Each year is divided into two halves (January through June and July through December)

Civil War Naval Chronology 1861-1865
Published 1966 by Naval History Division , Office of the Chief of Naval Operations , Navy Department , Washington D.C.

Entries in blue are information concerning submarine warfare derived from Mark Ragan's book.

1864

July - August - September - October - November - December

July 1864

1 Secretary Mallory  wrote President Davis that due to a shortage of mechanics the ordnance works at Selma, Alabama, could not "make more than one gun in a week, whereas with a proper number of mechanics it could manufacture with carriages and equipments complete, three in a week, and in a few months one every day Shortage of skilled craftsmen was a handicap the South could never overcome. The manpower and material shortages at Selma specifically crippled the progress of the ironclad squadron Admiral Buchanan  was desperately trying to develop in Mobile   Bay . Only ram Tennessee was ready when the critical moment arrived on 5 August.

CSS Florida, Lieutenant Morris, captured and burned bark Harriet Stevens at sea southwest of Bermuda with cargo of lumber, cement, and gum opium; Morris sent the opium in a blockade runner for hospital use.

USS Merrimac, Acting Lieutenant W. Budd, captured blockade running sloop Henrietta at sea west of Tampa, Florida, with cargo of cotton.

2 USS Keystone State, Commander Crosby, captured blockade running British steamer Rouen at sea off Wilmington . The steamer had thrown her cargo of cotton overboard during the four hour chase, and was not brought to until Keystone had fired 22 shots at her, "all of them falling quite near and some directly over her."

2–9 Single-turreted monitors USS Lehigh, Lieutenant Commander A.A. Semmes, USS Montauk, Lieutenant Commander A. W. Johnson, and other ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron supported Army troops in a demonstration up the Stono River, South Carolina. Hearing that Confederate forces were about to move against the blockaders off Charleston , Rear Admiral Dahlgren  and Major General Foster planned a diversionary expedition up the Stono River, in-tending to cut the important Charleston-Savannah railroad. Union monitors and gunboats shelled Confederate works on both sides of the river with telling effect in support of movements ashore. Brigadier General Schimmelfennig, troop commander, reported to Dahlgren on 6 July: "I take pleasure in informing you of the excellent practice by your gunboats and monitors on Stono River yesterday. They drove the enemy out of his rifle pits and prevented him from erecting an earthwork which he had commenced. As I shall probably have to occupy that line again before long, this fire of your monitors will undoubtedly save many lives on our side, for which I desire to express to them my thanks." Dahlgren's vessels later effectively covered the Army withdrawal from Stono River.

4 USS Hastings, Acting Lieutenant J. S. Watson, engaged Confederate sharpshooters on the White River above St. Charles, Arkansas. Lieutenant Commander Phelps, embarked in the 300-ton, 8-gun Hastings, commented in his report to Rear Admiral Porter: "I had been at a loss to know how we should celebrate the Fourth, being underway and having so much of a convoy in charge, but this attack occurring about noon furnished the opportunity of at once punishing the enemy and celebrating the day by firing cannon. "It had been a year before, on 4 July 1863, that Union forces had commemorated Independence Day with decisive victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the latter pivoting on the Union Navy. With control of the Western waters assured, the North was certain of victory."

USS Magnolia, Acting Lieutenant William S. Cheesman, captured three boats at sea several hundred miles east of Florida with small cargo of cotton and turpentine. The intrepid Southern boatsmen had been at sea for some 40 days attempting to reach Nassau. The attempt to run the blockade in small boats, powered by sail and oars, was an extreme measure even for the South's struggling economy.

6 Illustrating the great paucity of Confederate naval power and the strategic importance of CSS Albemarle to the defense of North Carolina, Brigadier General Lawrence S. Baker, CSA, wrote to Commander Maffltt, captain of the ironclad, cautioning him against risking his vessel: "I beg leave to remind you of the importance to the Confederacy of the country opened to us by the taking of Plymouth, to suggest that its recapture now engages the serious attention of the U.S. Government, and that the loss of the gunboat which you command would be irreparable and productive of ruin to the interests of the government, particularly in this State and district, and indeed would be a heavy blow to the whole country. . . . I have no doubt that in event of an attack by you the most desperate efforts will be made to destroy your boat, and thus open the approach to Plymouth and Washington [North Carolina]." While criticism was leveled at the Confederate Navy Department for not bringing Albemarle into action, her presence at Plymouth constituted a powerful threat to Union control of the North Carolina sounds, demanded a vigilant patrol by many Northern ships, and prevented recapture of the area by Union troops. Few ships better illustrate the important relationship between a nation's land and sea-based power.

Captain Cicero Price, USS Jamestown, wrote Secretary Welles  from Yokohama, Japan, regarding the celebration of Independence Day in that far-off port: "The Fourth was very handsomely celebrated here, all the foreign ships of war participating by dressing their ships, as well as salut-ing. It was very marked on the part of the British." With the tide of war ashore as well as afloat having swung irrevocably in favor of the Union, British intervention on behalf of the South could no longer be considered a possibility.

7-12 Small schooners USS Ariel, Acting Master Russell, Sea Bird, Acting Ensign Ezra L. Robbins, and Stonewall, Acting Master Henry B. Carter, and 29-ton sloop Rosalie, Acting Master Coffin, transported Union troops on a raid on Brookville, Florida. After disembarking the soldiers, Ariel and Sea Bird proceeded to Bayport, Florida; where a landing party captured a quantity of cotton and burned the customs house. The Union troops joined the two schooners at Bayport on 11 July, and the force returned to Anclote Keys the next day.

8 USS Fort Jackson, Captain Sands, captured blockade running British steamer Boston at sea off the South Carolina coast with cargo of copperas, salt, and soap.

USS Kanawha , Lieutenant Commander Bushrod B. Taylor, forced blockade running steamer Matagorda aground near Galveston. Kanawha, joined by USS Penguin and Aroostook, opened fire and destroyed the steamer, which carried cargo including cotton.

CSS Florida, Lieutenant Morris, captured whaling bark Golconda at sea southwest of Bermuda with 1,800 barrels of whale oil. "After taking what supplies of oil we required," Morris reported, "I burned her."

USS Sonoma, Lieutenant Commander Edmund O. Matthews, captured steamer Ida off the Stono River, South Carolina, with cargo of cotton.

USS Azalea, Acting Master Frederick W. Strong, and USS Sweet Brier, Acting Ensign J. D. Dexter, captured blockade running schooner Pocahontas  off Charleston with cargo of cotton. Weak at sea, the South could not protect by convoy the daring merchantmen that sought to run the blockade.

9 In a confidential letter to Secretary Welles, Rear Admiral Lee disclosed the plans then being considered for an expedition to destroy the Confederate ram, CSS Albemarle.' ''I concur in Captain Smith's opinion that it would be inexpedient to fight the ram with our long double-enders in that narrow river [the Roanoke]. I proposed to Lieutenant Cushing  a torpedo attack, either by means of the India rubber boat heretofore applied for, which could be transported across the swamp opposite Plymouth, or a light-draft, rifle-proof, swift steam barge, fitted with a torpedo." Cushing, who had already proved his audacity and ability on earlier expeditions into the Cape Fear River (see 29 February and 23-24 June 1864) immediately began plans for the new adventure, destined to be one of the most dramatic and dangerous of the war. He wrote Lee: "Deeming the capture or destruction of the rebel ram Albemarle feasible, I beg leave to state that I am acquainted with the waters held by her, and am willing to undertake the task." The Admiral saw In Cushing an officer with the spirit and skill to accomplish this difficult mission, and noted in closing his letter to Welles: "He is entirely willing to make an attempt to destroy the ram, and I have great confidence in his gallantry."

Major John Tyler, CSA, Assistant Adjutant General, wrote Major General Sterling price regarding a proposed attack on Point Lookout, Maryland, to release Confederate prisoners: "The plan is that he [Lieutenant General Jubal Early] shall seize Baltimore and hold it with his infantry while his cavalry proceeds to Point Lookout to liberate our prisoners there concentrated to the extent of nearly 30,000. in the meantime Captain [John Taylor] Wood, of the Navy, proceeds from Wilmington with five gunboats and 20,000 stand of arms for the same point by water. If successful in thus liberating and arming our imprisoned soldiers, Washington will be assaulted and no doubt carried. This I regard as decidedly the most brilliant idea of the war.'' Rumors of this daring plan reached Lieutenant Stuyvesant, USS Minnesota, on 18 July and he warned the Navy Department and Rear Admiral Lee that Wood was reported to have left Richmond with 800 volunteers on the 7th and 8th. While the projected expedition caused considerable excitement among the Union authorities, President Davis had already, on 10 July, advised against the attempt. Wood reported that he was ready to run the blockade out of Wilmington on 9 July, but the Confederate President replied: "The object and destination of the expedition have somehow become so generally known that I fear your operations will meet unexpected obstacles." The idea was abandoned, but illustrated the bold and daring measures considered by the South during the last year of the war.

CSS Florida, Lieutenant Morris, captured and burned bark Greenland, with cargo of coal, and schooner Margaret Y. Davis, in ballast, at sea off Cape Henry, Virginia.

USS Gettysburg, Acting Master William M. Gloin, captured blockade running steamer Little Ada at sea off Cape Romain with cargo of pig lead and potash after a lengthy chase.

