THE NAVY IN THE CIVIL WAR
Published
1883, 1885
------------------------
VOLUME II.
THE
ATLANTIC COAST.
BY
DANIEL AMMEN
REAR-ADMIRAL, U.S. NAVY
CHAPTER III
Strategic Reconnaissances
On January 26, 1862, Fleet-Captain Charles H. Davis and
Commander C. R. P. Rodgers, with the Ottawa,
Seneca,
Smith, Potomska,
Ellen, and Western World,
and the armed launches of the Wabash,
accompanied by the army transports Cosmopolitan,
Delaware,
and Boston,
having on board the Sixth Connecticut, Fourth New Hampshire, and Ninety-seventh
Pennsylvania regiments, a total of 2,400 men, commanded
by Brigadier-General H. G. Wright, entered Warsaw Sound. The
following morning General Wright and Major Speidel went on board of the Ottawa,
upon which vessel Captain Davis was. Two
companies of the Sixth Connecticut
having been sent on board of the Ottawa
and Seneca,
the vessels got under way, and proceeded into Tybee River. Owing to shoal
water on the bar it was 8.30 A.M.. before
the vessels got in, and
1.30 P.M. before they reached
the point nearest to Pulaski on its land side. It was
amusing to. note the bustle. No shots were fired at the vessels,
because no rifled or heavy guns were
mounted on the side which was supposed unapproachable by vessels of war.
Great preparations were made in shifting guns for use when the
vessels returned, but as it was simply a matter of choice with
the vessels as to when they would return, they preferred doing so under the cover of the night.
The gunboats passed-on, and
reaching the part of the river nearest to the highest land on Wilmington Island, their farther
progress was at least temporarily prevented by a double row of heavy piles
driven across the channel. They
anchored and dispatched boats from the different vessels to examine numerous
creeks and the upper part of the river. At 5 P.M. five
Confederate steamers, one bearing the flag of Commodore
Tatnall, came to anchor at the upper end of St. Augustine's
Creek. The telegraph wire was seen on
the marsh between Savannah and Fort
Pulaski, and was cut. General Wright
and others made careful examination as to the advantage
of a military occupation of Wilmington Island, to which General
Sherman had directed his attention.
At 11.15 A.M.. Of the following day (28th), five
Confederate vessels attempted to pass down
the Savannah River to Fort Pulaski,
with scows in tow. A force of gunboats under Commander John Rodgers, then
in Wright River, on the opposite side of the Savannah, and the force under
Captain Davis opened fire on the enemy, which was returned with spirit.
The flag-ship and another steamer of the enemy were sufficiently affected by the fire to put about; the
other steamers reached Pulaski. The object, without doubt, was to
carry necessary stores to the fort should the vessels intercept further
communication.
The distance apart of the two forces between which the
Confederate steamers passed measures, on a
good chart, three statute miles. On
their return from Pulaski they chose low tide, and were thus protected
from a ricochet fire, as the gunboats lying
in the narrow creeks found the marshy banks quite near and high above them. On the morning of the 29th, at
4 A.M.., the Union vessels passed down and out, having accomplished
fully the intended object, which was to frighten the enemy as to an impending
attack on the city of Savannah by a sufficient force, this being merely a
reconnoissance, and perhaps a blind. Captain Davis reported: "As a demonstration,
the appearance of the naval and military force in Wilmington and Warsaw Sounds
has had complete success. Savannah was
thrown into a state of great alarm, and all
the energies of the place have been exerted to the utmost to
increase its military defenses, for which purpose troops have been
withdrawn from other places."
On February 18th, Captain
John Rodgers had carried out the objects for which he had been
sent into Mud and Wright Rivers, and after
mooring the small steamer Hale to
protect an army battery planted at Venus
Point, on the Savannah River, he
returned to Port Royal with the force under his command.
In relation to this the flag-officer informed the Department
that Captain John Rodgers had a force of four gunboats and two purchased
steamers, and had rendered the most efficient support and protection to the
military parties in the planting of this
battery.[1]
For some time the flag-officer
had been making arrangements for an attack
on Fernandina, by collecting or getting ready the vessels doing duty on blockade that would best serve the
purpose. At length, on the last day of February, he left Port Royal in the Wabash.
On the 2d of March the Wabash
and other large vessels anchored off St. Andrew's Inlet,
twenty miles north of the sea entrance to Fernandina. The
flag was temporarily hoisted on board of the Mohican, Captain S. W.
Godon, and the force intended for that inlet formed by signal and entered in the following order: Ottawa, Mohican, Ellen, Seminole,
Pawnee, Pocahontas, Flag,
Pembina, Isaac Smith, Penguin, Potomska,
armed cutter Henrietta, and armed transport
McClellan, the latter having on board the battalion of marines under the command
of Major Reynolds.
The army transports followed,
the Empire City, Marion, Star
of the South, Belvidere,
Boston,
and George's
Creek, carrying a brigade under
the command of Brigadier-General H. G.
Wright. A black man who had been picked up in a small
boat informed the flag-officer that the Confederates had
hastily abandoned all of the defenses of Fernandina, and were at that
moment retreating from Amelia Island, carrying
with them such munitions as their precipitate flight would
allow.
The enemy had seen this formidable force enter St. Andrew's
and, aware that it would proceed by way of Cumberland Sound, knew he had not a moment to lose. He had spent
four weary days and nights in the effort to get his heavy
rifles out of the strong and isolated sand batteries that
guarded the sea approach to Fernandina, endeavoring to
save as much of his heavy ordnance as possible. He had been
aware, too, for some time, that in failing to guard the approach to St.
