Confederate capture of the USS Water Witch on the Georgia coast

USS Water Witch. Library of Congress archives.

The USS Water Witch was a sidewheel steam gunboat (150’ in length; 378 tons). Commissioned into the U.S. Navy in 1851, she spent her early years conducting surveys in South America. When the Civil War broke out, she was initially assigned to blockading service with the Gulf Blockading Squadron, but eventually was transferred to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She spent some time in the Florida theatre, participating in forays up the St. Johns River, and then served on the blockade of the Georgia coast.

In May 1864, Flag Officer William Hunter, commander of the C.S. Navy Savannah River Squadron, issued orders to First Lt. Thomas Pelot to assemble a raiding force to capture a Union gunboat stationed at the mouth of the Little Ogeechee River. On 31 May, Pelot set out with a force of 117 men and 14 officers recruited from various ships in the squadron. When they arrived at Beaulieu Battery late that evening, they found that the Water Witch, their target, had weighed anchor to take up station in St. Catherine’s Sound, to the south. Pelot did not let this dissuade him. He sent out scouts to scan the coast for the enemy gunboat, which returned to the station in Ossabaw Sound off the Little Ogeechee River the morning of 1 June. Having located their target, the CSN raiding party set out late in the evening of 2 June. They were guided by Moses Dallas, a free black pilot who had rendered outstanding service to the Confederate Navy for over two years. His knowledge of the local waters on the southeast Georgia coast was unmatched.

The Water Witch was commanded by Lt. Commander Austin Pendergrast. In one of those all-too-common twists of fate one encounters in war, Pendergrast and Pelot were classmates in the U.S. Naval academy and were shipmates as Midshipmen on the USS Independence. The night of 2 June was foggy and rainy. Pendergrast had set a deck watch to guard against a raid; the officer of the deck that night was Acting Master’s Mate Eugene Parsons. He spotted some of the approaching CSN boats and hailed them. At first the Confederates replied “Contraband,” but after repeated hails Pelot yelled “Rebels, d____ you!” Confederate seamen and officers swarmed onto the deck. Parsons spun the ship’s battle rattle as a warning, but apparently for too short a time to sound the alarm. The officers and crew of the Water Witch were awakened by the sound of gunfire and shouting on deck. The Union gunboat’s officers put up a gallant defense, but oddly, most of the crew cowered below decks, along with the engineering division. Lt. Pelot was killed in the initial rush onto the ship, and command of the CSN raiders then went to Lt. Joseph Price. Their guide, Moses Dallas, was also killed by a pistol shot from Parsons in the initial rush on the Union ship.

The Union men eventually succumbed to wounds and the overwhelming numbers of the CSN raiders, the battle for the ship lasting about 20 minutes. One of the few Union bluejackets who did attempt to help the officers defend the ship was Landsman Jeremiah Sills, an African American seaman who is said to have stationed himself at the doorway to the ship’s arms locker and kept coming out with loaded pistols which he fired at the CSN raiders. The Confederates suffered 6 dead and 17 wounded, the Union 2 dead and 14 wounded. Pendergrast was wounded but survived. He was subsequently court-martialed and found guilty of “culpable inefficiency in the discharge of duty.” The victorious Confederates steamed up the Vernon River with the ship, towards Savannah, hoping to convert her to a C.S. Navy gunboat. They never had the chance to do this and the ship was sunk at her moorings in December 1864 as Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and his men closed in on Savannah.

Today, you can board and tour a full-size replica of the USS/CSS Water Witch at the Port Columbus National Museum of Civil War Naval History in Columbus, Georgia.

USS/CSS Water Witch at the Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum. Author's photo.

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. 

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.

Ironclads on the Georgia Coast - Monitor vs. Fort II

Ironclads USS Passaic, Patapsco and Nahant bombarding Ft. McAllister. Note monitor Montauk hanging back with the wooden gunboats.

 

Admiral S. F. DuPont was determined to take out Ft. McAllister, guarding the entrance to the Ogeechee River, Georgia. He decided that if one monitor could not do it, he would send in three, accompanied by other gunboats. He sent the USS Passaic, Patapsco, and Nahant (under the overall command of Capt. Percival Drayton of the Passaic). All three were the newer Passaic Class of ironclad monitor gunboats. Passaic and Nahant were armed with XV and XI inch Dahlgren guns. Patapsco had a XV inch Dahlgren and a 200 pdr Parrott rifle. Each gunboat was painted in a different color scheme so they could identify one another. Capt. John Worden in the USS Montauk (another Passaic Class monitor) went along as a supporting vessel, but was ordered by DuPont to avoid action. There was concern that Montauk’s XV inch Dahlgren might be close to the end of its lifespan, because it had already been fired almost 300 times in the prior engagements. DuPont wanted to spare Montauk for use in the upcoming attack on Charleston harbor.