10 CSS Florida, Lieutenant Morris, captured and burned bark General Berry with cargo of hay and straw. The action took place only 35 miles from Maryland's eastern shore as Morris continued his dashing raid on Union coastal shipping. Shortly thereafter, Morris gave chase to bark Zelinda, which he captured in ballast. He reported: "Put an officer and prize crew on board of her, with orders to follow us, went in chase of a schooner to the eastward. Found her to be the Howard, with a cargo of fruit belonging to English merchants. Bonded the schooner for $6,000, and put all of the prisoners (sixty-two in all) on board. . . . Morris then removed Zelinda's provisions and burned her. Florida made yet another capture that day, the mail steamer Electric Spark, her passengers were transferred to a passing British ship, Lane. Seeking to create the impression that he had made a tender of Electric Spark, Morris scuttled her during the night rather than putting her to the torch. This prize had yielded a quantity of cash in addition to other important articles, including mail. Morris, recognizing that Union ships would by this time be in hot pursuit of him, turned Florida on an easterly course into the broad Atlantic, whose vastness provided refuge for commerce raiders.

Reflecting the widespread concern caused by the recent captures made by CSS Florida, Lieutenant Morris, off the coast of Virginia and Maryland, Rear Admiral Lee dispatched screw steamers USS Mount Vernon , Lieutenant Commander Henry A. Adams, Jr., and USS Monticello, Lieutenant Cushing, to "cruise together, and on finding the Florida will make a joint attack on her and capture her.'' The career of Florida, one of the most successful raiders, was nearing an end, but the honor of capturing her was to go neither to Adams nor Cushing. Many ships went out after her, but few got even a glimpse of the wily cruiser. This date Lee also ordered out USS Ino, Acting Lieutenant French, with another approach in mind: "Disguise the Ino, her battery, officers, and crew, and play the merchantman in appearance so as to entice her [CSS Florida ] alongside, when you, being prepared, will open upon her suddenly and effectually."

USS Monongahela, Commander Strong, USS Lackawanna, Captain Marchand, USS Galena, Lieutenant Commander Clark H. Wells, USS Sebago, Lieutenant Commander William E. Fitzhugh, opened fire on steamer Virgin, described as "a very large" blockade runner, aground near Fort Morgan, at Mobile Bay, Alabama. Under cover of Fort Morgan's cannon, a river steamer attempted to tow Virgin off, but was forced to withdraw by the accurate shelling from the blockaders. The next day, however, the Confederates towed Virgin into Mobile Bay.

USS Roebuck, Acting Master William L. Martine, captured blockade running British schooner Terrapin, at Jupiter Inlet, Florida, with cargo of cotton and turpentine.

11 Landing party from USS James L. Davis, Acting Master Griswold, destroyed Confederate salt works near Tampa, Florida. The works were capable of producing some 150 bushels of salt per day. On 16 July a similar raid near Tampa was carried out in which a salt work consisting of four boilers was destroyed.

12 USS Whitehead, Acting Ensign George W. Barrett, and USS Ceres, Acting Master Foster, in company with transport steamer Ella May, conducted a joint expedition up the Scuppernong River to Columbia, North Carolina. Whitehead, a small tinclad, and Ceres, a 140-ton paddle- wheeler, landed troops near Columbia, and the soldiers succeeded in destroying a bridge and a quantity of grain.

USS Penobscot, Lieutenant Commander Benham, captured blockade running schooner James Williams off Galveston with cargo including medicines, coffee, and liquor.

13 Colonel Albert J. Myer, USA, forwarded intelligence regarding the naval defenses of Mobile Bay to Rear Admiral Farragut. Myer reported: "A line of piles driven under water extends from the shoal water near Fort Gaines, across Pelican Pass Channel, and to the edge of the main ship channel. One informant describes this obstruction as five rows of piles driven closely together. The other informant does not know how many are the piles or how closely driven.

From the western edge of the main ship channel, where the fixed obstructions terminate, a torpedo line extends eastward across that channel to a point differently estimated as at 400 yards and as at nearly one-half mile from Fort Morgan." A "torpedo party" of seven men was reported to be in charge of the underwater weapons. These torpedoes almost turned back the Admiral's assault on Mobile Bay less than a month later.

Flag Officer Barton wrote Secretary Mallory from Paris: "In the course of this week . . . I hope to have the pleasure of reporting the Rappahannock at sea . . . She is strictly watched by Federal cruisers in the channel: Kearsarge at Dover, Niagara at or off Cherbourg, and Sacramento off Ushant. This disposition of the enemy's ships increases the risks and affords decided chances of capture; but if we be permitted to leave port with the number of officers and men on board I shall assuredly encounter all the chances and risks, knowing your anxiety and the great impor-tance of keeping a sufficient number of vessels afloat to keep up the rates of maritime insurance in the United States, and a wholesome dread of our active and enterprising little Navy amongst their commercial marine." Despite Barron's strong efforts, however, Rappahannock remained in port until the war ended.

13-14 In order to protect the rear of Union Army emplacements around Annapolis, Maryland, against Confederate raiders Lieutenant Commander Braine, USS Vicksburg, detailed a boat expedition under the command of Acting Ensign Francis G. Osborn to destroy all means of crossing South River.

14 Acting Master George R. Durand, USS Paul Jones, was captured while making an attempt in Ossabaw Sound, Georgia, to destroy CSS Water Witch,' a former Union ship which had been taken in June, 1864. Durand concealing himself and his men by day and moving by night, made his way toward the prize steamer only to be discovered and captured by a Confederate patrol.

Screw steamer USS Pequot, Lieutenant Commander Quackenbush, and converted ferryboat USS Commodore Morris, Acting Master Robert G. Lee, engaged Confederate batteries in the vicinity of Malvern Hill, James River, Virginia, for four hours, sustaining no serious damage. Two days later the batteries opened on USS Mendota, Commander Nichols, Pequot, and Commodore Morris. Mendota, a double-ender, sustained minor damage and several casualties. Presence of the battery below Four Mile Creek temporarily closed the navigation of the James River.

18 Rear Admiral Farragut wrote of his plans for the attack on Mobile Bay: "I propose to go in according to programme– fourteen vessels, two and two, as at Port Hudson; low steam; flood tide in the morning with a light southwest wind; ironclads on the eastern side, to attack the Tennessee, and gunboats to attack rebel gunboats as soon as past the forts." It was characteristic of the Admiral's farsighted attention to detail to have battle plans drawn up and his fleet ready for action when the most favorable moment to move forward arrived.

Governor Samuel Corry of Maine wrote Secretary Welles regarding the exploits of CSS Florida. Gravely concerned by the captures the cruiser had made recently, he asked that one or two gun-boats constantly patrol the coast, and stated: "We are at war with a brave, energetic adversary, fruitful in resources, ready to strike at any exposed point, and which, with one or two piratical cruisers, besides destroying a great amount of tonnage, has driven a large share of our commerce under the protection of the flags of other nations."

Secretary Mallory wrote Commander Bulloch in Liverpool, England; that ". . . we can operate effectually against the enemy's blockading fleets with torpedo boats . . . As these boats select their own time for operating and may thus secure a smooth sea, and as they must operate at night, and avoid being seen, it is important that they should be as low in the water as may be consistent with their safety. They are expected to carry from five to seven men, coal for twenty-four hours, and four torpedoes with their shifting poles, and to go at least 10 miles an hour with all on board . . . The torpedo is usually made of copper or iron boiler plate, contains from 40 to 100 pounds of powder and is prepared with three sensitive tubes which explode on impact . . . The torpedo boats are miniature swift steamers, and they must be strongly built and as light as may be consistent with strength . . . I suppose these boats might be built and sent to us without interference by the authorities; but if not they might be built in sections and thus sent over. We are so destitute of mechanics, however, that they should be sent us complete as possible

21 USS Prairie Bird, Acting Master Thomas Burns, seized steamer Union on the Mississippi River for violation of revenue laws and giving "aid and comfort to the enemy".

22 Lieutenant Charles S. Cotton and Acting Ensign John L. Hall led a landing party from USS Oneida on a daring expedition that resulted in the capture of a Confederate cavalry patrol near Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay. The sailors rowed in from Oneida under cover of' darkness, and lay in wait for a nightly Southern patrol which had been under observation for some time. Surprise was complete, and Hall Marched a detachment four miles further inland to destroy the patrol's camp site. Lieutenant Cotton reported: "The results of the expedition were captured, 1 lieutenant and 4 privates of the Seventh Alabama Cavalry, arms and ammunition; 5 horses, with their equipments complete, and all the camp equipage and stores.

23 Army transport B.M. Runyan, with some 500 military and civilian passengers on board, sank in the Mississippi River near Skipwith's Landing, Mississippi, after hitting a snag. USS Prairie Bird, Acting Master Thomas Burns, rescued 350 survivors and salvaged part of the cargo. Rescue and humanitarian operations have been a continuing naval mission throughout our history.

24 Confederate guerrillas captured and burned steamer Kingston, which had run aground the preceding day between Smith's Point and Windmill Point on the Virginia shore of Chesapeake Bay.

25 As Union naval forces in Albemarle Sound kept a close watch on the powerful ram CSS Albemarle, Acting Master's Mate John Woodman with three companions made the first of his three daring reconnaissance expeditions up the Roanoke River to Plymouth, North Carolina. Reported Woodman: "The town appeared very quiet; very few persons were moving about; I could hear the blacksmiths and carpenters at work in the town near the river." The ram, he added, was "lying at the wharf near the steam sawmill." The danger posed by the Confederate ship was to be a prime object of Northern concern for several more months, and prevented the Union forces from aggressive operations in the Plymouth area.

