William Cushing Wins Quarterfinal Poll #2; Quarterfinal Poll #3 Posted

David Dixon Porter with members of his staff, on board his flagship USS Malvern in Hampton Roads, Virginia, December 1864. William Cushing is standing to the far left of the picture.

Lt. Commander William Cushing, USN, who Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles once called "the hero of the War," won this past week's second quarterfinal poll against Andrew H. Foote. Foote received six votes compared to Cushing's ten. During the Civil War, he distinguished himself during engagements against the CSS Albemarle as well as the landing at Fort Fisher, NC, in January 1865. A brief bio is reproduced once again HERE, courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

LCdr. Cushing's Carte de Visite, circa 1864-1865

This completes the quarterfinal polls for Union officers. In three weeks, readers will decide who will represent the best Union naval leader: William Cushing or David Dixon Porter? Please stay tuned for that. The photo shown above is a perfect example of the contest to come: the seasoned veteran or the maverick and brave "up and comer?"

In the meantime, the newest (Quarterfinal Poll #3) will be available to vote on this blog. This will introduce the first two of the four remaining Confederate naval officers: Raphael Semmes and John M. Brooke.

David Dixon Porter Wins Quarterfinal Poll #1; New Poll Posted

David Dixon Porter decisively won the first Quarterfinal readers poll asking you the question” Who Was the Greatest Officer During the Civil War?” Admiral Porter received the sum total of votes for the week’s voting (12). You can see a brief biography and photo archive of David Dixon Porter HERE, courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

The second Quarterfinal poll is currently posted on this blog. William Cushing, the "Commando" most famous for his sinking of the CSS Albemarle in 1864 will square off against Andrew Hull Foote, who led a highly distinguished career before he died in 1863.

We encourage everybody to vote on these polls, and to keep posted on events and activities of the CWN 150 here on this blog.

USS Brooklyn and Fort Sumter

In early January 1861, with a crisis growing at Charleston, South Carolina, the Secretary of the Navy dispatched the Sloop-of-War USS Brooklyn on a mission to deliver a message.


Commissioned in January 1859, the Brooklyn was among the US Navy's newest ships and reflected some of the cutting edge naval technology of the time. Her horizontal action steam engines turned a screw propeller which gave the ship an 11 knot top speed. She carried twenty-two IX-inch Dahlgren smoothbore guns. Such reflected naval ordnance trends towards all big gun batteries capable of firing both shell and solid shot.

In the first days of January, 1861, the Brooklyn lay at Hampton Roads, Virginia. On January 7, Secretary Isaac Toucey sent orders to Captain William S. Walker, commanding the Brooklyn, to sail toward Charleston.

Walker's orders were to proceed to the bar off Charleston harbor and deliver revised instructions to the army officer commanding a detachment of troops on the steamer Star of the West. The Star of the West had left New York several days earlier carrying reinforcements and supplies for Fort Sumter. According to the revised instructions the steamer would proceed to Hampton Roads, where the troops would disembark. If the troops were already unloaded at Fort Sumter, Walker was to return to Virginia. Although authorized to give "aid and succor" if the Star of the West was fired upon, Walker was not to take the Brooklyn past the bar outside Charleston.

Walker did not receive those orders until the morning of January 9. Even though he set sail by 11:45 a.m. that day, events had already overtaken his mission. That same morning, cadets from the Citadel, stationed on Morris Island outside Charleston, fired upon the Star of the West. The aggressive act caused the ship's captain to abandon the effort and turn back for New York.

Walker arrived off Charleston on January 12 to learn of the Star's repulse. He reported navigation lights dampened, passages blocked with obstructions, and batteries along the shorelines. Thus, one of the first missions of the war for the US Navy ended with a failed rendezvous and undelivered message.

Only following four years of war would US Navy warships venture again past the bar into Charleston Harbor.

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References:
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion; Series I - Volume 4, pages 220-221.

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion; Series 1 - Volume 1, page 134.

State of the Fleet 1861

Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter complained in his memoirs of service that the Navy did not have the resources to snuff out the fires of secession in its early stages.  The fact of the matter was that despite the looming conflict, the United States Navy still had a job to do patrolling the world's oceans.  Below is a downloadable map of the state of fleet as of January 1861.