The morning of 3 March 1863, the four turreted ironclads, accompanied by the wooden gunboats Seneca, Dawn, Wissahickon, Flambeau, and Sabago and the mortar schooners C. P. Williams, Norfolk Packet and Para (towed by a steam tug) got steam up and headed up the river towards the fort. The mortar schooners were placed and the three new monitors approached the confederate fort. The fort had recently received some additional heavy guns and its garrison watched the approaching ironclads, ready to use them. About 8:30 AM Ft. McAllister opened fire, initiating the third “ironclad vs. fort” engagement. The Union gunboats returned fire. The gunners in the fort knew by now they couldn’t damage or sink the ironclads just by hitting them. They waited until the turrets of the monitors turned to fire at the fort and tried to aim for the open gunports, hoping a lucky shot would go through.

The firefight continued all that morning and into the afternoon. The fort scored numerous hits on the ironclads (mostly concentrating on Passaic), and the naval gunnery burst around and within the fort. A number of the larger confederate guns were disabled by shots from the ironclads. During the fight, Drayton stepped out onto the top of Passaic’s turret with his telescope to survey the scene. Suddenly musket balls went whizzing by, and he was hit, but uninjured, by an apparent ricochet. Prior to the battle, a squad of sharpshooters had been sent out from the fort, under the command of CSA Lt. Elijah Ellarbee, to establish an outpost to try to pick off USN gunners through the open gunports of the monitors’ turrets as they turned away from the fort to reload. They were so close to the Passaic that Ellarbee later said he could hear the orders of the gun captains to the crews in the turret as they went through their drill.

By mid-afternoon, about 3:30, Drayton ordered the flotilla to withdraw due to the falling tide. The three mortar schooners were left to continue lobbing shells at the fort in hopes of interfering with repair efforts. Both Passaic and Nahant experienced mechanical problems during the battle. When he surveyed the damage to his ship after the fight, Drayton noted that Passaic seemed to suffer much more damage to her armor than did Montauk in her prior two engagements with the fort, apparently due to deficiencies in the bolts used to anchor the iron plating and problems with the iron itself. DuPont ordered the installation of an additional layer of iron plating on the decks of the monitors. As would become evident in the upcoming attack on Charleston, the monitor gunboats simply could not bring to bear the overwhelming firepower that a “broadside” type warship could, and that this is what was needed to defeat shore fortifications.

For the soldiers in Ft. McAllister, not a single man was killed or injured by the massive naval bombardment. The biggest tragedy was the loss of their beloved mascot “Tom Cat”, who was killed by the shellfire as he ran in panic around the fort during the bombardment. Poor old Tom cashed in all of his nine lives that day.

USS Passaic.  Source of images - Naval History and Heritage Command.

Ironclads on the Georgia Coast - Destruction of the CSS Rattlesnake

Blockade runner CSS Nashville; converted into the commerce raider CSS Rattlesnake

After two attempts by the ironclad monitor gunboat USS Montauk to destroy/defeat the Confederate fortification Ft. McAllister near the mouth of the Ogeechee River, Georgia, Montauk Capt. John Worden and his squadron commander, Adm. DuPont, took stock of what their next move would be. The next move by the Confederates helped with this decision. The evening of 27 February 1863, the former blockade runner/now commerce raider CSS Nashville (re-named CSS Rattlesnake) slipped downriver from her mooring above Ft. McAllister, hoping to evade the USN blockaders in Ossabaw Sound in the dark of night. Her captain evidently felt the time was not right, and he turned around and headed back up the Ogeechee to his protected mooring site. In a great stroke of misfortune, Rattlesnake ran aground on a shallow bar in the river, near the fort. A tug was sent down and desperate attempts were made to free the trapped ship. If “bad luck brings bad luck,” this would be it, because the Union Navy found out about the trapped raider that very night.

The morning of 28 February, Worden headed upriver with the Montauk and three wooden gunboats. The gun crews in Ft. McAllister tried their best to fend off the ironclad, but knew that she was resistant to their shot, and the other gunboats remained out-of-range. Worden opened fire on the trapped Confederate ship, and after only a few well-placed shots it was evident she was doomed. Rattlesnake caught fire, and eventually blew up when the flames reached the powder magazine. The whole affair was over in little more than an hour, and the Admiral now had one less thing to worry about. In his report to DuPont relating the incident, Worden wrote exultantly:

“I beg leave, therefore, to congratulate you, sir, upon this final disposition of a vessel which has so long been in the minds of the public . . .”

The triumphant Montauk backed out and started to head downstream, accompanied by the cheers of her gunboat consorts; then the Confederates got their revenge. Montauk struck one of the torpedoes placed in the river, which blew a gash in the iron hull of the warship. At first it appeared the pumps could keep up with the flooding, but Worden’s engineers soon told him that the ship was taking on water fast. He headed toward a shallow shoal area, fortunately out of range of the fort’s guns, and beached the monitor. The crew effected a temporary repair, and the Montauk was ultimately able to make it out and return to Port Royal for repairs and refitting.