Boats from USS Hartford, Monongahela, and Sebago, commanded by Rear Admiral Farragut's flag lieutenant, J. C. Watson, reconnoitered the Mobile Bay area in an attempt to discover the type and number of water mines laid by Confederates off Fort Morgan. Watson and his men located and cut loose many of the torpedoes; they were aided by the fact that a number were inoperative. This hazardous work was indispensable to the success of the Navy's coming operations against Mobile. Several similar night operations were conducted.

USS Undine, Acting Master John L. Bryant, struck a snag and sank in the Tennessee River near Clifton, Tennessee. Bryant immediately set to work raising his small gunboat, while at the same time placing her guns ashore to help defend the city, which was threatened by Confederate troops. On 31 July, after the arrival of pump steamer Little Champion, and under constant danger of attack, Bryant succeeded in raising Undine and returning her to action.

20–27 Pickets from USS Shokokon, Acting Master Sheldon, were attacked ashore by Confederate sharpshooters at Turkey Bend, in the James River. Shokokon, a 710–ton double-ender mounting 5 guns, supported the embattled landing party with gunfire, and succeeded in preventing its capture. Next day, Shokokon engaged a Confederate battery at the same point on the River.

27 Rear Admiral Lee sent tugs Belle, Martin, and Hoyt, fitted as torpedo boats, to Commander Macomb, commanding Union naval forces off New Bern, North Carolina. The tugs, which were to be used against reported Confederate ironclads in that vicinity, carried spar torpedoes, described by Lee as follows: "This form of torpedo is intended to explode on impact, and to he placed on a pole or rod projecting not less than 15 feet, and if possible 20 feet, beyond the vessel using it. It contains 150 pounds of powder.'' Initially the Union violently rejected torpedo warfare introduced by the South, but as the war progressed the North also utilized it to advantage.

Colonel Lewis B. Parsons, USA, Assistant Quartermaster and Chief of Western River Transporta-tion, wrote to Lieutenant Commander Phelps, Navy commander on the White River, about the unavailability of sufficient gunboats to convoy the vital supply ships on the river: "I am now in receipt of letters from three different officers, urgently enquiring if something can be done to prevent the detention of boats for convoys, in consequence of which, it is extremely difficult to send stores and supplies from Helena, Memphis, and other points. . . . I have no doubt everything is being done in your power and consistent with your means, but considering the importance of the subject and the expenditure, is it not advisable to increase the means, so that convoys, if necessary, may be sent as boats arrive? If this can not be done, would it not do if two or three gunboats be stationed at different and dangerous points and boats be permitted to proceed without convoys?" The Navy's efforts to keep open the essential river supply routes in the West were beset with many problems, including a scarcity of ships for convoy against constant harassment by Confederate guerrillas.

Rear Admiral Bailey wrote Secretary Welles from Key West describing the severe epidemic of yellow fever among the officers and men of his squadron: "My worst fears have been more than realized, and for more than two months the disease has held its course without abatement and is now as virulent as at any time. . . . The mortality on the island I am told has reached as high as 12 to 15 in a day. . . . The squadron is much crippled.

27-30 Boat crew commanded by Lieutenant J.C. Watson made daylight reconnaissances of the Mobile Bay channel. Watson and his men, towed into the bay by the small tug Cowslip, sounded the outer channel and marked the outside limits of the Confederate torpedo fields with buoys for the coming attack on the defenses of the bay.

28 Large side-wheel double-enders USS Mendota, Commander Nichols, and USS Agawam, temporarily commanded by Lieutenant George Dewey, shelled Confederate positions across Four Mile Creek, on the James River, in support of Union moves to clear the area and restore full Northern use of the river at that Point.

28-29 Tinclad USS Whitehead, Acting Ensign Barrett, joined with Army steamers Thomas Colyer and Massasoit in an expedition up the Chowan River, North Carolina, to confiscate contraband. Steamer Arrow was captured at Gatesville with cargo of cotton and tobacco.

30 Landing party from USS Potomska, Acting Lieutenant Robert P. Swann, destroyed two large Confederate salt works near the Back River, Georgia. Returning to Potomska, Swann and his men were taken under fire by Confederates and a sharp battle ensued. 'Our arms," Swann reported, "the Spencer rifles, saved us all from destruction, as the rapidity with which we fired caused the enemy to lie low, and their firing was after the first volley very wild. . . . We fought them three-quarters of an hour, some of the time up to our knees in mud, trying to land and cap-ture them, and some of the time in the water with the boats for a breastwork." Finally able to regain the Potomska, Swann's party received a commendation from Rear Admiral Dahlgren for the bravery and skill they had demonstrated on the expedition.

In strongly refuting a recommendation that ram CSS Albemarle be kept as a threat in being at Plymouth and not venture out to offer battle, Secretary Mallory wrote: . . . she was not designed as a floating battery merely, and while her loss must not be lightly hazarded, the question of when to attack the enemy must be left to the judgment of the naval officer in command, deciding in view of the relation she bears to the defenses of North Carolina."

August 1864

1-4 Landing party under Commander George M. Colvocoresses, composed of 115 officers and men, raided a meeting of civilians forming a coastal guard at McIntosh Court House, Georgia. Colvocoresses Marched his men overland after coming ashore during the night of 2 August, destroyed a bridge to prevent being cut off by Confederate cavalry, and captured some 26 prisoners and 22 horses before making his way safely back to USS Saratoga. Rear Admiral Dahlgren , amused at the circumstances of the expedition and pleased with its results, reported to the men of his squadron: "Captain Colvocoresses having been favored with a sight of the notice in a Savannah paper, and feeling considerable interest in the object of the meeting, concluded that he would attend it also, which he did, with a number of United States citizens serving at the time on board the USS Saratoga as officers, seamen, and marines. . . . When the appointed time arrived, Mr. Miller [Boatswain Philip J. Miller] set fire to the bridge [outside the town] and at the signal the main body rushed out and joined the meeting. . . . Captain Colvocoresses then read to the meeting from the newspaper the order of Colonel Gaulden [CSA] for their assembling, and, regretting that the Colonel had failed to attend, he invited the meeting to accompany him, which they did, and arrived safely on board the Saratoga, where they meet daily under the United States flag." The Admiral later reported to Secretary Welles  of the prisoners: ". . . . it is hoped that under the old flag the deliberations may be of a more beneficial tendency, as the parties are now relieved of their proposed responsibility as a coast guard."

Colonel Gaulden, not to be outdone, published an explanatory letter in the Savannah Re-publican adding a challenge to the observant naval Captain: "As the Captain seems to be a reader of your paper, I take this opportunity to make my compliments to him and to say that when he calls to see me again I shall be at home, and will try and give him a more respectful reception."

2 After months of attempting to ready CSS Rappahannock and negotiating her clearance from French authorities in Calais, Flag Officer Barron reluctantly concluded that she could not be taken to sea under the Confederate flag. This date, he received a letter from Lieutenant Charles M. Fauntleroy, commanding Rappahannock, informing him that while the French would now permit her put to sea, her crew could not exceed 35 men. Barron at once replied: "I agree with you in the "absolute impossibility of navigating the ship" with so small a complement as thirty-five, including yourself and officers. You will therefore proceed to pay off and discharge your officers and crew, keeping sufficient officers and men to look after the public property, and lay up the ship until we determine upon what course we shall pursue in regard to her." Private agents acting for the Confederacy had purchased Rappahannock from the British in November, 1863, at Sheerness, where she was refitting. Concerned that the British, suspecting that she was to be used as a cruiser, would detain her, the Confederates ran Rappahannock out of port on 24 November. Her officers joined in the channel, and intended to rendezvous with CSS Georgia off the French coast, where she would take on armament. However, in passing out of the Thames estuary her bearings burned out and she 'was taken across the channel to Calais for repairs. Though the South had entertained high hopes for her as a commerce raider, she was destined never to put to sea under the Stars and Bars". Fauntleroy, disillusioned with the command which cost the South so much in time and effort, termed her "The Confederate White Elephant."

3 Rear Admiral Farragut's Fleet Captain, Percival Drayton, wrote the senior officer at Pensacola, Captain Thornton A. Jenkins, urging that the monitor Tecumseh be hurried to Mobile  for Farragut's attack. ''If you can get the Tecumseh out tomorrow, do so; otherwise I am pretty certain that the admiral won't wait for her. Indeed, I think a very little persuasion would have taken him in today, and less tomorrow. The army are to land at once, and the admiral does not want to be thought remiss." Farragut himself wrote Jenkins, adding in a tone indicative of his indomitable spirit: "I can lose no more days. I must go in day after tomorrow morning at daylight or a little after. It is a bad time, but when you do not take fortune at her offer you must take her as you can find her."

Lieutenant J. C. Watson and his boat crew made a final night expedition into the waters of Mobile Bay under the guns of Fort Morgan. Although they were constantly in danger of being discovered by the lights of the Fort, the bold sailors worked all night to deactivate and sink Confederate torpedoes in the channel preparatory to Farragut's dash into Mobile Bay.

USS Miami, Acting Lieutenant George W. Graves, engaged Confederate batteries at Wilcox's Landing, Virginia. Proceeding toward heavy firing, Graves had discovered batteries at Wilcox's Landing firing on Union transports. He immediately opened a brisk cannonade, and after an hour the Confederates withdrew. Next day, Miami, accompanied by USS Osceola, Commander Clitz, drove off batteries which were firing on another group of transports near Harrison's Landing, on the James River. Throughout the embattled South, Union gunboats kept communications and supply lines open despite the dogged determination of the Confederates to sever them.

