CWN 150 Talk in Darien, GA

Ashantilly Center in Darien, GA

Last week, I had the distinct pleasure to give a talk at the Ashantilly Center in Darien, GA.  Over 50 residents of Darien and nearby St. Simon's Island were in attendance.  The place was very quaint and charming, with a wonderful space to give a lecture in the library.  The lecture was part of a series honoring and commemorating John M. Kell, the Executive Officer of the infamous CSS Alabama.  Although I did not particularly touch on Kell or Semmes specifically, a local collector was nice enough to bring several first edition books on the Alabama, Semmes, and Kell to the Center.  For that, I am grateful.  It was truly a unique experience and an honor to speak to the fine people of Darien.

The focus of the talk was the ongoing role of the Civil War navies in the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War.  Specifically, the role of the Civil War Navy in public memory was mentioned as a critical factor in the ongoing dialog of the Civil War.  Now 150 years later, it is more important than ever to commemorate all aspects of the war, both on land and at sea.  In the presentation, I discuss three major themes or "trends" that will emerge (or continue to surface) during the remaining years of the sesquicentennial.  These three trends are: 1. All Things "Battle of Hampton Roads" 2. African American Involvement and 3. Social Media Utilization.  I can only  We can see that clearly with the increased focus now on the USS Monitor.  Do you agree with these trends?  Let me know here, or on our other social media outlets (Facebook, on Twitter @CivilWarNavy). 

 A special thanks to Cary Knapp and all the folks at the Ashantilly Center/Coastal Georgia University. This trip was made possible by a generous grant from the Georgia Council of the Humanities.  I certainly look forward to working more with Cary in the near future!

 

 

 

First Edition Books on Semmes, Kell, and the Alabama

Speaking of the Monitor, don't forget the FREE LEGO shipbuilding program this Saturday at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, which features a model version of the USS Monitor!



Full Speed Ahead,

Matthew T. Eng

CSS Sumter Crosses the Atlantic

Once Raphael Semmes and CSS Sumter escaped from the West Indies, they headed east across the Atlantic. Along the way, he captured a few more ships, namely a whaler out of New Bedford and a schooner out of New York carrying food. By the time Sumter arrived in Cadiz, Spain, in January 1862, she had captured sixteen ships.  However, none of the ships were particularly big catches.  Semmes would later complain to his superiors that despite capturing all these ships, he only took in about $1,000 in cash.  Thus, he needed more money to refit his ship and his men. 

As for the U.S. Navy, Welles had six cruisers looking for Sumter (in some cases as far south as Brazil): USS Niagara, San Jacinito, Richmond, Keystone State, Powhatan, and Iroquois.  When Semmes read Welles' public account of the search for his cruiser, the Confederate captain wrote a letter from Cadiz to the London Times mocking the U.S. Navy Secretary. 

Semmes, however, had a more serious problem than U.S. Navy cruisers.  Sumter was falling apart. Spanish authorities only allowed him temporary repairs and no fuel.   Semmes departed Cadiz and headed to the British colony of Gibraltar, hoping to find a more sympathetic ear.  He did not.  For the next several weeks, he attempted to procure coal and supplies, but did not succeed.  With some of the enlisted sailors deserting, Semmes pondered what to do next.

The Confederacy's First Ironclad and Her Attack on a Wooden Ship

As head of the U.S. diplomatic mission to the free city of Hamburg, James Anderson was quite far away from Civil War. During his daily business in September 1861, the war came to him.  One day, he encountered a German citizen who had just left New Orleans. This citizen, who had Union sympathies, provided Anderson with a sketch and description of a "turtle"-like ironclad (shown above) with a "hellish engine" under construction. The ironclad's builders, according to the information, wanted to ram the steam sloop USS Brooklyn.  Anderson quickly passed the intelligence to Secretary of State William Seward.

The man behind this turtle from Hell, was New Orleans river pilot John A. Stepheson. Having failed to get any support from the Confederate government for his idea, Stepheson raised money on his own and converted an ice breaking tugboat into an ironclad ram. He wanted to construct "such a vessel that would be able to drive off or sink the most powerful man-of-war without the use of cannon or other instrument of warfare."

Once constructed, the Confederate government came to its senses and bought Stepheson's warship. It named her CSS Manassas.  In October 1861, Confederate Naval officers took Manassas and several other small ships down the Mississippi River and attack the Union squadron  of three ships at the Head of Passes.  What is the first ironclad attack against a wooden warship, Manassas went after the steam sloop USS Richmond under the command of Commander John Pope (not to be confused with the Union Army general John Pope).  Neither side distinguished themselves in the battle as Manassas' ram attack only achieved a glancing blow, some of the rockets fired by the Confederate squadron meant to set off a series of fire rafts landed on their own ships, the Union squadron' cannon fire was erradtic, and both sides ships ran aground attempting to engage.

The Confederate squadron withdrew back to New Orelans, but not after putting enough fear into Pope to order a retreat.  "Put this matter in any light you may, it is the most ridiculous affair that ever took place in the American Navy," Gideon Welles wrote to David Dixon Porter after the war. Pope later asked for medical leave.  Welles made the request permanent and forced Pope out of the service. Manassas, in the mean time, was made ready to defend New Orelans.

Naval Actions at Seahorse Key, Florida 1862

The Cedar Keys, on the Gulf Coast of Florida (consisting of Way, Depot, Atsena Otie, Seahorse, Snake, and North Keys), was an important port at the start of the Civil War, in part because a newly constructed rail line connected the port to interior parts of the state and ran all the way up to Fernandina on the Atlantic coast. Seahorse Key had a light station (constructed in 1854 under the direction of then Lt. George Gordon Meade) which guided ships into the Port of Cedar Key and the nearby mouth of the Suwannee River. The Town of Cedar Key itself was located on Atsena Otie Key.

On 16 January 1862 the Union gunboat USS Hatteras hove to off Cedar Key and debarked ships boats which entered the harbor and burned four schooners, three sloops, a scow, a sailboat, and a launch. Some of the schooners were loaded with cotton, turpentine, rosin, and lumber, ready to run the blockade. The railroad depot and wharf, seven railroad cars, the telegraph station and a storehouse were also burned, and arms and equipment confiscated. To add to all this, the ship’s crew captured most of a small Confederate garrison manning a gun battery on Seahorse Key, including the officer and 13 soldiers. Needless to say, the bluejackets of the Hatteras earned their pay that day.

Not long after Hatteras departed, the USS Tahoma arrived off Seahorse Key on 1 February 1862 and commenced shelling the battery, just in case it had been reoccupied. Ships boats were sent ashore and the battery was found abandoned, with the destruction wrought by the crew of Hatteras still evident. For the remainder of the war, Seahorse Key with its lighthouse (which had been disabled by the Confederates) remained under Union control, and was used as a secondary base of operations by the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, thus depriving the Confederacy of the use of Cedar Key as a port for the remainder of the War. Thanks to the Florida Dept. of State and NHHC on-line photo archives for the illustrations.

USS Tahoma: