chattahoochee on the Apalachicola River, Florida

Remains of the CSS Chattahoochee after recovery from the Chattahoochee River in the early 1960s. This view shows a portion of the steam engine. Source: Naval History and Heritage Command on-line photo archives.

 

The Confederate Navy never really had a presence in Florida throughout the Civil War, mainly because of the lack of major ports (e.g., Mobile, Charleston) and the decision by CSA leadership early in the war to not expend resources defending the state. In early 1863, US Navy Secretary Gideon Welles received reports of the construction of the Confederate gunboat CSS Chattahoochee in Georgia, just over the border with Florida. The main purpose of this ship was to protect the vital industrial hub of Columbus, GA, along with other important Confederate points on the Chattahoochee/Apalachicola River system. Rumors also appeared to circulate that the ultimate purpose of this and other Confederate gunboats being constructed on the river was to break the blockade of Apalachicola, at the mouth of the river.

Welles sent orders to Rear Adm. Theodorus Bailey, commanding the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, to conduct reconnaissance up the Apalachicola River to ascertain the status of the Confederate gunboats on the river, with a view towards eventually conducting sorties to destroy or capture them. Bailey replied that, in his view, the extreme shallowness of the bar at the mouth of the river (6 feet at extreme high tide) rendered it almost impossible for any but the smallest gunboat to exit or enter the river. He opined that the main purpose of these Confederate gunboats must be for river defense, and that he could not send any warships up the river until shallow-draft river gunboats from the Mississippi Squadron could be released to him for use. That said, he maintained a flotilla of gunboats on patrol at the mouth of the river to confront and deter any Confederate Navy sorties.

On 30 May 1863, the Chattahoochee was anchored near Blountstown, Florida, about 78 miles above the mouth of the Apalachicola River. Her commander, John J. Guthrie, was informed that a Union Navy cutting out expedition had captured the blockade runner Fashion nearby, a schooner that had been loaded with cotton to run the blockade. Determined to avenge this, and demonstrate to the Union blockaders it was the Confederate Navy that controlled the river, he ordered steam up. Something went terribly wrong during this procedure, and one or more of the ship’s boilers exploded, killing 19 crewmen and injuring many others. The ship sank to the bottom of the river. Tragically, this was perhaps the only major effort by the CS Navy in Florida during the War, an effort that unfortunately ended in disaster.

Based on intelligence from escaped slaves, Lt. Cdr. A. F. Crosman of the USS Somerset, on blockade at the river mouth, reported the destruction of the Chattahoochee to Adm. Bailey in early June. The Confederates recovered all the ship’s guns for use on shore batteries, and eventually raised the ship itself, which was brought to Columbus for repair and refitting. She was deliberately destroyed at her moorings there in April 1865 to prevent capture by Union forces at the end of the War.

Today you can view the remains of this ill-fated warship (see photo above), along with a nice model and painting of her, at the Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, GA.