5 Rear Admiral Farragut took his squadron of 18 ships, including four monitors, against the heavy Confederate defenses of Mobile Bay. Soon after 6 a.m., the Union ships crossed the bar and moved into the bay. The monitors Tecumseh, Manhattan, Winebago, and Chickasaw formed a column to starboard of the wooden ships in order to take most of the fire from Fort Morgan, which they had to pass at close range. The seven smaller wooden ships were lashed to tile port side of the larger wooden screw steamers, as in the passage of Port Hudson, Mississippi River.

Shortly before 7 o'clock, Tecumseh, Commander T.A.M. Craven , opened fire on Fort Morgan. The action quickly became general. The Confederate squadron under Admiral Buchanan , including the heavy ram Tennessee (6 guns) and the smaller ships Gaines (6 guns), Selma (4 guns), and Morgan (6 guns), moved out to engage the attackers. Craven headed Tecumseh straight at Tennessee, bent on engaging her at once. Suddenly, a terrific explosion rocked the Union monitor. She careened violently and went down in seconds, the victim of one of the much-feared torpedoes laid by the Confederates for harbor defense. Amidst the confusion below decks as men struggled to escape the sinking ship, Craven and the pilot, John Collins, arrived at the foot of the ladder leading to the main deck. The captain stepped back. "After you, pilot," he said. Collins was saved, but there was no afterwards for the heroic Craven. He and some 90 officers and men of Tecumseh's crew of 114 went down with the ship. Captain Alden called them "intrepid pioneers of that death-strewed path."

Alden, in Brooklyn , was to Tecumseh's port when the disaster occurred; the heavy steamer stopped and began backing to clear "a row of suspicious-looking buoys" directly under Brooklyn's bow. The entire line of wooden vessels was drifting into confusion immediately under the guns of Fort Morgan. Farragut, lashed in the rigging to observe the action over the smoke billowing from the guns, acted promptly and resolutely, characteristic of a great leader who in war must constantly meet emergencies fraught with danger. The only course was the boldest through the torpedo field. "Damn the torpedoes," he ordered; "full speed ahead " (Flag Lieutenant John C. Watson later recalled that Farragut's exact words were: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead, Drayton! Hard astarboard; ring four bells! Eight bells! Sixteen bells!") His flagship Hartford swept past Brooklyn into the rows of torpedoes; the fleet followed. The torpedoes were heard bumping against the hulls but none exploded. The Union force steamed into the bay.

Hardly past one hazard, Farragut was immediately faced with another: Buchanan attempted to ram Hartford with Tennessee. The Union ship slipped by her slower, clumsier antagonist, returning her fire but also being raked by the fire of gunboat CSS Selma, Lieutenant Peter U. Murphey. Wooden double-ender USS Metacomet, Lieutenant Commander Jouett, engaged Selma and, though sustaining considerable damage, compelled her to strike her colors shortly after 9 a.m. Meanwhile, Tennessee also attempted in vain to ram Brooklyn. CSS Gaines, Lieutenant John W. Bennett, advanced to engage the Union ships as they entered the bay, but she suffered a steering casualty early in the action. ". . . subjected to a very heavy concentrated fire from the Hartford, Richmond, and others at short range . . . , Bennett soon found his command in a sinking condition. He ran her aground near Fort Morgan and salvaged most of the ammunition and small arms before she settled in two fathoms. CSS Morgan, Commander George W. Harrison, briefly engaged Metacomet to assist Selma prior to her surrender, but as the action took place at high speed, Morgan could not maintain her position and faced the possibility of being cut off and captured by two Union ships. Harrison determined to take her under Fort Morgan's guns and later he saved her by boldly running the gauntlet of Federal ships to Mobile.

Meanwhile, 300-ton side-wheeler USS Philippi, Acting Master James T. Seaver, "wishing to be of assistance to the fleet in case any vessels were disabled," grounded near Fort Morgan attempting to get into the bay. The fort's heavy guns quickly found the range and riddled Philippi with shot and shell, forcing Seaver and his crew to abandon ship. A boat crew from CSS Morgan completed her destruction by setting her afire. The Union fleet, having steamed up into the bay, anchored briefly. Buchanan heroically carried the fight to his powerful opponents alone. Farragut reported: "I was not long in comprehending his intention to be the destruction of the flagship. The monitors and such of the wooden vessels as I thought best adapted for the purpose were immediately ordered to attack the ram, not only with their guns, but bows on at full speed, and then began one of the fiercest naval combats on record."

For more than an hour the titanic battle raged. Steam sloop of war Monongahela struck Tennessee a heavy blow but succeeded only in damaging herself. Lackawanna rammed into the Confederate ship at full speed but, said Farragut, "the only perceptible effect on the ram was to give her a heavy list." A shot from Manhattan's 15-inch gun, however, made a greater impression on those on board Tennessee. Lieutenant Wharton, CSN, reported: "The Monongahela was hardly
clear of us when a hideous-looking monster came creeping up on our Port side, whose slowly revolving turret revealed the cavernous depths of a mammoth gun. 'Stand clear of the Port side!' I shouted. A moment after a thundrous report shook us all, while a blast of dense, sulpherous smoke covered our port-holes, and 440 pounds of iron, impelled by sixty pounds of powder, admitted daylight through our side, where, before it struck us, there had been over two feet of solid wood, covered with five inches of solid iron. This was the only 15-inch shot that hit us fair. It did not come through; the inside netting caught the splinters, and there were no casualties from it. I was glad to find myself alive after that shot."

Hartford struck a glancing blow and poured a broadside into Tennessee from a distance of ten feet Chickasaw pounded the ram with heavy shot; steam sloops Lackawanna and Hartford had collided, but had regained position and, with Ossipee and Monongahela, were preparing to run down Buchanan's ship. The intrepid Confederate Admiral had been seriously wounded and relinquished command to Commander James D. Johnston. The rain of shells knocked out the ironclad's steering. Unable to maneuver and taking on water, Tennessee struggled on against her overwhelmingly superior foes despite the terrible cannonade that pounded her mercilessly. Ultimately, Buchannan and Johnston concurred that Tennessee must surrender to prevent loss of life to no fruitful end. At 10 o'clock a white flag was hoisted. Farragut acknowledged the tenacity and ability with which the Confederate seamen had fought: "During this contest with the rebel gunboats and Tennessee . . . we lost many more men than from the fire of the batteries of Fort Morgan."

Secretary Welles warmly congratulated the Admiral on his stunning triumph: "In the success which has attended your operations you have illustrated the efficiency and irresistible power of a naval force led by a bold and vigorous mind, and insufficiency of any batteries to prevent the passage of a fleet thus led and commanded. You have, first on the Mississippi and recently in the bay of Mobile, demonstrated what had been previously doubted, the ability of naval vessels, properly manned and commanded, to set at defiance the best constructed and most heavily armed fortifications. In these successive victories you have encountered great risks, but the results have vindicated the wisdom of your policy and the daring valor of our officers and seamen."

Costly as the victory was to the Union and stubbornly as Mobile Bay was defended by the Confederates, the result of the struggle was the closing of the last major Gulf port to the South. With the bay itself controlled by Farragut's fleet, it was inevitable that the land fortifications which had been bypassed would be compelled to surrender. That afternoon, Chickasaw, Lieutenant Commander George H. Perkins, stood down and engaged Fort Powell at a distance of less than 400 yards. The Confederate work could not meet such an assault from its rear, and during the night it was evacuated and blown up. Forts Gaines and Morgan would fall soon as well, and henceforth Northern naval efforts could be concentrated in the East, though vigilance and "mop-ping up" operations would continue elsewhere until war's end. Of the stunning victory at Mobile, the distinguished naval historian Commodore Dudley W. Knox wrote: "Success there had been mainly due to the genius of Farragut, who had shown all the attributes of a great leader. He had been skillful and thorough in planning, cautious in awaiting adequate military and naval reinforcements, bold in attack, quick in perceptions and decisions during the greatest emergencies of battle, superbly courageous in setting an example, ever ready to take personal risks, as well as to assume those demanded by his heavy responsibility, and resolute beyond measure until the victory was won.

U.S. Navy makes final decision to reject Hortsford’s Soligo; no reason given. On this same date, Admiral Farragut fights the Battle of Mobile Bay. Seeing U.S.S. Tecumseh sunk in seconds (supposedly by a torpedo), Farragut admonishes his men to “Damn the torpedoes —full speed ahead!” But, as no other mine in the harbor worked on that day, the possibility exits that Tecumseh was sunk by the Confederate submarine C.S.S. Captain Pierce, which was active in the harbor that day and lost when its boiler exploded—very near the Tecumseh. The lone surviving Confederate sailor claimed the crew had targeted a different ship; if so, the Tecumseh was simply incredibly unlucky to find the single mine that was not waterlogged.

6 Powerful CSS Albemarle, Captain J. W. Cooke, steamed from Plymouth, NC., to the mouth of the Roanoke River, causing great concern among the Union blockading ships before returning to Plymouth. Commander Harrell, USS Chicopee, reported: ". . . the ram made its appearance this morning at a few minutes before 4 a.m. It advanced as far as the mouth of the river and halted. . . . From the number of people in sight on the beach, no doubt it was expected that an engagement would ensue. . . . The ram is now lying in the river blowing off steam. I do not think, however that she will advance. Should she do so, however, I will endeavor to draw her down toward the fleet I shall now pay my respects to those gentlemen on the beach in the shape of a few shells."

CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, ran out of Wilmington  harbor, and after eluding several blockaders off the bar, embarked on one of the most destructive commerce raiding cruises of the war. This extemporaneous man-of-war," Jefferson Davis later wrote, ". . . soon lit up the New England coast with her captures. . . . " In the next two weeks Wood, whom Davis called an officer of extraordinary ability and enterprise," took or destroyed more than 30 ships.