Andrew's he might as well have left St. Simon's
and Jekyl Islands unfortified, and had even then begun the removal of the heavy
guns from them, but the attacking force had no further knowledge than the
black man gave as to the situation. To the
enemy it seemed, doubtless, a mean proceeding to enter by a back door
when so much careful preparation had been
made to receive a force at the sea entrance of the port, but at the last moment he
had abandoned everything, and practically it made no difference to him where the
vessels entered.
The flag-officer at once detached a force of
light-draught vessels, under Commander Drayton in the Pawnee,
from those that entered the Sound in line the previous day " to
push through the Sound with the utmost
speed to save public and private property from destruction." This
force dispatched, at daylight the
flag-officer crossed the bar in the Mohican and proceeded to the sea entrance of Fernandina, but
rough weather prevented the vessel from entering the harbor until the 4th. In
the meantime Commander C. R. P. Rodgers with three armed launches of the Wabash
had gone on board of the Pawnee, which
vessel was diligently threading her way
through the narrow and tortuous channels
in the marshes of Cumberland Sound, followed by the
Ottawa, Seneca, Huron,
Pembina, Isaac Smith, Penguin,
Potomska,
Ellen, and armed cutter Henrietta. The
Pawnee, Ottawa,
and Huron were the only vessels that
succeeded in crossing "the flats"
at the dividing point of the tides. The
vessels left behind had no pilots, but at high water they got over and groped
their way as they best could, as also the transports Boston and McClellan, the
first with the Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania regiment, Colonel Guss, the second
with the marine battalion, Major Reynolds.
Commander Drayton proceeded with the vessels that had succeeded
in crossing "the flats," until 3 P.M.., and
when only three miles from Fort Clinch,
the Pawnee and Huron grounded with a falling tide. He therefore went on
board the Ottawa, to which vessel
Commander C. R. P. Rodgers also proceeded
with his three armed launches.
On arriving near Fort Clinch it was found deserted, and an
officer with an armed boa's crew was dispatched to hoist the American flag over it, in order to apprise the flag-officer off
the harbor of the condition of affairs. The
Ottawa continued
on. At Old Fernandina a white flag
was hoisted. Passing on, at New
Fernandina rifle-shots were fired at the vessel from the bushes. A railroad train with two locomotives was on the point of starting. The track passed for some distance along the water, offering an opportunity for shell practice,
but it was without further result than the killing of two soldiers on the train.
A small steamer, known
afterward as the Darlington, was seen endeavoring to escape up the river through a drawbridge;
the armed launches captured her. Besides
women and children on board, the steamer was loaded with mules and
army wagons; a Confederate surgeon
was also found on board.
It was now 8 P.M..; an armed launch was left to guard
the drawbridge, and Captain Drayton
returned to the Pawnee, which
had been left aground. Commander Rodgers with two armed launches went on board
of the Ottawa, and left for
the town of St. Mary's, ten miles up the river, for the purpose of
securing the guns that had been hastily removed from
Fort Clinch, and were supposed to be at that place.
At daylight of the 4th the Pawnee and Huron were anchored
off the town of Fernandina. Confederate
soldiers in the early morning fired on
the crew of the launch guarding the drawbridge, and set fire to the end
of the trestle-work leading to the bridge.
The Huron was sent up; the Confederate
soldiers vanished, and the fire was put out. Captain
Drayton reported: "The batteries
on and near Fort Clinch on the
southern part of Cumberland Island and at New Fernandina,
although many guns had been removed, might have
offered very serious obstacles to our approach."
As stated before, the enemy
had been busy for several days in removing heavy guns, for the
purpose of transporting them beyond the reach of gunboats. At 8 P.M.. of
the 2d a telegram to Fernandina from Brunswick stated that twenty=four
armed vessels were in Cumberland
Sound. This produced a panic, and by noon of the 3d the garrison, which consisted
of 1,500 men, and most of the inhabitants had left.
The long line of vessels entering St. Andrew's was really
a beautiful and impressive sight; to
the naval eye, however, there was not much that was really formidable in it. A
punster might be pardoned in calling
it an imposing force.
Fernandina was garrisoned on
the morning of the 4th by the marines of the Pawnee
and a company from the Wabash. At 9 A.M.. the
Isaac Smith arrived, and later in the
day the other gunboats that had passed through the Sound. In
the afternoon the Mohican
came in by the sea entrance with the
flag-officer on board.
We will now note the earlier movements of the enemy.
General Trapier reports that on February 23d he received General
R. E. Lee's order to withdraw from the islands, securing
the artillery, etc. This order was
sent by special messenger to the officer commanding the post at Amelia and Talbot
Islands, and to Colonel McBlair, commanding the batteries, "to dismantle the batteries with all possible expedition
and caution, and then to withdraw the troops and abandon the post."
"The fourth day after the receipt of this order the
enemy made his appearance simultaneously in
Cumberland Sound, having entered by St.
Andrew's, and off the town of Fernandina. At that time the greater number of the guns had been
dismounted and removed, and all of the guns, that protected
the direct entrance to Fernandina. A defence was therefore
deemed impracticable, and the order was given to retire from the island.,
Thirty-three pieces of heavy ordnance were upon these islands, of which eighteen
were carried off, as also all of the
ammunition. When it is remembered that this was accomplished in four
days, no other conclusion can be formed than that the utmost energy, industry, and vigor were exhibited by both officers and men."
"Five of the guns were subsequently lost, having
been put on St. John's Bluff, for the defence of St. John's River. The
enemy's prompt movements in that direction rendered it
impossible to remove them, as was directed by an order of March
1st."