 

Destruction of the CSS Nashville/Rattlesnake by gunfire from USS Montauk. Ft. McAllister in the center-background. Image sources:  Naval History and Heritage Command.

Ironclads on the Georgia Coast - Monitor vs. Fort I

USS Montauk (left) laid up in 1902. The proud warship would be scrapped a couple years later. Image source: Naval History and Heritage Command

This is the first in a series of posts I would like to offer on actions by US and CS ironclads on the Georgia coast in 1863. In early 1863, Adm. Du Pont of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron was preparing for a massive invasion of Charleston Harbor, using a combination of ironclad and wooden warships. The US Navy was sending him the new Passaic Class monitors and he wanted to test one of them out, simultaneously trying to get rid of a “thorn in his side” - the Confederate ship CSS Nashville/Rattlesnake taking refuge up the Ogeechee River.

Ft. McAllister was a large Confederate earthen fortification mounting 8 heavy guns and guarding the mouth of the Ogeechee River, Georgia (south of Savannah) and an important railroad crossing upstream. The fort also guarded the upstream mooring site of the Nashville, which intelligence said was being converted from a blockade runner back into a commerce raider (to be renamed CSS Rattlesnake) that would attempt to escape through the blockade and prey on Union shipping in the S. Atlantic and Caribbean. On 24 January 1863 Du Pont sent the USS Montauk, under the command of Capt. John Worden (now recovered from the wounds he received commanding USS Monitor at the first battle of ironclads), to head up Ossabaw Sound into the Ogeechee to probe Ft. McAllister and destroy the Nashville. The turreted ironclad was accompanied by three wooden gunboats (USS Seneca, Wissahickon, and Dawn), and the mortar schooner C. P. Williams to provide additional gunfire support. Heavy fog on 25 and 26 January impeded the expedition’s progress. The evening of the 26th, the Union flotilla anchored in the river downstream and out of range of the fort. That night Lt. Commander John Davis took two boats and reconnoitered the area upstream under cover of darkness; the bluejackets destroyed artillery range marks placed by the fort’s gunners, and marked the locations of obstructions, some of which were armed with torpedoes.

The morning of 27 January, Worden took the Montauk in and hove to about 1,600 yards off the fort (short of the series of obstructions at a spot marked by Davis the night before). The other gunboats followed him and anchored several hundred yards further away. Confederate battery and monitor both opened fire about 7:35 AM, and pounded away at one another for almost 4 hours. The Montauk ran out of ammunition a little after 11 AM. Hits to the monitor (13 or 14) did little to no damage, but likewise the shellfire from the USN gunboats did minimal damage to the heavy earthen and sand walls of the fortification; they simply absorbed the energy and concussions of the shells, even those from the big XV inch Dahlgren on the Montauk. Another critical weakness was the length of time it took to load and fire the huge XI and XV inch Dahlgren guns of the Montauk (roughly 7 min. between shots). The fire from the other gunboats also resulted in little damage to the fort.

Four days later, on the morning of 1 February, Worden took the Montauk in again. Accompanied by the same flotilla of gunboats as the 27 January attack, Worden anchored near the fort and opened fire. Once again, confederate fort and navy gunboats dueled for most of the morning. About 12:30 the gunboats withdrew. The only significant casualty for the Confederates was the loss of the fort’s commander, Maj. John B. Gallie, who was killed by a shell from the Montauk.

Ft. McAllister after capture by Union forces in mid-December 1864. Ogeechee River (and USN gunboats?) in the background. Image source: Library of Congress photo archives.

Chasing After CSS Nashville: November 19, 1862



A Northern newspaper cartoon mocking the U.S. Navy's inability to capture CSS Nashville.



CSS Nashville was the Confederate State government's second attempt at a commissioned commerce raider (CSS Sumter being the first).  Eliminating all Confederate cruisers became a top priority for the U.S. Navy, but the chase after Nashville bordered on obsession.  Part of the U.S. Navy's emotional tie to the ship was possibly due to the fact that Nashville successfully ran the blockade four times between November 1861 and June 1862.  Even though she only captured two prizes, her presence stirred up the emotions of Yankee merchant owners and their insurance underwriters.  For its part, the Confederate States Navy gave up Nashville as a cruiser and sold her off to a blockade running outfit.  To the U.S. Navy, it did not matter.  In their opinion, Nashville could be easily turn back into a cruiser.  They intended her to be captured or sunk.

The 400-ton USS Dawn, which carried
a 100-pounder Parrott Rifle.