7 Colonel Charles D. Anderson, CSA, commanding Fort Gaines at Mobile Bay, proposed the sur-render of his command to Rear Admiral Farragut. USS Chickasaw, Lieutenant Commander Perkins, had bombarded the fort the day before, and Anderson wrote: "Feeling my inability to maintain my present position longer than you may see fit to open upon me with your fleet, and feeling also the uselessness of entailing upon ourselves further destruction of life, I have the honor to propose the surrender of Fort Gaines, its garrison, stores, etc." Before 10 a.m., 8 August, the Stars and Stripes were flying over the works.

8 Sailors in the Civil War were often called upon to perform duties far removed from ordinary ship-board routine. This date, Rear Admiral Dahlgren wrote to the commanders of ships in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron on the subject of naval infantry: "It has frequently happened that the peculiar nature of the duties in this command has required the service of bodies of men to be landed from vessels to act for a short time as infantry, assisted by light fieldpieces. In order to meet similar exigencies commanders of vessels will take pains to select from their crews such men as may seem to have a turn for this kind of duty and have them drilled with small arms until they have attained the necessary proficiency. . . . The light-infantry drill will be best adapted to this service, and to the habits of the seamen.

USS Violet, Acting Ensign Thomas Stothard, ran aground off the western bar at Cape Fear River, North Carolina, and was destroyed. Stothard and his men labored to keep Violet afloat for five hours, but seeing that the water was gaining, fired her magazine and abandoned the small wooden steamer.

Though the Union fleet under Rear Admiral Farragut controlled Mobile Bay and Forts Powell and Gaines were in Northern hands, Brigadier General Richard L. Page, formerly a U.S. naval officer and until recently a Commander in the Confederate Navy, gallantly refused to surrender Fort Morgan to the overwhelming forces opposing him. Federal naval forces took station in the Bay while troops began the land investment of Fort Morgan. After a brief bombardment, Farragut and Union Army commander Major General Gordon Granger advised page: "To prevent the unnecessary sacrifice of human life which must follow the opening of our batteries, we demand the unconditional surrender of Fort Morgan and its dependencies." Undaunted, the Confederate officer replied: "I am prepared to sacrifice life, and will only surrender when I have no means of defense." He was fighting his fort as he would have his ship.

Ram Tennessee, whose big guns had so valiantly sought to defend Confederate possession of Mobile Bay on 5 August, now in Union hands, bombarded Fort Morgan. Her log recorded: "At 10 a.m. having no steam up on this vessel, the U.S. gunboat Port Royal took us in tow down towards the Fort Morgan. Anchored between the Middle Ground and the fort and opened our battery upon the fort." At 10 p.m. Winnebago  towed Tennessee back up to her anchorage.

Reflecting Union concern regarding the great strength of CSS Albemarle, Rear Admiral Lee wrote to Commander Macomb, commanding off Albemarle Sound, of the measures to employ in the event of another engagement with her: "The Department is of the opinion that too light charges of powder were used in the engagement of May 5 with the Albemarle, and that the IX-inch with 13 pounds and the 100-pounder rifle with 10 pounds of powder can effect nothing, and that even using XI-inch guns the vessels should touch the ram while engaging her and the XI-inch guns be fired with 30 pounds of powder and solid shot."

Two resourceful members of the Confederate Torpedo Corps, John Maxwell and R. K. Dillard, planted a clockwork torpedo containing twelve pounds of powder on a Union transport at City Point, Virginia, causing a huge explosion which rocked the entire area. Maxwell and Dillard succeeded in getting through Union lines to the wharf area, where Maxwell convinced the trusting wharf sentry that he had been ordered by the captain of the ammunition barge to deliver a box on board. The box was accepted and the two Confederates hastily started back for Richmond. When the torpedo exploded an hour later, it set in motion a devastating chain reaction which spread the holocaust from the barges to storage buildings on shore and even to General Grant's headquarters. Grant hurried off a message to General Halleck in Washington: "Five minutes ago an ordnance boat exploded, carrying lumber, grape, canister, and all kinds of shot over this point. Every part of the yard used as my headquarters is filled with splinters and fragments of shell."

Lieutenant General Grant wrote to Rear Admiral Lee, in response to a question as to the useful-ness of the Union ironclads on the James River: . . . I think it would be imprudent to withdraw them. At least two such vessels, in my judgment, should be kept in the upper James. They stand a constant threat to the enemy and prevent him taking the offensive." From experience Grant well understood the vital part sea power played in the struggle between North and South, whether on the ocean, the Western rivers, or the restricted waters of the James. The General was a master at employing the unique advantages of strength based afloat in combined operations to overwhelm opposition.

Blockade running steamer Prince Albert went aground off Fort Moultrie at Charleston  and was destroyed by USS Catskill, Commander Napoleon B. Harrison, and the Morris Island batteries.

Baxter Watson, one of the inventors of the Hunley, writes to Jefferson Davis  and makes the case for buying a $5000 “electro-magnetic engine” in New York  City of Washington City. Watson maintains that this is the best way to power a submarine. Watson had worked on scratch-building such a motor for Pioneer II.

10 Rear Admiral Farragut continued steady day and night bombardment, battering down the walls of Fort Morgan resolutely defended by his former shipmate, General Page.

Writing from Paris, Flag Officer Barron, reported to Secretary Mallory  that all Confederate midshipmen except the Alabama's had been examined for promotion. Though its ships were few in numbers, the Confederacy continued an active and systematic training program for young naval officers. In his annual report to President Davis, Secretary Mallory stressed the value of training to the naval service: "Naval education and training lie at the foundation of naval success; and the power that neglects this essential element of strength will, when the battle is fought, find that its ships, however formidable, are but built for a more thoroughly trained and educated enemy. . . . While a liberal education at the ordinary institutions of learning prepares men for useful service not only in the Army, but in most branches of public affairs, special education and training, and such as these institutions cannot afford, are essential to form a naval officer." The Confederate Naval Academy, on board CSS Patrick Henry in the James River, translated this active interest in proper naval training into concrete instruction, and provided trained officers to the Southern cause until her loss when Richmond fell in 1865.

Secretary Mallory wrote Commander Bulloch in Liverpool of the continuing importance of commerce raiding to the Confederacy; "It seems certain that we can not obtain such ships as we specially want; but we must not therefore desist in our attempts and must do the best we can under the circumstances which surround us. The enemy's distant whaling grounds have not been visited by us. His commerce constitutes one of his reliable sources of national wealth no less than one of his best schools for seamen, and we must strike it, if possible" The Secretary's desires were to be carried out with even greater success than he had anticipated by CSS Shenandoah .

One of the additional difficulties of naval operations in the lowlands surrounding the James River, Virginia, was the high incidence of sickness. This date, Flag Officer Mitchell, com-manding the Confederate James River Squadron, wired Major General George E. Pickett: "Our crews are so much reduced in number from sickness that we shall have to discontinue our picket guard at Osborne's on James River to enable us to man our batteries, in order that we may act against the enemy. About one-third of the men are sick." Later in the month, a board of sur-geons inspected the ships of the squadron with a view toward reducing the prevalence of malaria and other disabling diseases. The conclusions reached in the subsequent report illustrated the hazard of duty on board river gunboats: "We consider the causes of the great amount of sickness on board said vessels to be, first, and chiefly, that exposure to malaria, the necessary consequence of a residence upon the waters of James River; as secondary causes to this, but in our opinion highly conducive to the hurtful influence, we would enumerate the heated atmosphere of the ironclads, especially when at quarters for and during action, the want of proper exercise on shore, and of a deficient supply of vegetables and fruits for the ships' companies. Difficult living condi-tions and sickness were common, especially in the summer, for both navies in the James River as well as elsewhere throughout the tidewaters of the South.

10-11 Small steamers USS Romeo, Acting Master Thomas Baldwin, and USS Prairie Bird, Acting Master Thomas Burns, and transport steamer Empress engaged battery at Gaines Landing, Arkansas, on the Mississippi River which the Confederates had secretly wheeled into place. On 10 August, Empress had been attacked by the batteries, enduring a withering fire which disabled her and killed Captain John Molloy. Romeo closed, fired upon the Confederate guns, and towed Empress to safety. Next day, however, the Southerner's artillery again opened heavily on Prairie Bird which was passing the same point near Gaines Landing. Hearing the firing from upstream, Romeo came down and joined in the brisk engagement; the Confederates ultimately broke off the action and withdrew. All three ships were severely damaged in the two-day exchange, Empress alone taking some sixty-three hit.

Cruising within 80 miles of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, took seven prizes, including schooners Sarah A. Boyce and Carrol, brigs Richards and Carrie Estelle, cargo of logs, pilot boats James Funk (No. 22) and William Bell (No. 24), and bark Bay State, cargo of wood. All were scuttled or burned except Carrol, which was bonded for $10,000 and sent to New York with the passengers and crews of the other ships. Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding, Commandant of the New York Navy Yard, immediately wired Secretary Welles: "Pirate off Sandy Hook, capturing and burning." By evening, Paulding had three ships in pursuit of Tallahassee. Welles, hoping to head off the Southern raider and prevent another cruise similar to the June 1863 raid of Lieutenant Charles Read in CSS Tacony, telegraphed naval commanders at Hampton Roads, Philadelphia, and Boston, ordering a large-scale search for Wood.