The Ottawa,
previously mentioned as leaving for the town of St. Mary's at midnight, soon
reached that place and landed a force without delay. A cavalry force of the
enemy left without their horses and
equipments. The greater number
of the inhabitants had already deserted the town. The
Ottawa and an armed launch remained, and Commander Rogers
returned to Fernandina in the other launch.
In the defenses surrounding
Fernandina only thirteen guns were found, one 120-pounder and
one 80-pounder, both rifled.
The flag-officer reported that "it
is impossible to look at the earthworks on the sea face and the other defenses without being
surprised that they should have been abandoned. The batteries on the north and northeast shores are as complete
as art could make them. Six are well
concealed and protected by ranges of sand hills in front, perfect shelter
provided for the men, thoroughly covered by the natural growth
and by land contours, that striking them from a vessel
would be the merest chance. A battery of six guns is equally
well sheltered and masked. These
batteries and the heavy guns on Fort Clinch commanded the sea entrance completely;
another battery of four guns on the south end of Cumberland Island
commands the channel after crossing the bar. Within
the harbor was found another well-constructed
battery." Our "forces had captured Port Royal, but
the enemy had given us Fernandina."
Brigadier-General H. G.
Wright came into the harbor on the 5th
with his brigade, and the forts and public property were
at once turned over to him. The flag-officer reports "I
desire to speak here of the harmonious councils and cordial
cooperation which have marked throughout my intercourse with this able
officer. Our plans of action have been matured by mutual consultation and
have been carried into execution
by mutual help."
Of the many National defenses
that had fallen into the hands of the
Confederates upon the secession of the Southern
States, the National flag was first hoisted over Fort Clinch;
it was soon flying over all the
others, save Jackson at Savannah, Moultrie and Sumter at Charleston,
Caswell below Wilmington, and Gaines and Morgan at Mobile.
The Ottawa,
Lieutenant-commanding Stevens, made a reconnoissance
up the St. Mary's, as far as navigable for
vessels of ten feet draught, fifty
miles to Woodstock, and placed
notices at various points that all peaceable citizens would be protected in
their persons and property. While returning,
at a narrow stretch known as the Brick-yards, he was fired on with field artillery and small arms. Of this intended
attack he had been given warning, and replied with grape, canister, and
small arms, with supposed effect.
Nothing more was seen of the
enemy until just above the plantation of a Mrs. Campbell, when
a large body of cavalry appeared near the
river bank, some twelve hundred yards distant.
A few XI-inch shells thrown among
them caused great haste and confusion. Three miles below, where the river
leaves the high land and enters the marshes, the enemy was discovered in ambush,
but before he had an opportunity of
firing, the Ottawa opened with XI-canister and from three
howitzers, it was supposed with great effect. Captain
Stevens acknowledged the good conduct
of those under his command, and the efficient services of Midshipman Pearson
of the Wabash. One master's mate was seriously wounded, and three of the
crew less so.
The army was now in occupancy of Fernandina, and vessels
dispatched in the performance of duties as
above shown, when the Wabash, now the flag-ship, left her anchorage off Fernandina,
accompanied by a bevy of gunboats, and anchored off St. Augustine on the
evening of March 8th. The fact was
ascertained that no armed resistance was practicable or intended at that point, and the gunboats were ordered to
the mouth of St. John's River, some forty miles north, to buoy out the entrance and to cross when the tides and state of the sea
permitted. The Wabash
remained off St. Augustine, and sent a boat on shore as soon as the state
of the sea permitted. Commander C.
R. P. Rodgers went in with a flag of truce. As the boat approached a white flag was hoisted on Fort Marion. The
boat landed at the wharf, and
Commander Rodgers was there received by the Mayor, who
conducted him to the town-hall, where the municipal authorities
were assembled. He stated that a vessel of war had arrived off the bar for the purpose of restoring the authority
of the United States; it
was deemed more kind to send an
unarmed boat to inform them of the fact than to occupy the town by force of arms. He wished to calm any apprehensions of harsh treatment, and would
carefully respect the persons and property of
all citizens who submitted to the
lawful authority of the United States; so long as they respected
this authority and acted in good faith, municipal affairs would be left in the
hands of the citizens.
The Mayor informed Commander Rodgers that the place had
been garrisoned by two companies of Florida troops who had left the previous
night; that the Mayor and council gladly
received the assurances given, and placed the town
in the hands of Captain Rodgers, who then recommended them to hoist the
National flag over Fort Marion, which was at once done by order of the Mayor.
Of a population of two thousand, about one-fifth had
left. "The men acquiesce in the condition of affairs we are now
establishing. There is much violent and pestilent feeling among the women. They
seem to mistake treason for courage, and have a desire to figure as
heroines." [2] Three heavy 32-pounders and two VIII-inch howitzers, with some shot and
powder, were found in the fort.
Commander Godon, in the Mohican, with the Pocahontas
and Potomska, had been sent to St.
Simon's Inlet, which they entered on the 8th, and anchored within two miles of
the forts. The following morning they proceeded in, and finding the forts
apparently abandoned, three armed boats were sent to St. Simon's, and a suitable
force to Jekyl Islands. Two strong earthworks of twelve embrasures and several
well-constructed magazines were found on St. Simon's, which commanded the
entrance and the Sound; the guns had been removed; a few X-inch shot remained,
which showed the caliber of the former batteries. The two batteries on Jekyl
Island were of greater strength. The outer one commanding the main channel had a
bomb-proof constructed of palmetto logs, sand-bags, and railroad iron, well
supported and braced within. Three casemated guns, carriages, and
ammunition had been removed. The other battery, five hundred yards landward,
consisted of two casemates, and arrangements for four barbette guns, magazine,
and hot-shot furnace.
