The Siege of Suffolk

On April 1, 1863, Acting Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee sent his standard monthly status report on the North Atlantic Blockade Squadron to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles.  He provided a list of ships that included two ironclads, one steam sloop, and a few dozen wooden gunboats and armed ferryboats.  He reported on a few blockade runners, some captured and others that slipped through Union lines.  He also lamented the fact that oyster season would soon be over. With the Navy's main focus on Charleston, things were generally quiet in Hampton Roads and the North Carolina sounds.  That all changed on April 11.

Lee received an urgent note from Major General Erasums Keyes requesting the Navy conduct reconnaissance missions on the James and York Rivers to confirm rumors of a large body of Confederate troops heading south towards Suffolk.  Lee balked at the suggestion, as he believed his forces were stretched too thin.  Additionally, the ironclad CSS Richmond positioned herself seven miles below Richmond at Drewry's Bluff.

Fortunately for the U.S. Army, a lieutenant-colonel took the initiative and bypassed the chain of command to personally implore the admiral to help.  He informed him that he already had three ships at the mouth of the Nansemond River (a river that leads directly to Suffolk).  Lee agreed to cooperate.  He ordered USS  Mount Washington, Stepping Stones, and Cohasset out to prevent Confederate ground forces from crossing the Nanesmond.  Reinforcements were ordered with the armed ferryboat USS Commodore Barney.  Famed Lieutenant William Cushing even made it to the scene.

Rosewell Lamson

Seeing Navy gunboats obstruct its attempt to encircle Suffolk, Confederate artillery batteries used an old fort at Hill's Point and set up positions overlooking the river.  Mount Washington (under the command of the very capable Lieutenant Roswell Lamson) and the rest of the squadron came in range while steaming south towards Suffolk.  During the ensuing fight, Mount Washington ran aground and was hit several times, as was Commodore Barney. 

Hearing about the exchange of gunfire, Lee ordered his ships to retreat back to Hampton Roads.  He believed it was too dangerous to stay.  At the moment Lee wrote the order, Lamson and Cushing decided on their own to attack, avoiding any notion of withdrawal.  They organized an assault group with sailors under their command with Union soldiers from the 38th Indiana and 89th New York.  The joint force charged Hill's Point under the cover of fire from the gunboats.

Lee and his Army counterparts continued to argue about the merits of leaving wooden gunboats in such a vulnerable position.  During this exchange of views, Lee's aide, Captain Peirce Crosby,  informed his admiral that Lamson's assault resulted in capturing "five pieces of artillery and 161 rebel prisoners from the 44th Alabama."  The upper Nansemond was now open.

Cushing's Raid on Jacksonville, North Carolina

As written in previous posts, the U.S. Navy waged an intriguing form of strategic warfare with targeted raids against salt works in Florida. These small works produced usable salt by evaporating brine.  Salt (the "table salt" type) was a critical mineral to everyday life as it was needed for dietary reasons, to tan leather, and to preserve meat.  In late 1862, the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, under the new command of Acting Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee, picked up on this strategy by launching similar raids against salt works in Virginia and North Carolina. 

USS Ellis (ex-CSS Ellis)

One such raid occurred the evening of November 23, 1862 aboard the USS Ellis, a tug captured by the U.S. Army during the Roanoke Island Campaign.  Led by Lieutenant William B. Cushing, the nominal purpose of the raid was to find the salt works near Onslow Courthouse (also called Jacksonville), North Carolina. For Cushing, however, one target was never enough.  In what would become common place in Cushing-led raids, this operation would not end until the either the Confederate forces were defeated or Cushing's ship sank. 

Lieutant William B. Cushing

Cushing later wrote that his "object was to sweep the river, capture any vessels  there, capture the town of Jacksonville (also called Onslow), take the Wilmington mail, and destroy any salt works that I might find on the banks."  This was all to be done with a tug boat armed with two 32-pounder cannons and twenty-three men. 

Ellis arrived at Jacksonville at 1:30 in the afternoon.  Finding little initial opposition, Cushing and his men proceeded to capture the post office, several stands of rifled muskets, grabbed any African American in sight to "liberate" them, and two schooners.  A salt works was also destroyed soon after.

Around 5 p.m., Confederate ground forces converged on the town just as Ellis began head back down river.  Darkness prevented any combat.  As the Sun came up, the shooting started.  Confederate infantry and cavalry would lay down fire on Cushing's little squadron while Ellis returned fire with her two guns.  During this running fight, Ellis ran hard aground.

After several attempts to free her, Cushing transferred most of his men and material to one of the schooners.  In typical Cushing-style, however, he and six volunteers stayed on board Ellis to provide covering fire.  At this point in the battle, a battery of four Confederate guns (including one Whitworth rifle) fired on Ellis.  Cushing  refused to give up on Ellis until the last minute.  Eventually, he declared Ellis a loss, set fire to her, and abandoned ship.  She blew up the following morning. 

After reading Cushing's after-action report, Commander Davenport (Cushing's commanding officer) reported to Admiral Lee, "I think the courage of this young officer should meet the commendation of his superiors."

Indeed he would be.  It would only be the first of many commendations to come.