12 CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, seized six more prizes while continuing her devastating cruise off the New York coast. Wood burned ships Atlantic, Adriatic, and Spokane, cargo of lumber; attempted to scuttle brig Billow, cargo of lumber, and released bark Suliote and schooner Robert E. Packer, cargo of lumber, on bond. Billow did not sink and was retaken by USS Grand Gulf, Commander Ransom, two days later.

Ram Tennessee got up steam for the first time since her capture by Rear Admiral Farragut on 5 August. She had been fitted with a new stack on the 11th and this date tried it out by steaming around the bay. On the 13th Tennessee steamed down and opened on Fort Morgan.

13 Reports of CSS Tallahassee's destructive success created much alarm in northern seaports. This date, John D. Jones, president of the Board of Underwriters, wired Secretary Welles from New York: "Confederate steamer Tallahassee is reported cruising within 60 miles of this port. She has already captured six vessels. Will you please have the necessary measures taken, if not already done, to secure her capture?" Half an hour after receipt of this message, Welles replied: "Three vessels left New York Navy Yard yesterday afternoon; more leave to-day. Vessels left Hampton Roads last night; more leave today. Several vessels leave Boston today and tomorrow. Every vessel available has been ordered to search for pirate." In addition this date, Captain C. K. Stribling, Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, dispatched three ships "in pursuit of the pirate." However, Tallahassee, Commander Wood, continued her "depredations", burning schooner Lammot Du Pont, cargo of coal, and bark Glenavon.

USS Agawam, Commander Rhind, engaged three different Confederate batteries near Four Mile Creek on the James River. The 975-ton double-ender was fired upon early in the afternoon, countered immediately and maintained a heavy fire for over four hours when, "finding our am-munition running short, having expended 228 charges, we weighed anchor and dropped down." Next day Agawam again engaged the batteries, in support of Union troops advancing along the river.

Ships of the Confederate James River Squadron, including CSS Virginia II, Fredericksburg, Commander Rootes, CSS Hampton, Lieutenant John W. Murdaugh, CSS Nansemond, Lieutenant Charles W. Hays, CSS Drewry, Lieutenant William W. Hall, shelled Union Army positions near Dutch Gap, Virginia. At the request of the Confederate Army, Flag Officer Mitchell kept up the fire, intended to support Confederate troop movements in the area, for over 12 hours. The Union entrenchments, however, were largely beyond the range of his guns and hidden by hills. Union gunboats took position below the James River barricade; but their guns could not reach the ships of Mitchell's squadron. The Confederate fire was, however, returned briskly by Union shore emplacements. Mitchell ordered his ships to return to their anchorages at nightfall.

14 As all-out Union efforts to capture CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, increased, the cruiser seized and scuttled ship James Littlefield with cargo of coal. Rear Admiral Paulding noted in New York: "Our vessels must fall in with her. They strip everybody of everything valuable."

15 Rumors concerning C.S.S Albemarle continued to reach Union naval forces in Albemarle Sound. Colonel David W. Wardrop, Union Army commander in the area, wrote to Commander Macomb: "I have received information from parties heretofore reliable that the enemy have been fitting up some of their boats with torpedoes, and are intending to attack the fleet in conjunction with the ram on Tuesday next. It is also confidently reported that a second ram will be done in a fortnight. They are very busy up the Roanoke River, but it is very difficult to learn what is being done. . . ."

Rear Admiral Farragut's fleet sustained its pounding of Fort Morgan with shot from its heavy guns. Typical of the action that took place in Mobile Bay from the time the ships dominated its waters on 5 August until General Page, the determined defender of Fort Morgan, finally capitulated was a log entry of USS Manhattan, Commander Nicholson: "At 7 [p.m.] opened fire on Fort Morgan. At 8 Fort Morgan opened fire on this ship and fired two shot. From 8 to mid-night: Continuing to fire on Fort Morgan; Morgan fired one shot at this ship. At 10:20 ceased firing having fired 7 XV-inch shell. Fort fired on our encampment on shore from 9 till end of watch."

CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, captured and scuttled schooners Mary A. Howes, Howard, Floral Wreath, Restless, Etta Caroline, and bonded schooner Sarah B. Harris off New England.

USS Niagara, Commodore Thomas T. Craven, captured steamer Georgia off the coast of Portugal. Georgia was formerly CSS Georgia, which had been sold to British merchants in June of 1864. American Ambassador to England Charles Francis Adams recommended that she be taken when she put to sea under private ownership because of her previously belligerent status. Georgia was later condemned by a prize court in Boston.

16 Ships of the James River Division, North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, transported and sup-ported Union troops in an advance from Dutch Gap, Virginia. Captain M. Smith described the supporting deployment: "The Mount Washington was detained to transport the troops from Dutch Gap to Aiken's [Landing], and to lie off that point and use her 32 pounder, holding herself ready to reembark troops if necessary. Just above her the Delaware, a little farther above the Mackinaw, and at the bend of Dutch Gap the Canonicus were stationed to cover the advance by shelling the enemy's line, the Canonicus also devoting attention to Signal Hill Battery." Through-out the long months of virtually stalemated operations in the James River area, naval forces operated intimately with the Army, facilitating the small advances that were made and checking reverses with the big guns that could swiftly be brought to bear on points of decision near the river.

CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, captured and burned off New England bark P. C. Alexander, and schooners Leopard, Pearl, Sarah Louise, and Magnolia.

Boat expedition by Commander Colvocoresses, USS Saratoga, consisting of men from that ship and T. A. Ward, Acting Master Babcock, captured some 100 prisoners and a quantity of arms on a daring raid into Mcintosh County, Georgia. Commander Colvocoresses also destroyed a salt works and a strategic bridge across the South Newport River on the main road to Savannah.

17 General Robert E. Lee, attempting to consolidate his position on the James River below Rich-mond, turned to the ships of Flag Officer Mitchell's squadron for gunfire support. The enemy is on Signal Hill, fortifying," he telegraphed. "Please try and drive him off. Our picket line is reestablished with the exception of Signal Hill." Ironclads CSS Virginia II, Lieutenant Johnston, and CSS Richmond, Lieutenant J. S. Maury, promptly steamed to a position above Signal Hill where they took the Union position under fire. Shortly thereafter scouts reported that Union forces had fallen back and that Lee's troops now commanded the hill.

Running short of coal, Commander Wood headed CSS Tallahassee for Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he hoped to refuel in order to continue his devastating attack on Federal commerce. En-route, Tallahassee destroyed schooners North America and Josiah Achom and released brig Neva on bond.

18 Attesting to the effectiveness of the patrol maintained on the Mississippi River by Union gun boats, Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, CSA, wrote General E. Kirby Smith, CSA, regarding the impossibility of crossing the river with large bodies of troops: "I have dispatched the War Department to the effect that I consider the crossing of any considerable body of troops impos-sible. Accurate observations have been made of the enemy's gunboats between Red River and Vicksburg, and from the strictness of the guard maintained no success can be anticipated." The original Northern strategy of splitting the Confederacy along the Mississippi River under the efforts of Rodgers, Foote, Farragut, and Porter continued in widening influence to war's end.

CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, put into Halifax to replenish coal supply. U.S. Consul Mortimer M. Jackson wired Secretary Welles: "Tallahassee has just come into port. Will pro-test against her being coaled here." Welles, in turn, at once wired USS Pontoosuc, Lieutenant Commander George A. Stevens, which had put into Eastport, Maine, the preceding day, to steam to the Nova Scotia capital "without delay". Consul Jackson protested the sale of coal for the cruiser to Lieutenant Governor Richard G. MacDonnell, but was informed: ". . . his excellency does not consider it his duty to detain the Tallahassee, or any man-of-war of a belligerent state, on the chance of evidence being hereafter found of her having violated international law, and in the absence of proof to that effect he can not withhold from her commander the privilege of obtaining as much coal as may be necessary to carry him to a port of the Confederate States. MacDonnell, however, also asked Admiral Sir James Hope to advise him as to the amount of coal that would be required for Tallahassee to steam from Halifax to Wilmington. Next day, the Lieutenant Governor advised Wood, who had put into port with 40 tons of coal, that he could depart Halifax with no more than 100 tons of coal on board. However, the Confederate cruiser, which put to sea on the night of the 19th, sailed with somewhat more than that quantity. As Wood later reported: "I am under many obligations to our agent, Mr. Wier, for transacting our business, and through his management about 120 tons of coal were put aboard, instead of half this quantity."

20 USS Pontoosuc, Lieutenant Commander Stevens, entered Halifax. Stevens learned that Tallahassee had sailed late the night before and that he had failed to intercept her by only seven hours. Pontoosuc departed immediately in pursuit. Based on information reported by Consul Jackson, Stevens steamed north into the Gulf of St Lawrence, while Wood, feeling that he did not have sufficient fuel to actively pursue his raids, had set a course for Wilmington. This date, Talla-hassee captured brig Roan and burned her. She was the last prize taken on this brief but most effective cruise.

22-24 Boat expedition from USS Potomska, Acting Lieutenant Swann, captured prisoners and some small arms and destroyed over 2,000 barrels of rosin and turpentine on the Satilla and White Rivers, Georgia. Wherever water reached, Confederate supplies were fair game for alert Union sailors.

23 Having doggedly withstood naval bombardment for more than two weeks, and invested by Union soldiers ashore, Brigadier General Page surrendered Fort Morgan, the last Confederate bastion at Mobile Bay. "My guns and powder had all been destroyed, my means of defense gone, the citadel, nearly the entire quartermaster stores, and a portion of the commissariat burned by the enemy's shells," he reported. "It was evident the fort could hold out but a few hours longer under a renewed bombardment. The only question was: Hold it for this time, gain the eclat, and sustain the loss of life from the falling of the walls, or save life and capitulate?"