On February 16th, General Mercer, in command at
Brunswick, Ga., informed General R. E. Lee that all of the guns
had been removed from St. Simon's and Jekyl Islands, and solicited instructions as follows: " Before finally evacuating this
position, I beg to bring to the consideration of the Genral
the question of burning the town of Brunswick, for the
moral effect it would produce upon the enemy." . . .
No orders appear. The General
may not have appreciated the "moral effect" of
burning the property of their own people,
which, if left undisturbed, could have been of little advantage
to their enemy, even though he had thought fit to occupy
the place.
The abandonment of the St.
Simon's and Jekyl Islands batteries had awakened the fears of
General Trapier, who informed General Lee
that the defence of Fernandina depended upon them, to which General Lee
on February 24th replied as follows: "The
withdrawal of the troops from St. Simon's
and Jekyl Islands can only affect the inland communication between Brunswick and Cumberland Sound, rendering
it less secure and certain. The batteries commanding the
principal entrance into Cumberland Sound can be as easily turned
through St. Andrew's Sound as St. Simon's, which is nearer
and as accessible as the latter. I had hoped that guns could
be obtained in time to defend those rear approaches, but
as I now see no possibility of doing so, and as the means are
incompetent in your opinion for its defence, you are authorized
to retire both from Cumberland and Amelia Islands to
the main land."
The question here presents
itself with singular force Had the National troops held Norfolk
Navy Yard only long enough to destroy the
three thousand cannon stored there, what would have been the ability of the Confederacy to establish
defenses against a respectable naval force?
On February 10th General Lee wrote from Savannah to
Governor Brown of Georgia as follows: "I
have the honor to receive your letter of the 8th in reference to the
withdrawal of the batteries from St. Simon's
and Jekyl Islands. I find it impossible to obtain guns to secure it as I desire, and now everything is requisite to fortify this
city."
After an examination of the St.
Simon's and Jekyl Islands earthworks, Commander Godon went in
the Potomska to the town of Brunswick
and found the railroad depot and wharf had been set on fire and a train of cars
on the point of leaving. The Mohican
and Pocahontas were then brought up and
anchored off the town and a large party of armed men were
sent on shore; the town was entirely deserted and house furniture
generally removed. Proclamations were posted, "urging
the inhabitants to return to their homes and promising
protection to the property of all good citizens." The
landing parties returned to their vessels; no houses that were not open
were entered, and no property of any kind was taken.
The Pocahontas
and Potomska were then sent up Turtle River
as far as navigable for vessels of their draught. On their
return the Pocahontas on the 11th sent
a boat on shore in the vicinity of Brunswick to procure fresh beef for
the crew. Returning, the boat had scarcely
left the beach when she was fired
into by a party of 40 Confederate soldiers; two in
the boat were killed, two seriously and four others slightly wounded. Assistant-Surgeon
Rhoades, in charge of the boat, was then called upon to surrender, which
he refused to do, and aided by Paymaster Kitchen and the uninjured
portion of the crew, pulled as well as they could for the vessel. The Mohican
and the Potomska, observing the attack,
opened fire with shells on the enemy, who had been joined
by a considerable force. The brave conduct of Surgeon
Rhoades received high commendation.
Leaving the Mohican
in these waters, Commander Godon proceeded on
the 13th in the Potomska, accompanied
by the Pocahontas, to open the inland route to the Altamaha;
in doing
this he had to remove two double rows of piles several miles
apart. They had been sawed off at low
water mark to make them more difficult
to remove. Their removal took so much
time that he did not arrive near Darien until late;
he there found two steamers leaving
under a heavy head of steam.
The brass sleeves of the propeller shaft of the Potomska had given out,
which induced him to return to Doboy Island.
Darien, as well as Brunswick, had been
deserted.
The operations against
Fernandina led to the abandonment of the entire coast
line defence by batteries, and to points sufficiently high up on the rivers to embarrass an attack by gunboats,
except the defenses of Charleston, and of Pulaski, the outer defence of Savannah, which was soon to fall. Skiddaway
and Green Island batteries were reported abandoned, and the guns taken for the
defence of the immediate vicinity of Savannah.
After establishing the lawful authority of the National
flag at St. Augustine, the Wabash
proceeded to the entrance of the St. John's
River, where the admiral had the day before sent several gunboats. The bar had been sounded and buoyed, but
in the rough state of the sea only the Ellen,
having a lighter draught, could enter, which
she did, with two armed launches of
the flag-ship. The earthworks in face were
found deserted, and the American ensign was hoisted on
the lighthouse as a sign of quiet possession.
At high water on the afternoon
of the 10th, the gunboats Ottawa, Seneca, and Pembina
crossed the bar and at sunset anchored near Mayport Mills, three miles up
the river. Every vessel had on board a company of troops of the Fourth New
Hampshire. The Wabash then
left the anchorage for Mosquito Inlet, fifty-one miles south of St. Augustine. It had been used to some extent by small vessels transporting arms from Nassau. The Penguin and the Henry
Andrew had been sent some days before, the
first-named to remain off the inlet and the second
to pass within and protect from destruction a large amount
of Government live-oak ready for shipment.