In late Summer 1862, U.S. Navy intelligence discovered that the ship formerly known as Nashville dashed into Ossabaw Sound and up the Ogeechee River (about twenty miles southwest of Savanna, Georgia), instead of a larger port.  Granted, the guns of Fort McAllister protected her, but she was trapped.  Unlike Charleston or Wilmington, there was only one exit for a Confederate ship to run the blockade: back the way they came.   But trapped was not good enough.  On November 19, 1862,  the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron conducted one of several attempts to sink the Confederate cruiser.

This attempt consisted of three ships: the gunboats USS Wissahickon and Dawn and one mortar boat, simply named No.5.  Although there is no recorded strategy, it would seem that the mortar boat would be used to bombard the cruiser from afar.  

USS Wissahickon's XI-inch Dahlgren gun crew

The Confederate garrison at Fort McAllister was prepared for any Yankee assault.   With obstructions laid across the river, McAllistar's guns opened fire on Wissahickon at 8:15 a.m.  Wissahickon returned fire with her XI-inch Dahlgren.  Dawn joined in with her 100-pounder Parrot rifle.    At 9:45, the Confederate gunners found their mark and hit Wisssahickon four feet below the water line. After firing seventeen XI-inch shells and eighteen 20-pounder Parrot Rifle shells (including eight percussion shells), Lieutenant Commander John Davis ordered a retreat.  Wissahickon was taking on water badly and forced to beach farther down river to repair the hole.   With No. 5 in tow, Dawn fired off forty-nine 100-pound Parrott shells before she retreated. 

For the moment, Nashville (she also went by the names Rattlesnake and Thomas L. Wragg while operating as a privateer) was safe.  However, she was still trapped. 

Operations on the Savannah River - Early 1862

Tattnall's fleet engaging USN gunboats on the Savannah River (source - Naval History and Heritage Command on-line photo archive):


After taking Port Royal, South Carolina, in November 1861, the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron began looking south down the Atlantic coast for the next target. USN leadership in Washington (Sec. Welles and Asst. Sec. Fox) wanted this to be the Port of Fernandina, Florida, but miscommunication and disagreement among US Army and Navy leaders in the region eventually focused on closing down the Port of Savannah, Georgia. While the US Army began to prepare for the siege and conquest of Fort Pulaski, near the mouth of the Savannah River, Flag Officer DuPont sent Cdr. John Rogers to reconnoiter the labyrinth of channels around and upstream of Ft. Pulaski to see what US Navy ships could do in the area. After several forays, Rogers concluded that shallow depths in the channels(exacerbated by obstacles placed by the Confederates) were a major constraint on naval operations in the area. During much of this effort, DuPont and US Army General Thomas W. Sherman argued over who was impeding operations in the region.

Eventually DuPont and Sherman agreed that a demonstration “in force” against the City of Savannah would buy some time while preparations were being made for the siege of Ft. Pulaski. In late January 1862, DuPont sent two squadrons, one under the command of Rogers and the other under Flag Capt. Charles H. Davis, up separate channels flanking the Savannah River (and eventually joining its mainstem). The Confederates interpreted this as an assault on Ft. Pulaski, and Commodore Josiah Tattnall, now commanding CSN Navy forces on the Georgia coast, assembled his Mosquito Fleet to resupply Ft. Pulaski. Tattnall’s flotilla steamed downriver from Savannah on 27 January, following the river mainstem. As they approached Pulaski, Tattnall found himself “in the gauntlet”; his ships were right in between Rogers’ and Davis’ squadrons in separate channels of the river delta, separated by marshy tidelands. Davis tried to get his ships through so he could directly engage Tattnall’s ships, but obstructions placed by the Confederates and shallow depths impeded him. Both Davis and Rogers thought that they could get behind Tattnall and block him from returning to Savannah when he made the run to Pulaski, but the crafty old Commodore in gray sent his smaller, shallow draft gunboats and transports on to aid the Fort and kept his flagship (CSS Savannah) and larger gunboats back in safer waters. When Rogers and Davis realized they were stymied, they both opened fire on Tattnall’s ships, which “returned the favor” in the best spirit. The firing continued for about an hour, and resumed in the afternoon after a break. Relatively little damage was caused to ships and crews on both sides.

By early February 1862, the siege of Ft. Pulaski was beginning to solidify as the US Army mounted batteries on adjacent islands and points. Much of the construction was done at night under the cover of darkness, and USN gunboats provided important cover and acted as a “force multiplier” (as Robert Browning aptly put it) during the day when tide and water depth permitted. Tattnall actually met with General Robert E. Lee in late February to discuss an effort to provide relief to the fort, but by then the Union force in the area would have pulverized the expedition they envisioned and they abandoned this idea. Pulaski eventually surrendered to Union forces in early April 1862.


Fort Pulaski after the Union siege. Source: US National Park Service web site