Acting Master's Mate Woodman made his second dangerous reconnaissance up the Roanoke River, North Carolina, to gather intelligence on CSS Albemarle and the defenses of Plymouth. Woodman reported: "At 10 a.m. I arrived on the Roanoke River, opposite Plymouth. The ram Albemarle was lying alongside of the wharf at Plymouth, protected with timbers, extending completely around her . . . ." Woodman, who would make yet another reconnaissance mission, gained much vital information upon which Lieutenant Cushing  planned the expedition which ended Albemarle's career.

23-25 Boat expedition under Commander Colvocoresses, USS Saratoga, composed of men from Saratoga, USS T.A. Ward, Acting Master Babcock, and USS Braziliera, Acting Master Gillespie, engaged Confederate pickets along Turtle River, Georgia. The expedition aimed at the capture of an encampment at Bethel, Georgia, but the Confederates there were alerted by the firing downstream and escaped. On 15 September the daring and resourceful Colvocoresses was commended by Secretary Welles for his three successful forays into Southern territory.

24 USS Keystone State, Commander Crosby, and USS Gettysburg, Lieutenant R. H. Lamson, captured blockade running steamer Lilian, off Wilmington with cargo of cotton. Both Union ships fired on Lilian; when she finally hove to she was in a sinking condition. Crosby managed to repair the damage and sent her to Beaufort. She was subsequently purchased by the Navy and assigned to the squadron under the same name.

USS Narcissus, Acting Ensign William G. Jones, captured schooner Oregon in Biloxi Bay, Mis-sissippi Sound.

25 CSS Tallahassee, Commander Wood, successfully ran the blockade into Wilmington, after being chased and fired at by several blockading vessels. Rear Admiral Lee issued orders urging "utmost vigilance" to prevent her re-entry onto the high seas. In his cruise, cut short by lack of coal, Wood took some 31 prizes, all but eight of which were destroyed.

Stirred by the heavy toll of Union shipping taken by CSS Tallahassee, the Navy Department redoubled efforts to track down remaining raiders. Secretary Welles dispatched warships in search of Tallahassee and instructed: "Telegraph your arrival at each port you may enter to the Navy Department, but your departure therefrom need not be delayed in waiting for an answer, unless you consider an answer necessary. . . . Report the length of time under sail, under steam, and under both sail and steam, respectively; also all vessels spoken or boarded, and other incidents of interest or importance during the cruise.''

27 In failing health and with the assault on the city of Mobile delayed indefinitely awaiting adequate troops, Rear Admiral Farragut wrote Secretary Welles requesting to be relieved of his duties: "It is evident that the army has no men to spare for this place beyond those sufficient to keep up an alarm, and thereby make a diversion in favor of General Sherman. . . . Now, I dislike to make of show of attack unless I can do something more than make a menace, but so long as I am able I am willing to do the bidding of the Department to the best of my abilities. I fear, however, my health is giving way. I have now been down in this Gulf and the Caribbean Sea nearly five years out of six, with the exception of the short time at home last fall, and the last six months have been a severe drag on me, and I want rest, if it is to he had." Two months later the great leader set course to the North for a well earned leave.

USS Niphon, Acting Lieutenant Joseph B. Breck, and USS Monticello, Acting Master Henry A. Phelon, conducted an expedition up Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina, to silence a Confederate battery which was reported to have been erected in the vicinity. The two screw steamers shelled the shoreline and a number of buildings at Masonboro; landing parties went ashore and captured a quantity of rifles, ammunition, foodstuffs.

29 While removing Confederate obstructions from the channel leading into Mobile Bay, five sailors were killed and nine others injured when a torpedo exploded. Farragut regretted the unfortunate loss, but resolutely pressed on with the work: ''As it is absolutely necessary to free the channel of these torpedoes, I shall continue to remove them, but as every precaution will be used, I do not apprehend any further accident." Like the loss of Tecumseh, this event demonstrated that although some torpedoes had been made inactive by long immersion, many were very much alive when Farragut made the instant decision, "Damn the torpedoes .

30 Small stern-wheeler USS Fawn, Acting Master Grace, convoyed Union infantry and artillery embarked in transport Kate Hart, on an expedition up the White River from Devall's Bluff, Ar-kansas. The troops were to join with General West's cavalry, then searching for General Shelby's force of Confederate raiders. Fawn and the transport returned to Devall's Bluff on 2 September, and commenced a second foray with larger forces embarked in transports Nevada, Commercial, and Celeste that afternoon. Next day, above Peach Orchard Bluffs, Confederate batteries opened on the convoy, but were dislodged from their riverbank position by Fawn's gunfire. Unable to proceed water-borne because of the low level of the river, scouts and cavalry were sent ahead to communicate with General West, and returned, escorted by Fawn, to Devall's Bluff on 6 September. Shelby's forces continued to elude the Union troops and harass shipping on the White River.

31 Blockade running British steamer Mary Bowers ran aground between Rattlesnake Shoals and Long Island, South Carolina, and was a total loss. She was bound for Charleston where, it was reported, she was to load a cargo of cotton for Halifax.  

September 1864

2 Small, 8-gun paddle-wheeler USS Naiad, Acting Master Keene, engaged Confederate battery near Rowe's Landing, Louisiana, and, after a brisk exchange, silenced it.

3 President Lincoln ordered a 100-gun salute at the Washington Navy Yard at noon on Monday, the 5th of September, and upon receipt of the order, at each arsenal and navy yard in the United States ''for the recent brilliant achievements of the fleet and land forces of the United States in the harbor of Mobile  and in the reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. .
The President also proclaimed that on the following Sunday thanksgiving should be given for Rear Admiral Farragut's victory at Mobile and for the capture of Atlanta by General Sherman. These events, said Lincoln, "call for devout acknowledgment to the Supreme Being in whose hands are the destinies of nations."

5 Unaware as yet of Rear Admiral Farragut's letter of the week before (see 27 August) regarding his failing health, Secretary Welles  wrote the Admiral asking him to take command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and prepare to attack Wilmington , the last major port open to the Confederates. Welles regarded its capture as "more important, practically, than the capture of Richmond." It was natural that, not knowing of Farragut's personal wishes, he should turn to his most successful and indomitable officer for the accomplishment of this last vital task. "You are selected," wrote Welles, "to command the naval force, and you will endeavor to be at Port Royal by the latter part of September, where further orders will await you." It was not until
mid-month that the Secretary received Farragut's letter of 27 August. On 22 September the hero of Mobile Bay wrote Welles upon receipt of his instructions to proceed to Port Royal and reiterated his request to go North on leave. Welles, meanwhile, had taken steps to select a new squadron commander in lieu of Farragut, and the same day, 22 September, he wrote Rear Admiral Porter: "Rear Admiral D. G. Farragut was assigned to the command of the North Atlantic Squadron on the 5th instant, but the necessity of rest on the part of that distinguished officer renders it necessary that he should come immediately North. You will, therefore, on receipt of this order consider yourself detached from the command of the Mississippi Squadron . . . and relieve Acting Rear Admiral Lee in command of the North Atlantic blockading Squadron." Thus, because of Admiral Farragut's poor health, Porter was given the opportunity to prepare and lead the massive assault against the South's most important remaining seaport.

USS Keystone State, Commander Crosby, and USS Quaker City, Lieutenant Silas Casey, captured blockade running British steamer Elsie off Wilmington with cargo of cotton. Elsie had been chased the previous night upon standing out of Wilmington, but the blockading vessels had lost her in the darkness. This date, however, Keystone State sighted her, and with Quaker City opened fire. Elsie almost escaped, but a shell exploding in her forward hold forced her to heave to.

6 USS Proteus, Commander Shufeldt, captured blockade running British schooner Ann Louisa in the Gulf of Mexico.

8 USS Tritonia, Rodolph, Stockdale, and an Army transport commenced a two-day expedition under Acting Lieutenant George Wiggin to destroy large salt works at Salt House Point near Mobile Bay. Only Rodolph and Stockdale crossed the bar and entered Bon Secours River. Arriving at the Point at mid-morning, Wiggin sent two boat crews ashore and demolition of the salt works began immediately. So extensive were the works that destruction was not completed until late afternoon the next day. Wiggin reported: "I found some of the works well built and very strong, particularly one known as the Memphis Works, said to have cost $60,000. . . . Another work, which was very strong and well built, said to have cost $50,000." Rear Admiral Farragut, who had ordered the attack, observed: "There were 55 furnaces, in which were manufactured nearly 2,000 bushels of salt per day, and their destruction must necessarily inconvenience the rebels."

9 Acting under orders from Rear Admiral Farragut, 500-ton screw steamer USS Kanawha , Lieutenant Commander Taylor, reinstituted the blockade of Brownsville, Texas. The blockade had been lifted in mid-February by Presidential proclamation (see 18 February 1864), but on 15 August Secretary of State Seward had informed Secretary Welles that it should be re-enforced once more because of the withdrawal of Union troops stationed in the area. Three days later, Welles directed Farragut to resume the blockade "as early as practicable". On 3 September the Admiral reported to Welles that, ''I am now increasing the blockading force off the coast of Texas, the recent operations here now enabling me to spare vessels for that purpose. ' Farragut relayed the Department's message to his senior subordinate on the Texas coast, Commander Melancthon B. Woolsey, who on 8 September replied: "The Kanawha sailed hence last night with orders to blockade the Brazos Santiago (one of the points of approach to Brownsville). She also bore orders to the Aroostook to blockade the Rio Grande . . . the blockade of those places will be resumed from to-morrow morning (9th)." At this point in the war Union strength at sea was such that specific ports like Brownsville could be reclosed as necessary, while at the same time the iron ring of the entire coastal blockade tightened.