The commanding officers of those vessels, with 43 armed men,
had gone some fifteen or eighteen miles up the river, and
having returned within sight of the Henry
Andrew, the line of order was no longer observed. The two commanding officers,
quite in advance of the other boats, landed at an abandoned earthwork, near a
dense growth of live-oak with underbrush, and
were fired upon from the thicket. Lieutenant-Commander
Budd and Acting Master Mather with three
of the boat's crew were killed, and the two other men in
the boat were wounded and taken prisoners. As the other boats came up they were fired into and retreated up the
stream. Under cover of the night they passed out to the vessels with one man killed. The flag-officer was then lying
off the inlet. In his report he says: "The
loss of gallant lives has expiated the error of judgment which enthusiastic zeal
had induced."
The officers and crews of the gunboats that the
flag-officer had seen safely cross the difficult bar of St. John's River before
leaving for Mosquito Inlet, saw the western sky illuminated
throughout the night, and conjectured rightly that the Confederates were burning
saw-mills and other buildings at Jacksonville. At daylight they were
under way and at noon at anchor off Jacksonville. The troops were landed without
delay and the outskirts of the town picketed.
Two pieces of heavy ordnance, that the enemy had in transit, were found
on the wharf, but time had failed him to
carry them farther.
The Ottawa
proceeded eighty miles up the St. John's to Orange Mills, as far as the draught of the former would permit, and the Ellen
passed some miles beyond; they
then returned to Jacksonville. In a few days the Darlington, the small
steamer captured at Fernandina, was repaired, put in service, and on the 17th was off Jacksonville. Lieutenant-Commander
Stevens employed her in the recovery of the famous
yacht America, that had been used in
blockade-running and on the arrival of
the National forces had been sunk in a creek.
The gunboats thereafter
patrolled the navigable waters of the St. John's, to
the entire subversion of the Confederates getting
arms through the small inlets of Florida, to which they
had been compelled to resort through a vigorous blockade
of all of the harbors for vessels of even ten feet draught. The Confederates were not content, however, with having the
gunboats in the upper waters of that river, and again endeavored
to exclude them, but the effort proved wholly fruitless, and cost them
nine more rifled guns in the earthwork on
St. John's Bluff, the September following.
After the operations on the coast of Florida were fully completed,
the flag-officer returned to Port Royal. During his
absence the army had planted batteries of rifled guns and heavy columbiads on
the sand-hills of Tybee Island, for the purpose of reducing Fort Pulaski,
which the flag-officer described as a
purely military operation, the result of laborious
and scientific preparation, and of consummate skill and
bravery in execution. . . . General Hunter, with a
generous spirit long to be remembered, permitted the navy to
be represented on this interesting occasion by allowing a detachment
of seamen and officers from this ship to serve one of the breaching
batteries."
Commander C. R. P. Rodgers
with a detachment of men reached Tybee on the morning of the
10th of April, just before
the firing commenced, and too late to participate that day. As many of the
artillerists were quite untrained, until ranges were obtained the practice was
inaccurate. On the following day, although there was a high wind, the firing
from both the rifled guns and columbiads was excellent, "the former boring
like augurs into the brick face of the wall, the latter striking like
trip-hammers and breaking off great masses of masonry that had been cut loose by
the rifles."
The
four nearest batteries were more than sixteen hundred yards from the fort; four
rifled guns in battery Sigel, one of those nearest the fort, had been assigned
to the men from the Wabash. The
batteries were occupied at daylight, and " kept up a steady and
well-directed fire until the flag of the fort was hauled down at 2 P.M..."
Commander Rodgers commended the conduct of Lieutenant Irwin, Master Robertson,
and Midshipmen M. L. Johnson and F. H. Pearson, and also of petty officers Lewis
Bonn and George H. Wood.
"Before
the fort surrendered the barbette guns had been silenced and many of them
dismounted. The breach was practicable for storming in two places, and the
projectiles were passing through and knocking down the opposite wall, which
protected the magazine, so that the garrison was convinced that in an hour or
so the magazine must be blown up.”[3]
The
heavy XIII-inch mortars inflicted little injury; the shells falling upon the
casemates did not seem to shake them at all, and those that fell within the fort
rolled into the deep furrows that had been made to receive them, where they
burst without doing injury. Less than one year had passed since the seizure by
the Confederates of all of the forts within their power, and again the National
ensign floated over
three of them. The blockading
duties did not prevent the
officers commanding vessels from more pronounced action when circumstances
appeared to favor it. Lieutenant-Commanding
A. C. Rhind, in the Crusader, at North
Edisto, had sent a boat's crew to assist a Government agent. In performing this
duty Master Urann was severely wounded by the enemy. Colonel Fellows, Fifty-fifth regiment of Pennsylvania, kindly detailed a force under Lieutenant Bedell to accompany Captain Rhind. A force of 60 men with a light field howitzer reached
the vicinity of the enemy at 3 A.M.. of the 19th of April, but not without discovery and the
precipitate flight of the enemy. Shortly after daylight a considerable
force of mounted riflemen were seen advancing
rapidly. They opened fire, but after a skirmish of half an
hour retired as hastily as they had advanced. In
this affair three of the sailors were
wounded, and the force returned unmolested at leisure to the vessel.
On the 29th, the same officer
on board of the Hale, Lieutenant-Commanding Gillis, with Assistant-Surgeon Brintnall, Mate
Henry Parsons, 22 men, and a boat armed with a howitzer, proceeded to
destroy a battery of the enemy near the
junction of the Dawho, Paw Paw, and South Edisto Rivers. When
the Hale was within eighteen hundred
yards, the battery opened fire and continued as the bends of the river
favored. One long reach had to be made under a raking fire, but the shells from the Hale
had been so effective that when the
vessel was making a direct course for the battery the enemy abandoned it
in haste. The wood in the rear was shelled;
20 men were landed and reached the work by
passing over some three hundred yards of marshy ground. Two
fine 24-pounder field pieces were found, one of them loaded and primed.
