Ship Island-The Unsinkable Tender

To borrow a modern U.S. Navy term, each of the U.S.N's blockading squadrons needed a "forward deployed" base near the war zone if it had any hopes of keeping ships on their stations for lengthy periods of time. The Gulf Blockading Squadrons' base was Ship Island.

Located about 15 miles south of the mainland of Mississippi, Ship Island had been used for decades before the Civil War as a safe anchorage. The island's value to national security was evident with the construction of Fort Massachusetts in the 1850s (not finished until the end of the war).

The 4th Louisiana occupied the island at the beginning of the war, but it soon became evident that it would difficult for Confederate forces to hold while U.S. Navy ships were the area. Confederate Major-General G.E. Twiggs noted in September 1861 that a squadron of "Two heavy frigates, two steamers, a brig, and two tenders" were bearing down on his garrison. Fearful of being cut off and not waiting for further instructions, he wisely ordered an evacuation.

Union ground forces formally occupied the island a few weeks later. For the rest of the war, Ship Island served as a major repair and resupply base for blockading ships and as a jumping off point for operations all along the Gulf Coast.

New Feature on the CWN 150 Blog: Admiral's Row

New Admiral's Row Feature Circled in Red.

It is always the goal of any successful business or organization to grow and attract/entice new audiences. Expand or die, right? Well, the CWN 150 isn't seeking any new empires or land unfortunately. What we are doing is trying out a new user-based weekly update, aptly titled "Admiral's Row." This section of the blog (shown above) will post the "best of the best"each week from around the internet. Specifically, this new blog feature encourages CWN 150 subscribers to visit and participate in our TWITTER discussions @Civilwarnavy. Updates will be made weekly. Enjoy!

Farragut Marker: Problem Solved?

Admiral Farragut Monument, Madison Square, NYC

It was reported HERE at the end of August that the Knoxville area marker of Admiral David G. Farragut's birthplace was missing. According to Jack Neely's report, the marker's owner "had no plans to bother the marker, told us he had not been in touch with the owner lately, and had not heard that the marker was gone."

Six days ago, WATE.COM reported in Hardy Boys-esque fashion that the "Mystery of the Admiral Farragut Marker" was solved. According to the WATE.COM report, "Lylan Fitzgerald, who owns the land where the marker used to sit, said she was tired of the controversy over the stone and the historic property, so she removed it." The article ends on a somber note, with the owner wishing that interested parties would simply "leave her alone," as the marker sits on private property.

Just 19 hours ago, The Tennessean shed more light on the matter. According to today's report, Fitzgerald removed it because of issues she was having with trespassers. Because of this, Fitzgerald gave the removed marker to a historic collector. Although Fitzgerald is pleased with these new developments, other local residents are concerned. According to West Knox County resident Margot Kline stated in The Tennessean that the DAR hopes that the marker is replaced within public view, perhaps within a museum or historic monument in the future. No word on any of these future developments at the moment. You can read the full Tennessean article HERE.

Are the sentiments of Ms. Kline your own? Post your comments here, or tweet your thoughts @civilwarnavy. This is an interesting and haunting development in the cultivation of our collective memory of the Civil War.

Cape Hatteras Expedition

The bombardment of Fort Clark by Cumberland, Minnesota, and Wabash.

On August 26, 1861, the U.S Navy and Army's expedition to Cape Hatteras cleared Hampton Roads and navaigated south. Commodore Slias Stringham commanded the Navy's portion of the expedition that consisted of the steam frigates USS Wabash and Minnesota, the sail sloop-of-war USS Cumberland, the paddle steamer USS Susquehana, and steam gunboat USS Monticello. 

Before leaving Hampton Roads, Stringham had received intelligence about the two forts that guarded the Inlet from recently released merchant ship masters.  The Confederate garrison allowed the officers of the ships to roam the forts freely.

The attack began on the morning of August 28. With Wabash towing Cumberland, the two ships approached Fort Clark. From about 1,300 yards from the Confederate fortification, Wabash began the battle with her two pivot guns, both X-inch Dahlgrens, followed by Cumberland and Minnesota’s X-inch Dahlgrens. The rest of the squadron’s smaller guns then engaged. The squadron steamed in a clockwise circle south and then back to the north.

Flag Officer Samuel Barron  had earlier travelled down from Portsmouth, Virginia to take charge of forts, called Forts Clark and Hatteras. Using guns captured from Gosport, Barron ordered his garrison to return fire. Finding Clark outgunned, he ordered that the garrison to retreat to Fort Hatteras. After several more hours, Barron believed the situation hopeless and surrendered. Stringham shipped the Confederate commodore and the garrison to prisons in the north.

Strategically, the capture of the two forts shut down privateering for good.  It also opened up the North Carolina sounds to further advances.  It also came one month after the Union debacle at Bull Run.  As a result, the Northern press treated the victory as if the North had just won the war. 

Fort Clark after being captured