US Navy Patrols on the St. Johns River, Florida

The take-over of the Confederate battery on St. Johns Bluff opened the St. Johns River to US Navy forces to conduct patrols up the river. This they did, destroying or taking possession of every small boat, scow, or barge they could find in order to impede the ability of Confederate troops and supplies to be ferried across the river. In 4 October 1862 the USS Cimarron, Water Witch, and E. B. Hale made an expedition up the river. Cdr. Woodhull of the Cimarron reported that 200-300 small vessels were destroyed.

Arriving off Palatka on 5 October, Woodhull reported that he met aboard Water Witch with former Florida Gov. Moseley and a unionist named Blood. During this meeting, a party of armed horsemen were spotted approaching the town by lookouts in the tops of the gunboats. Woodhull signaled for his boats to return to the ships and ordered Snell in the Hale to open fire on the mounted party. The fire was accurate and deadly, apparently killing 3 or 4 of the horsemen. The fire of the gunboat forced the mounted party to retreat back into the adjoining forests and swamps. Blood and his family and the families of black pilots who had assisted the Navy ships with navigation on the river were evacuated for their safety.

A cutting out expedition set out on 6 October to capture the Confederate steamer Gov. Milton, and another steamer. It was known that the Milton was responsible for ferrying Confederate troops and guns to the fortifications on St. Johns Bluff, and that it was also important in conveying supplies run through the Blockade to Confederate forces. Under the command of Lt. Cdr. E. P. Williams, the recently captured Confederate steamer Darlington (rechristened a US ship with the same name, and armed with two 24 pdr boat howitzers) steamed upriver, accompanied by the gunboat Hale. At the entrance to Lake George, shallow depths wouldn’t allow Hale to proceed further, so the Darlington continued upriver through Lake George, leaving Hale to patrol the entrance to the Ocklawaha River, nearby.

At Hawkinsville, 168 miles upstream of Jacksonville, Williams and his men found indications that the Milton was in the area. Taking a party of sailors and soldiers of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Rgt., Williams proceeded up a small creek in ships boats and found the Milton, manned by only two engineers. They took possession of the steamer and reconnoitered up the creek further in search of the other steamer, then out into the St. Johns River as far up as Lake Beresford. When the steamboat could go no further due to river depths, running low on rations, and deep in Confederate territory, Williams decided to proceed back downriver to rejoin the Hale and return to his base. Along the way up and back down river, numerous small vessels and other enemy property was destroyed or confiscated by the Union expedition.

St. Johns Bluff Part III - Taking the Battery

Sketch of the configuration of the Confederate Battery on St. Johns Bluff following capture. From the "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies" on-line at Cornell University.

As a result of the naval actions of 11 and 17 September 1862, the Union leadership in the region decided it would take a combined Army/Navy amphibious operation to conquer the battery on St. Johns Bluff. US Gen. John M. Brannan was dispatched from Hilton Head, SC with a force of infantry, cavalry and light artillery, about 1,500 men in total. The expedition departed on 25 September. The gunboats USS Paul Jones, Cimarron, Uncas, E. B. Hale and Water Witch rendezvoused with the transports carrying Brannan’s forces at the mouth of the St. Johns River on 1 October. They proceeded upriver to Pablo and Mt. Pleasant Creeks, where they began landing the troops, backed by US Marines armed with Dahlgren 12 pdr boat howitzers.

On 2 October, concurrent with the developing Army assault on the Bluff fortifications, Cdr. Charles Steedman (Sr. Navy officer in charge of the gunboat flotilla) ordered Cdr. Maxwell Woodhull, to take his gunboat, the Cimarron, accompanied by the Water Witch and Uncas, to conduct a reconnaissance of the Bluff. The battery fired on the Union ships as they passed the mouth of Sisters Creek, the gunboats returning fire. The firing from the battery was well aimed, and the Cimarron found it difficult to maneuver due to a combination of strong tidal currents, wind, and the poor handling characteristics of the ship. All of these made it difficult for Woodhull to bring his guns to bear on the battery. Both Cimarron and Water Witch ran aground, during which times they continued to receive fire from the battery. The fight continued for about an hour and a half, after which the three ships received a signal to return downriver and help cover the troop landing. No casualties were suffered on any of the three Union ships, to Cdr. Woodhull’s relief and astonishment.

The Army forces were all landed by 3 October, and the soldiers pushed west towards St. Johns Bluff. As they approached, no flag was seen flying over the battery. Although this suggested the works had been abandoned, Steedman was skeptical, since no flag was flying the day before, when the battery fired on three of his gunboats. In consultation with Gen. Brannan, Steedman sent the Hale and Uncas upriver to conduct another reconnaissance. Approaching the battery, Acting Master Alfred T. Snell of the Hale ordered his guns to open fire, but received no return fire. He dispatched an armed shore party in the ship’s gig to the battery, where they found that the Confederate garrison had evacuated the works. Snell ordered the US flag raised over the fortification on 3 October 1862. The Confederate battery upriver at Yellow Bluff was also evacuated on or about this date.

An account of the St. Johns Bluff events in the fall of 1862 (which these posts are excerpted from) is in an article by me on the Navy and Marine Living History web site at: http://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1862StJohnsBluff.htm.