This piece was discharged against the other one to destroy it, and the second
was destroyed by other
means. All of the woodwork was piled under
the carriages and set on fire. This was
accomplished by 11 A.M.., and the Hale
then attempted to ascend the Paw Paw to a rice-mill for the purpose of
destroying a vessel lying there, but owing to
the ignorance of the pilot, when a mile within the river, the
Hale grounded and remained fast until 5 P.M..
It was too late to accomplish
the object, and the ignorance of the pilot made
it necessary to return by the Dawho and run the gauntlet
of an ambuscade that they well knew would be prepared
at a favorable point near Slamm's Bluff. That locality was
reached at 8 P.M.., and of course
proper disposition made to receive the close fire of the enemy. As
anticipated, the enemy opened a heavy fire
upon the Hale with field pieces and
small arms. The men then jumped to their guns and replied with grape, canister, and
shells. No one was injured on the vessel. A 32-pounder was rendered useless by a shot knocking
out a piece of the muzzle.
The blockaders in Doboy Sound enlivened the dull routine
by ascending the Riceborough River with the object of destroying a brig supposed
to have entered through Sapelo Sound. Lieutenant-Commanding
A. A. Semmes in the Wamsutta,
accompanied by the Potomska, on the 26th of
April started up this narrow and tortuous stream. The following morning
they had reached within a mile of Dorchester,
and were informed that the smoke seen the previous day was from the burning
brig. The object of their visit having
been accomplished, the vessels began a difficult return.
At Woodville Island they received the
fire of the enemy from small arms at
close range. Two men were killed on the first fire. In transit the vessels were of mutual assistance,
the one with grape and canister enfilading, as it were,
the sharpshooters that attacked the other. The
vessels got out of their difficult
position without further loss of life, and it was supposed had inflicted much greater loss on the assailants.
The records of our former enemy, so far as published, give no details
of these minor affairs.
A very interesting episode of the war was that of Robert
Small, a slave and the pilot of the Planter
carrying that vessel to the
blockading force off Charleston. The
account given is substantially the report of the flag-officer to the Department.
The vessel was engaged in the transportation of ordnance
and army stores. On the morning of
the 13th of May, the Planter
was lying at the wharf close to army headquarters,
with steam up and the captain on shore. Small
had the fasts cast off, and with a Confederate flag flying passed
the forts, saluting them as usual by blowing the whistle, and passing
beyond their line of fire, hauled down his
flag and hoisted a white one just in time to avoid the fire from a
blockading vessel. The Planter
was armed with a 32-pounder pivot gun, a 24-pounder howitzer, and had on board four
heavy guns, one of which was a VII-inch rifle, in, tended for a new fort on the
middle ground in Charleston Harbor. Eight
men, five women, and three children were on
board of the vessel. The flag-officer
remarked: "Robert Small is
superior to any who have come within our lines, intelligent as many of
them have been. His information has been most interesting, and portions of it of
the utmost importance." Small
afterward served most usefully and with great
intelligence on the Southern coast as pilot throughout
the civil war, and later, for several sessions as a member of Congress
from South Carolina.
Acting under definite but not
compulsory instructions, the officers commanding
blockading vessels were vigilant in following
up by reconnoissance the changed lines of defence which had been
established in such manner as not to allow an attack by any considerable number
of gunboats.
Commander G. A. Prentiss in
the Albatross passed into Winyaw Bay, the entrance to Georgetown, S. C., on May 21st,
accompanied by the Norwich. A redoubt
near the lighthouse was found deserted. Within, on South Island, an
extensive work was seen, with apparently several large barbette guns. On a
nearer approach, they were found to be what
are known as "Quakers." From this view Cat Island was visible,
and on it a well-built fort, with cavalry in the
skirts of the woodland, who were scattered by shells. The
vessels found these works deserted also and in like manner armed with "Quaker" guns. The work was quadrangular,
fitted with platforms for mounting ten guns, with bomb-proofs, magazines,
and furnace for hot shot. The woodwork was
collected and set on fire, as also a large
quantity of timber intended for obstructing the channel.
The following day the vessels passed up the river to Georgetown
and steamed slowly along the wharves, the muzzles of the guns within thirty
yards of the houses. A brig loaded with turpentine was set on fire to
prevent the approach of the vessels, but they continued on, passed the vessel
on fire and turned with some difficulty in the narrow channel
to retrace their route, "tarrying to see if the town authorities were disposed to communicate." Commander Prentiss
had judiciously "sent word to the Union men to make
no demonstration whatever, as he was not prepared to hold the place
permanently. A few, however, appeared on the wharves, and indicated by gestures
or words their joy at seeing us, while the
masses of citizens kept aloof. . . . While
passing up, a woman appeared in the belfry of a church
or city hall, and spread a rebel flag over the bell. I was
greatly tempted to send on shore and seize it, but refrained,
from the consideration that a contest in the streets would have compelled me to destroy the city, involving
the ruin of the innocent with the
guilty."[4]
From information derived from Robert Small, a reconnoissance
of Stono Inlet was made, and on the next day the gunboats
Unadilla, Pembina, and Ottawa
crossed the bar under Commander Marchand, and proceeded up the river to the old fort opposite Legareville. The enemy fired the barracks
on the approach of the vessels. A picket guard of six
at the magazine of the fort were taken prisoners. On
the 29th of May the Pawnee crossed the bar, the Huron
having entered the day before; the
inlet was entered at extreme high
water, nevertheless the Pawnee struck
heavily twenty times. Nothing was more
trying on officers commanding
vessels than thumping them over bars, often with great risk of leaving them there.