As the conflict drew into its final stage, Southern authorities turned increasingly to blockade runners manned and financed by the Navy. These allowed the Confederacy to employ some of its excellent officers at sea and insured that entire cargoes brought in would be of direct benefit to the government. This date, Commander Maffitt, one of the Confederacy's most successful and experienced captains, was detached from command of CSS Albemarle and ordered to Wilmington to command the new blockade runner Owl.

10 An expedition from USS Wyalusing, Lieutenant Commander Earl English, landed at Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River, North Carolina, and seized several of the leading citizens for inter-rogation regarding the burning of mail steamer Fawn on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal the night before. The naval landing party encountered little resistance at Elizabeth City, and succeeded in capturing 29 prisoners. English learned that the Fawn expedition had been led by members of CSS Albemarle's crew.

USS Santiago de Cuba, Captain Glisson, captured blockade running steamer A. D. Vance at sea northeast of Wilmington with cargo of cotton.

USS Magnolia, Acting Lieutenant Cheesman, seized steamer Matagorda at sea off Cape San Antonio, Cuba, with cargo of cotton.

11 Acting Lieutenant Wiggin led an expedition up Fish River at Mobile Bay to seize an engine used by Confederates in a sawmill and to assist Union soldiers in obtaining lumber. Tinclad USS Rodolph, Acting Lieutenant George D. Upham, and wooden side-wheeler USS Stockdale, Acting Master Spiro V. Bennis, with Wiggin embarked, convoyed Army transport Planter to Smith's mill, where they took the engine, 60,000 feet of lumber, and some livestock. Loading the lumber on board a barge in tow of Planter took almost until nightfall, and in the dusk of the return down-stream, Confederate riflemen took the ships under fire and felled trees ahead of them. The gun-boats returned the fire rapidly and Rodolph broke through the obstructions, enabling the remaining ships to pass downriver.

USS Augusta Dinsmore, Acting Lieutenant Miner B. Crowell, captured schooner John off Velasco, Texas, with cargo of cotton.

13 Rear Admiral Farragut's sailors continued to clear the main ship channel at Mobile Bay of torpedoes such as the one that bad sunk USS Tecumseh on 5 August. He reported to Secretary Welles that 22 torpedoes had been raised. He added: " This part of the channel is now believed to be clear, for, though beyond doubt many more were originally anchored here, report says they have sunk over one hundred to the bottom." Despite the Admiral's efforts, Union ships would be destroyed in the vicinity of Mobile Bay by torpedoes in the months to come.

15 Though the Union forces dominated Mobile Bay, the South still possessed a number of ships at Mobile itself. Farragut informed Welles that CSS Nashville, an ironclad which, he said, had been waiting for her plating for at least 12 months, was now ready for service. Farragut de-scribed her as mounting ''six of their heaviest rifles and has heavier backing and greater speed than the Tennessee." Referring to the battle of Mobile Bay the month before, the Admiral added: "If she had gotten out fully equipped, the rebels would have made a stronger fight on the 5th day of August The Mobile defenses also counted on the casemated ironclads Tuscaloosa  and Huntsville, "covered with 4 inches of iron, but, I understand, very unmanageable", and three gunboats. "I have them guarded," Farragut wrote, "by the two ironclads, the Winnebago  and Chickasaw, and four of our gunboats."

16 Commander Bulloch wrote Secretary Mallory  from Liverpool: "The loss of the Alabama occurred just at a time when the financial condition of the Navy Department began to improve and . . . I took immediate steps to look up a successor. I have now the satisfaction to inform you of the purchase of a fine composite ship, built for the Bombay trade, and just returned from her first voyage. She is 1,160 tons builder's measurement, classed A-1 . . . frames, beams, etc., of iron, but planked from keel to gunwhale with East Indian teak. . . . My broker has had her carefully examined by one of Lloyd's inspectors, who pronounced her a capital ship in every respect. . . . The log of the ship shows her to be a fast sailor under canvas, for with screw up she has made 330 miles in 24 hours by observation." Bulloch was describing the steamer Sea King, a ship which would shortly become renowned as the raider CSS Shenandoah . He also informed Mallory that contracts had been let for the torpedo boats which the Secretary had ordered two months before (see 18 July).

Boat expedition from USS Arid, Acting Master Russell, captured over 4,000 pounds of cotton in the vicinity of Tampa Bay, Florida.

19 Confederates under Acting Master John Yates Beau captured and burned steamers Philo Parsons and Island Queen on Lake Erie. Captain Charles H. Cole, CSA, a Confederate secret agent in the Lake Erie region, conceived the plan and received the assistance of Jacob Thompson, Southern agent in Canada, and the daring Beall. The plan was for Cole to aid in the capture of iron side-wheeler USS Michigan, which was then guarding the Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio, by befriending her officers and attempting to bribe them. Beall was to approach with a captured steamer from the mouth of Sandusky Bay and board Michigan, after which the prisoners would be released and the whole force would embark on a guerrilla expedition along the lake. Beall and his 19 men came on board Philo Parsons as passengers but soon seized the steamer and took her to Middle Bass Island, on the way from Detroit to Sandusky. While there, Beall was approached by an unsuspecting steamer, Island Queen, which he quickly captured and burned. He then landed the passengers and cargoes of the two ships and proceeded with his improvised man-of-war to Sandusky. Meanwhile, Commander J. C. Carter of Michigan had discovered Cole's duplicity and had him arrested, along with his assistant in the plot. As Beall and his men approached Sandusky, the prearranged signals were not made. Confronted with uncertain circumstances and overwhelming odds, Beall and his men reluctantly but wisely abandoned their part in the plan and took Philo Parsons to Sandwich, Canada, where she was stripped and burned. The Confederates then dispersed.

Secretary Mallory, in a telegram to Commander Maffitt, gave his orders regarding the new Con-federate-owned blockade runners: "It is of the first importance that our steamers should not fall into the enemy's hands. Apart from the specific loss sustained by the country in the capture of blockade runners, these vessels, lightly armed, now constitute the fleetest and most efficient part of his blockading force off Wilmington. . . . As commanding officer of the Owl you will please devise and adopt thorough and efficient means for saving all hands and destroying the vessel and cargo whenever these measures may become necessary to prevent capture."

A boat expedition commanded by Acting Ensign Semon in USS Niphon, landed at Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina, to gain intelligence on the defenses of Wilmington and the strength of its garrison. In planning for the forthcoming assault on the defenses of Wilmington, Semon also learned that raider CSS Tallahassee was at Wilmington, along with several blockade runners.

22 Upon learning that Farragut's health prevented him from accepting command of the forthcoming operations against Wilmington, Secretary Welles paid eloquent tribute to the Admiral and his accomplishments: "In accordance with the view of the Department and the universal wish of the country, the orders of the 5th instant [see 5 September 1864] were given to you; but a life so precious must not be thrown away by failing to heed the monitions which the greatest powers of physical endurance receive as a warning to rest. The country will again call upon you, perhaps, to put the finishing blow to the rebellion." The distinguished Admiral's service in the Civil War was over, but not before he had achieved a permanent place among the great naval heroes of all time. From New Orleans to Port Hudson to Mobile Bay, David Glasgow Farragut, first Admiral in the U.S. Navy, had shown the leadership, courage, intelligence, and devotion to duty which have ever since been shining examples for all who are privileged to serve the Nation at sea.
23 Small side-wheeler USS Antelope, Acting Master John Ross, struck a snag and sank in the Mississippi River below New Orleans.

24 Under command of Acting Master William T. Street, wooden steamer USS Fuchsia, and side-wheelers Thomas Freeborn and Mercury proceeded to Milford Haven, Virginia, near which Con-federates were believed to be preparing a number of boats to attack the blockading force at the mouth of the Piankatank River. Leaving Fuchsia and Thomas Freeborn at Milford Haven, Street took armed boats in tow of Mercury and proceeded up Stutt's Creek. Some three miles upstream a force of 40 sailors was landed, under Acting Master William A. Arthur and Acting Ensign Philip Sheridan. Four Confederate boats were destroyed, five were captured, and a fishery demolished. Though the Rappahannock River area was dominated by the Northern forces, Union ships had to be continually on the alert to prevent audacious Southern raids.

General Robert E. Lee wrote Secretary of War Seddon of another dilEmma posed by the South's weakness at sea: "Since the fitting out of the privateer Tallahassee and her cruise from the port of Wilmington, the enemy's fleet of blockaders off that coast has been very much increased, and the dangers of running the blockade rendered much greater. The question arises whether it is of more importance to us to obtain supplies through that port or to prey upon the enemy's commerce by privateers sent from thence. . . . It might be well therefore, if practicable, to divert
the enemy's attention from Wilmington Harbor and keep it open as long as possible as a port of entry. While it is open the energies . . . should be exerted . . . to get in two or three years' -supplies so as to remove all apprehension on this score."

25 USS Howquah, Acting Lieutenant John W. Balch, USS Niphon, Acting Master Edmund Kemble, and USS Governor Buckingham, Acting Lieutenant John MacDiarmid, chased ashore and destroyed blockade running steamer Lynx off Wilmington with cargo of cotton. The three Union screw steamers were fired upon by Lynx and by shore batteries; Balch reported: ". . . one 3 pounder percussion shell struck the main rail on the starboard bow, cutting it through, also striking the forward end of the 30-pounder pivot carriage, cutting the breech in two and disabling the carriage, glancing over, striking the main rail on the port side, and falling on the deck (I