The Pawnee
ascended to Legareville; from thence Captain Drayton in the Ottawa,
a smaller vessel than his own command, accompanied by the Huron
and Pembina, reached the last
bend of the river below Wappoo Cut, when the enemy opened fire from a very heavy
rifled gun, some of the shot falling only a little short of the vessels. The Pembina
and Huron were left for the
night a little above Newtown Creek. The
removal of a few piles from an obstruction enabled Captain Drayton to
bring the Pawnee up the river, which
he did, with the Ellen accompanying, as far as Newtown Creek. From
that point Captain Drayton continued on in the Ellen,
and rounding a point they were in sight of the fortification from
which they had been fired upon the previous day. From Parrott rifled guns, shells fired on board of the Ellen,
with 16° elevation and 20" fuses, just reached the enemy. He replied
with accuracy from the heavy rifle before mentioned.
After a dozen shots on each side, the Ellen returned with such information as was thus obtainable. Contrabands
informed Captain Drayton that torpedoes had been laid in the river
above. He adds in his report, that "even
were this not the case, I do not think the gunboats could go beyond where I had
been, and not stick in the mud. To sum up, we are in as complete possession of the river as of Port Royal,
and can land and protect the army whenever it wishes. Beyond the reach of
our guns I cannot, of course, be responsible,
for it must, to a certain extent, then
look out for itself." With a good map,
the military student will note an opening here for successful operations
through information which the admiral justly
styled of " the utmost
importance."
The battery of the enemy was near Wappoo Cut,
and consisted of a heavy rifled gun and seven heavy columbiads. The
vessels above mentioned remained for some time in the river.
The Upper St. John's River, running Nearly north and south, important for the
transportation of small arms, that for some time had been obtained
through some of the many insignificant inlets
of the peninsula, was patrolled by several gunboats.
There were many men in that region who
had been actually driven into the Confederate ranks, and who had
escaped into the wilds of Florida. To
hound them, a set of men known as "
Regulators " were permitted to remain
at home. One
of these, known as George Huston, commanded a
squad and resided near Black Creek. He boasted of having
hung the Negro pilot when Captain Budd was shot near New
Smyrna. It was supposed that "his
capture would secure the general tranquility
of persons along the river, most of whom would gladly acknowledge the authority of the Government
of the United States were they not in fear.
of violence from men of this
character." To capture him 40 men
were detailed from the Seneca, and a
reserve of 30 men from the Patroon, under the command of Lieutenant John G.
Sproston of the Seneca. The party
landed at early daylight and proceeded rapidly to
Huston's house. A Negro woman
saw the party and gave the alarm. Huston appeared at
the door armed with a double-barreled gun, two pistols and a bowie knife;
to a demand to surrender he fired a pistol at Sproston within a few feet,
killing him instantly. He fired the other
pistol and the gun, wounding a sailor slightly, and was shot and bayoneted at the same time; he
was brought on board and died within a
day or two, his wounds being
necessarily fatal. The party not having been thrown around
the house, several persons escaped who had fired from it without effect. The
death of this officer was a loss to
the navy, and was deeply regretted by his many friends in and
out of the service. He was a gallant officer of great professional
merit, and had with others, on the 13th of September, 1861, distinguished himself in the destruction of the
privateer Judah at the Pensacola Navy Yard; and
afterward as executive officer of the Seneca
in the battle of Port Royal, and on
other occasions.
While in those waters the Seneca
recovered two field pieces and carriages at a creek below Yellow Bluffs. It
was known that a certain Neils Johnson had
been present in throwing them into the
water, and he was sent for. He acted the simpleton, but he was informed
that his feigned stupidity would not answer,
and that he would be held as a prisoner
until he aided in the recovery of the guns. He no longer feigned, but wept
earnestly and said he could not do so,
as the "Regulators " would
kill him. A compromise was effected,
resulting in the recovery of the guns, upon his being
given a paper stating that he aided under penalty of otherwise
being shot. At Yellow Bluffs, before this occurrence,
the Seneca was fired on at a distance
of sixty to one hundred yards by a
company of °' Regulators," and two of the crew dangerously wounded. Although the attack was wholly
unexpected, and the commanding officer, pilot, and others
were grouped, and the mass of fire was directed at them,
none of the group were struck, although many bullets hit the hammock
netting and the bulwark opposite.
As stated before, the enemy were most desirous
of closing the upper part of the St. John's, to permit the
transportation of small arms through the
inlets of the peninsula, and for that purpose had erected a battery of
seven VIII-inch and two IVY-inch rifled guns
on St. John's Bluff, some seven miles
from the mouth of the river.
Commander Steedman in the Port Royal suggested that a co-operating land
force should be sent to secure the guns when
silenced by the vessels under his command. General Mitchell, then in command at Port Royal, promptly sent
a force under General Brannan, which was landed at a favorable point. The
gunboats attacked the battery on the 5th of October, which led to the
hasty abandonment of the works and the seizure of them by our troops. The
armed steamer Darlington, captured, as the reader will remember, by Commander
Rodgers at Fernandina, Lieutenant-Commander Williams, with Company E
Forty-seventh Pennsylvania regiment on board,
and the Hale, LieutenantCommander
Snell, ascended the river to Lake Beresford, two hundred and thirty miles, and
captured the steamer Morton, one of the best
on the river and engaged in the transportation of arms and munitions.
General Brannan wrote to the flag-officer:
"Commander Steedman exhibited a zeal and perseverance
in every instance, whether in aiding my forces to effect a landing, the
ascent of St. John's river two hundred and
thirty miles, or the assistance to one of my transports, unfortunately injured in crossing the bar, that is deserving of all
praise."
An expedition designed to destroy the
Pocotaligo bridge was less fortunate in its results from a series of
miscarriages. The naval force, as before, was under Commander Steedman in the
Port Royal, and the troops again under the command of General Brannan. Officers
commanding naval vessels were assembled on board the Vermont
and received instructions as to
order of sailing, etc. In aid of the
transports, every naval vessel carried
an assigned quota of troops. At sunset
the vessels proceeded some miles and anchored in the mouth
of Broad River. Four armed launches in tow of a small
tug carrying one hundred troops were sent in advance to
a point some two miles below Mackey's Point, from whence half the force was to proceed to Mackey's, and the other
part to Cuthbert's Landing to capture the pickets.
The guide to Mackey's was incompetent
and the picket was not captured; the other force was successful in that
object.
Soon after midnight the signal was made for the vessels to
get under way; the Paul Jones with transport De Ford proceeded
up the river, apparently without observing the fact that they were
unaccompanied. These vessels anchored above
Mackey's at 4.30 A.M.. The failure of
the naval vessels was due to the fact
that the Conemaugh, the third vessel in line, did not see the signal to get under way, and when she moved,
passed on the wrong side of the lights placed to carry
them over shoal ground. She then grounded and disarranged
the line, and the Marblehead and Water
Witch collided. As a result of these mishaps the vessels did not
leave Broad River until daylight; however, they reached Mackey's and
landed the troops on board by 10 A.M.., those on board of the De
Ford and the Paul Jones having landed on arrival.
At the request of General Brannan the Uncas
proceeded up
the Pocotaligo River and the Patroon
and the Vixen up the Coosawhatchie, the last-named to cover the landing of Colonel
Barton's forces from the Planter. The services of these
vessels are officially commended. Also at the request of the general, the
three howitzers of the Wabash, in
charge of Lieutenant Phenix and
Ensigns Wallace, Pearson, and Adams,
were landed and sent to the front; the
conduct of these officers and the men
under their command was highly commended
by the general commanding the troops. A message from the general that he was
falling back was received at 5 P. M. The
next day (23d) the troops re-embarked and the whole force returned
to Port Royal. The escape of the picket was in itself sufficient
to make the move abortive, and the failure of the vessels to arrive for five hours after those leading, was also enough, as
the troops of the enemy in half that time could be sent to the
line of railroad from Savannah and from Charleston.
While the intended results of the expedition,
to make a lodgment on the Charleston and Savannah Railroad, were not attained,
the services of the naval co-operating force were duly acknowledged by the
military commander in his official report.
On the afternoon of January 30, 1863, the
gunboats Commodore McDonough,
Lieutenant-Commander George Bacon, and the Isaac
Smith, Acting Lieutenant F. S. Conover, were lying in Stone, Inlet. At 4.40
P.M.. the Isaac Smith got under way
and proceeded up the river above Legareville, for the purpose of making a
reconnoissance, and being fired upon from concealed and unsuspected heavy field
batteries, hotly engaged them. The McDonough
proceeded to her relief, but before getting within supporting distance a white
flag was seen flying over the Isaac Smith.
A nearer approach showed that the vessel was apparently aground[5] and two of her boats were taking the officers and men on shore. Three
field batteries then opened on the McDonough,
one of six guns, on John's Island; the fire from the enemy was at once returned,
the engines reversed and the vessel dropped down the stream.
The report of the officer commanding the Smith states that
he anchored opposite Grimball's plantation, four and a half miles from the
inlet; an excellent lookout was at the mast-head and nothing suspicious was
seen. A few minutes later a battery of three rifled guns on James Island six
hundred yards distant, and concealed by trees, opened fire; the vessel at once
was got under way and engaged the battery. At the same time two other batteries
lower down, on John's Island, also opened fire on the vessel. An endeavor was
made to pass down, but for a mile or more the vessel was exposed to a raking
fire and unable to reply, except occasionally from a pivot gun. Passing by the
two batteries, at an estimated distance of from two to four hundred yards, a
broadside of shell and grape was delivered, but the vessel received a shot in
her steam-chimney which at once disabled her, and there was nothing left to do
but surrender. Eight men had been killed and 17 wounded, some of them mortally.
The batteries were properly supposed to be composed of siege and field guns, and
their fire was supplemented by a number of riflemen on or near the banks of the
river.[6]
The Isaac
Smith was a vessel of four hundred and fifty-three tons, purchased in
1861, and was armed with one 3-0pounder Parrott and eight VIII-inch
columbiads.
[1]
These two demonstrations were known at the time, in the
fleet, to be intended to weaken the defenses at Fernandina, particularly by withdrawing the guns for the defence of
Savannah. Whether they only drew the attention of General Lee to the
impossibility of defending Fernandina with the rear approach unguarded, is
of little import. The guns at St. Simon's and at Jekyl Island had been previously
sent to Savannah, and those at Fernandina were in process of removal when
the expedition reached that point. The troops on board the transports
remained in Warsaw Sound until they left for Fernandina.
[2] Commander Rodgers's report.
[3] Commander Rodgers's report.
[4] Prentiss's report.
[5] Confederate reports say “she dropped anchor and unconditionally surrendered.” No surrender of a vessel has come to the knowledge of the writer that was not unconditional. January 31st the McDonough reports the Isaac Smith “still on shore at the same place. She must have been injured below the waterline or else they would certainly have gotten her off at high tide this morning.”
[6] "Their artillery force was composed entirely of field and siege guns brought down and concealed in the bushes " (report of Lieutenant Conover).
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